Life of the Female Pioneer on the Oregon Trail

Life of the Female Pioneer on the Oregon Trail University Of Phoenix HIS/110 August 25, 2012 Kim Murphy Life of the Female Pioneer on the Oregon Trail My life as a female pioneer taking the journey down the Oregon Trail was one of hardship and adventure. During the early 1800s settlers began to explore new territory in the New World looking for new opportunities. Through the pioneer journeys of Lewis and Clark a route through America was discovered that would take settlers to new land in the Pacific Northwest portion of the country. To reach the new land pioneers, such as I, had to travel down what became known as the Oregon Trail.Through the Oregon Trail the expansion of the West began but to get to this new part of the country I would have to travel two thousand miles along with other pioneers from my part of the country. We started in Missouri that required us to travel through five states to reach our new destination. To reach the new land offered to myself and the other pioneers in the New World, we would travel in large groups with people in wagons and on horseback. This was to help ensure our safety as we traveled the Oregon Trail to the new land in the West.Our travels included men, women, and children of all ages. Although I made the choice to go myself, there were many women on the trail that had to face the hardships of the long trail because their husbands had chosen to take this adventure. This was difficult for many of them because they were forced to leave their already established homes in exchange for the hardships of the trail and an uncertain future in the Pacific Northwest. To travel down the Oregon Trail, we travelled in horse drawn wagons and had oxen’s pulling carts of supplies.I like other pioneer families left my home with my worldly possessions that I could afford to carry. We faced being robbed at gunpoint by highway men on the trail. Another danger faced by the female pioneers and the wagon train were attacks by Native America ns. The Wagon Trains were attacked and burned and the men were killed leaving the women, children, and wagon supplies to be stolen by the Indians. Women were forced to become the slave of an Indian family or the wife of an Indian brave while the children were adopted by Indian families or made to be slaves.I and the other women were responsible for ensuring the food supply lasted on the long journey as well as packing the wagon. We were also responsible for cooking the meals on the Oregon Trail. We were required to wear long dresses with long sleeves in oppressive heat and care for all of the needs of the men and children as well as tend to the sick. There was a major risk to the female pioneer of losing our husbands or even our children to illness or accidents along the Oregon Trail. If the food supply ran short the men would hunt for food, use supplies meant for our new homes, or die of starvation.Illnesses, such as Typhoid and cholera, were common and would spread through the wag on trains creating more work for us women (Bledsoe, 1984). The overworked women would in turn become more vulnerable to becoming sick and perishing. Women who gave birth while on the Oregon Trail faced vast difficulty and in many cases the female pioneer or the new born would die. Women pioneers were usually fairly young because women during this time married as young as 14 but quickly toughened up because of the major responsibilities we faced on the trail.Despite the many hardships faced by myself and the other female pioneers, we helped to pave the way for future generations of Americans and bravely traveled to an unknown land to build a new life. The Oregon territory was originally jointly owned by American and the British but was acquired by America in 1846 and expanded the territory of the United States (Eddin, 2009). Before Oregon was acquired by America the area was sparsely populated and the single woman, such as I, had little opportunity to find a husband. In most cases we would marry a farm hand or the closest neighbor.Marriages were rarely based on love but instead of convenience and the benefit to the family. A large majority of pioneers became farmers making the pioneer women a farming wife but also required her to deal with the harsh winters that were associated with the area and adjust to a life of constant isolation. Once American acquired the Oregon territory the population began to expand and the pioneer families were offered more opportunity as well as single women, such as I, had more opportunity to meet potential husbands.New towns and cities began to emerge and we women were no longer forced to sew our own clothes. It also provided a more convenient and affordable way for us to buy food than in the past. Once the population began to grow in Oregon the society became more modernized and life for I and the other pioneer women became less harsh. References Bledsoe, L. (1984). Adventuresome Women on the Oregon Trail: 1840-186. http://www. js tor. org/discover/10. 2307/3346237? uid=3739256&uid=2129&uid Eddin, O. (2009). The Oregon Country and Westward Expansion. http://www. thefurtrapper. com/oregon_country. htm

My Family Essay

Ever heard the saying, â€Å"blood is thicker than water†? If yes, you know it means no bond is tighter than your family. In our families we love, serve, teach, and learn from each other. We share our joys and our sorrows. Family ties may bring us difficult challenges, but they also give us strength and some of our greatest happiness. Through my own personal perspective, if you don’t have family, you don’t have anything. Thinking to yourself, you have it all, each time you see them cross your path. Blood makes you related, loyalty makes you family. Families are so important because we are born into them, marry into them, and even create them among the people we love. They come large and extended or small and eventually grow out into a huge bunch. But whatever their size or wherever they live, strong families give us the nurturance and strength we need in order to survive. I cannot express how blessed to have been born into the family I have. Of course no Brady bunch is perfect but one thing is for sure, everything WE do, we try to do it right. Throughout our lives, most of us find ourselves living in two types of families, our family of orientation and our family of procreation. I bet your face expression is awkwardly confused, but let me break it down real simple for you. Our family of orientation is the family in which we were born into. We had no choice as to who our parents would be, and most definitely had no clue what genes we would inherit. We had no say in our early intellectual stimulation, or in how our emotional or survival needs would be met. I guess you can say, it is all a matter of destiny and who god imself wanted to place you with in regards to the life he has planned for you. Our family of orientation, however, is the institution that hopefully gave us the sense of stability and protection that we all need. We had to rely on our family of orientation to provide the nutrition, shelter, and assistance in learning how to walk, talk, and eat. When at our best, the family teaches the finest things human beings can learn from one another such as, generosity and love. But, it is all too often where we learn nasty things such as hate, rage and shame. My family falls deeply into the good traits, my parents are soft and gentle, but can also be cold as ice when it comes to messing with their kids and family members. One thing in my family that you simply do not do, is mess with myself or my younger siblings. I inherited both of their traits equally, I can be as sweet as a fine sliced piece of cake, or as cold as walking out on below 0? floor, barefoot. Moving on to your family of procreation, once you enter into adulthood, you then find yourself in your family of procreation. The difference between the two is important. The choices which led up to this family of procreation are only yours. When you marry, you have to choose the one you marry. Factors included with that individual’s looks, personality, abilities, knowledge and interests. Sometimes you even get what I call, a â€Å"combo deal†. Pretty self explanatory, your partner may bring along his relatives and sometimes even children. Into what you ask? Into your marriage, that’s what. Of course we always hope and pray, that individual did not bring with him baggage from his family of orientation or previous relationships, but rather positive experiences from one of the other or both. O ne important subject I’d love to get a little more in depth with is the true values of a happy family are. As I previously stated, my family is nowhere near perfect but we try to do whatever it takes to keep our heads held high. Although being Mexican-American can pretty much sum up to why we are stuck together like glue at all times. Our culture is really big on staying together, and doing whatever it takes to get to the top as a whole. Growing up my parents taught me a couple of unique values to always carry at hand. They mean a lot to me and as a whole, they are the foundation I grew up from into who I am today. In our home family values are rules or ideals that, as a family, we agree to live by and stay true to. Having strong well defined family values helps set the foundation for a strong, tight knit family. When educated long enough this closeness provides a soft place to fall when life doesn’t go according to plan. Strong and consistent family values are important in building trust and confidence in each family member. I just want to explain a couple that are important to me and my household, although I’m sure you will obviously relate. We are a very close family, one thing about us, we all want to feel wanted. Come on, who doesn’t want to feel like they belong? It is important that each member of my family feel that they are loved, that they belong and that they matter. Being a united family could mean that you spend every spare minute together doing family activities but keep in mind that everyone is different. Creating a strong family is great, but each person should be allowed the space and freedom to explore the activities they think they may enjoy. People are braver and more willing to take chances if they know they have a safe place to come back to when things don’t quite work out.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Family is not an important thing. It’s everything. † I’m all for order, schedules and structure in my family to help maintain some level of reason. But too much structure and the unwillingness to give a little can result in a lot of unhappiness and dislike. The more flexibility you have in decision making, for example, the happier your family will be for it. I know I personally love having a say in everything, sometimes even having the last word is all it takes for me to be happy. Imagine one member of the family always thinking they are right and enforcing their way of doing things. Flexibility in the family will certainly ease of a little less unhappiness off and bring out the happiness within. * 2 of my favorite and most important family values are respect and honesty. I swear I cannot stress enough how crazy important these factors are to my parents and although these two are a bit more difficult to define because they hit a ittle more into the heart than others. For my family, to respect each other is to take feelings, thoughts, needs, and preferences in to account when making decisions. It also means acknowledging and valuing everyone’s thoughts, feelings and contributions to the family as a whole. Respect is indeed earned and there is a very fine line between it and fear. The only way to earn and keep someone’s respect is to first show them respect yourself. That is the most important rule in our household. Respect is an important family value will extend out of the home and into school, work or other social settings. Honesty is something I learned the hard way, so many problems entered my life thanks to lack of honesty. This is the foundation of any relationships that are meant to last. Mother-daughter, husband-wife, sister-brother. You name it. Without honesty a deeper connection will not form and certainly won’t last. Encourage honesty by practicing understanding and respect when someone tells you of their wrong doings. If we lose it and get angry when we’re told what has happened the other person will be more likely to hide it from you next time simply to avoid the disrespect. * My parents always taught me to be humble no matter what. Giving without thinking â€Å"what’s in it for me† is an important value for anyone wanting to be a responsible, contributing member to society. Through generosity we build empathy since we tend to think more about what people want or need. Being generous doesn’t mean simply handing over money to someone in need. It can also include giving your time, love, attention or even some of your possessions. Being generous is the same as being humble with other people around you. Respect your elders, always forgive, take responsibility, and give! To gain respect, you must first earn it, in order to earn it, give it! Values are essential to living a happy and meaningful life. It is family members who come to your rescue in the need of hour and stand by you when you feel lonely. They give you mental as well as financial support. You can share your problems if you have any with your family members. So it is family which is more important than anything. So take care of your family, they are all you truly have. A close bond with your family now is a bond that will get stronger as you go. I would never trade my family for anything or anyone in the world. Where ever I go, I’ll make sure they tag along with me.

Are media evils?

The mixture – that mixture of visual and aural information so ubiquitous in modern society – has been blamed for a myriad of problems. These problems range from social ills such as moral degradation in society, to more individual-specific maladies, such as introverted-ness and violence amongst teenagers. However, proponents of the evils of the media at times overstate the facts, blowing minor maladies out of proportion. The extent to which this occurs is still up for debate; the media may yet be fully culpable for that which it has been blamed for.Firstly, the media has been blamed for causing violence, or aggressive behavior amongst youths, ostensibly because of the rampant images of celebratory violence and wanton aggression shown to the general public through various mediums such as television and cinema. In James P. Steyer’s book, â€Å"The Other Parent†, he blames commercialized violence for the rising crime rate in America, basing his assertions on i nterviews with children and trends in violence over the years. However, such assertions cannot explain the results of a comparison between the United States and Canada.In a heavily publicised example in the movie â€Å"Bowling for Columbine†, a comparison between the two countries showed that even though violence on television in Canada was just as graphic and rampant as in the United States, the violent crime rate in Canada – even amongst youths – was still lower. Furthermore, there are other factors which might cause an increase in violent activity amongst youths such as the rise in the number of dual-income families, a proven contributor to childhood delinquency as the child is not cared for as much as in past times.Therefore, although there is some truth in the allegations that the media is responsible for violence in society, to say that it is solely responsible for violence amongst youths while eschewing the other factors as well would be an exaggeration, but not a gross one, as there is still evidence to show that it could possibly be as evil as purported. The media has also been blamed for causing general moral degradation in society through its display of immorality not only through television but through radio and video games as well.A recent Emmy award winner, â€Å"Desperate Housewives†, portrays married women in compromising situations, or adulterous situations. A blockbuster video game, â€Å"Grand Theft Auto 3†, allows the gamer’s character to have sex with prostitutes. However, if the media is such a strong negative influence on questions of morality, why is it that countries such as Iran and Singapore have had a fall in teenage abortion rates in the last 5 years even as the number of television sets in households has increased?Therefore, although television immorality may be a factor in contributing to societal degradation, it must be concatenated with other factors such as an increasingly liberal cult ure, with less emphasis placed on moral education by parents, with an increasing double-parent workforce. Just like blaming the media for violence amongst youths, blaming the media for moral degradation would be an exaggeration, as the impact of the media on societal morality is comparatively less than the changing culture in society. Contrary to what people purport, the evils of the media in this exigent is not as serious as claimed.However, there are ills that the media is blamed for that may be too far from the truth. For example, the media – especially through billboards and television advertisements – is supposed to be the main harbinger of consumerist tendencies and materialistic values in society. These evils are supposed to have been brought about by the increasing proliferation of advertisements on television. Close to home in Singapore, the time allocated to advertisements on local television has gone up from 1 minute slots every 15 minutes to 3 minute slots every 15 minutes.In addition, advertising companies have studied statistics and concluded that advertising does encourage people to consume in abundance, even for luxury goods, sometimes increasing sales by a factor of 2. With this kind of attitude, people will spend money on things they do not need, an ill that does not have evident societal effects, yet a waste in disposable income. Therefore, this is one example of the charges levied against the media being less than exaggerated as the media is indeed the main factor in contributing to consumerist tendencies, the situation as dire as portended.In addition to the media being blamed for consumerist tendencies, there are scientific articles claiming the media encourages antisocial behavior. People use statistics such as average television viewership of 2 hours a day by the average American. Furthermore, television ostensibly encourages us to be lethargic and not proactive. Although television does contribute to these human character istics, the onus is still on the individual to display outgoing behavior and to go out and interact, therefore to blame the media on these maladies would be an exaggeration.As well as those media evils that are well documented and publicised, there are also evils that are not so scrutinised by the public eye. The media also serves as a government mouthpiece and a means to indoctrinate the people with a certain set of values. This is particularly evident in North Korea, where the government controls what the people see or listen to through the media. In this case, the evil of the media is quite clear and hardly exaggerated. With control of the media, one can control opinions and knowledge, clearly shown by Kim Jong Il’s regime.In peroration, to the question of whether the evils of the media have been grossly exaggerated, the answer is yes. The media does not stand guilty to the extent it has been blamed for, however, it is still culpable for some of evils it is blamed for, suc h as spreading consumerist tendencies. Even so, one must consider that there are other groups and factors responsible for the aforementioned evils. Therefore, in conclusion, I agree with the statement in that the media evils have been exaggerated, but I disagree because they have not been grossly exaggerated for the most part.

Fashion Istitute of Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fashion Istitute of Technology - Essay Example The essay "Fashion Istitute of Technology" explores the Fashion Merchandising Management in the FIT. The use of the right colors and sketching has since been my passion. The details involved in every art work amazed me and that sowed the initial seeds of my interest in the field of fashion. Thus it was this interest in fine arts and detailing, which I had acquired at a very early age that instilled a sense of fashion within me. It subsequently urged me in my later years to take up designing as my field of study in my university study programme. I successfully completed a four year major course in interior design at the Udmurtskij State University, which is in my home town Izhevsk, Russia. This course helped me to study the detailing and finer aspects of fashion. Though it was pertaining to interior design the course however, gave me a broader perspective about fashion designing. Additionally, the course also included management concepts and helped me realize the importance of managem ent in the fashion industry. Later on, when I moved to the US and took up a bartending job initially, I got the opportunity to mingle with people and improve my basic communication skills. It was then I realized that I had a flair for communication and an interest to work with people. The job taught me people management and the different ways to interact with people. Though I had deviated from my interest of work, the bartending job gave me a first course in management. My decision to take up a course in fashion.

You can choose a topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

You can choose a topic - Essay Example of such values is the assigning and instilling of traditional gender roles among children, which is the typical parenting norm within the mainstream girl/ boy dichotomy. However, another form of parenting, known as gender neutral parenting (GNP), shifts focus away from categorizing children into specific genders basing only on their biological sex, allowing them to find their own spots of comfort on the gender continuum. In that sense, parents should raise their children in gender-neutral homes where kids can construct their own identities because parents have the most influence over their children’s lives and have a responsibility to educate children. Because children mimic their parents’ behavior, parents are best placed to influence them towards gender neutrality. Children begin mimicry at birth, but by the time they are one year old, it turns into true imitation, which means they imitate with intent (Zentall, 2006). They will observe and process information conveyed through their parents’ behavior, and since they already understand that such behavior has significance, they will copy it. In that way, gender neutrality can be imparted on them. Gender neutrality in parenting pertains to not referring to any one particular sex, which means that boys and girls are brought up the same. The most basic indicators of GNP include allowing boys to play with toys and girls to play with toys usually associated with boys, and not emphasizing on gender by way and type of dressing. Parents, therefore, should make the homes in which they raise their children gender-neutral. It is significant for parents to acknowledge that GNP is not aimed at abolishing female or male concepts and creating a genderless world. Rather, its underlying objective is not to force any predetermined gender standards onto children. It simply provides that a child’s identity should not be suppressed by the parents, which is usually the case when children are restricted to traditional gender

How the Railway Labor Act Affected Bargaining in the Aviation Industry Essay

How the Railway Labor Act Affected Bargaining in the Aviation Industry - Essay Example ("United Airlines CEO," 2000) In the airline industry, bargaining is administered by the National Mediation Board (NMB) under the RLA. In the last half century the RLA, as applies to the airline industry, has resulted in strikes in less than 3 percent of all cases. In spite of this, most airline management views the process required by the RLA as antiquated and broken ("Ex-Gov. Goldschmidt," 2003) The railway labor act of 1926 was the first major labor legislation passed by the U.S. Congress. Instead of forming rules that applied to the whole of U.S. Industry, it targeted the railroad business, then the most important part of the transportation business in U.S. ("Bargaining Under the Railway Labor Act"). The act's purpose was essentially to replace strikes with bargaining, arbitration, and mediation as a way to resolve labor disputes. The act also disallowed employers from forcing workers to bargain through company-dominated unions. ("Collective Bargaining") There are two ways in which the RLA delays or eliminates strikes altogether: the act prolongs the process of collective bargaining; as the act requires that the parties have been released by the NMB 30 days before a strike can take place, where the date of release is the sole discretion of the NMB. ("Collective Bargaining") Second, the RLA requires mandatory arbi... ("Collective Bargaining") Both labor unions and employers benefited from the RLA. Workers, who wanted to have the opportunity to organize themselves and to obtain the proper attention from employers to negotiate new agreements and enforce existing ones, got what they wanted. So did the railroad companies. The Congress had decided that commerce had to be kept moving in the interest of the public, and thus mandated that workers, in spite of any disputes, must "work now" and "grieve later." Thus employers won the right to keep business going in spite of ongoing labor disputes. ("Railway Labor Act," 2005) There are some exceptions to the "work now, grieve later" rule, however. Workers are allowed to refuse to work when they have a reasonable belief that the work is unsafe, and when work being asked for is in clear violation of the contract. However, if the company can make a "reasonable" claim that the contract justifies the work being requested, then the employee is expected to work, and report any grievances later. ("Bargaining Under the Railway Labor Act") Under the RLA, the first step in contract negotiations are "direct negotiations," which are negotiations without the mediation of the NMB. Agreements also do not have inherent expiration dates under the RLA-expiration dates must be set within the agreement itself. Hence the agreement remains enforceable, and is the status quo, until any change is agreed upon by both parties. ("Bargaining Under the Railway Labor Act") The RLA allows strikes over major disputes (or disputes that concern the creation or modification of the collective bargaining agreement) only if all of the RLA's negotiation

Writing a summary of a criminal case and the descriptions of a English Essay

Writing a summary of a criminal case and the descriptions of a English Legal Profession - Essay Example The crown part is part of HMCS standing beside County Courts, Magistrates’ courts and tribunals. Crown court basically deals with criminal cases which have a serious nature. These cases are usually related to murder, rape or robbery. Some of these cases come from Magistrate court in the form of an appeal. The crown court handles cases with Judges and Jury. Jury is usually based on 12 people who are selected from the public. England and Wales have 77 crown courts in total. These courts manage their running from the public funds. These funds are granted to them by Ministry of Justice every financial year. Courts procedures also have fees attached to them. (www.hmcs.gov.uk, 2 April 2009) Clerks and Officers at Crown Court: The administrative work of preparing case files, correspondence, and referral to judges, etc is done by court administrative officers. These officers are under the supervision of executive officer, office manager, and court manager of Crown Court. The clerks of court also sit during trails, its their responsibility to administrate the court room and assist the jude with any dates required. The clerk also records the progress of a case and make sure that hearing dates are assigned. Judges: The hearing and trail part of the case involve members of Jury, Judges, and Ushers. Judges at the crown court are Recorders, High court, and Circuit judges. Recorders are normally those solicitors and barristers who practice privately and can sit as Judge in Crown or County court as Judges. Solicitors and Barristers are also part of trail and appeal process. However they are not the court’s officials. They are hired by defendants/or the applicants. In case of parties not being able to afford the legal fees, legal aid hires a solicitor or barrister for the trial. The judge role at the crown court is to make sure that all parties get a fair chance to present their case in front

Greek Civilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Greek Civilization - Essay Example The roles which have been assigned to men and women are natural and that they should live by them. It is imperative that whatever roles that exist between a man and a wife, they are not to be substituted; this is because various adaptations have been given to either of them so that they can be able to perform the assigned responsibilities. In making a man and a wife, God did it with the intention that there will be the concept of one party giving and the other party receiving. For instance, a wife was made with little ability for outdoor activities, instead, she was given the will and knowledge for indoor activities, these include housekeeping, the nurturing of new born babies and a great affection for the new born and the family at large. For the wife to be comfortable, the man provides security in the home, he has been given the ability to provide courage to the wife. All these things work well where sharing is done. When these two parties stick to their various roles, there is bound to be ultimate success. Ischomachus became a great wealthy farmer because he was able to train his wife to manage house chores, rule and train slaves. This made him concentrate on managing those activities that were more outdoor and hence succeeded. In a definite case, it needs to be that way. When a man and a wife concentrate in the areas of their expertise, they often excel. For instance, in his conversation with his wife, Ischomachus points that a shelter is very important for people, they should have a cover on their heads. Unfortunately, as soon as these things have been done, new needs will always come again, hence the need for one who will constantly do it, who in this case is the man. Ischomachus notes that the couple ought to procreate. The man and the wife grow old and at one point in time, their efforts need to be complemented. Having children gives them a chance to

Effects of Racism on Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Effects of Racism on Children - Essay Example From this paper it is clear thar  there is a general belief that racial attitudes of children are a learned behavior that is passed down from observing their parent’s interactions with other races, including how parents talk about other races in front of the child.   Parents sometimes believe that if they do not even address the issue of race with their children, their children will not develop racist attitudes.   However, studies have shown that not talking about the issue of race or differences between people can serve to make the issue of race a problem for children.This essay discusses that parents talking negatively about other races could contribute to a child’s belief system about race in a negative fashion, but even not addressing the subject could develop negative attitudes in a child. In fact, researchers have found that when parents address personal qualities of individuals, such as confidence, ambition, and respect and neglect the subject of racial dif ference, children show an increased level of anxiety in social interactions, regardless of the race of the person they were interacting with. This leaves parents and educators with the problem of how best to address racial issues in an attempt to modify children’s attitudes and behaviors.  The movement to be more ‘politically correct’ with our communication has merits beyond that of not hurting another person’s feelings.  

The recruiting of new employees Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The recruiting of new employees - Essay Example The same applies to human resource planning. Human resource planning is an important aspect of any task in an organization including recruitment. Human resource planning is the act of considering all the aspect of the job in advance before starting the process of hiring. Human resource planning involves detailed analysis of the job. This will be in terms of the skills that will be required for the job, the experience that will be required, gender issue as far as the job is concerned and the age bracket. In light of the organization, human resource planning will looks into the objectives of the company in order to know the position of the company in regard to the job. (Iacovou, 2002) In planning, human resource management will look into the working structure of the company in order to know where the deficiency is. This is important as it avoids duplication of duties in the work. This means that the human resource management must know areas which require new employees. Other wise management cannot create a vacancy where there is no work to be done. A detailed analysis of the function to be perfume by the new employees is important since it makes work description easier for the management. There are other fine det... This also helps potential applicants to prepare themselves for interview on the job. Other information that the planning process must look into is the commencement of the job and the availability of the individual. It must also look into the financial position of the organization in light of the vacancy at hand and come up with a package for the job. However this is not a must and some companies will not indicate how much they are offering for the job. But the human resource management usually has a clear cut limit on the amount of salary that the company can offer for the job which sometimes is a subject of testing individuals in the interview. Hence human resource planning is essential in ensuring that the process of recruitment is smooth as it is guided by the plan. The plan must outline the first to the last step in the process. it ensures that this process can be taken over by any other person since it is already outlines. Human resource planning involves various stages. As has been mentioned the first stage in the recruitment process will be detailed analysis of the job in terms of the requirements of the job and any other aspect of the job. This analysis will then act as the guideline fro the process. After the initial planning, the subsequent stages will definitely under the plan and those who have been given the mandate to oversee its implementation. The planning process will also help the human resource department to decide whether it will take the recruitment process or if it will seek the services of a recruitment agency. It is also in this stage of planning where the management will decide whether it will recruit

Organisational Behaviour and the Standard Chartered Bank Scandal Essay

Organisational Behaviour and the Standard Chartered Bank Scandal - Essay Example This was used to fund terrorist groups. The US branch of the bank hid 60,000 transactions with Iran for almost a decade. Speaking in a press conference on August 8th, Standard Chartered Bank CEO, Peter Sands stated that â€Å"there was no systematic attempt to circumvent sanctions in Iran†. He admitted that some deals violated US sanctions of Iran but that was not the whole representative policy of the bank. However, this incident wiped off $17billion from the bank's market value and shares fell by 7% within the 24-hour period (BBC News, 2012a). According to the Telegraph (2012) the US Treasury department showed suspicion that some US banks are collaborating with Iran to fund the nuclear weapons programme of Iran. However, Standard Chartered Bank kept this secret until the lid was opened upon them. A senior business writer for the Guardian in the UK did a thorough critique of the situation at hand (Palmer, 2012). In his critique, he identified important pointers and actions th at are relevant to the case and give a broader view of the concepts involved in the breach. He identifies that widespread illegal activities committed in different parts of the world cannot succeed unless some international banks cooperate with the persons indicted for the activity. In citing a similar case, Palmer identifies that HSBC bank was indicted for helping Mexican drug traffickers to circumvent sanctions by covering up their transactions and presenting them as legal (Palmer, 2012). In the events leading to the Standard Chartered scandal, it is said that the head of Standard Chartered Americas wrote to the director on 5th October, 2005 stating that the UK headquarters' transactions with Iran were â€Å"very serious and even catastrophic enough to cause major reputational damage of the bank† (Palmer, 2012). However, the warning was not heeded and this led to the scandal. However, Standard Chartered went on and altered wire transactions for the Iranian government (see A ppendix 1). Deloitte, the bank's auditors came out and claimed that they had no knowledge of the actions of the bank's employees and this activity was not disclosed to them (Palmer, 2012). However, Palmer insists that the current CEO, Peter Sands served as the finance director between 2002 and 2006 before assuming his current position and he had served long enough to know about this spate of illegal transactions. This is an offence and the management and staff of Standard Chartered Bank are indicted for their role in breaking an international legal convention. This is clearly the case of an unethical behaviour and requires a lot of attention from the major stakeholders. This paper undertakes analysis of the subject and its implications to organisational behaviour. Organisational Structures/Culture and the Scandal â€Å"In banking, there has always been an overlap between corporate governance and banking regulations† (Gup, 2007 p13). This implies that banking has always had a corporate governance culture that requires the people charged with directing the affairs of the bank to follow some important regulations and considerations in decision making and the running of the banks. Gup goes on to state that these rules and imperative requirements were in place since the 1930s where most banks in the developed world had to react to the major economic crises that came up prior to the Second World War (2007).

Theories Of Leadership Essay Example for Free

Theories Of Leadership Essay Introduction Managers and leaders in any organization are expected to influence the actions of their employees through several channels. Some of these include communicating with staff members, stimulating subordinates to work hard and ensuring that all the resources within the company are allocated well. These expectations can either be met successfully or unsuccessfully. Numerous researchers felt the need to come up with theories that govern successful leadership. One of these theories is known as the contingency theory. An analysis of the contingency theory Fielder (1964) came up with this approach to leadership after realizing that leaders could function well if they changed their styles to suit the situation at hand. This is where the name contingency originates. Fielder conducted several studies of effective and ineffective leaders. Thereafter he concluded that the most successful approach would be to match organizational settings with leadership styles. These two parameters form the basis of the contingency theory of leadership. According to Fiedler, leadership style may be defined as the way leaders and employees interact with one another. One cannot claim that a manager’s leadership style changes from time to time. On the contrary, this is a fixed parameter since every leader has a different personality. The latter term largely affects the nature of the leadership style. Since this trait is important, Fielder came up with a method for categorizing leadership styles. He used the Least Preferred Coworker Scale (LPC). The Scale is applied only to leaders; the latter are asked to rate the person they feel has worked very poorly with them. The scale starts from one to eight and may be a classification of a co-worker from the past or the present depending on which worker was the worst. Examples of personality traits that guide the scaling process include; Unfriendly versus friendly workers Hostile versus supportive Guarded versus open Uncooperative versus cooperative (Fiedler, 1964) All the latter traits are in ascending order with number 1 representing the character trait on the left while number 8 represents the character trait on the right. The LPC   scale’s main purpose is to determine whether a particular form of leadership style is task oriented or people oriented. Leaders who score high marks in the scale favor interpersonal relationships. Consequently, those leaders who rate their co-workers in a negative light may be more interested in the task at hand. This also implies that such leaders have poor interpersonal relationships. However, critics have asserted that such traits may not necessarily be accurate. Some individuals may portray their co-workers in a negative light but still be keen on interpersonal relationships. Fielder (1964) felt that those leaders who managed to match the requirements of the task with a dominant personality trait tended to be more successful.   Dominant personality traits largely determine the approach chosen by leaders i.e. either people oriented or task oriented approach. The LPC scale indicates whether or not a certain individual values interpersonal relationships. In case leaders score highly, then they normally consider interpersonal relationships as a crucial part of implementing tasks. However, those who score low marks in the scale value task completion more than anything else does. Consequently, most of them may not bother creating close relationships with their employees. Fielder (1964) was also concerned with the organizational environment or what is also called the situational variable. According to him, the situational variable can be defined as that aspect within the organization that can allow leaders to exert influence within their team. He divided the situational variables as follows; -Task structure -Position power -Leader to member relationships The leader-member structure is defined as the level of acceptance team players have towards their leader. Task structures may be defined as the level of job specificity among subordinates. Lastly, position power is described as the level of authority attributed to a leader as result of his position within the organization. (Fiedler, 1964) In the Leader-member situation, a leader would be more successful if he establishes strong links between himself and the other people within the organization; this is through trusting and respecting members of his organization. Additionally, successful leaders in the task structure situation are those ones that specify job detail well. Powerful leaders in the position power situation are those ones that exercise their right to fire and hire or to reward individuals within the organization. All the latter three situations create eight leadership styles. These are then divided into two important groups known as the relationship or task oriented leaders. Five of the leadership styles fall under the latter category. Fielder (1964) felt that task oriented approach were more appropriate in disasters or extreme situations. In cases where a fire strikes an organization, then leaders would be more efficient if they applied the task oriented approach. At this time, the issue of position power is not very relevant and neither are the relationships of the co-workers. In extreme cases or in disasters, the individuals who direct tasks most efficiently become the leaders. The opposite is true for leaders who try applying a people oriented approach. This would mean considering what people think and this would eventually delay outcomes. Such cases require only the fastest responses for survival. Task oriented relationships are also important in blue collar jobs. This is because such workers normally require direction and job specificity. Therefore, this leadership approach would be most appropriate. On the other hand, such scenarios may still be characterized by strong leader member relationships. The latter situation can be effected when leaders reward worker well for their efforts. Relationship oriented leadership styles may be more favorable in situations where the organizational environment is highly predictable. Some of the most appropriate environments include research institutes. In such circumstances, subordinates would not like it if their leaders interfered with the nature of their task. Here, it would be more appropriate to work on building relationships with subordinates. It should be noted that Fielder’s theory does not cover all the possible factors affecting leadership. Some leaders may be more effective if they undergo training or gain experience on the job. Such factors have not been accounted for by the contingency theory. Conclusion Overly, Fielder was trying to say that leaders are not just successful or unsuccessful. Leaders can either be effective in certain situations and not all of them. Therefore, all individuals can become leaders if they choose the most appropriate situation to apply their leadership styles. Additionally, it is possible to make a leader more effective by altering the following; position power, task structure and leader member relationships. It should also be noted that Fielder’s scale can be quite appropriate in determining leadership styles. Reference: Fiedler, E. (1964): A Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness; Journal for Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Academic Press 1, 12, 149-190

Safety Of Road Workers On Maintenance Of Highways Construction Essay

Safety Of Road Workers On Maintenance Of Highways Construction Essay Highways maintenance and road workers ensure that roads and pavements are safe and well maintained in towns, cities and rural areas throughout the country of operation. They might also build new roads and look after the repair, building and resurfacing of the countrys motorway networks. Highway maintenance safety involves safety of workers working on highway or road network services including road markings, pothole patching, road signs, road and footpath resurfacing, gully or drain cleaning, flooding, safety barriers, school crossing patrols, winter maintenance (snow removal), vegetation control, emergency services installing cats eyes, digging access trenches for cable and pipe laying, applying specialist surface treatments (such as high friction surfacing) traffic lights, fencing and street lamps and many more. All these maintenance activities need proper road safety awareness and control when they are executed, so working safely is aimed at staff from any road sector with no super visory or managerial responsibility to be made aware of the risks involved. It is of utmost importance to provide the essentials of health and safety for everyone at work to have an understanding of why they must work safely and this can be achieved by training road workers through the use of seminars and workshops. In Britain, roads are some of the busiest and dangerous in the world, but in today`s traffic conditions, it shows that live in carriageway of any highway is a very-very dangerous place to work and injuries to road workers have been increasing against the national trend. Road workers or operators will often be responsible for setting up warning signs, cones and temporary traffic lights and redirecting pedestrians. They may also manage traffic flow while colleagues are working, communicating with another operator via radio or hand signals further down the road are commonly used devices. As a road supervisor before conducting roadwork jobs, review the required tasks, location, and time of day to determine the necessary equipment, personnel, and materials required.   Plan how you will control traffic along the road and within the construction zone.   Have enough trained flaggers to complete your work.   Gather the signs, cones, flags, drums, and/or message boards that you will need for the job.   Inspect your signage to make sure it is in good repair and highly visible.   Clean or discard dirty equipment with limited visibility. Get training on traffic control and safe work practices.   Set up and maintain your roadside work zone properly.   Get training on the equipment that you will use and drive, from the smallest tool to the largest moving vehicle.   The operation of tools and equipment must be according to the manufacturers recommendations.   Know the hazards of the chemicals and materials that you use and get training on the personal protective equipment that you are required to wear, including its uses and limitations.   Wear high visibility garments on your legs and chest.   Wear your assigned persona protective equipments, including a hardhat, safety shoes, and work gloves.   Consider earplugs or muffs, safety glasses, and fall protection depending on the job task. In the work zone, workers must watch for fast-moving motorists and large construction equipment.   Set up parking zones for your working vehicles such that they have safe entrances and exits from the highway that is maintained and group your vehicles on the same side of the road for visibility.   As a supervisor you can set-up the job site and tasks to minimize the need to cross the active road time and again and also  set up traffic lanes within the jobsite for clear access and visibility. When working on road, work facing traffic and stay alert, or station a lookout to watch oncoming traffic.  The workers should have an escape route or a plan of action in place for any emergencies.   Watch for backing vehicles because the driver often has a limited view.   Practice good communication and make sure all vehicles have backup alarms.   If you are flagging, acting as a lookout or traffic director you must remain alert,  do not drink, smoke, or have a conversation while performing these duties. Road work is a physical job requiring strength and endurance, worker must  stay fit so that their bodies can do the work.  Road work occurs in all types of weather and throughout the year.  They should wear appropriate clothing for the climate.   Light coloured layers and sunscreen protect them during the hot months while layers of moisture-wicking clothing protect you in the cold.   The road workers must get plenty of rest, eat right, and drink no-alcoholic drink s enough to stay healthy and alert on the job. From the Road Workers Perspective, there are few jobs more important than highway maintenance. It may go largely unappreciated by the end customer the motorist, but road workers are looking after some of the busiest roads in the world in the face of continued growth in Britains vehicle fleet, and the inevitable consequences of that growth for wear-and-tear on the network. And by helping to tackle congestion, road workers are directly supporting the British economy. And they do this despite working in some of the most difficult conditions that anyone has to tolerate. The risk of death or injury at work, faced daily by the workers who maintain Englands motorways and trunk roads, is highlighted by the results of a recent industry survey. Almost one in five workers suffers some injury caused by passing vehicles in the course of their careers while working on our road network. More than three-quarters suffer verbal abuse from drivers, and many have reported having objects thrown at them by motorists. Road Workers even change the light bulbs in the central reservation. Surveys have been previously contacted and road workers were asked if they had experienced near miss, verbal abuse, slight personal injury, major personal injury caused by road users vehicle and the responses were: 13% of road workers surveyed had sustained slight injuries; 3% had sustained major injuries; 77% had suffered verbal abuse from passing drivers 54% had a near miss with a vehicle 40% had experienced missiles deliberately thrown at them From these studies road workers felt most at risk during the morning and evening peak travel periods and in the early hours of the morning. There are believes that there is a vital need to educate drivers to start taking the problem of speeding and the outcomes of speeding more seriously. The habitual speeders know that other people dont necessarily disapprove of their actions in the same way as they disapprove of drink-driving syndrome. It took a long time to change attitudes to drink-driving, but by communicating the message at every opportunity, with intelligent advertising and marketing, the Government can and has eventually succeeded in most countries, likewise today, drink-driving is socially unacceptable in the community. Therefore a similar change is required with speeding and peoples attitude to road works. In UK, Highway Traffic Management Agency was launched in 2005 and since it was launched issues that dominated are the road maintenance safeties. Its goal is to have zero road injuries and zero fatalities by getting a reasonable balance between the needs of the road user and the safety of road workers using a risk based approach as a short term. The long-term aim was to plan future improvements that make the working environment safer, including: design for maintenance/operation, which has the added benefits of whole-life cost savings, less interventions and less congestion; reduce road workers exposure to live traffic and lessen the risks to road workers when on the network; highlight the importance of road workers and their safety to the public by raising awareness and the industry consistently maintaining the highest standards. Finally it was to improve road user awareness and responses by improving driver education. At a general level, the government has taken the Road Safety Bill through Parliament, including new drink-driving legislation, driver training schemes, and a revised penalty system and is looking at improvements to the speed camera network and working with the police to fight back against anti-social use of roads. The Highways Agency Road Worker Safety Action Plan was unveiled at the conference held in 2006, with some of potential solutions listed in the including a review of procedures to reduce the exposure of road workers to live traffic and cut the risks of working on the highway. A review of maintenance priorities so workers dont have to be on the network so often more targeted speed limits at road works which can be altered to match safety requirements. Improving of the accuracy and content of variable message signs to give road users more warning of works and the presence of road workers also improving the training of workers on high-speed roads, the promotion of better driver awareness and improved driver education, also finally the development of an incident and near-miss reporting centre. The Importance of Traffic Management When considering the traffic management plan for any major scheme the safety and security of both the travelling public and the workforce is the primary aim. By the very nature of road works operations, the element of risk is introduced when managing traffic on high speed roads. The first essential element is to reduce the risk by reducing the speed. This can be achieved to a certain extent through the use of traffic management measures but experience has proven that the only reliable way of achieving consistently reduced speeds is through the use of safety cameras. The introduction of a temporary speed limit and safety cameras is done in conjunction with the respective Safety Camera Partnership, who follow a risk assessment process which considers the level of exposure to risk of the public and the workforce. This is the reason that a variety of different traffic management measures can often be found at road works sites. However, the biggest single risk to road workers occurs not i n major schemes but during routine maintenance operations and emergency lane closures. During these operations it is often only a line of cones that separates the workforce from high speed traffic. During these operations there is a clear need for motorists to act responsibly and respect the rights of road workers. Planning Road works Traditionally, if there is one thing that causes motorists more frustration than any other, it is the overnight appearance of a forest of cones with little or no warning or information as to the reason. Hopefully, this aspect is largely becoming a thing of the past as a significant amount of planning is now undertaken prior to any major road works scheme. Such projects are now often planned several years ahead taking cognisance of issues such as the optimum time and the likelihood of reliable weather where this is a requirement. The substantial rise in traffic volumes over the past decade has significantly impacted on road works planning, through not just the increased maintenance requirements brought about by the additional volume, but through the challenges to keep congestion at a minimum as any reduction in available road space can have significant consequences for journey times. While safety and security are the primary drivers when planning road works, contractors also incorpora te extensive consultation with affected local communities and a targeted media campaign designed to advise drivers who use the affected route of the proposed works and levels of disruption. This forward planning and awareness through the media allows for drivers to plan their journey accordingly. Engineering technology on road worker`s risk. This can be achieved both through measures at the construction stage and through the use of new and improved technology for maintenance operations. New construction processes and standards mean a much longer design life can be achieved at the outset, significantly reducing the amount of routine maintenance operations required. In addition, where a maintenance requirement is identified during construction, the facility to achieve this without significantly impacting on traffic flow is considered carefully and where appropriate, additional engineering measures are introduced. In respect to maintenance operations on existing structures and highways the Highway Traffic Management Agency has been actively involved in developing technology in association with the Highways Agency, and over the past few years a number of innovative solutions which have had a positive impact on safety have been introduced. New techniques to improve safety and reduce congestion at road works on high-speed road s, for example, are now undergoing trials. Automated cone laying machines, fixed to the rear of a traffic management vehicles, can place and collect standard road cones without the need for road workers to stand in a live carriageway next to fast moving traffic. The machines accurately positions cones on the road surface at 15mph laying up to 40 cones per minute and reducing the time taken to establish and remove temporary traffic management. Road users will benefit from the shorter period of time taken to change from normal carriageway to a coned-off area. Using the new machines, traffic cones will be laid and taken up more quickly, removing manual handling and enabling more routine maintenance work to be undertaken during each closure so reducing the frequency of road works and congestion. A new barrier transfer machine, which can lift 12 tons of concrete safety barriers for motorway road works into place at a speed of 7 mph, is also now in operation, offering a higher level of b arrier protection to motorway road workers. The mechanical broom which are now mostly used have improved the road worker`s safety and compared to manual sweeping. In June 2006, a new revised Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual was launched that gives guidance on best practice for temporary signing and management of traffic on the highway. Also it was designed to make traffic management for road works safer and less stressful for both workers and drivers. It talks about new measures like flashing cones on the approach to works; mobile carriageway closures; and improved incident management. It also encourages more effective use of speed limits at road works. Drivers should expect consistent limits to be set depending on the work being carried out, without confusing variations. That should be combined with speed detection equipment and other methods of persuading people to reduce speed. RECOMMENDATIONS Changing the behaviour of risk-taking drivers tends to require hard interventions, which require the involvement of police or other law enforcement organisations. For complying drivers, soft interventions such as the Respect campaign can be used; other interventions that could be applied to the issue of road worker safety and driver behaviour can include: Training road workers By training road workers through the use of seminars and workshops can make them aware of their risks and conscientious those involved on how best they can be aware of the job related risks. Improving driver skills There is a need for further training of professional drivers and specific training of all drivers to raise their awareness of the issues of driving through road works. Better self knowledge The public are an important partner in improving safety through road works. There is a need for greater awareness of personal skill levels and abilities to encourage better self pacing and improved behaviour when driving. This can be achieved through a high profile advertising campaign to raise the public profile of road worker safety. Such an approach aims to demonstrate the risk to drivers and road workers from speeding through road works. Improving the task It is important to ensure that the driving task when approaching and driving through road works is made as simple as possible to prevent overloading drivers with information. All those involved in applying the principles contained in the Traffic Signs Manual: Chapter 8 need to review their road works layouts in order to make the driving task as easy possible for an uninformed driver CONCLUSION It can be concluded that the behaviour of drivers towards road workers indicates that there is little respect for road works and road workers. At best the works and workers are tolerated, at worst the works are ignored and workers are abused either verbally or physically. Changing the attitude of drivers to road works is essential to improve the safety of both road workers and the drivers passing through road work sites. The behaviour of road drivers is directly or indirectly the cause of most road accidents, including those at road works. Influencing driver`s behaviour to prevent accidents at road works will improve road worker safety as well as that of the road user.

Puumala Virus (PUUV) Genome Analysis

Puumala Virus (PUUV) Genome Analysis HANTAVIRUS PAPER REVIEW Summary A key concern of any viral vaccine research is the tremendous genetic diversity of the virus Hantaviruses are etiological agents generally known to cause two distinct human diseases: kidney affecting disease and heart affecting disease, haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) sometimes called Nephropaphia epidemica (NE) in Eurasia and Americas hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) respectively. These viruses are heterologous (heterologous transmission from animals to humans (zoonosis)) which belong to the hantavirus genus, family Bunyavidae normally they make up four genera Hantavirus, Orthobunyavirus,   Nairovirus, Phlebovirus and Tospovirus. The genome of hantaviruses consist of three segments which are negative-strand of RNA, small (S) 1821-1830 nucleotides (nt), medium (M) 3682 nt and large (L) 6530-6562 nt encoding for nucleocapsid (N) protein, glycoprotein molecule (GPC) Gn, Gc proteins   and RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase, respectively. This study characterises the full genome of a Russian hantavirus discovered both in infected humans and small animals, Puumala virus (PUUV). PUUV is considered a prime etiological agent of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome sometimes referred to nephropaphia epidemica in Russia and Eurasia. Mostly, all hantavirus diseases in human have a fatality rate ranging from mild to severe with an intriguingly percentage rate from 0.1% up to 50%,   the symptom outcome of the disease   heavily depend on the geographic location of an infected person. Precisely, in the republic of Tatarstan, Russia the strain of Puumala virus has shown significance increase as human pathogens resulting to the acquiring of the status as emerging virus. PUUV in the republic of Tatarstan, Russia, has become a serious life-threatening hantavirus causing HFRS with high fatality rate of up to 12%, especially in the Volga region. The spectrum of illnesses caused by hantaviruses varies with the particular virus involved(Hantavirus infection: a global zoonotic challenge paper). It is reported that the high peak of Puumala virus comes with the high agricultural activities of this region during of which Bank vole mouse (Clethrionomys glareolus) the etiological agent of HFRS rapidly multiply. Normally, hantavirus, Puumala virus (PUUV) is transmitted to human by coming into contact with contaminated materials like faecal matter, blood dropped by an infected rodent and through aerosolised contaminated air and by bite of a carrier infected rodent. In the case of the strain of Puumala virus in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, the strain is dropped by notorious reservoir rodent specie found in the surrounding environment either near homes or in the fields, Bank vole mouse (Clethrionomys glareolus). It has to be noted here that most hantaviruses are transmitted to human by small animals themselves with an exceptional of Andes virus which can be transmitted from human to human. In South America the case of Andes virus has been reported to be transmitted from human to human. Intriguingly, other species of hantaviruses, Dobrava-belgrade (DOBV) virus with its sub-species isolated in Europe, and Tula virus (TULV) are seriously detected and isolated in Russian and know to cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and in Europe the syndrome is called Nephropaphia epidemica. Dobrava-belgrade is known to be associated with yellow naked-mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) this specie is the most life-threatening hantavirus. Other dobrava-belgrade species, DOBV-Af, DOBV-Aa and DOBV-Ap are associated with A. flavicollis (Af), A. agrarious (Aa) and A. ponticus (Ap) respectively. All these species cause HFRS from mild to severe mode of disease. PUUV form distinct phylogenetic leanage, in line with the natural host, bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus). The strain of Puumala virus is heavily isolated in Ufa, Samara,..parts of Russia both in human and small animals, in human as they thrive causing the dangerous form of human disease, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) Introduction Hantaviruses If you hear a feminine voice thinks of a beautiful lady, what if this time the feminine voice is of a man [1]. Hantaviruses have been limited to the genus hantavirus under bunyaviridae family which give rise to several number of species viruses Puumala virus (PUUV) [2], Dobrava virus (DOBV), Tula Virus, puumala virus (PUUV) Saaremaa virus (SAAV), and Seoul virus (SEOV) are commonly know hantaviruses to be circulating in Europe and Russia [3-5]. However, the agent rodents Hantaviruses are morphologically classified as follows; order rodential, families crecitidae and muridae. Its now a known fact that rodents are not the only hantavirus reservoirs. Researchers have found hantaviruses insects which belong to the lipotyphra order, soriciodae familys and Talpidae[6]. Further, with the recently isolated Bat-borne Hantavirus in China, laibin virus ( LBV) chyroptera order has given a strong predictive assumption that hanataviruses could be found in other animals like cow, [6]. The black bea rd tomb bat hantaviruses isolated in china gave a discrete relation to the previously known hantaviruses. Heavily depending on the geographical location of an infected person, the outcomes of hantavirus infection are well classified human diseases: haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) sometimes referred to nephropathia epidemical mostly in Eurasia and hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) normally called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the Americas [7] (dissertation Nina Luteka 2010). [1] As the onset of the diseases advances the changes in the vascular permeability is highly noticed, defects in platelet function and acute thrombocytopenia intrinsically can also be observed which is associated with high fever and hemorrhage. However, with the global health threat of hantavirus it has triggered serious research mainly focusing on the vulnerability of the endothelial cells when attacked by hantaviruses. Needless to say, less viral cytopathic effect is observed on the endothelial cells after hantavirus infection. (dissertation Nina Luteka 2010). The mechanism underlying these drastically changes in platelet as the pathogen advances drastically pooling down the immune system and how the hantaviruses trigger interference in the immune system greatly remain futile and poorly understood. hantaviruses have been discovered in insects which acts as the host vector (HO2), hantaviruses in the reservoirs cause asymptomatic completely they do not show any symptom in the natural host. We characterized genome of puumala virus discovered both in human and rodents Diseases Hantaviruses are zoonotic viruses that infect human through rodents contact; in rodents they dont cause diseases but when human come into contact with infected rodent through smelling the excretes or inhalation of infected hair from the rodents induces human diseases known as; Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome found in Europe, the agent viruses for this disease are: Dobrava virus (DOBV)-Belgrade, Puumala, Saaremaa, Sochi, and Seoul virus which is recently reported [8],these viruses are considered to be old world viruses, Bulgaria is one of the country were Hemorrhagic with renal syndrome is endemic but the virus has never been found in the natural rodent reservoir [8] however, Eastern Russia, Korea and China has the highest cases of HFRS caused by HTNV, SEOV, and ASV. Nephropathia epidemical diseases, a rodent disease found in human who gets infected after coming in contact with infected rodents and this disease has the symptoms of the hemorrhageic fever with renal syndrome which makes it to be referred to as same as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome [2] has continued to be life threatening in the republic of Tatarstan since its first identified in 1997. Epidemiological study on Nephropathia epidemical between 1997 and 2013 in the republic of Tatarstan, Russia gives an account that NE mostly affect male adults due to the agricultural activities during which myodes graleorus (bank vole) the natural reservoir of NE causing agents population increases [9]. It is revealed that the higher epidemic of hantaviruses in the Republic of Tatarstan is due to the supportive mating environment of small animals (bank voles) and increase in agriculture activities. Myodes galeorus shows high population rate during this time of agricultural activities and are a genetic variant prevalence for hantavirus in this region. However, the severity (or the fatality, the outcome) and the kind of disease or the infection involved mainly depends on several factors; The place infection take place The pathogenicity of the agents The genetic makeup (or the genetic predisposition of the host) Diversity of the agents [1] Geographical of the infection acquired Not all known rodent and insect hantaviruses cause disease in human [3] and the treatment for this dangerous hantavirus infection remains futile. The reasons for the variation of severity between virus species/genotypes and in individual patients are not yet known. Diverse determinants concerning virusand patient-specific characteristics may play a role in the pathogenesis. Differences in the use of entry receptors, in the regulation of cytokine response and in viral replication were described to be associated with pathogenicity [8-11]. Studies with genetic reassortants in vitro and in animal models suggest molecular determinants to be responsible for virulence [5, 12]. However, the speciesspecific factors of hantaviruses that are responsible for pathogenicity and clinical picture are not identified so far. Interestingly, the pathogenicity of related viruses of DOBV genotypes differs enormously with case fatality rates (CFRs) between 0.3%-0.9% for DOBV genotype Kurkino and 14.5% for DOBV genotype Sochi [13]. In addition to severe courses that are linked to specific virus species or genotypes, several serious cases were reported for infection with PUUV that usually causes a milder form of hantavirus disease [14, 15]. These infections often involve extrarenal manifestations [16, 17]. From (Clinical characterization of two severe cases of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) caused by hantaviruses Puumala and Dobrava-Belgrade genotype Sochi paper) Hantaviruses evolution Hantaviruses within the family bunyaviridae are different from other member viruses in the sense that they are roboviruses (ROdent-BOrne viruses) signifying that they are hosted by small animals which act as the host reservoirs (vector). Other bunyaviridae virus members are arborviruses (arthropod viruses) transmitted by arthropod to human [10-12] . the circulation of hantaviruses throughout the continent has been triggerd by a number of activities which account for from human movements to the events of the world. These activities also account for the evolution of hantaviruses. However, it is believed that hantaviruses co-evolved together with their reservoirs animal more than 10 million years ago. The genetic diversity of hantaviruses came about by genetic mutation on the genome of the virus producing quasispecies which happened through deletions or insertion of new nucleotides. It is further, shown that the genetic diversity came about by reasortments of the same two viruses genome within the host and by the homologous recombination of the viruses with each other [12-14]. Evolution of hantavirus in the host (rodents) depends on the number of factors which greatly help them to thrive as they live within the host rodents or insects these factors include: the destict environment which act as a life supporting of rodent, there events that are believed to contribute to the evolvement of different kind of rodents, such as glaciations events.   Deglaciation events triggered the movements of rodents in the northern hemisphere southern hemisphere as the small animals migrated from one place to the other caused mutation to occurred in the host themselves and equally in the strain producing distinct kind of hantaviruses in the end causing permanent genetic variations in the population of the hantaviruses. Needless to say, human do not act as the host range of hantaviruses instead they are dead-end point of hantaviruses. Thereafter, hantaviruses do not evolve after inf ecting human vectors, its either they die together with the an infected body or they are wiped off from the human body.[11] Symptoms PUUV -circulating in Northern and Central Europe, Baltics, the part of Russia Europe and the Alpe- Adrian region; High fever Back pain Renal impairment DOBV- mostly circulating in Balkan countries and Alped-Adrian region has the following symptoms Severe illness Hemorrhage High fever Acute renal failure Dialysis may be required Fatality rate reaches 10% PUUV -circulating in Northern and Central Europe, Baltics, the part of Russia Europe and the Alpe- Adrian region; High fever Back pain Renal impairment Structure (morphology) The new era of elucidating the etiological agent of human disease hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), emerged when the strain of puumala virus was isolated from the Bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) in Europe 199.., and the discovery of the four canners hantavirus in USA 1996. However, thanks to the famous and prolonged scientific work of Lee at el who isolated the first agent of Korean hemorrhagic fever, hantaan virus, from the autopsy lungs of striped field mice (apodemus agrarius) in 1978 after two decades of work [15]. Hantaviruses virion is lipid enveloped, covered and protected by polymorphic protein membrane nucleoprotein. The virion of hantavirus species are spherical shaped 80-110 nm in diameter [16-19]. Tripartite segmented negative-sense single stranded RNA genome comprising small (S), medium (M) and large (L) [20-22]. Small (S)-segment is the smallest segment and encodes for the nucleoprotein of 1821-1830 nucleotides the protein have 433 amino acids (aa) [22-2 4]. Medium (M)-segment encodes for the glycoprotein, large (L)-segment encodes for the RNA dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp), of 3682 nt the glycoprotein precursor which covers the medium segment has 1148 amino acid, RdRp have 2156 aa, respectively [22-24] [6-10]. Furthermore, the small (S) segment however, has further an overlapping open reading frame (ORF) with a putative NSs protein of 90 aa [16, 20, 22, 24, 25] The lipid envelope bounded with viral glycoproteins covers nucleocapsids and RNA dependent RNA-polymerase.   Transmission The transmission of hantaviruses is done horizontally in specific human become affected by inhalation contaminated air, smelling of excreta of infected rodents and by direct contact with infected rodents. This can be realized through different situations: first domestication situation were an infected rodent happen to be in the house and leave some excreta, when in habitant come into contact with these materials they become infected, secondly through camping and agriculture this kind of situation amount to 70% of all kind of situation where people become infected. Natural reservoir Puumala virus is known to be harbored by the wild small animal called bank vole, myodes glareolus, DOBV, yellow field mouse; apodemus flavicollis, HTNV and a SAAV striped field mouse, apodemus agrarius (koreae and agrarius, respectively). SOCHV caused by black sea mouse, Apodemus ponticus; ASV Korean mouse field, apodemus penisulae; SEOV Norway rats, rattus norvegicus [3, 8] Hantavirus history Within a century modern world renascence between 1900 and 2000 the world witnessed the two major outbreak of diseases designated hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, sometimes referred to nephropathia epidenmica and cardiopulmonary syndrome all presumably caused by small animal rodents. The outbreak caused global human health threat before its agents where properly defined. It became an emerging potential human biological weapon disease because of its mass infections and its anthropoid vector which lead to the virus to thrive in its host reservoirs, without showing any sign of infection. The health hazardous outbreak led to the discovery of hantaviruses worldwide later categorized into two old and new world hantaviruses. Needless, to claim that hantaviruses evolutionarised only between this period, the signs and symptoms of these etiological agents disease in human hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome where long ago described noticed and can be seen in Chinese literature of 10th century and the Russian archives show the description of the disease as early as 1913 in Vladivastok. Lee et al, while working on the early reported severe or mild form of hemorrhagic fever, isolated the etiological agent believed to have induced high fever called Korean hemorrhagic fever near Hantaan River, Korea in 1978. The initial isolation of the agent of KHF led to the designating name hantavirus derived from the hantaan river the place where it was discovered. The highly published anticipated discovery of 1978 proved the earlier noticed hemorrhagic fever in 1951-1953 and gave the new era in the understanding of etiological agents human disease, HFRS and HPS in the world of health hazardous biological weapon. Needless, to say more than 3000 UN soldiers were diagnosed with high fever in the course of Korean War which lasted for 3- 4 years from 1951-53. Throughout, decades of research these zoonosis viruses were not well known However, afte r thorough research, until late 1981 the virus was known to have its own clade and belonged to bunyaviridae family, unlike other viruses hantaviruses research revealed that they did not have arthropod vector, hence they formed their own genus of hantavirus in the family bunyavidae and they exclusively maintained their residing reservoir rodents. Hence the new zoonotic Hantavirus emerged and was restricted to the old world viruses. This was proved wrong in 1993, the world experienced the outbreak of hantaviruses related diseases which triggered the malfunction of the respiratory system, high fever and severe heart damage in the unfortunate patients infected with hantaviruses. This lead to the conviction of world researchers that hantaviruses are actively circulating in the region earlier than there isolation in 1993, in the four corners of the Americas. Seoul virus transmitted by rat-borne mouse in Asia was described, an etiological agent specie of hantavirus causing HFRS in 1980 after the description of hantaan virus from striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) which started in 1976. This pioneered discovery came after a carefully long research and isolating the virus from the rat-borne mouse captured in the demilitarized battle field of Korea. The etiological agent of nephropaphia epidemical characterized in Europe was termed puumala virus, isolated from a bank vole striped field mouse initially called clethrionomys glareolus and later renamed myodes glareolus. 25 years later, the etiological agent of human disease hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome, Hantaan virus was identified from†¦..after the four corner outbreak in the united state in 1993 and this led to the discovery of another hantavirus specie called no name virus later renamed Sin Nombre virus. It is estimated that there hantavirus cases yearly go beyond 1500000 gl obally, with almost half of these cases occurs in the peoples republic of china. Since the definition of hantaviruses more than 22 species of hantaviruses known to be pathogen in humans have been clearly categorized and accepted by the international Committee of Virus Taxonomy. With the suspicions of been engineered spread the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warn of hantaviruses to be possible potential biological weapons. The world health organization   in 1983 initiated the use of HFRS to represent all etiological symptomatic diseases believed to cause HFRS restricted in the Eurasia later called old world. Mostly, HFRS displayed symptoms such as chills, headache, high fever, generalized myalgia, back and abdominal pain and hemorrhagic presentation. Because of its epidemiological and worldwide distribution, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome initially had several names before 1983. Most terms used were epidemic hemorrhagic fever, Korean hemorrhagic fever and the alike symptomatic disease was called nephropathia epidemica in china, Korea and (USSR, Scandinavia and Europe) respectively. Hantaviruses clinical presentation Normally incubation of Hantaviruses human infection takes 2 to 3 weeks. The results of infection are the two distinct severe or mild forms of diseases: hemorrhagic renal with renal syndrome (HFRS) in the Eurasian countries and Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the American Countries. HFRS and Nephropaphia Epidemical are the severe form of hemorrhagic fever developed when infected with Euraisan kinds of Hantaviruses, patients present kidney failure, high fever, and internal bleeding as the main symptoms which results to the death of the patient[7]. Apart from kidney failure and high fever, affected humans present symptoms which include chills, vomiting, headache, dizziness, nausea, non-productive cough, gastrointestinal symptoms. A half percent of the patients display prolonged diarrhea, malaise and lightheadness, other presentations include back pain, arthralgias, abdominal pain, and shortness of breath, tachiypnea, tachycardia and fever. However, the main cause of death is the develo pment of disseminated intravascular congulation and internal bleeding. Table 1.   Clinical manifestation of Hemorrhagic Fever with renal syndrome [HemorrhagicFeverwithRenalSyndrome:PathogenesisandClinicalPicture Hong Jiang 1, HongDu1, LiM.Wang2, PingZ.Wang1* and XueF.Bai 1*] Incubation period takes 2-3 weeks HFRS Phase 1. Febrile Hemorrhage Flushing Headache Conjuctival injection Backache Albuminuria Azotema Present of antibodies IgM Eye pain Platelet decreased Petechial rash Immune complexes Fever Flushing Chills Conjuctival injection Myalgia Albuminuria Malaise Present of antibodies IgM Phase 2. Hypotension Kinin Complement activation Nausea Disseminated intrascular congulation Vomiting Vascular leakage Bleeding Acute shock Phase 3. Oliquric Disseminated intrasecular congulation (DI) Hypervolemia Kidney failure Pneumonia Phase 4. Diuretic Improved renal function Pulmonary complication Shock Death or improvement Phase 5. Convalescent Recovery period Table 2. Bunyavidae family classifications Common Reservoir Host Genus Common Species Country endemic Animal vertebrate bunyavirus Bunyamwera virus La Crosse virus Tahyna virus Akabane virus Oropouche virus Animal vertebrate Hantavirus Hantaan virus Sin Nombre virus Andes virus Puumala, Dobrava Americas Eurasia Animal vertebrate Nairovirus Dugbe virus Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus Nairobi sheep disease virus Eurasia, Africa Animal vertebrate Phlebovirus Rift Valley fever virus Rift Valley fever virus Sandly fever-Sicilian virus Plants Tospovirus Tomato spotted wilt virus Tomato spotted wilt virus Table 3: Hantaviruses genus classification Virus(serotype) Endemic area and reservoir distribution Disease Rodent vector Mortality (%) Puumala (PUUV) Eurasia (Old World) HFRS/NE Bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) 0.1-1 Dobrava-Belgrade (DOBV) South and East Europe, Balkan countries and the middle East (Old World) HFRS Yellow naked-mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) 9-12 Dobrava (DOBV) Central, East and north of Europe (Old World) HFRS Striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) Low Hantaan (HTN) Central, East and north of Europe, Eastern Russia,Tien Shan Mtns Caucasian,   China, north and south Korea (Old World) HFRS Striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) 10-15 Seoul (SEOV) World Wide (Old World) HFRS Rattus norvegicus and rattus 3-15 Tula (TUL) Europe (Old World) HFRS/? Microtus arvalis Low Amur Eastern Russia, Eastern Asia and Siberia (Old World) HFRS Korean field mouse (Apodemus peninsula) Low Andes (ANDV) South America (Argentina, Uruguay, Chile) (New World) HPS Oligoryzomys longicaudatus 35-56 Sin Nombre (SN) USA, Canada (New World) HPS Peromyscus maniculatus grassland 40-60 Prospect Hill(PH) (New World) USA, Canada HPS/? Mricrotus pennsylvanicus (Meadow vole) New York (NY) (New World) USA, Canada HPS Peromyscus   leucopus low Khabarosk (KHB) Russia , Asia (Old World) HFRS/? Microtus fortis (reed vole) low Thottapalayam (TPM) India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Japan (Old World) HFRS/? Suncus murinus (musk shrew) Monongahela USA, Mexico, Canada (New World) HPS Peromyscus maniculatus (Deer mouse) low Black Creen Canal (BCCV) USA, Venesuala, Peru, (New World) HPS Sigmodon hispidus low Bayou   (BAYV) USA (Louisiana), (New World) HPS Oryzomys palustris Sigmodontinae (Rice rat) low Araraquara (ARAV) South America (Brazil) (New World) HPS Bolomys lasiurus low Muleshoe USA (New World) HPS Sigmodon hispidus Low Lechiguanas South America (Argentina), Brazil

Free Henry IV Essays: The Reign of a Tyrant :: Henry IV Henry V Essays

Henry IV:   The Reign of a Tyrant  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Although the blame for the fall of Richard II and the rise of Henry IV can be shared by them both, Henry IV having established the precedence of usurpation finds England wracked with civil strife after only one year on the throne. Henry IV discovers the impossible situation of a monarch who in making any choice or decision must face the opposition of those who disagree with him and support the other side of the issue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Henry IV has desired to lead a Crusade perhaps as penance for the death of Richard. However, civil problems prevent his actions at every turn. The Percys with young Hotspur's recent victory against the Scots find themselves with many nobles among the prisoners. They refuse to surrender these prisoners to Henry IV but elect to use them for their own purposes. Amongst themselves the Percys reveal their desire to be free of Henry and their sorrow that they ever turned from Richard. One of their relatives should be king instead of Henry since Richard II had named Mortimer as his heir. All their discontent, ambition to have a king in their family, and doubts about Henry IV's right to be king combine to bring them to a point of uniting the various centers of rebellion against Henry IV into one united effort to usurp the throne and restore it to Mortimer, Richard's heir.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps even more distressing for Henry IV is the behavior of Prince Hal. Henry desires a son who will mirror all his strengths. Instead he finds in Hal a mirror of his weaknesses. Hal is consorting with thieves learning to steal even as his father stole a crown. Just as his father courted the affections of the common people before he became king, Hal spends his time with common people and the low pursuits of drinking, whoring, and stealing.

The Value and Necessity of Public Relations Essay -- Human Resources

Public Relations are the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc. Things we learned from Public Relations are provides a better understanding of the company, promotes brand image, and it is helps the company keep a good reputation. Public relations provides a better understanding of the company because it provides insight on what the company is up to and how things are running. Customers can always find out if the company is planning to launch a new product or thinking of innovations on already made products. Additionally, customers can find out about events revolving around a certain product. Therefore, the customer can attend the events that are supporting a charity or a product. Likewise, Public Relations promotes brand image by holding events and plastering the brand all over. There are certain events that are supported by one type of candy. Hershey partners with a ctivities and events that in return promote the product throughout the event. Lastly, Public Relations helps the company keep a good reputation. Hershey provides opportunities where customers can come and experience the product before purchasing it. For example, Public Relation has held events in different states to promote different brands. A big campaign that happened last summer was surrounded by S’mores. It was called Say S’mores and it was intended to encourage families to create S’more’ summertime memories. The campaigns consisted of contestants taking pictures of their favorite S’mores moments and posting them to Facebook. There would be three monthly winners and each would receive awards varying from roasting skewers set, picnic blanket and... ...re aware not only in the U.S. but in major countries. The confections industry can be taken to a whole new level because of spreading to different countries companies are than reaching other cultures. There is a whole new world outside of what we are used to. A product that nobody has thought of now could possibly become a top selling product in the future because of the influence given from another part of the world. Works Cited: http://www.pwrnewmedia.com/2011/hershey/smores/index.html http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/reeses-sweetens-ncaa-march-madness-with-perfect-pick-promotion-and-annual-college-all-star-game-142095723.html http://www.alexgpr.com/2011/08/hersheys-pr/ (http://www.thehersheycompany.com/social-responsibility/csr-report.aspx (http://www.hersheystrackandfield.com/about.aspx) (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-public-relations.htm)

Mattel Essay -- essays research papers

1) What was Jill Barad’s primary goal for Mattel in 1996? What strategy did she choose in order to pursue these goals? Answer: The primary goal of Jill Barad for Mattel was to increase earning per shares by 15% per annum compounded before the effects of any acquisitions. The following are the 4 elements of her strategies: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Continue with the highly profitable practice of extending the company’s existing brands (e.g. she had plans to further develop a line of collectible Barbie dolls); 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Develop new product categories, particular in boy’s toys and board games where Mattel had traditional been weak. It could be accomplished through internal product development or by acquiring an emerging company and then growing its business through further investments. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Expanding overseas market sales to more than 50% of Mattel’s total; 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cost reductions by outsourcing production to low-cost foreign factories in places such as China. 2) Why did Barad’s strategies fail to generate the profit growth she had planned? Could better planning have helped Barad anticipate market trends? Answer: The following are the number of problems that had stymied Barad’s strategies: l  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Parents were buying fewer toys and shifting their spending to computer software and video games for their children; l  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Parents were shifting the spending ...

The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 5. ISLE ESME

â€Å"Houston?† I asked, raising my eyebrows when we reached the gate in Seattle. â€Å"Just a stop along the way,† Edward assured me with a grin. It felt like I'd barely fallen asleep when he woke me. I was groggy as he pulled me through the terminals, struggling to remember how to open my eyes after every blink. It took me a few minutes to catch up with what was going on when we stopped at the international counter to check in for our next flight. â€Å"Rio de Janeiro?† I asked with slightly more trepidation. â€Å"Another stop,† he told me. The flight to South America was long but comfortable in the wide first-class seat, with Edward's arms cradled around me. I slept myself out and awoke unusually alert as we circled toward the airport with the light of the setting sun slanting through the plane's windows. We didn't stay in the airport to connect with another flight as I'd expected. Instead we took a taxi through the dark, teeming, living streets of Rio. Unable to understand a word of Edward's Portuguese instructions to the driver, I guessed that we were off to find a hotel before the next leg of our journey. A sharp twinge of something very close to stage fright twisted in the pit of my stomach as I considered that. The taxi continued through the swarming crowds until they thinned somewhat, and we appeared to be nearing the extreme western edge of the city, heading into the ocean. We stopped at the docks. Edward led the way down the long line of white yachts moored in the night-blackened water. The boat he stopped at was smaller than the others, sleeker, obviously built for speed instead of space. Still luxurious, though, and more graceful than the rest. He leaped in lightly, despite the heavy bags he carried. He dropped those on the deck and turned to help me carefully over the edge. I watched in silence while he prepared the boat for departure, surprised at how skilled and comfortable he seemed, because he'd never mentioned an interest in boating before. But then again, he was good at just about everything. As we headed due east into the open ocean, I reviewed basic geography in my head. As far as I could remember, there wasn't much east of Brazil†¦ until you got to Africa. But Edward sped forward while the lights of Rio faded and ultimately disappeared behind us. On his face was a familiar exhilarated smile, the one produced by any form of speed. The boat plunged through the waves and I was showered with sea spray. Finally the curiosity I'd suppressed so long got the best of me. â€Å"Are we going much farther?† I asked. It wasn't like him to forget that I was human, but I wondered if he planned for us to live on this small craft for any length of time. â€Å"About another half hour.† His eyes took in my hands, clenched on the seat, and he grinned. Oh well, I thought to myself. He was a vampire, after all. Maybe we were going to Atlantis. Twenty minutes later, he called my name over the roar of the engine. â€Å"Bella, look there.† He pointed straight ahead. I saw only blackness at first, and the moon's white trail across the water. But I searched the space where he pointed until I found a low black shape breaking into the sheen of moonlight on the waves. As I squinted into the darkness, the silhouette became more detailed. The shape grew into a squat, irregular triangle, with one side trailing longer than the other before sinking into the waves. We drew closer, and I could see the outline was feathery, swaying to the light breeze. And then my eyes refocused and the pieces all made sense: a small island rose out of the water ahead of us, waving with palm fronds, a beach glowing pale in the light of the moon. â€Å"Where are we?† I murmured in wonder while he shifted course, heading around to the north end of the island. He heard me, despite the noise of the engine, and smiled a wide smile that gleamed in the moonlight. â€Å"This is Isle Esme.† The boat slowed dramatically, drawing with precision into position against a short dock constructed of wooden planks, bleached into whiteness by the moon. The engine cut off, and the silence that followed was profound. There was nothing but the waves, slapping lightly against the boat, and the rustle of the breeze in the palms. The air was warm, moist, and fragrant – like the steam left behind after a hot shower. â€Å"Isle Esme?† My voice was low, but it still sounded too loud as it broke into the quiet night. â€Å"A gift from Carlisle – Esme offered to let us borrow it.† A gift. Who gives an island as a gift? I frowned. I hadn't realized that Edward's extreme generosity was a learned behavior. He placed the suitcases on the dock and then turned back, smiling his perfect smile as he reached for me. Instead of taking my hand, he pulled me right up into his arms. â€Å"Aren't you supposed to wait for the threshold?'71 asked, breathless, as he sprung lightly out of the boat. He grinned. â€Å"I'm nothing if not thorough.† Gripping the handles of both huge steamer trunks in one hand and cradling me in the other arm, he carried me up the dock and onto a pale sand pathway through the dark vegetation. For a short while it was pitch black in the jungle-like growth, and then I could see a warm light ahead. It was about at the point when I realized the light was a house – the two bright, perfect squares were wide windows framing a front door – that the stage fright attacked again, more forcefully than before, worse than when I'd thought we were headed for a hotel. My heart thudded audibly against my ribs, and my breath seemed to get stuck in my throat. I felt Edward's eyes on my face, but I refused to meet his gaze. I stared straight ahead, seeing nothing. He didn't ask what I was thinking, which was out of character for him. I guessed that meant that he was just as nervous as I suddenly was. He set the suitcases on the deep porch to open the doors – they were unlocked. Edward looked down at me, waiting until I met his gaze before he stepped through the threshold. He carried me through the house, both of us very quiet, flipping on lights as he went. My vague impression of the house was that it was quite large for a tiny island, and oddly familiar. I'd gotten used to the pale-on-pale color scheme preferred by the Cullens; it felt like home. I couldn't focus on any specifics, though. The violent pulse beating behind my ears made everything a little blurry. Then Edward stopped and turned on the last light. The room was big and white, and the far wall was mostly glass – standard decor for my vampires. Outside, the moon was bright on white sand and, just a few yards away from the house, glistening waves. But I barely noted that part. I was more focused on the absolutely huge white bed in the center of the room, hung with billowy clouds of mosquito netting. Edward set me on my feet. â€Å"I'll†¦ go get the luggage.† The room was too warm, stuffier than the tropical night outside. A bead of sweat dewed up on the nape of my neck. I walked slowly forward until I could reach out and touch the foamy netting. For some reason I felt the need to make sure everything was real. I didn't hear Edward return. Suddenly, his wintry finger caressed the back of my neck, wiping away the drop of perspiration. â€Å"It's a little hot here,† he said apologetically. â€Å"I thought†¦ that would be best.† â€Å"Thorough,† I murmured under my breath, and he chuckled. It was a nervous sound, rare for Edward. â€Å"I tried to think of everything that would make this†¦ easier,† he admitted. I swallowed loudly, still facing away from him. Had there ever been a honeymoon like this before? I knew the answer to that. No. There had not. â€Å"I was wondering,'7Edward said slowly, â€Å"if†¦ first†¦ maybe you'd like to take a midnight swim with me?† He took a deep breath, and his voice was more at ease when he spoke again. â€Å"The water will be very warm. This is the kind of beach you approve of.† â€Å"Sounds nice.† My voice broke. â€Å"I'm sure you'd like a human minute or two†¦. It was a long journey.† I nodded woodenly. I felt barely human; maybe a few minutes alone would help. His lips brushed against my throat, just below my ear. He chuckled once and his cool breath tickled my overheated skin. â€Å"Don't take too long, Mrs. Cullen.† I jumped a little at the sound of my new name. His lips brushed down my neck to the tip of my shoulder. â€Å"I'll wait for you in the water.† He walked past me to the French door that opened right onto the beach sand. On the way, he shrugged out of his shirt, dropping it on the floor, and then slipped through the door into the moonlit night. The sultry, salty air swirled into the room behind him. Did my skin burst into flames? I had to look down to check. Nope, nothing was burning. At least, not visibly. I reminded myself to breathe, and then I stumbled toward the giant suitcase that Edward had opened on top of a low white dresser. It must be mine, because my familiar bag of toiletries was right on top, and there was a lot of pink in there, but I didn't recognize even one article of clothing. As I pawed through the neatly folded piles – looking for something familiar and comfortable, a pair of old sweats maybe – it came to my attention that there was an awful lot of sheer lace and skimpy satin in my hands. Lingerie. Very lingerie-ish lingerie, with French tags. I didn't know how or when, but someday, Alice was going to pay for this. Giving up, I went to the bathroom and peeked out through the long windows that opened to the same beach as the French doors. I couldn't see him; I guessed he was there in the water, not bothering to come up for air. In the sky above, the moon was lopsided, almost full, and the sand was bright white under its shine. A small movement caught my eye – draped over a bend in one of the palm trees that fringed the beach, the rest of his clothes were swaying in the light breeze. A rush of heat flashed across my skin again. I took a couple of deep breaths and then went to the mirrors above the long stretch of counters. I looked exactly like I'd been sleeping on a plane all day. I found my brush and yanked it harshly through the snarls on the back of my neck until they were smoothed out and the bristles were full of hair. I brushed my teeth meticulously, twice. Then I washed my face and splashed water on the back of my neck, which was feeling feverish. That felt so good that I washed my arms as well, and finally I decided to just give up and take the shower. I knew it was ridiculous to shower before swimming, but I needed to calm down, and hot water was one reliable way to do that. Also, shaving my legs again seemed like a pretty good idea. When I was done, I grabbed a huge white towel off the counter and wrapped it under my arms. Then I was faced with a dilemma I hadn't considered. What was I supposed to put on? Not a swimsuit, obviously. But it seemed silly to put my clothes back on, too. I didn't even want to think about the things Alice had packed for me. My breathing started to accelerate again and my hands trembled – so much for the calming effects of the shower. I started to feel a little dizzy, apparently a full-scale panic attack on the way. I sat down on the cool tile floor in my big towel and put my head between my knees. I prayed he wouldn't decide to come look for me before I could pull myself together. I could imagine what he would think if he saw me going to pieces this way. It wouldn't be hard for him to convince himself that we were making a mistake. And I wasn't freaking out because I thought we were making a mistake. Not atall. I was freaking out because I had no idea how to do this, and I was afraid to walk out of this room and face the unknown. Especially in French lingerie. I knew I wasn't ready for that yet This felt exactly like having to walk out in front of a theater full of thousands with no idea what my lines were. How did people do this – swallowall their fears and trust someone else so implicitly with every imperfection and fear they had – with less than the absolute commitment Edward had given me? if it weren't Edward out there, if I didn't know in every cell of my body that he loved me as much as I loved him – unconditionally and irrevocably and, to be honest, irrationally – I'd never be able to get up off this floor. But it was Edward out there, so I whispered the words â€Å"Don't be a coward† under my breath and scrambled to my feet. I hitched the towel tighter under my arms and marched determinedly from the bathroom. Past the suitcase full of lace and the big bed without looking at either. Out the open glass door onto the powder-fine sand. Everything was black-and-white, leached colorless by the moon. I walked slowly across the warm powder, pausing beside the curved tree where he had left his clothes. I laid my hand against the rough bark and checked my breathing to make sure it was even. Or even enough. I looked across the low ripples, black in the darkness, searching for him. He wasn't hard to find. He stood, his back to me, waist deep in the midnight water, staring up at the oval moon. The pallid light of the moon turned his skin a perfect white, like the sand, like the moon itself, and made his wet hair black as the ocean. He was motionless, his hands resting palms down against the water; the low waves broke around him as if he were a stone. I stared at the smooth lines of his back, his shoulders, his arms, his neck, theflawless shape of him†¦. The fire was no longer a flash burn across my skin – it was slow and deep now; it smoldered away all my awkwardness, my shy uncertainty. I slipped the towel off without hesitation, leaving it on the tree with his clothes, and walked out into the white light; it made me pale as the snowy sand, too. I couldn't hear the sound of my footsteps as I walked to the water's edge, but I guessed that he could. Edward did not turn. I let the gentle swells break over my toes, and found that he'd been right about the temperature – it was very warm, like bath water. I stepped in, walking carefully across the invisible ocean floor, but my care was unnecessary; the sand continued perfectly smooth, sloping gently toward Edward. I waded through the weightless current till I was at his side, and then I placed my hand lightly over his cool hand lying on the water. â€Å"Beautiful,† I said, looking up at the moon, too. â€Å"It's all right,† he answered, unimpressed. He turned slowly to face me; little waves rolled away from his movement and broke against my skin. His eyes looked silver in his ice-colored face. He twisted his hand up so that he could twine our fingers beneath the surface of the water. It was warm enough that his cool skin did not raise goose bumps on mine. â€Å"But I wouldn't use the word beautiful† he continued. â€Å"Not with you standing here in comparison.† I half-smiled, then raised my free hand – it didn't tremble now – and placed it over his heart. White on white; we matched, for once. He shuddered the tiniest bit at my warm touch. His breath came rougher now. â€Å"I promised we would try† he whispered, suddenly tense. â€Å"If†¦ if I do something wrong, if I hurt you, you must tell me at once.† I nodded solemnly, keeping my eyes on his. I took another step through the waves and leaned my head against his chest. â€Å"Don't be afraid,† I murmured. â€Å"We belong together.† I was abruptly overwhelmed by the truth of my own words. This moment was so perfect, so right, there was no way to doubt it. His arms wrapped around me, holding me against him, summer and winter. It felt like every nerve ending in my body was a live wire. â€Å"Forever,† he agreed, and then pulled us gently into deeper water. The sun, hot on the bare skin of my back, woke me in the morning. Late morning, maybe afternoon, I wasn't sure. Everything besides the time was clear, though; I knew exactly where I was – the bright room with the big white bed, brilliant sunlight streaming through the open doors. The clouds of netting would soften the shine. I didn't open my eyes. I was too happy to change anything, no matter how small. The only sounds were the waves outside, our breathing, my heartbeat†¦ I was comfortable, even with the baking sun. His cool skin was the perfect antidote to the heat. Lying across his wintry chest, his arms wound around me, felt very easy and natural. I wondered idly what I'd been so panicky about last night. My fears all seemed silly now. His fingers softly trailed down the contours of my spine, and I knew that he knew I was awake. I kept my eyes shut and tightened my arms around his neck, holding myself closer to him. He didn't speak; his fingers moved up and down my back, barely touching it as he lightly traced patterns on my skin. I would have been happy to lie here forever, to never disturb this moment, but my body had other ideas. I laughed at my impatient stomach. It seemed sort of prosaic to be hungry after all that had passed last night. Like being brought back down to earth from some great height. â€Å"What's funny?† he murmured, still stroking my back. The sound of his voice, serious and husky, brought with it a deluge of memories from the night, and I felt a blush color my face and neck. To answer his question, my stomach growled. I laughed again. â€Å"You just can't escape being human for very long.† I waited, but he did not laugh with me. Slowly, sinking through the many layers of bliss that clouded my head, came the realization of a different atmosphere outside my own glowing sphere of happiness. I opened my eyes; the first thing I saw was the pale, almost silvery skin of his throat, the arc of his chin above my face. His jaw was taut. I propped myself up on my elbow so I could see his face. He was staring at the frothy canopy above us, and he didn't look at me as I studied his grave features. His expression was a shock – it sent a physical jolt through my body. â€Å"Edward,† I said, a strange little catch in my throat, â€Å"what is it? What's wrong?† â€Å"You have to ask?† His voice was hard, cynical. My first instinct, the product of a lifetime of insecurities, was to wonder what I had done wrong. I thought through everything that had happened, but I couldn't find any sour note in the memory. It had all been simpler than I'd expected; we'd fit together like corresponding pieces, made to match up. This had given me a secret satisfaction – we were compatible physically, as well as all the other ways. Fire and ice, somehow existing together without destroying each other. More proof that I belonged with him. I couldn't think of any part that would make him look like this – so severe and cold. What had I missed? His finger smoothed the worried lines on my forehead. â€Å"What are you thinking?† he whispered. â€Å"You're upset. I don't understand. Did I†¦ ?† I couldn't finish. His eyes tightened. â€Å"How badly are you hurt, Bella? The truth – don't try to downplay it.† â€Å"Hurt?† I repeated; my voice came out higher than usual because the word took me so by surprise. He raised one eyebrow, his lips a tight line. I made a quick assessment, stretching my body automatically, tensing and flexing my muscles. There was stiffness, and a lot of soreness, too, it was true, but mostly there was the odd sensation that my bones all had become unhinged at the joints, and I had changed halfway into the consistency of a jellyfish. It was not an unpleasant feeling. And then I was a little angry, because he was darkening this most perfect of all mornings with his pessimistic assumptions. â€Å"Why would you jump to that conclusion? I've never been better than I am now.† His eyes closed. â€Å"Stop that.† â€Å"Stop what?† â€Å"Stop acting like I'm not a monster for having agreed to this.† â€Å"Edward!'7I whispered, really upset now. He was pulling my bright memory through the darkness, staining it. â€Å"Don't ever say that.† He didn't open his eyes; it was like he didn't want to see me. â€Å"Look at yourself, Bella. Then tell me I'm not a monster.† Wounded, shocked, I followed his instruction unthinkingly and then gasped. What had happened to me? I couldn't make sense of the fluffy white snow that clung to my skin. I shook my head, and a cascade of white drifted out of my hair. I pinched one soft white bit between my fingers. It was a piece of down. â€Å"Why am I covered in feathers?† I asked, confused. He exhaled impatiently. â€Å"I bit a pillow. Or two. That's not what I'm talking about.† â€Å"You†¦ bit a pillow? Why?† â€Å"Look, Bella!† he almost growled. He took my hand – very gingerly – and stretched my arm out. â€Å"Look at that† This time, I saw what he meant. Under the dusting of feathers, large purplish bruises were beginning to blossom across the pale skin of my arm. My eyes followed the trail they made up to my shoulder, and then down across my ribs. I pulled my hand free to poke at a discoloration on my left forearm, watching it fade where I touched and then reappear. It throbbed a little. So lightly that he was barely touching me, Edward placed his hand against the bruises on my arm, one at a time, matching his long fingers to the patterns. â€Å"Oh,† I said. I tried to remember this – to remember pain – but I couldn't. I couldn't recall a moment when his hold had been too tight, his hands too hard against me. I only remembered wanting him to hold me tighter, and being pleased when he did†¦. â€Å"I'm†¦ so sorry, Bella,† he whispered while I stared at the bruises. â€Å"I knew better than this. I should not have – † He made a low, revolted sound in the back of his throat. â€Å"I am more sorry than I can tell you.† He threw his arm over his face and became perfectly still. I sat for one long moment in total astonishment, trying to come to terms – now that I understood it – with his misery. It was so contrary to the way that I felt that it was difficult to process. Theshock wore off slowly, leaving nothing in its absence. Emptiness. My mind was blank. I couldn't think of what to say. How could I explain it to him in the right way? How could I make him as happy as I was – or as I had been, a moment ago? I touched his arm, and he didn't respond. I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and tried to pry his arm off his face, but I could have been yanking on a sculpture for all the good it did me. â€Å"Edward.† He didn't move. â€Å"Edward?† Nothing. So, this would be a monologue, then. â€Å"I'mnot sorry, Edward. I'm†¦ I can't even tell you. I'm so happy. That doesn't cover it. Don't be angry. Don't. I'm really f – â€Å" â€Å"Do not say the word fine.† His voice was ice cold. â€Å"If you value my sanity, do not say that you are fine.† â€Å"But I am: I whispered. â€Å"Bella,† he almost moaned. â€Å"Don't.† â€Å"No. You don't, Edward.† He moved his arm; his gold eyes watched me warily. â€Å"Don't ruin this,† I told him. â€Å"I. Am. Happy.† â€Å"I've already ruined this,† he whispered. â€Å"Cut it out,† I snapped. I heard his teeth grind together. â€Å"Ugh!† I groaned. â€Å"Why can't you just read my mind already? It's so inconvenient to be a mental mute!† His eyes widened a little bit, distracted in spite of himself. â€Å"That's a new one. You love that I can't read your mind.† â€Å"Not today.† He stared at me. â€Å"Why?† I threw my hands up in frustration, feeling an ache in my shoulder that I ignored. My palms fell back against his chest with a sharp smack. â€Å"Because all this angst would be completely unnecessary if you could see how I feel right now! Or five minutes ago, anyway. I was perfectly happy. Totally and completely blissed out. Now – well, I'm sort of pissed, actually.† â€Å"You should be angry at me.† â€Å"Well, I am. Does that make you feel better?† He sighed. â€Å"No. I don't think anything could make me feel better now.† â€Å"T/?af,† I snapped. â€Å"That right there is why I'm angry. You are killing my buzz, Edward.† He rolled his eyes and shook his head. I took a deep breath. I was feeling more of the soreness now, but it wasn't that bad. Sort of like the day after lifting weights. I'd done that with Renee during one of her fitness obsessions. Sixty-five lunges with ten pounds in each hand. I couldn't walk the next day. This was not as painful as that had been by half. I swallowed my irritation and tried to make my voice soothing. â€Å"We knew this was going to be tricky. I thought that was assumed. And then – well, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. And this is really nothing.† I brushed my fingers along my arm. â€Å"I think for a first time, not knowing what to expect, we did amazing. With a little practice – â€Å" His expression was suddenly so livid that I broke off mid-sentence. â€Å"Assumed? Did you expect this, Bella? Were you anticipating that I would hurt you? Were you thinking it would be worse? Do you consider the experiment a success because you can walk away from it? No broken bones – that equals a victory?† I waited, letting him get it all out. Then I waited some more while his breathing went back to normal. When his eyes were calm, I answered, speaking with slow precision. â€Å"I didn't know what to expect – but I definitely did not expect how†¦ how†¦ just wonderful and perfect it was.† My voice dropped to a whisper, my eyes slipped from his face down to my hands. â€Å"I mean, I don't know how it was for you, but it was like that for me.† A cool finger pulled my chin back up. â€Å"Is that what you're worried about?† he said through his teeth. â€Å"That I didn't enjoy myself?† My eyes stayed down. â€Å"I know it's not the same. You're not human. I just was trying to explain that, for a human, well, I can't imagine that life gets any better than that.† He was quiet for so long that, finally, I had to look up. His face was softer now, thoughtful. â€Å"It seems that I have more to apologize for.† He frowned. â€Å"I didn't dream that you would construe the way I feel about what I did to you to mean that last night wasn't†¦ well, the best night of my existence. But I don't want to think of it that way, not when you were †¦Ã¢â‚¬  My lips curved up a little at the edges. â€Å"Really? The best ever?† I asked in a small voice. He took my face between his hands, still introspective. â€Å"I spoke to Carlisle after you and I made our bargain, hoping he could help me. Of course he warned me that this would be very dangerous for you.† A shadow crossed his expression. â€Å"He had faith in me, though – faith I didn't deserve.† I started to protest, and he put two fingers over my lips before I could comment. â€Å"I also asked him what should expect. I didn't know what it would be for me†¦ what with my being a vampire.† He smiled halfheartedly. â€Å"Carlisle told me it was a very powerful thing, like nothing else. He told me physical love was something I should not treat lightly. With our rarely changing temperaments, strong emotions can alter us in permanent ways. But he said I did not need to worry about that part – you had already altered me so completely.† This time his smile was more genuine. â€Å"I spoke to my brothers, too. They told me it was a very great pleasure. Second only to drinking human blood.† A line creased his brow. â€Å"But I've tasted your blood, and there could be no blood more potent than that†¦ I don't think they were wrong, really. Just that it was different for us. Something more.† â€Å"It was more. It was everything.† â€Å"That doesn't change the fact that it was wrong. Even if it were possible that you really did feel that way.† â€Å"What does that mean? Do you think I'm making this up? Why?† â€Å"To ease my guilt. I can't ignore the evidence, Bella. Or your history of trying to let me off the hook when I make mistakes.† I grabbed his chin and leaned forward so that our faces were inches apart. â€Å"You listen to me, Edward Cullen. I am not pretending anything for your sake, okay? I didn't even know there was a reason to make you feel better until you started being all miserable. I've never been so happy in all my life – I wasn't this happy when you decided that you loved me more than you wanted to kill me, or the first morning I woke up and you were there waiting for me†¦. Not when I heard your voice in the ballet studio† – he flinched at the old memory of my close call with a hunting vampire, but I didn't pause – â€Å"or when you said i do' and I realized that, somehow, I get to keep you forever. Those are the happiest memories I have, and this is better than any of it. So just deal with it.† He touched the frown line between my eyebrows. Tm making you unhappy now. I don't want to do that.† â€Å"Then don't you be unhappy. That's the only thing that's wrong here.† His eyes tightened, then he took a deep breath and nodded. â€Å"You're right. The past is past and I can't do anything to change it. There's no sense in letting my mood sour this time for you. HI do whatever I can to make you happy now.† I examined his face suspiciously, and he gave me a serene smile. â€Å"Whatever makes me happy?† My stomach growled at the same time that I asked. â€Å"You're hungry,† he said quickly. He was swiftly out of the bed, stirring up a cloud of feathers. Which reminded me. â€Å"So, why exactly did you decide to ruin Esme's pillows?† I asked, sitting up and shaking more down from my hair. He had already pulled on a pair of loose khaki pants, and he stood by the door, rumpling his hair, dislodging a few feathers of his own. â€Å"I don't know if I decided to do anything last night,† he muttered. â€Å"We're just lucky it was the pillows and not you.† He inhaled deeply and then shook his head, as if shaking off the dark thought. A very authentic-looking smile spread across his face, but I guessed it took a lot of work to put it there. I slid carefully off the high bed and stretched again, more aware, now, of the aches and sore spots. I heard him gasp. He turned away from me, and his hands balled up, knuckles white. â€Å"Do I look that hideous?† I asked, working to keep my tone light. His breath caught, but he didn't turn, probably to hide his expression from me. I walked to the bathroom to check for myself. I stared at my naked body in the full-length mirror behind the door. I'd definitely had worse. There was a faint shadow across one of my cheekbones, and my lips were a little swollen, but other than that, my face was fine. The rest of me was decorated with patches of blue and purple. I concentrated on the bruises that would be the hardest to hide – my arms and my shoulders. They weren't so bad. My skin marked up easily. By the time a bruise showed I'd usually forgotten how I'd come by it. Of course, these were just developing. I'd look even worse tomorrow. That would not make things any easier. I looked at my hair, then, and groaned. â€Å"Bella?† He was right there behind me as soon as I'd made a sound. â€Å"I'll never get this all out of my hair!† I pointed to my head, where it looked like a chicken was nesting. I started picking at the feathers. â€Å"You would be worried about your hair,† he mumbled, but he came to stand behind me, pulling out the feathers much more quickly. â€Å"How did you keep from laughing at this? I look ridiculous.† He didn't answer; he just kept plucking. And I knew the answer anyway – there was nothing that would be funny to him in this mood. ‘This isn't going to work,† I sighed after a minute. â€Å"It's all dried in. I'm going to have to try to wash it out.† I turned around, wrapping my arms around his cool waist. â€Å"Do you want to help me?† Td better find some food for you,† he said in a quiet voice, and he gently unwound my arms. I sighed as he disappeared, moving too fast. It looked like my honeymoon was over. The thought put a big lump in my throat. When I was mostly feather-free and dressed in an unfamiliar white cotton dress that concealed the worst of the violet blotches, I padded off barefoot to where the smell of eggs and bacon and Cheddar cheese was coming from. Edward stood in front of the stainless steel stove, sliding an omelet onto the light blue plate waiting on the counter. The scent of the food overwhelmed me. I felt like I could eat the plate and the frying pan, too; my stomach snarled. â€Å"Here,† he said. He turned with a smile on his face and set the plate on a small tiled table. I sat in one of the two metal chairs and started snarfing down the hot eggs. They burned my throat, but I didn't care. He sat down across from me. â€Å"I'm not feeding you often enough.† I swallowed and then reminded him, â€Å"I was asleep. This is really good, by the way. Impressive for someone who doesn't eat.† â€Å"Food Network,† he said, flashing my favorite crooked smile. I was happy to see it, happy that he seemed more like his normal self. â€Å"Where did the eggs come from?† â€Å"I asked the cleaning crew to stock the kitchen. A first, for this place. I'll have to ask them to deal with the feathers†¦. † He trailed off, his gaze fixed on a space above my head. I didn't respond, trying to avoid saying anything that would upset him again. I ate everything, though he'd made enough for two. â€Å"Thank you,† I told him. I leaned across the table to kiss him. He kissed me back automatically, and then suddenly stiffened and leaned away. I gritted my teeth, and the question I meant to ask came out sounding like an accusation. â€Å"You aren't going to touch me again while we're here, are you?† He hesitated, then half-smiled and raised his hand to stroke my cheek. His fingers lingered softly on my skin, and I couldn't help leaning my face into his palm. â€Å"You know that's not what I meant.† He sighed and dropped his hand. â€Å"I know. And you're right.† He paused, lifting his chin slightly. And then he spoke again with firm conviction. â€Å"I will not make love with you until you've been changed. I will never hurt you again.†