The Twilight Saga 5: Midnight Sun 3. Phenomenon

Truly, I was not thirsty, but I decided to hunt again that night. A small ounce of prevention, inadequate though I knew it to be. Carlisle came with me; we hadn't been alone together since I'd returned from Denali. As we ran through the black forest, I heard him thinking about that hasty goodbye last week. In his memory, I saw the way my features had been twisted in fierce despair. I felt his surprise and sudden worry. â€Å"Edward?† â€Å"I have to go, Carlisle. I have to go now.† â€Å"What's happened?† â€Å"Nothing. Yet. But it will, if I stay.† He'd reached for my arm. I felt how it had hurt him when I'd cringed away from his hand. â€Å"I don't understand.† â€Å"Have you ever†¦has there ever been a time†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I watched myself take a deep breath, saw the wild light in my eyes through the filter of his deep concern. â€Å"Has any one person ever smelled better to you than the rest of them? Much better?† â€Å"Oh.† When I'd known that he understood, my face had fallen with shame. He'd reached out to touch me, ignoring it when I'd recoiled again, and left his hand on my shoulder. â€Å"Do what you must to resist, son. I will miss you. Here, take my car. It's faster.† He was wondering now if he'd done the right thing then, sending me away. Wondering if he hadn't hurt me with his lack of trust. â€Å"No,† I whispered as I ran. â€Å"That was what I needed. I might so easily have betrayed that trust, if you'd told me to stay.† â€Å"I'm sorry you're suffering, Edward. But you should do what you can to keep the Swan child alive. Even if it means that you must leave us again.† â€Å"I know, I know.† â€Å"Why did you come back? You know how happy I am to have you here, but if this is too difficult†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I didn't like feeling a coward,† I admitted. We'd slowed – we were barely jogging through the darkness now. â€Å"Better that than to put her in danger. She'll be gone in a year or two.† â€Å"You're right, I know that.† Contrarily, though, his words only made me more anxious to stay. The girl would be gone in a year or two†¦ Carlisle stopped running and I stopped with him; he turned to examine my expression. But you're not going to run, are you? I hung my head. Is it pride, Edward? There's no shame in – â€Å"No, it isn't pride that keeps me here. Not now.† Nowhere to go? I laughed shortly. â€Å"No. That wouldn't stop me, if I could make myself leave.† â€Å"We'll come with you, of course, if that's what you need. You only have to ask. You've moved on without complaint for the rest of them. They won't begrudge you this.† I raised one eyebrow. He laughed. â€Å"Yes, Rosalie might, but she owes you. Anyway, it's much better for us to leave now, no damage done, than for us to leave later, after a life has been ended.† All humor was gone by the end. I flinched at his words. â€Å"Yes,† I agreed. My voice sounded hoarse. But you're not leaving? I sighed. â€Å"I should.† â€Å"What holds you here, Edward? I'm failing to see†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I don't know if I can explain.† Even to myself, it made no sense. He measured my expression for a long moment. No, I do not see. But I will respect your privacy, if you prefer. â€Å"Thank you. It's generous of you, seeing as how I give privacy to no one.† With one exception. And I was doing what I could to deprive her of that, wasn't I? We all have our quirks. He laughed again. Shall we? He'd just caught the scent of a small herd of deer. It was hard to rally much enthusiasm for what was, even under the best of circumstances, a less than mouthwatering aroma. Right now, with the memory of the girl's blood fresh in my mind, the smell actually turned my stomach. I sighed. â€Å"Let's,† I agreed, though I knew that forcing more blood down my throat would help so little. We both shifted into a hunting crouch and let the unappealing scent pull us silently forward. It was colder when we returned home. The melted snow had refrozen; it was as if a thin sheet of glass covered everything – each pine needle, each fern frond, each blade of grass was iced over. While Carlisle went to dress for his early shift at the hospital, I stayed by the river, waiting for the sun to rise. I felt almost swollen from the amount of blood I'd consumed, but I knew the lack of actual thirst would mean little when I sat beside the girl again. Cool and motionless as the stone I sat on, I stared at the dark water running beside the icy bank, stared right through it. Carlisle was right. I should leave Forks. They could spread some story to explain my absence. Boarding school in Europe. Visiting distant relatives. Teenage runaway. The story didn't matter. No one would question too intensely. It was just a year or two, and then the girl would disappear. She would go on with her life – she would have a life to go on with. She'd go to college somewhere, get older, start a career, perhaps marry someone. I could picture that – I could see the girl dressed all in white and walking at a measured pace, her arm through her father's. It was odd, the pain that image caused me. I couldn't understand it. Was I jealous, because she had a future that I could never have? That made no sense. Every one of the humans around me had that same potential ahead of them – a life – and I rarely stopped to envy them. I should leave her to her future. Stop risking her life. That was the right thing to do. Carlisle always chose the right way. I should listen to him now. The sun rose behind the clouds, and the faint light glistened off all the frozen glass. One more day, I decided. I would see her one more time. I could handle that. Perhaps I would mention my pending disappearance, set the story up. This was going to be difficult; I could feel that in the heavy reluctance that was already making me think of excuses to stay – to extend the deadline to two days, three, four†¦ But I would do the right thing. I knew I could trust Carlisle's advice. And I also knew that I was too conflicted to make the right decision alone. Much too conflicted. How much of this reluctance came from my obsessive curiosity, and how much came from my unsatisfied appetite? I went inside to change into fresh clothes for school. Alice was waiting for me, sitting on the top step at the edge of the third floor. You're leaving again, she accused me. I sighed and nodded. I can't see where you're going this time. â€Å"I don't know where I'm going yet,† I whispered. I want you to stay. I shook my head. Maybe Jazz and I could come with you? â€Å"They'll need you all the more, if I'm not here to watch out for them. And think of Esme. Would you take half her family away in one blow?† You're going to make her so sad. â€Å"I know. That's why you have to stay.† That's not the same as having you here, and you know it. â€Å"Yes. But I have to do what's right.† There are many right ways, and many wrong ways, though, aren't there? For a brief moment she was swept away into one of her strange visions; I watched along with her as the indistinct images flickered and whirled. I saw myself mixed in with strange shadows that I couldn't make out – hazy, imprecise forms. And then, suddenly, my skin was glittering in the bright sunlight of a small open meadow. This was a place I knew. There was a figure in the meadow with me, but, again, it was indistinct, not there enough to recognize. The images shivered and disappeared as a million tiny choices rearranged the future again. â€Å"I didn't catch much of that,† I told her when the vision went dark. Me either. Your future is shifting around so much I can't keep up with any of it. I think, though†¦ She stopped, and she flipped through a vast collection of other recent visions for me. They were all the same – blurry and vague. â€Å"I think something is changing, though,† she said out loud. â€Å"Your life seems to be at a crossroads.† I laughed grimly. â€Å"You do realize that you sound like a bogus gypsy at a carnival now, right?† She stuck her tiny tongue out at me. â€Å"Today is all right, though, isn't it?† I asked, my voice abruptly apprehensive. â€Å"I don't see you killing anyone today,† she assured me. â€Å"Thanks, Alice.† â€Å"Go get dressed. I won't say anything – I'll let you tell the others when you're ready.† She stood and darted back down the stairs, her shoulders hunched slightly. Miss you. Really. Yes, I would really miss her, too. It was a quiet ride to school. Jasper could tell that Alice was upset about something, but he knew that if she wanted to talk about it she would have done so already. Emmett and Rosalie were oblivious, having another of their moments, gazing into each others' eyes with wonder – it was rather disgusting to watch from the outside. We were all quite aware how desperately in love they were. Or maybe I was just being bitter because I was the only one alone. Some days it was harder than others to live with three sets of perfectly matched lovers. This was one of them. Maybe they would all be happier without me hanging around, ill-tempered and belligerent as the old man I should be by now. Of course, the first thing I did when we reached the school was to look for the girl. Just preparing myself again. Right. It was embarrassing how my world suddenly seemed to be empty of everything but her – my whole existence centered around the girl, rather than around myself anymore. It was easy enough to understand, though, really; after eighty years of the same thing every day and every night, any change became a point of absorption. She had not yet arrived, but could I hear the thunderous chugging of her truck's engine in the distance. I leaned against the side of the car to wait. Alice stayed with me, while the others went straight to class. They were bored with my fixation – it was incomprehensible to them how any human could hold my interest for so long, no matter how delicious she smelled. The girl drove slowly into view, her eyes intent on the road and her hands tight on the wheel. She seemed anxious about something. It took me a second to figure out what that something was, to realize that every human wore the same expression today. Ah, the road was slick with ice, and they were all trying to drive more carefully. I could see she was taking the added risk seriously. That seemed in line with what little I had learned of her character. I added this to my small list: she was a serious person, a responsible person. She parked not too far from me, but she hadn't noticed me standing here yet, staring at her. I wondered what she would do when she did? Blush and walk away? That was my first guess. But maybe she would stare back. Maybe she would come to talk to me. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs hopefully, just in case. She got out of the truck with care, testing the slick ground before she put her weight on it. She didn't look up, and that frustrated me. Maybe I would go talk to her†¦ No, that would be wrong. Instead of turning toward the school, she made her way to the rear of her truck, clinging to the side of the truck bed in a droll way, not trusting her footing. It made me smile, and I felt Alice's eyes on my face. I didn't listen to whatever this made her think – I was having too much fun watching the girl check her snow chains. She actually looked in some danger of falling, the way her feet were sliding around. No one else was having trouble – had she parked in the worst of the ice? She paused there, staring down with a strange expression on her face. It was†¦tender? As if something about the tire was making her†¦emotional? Again, the curiosity ached like a thirst. It was as if I had to know what she was thinking – as if nothing else mattered. I would go talk to her. She looked like she could use a hand anyway, at least until she was off the slick pavement. Of course, I couldn't offer her that, could I? I hesitated, torn. As adverse as she seemed to be to snow, she would hardly welcome the touch of my cold white hand. I should have worn gloves – â€Å"NO!† Alice gasped aloud. Instantly, I scanned her thoughts, guessing at first that I had made a poor choice and she saw me doing something inexcusable. But it had nothing to do with me at all. Tyler Crowley had chosen to take the turn into the parking lot at an injudicious speed. This choice would send him skidding across a patch of ice†¦ The vision came just half a second before the reality. Tyler's van rounded the corner as I was still watching the conclusion that had pulled the horrified gasp through Alice's lips. No, this vision had nothing to do with me, and yet it had everything to do with me, because Tyler's van – the tires right now hitting the ice at the worst possible angle – was going to spin across the lot and crush the girl who had become the uninvited focal point of my world. Even without Alice's foresight it would have been simple enough to read the trajectory of the vehicle, flying out of Tyler's control. The girl, standing in the exactly wrong place at the back of her truck, looked up, bewildered by the sound of the screeching tires. She looked straight into my horrorstruck eyes, and then turned to watch her approaching death. Not her! The words shouted in my head as if they belonged to someone else. Still locked into Alice's thoughts, I saw the vision suddenly shift, but I had no time to see what the outcome would be. I launched myself across the lot, throwing myself between the skidding van and the frozen girl. I moved so fast that everything was a streaky blur except for the object of my focus. She didn't see me – no human eyes could have followed my flight – still staring at the hulking shape that was about to grind her body into the metal frame of her truck. I caught her around the waist, moving with too much urgency to be as gentle as she would need me to be. In the hundredth of a second between the time that I yanked her slight form out of the path of death and the time that I crashed into to the ground with her in my arms, I was vividly aware of her fragile, breakable body. When I heard her head crack against the ice, it felt like I had turned to ice, too. But I didn't even have a full second to ascertain her condition. I heard the van behind us, grating and squealing as it twisted around the sturdy iron body of the girl's truck. It was changing course, arcing, coming for her again – like she was a magnet, pulling it toward us. A word I'd never said before in the presence of a lady slid between my clenched teeth. I had already done too much. As I'd nearly flown through the air to push her out of the way, I'd been fully aware of the mistake I was making. Knowing that it was a mistake did not stop me, but I was not oblivious to the risk I was taking – taking, not just for myself, but for my entire family. Exposure. And this certainly wasn't going to help, but there was no way I was going to allow the van to succeed in its second attempt to take her life. I dropped her and threw my hands out, catching the van before it could touch the girl. The force of it hurled me back into the car parked beside her truck, and I could feel its frame buckle behind my shoulders. The van shuddered and shivered against the unyielding obstacle of my arms, and then swayed, balancing unstably on the two far tires. If I moved my hands, the back tire of the van was going fall onto her legs. Oh, for the love of all that was holy, would the catastrophes never end? Was there anything else that could go wrong? I could hardly sit here, holding the van in the air, and wait for rescue. Nor could I throw the van away – there was the driver to consider, his thoughts incoherent with panic. With an internal groan, I shoved the van so that it rocked away from us for an instant. As it fell back toward me, I caught it under the frame with my right hand while I wrapped my left arm around the girl's waist again and drug her out from under the van, pulling her tight up against my side. Her body moved limply as I swung her around so that her legs would be in the clear – was she conscious? How much damage had I done to her in my impromptu rescue attempt? I let the van drop, now that it could not hurt her. It crashed to the pavement, all the windows shattering in unison. I knew that I was in the middle of a crisis. How much had she seen? Had any other witnesses watched me materialize at her side and then juggle the van while I tried to keep her out from under it? These questions should be my biggest concern. But I was too anxious to really care about the threat of exposure as much as I should. Too panic-stricken that I might have injured her myself in my effort to protect her. Too frightened to have her this close to me, knowing what I would smell if I allowed myself to inhale. Too aware of the heat of her soft body, pressed against mine – even through the double obstacle of our jackets, I could feel that heat†¦ The first fear was the greatest fear. As the screaming of the witnesses erupted around us, I leaned down to examine her face, to see if she was conscious – hoping fiercely that she was not bleeding anywhere. Her eyes were open, staring in shock. â€Å"Bella?† I asked urgently. â€Å"Are you all right?† â€Å"I'm fine.† She said the words automatically in a dazed voice. Relief, so exquisite it was nearly pain, washed through me at the sound of her voice. I sucked in a breath through my teeth, and did not mind the accompanying burn in my throat. I almost welcomed it. She struggled to sit up, but I was not ready to release her. It felt somehow†¦safer? Better, at least, having her tucked into my side. â€Å"Be careful,† I warned her. â€Å"I think you hit your head pretty hard.† There had been no smell of fresh blood – a mercy, that – but this did not rule out internal damage. I was abruptly anxious to get her to Carlisle and a full compliment of radiology equipment. â€Å"Ow,† she said, her tone comically shocked as she realized I was right about her head. â€Å"That's what I thought.† Relief made it funny to me, made me almost giddy. â€Å"How in the†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her voice trailed off, and her eyelids fluttered. â€Å"How did you get over here so fast?† The relief turned sour, the humor vanished. She had noticed too much. Now that it appeared that the girl was in decent shape, the anxiety for my family became severe. â€Å"I was standing right next to you, Bella.† I knew from experience that if I was very confident as I lied, it made any questioner less sure of the truth. She struggled to move again, and this time I allowed it. I needed to breathe so that I could play my role correctly. I needed space from her warm-blooded heat so that it would not combine with her scent to overwhelm me. I slid away from her, as far as was possible in the small space between the wrecked vehicles. She stared up at me, and I stared back. To look away first was a mistake only an incompetent liar would make, and I was not an incompetent liar. My expression was smooth, benign†¦ It seemed to confuse her. That was good. The accident scene was surrounded now. Mostly students, children, peering and pushing through the cracks to see if any mangled bodies were visible. There was a babble of shouting and a gush of shocked thought. I scanned the thoughts once to make sure there were no suspicions yet, and then tuned it out and concentrated only on the girl. She was distracted by the bedlam. She glanced around, her expression still stunned, and tried to get to her feet. I put my hand lightly on her shoulder to hold her down. â€Å"Just stay put for now.† She seemed alright, but should she really be moving her neck? Again, I wished for Carlisle. My years of theoretical medical study were no match for his centuries of hands-on medical practice. â€Å"But it's cold,† she objected. She had almost been crushed to death two distinct times and crippled one more, and it was the cold that worried her. A chuckle slid through my teeth before I could remember that the situation was not funny. Bella blinked, and then her eyes focused on my face. â€Å"You were over there.† That sobered me again. She glanced toward the south, though there was nothing to see now but the crumpled side of the van. â€Å"You were by your car.† â€Å"No, I wasn't.† â€Å"I saw you,† she insisted; her voice was childlike when she was being stubborn. Her chin jutted out. â€Å"Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way.† I stared deeply into her wide eyes, trying to will her into accepting my version – the only rational version on the table. Her jaw set. â€Å"No.† I tried to stay calm, to not panic. If only I could keep her quiet for a few moments, to give me a chance to destroy the evidence†¦.and undermine her story by disclosing her head injury. Shouldn't it be easy to keep this silent, secretive girl quiet? If only she would trust me, just for a few moments†¦ â€Å"Please, Bella,† I said, and my voice was too intense, because I suddenly wanted her to trust me. Wanted it badly, and not just in regards to this accident. A stupid desire. What sense would it make for her to trust me? â€Å"Why?† she asked, still defensive. â€Å"Trust me,† I pleaded. â€Å"Will you promise to explain everything to me later?† It made me angry to have to lie to her again, when I so much wished that I could somehow deserve her trust. So, when I answered her, it was a retort. â€Å"Fine.† â€Å"Fine,† she echoed in the same tone. While the rescue attempt began around us – adults arriving, authorities called, sirens in the distance – I tried to ignore the girl and get my priorities in the right order. I searched through every mind in the lot, the witnesses and the latecomers both, but I could find nothing dangerous. Many were surprised to see me here beside Bella, but all concluded – as there was no other possible conclusion – that they had just not noticed me standing by the girl before the accident. She was the only one who didn't accept the easy explanation, but she would be considered the least reliable witness. She had been frightened, traumatized, not to mention sustaining the blow to the head. Possibly in shock. It would be acceptable for her story to be confused, wouldn't it? No one would give it much credence above so many other spectators†¦ I winced when I caught the thoughts of Rosalie, Jasper and Emmett, just arriving on the scene. There would be hell to pay for this tonight. I wanted to iron out the indention my shoulders had made against the tan car, but the girl was too close. I'd have to wait till she was distracted. It was frustrating to wait – so many eyes on me – as the humans struggled with the van, trying to pull it away from us. I might have helped them, just to speed the process, but I was already in enough trouble and the girl had sharp eyes. Finally, they were able to shift it far enough away for the EMTs to get to us with their stretchers. A familiar, grizzled face appraised me. â€Å"Hey, Edward,† Brett Warner said. He was also a registered nurse, and I knew him well from the hospital. It was a stroke of luck – the only luck today – that he was the first through to us. In his thoughts, he was noting that I looked alert and calm. â€Å"You okay, kid?† â€Å"Perfect, Brett. Nothing touched me. But I'm afraid Bella here might have a concussion. She really hit her head when I yanked her out of the way†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Brett turned his attention to the girl, who shot me a fierce look of betrayal. Oh, that was right. She was the quiet martyr – she'd prefer to suffer in silence. She did not contradict my story immediately, though, and this made me feel easier. The next EMT tried to insist that I allow myself to be treated, but it wasn't too difficult to dissuade him. I promised I would let my father examine me, and he let it go. With most humans, speaking with cool assurance was all that was needed. Most humans, just not the girl, of course. Did she fit into any of the normal patterns? As they put a neck brace on her – and her face flushed scarlet with embarrassment – I used the moment of distraction to quietly rearrange the shape of the dent in the tan car with the back of my foot. Only my siblings noticed what I was doing, and I heard Emmett's mental promise to catch anything I missed. Grateful for his help – and more grateful that Emmett, at least, had already forgiven my dangerous choice – I was more relaxed as I climbed into the front seat of the ambulance next to Brett. The chief of police arrived before they had gotten Bella into the back of the ambulance. Though Bella's father's thoughts were past words, the panic and concern emanating out of the man's mind drown out just about every other thought in the vicinity. Wordless anxiety and guilt, a great swell of them, washed out of him as he saw his only daughter on the gurney. Washed out of him and through me, echoing and growing stronger. When Alice had warned me that killing Charlie Swan's daughter would kill him, too, she had not been exaggerating. My head bowed with that guilt as I listened to his panicked voice. â€Å"Bella!† he shouted. â€Å"I'm completely fine, Char – Dad.† She sighed. â€Å"There's nothing wrong with me.† Her assurance barely soothed his dread. He turned at once to the closest EMT and demanded more information. I wasn't until I heard him speaking, forming perfectly coherent sentences despite his panic, that I realized that his anxiety and concern were not wordless. I just†¦could not hear the exact words. Hmm. Charlie Swan was not as silent as his daughter, but I could see where she got it from. Interesting. I'd never spent much time around the town's police chief. I'd always taken him for a man of slow thought – now I realized that I was the one who was slow. His thoughts were partially concealed, not absent. I could only make out the tenor, the tone of them†¦ I wanted to listen harder, to see if I could find in this new, lesser puzzle the key to the girl's secrets. But Bella was loaded into the back by then, and the ambulance was on its way. It was hard to tear myself away from this possible solution to the mystery that had come to obsess me. But I had to think now – to look at what had been done today from every angle. I had to listen, to make sure that I had not put us all in so much danger that we would have to leave immediately. I had to concentrate. There was nothing in the thoughts of the EMTs to worry me. As far as they could tell, there was nothing seriously wrong with the girl. And Bella was sticking to the story I'd provided, thus far. The first priority, when we reached the hospital, was to see Carlisle. I hurried through the automatic doors, but I was unable to totally forgo watching after Bella; I kept an eye on her through the paramedics' thoughts. It was easy to find my father's familiar mind. He was in his small office, all alone – the second stroke of luck in this luckless day. â€Å"Carlisle.† He'd heard my approach, and he was alarmed as soon as he saw my face. He jumped to his feet, his face paling to bone white. He leaned forward across the neatly organized walnut desk. Edward – you didn't – â€Å"No, no, it's not that.† He took deep breath. Of course not. I'm sorry I entertained the thought. Your eyes, of course, I should have known†¦ He noted my still-golden eyes with relief. â€Å"She's hurt, though, Carlisle, probably not seriously, but – â€Å" â€Å"What happened?† â€Å"A stupid car accident. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I couldn't just stand there – let it crush her – â€Å" Start over, I don't understand. How were you involved? â€Å"A van skidded across the ice,† I whispered. I stared at the wall behind him while I spoke. Instead of a throng of framed diplomas, he had one simple oil painting – a favorite of his, an undiscovered Hassam. â€Å"She was in the way. Alice saw it coming, but there wasn't time to do anything but really run across the lot and shove her out of the way. No one noticed†¦except for her. I had to stop the van, too, but again, nobody saw that†¦besides her. I'm†¦I'm sorry Carlisle. I didn't mean to put us in danger.† He circled the desk and put his hand on my shoulder. You did the right thing. And it couldn't have been easy for you. I'm proud of you, Edward. I could look him in the eye then. â€Å"She knows there's something†¦wrong with me.† â€Å"That doesn't matter. If we have to leave, we leave. What has she said?† I shook my head, a little frustrated. â€Å"Nothing yet.† Yet? â€Å"She agreed to my version of events – but she's expecting an explanation.† He frowned, pondering this. â€Å"She hit her head – well, I did that,† I continued quickly. â€Å"I knocked her to the ground fairly hard. She seems fine, but†¦ I don't think it will take much to discredit her account.† I felt like a cad just saying the words. Carlisle heard the distaste in my voice. Perhaps that won't be necessary. Let's see what happens, shall we? It sounds like I have a patient to check on. â€Å"Please,† I said. â€Å"I'm so worried that I hurt her.† Carlisle's expression brightened. He smoothed his fair hair – just a few shades lighter than his golden eyes – and he laughed. It's been an interesting day for you, hasn't it? In his mind, I could see the irony, and it was humorous, at least to him. Quite the reversal of roles. Somewhere during that short thoughtless second when I'd sprinted across the icy lot, I had transformed from killer to protector. I laughed with him, remembering how sure I'd been that Bella would never need protecting from anything more than myself. There was an edge to my laugh because, van notwithstanding, that was still entirely true. I waited alone in Carlisle's office – one of the longer hours I had ever lived – listening to the hospital full of thoughts. Tyler Crowley, the van's driver, looked to be hurt worse than Bella, and the attention shifted to him while she waited her turn to be X-rayed. Carlisle kept in the background, trusting the PA's diagnosis that the girl was only slightly injured. This made me anxious, but I knew he was right. One glance at his face and she would be immediately reminded of me, of the fact that there was something not right about my family, and that might set her talking. She certainly had a willing enough partner to converse with. Tyler was consumed with guilt over the fact that he had almost killed her, and he couldn't seem to shut up about it. I could see her expression through his eyes, and it was clear that she wished he would stop. How did he not see that? There was a tense moment for me when Tyler asked her how she'd gotten out of the way. I waited, not breathing, as she hesitated. â€Å"Um†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he heard her say. Then she paused for so long that Tyler wondered if his question had confused her. Finally, she went on. â€Å"Edward pulled me out of the way.† I exhaled. And then my breathing accelerated. I'd never heard her speak my name before. I like the way it sounded – even just hearing it through Tyler's thoughts. I wanted to hear it for myself†¦ â€Å"Edward Cullen,† she said, when Tyler didn't realize who she meant. I found myself at the door, my hand on the knob. The desire to see her was growing stronger. I had to remind myself of the need for caution. â€Å"He was standing next to me.† â€Å"Cullen?† Huh. That's weird. â€Å"I didn't see him.† I could have sworn†¦ â€Å"Wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?† â€Å"I think so. He's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use a stretcher.† I saw the thoughtful look on her face, the suspicious tightening of her eyes, but these little changes in her expression were lost on Tyler. She's pretty, he was thinking, almost in surprise. Even all messed up. Not my usual type, still†¦ I should take her out. Make up for today†¦ I was out in the hall, then, halfway to the emergency room, without thinking for one second about what I was doing. Luckily, the nurse entered the room before I could – it was Bella's turn for X-rays. I leaned against the wall in a dark nook just around the corner, and tried to get a grip on myself while she was wheeled away. It didn't matter that Tyler thought she was pretty. Anyone would notice that. There was no reason for me to feel†¦how did I feel? Annoyed? Or was angry closer to the truth? That made no sense at all. I stayed where I was for as long as I could, but impatience got the best of me and I took a back way around to the radiology room. She'd already been moved back to the ER, but I was able to take a peek at her x-rays while the nurse's back was turned. I felt calmer when I had. Her head was fine. I hadn't hurt her, not really. Carlisle caught me there. You look better, he commented. I just looked straight ahead. We weren't alone, the halls full of orderlies and visitors. Ah, yes. He stuck her x-rays to the lightboard, but I didn't need a second look. I see. She's absolutely fine. Well done, Edward. The sound of my father's approval created a mixed reaction in me. I would have been pleased, except that I knew that he would not approve of what I was going to do now. At least, he would not approve if he knew my real motivations†¦ â€Å"I think I'm going to go talk to her – before she sees you,† I murmured under my breath. â€Å"Act natural, like nothing happened. Smooth it over.† All acceptable reasons. Carlisle nodded absently, still looking over the x-rays. â€Å"Good idea. Hmm.† I looked to see what had his interest. Look at all the healed contusions! How many times did her mother drop her? Carlisle laughed to himself at his joke. â€Å"I'm beginning to think the girl just has really bad luck. Always in the wrong place at the wrong time.† Forks is certainly the wrong place for her, with you here. I flinched. Go ahead. Smooth things over. I'll join you momentarily. I walked away quickly, feeling guilty. Perhaps I was too good a liar, if I could fool Carlisle. When I got to the ER, Tyler was mumbling under his breath, still apologizing. The girl was trying to escape his remorse by pretending to sleep. Her eyes were closed, but her breathing was not even, and now and then her fingers would twitch impatiently. I stared at her face for a long moment. This was the last time I would see her. That fact triggered an acute aching in my chest. Was it because I hated to leave any puzzle unsolved? That did not seem like enough of an explanation. Finally, I took a deep breath and moved into view. When Tyler saw me, he started to speak, but I put one finger to my lips. â€Å"Is she sleeping?† I murmured. Bella's eyes snapped open and focused on my face. They widened momentarily, and then narrowed in anger or suspicion. I remembered that I had a role to play, so I smiled at her as if nothing unusual had happened this morning – besides a blow to her head and a bit of imagination run wild. â€Å"Hey, Edward,† Tyler said. â€Å"I'm really sorry – â€Å" I raised one hand to halt his apology. â€Å"No blood, no foul,† I said wryly. Without thinking, I smiled too widely at my private joke. It was amazingly easy to ignore Tyler, lying no more than four feet from me, covered in fresh blood. I'd never understood how Carlisle was able to do that – ignore the blood of his patients in order to treat them. Wouldn't the constant temptation be so distracting, so dangerous†¦? But, now†¦ I could see how, if you were focusing on something else hard enough, the temptation was be nothing at all. Even fresh and exposed, Tyler's blood had nothing on Bella's. I kept my distance from her, seating myself on the foot of Tyler's mattress. â€Å"So, what's the verdict?† I asked her. Her lower lip pushed out a little. â€Å"There's nothing wrong with me at all, but they won't let me go. How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?† Her impatience made me smile again. I could hear Carlisle in the hall now. â€Å"It's all about who you know,† I said lightly. â€Å"But don't worry, I came to spring you.† I watched her reaction carefully as my father entered the room. Her eyes widened and her mouth actually fell open in surprise. I groaned internally. Yes, she'd certainly noticed the resemblance. â€Å"So, Miss Swan, how are you feeling?† Carlisle asked. He had a wonderfully soothing beside manner that put most patients at ease within moments. I couldn't tell how it affected Bella. â€Å"I'm fine,† she said quietly. Carlisle clipped her X-rays to the lightboard by the bed. â€Å"Your X-rays look good. Does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard.† She sighed, and said, â€Å"I'm fine,† again, but this time impatience leaked into her voice. Then she glowered once in my direction. Carlisle stepped closer to her and ran his fingers gently over her scalp until he found the bump under her hair. I was caught off guard by the wave of emotion that crashed over me. I had seen Carlisle work with humans a thousand times. Years ago, I had even assisted him informally – though only in situations where blood was not involved. So it wasn't a new thing to me, to watch him interact with the girl as if he were as human as she was. I'd envied his control many times, but that was not the same as this emotion. I envied him more than his control. I ached for the difference between Carlisle and me – that he could touch her so gently, without fear, knowing he would never harm her†¦ She winced, and I twitched in my seat. I had to concentrate for a moment to keep my relaxed posture. â€Å"Tender?† Carlisle asked. Her chin jerked up a fraction. â€Å"Not really,† she said. Another small piece of her character fell into place: she was brave. She didn't like to show weakness. Possibly the most vulnerable creature I'd ever seen, and she didn't want to seem weak. A chuckle slid through my lips. She shot another glare at me. â€Å"Well,† Carlisle said. â€Å"Your father is in the waiting room – you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all.† Her father was here? I swept through the thoughts in the crowded waiting room, but I couldn't pick his subtle mental voice out of the group before she was speaking again, her face anxious. â€Å"Can't I go back to school?† â€Å"Maybe you should take it easy today,† Carlisle suggested. Her eyes flickered back to me. â€Å"Does he get to go to school?† Act normal, smooth things over†¦ignore the way it feels when she looks me in the eye†¦ â€Å"Someone has to spread the good news that we survived,† I said. â€Å"Actually,† Carlisle corrected, â€Å"most of the school seems to be in the waiting room.† I anticipated her reaction this time – her aversion to attention. She didn't disappoint. â€Å"Oh no,† she moaned, and she put her hands over her face. I liked that I'd finally guessed right. I was beginning to understand her†¦ â€Å"Do you want to stay?† Carlisle asked. â€Å"No, no!† she said quickly, swinging her legs over the side of the mattress and sliding down till her feet were on the floor. She stumbled forward, off-balance, into Carlisle's arms. He caught and steadied her. Again, the envy flooded through me. â€Å"I'm fine,† she said before he could comment, faint pink in her cheeks. Of course, that wouldn't bother Carlisle. He made sure she was balanced, and then dropped his hands. â€Å"Take some Tylenol for the pain,† he instructed. â€Å"It doesn't hurt that bad.† Carlisle smiled as he signed her chart. â€Å"It sounds like you were extremely lucky.† She turned her face slightly, to stare at me with hard eyes. â€Å"Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me.† â€Å"Oh, well, yes,† Carlisle agreed quickly, hearing the same thing in her voice that I heard. She hadn't written her suspicions off as imagination. Not yet. All yours, Carlisle thought. Handle it as you think best. â€Å"Thanks so much,† I whispered, quick and quiet. Neither human heard me. Carlisle's lips turned up a tiny bit at my sarcasm as he turned to Tyler. â€Å"I'm afraid that you'll have to stay with us just a little bit longer,† he said as he began examining the slashes left by the shattered windshield. Well, I'd made the mess, so it was only fair that I had to deal with it. Bella walked deliberately toward me, not stopping until she was uncomfortably close. I remembered how I had hoped, before all the mayhem, that she would approach me†¦ This was like a mockery of that wish. â€Å"Can I talk to you for a minute?† she hissed at me. Her warm breath brushed my face and I had to stagger back a step. Her appeal had not abated one bit. Every time she was near me, it triggered all my worst, most urgent instincts. Venom flowed in my mouth and my body yearned to strike – to wrench her into my arms and crush her throat to my teeth. My mind was stronger than my body, but only just. â€Å"Your father is waiting for you,† I reminded her, my jaw clenched tight. She glanced toward Carlisle and Tyler. Tyler was paying us no attention at all, but Carlisle was monitoring my every breath. Carefully, Edward. â€Å"I'd like to speak to you alone, if you don't mind,† she insisted in a low voice. I wanted to tell her that I did mind very much, but I knew I would have to do this eventually. I may as well get on with it. I was full of so many conflicting emotions as I stalked out of the room, listening to her stumbling footsteps behind me, trying to keep up. I had a show to put on now. I knew the role I would play – I had the character down: I would be the villain. I would lie and ridicule and be cruel. It went against all my better impulses – the human impulses that I'd clung to through all these years. I'd never wanted to deserve trust more than in this moment, when I had to destroy all possibility of it. It made it worse to know that this would be the last memory she would have of me. This was my farewell scene. I turned on her. â€Å"What do you want?† I asked coldly. She cringed back slightly from my hostility. Her eyes turned bewildered, the expression that had haunted me†¦ â€Å"You owe me an explanation,† she said in a small voice; her ivory face blanched. It was very hard to keep my voice harsh. â€Å"I saved your life – I don't owe you anything.† She flinched – it burned like acid to watch my words hurt her. â€Å"You promised,† she whispered. â€Å"Bella, you hit your head, you don't know what you're talking about.† Her chin came up then. â€Å"There's nothing wrong with my head.† She was angry now, and that made it easier for me. I met her glare, making my face more unfriendly. â€Å"What do you want from me, Bella?† â€Å"I want to know the truth. I want to know why I'm lying for you.† What she wanted was only fair – it frustrated me to have to deny her. â€Å"What do you think happened?† I nearly growled at her. Her words poured out in a torrent. â€Å"All I know is that you weren't anywhere near me – Tyler didn't see you, either, so don't tell me I hit my head too hard. That van was going to crush us both – and it didn't, and your hands left dents in the side of it – and you left a dent in the other car, and you're not hurt at all – and the van should have smashed my legs, but you were holding it up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Suddenly, she clenched her teeth together and her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. I stared at her, my expression derisive, though what I really felt was awe; she had seen everything. â€Å"You think I lifted a van off you?† I asked sarcastically. She answered with one stiff nod. My voice grew more mocking. â€Å"Nobody will believe that, you know.† She made an effort to control her anger. When she answered me, she spoke each word with slow deliberation. â€Å"I'm not going to tell anybody.† She meant it – I could see that in her eyes. Even furious and betrayed, she would keep my secret. Why? The shock of it ruined my carefully designed expression for half a second, and then I pulled myself together. â€Å"Then why does it matter?† I asked, working to keep my voice severe. â€Å"It matters to me,† she said intensely. â€Å"I don't like to lie – so there'd better be a good reason why I'm doing it.† She was asking me to trust her. Just as I wanted her to trust me. But this was a line I could not cross. My voice stayed callous. â€Å"Can't you just thank me and get it over with?† â€Å"Thank you,† she said, and then she fumed silently, waiting. â€Å"You're not going to let it go, are you?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"In that case†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I couldn't tell her the truth if I wanted to†¦and I didn't want to. I'd rather she made up her own story than know what I was, because nothing could be worse than the truth – I was a living nightmare, straight from the pages of a horror novel. â€Å"I hope you enjoy disappointment.† We scowled at each other. It was odd how endearing her anger was. Like a furious kitten, soft and harmless, and so unaware of her own vulnerability. She flushed pink and ground her teeth together again. â€Å"Why did you even bother?† Her question wasn't one that I was expecting or prepared to answer. I lost my hold on the role I was playing. I felt the mask slip from my face, and I told her – this one time – the truth. â€Å"I don't know.† I memorized her face one last time – it was still set in lines of anger, the blood not yet faded from her cheeks – and then I turned and walked away from her.

Continuing Academic Success Essay

Continuing Academic Success is extremely important to those who plan to make advancements in their chosen career fields. It provides the opportunity to keep current with ideas, techniques, and advancements that are being made in their area of employment. We will address the importance of setting achievable goals, the importance of learning styles in academic success and the validity of ethics and academic integrity in helping to achieve continuing academic and professional success. Setting Goals Distinct, clearly defined goals that can be measured will allow a person to take pride in accomplishing the goals they have set. They are able to see clear forward progress in what otherwise might seem a long drawn out process. Setting goals allows one to choose where they want to go in school or in a career and what they want to achieve. Knowing what they want to achieve, helps them know what they have to concentrate on and improve. Goal setting gives one long-term vision and short-term motivation. By setting goals students and employees can: improve their academic and career performance, increase their motivation to achieve, increase pride and satisfaction in performance and improve their self- confidence. Setting goals and measuring their achievements allow the goal setters to see what they have done and what they are capable of doing. Seeing their results gives them confidence and assurance and motivation they need to believe they can achieve higher goals. Effective goal setting requires one to express goals positively, be accurate, set priorities, keep goals small, set goals one can control and set specific measurable goals. Writing down your goals symbolizes a real commitment to strive to make them reality. My educational goal is to increase pride and satisfaction in performance while studying to obtain my degree. Knowing the importance of writing as a form of communication, it my desire to improve my writing skills in an effort to better express my ideas in a manner that will be clear, coherent and understandable. My career goa is to obtain my Associate’s Degree in Health Care Administration by the summer of 2016. Goal setting provides a positive means to help motivate the learner. Motivation is a necessary part of  providing the learners with initiative and incentive to accomplish the goals they have established. Motivation is that drive or desire to do are accomplish a given task. â€Å"A common lay person’s definition of motivation is that it involves a strong personal interest in a particular subject or activity. Students are motivated and they learn and achieve because of this strong interest.†9 (Linnebrink, 2002)Students and employees are motivated in many different ways but their motivation can vary based upon the situation or context in which they find themselves, (Linnebrink,2002) which means motivation is inherently changeable and sensitive to the context. Motivation will also vary based upon the subject matter being taught. Study results show that students who participate in religious services more frequently usually have a more positive self- image, feel good about school, have parental involvement, have fewer behavior problems and make higher scores. ((Toldson, 2010) Learning Styles Another major factor in the achievement of continuing academic success is the learner’s awareness of their unique learning styles. Learning styles refer to the different strengths and preferred methods students and employees: use to receive and process information. Awareness of their learning styles is most beneficial to them in the achievement of continuing academic success. Learning style is about how the learner learns most effectively, knowing this allows the learners to use those educational methods strategies that is best facilitate their learning styles. Learning styles include, but are not limited to, visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), tactile or Kinesthetic (doing) and reading and writing preference learner’s. No learner’s is limited to one style of learning, but all have a preferred style. Being a kinesthetic learner, I prefer to do, participate in, discover. Kinesthetic learners need to move around while being involved in activities. Involvement doing increases their understanding. These learner’s short and long term memories are strengthened by their use of movement. They use their bodies as a means of expressing thoughts, ideas and concepts. Importance of Ethics & Academic Integrity Ethics-is the study of the basic values of a community; moral principles that  govern a person’s or groups behavior. Through the study of ethics we learn to understand what is expected of us behaviorally and why it is expected of us. We also learn rules of behavior based upon ideas about what is morally good and bad. Academic integrity means honesty and responsibility in scholarship. This includes values such as avoidance of cheating or plagiarism; maintenance of academic standards; honesty and rigor in research and academic publishing. Academic Integrity is based upon ethics, which is the study of the basic value of a community. Academic work should be a result of one’s own effort. It dishonest and show a lack of integrity to claim creativity for someone else’s work in any form. Growing up in a black church has lead me to be exposed to the influence of the black church on the moral and academic development of its students. â€Å"The study explored how religious influence affects academic achievement among black students. On a basic level this study found that all students participated in more religious activities and who had stronger religious convictions were more likely to report higher grades in school. The study does not determine that religion leads to higher grades.† The Ethical Lens Inventory make me aware of the fact that when I don’t have the information I need I’m tempted to excuse myself from following the rules, convincing myself that rules are for other people. In such situations, it is incumbent to remember that I, like everyone else must abide by the rules and regulations because they are set for the good of the community not just for me. Conclusion Continuing Academic Success requires the setting of distinct and clearly defined goals that can be measured. This allows one to choose where they want to go and what they want to achieve. Motivation is an important factor in this process. Awareness of individual learning styles is beneficial in achieving success. And adherence to ethics and academic integrity is a moral responsibility of all who are involved in academic endeavors. References 1. Gokalp, M. (2013, October). The Effect of Student’s Learning Styles to Their Academic Success. Creative Education, 4(10), pgs. 627-632. 2. Linnebrink, E. A., & Pintrich, P. R. (2002). Motivation as an enabler for  academic success. School of Psychology Review, 31(3), pg. 313-328 3. Toldson, Ivory A. & Anderson, Kenneth A. (2010) The Role of Spirituality, Religion and the African American Church on Educational Outcomes (Summer 2010)

Argument Pornography

Wackier focuses his argument on the slippery slope effect, which he claims is a negative effect of the censoring of pornography. In this context, the slippery slope effect Is defined by Historical as A serious risk that once any censorship is allowed, the power to censor will, over time, expand in unintended and undesirable directions (p. 382). This definition along with The fact that it is extremely difficult, If not Impossible, to formulate unequivocal and unambiguous criteria for censorship (Wackier p. 82), Wackier makes the conclusion that [t]he lippies slope effect will eventually.. . Suppress the rights, interests, and values of others (p . 382). I agree with Wassails flirts reason for his argument against the censorship of pornography. I also believe that the censorship of pornography will cause the slippery slope effect. Because the slippery slope effect Is extremely difficult to stop once it has been started, I believe the censorship of pornography will lead to the suppression of many freedoms of expression. When many freedoms of expression are suppressed then censorship no longer effects Just pornography In Longings sense. Therefore, I believe that by censoring pornography citizens of American will most likely have less expressive liberty. I also believe that once Longings definition of pornography Is censored, the slippery slope effect will continually occur, as its name Implies. Thus, the argument of censoring pornography as Longing defines it would cease to exist and the argument of censoring pornography as a less explicit definition than Longings would then take precedence.I believe that the redefining of pornography would continue to occur allowing new censorship arguments to rise. This snowball effect (the slippery lope effect) will eventually Impact numerous aspects of American life that were not intended to be effected by the original argument for censoring pornography. Though I could give several examples that redefining pornography eventually continually redefining pornography will eventually lead to the censorship of education because pornographic material, even as Longing defines it, is di scussed and visually presented in most higher educational institutions.Many college courses could not be taught if it were not for the liberty to openly discuss and watch pornography and all its aspects. If we begin to censor pornography, then the some aspects of the educational system will eventually disappear, such as certain health courses, and students in higher education will be slighted. Second, if pornography continues to be redefined the economy will be impacted. With the slippery slope effect, the definition of pornography will become so strict that many advertisements, movies, and art could not be displayed.The censorship of pornography in the television industry alone could lead to the loss of billions of dollars. More importantly, many artists and photographers who depict certain sexual scenes may e put out of work. So, that is why I believe the slippery slope effect will keep redefining pornography and allowing for the argument of censorship to encroach on many aspects of American life. A second reason Wackier gives for his argument that we should be wary of censoring pornography is that exposure to pornography has a cathartic effect and that it therefore produces a net reduction in harm to women (Wackier p. 83). Wackier further explains [t]his claim [the cathartic claim] is based upon two assumptions, neither of which has proven to be false: (1) Men who are not already violence-prone are ore likely to be Turned off than to be Turned on by depictions of rape, brutality, dismemberment, etc. (2) For men in the later category, exposure to pornography can function as a substitute for actually causing harm (Wackier p. 383). This quote explains Wassails definition of the cathartic effect in the context of pornography, although the cathartic effect can be applied to many aspects of life.I agree with Wassails second reason for why we should be wary of censoring pornography. I believe that people who are not mentally and physically attracted to violence are not mentally or physically attracted to depictions of violence in orangeroot. In addition, I believe that violent depictions in pornography act as an outlet for those people who are attracted physically and mentally to violent depictions in pornography. In other words, I too believe in the cathartic effect.I believe it is important to understand that the only reason an object or idea should be censored is if that object or idea violates an American law, such as the first amendment to the constitution. Although advocates of censorship believe that the Censorship of pornography is a legitimate means of preventing harm to women (Wackier, p. 83) and the fact there are documented cases of pornography leading to violent crime, I believe laws censoring pornography, as Longing defines it, should not be made.I believe this because by making censorship laws for pornography, as Longing defines it, a citizens rights and liberties will be infringed upon instead of being protected. Laws are made in America for many reasons, but for the most part, they are made to protect the rights and liberties of a citizen, which are outlined by the constitution, and these laws are made with the majority of citizens in mind. By read, use, or watch whatever they choose. The first amendment right, which includes freedom of speech, may be infringed upon.More importantly, I believe it is invalid to make censorship laws for pornography Just because a hundred or even a thousand cases of violent pornographic rape scenes were acted out. It is most likely that those people involved in those cases will still act out violent depictions of rape once pornog raphy is censored. Therefore, we should be wary about censoring pornography because it will only hinder our rights and liberties and it will not prohibit violent rape scenes from being depicted.That is why I agree with Wassails second reason for being wary of censoring pornography and believe we should be careful in the pornography censorship laws we make because they will not necessarily protect our rights and liberties as citizens. In this paper, I have shown that Mark Wackier believes the slippery slope effect will greatly impact American life because the slippery slope effect will lead to the constant redefining of pornography.I have also shown that the cathartic effect is a valid argument for why we should be wary about the censorship of pornography because it shows that censorship laws will to necessarily prohibit violent depictions of rape from being acted out and that our rights and liberties, such as the first amendment, will be infringed upon. I have supported those reasons with my own belie fs and logical reasoning. Thus, making both the slippery slope effect and the cathartic effect valid reasons for why Wackier and myself believe we should be wary of censoring pornography.It is essential to ask whether or not the issue impedes on an American value or violates a law. I have shown in this paper, through Wassails reasons as well as my own, that we should be wary about the censorship of pornography. Mark Wackier argues that we should be very wary about the censorship of pornography, even if pornography, as Helen Longing defines it, exists. In order to fully understand Wassails reason for being wary of the censorship of pornography it is important that we use Helen Longings definition of pornography.Helen Longing defines pornography as distinguishing characteristic The degrading and demeaning portrayal of the role Helen Longings definition can be used as the basis of numerous arguments dealing censorship of pornography is that negative side effects are likely to occur if he slippery slope effect is defined by Wackier as A serious risk that once any extremely difficult, if not impossible, to formulate unequivocal and unambiguous others (p. 382). I agree with Wassails first reason for his argument against the censorship of slippery slope effect.Because the slippery slope effect is extremely difficult to stop are suppressed then censorship no longer effects Just pornography in Longings I also believe that once Longings definition of pornography is censored, the slippery slope effect will continually occur, as its name implies. Thus, the argument lope effect) will eventually impact numerous aspects of American life that were not effects American life, I will give only two examples: education and economy.

American history 1492-1865 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

American history 1492-1865 - Essay Example Numerous historians and novelists delve into the analysis of the civil war while focussing on various battles to paint a realistic image of events as they were. However, they lack consensus on issues that run deep and are pertinent to the motivation, reasons, and outcomes of the war. While there were numerous fronts of confrontation during the American civil war, this paper focusses on Gettysburg owing to the magnitude of the battle and outcomes. In addition, this paper employs the works of David Moore, Michael Shaara, and Edwin Coddington for the purposes of different opinions and from the viewpoints of various characters involved in the war. The named scholars are renowned for their quality analysis of historical events, which places their work at ease among their peers owing to significant research accompanied by lengthy bibliography essays. The scholars are in consensus about whom the participants in the battle of Gettysburg are, and have been accorded enormous analysis based on their conduct during the war. The battle involved a confrontation of enormous magnitude between union and confederate forces at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1863. The battle lasted three days and resulted in heavy casualties from either side before the confederates were forced into a retreat and subsequent surrender. In line with participants, well detailed biographies by the scholars illustrate the kind of leadership provided by the then generals during the civil war. The characters of great importance during the Gettysburg confrontation include General George Meade of the Union faction and General Robert Lee who led the confederate soldiers. While over 160,000 soldiers engaged in the battle, the confederates had fewer men compared to the Union front. The scholars share different opinions on the opposing sides with a clear inclination of whom they would support. An in-depth look at Coddington’s ‘The Gettysburg Campaign’, although not clearly stated his tilt towar ds the Union forces is revealed as the writer engages the reader in a detailed narration of the events. Coddington’s account of the campaign is regarded as a fine volume of events as they were and as such, it has been highly influential in shaping how society thinks of the battle. Moreover, Coddington’s analysis depicts a rough image of the generals that led the battle giving rise to different sentiments on his account. The writer cites the mistakes made by the confederate generals during the three-day battle while bravery is illustrated for officers involved in the repulsion of the Pickett’s charge. It is the writer’s belief that the Union’s victory can be attributed to General Lee’s contempt of his opponents, overconfidence, and poor organisation (Coddington 680). In essence, Coddington hold General Lee culpable for the failure to make a decisive strike on the first day of the battle where the writer suggests a different outcome for the en tire confrontation. This take absolves other perspectives such as lack of coordination, firepower, and ill-trained soldiers from all blame and setting it all on General Lee. Unfortunately, the writer’s work has always seized a unique spot among historians leaving almost no room for criticism. It has been argued that the writer relied on the General Lee’s use of the phrase ‘if practicable’ when issuing orders, which is seen as a suggestion rather than an order (Bowden and Ward

Organizational change Part II & III Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Organizational change Part II & III - Essay Example (Program Description, 2008) As drug abuse continues to affect individuals, families, and communities, the need for treatment will remain urgent. At the same time, current federal and state financial trends portend continued and perhaps even increasingly scarce resources. Because of the promise of interorganizational cooperation for improving access, quality, and cost-effectiveness of care (Shortell 2002), understanding what factors lead to such relationships within the drug abuse treatment sector may thus have vital implications for policy makers and managers. Getting lost in the shuffel here is that the ultimate goal of drug addiction treatment is to enable an individual to achieve lasting abstinence, but the immediate goals are to reduce drug abuse, improve the patient's ability to function, and minimize the medical and social complications of drug abuse and addiction. Like people with diabetes or heart disease, people in treatment for drug addiction will need to change behavior to adopt a more healthful lifestyle. Untreated substance abuse and addiction add significant costs to families and communities, including those related to violence and property crimes, prison expenses, court and criminal costs, emergency room visits, healthcare utilization, child abuse and neglect, lost child support, foster care and welfare costs, reduced productivity, and unemployment. (National Sruvey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 200

Cellular Enviroment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cellular Enviroment - Assignment Example 16-17). According to McCance & Huether (2010), cellular swelling is the initial sign of cell injury; triggered by direct damage to the cell membrane, hypoxia, or damage to the electrolyte-pumping enzymes. The most common cause of cellular injury is hypoxia, which disrupts the cell’s capability of maintaining fluid homeostasis due to deficiency in oxygen. The main cellular mechanisms of cell injury include loss of calcium homeostasis, ATP depletion, oxidative stress, damage to mitochondria, and increases permeability of membranes. These adaptive mechanisms thus fail to maintain normal homeostasis, leading to a fall in oxidative phosphorylation. This triggers the depletion of cellular ATP and the swelling of mitochondria. What follows next is the failure of membrane calcium pumps, protein synthesis, NaK ATPase pump, and generation of reactive oxygen metabolites. This leads to an influx of Na+ and water, efflux of K+, entry of free calcium into the cytoplasm, and a drop in intracellular pH. This results to accumulation of water into the cell triggered by failure of membrane NaK ATPase pump, and cellular swelling due to swelling of endoplasmic reticulum (p. 54-92). Cellular swelling during the early stages is a reversible lesion, which is non-lethal; however, it becomes reversible if hypoxia persists for some time depending on the oxygen demands of the cell. An irreversible injury leads to cell death, mainly via apoptosis or necrosis. Aging is a gradual deterioration of a mature organism leading to irreversible structural changes as time passes by. According to Brashers (2006), cellular changes facets of aging include hypertrophy, and the weakened capability to undergo mitosis. Cellular function is impaired by the deposition of lipids (lipid peroxidation products), programmed changes in gene expression, damage from free radicals and advanced glycation end products. These

The Ethical Behavior and Decision Making Within An Organization Essay

The Ethical Behavior and Decision Making Within An Organization - Essay Example In my earlier submission, I evinced allegiance to the utilitarian ethics as per which those actions are decisions are considered to be ethical that accrue maximal benefit to the maximum number of people, while allowing for the optimal and efficient utilization of resources. However, over this semester I realized that as my innate understanding of ethics evolved and matured, I concluded that no ethical dogma or principle happens to be a one size fit all dictums. The utilitarian ethics which profess to be sacrosanct in one particular situation may turn out to be problematic in some another mass situation. For instance, during Nazi Germany, the Jews were persecuted and killed because the regime of the time strongly believed that such actions intended to bring happiness to the majority of the Germans. However, in retrospect, nobody harbors the doubt that such actions were not only evil but a viable source of shame for the entire humanity. Such examples forced me to think as to what does it mean by being ethical? Is there a single ethical dogma that fits and suits all the situations? After much brain raking, I came to the conclusion that my idea of ethics stood to be more in consonance with the theory of situational ethics. Eventually what is right and what is wrong, what is ethical and what is unethical depends upon the nature of a particular situation. There exists nothing as universal ethics and each situation has its own ethical norms imminent to it. What is considered to be ethically right may be totally incongruent and inapplicable in a particular situation? Hence, while taking ethical decisions, a leader needs to be amply flexible and open-minded. This does not mean that such an approach must be pliable and open to manipulation. Yet, the ultimate ethical credentials of a leader ought to be dependent on one’s ability to opt for the nobler hypothesis amongst the available choices. For instance, if as a manager I fire an employee because one’s serv ices are not in tandem with the organizational expectations, it would be ethical. However, if I fire an employee because he has not been able to muster his best, as he has a wife suffering from cancer and he needs to take care of his two kids at home, it would be unethical. The nobler choice in this situation will be to extend the options and possibilities to that employee, which allows him to serve the organization while taking care of his domestic responsibilities. I also need to mention that the ethical values to which I owed allegiance to earlier, which are integrity, honesty, charity, and responsibility still stand to be more or less the same. However, the way I perceive and understand these values have indeed achieved much maturity and human consideration. For instance, the value of integrity requires an employee to safeguard organizational information and secrets. Yet, if the imperative of integrity makes a person to safeguard such organizational information, the withholding of which amounts to cheating the customers and shareholders, then safeguarding such information will be totally contrary to the value of integrity. The same stands to be true for the other three values.

Read the Book Cures by Martin Duberman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Read the Book Cures by Martin Duberman - Essay Example In this text, the writer documents his own struggle with his personalized homophobia between 1948 and 1973 when he ultimately manages to become successful, attaining his own freedom as a forthrightly gay person via his engagement with political activism. This is a wonderful book that gives a clear insight into the life of self-confessed gay person, as well as giving us a view of how life is for such persons. On reading the book, I definitely liked every bit of it as it is a reality that most people fear to face, though an emotional one. The writer, first a very bright student, who later became a recognized historian, a successful author and a creative tutor. His remarkable predilection for academic success serves as a harbor away from his libido’s temptation and also as a fortification from his own psyche given to self-hatred and self-doubt when he is not filled with the duty of completing all the several projects at once (34-78). Eventually, after about twenty years of indiff erent failed attempts at relinquishing his homosexuality, we find that be becomes successful, attaining his own freedom as a forthrightly gay person largely via his engagement with political activism. ... Moreover, he captures outstandingly well the complexity as well as the indistinctness of his personal struggle by depicting himself as unquestionably harboring homophobic view whereas, concurrently, experiencing the enjoyment that comes with the homosexual intimacy (67-98). Correspondingly, he paradoxically demonstrates the vainness of the ‘cures’ with tales of his developmental discovery of the subculture of gay and the enjoyment he gets from his experiences of homosexual sex whereas concurrently making trips every week to the psychiatrist who was supposed to help him get out of the ‘pathological’ inclinations or habits. His story clearly demonstrates that, during these twenty years, the secret was the norm. The freedom lobby group was in the hands of just a few whereas the large number of the lesbians and gays all over the country, who were struggling with personal self-hatred and their routine struggle for the physical and psychological survival, always p aid very little attention or were never bothered at all concerning the growing movement for the freedom of an identity that they were dynamically attempting to refute (121-176). Nevertheless, the writer himself, now well acquainted with the facts regarding the history of the liberation of lesbians and gays, does not make any claim to have realized its emergence and developments, to have embraced them on some occasions when he actually realized them, or to have even known their significance as they were growing. His own entrenched denunciation of homosexuality as being a pathological forced him to belittle the efforts of lesbian and gay proponents to gain sight and to fight the stigmatization of the society. The internal struggles of Doberman

There are two short written assignments for this lesson 2.1 Essay

There are two short written assignments for this lesson 2.1 - Essay Example The documents do not satisfactorily promote social justice according to the authors, an area which they deem as fundamental to the nursing practice. Bekeimeier and Butterfield feel that the documents need to have placed more focus on political action and on ways through which nurses can be able to address all underlying factors in the eradication of emerging health problems. With this, the three documents help in ensuring quality healthcare for individual patients that nurses come into contact with, rather than ensuring the quality health of the entire population. From the arguments presented by the two authors, the three documents bring about various social aspects but only mention this at some instances. The weight given on issues related to social justice cannot be compared to that given to issues related to individual patient care. The phrase social justice is reported to have only been used one time in each of the 3 documents, an indication of the value this has been given as co mpared to aspects related to nurse-patient relationships (Bekeimeier & Butterfield, 2005). Based on the arguments presented by the two authors, I strongly agree with their view and believe that more should have been done to promote the role of nurses as political and social leaders as well as advocates. Though the Scope and Standard for Practice document defines nurses as those who play these two roles of leadership and advocacy and in the promotion of social change and reforms towards the improvement of health, the document, just like the other two documents does not focus on how this can be effectively done (ANA, 2010). Having gone through the three documents by ANA, any one would see the evident focal point for the three documents. The amount of information given as guidelines for the nursing practice and that relate to the care and services provided to a patient is overwhelming. There are parts of the documents that touch on public health and the nurses’ involvement in th e promotion of public health, but have only been briefly stated (ANA, 2013). I am in complete agreement with the authors on the issue of collaboration as brought out in the three guide documents. In most cases, collaboration has always been taken to mean different groups of persons working together with one mission, and where each member makes a contribution towards the group. This is however not the concept brought out in the Code of Ethics, where collaboration during patient care would be taken to mean nurses working with patients and other related parties such as families and the surrounding community to promote quality care and treatment as well as overall promotion of complete health for all. The Code of Ethics, in this case brings out collaboration to mean the involvement of the patient in being part of the decision making process (ANA, 2013). This definition shifts the focus of the document from the social aspect to what most parts of the documents focus on; an individual pat ient. I also concur with the two on their view that the generalization of the term patient to refer to the

Christmas past Essay Example for Free

Christmas past Essay Ebenezer Scrooge is a tightfisted miser who has only one purpose in life, to extort as much money and profit he can from anything and everything. As with all things, too much of one thing is bad for you; Scrooges miserly ways are catching up with him. His cheap ways have not brought him any friends, quite the contrary; they have brought him derision and scorn. He was thought of as a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, selfish, covetous old sinner! As we can see, he wasnt a very pleasant person, but that is to be expected of people who work around money all their lives. Money became more than a possession to Scrooge, all his coins were his little children. He kept them safe in their strongboxes. To give away but one petty coin, would have been asking Scrooge to give away part of his soul. He was greedy and crooked to the bone. He was a cold heartless man No warmth could warm No wind that blew was bitter than he. Scrooge hated the idea that on Christmas day his workers were allowed the day off and Scrooge still had to pay their wages. A poor excuse for picking a mans pocket every twenty-fifth of December. Scrooge dislikes people who try and raise money to help the poor, when the charity workers tell Scrooge some poor people would rather die than work in a workhouse Scrooge replies. If they would rather die They had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. This quote shows that Scrooge doesnt care about other people apart from himself. He doesnt care that other people are worse off than he is and he doesnt care if they die. If I could work my will Every idiot who goes about with merry Christmas should be boiled with his own pudding. This is a quote from Scrooge before the ghosts visit him. It shows that Scrooge doesnt like Christmas and doesnt like other people enjoying themselves at Christmas. Scrooge wasnt just miserable and bad tempered at Christmas; he was like that all year round. These famous lines were uttered by Scrooge on Christmas Eve, 7 years to the day, of his old partner, Jacob Marleys death. Then as Scrooge was about to enter his marvelously slum-like mansion, he looked at his doorknocker, and nearly fainted dead away with fright. Scrooge saw in the knocker not a knocker, but Marleys face. Bad omens breed ill times to come, and this was most definitely a bad omen. As Scrooge looked fixedly at this phenomenon, it was a knocker again. Scrooge just thought it was the dark playing with his mind. Darkness was cheap and Scrooge liked it. When Scrooge sat down by the small fire the cellar floor blew open with a booming sound, still Scrooge wouldnt believe anything strange was happening. Its still humbug I wont believe it. When the ghost of Marley appears before Scrooge he still doesnt accept what hes seeing. The ghost asks Scrooge Why do you doubt your senses? Scrooge replies, Because a little thing effects them theres more of gravy than of grave about you. Marleys ghost explains to Scrooge that he is forced to travel around the world; he sees people suffering and cant do anything to help them. Marleys ghost explains to Scrooge that he is forced to do this in death because of the way he was in life. Marley tells Scrooge that his punishment after life will be even greater because Scrooge was just as bad as Marley and has had an extra seven years of life to do bad things. Marley told Scrooge that unless he changes his ways he will be punished. He tells Scrooge that three spirits will visit him. Expect the first tomorrow when the bell tolls one. The ghost of Christmas past was a strange figure. Its hair hung about its neck and was white as if with age. Its arms were very long and muscular. It had a lustrous belt around its waist and was holding a branch of fresh green holy in its hand. You are one of those whos passion made this cap, and force me through whole trains of years. The ghost said to Scrooge. Meaning because of people like Scrooge the ghost has to visit them. The ghost of Christmas past took Scrooge to the place where he grew up. They saw travelers; Scrooge knew and named every one of them. Why did his cold eye glisten Why did his heart leap as they went past. The ghost then took Scrooge to his old school; he was the only child left there. All the other children had gone back home to their families for Christmas. The ghost then took Scrooge to a house were a young Scrooge was reading a book by a weak fire. Some actors visited young Scrooge and performed a play for him. Scrooge remembered how lonely he was and how happy the actors made him feel. There was a boy singing a Christmas Carol at my door last night.

Malaysias Microeconomic And Macroeconomic Environment Marketing Essay

Malaysias Microeconomic And Macroeconomic Environment Marketing Essay This chapter will discuss Malaysias microeconomic and macroeconomic environment to help the proponents know how much market potential they could have as they launch their product in the country. This chapter includes the countrys economic conditions, business environment and the consumer expenditure of Malaysians. In addition, this chapter also discusses the market segment that the proponents would like to target to fit as the users of the product. An analysis for the industry and the competitors are also discussed to determine the probabilities of success of the product. Malaysia practices a federal parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch is elected every five years from among the tribal elders of peninsular Malaysia. Malaysia has three branches of government including the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary. These authorities serve as the separation of powers for a division of tasks to be performed in the country. The Executive branch consists of the Head of State and referred to as the King for having ceremonial duties. The Legislative branch consists of the bicameral parliament which comprises the House of Representatives. The member-parties of the National Front coalition form the government. The Lower House is composed of 222 members elected for five years from single member districts. 70 members of the Senate serve 3-year terms, with 26 of them elected by the state legislatures and 44 of them being appointed by the monarch or the King in the Prime Ministers recommendation. The Judicial branch consists of the Federal Court, Court of Appeals and high courts. Source: http://www.malaysia.gov.my and Euromonitor International Malaysias subdivisions comprise of 13 states and three federal territories including Kuala Lumpur, Labuan Island and Putrajaya. A chief minister heads each state for having its own assembly and government. Nine out the states have hereditary rulers titled sultans and four states have governors in counterpart positions. Source: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2777.htm The Constitution of Malaysia was established on the 31st of August in the year 1957, which commenced on the date of the nations independence. The Federal Constitution of Malaysia has its basis from the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya. This will serve as a way to protect the country in having laws as basis to follow, connected to the authorities of the branches of the government. Source: http://www.malaysia.gov.my The king of Malaysia is Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin who has been the Head of State starting December 2006. 140 seats were won by the National Front while 31 seats went to The Peoples Justice Party. 28 seats were won by the Democratic Action Party and 23 seats by the Islamic Party. Najib Abdul Razak has been Malaysias Prime Minister since April 2009. Source: Euromonitor International Economic The economy of Malaysia according to Global Market Information Database is in a strong condition and expected to have faster progress where the officials are hoping for its performance boost when it comes to developments in manufacturing activities with a 60% target by 2020 in Gross Domestic Products for services. Economic Prospects According to Global Market Information Database, real GDP is expected to increase 6.7% in 2010, showing its fastest growth yet in several years for the first half of the year but the growth is expected to remain above 5.0% as domestic demand grows stronger to continue recovery. This increase got its support from stronger exports, particularly to China. The demand domestically will increase sooner due to better market conditions when it comes to labor, thus having an effect to increase the spending of the private consumers. Malaysia, just like in the Philippines, is known for their workers providing labor services. The countrys unemployment rate decreased to 3.4% in 2010 from 3.6% in 2009. Most of the workforces are sent in manufacturing division. However, the performance for workforce is poorly trained but workers from Indonesia and Vietnam are cheaper if to be compared, making the government work on this for improvement. In this case, the government has been investing heavily to improve income disparities in several regions. This activity will be continued until 2025. The progress for the projects during period of economic weakness may be slowed due to prioritizing of activities. Government Finance and Market Potential According to Global Market Information Database, government deficit rose to 7.5% of GDP due to programs they implement. In return, their spending with the help of fiscal consolidation will work together to lessen then 2010 deficit. Public debt will have its tendency to rise during the next several years, jumping from 52.5% in 2009 to 41.5% in 2008, equivalent to RM 354,266 million in 2009. However, interest rates would ease and found to be manageable. To withstand all the expenses, the government has the oil and gas industry of the country to support almost half of the revenues of the government. They also invest to achieve developments when it comes to manufacturing by having higher value added activities, encouraging service sector expansion. As an overview, Malaysias economic performance is impressive due to private investment recovery and offsetting expenses of the government. However, Total trade (exports plus imports) exceeded GDP, leaving the country especially vulnerable to the effects of the global recession. To boost economic growth and to attain stock market stabilization, the government acts by having two stimulus programs implemented and the funds will be used to help credit-starved firms, boost spending, support equity investment and fund off-budget projects. The indicators of business environment shows Malaysias rank when it comes to ease of doing business, together with different information relevant and needed to be considered when opening a business in the country. From the table, it shows time or duration estimates as you open or closes a business, duration for permits and taxes, importing and exporting and tax rates. These estimates may vary from time to time for these factors are considered to be uncontrollable and are changeable, depending on the government of Malaysias decisions. From the table, it shows an increase and a decrease of percentage throughout the years in Malaysias economic performance. If the inflation rate rises, this means that prices of goods are subject to change and rise, resulting as a factor to lower expenditure or consumption of consumers. Between years 2007 to 2008, there is an abrupt change in the percentage with a difference of 3.4%, resulting to change of high prices. But for the last two years for 2010 to 2011, there is an increase in percentage but not as bad as the performance over the former years to ease better consumption of the consumers. The table above shows Malaysias GDP performance. Malaysias GDP rose starting from 2009 to 2011 which is a great value if to compare to the value from former years. Higher GDP connotes a good performance in monetary value of all the goods and services being produced in the country. In this case, Malaysian citizens have the ability to procure or spend goods as the government takes its toll to improve and develop the countrys overall performance in goods and services. Malaysias Gross National Income performance in the latest years managed to increase except for the year 2009 where it decreased. GNI is the wealth in terms of monetary value of a country that it earned from all its economic activities, either products or services, throughout the world. In this case, even if it decreased in 2009, it managed to recover as it increased in 2010 which is even greater than the year before it stumbled down. This shows that the economy of Malaysia managed to do well not only covering the country alone itself but also with its transactions all over the world. The data above shows the consumption expenditure of Malaysians and the expenditure by resident households that can serve as a basis and information for La Me Sa. The consumption expenditure of Malaysian citizens increased consistently, which means that as years go by, they still have the ability to spend goods for either their needs or wants. La Me Sa is categorized as a furniture yet it has a function which supports high technology electronic gadgets specifically desktop and portable computers used at home. The data above shows the consumer expenditure of Malaysians in household goods and services where home furniture enters in this category. The way Malaysians spend for home furnishings increased consistently as well which shows a good demand indicator for La Me Sa. Since the product is connected to computers, possessions of computers by households shown in Table 2.11 shows that it also increased consistently due to changes in high technology which make life easier, faster and more productive. Investment According to GMID, Malaysias performance shows a low level when it comes to investments. The government then suggests having a remedy for such deficiencies for the investment division by thinking of other roles for public companies in order to compete with private sectors and to fit to investment climate. However, the foreign investment in manufacturing began to recover in 2010 as manufacturing covers 28.2% of GDP and employs 7.7% of the workforce and US$2 billion is expected to be committed in the next two years, including nearly US$300 million in retail investment.   To encourage investment, the government has granted a ten-year exemption on venture capital and introduced investment incentives in certain regions. This was followed in 2009 by the elimination of local-equity requirements for investors in various parts of the service sector. Foreign Trade According to GMID, Exporters struggled as a result of the global slowdown, particularly due to its effects on the worlds electronic markets. Total exports contracted in 2009 for the first time in eight years. Policy makers are working to boost domestic demand and wean the economy off its dependence on exports. Exports of machinery and transport equipment accounted for 46.5% of total exports in 2009. Singapore, the USA and EU-27 are Malaysias largest export markets, making up 14.0%, 11.0% and 10.9% respectively in 2009. The current account surplus in 2010 will be 14.7% of GDP and slip to 13.8% in 2011. Demographics According to Global Market Information Database, the population of Malaysia grew at an average rate of 2.3% per year and reached 28.6 million in 2010. This is an increase of 10.5 million in two decades. The median age is gradually rising in between ages 24-26 while the mean age is also gradually rising in between ages 27-28. According to United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, The rank of Malaysia is 43 when categorized in the number of population of countries in the world. Its rank among ASEAN countries is 6. Over the review period, the countrys population increased by more than 31% with solid growth recorded in all age groups, and that growth is expected to continue over the forecast period. By 2015, the projected population of Malaysias will reach more than 30.7 million. A lot of factors can affect a countrys population. These factors include the net migration of people from a country into another country and even the birth and death rate of the country. Aside from these, the lifestyles of people living in a country changes rapidly as well due to changes of preferences may it be about healthy living or the environment itself that they live in to. From the data above about the changes in population, there is a great shift in number of deaths in between years 2006 to 2011 for increasing consistently. However, in live births, numbers are both increasingly and decreasingly changing as well as in net migration. Live births decreased due to the decision of the people when it comes to marriage where they decide to marry in their later years and have just enough or fewer children. According to Global Market Information Database, Malaysias population continued to undergo an aging process during the review period. From the data above about the population of Malaysia by age, the number of people with ages 80 and above also grew. One of the reasons for a longer life expectancy is because of the improvement about the health care system in the country. There has been an increase in awareness in the country when it comes to healthier products and healthier lifestyle. The government also makes great efforts to ensure that they know the medical resources and alternatives available to them. In this case of increasing numbers in old age, consumer behavior also changes and the products entering the market change to fit for what the old-aged people would need. Obviously, products differ through ages. Middle-aged people would be into fashion, portable consumer electronic products due to rapid changes when it comes to technology and fast food. This just means that every age category has different preferences in which the market should offer something to consumers to fit their needs and wants The ratio for the population of males and females remains substantially the same. The population for males is increasing consistently, as well as for the females. Even though the population for both genders increases throughout the years, the number doesnt really change too much when it comes to differences. Men and women have totally different buying behavior due to needs and wants but changes have been occurring because most marketers and manufacturers are now seeking to sell products that would fit for both genders such as gadgets and other electronic products. The population for urban area is increasing consistently from 2006 up to 2011 while the population for rural area is decreasing consistently starting 2007 up to 2011. This is because of a lot of job opportunities booming in the cities of Malaysia especially urban areas where different industries are starting to get expansions. Just like any other countries, the population is undergoing urbanization rapidly. If a place has a lot of people and a lot of businesses are opening in a place in different industry types, these just mean that the place will have much more to offer for the people residing in the place. These people could either be in need of jobs or will serve as consumers who will choose in a wide range of varieties offered in the market. In this case, there are lots of differences between urban and rural areas, and the people living in the areas. Moreover, people residing in urban areas are most likely to influence and give exposure to the people residing in rural areas. After showing the demographics of Malaysia in general and totality as categorized by age, gender, urban and rural areas and key factors that affect changes of population, the data above shows the number of households in Malaysia and followed by percentages of households that possess computers that would fit as the possible users of the La Me Sa. It shows that the rates are consistently increasing throughout the years because of abrupt changes and upgrades when it comes to technology. This contributes as a great factor for the benefits and usage of La Me Sa. In Malaysia, the cultures present are adapted from different cultures from other countries including Malay, Chinese, Indian, Eurasian and even groups from North Borneo. In effect, a unified Malaysian culture is emerging in the country and the celebrations come together such as Chinese New Year, Moon Cake Festival and Hari Raya Puasa. Just like in the Philippines, they also celebrate Christmas but their celebration is only celebrated in a small scale due to a lesser number in populations who are Christians. Christmas is still treated as a public holiday as they also perk up their homes and business establishments with colorful decorations to experience the holiday atmosphere. Source: http://www.worldtravel4indians.com/malaysia/festivals-in-malaysia.html http://allmalaysia.info/msiaknow/festivals/christmas.asp Since a lot of cultures influenced the culture in totality of Malaysia, Malaysias cuisines are blended from different classes. Meals such as rice and noodles are the popular dishes in the country. However, since there are different religions, Muslims in particular are forbidden to eat pork but are a favorite dish for the Chinese and Buddhists are mostly vegetarian. Just like in the Philippines, Malaysians are also known for their hospitality with their guests as they offer food as a welcome. The usual drink offered is tea or coffee with small snacks. Religions Almost all the religions present in the world are present in Malaysia including Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism. Each religion shows different presence in the society, having strong sense in terms of practices, making it easier for the people to identify having the same religion. In Malaysia, the government is concerned with Muslim practices for having Islam as the highest percentage of all the religions in the country with 60%. Muslims holy place is called the National Mosque located in Kuala Lumpur in the year 1965. For the Christians who cover 10% in percentage, there are churches built for prayers, built as their holy place while temples are also built especially for Buddhists. Source:  Culture of Malaysia history, people, clothing, traditions, women, beliefs, food, customs, family  http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/Malaysia.html#ixzz1DjTxtna0 Technology as a Culture According to Global Market Information Database, the Malaysian government has been active with the updates about high technology, specifically computers and the internet for bringing these to schools, businesses and government agencies as tools to be used to introduce them to modern information age. Usage of internet is also sorted for either public use or just home connectivity, since most of the households have their computers with enabled internet services. This caused the increase in computer and internet users and business establishments offering services that would cater the needs of the consumers. These services include internet service providers, wireless services and developed broadband services. Because technology is now a part of the culture of the country just like in any other countries, La Me Sa would fit well as a product to be used together with these updating technology and in demand use for gadgets and computers, may it be for school, for business or even government purposes. Technological When it comes to technology, Malaysia makes it sure to be updated with the latest updates when it comes to gadgets and other electronic products. According to Global Market Information Database, Malaysias consumer expenditure when it comes to communications, televisions, media, telephones, computers, the internet and electronic gadgets increased in percentages. One of the fastest growing mobile telecommunications market in Southeast Asia belongs to Malaysia for reaching 71.2% in 2008 when it comes to total telecom revenues compared to 51% in 2003. Communications is an important role for a country especially to fill in business relationships in different industries. Through high technology services, it will be easier to do business transactions for faster services and results. Aside from the normal calls and sending SMS to other subscribers, telecommunications companies now offer mobile internet to easily communicate for either personal or business purposes. In this case, a persons work would be more productive for saving time to do something more important. Expenses for this category in totality have increased but for individual benefits, each of the users gets to save money, especially when it comes to habitual communications and international uses. Aside from telecommunications, the use of computers and the internet increased abruptly as well just like in any other countries in todays generation. The number of computer and internet users in Malaysia grew from nearly 5 million users in 2000 to more than 12 million users in 2007. This growth is about 144% and is consistently increasing throughout the years. Aside from the computers and the internet, more high technology electronic products are being in demand in the country such as portable electronic products, laptops and different kinds of on the go gadgets and easy keep gadgets due to wireless, portability and convenience features offered by service providers where competition in the said industry is starting to grow. Just like what the proponents discussed about technology being a part of the culture of the Malaysian, La Me Sa is a good choice of product to introduce in the market of Malaysia featuring technology and furniture industries. Target Market Profiling Description of Target Market The proponents would like to focus on households, residing a 25-34 year old male or female in Kuala Lumpur with a disposable income above $15,000 as their target market segment for La Me Sa. The proponents will not base or focus their target market to students. The students may be some of the end users of the product but the age range preferred are the people who are able to buy the product. Furthermore, businessmen or businesswomen, people with jobs such us for office works are also fit as users and are capable of buying the product. The population of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia consistently increases. The proponents choose Kuala Lumpur as the target market city not only because of the consistently increasing number of population or being the highest in terms of population, but also because it is the city where most business opportunities are present. If a lot of business establishments are present in Kuala Lumpur, this just means that there will be a lot of jobs to be offered for the Malaysian citizens, making them earn money to be able to spend for their needs and wants. Given the population for Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur, the proponents used the data to get the percentage of Kuala Lumpur in the country. Since the population for different age ranges in Malaysia is also given, the proponents used the percentage of Kuala Lumpur to multiply it with the population by age to set apart the data only for the city. Even though the percentage of Kuala Lumpur as a whole is decreasing, the population for the age range chosen by the proponents as target market is increasing consistently. The data for the population density in Malaysia or the population per unit area is also shown where throughout the years, it boosts constantly in terms of number of people in an area. Consistently increasing number of population could mean greater possibility or chance to have more consumers fit for the product. Connected with this factor, a greater impact would be present if these people in the given age range are earning money for having jobs. The technology nowadays, based on everyday experiences and lifestyles are seen to be a necessity already and according to Global Market Information Database, middle-aged consumers are mostly to spend their money in high technology gadgets and products. The proponents will focus on households with annual disposal income of over $15,000 and above. Due to lack of data where the disposable income corresponds to specific ages, the proponents considered the data for Malaysia in totality as a basis. It shows that households with the chosen disposable income are not increasing consistently. Between years 2008 and 2009, the disposable income of Malaysians dropped abruptly but managed to increase for the year 2010. The good thing about the given data is that the performance in terms of income got better because it will increase well for the present year which is 2011. This means that it is getting more progressive if to be compared with the past years, making them able to spend more of what they need and want. Psychographic and Behavior 25-34 year olds in Malaysia are increasing in number not only for the whole Malaysia but for Kuala Lumpur itself, which is what the proponents have chosen. It is forecasted to increase and would cover 25% in total population by 2015. From the Euromonitor Internationals report in their Population and Homes category for Malaysia, it has been mentioned that the said age range would increase further in the future. Another report under categories of Technology, Communications and Media and Consumer Trends and Lifestyles, there is a significant increase in number of middle aged consumers together with their disposable income. They served as a positive influence when it comes to sale of products including in-home consumer electronic products in particular. Being bachelors or bachelorettes and having a job while living in the city, middle aged consumers are also those people who tend to spend time with their families or deciding to start a family. Because of these behaviors and lifestyles, the middle aged consumers are known to be investing well when it comes to household durables, appliances and different home-related and home-improvement products and services. Middle-aged Malaysians are already far more conservative in their spending habits than younger consumers, and the thought that new economic hard times are on the horizon could prompt many to curtail their spending even more. To connect this with the product of the proponents, La Me Sa will serve as a furniture that is good for lesser space but has a lot of features and benefits and would fit to users as they wish for high technology gadgets even more because of the fast-paced lifestyle nowadays, together with other communication industries such providing internet, specifically wireless, to be used with the gadgets are starting to grow and the smaller but more powerful, much better thought counts. The table above shows market shares of companies in home furnishings industry in Malaysia. It shows that there are a lot of companies competing with each other in the same industry. However, the IKEA leads the market share together with the next three companies. The rest of the companies mentioned are far from the shares the company leaders have. For the Philippines, there are no companies indicated in Global Market Information Database but it shows an article about Cebu as a pre-recession furniture manufacturing center and is dependent on exports to US by exporting well-designed middle to high-end furniture. Cebu has been producing some of the finest furniture on the market, and manufacturers there introduced many of the industrys most celebrated very Filipino designs innovations, including the use of indigenous Cebu raw materials like rattan, buri, stone craft (using Cebu limestone), cane and iron and, most recently, abaca. Furniture made in Cebu was highly prized, and for many years manufacturers reaped the benefits associated with the booming US housing market. However, looking to meet demand in their fast-growing domestic market, players in the Middle East have now built new manufacturing facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Dubai and have lured away many of Cebus out-of-work finishers/polishers, craftsmen and other highly skilled workers. Home Furnishing Companies in Malaysia IKEA Malaysia Strategic Direction Grand Teak is planning to improve its sales, competitiveness and increase its brand image among consumers by aggressively promoting new products and introducing new trends and innovative ideas with better functions from its range of products to suit every customers needs. Capabilities The company specializes in producing innovative and quality house ware and home furnishings, targeting every consumer with low prices. Production The company has no production facilities in Malaysia and most of the products are imported to cater the demands of the Malaysian consumers. Competitive Positioning The company has a wide product portfolio specializing and innovating unique ideas in house ware and home furnishings. It maintains a well-established worldwide distribution network with expertise to constantly listen and understand consumers requirements and demands. The company is expected to increase its sales and improve its performance by introducing and retailing better varieties of products in its stores. Market Segmentation As a manufacturer and a retailer, Grand Teak positions itself in the middle and lower segments of the market for both house ware and home furnishings. Market Share Grand Teak is the market leader in home furnishings in Malaysia with a share of 6% and is expected to grow steadily due to its unique and innovative designs, ideas and the affordable prices of its products. Its current rank in home furnishings in Malaysia is number 1. Source: Euromonitor International Macy Home Furnishings Strategic Direction Macy Home Furnishings is expected to display better sales and demand due to its brand name and its establishment in Malaysia as one of the pioneer brands in home furnishings and retailing by seeking to capture a bigger share of the market as it improves further its brand name and expand its range of products offered to consumers. IKEA is Macy Home Furnishings main competitor which retails similar products. The company is now introducing better varieties and lower prices with promotions for its products Capabilities Beside fabrics, the company also offers a comprehensive range of home furnishings accessories and provides services including interior consultancy, expert advice and practical guides to professional tailoring. Production As an importer and retailer company, the company mostly imports its products from neighboring countries to minimize costs. The company distributes imports and retails various home furnishing products throughout Malaysia from its outlets and does not produce any products of its own in Malaysia. Competitive Positioning The company not only specializes in home furnishing products but it also has other interests. It is also involved in providing new trends, home decoration ideas and solutions for interior decoration in order to cater to a wider range of consumers with its products and services. Market Share The company currently ranks second in terms of home furnishings shares in Malaysia with an overall 5.8% share. Its share has been growing due to high demand and the success of its strategic ideas in boosting its overall sales. Source: Euromonitor International Lumbermart Strategic Direction The company has its reputation as a renowned quality floor specialist for homes. The companys objective is to establish itself as the leader in providing quality floor boards and floor furnishings made from quality wood for both commercial and non-commercial use. Capabilities The company is exclusively tied to the Swedish company Bona, and can access to the latest equipment and technology in floor materials and maintenance and continuous RD and international training. Production The company has manufacturing facilities located in Selangor in Malaysia. The primary function of the manufacturing plants is to manufacture high quality wooden floor and materials for the residential and commercial building sectors. Competitive Positioning The company is the only one that deals with wooden flooring at all stages and has customized installation and precision manufacturing facilities that