Amygdalas Location and Function

Amygdala's Location and Function The amygdala is an almond-shaped mass of nuclei (mass of cells) located deep within the temporal lobes of the brain. There are two amygdalae, one situated in each brain hemisphere. The amygdala is a limbic system structure that is involved in many of our emotions and motivations, particularly those that are related to survival. It is involved in the processing of emotions such as fear, anger, and pleasure. The amygdala is also responsible for determining what memories are stored and where the memories are stored in the brain. It is thought that this determination is based on how huge an emotional response an event evokes. Amygdala and Fear The amygdala is involved in autonomic responses associated with fear and hormonal secretions. Scientific studies of the amygdala have led to the discovery of the location of neurons in the amygdala that are responsible for fear conditioning. Fear conditioning is an associative learning process by which we learn through repeated experiences to fear something. Our experiences can cause brain circuits to change and form new memories. For example, when we hear an unpleasant sound, the amygdala heightens our perception of the sound. This heightened perception is deemed distressing and memories are formed associating the sound with unpleasantness. If the noise startles us, we have an automatic flight or fight response. This response involves the activation of the sympathetic division of the peripheral nervous system. Activation of the nerves of the sympathetic division results in accelerated heart rate, dilated pupils, increase in metabolic rate, and increase in blood flow to the muscles. This activity is coordinated by the amygdala and allows us to respond appropriately to danger. Anatomy The amygdala is composed of a large cluster of around 13 nuclei. These nuclei are subdivided into smaller complexes. The basolateral complex is the largest of these subdivisions and is composed of the lateral nucleus, basolateral nucleus, and accessory basal nucleus. This nuclei complex has connections with the cerebral cortex, thalamus, and hippocampus. Information from the olfactory system is received by two separate groups of amygdaloid nuclei, the cortical nuclei, and medial nucleus. Nuclei of the amygdala also make connections with the  hypothalamus and brainstem. The hypothalamus is involved in emotional responses and helps to regulate the endocrine system. The brainstem relays information between the cerebrum and spinal cord. Connections to these areas of the brain allow amygdaloid nuclei to process information from sensory areas (cortex and thalamus) and areas associated with behavior and autonomic function (hypothalamus and brainstem). Function The amygdala is involved in several functions of the body including: ArousalAutonomic responses associated with fearEmotional responsesHormonal secretionsMemory Sensory Information The amygdala receives sensory information from the thalamus and from the cerebral cortex. The thalamus is also a limbic system structure and it connects areas of the cerebral cortex that are involved in sensory perception and movement with other parts of the brain and spinal cord that also have a role in sensation and movement. The cerebral cortex processes sensory information obtained from vision, hearing, and other senses and is involved in decision-making, problem-solving, and planning. Location Directionally, the amygdala is located deep within the temporal lobes, medial to the hypothalamus and adjacent to the hippocampus. Amygdala Disorders Hyperactivity of the amygdala or having one amygdala that is smaller than the other has been associated with fear and anxiety disorders. Fear is an emotional and physical response to danger. Anxiety is a psychological response to something that is perceived as dangerous. Anxiety can lead to panic attacks that occur when the amygdala sends signals that a person is in danger, even when there is no real threat. Anxiety disorders that are associated with the amygdala include Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and social anxiety disorder. Sources Sah, P., Faber, E., Lopez De Armentia, L., Power, J. (2003). The Amygdaloid Complex: Anatomy and Physiology. Physiological Reviews, 83(3), 803-834. doi:10.1152/physrev.00002.2003

Free Essays on Desdemonas Character Relationships

Desdemona’s Character Relationships The character of Desdemona represents a woman of the 17th century who surpassed the norms of sexual morality set for Venetian women of that time. When Desdemona left her father’s house to marry the Moor, Othello, it was the first step in redefining her role as a woman. Instead of asking her father’s permission, Desdemona decided on her own to marry Othello. By making such a momentous decision on her own, she revealed that was breaking away from the strictness imposed by her father. She recalled the way her mother made the same decision, â€Å"I am hitherto your daughter. But here’s my husband and so much duty as my mother showed to you, preferring you before her father, so much I challenge that I may assert due to the Moor my lord,† (1.3, 409). Desdemona denied her father any right in choosing or granting allowance for Othello to marry her. Instead she chose the man who she wanted to marry and felt it unnecessary that her father intervene in their relationship. This act of independence by Desdemona tore away the gender barriers of the Venetian patriarchal society as well as posed a threat to male authority. The other aspect of Desdemona’s rebellion was the miscegenation in her and Othello’s marriage. By choosing her own husband who happened to be black, Desdemona further deviated from the role in which Venetian society cast upon her as well as all other women in such a patriarchal period. The traditions of the Venetian society are discovered when Iago speaks to Brabanzio and plants both the ideas of miscegenation and loss of power into Brabanzio’s mind. Iago warns Brabanzio when he says, â€Å"your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul; Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise!† (1.1, 400). These lines highlight the fact that in Elizabethan society, Brabanzio, like other fathers, considered Desdemona’s body to be his possess... Free Essays on Desdemona's Character Relationships Free Essays on Desdemona's Character Relationships Desdemona’s Character Relationships The character of Desdemona represents a woman of the 17th century who surpassed the norms of sexual morality set for Venetian women of that time. When Desdemona left her father’s house to marry the Moor, Othello, it was the first step in redefining her role as a woman. Instead of asking her father’s permission, Desdemona decided on her own to marry Othello. By making such a momentous decision on her own, she revealed that was breaking away from the strictness imposed by her father. She recalled the way her mother made the same decision, â€Å"I am hitherto your daughter. But here’s my husband and so much duty as my mother showed to you, preferring you before her father, so much I challenge that I may assert due to the Moor my lord,† (1.3, 409). Desdemona denied her father any right in choosing or granting allowance for Othello to marry her. Instead she chose the man who she wanted to marry and felt it unnecessary that her father intervene in their relationship. This act of independence by Desdemona tore away the gender barriers of the Venetian patriarchal society as well as posed a threat to male authority. The other aspect of Desdemona’s rebellion was the miscegenation in her and Othello’s marriage. By choosing her own husband who happened to be black, Desdemona further deviated from the role in which Venetian society cast upon her as well as all other women in such a patriarchal period. The traditions of the Venetian society are discovered when Iago speaks to Brabanzio and plants both the ideas of miscegenation and loss of power into Brabanzio’s mind. Iago warns Brabanzio when he says, â€Å"your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul; Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise!† (1.1, 400). These lines highlight the fact that in Elizabethan society, Brabanzio, like other fathers, considered Desdemona’s body to be his possess...

Personal statement Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal statement - Assignment Example It needs to intellectually stimulate me and be emotionally gratifying. I want to feel that I am making a positive difference to society and the people around me. My choice of application to the courses I have chosen reflects upon how I want to spend my life. With my mother a midwife, I knew from a very early age that I would like to follow in her footsteps some day. While my mother discussed her day’s work with me, I got to know of many things that sparked my interest. She used to tell me stories of her patients, the babies she helped bring into this world and the happy mothers who held their babies in their arms for the first time thanks to my mother. I remember how she glowed when she would be telling me all that. I felt that she made a bond with every single one of those new lives. It was amazing to see that most, if not all, of the new mothers remembered her. I remember some of the mothers bringing up their toddlers to meet her if she ran into them while walking with me on the street. To her, it was more than a profession: it was her passion and she probably passed her love and passion on to me. Bringing a new life into this world is a huge responsibility. And it would really make me feel honoured to be a part of it. Sometimes childbirth it is a tricky process and skill is the only difference between life and death. A skilful midwife is indispensible in such situations. And to be a good midwife, one needs dedicated study from a professional institution as well as gaining field experience afterwards. To be able to be a good midwife and do justice to my chosen profession, I wish to enrol in a full time course of study. The field of medicine and medical care is not new for me. I was enrolled in a nursing course back home in Poland along with having a part-time placement at the local hospital. I was very happy with that career choice and found myself settling in without effort. Unfortunately, due to some personal reasons, I could not finish the course an d hence was not entitled to a professional qualification. I was upset at not being able to continue and have been looking for a chance to be able to enrol in a course of study. I know that without obtaining proper qualification, I will not be able to work in this field. It is absolutely necessary to have a good education to be able to turn my passion into my career. My second choice of Early Childcare perhaps also reflects on my first choice – how I like working with people in general and children in particular. Childcare requires someone who is thoughtful and understanding as well as sympathetic to the needs of others. Newborns require special attention during the first few days of their lives and there are cases where pre-mature babies need to be taken care of round the clock. Being a kind and caring person, I believe that I can really make a difference as an early childcare nurse. I love babies and would really feel that in caring for them, I am making a difference. I alre ady have a little experience and would love to pursue it further as a career. As I have mentioned above, I fully understand the importance of getting a proper education before entering this field. My third choice is Pharmacology, once again directly related to the field of medicine. I have always had an interest in medicine and the miraculous life-saving drugs that are wonders of modern

Anishinabe peoples and the clan system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Anishinabe peoples and the clan system - Essay Example The institutions of social services, justice, community development, property and civil rights, customs law, educational and health services were among the institutions orderly managed by Anishinabe Clan System (Sitting, 2003). The institutions as they were well managed reflected the original values which promoted the well-being of a common man. The system offered a great law which presented both forms of social and political governance clearly. Therefore, people could not contradict in either social or political ideas. The system presented a way of dealing with social and political differences harmoniously. It was an effective system of administering both structure of governance and social order in the society. Furthermore, its spiritual importance cannot be underestimated. It was a system where spiritual policies could be applied when there is a need to reconcile conflicting parties in the society. Through application of its policies and principles, the system continued to function and support all the people and was important in fulfilling their pursuits and needs. Even though, times changed, the clan system continued being strong and became key to the strength of Ojibway people. People could identify themselves with the clan systems. It defined the people’s unity and identity, and at the same time maintained integ rity, personal identity and dignity of the people. The clan System, apart from providing leadership and governance to Ojibway people, it also gave a chance to the people to actively participate in the governance decisions and the concerns of their needs. The people through the Clan System could also actively compel the policies that could derail their rights and freedoms (James, 2007). The governance was well organized and the hierarchy was well defined. Each clan was given a place and designated a role to play in the society. The clan meets regularly depending on the

Complacency case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Complacency case - Essay Example Her immense reputation on handling any infant in the NICU should enable her to handle even the critically ill infants (Hamlin, 2011). Her failure to read professional journals and her argument and ignorance may make her responsible for any infant death associated with her career (Hamlin, 2011). By believing that her hand are more profession on experience than what a researchers article could ever be. She has no incentives to read articles and practice what she reads. Lack of this and her ignorance leads to a rapid infant mortality (Hamlin, 2011). Deborah’s suction and the employment of another nurse will lead to less infant death rates (Hamlin, 2011). This will be applicable because this new nurse will be handling all the cases unlike Deborah who handles only what she can hold on to she never makes the effort to try a read the ways of handling critically sick infants (Hamlin, 2011). The infants that are critically ill will benefit together with their families. Low mortality rates means that most of the critically ill infants will be facing intensive care from a widely learned nurse (Hamlin, 2011). Goals will only be achieved by the reduction of infant’s death rates (Hamlin, 2011). The employment of the new nurse will ensure that the critically ill infants are taken care of according to the clinical books journals and basic knowledge (Hamlin, 2011). Deborah applied only the knowledge she knew, and she had a false believe (Hamlin, 2011). By believing that her experience was enough for her job, yet she did not care for the critically ill infant was wrong. Every intellect in certain courses needs more additional knowledge in his or her area of specialization no matter how experienced a profession is with that certain case (Hamlin, 2011). The effectiveness of changing a nurse as soon as possible will lead to good health monitoring (Hamlin, 2011). The problem that Debora made was that she misused her handling for the rate

Gender Differences in Fear of Crime Anxiety

Gender Differences in Fear of Crime Anxiety Qualitative Data Analysis Using Open Coding Gender difference, anxiety and fear of crime 1995 Introduction This is a Qualitative Data Analysis done on the data set of â€Å"Gender difference, anxiety and fear of crime 1995†. Qualitative Research is development of concepts which help us to understand social phenomena in natural (rather than experimental) settings, giving due emphasis to the meanings, experiences and views of the participants (Pope and Mays, 1995, 311:42-45). Qualitative Data Analysis is used in market research to congregate a thorough insight of human behaviour and the rationale behind such behaviour. It tries to clarify the why and how of decision making rather than focusing only on what, where and when (Hamersley, 2013). In this report efforts have been made to understand the behaviour of two people (one male and other female) – both white unemployed below the age of 18 and belonging to high crime area. The report will try to analyse the data collected with respect to Gender Difference, Anxiety and Fear of Crime. Methodology and Research Design The objective of using qualitative research method for this project is to: To describe individual experience. To describe group norms. To describe variations. To describe and explain relationships. According to Merriam (2009), some of the commonly used qualitative research methods include the following methods: Generic Qualititative Research involving a free approach as per the research project in hand. Ethnographic Research also called methodology of the people. Grounded Theory, an inductive type of research, is developed on the data obtained from sources like interviews, surveys, observation, review of records and quantitative data. Phenomology is the study of live experiences encountered by the participants. Philosophical Research, conducted by professional experts is used to ascertain ethics, clarify definitions or to make an important finding related to their specific field of study. Critical Social Research is used to understand the communication between people and the development of symbolic meanings. Ethical Inquiry studies the ethics related to rights, duties, choices, etc. Foundational Research studies the basis for science, analyzes beliefs and comes up with ways to identify how the existing knowledge can be changed with regard to new information. Historical Research studies the past and present in respect to the present scenario and helps to solve current issues. Framework Method wherein data is collected by transcribing interview or creating field notes while conducting participant observation or observing objects or social situations. It can be said to be a combination of Grounded Theory and Phenomology methods. In this project I have employed Framework Method because it has the following features: Simultaneous collection and analysis of data. Creation of analytic codes and categories developed from data and not by pre-consisting conceptualisations. Discovery of basic social processes in the data. Inductive construction of abstract theories. Theoretical sampling to refine categories. Integration of categories into a theoretical framework. Qualitative researchers typically employ the following methods for gathering information:Participant Observation, Non-participant Observation, Field Notes, Reflexive Journals, Structured Interview, Semi-structured Interview, Unstructured Interview, and Analysis of documents and materials. In this project unstructured in-depth interviews using open-ended questions (without any preset questions) were conducted. The interview started with broad questions (related to the topic) and continued based on the participant’s response. An appropriate sample size for a qualitative study is one that adequately answers the research questions. For simple questions or very detailed studies, this might be in single figures; for complex questions large samples and a variety of sampling techniques might be necessary. There are three broad approaches to selecting a sample for a qualitative study (Marshal 1996): Convenience Sample: This involves the selection of most accessible selection. Judgement Sample: The most productive sample is selected to answer the research question. This can involved developing a framework of the variables that might influence and individual’s contribution and will be based on the researcher’s knowledge of the research area, the available literature and evidence from the study itself. Theoretical Sample: Theoretical sampling necessitates building interpretative theories from the emerging data and selecting a new sample to examine and elaborate on this theory. In practice, qualitative sampling requires a flexible, pragmatic approach. I have taken a sample data that includes a female and a male- both white, unemployed, belonging to high crime area and in the age group of 16-17. The participants belonging to different sex can give a true picture related to the influence of gender on the study being conducted. The female will be referred to as Participant 1 and the male will be referred to as Participant 2 in the coding table. Comparisons are made between the experiences of both the participants. Secondarydata is data collected by someone other than the user. Common sources of secondary data forsocial scienceincludecensuses, organisational records and data collected through qualitative methodologies orqualitative research.Primary data, by contrast, are collected by the investigator conducting the research. As is the case inprimary research, secondary data can be obtained from two different research strands: Quantitative: Census, housing, social security as well as electoral statistics and other related databases. Qualitative:Semi-structuredandstructured interviewsfocus group’stranscripts,field notes,observationrecords and other personal, research-related documents. I have used the interviews (qualitative research) conducted as my secondary source for data analysis. Procedure of Framework Method Analysis: According to the Framework Method procedures (Adams. et. al 2007; Gale, 2013), the following steps were followed: Stage 1: Transcription According to Adams. et. al (2007), A transcript of the interview must be made. Context is of primary importance. A word to word transcription for both the interviews has been made. Adequate spacing has been provided in the transcripts for coding and making notes. Both the transcripts are in comparable formatting. I checked all transcripts for errors by listening back to the audio-recording and reading the transcripts simultaneously. Stage 2: Familiarisation with the interview According to Gale (2013), getting acclimatized with the transcript is an important part of this method. For best interpretation I have tried to understand the interview thoroughly by going through the interview transcripts repeatedly. Familiarisation through reading and making notes in this way also enabled me to find my way easily around the pages of transcript later in the analysis. Stage 3: Coding While reading the transcript line by line, the researcher should apply a label or code that portrays what they have inferred as important. In more inductive studies, at this stage ‘open coding’ takes place, i.e. coding anything that might be relevant from as many different perspectives as possible (Adams. et. al 2007). Concepts should be named appropriately; because â€Å"people act toward things based on the meaning those things have for them; and these meanings are derived from social interaction and modified through interpretation.† Open Coding includes labelling concepts, defining and developing categories based on their properties and dimensions. (Bulmer, 1969). Codes could refer to substantive things (e.g. particular behaviours, incidents or structures), values (e.g. those that inform or underpin certain statements, such as a belief in evidence-based medicine or in patient choice), emotions (e.g. sorrow, frustration, love) and more impressionistic/methodological elements (e.g. interviewee found something difficult to explain, interviewee became emotional, interviewer felt uncomfortable). Coding aims to classify all of the data so that it can be compared systematically with other parts of the data set. I have used open coding for this research project. I have used â€Å"in vivo codes† i.e. words that participants have used in the interview for coding (Glaser Strauss, 1967). Stage 4: Developing a working analytical framework According to Adams et. al (2007), a set of codes to be applied to all subsequent transcripts should be finalized. Codes can be grouped together into categories (using a tree diagram if helpful), which are then clearly defined to form a working analytical framework. It is always worth having an ‘other’ code under each category to avoid ignoring data that does not fit; the analytical framework is never ‘final’ until the last transcript has been coded.The framework consists of twenty-three codes clustered into four categories each with brief description of their meanings and examples of what ideas and or elements might be summarized under that code. The codes used in this data analysis and their descriptions are mentioned below: In the above table, four categories have been made by grouping codes having similarities based on their common properties. Stage 5: Applying the analytical framework The working analytical framework is then applied by indexing subsequent transcripts using the existing categories and codes. Each code is usually assigned a number or abbreviation for easy identification (and so the full names of the codes do not have to be written out each time) and written directly onto the transcripts (Gale, 2013). Stage 6: Charting data into the framework matrix According to Adams et. al (2007) and Gale (2013), qualitative data are voluminous and being able to manage and summarize data is a vital aspect of the analysis process. A spreadsheet is used to generate a matrix and the data are ‘charted’ into the matrix. Charting involves summarizing the data by category from each transcript. Good charting requires an ability to strike a balance between reducing the data on the one hand and retaining the original meanings and ‘feel’ of the interviewees’ words on the other. The chart should include references to interesting or illustrative quotations. The data has been summarized using the attached Microsoft Excel for each category. As shown below, the matrix for this project comprises of one code in each row per participant. Data has been abstracted from transcripts for each participant and code, summarised it using verbatim words and placed it into correct cells of the matrix. A separate sheet has been used for each category (Please refer to the attached Microsoft Excel file for the details). Stage 7: Interpreting the data Characteristics of and differences between the data are identified, perhaps generating typologies, interrogating theoretical concepts (either prior concepts or ones emerging from the data) or mapping connections between categories to explore relationships and/or causality (Adams. et. al 2007). Themes were generated from the data set by reviewing the matrix and making connections within and between participant and categories. Analysis and conclusion has been done keeping the codes active using the constant comparative method asking (Glaser Strauss, 1978) What is actually happening here? Under what conditions does this happen? What is this data a study of? What category does this incident indicate? The creation of theory is based on a core category. Without zeroing on a core category the framework method will become irrelevant and unworkable. The core category accounts for most of the variation of data and therefore most other categories relate to it in some way. The core category is a more highly abstracted category but still must remain grounded in the data. The major categories are related to the core category and these categories show how the core category works in the lives of participants. From the matrix table (in the attached excel file) we can conclude that the core category is â€Å"Affects of crime† as it gives an overview into the data set with respect to gender difference and the consequence of crime mainly anxiety and fear of crime. The different codes of â€Å"Affects of crime† are presented in the matrix table(attached excel sheet) with relevant quotes from the interview. All the other categories – places of crime, forms of crime and tools used in crime are related to this core category. The following conclusions can be made from the matrix of the data with respect to the project objective of â€Å"Gender difference, anxiety and fear of crime 1995†. 1. Gender Difference: Usually females are not involved in fighting or killing activities in the area. It was only on rare occasions that they were involved in fighting: â€Å"And they were wi us, and they knew that Donna hadnt said nowt cos like wed been knocking about with them for a bit, and they knew that Donna wouldnt have said owt like that. But they never like went to stop Sarah from itting er, and I were only person who stopped Sarah from itting er, cos like she adnt done nowt wrong.†(Participant 1, p.11) Usually the males are involved in illegal activities like scraping, shoplifting, fighting on the streets, burgling and vandalizing because they do not have any other good means of earning: â€Å"Well I know I started like getting into crime, you know, from coming up onto estate. I think its all things that appen on estate you know crime. So thats only thing that I can really do on estate. Cant get a job where  £29.50. Int worth it, end of day. So just go scrapping and things like that.à ¢â‚¬ (Participant 2, p.1) Both the genders do not show much keenness in studies and have dropped out of school without any fixed future plans of pursuing further education: â€Å"Dont know. cos like na I dont know I dont want to miss I like going out and doing different things every day. Not same thing every day. cos school, used to get up, get dressed, go to school, come ome from school, ave me tea, go out, go to bed. Get up, get dressed, go to school, come back, ave me tea, go to bed. So it were same all time.†(Participant 1,p.22). â€Å" I used to get since I moved from Area 45 I went to school. I used to feel that teachers were getting at me all time. I walked into class, itd be one of them. Dont start messing.†( Participant 2, p.4) 2. Anxiety and fear of crime: Activities like threatening, burgling, brick throwing and fighting on the streets have led to a feeling of fear and anxiety especially amongst the female population: â€Å"I was scared. I werent old. I were about 9 or 10.'[Participant1, p.7] They experience insecurity, are scared and nervous because of these activities. They have sleep disorders like nightmares. :† Sometimes I still ave dreams. You know dreams about im, and I wake up screaming. [Participant1, p.16] The males get physically hurt due to being involved in these activities. Males also feel highly insecure due to the violent and dangerous environment in the area as well as the activities they are involved in: â€Å"I said es messing wi bird, so Ive it im. and this kid stood at side, whacked me in face. And all me face were puffed up down ere. And I ad concussion for like a week. [Participant2, p.14] 4. Conclusion Framework methodology was used in the research. In-depth unstructured questions were used for the interview. The interview continued with the flow of response from the participants. The participants were probed to know about their experience of living in the area, the forms of crime they faced or were indulged in, their security concerns, the fear and anxiety resulting from the crimes, etc. They were encouraged to share their experience in detail with the interviewer. Both the genders (male and female) are feeling scared, insecure and anxious because of their surroundings especially because of the crime scenario in the area. Crime in the form of burgling, killing, fighting, etc. could take place anywhere without any substantial reason and in any place like houses, cars, streets, etc. People were not safe in their own houses also. However, the situation seems to have improved over a period of time. 5. Suggestions for future research Would the scenario have been different if the youngsters would have completed their schooling and had they been given better employment opportunities? Would the area become a better and safer place to stay in with crime rate reducing drastically. References: Adams, J., Khan, H. T., Raeside, R., White, D. (2007). Research methods for graduate business and social science students. New Delhi: SAGE Publications India. Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Calman,L. What is Grounded Theory. The University of Manchestar. Gale, N.K., Heath, G., Cameron, E., Rashid, S. and Redwood, S., 2013. Using the framework method for the analysis of qualitative data in multi-disciplinary health research.[online] Available at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/13/117 [Accessed 21 April 2014]. Glaser, B.G. and Strauss, A.L., 1967. The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company. Hammersley, M. (2013). What is Qualitative Research? What Is? Research Methods. London: Continuum/Bloomsbury. Marshal,M.N.1996. ‘Sampling for Qualitative Research’, Family Practice, vol 13, no.6, pp. 522-525. Maykut†, P. and Morehouse†, R .(1994). Beginning Qualitative Research, A Philosophic and Practical Guide, London: The Falmer Press. Merriam, S. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Pope, C. and Mays, N. 1995. Qualitative Research: Rigour and qualitative research. BMJ. Seidal, J.V. 1998. [pdf]. Available at: ftp://ftp.qualisresearch.com/pub/qda.pdf [Accessed 22 April 2014]. Qualitative Research Designs. Available at: http://www.umsl.edu/~lindquists/qualdsgn.html[Accessed 23 April 2014] 1

Succubus on Top CHAPTER 21

I woke up the next morning with the worst hangover of my life, and that's saying something. It was actually the cold air that woke me, blowing in through the shattered windows and whipping the curtains around. Seattle had mild winters, but it was still November. I shape-shifted on a heavy sweater and then noticed that Sol's blood had not disappeared from my skin during last night's transformation, the blood had dried to fine, glittering red crystals on me and everything else. I picked up his discarded silk shirt and discovered it did a pretty good job at wiping them off. The previous night was a blur, and I had trouble remembering the fine details. I supposed I could blame whatever mystery liquid I'd drank for that. Looking around at the wreckage brought a lot of the events back to me, and the rest I pieced together. Not wanting to linger in this place, I found my cell phone and called for a cab. As I rode back into Seattle, I decided I wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep some more. My shift didn't start until later; Doug was opening. Wait. No, he wasn't. Doug was in a hospital bed. Sighing, I directed the driver to take me to the bookstore. Three voice-mail messages waited for me when I arrived in the office. One was from the author we had doing a signing that night, E. J. Putnam. All was in order with his flight; he expected to be here as scheduled. The second message was Beth calling in sick. Jesus. Couldn't anyone stay healthy anymore? That put us down two people now. Warren wrapped up the messages, saying he'd be back from Florida later today and would stop in tonight. I decided to be mad at him out of sheer principle. I'd spent the last week dealing with chaos; he'd been golfing in eighty degree weather. I got the store running and then staked out a register. Short-staffing will keep a person busy, at least. It gave me little time to reflect on last night's events. Or Doug. Or the fact that Seth hadn't come in today. Or my fight with Bastien. â€Å"Are you Georgina?† I looked up into the face of a pretty Japanese-American woman. Her face and build just barely crossed over into plumpness, and she wore her black hair in a high ponytail. Something about her smile seemed familiar. â€Å"I'm Maddie Sato,† she explained, extending a hand. â€Å"Doug's sister.† I shook her hand, astonished. â€Å"I didn't know Doug had a sister. â€Å" Her smile quirked a little. â€Å"Lots of them, actually. We're kind of spread out around the country. We all sort of do our own thing.† â€Å"So you came to†¦see Doug?† I hesitated to bring up such a delicate subject, but why else would she be here? She nodded. â€Å"I've been with him this morning. He's doing great and said to tell you hello.† That was the best news I could have received. â€Å"He woke up.† â€Å"Yes. He's grumpy and punchy but otherwise fine. He said he has some CDs in your office he wants. He asked if I could pick them up.† â€Å"Sure, I'll show you,† I said, leading her toward the back. Wow. Doug's sister. â€Å"How'd you find out about Doug?† â€Å"Seth Mortensen called me.† I stumbled and nearly walked into a display of gardening books. â€Å"How do you know Seth?† â€Å"I write for Womanspeak magazine. Seth had some questions about a feminist organization that he needed answered for his book, and Doug gave him my e-mail address about a month ago. So, we've been in touch a couple times. When Doug†¦got sick, Seth tracked down my number in Salem and called last night. â€Å" Part of me felt a little jealous that Seth had an e-mail correspondence with her that I hadn't known about, but I immediately quashed such feelings. What he'd done had been terribly considerate. And typical of him. Quietly efficient and kind. I led Maddie into the office and found the CDs in a drawer. â€Å"Did you drive up last night or this morning?† She shook her head. â€Å"Actually Seth picked me up.† â€Å"I†¦what? In Salem? That's, like, four hours away.† â€Å"I know. It was really nice. I don't have a car, so he drove right down after he called, got me in the middle of the night, and then brought me to Doug.† My God. Seth had made an eight-hour round-trip last night. No wonder he wasn't here; he'd gone home to crash. That also meant he hadn't necessarily taken off from the hospital to get away from me. He'd done it to help Doug. A pleasant flutter spread through me at this, half of it relief, half of it a response to still more evidence of Seth's continuing decency and consideration of others. Maddie left me her cell phone number and promised to send my good wishes to Doug. As she was leaving my office, Janice entered it. â€Å"Hey Georgina, Lorelei Biljan's here.† â€Å"Oh, okay. Wait.† I did a double take. â€Å"You mean E. J. Putnam. â€Å" â€Å"No. It's definitely Lorelei. E. J.'s a guy.† â€Å"I know that,† I said. â€Å"But her signing's a week from today. Putnam's is today. I had a message about it and everything.† â€Å"I don't know. I just know she's here.† A horrible sinking feeling built up in me. I followed Janice out and shook hands with a small, solidly built middle-aged woman. I'd seen Lorelei Biljan's pictures in her books. Everything was the same from her brown pixie haircut to her characteristic black clothing. â€Å"I'm going to see some sights today but wanted to check in first,† she told me. â€Å"Oh. Okay. Great.† I smiled thinly, willing myself to keep breathing. We chatted a little bit more, and as soon as she was gone, I tore back to Paige's office and ransacked her desk. Sure enough, her schedules showed both authors coming in today. On the master staff calendar, however, she'd put them on separate days. Our own in-store posters also had them on separate days, but checking newspaper ads, I saw them again scheduled for the same day. Our website declared both appeared today, which meant we'd have fans of both here tonight. Good grief. This was like some bad, clich? ¦d sitcom. We had two dates for the dance. I sat at Paige's desk and rubbed my temples. How had this happened? How had perfect, efficient Paige messed up? I quickly answered my own questions: because she had other things on her mind. She had an increasingly complicated pregnancy on her hands, one that had kept her out for almost three weeks now. A distraction like that would let anyone make mistakes. Unfortunately, I had to deal with them. Andy stuck his head inside. â€Å"Oh, hey, there you are. Bruce said to ask you if any of us can help in the caf? ¦. They're short. And Seth just called the store's main line. Said to tell you he can't do the thing tomorrow. â€Å" â€Å"Seth called?† I asked stupidly. So he wasn't asleep. And the â€Å"thing† tomorrow had been a date to see a local Celtic band play at a pub. But he was cancelling. The noble reasons I had attributed to him for keeping away from me suddenly seemed less altruistic. â€Å"Okay. Thanks.† I stared into space. My world was falling apart around me. I wasn't speaking to the two men I cared about the most. I was in charge of a bookstore that didn't have enough people to run it. Two authors were coming tonight, each expecting to have center stage to promote their books. We didn't have room for that. And to top it all off, I felt like shit. The residual effects of that drug had left me with a wicked headache, and I hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep. Killing a god will really wear you out. I had too much to do and not enough energy or willpower to do it. Let alone the means. I needed a miracle. Divine intervention. And as feasible as that might seem in my line of work, it probably wasn't going to happen. Unless†¦ Divine intervention? I found my purse and pulled out one of the packets of ambrosia. Those weird crystals pulsed out at me as I stared at them. What would happen? Nocturnal Admission had risen to stardom in a short time on these. Could I survive one hellish day at work? Would these give me the stamina and know-how to get through it? Or would I just turn into a slobbering sex kitten? I no longer believed Sol had given these to me last night. That had indeed been a date-rape drug. But these†¦these might be able to offer me some sort of inspiration to get out of this mess. Of course, there was the whole dangerous addiction and withdrawal problem. But this was my first time. Even mortals had to go through a couple doses before things got nasty, and Carter had said it would take even longer for me to hit the downside. I was probably safe, so long as I didn't get too into whatever it was I was about to become. Maybe it was the fatigue, but I didn't hesitate further. Don't overthink it, just act. I ordered a white-chocolate mocha from the caf? ¦ and dumped the crystals in once I was back in my office. â€Å"Bottoms up,† I muttered, just before knocking it all back. When I'd finished, I rested my head on the desk and waited for something to happen. Anything. Mostly I still felt sleepy. I yawned. When did this stuff kick in? How would I know? And good grief, what would I do if this turned into a disaster too? What if it made my day worse? I mean, not that it could get worse. I had two authors booked for tonight. The jealousy Tammi had once joked about could very well occur. Two was a bad number. Two led to rivalry. Add more, and it becomes a friendly group matter, not a one-on-one competition for space and spotlight. I'd been to big events where lots of authors spoke and read. Sometimes they sat on a panel and answered questions together about writing, inspiration, and publishing. Getting those perspectives was neat. It was a cool opportunity for fans of all the writers, and then later, said fans could have books signed by multiple authors. Those events were big deals. They took a lot of planning and a lot of advertising, not to mention a lot of staff. I sat up a couple minutes later, realizing I'd long since jolted to alertness. I didn't have time to note when that had happened or what it meant. I had too many things to do. My mind raced. In a flash, I was out on the main floor, hunting down Andy. I handed him a staff roster. â€Å"I need you to call every person who's not working today – except for the sick ones. See if they'll come in. Preferably for the rest of the day. If not, we'll take what we can get. Then ask everyone here who's not closing if they can close. Tell them they'll get time-and-a-half.† Andy stared as though he'd never seen me before, but I didn't give him time to question me. I went back to my office, paged Maria, and called Maddie Sato while I waited. When Maddie answered, I explained to her what I hoped she could do for me. She sounded surprised by my request, but she agreed nonetheless. She also promised to make another phone call for me that I wasn't too keen on making myself. Maria appeared just as Maddie and I hung up. Maria worked part-time and was shy and quiet. She preferred to avoid the registers if she could, being much happier lost in the shelves. She was also an amazing artist. I handed her a piece of poster board from our supply cabinet. â€Å"I need you to make a poster for tonight's event.† â€Å"The signing?† she asked. â€Å"Er, signings?† Everyone had heard about the double booking by now. â€Å"Not just a signing. It's a literary extravaganza. It's†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I came up with and then promptly rejected several possibilities. â€Å"It's the Emerald Lit Fest.† Boring, but straightforward. Sometimes that was better than a gimmick. â€Å"Yes. The first annual one. And put on here that these authors will be there.† I handed her a list I'd already made up. â€Å"Mention that they'll autograph books. And that we'll have drawings for prizes.† I thought some more, making it up as I went along. The ideas just leapt off my tongue. â€Å"And that 10 percent of all sales will be donated to the Puget Sound's Literacy Project.† â€Å"Wow,† she said. â€Å"I didn't know all this was going on.† â€Å"Yeah,† I agreed briskly. â€Å"Me either. Draw it, type it, cut and paste, whatever. Just do it. I need it in twenty minutes. And it needs to look good. â€Å" She blinked and then immediately set to work. While she did, I made phone calls. Print ads were a no-go, but almost everyone had a website. I called the big papers and the small artsy ones. I also called the local writers' groups and convinced them to e-mail their members. Finally, I called radio stations. They were less willing to do anything on short notice, but they were my best bet at immediate advertising. I could have the DJs mention us without a formal commercial. That took a bit of finagling, but we had an account with most of them already that guaranteed payment, and the charitable angle was hard to resist. Okay, I was hard to resist. Even over the phone, I could hear myself wooing and persuading with an unholy skill. Maria stopped working at one point to stare at me with an almost hypnotized look. Shaking her head, she returned to her poster. Andy popped in with the annotated roster. We hadn't roped in quite as many as I would have liked, but we'd definitely increased our numbers. And most of the current staff was staying. Maria finished her poster just then, and it did look good. I drove to the print shop that usually handled our business and turned the poster over to them. â€Å"No,† the manager told me flatly, making my manic flurry of activity come to a screeching halt. â€Å"I can't do all that in under an hour. Three hours maybe. â€Å" â€Å"Hour and a half?† I cajoled. â€Å"It's for charity. An emergency situation just came up.† She frowned. â€Å"An emergency literacy situation?† â€Å"Literacy is always an emergency. Do you know how many children in the Puget Sound area struggle with reading due to lack of resources and education?† Fortunately, being in the book business, I knew all the grim stats. By the time I was done with her, that battle-axe was nearly in tears. She'd do my order, she promised, and she'd do it in my original hour. While those were being printed, I traveled over to Foster's Books. Locally owned, that store wasn't as big as Emerald City, but it had the same sort of reputation as a local landmark. Technically, we were rivals. Garrett Foster, the owner, looked up when I entered. â€Å"Looking for a job?† â€Å"I've got one for you,† I told him sweetly, leaning on his counter. â€Å"I need you to get in touch with Abel Warshawski for me.† Abel Warshawski was a reclusive local author who wrote wildly popular books about the Pacific Northwest. He and Garrett were longtime friends, so Abel only did appearances at Foster's. Garrett arched a grizzled eyebrow. â€Å"Abel only comes here. You know that. â€Å" â€Å"I do. Which is why I didn't ask for his number.† I laid into Garrett then about how half of Emerald City's staff were in dire health. I talked about charity and literacy statistics. I pointed out that we weren't technically rivals anyway, since he was in Capitol Hill and I was in Queen Anne. Besides, the book industry was like a family. We all had the same goals. â€Å"My God, woman,† he murmured when I finished. I didn't think I'd taken a breath during my entire spiel. â€Å"Are you sure you don't want a new job?† â€Å"I just want Abel for the night.† He bit his lip. â€Å"Think we could get Mortensen over here for a signing some time?† â€Å"Hmm.† I considered this. Bartering was in my blood. â€Å"That depends. You guys close a few hours earlier than us, right? Think we could get a few of you to help us out tonight? Paid, of course.† â€Å"You've got some balls,† he muttered. He stared at me, still thinking, but I knew I had him. He couldn't resist. â€Å"Okay, but only if we get Mortensen during a hot time – around his next release.† â€Å"Done.† I didn't like sharing Seth, but lots of big authors made multiple Seattle appearances when a new book came out. I hoped Seth didn't mind being whored out. Oh, well. That was for later. Before I left, I bought all of Foster's American Mystery and Womanspeak magazines. He hesitated a moment as he rang them up. â€Å"Hey†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He looked me over. â€Å"I don't suppose you read that story Mortensen wrote†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Well,† I said with a breezy smile, no longer caring about my doppelganger, Genevieve, â€Å"let's just say he's not the first man I've given some ‘inspiration' to.† As a parting gift, I also gave Garrett one of our advertisements since I'd had the print shop make me a few to take with me before starting the big order. He stared at the poster incredulously. â€Å"You already put Abel on it! Before you even talked to me!† I left him gaping and went to pick up my posters. I returned to the bookstore and distributed them among three of the staff, arming each with a list of places to hang them. I sent them off and then managed the bookstore end of things, which mostly involved moving a lot of furniture and assigning employee duties for tonight. When six o'clock rolled around, it really was like a miracle had occurred. Signings normally occurred in the second floor caf? ¦. That spot still made up the heart of the show, but I'd had the rest of the second floor cleared out. That meant a lot of shelves and displays got crammed together while the speakers were on, but it didn't matter so much. Most of the people there wanted to hear the authors, not browse books quite yet. And what people we had. E. J. Putnam and Lorelei Biljan had each drawn in their respective science fiction and literary fiction crowds. That was big enough, but my advertising had drawn in even more. We were packed. We needed every inch of space rearranging the furniture had allowed. I couldn't remember ever having this many people in the store. Putnam and Biljan had been a little shaken – and initially unhappy – to find themselves in the midst of the Emerald Lit Fest rather than an ordinary signing. I passed off the confusion as a miscommunication with their people and thanked them for helping the charity. I also reminded them this was a good opportunity to show off for people who normally read other genres, and it wasn't even like either writer was slighted†¦too much. Each of them got to read a ten-minute excerpt and then field fifteen minutes of questions. It was a bit expedited for a signing, yes, but it worked and gave us time to then have a Q&A session with our full panel of authors, consisting of the two headliners plus Seth, Maddie, and Abel. Prize-drawings occurred throughout it all, and I emceed everything myself, not even knowing what I said half the time. â€Å"I can't believe you gave Seth second-billing to Putnam and Biljan,† Andy remarked softly to me during the panel. Only those two authors had been given exclusive spotlight. â€Å"He's bigger than both of them put together.† â€Å"He's also extremely good-natured,† I murmured back. Now that I had a momentary breather, I couldn't stop drinking Seth in. I felt like I hadn't seen his whimsical smile and brown eyes in ages. In fact, I hadn't ever seen that particular Captain and Tennille shirt he wore. I wanted to run up to him but held back. Maddie had been the one to ask him to participate, on my behalf. It was one of the things I'd asked her to do this morning. When all the speaking was done, I had the staff more or less move everything back. We left the caf? ¦ cleared out and set up a table for each of the authors to do signings. Even Maddie, who was fairly obscure, had some takers. Womanspeak had sort of a cult reputation, and I think she'd gained a few fans during the panel. Passing by Seth as he spoke to a fan, I caught his eye and paused. A moment of awkwardness hung between us that even my ambrosia-induced mania could not overcome. We had too much unresolved business between us yet. â€Å"Thank you,† I said simply. â€Å"Thank you for doing this.† â€Å"Well,† he said after a moment. â€Å"You know me. I haven't missed an Emerald Lit Fest yet. I'm not about to start now.† The store was nowhere near emptying when closing came, so we let them stay, especially since we were doing a hell of a business. It was around then that Warren showed up. He stood next to me and joined me in a survey of the crowd around us. â€Å"Why,† he said after a moment, â€Å"do I feel like a parent who has just returned home and found his teens throwing a party?† â€Å"Paige double-booked Biljan and Putnam. This seemed like the logical solution.† â€Å"And when did you discover the double-booking?† â€Å"This morning.† â€Å"This morning,† he repeated. â€Å"So, instead of, say, moving furniture on the first floor and simply having two concurrent signings, you decided – with less than a day's notice – to have a star-studded, massively advertised soiree with more people than this store can hold?† I blinked. Wow. That really would have been a simpler solution. â€Å"It's a ‘fest,' actually. Not a soiree. And don't forget it's for charity.† Warren jerked his head toward me. â€Å"We're donating this to charity?† â€Å"Only 10 percent,† I assured him. â€Å"But there's actually a woman here from the Literacy Project who was so impressed that she wants to talk about us getting involved in a much bigger fundraiser with them. It probably won't be until next year – in the spring, of course. We wouldn't want to conflict with the next Emerald Lit Fest.† â€Å"The next one?† â€Å"Well, yeah. It's a tradition now.† I'd been riding the high from all of this pretty steadily all night. I was still so high, in fact, I probably could have arranged and implemented the second Emerald Lit Fest for tomorrow morning. Something suddenly occurred to me. â€Å"Hey, am I in trouble?† He rubbed his eyes. â€Å"Georgina, you are†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shook his head. â€Å"Beyond words. And not in trouble. Definitely not. We won't do this much business on Black Friday.† He gave me one of his nicer smiles, reminiscent of our more intimate days. â€Å"Why don't you go home now? You need it. Your pupils are really big.† â€Å"Are you throwing me out? Are you sure I'm not in trouble?† â€Å"You're not in trouble. But I've heard about how much overtime you've been putting in, as well as†¦other things. Paige is going to be here next week, and we'll sit down and talk then.† He suddenly did a double take. â€Å"Is that Garrett Foster working one of our registers?† I walked home reluctantly. It wasn't easy abandoning one's brainchild. I still felt high and giddy, like pure adrenaline ran in my veins. I couldn't just go home. I needed to do something. Plan something. Anything active. A few guys glanced at me as we passed each other, and I smiled provocatively at them, nearly making one run into a garbage can. Maybe there were other ways of being active tonight. My cell phone rang, and I answered without thinking. It was Bastien. â€Å"Damn it. I forgot I was supposed to be screening my calls. I'm still not speaking to you.† â€Å"Don't hang up. I have to talk to you.† â€Å"No, I told you – â€Å" † Fleur ,I'm leaving.† I heard a strained, weary tone to his voice. He wasn't talking about going out for the night. My euphoric glow dimmed a little. â€Å"You're leaving Seattle.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because it isn't going to work with Dana. We both know it.† I stood in front of my building now and stared at it blankly, waiting for some ambrosia inspiration to give me the insight that would help Bastien finally woo Dana. Nothing happened, so I did the only thing I could. â€Å"I'll be right over.† I found his door unlocked when I arrived and walked inside. â€Å"Mitch† stood in the kitchen with his back to me, hands resting on the island, entire posture slumped. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head against his back. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I whispered. â€Å"Me too.† â€Å"The cooking thing didn't pan out?† I almost laughed at my own pun. God, this ambrosia was great. â€Å"No. Although, I can make a lovely creme brulee now. I have some in the refrigerator if you want to try it.† He sighed. â€Å"But no, it wasn't working. And you knew that, didn't you?† He turned around so that we faced each other. I looked away. â€Å"Yeah. But I didn't want to†¦I dunno. I hoped, I guess. Hoped it would work out.† We stood there in silence for a while. No matter how angry I was at him, I hated seeing him like this. Devastated. Defeated. † Fleur, I want to apologize about that night – â€Å" â€Å"No, it's not all your – â€Å" â€Å"Just listen to me first,† he admonished. â€Å"There's something I have to tell you. Something about Seth.† And then, just like every other time I visited, the doorbell rang. The incubus waved an annoyed hand. â€Å"Leave it.† â€Å"It could be her.† â€Å"I don't care. I don't want to see her.† Maybe he was pessimistic, but I'd eaten the Food of the Gods. I felt like I could do anything. I knew I could do anything. My confidence and cleverness knew no bounds. I had created a new tradition at Emerald City in a matter of hours. Surely I could still find some last glimmer of hope for Bastien if I had a chance to speak to Dana face-to-face. â€Å"There still might be a way,† I told him as I walked to the door. † Go invisible if you want. I want to talk to her. â€Å" â€Å"If it's even her,† he called after me. But it was her. â€Å"Tabitha.† She smiled. â€Å"I thought I saw you come in.† I returned her smile with my own. A dazzling one. I wasn't going to be shy and idiotic around her anymore. I should never have been that way under normal conditions, let alone now, when I was at my finest. â€Å"I'm so glad you could stop by,† I told her, warmth oozing out of every pore. I beckoned her in as though I lived there. As much as she saw me over there, I might as well have. â€Å"Please, come inside. Let me get you something to drink.† For the first time, I saw Dana off guard. I was not the Tabitha she knew, and she didn't know how to handle it. Bastien stood in the kitchen, invisible, arms crossed defiantly over his chest. I winked at him and then turned back to Dana. â€Å"Mitch is out for a while, if you wanted to see him.† â€Å"Oh. That's fine. I can, um, stay for a little while†¦I guess.† She seemed unnerved by my control of the situation. I poured us both iced tea, and we sat down at the table. I led us into conversation about our days, telling her about an awesome charity event I'd been to at a downtown bookstore. Dana recovered some of her composure and returned to her smooth and controlled self. Her bigoted nature aside, the woman could manage a decent conversation, and we clicked. Too bad she didn't channel her intelligence into more useful areas, I thought. As we talked about assorted things, the solution to the whole Dana situation struck me – it was so obvious. I don't know if it was the ambrosia or not, but I couldn't believe how blind we'd all been. How had none of us figured out the problem with her? What kind of seduction experts were we? Bastien was right. Dana was a lost cause. For him. â€Å"Dana,† I interrupted in a most un-Tabitha way, â€Å"I'm really glad you came over tonight because there's something I've needed to ask you.† She choked on her tea. â€Å"Yes?† I propped my elbows on the table, resting my chin in my hands so I could have solid eye contact. â€Å"You said a little while ago that you and Bill had lost the romance and that you didn't care. But you know what? I don't believe that. I think you miss it. I think you crave it. But not with him.† Dana's face went pale, eyes wide. Bastien, standing nearby, wore a similar look. I didn't care. We had nothing to lose at this point. â€Å"Am I right?† I leaned closer. â€Å"There is something missing, isn't there? And you were lying about not knowing what's sexy. You know. You know what turns you on, and you want it. You want it so bad, you can taste it.† I swear, you could have heard a pin drop in the room. Dana worked forcibly to control her breathing, staring and staring at me as though I might vanish if she blinked. â€Å"Yes,† she finally croaked. â€Å"You've been right about a lot of things. Like how we can't choose who we want. And yes†¦I think we both know what I'm talking about, Tabitha.† Some of her old confidence began to return. â€Å"At first, I wasn't sure. You were so hard to read. But then, after I saw how awkward things were with you and your boyfriend – how you never wanted to talk about him and said you weren't attracted to him – I knew for sure. That little lingerie show you put on for me cinched it. You were amazing. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I'd already seen you naked in the hot tub, and that had been agonizing enough. I had to see you naked again. And then, as I talked to you more, I realized you were intelligent too. Just like tonight.† She took a deep, quaking breath and reached out her hand to cover mine, fingers slowly dancing along my skin. â€Å"You're right. I do want something. So bad I can taste it. I know it's wrong, and I know it's immoral, but I can't help myself. I can't help who I want. Can't help wanting you.† No wonder Bastien hadn't been able to close the deal. Dana had wanted me. Probably from the moment I stepped out of the pool in that skimpy bathing suit. Staring at her, I thought about all the horrible things her group did. I also thought about Bastien being tortured by some demon. In some cases, being immortal wasn't always a blessing. Now, I could save him from that fate and send a little payback to the CPFV. I smiled back at Dana, letting my body language speak for me as the tension mounted. I admit, I was a little surprised that all of my previous encounters had been read as advances on her, but well, whatever. The invisible incubus had run out of the room somewhere around â€Å"I had to see you naked again.† He returned now, wielding the video camera. Seeing my calculated silence, he waved the camera at me frantically, glee all over his face. I held the power now to change everything. The power to achieve what Bastien had been fighting for. To save him and humiliate the CPFV. If I could just pull this off. The ambrosia had proved today that my strongest talents lay in improvisation and planning, the ability to multitask and solve problems. That was great. It made me feel better about myself than I had in a while. It was probably what had led me to realize the truth about Dana too. But what about my earlier musings about the ambrosia? In regard to sex? Was my sexual prowess still a key part of me? Had the ambrosia enhanced that too? Could I rock some man – or woman – in bed? Looking at Dana and her now-obvious lust, I knew the answer. I gave a sultry laugh and jauntily brushed my hair out of my face. I could and would rock her world. I was a team player, after all. For both teams. Squeezing her hand, I moved toward her. â€Å"I feel exactly the same way.†

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Internet Essay

People nowadays seem to spend a lot of their time on smart phones, laptops and ipads. The reasons behind them spending so much time are because of the internet. Internet has made people to connect with the world. One cannot imagine a life with internet. It has become so popular in people lives. Internet has made communication and access to information easy. Though internet has made people lives simple and convenient its has also wreaked havoc in their lives. The writer will show the advantages and disadvantages of using the internet. Oxford dictionary( ) has defined internet as ‘a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities consisting of interconnected networks using standardized communication protocols’. Therefore one can say internet is a network that promotes people to research and communicate easily in the global village. According to Webster’s dictionary he defines information as data that is stored and can be retrieved either from library or internet. The storage of information by internet has made easily accessible. Read more:Â  Essay on Role of Internet in Education Communication is defined by Gordon (2013:np) as ‘a process of sharing information thoughts and feelings between people’. Therefore for communication to take place the is need for a reliable medium. Internet has played a vital role in making communication an easy process for people. The introduction of computers, smart phones even ipads has help in improving the communication industry. One of many advantages of using internet is that it has promoted access to information. Internet has promoted access to information. It has become a source of information. Whatever question one has internet has made it easy for people to search for answers. Lecturers now encourage their students to research on internet. With internet one can research at the comfort of their homes. According to Steve and Charette () ‘internet opens up potential research modalities’. Therefore internet has made it easy for people to do their research their projects or subjects. Internet has provided search engineers like Google and yahoo. Numerous of web sites offer loads of information for people to research on. Though internet has made it easier for people to research, some resources in the internet have proved not to be reliable compared to the research done on the library. Resources in the library have been thoroughly evaluated by experts before they were published were as the internet on the other side anyone puts anything they want on the website and there is no review or screening process. Another advantage of using the internet is that one can conduct personal and business transactions from home. It has introduced what is called online banking were one does not need to physically go to the bank they can do any transaction in their finger tips. Internet has also helped people not to carry money around but to pay using their electronic cards e.g. bank cards, credit cards. Shopping online has also made people lives simpler by just typing what item you want to buy and the price; the transaction will be processed without physically going to the shop. People can even purchase tickets of bus or movies, hotel reservations and many more from home. Though the introduction of these electronic cards has made people’s lives simple it has also brought havoc in their lives. There has been reported cases were one identity has been stolen through hacking of accounts. People will access your name, address, and credit numbers for their personal use. They can steal money from your accounts or con you out of your money from the internet and they don’t usually get caught if they are pros in hacking. Internet has played a vital role in improving communication around people. It has played a greatest domain in the communication industry. It has excelled beyond expectations. Internet has made people who are miles away from each other to communicate easily. Today there is no need for one to write a letter and post it to be processed and transported to a different city now one can type and just click send to the receiver. We took to friends and strangers physically who are a distance away from us through chat rooms therefore by establishing global friendship were you share thoughts and ideas. People are now able to stay involved in their families’ lives. Internet has made the world a smaller place by communication and attained the form of a global village. Internet has made communication easy but it has also made people to drift apart. There are less face to face interactions. People have disconnected socially they prefer to chat online than physically. My homes have been broken through social network sites. People have become so addicted to internet to the extent that they hardly get enough time to spend with their families. They prefer on line friends than chatting physically. Social networking has become so popular that it has replaced the physical networking. Internet is also a source of entertainment. People are now able to download games or visit chat rooms for entertainment. People now spend most of their times downloading games and movies. Also chat rooms have become so interesting to people because that’s where they meet new and interesting people even life partners. Other disadvantages of using internet are that computers that have internet are prone to virus. Virus is a program that disturbs the normal functioning of a computer. Access to pornography by minor is also another disadvantage of the use of internet. There a lot of pornographic sites that can be easily accessed if minors are exposed to internet. In conclusion one can say that internet has made people’s lives simple in terms of research, banking as well as communication on the other hand it has brought havoc and disorder in their lives. References 1. The Oxford English Dictionary.1884 2. Webster, M. Unabridged dictionary. Online. 3. University of Florida. 2006: using active listening as a communication tool. [Online] accessed at www.contempinctuct.com on Thursday 5 September 2013. 4. Steven,M.H and Charlette.A. conducting a research in internet,potential,cor=ncerns and reflections. 5. Steven ,D.K.2007. Understanding and using the library and the internet for research. [online] Accessed at http/www.stevenkrause.com/tprw on Thursday 5 September 2013.

Spelling Tips Baited Breath or Bated Breath

Spelling Tips Baited Breath or Bated Breath Spelling Tips: Baited Breath or Bated Breath? Given how popular the Harry Potter books were, you’d have thought J.K. Rowling – or her publishers – could afford a proofreader. Yet, on publication, Prisoner of Azkaban contained a passage that read: The whole common room listened with baited breath. Did you spot the error there? If not, check out our guide to the difference between â€Å"bated† and â€Å"baited† below. Once you can tell these words apart, you will be able to use this commonly misspelled phrase with confidence. Baited (Loaded with Bait) The word â€Å"bait† can be used as either a noun or a verb. As a noun, it refers to something used to lure an animal or persuade someone to do something: We used cheese as bait in the trap. He took the bait when we made a compensation offer. As a verb, it can either mean â€Å"load with bait† or â€Å"intentionally anger†: We baited the hook with a worm. Bear baiting has been banned since 1835. However, the way â€Å"baited† is used in the sentence from Harry Potter is as an adjective. And while this is unusual, it means â€Å"loaded with bait†: The offer seemed to good to be true, like a baited hook. So, if we were to take J. K. Rowling literally, we’d have to assume that the common room was listening with breath that would attract fish. Now, we know Hogwarts is a magical place. But we’re not sure that mystical halitosis is the answer here. Let’s instead take a look at the word â€Å"bated.† Bated (Anxious or Excited) â€Å"Bated† is an adjective meaning â€Å"in an excited or anxious way.† Its first recorded use is in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, Act I, Scene III: Shall I bend low and in a bondmans key, With bated breath and whispering humbleness, Say this; Fair sir, you spit on me on Wednesday last; You spurnd me such a day; another time You calld me dog; and for these courtesies Ill lend you thus much moneys? The idea here is to conjure the image of someone breathing excitedly in anticipation, which is still how we use the phrase â€Å"bated breath† today. In fact, in modern English, you are unlikely to ever see the word â€Å"bated† used other than in the phrase â€Å"bated breath.† Consequently, as long as you can remember this phrase, you will know when to use the term â€Å"bated.† Summary: Baited Breath or Bated Breath? Although the terms â€Å"baited† and â€Å"bated† sound the same, they have very different meanings. Remember: As an adjective, baited means â€Å"loaded with bait to lure an animal.† It is also the past tense of â€Å"bait,† which can mean either â€Å"use a lure† or â€Å"taunt.† Bated means â€Å"in an anxious or excited way.† In modern English, this word only commonly appears in the phrase bated breath. So if you’re talking about waiting excitedly, the correct spelling will be â€Å"bated.† But in other situations, such as luring an animal or deliberately angering someone, you will need â€Å"baited.† And if you’d like to go one step further than J.K. Rowling’s publishers and have a professional check your writing for spelling errors, feel free to send us a document today.

Wisdoms Melancholy essays

Wisdoms Melancholy essays Man has always been characterized as a curious creature, desiring to learn and expand his knowledge base. In the past men have defied everything in nature and in their souls to just find the answer to their most vexing questions. Ecclesiastes correctly proclaims that the wisdom and knowledge man lusts after leads to sadness and mourning. Knowledge has been repeatedly abused and has caused a countless amount of deaths and a plethora of reasons to lament. Throughout history and literature, wisdom that has been sought inevitably leads to grief. Since the beginning of man in the book of Genesis, men have hungered for the fruits of knowledge which have eventually led to death and destruction. In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve partook of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge because they wanted the power and wisdom that God possessed. As a result, Adam and Eve caused the Fall of Man and God punished them with the existence of death, pain of childbirth, and hardships of labor. The Bible's motif of sorrowful knowledge is present throughout the book of Ecclesiastes which states that everything is meaningless and a mere "chasing of the wind." Ecclesiastes states that "better is the man who has never been, who has never seen the evil done under the sun," meaning that it is better to never have been born than to possess knowledge which leads to grief and regret. Oedipus clearly supports the notion that knowledge leads to pain, suffering, and grief. In Sophocles' novel, Oedipus, Oedipus is a powerful and happy king who is destroyed by the knowledge that he has killed his father and married his mother. Before knowing that he was a pariah, Oedipus was healthy and content and would have remained so if he had never known the Truth. The knowledge of his actionsnot the actions alonedestroyed Oedipus, causing him to gash-out his eyes and live in exile. History has proven that knowledge is the cau ...

Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Discussion - Assignment Example Information gained contributes to the enhancement of purchase intentions. Further on the consumer moves forward in search of other competitors related to the same product category and then selects the one that best suits one’s need and purchase potentials. In this stage the consumer tends to deal with a plethora of options relating to the product and chooses the one that turns out to be the most applicable. Finally the consumer generally in the course of making high price purchases like luxury cars tends to continually revaluate the decision by focusing on gaining more information that further reinforces one’s purchasing intentions (Baines, Fill and Page 83-86). Automobile companies like General Motors to increase the level of consumer attention tend to enhance their relationship aspects has created a website that helps the consumers choose between a large number of options to select the vehicle suiting their needs. Further the website also informs the consumers relatin g to the different financing options and also the cost parameters related to the different models. General Motors in such ventures also tends to present to the consumers a comparison between its models with other models produced in the same category by its competitor firms. This mode of communication rendered enhances the dimension of consumer loyalty for the luxury goods company here acts as an effective advisor tending to meet the needs of the consumer. Moreover the level of consumer advocacy is enhanced by firms like General Motors inviting the people to take test drives of their models for a continual period of 24 hours. This strategy pursued helps in enhancing the consumer’s relation to the commodity thereby rightly increasing the likelihood for the purchase (Urban 77-81). Thus it is evident that use of information technology has contributed to the development of customer relationship activities for the luxury goods and vehicle companies thereby contributing to the devel opment of brand awareness. The enhanced use of internet based marketing and promotional events contributes to the pulling of consumer interests for the commodities in the pursuit of creating increasing the level of consumer awareness (McGovern, Court, Quelch and Crawford 74). Consumers of luxury good and vehicles further tend to search of new and innovative relationship aspects with the respective companies in the form of evidence of loyalty ventures through which they can earn rebates and occasional or promotional discounts. Introduction of loyalty schemes and creation of loyalty club by the companies tends to excite further consumer attention and interest in procuring the merchandises concerned from the concerned companies (Fournier, Dobscha and Mick 48). Consumption of a Luxury-Car from the Experimental Perspective The consumption patterns of consumers in terms of procuring luxury cars and merchandises tends to be largely governed by the opinions, value sets and attitudes develop ed by them in relation to their existing social and cultural framework. Again the preference patterns of the consumers are also governed in terms of the ideologies reflected by the different groups to which they relate to. Social and cultural affluences along with group influences tend to largely govern the purchasing patterns of the c

Block 7 (Week 13&14) Exercise 7 (Respiratory System Mechanics) Coursework

Block 7 (Week 13) Exercise 7 (Respiratory System Mechanics) assigned from pages 85-95 - Coursework Example narrowing of the airways due to bronchial smooth muscle contraction as in Asthma; inflammation of the bronchial mucosa and hypertrophy of bronchial glands as happens in Bronchitis. 2. As a result of the tidal volume change, what happens to the flow into each lung and total air flow? Air flow into each lung is also increased resulting in increase in increased total flow into the lungs. The puncture in the lungs causes the air to flow into the intrapleural cavity of the lungs through the puncture equating the pressure inside with that of the atmosphere. The elasticity (surface tension) of the lung aleoli compresses the aleoli resulting in the collapse. There is minimum airflow to the left lung. The pressure in the left lung is still the same (zero), the air flow in the left lung ecomes zero. The lungs are only using right lung for respiration. The total air flow is equal to that to the right lung (69.56 ml). The diaphragm descends and the ribcage elevates (expands) – the increased intrathoracic volume results in decreased intrathoracic pressure compared to the atmospheric pressure. Air flows from the high atmospheric pressure to the low intrathoracic pressure filling the lungs. Rapid respiration (hyperventilation) results in the expulsion of more CO2 from the lungs. The CO2 is drawn from the bicarbonate buffer system of the blood. The concentration of CO2 in blood decreases resulting in increase in blood pH (alkalosis). The two values are used to assess the pulmonary function. They tell the clinician about the health of the lungs, any comression or obstruction to tht airflow as well as the extent of the pulmonary dieases (e.g. COPD). They reflect how much the lung function ahs been compromised due to the disease. Emphysema is a disease characterized by dilation f the alveolar spaces and destruction of the alveolar walls. The reoil function of the lungs is also compromised causing a decrease in expiratory flow. Therefore FEV1 is decreased. The lungs become