The perks of being a wallflower Essay

The perks of being a wallflower Essay The perks of being a wallflower Essay The perks of being a wallflower Theme: Friendship, Drugs, and Sex. Summary: The perks of being a wallflower is a novel written from the point of view of a high school freshman, the main characteristic is Charlie. Structure of the novel is based on Charlie's role as a stranger sent letters to another person. In the first year of high school, his friend Michael committed suicide, he felt very alone. In the following days, he met a student named Patrick, and Patrick introduced his sister Sam to Charlie. After this, they became good friends, and he grew to love Sam. He has a aunt in this world who is his favorite love. But unfortunately, his aunt died in a car accident. He has a complete family, his brother is a student at Pennsylvania State University and is a footballer. His parents were very ordinary people. He also has a sister. Because a party, she met a guy and and it went to bed. Later, Charles told his parents that his sister had a boyfriend. In later days, his sister was pregnant, and then broke up with her boyfriend. In a gathering, he knows Patrick and Brad sex in the bed and knew he was gay. In a gathering, he knows Patrick and Brad in love and knew he was gay. Charlie and Patrick often smoke, and even gave Charlie marijuana. One day, Charlie was very upset, so he decided to smoke marijuana. In that one night he collapsed in the street and was lectured police. Then Charlie's parents brought him to the house. Charlie marijuana because he kissed Sam on the ball,

Great Rift Valley - Crack in the Planets Crust

Great Rift Valley - Crack in the Planet's Crust The Rift Valley of eastern Africa and Asia (sometimes called the Great Rift Valley [GRV] or East African Rift system [EAR or EARS]) is an enormous geological split in the crust of the earth, thousands of kilometers long, up to 125 miles (200 kilometers) wide, and between a few hundred to thousands of meters deep. First designated as the Great Rift Valley in the late 19th century and visible from space, the valley has also been a great source of hominid fossils, most famously in Tanzanias Olduvai Gorge. Key Takeaways: Great Rift Valley The Great Rift Valley is a huge fracture in the crust of the earth in the eastern part of Africa.  Crustal rifts are found all over the world, but the one in East Africa is the largest.  The rift is a complex series of faultlines that runs from the Red Sea down into Mozambique.The Lake Turkana basin in the rift region is known as the Cradle of Mankind and has been a source of hominid fossils since the 1970s.A 2019 paper suggests that the Kenyan and Ethiopian rifts are evolving into one single oblique rift.   The Rift Valley is the result of an ancient series of faults, rifts, and volcanoes deriving from the shifting of tectonic plates at the junction between the Somalian and the African plates. Scholars recognize two branches of the GRV: the eastern half- which is that piece north of Lake Victoria that runs NE/SW and meets the Red Sea; and the western half- running nearly N/S from Victoria to the Zambezi river in Mozambique. The eastern branch rifts first occurred 30 million years ago, the western 12.6 million years ago. In terms of rift evolution, many parts of the Great Rift Valley are in different stages, from pre-rift in the Limpopo valley, to initial-rift stage at the Malawi rift; to typical-rift stage in the northern Tanganyika rift region; to advanced-rift stage in the Ethiopian rift region; and finally to oceanic-rift stage in the Afar range. That means the region is still quite tectonically active: see Chorowicz (2005) for much more detail concerning the ages of the different rift regions. Geography and Topography The East African Rift System stretches from the Red Sea to Mozambique. It is marked by the African Great Lakes and is currently the largest rift of the world. S. Brune; Kartengrundlage: Nasa-World-Wind The Eastern African Rift Valley is a long valley flanked by uplifted shoulders that step down to the central rift by more or less parallel faults. The main valley is classed as a continental rift, extending from 12 degrees north to 15 degrees south of our planets​ equator. It extends a length of 3,500 km  and intersects major portions of the modern countries of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique and minor portions of others. The width of the valley varies between 30 km to 200 km (20-125 mi), with the widest section at the northern end where it links to the Red Sea in the Afar region of Ethiopia. The depth of the valley varies across eastern Africa, but for most of its length it is more than 1 km (3280 feet) deep and at its deepest, in Ethiopia, it is over 3 km (9,800 ft) deep. The topographical steepness of its shoulders and the depth of the valley have created specialized microclimates and hydrology within its walls. Most rivers are short and small within the valley, but a few follow the rifts for hundreds of kilometers, discharging into deep lake basins. The valley acts as a north-south corridor for the migration of animals and birds  and inhibits east/west movements. When glaciers dominated most of Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene, the rift lake basins were havens for animals and plant life, including early hominins. History of the Rift Valley Studies Following on the mid- to late-19th-century work of dozens of explorers including the famous David Livingstone, the concept of an East African rift fracture was established by Austrian geologist Eduard Suess, and named the Great Rift Valley of East Africa in 1896 by British geologist John Walter Gregory. In 1921, Gregory described the GRV as a system of graben basins which included the valleys of the Red and Dead Seas in western Asia, as the Afro-Arabian rift system. Gregorys interpretation of the GRV formation was that two faults had opened up and a central piece dropped down forming the valley (called a graben). Since Gregorys investigations, scholars have re-interpreted the rift as the result of multiple graben faults organized over a major fault line at the plate juncture. The faults occurred in time from the Paleozoic to Quaternary eras, a time span of some 500 million years. In many areas, there have been repeated rifting events, including at least seven phases of rifting over the past 200 million years. Paleontology in the Rift Valley In the 1970s, paleontologist Richard Leakey designated the East African Rift region as the Cradle of Mankind, and there is no doubt that the earliest hominids- members of the Homo species- arose within its boundaries. Why that happened is a matter of conjecture, but may have something to do with the steep valley walls and microclimates created within them. The interior of the rift valley was isolated from the rest of Africa during the Pleistocene ice age  and sheltered freshwater lakes located in savannahs. As with other animals, our early ancestors may have found refuge there when the ice covered much of the planet and then evolved as hominids within its tall shoulders. An interesting study on the genetics of frog species by Freilich and colleagues showed that the valleys micro-climates and topography are at least, in this case, a biogeographic barrier that resulted in the splitting of the species into two separate gene pools. It is the eastern branch (much of Kenya and Ethiopia) where much of the paleontological work has identified hominids. Beginning about 2 million years ago, barriers in the eastern branch eroded away, a time which is coeval (as much as that clock can be called co-eval) with the spread of Homo species outside of Africa. Rift Evolution Analysis of the rift reported by German geologist Sascha Brune and colleagues in March 2019 (Corti et al. 2019) suggests that although the rift began as two overlapping disconnected rifts (Ethiopian and Kenyan), the lateral offset that lies in the Turkana depression has evolved and continues to evolve into a single oblique rift.   In March of 2018, a great crack measuring 50 feet wide and miles long opened up in the Suswa area of southwestern Kenya. Scientists believe the cause was not a sudden recent shift of the tectonic plates, but rather the abrupt erosion to the surface of a long-standing subsurface crack that developed over thousands of years. Recent heavy rains caused the soil to collapse over the crack, exposing it to the surface, rather like a sinkhole.  Ã‚   Selected Sources Blinkhorn, J., and M. Grove. The Structure of the Middle Stone Age of Eastern Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews 195 (2018): 1–20. Print.Chorowicz, Jean. The East African Rift System. Journal of African Earth Sciences 43.1–3 (2005): 379–410. Print.Corti, Giacomo, et al. Aborted Propagation of the Ethiopian Rift Caused by Linkage with the Kenyan Rift. Nature Communications 10.1 (2019): 1309. Print.Deino, Alan L., et al. Chronology of the Acheulean to Middle Stone Age Transition in Eastern Africa. Science 360.6384 (2018): 95–98. Print.Freilich, Xenia, et al. Comparative Phylogeography of Ethiopian Anurans: Impact of the Great Rift Valley and Pleistocene Climate Change. BMC Evolutionary Biology 16.1 (2016): 206. Print.Frostick, L. Africa: Rift Valley. Encyclopedia of Geology. Eds. Cocks, L. Robin M. and Ian R. Plimer. Oxford: Elsevier, 2005. 26–34. Print.Sahnouni, Mohamed, et al. 1.9-Million- and 2.4-Million-Year-Old Artifacts and Stone Tool-Cutmarked Bones from Ain Boucherit, Algeria. Science 362.6420 (2018): 1297–301. Print. Simon, Brendan, et al. Deformation and Sedimentary Evolution of the Lake Albert Rift (Uganda, East African Rift System). Marine and Petroleum Geology 86 (2017): 17–37. Print.

Coursework for Empirical Methods of Economic Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

For Empirical Methods of Economic - Coursework Example Figure (1) Ignoring the age variable will result in direct relationship of number of years of education completed with the amount of wage earned in a month. Therefore, the direct relationship is shown as follows: Figure (2) ii) Referring to equation (1) specifying a linear function of wage, with respect to age and education, if Ey is kept constant, i.e. number of years of education remain same, then the direct relationship of wage (Wt) and age (At) will be determined. The specific organizational principle will be applied here, i.e. the experienced workers will be enjoying more wages than those who have lesser experience, and the variable for counting the experience is the age of the workers. The more the age, the more will be experience of the workers, and hence they will enjoy larger amount in terms of their monthly wage. Keeping the education years (Ey) constant, and allowing the wages to change at a different rate, with respect to change in the age of the workers, the graph would still show a direct relationship between Wt and Ay, as follows: Figure (3) As shown above, the education variable is kept constant, and even then the wage will increase as the worker’s age increases. ... In this case, the figure (1) can again be considered, where the wages will increase depending upon the increase on the wage as well as the age. The only exception in this section and the previous one is the dependability of age of the worker on his age, whereas both were independent in the former approach, but the results will be the same whether the age factor is going to depend on education years or not, because the wage factor is going to change depending upon the change in age as well as education years altogether. Q (b). For the equation used in question a(i), the data is put in the EViews, and the estimates have been made about the relationship between the wage, age, and education years. The following graph will be showing a relationship of the three variables provided in the equation 1 given above. Figure (4) The figure shows that the data given in the excel sheet provides a direct relationship between the wage that is calculated on the basis of the ages and educational years of each of the workers working in the company. The blue lines highlight wages, red age, and green lines show educational years in case of first model discussed above. The wage will rise whenever the educational years, or age, or bother together will rise. Concerning the second model made in an answer to the question (a) above, the changes in wage were made as a direct function of the changes made in the age of the workers, and it was supposed that the educational experiences were either kept constant or had been ignored, and a direct function was applied on the age and its change on the wage of each of the worker. The graph given in figure (5) below will

Benefits of a four-year residential colleges Essay

Benefits of a four-year residential colleges - Essay Example The consideration of the four-year residential colleges by Murray is quite significant in that the study on its benefits and weakness derive its importance. Since not everybody can access university education subject to limitations of resources, pass marks required, and the need for skills, it is thus necessary to analyze other alternative sources of practical and vocational education that include the Four-Year Residential Colleges. According to Murray, the question as to whether too many people are going to colleges, forces us to consider the importance and nature of a liberal education. He notes that since universities seek to provide knowledge and skills that lead to productivity and capability among citizens then unlimited number of people should seek this knowledge (Murray 222). He however realizes that all Americans should acquire basic or the core knowledge that denotes their identity. This knowledge emanates from elementary school to eighth grade and is necessary for all. Hen ceforth, Murray notes that the core knowledge approach should proceed after the eighth grade to at least high school level thereby allowing interested students to pursue relevant courses in social sciences and humanities. He equally acknowledges the need to access liberal college education by academically able students. Indeed, he denotes that college education is tough, more beneficial and thus has stricter requirements. However, he establishes the fact that most of the students who have ability in liberal education conspicuously lack interest in it subject to its boredom and difficultness. As such, he reckons that many academically able students choose to pursue practical and vocational education that takes four-years in a residential college (Murray 222-225). Subject to the importance of college education that entails studies in medicine, law, accountants, software developers, journalists, teachers, football coaches and other courses, college education is thus inevitable in any n ation. Nevertheless, the time it takes, the resources, the level of knowhow required, and the significance of distinct courses in the society warrants a consideration unto the benefits of Four-Year Residential Colleges. Four-Year Residential Colleges offers a wide variety of living, dining, and entertainment options for all level of students. It equally creates a learning atmosphere that allows superb interactions between junior students, upper-class students and graduate students thus encouraging fruitful discussions relating to both college-based academic and nonacademic programs. Additionally, residential colleges offered better library services, many scholarship opportunities, and utmost interaction between students and teachers. Nevertheless, the need to have Four-Year Residential Colleges faces huge demerits that surpass the benefits. Hence, the notion that Four-Year Residential Colleges are not beneficial after all (Murray 228-230). Indeed, the four years spent in residential college studying courses like interior design, hotel management, social work and other courses excluding medicine and law are not reasonable. Indeed, such courses can take a lesser time hence diluting the benefits of Four-Year Residential Colleges. In addition, the advantage of having a physical library in the Four-Year Residential Colleges faces extinction by the fact that capable students can easily

Riordan Manufacturing HR System Analysis Essay Example for Free

Riordan Manufacturing HR System Analysis Essay The new HRIS system architecture will be implemented and integrated into the existing IT infrastructure which will be supported by the corporate office in San Jose. I recommend that the company consider a three-tiered implementation approach. HRIS base requirements and enhanced HR functionality being deployed to a consolidated organizational-wide instance of the HRIS located at corporate office and a single virtual network in Tier 1; implementing the HRIS base requirements to US based locations in Tier 2; and providing enhanced HR functionality and support to the worldwide locations in Tier 3. In addition to the above, Tier 1 would also incorporate the deployment of a centralized data warehouse to accommodate consolidated management analysis and reporting. Under the new HR Information System, all employee information will be recorded and stored. Riordan will benefit from this system with features such as grievance tracking, payroll, security, with limited access for low level employees, and a central server connection that will work with most other servers; cross-platform access will also be available just in case a department manager (IT manager) uses a MAC instead of Windows, they would have access to the data and finally Riordan’s HR staff will be able to access all employee data at any time and at all Riordan locations. Understanding and finding the right software for Riordan Manufacturing, several options made their selves known; there are two programs which stood out, Trak-IT HR and Perfect HR. The programs mentioned above have all of the necessary tools and functions that a company like Riordan needs to upgrade their Human Resource Department Information System. There are some differences between programs; Perfect HR does have a Payroll Management system that will be needed for the Human Resource Department at Riordan (Aspetuck Systems Inc. 2007). Here is a little information from Trak-It HR, â€Å"Since 1988, !Trak-It Solutions has been developing and enhancing our HRIS software to meet the ever-changing needs of the Human Resource professional in small and medium-sized companies.† (! Trak-It  Solutions. 2007). Trak-IT HR software is recommended because it will be able to handle all of the requirements that Riordan’s Human Resource Department needs; as it is very easy to navigate through and will be very easy to train individuals in the HR department, the system uses the latest technology for HR Departments such as Graphic Toolbar, Pull-Down Menus and Shortcut Keys† (!Trak-It Solutions, para. 2). This will make it easy for the user to navigate through with ease and has easy to follow navigations. Application architecture will include a new HRIS architecture which will include a DBMS (Data Base Management system), OOP (Object-Oriented Programming) combined with web services in an intranet application, which will be coded using open source technology. In this scenario the assumption will be that the HRIS system is not capable of storing or producing the additional information needed by the HR department. Currently, the HR department uses the HRIS system to store basic employee information. To implement this system it will require updating (training) all employees that will use the Riordan Human Resource information; this would include, Managers, Recruiters, Employee Relation Specialist, Human Resource Personnel, Payroll Personnel and whoever else is a part of the Human Resource Department. Any Upgrades must be based on the employees (User) position and should be determined on h ow often these users use this system. All Human Resource Personnel should receive an upgrade at start-up of the new system. A User-centered deign for interface will be used, this design will enable the system to adapt to the HR department as a whole and will still remain easy to understand and be user friendly. â€Å"Security is a process and not a state, ongoing refinement and assessment is needed for prolonged success† (Security Innovation Inc. 2007). With a new Information System comes security issues and this system will be in need of some sort of a security system. Using an outside source for security would benefit Riordan and if Riordan decides to go with an outside security company rather than having an in-house security system, this would reduce the technical help needed in order to run the security system, giving Riordan more time to concentrate on their Human Resources, ensuring employee benefit. We have touched on Riordan’s new HRIS system and security measures needed for this system and when security measures are in place the HRIS System will run smoothly. Data Base Integrity must be included in this process; the following security controls are to be recommended within the  DBMS (Data Base Management System), Identify security controls (Critical Assets) for Riordan HR system; Data Encryption, Transition Control, Backup and Recovery Protection, and the last one is most important when all other security bases are covered and Data Validation Controls are also needed for ensuring that all numeric fields are correct. During security implementation process, threats will be identified as well as any disaster recovery. To ensure that the appropriate and correct data is kept safe as well as all HR financial data, the security involvement by outside security firm will follow any security specifications that are needed for the new HR system. They will also run monthly security checkups as well as providing weekly security scans which will be done by a security team trained by outside security and will be constantly informed of any security threats and security measures. References !Trak-It Solutions. (2007). !Trak-It HR. Retrieved April 20, 2011 from http://www.hris-software.net/index.html Security Innovation Inc. (2007). Solutions for sustainable security. Retrieved April 26, 2011 from http://www.securityinnovation.com/company/index.shtml Aspetuck Systems Inc. (2007). Human resources software and payroll software solutions. Retrieved April 26, 2011 from http://www.perfectsoftware.com/

Why are Military Takeovers so Frequent in Postcolonial African Politics

For many years, the African continent has been a center for political unrest. Much of that political unrest is blamed on the extended period of European colonization that the continent was forced to endure. Because of ethnic differences, natural resources, and ineffective governments, Africa has been subject to many military takeovers in the postcolonial period. Military takeovers are not unique to Africa. Like of many similar countries, the developing countries in Africa are naturally more susceptible to coup d’Ã ©tats than their developed counterparts. The perfect storm of economic and social inequities, coupled with the inability to provide for the basic necessities of its citizens often results in a regime change through any means necessary. Military coups are typically not beneficial to the citizens, however; the combination of these factors makes the idea of regime change appealing and as a consequence the prospects of a military takeover are augmented. Unlike other regions, Africa displays an even higher rate of governmental turnover. In fact, since gaining independence, the majority of the 54 African countries have experience a military takeover. Much of the plight of Africa was determined by its colonization. Almost all of the African was under European colonization at some point. In fact, only two countries on the continent did not experience colonization, Ethiopia and Liberia. While colonization effectively ended about 50 years ago, the effects of colonization are still visible on the continent. One of the main reasons for political instability in Africa is a result of a lack of unity within nations. Traditional African society was based on tribal affiliations. The relationship between two African tribes was som... ... stable, most African governments appear to be trying to become better. In the future, African governments may be able to avoid the military interventions that hinder their development. Works Cited "Divide and Conquer, A European Legacy in Africa." ÂÂ » The Corkonian Anthropologist. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. . Jenkins, J. C., and Augustine J. Kposowa. "The Political Origins of African Military Coups: Ethnic Competition, Military Centrality, and the Struggle over the Postcolonial State." International Studies Quarterly 36.3 (1992): 271-91. Print. Johnson, Thomas H., and Robert O. Slater. "Explaining African Military Coups D'Etat, 1960-1982." The American Political Science Review 78.3 (1984): 622-40. Print. Wood, Ethel. AP Comparative Government and Politics. Reading, Penn.: Woodyard Publications, 2009. Print.

History of Music Essay

I. Introduction Music—sounds arranged into meaningful— expressive patterns. The composing and playing of music is both a science and an art. Musicology is the study of music as a field of knowledge, with emphasis on history and theory. The raw materials of any kind of music are certain characteristics of sound—pitch (highness or lowness), timbre (tone color), intensity (loudness), and duration. These raw materials are organized by means of the basic elements of rhythm (the pulse, or beat), melody (the tune), and harmony (the blending of tones). Music is often called the universal language because its meaning and appeal are largely the same for people everywhere. It has almost limitless variety. Music can express the widest range of human experience and feeling—joy, and grief, love and hate, amusement and reverence. It may be vocal or instrumental, and may be performed by soloist or by orchestra, band, or chorus. Moreover, Jazz is a form of music that developed in the United States between 1900 and 1915. The origin of the word is uncertain. The music was created originally by the American Negro, but within 40 years it was being performed and created by people of every national and racial background. By the 1940’s no phase of contemporary American music, serious as well as popular, remained untouched by jazz. Jazz bands, magazines, and festivals are found in Japan, in South America, in North Africa, and throughout Europe (O’Meally, 2002). Jazz is difficult to define, and not even jazz musicians and critics agree on a definition. It is a performer’s art, a way of playing. Jazz cannot be written down to show the precise manner in which it is played. It is most accurately preserved not in published scores but on phonograph records. This paper discusses a brief history of the development of some â€Å"mechanical† aspects of music such as musical styles, particular instruments, the recording industry, growth of jazz, etc. II. Discussion A. The Nature of jazz Rhythm. The infectious, compelling rhythms of jazz are based mainly on the 4/4 march tempo. In conventional music, the first and third beats of a four-beat measure are accented. In jazz, however, the second and fourth are accented, producing a syncopated rhythm.   Additional complex contrasting rhythms are built upon the simultaneous use of another form of syncopation in which a tone is held through a beat stringer than the one in which it began. Underlying these multiple rhythms is a regularly accented basic rhythm called â€Å"the beat,† or â€Å"swing†Ã¢â‚¬â€a pulsating, rhythmic feeling that is hard to define and cannot be represented in writing by notes (Lopes, 2002). Improvisation is the composing of music while in actual performance without previous rehearsal. It is a basic element of jazz. The improvising musician may compose a new theme, or melody, or may create new variations and patterns on an existing melody. While one member of a band develops a theme another will expand it. Each musician in the band adds something of his own and several musicians improvise on the same theme at the same time. Jazz is not entirely improvisational, however. Although jazz cannot be notated exactly, much of it is written down, or arranged.   Some passages are left unwritten for solo improvisation. This improvisation and the overall rhythmic interpretation of the music make an arranged piece into jazz (Jones, 2000). Instruments. Another characteristic of jazz is the way musical instruments are played. Brass instruments, such as the trumpet, often take on the tone colors of a singing or speaking voice. Mutes are used to give different sounds to the trumpet, trombone, and other instruments. The rhythm section of a jazz band is not limited to drums. The piano, guitar, and string bass are also used as percussive instruments (Jones, 2000). B. History of Jazz A blending of African and European musical traditions, jazz goes back many years. Revival hymns of the Western frontier, Negro work songs, and minstrel shows are among its many sources. From them came the blues and ragtime. The blues, a vocal music, developed in rural areas; ragtime, a piano music, developed in the cities. After the Civil War many blacks began playing brass-band instruments, and brass marching bands developed. Blues, ragtime, and brass-band music, by the end of the 19th century, blended into a music that today would be classified as jazz. While no one city can be called the birth-place of jazz, New Orleans was one of the most colorful centers of early jazz (Jones, 2000). New Orleans. Around 1898 a brass band led by the cornetist Buddy Bolden played what would probably be recognized as jazz. Bolden’s band, Kid Ory’s Creole Band, and others marched in parades, played for funerals, weddings, and dances, and performed while riding in advertising wagons. These early bands consisted of one or two cornets, a clarinet, a banjo, and drums. About 1910 the bands began playing in the brothels and gambling houses of the notorious Storyville section in New Orleans (Jones, 2000). Dixieland. Many white musicians, influenced by the Negro bands, organized their own bands. Jack â€Å"Papa† Laine, with his Ragtime Band and his Reliance Brass Band, was one of the first white jazzmen. The musicians in these bands read music, and all their pieces were written out. Although they could not capture the bittersweet mood of the blues, they played an orchestral type of ragtime that was later called Dixieland (Benford, 2004). The Jazz Age. In 1917, the federal government closed down Storyville. King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, and other New Orleans-born musicians went North and helped spread jazz across the country. By the early 1920’s, the center of jazz had shifted to Chicago, where it flourished in dance halls and speakeasies. Eddie Condon, Gene Krupa, and other Chicago musicians played an intense, driving variation of Dixieland that became known as â€Å"Chicago style† (Benford, 2004). During the Jazz Age, jazz bands became larger, the saxophone was added, and new jazz styles evolved. Virtuoso soloists and new jazz styles evolved. Virtuoso soloists, such as Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke, became more important as the improvised breaks grew longer. Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and other blues singers performed and recorded with jazz bands (Lopes, 2002). III. Conclusion Jazz, however, was not yet considered respectable, mainly because of the places in which it was played. The general public heard, instead of true jazz, carefully rehearsed arrangements of jazz-like pieces. Paul Whiteman, called the â€Å"King of Jazz,† was a pioneer in such music. Furthermore, modern jazz is not a single movement or school. Various schools with distinctive styles have developed (Lopes, 2002). Jazz continued undergoing many changes in the 1970’s. Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea helped popularize jazz-fusion (or jazz-rock), a style that uses electronic synthesizers and electronically amplified instruments.

Stefan’s Diaries: The Craving Chapter 8

I found Damon dancing with Hilda, ushering her around the dance floor with the lightest touch. Wherever his fingers touched she bent, curling into him a trifle more than was acceptable and falling against him more than was necessary. Other girls looked on enviously, clearly hoping to dance with him next. He pretended to devote all his attention to the poor girl, but glanced up just long enough to shoot me a dazzling smile. I waited impatiently for the dance to end, wishing I could compel the musicians to stop. But whatever Damon's powers of compulsion, mine were severely lacking thanks to my meager diet. As soon as the last beat was played, I marched up to my brother. â€Å"Oh, I'm sorry, did you want to†¦ ?† he asked, innocently, indicating Hilda. â€Å"Because I'm sure she will. If you'd like her to.† Hilda studied her dance card, the picture of confusion. â€Å"Let's go get a drink,† I said, taking him by the elbow. â€Å"Exactly what I was thinking,† he agreed, mock-seriously. He snapped his fingers, as if at a dog. â€Å"Hilda†¦ ?† â€Å"Leave her alone,† I ordered. Damon rolled his eyes. â€Å"Fine. A waiter will do just as well.† But he allowed me to place an iron grip on his arm and guide him through the crowd, past the refreshment room, through a library and into a poorly lit study. â€Å"What the hell are you doing here?† I demanded the moment we were alone. â€Å"Trying to enjoy myself,† Damon said, throwing his hands up in mock exasperation. He dropped his accent immediately. â€Å"Did you see the spread? The salmon's from Scotland. And Adelina Patti is here, too – Father would have just died. Oh wait.† He snapped his fingers. â€Å"He did die. You murdered him, in fact.† â€Å"Only after he tried to kill us,† I pointed out, clenching my fists. â€Å"Correction: after he succeeded in shooting both of us. We're dead, brother.† Damon grinned at me. He was circling me. Casually, as if he didn't mean to, as if he was just walking around idly, making conversation while admiring the decor. It reminded me of how he'd paced the ring at the circus back in New Orleans, when Gallagher had forced him to fight the mountain lion. Damon picked up a small statuette and turned it over in his hands, but his eyes stayed locked on mine. I squared my shoulders, feeling the predator's response as he challenged my personal space. â€Å"I'm asking you again, Damon: What are you doing here?† â€Å"Same thing as you, brother. Starting a new life, far from home, and war, and tragedy, and all of those other things immigrants like us are escaping. New York is where the action is. I figured if it's good enough for my brother, it's good enough for me, too.† â€Å"So you did follow me,† I said. â€Å"How?† â€Å"You stink,† Damon said. â€Å"Don't act surprised! It's not just you. Everyone stinks. We're hunters, Stefan. About halfway up the coast, it wasn't hard to figure out where you decided to go after New Orleans. I just made sure I got here first. There isn't a train yet that can beat me on a horse. Well, several horses. A couple of them died of exhaustion. Like your poor, poor Mezzanotte.† â€Å"Why, Damon?† I said, ignoring his casual cruelty. â€Å"Why follow me here?† Damon's eyes narrowed and a flash of rage shot through them, exploding from the hidden depths of his soul. â€Å"I told you I was going to torment you for the eternity you blessed me with, Stefan. Did you think I would break my promise so quickly?† I was used to Damon's fits of pique. His anger had always been like a summer storm, quick and violent, causing damage to anyone or anything nearby – and then it was over and he was buying a round at the tavern. But this fury was new, and it was all because of me. I averted my eyes so he couldn't see the pain and guilt written there. â€Å"What do you want with Lydia? What does she have to do with anything?† â€Å"Ah, Lydia,† Damon sighed, infusing his voice with pretend longing. â€Å"Charming, isn't she? Definitely the best catch of the three sisters. Not that Margaret doesn't have her own charms, of course, but she's a bit sarcastic for my tastes, and, well, married.† He shook his head. â€Å"But then there's Bridget. Such a lively girl! Such verve!† â€Å"†¦ anyone seen Stefan?† As if on cue, we could both pick out her whining, childish soprano from four rooms away. â€Å"†¦ and such an irritating voice,† Damon finished, wincing. â€Å"First thing I would do, brother, is compel her to silence. You'd be doing the world a favor.† I clenched my jaw. â€Å"You were obviously involved with the Sutherlands long before we crossed paths here.† â€Å"Oh was I?† Damon asked. He put down the small statue he had been holding and turned it this way and that on the desk, as if deciding which way it looked best. â€Å"Poor girl was getting soaked – did she tell you the story? She loves it. For all of her pretending to be hard-nosed, she's a weak-kneed romantic as bad as the rest of them. A sudden storm out of nowhere, a dry cab for Lydia†¦ rich, rich Lydia†¦ with a sheltered upbringing and open, welcoming family.† â€Å"Oh, you are a master of subtlety. Controlling men's fates,† I said, rolling my eyes at Damon's preening. â€Å"I am a master. Who do you think left Bridget for you to find?† he demanded. He stuck his face toward my own so that our noses almost touched. â€Å"Who do you think wounded her – just enough – for poor, old, predictable Stefan to find? Stefan, who's sworn off drinking from humans, who I just knew would rescue the damsel in distress rather than finish her off.† A cold chill crept up my spine. â€Å"And then of course I compelled the entire family to welcome you and take you in,† he finished with a careless wave of his hand, as if it had been nothing. A sense of resignation and understanding flooded my body. Of course he had compelled the family. The Sutherlands' easy acceptance of me into their home had rankled me, and I should have realized earlier that something was hugely amiss. How did a man of Winfield's stature let a stranger, a vagrant, into his home, and never ask anything about his family or acquaintances? A man of his kind of wealth had to be careful about whom he allowed to get close. And Mrs. Sutherland – she was such a cautious mother, yet she allowed me to escort her and her daughter on a walk in the park. Though this was hardly the time, I couldn't help but wonder if her seeming affection for me had been true, or if it all had been due to Damon's Power. â€Å"What do you want, Damon?† I asked again. Here we were, back in the thick of it, but this time I understood just how dangerous my brother was and just how far he'd go to get revenge on me. â€Å"Nothing terrible, Stefan!† he said, grinning and stepping back, throwing his hands in the air. â€Å"But think of it! Me with Lydia wrapped around my finger. You with the adoring Bridget†¦. We'll marry the sisters and, just as you always hoped, we'll be brothers again for eternity – or at least as long as they live.† â€Å"I'm not marrying Bridget,† I blurted out. â€Å"Yes, you are,† Damon said. â€Å"No, I'm not,† I repeated. â€Å"I'm leaving New York. Tonight.† â€Å"You are staying here and marrying Bridget,† Damon said, coming to within an inch of my face, â€Å"or I will start to kill all the people in this place, one by one.† He was deadly serious, all traces of cavalier, joking, devil-may-care Damon gone. The smoldering anger was back. â€Å"You can't do that,† I growled. â€Å"Even you aren't strong enough to take down an entire ballroom.† â€Å"Oh really?† He snapped his fingers over his shoulder. A maid appeared from the next room, as if waiting for his signal. She already had a kerchief tied around her neck from where he had fed on her previously. He gestured with his chin at the window, and she gamely went over and began to unbolt the latches. â€Å"I can compel Bridget and her entire stupid entourage in there to go jump off a balcony,† Damon growled. â€Å"I don't believe you,† I said as calmly as I could. Only Lexi seemed able to control more than one person at once. And Damon wasn't nearly as old as she. â€Å"Or I can stalk them one by one and rip their throats out,† he offered instead. â€Å"It makes no difference to me.† The maid stepped up onto the sill and began to climb onto the rail. â€Å"Bastard,† I murmured, rushing over to grab the poor girl before she killed herself. â€Å"Get out of here,† I growled at her, unsure if I was compelling her or not. Suddenly she looked confused and scared, the spell broken. She bolted out of the room, sniffling. â€Å"Why?† I demanded when she had gone. â€Å"Why do you want to marry Lydia? Why is it so important that I marry her sister?† â€Å"If I have to live forever, I might as well do it in style,† Damon said, shrugging. â€Å"I'm sick of living from person to person, meal to meal, having no place to call home. When I marry Lydia, I'll be rich. A houseful of servants to attend to my every whim†¦ to feed my every need,† he leered. I wasn't sure he was just talking about blood. â€Å"Or, I could just take the money and run. Either way, I'll be a lot better off than I am now. Winfield is swimming in money.† â€Å"Why involve me?† I asked, feeling weary. â€Å"Why not just go off and do whatever it is you need to do, ruining people's lives?† â€Å"Let's just say I have my reasons.† Damon flashed me a harlequin's grin. I shook my head in exasperation. Just past the door of the study, a couple walked arm in arm through the library, in search of a quiet place to talk. Beyond them were the happy noises of the dancing throng, laughing conversations, the tap of heels on the floor. I watched distractedly, picking out Winfield's booming voice as he lectured someone on the basic tenets of capitalism. â€Å"What will you do with them?† I asked. With Damon as son-in-law, Winfield Sutherland's life expectancy had just been drastically reduced – and Lydia's as well. â€Å"Once I have their money? Pfff. I don't know,† Damon said, throwing his hand up in the air. â€Å"I hear San Francisco is fairly exciting – or maybe I'll just go and take that grand tour in Europe you'd always dreamed of.† â€Å"Damon – † I began. â€Å"Or I could just live here, like the king I do so want to be,† he continued, cutting me off. â€Å"Enjoying myself†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I had a horrible image of Damon satisfying his every carnal desire in the Sutherland household. â€Å"I won't let you do this,† I said urgently. â€Å"Why do you care?† Damon asked. â€Å"I mean, it wasn't me tearing through New Orleans†¦. What was your body count toward the end there, brother?† â€Å"I've changed,† I pointed out, looking him in the eye. â€Å"Yes, of course,† he said. â€Å"Just like that. Whatever could have†¦ oh!† He grinned. â€Å"It's Lydia, isn't it? Once again following in my footsteps, brother. Everything I have you just want. Like Katherine.† â€Å"I never loved Katherine. Not the way you did.† I was attracted to her, of course – who wouldn't have been? She was beautiful, charming, and a terrible flirt. Damon hadn't minded her dark side, and in fact seemed to appreciate it. But when I was with her under her heady spell, I just wanted to ignore her vampire side. And when the vervain cleared my thoughts I was repelled by what she was. All of my feelings, deep feelings, for her, had been the stuff of glamour. For Damon, it was all real. â€Å"And I don't love Lydia,† I said. â€Å"But that doesn't mean I want to see her – or anyone – hurt.† â€Å"Then you do exactly as I say, brother, and everyone will be fine. But if you step out of line, even once†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Damon dragged a finger across his throat. â€Å"Then their blood will be on your hands.† For a long moment, all was silent as Damon and I glared at each other. I had vowed to never harm a human again, to never allow a human to come to harm because of me. I was trapped as neatly and as permanently as if I were still a sideshow vampire at a circus, tied with vervain ropes – and Damon knew it. I heaved a sigh. â€Å"What do you want me to do?†

The Ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamian cultures essays

The Ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamian cultures essays The Ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamian cultures over a period of time illustrated correspondence within both civilizations. Both cultures resembled through influence of similar geographical features, written records, government and architecture. The Ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamian cultures are geographically influenced by location and adaptation of survival skills. Both cities are located near rivers. People lived near these rivers because the rivers provided a lot of things that made life possible like water for farming, fishing, water for building and hygiene. In the mind of the Egyptians, the Nile was the supreme fertilizer and re-newer of the land. Each September the Nile floods its valley, transforming it into a huge are of marsh or lagoon. By the end of November the water retreats, leaving behind a thin covering of fertile mud ready to be planted with crops. -A history of world societies fifth edition; pg.19. At the Nile River flooding was a blessing because when the waters retreated it left behind a layer of rich silt that made farming easy. Furthermore, both cultures made transportation from province to another accessible along the river to trade a variation of goods. The survival skills of both civilizations a llowed them to cultivate their new environments during seasonal changes. Both cultures have had similar forms of writing; the Mesopotamians used a pictograph system known as Cuneiform. Whereas, Egyptians used a method of pictographic writing called "Hieroglyphic." Symbols for ideas and determinatives were also commonly used, and helped to elaborate on and make sense of what was being written about. Through their style of writing both civilization were able to communicate as well as distinguish themselves from other cultures. The Egyptians enjoyed such prosperity that they developed writing of their own, mathematical skills, and religious beliefs that influenced the lives of ...

Average National SAT Scores for 2012

Average National SAT Scores for 2012   Over a million high-schoolers registered for the SAT  in 2012. Their average scores provide some interesting insights into this group. Whether they wanted admission to the  top public universities  or another school of their choice, see how they performed. Overall SAT Scores for 2012 The mean is the average score of every student who took the SAT from the fall of 2011 through June of 2012. Here are the mean scores for all testers by section: Overall: 1498Critical Reading: 496Mathematics: 514Writing: 488 (subscores: multiple-choice: 48.1 / essay: 7.3) See how these compare: SAT Scores for 2013 SAT Scores by Gender As is often seen, boys were better on average in the Mathematics section and they also slightly outperformed girls as a whole in the Critical Reading Section. But females outperformed them on average in the Writing section. You can compare your scores with the average for your gender. Critical Reading:  Males: 498. Females: 493Mathematics:  Males: 532. Females: 499Writing:  Males: 481. Females: 494 SAT Scores by Reported Annual Income Higher parental income is associated with a higher SAT score. This doesnt necessarily mean that wealthier families produce smarter children. But it likely has some relationship to parents sending their children to better schools and being more willing to purchase SAT prep. They may also be more willing to spend money on retakes of the examination. $0 to $20,000: 1323$20,000 to $40,000: 1398$40,000 to $60,000: 1461$60,000 to $80,000: 1503$80,000 to $100,000: 1545$100,000 to $120,000: 1580$120,000 to $140,000: 1594$140,000 to $160,000: 1619$160,000 to $200,000: 1636$200,000 and more: 1721 SAT Scores by AP/Honors Classes It is helpful to know which courses in school tend to produce the highest SAT scores. You could guess that students who take AP courses or rigorous Honors courses are going to score higher on the SAT, but the degree to which they score better is significant. The question is which came first, the chicken or the egg? Do these students score higher due to their natural abilities, or do the courses themselves prepare students better for the SAT? Check out the stats: AP/Honors Math 1698: Mean SAT score for those enrolled in AP/Honors Math1404: Mean SAT score for those not enrolled Percentage of SAT Testers Enrolled in AP/Honors Math by Ethnicity All students: 36 percentAfrican American: 25 percentAmerican Indian: 31 percentAsian: 47 percentHispanic: 31 percentWhite: 40 percent AP/Honors English 1655: Mean SAT score for those enrolled in AP/Honors Math1404: Mean SAT score for those not enrolled Percentage of SAT Testers Enrolled in AP/Honors English by Ethnicity All students: 42 percentAfrican American: 34 percentAmerican Indian: 40 percentAsian: 44 percentHispanic: 39 percentWhite: 46 percent AP/Honors Natural Science 1698: Mean SAT score for those enrolled in AP/Honors Math1414: Mean SAT score for those not enrolled Percentage of SAT Testers Enrolled in AP/Honors Natural Science by Ethnicity All students: 35 percentAfrican American: 24 percentAmerican Indian: 28 percentAsian: 43 percentHispanic: 28 percentWhite: 38 percent 2012 SAT Scores Summary The statistics say youd have the best advantage on the SAT if you were a male of Asian ethnicity whose family who made more than $200,000 per year. You could always prepare regardless of your ethnic heritage or familial status. These statistics represent the mean but do not, of course, represent the individual. If you have nothing in common with the groups scoring the highest on the SAT, it does not mean that you cant secure a top-notch score. Start with some free SAT practice quizzes, grab some free SAT apps, and prepare yourself the best way you can.

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 62

Marketing - Essay Example I believe that the leap from use of synthetic drugs to natural supplements among many customers will make the product highly sellable. Since the drug is made from natural products, it can be taken by children and adolescents or those who have no osteoporosis for the prevention of bone problems. The product is safe for all ages and genders as well as patients with other ailments so that a large number of customers is promising. The forecast for the product is positive with people largely embracing alternative medicine because of the side-effects of many synthetic drugs. The product guarantees no similar side-effects except for allergic reactions to a limited number of products. Since some of the ingredients are from animal products, the possibility of allergic reactions should be considered but not seriously because the drug has more benefits than disadvantages. Therefore, some customers may not buy the product for this reason. However, the number is minimal so that there would still be more than ninety percent success for the