According to Seamus Deane Essay

According to Seamus Deane, Translations is a play about â€Å"the tragedy of English Imperialism†. How far would you agree with this statement in relation to both Translations and Heart of Darkness? INTRO Although the location, language and structure of Brian Friel’s Translations differs unmistakably from that of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the topic of colonisation remains central to both. While the supposed sophistication of ‘civilised’ colonists is deconstructed in Conrad’s novella to reveal man’s common ‘darkness’, Friel’s play deals with the ways in which the consciousness of an entire culture is fractured by the transcription of one landscape (Gaelic, classical and traditional) for another (Anglo-Saxon, progressive and Imperialistic). 1 Friel uses the apparently passive plotting of an Ordnance Survey map to emphasise the loss of indigenous Irish tradition, social history and heritage felt by the natives of County Donegal in Ireland. The translation of the place-names automatically eliminates the secrets buried within the original name; it distorts rather than restores the ontological nature of the place-name. Friel uses Owen to expose the Imperialist outlook on ‘standardisation’ during his battle with Yolland over â€Å"Tobair Vree†: He begins a long discourse on how Tobair Vree came to acquire its name, identifying a well that once existed nearby and has long since dried up, with â€Å"Vree† an erosion of the Irish â€Å"Brian†. He then asks Yolland: â€Å"do we keep piety with a man long dead, long forgotten, his name eroded beyond recognition, whose trivial little story nobody in the parish remembers? † Even as he attempts to demonstrate the invalidity of ‘Tobair Vree’ as rightful place-name through its seemingly illogical associations, Owen contradicts his own argument. The reality that Owen himself remembers the tale behind the name reinstates the fact that as insignificant as this narrative may be to him, it remains the carrier of history and memories, both public and private. The name not only retells the anecdote which defined ‘Brian’s Well’, but also evokes Owen’s memories of his grandfather. The Irish place-names had developed into historical, cultural and social storehouses through their varied associations and values. The reduction of such ontological knowledge to an epistemological referent through colonial dispossession therefore reduces identity in â€Å"an eviction of sorts†. 2 The destructive force of English Imperialism is echoed in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and is revealed to us through Marlow’s portrayal of the Africans he encounters and the treatment they are subject to. Forced to work under the conditions of European mechanical labour, the natives acquired expressions of the â€Å"deathlike indifference of unhappy savages† as they became reduced to â€Å"nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation†. The â€Å"civilised† colonists place the â€Å"savages† in chain gangs, enslaving them; eliminating their identities and breaking their spirit as a people. Throughout the entire novel we, the reader do not learn a single of the Africans’ names. They are collectively labelled â€Å"niggers†, â€Å"creatures†, â€Å"rebels†, â€Å"savages†, â€Å"enemies†, â€Å"ants† and â€Å"criminals† by the colonisers. Even the individual natives Marlow speaks of remain unnamed, distant and alien. This is exposed through the portrayal of the helmsman; although Marlow shared with him â€Å"a kind of partnership†, he is nevertheless reduced and objectified as merely â€Å"an instrument†. Conrad discloses the dying identity of the Congo’s indigenous inhabitants through Marlow’s initial observation of the â€Å"blind, white flicker †¦ which died out slowly† in their â€Å"enormous and vacant† eyes. 3 Friel illustrates Imperialism’s effect on identity unequivocally in his play through the function of Sarah. â€Å"My name is Sarah†. Unable to speak her own name previously, Sarah’s identity finally emerges and begins to flower. Language is demonstrated to be the key to memory; identity is formulated through language. Through Sarah’s speech, a hidden landscape of consciousness has been unlocked by Manus, ready to be explored. Sarah’s name is crucial in her self-definition and identity, just as with the names of places; her name encapsulates not only an identity, but also an origin and a lineage. Sarah blurts out â€Å"Sarah Johnny Sally† to Owen when asked her name, thus providing not only her Christian name but in addition those of her parents. Owen does not hesitate to reply â€Å"Of course! From Bun na hAbhann! † and complete this marker of the clan. He responds furthermore with his own identity, parentage and place of origin: â€Å"I’m Owen – Owen Hugh Mor. From Baile Beag. † Irish names in Translations quickly become linked not only with identification of an entity, but also with the narrative history associated with that identity through lineage and society. While Friel insists that â€Å"the play is about language and only language†, the fact that Sarah is silenced again by the colonisers could represent the suppressive and inconsiderate treatment imposed on the Irish people by the English Imperialists, denying them their freedom of expression and thus their right to an identity. 4 Conrad mirrors Sarah’s silence and consequent absence of identity in Heart of Darkness through his creation of Kurtz’s mistress who although described as â€Å"superb, wild-eyed and magnificent† in â€Å"her deliberate progress†, reveals the suffering she has endured under colonial domination through her visibly â€Å"wild sorrow† and â€Å"fear of some struggling, half-shaped resolve†. Her â€Å"formidable silence† contrasts wholly with Kurtz’s â€Å"ability to talk†. As a musician, politician, poet and humanitarian his â€Å"inextinguishable gift of noble and lofty expression† is equated with political power, thus giving Kurtz â€Å"a sense of real presence† which is evidently lacking amongst the native Africans who have become disassociated from their past, their origins and their control over the future. Their only capability in expressing themselves is through their appearance of â€Å"dumb pain†. Exactly like Friel’s natives, the original inhabitants of the Congo are â€Å"imprisoned in a linguistic contour which no longer matches the landscape of†¦ fact†.

Explain the concepts of equality,diversity and rights in relation to health and social care Essay

Equality Act 2010 The Equality Act aims to simplify and harmonize the old equalities legislation. Over the last four decades discrimination legislation has played an important role in helping to make Britain a more equal society. However, the legislation was complex and, despite the progress that has been made, inequality and discrimination persist and progress on some issues has been stubbornly slow. The Equality Act 2010 is intended to provide a new cross-cutting legislative framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all; to update, simplify and strengthen the previous legislation; and to deliver a simple, modern and accessible framework of discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society. The Act has replaced the Disability Discrimination Act, combining it under one governing umbrella with all equalities issues. A disability access audit is still the best way to ensure you meet your duties under the Equality Act in regards to accessibility. What is the importance of equality, diversity and recognizing rights in early years services? 1. Legal – having proper policies and procedures in place should prevent successful compensation payouts for proven discrimination. 2. Ethical – it’s morally right to want to provide equal treatment to all stakeholders, especially children and parents/guardians. 3. Social – children can learn to be better citizens in a culturally diverse society, if given the right orientation from the beginning. Why is equality and diversity important in a mental health profession? One could argue it isn’t and that best person should always be chosen regardless as It is mainly a political ideal. However in this case there may in fact be an argument for it as follows. it may be important for those suffering mental issues to feel they are part of a wider community and having a wide selection of diversity etc. shows that society is all inclusive and will include them too. this can be very important for some mental attitudes and health problems. Equality and diversity is important for the patient, and prevents stereotypes and misdiagnosis. For example it is common in turkey to say you hear voices of spirits Djinns.Without diversity and understanding the person could be classed as schizophrenic. I know of a god-believer who got diagnosed as bi-polar just because the professionals dealing with her were not from her walk of life. I think it should be compulsory to imply it to all nations and races available. Why is it important to promote equality recognize diversity and respect rights in health and social care? 1. To promote equality a) In a democracy it is everyone’s right to have access to good health and social inclusion. Thus if any section of society is omitted then none of us can claim to be citizens of a democratic society. b) Everyone is also at physical risk, even if only some sections of society are initially exposed, to disease and ill health. 2.To respect rights and recognize diversity a) Consciousness, self-esteem, culture and physical health are interrelated Note: this might mean having to provide extra resources particularly for people who do not yet share competence in the major language Note: these high ideals are often held to, more in principle than in fact, in the majority of societies. This is because there are both passive and active (i.e. transfer of scarce resources) components of rights in all fields- education, health, justice, security, etc. In societies which emphasize individualism and demonize government intervention it is particularly difficult to achieve these aims. DISCRIMINATORY SELECTION DECISION Kai, a Native American, files a charge after he applied for a promotion, was interviewed, and was not selected. The investigation reveals that, based on objective qualifications, Kai was deemed one of the top candidates but the job ended up going to Ted, a similarly qualified White candidate from outside the company. The hiring manager tells the investigator that he thought that Kai was well qualified but he chose Ted because he â€Å"seemed to be a better fit; I’m comfortable with him and I can see him in my job one day.† When pressed to be more specific, the manager says he liked the fact that Ted worked for a competitor. However, the investigation reveals that although Ted did work for another company in the industry, it was not really a competitor. Employee and management witnesses tell the investigator that Ted’s experience working for another company in the industry was no more valuable than Kai’s experience working for the company itself. The witnesses also tell the investigator that, until now, the company practice had been to prefer qualified internal candidates over similarly qualified external candidates. There is reasonable cause to believe that Kai was discriminated against based on his race or national origin. What are the causes an effect of discriminatory practices? It can lead to a change in balance of workforce/people. If old/ethnic minorities/disabled etc. people are disadvantaged, there may be an unusually high proportion of young, white, fit people. This would deter anyone from the discriminated groups from applying. Alternatively, positive discrimination seeks to counter act the effects of discrimination by actively giving preference to underrepresented groups. This can have a good outcome, but it often leads to resentment on both sides because the â€Å"non-discriminated† feel that the â€Å"discriminated† have only got in because of their color/age etc., and the â€Å"discriminated† think that they are not being valued for what they can do and have only been chosen to fill a quota. What is the physical effect of discriminatory practices? The physical effects of discriminatory practice maybe that the individual who is being subjected to discrimination starts to feel unworthy within society, therefore this leads on to them starting to inappropriate there appearance,  lack of hygiene, which doesn’t reflect on a good person in the eyes of their community. Their health could also deteriorate – poor mental health, bruises, maybe from them self-harming to find a easy way to get away from the pain and unhappiness they are getting from individuals within community with discrimination towards them. Potential effects of Discriminatory Practices? Example of discriminatory practice is an old woman in a nursing home, in her notes she has been labeled as a ‘biter’. This makes care assistance reluctant and resistant to her How will this affect her physically, emotionally, mentally. Well I would think that she is not being given the proper mental care in the first place. As she is old and in a nursing home, she probably is a little forgotten by family anyway. This will create even less positive contact with her causing her to regress and become even more depressive. Unfortunately today we don’t always give the mental therapy that is needed to help elder people and leave them to suffer emotionally. I think she will eventually deteriorate at a faster pace and increase chances of premature death. What do you do? No one wants to go the extra mile to help these individuals and some nursing homes hire people who really don’t care and certainly don’t want to get bitten. Sad. So much of the medical profession is geared to making money and not in the quality and quantity of valued caring. What are the Emotional effects of discriminatory practice? Emotional effects of discriminatory practice are that individuals become stressed, for example as a result of being bullied. Also they can find themselves becoming more emotional with feelings of anger and frustration. These in all cause the individual to become upset which can in some cases remain a constant emotion that doesn’t seem to disappear.

Diversity Plan PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Diversity Plan - PowerPoint Presentation Example en looking for players or the sports leaders the sports management board should cast their nets wider in order to recruit people from different ethnic and cultural groups (Cunningham, 2011). The management board should also establish mean of encouraging the underrepresented groups to participate in sports. A campaign should be established to encourage all students to participate in different sports. Those who join the sports should not be discouraged. They should be trained and offered with moral support in order to like the games (Cunningham, 2011). The sports management team in the college should also create a sports culture that enables all students to be involved fully. The culture will enable each person to enjoy sports and join the games of their interest. In the college, there should be an environment that gives everybody an opportunity to compete, officiate, play, coach and volunteer in sports. Inter-ethnic competition should also be burned, and all students should play as a team regardless of the race (Cunningham,

Explain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Explain - Essay Example The customer enters the restaurant, then interacts with the employees through greetings. The customer then orders for a meal at the cashier. After the order, the client walks into the dining room where food is served. After consumption of the food, the customer pays and exits the premises (Cilli And Olieves Restaurant). This stage involves the employees and their service to the customer. The employee receives the order from the customer and the preparation and serving of the food commences. After the food is prepared, it is delivered to the client and upon completion, the customer pays the bill, which is received by the person at the payment area. The back stage is the basis of internal interactions. This area is the kitchen area where the preparation of food takes place. When the orders are received, supply department delivers the relevant ingredients for food preparation. The area also involves washing of dishes and garbage disposal from the leftovers (Cilli And Olieves Restaurant). This area is the focal point of the restaurant operation. This area is where the payroll system is established and the overall running of the business. The information system is connected to the payroll system to enhance supply of information. The area also has the suppliers that ensure food preparation. The area also oversees the disposal of waste materials from the company (Cilli And Olieves

Industrial Growth and Competiton Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Industrial Growth and Competiton - Essay Example According to Perloff (2012) Pigouvian tax can be described as a corrective measure undertaken by state or a body with authority usually inform of imposing tax to restore or limit any inefficient market activities. Taxation is applied on a firm that produces negative externality to other firm or the well-being of the entire community. The aim is to equalise the amount of tax imposed to the negative externality. Let us examine a case of a paint manufacturing firm that pollutes a nearby river using various cost concepts. With the absence of any regulation control measures, the firm can maximise its production activity without thinking of the impact imposed on another firm for example, a boat renting firm to families and individual for recreational purposes. In a typical market analysis, the paint manufacturing firm’s output and price relation can be presented in figure 1 below. In the figure 1 below, there are three main cost concepts: marginal social cost (MSC), marginal private cost (MPC), and Marginal Damage cost. Perloff (2012) defines these costs as follows. The private marginal cost refers to all the direct cost incurred by the firm or producer in creating goods or services. He also defines marginal damage as the additional cost to a firm producing additional unit of a product that impose negative externality on others. Further, he defines social damage cost as the summation of private marginal cost and marginal damage to a producer. This can be illustrated graphically in figure 1 below. Initially, the firm’s output level was at Q0due to absence of any regulation. The firm’s primary focus on this particular market scenario, where there is no any form of regulation on production, focuses on how to maximise production output at any given time. However, the need to reduce pollution leads to introduction of a pigouvian tax to make the firm comply with existing production regulation and be mindful of other

Interview with a 30 Years Older Person Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Interview with a 30 Years Older Person - Essay Example Just, pray for me. Please. Mr. Ross. Young man, I still believe, you are right in narrating the utility of family. Although back in 1930, a Harper's Monthly Magazine essayist wrote: "To-day social and civic agencies, in taking over most of these parental responsibilities, have deprived the parents of an important bond of mutual understanding. But, I still believe in the sanctity, integrity and sovereignty of family as the supreme social institution. I never complain about Tania, who left me in a lurch, when I needed her most. She was not a staunch believer in the sanctity of family. She passed her most time out. Our initial love fizzled soon.. Had Amelia, not died in 1995. I would have never gone for another marriage. She was really faithful, loving and caring. Only Richard, when grew up gave us some tough time. I did not have enough time to give him. So he grew brat. Then I decided to move into my family more closely for the sake of Richard and gave him a regular family therapy. Me. It is great thing to learn from you. ... I think, in modern society, family has lost its relevance altogether. Mr. Ross. No. Look, young man. Although, over the decades the family as a unit has decayed in American society. But, I still, believe that there is no other institution that can be compared to the family as an institution fit for grooming the children as successful persons. Now, I will explain to you the family system therapy. In the first instance, Family Systems Therapy works on the assumption that the all the family members are interdependent with one and the other and are expect some form of reciprocity (Bowen, 1985). Family Systems Therapy has a broad spectrum of application which can be used to treat children in the families and intimate couples that might have one of the following: various personal and family crises; sociological disorders; and physically challenged or have a chronic illness. Since Richard used to think aggrieved by my over occupation with work he was always sad and angry. In the age of 16, he left home and I received complaints from local police station that Richard has been caught gambling and in some other illegal, unhealthy activities in the local pubs. This worried me a lot. I immediately decided to go for family therapy for Richard. This type of therapy focuses on the aggrieved child helping him through the grief, sadness, depression, anger, and other emotions. It differs from person to person on how they can cope up with this kind of situation. Some individuals' even stops talking as a coping mechanism during this period. For some, it goes on and on until they realize that they cannot speak as they think that they have lost a part of them completely. You see. Most of the children entirely blame themselves for their parents' problems and

Death Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Death - Essay Example The hospitals and health care systems have become such an all-encompassing establishment that â€Å"personally witnessed death has become an uncommon event in many Western countries† (Aiken, 2001, p.6). This phenomenon has been viewed as an attempt to â€Å"deny the reality of death† (Aiken, 2001, p.6). All the same, media, especially visual media have been showing vivid pictures and scenes of death so enthusiastically that death has become a daily affair for the viewers (Aiken, 2001, p.6). In this way, death has become a fearsome taboo as well as an enjoyable spectacle, on two extremes of our modern times. In medical terms, it can be said that: When the body dies, cells in the higher brain centers, which are very susceptible to oxygen deprivation, die first. This usually occurs between 5 to 10 min after the supply of oxygen is cut off. Next to die are the cells in the lower brain centers, including those in the medulla oblongata, which is the regulator of respiration, heartbeat and other vital reflexes (Aiken, 2001, p.7). There are other perspectives on death as described by different branches of human thought.

To what extent do differing human resource management and training Essay

To what extent do differing human resource management and training practices contribute to varying levels of success between major national economies - Essay Example It also enhances positive relationships within organisations in order to enhance greater success at the workplace. Thirdly, the theory enhances the development and motivation of employees in order to perform better at the workplace. In terms of negative criticisms, the theory does not clearly explain how the various relations within an organization enhance success in international business across countries. The theory also fails to explain how HRM is linked to the strategic management of an organisation. Wright and Snell (1991) argue that abilities and skills are environmental inputs; behaviours of employees are throughputs; and satisfaction and performance of employees are outcomes. Therefore, the function of the HRM is to recruit, retain, utilize, and displace competencies in organizations (Jackson and Schuler, 1995). The primary positive aspect of the theory is that it provides key functions of HRM which help HR managers to perform their duties of managing personnel effectively. Therefore, the theory provides key understanding of how HR managers can manage employees effectively to achieve higher results and success in international business (Wright and Snell (1991, p. 216). The main criticism of the theory is that it focuses more on systems than processes; it identifies the various items that are included in an open system rather than explaining how these items work in a human resource department. It also neglects most aspects of human resource management including policies on labour relations and human resource policies at the workplace. The transfer of human resource policy and practice occurs due to international competition pressure, organisational politics and international integration (Yu and Wu, p. 122). In terms of positive aspects, the theory enables the understanding of the success of HRM practices in different countries. It is also important for the understanding of international

The novel & Frankenstein Essay Example for Free

The novel Frankenstein Essay How does Shelley create sympathy for the Monster, as well as for Victor Frankenstein, in the novel, Frankenstein? Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, born 30th August 1797 was the anonymous writer who was idolised over due to her novel, Frankenstein. She was a literary icon in the romanticism era in the early 1800s. The globally famous novel was published in 1818 when Shelly was at the age of 21. Shelley decided to submit her novel anonymously as in that stage in history women were not taken seriously in society and were victims of sexist and prejudiced movements. The novel was originally a ghost story in which she wrote while being overwhelmed by a series of calamities in her life; the worst of these were the suicide of her half-sister, Fanny Imlay. Frankenstein is considered to be the greatest gothic romantic novel in history and also thought of as the first science fiction novel. Gothic horror was a common genre of use in the time Frankenstein was written. This was a time of great novels such as Dracula and Hound of the Baskervilles. Gothic horror is traditionally set in dark castles and countryside with eerie moaning music and bad weather. Written in 1818, Frankenstein is the deeply disturbing tale of a monstrous unnamed creation that was created in the name of science. Huge and strong, the creature, created by Victor Frankenstein kills and murders many throughout the tale, but considering his tragic beginnings, I must ask, who is the real monster in this gothic tale of horror? Frankenstein is cleverly written in two parts. The first part of the book is narrated from Frankensteins point of view as he relates his story to a ships captain. The second part of the story is the monster telling Victor how he came to find him and what had happened to him since he was abandoned. This technique cleverly allows the reader to see both sides of the story and judge who the real monster is. In chapter five of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, the creature is given life. The opening paragraph makes excellent use of pathetic fallacy, using the weather to set the scene. The first lines of the chapter, it was a dreary night in November, and the rain pattered dismally against the windowpanes, make obvious use of traditional gothic horror scenery.

Victorian society Essay Example for Free

Victorian society Essay The Importance of Being Earnest, subtitled, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a comedy of manners whereby Oscar Wilde rebukes the Victorian aristocracy for their social issues that seemingly prioritise the most trivial of things such as style and appearance above those of true significance such as. Wilde further achieves this by incorporating elements such as farce and melodrama in order to highlight their senseless main concerns. Wilde portrays the act of â€Å"Being Earnest† as being in opposing to its definition as having features of dishonesty and false morality, with one of the main characters Algernon stating that â€Å"The truth is rarely pure and never simple†. Wilde’s first satirical attack in the play is marriage. Algernon is shown to perceive marriage to be a business deal as opposed to the projected illusion of it as described in the play as being based on mutual feelings of love (evidence – Ceclily or Gwendolen). This is evidenced by Algernon’s sharply comical and paradoxical epigrams in response to his best friend Jack Worthing’s admittance of wanting to propose to Algernon’s own ward Gwendolen he states: â€Å"I thought you had come up for pleasure? I call that business. † Wilde is seemingly satirising concept of marriage presenting it to be a legal contract between consenting families of similar social class and fortunes; Baxley comments â€Å"Wilde shows us how the upper class does not marry for love or happiness but for convenience and social standing†. )Algernon views marriage in an unorthodox way, unlike the expectations of modern day now. He views it as a disease, one that to be bearable needs an escape: â€Å"Nothing will induce me to part with Bunbury, and if you ever get married†¦ you will be very glad to know Bunbury. A man who marries without knowing Bunbury has a very tedious time of it. † ‘Bunbury’ (who is he) is a direct metaphor for Algernon’s deceit and escape from social expectation. He is a fictitious person; one that Algernon suggests is needed in general life but indeed emphasises that this is the case most particularly when one is married. Algernon disregards Jack’s confidence that once he finds love he will no longer needs a ‘Bunbury’[a]. On one level the exchange merely is a continuation of the long running marriage gag of the Victorian notion of â€Å"marriage bliss† in an era where the English aristocracy was dominant and superior, and far removed even from the British middle class. This would in turn amplify the humorous situation through Wilde’s blatant social criticism-through the ‘Bunbury’ double entendre to the middle class audience in particular. Nevertheless, it also brings to light a darker subtext, one were Algernon insinuates that all husbands in Victorian society have and need a ‘Bunbury’ thus satirising the moral values by highlighting the fact that aristocratic meaning as long as they kept within the appearance of propriety, they could lead a double life and avoid responsibility but still keep upmost respect from society. Consequently, Oscar Wilde satirises duty and respectability simultaneously with the notion of marriage in Victorian society by demeaning their importance. Wilde could be said to be suggesting that their ‘duty’ is a pun (with reference to the title of the play) and in fact the aristocracy duty is more so simply a title that entails a need for pity as opposed to awe. Perhaps this is purposely done as such a suggestion to a Victorian audience would have been deemed an outrageous concept even to the extent of offence but is accepted due to the comedic light-heartedness and infantile manner in which it is presented; through Algernon’s unrealistic approach to life and love. His ignorance and foolishness, contributes to the satirical nature of the play but yet in keeping with the comedy genre due to the melodramatic and foolish aspects of his character for example: â€Å"She will place me next Mary Farquhar, who always flirts with her husband across the dinner-table. That is not very pleasant The amount of women in London who flirt with their own husbands is perfectly scandalous. It looks so bad. It is simply washing one’s clean linen in public†. This statement highlights the fact that Algernon recoils at the very thing that society values. His offence that the women he will be seated with flirt only with their husband and no one else evidences this. The importance of marriage instead is subverted and can be seen as simply a stipulation and social expectation that comes with the responsibilities of being in the upper class a view, which is seen as trivial and unimportant as the characters mainly view marriage as a social tool.

The Social Problem Of Racism Sociology Essay

The Social Problem Of Racism Sociology Essay Day by day, the occurrence of social problems seems to increase rapidly. Social problems are issues or problems that may affect the people in a society, no matter it is directly or indirectly, and social problems are mainly related to moral values. Some of the major social problems that often occur in todays world are drug abuse, crime, bullying, rape, kidnap, poverty, illegal migration, unemployment, truancy, obesity, gay marriage, racism, discrimination, abortion, family issues, marginalization, HIV, pollution, pre-marital sex, sex slavery prostitution, child pornography and many more. The main social problem that will be discussed in this social psychology assignment will be focused on racism and also about the Africans being the target of racism, which had actually happened in Australia lately in the month of March to April, year 2010. Racism, according to the Cambridge dictionary, is defined as the belief that peoples qualities are influenced by their race and that the members of other races are not as good as the members of your own, which results in other races being treated unfairly (Cambridge International Dictionary of English. [1889]-1894). Racism happens every day around the world regardless of any countries, even in Malaysia. Racism is a very sensitive issue as it discriminates and offends people of a certain race. Racism brings bad consequences as for it may result in causing racial destruction and disharmony among the people living in a particular country. Plus, racism also causes conflict and war, take the tragedy that happened on the 13th of May during the year 1969 in Malaysia for example. The problem caused is mainly due to racial politics, which is also related to racism. During an election on 1969, the Alliance tell off confidently that it would win more than two thirds of the 144 seats in the Dewa n Rakyat or about two thirds of the 104 Peninsular Malaysia seats, take over Kelantan, and take control of all the other states. When the results were out, the Alliance had won only 66 seats, down from the 89 it won in 1964. Alliance also lost Penang, failed to take over Kelantan, and almost lose Perak, Selangor, Kedah and Terengganu. Even the Opposition was very surprised with the outcome, too. The Opposition supporters, especially the Chinese and Indians who had voted for the DAP and Gerakan were proud and joyful. They celebrated their victories by marching through Kuala Lumpur and shouted insulting and offending epithets at Malays, such as, Melayu balik kampung, kita sudah berkuasa skarang (Malays, return to your villages, we are now in power) and Hei Sakai bolih balik ke hutan (Hey Sakai, you can return to the jungle).and also showed vulgar gestures at the Malay women. Street clashes then broke out between the Malays with Chinese and Indian youths. Even parang which is a type o f big straight knife used in Malaysia and indonesia, sticks and iron pipes were used. Many lives were sacrificed on that day itself just because of a group of racist doing unnecessary acts. (www.malaysianbar.org.my) Speaking of racism, the Africans living in Australia had, unfortunately, became the target of racism in the form of harassment by the Australian policemen. The police picked me up, they put me in the back of the car. Then they took me to (locality withheld) and beat me up, and they left me there a young African background said in a new study into the treatment of youths of African background by Australian police in Melbourne. It is shocking to know and realize the fact that young African-Australians in the country are overruled by Australian policemen. Whats worst and unfortunate is that the police harassment that were happening all the while is either not reported or insufficient investigates by the relevant oversight bodies, and those irresponsible and racist policemen often resort to hostility and aggression when young people assert their rights. Most of them had been experiencing terrible and often violent experiences with the Victoria state police officers which include harassme nt, racist comments and serious assaults. Other than that, one of the interviewee has reported being racially abused, bullied, spat on and slapped by the policemen before being taken to a police station where he was beaten up for about ten minutes. Right after the youth is being released at the back door of the police station, the youth re-entered the building once again at the front entrance, telling the officer who was on duty that time that he wanted to lodge a report and also make a complaint. According to the youth, the officer then called one of the policemen who had beaten the youth up. Instead another policeman went in and warned him that if the youth doesnt get out of the police station at that very instance, he would pull him back in and beat him up again. Helplessly and disappointedly, the youth left the police station without a word (http://www.globalissues.org/news/2010/04/12/5175). Racism mainly happens due to the stubbornness and ignorance of a certain group of people from all races, be it Australians, Malays, Chinese, Indians, Africans and others. Those people who are racist most probably are feeling self-superior. They wanted to glorify their own races so badly that they discriminate and disrespect people of other races, in other words they are trying to bring down other races pride and image to feel satisfied and proud of their own races, which is related to the theory of aggression an intentional behavior aimed at doing harm or causing pain to another person (Social Psychology Sixth Edition,2005). Hence, that is how racism occurs. In fact, most people also believe that racism is developed through one or two outcomes. It is either that some of the people were raised that way, or on the other case is that there may be someone from a different race did something really unpleasant hateful to a particular person of another race and the latter in turn take it o ut on all people of that particular race where the former belongs. In order to overcome racism, one should judge other people by their actions, not by the color of their skin. Within all races, there are sure to have those people who would have bad intentions, steal from others or try to dominate others. Instead of seeing these people as part of a group based upon race, one should see and judge them as individuals with problems on their own. Besides that, one also has to be brave to speak up when others make insulting jokes and statements regarding racism towards others. By letting people around a particular person know that he or she do not agree to racist thoughts, he or she is actually giving the people permission to think for themselves, if it is possible, one can also explain why its wrong to judge people by their race without getting boiled up. Along the way, he or she should also help those people who are victimized by prejudice. If one came across an incident where someone is targeted by the color of his or her skin, he or she should take th e initiative to confront those who are practicing racism and point out the error and consequences of their thoughts. Lastly, which is also most importantly, one must live his or her life as if he or she were born to be colorblind. One can do that by looking past ones skin and into ones heart. By all people doing so, everyone would not have racist thoughts and hence avoiding the occurrence of racism. That will also produce a healthier and peaceful environment for the younger generations as because they learn through what they see from the actions and thoughts of the elder generations. (www.ehow.com ) As a conclusion, racism is a negative issue that brings bad consequences to all people around the world. The theory that can be related to racism will be prejudice, which is a hostile or negative attitude toward a distinguishable group of people, based solely on their membership in that group (Social Psychology Sixth Edition,2005). Racism is exactly about being prejudice. Being racist is equivalent to being unfair, rude, unpleasant, impolite, irresponsible, disrespectful and ignorant. Because of racism, many people had sacrificed their lives during the past. Some countries even had civil wars. Therefore, to avoid those unpleasant things from happening again and to avoid repeating the same old mistakes the older generations had done, racist thoughts in peoples minds should be avoided and stopped immediately, especially the people living in Malaysia, which consists of different races Malays, Chinese, Indians and others. The world will certainly be a better place to live in if there ar e no more issues of racism. APPENDIX Rights-Australia: Africans Target of Racism, Harassment by Police by Stephen de Tarczynski (Melbourne, Australia) Monday, April 12, 2010 Inter Press Service The police picked me up, they put me in the back of the car. Then they took me to (locality withheld) and beat (expletive) me, and they left me there, a young person of African background said in a new study into the treatment of youths of African background by Australian police in Melbourne. The Interventions into Policing of Racialised Communities in Melbourne report, released in mid-March, is part of a project into racism here managed by three community legal services in Australia. It found that young African-Australians in the countrys second-largest city are over-policed, that police harassment and violence is either under-reported or inadequately investigated by the relevant oversight bodies, and that police often resort to hostility and aggression when young people assert their rights. Thirty youths, 27 males and 3 females aged 15 to 27, were interviewed for the study. Many had Sudanese or Somali backgrounds. Most of them had been subjected to negative and often violent experiences with Victoria state police officers, including harassment, racist comments and serious assaults. None were identified in the study for fear of potential police retribution. One interviewee reports being racially abused, spat on and slapped around the head by police before being taken to a police station where he was beaten up for about ten minutes. After being released though the stations rear exit, the youth re-entered the building at the front entrance, telling the officer on duty that he wished to make a complaint. According to the youth, the officer then called one of the coppers that were beating me up. Another copper came in and goes to me, If you dont get out of here now, Ill pull you back in. And I left. Tredwell Lukondeh, president of the Sydney-based Federation of African Communities Council (FACC), says that he is not surprised by the reports findings. What is surprising is the degree to which the report highlights the problems. We do have concerns from various community leaders about the issue in question, Lukondeh told IPS. The FACC, which groups African groups from around Australia, is now collating data regarding police treatment of African-Australians to present to both the police force and the state government. But Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland argues that police have done much to strengthen relations with different ethnic communities, including the African community. These efforts include community forums, the appointment of more multicultural officers, police-youth camps and joint sports activities. Overland says that tension between police and young immigrants is not a new problem. With every wave of migration weve had problems with youths. If you go back far enough it was the Italian wave, the Greek wave, the Vietnamese wave and what were seeing now is a wave of migration coming out of Africa. And predictably were seeing tensions with youth, Overland told the Australian Broadcasting Commissions local radio in March. While no African nation was among the top 10 source countries of the more than 158,000 people migrating permanently to Australia in the 12 months prior to Jun. 30, 2009 the latest period for which figures are available Australias African community has swelled in recent years. Africans have figured prominently among recent visa recipients under Australias humanitarian programme, which is reserved for refugees and others requiring protection. Nationals of Sudan, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Liberia and Sierra Leone were among the top 10 countries of origin for humanitarian visas granted in the 2008-2009 year. Although Lukondeh admits that police have taken positive steps to address issues with African-Australians, he believes that much more can be done. We should establish that corridor of learning about the cultural background of new immigrants. It is very important because, in essence, its that ignorance that enflames these problems, said the FACC president. Any progress made by police efforts to create better relations appears to be undermined by the reports findings as well the revelation of a racist email circulating among Victoria police officers. While Overland has vowed to take action against officers in the wake of the report if there is evidence to support those allegations, up to 100 officers are purported to be under investigation in relation to the email, which local media have reported depicts a man being tortured. The report into police treatment of youth of African backgrounds comes as the furore over allegedly racially motivated attacks on Indians in Australia and Melbourne in particular appears to be fading. It follows Novembers findings by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) a statutory body responsible for media regulation that three popular Melbourne television broadcasters breached the Commercial Television Codes of Practice in 2007 in reports regarding Sudanese refugees in Melbournes south-east. ACMA found that the news reports of channels Ten, Nine and Seven, which focused on racial tensions, gangs and the decision by the government of former Prime Minister John Howard to reduce the intake of African refugees, were inaccurate. Ten and Nine breached the regulatory bodys fair and impartial requirement for news presentations. ACMA considered that both of their segments contained an unfair selection of material, were unfairly juxtaposed and created an unfair presentation, overall, of Sudanese people as being particularly prone to commit violence and crime, said ACMAs statement. Â © Inter Press Service (2010) All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

Discussing Zephaniahs Face Essay -- Benjamin Zephaniah

I have read the book ‘Face’ by Benjamin Zephaniah, a Jamaican author and poet. He grew up in east London where he decided the book should be set. His previous experiences from being a victim of racial discrimination and prejudice and being a teenage rebel, involved in theft and drug crimes gave him a stimulus to write the book. The author himself having been discriminated upon found himself using previous burn victims like Simon Weston, who was badly burnt in the Falklands war, to help his book seem more realistic. This story is about Martin. He's the leader of the Gang of Three, and the classroom joker. He lives in the East End of London. You have to be careful what you say and who you say it to on the streets of Martin's neighborhood - not that Martin is particularly racist. This book challenges some very serious points from discrimination to teenage issues and coping with a traumatic situation and this is what I will discuss in my essay. There are many cases of prejudice and discrimination in this book. When Martin sees the Jamaican girls standing outside the club he imm...

Finding Huck Essay -- essays research papers

In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the main character enters a transitional period of his life. This character, Huck Finn, faces many situations forcing him to deal with decisions that carry with them the ability to bring about change. Huck begins searching for an identity which is truly his own. In determining his self image, Huck deals with society and freedom, trying on different identities that do not belong to him, and shaping these new found tributes into an identity which best suits his conscience. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn begins with Huck under the care of Widow Douglas as "she took me for her son, and allowed that she would civilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time." Huck has become so used to being free that he sees the Widow Douglas' protection solely in terms of confinement. Huck finds this unacceptable because he loses his freedom among "the bars and shackles of civilization." Huck feels that he belongs out under the stars where the community cannot bound him. Huck then faces the return of his drunkard father. When Huck's father comes back to the town, he only intends to steal money from his son.; "I hain't heard nothing but about you being rich. That's why I come. You get me that money tomorrow-I want it." Huck's own father does not feel one bit inclined to treat his son with any respect. Then his father brings him to a log cabin deep in the woods and Huck once again faces confinement. Huck's escape, flig ht, and the changing of his identity are his only release from being in the log cabin. Then after escaping from it all, Huck is left with himself and his freedom. The raft on which Huck and Jim travel demonstrates one of the symbols of freedom in the story. To Huck, the raft seems to be the safest place that brings freedom on which he can grow and experience life. Later in the book when the duke and king enter the scene, the raft is no longer free. The king and the duke rob Huck and Jim of their isolation from society and the real world. The only way Huck can escape from the abuse of his father and society is to rid himself of his known identity. This leads to Huck's first confrontation with the trying on of different identities and the "death" of himsel... ...he story, Huck does not even think blacks are human, but throughout Huck and Jim's journey along the river together, Huck learns otherwise. At one point, Huck even "goes and humbles himself to a nigger" and another time he promises to keep the reason why Jim ran away a secret even though "people would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum." These are some of the many examples throughout the story that show us that Huck really cares for Jim and that he truly changes his views of blacks. Even though Huck knows that black people are not supposed to be respected, Huck cannot go against what he feels is right and gives Jim the respect that he deserves. Throughout this journey, Huck encounters many different situations in which he learns to adapt and react to each in a way that he feels suitable. Huck learns about life and the real world. He then gathers what he has learned and combines it into an identity which suits him. This enables him to create a conscience with which he finds himself comfortable. Huck finding himself really did cause a struggle considering all that he had to put up with in order to do so.

How Noise Affects Memory and Learning

According to past studies background and low-level noise in homes, work, and school, disrupts concentration and lowers the performance of people while learning and studying. For example, Anderson and Fuller (2010) looked at the effects of music on reading comprehension. Their results state the music environment reading comprehension score was lower than the non-music environment score. Even though this study was done with music, no matter what type of sound it is, it will bother someone's concentration and performance on a task.A study has shown having ackground white noise while performing a task, such as word recall, will produce low performance (KJellberg, LJung, ; Hallman, 2008). It also depends on the type of population you are trying to study. For some populations, the predictions of noise being a distraction, is stronger. For example, people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are more vulnerable to distractions than people without ADHD or any other type of disorder (Soderlund, Sikstrom, Loftenes, ; Sonuga-Barke, 2010).This introduction will further examine the effects of noise on learning and memory. Music and Learning/Memory It has been shown that music has a negative effect on reading performance (Anderson r am ; Vizard, 2011). Anderson and Fuller (201 investigation of the effect of lyrical music on reading comprehension by adolescents. They used the reading comprehensions subtest of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading tests, 4th edition. The music that was used in this study was taken from the Billboard Magazine's (2006) top hit singles.Anderson and Fuller (2010) tested three hypotheses; (1) a difference exists between reading comprehension scores completed in the environment without music and scores obtained with lyrical music playing in he background, (2) a gender difference exists regarding comprehension scores completed in the environment without music and scores obtained with background music, and (3) a relationship exists between degree of p reference for studying with music and scores obtained on reading comprehension tests completed in either the environment without music or with music playing in the background (Anderson & Fuller, 2010).The results of this experiment were that across experimental groups of this study, the music environment reading scores were lower in the music group compared to the no music group. About three-quarters of the students who took the test did less well while listening to music in the background. This means hypothesis 1 was accepted in this study. Girls had a greater decline in scores under the music environment compared with the non-music environment than did boys, which means hypothesis 2 was accepted.Hypothesis 3 was only semi-accepted because the students total music preference score was not related to their reading comprehension score, but the total music preference score was correlated with the reading comprehension difference score (music vs. no music). The students, who were asked if they usually listen to music while studying, and said yes, had a lower reading comprehension score in both noise conditions (Anderson & Fuller, 2010).Anderson and Fuller (2010) explain that these results happened because students paid more attention to the lyrics depending on if they were listening to the songs and artists they liked or did not like. Perham and Vizard (2011) conducted a study to explore whether the preference of background music influences performance in more realistic cognitive settings, such as doing everyday tasks. According to Perham nd Vizard (2011) research suggests that listening to background music prior to task performance increases cognitive processes, such as attention and memory, through the mechanism of increasing arousal and positive mood.Their hypothesis was if this mood and arousal extends to more common and realistic music, then the preference for background music while studying should show greater recall performance while listening to liked mus ic than disliked music in the background. If the preference of music shows no effect, then performance should be the same in both liked and disliked music conditions. In this study done by Perham and Vizard (201 1), their procedure was done by selecting music by asking their participants to bring in music they have listened to on a daily basis, and they excluded people who like to listen to thrash metal music.The results of this test were only correct if an item was recalled in the exact same position in which it was presented, which showed that performance was best in the quiet condition. The liked music condition, in which participants brought in their own music, showed the highest rating for the likeability and pleasantness properties. The quiet condition was less distracting than the other ound conditions. Disliked music, which was the thrash metal, was rated as being more ottensive than the other sound conditions.Even though the results ot this study showed that the liked music condition was the highest rated condition, performance was actually as poor in this condition as the disliked, thrash metal, condition. This study showed that no matter what type of music you listen to, either liked or disliked, both are evenly disruptive. Memory and learning in regular white noise The influence of distracting noise has been studied in children with attention deficit disorder. A study done by Soderlund, et al. 2010), predicted that inattentive children would be enhanced by adding background white noise while attentive children's performance would decline.There were two noise conditions used during this study, which was a high noise condition, and a low noise condition. In the high noise condition, verb-noun sentences were given during the auditory background noise (78 decibels). In the low noise condition, sentences were presented without noise. The results showed that both groups performed at the same level across both sound conditions, but the interaction between noise and the two groups was ignificant. Inattentive children performed better in the high noise condition rather than the low noise condition, but the opposite happened with the attentive children.This study also had to do with reading comprehension. Before the study had started, the inattentive and attentive children were tested for their reading level scores, and the inattentive children had a much lower reading level compared to the attentive children. With these results, there was a negative correlation between reading skills and a positive effect of these scores with the noise in the background, a positive orrelation between attention and reading ability, and a positive correlation between teacher ratings of the children being inattentive and their hyperactivity.This study showed that there was a significant improvement in performance for the children rated by their teachers as inattentive, and a decline in performance for those rated as attentive as noise levels were increas ed. KJellberg, et al. (2008) studied the effect of white noise on word recall. They predicted that (1) recall of words is better without background noise, (2) recognition of sentences is less sensitive to the noise han the recall of words, but background noise prolongs response times, and (3) the expected noise effect on recall and recognition will be weaker for subjects with high working memory capacity.There was a free recall of long word lists that was performed with and without background noise. Working memory capacity was tested with a test of reading span. A third test was done with sentence recognition in the same conditions done in the word recall test. This sentence recognition test was less of a resource for results, but was included for the measurement of response times in both noise conditions. For the results of this study, the word lists were split up into three parts (first, 10, middle 30, last 10).The reason for splitting up the second, third, and fourth groups of 10 words was that in these groups, many subjects did not recall any item correctly. In line with the hypotheses, subjects remembered less of the words when presented with background noise. Recognition of sentences was found to be unaffected by the noise, and the performance of this task was unrelated to reading span. The hypothesis was confirmed regarding performance of the word recall task, but not for the sentence recognition task.The effects of noise were apparent on the recall of the first and last part of the word list, which shows that retrieval from a short term and long memory storage were both impaired by noise. The hypothesis stating that noise ettects were expected to be less sever tor persons with a better working memory capacity as defined by their reading performance was strongly supported from the noise effect on the recall of the last part of the word list. The hypothesis that word recall was rated as more difficult than sentence recognition in the noise condition was also accepted.For the last of the results for this study, here was a shorter response time with noise in the sentence recognition task. There were more misses with the shorter response time. This does not confirm the hypothesis that decisions should take longer in the noise condition, and there is no obvious explanation for this result. How memory is affected by road traffic noise and meaningful irrelevant speech. The influence of road traffic noise and meaningful irrelevant speech was studied by Boman (2004), Enmarker (2004), and Hygge, Boman, and Enmarker (2003).Boman (2004) predicted that the encoding of new verbal episodic information should be mpaired by both road traffic noise and meaningful irrelevant speech, but the impairment for the encoding will be stronger for the meaningful irrelevant speech, and the impairment will be more for the recall than the recognition of a text in episodic memory. It was expected that both recall and recognition in a text reading task when expos ed to noise during the encoding part would be impaired by noise sources, but the cued recall and meaningful irrelevant speech would be more pronounced.Performance on free and cued recall from the sentences encoded with and without enactment (such as â€Å"roll the ball† or â€Å"kick the ball) would be impaired by oise, but the self-performed enactments will produce a better memory performance, and will withstand both noise conditions. It was expected that intentional memory, and recognition of given names, would be impaired by noise. Like the rest of the predictions for this study, irrelevant speech would be more of an impairment than the road traffic noise.For recognition from non-verbal material (faces) no noise effects were expected because the face recognition test could be assumed to provide enough cues for memory retrieval. An interaction between noise and gender was expected, while girls performance on free and cued recall from the pisodic memory tasks would not be a ffected as bad as boys during noise exposure. To examine the predicted role of attention on episodic memory, attention was measured by a search and memory task.A speech accuracy trade off (SATO) – which is we prefer accuracy over the speed of getting something done – was expected with more lines of the tasks completed in noise, but at a lower accuracy. Boman (2004) split up the results section into five parts. In all of these analyses, the direct effects of noise, gender, and the interactions between noise and gender were all assessed. Episodic memory was assessed first. For cued recall and recognition of text, meaningful irrelevant speech impaired cued recall as expected, but there was no effect of gender or an interaction between gender and noise found for cued recall.In line with the predictions, the analysis for the recognition items also showed a main effect of noise. There was a better recognition in silence than irrelevant speech, but there was no difference bet ween silence and road traffic noise. For free and cued recall of sentences, neither the effect of noise nor the interaction between noise and gender was significant. As predicted, girls' recall performance was igher than the boys in cued recall or categories with enactment. Semantic memory was analyzed second. For word tluency, there was no significant noise ettect or interaction between noise and gender.For word comprehension, there was better word comprehension in silence than in meaningful irrelevant speech. Attention was analyzed next, and this was not impaired by noise, and since this happened, the predicted role for attention on episodic memory can be ruled out. Self-ratings were analyzed last. For affect, there was no significant difference between the three noise groups on the affect dimensions measured before both noise exposures. Meaningful irrelevant speech and road traffic noise did not differ from the silence condition.For annoyance, effort, and difficulty, there were n o significant effects of noise on self reports and the difficulty of reading. Since this happened, the distraction on the text reading tasks in silence and noise can be ruled out as an explanation of the noise effects of recall and recognition. Enmarker (2004) examined how irrelevant speech and road traffic noise affected teacher's memory and attention, and also examined whether the noise effects on memory were age dependent. Ninety-six male and female teachers were chosen to articipate and were between the ages of 35-45 and 55-65.It was predicted that (1) of noise effects on episodic memory – noise would interfere with verbal episodic memory tasks, and impair free and cued recall and recognition, but the recall was supposed to be impaired more than recognition tasks, (2) like Boman (2004), most of the episodic memory tasks, the meaningful irrelevant speech will impair the tasks more than the road traffic noise, (3) the older teachers should be less able than the younger teac hers to accurately recall, both free and cued, tasks in the noise ondition, (4) of noise effects on semantic memory – less attention requirements are needed during retrieval than during encoding.More automatic than controlled retrieval is present in more semantic memory, and this study was not sure whether noise would affect the semantic memory system, and (5) of noise affects on attention – noise would impair attention as the result of fewer resources available for the task. There will be a fast performance for answers, but most of these answers will not be accurate. For the results of this study by Enmarker (2004), younger teachers overall ad a better hearing status than the older teachers.Noise impaired cued recall of the text in episodic memory, but the impact of irrevlevant speech and road traffic noise did not differ. There was no difference between the younger and older teachers performance during noise impairment. There was no significant difference of effort m ade during text reading for subjects in silence and irrelevant speech, and also the perception of difficulty to the text. The recall of sentences with and without enactment showed no overall noise effects and no interaction between noise and age.The tasks for intentional and incidental learning and first and family names showed an overall effect of noise. Incidental learning did not show any noise effects. Intentional learning did not show any influences of noise either. There was an overall effect of noise on the three word fluency tests in semantic memory. More words were recalled in silence than in irrelevant speech. The predicted speech to accuracy effect was not supported, and neither was there any interaction between noise and age on attention. The studies done by Boman (2004) and Enmarker (2004) were replications of Hygee et al. 2003). All predictions, basic designs, procedure, and noise controls have been replicated. A types ot episodic and semantic memory tasks are also rep licated. A results have been shown to be the same across all three studies. How learning and memory are affected by aircraft noise Hygge, Evans, and Bullinger (2002) studied the effects of aircraft noise on cognitive performance. Before the opening of the new Munich, Germany airport and the destruction of the old one, children near both of these airport sites were brought in to be tested.Two groups of children, an airport noise group, and a control group – no ircraft noise – were examined. In this study, 326 children participated; 43 children who were by the old airport, were put into a no-noise group; 65 children who were by the old airport, were put into a noise group; 107 who are by the new airport, were put into a no noise group; and 111 who are by the new airport, were put into a noise group. This study assessed how children's reading was affected by changes in ambient noise levels cause by the new airport and old airport locations.On the word- list part of the re ading test, only difficult words showed differences between the groups. The airport group and the high noise exposure were significant. Reading and long term memory affects were related, but disappeared when the old airport closed, and the new airport opened. Although children's reading worsened with noise exposure at the new airport and recovered following lower noise exposure at the old airport, speech perception deficits among noise exposed children at the old airport did not recover.Performing the task in acute noise or no noise did not qualify for the interaction involving chronic aircraft noise over time, but there was a main effect of acute noise. The last was that poorer short term memory performance of the noise group recovered to reach the level of the control group's performance. Separate tests showed more correct responses in the no-noise group than in the noise group. For the conclusion of this study done by Hygge, et al. (2002) it states that noise exposure damages the development of speech perception in different ways during the early and late stages of the reading comprehension tasks.This study also raises a question about the validity of inattention or â€Å"tuning out† different noises as an explanation for the impact of noise on reading performance. How visual memory is affected during white noise A study was done by Wais and Gazzaley (2011) about the impact of auditory distraction on retrieval of visual memories. The goal of this study was to examine the effect of sound distraction on retrieval of episodic memory. Based on prior research, Wais and Gazzaley stated that there is a possibility that the environment changes may interfere with the recollection of visual memories.This study hypothesized that a comparison of effects of distraction from different sensory systems might slow down evidence for or against interference on recollection. This experiment studied the influence of sound distractions on episodic memory recollections usi ng both busy caf © sounds and white noise. There were a few different results found in this study. With auditory distractions and false alarms, there was a greater amount of false recollection during silence compared to both the white noise and the auditory distraction of a busy caf ©.Relevant visual details during the test with the busy caf © noise showed significant decline compared to white noise and silence. There was no difference between white noise and silence. These results show that auditory istraction (busy caf © noise) showed more of a distraction than white noise. It might be possible that the results ot talse alarms are greater in silence because the participants are more relaxed during this time period and might loosen their decisions. There was also a task done with visual distractions.In this experiment, the conditions corresponding to the silence, white noise, and the auditory, busy caf ©, distraction conditions in the present study were the eyes shut, eye s open with a grey screen, and eyes open with a complex natural scene. One distracting complex natural scene was presented at each trial. Stimulation during the auditory, busy caf ©, distraction is more dynamic than that from the eyes open-grey screen images (Wais & Gazzaley, 2011). The results of the visual distraction showed that recollection of relevant visual details during the auditory distraction showed low accuracy compared to silence and white noise conditions.In comparison with these studies, the present study is going to be studying how auditory distractions affect memory. The test that was presented to our participants was the digit span test and a reading comprehension test. The digit span test is used to measure working memorys umber storage capacity (Cambridge Brain Science). The participants were presented with a series of numbers (e. g. 6, 7, 9) and must repeat them back immediately, and if they do this accurately, they will be given a longer list of numbers (e. g. 6, 4, 8, 9) Oahanshahi, Saleem, Ho, Fuller, & Dirnberger, G. 2009). Both the reading comprehension test and the digit span test was presented in three different noise conditions, (1) obnoxious noise, (i. e. Jackhammer) (2) calming noise (i. e. bird chirping), and (3) no noise/regular classroom noise, such as students in the hallways, or onstruction outside the windows. A question that is being asked is how do different noise conditions affect memory for both these tasks? It was hypothesized that participants in the no noise/regular classroom noise will perform better than in the two noise conditions.Method Participants Data was collected from participants who signed up for Experimental Psychology experiments, which helped with the random sampling of the students. Seventy-one students participated in the study (57 females and 13 males) ranging from ages 18 to 24. Twenty-two subjects were in the no sound condition, twenty in the calming noise i. e. bird chirping) condition, and twent y-nine in the obnoxious noise (i. e. Jack hammer) condition. All participants gave informed consent before participating in the experiment. Only one participant reported having a hearing problem.Materials Questionnaire. A self-made questionnaire was given to each student during the experiment. This questionnaire consisted of (1) age, (2) gender (a) female or (b) male, (3) what is your current academic standing? (a) Freshman, (b) Sophomore, (c) Junior, or (d) Senior; (4) Overall GPA; (5) Do you currently wear glasses or contacts? (a) yes, or (b) o; (6) Are you hearing impaired? (a) Yes, or (b) no; (7) How do you study? (Choose all that apply) (a) silence, (b) with television, (c) with music, (d) with friends, (e) other (8) Please rate how stressed you feel when you study? (a) no stress, (b) okay, (c) great, (d) stressed, or (e) very stressed; (9) Do you better under your course material when: (a) a professor lectures (b) when you read your textbook/notes on your own, or (c) both. Rea ding Comprehension test. An 8th grade reading comprehension test was presented to the participants. The test was chosen from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test which was tound online (Florida Department ot Education). T story is called â€Å"The Wreck of E. S. Newman† by Ruth Ewers. The story also had questions that were answered by the participants.This passage also came with the answers to these questions. Participants must pay close attention to the story because once the story is taken away from them, they were no longer able to go back and look at it. Digit Span Test. The Digit Span test was originally a subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test (WA'S) (Cambridge Brain Science). David Wechsler used the digit span test to test the participants working memory. Analysis of the digit span test suggests that participants must hold the first few items presented in memory. According to Jahanshahi, et al. 2008) the digit span test monitors incoming information, and revises updated information by changing the new items. The Digit Span test can be presented verbally, or on a computer program. In the present study, the Digit Span test was pre-recorded so that the variable was held constant and the participants will have no problem understanding what we say. Participants were presented with a string of random numbers and were asked to repeat the string of umbers forward. This means if the numbers are presented as 6-1-2, they must write those numbers down in that particular order.Participants may find themselves rehearsing the string of digits as they hear them being presented from recording. The Digit Span is scored 2, 1, or O; 2 points if the participant passes both trials, 1 point if the participant passes only one trial and O points if the participant fails both trials. Even though there are two trials, we only used one trial for this experiment and was scored using 1 point. PANAS scale. The Positive and Negative Affect schedule is a 0-item sel f-report measure of positive and negative affect developed by Watson, Clark, and Tellegen (1988).The negative scale has three subscales (1) distress, (2) unpleasureable engagement, and (3) the absence of feelings. Positive affect represents an individual with high pleasurable experiences and engagement with the environment. Emotions of happiness and alertness are indicated with the positive affect of the PANAS, and emotions of sadness and lethargy are indicated with the negative affect (Crawford & Henry, 2004). The participants were asked to read each item and list the number from the scale next to each word. This indicated the way a person feels at the present moment.The rating scale is (1) very slightly or not at all, (2) a little, (3) moderately, (4) quite a bit, and (5) extremely. The 20 words that will be presented on the PANAS scale are (1) interested, (2) distressed, (3) excited, (4) upset, (5) strong, (6) guilty, (7) scared, (8) hostile, (9) enthusiastic, (10) proud, (11) ir ritable, (12) alert, (13) ashamed, (14) inspired, (15) nervous, (16) determined, (17) attentive, (18) Jittery, (19) active, and (20) afraid. Recordings. The recordings that were used during the experiment are Jackhammers and birds chirping.These sounds ame from www. sounddogs. com and were played from a CD through the computer system from the classroom that was used to perform the experiment. The exact name for the Jackhammer sound from the website is called â€Å"Tools – Jackhammer – Ext – MCIJ – Jackhammering Concrete Long Stand. † The exact name for the bird chirping sound from the website is called â€Å"Birds – Morning – Suburban Neighborhood Morning Birds – Ext – Distant – 6:30am – Various Pretty Birds Sing ; Chirp. † Procedure The experiment was conducted in a St. Francis College classroom.Since some classrooms nave ditterent color walls, we decided to use a classroom witn white olored walls o n all sides. The participants came in and sat down anywhere they want in the classroom, and each participant was given an informed consent. The informed consent explained the basics of our experiment, how long the experiment will take, they may quit at any time, and that they will be anonymous throughout the experiment. After all participants handed in their informed consent, the experiment will start. The digit span test was given out first.As said as before, each string of numbers will be pre-recorded so there are no confounding variables. After one set of umbers is said, each participant will have to memorize that set and write it down. The string of numbers was longer each time they are presented. The reading comprehension paragraph was given next. Each participant was given the paragraph of our choice and was required to remember as much as possible from reading this paragraph. The reading comprehension paragraph was then taken away and the questionnaire was given in between th e reading paragraph and the reading comprehension quiz.This is because we are studying memory and we want to see how much they remember after five minutes. After they have finished with the questionnaire, they were given a sheet with a few questions on it asking them about the paragraph they have Just read. During the digit span test, and the reading comprehension paragraph, each group had noise playing in the background. There were three noise conditions. In the first condition, the obnoxious noise (i. e. jackhammer) was presented, during the second condition, the calming noise (i. e. birds chirping) was presented, and in our last condition, there was no noise presented.The PANAS scale was presented after the experiment was finished to see f the background noise had any effect on the participant during the experiment. After the PANAS a manipulation check was asked to see if the independent variable has had any effect on the participants, and the debriefing about the experiment was presented last. This experiment had two risks which are (1) they might have frustration during each task because of the noise in the background, and (2) because of this frustration they might receive a headache because they could not concentrate well.A benefit the participant will receive is that they may learn their own individual apabilities in learning and memory related to noise. Results The present study hypothesized that participants in the no noise/regular classroom condition will perform better than in the two noise conditions (i. e. calming and obnoxious conditions.

The Return: Nightfall Chapter 31

Let us at least have the dignity of walking out of your trap on our own feet – or should I say, using your own key?Damon thought to Shinichi. To Elena, he said, â€Å"Yes, we're looking for what's-his-face. But you took a bad fall. I wish – I would like to ask you – that you stay here and recuperate whileI go look for him.† â€Å"You think you know where Matt is?† That was the entire sentence distilled for her. That was all she heard. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Can we gonow ?† â€Å"Won't you let me go alone?† â€Å"No,† Elena said simply. â€Å"I have to find him. I wouldn't sleep at all if you went out alone. Please, can't we go now?† Damon sighed. â€Å"All right. There were some† – (there will be now) – â€Å"clothes that will fit you in the closet. Jeans and things. I'll get them,† he said. â€Å"As long as I really, really can't convince you to lie down and rest while I look for him.† â€Å"I can make it,† Elena promised. â€Å"And if you go without me, I'll just jump out a window and follow you.† She was serious. He went and got the promised pile of clothes and then turned his back while Elena put on an identical version of the jeans and Pendleton shirt she had been wearing, whole and un-bloodstained. Then they left the house, Elena brushing her hair vigorously, but glancing back every step or so. â€Å"What are you doing?† Damon asked, just when he had decided to carry her. â€Å"Waiting for the house to disappear.† And when he gave her his bestwhat're you talking about? look, she said, â€Å"Armani jeans, just my size? La Perla camisoles, same? Pendleton shirts, two sizes too big, just like the one I was wearing? That place is either a warehouse or it's magic. My bet's on magic.† Damon picked her up as a way to shut her up, and walked to the passenger's door of the Ferrari. He wondered if they were in the real world now or in another of Shinichi's globes. â€Å"Did it disappear?† he asked. â€Å"Yup.† What a pity, he thought. He'd have liked to keep it. He could try to renegotiate the bargain with Shinichi, but there were other, more important things to think of. He gave Elena a slight squeeze, thinking, other,much, much more important things. In the car he made sure of three small facts. First, that click which his brain automatically registered as passenger buckled up really did mean that Elena had her seat buckle properly fastened. Second, that the doors were locked – fromhis master control. And third, that he drove quite slowly. He didn't think that anyone in Elena's shape would be throwing themselves out of cars again in the near future, but he wasn't taking any chances. He had no idea how long this spell was going to work. Elena must eventually come out of her amnesia. It was only logical, since he seemed to be, and he'd been awake much longer than she had. Pretty soon she would remember†¦what? That he'd taken her in the Ferrari against her will (bad but forgivable – he couldn't know she'd launch herself out)? That he'd been teasing Mike or Mitch or whoever and her in the clearing? He himself had a vague picture of this – or was it another dream. He wished he knew what the truth was. When wouldhe remember everything? He'd be in a much stronger bargaining position once he did. And it was hardly possible that Mac was getting hypothermia in a midsummer snowstorm even if he were still in that clearing right now. It was a chilly night, but the worst the boy could expect was a twinge of rheumatism when he was around eighty. The vital thing was that theydidn't find him. He might have some unpleasant truths to tell. Damon noticed Elena making the same gesture again. A touch to her throat, a grimace, a deep breath. â€Å"Are you carsick?† â€Å"No, I'm†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In the moonlight he could see her blush come and go; could sense her heat with detectors in his face. She flushed deeply. â€Å"I explained,† she said, â€Å"about feeling†¦too full. That's what it is now.† What was a vampire to do? Say,I'm sorry – I've given it up for Moonspire ? Say, I'm sorry – you'll hate me in the morning? Say,To hell with the morning; this seat reclines two inches ? But what if they got to the clearing and found that something really had happened to Mutt – Gnat – the boy? Damon would regret it for the rest of the remaining twenty seconds of his life. Elena would call battalions of sky spirits down on his head. Even if no one else believed in her, Damon did. He found himself saying, as smoothly as ever he'd spoken to a Page or a Damaris, â€Å"Will you trust me?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Will you trust me for another fifteen or twenty minutes, to go to a certain place I think what's his name might be?†If he is – my bet is that you remember everything and you never want to see me again in your life – then you'll be spared a long search. If he isn't – and the car isn't either; it's my lucky day and Mutt wins the prize of a lifetime – and then we go on looking. Elena was watching him intently. â€Å"Damon, do youknow where Matt is?† â€Å"No.† Well, that was true enough. But she was a bright little trinket, a pretty little pink, and more than all that, she was clever†¦. Damon broke off his polyrhythmic contemplations on Elena's intelligence. Why was he thinking in poetry? Was he really going crazy? He'd wondered that before – hadn't he? Didn't it prove you weren't crazy if you wondered if you were? The truly insane never doubted their sanity, right? Right. Or did they? And surely all this talking to himself couldn't be good foranyone . Merda. â€Å"All right, then. I'll trust you.† Damon let out a breath he didn't need and headed the car toward the clearing. It was one of the more exciting gambles of his life. On one hand, therewas his life – Elena would find some way or other of killing him if he'd killed Mark, he was certain. And on the other hand†¦a taste of paradise. With a willing Elena, an eager Elena, an open Elena†¦he swallowed. He found himself doing the thing closest to praying that he'd done in half a millennium. As they rounded the corner on the road to the little lane, he kept himself in hyper-alertness, the engine a bare hum, the night air bringing all kinds of information to vampire senses. He was thoroughly aware that an ambush could have been set up for him. But the lane was deserted. And as he suddenly hit the accelerator to reveal the little clearing, he found it blessedly, bleakly, blankly empty of either cars or of college-aged young men whose names started with â€Å"M.† He relaxed against the seatback. Elena had been watching him. â€Å"You thought he might be here.† â€Å"Yes.† And now was the time for the real question. Without asking her this, the whole thing was a sham, a fraud. â€Å"Doyou remember this place?† She glanced around. â€Å"No. Should I?† Damon smiled. But he took the precaution of driving on up another three hundred yards, into a different clearing, just in case she should have a sudden attack of memory. â€Å"There were malach in the other clearing,† he explained easily. â€Å"This one is guaranteed monster-free.† Oh, what a liar, I am, I am, he rejoiced. Have I still got it or what? He'd been†¦disturbed ever since Elena had come back from the Other Side. But if that first night it had discomfited him into literally giving her the shirt off his back – well, there were still no words for how he'd felt when she'd stood before him newly returned from the afterlife, her skin glowing in the dark clearing, naked without shame or the concept of shame. And during her massage, where veins traced out lines of blue comet fire against an inverse sky. Damon was feeling something he hadn't felt for five hundred years. He was feeling desire. Human desire. Vampires didn't feel that. It was all sublimated into the need for the blood, always the blood†¦. But he was feeling it. He knew why, too. Elena's aura. Elena's blood. She'd brought back with her something more substantial than wings. And while the wings had faded, this new talent seemed to be permanent. He realized that it was a very long time since he'd felt this, and that therefore he might be quite wrong. But he didn't think so. He thought that Elena's aura would make the most fossilized of vampires stand up and blossom into virile young men once again. He leaned away as far as the crowded confines of the Ferrari would allow. â€Å"Elena, there's something I should tell you.† â€Å"About Matt?† She gave him a straightforward, intelligent glance. â€Å"Nat? No, no. It's about you. I know you were surprised that Stefan would leave you in the care of somebody likeme .† There was no room for privacy in the Ferrari and he was sharing her body warmth already. â€Å"Yes, I was,† she said simply. â€Å"Well, it may have something to do with – â€Å" â€Å"It may have had something to do with how we decided that my aura would give even old vampires the jigsies. From now on, I'll need strong protection because of that, Stefan said.† Damon didn't know what the jigsies were, but he was prepared to bless them for getting a delicate point across to a lady. â€Å"I think,† he said carefully, â€Å"that of all things, Stefan would want you to have protection from the evil folk drawn here from all over the globe, and above all other things that you not be forced to – to, um, jigsy – if it was not your wish.† â€Å"And now he'sleft me – like a selfish, stupid, idealistic idiot, considering all the people in the world who might want to jigsy me.† â€Å"I agree,† Damon said, careful of keeping the lie of Stefan's willing departure intact. â€Å"And I've already promised what protection I can offer. I really will do my best, Elena, to see that no one gets near you.† â€Å"Yes,† said Elena, â€Å"but then something like this† – she made a little gesture probably to indicate Shinichi and all the problems brought about by his arrival – â€Å"comes up and nobody knows how to deal with it.† â€Å"True,† said Damon. He had to keep shaking himself and reminding himself of his real purpose here. He was here to†¦well, he wasn't on St. Stefan's side. And the thing was, it was easy enough†¦. There she was, brushing her hair out†¦a fair pretty maiden sat brushing her hair out†¦the sun in the sky was nonesuch so gold†¦. Damon shook himselfhard . Since when had he gotten into ye Olde English folksongs? What waswrong with him? To have something to say, he asked, â€Å"How are you feeling?† – just, as it happened, as she lifted her hand to her throat. She grimaced. â€Å"Not bad.† And that made them look at each other. And then Elena smiled and he had to smile back, at first just a quirk of the lip, and then a full smile. She was†¦damn it, she waseverything . Witty, enchanting, brave, smart†¦and beautiful. And he knew that his eyes were saying all that and that she wasn't turning away. â€Å"We might – take a little walk,† he said, and bells rang and trumpets played fanfares, and confetti came raining down and there was a release of doves†¦. In other words, she said, â€Å"All right.† They picked a little path off the clearing that looked easy to Damon's night-acquainted vampire eyes. Damon didn't want her on her feet too much. He knew that she still hurt and that she didn't want him to know it or to pamper her. Something inside him said, â€Å"Well, then, wait until she says she's tired and help her to sit down.† And something else beyond his control, sprang out at the first little hesitation of her foot, and he picked her up, apologizing in a dozen different languages, and generally acting the fool until he had her seated on a comfortably carved wooden bench with a back to it and a very light traveling blanket over her knees. He kept adding, â€Å"You'll tell me if there's something – anything – else you want?† He accidentally sent to her a snippet of his thoughts of possible contenders, which were, a glass of water, him sitting beside her, and a baby elephant, which he had earlier seen in her mind that she admired very much. â€Å"I'm very sorry, but I don't think I do elephants,† he said, on his knees, making the footstool more comfortable for her, when he caught a random thought of hers: that he was not so different from Stefan as he seemed. No other name could have caused him to do what he did then. No other word, or concept, could have such effect on him. In an instant the blanket was off, the footstool had disappeared, and he was holding Elena bent backward with the slender column of her neck fully exposed to him. The difference,he told her,between me and my brother is that he is still hoping somehow to slip in through some side door into heaven. I'm not such a moaning ninny about my fate. I know where I'm going.And I don't – he gave her a smile with all canines fully extended – give a damn about it. Her eyes were wide – he'd startled her. And startled her into an unintentional, thoroughly honest response. Her thoughts were projected toward him, easy to read.I know – and, I'm like that, too. I want what I want. I'm not as good as Stefan. And I don't know – He was enthralled.What don't you know, sweetheart? She just shook her head, eyes shut. To break the deadlock, he whispered into her ear, â€Å"What about this, then: Say I'm bold And say I'm bad Say – you vanities – I'm vainer. But you Erinyes, just add I kissed Elena.† Her eyes flew open. â€Å"Oh, no! Please, Damon.† She was whispering. â€Å"Please! Please not now!† And she swallowed miserably. â€Å"Besides, you asked me if I'd like a drink, and then suddenly it's no drink. I wouldn't mindbeing a drink if you'd like, but first, I'mso thirsty – as thirsty as you are, maybe?† She did the little tap-tap-tap under her chin again. Damon's insides melted. He held out his hand and it closed around the stem of a delicate crystal glass. He swirled the splash of liquid in it expertly, tested it for bouquet – ah, exquisite – then gently rolled it on his tongue. It was the real thing.Black Magic wine,grown from Clarion Loess Black Magic grapes. It was the only wine most vampires would drink – and there were apocryphal stories of how it had kept them on their feet when their other thirst could not be assuaged. Elena was drinking hers, her blue eyes wide above the deep violet of the wine as he told her some of its story. He loved to watch her when she was like this – investigating with all her senses fully aroused. He shut his eyes and remembered some choice moments from the past. Then he opened them again to find Elena, looking very much the thirsty child, eagerly gulping down – â€Å"Yoursecond glass†¦?† He'd discovered the first goblet at her feet. â€Å"Elena, where did you get another one?† â€Å"I just did what you did. Held out my hand. It's not as if it were hard liquor, is it? It tastes like grape juice, and I was dying for a drink.† Could she really be that naive? True, Black Magic wine didn't have the sharp odor or taste of most alcohol. It was subtle, created for the fastidious vampire palate. Damon knew that the grapes were grown in the soil, loess, that a grinding glacier leaves behind. Of course, that process was only for the long-lived vampires, as it took ages to build up enough loess. And when the soil was ready, the grapes were grown and processed, from graft to foot-stomped pulp in ironwood vats, without ever seeing the sun. That was what gave it its black velvet, dark, delicate taste. And now†¦ Elena had a â€Å"grape juice† mustache. Damon wanted very much to kiss it away. â€Å"Well, someday you can tell people you drank two glasses of Black Magic in under a minute, and impress them,† he said. But she was doing the tap-tap-tapping again under her chin. â€Å"Elena, do you want to have some of your blood drawn?† â€Å"Yes!† She said it in the ringing-bell tones of someone who has finally been asked the right question. She was drunk. She flung both arms backward, draping them against the bench, which conformed to accept her body's every new motion. It had become a black suede couch with a high back: a divan, and just now, Elena's slender neck was resting on the highest point of that back, her throat exposed to the air. Damon turned away with a little moan. He wanted to get Elena to civilization. He was worried about her health, mildly concerned about†¦Mutt's; and now†¦he couldn't haveanything he wanted. He could hardly bleed her when she was drunk. Elena made a different sort of sound that might have been his name. â€Å"D'm'n?† she mumbled. Her eyes had filled with tears. Just about anything that a nurse might have to do for a patient, Damon had done for Elena. But it seemed she didn't want to unswallow two glasses of Black Magic in front of him. â€Å" ¡Ã‚ ®M'shick,† Elena got out, with a dangerous hiccup at the end. She gripped Damon's wrist. â€Å"Yes, this is not the kind of wine to guzzle. Wait, just sit up straight and let me try†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And maybe because he said the words without thinking, without thinking of being rude, without thinking of manipulating her one way or another, it was all right. Elena obeyed him and he put two fingers on either side of her temples and pressed slightly. For a split second there was a near disaster, and then Elena was breathing slowly and calmly. She was still affected by the wine, but she wasn't drunk any longer. And the time was now. He had to tell her the truth at last. But first, he needed to wake up. â€Å"A triple espresso, please,† he said, holding out his hand. It appeared instantly, aromatic and black as his soul. â€Å"Shinichi says espresso alone is an excuse for the human race.† â€Å"Whoever Shinichi is, I agree with him or her. A triple espresso, please,† Elena said to the magic that was this forest, this snowflake globe, this universe. Nothing happened. â€Å"Maybe it's only attuned to my voice right now,† Damon said, flashing her a reassuring smile, and then he fetched her espresso with a wave. To his surprise, Elena was frowning. â€Å"You said  ¡Ã‚ ®Shinichi.' Who's that? Damon wanted nothing less than for Elena to get involved with the kitsune, but if he was really going to tell all she was going to have to. â€Å"He's akitsune , a fox spirit,† he said. â€Å"And the person who gave me that Web address that sent Stefan running.† Elena's expression froze over. â€Å"Actually,† Damon said, â€Å"I find that I would rather get you home before taking the next step.† Elena lifted exasperated eyes to the sky, but let him pick her up and carry her back to the car. He had just realized where the best place to tell her was. It was just as well that they didn't urgently need to get to any place that was out of the Old Wood right now. They didn't find any road that did not lead to dead ends, little clearings, or trees. Elena seemed so unsurprised at finding the little lane that led to their small but perfectly appointed house that he said nothing as they entered and he took new inventory of what they had. They had one bedroom with one large, luxurious bed. They had a kitchen. And a living area. But any of these rooms could become any kind of room you chose simply by thinking of it before opening the door. Moreover, there were the keys – left behind by what Damon was realizing was a seriously shaken Shinichi – that allowed the doors to do more. Insert a key in a door and announce what you wanted and there you were – even, it seemed, if it should be outside Shinichi's territory in spacetime. In other words, theyseemed to link to the real outside world, but Damon wasn't entirely sure about that.Was it the real world or just another of Shinichi's play-traps? What they had right now was a long spiraling stairway to an open-air observatory with a widow's walk around it, just like the roof of the boardinghouse. There was even a room just like Stefan's, Damon noted as he carried Elena up the stairs. â€Å"We're going all the way up?† Elena sounded bewildered. â€Å"All the way.† â€Å"And what are wedoing up here?† Elena asked, when he had her settled in a chair with a footstool and a light blanket on the roof. Damon sat down on a rocker, rocking a little, his arms wrapped around one knee, his face tilted to the clouded sky. He rocked once more, stopped, and turned to face her. â€Å"I suppose we're here,† he said, in the light self-mocking tone that meant he was very serious, â€Å"so that I can tell you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.†