DEMAND MANAGEMENT AND ENERGY STORAGE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Request MANAGEMENT AND ENERGY STORAGE - Essay Example Diminishing age would in fact increment the reliance on ordinary assets and that it won't involve extra expenses. The third area investigates the ideal blend of various sustainable power hotspots for Scotland. Albeit a national report says that there isn't right blend that would work best for the nation, the mix of wind and marine force is suggested by and by. At last, the fourth area talks about the significance of vitality stockpiling for renewables. It further investigates extra storerooms that Scotland would need to viably oblige future interest. This report presumes that completely understanding the capability of Scotland will make the nation probably the biggest wellspring of sustainable power source, along these lines influencing request in the worldwide scale. II. Situations for Generating Renewable Energy: Impact on Demand Management A. Foundation Renewable vitality is a significant likely option in contrast to directing the impacts of environmental change. In any case, sust ainable power sources just record for 19.6% of worldwide power and 13.5% of worldwide vitality request (IEA, 2004 refered to in Neuhoff, n.d.). While they are without a doubt boundless and lessen expenses of tasks in vitality age, sustainable sources produce an inconsistent vitality flexibly since the climate, on which renewables incredibly depend, can turn out to be truly erratic so its age may not come in reliably huge amounts that fulfills need. Age of sustainable power source depends on a few specialized, conservative, and social and natural variables (Kopacek and IFAC, 2006). A significant part of the carbon outflows originate from regular power utilization and transportation yet sustainable power sources empowers an innocuous biological abuse since they don't emit risky side-effects (for example carbon dioxide) upon utilization. In the United Kingdom, Scotland creates half of country’s sustainable power source primarily from wind, hydropower, marine and biomass sources (Great Britain House of Lords, 2008). In actuality, Scotland has around 60 GW of crude inexhaustible power sources that could make the nation a world head in sustainable power source age (Scotland, 2009). The nation can create sustainable power source multiple times more than it devours (McDermott, 2010). In any case, the test remains, anyway on the transmission of this vitality potential wherein administrative, budgetary, calculated, and ecological variables ought to be considered particularly in improving the framework organize and the approach contemplations (Scotland, 2009). The Scottish Government, in light of its duty to decrease carbon discharges by in any event 42% in 2020, means to â€Å"flex age [of electricity] to satisfy need, and ...flex request to meet generation† (Scotland, 2010a). Taken from a national report, the accompanying situations present how RE age influence request the executives in Scotland. In every one of the three situations, request levels are fu lfilled. In the second and third situations, flexibly will surpass request with transmission updates, imperatives approaches , and decrease of interest in thought. B. Situation 1 The Scottish Government had as of late expanded its sustainable objective to 80% for 2020 because of the development in wind power through which renewables might be

What’s a Good New 2016 SAT Score for Your Target School

What’s a Good New 2016 SAT Score for Your Target School SAT/ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You may have heard that another SAT was discharged in March2016! What’s it out of? How would you know what a decent score is? How would you figure out what new SAT score you should be acknowledged toyour target school? I'llcover the entirety of this data underneath. New SAT Score Range The new SAT isscored out of 1600. There areonly be 2 segments rather than 3: Math and consolidated Writing and Language (rather than Math, Critical Reading, and Writing). Every one of the 2 segments isscored from 200 to 800, making the new composite SAT score go 400 to 1600. Change Between the Old SAT and New SAT While we don’t yet comprehend what the specific change will be, you can by and large anticipate what the new estimated SAT score wouldbe by increasing the old SAT score by 66.6% (since the new SAT isout of â… the same number of focuses as the old SAT). In case you're given separate scores by segment (Math, Critical Reading, and Writing), you can utilize an alternate expectation technique: Math area score + [(Critical Reading score + Writing score)/2] In layman's terms, normal Critical Reading and Writing and afterward add that normal to the Math score. This technique is increasingly definite in light of the fact that it represents the way that Mathisweighted all the more intensely on the new SAT(1/2 of your new composite score versus 1/3 of the old composite score). In 2014, the national normal SAT score was 1497. Utilizing the 66.6% figuring technique referenced above, I gauge the new normal SAT score will be roughly 998. The national 75th percentile is around 1700, so the new 75th percentile score will be around 1133. The national 90th percentile is around 1900, so the new 90th percentile score will be around 1267. Be that as it may, a great score isn't simply superior to the normal. A decent SAT score relies upon whatcollege you want to join in. Colleges’ SAT Score Ranges and What They Mean for You To discover what a decent new SAT score is for your objective schools, you should take a gander at colleges’ SAT score ranges. The score extend shows what SAT scores conceded understudies got. Typically, schools show the scores from the latest candidate pool, so the scores will probably be as far as the old SAT (2400 scale). You'll have to change over the scores utilizing the computation above. The score range will be written in one of two different ways as a 25th/75th percentile or a normal. The 25th percentile SAT score implies 25% of concedes scored at or beneath that number (or 75% of concedes scored higher). The 75th percentile SAT score implies 75% of concedes scored at or underneath that number (or 25% of concedes scored higher). The normal SAT is the normal of all admits’ SAT scores. Realizing the score reaches will cause you to comprehend what sort of score you should be a serious candidate to that schoolsince you'll recognize what SAT scores concedes got. Prior to making sense of your objective, you have to make sense of your objective universities. Make a List of Target Schools On the off chance that you don’t have a rundown of target schools as of now, make one! This rundown ought exclude your security schools. Asafety school is a school that you're practically sure you can get into with the SAT score and GPA you as of now have. This rundown ought to incorporate the more particular universities that you would like to join in. You ought to reject security schools from this rundown since you need to design your objective SAT score for the universities with the most noteworthy SAT measures. On the off chance that you meet or surpass their SAT standards, you will in all likelihood be admitted to your wellbeing schools. After you have made your rundown of the more particular universities, draw a table with 3 segments with the accompanying titles: School Name 25th Percentile or Normal SAT 75th Percentile/ Target Score Fill in your objective schools under school name as I did underneath: School Name 25th Percentile or Normal SAT 75th Percentile/ Target Score UC Berkeley Yale University Under the 25th percentile or normal SAT, you'll compose either the 25th percentile or normal SAT score for that school. As I referenced before, schools will just give you one. Whichever they give you, compose that number in the center section (you'll have to re-figure it for the new SAT, which I will clarify in detail underneath). Under 75th percentile/target score, you put the college’s 75th percentile score (on the off chance that they give it). For schools that lone give normal SAT, you'll be computing an objective score. I'll disclose how to compute the objective score later on. Instructions to Find Your Target College’s New SAT Score Range When you have your rundown, finding those colleges’ SAT score ranges is straightforward. You simply need to Google search â€Å"[College Name] normal SAT† or â€Å"[College Name] SAT 25th/75th percentile.† That will should lead you to the Freshman Admissions Profile for your objective school. In case you can't find a Freshman Admissions Profile for your objective school,check out our school affirmation requirementsdatabase to check whether we have the SAT data for your objective school. This is a screen capture from Yale’s confirmation site: Yale gave the 25th/75th percentile SAT score for their green beans concedes. To rough the 25th percentile composite SAT score for the new SAT in spring 2016, you need first to figure the current 25th percentile composite SAT score. Normal the 2 lower numbers for Writing and Verbal/Critical Reading together (which independently speak to the current 25th percentile SAT scores for those areas): (710 + 720)/2 = 715 At that point, add that number to thelower number for the Math segment (the 25th percentile SAT score for Math) 715 + 710 =1425, rounds to 1430 (the SAT is scored in units of 10) Do a similar math with the higher numbers (75th percentile score) to make sense of the composite 75th percentile SAT score. NOTE: certain universities call the 25th/75th percentile the center half scores. Be that as it may, the 2 numbers they give are the 25th/75th percentile scores. They consider it the center half since the 25th/75th percentile scores speak to the center half of SAT scores of concedes. Add this new data to your diagram: School Name 25th Percentile or Normal SAT 75th Percentile/ Target Score UC Berkeley Yale University 1430 1590 As I said previously, different schools will give you just the normal SAT score for concedes (asUC Berkeley does): Since UC Berkeley just gives a normal, you can’t realize what number of understudies scored above and underneath it, yet let’s expect about half scored above and half scored beneath. Let’s do a similar math as above to make sense of the estimated normal SAT score for the new SAT: (686 + 698)/2 =692 710 +692 = 1402, rounds to 1400 Fill that numberin under 25th Percentile or Average SAT, and leave the 75th Percentile/Target Score clear for the time being. I'll disclose how to decide atarget score for school's with found the middle value of scores later on. School Name 25th Percentile or Normal SAT 75th Percentile/ Target Score UC Berkeley 1400 Yale University 1430 1590 Step by step instructions to Calculate Your New SAT Target Score For the schools that give the 75th percentile, your objective score ought to be at or over the 75th percentile. (That is the reason I had you list the 75th percentile in a similar segment as target score. The 75th percentile is your objective score!) For the universities that solitary reveal to you a normal composite SAT, I would focus on a score 100 focuses over the re-determined normal. For instance, for UC Berkeley, your objective score ought to be 1500. Fill in that number (the normal SAT in addition to 100 focuses) to your outline under 75th percentile/target score: School Name 25th Percentile or Normal SAT 75th Percentile/ Target Score UC Berkeley 1400 1500 Yale University 1430 1590 Why can’t you focus on a lower score close to the 25th percentile or closer to the normal? A non-irrelevant number ofstudents are unmistakably acknowledged with those scores. Be that as it may, mostof the understudies acknowledged with lower scores are extraordinary candidates, including competitors, heritages, offspring of huge contributors, or understudies with exceptionaltalents, (for example, the champ of the national science reasonable). On the off chance that you aren’t in the â€Å"special† class, you’ll need a higher SAT score to help your odds of being admitted.The higher your SAT score, the almost certain you will get in.For progressively verification, look at Brown University’s affirmation information: For understudies with the most noteworthy score (800), 22.8% were conceded, which is a lot higher than the general Brown concede rate, 8.7%. As the scores decay (score somewhere in the range of 750 and 790), the student’s possibility of confirmation drops by 5.7%, from 22.8% to 15.1%. A similar example holdsacross the different twosections and the composite.You presently know the higher your score, the better possibility you have of being acknowledged. In the event that you have a disparity in the â€Å"Target Scores† on your rundown (as I do above), which would it be a good idea for you to focus on? Focus on the most elevated objective score on your list.That way when you arrive at the most elevated objective score, you will have the most obvious opportunity with regards to affirmation at all of your objective schools. On the off chance that you get a 1580 and apply to Yale and UC Berkeley, you have a fantastic possibility of being admitted to the two schools. In any case, in the event that you got a 1480 and applied to Yale, you would now be less inclined to get in, as you would miss the mark regarding the 75th percentile score and be in the center half of concedes scores. How Exact Is the Conversion? What Does the Variation Mean for You? It

All the Books! Podcast, Episode #4 New Releases for June 2, 2015

All the Books! Podcast, Episode #4 New Releases for June 2, 2015 This week, Liberty and Rebecca discuss Bellweather Rhapsody, Saint Mazie, Land Where I Flee, and more new releases. This episode is sponsored by Scribd  and Book Riot Live. Subscribe to All the  Books! using  RSS or iTunes and never miss a beat book. Books discussed on the show: Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia Saint Mazie by Jami Attenberg Land Where I Flee by Prajwal Parajuly The Vacationers by Emma Straub Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A. S. King Naked at Lunch: A Reluctant Nudists Adventures in the Clothing-Optional World by Mark Haskell Smith The Nakeds by Lisa Glatt Summer reading recommendations What were reading: Topless Cellist:  The Improbable Life of Charlotte Moorman by Joan Rothfuss Bright Lines by  Tanwi Nandini Islam More books out today: The Sage of Waterloo by Leona Francombe Nooks Crannies by Jessica Lawson, illus. by Natalie Andrewson Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga by Pamela Newkirk The Loved Ones by Mary-Beth Hughes More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera The Devil You Know by Trish Doller Planck: Driven by Vision, Broken by War by Brandon R. Brown Single Digits: In Praise of Small Numbers by Marc Chamberland Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman A History of Money by Alan Pauls Drawn Quarterly: Twenty-five Years of Contemporary Cartooning, Comics, and Graphic Novels by Tom Devlin A Field Guide to Awkward Silences by Alexandra Petri The Theft of Memory: Losing My Father, One Day at a Time by Jonathan Kozol My Generation: Collected Nonfiction by William Styron In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer Palace of Treason by Jason Matthews The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings: J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams by Philip Zaleski and Carol Zaleski Muse by Jonathan Galassi Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas Stalins Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva by Rosemary Sullivan Finders Keepers by Stephen King A Theory of Expanded Love by Caitlin Hicks The Sunlit Night by Rebecca Dinerstein The Pinch by Steve Stern The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty by Vendela Vida What Else Is In the Teaches of Peaches by Peaches Tin Sky by Ben Pastor Haints Stay by Colin Winnette Freedom’s Child by Jax Miller The Great Detective: The Amazing Rise and Immortal Life of Sherlock Holmes by Zach Dundas A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor Once Upon a Time in Russia: The Rise of the Oligarchs A True Story of Ambition, Wealth, Betrayal, and Murder by Ben Mezrich The League of Regrettable Superheroes: Half-Baked Heroes from Comic Book History by Jon Morris Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave Charlie, Presumed Dead by Anna Heltzel Innocence or Murder on Steep Street by Heda Margolius Kovály The Cherry Harvest by Lucy Sanna 90 Church: Inside Americas Notorious First Narcotics Squad by Dean Unkefer Providence Noir edited by Ann Hood The Hunter Killers: The Extraordinary Story of the First Wild Weasels, the Band of Maverick Aviators Who Flew the Most Dangerous Missions of the Vietnam War by Dan Hampton My Feelings: Poems by Nick Flynn Under the Same Sky: From Starvation in North Korea to Salvation in America by Joseph Kim and Stephan Talty Who Gets Whatand Why: The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design by Alvin E. Roth The Unfortunates by Sophie McManus Dinner with Buddha by Roland Merulo The Gang of Lovers by Massimo Carlotto Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley The Lake Season by Hannah McKinnon The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud The Prince of Minor Writers: The Selected Essays of Max Beerbohm by Max Beerbohm Id Walk with My Friends If I Could Find Them by Jesse Goolsby Stallo by  Stefan Spjut (R)evolution by PJ Manney Sugar by Deirdre Riordan Hall Ruthless by John Rector Eeny Meeny by M. J. Arlidge I, Justine by Justine Ezarik Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World by Brian J. Robertson Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot Primates of Park Avenue: A Memoir by Wednesday Martin Shards of Hope by Nalini Singh Robert Ludlum’s The Janson Equation by Douglas Corleone A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay Hotel Moscow by Talia Carner Moonlight on Nightingale Way by Samantha Young Sweet Forgiveness by Lori Nelson Spielman The Liar’s Key by Mark Lawrence Asking for It by Lilah Pace The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer Briar Queen by Katherine Harbour The Evidence Room by Cameron Harvey Those Secrets We Keep by Emily Liebert Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey The Change by S. M. Stirling I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves to Get through Our Twenties by Ryan O’Connell Status of All Things by Liz Fenton The Fateful Lightning by Jeff Shaara Judy Liza Robert Freddie David Sue Me by Stevie Phillips Hardcovers now in paperback: Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation by Blake J. Harris Servants of the Storm by Delilah S. Dawson The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey Ride Around Shining by Chris Leslie-Hynan Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith A Long Way Home: A Memoir by Saroo Brierley Written in My Own Hearts Blood by Diana Gabaldon The Untold by Courtney Collins Bad English: A History of Linguistic Aggravation by Ammon Shea ____________________ Expand your literary horizons with New Books!, a weekly newsletter spotlighting 3-5 exciting new releases, hand-picked by our very own Liberty Hardy. Sign up now!

Advantages Of Diversity-Conscious Leadership - 950 Words

Diversity-Conscious Leadership (APA Citation) The United States is a diverse nation with citizens originating from every other nation on Earth. Despite this diversity, Americans have only recently begun to identify diversity as a integral part of the workplace; and put into practice programs to diversify, and therefore, maximize efficiency and production. However, simply diversifying the workplace, or any other place for that matter, will not automatically increase the efficiency of workers. It requires a diversity-conscious leader who has been trained and experienced in such matters to make diversity an asset in the workplace. Diversity leadership has been defined as ways in which people and groups relate to one another and how management [leadership] decisions are made in the midst of the differences, similarities, and tensions among groups. (Lim, Cho, Curry, 2008) And in order to accomplish this, a good leader must know the difference between the assimilation and inclusion. Assimilation takes a diverse group and homogenizes them, while inclusion maintains the individual differences between people and capitalizes on those differences for the benefit of all. For instance, instilling a goal-oriented sense of identity allows for each individual to maintain their uniqueness, while coming together to accomplish the goal. It is the goal that each individual concentrates on, not the differences between the members of the group. Also, a good leader will facilitate goodShow MoreRelatedThe Impact of Diversity on Individual Behavior1275 Words   |  6 PagesThe Impact of Diversity on Individual Behavior The concept of diversity has broadened in scope in the recent past, evolving from the concept of mandated quotas and affirmative action, to the reality of a diverse workforce being capable of providing quantifiable business value. A variety of external factors have influenced the conceptual evolution of diversity within the workplace. 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Death Of The American Dream Essay - 1387 Words

Death of the American Dream. The promise that the American dream will bring happiness is a delusion, which many people have become victims to from being inspired by the propaganda and the false hope which it creates. The four texts, The Great Gatsby directed by Baz Luhrmann Fight Club written by Chuck Palahniuk, American Beauty directed by Sam Mendes and Revolutionary Road, directed by Sam Mendes give proof to this claim as they illustrate the reality of the dream which is that it is the end of a person s personal identity. The Idea which coincides with the theme of the death of the American dream is that people must portray the look of happiness through the display of possessions when striving for success, as represented in The Great gatsby and American beauty. With the idea that the American dream causes self destruction is portrayed in the texts Fight Club and Revolutionary Road. What becomes apparent in The Great Gatsby and American Beauty is the idea that those who have supposedly attained the dream make displays of their happiness, though flaunting their possessions in the eye of others to mask their unhappiness. In both texts the main characters have been surrounded by lavish and expensive furniture which has become the main part of their lifestyle. After attaining the ‘dream’ they both have developed the idea that the most important things in life is what others think of you, these consist of both your status and the happiness which you portray. Although bothShow MoreRelatedThe Death Of The American Dream1977 Words   |  8 PagesMichael Talanker Ms. Casperson AP English III 28 January 2015 The Death of the American Dream in the 1920s and the Narrative of The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald named the boisterous era known as the Roaring Twenties the â€Å"Jazz Age,† a name fitting for the cultural upheaval that occurred during the decade. 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The Alternative Fuel Race Which One Will Go the Distance Free Essays

Since the discovery of fire a million years ago, man has gone a long way in developing sources of energy to support his way of living. Of the world’s current energy sources, about 95% come from fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum. (Cunningham Saigo, 1997). We will write a custom essay sample on The Alternative Fuel Race: Which One Will Go the Distance? or any similar topic only for you Order Now With issues such as pollution, global warming, and energy conservation, alternative fuel sources emerged, with the competitive vision of erasing the need for fossil fuels in cars. Implementing an alternative for petroleum in vehicles entails many concerns, such as availability, cost of production, energy output, and level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Farrell et al. , 2006; Hill et al. , 2006). At present, ethanol, battery power, and hybrids are available as alternative fuel sources for passenger vehicles. The question now is: which of these three has what it takes to replace fossil fuels? This research paper aims to give an overview of three alternative fuel options for passenger vehicles existing today: ethanol, battery power, and hybrid cars. The data and issues presented in this paper should provide information to the general public about the pros and cons of each, and hopefully will aid in the decision as to which alternative fuel is the best option for possibly replacing fossil fuels in passenger cars. To examine each alternative fuel option, the researcher uses information gathered from peer-reviewed journals and news articles published within the past decade. Each of the three topics for investigation is first defined before data is presented and interpreted. The data covers a brief explanation of each fuel option, including statistics and results from studies conducted on them. Also included in this report are economic and environmental pros and cons of the three presented options for passenger cars. This paper does not give mention to the implications of ethanol, battery power, and hybrids on industries other than passenger vehicles. Furthermore, this research does not cover political and cultural issues affecting the implementation of alternative fuels. How to cite The Alternative Fuel Race: Which One Will Go the Distance?, Papers

Eminem paper review Essay Example For Students

Eminem paper review Essay In like Eminem says, why all the fuss? featured in The Age journalist Shaun Carney defends Eminem and his lyrics. Carny stresses that Eminem winning the category should not be so controversial when Mathers is clearly depicting a role. His contention through out the article is to convince the reader to refrain from reaching to eminem, as a parody. Carny effectively seeks the neutral role during the story. He leans neither way. Carny signifies specific word choice and language devices to shock his audience and to create an underlying sense of non-prejudice, realistic view on society perhaps to open up the views of a small-minded prejudice race. Carnys headline is very striking it creates tension and almost gives a sense of obligation to the audience to read on. Carneys headline is used as a device to capture the readers immediate attention. This foreshadows the final remark made by Carny, so much for scandal, now leaving the reader with a question , a parallel between start and finish tightly constructing the article. This clever technique leaves the reader open handed and open-minded to think about the actual topic of the article. Though Carnys contention through-out the article is to suggest Eminem is Just Joking, he is not all, scared of presenting Marshall as not so nice explaining him as a 28 year old production of a peripatetic white-trash upbrining. Then contradicting himself saying Mathers all wounded and victimised by his sole-parent upbrining . Is this not a slight use of sarcasm? putting himself in the biased head of an out reaged parent. Carney conveys his opinion in a very structured way. He uses Eminem song ly rics to show that he is a role player and only joking, Im just playin ladies. You know I love you. Carney uses other examples to reassure people say the situations he raps about are just clownin. Although readers may not realise, Carney these more realistic, human-like comments as a source of evidence to back up his contention that eminem are not real, Marshall Mathers is an actor playing a role, ultimately just doing his job. Carneys clever style of writing indicates a strong point of view defending Eminem , but his style of writing has allowed the reader to make their own decision, giving a fair balance between good and bad. Eminem deals in some very sick stuff, no doubt about it, but again goes on to say, Eminem is a skillfull storyteller and role player. He also emphises that Slim Shady aka Eminem and the real person Marshall Mathers are two different people, he is the fictional character Slim Shady. Throughout the article Carney was subjected to use his own unique style of writing and word choice. The stress and harshness of some of his phrases and bitter sarcastic sentences, violent, homophobic, and misogynistic, and, his work is long, aggressive, revenge fantasy, although its not direct repition it sounds somewhat similar sounding. He shocks the audience with You dont want to f____ with shady or he will f____ you. The reader considers the songs thought provoking a decision and taking into consideration the harshness. He doesnt use language devices because its not a funny article. The tone and word choice gives us the impression that it is serious, no jokes here. Perhaps Carney relates to Eminem on a more personal level. There is modern exposure, and wide experience, he is a young writer, he is almost similar to them, he understands Eminem. This story is a collum of opinion not an editorial. Carnys use of irony makes his readers really think about Eminem and his lyrics, ..or another tune, cousin Dupree: about a man propositioning his young cousin, wins the album of the year grammy. Carney informs his audience that Eminems lyrics are not the only ones containing violent actions and language anyway Damn, how much damage can you do with a pen? Carney suggests that Eminem and his critics may be alike, Youll find the rapper, his critics and peers have a lot in common, its just that they despise him because of the way he sings is. Carney highlights that most of the music these days is the same anyway. Bibliography:

Aint No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell free essay sample

Just a few decades ago, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell recorded a song titled â€Å"Ain’t No Mountain High Enough†, that caught radio stations by storm. The upbeat and soulful style of music, along with sweet lyrics that would make any girl swoon, was a craze of 1967 that has continued ever since. Most would recognize this song as one added to the Grammy Hall of Fame, a piece written by Nikolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, or as the famous melody that made it as a top twenty hit. However it’s to be known, this magical duet between â€Å"The Prince of Motown† and his elegant partner has the strongest of identities. Opening with the vocals of Marvin Gaye and a jazzy background, â€Å"Ain’t No Mountain High Enough† is capable of captivating any audience. Following the lovely introduction, Tammi Terrell’s voice is brought into the upbeat music and a fun love story transpires. We will write a custom essay sample on Aint No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page From beginning to end, these two artists sing of a hopeful, never-ending love. With lyrics such as, â€Å"Remember the day, I set you free/ I told you you could always count on me, darling† and â€Å"I’ll be there when you want me†, anyone who hears this song gets wrapped up in the passion. Whether listeners have been through a circumstance similar to the one portrayed in the lyrics, or just became pleasantly lost in the daydream that they too would have another love them as much, they feel a deeper connection. It’s a perfect love story, filled with dire devotion that is entirely relatable. This song is a fantastic classic. From the start filled with excitement, the enticing middle, and a terrific fade to a close, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell brought many great attributes to what would become an extremely memorable song. Truly embodying the title of the greatest song ever created, â€Å"Ain’t No Mountain High Enough† will top the charts for ages!

Power Definitions and Examples in Sociology

Power Definitions and Examples in Sociology Definition: Power is a key sociological concept with several different meanings and considerable disagreement surrounding them. The most common definition comes from Max Weber, who defined it as the ability to control others, events, or resources; to make happen what one wants to happen in spite of obstacles, resistance, or opposition. Power is a thing that is held, coveted, seized, taken away, lost, or stolen, and it is used in what are essentially adversarial relationships involving conflict between those with power and those without. In contrast, Karl Marx used the concept of power in relation to social classes and social systems rather than individuals. He argued that power rests in a social class’s position in the relations of production. Power does not lie in the relationship between individuals, but in domination and subordination of social classes based on the relations of production. A third definition comes from Talcott Parsons who argued that power is not a matter of social coercion and domination, but instead flows from a social system’s potential to coordinate human activity and resources in order to accomplish goals.

The Yellow Wallpaper - Managing the Madness-Mental Illness Research Proposal

The Yellow Wallpaper - Managing the Madness-Mental Illness - Research Proposal Example ory, an exaggerated account of an event from Gilman’s own life, stands as a statement against the male oppression of women experienced throughout much of history, but particularly as it was still experienced in the late 19th century when this story was written. Although many advances have been made on the part of women to explore their own goals and psyches, ‘the problem that has no name’ discussed by Friedan and illustrated by Gilman remains an issue as women continue to find many of the same objectification issues they have faced for centuries. In the story, John and the protagonist take up residence in an upper room of the house, thought to have once been a nursery, with bars on the windows and old faded yellow wallpaper attached to the walls. This wallpaper plays a large role in the progression of the woman’s illness as she begins to see women creeping around inside it, trying to escape the oppression they, too, have experienced. The woman is instructed to stay within the room, doing nothing, thinking nothing and engaged in absolutely no household chore, until she is well. While the diagnosis is to rest, with absolutely no burdens placed upon her, this treatment does not seem the wise course to the woman. â€Å"Personally, I disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good. But what is one to do?† However, her opinion doesn’t matter in the slightest as she is told to hush and stop being so contrary. In the end, the woman is completely insane, creeping around the walls herself after peeling the wallpaper off as high as she can reach, even creeping over her husband, who has fainted against the wall, in order to continue her progress unimpeded. One of the biggest impacts on women throughout history has been a general socially oriented tendency to objectify the gender rather than consider females as fully viable members of a society. According to Diana Kendall (2004),

Assess security risks to Georgia (Republic of) Essay

Assess security risks to Georgia (Republic of) - Essay Example Georgia was not important to them because it does not serve their national interests. International groups like the League of Nations and Second Socialist International, that are supportive of Georgia’s goal to create a social democracy and are responsible for promoting and preserving peace all over the world, were not strong enough to stop the plans of the Soviet Union to break the independence of Georgia through force (He & Feng, 2012). This essay analyses security risks of Georgia. The politics in Caucasus was not good and harmful to Georgia. The military of Georgia, who were not united, not trained, and have very few resources, were always involved in battles, like border fights and civil wars. These battles showed the problems of Georgia’s national security. And these national security problems were worsened by lack of economic help from other countries, lack of revenues, unskilled public servants, bad communication and transportation, and very hard economic problems (MacFarlane, 2012). Georgia is still in a very difficult situation in terms of security because it has to give information or warnings about security risks without stopping or badly affecting the economy. Creating a strong economy and democracy in a weak or risky country is a main problem for Georgia. While Georgia tries to build democracy, the risk of regional conflict or problem affects all over Georgia and could be made happen by some happenings. This could be one more Russian military attack because of preventing a possible Georgian attack on the occupied South Ossetia and Abkhazia, helping Russian minority groups, giving supplies to Russian military headquarters in Armenia, or fighting terrorism (CSIS, 2006). Russia is being ready to get involved its military in the South Caucasus if fighting occurred in facilities with nuclear weapons from Iran. The reason

Why Do Nations Engage In Trade?

Why Do Nations Engage In Trade? Regional Economic Integration: Why is it happening? Why do nations engage in trade? Provide examples of the levels of economic integration. The reason why the Regional Economic Integration is happening because nowadays we have the open market in which every countries or state can have the free trade to others countries. This integration results from regional economic integration blocs in which member countries agree to eliminate tariffs and other restrictions on the cross-national flow of products, services, capital and in more advanced stages labor within the bloc (3). One of the most important things that lead to this integration is the globalization. It affects no on many types of life including the economy. So that, this is a significance to have the Economic integration in order to have the better economy in which the globalization is making its effects on. Nations engage in economic integration because each country cannot produce all the goods and services it needs. Therefore, countries produce what they are good at and have abundant supply of raw materials, and then they trade another country in exchange for something that they need. Some countries trade with other nations for particular goods and services because they either lack the technology to produce the goods themselves or the other countries can do it cheaper. One country may have the advance at producing high quality cabinets and entertainment stands for large screen televisions. Another country may have the resources for producing goods but they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have the technology. It would benefit both countries to trade with one another for their different but complementary goods and services. There are several levels of the regional economic integration which are the Free Trade Area, The Custom Union, The Common Market, and The Economic Union. The Free Trade Area is the least restrictive form of economic integration among countries. In a free trade area, all barriers to trade among member countries are removed. (1) Therefore, goods and services are freely traded among member countries in much the same way that they flow freely between, for example, Southeast Asia and America. There are no discriminatory taxes, quotas tariffs, or other trade barriers are allowed. Sometimes a free trade area is formed only for certain classes of goods and services. The most notable feature of a free trade area is that each member country is free to set any tariffs, quotas, or other restriction that it chooses for trade with countries outside the free trade area. European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are one of the biggest free trade areas in the world. The customs union is one step further along the spectrum of economic integration. Like a free trade area, it eliminates trade barriers between member countries and adopts a common external trade policy (2) in goods and services among themselves. One of the biggest customs unions is the Andean Pact. It has Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru as its members. In addition, however, the customs union establishes a common trade policy with respect to nonmembers. Typically, this takes the form of a common external tariff, whereby imports from nonmembers are subject to the same tariff when sold to any member country. Tariff revenues are then shared among members according to a perspective formula. The common market has no barriers to trade among members and has a common external trade policy like the customs union. Additionally, the common market removes restrictions on the movement of the factors of production (labor, capital, and technology) across borders. (2) Thus, restrictions on immigration, emigration, and cross-border investment are abolished. When factors of production are freely mobile, then capital, labor, and technology may be employed in their most productive uses. An economic union has the free flow of products and factors of production between members, a common external trade policy, a common currency, a harmonized tax rate, and a common monetary and fiscal policy.(2) EU is the most important economic in the world in which almost European countries are the members. It has the great effect to the world economy. The creation of a true economic union requires integration of economic policies in addition to the free movement of goods, services, and factors of production across borders. Under an economic union, members would harmonize monetary policies, taxation, and government spending. In addition, a common currency would be used by all members. This could be accomplished by membersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ countries agreeing to a common currency or in effect, by a system of fixed exchange rates. Clearly, the formation of an economic union requires nations to surrender a large measure of their formation of an economic union requires nations to surrende r a large measure of their national sovereignty. Needless to say, the barriers to full economic union are quite strong. Our global political system is built on the autonomy and supreme power of the nation-state, and attempts to undermine the authority of the state will undoubtedly always encounter opposition. As a result, no true economic unions are in effect today. Montessori Education: Principles, Philosophy And Practice Montessori Education: Principles, Philosophy And Practice The Montessori Method developed initially at the first Casa dei Bambini that Montessori established in 1906 in San Lorenzo in Rome. As with modern Montessori education, the basic principles were straightforward. First, Montessori believed that children were innate knowledge seekers and that they taught themselves. As she expressed it, young learners were self-creating. Second, Montessori believed that, at each stage of development, education should include and evolve within prepared environments, environments that enabled children to take on accountability for their own learning as they engaged the processes relevant to becoming able and actu alized adults and citizens. More specifically, according to the American Montessori Society (AMS), Montessoris pedagogy stressed the following critical and structuring notions: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The aim of Montessori education is to foster competent, responsible, adaptive citizens who are lifelong learners and problem solvers; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Learning occurs in an inquiring, cooperative, nurturing atmosphere. Students increase their own knowledge through both self- and teacher-initiated experiences; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Learning takes place through the senses. Students learn by manipulating materials and interacting with others. These meaningful experiences are precursors to the abstract understanding of ideas; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The individual is considered as a whole. The physical, emotional, social, aesthetic, spiritual, and cognitive needs and interests are inseparable and equally important; [and] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Respect and caring attitudes for oneself, others, the environment, and all life are necessary. 5 Pedagogically, perhaps the most important, and most famous, emphases are Montessoris conceptualizations of the prepared environment and the developmental plane. According to the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI, founded by Montessori herself in 1929), the prepared environment of the Montessori classroom is one where children are free to respond to their natural tendency to work [and where their] innate passion[s] for learning [are] encouraged by giving them opportunities to engage in spontaneous, purposeful activities with the guidance of a trained adult. [Here, and t]hrough their work, the children develop concentration and joyful self-discipline.] Within a framework of order, [they] progress at their own pace and rhythm, according to their individual capabilities. 6 These are environments that allow [children] to take responsibility for their own education, giving them the opportunity to become human beings able to function independently and hence interdependently. 7 From this view, the prepared environment is one that can be designed to facilitate maximum independent learning and exploration by the child, one in which there is a variety of activity as well as a great deal of movement. In this situation, according to the Montessori approach, this necessary preparedness enables children [to] work on activities of their own choice at their own pace. Further, [t]hey [children] experience a blend of freedom and self-discipline in a place especially designed to meet their developmental needs. 8 The notion of prepared environment is related, moreover, to the manipulation of learning materials and to the understanding of normalization. From the Montessorian view, materials are to be accessible (e.g., placed on appropriately high or low shelves) and available for individual student choice, interest, and use. They are, to a large extent, fully the responsibility of students-regardless of age (e.g., students obtain, return, and maintain them). More pedagogically precise, these materials aim at inducing activity, isolating a particular learning quality (e.g., comparison and contrast, size, color, shape, etc.), and inducing self-correctivity (i.e., students can perceive errors relative to their learning via the materials and correct them without [or with minimal] adult intervention) and interrelationality (i.e., that the various materials [should] build one upon the others). 9 Normalization, for Montessori, meant not its typical (or normal) definition of conformity and what is normal but, instead, a developmental process, one inextricably tied to the appropriate preparation of the pedagogical environment. Montessori obs erved that children do best in schools (and education more broadly) given maximal freedom in an environment designed to meet their unique growth and personal and social needs. Through continued work with materials that held their interest, selected independently from within the prepared environment, Montessori noted that children eventually acquired an increased sense of satisfaction, self, and inner fulfillment. The course through which this evolution occurred defined for her the nature and significance of normalization. As she wrote in The Absorbent Mind: Only normalized children, aided by their environment, show in their subsequent development those wonderful powers that we describe: spontaneous discipline, continuous and happy work, social sentiments of help and sympathy for others à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ An interesting piece of work, freely chosen, which has the virtue of inducing concentration rather than fatigue, adds to the childs energies and mental capacities, and leads him [or her] to self-mastery à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ One is tempted to say that the children are performing spiritual exercises, having found the path of self-perfectionment and of ascent to the inner heights of the soul. 10 As E. M. Standing, in Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work, defined the characteristics of normalization, they are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Love of order à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Love of work à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Spontaneous concentration à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Attachment to reality à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Love of silence and of working alone à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Sublimation of the possessive instinct à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ [The p]ower to act from real choice à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Obedience à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Independence and initiative à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Spontaneous self-discipline à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Joy As the North American Montessori Teachers Association (NAMTA) says, Montessori believed that these are the truly normal characteristics of childhood, which emerge when childrens developmental needs are met. 11 The idea of developmental plane designates the transitions that occur during the birth through adulthood evolution of human beings. According to AMI, the specific planes are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Birth to age six: children are sensorial explorers, constructing their intellects by absorbing every aspect of their environment, their language[,] and their culture; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Age six to age twelve: children become conceptual explorers[; they] develop their powers of abstraction and imagination, and apply their knowledge to discover and expand their worlds further; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Age twelve to age eighteen: children become humanistic explorers, seeking to understand their place in society and their opportunity to contribute to it; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Age eighteen to age twenty-four: as young adults, [individuals] become specialized explorers, seeking a niche from which to contribute to universal dialogue. 12 More specifically, Montessori classrooms are divided into three-year groups, the purpose of which, according to Montessoris theories and observations, is to facilitate precisely and appropriately the continuum of growth and learning via human interaction and personal development and exploration, here both in terms of the individual and the social. 13 The multi-age divisions of the Montessori program are (1) parent-infant (ages 0-3), preschool (ages 3-6), lower and upper elementary (ages 6-9 and 9-12), and middle school (ages 12-14). Again, each presents its own precise purposes, materials, and activities and methodologies. 14 And yet Montessorian curriculum and instruction can be both complex and multiple, formal as well as unpredictable and less than rigid. Consider the following applied example. At the elementary level, the expectations of the learner and the appropriate pedagogical principles include: 1. Lesson repetition among students individually, that is after the initial presentation by the teacher, in order to concretize abstract concepts; 2. Cross-curriculum webbing; 3. The view that ability is individual-adults and children work to the potential of each person, not to the average; 4. Ever-deepening interest on the part of the learner; 5. The perspective that respect, freedom, and responsibility are interdependent. Our question, of course, is what these might mean in practice. Lesson repetition implies recurrence and redundancy-not in a negative way but as individually developed experiences in an effort to habitualize, routinize, and conceptualize key (especially unfamiliar) ideas, such as, perhaps, counting and various other mathematical notions. Webbing suggests that each new idea leads to-and connects with-others, whether presented earlier or presented later. The individual nature of ability, as opposed to the average level of students, indicates focusing on children moving forward according to their own singular lesson paces without unwarranted stigmatizations and without undue pressure to track. The idea of ever-increasing interest insinuates learners follow their own natural curiosities and inclinations (a la Kilpatrick?), particularly vis-à  -vis engaging the essential question of why? Lastly, regarding the case of the interconnectedness of ideas, such as respect, freedom, and responsibility, Montessori understandings suggest a relationship among values, culture, growth, success, and maturity, settings important, ultimately, to both liberal and conservative critics of contemporary American public schooling. DEFENDING PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND MONTESSORI EDUCATION According to NAMTA, well over 200 U.S. public schools are now Montessori-oriented, a number that continues to grow. 15 When viewed within the context of other contemporary public (though, granted, sometimes private as well) school reform trends (e.g., Waldorf education, charter schools, vouchers, public school choice), the commitment to Montessori public education seems to support at least two significant points. First, it represents, to some extent, the present dissatisfaction with traditional public schooling (or at least dominant images of it). Second, it supports the notion that another way-Montessori, Waldorf, and so on-might provide and prove to be a better way (especially within the contexts of the No Child Left Behind Act and standards-based educational reform). Fundamentally, Montessori education offers but one alternative to the criticisms leveled at public schools from critics both of the political and pedagogical left and the political and pedagogical right. The standard right-wing critique centers on the beliefs that schools today are failing because they (1) have standards that are too low, (2) replicate the worthless theories and perspectives of the liberal educational establishment, (3) maintain a monopoly, (4) focus on self-esteem (and the like) over content, (5) rely on progressive methods at the expense of direct instruction, (6) have privileged cultural relativism over traditional values and character, (7) have usurped the power and position of parents, and (8) misguidedly throw more money at schools even though this is neither (from this view) a solution to educational problems nor the answer to educational improvement. 16 The standard left-wing critique is that schools fail students because they (1) stifle freedom and creativity in favor of conformity and discipline, (2) are dominated by noneducators (e.g., corporations, politicians, managers, test companies), (3) are too centrally controlled, (4) focus too much on fact- based, standardized content, (5) are too traditional in terms of assessment and instructional methods, (6) hyperemphasize homogeneity at the expense of diversity and difference, (7) neglect neighborhoods and local communities, and (8) are underfunded. 17 Conceivably, of course, one could make a case in favor of the truth or utility of either or both of these critiques (although, indeed, we are more sympathetic to contemporary left-based criticisms). And, most likely, Montessori educators and other interested stakeholders probably possess and espouse a range of viewpoints relative to the overall effectiveness of traditional public schooling. Yet, what the Montessori approach does is co nnect with the concerns many (though not necessarily most) parents have (rightly or wrongly) that, at least broadly speaking, American public schools are failing or at least not up to snuff. While our own position is that this is not inevitably the case, 18 even so, Montessori education provides one appropriate and legitimate response to dominant modes of public schooling that can be consistent with a multitude of philosophical, pedagogical, political, and sociocultural goals. In fact, arguably, Montessorianism takes seriously the apprehensions of the entire spectrum of educational criticism (relative to official schooling). It emphasizes, for example, freedom, mastery, diversity, scientific research and methodologies, formal curriculum, individuality, fairness, planning, and hard work (among others)-each of which to some extent can meet the demands of both conservatives and liberals (if not others). That is not to say, of course, that the Montessori system is perfect-obviously, it is not. Yet, it does favorably compare with many aspects of more established modes of public education. According to NAMTA, the quintessential (and implicitly negative) characteristics of contemporary public school classrooms are their propensities toward: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Textbooks, pencil and paper, worksheets and dittos à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Working and learning without emphasis on social development à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Narrow, unit-driven curriculum à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Individual subjects à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Block time, period lessons à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Single-graded classrooms à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Students [who are] passive, quiet, in desks à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Students [who] fit [the] mold of [their] school[s] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Students [who] leave for special help à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Product-focused report cards 19 Although, to some, this version of traditional education might seem to describe perfectly only the conservative agenda, increasingly it can be seen to characterize what we have previously called the liberal-conservative consensus and to indicate the current will-to-standardize or the standardization imperative of both the liberal and conservative race to the middle of the road. 20 In contrast, NAMTA characterizes the Montessori approach as favoring: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Prepared kinesthetic materials with incorporated control of error [and] specially developed reference materials à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Working and learning matched to the social development of the child à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Unified, internationally developed curriculum à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Integrated subjects and learning based on developmental psychology à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Uninterrupted work cycles à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Multi-age classrooms à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ [A setting in which students are] active [and] talking, with periods of spontaneous quiet [and] freedom to move à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ [A setting in which] school[s] meet the needs of students à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ [A setting in which special] help comes to students à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Process-focused assessment, skills checklists, [and] mastery benchmarks 21 In effect, Montessori education provides parents and students an alternative option within the standard frameworks of public schooling. For those (generally liberal) critics who believe that traditional public education stifles freedom, individuality, and creativity, Montessori instruction offers spontaneity, choice, and creative student-centeredness. For those (generally conservative) critics who believe that public education has been dumbed down, is anti-knowledge, and is too touchy-feely, Montessori instruction offers hard work, discipline (in the most positive sense), and an emphasis on fundamental skills. CONCLUSIONS Montessori education in the public schools raises a number of questions, yet it implies, as well, a number of productive and pedagogically sound principles and practices. Some of the difficulties with the historical criticisms of the Montessori approach include such concerns as immutability versus evolution (i.e., the extent to which Montessori education changes or the extent to which it should or must change), truth or universality (i.e., the degree to which it implies a structure that can, or does, meet the needs of all individual students), and teacher education (i.e., the potential conflict between individual interpretation, creativity, and independence and individual teacher conformity and disciplinarity). At the extremes, these issues (rightly or wrongly, for good or bad) weigh heavily on the capacity of the Montessori approach to meet its educational agendas and its stated purposes. On the other hand, Montessori education represents a little known alternative to more traditional modes of public schooling; most members of the citizenry have no idea that such a state of affairs even exists. When most people think of public schools-their own, their childrens-they think of a homogeneous setting of traditionalism or of progressivism-either way, the same setup for everyone. Yet Montessori education demonstrates the diversity-often little understood, even unknown-that characterizes contemporary teaching and learning. This is most often, we think, quite a good thing. In any event, it presents the condition of effective methods regardless of ones political or pedagogical orientation-that is, whether one is conservative, liberal, reactionary, or radical. There is more going on, that is, than most people perceive. And, most profoundly, the Montessori effort-the movement-is on the ascendancy. In the end, with respect to public education, the Montessori philosophy and its attendant methodologies imply something new, ironically new given the long and successful history of Maria Montessoris efforts and influences. If nothing else, it remains, after all this time, an option worth exploring and taking seriously. It is a viewpoint that should be reconsidered, reckoned with, and continuously and rigorously pursued. It is, that is, not the same old thing.

Content Management System

The Problem: It's Background A Content Management System (CMS) Is a computer program that allows publishing, editing and modifying content as well as maintenance from a central interface. One of the examples of Content Management System (CMS) is â€Å"blogging†. Blogging Is the act of posting content on d blog or posting comments on someone else's blog. Blogging is very popular today because it allows people to interact with each other.Blogging has also become a popular Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tool because search engines Ilke Google and Yahoo know that a blog Is frequently pdated with content or visitor comments, so their spiders visit blogs frequently looking for new content to include in their index. Additionally, blog content can be delivered automatically via electronic RSS (Really Simple syndication) data feeds. Visitors subscribe to a blog's feeds in order to stay up to date with content that's being posted on subjects that interest them.Blog feeds are then read by what's known as blog teed reader software, widely available for tree, so users can scan tor recent blog posts of interest on the blogs to which they subscribe. The purpose of his project proposal was to develop and Implementa CMS. This CMS will help us to inform easily the daily activities ot one person, the incoming events, news and some related topics. CMS will provide two users: The administrator and the user. Both administrator and user can post an article to that CMS, can also comment to some article that the other user posted, can also upload and download files.Manually posting the events or announcing is some problem encountered by those people who cant relate to those topics. Since the manual posting of event and announcing is always committing ontroversies after the process and some of us wants' to suggest about on what we want to see or happen on that event . So the researchers came up with an Idea of developing an Content Management System. This is very useful to ever yone especially to those busy people. They can browse the announcement anytime, everywhere with the use of Internet. A software application used to upload, edit, and manage content displayed on a website.A content management system can perform a variety of different tasks for a website including regulating when content is isplayed, how many times the content Is shown to a speclflc user, and managing how the content connects or interacts with other elements of the website. The idea behind developing a Content Management System was to Improve the public communication ot people and to give Ideas, sharing knowledge, suggestion and the freedom to express their thoughts. Statement ot Objectives In general, the main objective of the project was to develop a Content Management System. SpeclTlcally, tnls study almea to: 1 .Design a system that will easily provide accurate information of articles to the ser. 2. Decrease the time spent for manually posting information. 3. Decrease the space in managing articles and money consumed for manual posting of articles. 4. Version and control over the documents and the contents – reused or not. Significance of the study The developed Content Management System hopes to make contribute to the following: User – It is beneficial to the user by using the system and through this study it proves that the technology has a great effect to have an easy way of living.Administrator – It is easier for the Admin to post announcements, events nd related information. It gives less effort to communicate. Researcher – Found the findings useful as it served as basis in their future similar studies and this study provided them some insights and encouragement to do better systems that will contribute to their institution. Future Researcher – This study can contribute to them as their basis and reference in constructing similar study. Scope and Delimitation The system focused on the development a Content Management S ystem.It provides accurate information to all users and satisfies the needs of the user. The system rovides a user-friendly environment and greater consistency and accuracy. The system entitled â€Å"Content Management System† can be use to everyone. In this CMS, the user can choose categories, create her/his own article and she/he can post it. By posting the article, the other user can view/read the posted article. They can comments on that article, say what they want, give compliments, ECT.This project proposal includes uploading and downloading files. The limitation of the system is that, the categories are fixed. The user is required to choose categories so that they an create article and it will be post on the categories they choose. And only the Admin can manage to edit or delete the posted topic. Definition of terms To ensure better understanding on the parts of the readers, the standard and operational definition of terms in this study is hereby given: Accuracy â€⠀œ The quality of being near to the true value.Article – A piece or section that is part of a larger written work such as a magazine or a document. Blog – is a website consisting of post appearing with the most recent entry appearing first Blogging – The process of writing a blog, an online Journal in hich you share your thoughts about a particular subject with readers Categories – Provide a helpful way to group related posts together, and to quickly tell readers what a post is about.Comments – A statement of fact or opinion, especially a remark that expresses a personal reaction or attitude CMS (Content Management System) – A web based database that can be accessed by computes Database – A collection of information that is organized so that it can easily be accessed, managed, and updatea a- Inls Is tne process In wnlcn data Is sent to t your computer.Files – Is an entity of data available to system users (including the system itself and its application programs) that is capable of being manipulated as an entity (for example, moved from one file directory to another Robustness – In the context of computer software, robustness is the resilience of the system, especially when under stress or when confronted with invalid input. System – A collection methods, procedures or techniques united by regular interaction to form an organized whole. Uploading – This is the process of sending information to another computer.

Succubus on Top CHAPTER 2

â€Å"Bastien,† I breathed, still disbelieving. â€Å"Bastien!† I threw my arms around him, and he lifted me up like I weighed nothing, twirling me around. When he gently set me back on my feet, he looked down at me fondly, his handsome face cracking into a grin. Until I saw it, I hadn't realized how much I'd missed that smile. â€Å"You look exactly the same,† I noted, taking in the curling black hair that touched his shoulders, the eyes so dark a chocolate brown they almost looked black as well. Unlike me, he liked to wear the shape he'd been born with, the body from his mortal days. His skin was the color of the mochas I consumed regularly, smooth and lovely. His nose had been broken when he was human, but he never bothered to shape-shift the signs away. It didn't detract from his looks any; in fact, it sort of gave him a dashing scoundrel persona. â€Å"And you, as usual, look completely different. What are you calling yourself these days?† His voice carried a faint British accent leftover from many years spent in London after leaving the slave plantations of Haiti. He kept that accent and the French expressions of his childhood only for effect; when he chose to, he could speak American English as flawlessly as I could. â€Å"Georgina.† â€Å"Georgina? Not Josephine or Hiroko?† â€Å"Georgina,† I reiterated. â€Å"Very well then, Georgina. Let me see you. Turn around.† I spun around, like a model, letting him get the full effect of this body. When I faced him again, he nodded with approval. â€Å"Exquisite – not that I'd expect any less from you. Short, just like every other one, but the curves are in all the right spots, and the coloring is very nice.† He leaned closer to me, studying my face with a professional eye. â€Å"The eyes I especially like. Catlike. How long have you been wearing this one?† â€Å"Fifteen years.† â€Å"Barely broken in.† â€Å"Well,† observed Hugh dryly, â€Å"it sort of depends on how you define ‘broken in.'† Bastien and I both turned, remembering we had an audience. The other immortals watched with bemusement, the poker game momentarily forgotten. Bastien turned on a high-beam smile and crossed the room in a few quick strides. â€Å"Bastien Moreau.† He extended a polite hand to Hugh, every inch of him polished and deferential. Incubi, after all, have just as good a sense of customer service and public relations as succubi. â€Å"It's a pleasure to meet you.† He made equally polite introductions with the rest of the group, pausing momentarily when he reached Carter. A brief flicker of surprise in Bastien's dark eyes was the only other indication that he found an angel in our midst odd. Otherwise, his surface charm remained perfect as he smiled and shook Carter's hand. Although clearly surprised at Bastien's presence, Peter stood up dutifully. â€Å"Have a seat. You want a drink?† â€Å"Thank you. You're too kind. Bourbon on ice, please. And thank you for allowing me to show up so unexpectedly. You have a stunning home.† The vampire nodded, mollified at someone finally appreciating his hospitality. I, however, had other concerns and wondered what had caused the incubus to â€Å"show up so unexpectedly.† I suddenly remembered Jerome's taunting surprise. â€Å"Jerome knows you're here, doesn't he?† â€Å"Of course. Long since arranged.† Our kind could not cross into another's territory without making arrangements with the local supervisor. For a group that had allegedly rebelled against the system, we had a staggering amount of rules, regulations, and paperwork. We made the 1RS look juvenile. â€Å"He told me where to find you tonight.† â€Å"And you're here because†¦?† He flung a playful arm around me. â€Å"You're pushy. No â€Å"Hello, how are you†? Can't I just stop by to see an old friend?† â€Å"Not in this business.† â€Å"How long have you known Georgina?† asked Hugh, shifting his solidly built body into a more comfortable sitting position. Bastien turned thoughtful. â€Å"I don't know. How long has it been? Ages?† â€Å"You have to be a little more specific than that,† I reminded him, my mind slipping back to a London of long ago, recalling rough-hewn streets redolent with the scent of horses and unwashed humans. â€Å"Early seventeenth century?† He nodded, and I let my tone turn teasing. â€Å"Mostly I just remember how green you were.† â€Å"I have no idea what you're talking about.† â€Å"Whatever. I taught you everything you know. â€Å" â€Å"Ah, older women.† Bastien glanced around at the others, shrugging his shoulders with feigned haplessness. â€Å"Always so sure of themselves.† â€Å"So, explain how this works,† Cody urged eagerly, young eyes on Bastien. â€Å"You're like the male equivalent of Georgina, right? You shape-shift and everything?† Having been an immortal for less than ten years, Cody was always learning something new about us. I realized he'd probably never even met an incubus before. â€Å"Well, there's really no equivalent for Fleur , but yes, something like that.† I think he preferred calling me Fleur because it was easier than trying to remember the names I kept acquiring over the years. â€Å"So you seduce women?† pushed Cody. â€Å"Exactly.† â€Å"Wow. That must actually be hard.† â€Å"It's not so – wait a minute,† I said. â€Å"What are you implying over there? What's this â€Å"actually† business?† â€Å"Well, he's got a point,† insisted Peter, handing Bastien the drink. â€Å"It's not like your job's all that difficult, Georgina. By comparison, I mean.† â€Å"My job's very difficult!† â€Å"What, getting men to have sex with a beautiful woman?† Hugh shook his head. â€Å"That's not hard. That's not even remedial.† I looked at them incredulously. â€Å"It's not like I can just jump into bed with anyone. I have to get quality guys.† â€Å"Yeah, as of a month ago maybe.† Bastien shot me a sharp look at that remark, but I was too annoyed to acknowledge it. â€Å"Hey, I just won an award, you know. Got the certificate and everything. And anyway, contrary to your pathetic love lives, not all guys will immediately give in to sex. It takes work.† â€Å"What, like horns and a whip?† suggested Peter slyly, referring to a particularly embarrassing incident from my past. â€Å"That's different. He wanted it.† â€Å"They all want it. That's the point.† Hugh turned to Bastien reverentially. â€Å"How do you do it? Got any pointers you can share with the rest of us?† â€Å"Several lifetimes' worth,† chuckled Bastien, still watching me. â€Å"Those are trade secrets, I'm afraid. Although, really, in Fleur ‘s defense, the techniques are the same for both of us. You should have been paying more attention to her. â€Å" â€Å"Low-cut necklines aren't exactly a trade secret.† â€Å"Much more to it than that, my friend. Especially with Georgina. She's one of the best.† Hugh and the vampires looked at me as though they'd never noticed me before, apparently attempting to figure out if what Bastien said was true. â€Å"No need to start that up,† I pointed out hastily. â€Å"Come on, weren't you just bragging about how you taught me everything I know? You and I used to run some good rackets back in the day.† â€Å"What kind of rackets?† asked Peter. When I wouldn't answer, Bastien merely shrugged. â€Å"Oh, you know. The kind that require a partner. â€Å" Cody's eyes widened. â€Å"Like†¦group sex?† â€Å"No!† I protested, unable to stay silent at that. Not that it wasn't in my curriculum vitae. â€Å"Partnerships to suck somebody in. Play husband and wife. Or brother and sister. Or†¦or†¦whatever it takes to nail your mark.† Bastien nodded along with me. â€Å"Men really like the thrill of winning over someone's beautiful young wife. Women too, for that matter. The forbidden always has a certain allure to it.† â€Å"Wow.† Cody and the others pondered this new development and tried probing us a bit more for details. Bastien, sensing my reluctance to elaborate about the past, gave vague answers, and conversation soon drifted to other topics – as well as to Peter's amazing dinner. It wasn't Met good, but maybe the company had biased me. â€Å"Are you going to tell me what's going on?† I murmured to the incubus later, as our group finally rose from the table and began making motions to leave. I was dying to know what could have drawn him here and earned Jerome's approval. Hell's denizens could take vacations, but this smacked of business. Bastien patted me on the back, giving me his trademark grin. â€Å"In good time, my sweet. Is there somewhere we can talk?† â€Å"Sure. I'll take you back to my place. You can meet my cat.† When Bastien left me to once again thank Peter for dinner, Carter strolled over. â€Å"Are you seeing Seth soon?† â€Å"Later tonight.† Seeing his amused expression, I scowled. â€Å"Just get it over with, okay?† â€Å"Get what over with?† â€Å"The part where you tell me how stupid it is to try to have a serious relationship with a mortal.† The mirth faded from his face. â€Å"I don't think it's stupid.† I studied him, waiting for the punch line. â€Å"Everyone else does.† â€Å"Does Seth? Do you?† I looked away, thinking about Seth. That funny, distracted look on his face when inspiration seized him. His goofy T-shirt collection. The exquisite way he could capture the world on paper. How warm his hand was when it slid into mine. The way I just couldn't stay away from him, despite the million reasons that said I should. Suddenly, caught in Carter's penetrating eyes, something inside of me let loose. I hated how the angel could do this to me. â€Å"Sometimes I do. Sometimes I look at him†¦and I remember how it was when I kissed him and felt that love. It makes me want that back. I want to feel it again. I want to return it. Other times, though†¦other times, I'm so scared. I listen to these guys†¦and to Jerome†¦and then the doubts gnaw at me. I can't get them out of my head. We've been sleeping together, you know. Literally. It hasn't been a problem so far, but sometimes I lie awake watching him, thinking this can't last. The longer it does†¦I feel like†¦like I'm standing on a high wire, with Seth at one end and me at the other. We're trying to reach each other, but one misstep, one breeze, one side-glance, and I'll fall over the edge. And keep falling and falling.† I took in a shaking breath when I finished. Carter leaned toward me and brushed the hair away from the side of my face. â€Å"Don't look down then,† he whispered. Bastien had returned, catching the end of my soliloquy. â€Å"Who's Seth?† he wanted to know later, once we were back at my apartment. â€Å"Long story.† Yet I found myself spilling it anyway. Of course, telling Bastien about Seth meant telling him about a lot of other things too. Like a recent encounter with Jerome's half-human, half-angel son – a stunningly beautiful man with a twisted sense of social justice who had been on a semipsychotic mission to make other immortals pay for the shoddy treatment of him and his kind. The fact that he had been a good dancer and a phenomenal lover had not really been enough to make up for his wanton killing of lesser immortals and subsequent attempt on Carter. That, of course, led me to next explain how Seth had witnessed the inevitable showdown and had been injured when I kissed him to get an emergency fix of energy. Jerome had wanted to erase Seth's memory of the whole event, as well as the writer's love for me. I had begged the demon not to, finally getting him to agree when I offered to devote all of my efforts back to seducing and corrupting decent men like a good little succubus should. Horatio's visit had been the ultimate testimony to my â€Å"new and improved† self. Bastien, sprawling on my sofa, listened thoughtfully and frowned when I finished. â€Å"What do you mean? Why weren't you going after decent ones already?† â€Å"I got tired of it. Didn't like hurting them.† â€Å"So what? You were going after bad ones?† I nodded. He shook his head, knowing as well as I did how little life energy an ignoble mortal yielded compared to a good one. â€Å"Poor Fleur . What a miserable existence that must have been.† I gave him a bittersweet smile. â€Å"I think you're the first person that's ever sounded more sympathetic than incredulous. Most people think I'm idiotic for getting by like that.† â€Å"It's a pain, yes,† Bastien agreed, â€Å"and requires more frequent fixes, but hardly idiotic. You don't think I have days when I feel the same way? When I just want to throw my hands up and leave decent women alone?† â€Å"Why don't you?† â€Å"Not our lot. You and I are glorified prostitutes – courtesans, if you want to be more genteel, but it's all the same thing. Switching to bad ones won't change our fates. Won't even do anything in the long run, really, except relieve our guilt a bit, and even that relief doesn't last forever. â€Å" â€Å"Christ. You aren't really making me feel better.† â€Å"Sorry.† â€Å"No, no, it's okay. Whatever. I mean, it's nice to have someone to talk to about this. No one else – none of the other immortals – really get it. â€Å" He snorted. â€Å"Of course they don't. How could they?† My silence agreed for me, and Bastien gave me a kindly look. â€Å"Not that your friends weren't nice. Are there other immortals in the city you can talk to? Any succubi or incubi?† â€Å"A few more vampires and minor demons, but that's it. They're less social than the ones I run with. I have some good mortal friends too. Still. They're not the same either.† I smiled gently. â€Å"They're not you. I've missed you.† Bastien tousled my hair, earning a critical glance from my cat Aubrey. â€Å"I've missed you too.† â€Å"So will you tell me what's going on now?† His serious mien turned jovial. â€Å"Not sure what you're going to think about it, now that I've heard all of this.† â€Å"Try me.† Sliding off the couch, Bastien settled next to me so we could speak face-to-face. â€Å"You ever heard of Dana Dailey?† â€Å"I live on this planet, don't I? She's always my first choice when I'm driving in my car and feel like listening to some highly commercial, conservative rhetoric.† I didn't make any attempt to hide my disdain. In addition to touting worn-out family values, radio host Dana Dailey also enjoyed working thinly veiled racist, homophobic, and even sexist insinuations into her talk show. I couldn't stand her. â€Å"I imagine that mood strikes you quite a bit. Did you know she's Seattle based?† â€Å"Of course. It's a wonder she hasn't dragged down the property value. â€Å" â€Å"Funny you should mention that. A house in her neighborhood just came up for sale.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"So, our employers have purchased it.† â€Å"What?† Grinning, knowing he had me hooked, Bastien leaned in eagerly. â€Å"Pay attention, Fleur , because here's the good part. We got wind of some rumors concerning Mrs. Dailey's ex-pool boy in San Diego. He claims to have been ‘romantically involved' with her.† I racked my brain, recalling a promotional picture I'd seen of her and her politician husband on a billboard. â€Å"Have you seen Mr. Dailey? I'd opt for a pool boy too. What became of the rumors?† â€Å"Oh, you know. The same thing that always happens to rumors with no proof. They faded away; nothing happened.† I waited expectantly. â€Å"Okay, and the house fits in how?† â€Å"Well, like you said, her husband's no prize. Of course, she isn't going to get divorced or anything, not when it could potentially tarnish his political future and her whole prissy, on-air family-values campaign. But†¦the naughty streak is still there. If she's strayed once, I bet she could be lured into doing it again.† I groaned as the pieces fell together. â€Å"Like with a handsome, debonair neighbor?† â€Å"Debonair? Really, you're too kind.† â€Å"So what happens after that?† â€Å"Then we just let the evidence do its work.† â€Å"Evidence?† â€Å"Well, yeah. We're not going to go the way of the pool boy. When I manage to lure the illustrious Mrs. Dailey into physical pleasures surpassing her wildest dreams, there'll be a camera rolling. We're going to record this for posterity, then go to the press. Full exposure, full takedown. No more radio empire preaching to the masses to return to pure, decent ways. Even her husband's political campaign will be marred, thus opening the door for some liberal upstart to take his place and help get this area back into the corrupt rut it so desperately longs for. â€Å" â€Å"Gee, it's all so neat.† He eyed me. â€Å"You doubt the plan's brilliance?† â€Å"I don't know. I appreciate the ballsy factor here, but I think this is kind of out-there, even for you. I can't imagine Dana Dailey,ll go down so easily.† â€Å"Leave the going down to me.† â€Å"Your ego's out of control.† He laughed and pulled me to him. His arms felt good around me. Familiar. Reassuring. â€Å"Admit it. That's why you love me. â€Å" â€Å"Yeah, you're like the brother I never had. One that doesn't set my hair on fire. â€Å" His eyes sparkled wickedly. â€Å"And once again, you've jumped ahead of me. I want you to see me in action on this – not to mention keep me company while I'm in town. You've got to come visit – as Mitch's sister.† â€Å"Who?† Bastien suddenly stood up and shape-shifted. The familiar features morphed, leaving no trace of the rakish incubus I knew. Six-two and broad-shouldered, he now had dark blond hair and sky blue eyes, his face only just losing its pretty boy aspect and giving way to the sizzling promise of an experienced, confident man in his early thirties. When he smiled, those perfect teeth lit up a room. He winked at me. â€Å"Mitch Hunter,† he explained in a suave, movie-star voice. No accent now. â€Å"You got an equally cheesy title to go with that? ‘Mitch Hunter, MD' or ‘Mitch Hunter, Private Investigator?' Seems appropriate.† â€Å"Nah. I'm a consultant, of course. Everyone's favorite nondescript yet well-paid white-collar job.† â€Å"You look like you need a golf club in one hand and a burger flipper in the other.† â€Å"Tease all you want, but Dana won't be able to resist this. Now† – he gestured for me to stand up – â€Å"let's see what you can do.† â€Å"Are you joking?† â€Å"Do I look like I'm joking? If you're going to come visit me, you've got to put on some family resemblance.† I rolled my eyes and stood up. After a moment's study of his features, I shape-shifted my petite body into a taller, more athletic one with long blond hair. He scrutinized me, then shook his head. â€Å"Too pretty.† â€Å"What? This is perfect.† â€Å"That body's unreal. No one looks that good. My God woman, that ass.† â€Å"Oh, come on. You don't think Special Agent Mitch Hunter's sister isn't the type to spend two hours a day on a stair-climber?† Bastien grunted. â€Å"You've got a point there. At least lose some of the hair. These suburban types go for boring and practical.† â€Å"Yeah, but I'm not suburban. I'm your hipper, more stylish – â€Å" Someone knocked at my door. He glanced at me questioningly. â€Å"Oh! It's Seth.† I changed back to my normal body, and Bastien did the same. I opened the door. Seth Mortensen, best-selling author and professional introvert, stood outside my apartment. Clad in a Frogger T-shirt and corduroy jacket, he seemed to have forgotten to brush his hair again. It was messy and brown with a faint coppery cast, mirrored in the perpetual five o'clock shadow across his lower face. His lips turned up in a smile upon seeing me, and I couldn't help but briefly ponder how soft and kissable they looked. â€Å"Hey,† I said. â€Å"Hey.† Despite whatever attraction burned between us, the engine of our conversation always took a little while to turn over. I led him inside, and his expression faltered a bit when he saw Bastien. â€Å"Oh. Hi.† â€Å"Hello,† boomed Bastien, extending his hand. â€Å"Bastien Moreau.† â€Å"Seth Mortensen.† â€Å"A pleasure. I've heard all about you. Your books are fabulous. I mean, I've never read any of them – just don't have the time for that anymore – but I'm sure they're magnifique.† â€Å"Um, thanks.† â€Å"Bastien is an old friend,† I explained. â€Å"He's going to be in town for a while on†¦business.† Seth nodded, and silence dropped in between all of us like a fourth companion. Finally, Bastien cleared his throat. I could see from his face that he was already losing interest, dismissing Seth as too quiet and unexciting. The incubus craved action. â€Å"Well, I should take off. I don't want to interrupt your plans.† â€Å"What are you going to do?† I asked. â€Å"You can't have any plans of your own yet. â€Å" He winked. â€Å"I'll improvise.† I gave him a knowing look. Ruffling my hair again, he embraced me and kissed each of my cheeks. â€Å"I'll be in touch, Fleur . Make sure you keep an eye on the news.† â€Å"I'll never leave my television.† Bastien gave Seth a friendly nod. â€Å"Nice meeting you.† When the incubus was gone, Seth asked, â€Å"When you say ‘old friend,' are we talking, like†¦since the Ice Age?† â€Å"No. Of course not.† â€Å"Oh.† â€Å"It's only been about four hundred years.† â€Å"Ah. Yes. Only four hundred.† A wry expression spread over his face. â€Å"Being with you is a continual experiment in perspective. Among other things.† He considered. â€Å"So what is he? Werewolf? Demigod?† â€Å"Nothing so exciting. He's an incubus. You must have heard of those.† Seth nodded, frowning. â€Å"Sure. Like a succubus only†¦he has to go after women to survive?† I nodded. â€Å"Wow. For all eternity. Wow.† His eyebrows shot up as true wonder played over his face. â€Å"That's got to be†¦wow. That's really rough.† My eyes narrowed. â€Å"Don't even start down that road.† Bastien had said he didn't want to interrupt our plans, but we didn't really have any, short of spending the evening together. I suppose most couples, running out of options, could have resorted to sex or at least making out, but the nature of our relationship required a full itinerary. We mustered some ideas. â€Å"You want to rent a movie?† I offered. â€Å"I've got some coupons.† We ended up renting Gladiator, at which time I discovered Horatio's free rental coupons had expired long ago. â€Å"That son of a bitch!† â€Å"Who?† asked Seth. But of course I couldn't explain. Fucking demons. Back home, Seth and I snuggled on my couch as we watched, warm and close yet still safe from any detrimental succubus effects. He listened with bemusement as I pointed out historical inaccuracies, most of which involved how much dirtier and smellier the Roman Empire had been. When it finished, we turned off the television and sat together in the dark. Seth stroked the side of my face, sifting through the strands of my hair and occasionally brushing my cheek with his fingers. A small gesture, yet when that was all you could do with another person, it became startlingly erotic. I looked up at him. I knew what I saw when I studied him. He was everything I could want and everything I couldn't have. The steady, loving companion I'd pined for all these years. I wondered what he saw with me. The expression he wore now seemed fond. Admiring. And a little sad. â€Å"But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair ow,st; Nor shall Death brag thou wand,rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow,st; So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. â€Å" â€Å"Sonnet Eighteen,† I murmured, thinking he recited beautifully. Hell, forget his recitation skills. How many guys in this age of instant messaging even knew Shakespeare anymore? His amused little half-smile played over his face. â€Å"Clever and beautiful. How could any man settle for a mortal woman?† â€Å"Easily,† I returned. My friends' misgivings suddenly loomed up in me. â€Å"You could, you know.† He blinked, and his rapt look faded, giving way to exasperation. â€Å"Oh. Not this discussion again.† â€Å"I'm serious – â€Å" â€Å"And so am I. I don't want to be with anyone else right now. I've told you that a hundred times. Why do we keep talking about this?† â€Å"Because you know we can't – â€Å" â€Å"Nobuts.Give me some credit for being able to control myself. Besides, I'm not with you for sex. You know that. I'm with you to be with you.† â€Å"How can that be enough?† It never had been for any other man I'd known. â€Å"Because†¦because†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He tipped my chin up with his hand, the emotion in those eyes making my insides melt. â€Å"Because being with you feels so right†¦like it's always been meant to be. You make me believe in a higher power for once in my life.† I closed my eyes and put my head on his chest. I could hear his heart beating. He wrapped me to him, his embrace warm and solid, and I felt like I couldn't get close enough to him. Probably I should have let the discussion go then, but one more thing was still on my mind tonight. After all, I had a gold-embossed certificate sitting on my counter. â€Å"Even if you can control yourself†¦even if you can stay celibate, you know I won't be.† The words hurt coming out, but my mouth's control switch didn't always function so well. Besides, I didn't want anything standing between us. â€Å"I don't care.† But I felt his hold on me stiffen a little. â€Å"Seth, you will – â€Å" â€Å"Thetis, I don't care. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters except what happens between you and me.† The fierceness in his voice – a contrast to his normal placidity – thrilled me, but it was not that that made me give up the argument. It was the word â€Å"Thetis.† Thetis. Thetis the shape-shifting goddess. The shape-shifter wooed and won by a steadfast mortal. Seth had coined the name for me when he learned I was a succubus, when he'd first insinuated that my infernal standing was not a deterrent. I pulled him closer. Don't look down. We went to bed shortly thereafter, Aubrey snuggling up at our feet. The feel of Seth's body curled by mine under the covers was tantalizing, a cruel whisper of the restrictions around us. I sighed and tried to think of something other than how nice he felt or how great it would be if he slid his hand up my shirt. I grinned as a most unsexual sentiment came to mind. â€Å"I want pancakes.† â€Å"What? Right now?† â€Å"No. For breakfast.† â€Å"Oh.† He yawned. â€Å"You'd better get up early then.† â€Å"Me? I'm not going to make them.† â€Å"Yeah?† His sleepy voice carried mock sympathy. â€Å"Who's going to make them for you then?† â€Å"You are.† It was a well-known fact – at least to Seth and me – that he made the best pancakes known to mankind. They always came out perfect, light and fluffy. Through some kitchen magic, he even managed to put smiley faces on them when he made them for me. Once he'd even puta Gon one. I'd assumed it was for my name, but later, he'd sworn it stood for â€Å"goddess.† â€Å"Am I?† His lips brushed my earlobe; his breath was warm against my skin. â€Å"You think I'm going to make you pancakes? Is that how you think it's going to be?† â€Å"You're so good at,† I whined. â€Å"Besides, if you do, I'll sit on the counter in a short robe while you cook.† Oops. Maybe pancakes could become sexual after all. His soft laughter segued into another yawn. â€Å"Oh. Well then.† He kissed my ear again. â€Å"Maybe I'll make you pancakes. â€Å" His breathing grew slow and regular, the tension in his body easing. Soon he slept, not troubled or tempted in the least by having me in his arms. I sighed again. He was right; he did have self-control. If he could do this, surely I could too. I closed my eyes and waited for exhaustion to take over. Fortunately, it didn't waste any time; staying up late will do that to you. Maybe that was the real key to sleeping chastely. I woke up in his arms hours later, hearing the ever-so-faint sounds of bad seventies music drifting through the wall. One of my neighbors felt the need to do aerobics to the Bee Gees every day around lunchtime. Certifiable insanity. Wait. Lunchtime? I sat bolt upright, panic jolting me into full consciousness as I assessed the situation. My bed. Seth sprawled beside me. The full roar of traffic outside. Clear, winter sunlight pouring through the window – a lot of sunlight. Fearing the worst, I looked at the nearest clock. It was 12:03. Groaning silently, I groped on the floor for my cell phone, wondering why no one had yet called me in to work. Looking at the phone's display, I realized I'd turned the ringer off during the movie. Seven new voice mail messages, the phone read. So much for pancakes. Tossing the phone back down, I looked over at Seth, the cuteness of him in a T-shirt and flannel boxers momentarily allaying my frustration. I shook him, wishing I could just crawl back under the covers with him. â€Å"Wake up. I've got to go.† He blinked up at me drowsily, further increasing his appeal. Aubrey wore a similar look. â€Å"Huh? Too†¦early.† â€Å"Not that early. I'm late for work.† He stared at me blankly for a few seconds and then sat up nearly as rapidly as I had. â€Å"Oh. Oh man.† â€Å"It's all right. Let's go.† He disappeared into the bathroom, and I shape-shifted my appearance once more, turning the pajamas into a red sweater and black skirt, my loose hair into a neat bun. I hated doing this so often, much preferring to rifle through my own closet. Shape-shifting also burned through my energy stash that much more quickly, requiring more frequent victims. Unfortunately, time-crunches call for certain sacrifices. When Seth returned, he did a double take at my appearance and shook his head. â€Å"Still can't get used to that.† I expected him to go home and sleep, but he went with me to the bookstore. Its coffee shop was his favorite place to write. As we walked into Emerald City Books andCafe,I breathed a sigh of relief that neither my manager Paige nor Warren, the store owner, appeared to be around. Still, business had already opened for the day without me, and my chipper, morning-people coworkers made it impossible to sneak in without notice. â€Å"Hey, Georgina! Hi Seth!† â€Å"Georgina and Seth are here!† â€Å"Good morning, Georgina! Good morning, Seth!† Seth left to take up his writing station upstairs, and I made my way to the back offices. All of them were dark, which I found odd. No managers at all. Someone should have opened before me. I flipped on the light in my own office. I was so fixated on figuring out what was going on that the demon took me completely by surprise. Red-skinned and multihorned, he leapt out at me, waving his arms and making unintelligible grunting sounds. I yelped and dropped the things I'd been carrying, recoiling. A moment later, my senses returned, and I walked over and smacked him on the side of the head as hard as I could.