Self-Awareness in Childcare

Self-Awareness in Childcare Introduction: In this report the author discusses the importance of self-awareness, effective interpersonal skills and the rights of the child all within an ECCE setting. It also outlines how important it is to communicate effectively with children, families of the children and work colleagues. It gives examples of effective teamwork and how to maintain a quality ECCE environment that complies with the regulations and standards of à istear. The Importance of Self Awareness and Effective Interpersonal Skills in an ECCE setting: Self-Awareness is important within an ECCE setting as it allows you as a childcare practitioner to know your weaknesses, strengths, personality, beliefs, and also allows you to reflect on different situations. You will be looked up to by children from all different age groups and you need to be a good role model and have the realisation of when to change the mood or maybe even your body language to suit the current environment. Through using self-awareness techniques it allows you to look at yourself through other people’s eyes and then to maybe make changes about yourself to suit your professional role within the ECCE setting. Self-awareness is crucial as how you handle yourself when dealing with children will slightly differ to how you represent yourself when dealing with their parents or colleagues. Interpersonal Skills play a big factor within an ECCE setting as it is a key role of all childcare practitioners. To be able to communicate effectively with children, parents and colleagues makes the job in hand easier to achieve. Some valuable steps to having good interpersonal skills are: Always smile as this gives off good energy and makes people comfortable and happy to be in your company. Always try to be positive and encouraging with all people within the workplace i.e. with children and adults. Ensure to take time to listen and observe peoples behaviours or actions, this will enable you to get to know and understand people on a more personal level. Always try to inject a fun atmosphere within an ECCE setting as this gives an overall feel good factor and makes the environment a more enjoyable place. The Rights of the child in the context of an ECCE setting: The United Nations convention on the rights of the child legislation came about in recognition of the importance for children to be respected and valued. This piece of legislation helps us require a recommended standard within the ECCE setting. The following will outline some examples: To maintain children’s right to privacy and dignity always ensure when changing a child’s nappy to do so within the private nappy changing area or if a child should have a toilet accident always make sure to cover them up be as discreet as possible to avoid embarrassment and maintain the child’s dignity. This links in with the UNCRC legislation article 16 which says that children have the right to privacy. Maintaining safety within the ECCE setting is a very crucial step and is carried out in many different ways through door buzzers, CCTV systems, following the recommended child to adult ratio and Garda vetting of all staff. This links in with article 19 within the UNCRC legislation which states all children should be properly cared for. Any disabled child joining an ECCE setting should have their needs catered for and be able to participate freely and independently within the setting. E.g. if a child is in a wheel chair the childcare setting should ensure everything is easy accessible and at the child’s level so he/she can use facilities and toys at their leisure. This links in with article 23 in the UNCRC legislation. Communicating effectively with the children, family and colleagues: Most childcare practitioners realise the importance of having a good relationship with a Childs parents. Working with, involving and informing parents in the daily activities of their children helps to stabilise a good relationship and partnership between both parties. We should always ensure to make parents feel welcome through having parent days and informing them of milestones and progression with their children we can implement this through parent teacher meetings to set down a specific allocated time to discuss the child’s development. Communication with the child/children within the ECCE setting is our number one priority as the child is our main concern so looking out for their health and safety, their happiness and over all well-being is crucial. To ensure a high quality level of communication is enforced it is up to us to always listen to a child with our ears as well as our eyes, to always come down to their level when speaking to them and most important to make sure they feel comfortable and safe in your presence. Communicating with your work colleagues is a must as everyone needs to know what everyone else is doing to ensure a smooth running of the centre. It is up to each childcare practitioner to have a good understanding of the workplace rules and polices so everyone is inflicting the same polices throughout. This can be done through filling out forms accurately and always ensuring to inform your colleagues of any major incidents like if a child falls or you have administered a child with medicine. Examples of effective teamwork: Administering Medication is one example where teamwork within the ECCE setting is essential as if you do not communicate with your team members that you have administered a child with their medication the dosage and the time you administered the medication it could lead to a child being over dosed or not getting the correct amount at the correct time. Planning an outing within the ECCE setting involves a lot of teamwork and planning. Through teamwork everyone knows what is expected of them and their role throughout the outing to ensure all of the children’s safety and well-being needs are catered for. Team members will be involved in the issuing of permission slips, booking a bus, ensuring the correct child- adult ratio is enforced and maybe a bit of brainstorming on the events that will take place on the day. Putting an End of Year Concert together also involves a lot of teamwork as everyone will work together to pick out roles, costumes, music and themes for the children. There will be informing of the concert to the families of the children involved. Then there will be ensuring that the concert runs according to plan in accordance with the concert programme. The team members will be on hand to help or reassure the children throughout the performance. Child protection cases that may arise is one great advantage when it comes to teamwork. This allows you to gather information and relay it back to your team members where they in turn will give you their opinion or advice on the situation and then as a team ye will make a collective decision on what action if any is needed. Maintain a quality ECCE environment that complies with relevant regulations and standards: Here are a few examples of how to maintain a quality ECCE environment using à istear regulations and standards: By organising a simple activity by where a child uses sand to draw shapes, numbers and pictures allows the child to communicate through play and through the use of their imagination. Then to get the child thinking about what they drew get them to explain their picture while asking questions that will get them to think how their picture relates to life and how people can read and understand their picture through the use of visual senses as well as language. This links in with à istear’s communicating theme aim 3 and learning goal 3 which states â€Å"children will broaden their understanding of the world by making sense of experiences through language. Another good and interesting activity to do with children that would make them aware of nature and also of well-being would be to make bird feeders with pieces of string allowing the child the tread through pieces of food e.g. blueberries, cheerio’s, etc. and allow the child to put the feeder out for the birds to eat. This creates great interest in animals and the need to look after them an also gives them a good example of why different foods especially fruit is good. This links with à istear’s principle of learning and developing within a holistic need for children. By getting the children to participate in a family wall chart or birthday chart links in with à istear’s theme identity and belonging aim 2 which states â€Å"children will have a sense of identity, where links with their family and community are acknowledged and extended. Conclusion: In this report the author states the importance of self-awareness and effective interpersonal skills along with the rights of the child within an ECCE setting. Notes the importance of effective communication with children, families and colleagues. Gives examples of effective team work and how to maintain a quality ECCE environment that complies with relevant regulations and standards of à istear. Bibliography: Early Education and Practice Handbook. (2015). Creative Training. google. (2015, may 29). google books. Retrieved from www.googlebooks.ie: https://www.google.ie/search?tbm=bkshl=enq=google+books+on+selfawareness= NCCA. (2015, 06 4). NCCA. Retrieved from www.ncca.ie: http://www.ncca.ie/en/Curriculum_and_Assessment/Early_Childhood_and_Primary_Education/Early_Childhood_Education/Aistear_Toolkit/

Money & Corruption Essay

It has been said that money is the root of all evil, but what kind of sin is man willing to commit in exchange for personal gain? The Visit by Friedreck Durenmmat and Mother Courage by Bertlot Brecht are two plays which portray how money and wealth corrupts the human mind and drive peoples to commit hanus crimes. Both stories have similarities and differences of the circumstances in the play but both of them lead to the same outcome. We can see the corruption in both stories present in individuals and in societies. In both plays the corruption is justified by preposterous reasoning presented by the characters. The blunt realization from the character about how they get corrupted is present in both stories, although we can clearly see that the characters aren’t uneasy for what they have become. In Friedreck Durenmmat’s The Visit, lead character Claire Zachanassian plays a filthy rich independent gold digger who demands justice in exchange for one million marks half for the township and the other half for the people. The harsh reality is openly exposed when Madam Claire Zachanassian says that she will only find justice with the execution of a simple townsman which had impregnated her and denied maternity in the past. What had happened to Madam Claire in her past drove her out of Guellen, the town in which the play is set in, and forced her to work in a brothel. She then met a rich man in the brothel and married him and when he died inherited his money, and she has been marrying rich men and divorcing them ever since. After she became rich, she came back to Guellen and ordered Ill’s death, the man who impregnated her. At first when the condition is set all the towns people object violently against her offer and refuse it completely, but this scene is filled dramatical irony as there is a detected scent by the reader of the want for that some of money. There is a sense of foreshadowing at the end of the speech where Claire Zachanasian replies to the townspeople after instantly rebelling against the offer with the two simple words â€Å"I’ll wait†. These two words give us in a way the certainty that he is going to be executed. The corruption of the society of Guellen is clear after the first day of Madam Claire’s proposal. This is evident when all the townspeople begin buying new shoes, wearing clean garments and are buying luxury products all on credit. Before Madam Claire came, the town of Guellen was described as being a very poor area with all of its inhabitants including the mayor living in very simple lifestyles. When the townspeople buy these luxury products we can clearly see that their minds have become corrupted, and that all of them are certain that Ill is going to be executed or murdered. When Ill goes to the mayor and the sheriff for help and demands the arrest of Madame Claire as she has posed a threat on his life, they deny his allegations and reassure that no one wants to execute him. Of course the reader knows that all the townspeople are planning to kill him but they don’t know who will do it and when. At this part of the story the people of Guellen are waiting. When Ill goes to the train station in an attempt to escape from, he finds all the townspeople waiting for him there and they stop him from boarding the train. We can also see the corruption of the higher ranking persons in society, such as the mayor and the church, where they change their decision for the abolishment of the death penalty. The mayor calls a towns meeting for the discussion over the issue of reimplementation of the death penalty. Of course in the end all vote for it except for the church and the schoolmaster which abstain rather than vote against although they are going against their beliefs. In this scene we can see to what extent does corruption extends to where the high ranking officials in the town are corrupted. The mayor which said â€Å"we would rather have poverty than blood on our hands† was actually contemplating executing Ill in exchange for money. The last straw of the corruption in the play is when the schoolmaster goes to Claire Zachanassian in despair and begs her to forget about the execution of Ill. The schoolmaster is a realist and can see through all of the townspeople. He knows that Ill is going to die in the end and can see how the townspeople are becoming corrupted and how they are being seduced by the large sum of money. The schoolmaster pleads to Madam Zachanasian to let her â€Å"feelings for humanity prevail†. Here we can see that the schoolmaster is trying to communicate with the soft side of madam Zachanasian as the power is clearly in her hands and in the money. Here we can conclude that power is in the hands of the wealthy. They can completely corrupt societies and individuals and make them commit horrific sins that no one in their right mind would think about doing. In the play The Visit money corrupted each and every individual in society after they heard that she will be donating one million marks for the township and the individuals. As soon as they hear the deal they start thinking about fulfilling the condition and actually killing Ill. We can see to what extent and how far people are willing to go in exchange for personal gain. In the play all this corruption is justified by justice. Many of the townspeople state that they only want to execute Ill so that justice can be served. This justification of course is false and they are only doing it for the money. In the play Mother Courage and her children the circumstances and the situations are different, but the outcome is similar. The play is set in medieval Europe where there are many wars and conflicts between different countries. In the play, there is evidence of individuals getting corrupted as well as peoples getting corrupted. We first feel a sense of corruption in the second scene when Eilef, the once known brave and courageous man, is recognized for raiding the local peasants and stealing their cattle so that he can feed his hungry men. Here we can see that Eilef is taking the opportunity of the war and his status in the army to go and raid local peasants so that he can steal cattle. In the following scene the Chaplain and the cook appear to be talking about politics and discussing the war. The cook ironically remarks that the king is lucky to justify his war by god, otherwise he would be accused of seeking profits only. Here we can see that see that the people have realized that it is all because of personal gain. In a way, the children of Mother Courage are killed for the motif of money. First Swiss Cheese is executed because he has hid a box which contains a sum of money which the protestants have accumulated from the war. Mother courage then tries then to bribe the soldiers that want to execute him thanking god there is corruption and man is corruptible saying † Thank God they’re corruptible. They’re humans and after money like the rest of us. They’re not wolves. As long as there’s corruption there’s hope. Bribes! They’re a man’s best chance. As long as judges go on taking money, then there’s some chance of justice. † Eilef, after being described as wearing luxurious clothes, is executed for the numerous raids on the local peasants were he stole the belongings of these pitiful peasants and became rich on the expense of their lives. Last but not least Kattrin dies as she is beating the drum warning the peasants that Catholic soldiers are coming to raid their town and steal their belongings. All of Mother Courage’s children had the same tragic fate and all of their deaths are connected to money. In this play, we can see how money can corrupt societies and countries on a large scale. We can see how different people were corrupted in different ways all for the same reason. War changes order into chaos, and man takes the opportunity of chaos so that he can make money on the expense of others, sometimes killing others. The play Mother Courage and her Children vividly describes how peoples and leaders can commit numerous crimes in order to get wealthy and how simple humans can change suddenly into immoral humans after being seduced by wealth. In conclusion, we have an answer to the question at hand. Man is willing to kill, declare war, torture others and steel for the sole purpose of getting money. Man always finds a way to get money on the expense of others without even thinking. Both plays bluntly discussed the issue of corruption, money and how there is no conscience or moral values when it comes to making money, which were major themes in both plays. Last but not least, it is clear to us that man is willing to do anything in exchange for money.

Bloodlines Chapter Twelve

WHEN WE LEFT on our group date or family outing or whatever it was, Lee couldn't stop apologizing for his father. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he said, slumping miserably in the backseat of Latte. â€Å"There's no reasoning with him anymore. We tried to tell him that Tamara was killed by Strigoi, but he won't believe it. He doesn't want to. He can't take revenge on a Strigoi. They're immortal. Invincible. But some human vampire hunter? Somehow, in his head, that's something he can go after. And if he can't, then he can focus his energy on how the guardians won't go after these nonexistent vampire hunters.† I just barely heard Eddie mutter, â€Å"Strigoi aren't that invincible.† In the rearview mirror, I saw Jill's face filled with compassion. She was seated between Lee and Eddie. â€Å"Even if it's a fantasy, maybe it's better this way,† she suggested. â€Å"It gives him comfort. I mean, kind of. Having something tangible to hate is what gets him through. Otherwise he'd just give in to despair. He's not hurting anyone with his theories. I think he's sweet.† She caught her breath in that way she did when she'd said a whole lot all at once. My eyes were back on the road, but I could swear Lee was smiling. â€Å"That's nice of you,† he told her. â€Å"I know he likes having you around. Turn right up here.† That was to me. Lee had been giving me directions ever since we left Clarence's. We were just outside of Palm Springs proper, nearing the very impressive-looking Desert Gods Golf Course and Resort. Further guidance from him led us to the Mega-Fun Mini-Golf Center, which was adjacent to the resort. I searched for a parking spot and heard Jill gasp when she caught sight of the golf course's crowning glory. There, in the center of a cluster of gaudily decorated putting greens, was a huge fake mountain with an artificial waterfall spouting from its top. â€Å"A waterfall!† she exclaimed. â€Å"It's amazing.† â€Å"Well,† said Lee, â€Å"I wouldn't go that far. It's made of water that's been pumped over and over and has God only knows what in it. I mean, I wouldn't try to drink or swim in it.† Before I even had the car to a stop, Adrian was out the door, lighting a cigarette. We'd gotten in an argument on the way over, despite me telling him three times that Latte was a strictly no-smoking car. The rest of us soon got out as well, and I wondered what I'd signed up for here as we strolled toward the entrance. â€Å"I've actually never been mini-golfing,† I remarked. Lee came to a halt and stared. â€Å"Never?† â€Å"Never.† â€Å"How does that happen?† asked Adrian. â€Å"How is it possible that you've never played mini-golf?† â€Å"I had kind of an unusual childhood,† I said at last. Even Eddie looked incredulous. â€Å"You? I was practically raised at an isolated school in the middle of nowhere Montana, and even I've played mini-golf.† Saying I was homeschooled was no excuse this time, so I just let it go. Really, it just came down to having a childhood more focused on chemical equations than on fun and recreation. Once we started playing, I soon got the hang of it. My first few attempts were pretty bad, but I soon understood the weight of the club and how the angles on each course could be maneuvered. From there, it was pretty simple to calculate distance and force to make accurate shots. â€Å"Unbelievable. If you'd been playing since you were a child, you'd be a pro by now,† Eddie told me as I knocked my ball into a gaping dragon's mouth. The ball rolled out the back, down a tube, bounced off a wall, and into the hole. â€Å"How'd you do that?† I shrugged. â€Å"It's simple geometry. You're not that bad either,† I pointed out, watching him make his shot. â€Å"How do you do it?† â€Å"I just line it up and putt.† â€Å"Very scientific.† â€Å"I just rely on natural talent,† said Adrian, strolling up to the start of the Dragon's Lair. â€Å"When you have such a wealth of it to draw from, the danger comes from having too much.† â€Å"That makes no sense whatsoever,† said Eddie. Adrian's response was to pause and take out a silver flask from his inner coat pocket. He unscrewed it and took a quick drink before leaning in to line up his shot. â€Å"What was that?† I exclaimed. â€Å"You can't have alcohol out here.† â€Å"You heard Jailbait earlier,† he countered. â€Å"It's the weekend.† He lined up his ball and shot. The ball went directly for the dragon's eye, bounced off it, and shot back toward Adrian. It rolled and came to a stop at his feet, nearly where it had started. â€Å"Natural talent, huh?† asked Eddie. I leaned forward. â€Å"I think you broke the dragon's eye.† â€Å"Just like Keith,† said Adrian. â€Å"I figured you'd appreciate that, Sage.† I gave him a sharp look, wondering if there was any hidden meaning behind that. Mostly, Adrian seemed amused by his own wit. Eddie mistook my expression. â€Å"That was inappropriate,† he told Adrian. â€Å"Sorry, Dad.† Adrian shot again and managed not to maim any statues this time. A couple more shots, and he sank the ball. â€Å"There we go. Three.† â€Å"Four,† said Eddie and I in unison. Adrian looked at us incredulously. â€Å"It was three.† â€Å"You're forgetting about your first one,† I said. â€Å"The one where you blinded the dragon.† â€Å"That was just the warm-up,† Adrian argued. He put on a smile I think he hoped would charm me. â€Å"Come on, Sage. You understand how my mind works. You said I was brilliant, remember?† Eddie glanced at me in surprise. â€Å"You did?† â€Å"No! I never said that.† Adrian's smile was infuriating. â€Å"Stop telling people that.† Since I was in charge of the scorecard, his play was logged as four, despite his many further protests. I started to move forward, but Eddie held out a hand to stop me, his hazel eyes gazing over my shoulder. â€Å"Hold up,† he said. â€Å"We need to wait for Jill and Lee.† I followed his gaze. The two of them had been in deep conversation since we arrived, so much so that they'd slowed and lagged behind the rest of us. Even during his bantering with Adrian and me, Eddie had continually checked on her – and our surroundings. It was kind of amazing the way he could multitask. Thus far, Jill and Lee had only been one hole behind us. Now it was nearly two, and that was too far for Eddie to keep her in his sight. So, we waited while the oblivious couple meandered their way toward the Dragon's Lair. Adrian took another drink from his flask and shook his head in awe. â€Å"You had nothing to worry about, Sage. She went right for him.† â€Å"No thanks to you,† I snapped. â€Å"I can't believe you told her every detail of my visit that night. She was so mad at me for interfering behind her back with you, Lee, and Micah.† â€Å"I hardly told her anything,† argued Adrian. â€Å"I just told her to stay away from that human guy.† Eddie glanced between our faces. â€Å"Micah?† I shifted uncomfortably. Eddie didn't know about how I'd gone proactive. â€Å"Remember when I wanted you to say something to him? And you wouldn't?† I proceeded to tell him how I'd then sought out Adrian's help and found out about Lee's interest in Jill. Eddie was aghast. â€Å"How could you not tell me any of this?† he demanded. â€Å"Well,† I said, wondering if everything I did was going to result in the wrath of a Moroi or dhampir, â€Å"it didn't involve you.† â€Å"Jill's safety does! If some guy likes her, I need to know.† Adrian chuckled. â€Å"Should Sage have passed you a note in class?† â€Å"Lee's fine,† I said. â€Å"He obviously adores her, and it's not like she'll ever be alone with him.† â€Å"We don't know for sure that he's fine,† said Eddie. â€Å"Whereas Micah's a hundred percent okay? Did you do a background check or something?† I asked. â€Å"No,† said Eddie, looking embarrassed. â€Å"I just know. It's a feeling I get about him. There's no problem with him spending time with Jill.† â€Å"Except that he's human.† â€Å"They wouldn't have gotten serious.† â€Å"You don't know that.† â€Å"Enough, you two,† interrupted Adrian. Jill and Lee had finally reached the start of the Dragon's Lair, meaning we could move on. Adrian lowered his voice. â€Å"Your argument's useless. I mean, look at them. That human boy doesn't enter into it.† I looked. Adrian was right. Jill and Lee were clearly enthralled with each other. Some guilty part of me wondered if I should be a doing a better job of looking out for Jill. I was so relieved that she was interested in a Moroi that I hadn't stopped to wonder if she should even be dating anyone. Was fifteen old enough? I hadn't dated at fifteen. I'd actually, well, never dated. â€Å"There is an age difference between them,† I admitted, more to myself. Adrian scoffed. â€Å"Believe me, I've seen age differences. Theirs is nothing.† He walked off, and a few moments later, Eddie and I went to join him. Eddie maintained his simultaneous vigil of Jill, but this time, I got the impression the danger he was watching out for was right beside her. Adrian's laughter rang out ahead of us. â€Å"Sage!† he called. â€Å"You have got to see this.† Eddie and I reached the next green and stared in astonishment. Then I burst out laughing. We had reached Dracula's Castle. A huge, multi-towered black castle guarded the hole some distance away. A tunnel was cut out through the center of it with a narrow bridge meant for the ball to go over. If the ball fell off the sides before getting through the castle, it was returned back to the starting point. An animatronic Count Dracula stood off to the castle's side. He was pure white, with red eyes, pointed ears, and slicked-back hair. He jerkily kept raising his arms to show off a batlike cape. Nearby, a speaker blasted eerie organ music. I couldn't stop laughing. Adrian and Eddie looked at me as though they'd never seen me before. â€Å"I don't think I've ever heard her laugh,† Eddie told him. â€Å"Certainly not the reaction I was expecting,† mused Adrian. â€Å"I'd been counting on abject terror, judging from past Alchemist behavior. I didn't think you liked vampires.† Still grinning, I watched Dracula raise his cape up and down. â€Å"This isn't a vampire. Not a real one. And that's what makes it so funny. It's pure Hollywood camp. Real vampires are terrifying and unnatural. This? This is hilarious.† It was clear from their expressions that neither really understood why this would appeal to my sense of humor so much. Adrian did, however, offer to take a picture with my cell phone when I asked him. I posed by Dracula and put on a big smile. Adrian managed to snap the shot just as Dracula was raising his cape. When I viewed the picture, I was pleased to see it had come out perfectly. Even my hair looked good. Adrian gave the picture a nod of approval before handing me the phone. â€Å"Okay, even I can admit that's pretty cute.† I found myself overanalyzing the comment. What had he meant in saying even he could admit it? That I was cute for a human? Or that I had just met some kind of Adrian hot-girl criteria? Moments later, I had to forcibly stop thinking about it. Let it go, Sydney. It's a compliment. Accept it. We played through the rest of the course, finally finishing off with the waterfall itself. That was a particularly challenging hole, and I took my time lining up the shot – not that I needed to. I was beating everyone pretty handily. Eddie was the only one who came close. It was clear Jill and Lee didn't even have their attention on the game, and as for Adrian and his natural talent†¦ well, they were very solidly in last place. Eddie, Adrian, and I were still ahead of the other two, so we waited for them by the waterfall. Jill practically ran to it when she had the chance, gazing up at it with enchanted eyes. â€Å"Oh,† she breathed. â€Å"This is wonderful. I haven't seen this much water in days.† â€Å"Remember what I said about the toxicity,† teased Lee. But it was clear he found her reaction endearing. As I glanced at the other two guys, I saw that they shared the same feelings. Well, not exactly the same. Adrian's affection was clearly brotherly. Eddie's? It was hard to read, kind of a mix of the other two. Maybe it was a kind of guardian fondness. Jill made a gesture to the waterfall, and suddenly, part of it broke off from the tumbling cascade. The chunk of water shaped itself into a braid, then twisted high into the air, making spirals before shattering into a million drops that misted over us all. I had been staring wide-eyed and frozen, but those drops hitting me shocked me awake. â€Å"Jill,† I said in a voice I barely recognized as my own. â€Å"Don't do that again.† Jill, eyes bright, barely spared me a glance as she made another piece of water dance in the air. â€Å"No one's around to see, Sydney.† That wasn't what had me so upset. That wasn't what filled me with so much panic that I could barely breathe. The world was doing that thing where it started to spin, and I worried I was going to faint. Stark, cold fear ran through me, fear at the unknown. The unnatural. The laws of my world had just been broken. This was vampire magic, something foreign and inaccessible to humans – inaccessible because it was forbidden, something no mortal was meant to delve into. I had only once seen magic used, when two spirit users had turned on each other, and I never wanted to see it again. One had forced the plants of the earth to do her bidding while the other telekinetically hurled objects meant to kill. It had been terrifying, and even though I hadn't been the target, I'd felt trapped and overwhelmed in the face of such otherworldly power. It was a reminder that these weren't fun, easy people to hang out with. These were creatures wholly different from me. â€Å"Stop it,† I said, feeling the panic rise. I was afraid of the magic, afraid it would touch me, afraid of what it might do to me. â€Å"Don't do it anymore!† Jill didn't even hear me. She grinned at Lee. â€Å"You're air, right? Can you create fog over the water?† Lee stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked away. â€Å"Ah, well, it's probably not a good idea. I mean, we're in public†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Come on,† she pleaded. â€Å"It won't take any effort for you at all.† He actually appeared nervous. â€Å"Nah, not right now.† â€Å"Not you too.† She laughed. Above her and in front of her, that demon water was still spinning, spinning, spinning†¦ â€Å"Jill,† said Adrian, a harsher note in his voice than I'd ever heard before. In fact, I couldn't recall him ever addressing her by her actual name. â€Å"Stop.† It was all he said, but it was like a wave of something went through Jill. She flinched, and the water spirals disappeared, falling away in droplets. â€Å"Fine,† she said, looking confused. There was a moment of awkwardness, and then Eddie said, â€Å"We should hurry. We're going to be pushing curfew.† Lee and Jill set out to make their shots and soon were laughing and flirting again. Eddie continued watching them in his concerned way. Only Adrian paid any attention to me. He was the only one who really understood what had happened, I realized. His green eyes studied me, with no trace of their usual bitter humor. I wasn't fooled, though. I knew there had to be some witty quip coming, mocking my reaction. â€Å"Are you okay?† he asked quietly. â€Å"I'm fine,† I said, turning from him. I didn't want him to see my face. He'd already seen too much, seen my fear. I didn't want any of them to know how afraid of them I was. I heard him take a few steps toward me. â€Å"Sage – â€Å" â€Å"Leave me alone,† I snapped back. I hurried off toward the course's exit, certain he wouldn't follow me. I was right. I waited for them to finish the game, using the alone time to calm myself down. By the time they caught up to me, I was fairly certain I had wiped most of the emotions from my face. Adrian still watched me with concern, which I didn't like, but at least he didn't say anything else about my breakdown. Surprising to no one, the final score showed that I had won and Adrian had lost. Lee had come in third, which seemed to trouble him. â€Å"I used to be a lot better,† he muttered, frowning. â€Å"I used to be perfect at this game.† Considering he'd spent most of the time paying attention to Jill, I thought third was a pretty respectable performance. I dropped him and Adrian off first and then just barely got Eddie, Jill, and me back to Amberwood on time. I was more or less back to normal by then, not that anyone would've noticed. Jill was floating on a cloud as we went into our dorm room, talking nonstop about Lee. â€Å"I had no idea he'd traveled so much! He's maybe been more places than you, Sydney. He keeps telling me that he'll take me to all of them, that we'll spend the rest of our lives traveling and doing whatever we want. And he's taking all sorts of classes in college because he's not sure what he wants to major in. Well, not all sorts this semester. He's got a light schedule so that he can spend more time with his father. And that's good for me. For us, I mean.† I stifled a yawn and nodded wearily. â€Å"That's great.† She paused from where she'd been searching her dresser for pajamas. â€Å"I'm sorry, by the way.† I froze. I didn't want an apology for the magic. I didn't even want to remember it had happened. â€Å"For yelling at you the other night,† she continued. â€Å"You didn't set me up with Lee. I should never have accused you of interfering. He really has liked me all along, and, well†¦ he's really great.† I let out the breath I'd been holding and attempted a weak smile. â€Å"I'm glad you're happy.† She returned cheerfully to her tasks and to talking about Lee until I left to go down to the bathroom. Before brushing my teeth, I stood in front of the sink and washed my hands and arms over and over, scrubbing as hard as I could to wash away the magical drops of water I swore I could still feel on my skin.

Cuckoos Egg Analysis Paper - 1600 Words

THE CUCKOO’S EGG BOOK ANALYSIS – TRACKING A SPY Suma Lakshminarayan Book Analysis Paper Professor Jon Clark Summer Quarter 2012 11 September, 2012 INTRODUCTION The Cuckoo’s Egg book is well written by Cliff Stoll. It was something like reading a horror story book. It was creepy, suspense, curiosity and scary too. The hacker every time breaks into a military system seemed to be like a ghost entering into the house and not like a thief. We know thief will definitely when he attacks a home he will for sure grab all things possible for him to steal. But this hacker was not doing just that, he was wandering in the system and making some creepy moves and disappeared. Many a times he would just come and go just to show†¦show more content†¦This proved the author that the hacker was obviously having all the sessions printed out and also copied on to a floppy disk. Here author calculates the distance between his computer and the hacker’s by the concept of sound travelled and its echo heard. This way he arrives at a result of 279,000 miles but since his technician Lloyd was very good at communications explains him about the de lays which occurred during communication between satellites and the earth, the hacker using a slow computer and the data transferred in the form of packets. Thus they land up with a result of 6000 miles. Another interesting way Maggie Morley cracked the word puzzle which led to a hint of hacker’s location. Though this is not physics approach, but definitely it is a different way of approach to solve a problem. Maggie gives the meaning of Jaeger, in German it meant Hunter and it was a name of a hunting bird. Hunter and Jaeger were the passwords used by the hacker. Hedgers and Benson were the name Cigars. So this lead to a conclusion that hacker must be somewhere in Germany and that he smoked. Dave Cleveland also gives a clue, which the hacker is not from the west coast. He comes to this conclusion by seeing the hacker type ps-eafg Unix command. This meant to Dave that the hacker didn’t know Berkeley Unix. The best way to learn new things is to make mistakes and learn fr om your mistakes and the best way to understand others is to put your legs in their shoes. CliffShow MoreRelatedEvolution And Adaptive Value Of Brood Parasitism Within Cuckoo Birds1737 Words   |  7 Pagesreview within this paper is, what has caused brood parasitism, what has shaped it, and what are the adaptive values of Cuckoo brood parasitism? Within Cuckoo’s, this strange behavior has ultimately been shaped through environmental pressures and has become advantageous. Ecological changes forced Cuckoo’s to change migrational patterns, habitat, range size, and foraging, which lead to brood parasitism. Once brood parasitism arose, a coevolutionary arms race began between the Cuckoo’s and hosts. Due toRead MoreA Research Study On The Bird Family Cuculidae1399 Words   |  6 Pageshosts. The purpose of this paper is to present and provide a review of the evolution of brood parasitism behavior within the common Cuckoo, environmental pressures leading to this beh avior, and the adaptive value of the behavior. Discussion This behavior is performed by female Cuckoo’s, who lay an egg within a target host nest and therefore leave the host to raise the Cuckoo’s hatchling. Oftentimes the female Cuckoo will dispose of one of the host’s eggs and then lay one egg of its own within the nestRead MoreFor this final paper, I would like to discuss the historical failures that came into light when Mr.1900 Words   |  8 PagesFor this final paper, I would like to discuss the historical failures that came into light when Mr. Clifford Stoll (the author of â€Å"Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a spy through the Maze of Computer Espionage† book) stumbled upon a $ 0.75 accounting error and the revelations that followed, its potential findings, risks and costs associated and why it is important to address and fix those security holes. Cuckoo’s Egg is an interesting read and the author was successful in presenting to his readers the pictureRead MoreCyber Security3559 Words   |  15 Pa gesand some less dangerous risks not protected. The threat is advancing quicker than we can keep up with it. The threat changes faster than our idea of the risk. Its no longer possible to write a large white paper about the risk to a particular system. You would be rewriting the white paper constantly... http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/cybersecurity Cyberspace Cyberspace is a worldwide network of computers and the equipment that connects them, which by its very design is free and openRead MoreHistory of Firewall18739 Words   |  75 Pagesdead passengers reduced revenue, train engines were built with iron walls right behind the engine compartment. This stopped ï ¬ res from spreading into the passenger cars, but didn’t protect the engineer between the coal pile and the furnace. In this paper we will be concerned with ï ¬ rewalls in a more modern setting— computer networks. The predecessors to ï ¬ rewalls for network security were the routers used in the late 1980s to separate networks from one another. A network misconï ¬ guration which caused