The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 12

â€Å"It's going to be a lovely day – perfect for a picnic,† Meredith observed calmly. Bonnie had tactful y but firmly steered Celia into Matt's car instead of Meredith's, and so Meredith was alone with Alaric – at last! – for the first time since he'd arrived. Half of her just wanted to pul off the road, grab Alaric, and kiss him and kiss him, she was so glad that he was final y here. Al through the insanity of the last few months, she'd wished that he were there to fight by her side, to depend on. But the other half of her wanted to pul off the road, grab Alaric, and demand that he explain to her exactly what his relationship was with Dr. Celia Connor. Instead, here she was, driving placidly, hands at ten and two on the steering wheel, making smal talk about the weather. She felt like a coward, and Meredith Suarez was no coward. But what could she say? What if she was just paranoid, and making a ridiculous fuss about a strictly professional relationship? She glanced at Alaric out of the corner of her eye. â€Å"So†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she said. â€Å"Tel me more about your research in Japan.† Alaric ran his hands through his already tousled hair and grinned at her. â€Å"The trip was fascinating,† he said. â€Å"Celia's so intel igent and experienced. She just puts together al these clues about a civilization. It was a real eye-opener for me to watch her decipher so much from the evidence in the graves there. I never knew much about forensic anthropology before, but she was able to reconstruct an amazing amount about the culture of Unmei no Shima.† â€Å"Sounds like she's simply amazing,† Meredith said, hearing the acid in her tone. Apparently Alaric didn't notice it. He smiled a little. â€Å"It took quite a while for her to take my paranormal research seriously,† he said rueful y. â€Å"Parapsychology isn't particularly wel regarded by the experts in other scientific disciplines. They think people like me who choose to spend their lives studying the supernatural are charlatans, or naive. Or a little crazy.† Meredith made herself speak pleasantly. â€Å"You were able to convince her at last, though? That's good.† â€Å"Sort of,† Alaric answered. â€Å"We got to be friends, anyway, so she stopped thinking I was a complete fraud. I think she's found it al a lot more believable after the one day she's spent here, though.† He gave a wry smile. â€Å"She tried to hide it, but she was blown away yesterday when Stefan saved her. The existence of a vampire makes it clear that there's a lot conventional science knows nothing about. I'm sure she'l want to examine Stefan if he'l let her.† â€Å"I would imagine so,† said Meredith dryly, resisting the urge to ask Alaric why he thought Stefan would cooperate when he had seemed so displeased that Alaric had told Celia about him. Alaric slid a hand across the car seat until he was close enough to run a finger gently along Meredith's arm. â€Å"I learned a lot while I was gone,† he said earnestly, â€Å"but I'm real y more concerned about what's going on right now in Fel ‘s Church.† â€Å"You mean this dark magic that is supposedly rising here?† Meredith asked. â€Å"I mean the dark magic that seems to be targeting you and Celia,† Alaric said forceful y. â€Å"I'm not sure either of you is taking it seriously enough.† Me and Celia, thought Meredith. He's just as worried about her as he is about me. Maybe more. â€Å"I know we've faced danger in the past, but I feel responsible for Celia,† Alaric went on. â€Å"I brought her here, and I'd never be able to forgive myself if something happened to her.† Definitely more, Meredith thought bitterly, and shrugged off Alaric's hand. She instantly regretted the motion. What was the matter with her? This wasn't who she was. She'd always been the calm, rational one. Now here she was feeling like, wel , like a jealous girlfriend. â€Å"And now it's threatening you, too,† Alaric went on. He tentatively touched her knee, and this time Meredith let his hand stay. â€Å"Meredith, I know how strong you are. But it's terrifying to me that this doesn't seem to be the kind of enemy we're used to. How can we fight what we can't even see?† â€Å"Al we can do is be vigilant,† Meredith said. Her training had been comprehensive, but even she didn't understand this new evil. Yet she knew how to protect herself much better than Alaric realized. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His window was open a crack, and the breeze ruffled his sandy hair. They knew each other so wel , yet he stil didn't know her biggest secret. For a moment she considered tel ing him, but then he turned to her and said, â€Å"Celia's putting on a brave face, but I can tel she's scared. She's not as tough as you are.† Meredith stiffened. No, this wasn't the right time to tel Alaric that she was a hunter-slayer. Not when she was driving. Not when she was this angry. Suddenly his hand felt heavy and clammy on her knee, but she knew she couldn't push it off again without betraying her feelings. Inside, though, she was raging at how the conversation kept coming back to Celia. Alaric had thought of her first. And even when he was talking about the danger to Meredith, he couched it in terms of what had happened to Celia. Alaric's voice became a buzz in the background as Meredith clutched the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles whitened. Real y, why was she surprised that Alaric had feelings for Celia? Meredith wasn't blind. She could be objective. Celia was smart, accomplished, beautiful. Celia and Alaric were in the same place in their lives. Meredith hadn't even started col ege yet. She was attractive – she knew that – and certainly intel igent. But Celia was al that and more: She was Alaric's equal in a way Meredith couldn't be just yet. Sure, Meredith was a vampire hunter. But Alaric didn't know that. And when he did know, would he admire her strength? Or would he turn away from her, scared of her abilities, and toward someone more academic, like Celia? A black bubble of misery fil ed Meredith's chest. â€Å"I'm beginning to think I should take Celia away from here if I can get her to leave.† Alaric sounded reluctant, but Meredith could hardly hear him. She felt as cold as if she were being enveloped in a fog. â€Å"Maybe I should get her back to Boston. I think you should leave Fel ‘s Church, too, Meredith, if you can convince your family to let you go away for the rest of the summer. You could come with us, or maybe there's a relative you could stay with if your family wouldn't like that. I'm worried that you aren't safe here.† â€Å"Nothing's happened to me yet,† said Meredith, surprised by the calm of her own voice, when such dark emotions were boiling inside her. â€Å"And I have a responsibility to be here and protect the town. If you think Celia wil be safer away from here, do what you and she think is best. But you know there's no guarantee that whatever's threatening us won't fol ow her somewhere else. And at least here there are people who believe in the danger. â€Å"Besides,† she added thoughtful y, â€Å"the threat to Celia may be over. Maybe once the attack is averted, it moves on to someone else. My name didn't appear until after Stefan saved Celia. If so, then the danger is only to me.† Not that you care, she thought viciously, and was surprised at herself. Of course Alaric cared. It was just that he seemed to care about what happened to Celia more. Her fingernails cut into her palms around the steering wheel as she careful y fol owed Stefan's car off the road and toward the parking lot for Hot Springs. â€Å"Stop!† Alaric shouted, panic in his voice, and Meredith automatical y slammed on the brakes. The car squealed to a halt. â€Å"What?† Meredith gasped. â€Å"What is it?† And then she saw her. Dr. Celia Connor had gotten out of Matt's car to cross to the path up to the springs. Meredith had come speeding right toward her. Only inches from Meredith's front bumper, Celia was frozen, her pretty face gray with fear, her mouth a perfect O. One more second, and Meredith would have kil ed her.

Competency to Stand Trial in the United States Research Paper

Competency to Stand Trial in the United States - Research Paper Example 2). Many other cases cited these legal landmarks. Ten (10) of those cases offered by Elkins, James R. are listed in the appended Table of 10 CST Cases from 1975-2001. II. Testing for Sanity Incompetence to stand trial is not the same as insanity defense. According to the SHouse Law Group (2012), citing the following: â€Å"Penal code 1370 PC (a)(1)(A)†, and â€Å"People v. Crosier (1974) 41 Cal App 3d 712, 716†, and â€Å"Penal Code 1367(a) PC†, and â€Å"Penal Code 1367(the distinction is that insanity defense is a complete legal defense whereby the defendant will be deemed not guilty permanently, whereas CST was created to treat the defendant for a future trial after treatment and can still be convicted for a criminal offense. It also matters to know that insanity defense is the condition of a defendant being insane at the time of the commission of the crime, whereas CST is during the trial. According to People v. Crosier (1974), the insanity defense depends o n (in California courts) the results of the â€Å"M Naghton Test† which considers the answers to two questions, namely, â€Å"†¦first, did the defendant have sufficient mental capacity to know and understand what he was doing, and second, did he know and understand that it was wrong and a violation of the rights of another?† III. How CST Was Established Pirelli, Gianni; Gottdiener, William H.; and Zapf, Patricia A.(2011, p.2) traced that people in USA have been enjoying the constitutional â€Å"right to be competent to stand trial† since the early 19th century. In a review of 68 cases from 1967 to 2008, incompetent and competent defendants were compared and analyzed. Their findings showed: (1) there was 8 times the number of defendants found to be with psychotic disorder among those found incompetent. (2) Unemployed defendants deemed incompetent to be tried in court were twice the number among those incompetent. (3) Those previously hospitalized due to psyc hiatric disease were twice the number of those without record of hospitalization for the same purpose among the defendants found incompetent for trial. The US Supreme Court (1960, p. 402) defines competence as the â€Å"ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding – and whether he has a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him† aside from knowing the time, place, and having some recollections. The National Judicial College (NJC,2012) has an online list of SC decisions pertaining to the issue of Mental Competency since 1960 to 2008. These cases serve as precedents used as landmarks decisions for new cases with similar issues. Such rulings should never be negated in the course of history without any sound basis for doing so, since they are models of sound judgement in a civilized society. IV. Mental Illness and Criminal Behavior Since mental illness is commonly used as a defence, the apprehension wi ll normally be about the development of a trend that can acquit most criminals. How then does the court assure the public that this cannot happen? CST should not prejudice criminal complaints against defendants because the law presumes â€Å"competence to stand trial† (Elkins, J.R. 2011, par.5). It will take some facts for the defendant’s lawyer to question his client’

Labor Unions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Labor Unions - Essay Example Moreover there was a special department in the US Department of Labor, which took stock of strikes. Now labor unions comprise only 12 % of Americans, and only 8 % of those 12 % are the employees occupied in private sector. The main reason is a shift, which took place in the relationship between employers and workers. For centuries labor unions struggled for good conditions for employees. In contemporary world employees are in competition with each other in order to get a better job. American corporations long ago realized that it is more efficient to hire purposeful, responsible, and interested in their job people. Accordingly people, who get a job today, automatically receive all those privileges labor unions for had struggled for. Moreover, many corporations give their workers a possibility to become co-owners, offering them an opportunity to get low price stocks of the own enterprises. Thereby membership in labor unions for many Americans became senseless. As a matter of fact labor unions cannot find their place in the new system of labor relationship. In the course of time fundamental economic changes had happened in the country. The traditional heavy industry, a stronghold of labor unions, gradually becomes the thing of the past. According to Turner, 'if unions can not hold their own and adapt to changing circumstances in the core industrial work force, the traditional bastion of labor strength, it is difficult to imagine that national prospects for unions elsewhere can be promising1'. Labor unions also have not been taken in the extremely developing industry of high technologies, and have not been widely accepted in the services sphere. So we can agree with the statement of Robert Baldwin, who claims that one of the factors that contributes to weakling of labor unions is 'unskilled labor-displacing nature of new technology, including outsourcing2'.Notwithstanding it is wrong to say, that labor unions are doomed. One can hardly find an example of a democratic society, which does not have labor unions in its structure. American labor unions now are trying to take their own place in the new national economy. John Sweeney, the President of American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations, claimed that Georges Bush's administration carries out the worst labor unions policy in modern history. He stated that 'in the face of the most anti-worker Administration in decades, America's workers are struggling to get a leg up in this economy - - and many are trying to form unions3' Let us consider the example of Northwest Airlines. In 2005 for the first time almost for a quarter of a century in the main headings in the American press there was a word "strike". The company urged on by the competition with inexpensive young airline companies, wishing to save 176 million dollars, wanted to dismiss a part of the personnel. There have been almost 4,5 thousand workers of Northwest Airlines striking. By the threat of flights cancellation employees have been trying to achieve the fulfillment of the term of the contract by the leadership of the company the work in. However management has fought labor union back. It had prepared the replacement of striking employees in advance and has declared that the company would continue to carry out all the planned flights. The labor union of aircraft mechanics has not made concessions to the company. Negotiations have been

Nursing and health care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nursing and health care - Essay Example angles. The American Thoracic Society Quality of Life Resource defines it to be an individual's ability to perform normal daily activities to meet basic needs to fulfill usual domestic and social roles (Leidy, N.K., 1994) and maintain health and well-being appropriate for age that subsumes into functional capacity and functional performance (Wilson, I.B., Cleary, P.D., 1995).Functional Performance: Functional performance, hence, is related to physical activities of daily living, simply assessed by self-report. Functional status can be influenced by biological and physiological impairment, symptoms, mood, and other factors like socioeconomic parameters. It is likely to be modified by the patient's health perceptions, for example, a person who thinks himself ill will have a poor functional status as measured by performance. Functional status is an aspect of health, and it is, in turn an aspect of useful, active life, and that becomes a problematic area in the elderly or geriatric age group.WONCA: In the perception of the World Organization of General Practice and Family Physicians (WONCA), it represents actual performance level or capacity to perform both in the sense of self-care or being able to fulfill a task or role at a given moment during a given period. The WONCA classification committee defines function as the ability of an individual to cope with and adapt to the changing elements in his or her individual environment and to perform certain tasks, like grooming, transferring, ambulating, bathing, and dressing to a measurable degree (WONCA Classification Committee, 1990).CICD: The Center to Improve Care of the Dying simply expresses this concept to be the...Laviolette, Melissa A. Bernstein, David Kaliton, Carmen Castaneda, Charles T. Pu, Jeffrey M. Hausdorff, Roger A. Fielding and Maria A. Fiatarone Singh,, Association of Muscle Power With Functional Status in Community-Dwelling Elderly Women, The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 55:M192-M199 (2000). Tomonari OKADA, Toshiyuki NAKAO (1998), Physical Functional Status And Factors Contributing To Disability In Japanese Chronic Dialysis Patients, Nephrology 4 (3), 195-203, doi:10.1046/j.1440-1797.1998.d01-27.x Valderrama, E., Gama, J Damian, J Perez del Molino, M Lopez, M Perez, and F Iglesias, Short Report. Association Of Individual Activities Of Daily Living With Self-Rated Health In Older People, Age Ageing, May 2000; 29: 267 - 270.

Economics of the UAE Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Economics of the UAE - Research Paper Example According to the estimation made in July’2012, the total population of the nation stood at 5,314,317. The majority of the population belonging to the UAE has been viewed to be the Muslims, apart from other religious groupings such as Hindus and Sikhs. The currency of the country has been recognized to be Emirati Dirham and Arabic is regarded as its official language. Apart from Arabic language, the other languages that prevail in the UAE include English, Urdu, Persian and Hindi. Most importantly, the country emphasizes upon educating both men along with women and is making considerable investments in this particular sector. The UAE government is a federal one that is structured with specified legal powers (The Cultural Division of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, â€Å"UAE Facts in Brief†). The UAE possess an open sort of economy bearing a high ‘per capita income’ along with a large yearly trade surplus. The country has undergone a deep transformation from the region of arid desert to a modern state since the detection of oil in the country. With this detection, the living standards of people of the UAE had raised by a significant level. It has been viewed that the government of the UAE has enlarged its spending in two significant arenas that include infrastructure development and job creation with the intention of enhancing the economy of the country at large. The various decisive factors such as the worldwide financial crisis, deflated prices of the assets and the tight international credit contributed in constricting the economy of the UAE in the year 2009. The different industries that prevail in the UAE which comprise petrochemicals, transport, real estate, pharmaceuticals, cement, aluminum and ceramics among others considerably affect the economy of the country by a greater extent. With regard to assess the economic condition of the UAE, it has been observed

Unit 2 individual project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Unit 2 individual project - Essay Example Intellectual Union can apply these methods to understand the contribution of their human resources in relation to the productivity of the organization (Alexander, 2008). Apparently, organizations are often made up of workforce of different ages and sex or gender. Therefore, the American Intellectual Union can use the quantitative method and analysis to determine the contribution of its workforce including job satisfaction, gender, or age to analyze the success or production of the firm. In this particular study, it is apparent that the variables involved in the study are the gender of the workforce, age bracket of the workforce, and productivity of the company (Alexander, 2008). Before determining the productivity per gender or age, it is vital to determine the distribution by gender in the organization. Determination of distribution by gender is the quantitative aspect of the study that tries to determine the composition of gender that in turn determines production per department or unit (Alexander, Vol. IV, 2008). Cases where the distribution is fairly the same, the distribution will be considered even in that, there will be nearly the same number of women as men within the targeted area of study. The study has also opted to determine â€Å"tenure with the company† distributing by gender. This aspect of the survey aims at seeking the ratio of women to men per company’s production unit. In other words, in this concern, the company is seeking that, for instance, if it moves to a department, what will be most probable ratio of men to women in relation per departments. The outcome of the survey under this variable will be useful to determine the production per unit in relation to the gender distribution in such units (Alexander, 2008). In other words, the management will determine which ratios of men to women or women to men are productive; therefore, it may opt to work with ratios that are relatively productive by redistributing worker to form gender ratios

Interpreting a Factor Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interpreting a Factor Analysis - Essay Example This low education affects their ability to either secure any or a well-paying job (Vijayakumar, 2013). Furthermore, the younger generations have lower job skills and work experience compared to the older persons. Due to their limited access to work/ well paying work, young people are more prone to poverty and, consequently, higher financial dependency (Gupta, 2007). These two studies successfully demonstrate that there is a relationship between age and dependency – the higher the age, the lower the level of dependency. Based on these findings, I seek to investigate whether this hypothetical relationship between age and financial dependency is valid for the data at hand. The following hypothesis is investigated: That implies that, for this study, higher levels of dependency are expected to correspond to lower ages. A bivariate correlation analysis was run in the SPSS using the computed value for â€Å"dependency† and age. The test was run at the 5% level of significance. The findings are contained in the following section. The average ages of the 1146 participants is 32.4 years (Std. dev. = 11.25), while the average dependency score is 14.25 (Std. dev. = 4.56). The correlation between the ages of participants and dependency is -0.107 (p The findings of this study fall in line with the findings of both Gupta (2007) and Vijavakumar (2013) which established the existence of significant correlations between the ages and dependency levels of participants. This confirms validity of the â€Å"dependency† scale. Since the relationship between age and dependency is inverse (negative correlation coefficient), and having confirmed the validity of the dependency scale, we conclude that the older generations have relatively lower levels of financial dependency, while the younger individuals have relatively higher levels of financial