Concealed Weapons :: essays research papers

Concealed Weapons, Concealed Risk Do you feel safer sitting next to someone carrying a gun? / Many people say no to that question,/ for many valid reasons. Carrying Concealed weapons have nothing to do with your dad or uncle owning many firearms. / This issue relates solely on allowing individuals to carry these weapons/ almost anywhere in the community:/ including football games,/ restaurants,/ stores,/school buildings/ and other many other places where firearms should strictly be prohibited./ There are 7 states in the nation including Missouri/ that does not let any private citizens carry these weapons. Most people who have permits to carry concealed weapons in their proper states are people who are not law enforcement officials/and have limited training and undergo less testing than even the most basic police recruit./ Even law-abiding citizens/ with the best intentions/ do not know how hard it is to use a gun in successful self-defense. Even highly trained police officers often lose control of their weapons; /acc ording to the National Institute of Justice/ an average of 16% of police officers killed in the line of fire/ are killed by a fellow officers bullet. Yet, they are lead to believe/ that if given a dangerous situation/ they will use the weapon with the proper safety and care that law enforcers will. You cannot ignore the fact that out of the thirty-four thousand and forty firearm deaths in 1998,/ only 212 were justifiable homicides out of self defense /by private citizens with firearms. The gun lobby claims that only law-abiding citizens get permits/. According to statistics this is false./ A recent study done by the Violence Policy Center/ demonstrated that in the first six months on 1997, /the weapon related offense rate among Texas concealed weapon license holders/ were more than twice as high as that general population of Texas. / We know that concealed weapon holders are committing crimes/ as a matter of fact/ 946 crimes were committed by Texan Concealed Weapon holders/ in the f irst 6 months of 1997. The full story on this has not yet been told because the Gun Lobby prohibits public accessibility to the lists of concealed weapon permit holders. (www.handguncontrol.com/facts) The carrying of concealed weapons were prohibited/ or severely limited in most states/ prior to the mid-1990s./ Then here comes the National Rifle Association,/ pleading that ordinary people carrying hidden handguns will reduce the nation’s crime rate./ Their first year of this new campaign they were fairly successful,/ and many states changed their laws to allow the widespread carrying of concealed weapons.

The Vampire Diaries: The Fury Chapter Fourteen

White owl†¦ hunting bird†¦ hunter†¦ tiger. Playing with you like a cat with a mouse. Like a cat†¦ a great cat†¦ a kitten. A white kitten. Death is in the house. And the kitten, the kitten had run from Damon. Not out of fear, but out of the fear of being discovered. Like when it had stood on Margaret's chest and wailed at the sight of Elena outside the window. Elena moaned and almost surfaced from unconsciousness, but the gray fog dragged her back under before she could open her eyes. Her thoughts seethed around her again. Poisoned love†¦ Stefan, it hated you before it hated Elena†¦ White and gold†¦ something white†¦ something white under the tree†¦ This time, when she struggled to open her eyes, she succeeded. And even before she could focus in the dim and shifting light, she knew. She finally knew. The figure in the trailing white dress turned from the candle she was lighting, and Elena saw what might have been her own face on its shoulders. But it was a subtly distorted face, pale and beautiful as an ice sculpture, but wrong. It was like the endless reflections of herself Elena had seen in her dream of the hall of mirrors. Twisted and hungry, and mocking. â€Å"Hello, Katherine,† she whispered. Katherine smiled, a sly and predatory smile. â€Å"You're not as stupid as I thought,† she said. Her voice was light and sweet-silvery, Elena thought. Like her eyelashes. There were silvery lights in her dress when she moved, too. But her hair was gold, almost as pale a gold as Elena's own. Her eyes were like the kitten's eyes: round and jewel blue. At her throat she wore a necklace with a stone of the same vivid color. Elena's own throat was sore, as if she had been screaming. It felt dry as well. When she turned her head slowly to the side, even that little motion hurt. Stefan was beside her, slumped forward, bound by his arms to the wrought-iron pickets of the gate. His head sagged against his chest, but what she could see of his face was deathly white. His throat was torn, and blood had dripped onto his collar and dried. Elena turned back to Katherine so quickly that her head spun. â€Å"Why? Why did you do that?† Katherine smiled, showing pointed white teeth. â€Å"Because I love him,† she said in a childish singsong. â€Å"Don't you love him, too?† It was only then that Elena fully realized why she couldn't move, and why her arms hurt. She was tied up like Stefan, lashed securely to the closed gate. A painful turning of her head to the other side revealed Damon. â€Å"Which one do you like better?† Katherine asked, in an intimate, confiding tone. â€Å"You can tell me. Which one do you think is best?† Elena looked at her, sickened. â€Å"Katherine,† she whispered. â€Å"Please. Please listen to me†¦ â€Å"Tell me. Go on.† Those jewel blue eyes filled Elena's vision as Katherine leaned in close, her lips almost touching Elena's. â€Å"I think they're both fun. Do you like fun, Elena?† Revolted, Elena shut her eyes and turned her face away. If only her head would stop spinning. Katherine stepped back with a clear laugh. â€Å"I know, it's so hard to choose.† She did a little pirouette, and Elena saw that what she had vaguely taken for the train to Katherine's dress was Katherine's hair. It flowed like molten gold down her back to spill over the floor, trailing behind her. â€Å"It all depends on your taste,† Katherine continued, doing a few graceful dance steps and ending up in front of Damon. She looked over at Elena impishly. â€Å"But then I have such a sweet tooth.† She grasped Damon by the hair, and, yanking his head up, sank her teeth into his neck. â€Å"No! Don't do that; don't hurt him any more†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena tried to surge forward, but she was tied too tightly. The gate was solid iron, set in stone, and the ropes were sturdy. Katherine was making animal sounds, gnawing and chewing at the flesh, and Damon moaned even in unconsciousness. Elena saw his body jerk reflexively with pain. â€Å"Please stop; oh, please stop-â€Å" Katherine lifted her head. Blood was running down her chin. â€Å"But I'm hungry and he's so good,† she said. She reared back and struck again, and Damon's body spasmed. Elena cried out. I was like that, she thought. In the beginning, that first night in the woods, I was like that. I hurt Stefan like that, I wanted to kill him†¦ Darkness swept up around her, and she gave in to it gratefully. Alaric's car skewed on a patch of ice as it reached the school, and Meredith almost ran into it. She and Matt jumped out of her car, leaving the doors open. Ahead, Alaric and Bonnie did the same. â€Å"What about the rest of the town?† Meredith shouted, running toward them. The wind was rising, and her face burned with frost. â€Å"Just Elena's family-Aunt Judith and Margaret,† Bonnie cried. Her voice was shrill and frightened, but there was a look of concentration in her eyes. She leaned her head back as if trying to remember something, and said, â€Å"Yes, that's it. They're the other ones the dogs will be after. Make them go somewhere-like the cellar. Keep them there!† â€Å"I'll do it. You three take the dance!† Bonnie turned to run after Alaric. Meredith raced back to her car. â€Å"Go back in! Get everybody inside and shut the doors!† he yelled at the sheriff's officers. But there wasn't time. He reached the cafeteria just as the first lurking shape in the darkness did. One officer went down without a sound or a chance to fire his gun. Another was quicker, and a gunshot rang out, amplified by the concrete courtyard. Students screamed and began to run away from it, into the parking lot. Alaric went after them, yelling, trying to herd them back. Other shapes came out of the darkness, from between parked cars, from all sides. Panic ensued. Alaric kept shouting, kept trying to gather the terrified students toward the building. Out here they were easy prey. In the courtyard, Bonnie turned to Matt. â€Å"We need fire!† she said. Matt darted into the cafeteria and came out with a box half-full of dance programs. He threw it to the ground, groping in his pockets for one of the matches they'd used to light the candle before. The paper caught and burned brightly. It formed an island of safety. Matt continued to wave people into the cafeteria doors behind it. Bonnie plunged inside, to find a scene just as riotous as outside. She looked around for someone in authority but couldn't see any adults, only panicked kids. Then the red and green crepe paper decorations caught her eye. The noise was thunderous; even a shout couldn't be heard in here. Struggling past the people trying to get out, she made it to the far side of the room. Caroline was there, looking pale without her summer tan, and wearing the snow queen tiara. Bonnie towed her to the microphone. â€Å"You're good at talking. Tell them to get inside and stay in! Tell them to start taking down the decorations. We need anything that'll burn-wood chairs, stuff in garbage cans, anything. Tell them it's our only chance!† She added, as Caroline stared at her, frightened and uncomprehending: â€Å"You've got the crown on now-so do something with it!† She didn't wait to see Caroline obey. She plunged again into the furor of the room. A moment later she heard Caroline's voice, first hesitant and then urgent, on the loudspeakers. It was dead quiet when Elena opened her eyes again. At the hoarse whisper, she tried to focus and found herself looking into pain-filled green eyes. â€Å"Stefan,† she said. She leaned toward him yearningly, wishing she could move. It didn't make sense, but she felt that if they could only hold each other it wouldn't be so bad. There was a childish laugh. Elena didn't turn toward it, but Stefan did. Elena saw his reaction, saw the sequence of expressions passing across his face almost too quickly to identify. Blank shock, disbelief, dawning joy-and then horror. A horror that finally turned his eyes blind and opaque. â€Å"Katherine,† he said. â€Å"But that's impossible. It can't be. You're dead†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Stefan†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena said, but he didn't respond. Katherine put a hand in front of her mouth and giggled behind it. â€Å"You wake up, too,† she said, looking on the other side of Elena. Elena felt a surge of Power. After a moment Damon's head lifted slowly, and he blinked. There was no astonishment in his face. He leaned his head back, eyes wearily narrowed, and looked for a minute or so at his captor. Then he smiled, a faint and painful smile, but recognizable. â€Å"Our sweet little white kitten,† he whispered. â€Å"I should have known.† â€Å"You didn't know, though, did you?† Katherine said, as eager as a child playing a game. â€Å"Even you didn't guess. I fooled everyone.† She laughed again. â€Å"It was so much fun, watching you while you were watching Stefan, and neither of you knew I was there. I even scratched you once!† Hooking her fingers into claws, she mimicked a kitten's slash. â€Å"At Elena's house. Yes, I remember,† Damon said slowly. He didn't seem so much angry as vaguely, whimsically amused. â€Å"Well, you're certainly a hunter. The lady and the tiger, as it were.† â€Å"And I put Stefan in that well,† Katherine bragged. â€Å"I saw you two fighting; I liked that. I followed Stefan to the edge of the woods, and then-† She clapped her cupped hands together, like someone catching a moth. Opening them slowly, she peered down into them as if she really had something there, and giggled secretly. â€Å"I was going to keep him to play with,† she confided. Then her lower lip thrust out and she looked at Elena balefully. â€Å"But you took him. That was mean, Elena. You shouldn't have done that.† The dreadful childish slyness was gone from her face, and for a moment Elena glimpsed the searing hatred of a woman. â€Å"Greedy girls get punished,† Katherine said, moving toward her, â€Å"and you're a greedy girl.† Distracted, Katherine stepped back. She looked surprised, then flattered. â€Å"Well-if you really want me to,† she said. She hugged her elbows with her hands and pirouetted again, her golden hair twisting on the floor. â€Å"No,† she said gleefully, turning back and pointing at them. â€Å"You guess. You guess and I'll tell you ‘right' or ‘wrong.' Go on! Elena swallowed, casting a covert glance at Stefan. She didn't see the point of stalling Katherine; it was all going to come out the same in the end. But some instinct told her to hang on to life as long as she could. â€Å"You attacked Vickie,† she said, carefully. Her own voice sounded winded to her ears, but she was positive now. â€Å"The girl in the ruined church that night.† â€Å"Good! Yes,† Katherine cried. She made another kitten swipe with clawed fingers. â€Å"Well, after all, she was in my church,† she added reasonably. â€Å"And what she and that boy were doing-well! You don't do that in church. So, I scratched her!† Katherine drew out the word, demonstrating, like somebody telling a story to a young child. â€Å"And†¦ I licked the blood up!† She licked pale pink lips with her tongue. Then she pointed at Stefan. â€Å"Next guess!† â€Å"You've been hounding her ever since,† Stefan said. He wasn't playing the game; he was making a sickened observation. â€Å"Yes, we're done with that! Go on to something else,† Katherine said sharply. But then she fiddled with the buttons at the neck of her dress, her fingers twinkling. And Elena thought of Vickie, with her startled-fawn eyes, undressing in the cafeteria in front of everyone. â€Å"I made her do silly things.† Katherine laughed. â€Å"She was fun to play with.† Elena's arms were numb and cramped. She realized that she was reflexively straining against the ropes, so offended by Katherine's words that she couldn't hold still. She made herself stop, trying instead to lean back and get a little feeling into her deadened hands. What she was going to do if she got free she didn't know, but she had to try. â€Å"Next guess,† Katherine was saying dangerously. â€Å"Why do you say it's your church?† Damon asked. His voice was still distantly amused, as if none of this affected him at all. â€Å"What about Honoria Fell?† â€Å"Oh, that old spook!† Katherine said maliciously. She peered around behind Elena, her mouth pursed, her eyes glaring. Elena realized for the first time that they were facing the entrance to the crypt, with the ransacked tomb behind them. Maybe Honoria would help them†¦ But then she remembered that quiet, fading voice. This is the only help I can give you. And she knew that no further aid would come. As if she'd read Elena's thoughts, Katherine was saying, â€Å"She can't do anything. She's just a pack of old bones.† The graceful hands made gestures as if Katherine were breaking those bones. â€Å"All she can do is talk, and lots of times I stopped you from hearing her.† Katherine's expression was dark again, and Elena felt an acid twinge of fear. â€Å"Yes! That was funny. You all came running out of the house and started moaning and crying†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Katherine evoked the scene in pantomime: the little dog lying in front of Bonnie's house, the girls rushing out to find his body. â€Å"He tasted bad, but it was worth it. I followed Damon there when he was a crow. I used to follow him a lot. If I wanted I could have grabbed that crow, and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She made a sharp wringing motion. Bonnie's dream, thought Elena, icy revelation sweeping over her. She didn't even realize she'd spoken aloud until she saw Stefan and Katherine looking at her. â€Å"Bonnie dreamed about you,† she whispered. â€Å"But she thought it was me. She told me that she saw me standing under a tree with the wind blowing. And she was afraid of me. She said I looked different, pale but almost glowing. And a crow flew by and I grabbed it and wrung its neck.† Bile was rising in Elena's throat, and she gulped it down. â€Å"But it was you,† she said. Katherine looked delighted, as if Elena had somehow proved her point. â€Å"People dream about me a lot,† she said smugly. â€Å"Your aunt-she's dreamed about me. I tell her it was her fault you died. She thinks it's you telling her.† â€Å"Oh, God†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I wish you had died,† Katherine went on, her face turning spiteful. â€Å"You should have died. I kept you in the river long enough. But you were such a tramp, getting blood from both of them, that you came back. Oh, well.† She gave a furtive smile. â€Å"Now I can play with you longer. I lost my temper that day, because I saw Stefan had given you my ring. My ring!† Her voice rose. â€Å"Mine, that I left for them to remember me by. And he gave it to you. That was when I knew I wasn't just going to play with him. I had to kill him.† Stefan's eyes were stricken, confounded. â€Å"But I thought you were dead,† he said. â€Å"You were dead, five hundred years ago. Katherine†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh, that was the first time I fooled you,† Katherine said, but there was no glee in her tone now. It was sullen. â€Å"I arranged it all with Gudren, my maid. The two of you wouldn't accept my choice,† she burst out, looking from Stefan to Damon angrily. â€Å"I wanted us all to be happy; I loved you. I loved you both. But that wasn't good enough for you.† Katherine's face had changed again, and Elena saw in it the hurt child of five centuries ago. That must have been what Katherine looked like, then, she thought wonderingly. The wide blue eyes were actually filling with tears. â€Å"I wanted you to love each other.† Katherine went on, sounding bewildered, â€Å"but you wouldn't. And I felt awful. I thought if you thought I'd died, that you would love each other. And I knew I had to go away, anyway, before Papa started to suspect what I was. â€Å"But then†-Katherine's face twisted in grief-â€Å"you did everything all wrong. You were supposed to be sorry, and cry, and comfort each other. I did it for you. But instead you ran and got swords. Why did you do that?† It was a cry from the heart. â€Å"Why didn't you take my gift? You treated it like garbage. I told you in the note that I wanted you to be reconciled with each other. But you didn't listen and you got swords. You killed each other. Why did you do it?† Tears were slipping down Katherine's cheeks, and Stefan's face was wet, too. â€Å"We were stupid,† he said, as caught up in the memory of the past as she was. â€Å"We blamed each other for your death, and we were so stupid†¦ Katherine, listen to me. It was my fault; I was the one who attacked first. And I've been sorry-you don't know how sorry I've been ever since. You don't know how many times I've thought about it and wished there was something I could do to change it. I'd have given anything to take it back-anything. I killed my brother†¦Ã¢â‚¬  His voice cracked, and tears spilled from his eyes. Elena, her heart breaking with grief, turned helplessly to Damon and saw that he wasn't even aware of her. The look of amusement was gone, and his eyes were fixed on Stefan in utter concentration, riveted. â€Å"Katherine, please listen to me,† Stefan said shakily, regaining his voice. â€Å"We've all hurt one another enough. Please let us go now. Or keep me, if you want, but let them leave. I'm the one that's to blame. Keep me, and I'll do whatever you want†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Katherine's jewel-like eyes were liquid and impossibly blue, filled with an endless sorrow. Elena didn't dare to breathe, afraid to break the spell as the slender girl moved toward Stefan, her face softened and yearning. But then the ice inside Katherine crept out again, freezing the tears on her cheeks. â€Å"You should have thought of that a long time ago,† she said. â€Å"I might have listened to you then. I was sorry you'd killed each other at first. I ran away, without even Gudren, back to my home. But then I didn't have anything, not even a new dress, and I was hungry and cold. I might have starved if Klaus hadn't found me.† Klaus. Through her dismay, Elena remembered something Stefan had told her. Klaus was the man who'd made Katherine a vampire, the man the villagers said was evil. â€Å"Klaus taught me the truth,† Katherine said. â€Å"He showed me how the world really is. You have to be strong, and take the things you want. You have to think only of yourself. And I'm the strongest of all now. I am. You know how I got that way?† She answered the question without even waiting for them to respond. â€Å"Lives. So many lives. Humans and vampires, and they're all inside me now. I killed Klaus after a century or two. He was surprised. He didn't know how much I'd learned. â€Å"I brought you here, both of you. I put the thought in your mind, Stefan, the way you put thoughts into a human's. I guided you to this place. And then I made sure Damon followed you. Elena was here. I think she must be related to me somehow; she looks like me. I knew you'd see her and feel guilty. But you weren't supposed to fall in love with her!† The resentfulness in Katherine's voice gave way to fury again. â€Å"You weren't supposed to forget me! You weren't supposed to give her my ring!† â€Å"Katherine†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Katherine swept on. â€Å"Oh, you made me so angry. And now I'm going to make you sorry, really sorry. I know who I hate most now, and it's you, Stefan. Because I loved you best.† She seemed to regain control of herself, wiping the last traces of tears from her face and drawing herself up with exaggerated dignity. â€Å"I don't hate Damon as much,† she said. â€Å"I might even let him live.† Her eyes narrowed, and then widened with an idea. â€Å"Listen, Damon,† she said secretly. â€Å"You're not as stupid as Stefan is. You know the way things really are. I've heard you say it. I've seen things you've done.† She leaned forward. â€Å"I've been lonely since Klaus died. You could keep me company. All you have to do is say you love me best. Then after I kill them we'll go away. You can even kill the girl if you want. I'd let you. What do you think?† Oh, God, thought Elena, sickened again. Damon's eyes were on Katherine's wide blue ones; he seemed to be searching her face. And the whimsical amusement was back in his expression. Oh, God, no, Elena thought. Please, no†¦ Slowly, Damon smiled.

Essay on Edgar Allen Poe’s Fall of House of Usher

Bipolar disorder affects many people today as well as in the time of Edgar Allen Poe when it was then called melancholia. Poe was diagnosed with this disorder and it plays an integral role in his story, â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† (1839). This story is heavily influenced by this disorder or its presently associated symptoms and also describes one way that bipolar disorder can genetically affect an entire family. To fully understand a story involving this disorder, it is cardinal to know the exact definition of bipolar disorder, as well as its symptoms and previous aliases.The Oxford English Dictionary defines bipolar disorder as: â€Å"a form of mental illness characterized by one or more episodes of mania typically accompanied by one or more episodes of major depression† (Cite? ). Some terms used for what is now considered bipolar disorder include melancholia and manic depression. Melancholia is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as: â€Å"A pathologic al state of despondency; severe depression; severe endogenous depression, with loss of interest and pleasure in normal activities, disturbance of sleep and appetite, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, and thoughts of death or suicide. (Cite? ). The first person to associate melancholia and madness as two parts of the same disease was Araeteus from Cappadocia (30-90 AD) (Skeppar 8). Manic Depression is actually included as an equivalent term to bipolar disorder in the Oxford English Dictionary. (Cite? ) There are four main stages of bipolar disorder: hypomania, mania, depressed, and mixed. Hypomania and mania share similar symptoms such as racing thoughts, increased physical activity, lack of sleep and hunger, and heightened sensitivity. Hypomania also has a distinct symptom labeled as an increase in goal directed activity.The depression stage includes symptoms such as constant depression, insomnia or hypersomnia, psychomotor agitation, energy loss, trouble thinking, and indecisive ness. As expected the mixed stage has some common symptoms as the other stages and also more severe such as thoughts of death and suicidal ideations. These symptoms previously mentioned play an immense role in diagnosing the character of Roderick Usher. It is common knowledge that bipolar disorder has symptoms of mood swings both high and low which is why it is justly named.Not commonly known, however, is the link between artistry and this disorder (Jamison). The wise Aristotle is quoted as saying, â€Å"Why is it that all men who are outstanding in philosophy, poetry or the arts are melancholic? † (Jamison 51). A side note to this is evident when Jamison states: â€Å"The manic drive in its controlled form and phase is of value only if joined to ability† (Jamison 55). The artistic tendencies frequently common with bipolar syndrome help the reader to diagnose Roderick Usher in the story â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher†.It is overwhelmingly clear that throug hout Poe’s story, Roderick Usher suffers from bipolar disorder. It is clear from early on in the story that Usher is suffering not only from depression, but also from an illness in his mind as shown in his letter to the narrator: â€Å"The writer spoke of acute bodily illness — of a mental disorder which oppressed him — and of an earnest desire to see me, as his best, and indeed his only personal friend, with a view of attempting, by the cheerfulness of my society, some alleviation of his malady. † (Poe).The narrator also notices his mood swings evidenced by the different ways in which he would talk displayed by this passage: â€Å"His voice varied rapidly from a tremulous indecision (when the animal spirits seemed utterly in abeyance) to that species of energetic concision — that abrupt, weighty, unhurried, and hollow-sounding enunciation — that leaden, self-balanced and perfectly modulated guttural utterance, which may be observed in the lost drunkard, or the irreclaimable eater of opium, during the periods of his most intense excitement. † (Poe). Another way that Usher displays signs of bipolar disorder is through his artistic expression.Not only does he paint, but he also reads heavily and plays musical instruments which shown a sign of increased goal related activity. Also, Usher â€Å"suffered much from a morbid acuteness of the senses; the most insipid food was alone endurable; he could wear only garments of certain texture; the odors of all flowers were oppressive; his eyes were tortured by even a faint light; and there were but peculiar sounds, and these from stringed instruments, which did not inspire him with horror. † (Poe). This heightened sensitivity is evidence of the mania stage associated with bipolar syndrome.Also, a possible episode of mania would be the scene involving Usher’s sister coming from the dead. This could surely be seen as an hallucination and sign of a manic episode. To recap, Usher has symptoms from the hypomania, mania, and depressed stages meaning the ailment that he suffers from is not melancholia, but instead a modern case of bipolar or manic depression disorder. One reason for a character in a story having a particular disorder would be that the author has real life experience with it. Such is the case with Edgar Allen Poe and â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher†.Poe most definitely suffered from what would now be considered a form of manic-depression disorder. During his final year on Earth, he showed signs of mania, constantly relocating to various cities (Meyers 244). Also during this year, he is reported as saying to a friend named Frederic Thomas: â€Å"You will be pleased to hear that I am in better health than I ever knew myself to be- full of energy and bent on success. † (Meyers 245). This evidence of a prolonged state of mania or even hypomania as he reports having an increase in energy, goal related activated, an d seems to be experiencing delusions of grandeur.He also experienced stages of depression including binges of drinking and even hallucinations (Meyers 252). Poe also had a recorded attempt of suicide in November 1848 (Meyers 252). According to Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, â€Å"Poe was scarcely alone in suffering from both manic-depressive illness and alcohol and drug abuse† (Jamison 37). Jamison seems to have diagnosed Poe with manic-depression or bipolar disorder. From other places in Jamison’s book, Touched with Fire: Manic Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament, it’s reasonable to believe that Poe’s artistry most likely stems from his disorder allowing him to be even more creative.Perhaps Poe’s own psychological problems influenced his portrayal of Usher in this short story. As aforementioned, both Poe and his fictitious character Roderick Usher suffer from bipolar disorder. This was not by coincidence. It seems clear that Poe’s re asoning for this is to give the public a way to see inside Poe’s on diseased mind and better understand not only his works, but also himself. An author’s best ways to display his own problems are to weave them into a story as is done in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher. † One can better understand his mind through a story than with descriptions of his symptoms alone.Bipolar disorder is a hereditary disease. According to Dr. Francis J. McMahon of the National Institute of Mental Health in regards to the genetic inheritance of this disorder, â€Å"about two-thirds of the risk for bipolar disorder can be explained by genes† (â€Å"NIH†). This information is known due to twin studies: if one identicle twin has manic depression then it is a 60 to 80% likelihood that the other twin has it (â€Å"NIH’). The genetic inheritance of this disorder amongst sufferers is around 79 to 93% (Backlund 501). This means that most manic-depressive people ac quired the trait from family members instead of from environmental factors alone.The exact genes that cause bipolar disorder are not yet known but different genes have been isolated (Jamison 16). One of these possible genes could be the P2RX7 gene (Backlund 501). This gene affects the way in which dopamine is unleashed in the brain which brings about its association with the manic episodes of manic-depression (Backlund 501). The heredity of bipolar disorder plays an interesting role in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher†. Roderick Usher inherited his manic-depressive disorder in a modernly bizarre way: through inbreeding.Usher belong to a wealthy prominent family as shown by his massive, gothic style house. Many of these wealthy families practiced inbreeding in order to keep bloodlines strong and to prevent the spreading of wealth. This is shown when the narrator says â€Å"I had learned, too, the very remarkable fact, that the stem of the Usher race, all time-honored as i t was, had put forth, at no period, any enduring branch; in other words, that the entire family lay in the direct line of descent, and had always, with very trifling and very temporary variation, so lain† (Poe).This quote visibly projects an image of inbreeding as it says the family tree was essentially bare of branches. Due to the influence that genetics plays on bipolar disorder, if one person in his family had it then he is also likely to have it. A lack of genetic diversity means that many other people in his family most likely suffered from the same disorder as him. It seems likely that his sister also suffered due to the constant presence of a doctor in the house.Early on in the story, the narrator says that the family for generations had been interested in music and the sciences (Poe). When looking at this through a bipolar perspective, these interests could be a derivative of an entire family suffering from the same disorder. Another note is that the narrator says that â€Å"’House of Usher’ — an appellation which seemed to include, in the minds of the peasantry who used it, both the family and the family mansion† (Poe) Therefore, when the House of Usher crumbles at the end of the story; perhaps it is in reality the crumbling of Usher’s mind.The correlation between inbreeding in this story and bipolar disorder is strong. By knowing the way in which inbreeding affects bipolar sufferers, one can better understand the story. Also, the knowledge of Poe’s melancholia can also explain why this story may have been written: to portray this disorder in a way in which people can better understand it. A better understanding of these disorder not only helps people understand the mysterious mind of Poe, but also people they may encounter in real life.

A Case Study On Potential Correlation Between Specific Student Characteristics And Academic Dishonesty In Writing

A Case Study On Potential Correlation Between Specific Student Characteristics And Academic Dishonesty In Writing Does academic dishonesty in writing differ among various student demographic categories at Emory? The purpose of this study was to examine potential significant associations between certain student characteristics (college year, gender, GPA, credit hours, hours spent on academics and pressure felt to succeed) and their involvement in academically dishonest activities on writing assignments. The data for this analysis were obtained from a voluntary questionnaire attempted by 228 students in QTM100 during the Fall 2014 semester. However, after applying exclusion criteria, only 195 out of the 228 were included in the analysis. Any student that did not have a fully completed survey was excluded; also, any observation with improbable or impossible responses was also not considered. For example, any student listing a GPA above 4.0, enrolling in credit hours above 22 or below 12, and/or spending over 70 hours per week on academics outside of class was excluded. In the questionnaire, cheating in writing was assessed through six parts, including citing fake page numbers and sources, having someone else write the paper, purchasing the paper online, paraphrasing without acknowledging sources, directly copying words without giving credit, and borrowing ideas without crediting the original source. If a student provided an affirmative response to any of these six parts, he/she was considered a â€Å"yes† for having taken part in academic dishonesty in writing; otherwise, he/she was identified as â€Å"no† for not having participated in such activities. Two-sample t-tests were conducted for the quantitative independent variables, namely GPA, credit hours and time spent on academics. The ?2 test was used for the categorical variables (pressure, gender, grade level). The sample of 195 students studied was majority freshman (51.3%), large majority of female students (73.3%), averaged a GPA around 3.41, was enrolled between 16-17 credit hours and spent an average of almost 17 hours every week on academics outside of class. The overall sample appeared to mostly feel a fairly high amount of pressure to succeed. A statistically significant association (a = 0.05) was only found for gender, where there is strong evidence to suggest that cheating in writing differs between males and females. For the other variables, we failed to find any significant association; rather, there is no apparent difference between those that have committed academic dishonesty in writing and those that have not. By comparing the â€Å"Yes† and â€Å"No† columns for each respective independent variable except gender, it can be observed that means for GPA, credit hours, hours spent on academics, and proportions for pressure felt to succeed between the two groups are largely the same. There are several limitations to what we can infer from this analysis. First, we cannot conclude any causal relationships due to the study’s observational nature. Also, this is not a random sample, so it may not be a good representation of all Emory students. The self-reported nature of the study also means that the accuracy of the data cannot be ascertained. However, in a greater sense of the Emory student population, it can be realized that academic dishonesty in writing is not specific to certain student demographics; many people, regardless of their GPA, the amount of pressure they feel or how busy they are with academics, have been academically dishonest in writing assignments at one point or another; oddly enough, though, it appears females are far more likely to cheat in writing than males. Appendix 1: Data cleaning and recoding. There was an extensive process to remove implausible values from the data set, including the following exclusion criteria. For GPA, initially, the minimum was 1.9 and maximum was 4.2. As it is impossible to obtain a GPA above 4.0, all GPA values above 4.0 were removed. For hours spent on academics, values ranged from 3 to 109; however, since the higher end of this range is fairly unlikely, the limit for hours spent on academics outside of class was decreased to 70, which seems to be a reasonable weekly maximum, after factoring in class time and necessary living tasks. Credit hours were adjusted to only contain values between 12 and 22, since this is the acceptable range for number of credit hours enrolled to qualify as an Emory College student. The original question â€Å"On a scale of 1-10, indicate how much pressure you feel to succeed† naturally yielded quantitative results under the â€Å"pressure† variable, but these numerical values were recoded into 3 categoric al intervals of pressure levels: minimal/moderate (0-5), high (6-8) and very high (9-10). Because QTM 100 is considered an introductory college course, it was unreasonable to expect an even distribution of students between the four college years; more than half of the eligible sample consisted of freshmen (100 of 195). As a result, the categorical variable representing year in college was re-coded into a dichotomous categorical variable, with possible categories of freshman and 2nd year and above. Any observation that failed to meet the above limit criteria, or originally did not have the entire questionnaire complete, were coded as missing and excluded from the analysis. Appendix 2: Statistical analysis. *All mentions of â€Å"cheating† and â€Å"academic dishonesty† refer only to academic dishonesty in writing. â€Å"Yes† and â€Å"No† groups refer to those that have been academically dishonest in writing and those that have not, respectively. Association between college year (freshman, 2nd year and above) and academic dishonesty ?2 test of independence H0: college year and academic dishonesty are independent HA: college year is associated with academic dishonesty. ?2 = 1.45; p-value = 0.2279 At the a = 0.05 significance level, we fail to reject H0 and conclude that academic dishonesty is independent of college year, and there is no statistically significant evidence to suggest there is an association. This result is quite practically meaningful, as it appears that cheating is independent of college grade level. Association between gender (male, female) and academic dishonesty ?2 test of independence H0: academic dishonesty is independent of gender HA: gender is associated with academic dishonesty ?2 = 10.64; p-value = 0.0011. At the a = 0.05 significance level, we reject H0 and conclude that academic dishonesty is associated with gender. Specifically, there is statistically significant evidence to suggest that academic dishonesty is far more prevalent among female than male students. It is hard to say if there is any practical significance in this result, given the largely disproportionate amount of females in the sample, but the very low p-value suggests that in practice, perhaps females are far more susceptible than males to participate in academic dishonesty. Association between GPA and academic dishonesty â€Å"Yes† group: mean GPA, 3.41; standard deviation, 0.36 â€Å"No† group: mean GPA, 3.42; standard deviation, 0.40 Two-sample t-test for difference of means H0:  µYES =  µNO, HA:  µYES ?  µNO, where  µ represents true mean GPA t = 0.34; p-value = 0.7352 There appears to be no apparent difference in GPA between the two groups. Unsurprisingly, at the a = 0.05 significance level, we fail to reject H0 and conclude that academic dishonesty is independent of student GPA, and there is no statistically significant evidence to suggest an association. This result is quite practically meaningful, as it is surprising to observe that students with lower GPAs are not more susceptible to cheating. Association between number of credit hours taken and academic dishonesty â€Å"Yes† group: mean credit hours, 16.37; standard deviation, 2.17 â€Å"No† group: mean credit hours, 16.44; standard deviation, 2.12 2-sample t-test for difference of means H0:  µYES =  µNO, HA:  µYES ?  µNO, where  µ represents true mean number of credit hours taken t = 0.24, p-value = 0.8119 At the a = 0.05 significance level, we fail to reject H0 and conclude that academic dishonesty is independent of number of credit hours taken, and there is no statistically significant evidence to suggest an association. This result is quite surprising as well, as it would be expected that students with a greater course load would have less time on average to allot to individual assignments, leading to a higher amount of cheating; however, this does not appear to be the case. Association between hours spent on academics outside of class and academic dishonesty â€Å"Yes† group: mean hours spent on academics, 16.29; standard deviation, 7.18 â€Å"No† group: mean hours spent on academics, 17.19, standard deviation, 8.71 Two-sample t-test for difference of means H0:  µYES =  µNO, HA:  µYES ?  µNO, where  µ represents true mean hours spent on academics outside of class t = 0.78, p-value = 0.4336. At the a = 0.05 significance level, we fail to reject H0 and conclude that academic dishonesty is independent of number of hours spent on academics outside of class, and there is no statistically significant evidence to suggest an association. This is also surprising, as in practice, it would be expected that those that spend less time on academics tend to be more lazy and find shorter ways to get their writing assignments done. Association between pressure felt to succeed and academic dishonesty ?2 test of independence H0: academic dishonesty is independent of pressure felt HA: pressure felt is associated with academic dishonesty ?2 = 0.50, p-value = 0.7791. At the a = 0.05 significance level, we fail to reject H0 and conclude that academic dishonesty is independent of pressure felt to succeed, and there is no statistically significant evidence to suggest an association. This is quite practically meaningful, as it would be expected that those that felt a lot of pressure to succeed would be more likely to succumb to cheating, but in fact, it is those that feel little/moderate pressure that have the highest proportion of cheaters.

Land Law paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Land Law paper - Essay Example This Act, together with the Rules, regulates the role and practice of HM Land Registry (The 1925 Reforms and Unregistered Land Law, 2006). The Land Registration Act 2002 simplified and modernised the law of land registration. It also makes the register reflect a more accurate picture of a title to land. It is intended to facilitate the introduction of e-conveyancing1. This Act makes some major changes to the law regulating registered land. Specifically, it enables shorter leases to be registered, introduces voluntary land registration, changes the system of protection of third party rights and reforms and modernises the law of adverse possession or squatters' rights. The Land Registration Act has been received with much critical acclaim. It is a work of monumental importance and monumental effort. The Land Registration Act 2002 contains significant new provisions that are directed towards the goal of total registration (Gray and Gray, 2006). 1/The Land Registry e-conveyancing (2006) defined e-conveyancing as the transformation of the current paper-based conveyancing system into electronic form, using electronic documents, requisitions and signatures, meaning, paperless. The programme aims to utilise advances in technology by creating a system that reduces the delay and anxiety which can be experienced in the house buying process. According to the Land Law Legal Essays and Coursework (2005), ... On the first registration, the registrar awards a grade of title to each registered estate. In the case of freehold estates, one of the following grades of title may be awarded according to section 11 of the Act. The absolute freehold title shows there is nothing dubious about the title. The estate is vested in the proprietor and is subject only to entries on the register and overriding interests. Title does not have to be perfect. If the registrar believes that any defect will "not cause the holding under the title to be disturbed", absolute title will be given - section 9(3) of the Land Registration Act (Land Law Legal Essays and Coursework, 2005). In the possessory freehold title, there is no documentary evidence of title, for example, lost title deeds. Title depends on adverse possession. It conveys no guarantee of title at the time of registration, but subsequent problems, for example forgery of proprietor's signature, will be covered by the guarantee. It can be upgraded into absolute title after being in possession as proprietor for twelve years as mentioned in section 62(1), (4)). In the qualified freehold title, the title is subject to a fundamental defect. There is no guarantee in respect of the specified defect. It may be upgraded to absolute title if registrar is satisfied as to the title (section 62 of the Land Registration Act). On the other hand, in the case of leasehold estates, one of the following grades of title may be awarded according to section 12 of the Act. The absolute leasehold title is the same to absolute freehold except the proprietor is also subject to covenants in the lease. The good leasehold title is the same as absolute leasehold except the right of the landlord to

Fire Engineering Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9250 words

Fire Engineering - Literature review Example The study explores the role of these consultants in ensuring building design, development and sustenance for adherence to fire safety to understand the extent to which fire safety engineering solutions are important in fire engineering today. As buildings codes exist, so do the need for inspection for compliance and for adherence to fire safety which is usually overlooked by concerned administration or engineers in the respective departments. A building is a complex system with fire safety design being a part or inter-related sub-system of this complex system design. Two parameters: fire load density FLD (in MJm–2) and occupant load factor OLF are key in assessment of local fire codes in Hong Kong. A survey of private buildings in Hong Kong in February 1998 revealed that just 11 percent of the buildings were in satisfactory conditions in terms of fire safety. The survey was conducted by Fire Services Department (FSD) for provision and compliance with fire service installations and equipment (FSI) for fire prevention, detection and protection in the buildings. Incidents of fire in domestic and commercial buildings and rail and road tunnels have attracted criticism from the public as well as from other quarters and there have been constant changes in the building ordinance for fire safety to protect life and property. A framework for fire safety exists, based on which it is learnt that various countries including Hong Kong and Australia have developed a regulatory system for fire safety in buildings. The framework provides goals, objectives, performance requirements and means of compliance for building fire safety (Code of Practice for Fire Safety in Buildings, 2011). Factors determining fire safety in buildings, codes of practice for fire safety, design and performance of fire safety framework, compliance issues by segment, health and safety of building occupants and the insights into fire fighting industry in general in Hong Kong will be covered in this chapter. As buildings codes exist, so do the need for inspection for compliance and for adherence to fire safety which is usually overlooked by concerned administration or engineers in the respective departments. The role of these consultants in ensuring building design, development and sustenance for adherence to fire safety will also be explored to understand the extent to which fire safety engineering solutions are important in fire engineering today. Building occupancy Considering that Asian cities are becoming more urban with most of the population residing in high-rise buildings can be useful in studying the fire engineering solutions being employed to protect the life of the occupants and also the property. A study of the differences in structures shows that compartmentalized and non-compartmentalized structures with isomorphic and non-isomorphic floor plans can be assessed for fire safety (Livesay and Donegan, 2003, p 64.1) using different models like flame spread model, hea t transfer model, etc. (Bong, 2000). Hong Kong has a building control mechanism as shown in Figure 1 which includes design for fire safety mechanism as per codes of practice laid by two different legislative bodies, Buildings Ordinance (BO) and the Fire Services Ordinance (FSO), the compliance for which is overlooked by an Authorized Person (AP) acting as the project co-ordinator. The AP ensures that the building design, construction and management are in compliance with the BO in terms of fire engineering approach and performance (Lo et al, 2007, pp 133,134). Figure 1: Building control mechanism in Hong Kong. Source: (Lo et al, 2007, p 134). Building fire safety control mechanism takes into account the route complexity owing to the topological network of rooms and the passages that connect the rooms and floors to the exit space. Information theory and entropy are studied to formulate a mathematical model in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to evaluate the complexity of egress (or means of escape) based on route complexity. Building type comparisons are carried out by considering building plans as networks with the habitable compartments considered as the nodes of the network while the defined links between nodes or the connected passages between rooms and floors are considered as arcs or information steps. Using this information and the behaviour of fire using the different models, the egress

Gifts for Her in the Local Target shop Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gifts for Her in the Local Target shop - Essay Example Customers of the shop have an opportunity to choose any gift from the wide range of presented goods. They are arranged at shelves by category so if customer knows category he or she needs, he or she may select more gifts from this category. Also there is a website www.target.com where customer can find suitable for him or her gift in electronic catalogue. There is a Gift Finder tool at the website that helps customer to find appropriate gift by price or by category. It is possible to get to know if any definite gift available in specific local Target store. There is a Wal-Mart supermarket not far away the local Target shop where a lot of gifts is sold. Also there are a lot of small souvenir shops in this quarter and in neighbor quarter where customer also can buy gifts. The supermarket is direct competitor of the local Target shop, while small souvenir shops are indirect competitors. However, a distinguishing feature of the local Target shop is special section of gifts especially for girls and women. Wal-Mart does not have specific section of Gifts for Her, it has only Gifts and Flowers section. So Target's competitive advantage is that customer will be sure that gift he or she select is suitable for girl or women. The target audience is habitants, tourists and personnel of numerous offices from this quarter, and from neighbor quarters. Also staff and students from the university are customers of the Target shop. Target market segments Target market of the local Target shop is people from 16 to 80. The research had shown that 60% of the customers are people mostly from 16 to 35, while 25% of the customers are people mostly from 36 to 50 and 15% of the customers are people mostly from 51 to 80. Students, post-graduates, tourists and staff of nearby offices are included in the first category of the customers. Customers of the second category are tutors, habitants of the quarter, tourists and personnel of nearby companies. Pensioners and tourists are mostly included in the third category. All these customers are people, who have female friends or relatives. The first category of the customers (students, post-graduates and staff of nearby offices) are most likely to buy strong gifts from Fashion+Beauty category. Tourists and businessmen prefer gifts from Electronics category. There are also returning customers who buy gifts from Hobbies category; they are mostly pensioners and staff of the university. Advertisement Currently the local Target shop is advertising in order to reach customers or to be seen by customers through: Mass media: advertisement on the local radio station Display: location, building, signing, window/counter/shelf display, environment, decoration, printed materials One-on-one: in person, by letter, and telephone