Jonathan Swift and Piers Paul Read Essay

Cannibalism is the last taboo. In ‘Alive’ and ‘A Modest Proposal’ Jonathan Swift and Piers Paul Read approach the subject with completely different purposes in mind. What do you consider to be the purpose of each author, and say how he achieves this? A Modest Proposal is a scathing attack on the economic oppression of the Irish by the English. During Swift’s lifetime tremendous suffering was caused by English practices in Ireland. However, it is incorrect to say that cannibalism is the theme of ‘A Modest Proposal. ‘ Swift was a Protestant writer in Ireland at the time of The Great Potato Famine. The article is a clever satirical device to draw attention to the plight of the poor. He infiltrates the opposition, the rich Protestant landlords, in order to put their torturous ideas to ridicule. Swift attacks his own Protestant, English community by creating a narrator who considers himself a reasonable and compassionate character, but one who combines a repulsive anti-Catholic bigotry, with a ‘modest’ proposal, that is, rather, a ‘final solution’: he, the narrator, advocates cannibalism as a means of countering Irish Catholic poverty abortion, and the high birth rate. The narrator, in a frighteningly rational and level-headed tone condemns the English for being inhumane, the Irish for being passive, the speaker for being morally blind, and the reader for accepting intolerable situations in the world around him; for this piece was accepted and believed by many, at the time. On the other hand, Piers Paul Read, in his biographical ‘novel’ ‘Alive, rather than indirectly giving answers to a problem, asks questions. He tells of the experiences of the survivors of an Andean plane crash in 1976, who, in the remoteness, and the harshness of their environment, the lack of a consumable source of food, and the quickening exhaustion of their own limited amounts of chocolate and wine, have no where to turn except, in their desperation, to eat the meat from their fellow, dead, company. They have only their plane’s wreckage as shelter, which has come down from 14,000 feet. Both literary pieces, although their purpose, style and audience are different, jolt the reader out of their complacency, and encourage them to think of things they thought weren’t necessary to be thought about! However, it is necessary to understand that the two texts have been written hundreds of years apart, and society, of course, has evolved. Swift has reached out across the religious and ethnic divide to champion the ignorant, impoverished Irish Catholics. The bigotry of Swift’s narrative is so convincing and grotesque, that Swift himself is sometimes mistaken as his narrator, an anti-Catholic bigot! On the contrary, Swift’s essay harshly attacks the ‘Christian’ commitment of Ireland’s wealthy Protestant absentee landowners, and his unflattering ‘cannibal’ is made in their image. P. P. Read meanwhile, attacks not the opposition, but gives a balanced and meaningful account of the plane crash and the tales that followed, and examines the human spirit to stay alive, and questions what is ‘civilized’ and ‘human. ‘ Yet, simultaneously, Read, almost in the opposite of Swift, advocates cannibalism. Read turns the views of cannibalism as a taboo on its head. Rather than associating it with savagery and being primitive and irrational, he questions logic, and seems to state that the ban is the primitive thing, that is not based on reason. In one paragraph alone, he writes, â€Å"we grappled with emotions,† and â€Å"we did not think it wrong† twice. While Swift attacks the Landlords by linking their greed to their â€Å"devouring† of the Irish Catholics, and satirizes cannibalism to the extent that it is no longer seen as ironic, only distasteful, Read, using a character ‘Canessa’, reasons cannibalism out. He talks of nourishment and energy, and of course, eventually wins his company. Their decision is based on logic and reason, and the ability to use these makes us civilized. Although I do not feel that Swift’s narrator’s views are plausible, Read using a variety of effective techniques, convinces the reader. Swift shows how the English projected their own blame onto their victims- destitute Irish Catholics, that, Swift suggests, have been ‘cannibalized’ by the rapacious greed of absentee landlords. Swift is hoping to shame them into being more compassionate. However, as what happened when I read it for the first time, because Swift and his narrator are so tightly intertwined, readers often emerge from their reading, confused, perhaps unable to take in the implausibility of his case.

American National Standards Institute

In every database project, there would always be requirements for the implementation of its data model. For it to work well and test its functionality, a data value might be needed. This data value will assume a value that is unknown. In relational databases, SQL server uses a placeholder called NULL that resembles unknowns. NULL sets parameters so some data modelers can avoid using it. However, just like any other technology, complications would always arise. One of these is an argument whether it’s good to use NULL or not.NULL is a condition, apart from being unknown (Poolet, 2006). However, along with its many uses are issues supported by some books that suggest minimization of using NULL. There are also a few authors who came to a point of telling to never declare a column NULL. According to them, declaring a column null would mean minor additional overhead on SQL server. Also, you must see to it that you have accounted for the NULL condition in any program that will gain access to the database most especially to those programming languages that would flag null as an error condition.The issues, however, do not necessarily suggest to avoid the use of NULL. In the first place, NULL values are created for purpose. It expresses an unknown condition that is valid. The American National Standards Institute, the provider of standardization system in USA, is supporting the use of NULL instead of empty strings. Thus, the use of NULL is just a matter of choice. References Poolet, M. A. (2006, May) Designing for Performance: Null or Not Null? SQL Server Magazine, pg. 31 American National Standards Institute The American National Standards Institute is an organization that is instrumental in evaluating conformance in relation to customary setups. Their management systems related to standardization are reflected in their environmental parameters in ISO 14000 and quality based parameters such as ISO 9000. In general terms the mission of ANSI can be enumerated as an operation that is constructed to enhance the basic competitiveness of both national and global business.This helps to maintain the integrity of the US business in a voluntary consensus manner that ultimately projects the face of the US to the world as this depicts the quality of life in the United States. (Lamb, 243) It could be mentioned in this context that the system of voluntary standard and the ANSI is a very dynamic process. The initial need of this organization can be traced back to 1911 when industrial conflicts in relation to waste and duplications became a major issue.During this period in 1916 five major bodies of Ame rica came together to form a common nation body that was to look after and coordinate the standardization process. These eminent bodies are ASTM or the American Society for Testing Materials, AIMME or the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, ASCE or the American Society of Civil Engineers, ASME or the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the most important of all the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. They together formed a core unit to overlook the process but soon enough the need of a separate unit or organization became obvious.Thus the AESE or the American Engineering Standards Committee was founded within the next two tears. Later this organization was redesigned and named ANSI or the American National Standards Institute. (Kar, 147) It should be remembered that the ANSI is also affiliated with the ISO or International Organization for Standardization where it represents the US officially. It is also affiliated with the IEC or the Internati onal Electrotechnical Commission. However, this affiliation is made via the National Committee of the United States.Furthermore, the American National Standards Institute is also the member of the IAF or the much important International Accreditation Forum. In the regional sector ANSI is an active member of the PASC or the Pacific Area Standards Congress and it represents the United States and also hold an important portfolio as a member in the COPANT or the Pan American Standards Commission. It is a very important part of the PAC or the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation too and is extremely instrumental in the decision making machineries of the IAAC or Inter American Accreditation Cooperation.However, it should be mentioned that the activities of ANSI in this sector is mostly done via ANAB or the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board. (Kar, 148) The standardization process of the ANSI follows a strict mode of hallmark. Firstly, agreement by an assembly of eminent position holders a re taken into consideration who are granted as able representatives of interested bodies and those who are affected materially. Secondly, draft standards are prepared based on comments and public review that is predominantly broad based.Thirdly, the voting members evaluate and analyze the topic in concern and then after thorough consideration the response is taken into account. The fourth phase starts with the process of incorporation of the changes agreed upon in relation to the requirements of the consensus and in accordance to the standard of the initial draft. The fifth and the last phase deal with the process of development of standard where appeal could be put forward in relation to review of the entire process, if necessary. (Lamb, 245)In conclusion it should be mentioned that the ANSI was founded on 19th October, 1918 and holds a legal status that indicates it belongs to non profit institution and private firm under 501(c) 3. (King, 30)The head office of ANSI is situated in Washington, DC. The present Chairman of ANSI is Robert W. Noth and the president is Joe Bhatia. (King, 28) According to the current profile of ANSI the organization has a total workforce of more than 85 full time employees and the annual budget of the organization is about $22 million.(King, 29) The organization runs on membership and its members are individuals, International bodies, academic bodies, Companies, Organizations and most of all Government agencies. At present date the ANSI is the representative of about 4 million professionals and 125000 companies. (King, 27) References: Kar, P; History of Technology and related applications. (Kolkata: Dasgupta & Chatterjee 2001) pp 147-8 King, H; The ANSI Today. (Chennai: HBT & Brooks Ltd. 2006) pp 27-30 Lamb, Davis; Cult to Culture: The Development of Civilization on the Strategic Strata. (Delhi: National Book Trust. 2004) pp 243-245

The Arguments For and Against Giving Sentencing Discounts Where There Essay

The Arguments For and Against Giving Sentencing Discounts Where There is a Guilty Plea - Essay Example Other arguments against sentencing discounts include the dangers of innocent defendant’s pleading guilty out of fear that he or she might be convicted at trial and receive the maximum penalty. It has also been argued, that the practice of permitting a reduced sentence in exchange for a guilty plea is an inducement which is essentially a violation of procedural justice. 4 This paper provides a critical analysis of arguments for and against sentencing discounts in exchange for a guilty plea. After weighing both sides of the argument, this research study agrees that the practice of awarding a reduction in sentencing when a defendant enters a guilty plea should be retained. This paper is divided into three parts. The first part of this paper provides an overview of the practice of sentencing discounting when a defendant pleads guilty. ... However, a common theme in practice is the fact that a number of factors influence the magnitude of the discount. Some of the most common factors is the time when the guilty plea is entered and the â€Å"extent to which the plea spared vulnerable witnesses† the necessity of having to testify. 6 In England and Wales, defendants who plead guilty early on can expect a sentence discount of up to 30 per cent. However, defendants who plead guilty at the start of the trial can expect to receive a smaller discount. The usual discount for a guilty plea at the beginning of a trial is no more than 10 per cent.7 It would therefore appear that the sentencing discounts practice operates as a reward for pleading guilty and foregoing formal adjudication. Although no actual negotiation of sentence is conducted with the judge, the defendant essentially foregoes the right to a formal adjudication in exchange for a reduced sentence.8 Sentencing discounts are not automatic however. For instance in Landy, the Court of Appeal held that a sentence discount is not guaranteed where a defendant who pleads guilty has been â€Å"caught red-handed† or the evidence against the defendant is overwhelming.9 However, the Court of Appeals ruling appears to contradict the main premise for awarding a discount in exchange for a guilty plea: the efficient administration of justice as it allows the courts to dispense with a case more quickly and turn its attention to other cases.10 Regardless of whether a defendant is caught red-handed or not or the evidence against him or her is overwhelming, the defendant is entitled to a trial. By pleading guilty, the defendant is waiving his/her right to a fair trial and is freeing the court’s calendar

Technical Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Technical Communication - Essay Example The technical communication differs from academic essay writing for other classes. The research focuses on the variance between other academic essays and the technical communication report. The research focuses on the step by step procedures to be implemented by the readers of the technical communication report. The technical communication, unlike the academic essay, always includes the use of technical language. The research includes a study of the similarities between the technical communication and the academic essay. The technical communications report is a step by step explanation of what should be done to accomplish the organization’s expected end product.In terms of characteristics, the technical communication document (accounting technology communications report) found qualifies as a technical communication. According to Michael Albers (39), the document teaches the procedural steps, unlike the academic essays, to prepare the company’s balance sheet and income s tatement. First, the document explains which accounting account title should be debited or credited for every business transaction that occurs in one day. Second, the document dictates that there should have equal total amounts for both the debit entry total and the credit entry total for the journal entry of each business transaction. Next, the document explains each of the intricate steps in transferring the journal entries to the ledger books. Next, the document explains that the balances of each ledger account balances must be transferred to the worksheet.

Integration - Causal Chains and Strategy Case Study

Integration - Causal Chains and Strategy - Case Study Example For Sony Technologies, these measures include revenues, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, capital return, cash flow, product quality, and timeliness, rate of improvement, employee morale, turnover and use of best practices. Every organization is unique and this paper will analyze how to develop a balanced score card system in line with the strategy of Sony Technologies. The logic behind the making of a score card system starts with understanding these challenges in terms of the customers and stakeholders of the organization, and their needs. The management should then come up with the strategic components of the system and validate them. These include vision, mission, strategic perspectives, core values, desired strategic results, objectives, strategic themes, strategy map, strategic initiatives, performance indicators and targets (Rohm & Malinosky, 2010). Having a good strategy helps the organization to communicate its approach and gain a competitive advantage. In a strategy score card, there are four performance indicators for analyzing strategy; financial, business processes, stakeholder/customer, and organization capacity perspectives. The key step in developing strategy is creating other high level strategies and objectives for each theme. For example, customer focused operational excellence and growth through innovation. The creation of strategic objectives is important in developing the plan. Objectives are the continuous actions for improvement that can be measured, actionable, and documented. These objectives are then developed to form a strategy map. This is a graphical demonstration of how an organization creates value for its customers, employees and stakeholders. It is an effective communication tool that Sony Technologies can use to build alignment, transparency and focus on positive results (Kaplan & Norton, Strategy maps: Converting intangible assets into tangible outcomes, 2004). Strategic objectives are important in creating value in

Electoral College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Electoral College - Essay Example This system of giving a voice to the smaller states was a system designed by the Founding Fathers at the beginning of America’s history, when only a few states stood in existence (Hardaway 76). Just like many decisions of the federal government today, the Electoral College system was built from a compromise that gave greater strength to the union. The attempt to disassemble the Electoral College system undermines the ability of the country to provide effective leadership to elected officials, which in turn would make the country weaker in the end. Although the United States is commonly described as a democracy, it is in fact not a pure popular democracy like Ancient Greece, in which each citizen was invited to make decisions in the legislature (Diamond 7). Rather, the Constitution of the United States strictly limits power between individual citizens and the federal government. The Electoral College is one such limitation placed on the power of the people, and it must be under stood properly within this historical (or Constitutional) context. Namely, while the United States is a democracy, the interests of the people are upheld by the representatives that take on that power. The electoral vote shares this power between the people and the government in a way that incorporates the interests of states, the people, and the federal government. With respect to the states, the Electoral College provides protection to the interests of smaller states, just as the Founding Fathers originally intended. At that time, the critical issue on everyone’s mind could not be avoided—namely, how the small and large states would share power in both the legislative and executive branches† (Hardaway 76). That is because the current system provides for the protection of all states’ rights. Remembering that the United States is a federation of states, and not one single state, each state is deserving of its own individual say in the election of the presi dent to preside over that union. A popular vote undermines the concept of a federal system of states, causing candidates to focus only on the most populous, urban areas of the country. â€Å"Elections are as freely and democratically contested as elections can be—but in the states†¦ Democracy thus is not the question regarding the electoral college; federalism is† (Gregg 7). There also appears to be a practical problem with changing the electoral vote system to a system of popular vote, which is its primary competitor. Fears surrounding the Electoral College deal with the possibility that the popular vote does not match the electoral vote. However, this is a nonexistent problem, considering â€Å"the fact that the electoral and popular vote winners have been the same in every presidential election conducted in the past 100 years† (Hardaway 11). In fact, because inconsistency between the two methods of measuring vote legitimacy is so rare in history, it seem s practically irrelevant to implement the changes need to switch to a popular vote. Changing the electoral system would require an Amendment to the Constitution, which also poses a practical problem for Congressmen. Members of the House and Senate from large states, like California and Texas, will be unlikely to surrender their power over smaller states in return for a system that

Global warming is bad Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global warming is bad - Research Paper Example Gradual evolution of the idea stirred an emotional debate between opponents and proponents of global warming that ultimately seems to end on rigid stance from both sides. To answer the question weather global warming is good or bad, we must analyse if it is there. The idea has been controversial and increasingly considered to be a myth. Its proponents consider it to be the crucial turn in this century and spending fortunes on investigating and finding solutions while its opponents attribute it to be more political than scientific. The paper analyses both sides and concludes that global warming is bad in either case. The concept of global warming didn’t pop up in a day,with very solid scientifc base,it formulated in a gradual but uncertain way.Lindzen aptly states, â€Å"Warming is a subject riddled by uncertainty† (424).Indeed, the idea has been subjected to intense debates during mid and late 80s without getting to a unanimous conclusion. Different reports by IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) (1996, 2001) suggested scientific frameworks in order to prevent adverse impact of climate change that brought Kyoto protocol for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels. The impact of global warming as projected by media is focused on increase in mean temperature of earth and its consequences, for instance, extreme weather conditions or increasing frequency of such events. In reality, global warming and climate change is much more complex (Khandekar, Murty and Chittibabu 1557).According to newspaper account of U.S. government study in 1988 suggested certain threats that include: Some ecological systems, particularly forests...may be unable to adapt quickly enough to a rapid increase in temperature...most of the notion’s coastal marshes and swamps would be inundated by salt water...an earlier snowmelt and runoff could disrupt water management systems...Disease borne by

Not required,just answer the question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Not required,just answer the question - Essay Example The fourth is, of course the last and the most important, the way it has changed our culture: the ways we think, learn, express and share as a society. Changes in culture are also a composite effect of the changes in the first three categories. Before the times of the internet, humanity as a whole witnessed the emergence of first the printed medium like books, magazines and newspapers and then of the audio and video---radio and television respectively. Each of these had a profound impact on the modern way of life, but then came the internet. To properly understand the true impact of the internet, one has to realize the ways it is different from the old media. The internet was different from these media because it made communication two-sided and interactive, at the click of a mouse. It meant that the audience could react fast, anonymously, and did not have to depend on a phone line and the mercy of a selector to express its reactions. The internet also eliminated boundaries; communication across the world became cheap. It gave the possibility for someone in Thailand to interact with another person in Sweden, and establish relationships based on common interests. The internet empowered through information, and gave equal and prompt access to a wealth of information to everyone across the world. Not only that, it made self-publishing through blogs, video-blogs and podcasts cheap and simple, making it impossible to curb the freedom of expression. While examining the first category, namely social organization, the first factor is the individual's power to move or create opinion, or propagate a way of life, which has increased exponentially. Anonymity has meant an obvious decrease in discrimination: race, color and age are secondary to the ability to prove a point in a given context. Internet can thus be a great leveler of social hierarchy. The ability to search for and connect with people with the same interests or points of view means the creation of strong virtual communities, which could be geographically diverse. This is radically different from earlier social communities that could be formed only by people in close physical vicinity. Online love, friendship, cybersex and searching for partners online introduce a change in social dynamics, where relationships can be formed outside real-world social occasions, thus weakening the previous role of social organization in personal relationships. Just as with social organization, the way politics is conducted has undergone a sea-change with the advent of the internet. Blogs, podcasts and articles on the internet influence public opinion more effectively than other media, because of their interactivity and the ability to support and empower individual opinion. The internet is increasingly becoming a part of modern campaigns also because of its affordability and ability to infiltrate to a younger base of the population. The changes brought about by the internet in the economy have been a hot topic of discussion for the past decade. It has been the biggest enabler in the creation of trans-national corporations, making cheap knowledge capital and skills accessible anywhere in the world. Internet has also spawned individual entrepreneurship, and ensured job-security. It has reduced costs across the board. An individual can now be self-employed, thanks to the millions of creative ideas that use anything from websites

The Cause of Sept 11 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Cause of Sept 11 - Research Paper Example On September 11, 2001, two planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center building in New York City while another plane hit the Pentagon in Washington, DC. The iconic building collapsed in less than two hours causing a fatality of nearly 3,000 people. This tragedy is the most lethal form of terrorism to have been carried out in modern times and will probably never be forgotten in American history. Government agencies and security experts have immediately assessed the rationale for the attack. In this regard, the essay aims to proffer the causes of the September 11, 2011 incident that shocked the world and millions of Americans whose lives have been drastically changed by it. Causes of the 9/11 Attack In retrospect, contemporary generation asks the relevant question: what led to 9/11 in the first place? There have been diverse theories on the rationale for the attack. One traced the root cause from America being a superpower and the icon of Western world and was ther efore the best target for the Islamists to carry out their attack. Head (2011) agrees that probably America lacked a strong representative of Islam – of the order of say Malcolm X – who would have given the US a human face, making the American people much harder to be demonized by the likes of al-Qaeda. Auster (2003) cited various explanations, to wit: â€Å"some blamed America's rejection of the Kyoto accords (a favorite charge among globalists), some blamed our failure to help alleviate Third-World hunger (a favorite among Episcopalians), some blamed our friendship with Israel (a favorite in some precincts of the right as well as the left). The real explanation had been lurking in the background all this while, but had never, to my knowledge, been proffered before now: America was attacked because of its racism† (Auster, 2003, par. 1). On the contrary, Levingston (2010) disagrees with the common notion that Western interference was the cause of 9/11. He ar gues that 9/11 was the result of a clash of Arab civilizations that simply used America as one of its venues. Levingston (2010) argues that the Arab world’s political culture has no mechanism for either sharing power or transmitting political authority from one governing body to another except through inheritance, coup or conquest and that we just happened to be at that stage that different groups are fighting to take over the leadership in the Middle East. The official comprehensive report compiled and published by the National Commission on Terrorist Attack Upon the United States entitled The 9/11 Commission Report under the section The Foundation of the New Terrorism indicated that Usama Bin Laden, together with a fugitive Egyptian physician, Ayman al Zawahiri, proposed a Declaration of War against the United States: â€Å"claiming that America had declared war against God and his messenger, they called for the murder of any American, anywhere on earth, as the ‘in dividual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it’† (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, 2004, p.47). There were even conspiracy theories that emerged stating that the cause of the 9/11 attack was actually â€Å"planned and executed by federal officials in order to provide the U.S. with a pretext for going to war in the Middle East and, by extension, as a means of consolidating and extending the power of

Poem Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Poem - Annotated Bibliography Example The oppression was being advanced by the whites in various forms such as restrictions to certain facilities and mistreatments. The authors thus portrays how Phillis Whitley composed the poem â€Å"On the Death of General Wooster† which depicts a form of resistance to the state and a protest in a way. Phillis expresses her outrage regarding how the Africa’s race was being treated by the white people. The book can be described as credible since the authors have written other books on the topic before. In the book Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation, Felder, the author, analyses various poems regarding the poetry works by various authors especially in the 18th century such as the â€Å"An Ante-bellum Sermon† composed by Paul Laurence Dunbar in the 1890s. According to Dunbar’s analysis, the poem is more of a protest as well as a plea to other African Americans to resist the slavery that was being facilitated by the white and which was a great source of poverty among the black race. The poem employs a lot of humor where Dunbar calls for â€Å"Moses† to come and rescue the black people from the slavery. The book Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation is a compilation of credible analysis of poems from various poets thus can be described to be trustworthy. Haralson is the author of the popular book Encyclopedia of American Poetry which is a compendium of various poetry works in the history of America. In one of the poems is â€Å"The Slave Auction† which was composed by a renowned poet, Watkins Harper in the slavery period of America. In the book Encyclopedia of American Poetry, the author attempts to analyse the various issue presented by Watkins such as the torture and a hard time that African Americans endured at the time of his composing the poem. He condemns the

The process of International Assignments Essay Example for Free

The process of International Assignments Essay Human resource management (HRM) is a strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization’s most valued assets: the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives. â€Å"HRM aims to help the organization to achieve success through people. As Ulrich and Lake (1990) remark, ’HRM systems can be the source of organizational capabilities that allow firms to learn and capitalize on new opportunities’. HRM is concerned with both meeting human capital requirements and the development of process capabilities: in other words, the ability to get things done effectively†1. These strategic goals and objectives are most important and mandatory in a world which becomes more and more global. To be successful, companies have to keep up with their competitors, which usually mean that getting things done effectively is crucial in everything they do. Globalization has brought remarkable developments in the diversity and complexity of International Human Resource Management (IHRM) and management of the global workforce is a critical dimension of companies’ international business. 2 1. 2 Objective of the term paper According to Harvey and Moeller3 there are currently 850,000 subsidiaries of multinational corporations operating globally. Furthermore, 65 per cent of Multinational Companies (MNCs) surveyed in a GMAC global relocation survey are expecting expatriate manager numbers to rise steadily over the next decade. Expatriate managers continue to be a viable means for exercising control over foreign operations and they can therefore have a direct impact on organizational performance. 4 Furthermore, international assignments are also the single most expensive per-person investment a company makes in globalizing its workforce, and unfortunately, most firms are getting anaemic returns on this investment. To improve their return, managers must understand the best practices, thinking, and scientific research on international assignments. 5 According to the above fact and the current worldwide growth of the expatriation missions worldwide, this term paper should give an overview of the Process of International Assignments and its importance for internationally operating Companies – with special focus on the Repatriation of Expatriates. 1. 3 Approach First of all, the question is answered on who should be recruited and how the best person possible for the job can be acquired. If a company is not able to find the right candidate internally, personnel are often recruited externally. But this brings along some other problems which should not be left behind, as insufficient commitment or lack of corporate identity and boundaries to the parent company. 6 Once some appropriate candidates for the vacant position are found, companies have to sort out according to the required characteristics and qualifications as well as the official job description, if available. Next, a number of objectives must be incorporated in the design of expatriates’ pay packages when it comes to negotiating and setting up contractual conditions for the future employee. Chapter three therefore deals with elements a contract should consist of as well as compensation itself. If the contract is finally set up and signed, training for the respective employee and proper preparation regarding the international assignment is fundamental. This can ensure the employee’s success as creating a global mind, overall understandings of the expatriates’ coming tasks as well as differences in local and domestic culture are only some of the toughest tasks an expatriate has to face during his international assignment. Preparation and support given by the company are therefore urgently needed, not only in giving information about host country, upcoming tasks and the stay itself but also in regards to questions related to family, friends, home-flights and all other social questions arising. The last stage of a foreign assignment is the process of repatriation. This phase is the most difficult and unpredictable one. The expatriate not only has to arrive and settle down at home, but also in headquarter where things, positions and people might have changed. â€Å"Often when they return home, expatriates face an organization that does not know what they have done for the past several years, does not know how to use their knowledge and does not care†7. As the process of international assignments is very complex and this term paper limited, each chapter only gives a short and simple overview of the single topics summing up important facts and figures submitting general conspectus. 2. Personnel recruitment and selection 2. 1 International staffing strategies Key question to international staffing regards the selection of one of the four different staffing strategies: ethnocentric, polycentric, geocentric or regiocentric. 8 Choosing the right strategy generally depends on different influencing factors like the characteristics of the parent company or foreign company, conditions in the host country as well as individual characteristics of the employee. 2. 1. 1 Ethnocentric staffing The ethnocentric approach usually indicates that companies are satisfied and happy with the strategy of the headquarter and they now try to implement their domestic standards also in the host country. 9 Home personnel are educated to lead worldwide. This means that key positions in domestic and foreign operations are held by Parent Country Nationals (PCNs). 2. 1. 2 Polycentric staffing The polycentric orientation stands in direct contrast to the ethnocentric orientation, being more variable and independent. Evaluation and control is determined locally and therefore a high level of autonomy can be found in those subsidiaries. 10 Local personnel, Host Country Nationals (HCNs), are educated to lead locally. 11 2. 1. 3 Geocentric staffing Following the geocentric staffing approach organizations are generally complex and interdependent worldwide like McDonalds or Apple. Universal standards for evaluation and control apply and nationality does not matter in favour of ability. The best talent educated to lead worldwide. 12 This also implicates working with Third Country Nationals (TCNs). 2. 1. 4 Regiocentric staffing The fourth staffing strategy is a mixture of the polycentric and the geocentric approach. Managers are generally selected on the basis of being the best in the region, with international transfers generally being restricted to regions. This kind of strategy has become more and more popular during the last years with many MNCs choosing to organize operations regionally. 13 2. 2 Personnel recruitment General target of personnel recruitment is to find an appropriate candidate for the right job. This process may be either conducted from outside or inside the company. Both ways of recruitment possess of advantages and disadvantages, but these can only be named exactly in a concrete recruitment case. 2. 2. 1 Internal recruitment There are different ways of internal recruitment. Personnel may be transferred or promoted to the job as an example. Another form is an apprenticeship of young people, having the advantage to shape future personnel right from scratch. Employees may also perform an on-the-job training for their future position or responsibility. 14 According to Scherm recruitment for international assignments within the company is mostly done by above-mentioned promotions or relocation of staff from one facility to another. 15 The advantages of internal recruitment are on hand. Companies know their potential expatriate longer, are used to their behaviour, thinking, skills and company as well as product specific knowledge. This reduces the risk of selecting the wrong candidate. According to the Global Relocation Trends Survey 200916, only 11 % of the expatriates expected to go abroad have been newly recruited externally. Due to the high selection risks, internal recruiting dominates. As basis for the recruitment decision performance measurements, personal reports, interviews with the employee as well as career plans are taken into account. 17 2. 2. 2 External recruitment If qualified personnel cannot be found internally, recruitment is done outside the company. This is also the case if the company is not able to qualify their personnel within a set time frame or due to lack of experienced staff. It is most important that companies know the relevant job market if they want to succeed in recruiting employees externally as well as doing this in an economically way. External recruitment can then be divided into two segments, passive and active external recruitment. Whereas active external recruitment means addressing potential candidates through e. g. different institutions, media or by using social networks, passive external recruiting companies set their emphasis on spontaneous, speculative applications of respective candidates or mouth-to-mouth propaganda of their great company image. 18 In case recruitment for an international assignment is done externally the risk for selecting the wrong candidate is often minimized by outsourcing the task to an external consultant or agency as they generally have more experience. 19 Nevertheless, the traditional ways of searching for the right candidate, e. g. simply advertising the vacancies in the local newspapers or online, employment centres or job fairs, are still applicable. Candidates from outside the company may bring in new ideas and may have a wider range of experience due to their former tasks but the selection process might take longer, might require extensive personnel resources and might be more expensive (e. g. advertising and interview process, personnel consulter). 2. 3 Personnel selection For an international assignment to become a great success for both, company and expatriate, selecting the right candidate out of several is one of the most important steps of the whole process. Several selection strategies are used and quite common but failure situations in individual assignment cases are widely spread in MNCs. 20 In order to make sure that the candidate possesses the right characteristics, qualifications, and skills a detailed job description and information about coming management tasks can be very helpful during this process. Unfortunately, these proper specifications are often not available or only give a rough overview of upcoming challenges. 21 2. 3. 1 Selection criteria A first impression about the population of expatriates provides the demographic data study of the Bookfield Global Relocation Trend Surveys. 22 For 2009 it is stated that 75 % of all expatriates have been aged between 30 and 49 whereas 80 % of them have been male. Only 9 % have had prior experience as international expatriates. 27 % have been single and therefore sent without partner and almost half of them have been sent off together with their kids. 23 Usually the HR Manager selects the expatriate according to the following criteria: A specific or subject-related qualification as the expatriate often has no other specialist on site. Personal characteristics like motivation, discipline, patience, endurance, and readiness to take on responsibility. Cultural openness, willingness to learn and experience new things, open-minded, no resistance to change. Family-related criteria The single criteria may overlap to a certain point. In literature different weightings for all of these criteria exist but they all agree to the fact that Family and Cultural openness should be most taken into account. 24 2. 3. 2 Final selection process and instruments Generally, there are no other specific selection processes or criteria used for finding a candidate for an international assignment than the ones used in national context. Among selection process and criteria four are widely known, starting with the general application documents. Job requirements and the matching candidate personal profile decide in first instance who is to be invited to a personal interview. If it is decided to recruit a candidate internally, generally the previous career and the internal development of the employee are taken into account. Often, prior to an invitation to a personal interview, candidates have to successfully take part in an assessment centre focusing more and more on intercultural competences like empathy, cultural understanding, behaviour etc. 25 It is seen as an advantage of the external assessment of intercultural competence in intercultural assessment centres that the requirement regarding the behaviour and orientation are high and the candidates will be evaluated by several observers over a longer period. 26 In addition to this, personal interviews, together with wife or husband of the respective expatriate are increasing as it is important that they support and understand situation and coming tasks. They can help the expatriate to stay grounded and sometimes they even move with the expatriate to the new country. Last, tests can be used as a selection technique ranging from general mental ability tests to psychological tests. Finally, neither in literature nor in practice a general opinion which of the above mentioned selection processes and criteria are most appropriate or useful in regards to international assignments or the identification of intercultural competent employees exist. 27 3. Contractual conditions of the employment abroad 3. 1 Objectives of a contract No matter if a company operates nationally or internationally, the contract of an employee should be compliant with labour law standards, offer transparency and motivate staff in order to decrease fluctuation. Further, it should provide the legal and financial frame work of the working relation and last but not least should be economical and cost effective for the company. Protection of human life, health, and comfort by creating a strong and cohesive culture as well as safe working environment should been given highest priority and objective of contracts. 3. 2 Compensation Depending on the international orientation of the company as well as kind and duration of the international assignment there are three different compensation policies which can be differentiated, following below. 3. 2. 1 Ethnocentric compensation policy The Ethnocentric compensation policy is often used in combination with the Balance Sheet Approach: During a short-term assignment (delegation, 1 to 5 years)28, the employee retains his residence in the home country. His family usually stays back there, as moving those with the expatriate would exceed costs. The salary is paid by the parent company in the currency of the country of origin and charges can be passed on to the foreign company if applicable. The employee remains employee of the parent company and retains his employment contract. A supplementary agreement to this contract is set up for all specialties such as tasks, duration, home flights, remuneration vacation etc. 29 About 60 % of German companies are using this compensation policy for their assignments. 30 Advantages are on hand: The expatriate can maintain home country living standards and generally receives a surplus for the additional future challenges and efforts. Therefore, this approach is accepted by most employees. Disadvantages for the company are sometimes massive compensation differences within a country e. g. the salary of a PCN might be considerably higher as that of a HCN. This fact might de-motivate local employees. Furthermore, the ethnocentric compensation policy is complex in administration. 31 3. 2. 2 Regiocentric compensation policy The Regiocentric compensation policy is often used in combination with the Going Rate Approach: During long-term assignment (relocation, 1 to 5 years)32 compensation is based on the Host Country. As the term ‘relocation’ already says, the employee gets directly involved in the foreign company. Usually, the family moves with the expatriate to the hospitable country and the salary is paid in the local currency directly by the foreign company. However, there are ways to still pay out a part of the salary in the currency of the home country, if desired. The existing contract with the parent company is brought to rest. The employment relationship however is not cancelled just like during military service or parental leave. At the termination of employment abroad the contractual ties between employee and parent company come back to life again. 33 Currently, approximately 11 % of German companies are using this compensation policy for their assignments. 34 Advantages are quite obvious: As the salary of the expatriates is linked to the salary structure of the host country salaries might be less costly in low-wage countries. Further the approach encourages equality between locals and expatriates and the identification with the host country. Due to an expected change in the living standards as well as huge variation between the expatriates’ salaries in different countries this approach is often very low accepted by expatriates. 35 3. 2. 3 Global compensation policy The global compensation policy neither considers the standards of the parent country nor those of the host country. Compensation is set globally and independently from other countries. This approach should provide the basis for an international remuneration policy. It should fit into corporate identity and should give international expatriates of MNC the opportunity to gain international experiences on the same level, offering transparency and the same salaries worldwide. Although corporate guidelines for a compensation policy often exist, they can hardly be found in the above described pure form but are being mixed up as due to costs and laws in the host countries compensation policies often require adjustment. 36 4. Preparation and support In order to make the international assignment a huge success for both the candidate and the company there are several measures which can be taken to prepare and support the expatriate. Support is an on-going process and done by superiors, responsible persons or agencies. It does only end after repatriation whereas the preparation phase should start directly after recruitment and ends with the expatriate departing. According to Festing, training and support have to take the process of cultural adjustment into account, and can therefore be divided into the phases described below37. 4. 1 â€Å"Pre-Departure† Training Preparation and training can help to improve the ability to interact effectively and adequately with foreigners in working and non-working environments38. An ideal pre-departure preparation is therefore quite necessary. This preparation should enhance knowledge about cultural, political, legal, economic, and social conditions of the host country and provides the expatriate with all general information. If the expatriate is not fluent in the host country language, foreign language instructions and trainings should be offered. Other practices of pre-departure training include look-and-see-trips, orientation by lectures and briefings, cross-cultural trainings in order to understand why foreign partners think and behave in different ways as well as briefings by returnees who can give the expatriate valuable and important insider information. These pre-departure trainings should be extended to the expatriates’ family wherever possible and necessary. 39 4. 2 â€Å"Start-upâ€Å" Training After departure of the expatriate, the start-up training in the host country begins. The parent company helps the expatriate and his or her family in different forms (coping with the adaptation to a foreign environment, accommodation, school for children, safeguarding the interests of the expatriate in the parent company etc. ) and continues to be present. The intensity of the support varies depending on the resources and systems the different MNCs have implemented. A mentor system is most common and should ensure that each expatriate has been assigned a senior executive at home or on-site, who has a â€Å"parent† function. 40 Furthermore, a detailed employee orientation plan for the new position in the host country can be helpful for the expatriate to find his or her way around. The continuous and direct contact to the headquarter during this stage is crucial as the expatriates should still feel connected to the company and not be left behind. Often expatriates continue to learn the language of the new country in local courses, receive specific further trainings or coaching either by experts from the parent company or by local trainers. 4. 3 â€Å"Cultural shock preventionâ€Å" Training As adoption of new thoughts and behaviours of a new culture and situation requires more time than any cross-cultural training program can offer the expatriate in advance during this stage the expatriate requires extensive support. As expatriates tend to see everything more from a touristic point of view first, they finally arrive in the host country. They easily get frustrated or disappointed by a variety of things (language barriers, behavioural differences, climate etc. ) during this stage and the experience of unpredictability in combination with the feeling of abandonment and isolation possibly comes over the expatriate and his or her family. Helpful during this stage is the assigned mentor. The expatriate can talk with the mentor about his or her feelings and share information and experience. An information exchange with other expatriates is also advantageous as they often understand problems, feelings, and thoughts better as the mentor. If the expatriate is accompanied by his or her family and the spouse does not work during the international assignment, cultural adaptation difficulties are quite more problematic and more intense than the expatriates’. 41 5. Repatriation 5. 1 Reintegration Generals â€Å"When the expatriate is sent abroad he expects the new, unknown situation and the problems involved. But when he returns to his home country, he encounters it completely unexpected†42. This statement of Adler still describes the situation an expatriate often has to face when returning to the home country very well. They have left with a special task or order to complete but when they return they often do not exactly know how their position in the headquarter and their life will look like. Further problems are often connected to the duration of the assignment, the expatriates personal experiences made in the host country, cultural differences on-site and abroad, the expatriates personal situation as well as the repatriation support. 43 Therefore, it is hard to find a general recipe for successful reintegration planning. Individual solutions have to be found and every international assignment and expatriate has to be looked after individually. â€Å"The repatriation of staff into the parent company already starts with the selection and preparation decisions for the foreign assignment. The reintegration does not end with the return to the parent company and is not completed until the staff has been introduced to its new position in the company’s headquarters, performs effectively and feels comfortable with his job†44. In order for the expatriate to reintegrate successfully and not to quit the company after the assignment and a consequent loss for the mother company of investment and expertise (human capital), the reintegration process should be divided into the three stages following below. 5. 2 Before expatriation Already before the international assignment has taken place it should be discussed with the expatriate what he or she expects of a future position, how the expatriate would like to develop, how the expatriate sees the future career as well as tasks. This is often done by the mentor of the expatriate for the international assignment. As the expatriation program is very expensive and time consuming for a company, failure rate or the possibility of the expatriate leaving the company after the assignment should be eliminated. Generally, an employee, who is willing to work and live for probably years in a foreign country, with all personal consequences, should be integrated into an internal performance program, right at the beginning of the assignment. Setting up an agreement outlining the type of position expatriates will be placed in upon repatriation, the compensation and a general idea of their future job description should be arranged prior to going abroad. 45 Another possibility to limit reintegration problems is the idea to limit the assignment in its duration in advance to about 3-5 years. This limitation should prevent the expatriate from getting too attached to the way of living, behaviour, values, and culture of the host country and facilitate repatriation upon return. 46 It is seen as advantageous that the expatriate is able to foresee a concrete end to the assignment. 47 5. 3 During expatriation During the assignment, it is important that the expatriate has continuous contact and an on-going information exchange with the home office. This can be done by the mentoring program itself, regular home flights, company newsletters, information exchange platforms, and media like intranet or weekly telephone conferences with superiors and colleagues. 48 The expatriate should feel as a part of the company and should also be able to develop a worldwide network, learn to think global, and actively exchange information, knowledge and experience with other colleagues and expatriates. There should never come up the feeling to be forgotten or left behind. 5. 4 After expatriation As indicated by Johnston, from the repatriate’s perspective problems associated with reintegrating into the home country are loss of status, loss of autonomy, loss of career direction, and a feeling that the company undervalues international experience. 49 In order to avoid these problems, most MNCs offer a reorientation program where their repatriates take part in. These reorientation programs can provide immediate help in most of the work-related questions arising after expatriation. The repatriate is given information on new products, organizational changes, personnel, corporate culture, market and new strategies and developments. Sometimes also an experience exchange with former expatriates takes place in order to facilitate reintegration and manage the reverse culture shock as well as sudden change in lifestyle. The former expatriates can help the repatriates to cope with their new experiences as they have been mainly through the same. Additionally, repatriates are often used to train and coach colleagues that are about to begin their assignments to share their experience and give the expatriate the perception that their work and international expertise is valued, recognized, and needed. This should avoid professional disappointment and under-utilization of newly developed global skills of the expatriates. The new position of the repatriate should fit to newly developed skills and experience or the former position should be extended but not restricted to nine-to-five work. Career deficits upon returning should be compensated by HR training methods. Social repatriation measures also include support in the adjustment back to social lifestyle, status, housing, financial counselling, and tax assistance, school systems and children’s education as well as spouses new job search, if applicable. 50 6. Conclusion 6. 1 Target achievement â€Å"Expatriation is an important step towards becoming a global leader†51. Furthermore, an international assignment is a powerful experience in shaping the perspective and capabilities of effective global leaders. People are the key to success; they are the ones behind the strategy. Developing and retaining human capital becomes more and more important nowadays. â€Å"During expatriation, managers find the opportunity to acquire and/or master their coping, cross-cultural communication, conflict resolution, negotiation, networking, and coaching skills. They also develop business, technical, and managerial competencies while overseas, where they have to adapt to a variety of roles such as integrator, balancer, change agent, mentor/motivator, and talent developer. If international assignments are important to global leadership development, then this opportunity should be given early in a manager’s life†52. Additionally to give mangers and/or employees the opportunity to international assignments they have to be prepared and supported to become successful. This term paper points out that cross-cultural training, support, preparation, and repatriation training can make a difference in the history of successes of international assignments of MNCs, although it is mainly underestimated. Employees are hired everywhere in the world, wherever the necessary skills, training and experience can be found. Due to time pressure, employees are often sent to foreign countries on very short notice. Furthermore, there is still a prevalent belief that intercultural knowledge and skills are not really essential to success when collaboration with foreigners. In addition to this ignorance, there are doubts about the training effectiveness. Managers are frequently not convinced that cross-cultural training is really an effective means for gaining control of the complex issues of international cooperation. These facts make it somehow quite difficult to progress in the international assignment process. 53 6. 2 Prospects Today, an international assignment is more than only vacation abroad. The learning-by-doing approach had become outdated. In order to keep up with internationalization, companies should focus on developing global leaders and therefore structure their IHRM process quite well. This includes a strategic expatriation and repatriation policy as losing repatriates to the competition will sooner or later create a huge competitive risk and already costs the company quite a lot of money. In order to progress and ameliorate the international assignment process however, companies have to conduct further research in some fields. This starts with selecting the right candidate for the job. How does the job look like in detail and which requirements are set? How long should the assignment exactly take and what are the specific goals? A concrete job description is one step forward to a structured IHRM process. If the expatriate e. g. is accompanied by the spouse, which possibilities does the company have to find an adequate job for both in the same region (dual career couples)? If it would be possible to enhance satisfaction of the spouse of the expatriate, this might also reduce the risk of failure of the assignment. The same question is to be asked upon their return. Furthermore, research is also needed with regard to the question of how the allocation of the position the expatriate will receive upon return can be planned and implemented in the long run. The expatriate should have the impression that career planning is well structured and thought-out. Another question could be how expatriates are able to successfully pass on their knowledge generated abroad, in their home company. Organisational learning should be most important as otherwise the expensive purchased knowledge is lost and worthless. The above named questions are only several which could arise during each company’s individual research and amelioration process. List of references Adler, N. J. (1986): International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, Boston 1986 Armstrong, M. (2003): A handbook of human resource management practice, 9th edition, Kogan Page Limited, London 2003 Bergemann, N. , Sourisseaux, A. L. (2003): Internationale Personalauswahl, in: Interkulturelles Management, pp. 181-235, Berlin, Heidelberg 2003 Black, J. S. , Mendenhall, M. (1990): Cross-cultural training effectiveness: A review and a theoretical framework for future research, in: Academy of Management Review 1990, 15. Jg. , Nr. 1, pp. 113-136 Brynningsen, G. (2009): Managing Expatriates on International Assignments, Otago Management Graduate Review 2009, 7. Jg. , pp. 1-17 Caligiuri, P. , Lazarova, M. (2001): Strategic repatriation policies to enhance global leadership in: M. Mendenhall, T. Kuhlmann and G. Stahl (Hrsg. ): Developing global business leaders: Policies, processes, and innovations, Westport 2001, pp. 243-256 Collings, D. G. , Scullion, H. (2004): Approaches to international staf? ng, Global staffing, New York 2004 De Cieri, H. , Dowling, P. J. (2006): Strategic international human resource management in multinational enterprises: Developments and directions, in: Stahl, G. K. , Bjorkmann, I. (Hrsg. ): Handbook of research in international human resource management, Glos (UK) 2006, pp. 15-35 Deshpande, S. P. , Viswesvaran, C. (1992): Is cross-cultural training of expatriate managers effective: A meta analysis, in: International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 1992, 16. Jg. , Nr. 3, pp. 295-310 Dowling, P. , Weber, W. , Engle, A. D. (2010): Internationales Personalmanagement, Berlin 2010 Feldman, D. , Thomas, D. (1992): Career management Issues Facing Expatriates, in: Journal of International Business Studies, 1992, Vol. 23, No. 2, 2nd Qtr. , pp. 271-293 Festing, M. , Dowling, P. J. , Weber, W. , Engle, A. D. (2011): Internationales Personalmanagement, 3. Auflage, Wiesbaden 2011 Gaugler, E. (1989): Repatriierung von Stammhausdelegierten, in: Macharzina, K. , Welge, M. K. (Hrsg): in: Handworterbuch: Export und internationale Unternehmung, Stuttgart 1989, Sp. 1937-1951 Gregersen, H. B. , Mendenhall, M. E. , Stroh, L. K. (1999): Globalizing people through international assignments, New Jersey 1999 Harvey, M. , Novicevic, M. (2006): The evolution from repatriation of managers in MNEs to ‘patriation’ in global organizations, in: Stahl, G. K. , Bjorkmann, I. (Hrsg. ): Handbook of research in international human resource management, Glos (UK) 2006, pp. 323-346 Harvey, M. , Moeller, M. (2009): Expatriate mangers: A historical review, in: International Journal of management reviews, 2009, 11. Jg. , Nr. 3, pp. 275-296 Hays, R. D. (1974): Expatriate selection: Insuring success and avoiding failure, in: Journal of International Business Studies, 1974, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 25-37 Johnston, J. (1991): An Empirical Study of Repatriation of Managers in UK Multinationals, in: Human Resource Management Journal, 1991, 1. Jg. , Nr. 4, pp. 102-109 Kealey, D. J. , Protheroe, D. R. (1996): The effectiveness of cross-cultural training for expatriates: An assessment of the literature on the issue, in: International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 1996, 20. Jg. , Nr. 2, pp. 141-165 Kuhlmann, T. M. , Stahl, G. K. (1998): Diagnose interkultureller Kompetenz und Examinierung eines Assessment Centers, in: Barmeyer, C. I. , Bolten, J. (Hrsg. ): Interkulturelle Personalorganisation, Berlin 1998 Mendenhall, M. E. , Kuhlmann, T. M. , Stahl, G. K. (Eds. ). (2001): Developing global business leaders: Policies, processes, and innovations, Porthsmouth 2001 Mendenhall, M. E. , Kuhlmann, T. M. , Stahl, G. K. , Osland, J. S. (2002): Employee Devopment and Expatriate Assignments, in: Gannon, M. J. , Newman, K. L. (Hrsg. ): The Blackwell handbook of cross-cultural management, Oxford 2002, pp. 155-183 Mertesacker, M. (2010): Die Interkulturelle Kompetenz im Internationalen Human Resource Management: Eine konfirmatorische Evaluation, Lohmar 2010 Pellico, M. T. , Stroh, L. K. (1997): Spousal assistance programs: An integral component of the international assignment, in: Aycam, Z. (Hrsg. ): New approaches to employee management, Expatriate Management: Theory and research, Vol. 4, Philadelphia 1997, pp. 227-243 Peltonen, T. , Ladwig, D. (2005): Repatriierung und Identitatsbildung: Eine neue Betrachtungsweise der Reintegration nach einem Auslandseinsatz, in: Stahl, G. K. , Mayrhofer, W. , Kuhlmann, T. M. (Hrsg. ): Internationales Personalmanagement, neue Aufgaben, neue Losungen, Munchen und Mering 2005, pp. 325-346 Scherm, E. (1999): Internationales Personalmanagement, 2. Auflage, Munchen 1999 Scherm, E. , Su? , S. (2009): Internationales Management III, Personal und Controlling, 2. Auflage, Hagen 2009 Scherm, E. , Su? , S. (2011): Personalmanagement, Munchen 2011 Solomon, C. (1995): Repatriation, Up, Down, or Out? â€Å", in: Personnel Journal, 1995, Vol. 74, No. 1, p. 28 Stahl, G. K. , Miller, E. L. , Tung, R. L. (2002): Toward the boundaryless career: a closer look at the expatriate career concept and the perceived implications of an international assignment, in: Journal of World Business, 2002, 37. Jg. , Nr. 3, pp. 216-227 Trends Survey 2009: Toronto et al. : Brookfield Global Relocation Services Wagner, D. , Zander, E. , Hauke, C. (1992): Handbuch der Personalleitung: Funktionen und Konzeptionen der Personalarbeit im Unternehmen, Munchen 1992 Weber, W. , Festing, M. , Dowling, P. , Schuler, R. (2001): Internationales Personal-Management, 2. Auflage, Wiesbaden 2001 Declaration in lieu of oath I hereby declare that I produced the submitted paper with no assistance from any other party and without the use of any unauthorized aids and, in particular, that I have marked as quotations all passages, which are reproduced verbatim or nearby-verbatim from publications. Also, I declare that the submitted print version of this term paper is identical with its digital version. Further, I declare that this term paper has never been submitted before to any other examination board in either its present form or in any other similar version. I herewith agree that this term paper may be published. I herewith consent that this term paper may be uploaded to the server of external contractors for the purpose of submitting it to the contractors’ plagiarism detection systems. Uploading this term paper for the purpose of submitting it to plagiarism detection systems is not a form of publication.

Steps in Medical Billing Process Essay Example for Free

Steps in Medical Billing Process Essay There are several steps to the medical billing process step one to ten are as follows: Preregister patients, Establish financial responsibility for visits, Check in the patients, Check out the patients, Review coding compliance, Check billing compliance, Prepare and transmit claims, Monitor payer adjudication, Generate patient statements and finally Follow up patients payments and handle collections. Preregister patients is when you schedule and update appointments and collect insurance information for the patients. When you are scheduling appointments for new patient you need to get basic information and insurance information and reason for appointment. Establishing Financial Responsibility is an important step where you must determine what services are covered under the patients insurance and what service they are responsible for this also help if a preauthorization is need and ensures that are information is done and billed correctly. Check in Patients This is when you collect all necessary information from the patient such as copies for insurance cards. This is also, where you can collect copays and make sure the patient’s information is correct and updated if need be. Check out Patients This is where you record the proper medical codes for the visit. This is also where you provide information if the patient has made a payment or how much they owe and to make sure it is coded properly so the patient will be charged correctly. If payment or copays have been made then a receipt is given. Review Coding Compliance This is where guidelines must be follow when coding the visit. This must be checked for errors and the visit and the code should be connected so the payer understands the charges. Check Billing Compliance Each charge, or fee, for a visit is related to a specific procedure code. The provider’s fees for services are listed on the medical practice’s fee schedule. Most medical practices have standard fee schedules listing their usual fees. Even through there is separate codes for each fee not all are necessarily billable Prepare and Transmit Claims This is where the claims are prepared and submit in a timely manner listing the diagnosis, procedures, and charges for the payer. Most are sent electronically and each practice, as a policy as to when claims are filed be it daily, every other day etc. Monitor Payer Adjudication is where the where the health plans decide rather to pay the whole bill, part of the bill or deny the bill altogether. It is important for them to get their money as soon as possible, this is also where any discrepancies are address, and an appeal is then file if there are any discrepancies found. Generate Patients Statements This is where payments are listed from the payer, and what is still owed and what the patient is being billed it is them mailed to the patient. The date of service and any balances , and services provided are all listed on the statement. Follow up patients payments and collections this is where patients payments are monitored and checked and if they are behind they are sent a notice and if still no response collection procedures maybe started.

The Competitive Advantages Of Effective Knowledge Management Commerce Essay

The Competitive Advantages Of Effective Knowledge Management Commerce Essay Today, the future and the value of a company depends on provide the new product and service quickly and timely in order to meet the needs that always change in the market. Thus, I believe that knowledge is the more importance factor than land or capitals to create a competitive advantage for enterprises. And now, this essay will discuss more about the value of managing knowledge and some competitive advantages that can be created through knowledge management in the company. Then, I would like to discuss about the In addition, this essay is also talk about the leadership and managerial skills in the organization by implementing successfully KM. DISCUSSION ABOUT THE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: Data, Information, Knowledge: Nowadays, we are living in an age of information that we can find easy through television, internet, magazines etc. But not all information is reliable. Transforming information into knowledge within the organization is an advantage. However, not all managers have able to do it. Thus, the first thing I want to discuss about the difference between data, information and knowledge in order to transform raw data into meaningful information. Data is the raw material. It can be a set of discrete facts and exist in any form such as number, symbols, imaging etc. Data represents unorganized and unprocessed facts. Data is transformed into information by adding value through context, sorting, calculating, analysis and evaluation. Information can be considered as a processed data. Data and information are everywhere but knowledge is hard to get. You need information in order to get knowledge. However, knowledge is not information. Information is only becomes knowledge when you have able to realize and understand specific purpose of it. Knowledge is usually come from learning, thinking or taking experiences in a particular area. Knowledge has two types: Explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge is the visible knowledge. You can find them easily through book, documents, reports, films, magazines, etc. The explicit knowledge is easily transferable. In contrast, tacit knowledge is the knowledge that put in your mind. Simply, tacit knowledge is the personal experience, skills and hard to transferable. For example: Each pastry cook can made Tiramisu cake with different flavors, although all of them use with the same Tiramisu Cake recipe. Some cake are delicious, some cake are bad. Because skilled pastry cook has not shown own experiences in recipe. May be, they can add some special ingredients to make their cakes with good flavorful. This is the tacit knowledge. They did not share their experiences as well as knowledge for everyone. I think this is the importance aspect in the organization. The managers must look for ways to employees can share tacit knowledge together in a particular sector. Tha ts also the objective of knowledge management. Knowledge management: Knowledge Management (KM) can be defined as the logical process that helps people to use knowledge effectively and efficiently. Knowledge management is the process the company uses to measure the value of the intellectual value of each employee in the company. Moreover, it is the process used to evaluate and track key metrics associated with the organization of intellectual property can be used to create better services, products and value to shareholders of the corporation. There are many different knowledge management life cycles. They are made by Wiig (Wiig Knoeldge management cycle 1993), Zack (Zack Knowledge Management Cycle 1996), Nickols (Nickols Knowledge Management Cycle 1999), McElroy (McElroy Knowledge Management Cycle 1999), Rollet (Rollet Knowledge Management Cycle 2003), Bukowitz Williams (BW Knowledge management cycle 20003). Actually, they have some common steps and meaning. However, each cycle has its own characteristic. Look at the table below for comparison. Nickols (1999) Wigg (1993) McElroy (1999) Rollet (2003) Bukowitz Williams (2003) Zack (1996) Acquisition Creation Individual and group learning Planning Get Acquisition Organization Sourcing Knowledge claim validation Creation Use Refinement Specialization Complication Information acquisition Integrating Learn Distribution Store/ access Transformation Knowledge validation Organizing Contribute Presentation Retrieve Dissemination Knowledge Integration Transferring Assess Distribution Application Maintaining Build/ sustain Conservation Value realization Assessing Divest Source: Adapted from Kimiz Dalkir, Knowledge Management in Theory and Practice (Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth, 2005), pp. 27. Competitive advantages: Although there are many different perspectives on knowledge management, however the general objective of knowledge management is look for ways to employees share and learn knowledge as well as experiences together. Thats not only help employees improve the expertise knowledge, but also the knowledge management can create the competitive advantages and enhance value for enterprises. As you know, human resource is the valuable asset in organization. If the organization can use this resource effectively, organization will become very strong. Knowledge management can give all the employees in organization many opportunities to show ideas and innovation. Therefore, organization can have more opportunities and advantages than competitors. The employees can share expertise knowledge, experiences or passion together. Thats also make all of the employees in organization more closer and understand  each other  better In addition, transforming from tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge is not only help improve expertise knowledge of employees, but also help the organization have enough capable of responding promptly to the change in personnel. And now, I would like to give you a reality example as well as an incident by not applying knowledge management in organization.   It occurred in my familys restaurant in three years ago. When my manager intends to open a restaurant of his own, he has left the restaurant. The important thing, he has taken away all the experience, the trade secret and a lot of good employees and the relationships. Then he became a competitor with my restaurant. During that period, my restaurant encountered a lot of trouble and business performance decreased seriously. Another example, at Tam Viet Group in 2007, a vice president has left the company and he established an own company to direct competitive with the Tam Viet. By applying knowledge management, all these knowle dge such as customer relationships, unfinished projects, etc. were acquired and stored by all other employees. Therefore, Tam Vietnamese were not affected. Additionally, Knowledge management can also give to the enterprise with high adaptability in the rapidly changing marketplace. The competitors are always updates their products and services better to meet the demand of customer. Therefore, most of the successful enterprises are always catch information and transfer them rapidly. By applying the knowledge management, the enterprises can easily compete with other competitors. The organization can launch new products with the higher quality than competitors at the same cost. The employees can save time through making decision or solving the problems quickly and exactly. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ON SUPPORTING MANAGERIAL PRACTICES: Similar to those competitive advantages that I mentioned above, knowledge management can help manager so much in practices. Firstly, the employees have a freely environment to performance themselves. The employees can share and learn knowledge, experiences, idea together. Therefore, the manager can collects and exploits tacit knowledge or innovation in order to enhance competitor advantage for the organization. Additionally, KM can help manager make decision timely and exactly by capturing,  analyzing  and  conversing  of information logically. In addition, the manager will have enough response to device with changing of the marketplace as well as the human resources. Leadership and managerial skills: A manager needs to have a good leadership to change products, systems and people efficiency. A good leader must have capacity to accelerate the process to decide a matter and to make process work effectively and quickly. It is a difficult problem. A good manager should have more diverse skills in order to have enough capable of handling all of problems in the organization. The first skill is the information technology (IT) skill. I think this is the key For example: in my first internship at ACB bank, I can get information of customer trading history via CIC.org.vn website. You will save more time for get information of customer. Thats progress of technology. Thats also the reason the manager should have a good IT skill to support the management easier and faster. In the high technology age, a good manager should know to take advantage of technology to support for the management and sharing knowledge in the organization. If so, companies will have more competitive advantages than competitors. In addition, a manager should also build a trust and respect relationship with employees. Listening skill is also important. As a manager, you should build an open structure. I mean that you should gap of discrimination between superiors and subordinates. The subordinate can easily meet and express freely their opinions to you. Listening will help you clearly understand about your staffs in order to make decisions fairer and more accurate. Lets change the last skill that I want to discuss is the communication skill. In my opinion, communication is the most difficult and complicates skill of the manager. According to John Quincy Adams If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. Its a great statement. A manager has to know create motivation for employees in order to they have enthusiasm and try their best to work. The motivation is not only based on the high salary, but also based on the workplace. A manager can adapts communities of practice (COP) program in the company. COP is considered as a group of people hold together by sharing the knowledge, experiences, ideas or something like that. COP program can provide a place for employees in particular areas or require employees work in team to share methods or tacit knowledge and mutual support. Thus, the employees can improve their knowledge; learn more about the experiences and more closer. Besides that, manager s hould also consider one of the challenges of communication, the different cultures. Especially is the multinational company. this is a new step to the understanding by employing individuals from various backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles. Perceptual, Cultural and language barriers are a challenge to be overcome when a company work in the global orientated environment. It affects team spirit, work efficiency, directly affect the business situation of the company. Moreover, it is the cause of lack of teamwork, morale low. The different culture can affect a company and its success in variety of ways. CONCLUTION: In conclusion, the knowledge management is a new way to develop your company in the future. From the very beginning, the essay discussed some basic concept of the knowledge management for you. As you can see the next part talked about the competitive advantages that the company can take from KM. There are so many, for example: using human resource effectively, transferring from tacit knowledge to deficit knowledge, etc. Moreover, the knowledge management will help the managers in many ways. And, of course, the managers have to learn and develop his/her skills to managing knowledge. There are some basic skills that a manager should have are listening skills, IT skills, etc. In the knowledge economy, knowledge management has more impacts on organizations. Applying knowledge management is considered as a key for success organization. The strong organization always has a good knowledge management. Rà µ rà  ng trong nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ n kinh tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿ hià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡n Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡i hÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºng tri thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©c, vai trà ² cà ¡Ã‚ »a quà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £n là ½ tri thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ © là   và ´ cà ¹ng quan trà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ng. Nà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿u khà ´ng à ½ thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©c Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c Ä‘ià ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ u nà  y mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢t cà ¡ch Ä‘Ã ºng Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¯n, nguy cÆ ¡ tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¢n thà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥t tri thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©c rà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥t dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ xà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £y ra và   mang là ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡i nhà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ng thià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡t hà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡i khà ³ cà ³ thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™ tà ­nh toà ¡n hà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t. Tri thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©c cÃ…Â ©ng nhÆ ° nguà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Å"n nhà ¢n là ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ±c là   yà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿u tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ sà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœng cà ²n cho sà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ± tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Å"n tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡i cà ¡Ã‚ »a mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ i tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ chà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©c. Tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥t nhià ªn, Ãƒâ€žÃ¢â‚¬Ë œÃƒ ¢y là   mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢t khà ¡i nià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡m cà ²n mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºi nhÆ °ng mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ i tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ chà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©c cà ¡Ã‚ ºn phà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £i chà ¡Ã‚ » Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢ng nghià ªn cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©u và   và ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­n dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥ng sà ¡ng tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡o. Quà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £n là ½ tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœt tri thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©c tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©c là   hià ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™u rà µ Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £n thà ¢n, bià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c Ä‘ià ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™m mà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡nh và   Ä‘ià ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™m yà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿u cà ¡Ã‚ »a mà ¬nh Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™ tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ « Ä‘Ã ³ Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  ra nhà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ng bià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡n phà ¡p gà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·t hà ¡i thà  nh cà ´ng trong nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ n kinh tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿ tri thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©c.

Childhood Conduct Disorder Essay -- Diseases/Disorders

Introduction: A History and Brief Overview of Conduct Disorder Conduct Disorder has been a part of the American Psychological Association’s Diagnostic Statistical Manuel (DSM) since its original release date in 1994. Although, there is new information about the disorder that was previously unknown, Conduct Disorder is distinguished by a â€Å"repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate norms or rules are violated† (American Psychiatric Association, 1994.) This mild, moderate, or severe antisocial behavior begins to appear either in childhood, categorized as early-onset conduct disorder , or in adolescence after ten years of age, classified as adolescent-onset conduct disorder (Passamonti et al., 2010.) The criteria to meet to be diagnosed with this disorder are separated into four subgroups: aggressive conduct, nonaggressive conduct, deceitfulness or theft, and serious violations of the rules. Three or more incidents must be present in the past twelve months with at le ast one of the characteristics being present in the past six months. This disorder causes severe impairment of functioning across a variety of situations so it is important to keep in mind society and individual situations because this diagnosis may be â€Å"misapplied to individuals in settings where patterns of undesirable behavior are sometimes viewed as protective† (American Psychiatric Association, 1994.) For example, a patient that has recently relocated from a war torn country would most likely not be a candidate for Conduct disorder even though he or she may exhibit some of the characteristics. An interesting distinction between the two subcategories is that those diagnosed with early-onset Conduct Dis... ...004). Childhood Adversity, Monoamine Oxidase A Genotype, and Risk for Conduct Disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 738-744. Lahey et al. (2004). Predicting Future Antisocial Personality Disorder in Males from a Clinical Assessment in Childhood. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 389-399. Maughn et al. (2004). Prenatal Smoking and Early Childhood Conduct Problems. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 836-843. Milich, R., Widiger, T. & Landau, S. (1987). Differential Diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder Using Conditional Probabilities. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 726-767. Miller, G. E. & Prinz, R. J. (1990). Enhancement of Social Learning Family Interventions for Childhood Conduct Disorder. Psychological Bulletin. Passamonti et al. (2010). Neural Abnormalities in Early-Onset and Adolescent-Onset Conduct Disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 729-738.

Anger by Linda Pastan Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word anger, a noun physical affliction or pain; inflammatory state of any part of the body. Then defines anger, a verb to distress, trouble, vex, hurt, wound. In Linda Pastan’s poem â€Å"Anger† the word anger takes the action of a noun. The word anger stands out for two reasons, the author chooses it for the title, and the only sentence with anger gives the poem meaning. In the beginning of the poem the word â€Å"it† gets used many times and we don’t know what â€Å"it† refers to until she actually states the word â€Å"anger,† then we realize the â€Å"it† referred to earlier means anger.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She only uses the word â€Å"anger† once, â€Å"You whose anger is a pet dog† (pg717, line12). She chooses to finally use the word â€Å"anger† here to show the reader that the person she refers to and her ways of dealing with anger differ. The magnitude of her anger causes her to remain secretive, though she wants to tell him she knows it will only make things worse. The serious thing about her anger remains that we don’t know what causes these feelings. We only know what she states, â€Å"But mine is a rabid thing, sharpening its teeth on my very bones, and I will never let it go.† (pg717, lines14-16) This is important for two reasons, first, it is the point at which we see how the author views her anger and to what subjective nature it is relevant. Second, we come to know that her anger is also an adversary of hers, because som...

Euthanasia Essay: Assisted Suicide and Dr. Kevorkian -- Euthanasia Phy

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dr. Jack Kevorkian was sentenced fifteen to twenty years in jail for a second degree murder charge.   There is no doubt that Dr. Kevorkian injected lethal drugs into Thomas Youk, killing him within minutes.   But was the murder committed as an act of rage?   No, it was done as an act of kindness.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For the past ten years, Dr. Kevorkian has been performing assisted suicides.   In that time, Kevorkian claims to have eased the suffering of 130 patients.   He has also been fighting to legalize euthanasia.   There are some people that support Kevorkian’s views of euthanasia, yet there are still many people that think that what Kevorkian is doing is wrong.   Until the later part of April, when he was convicted of second degree murder, Kevorkian had been found not guilty of assisted suicide charges on four separate accounts.   Is Jack Kevorkian’s actions one of a hero or of a madman?      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Currently, the only state that assisted suicide is legal is Oregon.   Euthanasia is illegal everywhere in the United States.   Euthanasia is a better option than assisted suicide.   Euthanasia differs from assisted suicide in that the physician actually injects the lethal drug instead of prescribing it.   Because patients are required to take the lethal drug themselves, there is the chance that they may take the drug the wrong way.   This could cause the patient to survive the lethal dose and do more harm.   There is a twenty-five percent chance that a patient will fail to kill themselves by assisted suicide (Smith 37).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dr. Kevorkian, the most outspoken euthanasia activist in the United States... ...is argument is wrong.    Works Cited Corry, John.   "Who is Jack Kevorkian, Really?"   Reader’s Digest.   April 1999:   87-92. Goldstein, Frederick J.   "Dr. Jack Kevorkian:   Friend or Foe?"   The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.   January 1997:   1-3. Grace, Julie.   "Curtains for Dr. Death."   Time 5 Apr. 1999:   48. Lessenberry, Jack.   "Death Becomes Him."   Vanity Fair July 1994:   102-113. McHugh, Paul R.   "The Kevorkian Epidemic."   The American Scholar.   Vol. 66.   1997:   15-27. Nelan, Bruce W.   "Fasting for the Right to Die."   Time 15 Nov. 1993:   89. Shapiro, Joseph P.   "Dr. Death Has Yet Another Day in Court."   U.S. News and World Report 29 Mar. 1999:   37. Shapiro, Joseph P.   "Dr. Death’s Last Dance."   U.S. News and World Report.   26 Apr. 1999:   44. Smith, Wesley J.   "Death Wars."   National Review 14 Jul. 1997:   36-37.   

Twilight 2. OPEN BOOK

The next day was better†¦ and worse. It was better because it wasn't raining yet, though the clouds were dense and opaque. It was easier because I knew what to expect of my day. Mike came to sit by me in English, and walked me to my next class, with Chess Club Eric glaring at him all the while; that was nattering. People didn't look at me quite as much as they had yesterday. I sat with a big group at lunch that included Mike, Eric, Jessica, and several other people whose names and faces I now remembered. I began to feel like I was treading water, instead of drowning in it. It was worse because I was tired; I still couldn't sleep with the wind echoing around the house. It was worse because Mr. Varner called on me in Trig when my hand wasn't raised and I had the wrong answer. It was miserable because I had to play volleyball, and the one time I didn't cringe out of the way of the ball, I hit my teammate in the head with it. And it was worse because Edward Cullen wasn't in school at all. All morning I was dreading lunch, fearing his bizarre glares. Part of me wanted to confront him and demand to know what his problem was. While I was lying sleepless in my bed, I even imagined what I would say. But I knew myself too well to think I would really have the guts to do it. I made the Cowardly Lion look like the terminator. But when I walked into the cafeteria with Jessica – trying to keep my eyes from sweeping the place for him, and failing entirely – I saw that his four siblings of sorts were sitting together at the same table, and he was not with them. Mike intercepted us and steered us to his table. Jessica seemed elated by the attention, and her friends quickly joined us. But as I tried to listen to their easy chatter, I was terribly uncomfortable, waiting nervously for the moment he would arrive. I hoped that he would simply ignore me when he came, and prove my suspicions false. He didn't come, and as time passed I grew more and more tense. I walked to Biology with more confidence when, by the end of lunch, he still hadn't showed. Mike, who was taking on the qualities of a golden retriever, walked faithfully by my side to class. I held my breath at the door, but Edward Cullen wasn't there, either. I exhaled and went to my seat. Mike followed, talking about an upcoming trip to the beach. He lingered by my desk till the bell rang. Then he smiled at me wistfully and went to sit by a girl with braces and a bad perm. It looked like I was going to have to do something about Mike, and it wouldn't be easy. In a town like this, where everyone lived on top of everyone else, diplomacy was essential. I had never been enormously tactful; I had no practice dealing with overly friendly boys. I was relieved that I had the desk to myself, that Edward was absent. I told myself that repeatedly. But I couldn't get rid of the nagging suspicion that I was the reason he wasn't there. It was ridiculous, and egotistical, to think that I could affect anyone that strongly. It was impossible. And yet I couldn't stop worrying that it was true. When the school day was finally done, and the blush was fading out of my cheeks from the volleyball incident, I changed quickly back into my jeans and navy blue sweater. I hurried from the girls' locker room, pleased to find that I had successfully evaded my retriever friend for the moment. I walked swiftly out to the parking lot. It was crowded now with fleeing students. I got in my truck and dug through my bag to make sure I had what I needed. Last night I'd discovered that Charlie couldn't cook much besides fried eggs and bacon. So I requested that I be assigned kitchen detail for the duration of my stay. He was willing enough to hand over the keys to the banquet hall. I also found out that he had no food in the house. So I had my shopping list and the cash from the jar in the cupboard labeled FOOD, MONEY, and I was on my way to the Thriftway. I gunned my deafening engine to life, ignoring the heads that turned in my direction, and backed carefully into a place in the line of cars that were waiting to exit the parking lot. As I waited, trying to pretend that the earsplitting rumble was coming from someone else's car, I saw the two Cullens and the Hale twins getting into their car. It was the shiny new Volvo. Of course. I hadn't noticed their clothes before – I'd been too mesmerized by their faces. Now that I looked, it was obvious that they were all dressed exceptionally well; simply, but in clothes that subtly hinted at designer origins. With their remarkable good looks, the style with which they carried themselves, they could have worn dishrags and pulled it off. It seemed excessive for them to have both looks and money. But as far as I could tell, life worked that way most of the time. It didn't look as if it bought them any acceptance here. No, I didn't fully believe that. The isolation must be their desire; I couldn't imagine any door that wouldn't be opened by that degree of beauty. They looked at my noisy truck as I passed them, just like everyone else. I kept my eyes straight forward and was relieved when I finally was free of the school grounds. The Thriftway was not far from the school, just a few streets south, off the highway. It was nice to be inside the supermarket; it felt normal. I did the shopping at home, and I fell into the pattern of the familiar task gladly. The store was big enough inside that I couldn't hear the tapping of the rain on the roof to remind me where I was. When I got home, I unloaded all the groceries, stuffing them in wherever I could find an open space. I hoped Charlie wouldn't mind. I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a steak in marinade and balanced it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge. When I was finished with that, I took my book bag upstairs. Before starting my homework, I changed into a pair of dry sweats, pulled my damp hair up into a pony-tail, and checked my e-mail for the first time. I had three messages. â€Å"Bella,† my mom wrote†¦ Write me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your flight was. Is it raining? I miss you already. I'm almost finished packing for Florida, but I can't find my pink blouse. Do you know where I put it? Phil says hi. Mom. I sighed and went to the next. It was sent eight hours after the first. â€Å"Bella,† she wrote†¦ Why haven't you e-mailed me yet? What are you waiting for? Mom. The last was from this morning. Isabella, If I haven't heard from you by 5:30 p.m. today I'm calling Charlie. I checked the clock. I still had an hour, but my mom was well known for jumping the gun. Mom, Calm down. I'm writing right now. Don't do anything rash.Bella. I sent that, and began again. Mom, Everything is great. Of course it's raining. I was waiting for something to write about. School isn't bad, just a little repetitive. I met some nice kids who sit by me at lunch. Your blouse is at the dry cleaners – you were supposed to pick it up Friday. Charlie bought me a truck, can you believe it? I love it. It's old, but really sturdy, which is good, you know, for me. I miss you, too. I'll write again soon, but I'm not going to check my e-mail every five minutes. Relax, breathe. I love you. Bella. I had decided to read Wuthering Heights – the novel we were currently studying in English – yet again for the fun of it, and that's what I was doing when Charlie came home. I'd lost track of the time, and I hurried downstairs to take the potatoes out and put the steak in to broil. â€Å"Bella?† my father called out when he heard me on the stairs. Who else? I thought to myself. â€Å"Hey, Dad, welcome home.† â€Å"Thanks.† He hung up his gun belt and stepped out of his boots as I bustled about the kitchen. As far as I was aware, he'd never shot the gun on the job. But he kept it ready. When I came here as a child, he would always remove the bullets as soon as he walked in the door. I guess he considered me old enough now not to shoot myself by accident, and not depressed enough to shoot myself on purpose. â€Å"What's for dinner?† he asked warily. My mother was an imaginative cook, and her experiments weren't always edible. I was surprised, and sad, that he seemed to remember that far back. â€Å"Steak and potatoes,† I answered, and he looked relieved. He seemed to feel awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing; he lumbered into the living room to watch TV while I worked. We were both more comfortable that way. I made a salad while the steaks cooked, and set the table. I called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as he walked into the room. â€Å"Smells good, Bell.† â€Å"Thanks.† We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. Neither of us was bothered by the quiet. In some ways, we were well suited for living together. â€Å"So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?† he asked as he was taking seconds. â€Å"Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. I sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly.Everybody seems pretty nice.† With one outstanding exception. â€Å"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid – nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here.† â€Å"Do you know the Cullen family?† I asked hesitantly. â€Å"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man.† â€Å"They†¦ the kids†¦ are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school.† Charlie surprised me by looking angry. â€Å"People in this town,† he muttered. â€Å"Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here,† he continued, getting louder. â€Å"We're lucky to have him – lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature – I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should – camping trips every other weekend†¦ Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk.† It was the longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel strongly about whatever people were saying. I backpedaled. â€Å"They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive,† I added, trying to be more complimentary. â€Å"You should see the doctor,† Charlie said, laughing. â€Å"It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around.† We lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table while I started on the dishes. He went back to the TV, and after I finished washing the dishes by hand – no dishwasher – I went upstairs unwillingly to work on my math homework. I could feel a tradition in the making.That night it was finally quiet. I fell asleep quickly, exhausted. The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my classes. By Friday I was able to recognize, if not name, almost all the students at school. In Gym, the kids on my team learned not to pass me the ball and to step quickly in front of me if the other team tried to take advantage of my weakness. I happily stayed out of their way. Edward Cullen didn't come back to school. Every day, I watched anxiously until the rest of the Cullens entered the cafeteria without him. Then I could relax and join in the lunchtime conversation. Mostly it centered around a trip to the La Push Ocean Park in two weeks that Mike was putting together. I was invited, and I had agreed to go, more out of politeness than desire. Beaches should be hot and dry. By Friday I was perfectly comfortable entering my Biology class, no longer worried that Edward would be there. For all I knew, he had dropped out of school. I tried not to think about him, but I couldn't totally suppress the worry that I was responsible for his continued absence, ridiculous as it seemed. My first weekend in Forks passed without incident. Charlie, unused to spending time in the usually empty house, worked most of the weekend. I cleaned the house, got ahead on my homework, and wrote my mom more bogusly cheerful e-mail. I did drive to the library Saturday, but it was so poorly stocked that I didn't bother to get a card; I would have to make a date to visit Olympia or Seattle soon and find a good bookstore. I wondered idly what kind of gas mileage the truck got†¦ and shuddered at the thought. The rain stayed soft over the weekend, quiet, so I was able to sleep well. People greeted me in the parking lot Monday morning. I didn't know all their names, but I waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder this morning, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took his accustomed seat by my side. We had a pop quiz on Wuthering Heights. It was straightforward, very easy. All in all, I was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had thought I would feel by this point. More comfortable than I had ever expected to feel here. When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at my cheeks, my nose. â€Å"Wow,† Mike said. â€Å"It's snowing.† I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face. â€Å"Ew.† Snow. There went my good day. He looked surprised. â€Å"Don't you like snow?† â€Å"No. That means it's too cold for rain.† Obviously. â€Å"Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes – you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips.† â€Å"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?† he asked incredulously. â€Å"Sure I have.† I paused. â€Å"On TV.† Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of his head. We both turned to see where it came from. I had my suspicions about Eric, who was walking away, his back toward us – in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike appatently had the same notion. He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush. â€Å"I'll see you at lunch, okay?† I kept walking as I spoke. â€Å"Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside.† He just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure. Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. I kept my mouth shut. Sure, it was drier than rain – until it melted in your socks. I walked alertly to the cafeteria with Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. I kept a binder in my hands, ready to use it as a shield if necessary. Jessica thought I was hilarious, but something in my expression kept her from lobbing a snowball at me herself. Mike caught up to us as we walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as we got in line to buy food. I glanced toward that table in the corner out of habit. And then I froze where I stood. There were five people at the table. Jessica pulled on my arm. â€Å"Hello? Bella? What do you want?† I looked down; my ears were hot. I had no reason to feel self-conscious, I reminded myself. I hadn't done anything wrong. â€Å"What's with Bella?† Mike asked Jessica. â€Å"Nothing,† I answered. â€Å"I'll just get a soda today.† I caught up to the end of the line. â€Å"Aren't you hungry?† Jessica asked. â€Å"Actually, I feel a little sick,† I said, my eyes still on the floor. I waited for them to get their food, and then followed them to a table, my eyes on my feet. I sipped my soda slowly, my stomach churning. Twice Mike asked, with unnecessary concern, how I was feeling. I told him it was nothing, but I was wondering if I should play it up and escape to the nurse's office for the next hour. Ridiculous. I shouldn't have to run away. I decided to permit myself one glance at the Cullen family's table. If he was glaring at me, I would skip Biology, like the coward I was. I kept my head down and glanced up under my lashes. None of them were looking this way. I lifted my head a little. They were laughing. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair entirely saturated with melting snow. Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else – only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of us. But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. I examined Edward the most carefully. His skin was less pale, I decided – flushed from the snow fight maybe – the circles under his eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. I pondered, staring, trying to isolate the change. â€Å"Bella, what are you staring at?† Jessica intruded, her eyes following my stare. At that precise moment, his eyes flashed over to meet mine. I dropped my head, letting my hair fall to conceal my face. I was sure, though, in the instant our eyes met, that he didn't look harsh or unfriendly as he had the last time I'd seen him. He looked merely curious again, unsatisfied in some way. â€Å"Edward Cullen is staring at you,† Jessica giggled in my ear. â€Å"He doesn't look angry, does he?† I couldn't help asking. â€Å"No,† she said, sounding confused by my question. â€Å"Should he be?† â€Å"I don't think he likes me,† I confided. I still felt queasy. I put my head down on my arm. â€Å"The Cullens don't like anybody†¦ well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you.† â€Å"Stop looking at him,† I hissed. She snickered, but she looked away. I raised my head enough to make sure that she did, contemplating violence if she resisted. Mike interrupted us then – he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted us to join. Jessica agreed enthusiastically. The way she looked at Mike left little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested. I kept silent. I would have to hide in the gym until the parking lot cleared. For the rest of the lunch hour I very carefully kept my eyes at my own table. I decided to honor the bargain I'd made with myself. Since he didn't look angry, I would go to Biology. My stomach did frightened little flips at the thought of sitting next to him again. I didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual – he seemed to be a popular target for the snowball snipers – but when we went to the door, everyone besides me groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. I pulled my hood up, secretly pleased. I would be free to go straight home after Gym. Mike kept up a string of complaints on the way to building four. Once inside the classroom, I saw with relief that my table was still empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. I kept my eyes away from the door, doodling idly on the cover of my notebook. I heard very clearly when the chair next to me moved, but my eyes stayed carefully focused on the pattern I was drawing. â€Å"Hello,† said a quiet, musical voice. I looked up, stunned that he was speaking to me. He was sitting as far away from me as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward me. His hair was dripping wet, disheveled – even so, he looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. His dazzling face was friendly, open, a slight smile on his flawless lips. But his eyes were careful. â€Å"My name is Edward Cullen,† he continued. â€Å"I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan.† My mind was spinning with confusion. Had I made up the whole thing? He was perfectly polite now. I had to speak; he was waiting. But I couldn't think of anything conventional to say. â€Å"H-how do you know my name?† I stammered. He laughed a soft, enchanting laugh. â€Å"Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive.† I grimaced. I knew it was something like that. â€Å"No,† I persisted stupidly. â€Å"I meant, why did you call me Bella?† He seemed confused. â€Å"Do you prefer Isabella?† â€Å"No, I like Bella,† I said. â€Å"But I think Charlie – I mean my dad – must call me Isabella behind my back – that's what everyone here seems to know me as,† I tried to explain, feeling like an utter moron. â€Å"Oh.† He let it drop. I looked away awkwardly. Thankfully, Mr. Banner started class at that moment. I tried to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly. We weren't supposed to use our books. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right. â€Å"Get started,† he commanded. â€Å"Ladies first, partner?† Edward asked. I looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that I could only stare at him like an idiot. â€Å"Or I could start, if you wish.† The smile faded; he was obviously wondering if I was mentally competent. â€Å"No,† I said, flushing. â€Å"I'll go ahead.† I was showing off, just a little. I'd already done this lab, and I knew what I was looking for. It should be easy. I snapped the first slide into place under the microscope and adjusted it quickly to the 40X objective. I studied the slide briefly. My assessment was confident. â€Å"Prophase.† â€Å"Do you mind if I look?† he asked as I began to remove the slide. His hand caught mine, to stop me, as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class. But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it stung my hand as if an electric current had passed through us. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he muttered, pulling his hand back immediately. However, he continued to reach for the microscope. I watched him, still staggered, as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than I had. â€Å"Prophase,† he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and then glanced at it cursorily. â€Å"Anaphase,† he murmured, writing it down as he spoke. I kept my voice indifferent. â€Å"May I?† He smirked and pushed the microscope to me. I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, he was right. â€Å"Slide three?† I held out my hand without looking at him. He handed it to me; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch my skin again. I took the most fleeting look I could manage. â€Å"Interphase.† I passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. I would have written it while he looked, but his clear, elegant script intimidated me. I didn't want to spoil the page with my clumsy scrawl. We were finished before anyone else was close. I could see Mike and his partner comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their book open under the table. Which left me with nothing to do but try to not look at him†¦ unsuccessfully. I glanced up, and he was staring at me, that same inexplicable look of frustration in his eyes. Suddenly I identified that subtle difference in his face. â€Å"Did you get contacts?† I blurted out unthinkingly. He seemed puzzled by my unexpected question. â€Å"No.† â€Å"Oh,† I mumbled. â€Å"I thought there was something different about your eyes.† He shrugged, and looked away. In fact, I was sure there was something different. I vividly remembered the flat black color of his eyes the last time he'd glared at me – the color was striking against the background of his pale skin and his auburn hair. Today, his eyes were a completely different color: a strange ocher, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone. I didn't understand how that could be, unless he was lying for some reason about the contacts. Or maybe Forks was making me crazy in the literal sense of the word. I looked down. His hands were clenched into hard fists again. Mr. Banner came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. He looked over our shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers. â€Å"So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?† Mr. Banner asked. â€Å"Bella,† Edward corrected automatically. â€Å"Actually, she identified three of the five.† Mr. Banner looked at me now; his expression was skeptical. â€Å"Have you done this lab before?† he asked. I smiled sheepishly. â€Å"Not with onion root.† â€Å"Whitefish blastula?† â€Å"Yeah.† Mr. Banner nodded. â€Å"Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Well,† he said after a moment, â€Å"I guess it's good you two are lab partners.† He mumbled something else as he walked away. After he left, I began doodling on my notebook again. â€Å"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?† Edward asked. I had the feeling that he was forcing himself to make small talk with me. Paranoia swept over me again. It was like he had heard my conversation with Jessica at lunch and was trying to prove me wrong. â€Å"Not really,† I answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else. I was still trying to dislodge the stupid feeling of suspicion, and I couldn't concentrate. â€Å"You don't like the cold.† It wasn't a question. â€Å"Or the wet.† â€Å"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live,† he mused. â€Å"You have no idea,† I muttered darkly. He looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't imagine. His face was such a distraction that I tried not to look at it any more than courtesy absolutely demanded. â€Å"Why did you come here, then?† No one had asked me that – not straight out like he did, demanding. â€Å"It's†¦ complicated.† â€Å"I think I can keep up,† he pressed. I paused for a long moment, and then made the mistake of meeting his gaze. His dark gold eyes confused me, and I answered without thinking. â€Å"My mother got remarried,† I said. â€Å"That doesn't sound so complex,† he disagreed, but he was suddenly sympathetic. â€Å"When did that happen?† â€Å"Last September.† My voice sounded sad, even to me. â€Å"And you don't like him,† Edward surmised, his tone still kind. â€Å"No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough.† â€Å"Why didn't you stay with them?† I couldn't fathom his interest, but he continued to stare at me with penetrating eyes, as if my dull life's story was somehow vitally important. â€Å"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living.† I half-smiled. â€Å"Have I heard of him?† he asked, smiling in response. â€Å"Probably not. He doesn't play well. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot.† â€Å"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him.† He said it as an assumption again, not a question. My chin raised a fraction. â€Å"No, she did not send me here. I sent myself.† His eyebrows knit together. â€Å"I don't understand,† he admitted, and he seemed unnecessarily frustrated by that fact. I sighed. Why was I explaining this to him? He continued to stare at me with obvious curiosity. â€Å"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy†¦ so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie.† My voice was glum by the time I finished. â€Å"But now you're unhappy,† he pointed out. â€Å"And?† I challenged. â€Å"That doesn't seem fair.† He shrugged, but his eyes were still intense. I laughed without humor. â€Å"Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair.† â€Å"I believe I have heard that somewhere before,† he agreed dryly. â€Å"So that's all,† I insisted, wondering why he was still staring at me that way. His gaze became appraising. â€Å"You put on a good show,† he said slowly. â€Å"But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see.† I grimaced at him, resisting the impulse to stick out my tongue like a five-year-old, and looked away. â€Å"Am I wrong?† I tried to ignore him. â€Å"I didn't think so,† he murmured smugly. â€Å"Why does it matter to you?† I asked, irritated. I kept my eyes away, watching the teacher make his rounds. â€Å"That's a very good question,† he muttered, so quietly that I wondered if he was talking to himself. However, after a few seconds of silence, I decided that was the only answer I was going to get. I sighed, scowling at the blackboard. â€Å"Am I annoying you?† he asked. He sounded amused. I glanced at him without thinking†¦ and told the truth again. â€Å"Not exactly. I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read – my mother always calls me her open book.† I frowned. â€Å"On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read.† Despite everything that I'd said and he'd guessed, he sounded like he meant it. â€Å"You must be a good reader then,† I replied. â€Å"Usually.† He smiled widely, flashing a set of perfect, ultrawhite teeth. Mr. Banner called the class to order then, and I turned with relief to listen. I was in disbelief that I'd just explained my dreary life to this bizarre, beautiful boy who may or may not despise me. He'd seemed engrossed in our conversation, but now I could see, from the corner of my eye, that he was leaning away from me again, his hands gripping the edge of the table with unmistakable tension. I tried to appear attentive as Mr. Banner illustrated, with transparencies on the overhead projector, what I had seen without difficulty through the microscope. But my thoughts were unmanageable. When the bell finally rang, Edward rushed as swiftly and as gracefully from the room as he had last Monday. And, like last Monday, I stared after him in amazement. Mike skipped quickly to my side and picked up my books for me. I imagined him with a wagging tail. â€Å"That was awful,† he groaned. â€Å"They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner.† â€Å"I didn't have any trouble with it,† I said, stung by his assumption. I regretted the snub instantly. â€Å"I've done the lab before, though,† I added before he could get his feelings hurt. â€Å"Cullen seemed friendly enough today,† he commented as we shrugged into our raincoats. He didn't seem pleased about it. I tried to sound indifferent. â€Å"I wonder what was with him last Monday.† I couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as we walked to Gym, and RE. didn't do much to hold my attention, either. Mike was on my team today. He chivalrously covered my position as well as his own, so my woolgathering was only interrupted when it was my turn to serve; my team ducked warily out of the way every time I was up. The rain was just a mist as I walked to the parking lot, but I was happier when I was in the dry cab. I got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine. I unzipped my jacket, put the hood down, and fluffed my damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home. I looked around me to make sure it was clear. That's when I noticed the still, white figure. Edward Cullen was leaning against the front door of the Volvo, three cars down from me, and staring intently in my direction. I swiftly looked away and threw the truck into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in my haste. Lucky for the Toyota, I stomped on the brake in time. It was just the sort of car that my truck would make scrap metal of. I took a deep breath, still looking out the other side of my car, and cautiously pulled out again, with greater success. I stared straight ahead as I passed the Volvo, but from a peripheral peek, I would swear I saw him laughing.