Darwin observed several facts which contradicted his theory of natural- or survival selection The WritePass Journal

Darwin observed several facts which contradicted his theory of natural- or survival selection Introduction Darwin observed several facts which contradicted his theory of natural- or survival selection IntroductionDiscussionPhysical attractivenesCompetitivenessNurturing qualitiesSociabilityStatusConclusionRelated Introduction Darwin observed several facts which contradicted his theory of natural- or survival selection, one of which was the dazzling plumage of peacocks that appeared to have nothing to do with survival, and in fact seemed to be more of an open invitation to potential predators. The fact that peahens prefer to mate with males who have the most brilliant and luminescent plumage, and that males are often larger than females in species in which they need to engage in physical combat in competition over females, (Crawford Krebbs, 2008) lead to Darwin’s second evolutionary theory: the theory of sexual selection. Competition among members of the same species for reproductively relevant resources is the pillar of Darwin’s (1859) theory of natural selection (West-Eberhard, 1979) and he proposed two primary ways in which sexual selection could operate. Firstly, intrasexual competition; consisting of competition between members of one sex, the result of which leads to mating access with the opposite sex, and secondly, intersexual selection or preferential mate choice. Intersexual selection refers to the tendency of one sex to choose as mates certain members of the opposite sex based on specifically desired qualities. Darwin referred to intersexual selection as â€Å"female choice† because he observed that throughout the animal kingdom females were prone to be more discriminating than males in their mating choices, (Crawford, Crebs 2008). In the past several decades the evolutionary perspective on interpersonal attraction and mate selection has gained increased attention and proposes that humans are governed by rules of attraction and mate selection that prioritize the conception, birth, and survival of their offspring. (Mahfouz, et al. 2008). Intrasexual selection in humans appears to operate mostly indirectly, through social hierarchies, rather than through direct competition as can be observed in the animal kingdom, e.g. two antelopes locking horns in com bat over a female. In this way patterns of sexual selection do not immediately involve environmental changes, and neutral or even dysfunctional traits could potentially develop through female choice (Buss, 1986). This begs the important question; what are the preferred characteristics valued by human beings when it comes to mating? One of the main strategies of competition in mating is to make oneself more attractive than others of the same sex by use of specific tactics and displaying certain resources (Buss, 1988).   Trivers (1972) further illuminated Darwin’s theory of sexual selection when he suggested that the one driving force behind sexual selection is the relative parental contribution of both sexes in their offspring. Males should adopt a reproductive strategy which maximizes the opportunity to mate, and females should adopt a strategy that relies on choice, only mating once the best male out of a number has been identified. According to Buss (1986) under conditions of female choice, males are expected to display the traits most valued by females, and may compete for elevation in hierarchies while women tend to favour high-status men. Buss (1988) conducted a number of studies with the hypothesis in mind that patterns of human intrasexual competition can be predicted from knowledge of mate sele ction criteria, and examined preferences in partner choice. He found three replicated sex differences; men more than women preferred mates who were physically attractive, and women more than men preferred mates who showed good earning potential and who were college educated. Thus, it would seem that females can increase their reproductive success by choosing a man of high status with sufficient resources, thereby able to provide material security to successfully raise offspring. Males, on the other hand, increase their reproductive success by choosing women who are receptive, fertile, and possesses characteristics suggestive of being a good mother (Singh, 1993). Where as the reproductive value of a man can be easily assessed by looking at external symbols of power such as social- and economical standing, women’s reproductive value is concealed. However, from an evolutionary based perspective it is assumed that physical attractiveness is primarily a reflection of a womanâ€⠄¢s reproductive success (Buss, 1987), and is portrayed in this way by certain desired physical characteristics like full lips, clear skin, clear eyes, an abundance of hair, symmetry, good muscle tone, youth (Buss, 1993) and lower body mass (Swami and Furnham, 2007). From an evolutionary viewpoint, both sexes should have evolved a preference for mates that possess these desired qualities, increasing levels of competition to project such characteristics and ensure reproductive success. The number of options available when deciding on a mate has become potentially overwhelming in modern times. Not only are there more people in our local environment, but modern dating methods present us with more options than humans have previously had to deal with. However, research suggests that mate qualities valued by people offline are the same as those valued by people online (Lenton, et al., 2008), and that online interaction is driven by the same needs as face-to-face interaction. Thus, online interaction should not be regarded as a separate arena but as an integrated part of modern social life (Wellman Hathornthwaite, 2002). A study by Hitch et al. (2005) which looked at desirable qualities as projected on online dating sites found the most striking difference across gender to be related to earnings and education. Although both sexes show a preference for partners with higher incomes, this preferences is much more pronounced for women, as also found in Buss’ studies. It was also found that although users prefer a partner with a similar education level, men tended to have a strong dislike for a better educated partner, where as women avoided less educated men. In another study focused on the importance attached to physical attractive qualities, Hancock and Toma (2009) studied profile pictures of women on dating websites by looking at self-presentation and in particular at levels of deception in the form of the number of discrepancies as contained in photographs . They assumed that from an evolutionary perspective youthfulness and physical attractiveness would be qualities valued more by women than by men, and found that women’s photographs were indeed less accurate, with discrepancies relating to mentioned weight, hair length and age as preferred by men, and higher incidences of retouching photos. Although earlier studies focused on self-presentation on internet dating websites, researchers have recently shifted their attention to self-pr esentation in less anonymous settings like social networking sites.   A study by Ellison et al. (2006) found that people tend to act differently in social networking environments when compared to those interacting in anonymous settings. This finding had vast implications in identity formation in the online world, as it basically indicated that online self-presentation varies according to the nature of the setting. Along with dating sites, friend-networking websites like MySpace and Facebook have become very popular, and offer a highly controlled environment for self-presentational behaviour- an ideal setting for impression management (Mehdizadeh, 2010). A study by Zhao (2008) examined identity construction on Facebook, with the main hypothesis being that Facebook users would engage in what internet dating sites users engage in- the presentation of their hoped-for possible selves, defined as socially desirable identities an individual aim to construct, in this case online. They dis tinguished between implicit identity claims, which involved the display of photos and profile pictures, and explicit identity claims, involving verbal descriptions of the self under the â€Å"About me† section of facebook. However, it was found that this was the least elaborated of identity strategies and photos were mainly used for identity construction. Results were consistent with internet dating studies and the way in which a self which is more socially desirable was projected. The construction of the self online has been found to differ between the sexes because different kinds of social roles come into play during interpersonal communication (Archer, 1989). Women, unlike men, tend to place greater importance on sexual-interpersonal aspects of self-definition, and a review of gender differences in identity development revealed few gender differences, apart from in the areas of sexuality and family roles, supporting findings that relationships are more important to womenà ¢â‚¬â„¢s identity formation than to men’s (Manago, 2008). Research highlights that it is critical that social scientists don’t view Cyberspace as one generic space, but rather to consider how different spaces online are constructed (Whitty, 2007). Specific characteristics of internet communication may affect gender self-presentation, and the way in which Facebook allows users to present a very strategic presentation of their selves and to control what remains hidden and what is revealed, makes it a fascinating medium to study. The objectives of the current study was to look at the effect of gender and relationship status on the projection of reproductively valued qualities on Facebook from an evolutionary perspective. From an evolutionary viewpoint one would expect similar gender differences as was found in Buss’ studies, with women placing more of an emphasis on physical attractiveness and youth and the way this is projected on Facebook, and men projecting qualities which portray status and competitiveness. The projection of sociability was correlated with â€Å"warmth† and it was predicted that women would score significantly higher on the projection of this characteristic, with single women scoring significantly higher overall. Important to note is that the projection of these mentioned reproductively valued qualities would be of an unconscious- and implicit nature, considering that Facebook is primarily seen as a social networking website, rather than as a virtual arena designed to meet m embers of the opposite sex, as is the case with online dating websites. Both gender and relationship differences in the projection of   physical attractiveness, competitiveness, nurturing qualities, status and sociability were predicted. It was predicted that married persons, already being in a position of long term mating, would project these qualities significantly less than single persons. There were four main hypotheses: Hypothesis one: Single males will score significantly higher on projected status and -competitiveness than single females. Hypothesis two: Single females will score significantly higher on projected physical attractiveness, -nurturing qualities and -sociability than single males. Hypothesis three: Single males will score significantly higher on both projected status and -competitiveness in comparison to married males. Hypothesis four: Single females will score significantly higher on projected physical attractiveness, -nurturing qualities and -sociability than married females. Discussion Darwin’s theory of sexual selection suggests that desirable members of the opposite sex possess reproductively valuable assets over which members of the same sex compete. Gender differences typically exist when it comes to which reproductively relevant resources are valued by men and women. Females seem to increase their reproductive success by choosing a man of high status with sufficient resources, thereby able to provide material security to successfully raise offspring. Males, on the other hand, increase their reproductive success by choosing women who are receptive, fertile, and possesses characteristics suggestive of being a good mother (Singh, 1993). Research suggests that mate qualities valued by people offline are the same as those valued by people online (Lenton, et al., 2008) and studies investigating mating preferences on online dating websites display similar findings, with women going to significantly greater lengths than men to enhance physical attractiveness on    profile photos, and men emphasising their status and income to a significantly greater extend than women. The present study proposed that evolutionary differences between the sexes with regards to sexual selection should also exist in non-dating online environments like the social networking website, Facebook, with females placing more of on emphasis on projecting physical attractiveness, sociability and nurturing qualities, and males projecting competitiveness and status. Most of the hypotheses were confirmed and were consistent with other studies on mating preferences from an evolutionary viewpoint. Several conclusions can be drawn from this study. Firstly, support was found for significantly greater female than male use and perceived effectiveness of projecting physical attractiveness and nurturing qualities. Secondly, support was found that single women perceive the effectiveness of projecting physical attractiveness to a significantly greater extent than married females. T hirdly, support was found for significantly greater male than female use and perceived effectiveness of competitiveness. Fourthly, support was found that single persons perceived the use and effectiveness of projecting sociability as significantly greater than married persons. Finally, the perceived use and effectiveness of the projection of status did not vary significantly for either gender or relationship status. These findings provide evidence that mating preferences are also displayed implicitly in non-dating online environments where the main agenda is social networking, rather than attracting a mate. This implies that the projection of reproductively valued assets could also be an unconscious process, engrained in our evolutionary biological make-up. The results of this study will now be discussed in terms of each hypothesis, after which the practical implications of the study will be highlighted and   suggestions will finally be made on how future studies could utilize and expand these findings. Physical attractivenes As predicted, significant results were found for the projection of physical attractiveness for gender, with women scoring higher overall than men, and also for relationship status, with single persons scoring significantly higher than married persons. These findings provide evidence that pressure on women to appear young and attractive is just as prevalent in today’s society as it was when Darwin wrote his theory on sexual selection in 1871, noting that â€Å"In civilized life man is largely, but by no means exclusively, influenced in the choice of his wife by external appearance†, 1871. (p. 738).   The pressure to be beautiful can be most blatantly observed on dating websites where the intrasexual battle between women ensues as they compete for the attention of a potential partner, and rely solely on photos as a method to project physical characteristics, even lying about age and weight to appear more attractive (Hitsch et al., 2005). One study found that men were mo re likely to respond to an advertisement in which a woman identified herself as a recovering addict than to an ad in which the woman identified herself as obese (Minervini McAndrew, 2005). Findings of this study reveal Facebook to be just as a competitive virtual arena which exhibits similar characteristics to online dating websites, including the strategic way in which one’s projected physical attractiveness is manipulated and enhanced online. Women displayed considerably more of a tendency to change their profile pictures on a regular basis than men, thereby drawing attention to- and emphasizing their looks to a much greater extent than men. This tendency was particularly highlighted along single women. Considering that evolutionary biology rules out beauty for its own sake (Derry, 2008) these findings reflect the unconscious way in which women on Facebook project reproductively valued qualities to the opposite sex through the implicit medium of photography. Although facial attractiveness is expected to predict the popularity of both men and women, and emerged in virtually all dating studies based on real interactions as a powerful predictor of popularity (Asendorpf et al., 2011), women tend to score significantly higher on projected physical attractiveness in comparison to men, as also supported by the findings of this study. Further significant differences were found between single- and married persons, with single users projecting physical attractiveness more than married users. This supports predictions, and reflects that there is less pressure on married couples to emphasise physical attractiveness, which can be attributed to the fact that they are already in positions of long term mating, and there is thus less of a need to project this asset. Another interesting finding in the current study was that only 52% of single women listed their age, followed by 78% of married women, 88% of single men, and finally 94% of married men. This further highlights the pressure on women to appear youthful, and it is interesting to note that it is predominantly single women who do not choose to list their age. Considering that 78% of married females list their age, one can not generalize this finding to women in general. The conclusion which must thus be drawn is that single women tend to de-emphasize elements relating to age in an attempt to appear more youthful. It is also interesting to note that the average age of single women was 24 in comparison to married women who were aged 29 on average. Considering that married women were aged slightly older than single women, one would in fact expect them to be more secretive about their age. However, this research indicates findings to the contrary and highlights the reproductive value of appea ring young for single women. These findings are supported by various previous studies into mating preference that found both physical attractiveness and youth as indicative of health and fertility in women, and as valued significantly by men as sources of reproductive value (Buss et al., 1990; Buss Barnes, 1986; Buss et al., 2001; Buss Schmitt, 1993; Feingold, 1990, 1992; Kenrick Keefe, 1992; Kenrick, Keefe, Gabrielidis, Cornelius, 1996; Singh, 1993; Singh Young, 1995). Competitiveness Human beings tend to live in groups and all groups have status hierarchies, whether formal or informal, with reproductively valued resources usually abundant at the top rather than the bottom, creating steep levels of competition (Buss, 2001). Levels of   intrasexual competition also increase, especially among males, as male resource display is judged as more effective than female resource display when it comes to attracting a mate. Men more than women display characteristics that would lead to the likely acquisition of resources like ambition and industriousness (Buss, 1988). In the current study significant gender differences were found for the projection of competitiveness, with males overall scoring significantly higher than females, as predicted.   Previous studies found that men were more likely to display resources as a tactic of intrasexual competition than women, also linking to studies done on mating preferences as displayed on online dating websites which found that me n tended to project their status in society, as well as their income, to a much greater extent than women   (Hitsch et al., 2005, Toma et al., 2008, Mahfouz, 2008). Although projected levels of competitiveness is not viewed as directly projecting resources or income in the case of this study, it is seen as a powerful indicator of a male’s ability to succeed in allocating valuable resources such as financial income. Levels of competitiveness did not vary significantly between single- and married men as predicted, indicating that the projection of competitiveness is valued by males in general and not just single males. This could arguably be explained by the fact that, from an evolutionary viewpoint, men may have evolved over human evolutionary history a powerful need for sexual access to a large number of women (Buss, 1993) which in combination with the innate ability to father offspring until much later in life than women are capable of biologically, entails higher levels o f competitiveness to suffice throughout a male’s life. In one study men stated that they would ideally like to have more than 18 sex partners in their lifetimes, whereas women state that they would desire only 4 or 5 (Buss Schmitt, 1993), and these findings were replicated twice when 75% of men but 0% of the women approached by an attractive stranger of the opposite sex consented to a request for sex (Clark Hatfield, 1989). From an evolutionary viewpoint, marriage is a relatively modern concept, implying that gender differences with regards to intra- and intersexual competition have not changed dramatically in modern times. In this sense competitiveness leads to a higher position in the social hierarchy, and better chance of providing for one’s offspring, and should not significantly vary between single- and married men, as findings illustrate in this study The importance of physical characteristics in the female choice of a mate is prevalent throughout the animal kingdom, and one benefit of a woman in permanent mating conditions is the physical protection offered by a man, Buss (2003). Considering that levels of competitiveness was correlated with participation in sports, one could further explore the possibility that physical strength as displayed in sports is valued as a reproductive resource by women- supported by studies such as Buss (1995) which found that women valued physical protection abilities more than men, in both short-term and long-term mating. Thus, it is additionally also possible that men project physical strength by appearing â€Å"sporty† in profile photos as the reproductively valued asset of providing physical protection to female offspring. This could also account for the insignificant difference between single- and married males when it came to the projection of competitiveness, seeing that men can father (and thus protect) offspring until late in life. Nurturing qualities The current study predicted that women would score significantly higher on projected nurturing qualities than men, and this hypothesis was supported. Both single and married women projected nurturing qualities to a greater extent than males. Stereotypically women are nurturing, where as men are somewhat more aggressive and less person-centred. Traditionally sex differences have been explained by the process of socialization , and the way men and women are influenced by societal norms to play acceptable gender roles. However, from an evolutionary viewpoint men would need to exhibit higher levels of aggression, and competitiveness, supported by the findings of this study, to protect their positions in society where as women with lower levels of competition and higher investment in their offspring are expected to show more nurturing behaviours (Workman Reader). This study supports findings from previous research which highlight nurturing qualities in women as being innate, as illustrat ed in a study by Bernt (1986) in which it was shown that women are more attracted to intimate relationships than men (Berndt, 1986), and cross-cultural studies which suggests women to be more person-centred, in contrast to men who are more object-centred .There is also evidence that sex differences in nurturance has its origins in infancy, and a study by Simner (1971) found that infant girls more than infant boys were more likely to also start crying when they heard another baby cry,   than when hearing a loud noise (Workman Reader, 2001). Contrary to prediction single women did not score higher on projected nurturing qualities than married women with married women having the highest scores on projected nurturing qualities overall. A possible explanation for this could be that married women, who being married are in a more secure position to either have children- or already have children, are either consciously or unconsciously depicting salient nurturing qualities. This study also illustrates that the biological experiences of pregnancy and lactation generate a strong, instinctual drive in women to nurture (Silverstein, et al., 1999), as illustrated by the higher, although not significantly so, proportion of married women who exhibited nurturing qualities in this study versus single women. Sociability A significant difference between single- and married subjects was noted when it came to sociability, with single Facebook users projecting sociability to a greater extend than married users. This links to previous studies done on Facebook which found that most users attempted to project a socially desired self, claiming that they were â€Å"popular among friends†. Fierce competition was also noted among Facebook users for the size of social networks they claimed to possess, and competition to have the most amount of â€Å"friends†, Zhao (2008). Thus, it would seem that the desire to appear sociable or popular offline, also exists online. There is further   support for the importance of social skills as found in a study by Buss (1989) which studied mating preferences across 37 cultures and found that kindness, intelligence and social skills were listed as the top criteria for a potential mate. This supports the current study’s prediction, that single Facebook us ers would appear significantly more social than married users. However, unlike predicted there was no significant difference between men and women when it came to projected sociability, revealing that the projection of warmth towards others is just as important for single men as it is for single women. Significantly lower levels of projected sociability in married couples could be a reflection of lower levels of social activity as portrayed in profile pictures, perhaps as a result of spending more time with their partners or children, but could also indicate that there is less of a need to exhibit sociability, and thereby project popularity among friends . Status Status is closely correlated to financial income, and it was predicted that men more than women would display their status on Facebook, supporting studies such as one by Buss (1988) in which it was found that men more than women display characteristics that lead to the likely acquisition of resources, e.g. degree attainment.   However, this was not the case, and no significant differences in the projection of status were found between either men and women overall, or single- and married subjects. There could be several explanations for this, one relating to previous studies done on online dating websites which found that both sexes tended to favour members of the opposite sex with similar educational levels. Considering the overwhelming support that previous studies provide with regards to the importance that women attach to resource income as a reproductive value and status as a reflection of financial income, another explanation could lie in the obvious fact that Facebook is a so cial-, rather than dating network, and that popularity as illustrated with regards to exhibiting sociability, is highly valued. Thus, it would be just as important for women than for men to list their status in a virtual social network where one would expect similar levels of education among friends or acquaintances as a general rule. Also, Facebook is arguably not different from online dating websites where users, both male and female, tend to list their status as a formality, but in which one study men stated in a questionnaire that they did have a particularly strong distaste for a better educated partner, while women particularly avoided less educated men (Hitsch, 2005). Conclusion In conclusion, the implicit nature of photography and the unconscious way in which participants use it to project reproductively valued qualities to members of the opposite sex are particularly interesting findings. Facebook as a social networking website, in which users have control over self image and access to many tools with which to present themselves in a favourable way to others makes it a fascinating medium to further explore. Limitations and suggestions for future research should be noted. Suggestions for future studies include conducting a cross-cultural study to see if there are any significant differences to note. Secondly, exploring other functions on the social networking website, such as the number of friends- or social networks a user possess, additional photo albums, qualitative analysis of verbal descriptions under the â€Å"About me† section or status updates of users, etc. The vast amount of additional information available on Facebook could be used to supplement current findings, and other popular social networking sites such as MySpace could be researched in a similar fashion. Thirdly, different age groups could be tested for significant correlations- or differences. Fourthly, data could be collected in combination with questionnaires, supplementing findings. Fifthly, a study looking at specific differences between the explicit and implicit projection of reproductively valued qualities on Facebook could be conducted. Finally, there are many other traits which both sexes highly value in the opposite sex like displaying humour, good manners, sympathy, good grooming (Buss, 1988), similar values, honesty (Whitty, 2007) etc. and future studies could aim to include these. Although this study and its hypotheses were interpreted from an evolutionary perspective, additional theoretical accounts are possible, and it should be kept in mind that evolutionary explanations supplement, rather than replace traditional modes of explanation in psychology (Buss, 1988). These results may seen as the start of an exploration into social networking websites and how resource valued traits are unconsciously and implicitly projected to members of the opposite sex, but current social psychological accounts should also considered.

Words for Telling the Future

Words for Telling the Future Words for Telling the Future Words for Telling the Future By Maeve Maddox Even as scientists explore Quantum Theory, ancient practices for divining the future continue to flourish. Ronald and Nancy Reagan regularly consulted astrologers, and many newspaper readers check the astrology column before looking at anything else. Tarot readers and palm readers make a living at it. Here are some words writers might want to use in describing some of these practices. Divination is the practice of foreseeing the future or finding out hidden knowledge by some means or other. Ancient Romans studied the flight of birds to determine whether or not the day was favorable for some action. This method of divination is called augury. The verb to augur means to predict or indicate the future. One could say, missing a step on the way out of the house, That does not augur well! Romans had a specialized diviner called a haruspex who cut open animals and examined their entrails. This practice is called haruspicy. Several words that end in -mancy refer to methods of divination. Geomancy interprets markings on the ground, or the piles or patterns made by dirt when it is tossed. The geo comes from the word for earth. Necromancy involves summoning up the dead, the way King Saul did when he called on the Witch of Endor. The necro comes from the Greek word for dead. Sometimes necromancy is used to refer to any kind of black magic that involves the summoning of demons. Oneiromancy is divination by dreams. Bibliomancy is divining by opening a book at random and reading the first phrase that ones eyes light upon. Although the Bible is often the book used for this form of divination, other books are used. The biblio comes from Greek and Latin words for paper or scroll. The Bible is literally the Book. Another word for this practice is sortes. Some other familiar types of divination: Palmistry is divination by reading the lines on the palm of the hand. Phrenology is divination by feeling the bumps on a persons head. This practice was really popular in Victorian times. Many novelists have their characters talk about it. Astrology predicts a persons future according to alignment of the stars and planets. Dowsing is a method of finding the location of water or other underground substances with the use of a forked stick or wire. Clairvoyance is divination by second sight. Numerology is divination with numbers Sortilege is divination by casting lots. Priests do it in the Old Testament. Finally, two practices that you know about, but probably dont know the words for, are those of reading tea leaves and gazing into a crystal ball. Tasseography is the word for reading the future in tea leaves at the bottom of a cup. Scrying is what the gypsy does when she looks into her crystal ball and tells you that you are going to come into a large sum of money. If you ever doubted that English has a word for everything, take a look at these sites that feature lists of divination of every kind: Online etymology dictionary Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Rhetorical Devices for Rational Writing26 Feel-Good Words50 Musical Terms Used in Nonmusical Senses

Kinetics Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Kinetics - Lab Report Example 4. Take a timer from the upper right hand corner of the screen and place it on the workbench. Wait till you obtain a round number on the timer to begin timing the reaction. Be ready to begin timing the reaction when you add the ammonium persulfate to the solution in the 250 mL beaker. 3. Add 1 ml of starch indicator and 0.05 ml of 0.1 M EDTA solution from the Chemical Shelf to the same 250 ml beaker. This drop of EDTA solution is to minimize the effects of trace quantities of metal ion impurities that would cause spurious effects on the reaction. 4. Take a timer from the upper right hand corner of the screen and place it on the workbench. Wait till you obtain a round number on the timer to begin timing the reaction. Be ready to begin timing the reaction when you add the ammonium persulfate to the solution in the 250 mL beaker. 5. Prepare a 0.1 M solution of ammonium persulfate by diluting the 0.2 M solution. To do this take a 50 ml beaker from the Glassware Shelf and place it on the workbench. Add 12.5 ml of water and 12.5 ml of 0.2 M ammonium persulfulate. 3. Add 1 ml of starch indicator and 0.05 ml of 0.1 M EDTA solution from the Chemical Shelf to the same 250 ml beaker. This drop of EDTA solution is to minimize the effects of trace quantities of metal ion impurities that would cause spurious effects on the reaction. 4. Take a timer from the upper right hand corner of the screen and place it on the workbench. ... This drop of EDTA solution is to minimize the effects of trace quantities of metal ion impurities that would cause spurious effects on the reaction. 4. Take a timer from the upper right hand corner of the screen and place it on the workbench. Wait till you obtain a round number on the timer to begin timing the reaction. Be ready to begin timing the reaction when you add the ammonium persulfate to the solution in the 250 mL beaker. 5. Prepare a 0.1 M solution of ammonium persulfate by diluting the 0.2 M solution. To do this take a 50 ml beaker from the Glassware Shelf and place it on the workbench. Add 12.5 ml of water and 12.5 ml of 0.2 M ammonium persulfulate. 6. To begin the reaction, add the contents of the 50 ml beaker to the 250 ml beaker by dragging the 50 ml beaker on top of the 250 ml beaker and selecting all. 7. Record the time for the appearance of the black color. 16 ml of Ammonium persulphate Trial 3 1. Take a 250 ml beaker from the Glassware Shelf and place it on the workbench. 2. Add 25 ml of 2 M NaI solution from the Chemicals Shelf to the beaker. Dilute the NaI solution to 0.1 M by adding 25 ml of water. 3. Add 1 ml of starch indicator and 0.05 ml of 0.1 M EDTA solution from the Chemical Shelf to the same 250 ml beaker. This drop of EDTA solution is to minimize the effects of trace quantities of metal ion impurities that would cause spurious effects on the reaction. 4. Take a timer from the upper right hand corner of the screen and place it on the workbench. Wait till you obtain a round number on the timer to begin timing the reaction. Be ready to begin timing the reaction when you add the ammonium persulfate to the solution in the 250 mL beaker. 5. To begin the reaction, add 25.0 mL of the 0.2 M ammonium

Research Proposal for Juvenile Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Research Proposal for Juvenile Justice - Essay Example Obviously, though, juvenile justice is more than just benevolent guidance f youths during adolescent development or family crisis. It is also a system for monitoring and controlling juveniles and their families who may be engaged presently in activities deemed dangerous or deviant. To make matters even more confusing, these two sets f system demands (despite their seemingly opposed natures) often become intertwined and sometimes nearly indistinguishable in practice, with clearly coercive tasks disguised in treatment metaphors. "Intensive treatment units" are often secure, locked institutions; "aftercare counseling" often means regular reporting to a probation officer. In practice, the multiple goals f juvenile justice become blurred and combined into singular activities. As a result, we are often left with the uncomfortable dilemma f not knowing whether we are doing something to a youth in order to do something for that youth (Allen, 1964) or whether we are doing something to a youth for justifiable retribution and deterrence. It is rarely a clear determination in juvenile justice. This blurred picture is the context in which prevention programming, research, and treatment must operate. It cannot be escaped; it pervades each step f applied research and professional practice in this area. Even a brief exposure to this seemingly sympathetic site will convince the prevention-minded researcher or practitioner attempting to improve service delivery in this system that even more or less "standard" ethical issues take on a distinctive quality when imbedded in the context f juvenile justice. Problem Definition The ethical issue f problem definition is a subtle but central one in juvenile justice research and practice. Because delinquency is a legal ascription rather than a behaviorally based description and local practices vary widely, a broad range f youths are classified as delinquents. This locally determined selection bias f any sample population makes it unwise to treat juvenile delinquents as a unitary class when constructing theories about adolescent antisocial activity (Reppucci & Clingempeel, 1978). Moreover, a consideration f case characteristics beyond the mere presence f delinquency is needed to accurately assess the impact f any intervention. The expected prevalence or progression f antisocial activities in the youths sampled must be considered in such assessments (Blumstein, Cohen, Roth, & Visher, 1986). Furthermore, researchers and practitioners working with a legally defined population f delinquents must be aware that they are accepting the values implicit in designating some youths as delinquent and others as merely undergoing normal adjustment problems. These professionals may even be furthering these values by focusing intervention efforts on the youths most troubling to authorities. Such involvement can lend professional certification to a system that could benefit from a critical appraisal f its values and practices (Rappaport, Lamiell, & Seidman, 1980). On an individual treatment level, dealing with a socially rather than personally defined problem

Learning strategies Essay Example for Free

Learning strategies Essay Learning or instructional strategies determine the approach for achieving the learning objectives and are included in the pre-instructional activities, information presentation, learner activities, testing, and follow-through. The strategies are usually tied to the needs and interests of students to enhance learning and are based on many types of learning styles (Ekwensi, Moranski, Townsend-Sweet, 2006). Thus the learning objectives point you towards the instructional strategies, while the instructional strategies will point you to the medium that will actually deliver the instruction, such as elearning, self-study, classroom, or OJT. However, do not fall into the trap of using only one medium when designing your course. . . use a blended approach. Although some people use the terms interchangeably, objectives, strategies, and media, all have separate meanings. For example, your learning objective might be Pull the correct items for a customer order; the instructional strategies are a demonstration, have a question and answer period, and then receive hands-on practice by actually performing the job, while the media might be a combination of elearning and OJT. The Instructional Strategy Selection Chart shown below is a general guideline for selecting the learning strategy. It is based on Blooms Taxonomy (Learning Domains). The matrix generally runs from the passive learning methods (top rows) to the more active participation methods (bottom rows. Blooms Taxonomy (the right three columns) runs from top to bottom, with the lower level behaviors being on top and the higher behaviors being on the bottom. That is, there is a direct correlation in learning: Lower levels of performance can normally be taught using the more passive learning methods. Higher levels of performance usually require some sort of action or involvement by the learners. Instructional Strategy Selection Chart Instructional Strategy Cognitive Domain (Bloom, 1956) Affective Domain (Krathwohl, Bloom, Masia, 1973) Psychomotor Domain (Simpson, 1972) Lecture, reading, audio/visual, demonstration, or guided observations, question and answer period 1. Knowledge 1. Receiving phenomena 1. Perception 2. Set Discussions, multimedia CBT, Socratic didactic method, reflection. Activities such as surveys, role playing, case studies, fishbowls, etc. 2. Comprehension 3. Application 2. Responding to phenomena 3. Guided response 4. Mechanism On-the-Job-Training (OJT), practice by doing (some direction or coaching is required), simulated job settings (to include CBT simulations) 4. Analysis 3. Valuing 5. Complex response Use in real situations. Also may be trained by using several high level activities coupled with OJT. 5. Synthesis 4. Organize values into priorities 6. Adaptation Normally developed on own (informal learning) through self-study or learning through mistakes, but mentoring and coaching can speed the process. 6. Evaluation 5. Internalizing values 7. Origination The chart does not cover all possibilities, but most activities should fit in. For example, self-study could fall under reading, audio visual, and/or activities, depending upon the type of program you design Instructional Skills: What are Instructional Skills? Instructional skills are the most specific category of teaching behaviors. They are necessary for procedural purposes and for structuring appropriate learning experiences for students. A variety of instructional skills and processes exist. Explaining Demonstrating Questioning Questioning Techniques Levels of Questions Wait Time Explaining The teacher spends much classroom time explaining or demonstrating something to the whole class, a small group, or an individual. Student resource materials typically do not provide extensive explanations of concepts, and students often need a demonstration in order to understand procedures. Demonstrating The teacher spends much classroom time explaining or demonstrating something to the whole class, a small group, or an individual. Student resource materials typically do not provide extensive explanations of concepts, and students often need a demonstration in order to understand procedures. Questioning Among the instructional skills, questioning holds a place of prominence in many classrooms. When questioning is used well: a high degree of student participation occurs as questions are widely distributed; an appropriate mix of low and high level cognitive questions is used; student understanding is increased; student thinking is stimulated, directed, and extended; feedback and appropriate reinforcement occur;students critical thinking abilities are honed; and, student creativity is fostered. Questioning Technique The teacher should begin by obtaining the attention of the students before the question is asked. The question should be addressed to the entire class before a specific student is asked to respond. Calls for responses should be distributed among volunteers and non-volunteers, and the teacher should encourage students to speak to the whole class when responding. However, the teacher must be sensitive to each students willingness to speak publically and never put a student on the spot. Levels of Questions While the need for factual recall or comprehension must be recognized, teachers also need to challenge students with higher level questions requiring analysis, synthesis, or evaluation. The consideration of level is applicable at all grade levels and in all subject areas. All students need the opportunity to think about and respond to all levels of questions. Teacher probes or requests for clarification may be required to move students to higher levels of thinking and deeper levels of understanding. Wait Time  Wait time is defined as the pause between asking the question and soliciting a response. Providing additional wait time after a student response also allows all students to reflect on the response prior to further discussion. Increased wait time results in longer student responses, more appropriate unsolicited responses, more student questions, and increased higher order responses. It should be noted that increased wait time is beneficial for students who speak English as a second language or English as a second dialect. Instructional Strategies: 1. Direct instruction 2. Indirect instruction 3. Interactive instruction 4. Independent study 5. Experiential learning 1. What is Direct Instruction? The Direct instruction strategy is highly teacher-directed and is among the most commonly used. This strategy is effective for providing information or developing step-by-step skills. It also works well for introducing other teaching methods, or actively involving students in knowledge construction. Possible Methods Structured Overview Lecture Explicit Teaching Drill Practice Compare Contrast Didactic Questions. Demonstrations Guided Shared reading, listening, viewing, thinking What is Structured Overview? Structured Overview is verbal, visual or written summary or outline of a topic. It can occur at the beginning of a unit, module or new concept, or it may be used to help relate a learned idea to the big picture. A Structured Overview distills difficult or complex idea into simple definitions or explanation, and then shows how all the information relates. It is the process of â€Å"organizing and arranging topics† to make them more meaningful. What is Lecture? Lecture is a valuable part of a teachers instructional repertoire if it is not used when other methods would be more effective. If the presenter is knowledgeable, perceptive, engaging, and motivating, then lecture can stimulate reflection, challenge the imagination, and develop curiosity and a sense of inquiry. Criteria for the selection of the lecture method should include the types of experiences students will be afforded and the kinds of learning outcomes expected. Because lecture is teacher-centred and student activity is mainly passive, the attention span of students may be limited. Many students, because of learning style preferences, may not readily assimilate lecture content. In addition, lectured content is often rapidly forgotten. What is Explicit Teaching? Explicit teaching involves directing student attention toward specific learning in a highly structured environment. It is teaching that is focused on producing specific learning outcomes. Topics and contents are broken down into small parts and taught individually. It involves explanation, demonstration and practise. Children are provided with guidance and structured frameworks. Topics are taught in a logical order and directed by the teacher. Another important characteristic of explicit teaching involves modeling skills and behaviours and modelling thinking. This involves the teacher thinking out loud when working through problems and demonstrating processes for students. The attention of students is important and listening and observation are key to success. What is Drill Practice? As an instructional strategy, drill practice is familiar to all educators. It promotes the acquisition of knowledge or skill through repetitive practice. It refers to small tasks such as the memorization of spelling or vocabulary words, or the practicing of arithmetic facts and may also be found in more supplicated learning tasks or physical education games and sports. Drill-and-practice, like memorization, involves repetition of specific skills, such as addition and subtraction, or spelling. To be meaningful to learners, the skills built through drill-and-practice should become the building blocks for more meaningful learning. What is Compare Contrast? Compare and Contrast is used to highlight similarities and differences between to things. It is a process where the act of classification is practiced. It is effectively used in conjunction with indirect instructional methods, but can also be used directly to teach vocabulary signals, classification, nomenclature and key characteristics. It is often presented in either written text paragraphs or a chart. Its most common use is as a graphic organizer of content. What are Didactic Questions? Didactic questioning offers the teacher a way to structure the learning process (McNeil Wiles, 1990). Didactic questions tend to be convergent, factual, and often begin with what, where, when, and how. They can be effectively used to diagnose recall and comprehension skills, to draw on prior learning experiences, to determine the extent to which lesson objectives were achieved, to provide practice, and to aid retention of information or processes. Teachers should remember that didactic questions can be simplistic, can encourage guessing, and can discourage insightful answers or creativity. However, effectiveness of this method can be increased by the appropriate addition of why questions, and the occasional use of what if questions. What is Demonstration? A method of teaching by example rather than simple explanation What are Guided and Share? Prioritizes intrinsic motivation and helps students to become more engaged in learning experiences through connecting their beliefs and life goals to curricular requirements 2. What is Indirect Instruction? In contrast to the direct instruction strategy, indirect instruction is mainly student-centered, although the two strategies can complement each other. Indirect instruction seeks a high level of student involvement in observing, investigating, drawing inferences from data, or forming hypotheses. It takes advantage of students interest and curiosity, often encouraging them to generate alternatives or solve problems. In indirect instruction, the role of the teacher shifts from lecturer/director to that of facilitator, supporter, and resource person. The teacher arranges the learning environment, provides opportunity for student involvement, and, when appropriate, provides feedback to students while they conduct the inquiry (Martin, 1983). Possible Methods Problem Solving Case Studies Reading for Meaning Inquiry Reflective Discussion Writing to Inform Concept Formation Concept Mapping. Concept Attainment Cloze Procedure What is Problem Solving? There are two major types of problem solving – reflective and creative. Regardless of the type of problem solving a class uses, problem solving focuses on knowing the issues, considering all possible factor and finding a solution. Because all ideas are accepted initially, problem solving allows for finding the best possible solution as opposed to the easiest solution or the first solution proposed. What are Case Studies? Case studies are stories or scenarios, often in narrative form, created and used as a tool for analysis and discussion. They have a long tradition of use in higher education particularly in business and law. Cases are often based on actual events which adds a sense of urgency or reality. Case studies have elements of simulations but the students are observers rather than participants. A good case has sufficient detail to necessitate research and to stimulate analysis from a variety of viewpoints or perspectives. They place the learner in the position of problem solver. Students become actively engaged in the materials discovering underlying issues, dilemmas and conflict issues. What is Reading for Meaning? Children become curious about printed symbols once they recognize that print, like talk, conveys meaningful messages that direct, inform or entertain people. By school age, many children are eager to continue their exploration of print. One goal of this curriculum is to develop fluent and proficient readers who are knowledgeable about the reading process. What is Inquiry? Inquiry learning provides opportunities for students to experience and acquire processes through which they can gather information about the world. This requires a high level of interaction among the learner, the teacher,the area of study, available resources, and the learning environment. Students become actively involved in the learning process as they: act upon their curiosity and interests; develop questions; think their way through controversies or dilemmas; look at problems analytically; inquire into their preconceptions and what they already know; develop, clarify, and test hypotheses; and, draw inferences and generate possible solutions. Questioning is the heart of inquiry learning. Students must ask relevant questions and develop ways to search for answers and generate explanations. Emphasis is placed upon the process of thinking as this applies to student interaction with issues, data, topics, concepts, materials, and problems. What is Reflective Discussion ? Reflective discussions encourage students to think and talk about what they have observed, heard or read. The teacher or student initiates the discussion by asking a question that requires students to reflect upon and interpret films, experiences, read or recorded stories, or illustrations. As students question and recreate information and events in a film or story, they clarify their thoughts and feelings. The questions posed should encourage students to relate story content to life experiences and to other stories. These questions will elicit personal interpretations and feelings. Interpretations will vary, but such variances demonstrate that differences of opinion are valuable. What is Writing to Inform? Writing that reports information to others can vary greatly in content and format. Many learning experiences culminate in expository or informative writing activities. Students must have opportunities to read a variety of resources and printed materials for information. During writing, students can apply their knowledge of the structures and formats of these materials to organize and convey information. What is Concept Formation ? Concept formation provides students with an opportunity to explore ideas by making connections and seeing relationships between items of information. This method can help students develop and refine their ability to recall and discriminate among key ideas, to see commonalities and identify relationships, to formulate concepts and generalizations, to explain how they have organized data, and to present evidence to support their organization of the data involved. What are Concept Maps? A concept map is a special form of a web diagram for exploring knowledge and gathering and sharing information. Concept mapping is the strategy employed to develop a concept map. A concept map consists of nodes or cells that contain a concept, item or question and links. The links are labeled and denote direction with an arrow symbol. The labeled links explain the relationship between the nodes. The arrow describes the direction of the relationship and reads like a sentence. What is Concept Attainment? Concept Attainment is an indirect instructional strategy that uses a structured inquiry process. It is based on the work of Jerome Bruner. In concept attainment, students figure out the attributes of a group or category that has already been formed by the teacher. To do so, students compare and contrast examples that contain the attributes of the concept with examples that do not contain those attributes. They then separate them into two groups. Concept attainment, then, is the search for and identification of attributes that can be used to distinguish examples of a given group or category from non-examples. What is Cloze Procedure? Cloze procedure is a technique in which words are deleted from a passage according to a word-count formula or various other criteria. The passage is presented to students, who insert words as they read to complete and construct meaning from the text. This procedure can be used as a diagnostic reading assessment technique. It is used: to identify students knowledge and understanding of the reading process to determine which cueing systems readers effectively employ to construct meaning from print to assess the extent of students vocabularies and knowledge of a subject to encourage students to monitor for meaning while reading  to encourage students to think critically and analytically about text and content 3. What is Experiential Learning? Experiential learning is inductive, learner centered, and activity oriented. Personalized reflection about an experience and the formulation of plans to apply learning to other contexts are critical factors in effective experiential learning. The emphasis in experiential learning is on the process of learning and not on the product. Experiential learning can be viewed as a cycle consisting of five phases, all of which are necessary: experiencing (an activity occurs);sharing or publishing (reactions and observations are shared); analysing or processing (patterns and dynamics are determined);inferring or generalizing (principles are derived); and, applying (plans are made to use learning in new situations). Possible Methods Field Trips Narratives Conducting Experiments Simulations Games Storytelling Focused Imaging Field Observations Role-playing Model Building Surveys What are Field Trips? A field trip is a structured activity that occurs outside the classroom. It can be a brief observational activity or a longer more sustained investigation or project. While field trips take considerable organization, it is important to: be clear about what the field trip will accomplish prepare students for the learning have a debriefing session for students to share their learning when they return to the classroom What are Narratives? Narrative essays are told from a defined point of view, often the authors, so there is feeling as well as specific and often sensory details provided to get the reader involved in the elements and sequence of the story. What are Conducting Experiments? Is an orderly procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, refuting, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a particular factor is manipulated. What are Simulations? A simulation is a form of experiential learning. Simulations are instructional scenarios where the learner is placed in a world defined by the teacher. They represent a reality within which students interact. The teacher controls the parameters of this world and uses it to achieve the desired instructional results. Simulations are in way, a lab experiment where the students themselves are the test subjects. They experience the reality of the scenario and gather meaning from it. It is a strategy that fits well with the principles of constructivism. Simulations promote the use of critical and evaluative thinking. The ambiguous or open ended nature of a simulation encourages students to contemplate the implications of a scenario. The situation feels real and thus leads to more engaging interaction by learners. They are motivating activities enjoyed by students of all ages. What are Games? Is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as  an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements. What is Storytelling? Is the conveying of events in words, and images, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation, and instilling moral values. Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot, characters, and narrative point of view. What is Focused Imaging? Imaging, the process of internally visualizing an object, event, or situation, has the potential to nurture and enhance a students creativity (Bagley Hess, 1987). Imaging enables students to relax and allow their imaginations to take them on journeys, to experience situations first hand, and to respond with their senses to the mental images formed. What are Field Observations? The process of filtering sensory information through the thought process. Input is received via hearing, sight, smell, taste, or touch and then analyzed through either rational or irrational thought. What is Role Playing? In role playing, students act out characters in a predefined situation. Role playing allows students to take risk-free positions by acting out characters in hypothetical situations. It can help them understand the range of concerns, values, and positions held by other people. Role playing is an enlightening and interesting way to help students see a problem from another perspective. What is Model Building? What is Survey? is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal that publishes papers related to the development and application of survey techniques. 4. What is Independent Study? Independent study refers to the range of instructional methods which are purposefully provided to foster the development of individual student initiative, self-reliance, and self-improvement. While independent study may be initiated by student or teacher, the focus here will be on planned independent study by students under the guidance or supervision of a classroom teacher. In addition, independent study can include learning in partnership with another individual or as part of a small group. Possible Methods Essays Computer Assisted Instruction. Journals Learning Logs Reports Learning Activity Packages Correspondence Lessons Learning Contracts Homework Research Projects Assigned Questions Learning Centers What is Essay? is generally a short piece of writing written from an authors personal point of view, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of an article and a short story. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. What is Computer Assisted Instruction? Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) refers to instruction or remediation presented on a computer. Computer programs can allow students to progress at their own pace and work individually or problem solve in a group. Computers provide immediate feedback, letting students know whether their answer is correct. If the answer is not correct, the program shows students how to correctly answer the question. Computers offer a different type of activity and a change of pace from teacher-led or group instruction. Also, computer-assisted instruction moves at the students’ pace and usually does  not move ahead until they have mastered the skill. What is Journal Writing? Journal writing is a learning tool based on the ideas that students write to learn. Students use the journals to write about topics of personal interest, to note their observations, to imagine, to wonder and to connect new information with things they already know. What are Learning Logs ? Learning logs are a simple and straightforward way to help students integrate content, process, and personal feelings. Learning logs operate from the stance that students learn from writing rather than writing what they have learned. The common application is to have students make entries in their logs during the last five minutes of class or after each completed week of class. The message here is that short, frequent bursts of writing are more productive over time than are infrequent, longer assignments. What are Reports ? Written reports are documents which present focused, salient content to a specific audience. Reports are often used to display the result of an experiment, investigation, or inquiry. The audience may be public or private, an individual or the public in general. Reports are used in government, business, education, science, and other fields. Learning Activity Packages Correspondence Lessons What are Learning Contracts ? Learning contracts provide a method of individualizing instruction and developing student responsibility. They permit individual pacing so that students may learn at the rate at which they are able to master the material. Learning contracts can be designed so that students function at the academic levels most suitable to them and work with resource materials containing concepts and knowledge that are appropriate to their abilities and experiences. Although this method focuses on the individual, learning contracts also provide an opportunity for students to work in small groups. The teacher may select this approach for some students to support them as they learn to work independently. What are Homeworks ? Refers to tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside the class. Common homework assignments may include a quantity or period of reading to be performed, writing or typing to be completed, problems to be solved, a school project to be built (such as a diorama or display), or other skills to be practiced. What is Researching? Research projects are very effective for developing and extending language arts skills as students learn in all subject areas. While doing research, students practice reading for specific purposes, recording information, sequencing and organizing ideas, and using language to inform others. A research model provides students with a framework for organizing information about a topic. Research projects frequently include these four steps: 1. determining the purpose and topic 2. gathering the information 3. organizing the information. 4. sharing knowledge. What are Assigned Questions ? Assigned questions are those prepared by the teacher to be answered by individuals or small groups of students. Students discuss their responses among one another or with the teacher. Particular positions or points-of-view should be supported by evidence. In some instances, it may be desirable for students to generate their own set of questions. What is Learning Center? There are eight basic learning centers in an early childhood/elementary classroom, according to the Stephen F. Austin State University Charter School program, each structured to expand the students’ experiences in a variety of meaningful and effective ways. Each center is constructed to encompass numerous objectives, including state and federal standards, school standards, and community standards. The learning centers approach focuses on student autonomy and learning style by giving each student an opportunity to explore his learning environment hands-on in a developmentally appropriate classroom 5. What is Interactive Instruction? Interactive instruction relies heavily on discussion and sharing among participants. Students can learn from peers and teachers to develop social skills and abilities, to organize their thoughts, and to develop rational arguments. The interactive instruction strategy allows for a range of groupings and interactive methods. It is important for the teacher to outline the topic, the amount of discussion time, the composition and size of the groups, and reporting or sharing techniques. Interactive instruction requires the refinement of observation, listening, interpersonal, and intervention skills and abilities by both teacher and students. The success of the interactive instruction strategy and its many methods is heavily dependent upon the expertise of the teacher in structuring and developing the dynamics of the group. Possible Methods Debates Role Playing Panels Brainstorming Peer Partner Learning Discussion Laboratory Groups Think, Pair, Share Cooperative Learning Jigsaw Problem Solving Structured Controversy Tutorial Groups Interviewing Conferencing What is Debating? Debating is a structured contest of argumentation in which two opposing individuals or teams defend and attack a given proposition. The procedure is bound by rules that vary based on location and participants. The process is adjudicated and a winner is declared. What is Role Playing? In role playing, students act out characters in a predefined situation. Role playing allows students to take risk-free positions by acting out characters in hypothetical situations. It can help them understand the range of concerns, values, and positions held by other people. Role playing is an enlightening and interesting way to help students see a problem from another perspective. What is Panelling? Panel discussions, however, differ from team presentations. Their purpose is different. In a team presentation, the group presents agreed-upon views; in a panel discussion, the purpose is to present different views. Also in a team presentations, usually speakers stand as they speak; in panel discussions, usually speakers sit the whole time. In panel discussion each speaker prepares separately, the other speakers here one another for the time at the session itself. What is Brainstorming? Brainstorming is a large or small group activity which encourages children to focus on a topic and contribute to the free flow of ideas. The teacher may begin by posing a question or a problem, or by introducing a topic. Students then express possible answers, relevant words and ideas. Contributions are accepted without criticism or judgement. Initially, some students may be reluctant to speak out in a group setting but brainstorming is an open sharing activity which encourages all children to participate. By expressing ideas and listening to what others say, students adjust their previous knowledge or understanding, accommodate new information and increase their levels of awareness. What is Peer Partner Learning? Peer partner learning is a collaborative experience in which students learn from and with each other for individual purposes. Students reflect upon previously taught material by helping peers to learn and, at the same time, develop and hone their social skills. What is Discussion ? A discussion is an oral exploration of a topic, object, concept or experience. All learners need frequent opportunities to generate and share their questions and ideas in small and whole class settings. Teachers who encourage and accept students questions and comments without judgement and clarify understandings by paraphrasing difficult terms stimulate the exchange of ideas. What is Laboratory Groups? What is Think, Pair, Share? Think-Pair-Share is a strategy designed to provide students with food for thought on a given topics enabling them to formulate individual ideas and share these ideas with another student. It is a learning strategy developed by Lyman and associates to encourage student classroom participation. Rather than using a basic recitation method in which a teacher poses a question and one student offers.

hoes and bitches :: essays research papers

Fuck, sittin' up lettin' these motherfuckerz know, though You're my pimp buddies, my boy Sean Dogg, you on a mission (Yeah, baby!) Creep Dogg, I know you trippin' (I feel you) Ya heard me? (um-hm) [murmur] We just sittin' up in here droppin' game about these motherfuckin'...HOS (HOS?!) That's right, hos, and that what the topic is today on the show: hos (Why you always gotta talk about 'em?) I mean, cause if you gotta blame it on somebody You might as well blame it on a motherfuckin ho.... [beat kicks in] You feel me, Meech (Now that I think about it...) It was all on a motherfuckin' ho (Ya heard me?) That the topic today: Hos Live here, Snoop Dogg, and uh..what I'm gonna do right here [inhales] besides smokin' this weed...I'm a holla at 'chy'all... It was all on a ho, in one minute or two it, too cause I know I got it like that...y'knahmsayin? It was all on a ho (Ho, ho, ho) ["Now that I think about it?" echoes] Shiit, niggaz straight feelin' like Bobby Womack is in this motherfucker tonight...y'knahmsayin? That's the way I feel about 'cha...hm hm..it was all on a ho... But uh...it's Nineteen-motherfuckin'-Ninety Eight And I believe today is uh...October 31st, if I ain't...wrong...right, nigga? Yeah, yeah there, so uh... as they say in Halloween world or... White world or just a world, in general: Trick or Treat, bitch (Ha ha!) Ya feel me? (Ya heard me?) We puttin' this Space-Age pimpin' Full ?Fledge? pimpin' right here...y'know? Right now, bitch can't even look at me Bitch you under arrest for "Reckless Eyeballs" We just doin' this real P-Im right about now, ya feel me? (That's it...that's it...) Because...I mean, I got a big grip...a BIG, BIG memory, cuz I remember a whole lot of bitches didn't wanna give no nigga no title "Playa" Bitches wouldn't even look at me, y'knahmsayin? (Yeah you!) They just want a nigga to bust a rap about 'em, y'know (Yeah you!) Buy 'em sometin' to eat from...IHOP, y'know Go get 'em a Big Mac value pack or sumthin'... But uh...I'm a tell you what I really remember the most about these bitches, cuz (What chu remember, dawg?) [Snoop raps] I remember Rachel, Tina, Lisa, and Grace cause every single one of them had a special place in my heart From the start, see I was just a young puppy A young dummy, panties, bitches to fuck with me Now that I grew up and blew up, I look back and thanked [thought] on these hos, they straight to' up, know what? I'm in effect for the nine-eight

College Entrance Examination System Essay

Abstract Computers are known for their wide range of uses especially in scientific and mathematical fields.However little or no thought has been given to designing a complete and thorough intelligence entrance examination on a computer system in our immediate environment. This entrance examination system is designed to assist the college guidance administration. The design of the system is simple and easily understood. Its flexibility makes it amenable for future changes and amendment to either incorporate other aspects of intelligence or to be designed for any other school age or class. The question of the college Entrance Examination System are programmed and visually displayed on the system‘s screen in an interactive form. The User/Examinee answers the question on the computer system, immediately the question is marked and notified. The result of the examination is also directly displayed into the server at the end of the examination which goes a long way to lessen the fears of Exami nee that they were marked down in the examination. Since the entrance examination is examined by the computer, time cost of manual examination is saved. CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 1.0 INTRODUCTION An entrance examination is an examination that many educational institutions use to select students for admission, These exams may be administered at any level of education, from primary to higher education, although they are more common at higher levels. But this system is design for higher levels only. college entrance examination systems are very convenient and fast. College entrance examination system has three purposes. 1. To allow entrance examination takers wide and comfortable places to take the examination. 2. Through careful planning and proper coding, enable entrance examination, result checking and accurate checking the answers. 3. To integrate database with the program allowing administrator easily change and addition of question and creation of entrance examination. This document will propose some features and procedures to develop the system.This document specially containing details about objectives, concepts, significance scope limitation, and definitions. College entrance examination system is very useful for Educational Institute to prepare an exam,safe the time that will take to check the paper and prepare mark sheets.It will help the Institute to entrance examinationof students and develop their skills. But the disadvantages for this system, it takes a lot of times when you prepare the exam at the first time for usage.And we are needs number of computers with the same number of examinee. The effective use of â€Å"College Entrance Examination System†,any Educational Institute or training centers can be use it to develop their strategy for putting the exams, and for getting better results in less time. However the formulation of question for entrance examination is often treated with consciousness.With the developing of computer application technology, more and more computer application software is coming up. This application software‘s associated to every part of people‘s daily life, and so does the examinations. Just like other application system, examination systems develop very fast, from simple stand-alone system to C/S based system,and now some LAN based system. Although there are a lot of examination systems, but there also have blanks in some special fields. Examination Evaluation System integrated into the Multimedia Emulation Training System of certain type equipment is designed and will be introduced.This system can be used to help people familiar with the equipment usage quickly which can save time and paperless. Now the following will analysis and contrast the existing examination systems, and shoveling out the improvement of our examination system. 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Our system is all about the entrance exam the students who will enrol in Cainta Catholic College. The AUTOMATED ENTRANCE EXAMINATION is easier than the written exam because it’s automated and less effort and less expensive. The objective of entrance examination is to test and evaluate the examinees ability. Different schools nowadays have their own way of filtering and scanning enrollees that will enter their institution. Mostly private colleges are currently having their entrance examination manual. Computerized Entrance Examination is a software that would test the academic skills and capabilities of an individual. It will generate the score of the examinees and will determine if he or she passes the examination. The software will be having categories, the logic, arithmetic, vocabulary, basic computer related questions and abstract reasoning. 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The study aims to find out the effects of having manual and computerized examination to the examinees and the establishment that will use it. The following are the main problems of the manual examinations: a) Consuming a lot of time in summarizing and writing reports for the faculty staff b) It is space consuming, since the data are stored in filling cabinets, and the amount of work done on paper increases too. c) The speed of accuracy decreased, the processing is slower where large volume of data needs to be dealt with d) The possibility of having leakage of the exam answers and modification of the examination results. 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES General Objective The main objective of the study is to modernize the traditional entrance examination. Project aims to make the examination process faster, to minimize error, to lessen the use of paper and consume less time. The ultimate goal is to design and develop a productive entrance examination for all types of school. Specific Objective The proposed system specifically aims to: a) Develop a better computerized entrance examination for students. b) Provide fast and reliable results. c) Lessen the errors 1.4 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Conceptual Model of the Study A college Entrance Examination System identifies the modern process of technology, on how it works quickly for the college guidance. Based on the objectives of the study the following conceptual model of study was developed. INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT Figure 1. Conceptual Model of Study The conceptual model of study is best illustrated on the paradigm of the input box; it deals on knowledge requirements, User’s Needs, Existing Applications, Development Tools and Techniques, Technical Literature, Results of user’s survey, expert advice, software, requirements, and hardware requirements. It deals on the perceptions towards the existing manual system and the proposed Computerized Entrance Examination System as to accuracy, user friendliness and speed of data and information. On the process box, it deals on the process of gathering data using questionnaires and unstructured interviews, the different statistical tools as mean, frequency, percentage, analysis of variance in order to test the significant difference on the formulated hypothesis. On the output frame, it deals on the final objective of the study which is the development of the proposed Entrance Examination System for the Cainta Catholic College (College Guidance) in Cainta, Rizal. 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study intends to benefit not only the end users, but also the establishment that will use the software. The proposed software provides better method of computer usage. It will change the way of dealing number of enrollees, make the work easy, less paper, fast and reliable, decreases the time consumed during the examination process and its user friendliness for everyone. Beneficiaries Examinees – Examinees will find an easy way of answering examination from the schools. Staff / Examiner –As an examiner, it will help them a lot to lessen their burden in giving examinations, and also will lessen the effort that they will exert in filling those exam papers in places and they can already get the result. Establishment – Having a Computerized Examination in schools is a big factor in having such Examination. Not only they can accommodate large number of students to take the examination, also will get all results that they want in a short period of time which is good factor / background  for the school. Environment – Computerized Examination is eco-friendly. It will not consume a large number of papers and also there are no harmful contents. 1.6 SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY The proposed study aims to benefit the examiners and examinees. It focuses on the user friendliness, small use in memory and data storage, also its accuracy and reliability of the process for school, since it can help in evaluating enrollees’ academic abilities. The questions are in multiple-choice format. The proposed software can only provide offline use, automatically print the results, its installation in different personal computers, ready to use, run as a separate computer process. It is a standalone program that can only be run in Windows XP and higher Windows operating system. The software does not cover any other process of enrolling, paying tuition, assessment and course evaluation; it does not cover any online processes. The software will evaluate students and will be the basis of the school in accepting students. CHAPTER 2 RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES 2.0 LOCAL LITERATURE According to Aquino (2005), importamce of computer application is increasing day by day. In the latest dacades of the Millenium winning organization are those which are willing to integrate business strategy and computer information technology in plying their respective trades. The use of computer information technology results for them to be able to develop products fast and make decisions fast, ability to have fluid organization structures, able to cope with the demanding work force and external environment by the rapid development of innovative approaches and lastly using information system confirms the company’s missing vision. The transformation of manual entrance examination to automated is one example of what has driven partly by rapid technological innovation. Any ways just  to make work easier and faster like examination processing is possible with emergence of computer technologies. A Lan Based entrance examination system has featured that meet most of academic institutions system’s needs and requirements. 2.1 FOREIGN LITERATURE According to some research, the origin of taking entrance examination started in China. Ancient China was the first country in the world that implemented a nationwide standardized test, which was called the imperial examination. The main purpose of this examination was to select qualified candidates for specific governmental positions. Steven Johnson (2009) says that the computer is the revolutionary technology that affected many facets of our lives including the schooling of the students. And having an entrance examination that is computerized will be a good help for the examiners and examinees for it will lessen the time of taking examination. Many schools that conduct examination are using manual based system up to present. In managing their system, they have encountered difficulties and problems. 2.2 LOCAL STUDIES Studies Cainta Catholic College says that schools are giving entrance examination to all incoming freshmen in order to test the mental capabilities of every student. In Manual System, the processing of transactions of the guidance counselor may take time consuming in recording, checking and retrieving files of students. If the students did not meet the cut off score in the examination,the student will repeatedly take the exam until the student will pass. If the examination is end and the student never meet the cut off score in the examination. the student will not be qualified to enroll in the school. Entrance examination is also known as the aptitude test in many universities, and the proponents agreed to it. An examination is an assessment intended to measure the examiners knowledge, skills, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics. A test may be administered orally, on paper, on a computer, or in a confined area that requires an examiner to physically per form a set of skills. 2.3 FOREIGN STUDIES Automation in the modern period will not only make our life easy and convenient, but also it makes our task easy. According to the study of Couse and Chen (2010), the programs and devices are increasingly user friendly. Schools started to use computer process for evaluating students. The commodities, new devices, services, in technology are needs of man for a better fuller life which is the concern of the research. Through the use of technology, the economy of the country is moving forward. Nowadays, most people are using computers to make their work easier and faster. Most jobs in the country involve use of computers because of their importance in the society . 2.4RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY This section presents other related studies by the people who conducted studies similar to the proponents that will also greatly helping the progress of the study, and it will also help the understanding of the proposition Taking college entrance exams that will determine the schools and universities you will study at can be a daunting task, especially to someone who is yet to experience the true rigors of life. Taking one is inevitable and almost all of the universities nowadays require a student to take an entrance exam. Passing an exam is not just about wit, but it is also about the attitude. A college entrance exam is a standardized aptitude test. Aptitude tests measure your collective knowledge in various skill areas such as verbal, math, analytical and writing skills. These tests are not designed to measure what you have learned in school; rather, they measure your potential to perform well in the future. The college you are applying to and where you stand in school will determ ine which standardized test you need to take. In addition to that, entrance examination has also connected with the behavioral capabilities of the students. According to kids4research.org, behavior is the response of an individual, group or species to its environment. It involves actions and response to stimulation. In addition to that, behavior deals with the development of every individual. Also, personalities are supposed to be assess, there are students who have difficulties in dealing with their classmates and even  with their instructors and professors. In relation to examinations, behavior is the most important factor that the school should also consider because schools are also having a hard time handling the behaviors of their students, and evaluating the students’ behavior is an important thing to consider. Computerized entrance examination is a proposed study where it automates the task of the school in handling qualified students, not only in academic performance but also in behavioral and personality factor s; proponents found these studies helpful in developing the software for the computerized entrance examination.

Last Sacrifice Chapter Six

REALLY, WHEN YOU THOUGHT ABOUT it, Sydney showing up wasn't much weirder than half the other stuff that seemed to happen to me on a regular basis. Sydney was an Alchemist, one I'd met in Russia when trying to find and kill Dimitri. She was my age and had hated being assigned over there, though I'd certainly appreciated her aid. As Dimitri had noted earlier, the Alchemists would want to help the Moroi find and capture me. Yet, judging from the tension radiating off both her and Dimitri in the car, it became obvious that she was assisting in this escape. With great effort, I pushed my questions to the side for the time being. We were still fugitives, still undoubtedly being pursued. Sydney's car was a brand new Honda CR-V with Louisiana plates and a rental sticker. â€Å"What the hell?' I asked. â€Å"Is this daring escape being sponsored by Honda?' When this got no response, I went to the next obvious question. â€Å"Are we going to New Orleans?' That was Sydney's new post. Sightseeing was the last thing on my mind at the moment, but if you had to run away, you might as well run somewhere good. â€Å"No,' she said, backing out of the spot. â€Å"We're going to West Virginia.' I looked sharply at Dimitri, who sat in the backseat, in the hopes that he would deny this. He didn't. â€Å"I assume by â€Å"West Virginia,' you actually mean â€Å"Hawaii,† I said. â€Å"Or some place equally exciting.' â€Å"Honestly, I think you're better off avoiding excitement right now,' Sydney pointed out. The car's GPS device directed her to her next turn, leading us back toward I-81. She frowned slightly. â€Å"And West Virginia's actually really pretty.' I remembered that she was from Utah and probably didn't know any better. Having long since given up on any control in this escape plot, I moved on to the next obvious set of questions. â€Å"Why are you helping us?' I had a feeling Sydney was grimacing in the dark. â€Å"Why do you think?' â€Å"Abe.' She sighed. â€Å"I'm really starting to wonder if New Orleans was worth it.' I'd recently learned that Abe–with that inexplicable, far-reaching influence of his– had been responsible for getting her out of Russia. How he'd done it, I didn't know. What I did know was that it had left Sydney in open-ended debt to him, one he kept using to get favors. Sometimes, I wondered if there was more to the deal than just a job transfer, like maybe he'd done something else that neither had told me about. Regardless, I started to chastise her again that she should have expected this for making a deal with the devil, but I soon reconsidered. With a bunch of guardians in pursuit, it probably wasn't a smart idea to tease someone helping me. I asked a different question. â€Å"Okay. So why are we going to West Virginia?' Sydney opened her mouth to respond, but Dimitri interrupted her. â€Å"Not yet.' I turned around again and shot him a glare. â€Å"I am so sick of this! We've been on the run for six hours now, and I still don't know all the details. I get that we're staying away from the guardians, but are we seriously going to West Virginia? Are we going to make some cabin our base of operation? Like, one on the side of a mountain that doesn't have plumbing?' Sydney gave me one of her trademark exasperated sighs. â€Å"Do you actually know anything about West Virginia?' I didn't like her and Dimitri teaming up to keep me in the dark. Of course, with Sydney, her reticence could be from any number of things. It could still be Abe's orders. Or maybe she just didn't want to talk to me. Since most Alchemists considered dhampirs and vampires the spawn of hell, they didn't usually get too friendly with us. Spending time with me in Siberia had altered her views a little. I hoped. Sometimes I got the vibe she just wasn't that social of a person to begin with. â€Å"You know we've been set up, right?' I asked her. â€Å"We didn't really do anything. They say I killed the queen, but–‘ â€Å"I know,' Sydney interrupted. â€Å"I've heard all about it. All the Alchemists know about it. You two are at the top of our most wanted list.' She attempted a businesslike tone but couldn't entirely hide her uneasiness. I had a feeling Dimitri made her more nervous than I did, which was understandable since he made some of our own people nervous too. â€Å"I didn't do it,' I insisted. Somehow, it was important that she know that. Sydney didn't acknowledge my comment. Instead, she said, â€Å"You should eat. Your food's getting cold. We've got a little over three hours to go and won't be stopping except for gas.' I recognized the finality in her voice, as well as the logic. She didn't want to talk anymore. Inside the bag, I found two giant orders of fries, and three cheeseburgers. She apparently still knew me pretty well. It took all of my restraint to keep from stuffing fries into my mouth then and there. Instead, I offered a cheeseburger to Dimitri. â€Å"You want one? Gotta keep up your strength.' He hesitated several seconds before taking it. He seemed to regard it with a kind of wonder, and it hit me that eating food was still a new thing for him after these last few months. Strigoi only subsisted on blood. I handed him a couple of fries too and then turned back around to devour the rest. I didn't bother offering any to Sydney. She was notorious for her lack of appetite, and besides, I figured she would have eaten already if she'd wanted to while waiting for us. â€Å"I think this is for you,' Dimitri said, handing me a small backpack. I opened it and found a few changes of clothes, as well as some basic toiletries. I double-checked the outfits. â€Å"Shorts, shirts, and a dress. I can't fight in these. I need jeans.' The dress was cute, admittedly: a long gauzy sun-dress in a watercolor print of black, white, and gray. But very impractical. â€Å"That's gratitude for you,' said Sydney. â€Å"This happened kind of fast. There was only so much I could put together.' Glancing behind me, I saw Dimitri unpacking his own bag. It had basic clothing like mine and also– â€Å"A duster?' I exclaimed, watching him pull out the long, leather coat. How it even fit in there defied physics. â€Å"You managed to get him a duster, but you couldn't find me a pair of jeans?' Sydney seemed unconcerned by my outrage. â€Å"Abe said it was essential. Besides, if all goes like it's supposed to, you won't be doing any fighting.' I didn't like the sound of that. Safe and remote. Seeing as I had what were potentially the quietest car companions in the world, I knew better than to expect any real conversation for the next three hours. I supposed it was just as well because it let me check in on Lissa. I was still too on edge about my own escape to spend much time in her head, so it was just a quick assessment of life at Court. Just as Dimitri had predicted, the guardians had restored order pretty soon. The Court was under lockdown, and everyone with any connection to me was being questioned extensively. The thing was, they all had alibis. Everyone had seen my allies at the funeral–or, in Abe's case, thought they'd seen them. A couple girls swore they'd been with Adrian, which I could only imagine was the result of more compulsion. I could feel Lissa's satisfaction through the bond as the guardians' frustration grew and grew. Although she had no idea when I might be checking in on her, she sent me a message through the bond: Don't worry, Rose. I'll take care of everything. We're going to clear your name. I slumped back in the car seat, unsure how to feel about this situation. All my life, I'd taken care of her. I'd protected her from danger and gone out of my way to keep her away from any threats. Now, the roles were reversed. She'd come through for me in saving Dimitri, and I was in her–and apparently everyone else's–hands as far as this escape was concerned. It went against every instinct I had and troubled me. I wasn't used to being protected by others, let alone her. The interrogations were still going on, and Lissa hadn't had hers yet, but something told me my friends were going to get off the hook for this. They wouldn't be punished for my escape, and for the moment, I was really the only one in danger–which was what I preferred. West Virginia might have been as beautiful as Sydney claimed, but I couldn't really tell since it was the middle of the night when we arrived. Mostly I had the sense of driving through mountains, feeling the ups and downs as we went through switchbacks and tunnels. After almost exactly three hours, we rolled into a small hole of a town that had one traffic light and a restaurant simply marked DINER. There hadn't been any traffic on the road for over an hour, though, which was really the most important thing. We hadn't been followed. Sydney drove us to a building with a sign that read MOTEL. Apparently, this town liked to stick to the basics when it came to names. I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually just called TOWN. As we walked across the motel's parking lot, I was surprised to feel how sore my legs were. Every part of me ached, and sleep sounded fantastic. It had been more than half a day since this adventure began. Sydney checked us in under fake names, and the sleepy desk clerk didn't ask any questions. We walked down a hall that wasn't dirty exactly but also wasn't anything a royal would have gone near. A cleaning cart leaned against one wall, as though someone had given up and abandoned it. Sydney suddenly came to a halt in front of a room and handed us a key. I realized she was heading off to a different room. â€Å"We're not all staying together?' I asked. â€Å"Hey, if you guys get caught, I don't want to be anywhere near you,' she said, with a smile. I had a feeling she also didn't want to sleep in the same room as â€Å"evil creatures of the night.' â€Å"I'll still be nearby, though. We'll talk in the morning.' This made me realize something else. I eyed Dimitri. â€Å"We're sharing a room?' Sydney shrugged. â€Å"All the better to defend yourselves.' She left us in that abrupt way of hers, and Dimitri and I glanced at each other briefly before heading into the room. Like the rest of the motel, it wasn't fancy, but it would do. The carpet was worn but intact, and I appreciated the weak attempt at decorating with a very bad painting of some pears. A small window looked sad. There was one bed. Dimitri locked the bolt and chain on the door and then sat back in the room's lone chair. It was wooden with a straight back, but he seemed to regard it as the most comfortable thing in the world. He still wore that perpetually vigilant look of his, but I could see exhaustion around the edges. This had been a long night for him too. I sat down on the edge of the bed. â€Å"What now?' â€Å"Now we wait,' he said. â€Å"For what?' â€Å"For Lissa and the others to clear your name and find out who killed the queen.' I expected more explanation, but all I got was silence. Disbelief began to build up in me. I'd remained as patient as I could tonight, always assuming Dimitri was leading me toward some mysterious mission to help solve the murder. When he said we were going to wait, surely he didn't mean we were just going to †¦ well, wait? â€Å"What are we going to do?' I demanded. â€Å"How are we going to help them?' â€Å"We told you earlier: You can hardly go looking for clues at Court. You need to stay away. You need to stay safe.' My jaw dropped as I gestured around the drab room. â€Å"What, and this is it? This is where you're stashing me? I thought †¦ I thought there was something here. Something to help.' â€Å"It is helping,' he said, in that damnably calm way of his. â€Å"Sydney and Abe researched this place and decided it was out of the way enough to avoid detection.' I shot up from the bed. â€Å"Okay, comrade. There's one serious problem here with your logic. You guys keep acting like me staying out of the way is helping.' â€Å"Whats a serious problem is us repeating this conversation over and over. The answers to who murdered Tatiana are at Court, and that's where your friends are. They'll figure this out.' â€Å"I didn't just get in a high-speed chase and jump state lines to hole up in some crappy motel! How long are you planning on â€Å"staying out of the way' here?' Dimitri crossed his arms over his chest. â€Å"As long as it takes. We have the funds to stay here indefinitely.' â€Å"I probably have enough spare change in my pocket to stay here indefinitely! But it's not happening. I have to do something. I won't just take the easy way out and sit around.' â€Å"Surviving isn't as easy as you think.' â€Å"Oh God,' I groaned. â€Å"You've been hanging out with Abe, haven't you? You know, when you were a Strigoi, you told me to stay away from him. Maybe you should take your own advice.' I regretted the words as soon as they left my lips and saw in his eyes that I'd inflicted serious damage. He might have been acting like the old Dimitri in this escape, but his time as a Strigoi still tormented him. â€Å"I'm sorry,' I said. â€Å"I didn't mean–‘ â€Å"We're done discussing this,' he said harshly. â€Å"Lissa says we're staying here, so we're staying here.' Anger shoved aside my guilt. â€Å"Thats why you're doing this? Because Lissa told you to?' â€Å"Of course. I swore I'd serve and help her.' That was when I snapped. It had been bad enough that when Lissa restored him to a dhampir, Dimitri had thought it was okay to stick around Lissa while spurning me. Despite the fact that I'd been the one who went to Siberia and that I was the one who learned about how Victor's brother Robert knew how to restore Strigoi †¦ well, apparently those things didn't matter. Only Lissa wielding the stake had seemed to matter, and Dimitri now held her up as some kind of angelic goddess, one he'd made an archaic, knight-like vow to serve. â€Å"Forget it,' I said. â€Å"I am not staying here.' I made it to the door in three steps and managed to undo the chain, but in seconds, Dimitri was out of his chair and had thrown me against the wall. Really, that was pretty slow reaction time. I would have expected him to stop me before I'd taken two steps. â€Å"You are staying here,' he said evenly, hands gripping my wrists. â€Å"Whether you like it or not.' Now, I had a few options. I could stay, of course. I could hang out for days–months, even–in this motel until Lissa cleared my name. That was presuming Lissa could clear my name and that I didn't get food poisoning from the DINER diner. This was the safest option. Also the most boring for me. Another option was to fight my way through Dimitri. That was neither safe nor easy. It would also be particularly challenging because I'd have to try to fight in such a way that would allow me to escape but wouldn't kill him or cause either of us serious injury. Or, I could just throw caution away and not hold back. Hell, the guy had battled Strigoi and half the Court's guardians. He could handle me giving everything I had. We'd certainly shared some pretty rough encounters back at St. Vladimir's. Would my best be enough for me to escape? Time to find out. I kneed him in the stomach, which he clearly hadn't expected. His eyes widened in shock–and a little pain–providing me with an opening to break free of his grip. That opening was only long enough for me to yank out the door's bolt. Before I could reach for the knob, Dimitri had a hold of me again. He gripped me hard and threw me onto the bed stomach first, both pinning me with his weight and preventing my limbs from doing any more surprise kicking. This was always my biggest problem in fights: opponents– usually men–with more strength and weight. My speed was my greatest asset in those situations, but being held down made dodging and evasion a non-option. Still, every part of me struggled, making it difficult for him to keep me down. â€Å"Stop this,' he said in my ear, his lips nearly touching it. â€Å"Be reasonable for once. You can't get past me.' His body was warm and strong against mine, and I promised my own body a stern scolding later. Quit it, I thought. Focus on getting out of here, not how he feels. â€Å"I'm not the one being unreasonable,' I growled, trying to turn my face toward him. â€Å"You're the one caught up in some noble promise that makes no sense. And I know you don't like to sit out of the action any more than I do. Help me. Help me find the murderer and do something useful.' I stopped struggling and pretended our argument had distracted me. â€Å"I don't like sitting around, but I also don't like rushing into an impossible situation!' â€Å"Impossible situations are our specialty,' I pointed out. Meanwhile, I tried to assess his hold on me. He hadn't relaxed his grip, but I hoped maybe the conversation was distracting him. Normally, Dimitri was too good to lose his focus. But I knew he was tired. And maybe, just maybe, he might be a little careless since it was me and not a Strigoi. Nope. I lashed out abruptly, trying to break away and scramble out from under him. The best I managed to do was roll myself over before he had a hold of me again, now leaving me back-down on the bed. Being so close to him †¦ his face, his lips †¦ the warmth of his skin on mine. Well. It appeared that all I'd accomplished was putting myself at a greater disadvantage. He certainly didn't seem to be affected by our bodies' closeness. He wore that typical steel resolve of his, and even though it was stupid of me, even though I knew I shouldn't care anymore that he was over me †¦ well, I did care. â€Å"One day,' he said. â€Å"You can't even wait one day?' â€Å"Maybe if we'd gone to a nicer hotel. With cable.' â€Å"This is no time for jokes, Rose.' â€Å"Then let me do something. Anything.' â€Å"I. Can't.' Saying the words obviously pained him, and I realized something. I was so mad at him, so furious that he'd try to make me sit around and play it safe. But he didn't like any of this either. How could I have forgotten how alike we were? We both craved action. We both wanted to be useful, to help those we cared about. It was only his self- resolve to help Lissa that was keeping him here with this babysitting job. He claimed me rushing back to Court was reckless, but I had a feeling that if he hadn't been the one in charge of me–or, well, thought he was–he would have run right back there too. I studied him, the determined dark eyes and expression softened by the brown hair that had escaped its ponytail holder. It hung around his face now, just barely touching mine. I could try to break free again but was losing hope of that working. He was too fierce and too set on keeping me safe. I suspected pointing out my suspicion that he wanted to go back to Court too wouldn't do any good. True or not, he would be expecting me to argue with Rose-logic. He was Dimitri, after all. He would be expecting everything. Well, almost. An idea hit me so fast that I didn't pause to analyze it. I just acted. My body might be constrained, but my head and neck had just enough freedom to shift up–and kiss him. My lips met his, and I learned a few things. One was that it was possible to catch him totally by surprise. His body froze and locked up, shocked at the sudden turn of events. I also realized that he was just as good a kisser as I recalled. The last time we'd kissed had been when he was Strigoi. There had been an eerie sexiness to that, but it didn't compare to the heat and energy of being alive. His lips were just like I remembered from our time at St. Vladimir's, both soft and hungry at the same time. Electricity spread through the rest of my body as he kissed me back. It was both comforting and exhilarating. And that was the third thing I discovered. He was kissing me back. Maybe, just maybe, Dimitri wasn't as resolved as he claimed to be. Maybe under all that guilt and certainty that he couldn't love again, he still wanted me. I would have liked to have found out. But I didn't have the time. Instead, I punched him. It's true: I've punched lots of guys who were kissing me but never one I actually wanted to keep kissing. Dimitri still had a solid hold on me, but the shock of the kiss had dropped his guard. My fist broke out and connected with the side of his face. Without missing a beat, I shoved him off me as hard as I could and leapt away from the bed and toward the door. I heard him scramble to his feet as I threw it open. I shot out of the room and slammed the door shut before I could see what he did next. Not that I needed to. He was coming after me. Without a moment's hesitation, I shoved the abandoned cleaning cart in front of the room's door and sprinted off down the hall. A couple seconds later, the door opened, and I heard a cry of annoyance–as well as a very, very bad word in Russian–as he ran into the cart. It would only take him a few moments to push it aside, but that was all I needed. I was down the flight of stairs in a flash and into the meager lobby where a bored desk clerk was reading a book. He nearly jumped out of his chair when I came tearing through. â€Å"There's a guy chasing me!' I called as I headed out the door. The clerk didn't really look like anyone who would try to stop Dimitri, and I had a feeling Dimitri wouldn't stop anyway if the guy asked him to. In the most extreme case, the man would call the police. In this town, the POLICE probably consisted of one guy and a dog. Regardless, it was no longer my concern. I had escaped the motel and was now in the middle of a sleepy mountain town, its streets cast in shadows. Dimitri might be right behind me, but as I plunged into some woods nearby, I knew it was going to be easy for me to lose him in the darkness.