COMPERATIVE STUDY TO DETERMINE THE BEST DIANOSTIC IMAGE MODALITY IN Essay

COMPERATIVE STUDY TO DETERMINE THE BEST DIANOSTIC IMAGE MODALITY IN PERIPHERAL ARTERIAL DISEASE (PAD) - Essay Example Like pathology in the coronary supply routes, the pathologic sign of the injuries includes plaques of atherosclerosis with calcium affidavit, diminishing of the media, sketchy pulverization of muscle and flexible strands, discontinuity of the inside versatile lamina, and thrombi made out of platelets and fibrin (Duerschmied et al., 2006, 310-315). As indicated by insights depicted in various articles, the essential locales of association are the stomach aorta and iliac corridors involving 30% of suggestive patients; the femoral and popliteal courses comprising of 80 to 90% of patients, and the more distal vessels, including the tibial and peroneal veins making 40 to half of patients (McDermott, 2006, S2). Precisely and geographically, atherosclerotic sores happen specially at blood vessel branch focuses, which are destinations of expanded choppiness prompting modified shear pressure, and thus injury to the tunica intima. Epidemiologic and segment information recommend that the distal vasculature is most ordinarily associated with older people, for the most part in patients with diabetes mellitus (Marso and Hiatt, 2006, 921-929). The history and physical assessment are generally adequate to build up the analysis of fringe blood vessel ailment (PAD). A target evaluation of the seriousness of malady is acquired by noninvasive procedures. These incorporate computerized beat volume chronicles; Doppler stream speed waveform investigation; duplex ultrasonography, which consolidates B-mode imaging and heartbeat wave Doppler assessment; segmental weight estimations; transcutaneous oximetry; stress testing, for the most part utilizing a treadmill; and trial of responsive hyperemia (Mohler, III, 2003, 2306-2314). Within the sight of critical PAD, the volume dislodging in the leg is diminished with each heartbeat, and the Doppler speed form turns out to be continuously compliment. Duplex ultrasonography is frequently helpful in identifying stenotic sores in local

Contribution of Occupational Psychology Theories in the Management Essay

Commitment of Occupational Psychology Theories in the Management - Essay Example The paper advises that word related brain research ordinarily attempts to create and improve the degrees of occupation fulfillment that workers get. This is by concocting inspirational techniques or strategies that an association ought to receive. Word related brain research additionally helps in expanding the degrees of efficiency inside an organization. This is on the grounds that it helps in advancing development, which is a basic prerequisite for any association to build the degrees of its presentation. Without development, it is exceptionally hard for an association to fulfill the different needs of its objective clients. This is on the grounds that, through advancement, an organization or an association would figure out how to create items that fulfill the different needs of its clients. Different issues of worry by word related hypotheses respect the physical and psychological well-being of these representatives. For any association to get the best from its laborers, it must g uarantee that these individuals are truly and intellectually solid. An association would accomplish this goal by making great working conditions and looking for techniques for disposing of worry at the working environment. One of the significant hypotheses of word related brain research is the hypothesis of populace nature. The word related brain science hypothesis of populace environment centers around the effect of dynamic changes in an association, which are achieved by the rise or breakdown of the association viable. This hypothetical system means that populace biology is concentrated over an extremely significant stretch of time. Most associations ordinarily have static structures, and these static structures assume a job in impeding their adjustment to changes. In light of these realities, these associations have a high possibility of neglecting to accomplish their goals and points. Notwithstanding, new business associations that have risen would prosper on account of their ad aptability, and their wants to adjust to changes.

How to Write a Synthesis Essay Outline

How to Write a Synthesis Essay Outline A synthesis essay is a piece of academic writing intended to combine different ideas or summaries into a whole in order to prove a thesis. The good news is that unlike many other types of essay, this assignment usually comes with certain sources that you have to analyze. Sounds much easier than writing an argumentative or persuasive essay? Hasten to assure you, it is not quite so! In fact, to write an effective synthesis essay is rather challenging for many students, no matter their academic level. After all, to analyze the given sources in order to come up with something new able to prove your thesis requires not only good writing skills but also the ability to digest information and present it in a meaningful, well-structured way. This is where you need a synthesis essay outline! However, before you actually start writing it, you have to consider several other important things. Hope, the following guide will come in handy! Guide on how to write a synthesis essay outline 1. Carefully read the sources. The first thing you should do before to actually start writing a synthesis essay outline is carefully read the given sources. Your aim is to learn what other authors have already said about your topic. Most likely, you will find out that they have different points of view, which is absolutely normal. Compare the sources and analyze them. Try to combine the materials you have found. Remember, there is always something common between the sources, and you are expected to find that connection. Do not forget to take notes as you read. This will help you create a good synthesis essay outline. After summarizing the given sources, you need to come up with your own ideas and concepts on the topic. 2. Decide on your position. When your work with the given sources is complete, take some time to organize your thoughts. Think about the information you have read and analyze it. It’s time to decide on your own position or attitude. There are actually two major ways to do it. First, you can simply find a common element that combines all the sources. Second, you can create something new based on other writers’ ideas. Whatever you choose, keep in mind that you are not required to agree with that position. The much more important thing is whether you can prove it and support by evidence and facts found in the given sources. However, once you decide on your position, make sure that everything you will do next is somehow or other related to it. 3. Build a strong thesis statement. Just like any other academic paper, this type of essay requires a thesis. Therefore, the last important step to take before to actually start creating a synthesis essay outline is building a strong thesis that will serve as a central idea of your work. Obviously, it has to be based on your position developed in the previous stage. Please note that if you want your paper to bring you a high grade, you need to make sure that your thesis is clear, strong, and sound. For example, it can be an idea you have not found in the given sources or an unanswered question. However, just like with your position, you are not expected to like your thesis. What you really need is to make it controversial. 4. Create a synthesis essay outline. Once you have a certain position and thesis statement for your writing, it’s time to create a good outline. The next question is, what to include in it? Although the requirements may vary depending on the student’s academic level, their area of study, and college instructions, in most cases, a synthesis essay outline will have the following structure: ? Introduction The first thing to include in the introduction part is a hook intended to catch the reader’s attention. Besides, it should introduce the sources to be synthesized. Finally, it should end with your strong thesis statement. ? Body Each body paragraph should start with presenting a point that supports your thesis statement. Moreover, it should include reliable evidence and clear information about the source it comes from. Plus, you are required to provide your analysis of the given evidence. ? Conclusion The last part of your synthesis essay outline is a concluding paragraph that should remind the reader about the major points of your work and underline the common element among them. Besides, you have to restate your thesis and answer the questions that have not been answered in the previous paragraphs. Now as you know how to write a synthesis essay outline, you are ready to start working on it. Remember, this task requires time, so do not wait until the last moment. Start early, and chances are you will succeed!

What Are Interest Rates Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3491 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? An interest rate is the rate at which interest is paid by a borrower for the use of money that they borrow from a lender. Interests rates are fundamental to a capitalist society. Interest rates are normally expressed as a percentage rate over the period of one year. Interest rates are also a tool of monetary policy and are taken into account when dealing with variables like investment, inflation, and unemployment. In traditional actuarial investigations, the interest rate is assumed to be deterministic and hence there is only one source of uncertainty, the mortality uncertainty, to be considered. Concerns about the effects of including a stochastic interest rate in the model have been growing during the last decade. The literature has tended to focus on annuities and the model adopted to describe the interest rate uncertainty, in a continuous framework, has usually involved the use of a Brownian motion (Beekman and Fuelling,1990- 1991), (Dufresne, 1990), (De Schep per et al, 1992), (Parker, 1994), (Perry and Stadje, 2001), (Perry et al, 2003). When the market rates are high, volatility is expected to be high or when interest rates are low, volatility will be low. (Brennan Schwartz, 1980; Chan et al., 1992; Cox et al., 1985; Nowman, 1997; NowmanStaikouras, 1998) A derivative which has as an underlie the ability to pay or receive a given amount of money at a given interest rate. Interest rate derivatives are the most popular kind of derivative, and include interest rate swaps and forex swaps. Features of interest rate swaps and forex swaps are swap of fixed-for-floating interest rate, a master agreement for fixed rate interest, a floating or variable rate which is reset periodically, a set-off exercise at every reset time to swap a fixed-for-floating interest rate and floating interest rate is to based on a certain benchmark (Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar, 1971) Interest rate swaps is an exchange of interest payments on a specific principal amount . This is a counterparty agreement, and so can be standardized to the requirements of the parties involved. An interest rate swap usually involves just two parties, but occasionally involves more. Often, an interest rate swap involves exchanging a fixed amount per payment period for a payment that is not fixed (the floating side of the swap would usually be linked to another interest rate, often the LIBOR) an interest rate swap, the principal amount is never exchanged; it is just a notional principal amount (D. K. MalhotraIn, 1998). Background research Richard J. Rendleman, Jr. (1949) is a composer whose works have been performed by The North Carolina Symphony, The South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra, The United States Navy Band and a number of other orchestras, chamber groups and choral ensembles. His compositions have been recorded by the Seattle Symphony, The Warsaw National Philharmonic, The Czech National Symphony, The Slovak Radio Orchestra and the St. Stephens Chamber Orchestra. Rendleman is also Professor of Finance at the Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Rendleman married Nancy Sherwin in 1974, received his Ph.D. from UNC in 1976, and taught at Northwestern University before moving back to his home state to take a teaching position at Dukes Fuqua School of Business. Although his academic career was moving along Rendleman still couldnt shake his desire to make something happen with his music. (Melinda S. Stubbee, 1996) Rendleman began composition studies with Robert Ward, and for the first few years thereafter composed mainly for piano in 1981. Later, his compositions expanded into chamber, vocal and orchestral works. Prior to studying with Ward, Rendlemans music training consisted of five years of piano lessons as a young child followed by four years of junior high and high school band. Some of Rendlemans earliest compositions were instrumental pieces written in 1966-1967 for Rhythm and Bl ues band, Soul Inc., known by many in the Salisbury, North Carolina area as Carolinas Finest Show and Dance Ensemble. Rendleman is also Professor of Finance at the Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is best known for his work in derivative securities markets, particularly implied volatility and two-state (or binomial) option pricing and for his work on the relationship between stock returns and quarterly earnings surprises. For better or worse, his work on earnings surprises in the early to mid 1980s has contributed significantly to Wall Streets sensitivity to quarterly earnings during the 1990s ( Richard Rendleman, 2009) Literature Review The literature review is based on a Rendleman Bartter model developed by Yeliz Yolcu [2005]. Rendleman bartter models are the first short rate models being proposed in the financial literature. As they said before, drift and diffusion terms contain constant parameters. Moreover, they produce an endogenous term structure (current term structure of rates is an output rather than an input of the model) of interest rates in that initial term structure of rates need not to match the observed market data no matter how the parameters are chosen. Rendleman-Bartter model (1980) formulate as drt = rtdt + rtdWt; where; are nonnegative constants.When they look at roughly, we think that Dothan and Rendleman-Bartter have the same formulation. However, in the original paper of Dothan he aimed to present a valuation formula for default free bonds for a certain class of tastes when the rate follows a geometric Wiener process and so he started with his work by the above formulation (3.1.10) under the objective probability. Since, they are dealing with the risk neutral valuation, they change directly this formulation to risk neutral framework. Moreover, without doubt the analytic expression of this model is the same as that Dothan Model. Indeed, they will give the intuition of constructin g this kind of model. Rendleman and Bartter assume that the short-term interest rate behaves like a stock price less than ideal. One important difference between the stock price and and interest rate is interest rate appeared to be pulled back to some long run average level over time (mean reversion) due to economic facts. (Rogers, 1995) Unlike Vasicek, they do not corporate with the mean reversion. Michael D. Goldberg [2000] The simplest models of the short-term interest rate are those in which the interest rate follows arithmetic or geometric Brownian motion. For example, they could write dr = adt + ÃÆ' Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢dZ (24.23).In this specification, the short-rate is normally distributed with mean r0 + at and variance ÃÆ' Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢2t. There are several objections to this model. First, the short-rate can be negative. It is not reasonable to think the nominal short rate can be negative, since if it were, investors would prefer holding cash under a mattress to holding bonds. Second, the drift in the short-rate is constant. If a 0, for example, the short-rate will drift up over time forever. In practice if the short-rate rises, they expect it to fall; example, it is mean-reverting. Thirdly, the volatility of the short-rate is the same whether the rate is high or low. In practice, they expect the short-rate to be more volatile if rates are high. Rendleman and Bartter model, by contrast assumes that the short-rate follows geometric Brownian motion: dr = ardt + ÃÆ' Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢rdz (24.24) While interest rates can never be negative in this model, one objection to equation (24.24) is that interest rates can be arbitrarily high. In practice they would expect rates to exhibit mean reversion; if rates are high, they expect them on average to decrease. The Rendleman-Bartter model, on the other hand, says that the probability of rates going up or down is the same whether rates are 100% or 1%. In the Rendleman-Bartter model, interest rates could no t be negative because both the mean and variance in that model are proportional to the level of the interest rate. Thus, as the short-rate approaches zero, both the mean and variance also approach zero and it is never possible for the rate to fall below zero (Richard J. Rendleman, Jr., 1980). In the Vasicek model, by contrast, rates can become negative because the variance does not vanish as r approaches zero (Oldrich Vasicek, 1977). Professor Landsman reviews research on both the relevance and reliability of reporting fair values for loans and other financial instruments (Landsman, 2005). Accounting standard setters define fair value as the amount that would be paid or received for the item being valued in an arms length transaction between knowledgeable parties (FASB, 2004a). This is a market value definition and the standard setters have indicated that, if available, a current market price for the item is said to be the best estimate of its fair value. Relevance means that the fair value is capable of making a difference to financial statement users decisions. Reliability means that the reported fair value represents what it is purported to represent (Barth et al, 2001). Professor Landsman concludes that the evidence on fair value reporting supports its relevance. On reliability, he suggests there is some uncertainty, using evidence from Barth, Landsman, and Rendleman (1998) based on testing a pricing model for corporate bonds. He further discusses banks use of their private information in determining loan fair values and consequences of model valuation errors on earnings volatility. Short Title: Rendleman-Bartter Model In the context of finance the The Rendleman-Bartter model is a very important theory. The Rendleman-Bartter Model could be called a short rate model. This model deals with rates of interest. The Rendleman-Bartter Model tries to explain the growth of rates of interest and is among the earliest models that dealt with rates of interest for a shorter period of time. It applied the random process that had been used to explain the movements of the basic prices of stock options. According to the model, the instantaneous rate of interest changes in accordance with the geometric Brownian motion, which is also called the exponential Brownian motion. The geometric Brownian motion is an uninterrupted random process. In the Rendleman-Bartter Model, market risk is the sole factor that is responsible for the changes in the rates of interest. This is why the Rendleman-Bartter Model could also be called a kind of one factor model In this model Wt is nothing but a Wiener process. It models the risk factor involved in random markets. ÃÆ' Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ is the drift parameter of the Rendleman-Bartter model. ÃÆ'Ã… ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¸ is the standard deviation parameter of the Rendleman-Bartter model. The drift parameter of the Rendleman-Bartter model stands for the extent of fluctuation in the rate of interest. This rate is normally fixed, anticipated and instantaneous. The standard deviation parameter of the Rendleman-Bartter model ascertains the unpredictability of rates of interest. (Richard  J Rendleman and Brit  J Bartter,1979) Market risk is the risk that the value of a portfolio, either an investment portfolio or a trading portfolio, will decrease due to the change in value of the market risk factors. The four standard market risk factors are stock prices, interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and commodity prices. The associated market risk are equity risk, interest rate risk, currency risk and commodity risk (Y Amihud, 1992). Equity risk is the risk that ones investments will depreciate because of stock market dynamics causing one to lose money. The measuring of risk used in the equity markets is typically the standard deviation of a securitys price over a number of periods. The standard deviation will delineate the normal fluctuations one can expect in that particular security a bove and below the mean, or average. However, since most investors would not consider fluctuations above the average return as risk, some economists prefer other means of measuring it (E Dimson, 2002). Interest rate risk is the risk borne by an interest-bearing asset, such as a loan or a bond, due to variability of interest rates. In general, as rates rise, the price of a fixed rate bond will fall, and vice versa. Interest rate risk is commonly measured by the bonds duration. Asset liability management is a common name for the complete set of techniques used to manage risk within a general enterprise risk management framework (George J. Hall, Thomas J. Sargent, 2010). Currency risk is a kind of risk that arises from the change in price of one currency against another. Whenever investors or companies have assets or business operations across national borders, they face currency risk if their positions are not hedged. Transaction risk is the risk that exchange rates will change unfavorably over time. It can be hedged against using forward currency contracts. Translation risk is an accounting risk, proportional to the amount of assets held in foreign currencies. Changes in the exchange rate over time will render a report inaccurate, and so assets are usually balanced by borrowings in that currency. The exchange risk associated with a foreign denominated instrument is a key element in foreign investment. This risk flows from differential monetary policy and growth in real productivity, which results in differential inflation rates (Gunther Schnabl, 2006). Commodity risk refers to the uncertainties of future market values and of the size of the future income, caused by the fluctuation in the prices of commodities. These commodities may be grains, metals, gas, electricity etc. A commodity enterprise needs to deal with price risk, quantity risk, cost risk, political risk (DF Larson, 1998). The Wiener process in mathematics a continuous-time stochastic pro cess named in honor of Norbert Wiener. It is often called Brownian motion, after Robert Brown. It is one of the best known Levy processes (cadlag stochastic processes with stationary independent increments) and occurs frequently in pure and applied mathematics, economics and physics. The Wiener process plays an important role both in pure and applied mathematics. In pure mathematics, the Wiener process gave rise to the study of continuous time martingales. It is a key process in terms of which more complicated stochastic processes can be described. As such, it plays a vital role in stochastic calculus, diffusion processes and even potential theory. It is the driving process of Schramm-Loewner evolution. In applied mathematics, the Wiener process is used to represent the integral of a Gaussian white noise process, and so is useful as a model of noise in electronics engineering, instrument errors in filtering theory and unknown forces in control theory (N Dohi, 1993). The Wiener process has applications throughout the mathematical sciences. In physics it is used to study Brownian motion, the diffusion of minute particles suspended in fluid, and other types of diffusion via the Fokker-Planck and Langevin equations. It also forms the basis for the rigorous path integral formulation of quantum mechanics (by the Feynman-Kac formula, a solution to the Schrodinger equation can be represented in terms of the Wiener process) and the study of eternal inflation in physical cosmology. It is also prominent in the mathematical theory of finance, in particular the Black-Scholes option pricing model (MJ Hinich, 2010). The limitation of Rendleman-Bartter Model The assumption that the short-term interest rate behaves like a stock price is a natural starting point but it is less than ideal. One important difference between interest rates and stock price is that interest rates appear to be pulled back to some long-run level over time. This phenomenon is known as mean r eversion. When r is high, mean reversion tends to cause it to have a positive drift. The Rendleman and Bartter model does not incorporate mean reversion. There are compelling economic arguments in favour of mean reversion. Hen rates are high, the economy tends to slow down and there is low demand for funds from borrowers. As a result, rates decline. When rates are low, there tends to be a high demands for funds on the part for borrowers and rates tend to rise (Y YOLCU, 2005). Other examples of short-rate model 1. Particular short-rate models Vasicek model Vasicek model is a mathematical model describing the evolution of interest rates. It is a one type of one-factor model as it describes interest rate movements as driven by only one source of market risk. The model can be used in the valuation of interest rate derivatives, and has also been adapted for credit markets, although its use in the credit market is in principle wrong, implying negative probabilities (Oldrich Va sicek, 1977). Ho-Lee model Ho-Lee model is a short rate model to predict future interest rates. It is the simplest model that can be calibrated to market data, by implying the form of ÃÆ'Ã… ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¸t from market prices. Ho and Lee does not allow for mean reversion (T.S.Y. Ho, S.B. Lee, 1986). Hull-White model In financial mathematics, Hull-White model,which also called the extended Vasicek model is a model of future interest rates. In its most generic formulation, it belongs to the class of no-arbitrage models that are able to fit todays term structure of interest rates. It is relatively straight-forward to translate the mathematical description of the evolution of future interest rates onto a tree or lattice and so interest rate derivatives such as bermudan swaptions can be valued in the model. The model is still popular in the market today (John C. Hull, Alan White, 1990). Cox-Ingersoll-Ross model In mathematical finance, the Cox-Ingersoll-Ross model (or CIR m odel) describes the evolution of interest rates. It is a kind of one factor model and short rate model as it describes interest rate movements as driven by only one source of market risk. The model can be used in the valuation of interest rate derivatives. It was as an extension of the Vasicek model (John C. Cox, Jonathan E. Ingersoll, Stephen A. Ross, 1985). Black-Karasinski model In financial mathematics, the Black-Karasinski model is a mathematical model of the term structure of interest rates. It is a one-factor model as it describes interest rate movements as driven by a single source of randomness. It belongs to the class of no-arbitrage models, i.e. it can fit todays zero coupon bond prices, and in its most general form, todays prices for a set of caps, floors or European swaptions ( Fischer Black, Piotr Karasinski, 1991). Black-Derman-Toy model Black-Derman-Toy model (BDT) is a popular short rate model. It is a one-factor model, that is, a single stochastic facto r the short rate determines the future evolution of all interest rates. It was the first model to combine the mean-reverting behaviour of the short rate with the lognormal distribution, and is still widely used. It was first developed for in-house use by Goldman Sachs in the 1980s and was published in the Financial Analysts Journal in 1990. A personal account of the development of the model is provided in one of the chapters in Emanuel Dermans memoir My Life as a Quant. Under BDT, using a binomial lattice one calibrates the model parameters to fit both the current term structure of interest rates (yield curve), and the volatility structure for interest rate caps (usually as implied by the Black-76-prices for each component caplet). Using the calibrated lattice one can then value a variety of more complex interest-rate sensitive securities and IRDs ( Fischer Black, Emanuel Derman, Bill Toy, 1980). 2. Multi-factor short-rate models Longstaff-Schwartz model Longstaff-Schwart z model is a two-factor model of the term structure of interest rates. It produces a closed-form solution for the price of zero coupon bonds and a quasi-closed-form solution for options on zero coupon bonds. The model is developed in a Cox-Ingersoll-Ross framework with short interest rates and their volatility as the two sources of uncertainty in the equation (Longstaff, Francis and Eduardo Schwartz , 1992). Chen model The Chen model is a mathematical model describing the evolution of interest rates. It is a type of three-factor model of short rate model as it describes interest rate movements as driven by three sources of market risk. It was the first stochastic mean and stochastic volatility. In an authoritative review of modern finance, Chen model is listed as a major term structure model. Different variants of Chen model are still being used in financial institutions worldwide. James and Webber devote a section to discuss Chen model in their book; Gibson et al. devote a se ction to cover Chen model in their review article. Andersen et al. devote a paper to study and extend Chen model. Gallant et al. devote a paper to test Chen model and other models; Cai devotes her PhD dissertation to test Chen model and other competing models (Lin Chen, 1994). Conclusion The Rendleman-Bartter model for pricing interest rate options makes the assumption that the probability distribution of an interest rate, a bond price, or some other variable at a future point in time is lognormal. They are widely used for valuing instruments such as caps, European bond option, and European swap option. The Rendleman-Bartter Model is analytically tractable and relatively simple to implement, however this model has limitation as it does not provide a description of how interest rates evolve through time. Consequently, it cannot be used for valuing interest rate derivatives such as American-style swap option, callable bonds, and structured notes. To overcome the limitation of th is model, alternative approaches are build ,such as building of what is known as term structure model. This model describing the evolution of all zero-coupon interest rates. In conclusion, each interest rate modeling approach has its own advantages and disadvantages, selecting the suitable model to be used in each interest rate derivatives in very important as it will bring out different outcome. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "What Are Interest Rates Finance Essay" essay for you Create order

Youth Sports A Trend That Has Touched Every Household

Youth sports in America have become a trend that has touched every household. Sports have become so ingrained in American culture that toddlers have even begun to experience it. Almost all children from the ages of six to ten have kicked a soccer ball or hit a ball with a bat. While studies have shown that youth team sports have a tremendous positive impact on a child’s social development, many children have run into serious injuries. Some of these injuries can require extensive surgeries, rehabilitation, and could cause developmental problems in these young children. Many of these injuries stem from overuse and children not being developmentally ready for the intensity of a certain sport. Today, competitive sports culture has caused a rise in youth injuries related to sports. For decades, children have been involved in team sports such as soccer, tee-ball, and basketball. However, children are starting to begin playing sports much earlier. 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This report deals with one of its premier brands LUX. HUL leads the market in the toilet soap category with 54.3% market share. Lux has inched up to be on par with Lifebuoy in HULs soaps portfolio. The Lux brand now has an almost equal market share as Hindustan Levers largest selling soap brand - LifebuoyRead MoreConsumer Lifestyle in Singapore35714 Words   |  143 Pages.................................................................................. 19 Snacking Habits ...................................................................................................................... 20 Attitudes Towards Food Trends .............................................................................................. 20 Chart 7 Chart 8 Per Capita Expenditure on Consumer Foodservice by Chained and Independent 2011 .....................................................Read MoreMarketing Plan Assignment6552 Words   |  26 PagesHYPERLINK l _Toc354897531 Technological Factors PAGEREF _Toc354897531 h 9 HYPERLINK l _Toc354897532 Behavior Factors PAGEREF _Toc354897532 h 9 HYPERLINK l _Toc354897533 Market Needs PAGEREF _Toc354897533 h 9 HYPERLINK l _Toc354897534 Market Trends PAGEREF _Toc354897534 h 10 HYPERLINK l _Toc354897535 Market growth PAGEREF _Toc354897535 h 11 HYPERLINK l _Toc354897536 SWOT Analysis PAGEREF _Toc354897536 h 13 HYPERLINK l _Toc354897537 Competition PAGEREF _Toc354897537 h 15 HYPERLINKRead MoreDiscuss the Importance of Non Verbal Communication to Education24125 Words   |  97 PagesReduced project implementation capacity because of : * diminished capability of project staff to address their mandate due to AIDS; * diminished service delivery; * lack of knowledge and skills among project staff to address impact HIV/AIDS has on their work; * reduced district revenue base and thus IFAD counterpart funding. | Additional costs involved in increased absenteeism and loss of staff and the diversion of project resources for medical care, burials, etc., may lead to reduced qualityRead MoreBiography of Kishore Biyani11159 Words   |  45 Pagesstarted selling readymade garments when nobody preferred ready-to-wear shirts or trousers. 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Some of these injuries can require extensive surgeries, rehabilitation, and could cause developmental problems in these young children. Many of these injuries stem from overuse and children not being developmentally ready for the intensity of a certain sport. Today, competitive sports culture has caused a rise in youth injuries related to sports. For decades, children have been involved in team sports such as soccer, tee-ball, and basketball. However, children are starting to begin playing sports much earlier. Some start dance lessons, gymnastics classes, and even join rugby teams by the ages of three and four (Onderko). In Patty Onderko’s article about toddler sports, she references orthopedist Allston Stubbs, who says that recently he has seen more adolescents and preteens with major shoulder, knee and hip problems. According to Stubbs this is â€Å"in large part due to the fact that kids are starting sports at very young ages when their bones are still developing† (Onderko). 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Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 20 Free Essays

string(207) " what does learning or changing have to do with anything\? Isn’t it a done deal\?† I didn’t like the censuring tone in his voice, like I’d done something wrong by having these palms\." I didn’t expect to hear from Dante so quickly. Based on what he’d said about the difficulty of the Nyx-charm, I’d figured it would be a while – if at all. Hugh’s observations on the matter had only reinforced my growing skepticism about Dante’s abilities. We will write a custom essay sample on Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 20 or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"I’ve got your protection,† Dante told me on the phone. â€Å"Or at least as close as I can get. You want it, come pick it up.† He disconnected. I drove to Rainier Valley, finding Dante’s shop empty as usual. â€Å"Guess you don’t see a lot of business so close to Christmas, huh?† â€Å"Actually,† he told me, emerging from the back room, â€Å"you’d be surprised at the kind of desperation the holidays can bring out in people. Here, catch.† He tossed me something baseball-sized. I caught it, feeling a little disappointed when I studied it closer. It looked like a wicker ball, made of very thin, dark branches. Through the gaps, I could make out a few things inside. One looked like a rock. Another looked like a feather. The whole thing rattled when I shook it. â€Å"This is it?† I asked. â€Å"This is going to keep away an uber-powerful dream entity? It looks like a prop from The Blair Witch Project.† â€Å"It can’t force her away,† he said. â€Å"Nothing can. But it might make her think twice. It’s more of†¦a repellent.† â€Å"Like citronella?† He rolled his eyes. â€Å"Yes, like citronella. Depending on her energy charge, she might blow past it. If she’s weak enough†¦well, it might hold her back.† I examined the ball again. It still didn’t look like much to me. I sensed no power or magic off of it, but not all objects had an aura I could sense. For reading inanimate items, a psychic mortal tended to be more adept than a lesser immortal. My silence appeared to further annoy Dante. â€Å"Look,† he snapped. â€Å"You don’t have to use it, but it took a fuckload of power for me to craft it, okay? It’d be nice if you could maybe withhold your customary sarcasm for a whole five minutes to thank me.† â€Å"My customary sarc – â€Å" I stopped the burst of temper starting to flare in me. Dante ranked near the top of my list of cynical acquaintances, but I wasn’t exactly Pollyanna myself. I’d given him nothing but a hard time since I first came to him for help. And now, studying him, I noticed he was pale and tired-looking. His eyes were bloodshot. The ball might be worthless, but he’d clearly exerted some sort of effort in making it. â€Å"You’re right,† I said. â€Å"I’m sorry. Thank you. Thank you for this.† His eyebrows rose, and I could actually see the self-control it took for him not to mock my sincerity. He nodded. â€Å"You’re welcome.† We each waited for the other to speak. I don’t think we knew what to do without the sarcasm. â€Å"So†¦did you find your angel friends?† â€Å"No. I apparently need a fucking Bat Signal or something. Jerome’s gone too. Hugh – this imp friend of mine – could get a hold of him, but it’d probably piss Jerome off if we were wrong about all this.† I scowled, recalling the conversation in the deli. â€Å"Anyway, Hugh’s pissing me off right now, so I don’t even know if I want his help.† Dante smiled. â€Å"I thought succubi were supposed to make friends everywhere they went. Or is that a myth like the bat wings and flame eyes?† â€Å"He’s just being an asshole about Seth.† Dante looked at me expectantly. I sighed. â€Å"He thinks us dating is a waste of time. And not because of the sex thing. He thinks I’m going to get hurt.† â€Å"Terribly altruistic of an imp. But then, considering your quasi-morals, I’m starting to think it’s a bad idea to assume anything about you guys.† He took a few steps toward me and playfully tapped my nose. â€Å"And what about you? Do you think you’re going to get hurt?† â€Å"No. And if I do, that’s for me to deal with. Hugh shouldn’t be worrying about it. And he shouldn’t make Seth worry about it either!† â€Å"Don’t get so upset about people worrying about you. It means they care. If enough of us were like that, there’d be a lot less pain in the world.† That was an unexpected observation from Dante. â€Å"Maybe. But there’d also be a lot less unnecessary stress.† He chuckled and caught hold of my hand. Flipping it over, he looked at the palm. â€Å"A random assortment of lines for this body?† he asked. I nodded. â€Å"Can you change it to your original?† â€Å"What, so you can read it? I thought this was a bunch of bullshit.† â€Å"Sometimes.† I waited for more, but it didn’t come. His gray eyes were serious and thoughtful as they met mine. Something in them compelled me, and with great reluctance, I shape-shifted my hands back to the ones I’d been born with. I hadn’t worn my original body since the day I’d become a succubus, and this small change felt unnatural. I hated this form. While my original hands weren’t gargantuan, they were larger than was proportional to this petite frame I carried and appeared weird and mismatched. Dante held my hands in his and glanced back and forth between the palms. After just a few seconds, he snorted and dropped them both. â€Å"Surprise, surprise.† I shape-shifted them back to the way they had been. â€Å"What?† I asked. â€Å"Right-handed?† â€Å"Yeah.† He pointed to the left hand. â€Å"Those lines represent what you’re born with – your inherent traits. The right hand is the hand that shows how you grow and change and adapt to what you’re born with. Nature and nurture.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"Yours are identical on both hands. Your heart line is high on the palm – which means you have an intense, passionate nature. No surprise there. But it’s broken into a million pieces. Sliced and diced.† He tapped my left hand. â€Å"You were destined for heartache.† He tapped my right hand. â€Å"And you are going to repeat that pattern forever. You aren’t learning. You aren’t changing.† â€Å"If I’m destined for it, then what does learning or changing have to do with anything? Isn’t it a done deal?† I didn’t like the censuring tone in his voice, like I’d done something wrong by having these palms. You read "Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 20" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"Don’t start,† he said. â€Å"I’m not a philosopher and don’t want to get into any pre-destination or free-will debates. Besides, palm reading is a bunch of bullshit.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said dryly. â€Å"So I hear.† To my surprise, Dante put his arm around me and drew me close in a sort of half-hug. â€Å"Be careful, succubus. You’ve got a mess o’ dangerous things in your life right now. On all fronts. I don’t want to see you get hurt either.† I stayed in the embrace and rested my head on his chest. â€Å"When did you get so nice? Are you still trying to get me into bed?† â€Å"I’m always trying to get you into bed.† He pressed a kiss to my forehead, to my nose, and then to my lips. â€Å"But I kind of like you too. Just watch out.† I drove home after that, a bit confused over Dante’s surprising behavior. Thinking about him, I soon arrived in Queen Anne before I knew it. I found neither Vincent nor the angels in my apartment and decided to go to the bookstore. I had today off too, but I knew they were busy and could use the extra help. I needed the distraction. Just before closing, Seth called my cell and asked if I could pick him up at his brother’s. He and Terry had indeed gone to see the movie, but Seth’s car was actually here in Queen Anne and he needed a ride now since Terry had originally picked him up. I finished what I was working on in my office and headed out. Terry and Andrea greeted me warmly when I showed up, reminding me to come to Christmas dinner – even though I’d long since told them I’d be there. They always regarded my relationship with Seth as a tenuous, fragile thing (which it was) and felt compelled to do all they could to protect it. The girls were as thrilled as always to see me, and they assaulted me with questions and chatter. All except Kayla. She’d apparently gotten to stay up late tonight. In some ways, her silence wasn’t surprising. Aside from the startling conversation the other night, she almost never spoke anyway. But usually, she’d come forward with the other girls to see me. Tonight, she simply stayed on the couch, watching me solemnly. When Seth made motions to leave, I broke from the girls and went over to Kayla. â€Å"Hey, you,† I said, sitting down beside her. â€Å"How’s it – â€Å" I hadn’t touched her, but Kayla suddenly jerked away from me as though she’d been burned. Backing up, she scrambled off the couch and tore out of the room. We heard her small footsteps on the stairs as she ran to her room. Startled, I looked at the others. â€Å"What did I do?† â€Å"No idea,† said Andrea, puzzled. â€Å"She’s been fine all night.† â€Å"Something must have gotten into her,† said Terry. â€Å"No telling with kids. Especially with girls.† He mussed Kendall’s hair, and she yelped. Everyone promptly forgot about Kayla and continued to make farewells to Seth and me. I spoke to them half-heartedly, though. Kayla was always happy to see me, and last time, she’d demonstrated a special trust and belief in me. Tonight, she had looked at me with abject terror. Why? Was it a little girl mood? Or was there something hanging on me from another plane that I couldn’t see? Just before we left, I asked if I could go say good-bye to Kayla and give talking to her another shot. Upstairs, I found her curled into a corner of her bed, clutching the unicorn. Her eyes widened in terror when she saw me, and I stopped in the bedroom door. â€Å"Hey,† I said. â€Å"You okay?† No answer, just wider eyes. â€Å"I won’t come any closer,† I said. â€Å"Promise. But, please†¦just tell me. What do you see? Why are you afraid of me?† For a moment, I didn’t think she’d answer. Then, finally, she spoke in a voice I could barely hear. â€Å"You’re bad,† she whispered. â€Å"Why are you so bad?† That wasn’t what I’d been expecting. I’d thought maybe she’d tell me there was a ghostly hag hovering above my head. Something in Kayla’s words made my stomach sink. I knew I was evil – it was kind of the definition of a Hellish servant. I lived day to day with my eternal task, seducing and corrupting men. But somehow, a little girl telling me I was â€Å"bad† hit me harder than the cruelest, most profane accusation could. Without another word to her, I headed back downstairs. As I drove Seth back to my place, I gave him the scoop on the angels and my subsequent lack of progress. â€Å"You’ve got some creature stalking you, and you decided to go into work?† He sounded both amused and exasperated. â€Å"You might as well have gone to the movie with me.† â€Å"Oh.† I felt kind of stupid. â€Å"I didn’t want to interrupt any brotherly bonding.† â€Å"And,† he added, â€Å"you forgot.† â€Å"I never forget about you,† I said stoutly. â€Å"But I was kind of distracted.† â€Å"Funny how that’s never a good excuse when the roles are reversed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My apartment was still empty when we got there. I left my coat and Dante’s charm in my bedroom and then went to sit on the couch with Seth. â€Å"I hate waiting,† I told him. â€Å"Why does this always happen? Some big, supernatural crisis pops up in my life, and I always end up sitting around and feeling useless. I’m always dependent on others.† â€Å"No, you aren’t,† he said, lacing his fingers through mine. â€Å"You’re wonderful and capable. But you can’t do everything.† â€Å"I just wish I could do something else besides shape-shift and look good. I wish I could, I don’t know, shoot laser beams out of my fingers or something.† â€Å"You think that’d stop Nyx?† â€Å"No. But it’d be cool.† â€Å"Me, I always wanted frost power.† â€Å"Frost power?† â€Å"Yeah.† Seth gestured dramatically toward my coffee table. â€Å"If we’re talking superhero abilities. If I had frost power, I could wave my hand, and suddenly that whole thing would be covered in ice.† â€Å"Not frost?† â€Å"Same difference.† â€Å"How would frost and/or ice power help you fight crime?† â€Å"Well, I don’t know that it would. But it’d be cool.† I laughed and snuggled into Seth, feeling better. I could wait this out. â€Å"Are you hungry?† I asked him. â€Å"Yasmine and Vincent have been waging their own version of Top Chef around here.† We went to the kitchen and found it stocked with more food than it had ever had since I moved in. I unwrapped a plate of what appeared to be slices of freshly baked shortcake. Seth pointed to the refrigerator. â€Å"If there are strawberries in there, it’s proof of God’s existence.† I opened the door and peered around. â€Å"Get ready for a religious experience,† I told him, pulling out a bowl of chopped-and-sugared strawberries. With the other hand, I pulled out a larger bowl covered in plastic wrap. â€Å"And homemade whipped cream.† â€Å"Hallelujah,† he said. We piled plates high with shortcake and strawberries, and suddenly, dream entities seemed downright comical. I unwrapped the whipped cream, and Seth promptly dabbed a finger in it. â€Å"Savage,† I scolded. â€Å"Heavenly,† he countered, licking off the cream. He stuck another finger into the bowl and held it out to me. I leaned forward and ran my tongue over the tip. Rich sweetness flooded my mouth. â€Å"Mmm,† I said, closing my eyes. â€Å"Mmm,† said Seth. I opened my eyes. â€Å"Are you talking about the whipped cream?† â€Å"Not exactly.† â€Å"You talking about this?† There was still whipped cream on his finger. I took it into my mouth and sucked gently on it, cleaning up the last of the cream and stroking Seth’s skin with my tongue. When I finished, he exhaled a held breath. â€Å"Thanks for the cleanup.† â€Å"Cleanliness is next to godliness, I hear.† â€Å"I think I have more on me, though,† he said. â€Å"Really?† I asked. â€Å"Where?† He swiped his finger through more whipped cream. â€Å"Right here.† I licked that off too, sucking and kissing all of the fingers on his hand – not just the guilty one. Finished, I flipped the hand over and kissed the top of it. â€Å"There. Sparkling clean.† Seth shook his head. â€Å"Oh no.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"You’ve got some on you too.† â€Å"Do I? Where?† He dipped into more whipped cream and dabbed it on my lips, my chin, and the side of my throat. â€Å"Everywhere,† he said. Before I could formulate a response, his mouth was on my neck, licking and kissing with as much sensuality as I had just used on his fingers. The eroticism of it astounded me – and I was hardly one to be caught by surprise with such things. I instinctually moved my body toward his, arching my neck back as his lips continued moving up. I felt his tongue, warm and amazingly skilled, clean up every drop of the whipped cream on my throat before sliding to my chin and finally to my mouth. We kissed harder, dessert (of the food nature) now forgotten. I felt his lips fit perfectly with my own. My back was against the counter, and Seth pressed his body against mine, trapping me. When I finally pulled back from the kiss, I could scarcely breathe. â€Å"Wow,† I said, eyes wide. â€Å"This is why I don’t cook. It only leads to trouble.† Seth, still right against me, glanced left and then right. There was a heated, feral look in his eyes that made me shiver. â€Å"I don’t see anything too bad happening.† â€Å"Not yet,† I admitted. â€Å"But you know the drill.† He shrugged. â€Å"Yeah. But nothing bad is happening now.† â€Å"It will if we – mmphf!† Seth was kissing me again, and this time his arms went around my waist, pulling us closer still. I wrapped my own arms around his neck, tilting my face upward to get more of the kiss. It was hot and dangerous and amazing, and I couldn’t get enough. I knew, though, that I’d have to get enough of it pretty quickly here and was contemplating how to stop it when Seth broke away first. â€Å"Ah,† I teased. â€Å"You’ve come to your senses.† Seth smiled at me, and my heart raced at the juxtaposition of the animal desire and trademark laidback look on his face. â€Å"Nope,† he said. â€Å"Let’s see how far we can go.† â€Å"You already know,† I said. â€Å"We’ve timed this before.† That was a bit of an exaggeration. We’d never had a stopwatch or anything, but we’d gained a good sense of how long and how deep a kiss could go before it was time to part. He shook his head. â€Å"Not kissing. This.† I wore a black tank top with a red cardigan over it. Seth reached out and unfastened the sweater’s three large buttons and pulled it off of me. Letting it drop to the floor, he then rested his hands on my arms, fingers warm against my bare skin. He looked at me expectantly. â€Å"We’re timing how quickly you can take off my sweater?† I asked. â€Å"Wrong answer. It’s not always about you.† Removing his hands, he caught the bottom edge of his Cap’n Crunch T-shirt and pulled it over his head. He’d pulled me to his chest before it even hit the floor, and suddenly, I was face to face with golden, delicious-smelling Seth skin. Lots of it. Resisting the urge to start kissing his chest then and there, I looked up into his face and attempted levity. â€Å"Is this like strip poker? Except†¦without the poker part?† â€Å"This, Thetis,† he said, grabbing the edge of my tank top, â€Å"is a test. A test to see how far we can go on all dimensions. Not just kissing.† I should have stopped him, but the feel of his hands sliding up my torso was too intoxicating. The tank top went over my head and joined the other clothing on my kitchen floor. I laughed. â€Å"So†¦we know how much kissing we can do. Now you’re trying to see how much naked we can do?† â€Å"Yes,† he said. He was attempting a dignified air. â€Å"It’s a scientific experiment.† â€Å"Mostly it seems like you pulling off my clothes.† â€Å"That’s part of it. We know how much we can kiss. But can we kiss naked? How long can we kiss naked? Is it the same?† â€Å"I don – â€Å" Again, he cut me off with a kiss, and my whole body tingled as my breasts pressed up against his chest. There was nothing between us, just skin on skin, and it was incredible. Between that and the kiss, I felt dizzy. And so, Seth’s experiment progressed. He removed articles of our clothing one at a time, then would kiss me, pause, and examine the results. When we were both completely naked, he stepped back and admired my body, his face gleeful and smug. â€Å"I don’t think the succubus thing is working,† he said. â€Å"Oh, it works, believe me,† I said, suddenly nervous. Every inch of me wanted to be touched and caressed and ravaged. My skin burned. And the hunger within me – the instinct that urged me to feed off human energy – was raging, realizing just how close it was to dinnertime. This had started out as an amusing game, but it now occurred to me how dangerous this had become. â€Å"It’s less about naked and more about us not kissing so much. Remember that time we started making out in bed? I got some of your energy then, and we were dressed. Push this enough – or start doing things with other parts of our bodies – and it’ll be game over.† I stepped back and reached for my shirt. â€Å"But you made good scientific progress tonight, I’ll give you that.† Seth caught my wrist before I could get the shirt. He pulled me back to him. â€Å"Just a little bit more. Just to see.† He still had the same intensity and arousal all over him. I’d seen it in him before but never like this. â€Å"What more is there?† I asked. â€Å"Just one more kiss,† he said, feigning innocence. â€Å"A†¦parting kiss.† â€Å"Oh good grief.† â€Å"One kiss, Thetis. That’s it.† I hesitated, then nodded. â€Å"Okay. Fine. But I’m onto you, so don’t think you can get away with anything here.† â€Å"Noted.† At least that’s what I think he said because it came out kind of muffled with his mouth crushing mine. I was pressed back against the counter again, and his hand was moving down my ass, down the back of my thigh. We were so close. So, so close. We’d never been this close, this naked, before. We’d certainly never been this naked and kissing before. I felt alive and on fire, craving him both as a succubus and a woman in love. The floodgates burst, and all the passion we kept restrained flowed forth. I could feel him, how hard he was and how much he wanted me. My own body responded in kind, pushing closer and grinding against him. His hand on the back of my thigh tensed and then pulled my leg up. It was barely around his hip when I felt†¦it. It. Seth’s life. Sweeter than kissing, sweeter than whipped cream. It came into me pure and bright, unlike anything else I’d ever tasted – well, other than the last time I’d stolen some from him. I would have moaned if my mouth wasn’t preoccupied. Reason seized me, and I did my best to squirm free. My best wasn’t good enough, and all I could do was slide my mouth away from his. He simply moved down, kissing my neck. The energy didn’t stop. â€Å"Seth. Seth. We made the point. We saw how far we can go.† His eyes, full of so much longing and passion, held mine. â€Å"Please, Georgina†¦we’re so close†¦just this once†¦Ã¢â‚¬  We were so close. Too close. â€Å"No.† I pressed my palms to his chest. â€Å"Seth! Stop.† I shoved hard. â€Å"Stop!† I broke free all at once and staggered a few feet back, my hand catching the counter for support. The energy transfer cut off abruptly. He reached out a hand to help steady me, but I stayed out of reach. â€Å"Are†¦are you okay?† he asked. â€Å"I’m fine,† I said, breath heavy. â€Å"But you aren’t. I got a little – a little of your energy.† â€Å"A little is nothing.† â€Å"Not to me,† I said, still keeping my distance. â€Å"It’s not your energy,† he said. His eyes were still heated and hungry. â€Å"It’s mine. And I think it was worth it.† He took a step forward. â€Å"And I’d think it was worth it, even if I lost more.† I held out my hand, palm-first. â€Å"Stop. Don’t come closer. I don’t trust you.† His expression became less aroused and more dumbfounded. â€Å"You†¦don’t trust me? I never thought I’d hear you say that.† â€Å"That’s not what I meant. Exactly. I mean, I don’t know. I don’t think you’re going to rape me or anything, but you’re†¦uh, persuasive. And you haven’t been yourself lately. Ever since you got shot. You’ve been†¦I don’t know. Risky. Like you’re having a mid-life crisis.† â€Å"I’m having a life crisis, Thetis. I don’t want to be one of those people who discovers on my death bed that I didn’t do anything. Why can’t you understand this? You’re so quick to encourage Maddie to do exciting things, but you’re still trying to protect me.† â€Å"It†¦it’s different.† â€Å"How?† he asked. â€Å"Why is it okay for her to take risks but not me?† â€Å"Because there’s a big difference between going rock climbing and sleeping with someone who’s going to take years off your life. How long is this phase going to last? You always said it wasn’t about sex between us.† â€Å"It’s not,† he said stoutly. â€Å"Not at all. I love you for†¦so many reasons. More than I can even begin to describe. But I don’t want to die never having touched you. Really touched you.† I stared. He was serious. How could he say he didn’t want to die without touching me when touching me would only lead him closer to death? â€Å"You’re only saying this because you haven’t had sex in so long,† I accused. â€Å"You got all turned on and now you’re not thinking straight.† â€Å"I am turned on,† he agreed. â€Å"By you. The woman I love.† He took another step toward me but still stayed far enough away so we didn’t touch. â€Å"I want you, Georgina. So badly it kills me. I know you want me too. How can we go on being afraid of something we never tried? I’ll take a hit for it, yeah, but if we go on for years†¦without ever knowing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shook his head and sighed. â€Å"Please, Georgina. Just this once. Let us be together – really together.† I swallowed. He was so earnest. So sweet. So sexy. And so help me, he sounded reasonable. The calm way he spoke almost made me believe it didn’t matter, that if I gave in and let our bodies come together, the loss would be small and inconsequential. I looked into his eyes and tried to convince myself of his rationalization, bringing up what Carter and others had said. That it was Seth’s choice to make, nothing for me to worry about. But, of course, it was. â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"I can’t. Please, Seth. Don’t do this. Don’t look at me like that. I love you too – so, so much. But we can’t do this. I’m telling you, you just need to have sex. Go out and find someone – anyone. It doesn’t matter. I don’t care. It’ll fix all this and make it easier for us to go on.† â€Å"You would care,† he said, voice deadly calm. â€Å"You say you wouldn’t, but you would.† â€Å"Not if it protects you.† â€Å"Protecting me doesn’t matter.† â€Å"Damn it, it does!† I yelled, lunging forward. I drove my fists – lightly – into his chest, and all the emotion that had been building up throughout this argument suddenly burst out. â€Å"Don’t you get it? I have to protect you! If anything happens to you – if I’m responsible for anything happening to you – it will kill me. It. Will. Kill. Me. I can’t handle that. I can’t handle anything happening to you. It will kill me!† I stopped my yelling and met Seth’s eyes. Neither of us said anything. And as he stared down at me, I knew what he was thinking. Because I was thinking exactly the same thing. I had just given voice to what Hugh had said, what Seth had been worried about. In my outburst, I’d changed the balance of risk. It wasn’t about Seth hurting. It was about me hurting. Gently, he reached out and caught my wrists. He removed them from his chest and let go. Backing up, still not speaking, he picked up his clothes and began dressing. I stayed where I was, naked and frozen. â€Å"Seth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I said slowly. â€Å"I didn’t mean it.† â€Å"It’s okay, Thetis,† he said, fastening his pants and not meeting my eyes. â€Å"I understand. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I pushed you.† â€Å"No, no†¦it’s not†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It’s okay,† he repeated. His voice was so, so neutral. So, so steady. It wasn’t natural. â€Å"Really. But I think I need to go. I think it’s better for both of us, and God only knows you have enough going on without me to worry about.† I felt tears starting to fill my eyes. â€Å"I didn’t mean†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I know what you meant,† he said. He straightened his shirt and finally looked at me. â€Å"But seriously†¦I should leave. We’ll talk†¦I don’t know. We’ll talk later.† He held out his hand, like he might touch my cheek, and then let it drop. With another sigh, he said good-bye and left. I stood exactly where I was, still not moving. My heart felt like it had just had acid thrown on it. It was burning and raw. Finally, finally, it all caught up with me. My knees gave out, and I sank to the floor. It was cold and hard against my bare skin. I drew my knees up to me and buried my face in them, wondering what I had done. Part of me screamed to go follow him, to beg him to come back, to tell him we could make love and have everything we had ever wanted. Another part, half-reason and half-pride, held me back. It was that same part that had stopped me from going after Andrew that day back in the garden after we’d fought about the Black Death. I’d let him go and gone out of my way to avoid him after that. When the plague finally came to our town, my bishop was one of the first to leave. I went with him and the rest of our household. Just like in The Masque of the Red Death, there was no true place to hide from sickness. Still, some places were better than others, and my bishop took care to keep to the better places. He survived. Months went by, and stories and rumors trickled in about the town we’d lived in. By that point, I’d grown weary of Geoffrey and decided it was time for me to move on. I got permission from my archdemon for a transfer to Florence and sneaked out of Geoffrey’s house one night to make the long journey. Our old town was along the way, and a week later, I passed through it. A plague town wasn’t quite like what modern people might imagine. It wasn’t as though there were piles of bodies lying in the streets or anything. Not always. After all, Europe had survived the Black Death in the end, and civilization had still functioned through the worst of it. Crops were still grown, houses still built, babies still born. But the town seemed quieter and more melancholy than when I’d lived there. Andrew wasn’t at the church when I stopped by, and an old man tending the grounds told me that Andrew was off helping some of his parishioners in one of the poorer districts. I found him there, inside the home of a brewer. The brewer had a large family – eight children – as well as a couple of brothers living with him. The house was small and cramped and filthy. Everyone in it was sick except for the brewer’s wife who wearily tried to help Andrew take care of her family. â€Å"Cecily?† he asked in astonishment when he saw me. He was kneeling by a teenage boy. Something inside my chest blossomed with both joy and relief. Andrew was alive. He’d stayed, fought disease, and won. I strode forward and knelt beside him. The wife, giving water to a small girl, watched me uneasily. I wasn’t in silk or anything, but I was clearly from a different class than theirs, and she didn’t entirely know how to treat me. â€Å"You’re alive,† I breathed. â€Å"I’ve been so worried. So worried I’d never see you again.† He smiled that gentle smile of his, and I saw more lines around his eyes than I’d seen before. â€Å"God didn’t want to separate us quite yet,† he said. I looked down at the boy. I’d figured Andrew was feeding him or something, but I realized then that the priest was actually giving him last rites. The boy wore no shirt, and I could see on his neck and in his armpits the tell-tale dark pustules that had given the plague its name. The plague usually did what it was going to do in about a week, but from his emaciated look, you would have thought he’d been dying for years. His eyes were fever-bright, and I didn’t know if he even knew we were there. Bile rose in my throat, and I averted my eyes. Standing up, I told Andrew, â€Å"I’ll let†¦I’ll let you finish this and wait outside.† I left the house, going out to where it was warm and things weren’t dying. A while later, Andrew found me. I didn’t ask if the boy was still alive. Instead, I said, â€Å"How many of them live? Out of all the ones you stay and risk your life for, how many of them actually survive?† He shrugged. â€Å"Three-quarters. Sometimes half, if they’re very young or very old.† â€Å"Half,† I repeated flatly. â€Å"That’s not very good.† â€Å"If one more person lives because of me, then that’s very good.† I looked at that confident, serene face and sighed. â€Å"You’re so damned frustrating.† He smiled. I sighed again. â€Å"What can I do to help?† The smile disappeared. â€Å"Don’t make light of this, Cecily.† â€Å"I’m not. Tell me what to do.† And that was how I found myself playing nurse in a small town in backwoods England. Honestly, there wasn’t anything glamorous one could do to fight the plague. It was all about basics, keeping the people clean and supplied with as much food and water as they could take in. The rest was in the hands of their immune system and – if you believed Andrew – God. When my patients began declining past the point of no return, I usually stopped helping. I couldn’t stand to watch and left them to Andrew and his prayers. But sometimes I’d see people come back around, people whom I’d given up on, and then I could almost believe there was a higher power at work. At least, I believed that until Andrew got sick. It started slowly at first, a fever and aches, but we both knew what that meant. He ignored it and kept working until the symptoms began compounding. Finally, he couldn’t fight it. Neglecting my other patients, I devoted myself fully to him. â€Å"You should help others,† he told me one day. His skin was pink and blotchy, and he was starting to get the dark spots around his lymph glands. Through all the sickness and fatigue, he was still beautiful to me. â€Å"Don’t worry about me.† â€Å"I have to worry about you. No one else is.† It was true. Andrew had helped so many, but no one had come to his side, despite the fact that plague survivors tended not to catch it again. â€Å"It doesn’t matter,† Andrew told me, voice frail. â€Å"I’m glad they’ve survived.† â€Å"You will too,† I said obstinately, even though the signs were starting to suggest otherwise. â€Å"You have to go on so you can keep doing your annoying good works.† He managed a smile. â€Å"I hope so, but I think my time in this world may be drawing to a close. You, though†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He looked at me – truly looked at me – and I was astonished at the love I saw there. I knew he’d been attracted to me, but I’d never expected this. â€Å"You, Cecily†¦you won’t get sick. You will go on, strong and healthy and beautiful. I can feel it. God loves you.† â€Å"No,† I said sadly. â€Å"God hates me. That’s why he lets me keep living.† â€Å"God only gives us tasks he knows we can handle. Here, take this.† He touched the gold cross around his neck, but he was too weak to take it off. â€Å"Take it when I’m gone.† â€Å"No, Andrew, you won’t – â€Å" â€Å"Take it,† he repeated in as firm a voice as he could manage. â€Å"Take it, and whenever you see it, remember that God loves you and knows that no tragedy you face is ever too much for you to bear. You are strong. You will endure.† Hot tears spilled down my cheeks. â€Å"You shouldn’t have done this,† I told him. â€Å"You shouldn’t have helped them. You would’ve lived if you hadn’t.† He shook his head. â€Å"Yes, but then I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.† Andrew lingered a few more days after that. I stayed with him, but every moment of it was agony. I hated watching what happened to him and was more convinced than ever that there really was no benevolent power looking after humans. He died peacefully and quietly, much as he’d lived. Another priest came to administer last rites when it happened, and Andrew’s final conscious moments reflected hope and absolute faith in what would come next. I stayed to make sure the funeral arrangements were taken care of, not that there was much fanfare or anything. There were no viewings or fancy funeral halls in those days – at least not for men like him. I soon left England for the continent, and after a while, the pain of his death began to take on a new form. Oh, I still missed him – still burned and ached and felt like part of me had been ripped away. But added to that, guilt was starting to create a pain of its own. I felt like I should have taken better care of him. I should have insisted on him leaving with me when the plague came. Or maybe I should have gotten my hands dirtier while helping him tend the sick; it might have kept him away from whomever had infected him. Florence was a beautiful city, on the verge of the Renaissance when I got there. Yet even while living amongst all that splendor and art, Andrew’s death tormented me for many years, the pain of guilt and missing him digging into my heart. It never entirely went away, but it did lessen – it just took a really, really long time. As Hugh had said, a long life simply means having more time to mourn. How to cite Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 20, Essay examples

The Civil War Essays (330 words) - American Civil War, Union

The Civil War On paper the North was far stronger than the South. It had two and a half times as many people, and it possessed far more ships, miles of railroad, and manufacturing enterprises. Southerners, however, had the advantage of fighting on home ground with better military leadership. But Union superiority in manpower was not so great as the gross figures suggest. Half a million people scattered from Dakota to California, could make no substantial contribution to Union strength. And every year Union regiments were sent to the West to fight Indians. Hundreds of thousands of Americans in loyal border states and in southern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois worked or fought for southern independence. Though, every state furnished men for the other side, there was little doubt that more Federals than Confederates "crossed over." The South had superior officer personnel. For twenty years before Lincoln's inauguration, southern officers had dominated the U.S. Army. Another source of southern confidence was cotton. Secession leaders expected to exchange that staple for the foreign manufactured goods they needed. The South's most important advantage was that it had only to defend relatively short interior lines against invaders who had to deal with long lines of communication and to attack a broad front. The Confederacy also had no need to divert fighting men to tasks such as garrisoning captured cities and holding conquered territory. In a short war, numerical superiority would not have made much of a difference. As the war continued, however, numerical strength became a psychological as well as a physical weapon. During the closing years of the conflict, Union armies, massed at last against critical strongholds, suffered terrible casualties but seemed to grow stronger with every defeat. Any staggering Confederate losses sapped the southern will to fight. Every material advantage of the North was magnified by the fact that the Civil War lasted years instead of months. Money and credit, food production, transport, factories, clothing (boots)--it took time to redirect the economy to the requirements of war, especially because these requirements, like the length of the war, were underestimated.

Gun Co essays

Gun Co essays Guns dont kill people; people kill people. If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have the guns. These are typical sayings of anti-gun control activists who believe that gun usage and ownership should not be controlled by state or federal laws for they do not feel these laws are an effective means of controlling crime. However, guns are an effective means of self-defense, especially for women who are becoming more comfortable with guns and their uses; and gun-related accidents and deaths do not outweigh the positive outcome of gun possession by informed citizens. It is the misinformation given to the public by the media that unfortunately has generated such a widespread fear of firearms. Gun control has not been an effective crime deterrent. If criminals want guns, they can easily get access to one despite any law. Thirty-two percent of criminals get the guns they use by stealing them, forty percent or more from the black market, or borrowing, and at least seventeen percent from retail purchase. Laws such as the Brady Bill have not done anything to stop criminals from getting guns. They constitution guaranteed Americans the right to keep and bear arms in the Second Amendment. Gardinar believes that the purpose of this amendment was to secure each individual the right to keep and bear arms so that he could protect his absolute individual rights as well as carry out his obligations to assist in the common defense. The Brady Bill angered gun owners. Mahtesian said NRA membership soared after the bill was passed by Congress. Gun shop reported hug increases in sales prior to the new laws implementation. Many people are concerned that the government is infringin g on their rights as American citizens to own a gun. An article in Time magazine failed to mention that the 20,000 existing gun control laws...have failed miserable to curb crime (but have harassed and intimidated law-abid...

How to Build and Organize the Best Marketing Team

How to Build and Organize the Best Marketing Team What does it take to build a modern marketing team? That’s a question every company should be asking itself right now. Even if you already have a fully-stocked marketing department. Why? Marketing hiring is set to increase by 10% overall by 2026  in the United States (the average growth rate across industries is 7%). Marketing hiring is set to increase by 10% overall by 2026  in the United States.Popular marketing channels are getting more saturated by the day, too. SEO and paid search are getting more competitive. Organic social media reach is on the decline, and as such, competition for social advertising is going up. Some companies are experimenting with direct mail, even if their product is all-digital. This means that success now and in the future requires top talent. The kind of talent that has creativity and foresight to see what’s coming next. But, finding those kinds of marketers has never been easy, and it’s only getting more difficult to recruit top talent. In order to build the team you need, you’ll need to have knowledge and a plan. Get Your Free Marketing Org Chart Template As you build your team, visualizing each role is important. With a clear org chart, everyone in the organization can know exactly where each team member fits, and how they impact the rest of the department. Grab this free template to map yours out easily.Introducing the  Team Management Dashboard in : Effectively Manage Your Marketing Team Once your marketing team is up and running, ensuring its success is key. However, keeping teams organized isn’t easy. That’s the problem our Team Management Dashboard in solves. Even if you don’t have a dedicated project manager on your team (and even if you do), it makes managing multiple team members (and all their projects and tasks) easy to do in one place. Here’s a look at how it works:Ready to try it yourself? Schedule a demo below: What is the Role of a Modern Marketing Team? You may expect a complex answer to this question. However, the real purpose of marketing can be boiled down into one simple statement: Marketing exists to drive profitable customer action. Sure, there are other broader business goals that marketing serves. Telling your story. Promoting your products. Converting customers into advocates (who tell your story and promote your products). But, in the end, building business and raising revenue is the ultimate purpose of marketing. Is your marketing team organized for success? Here's how to build a successful team.Which Positions Does a Marketing Team Need to Drive Profitable Action? The needs of your team will depend on: Your industry. Your company side. But, at a high level, here are some essential roles: VP of Marketing Team Leads Writers Designers Analysts Project Managers Content Strategists Specialists (SEO, Email, Social, Etc.) PR Digital Marketing Now, some of these roles are broad. But, what’s more important than job titles are the actual responsibilities and work you need to get done. Start with these: Writers. Content and copy are essential for practically every area of marketing. Competency with search engine optimization, email, content strategy, and social media marketing are all pluses as well. Designers. If your content and marketing collateral don’t look good, then everything else about it is bad, too. Analysts. Writers should know how to analyze data. Eventually, this may need to become a dedicated position. Project managers. Basic project management skills are useful for all marketers. Once your team reaches a mature level, adding this as a dedicated role may also be advisable. Needs for Advanced Marketing Teams What do marketing teams need when they mature past basic responsibilities and disciplines? Here are some areas to consider (including areas where the team at added and expanded after starting with just one marketer in 2013): Automation specialists. The ability to use platforms like Salesforce and Autopilot effectively is crucial. Demand generation. Beyond just doing content marketing, building demand for your product, or even product category as a whole, is powerful. Marketing operations. This area is becoming a hot buzz term for managing technology, data, and resources. At a high level, it’s a mix of project management and resource allocation. What Resources Do Marketing Teams Need to Succeed? Bureaucratic red tape, budget constraints, and insufficient tools are three common culprits behind why marketing teams struggle (or even outright fail). So, how do you avoid these traps? Give Teams Creative and Strategic Latitude Sometimes, it’s tough for the C-suite to let go of control over marketing. But, marketers get hired for a reason: they know what they’re doing. Companies should show that they understand this by letting marketers set the direction for their own teams. After all, you probably wouldn’t hire a firefighter to fix your drain, or a landscaper to work on your car. Let marketers do marketing, and let everyone else do what they do best, too. Permission to Forget 10% Projects It’s easy to get bogged down in projects that make a marginal impact. It’s also hard to make meaningful progress that way. Spending too much time focusing on low-value activities can often leave teams feeling overly busy and yet unproductive. That’s a toxic combination. Not only does that mean they aren’t delivering everything they could be, no one worth their salt will want to remain in such an environment when they could get hired somewhere else. So, don’t force marketers to waste their time on things that aren’t important. Instead, focus on projects that deliver 10X results. This means activities that can improve a metric tenfold. Stack up enough such projects, and you’ll start to see much more substantial success in less time than before. Don’t force marketers to waste their time on things that aren’t important.Give Marketers the Right Tools Companies often set up marketers with whatever tools and software other departments use. Sometimes, that’s okay. Other times, though, it’s a massive mistake. Marketers do a lot of specialized work that requires specific toolsets. They also have unique needs that generic communication and team management tools can’t adequately meet. What works for, say, software developers to manage tasks and projects, may not be ideal for marketers (even though they might grit their teeth and make it work). There’s also a heavy tendency toward using Excel for tasks that spreadsheets aren’t built to handle. What’s the solution? Invest in the right tools for the right jobs. Some essentials include: Marketing management platform. solves the issue of â€Å"makeshift marketing† (the act of stitching together a martech stack out of disparate tools) by being a single hub where every project starts. Social media management software. There are tons of options out there. integrates with top social networks and WordPress, making it easy to publish and promote content in one place. Email marketing platforms. MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, and Campaign Monitor integrate with . Analytics tools. Data-driven marketers need more than just Google Analytics to make effective decisions. Collaborative editing suite. G Suite (integrates with ) and Microsoft Office 365 are both useful options. Recommended Reading: The 110 Best Marketing Tools to Consider When Building Your Marketing Toolstack Prioritizing Roles: Where Do You Even Start Building a Team? This is no small task (which is why you’re here). But, you’ve to start building somewhere. When every role is important, how do you choose roles for your starting points? Here are two strategies to consider: Starting with senior-level leadership. This person will know what kind of team they need. Finding someone looking to build from the ground up, in their own vision, could make this an enticing opportunity. Starting with a well-rounded generalist. Someone who can start executing effective work while figuring out what’s needed to take things to the next level. Either can be effective starting points. What Might a Complete Marketing Team Look Like? There’s no single way to structure a marketing team. And there isn’t really a specific point where a team might be considered â€Å"complete.† But, a small marketing team might look something like this: Which could grow into something more like this over time: Where to Find the Talent You Need A strong recruiting effort will leave no stone unturned to find the best talent possible to fit your team. Here are several places to consider starting your search. Networking Events Professional meetup groups, conferences, speaking events, and other public industry events fall into this category. Look for places where your company might be able to set up a booth, or just show up and talk to people. You never know who you might meet. Social Media Used strategically, social media can help you track down talented people looking for their next opportunity. LinkedIn. Twitter. Facebook. Now, it’s key here not to just reach out to strangers cold with no context. Try reaching out to qualified candidates with this messaging something like this: Hi, I’m [NAME], and I’m the [ROLE] at [COMPANY]. We’re looking to grow our marketing department, and I’m curious if you’re interested in opening up a conversation about what we have to offer? Let me know, it’d be great to grab a coffee when you have an opportunity. Thanks for your time. Feel free to edit this template. What’s most important is to offer a warm introduction and keep the focus on what you can do for the potential prospect’s career. Career Directories There are several sites where you can post job listings. Some popular ones include: Indeed. Monster. CareerBuilder. Glassdoor. But, there are some lesser known resources out there to consider, too. Some of those include: Craigslist. Local job boards. Newspaper ads. Cast a wide net. This author got their first job in the industry thanks to a late-night Craigslist search, and subsequent jobs through networking and cold outreach, so you never know which tactic might yield the best results. Internship Programs Successful interns can often make successful full-time employees. Have your interns shadow full-time staff, let them get some useful experience, and see if they have what it takes to deliver. Recommended Reading: How to Make Interns a Successful Part of Your Marketing Team Within Your Own Company You might be able to find great fits for marketing roles from other departments in your own company. Now, you don’t want to poach staff or cause tension between your team and others. But, there might be someone in a role where they don’t feel like they’re the best fit. Or, they might have some previous or otherwise relevant experience that would make marketing an ideal area for them to be in. Career Fairs You’ll have competition here, but you’ll also have face time with lots of potential candidates. There’s some investment involved in setting up a booth (printing collateral, developing talking points, and so forth) but the results can be worth the effort, particularly for finding intrepid interns and entry-level talent. Word of Mouth Sometimes the best opportunities come from people you know, who know other people. Take a colleague at another company out for coffee. Hit up an old mentor you haven’t heard from in a while. Just put yourself out there and talk to people. You might be surprised where those conversations lead. Recruiting Previous Co-Workers Some of the best hires you can make might currently be working at your (or your coworkers) former employers. If you like where you’re at (and you know your former coworkers, well, don’t enjoy their current positions so much), then they should be some of the first people you reach out to (so long as you’re not running the risk of burning bridges by poaching people). How To Structure Internal And External Marketing Teams (From CEO Garrett Moon) In order to build the world's best all-in-one  marketing management platform,   needs to understand how modern blogging teams work. So,  the team  called, emailed, and Googled its way to understanding. The results are valuable. Marketing teams are diverse, but 's research  concluded that there are really only two major types of team structures, and then two minor ones that branch off from there. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of these teams makes a huge difference in how you  manage and organize your own writing team.