Public and Government Healthcare in America Research Paper

Public and Government Healthcare in America - Research Paper Example 7). There were flaws to the system which President Obama and his healthcare program were trying to correct through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) which became a law in March 23, 2010. The bill sought to provide inexpensive, but good quality health care for all the citizens of the United States. It is not only the costs of drugs and hospitalization; the entire healthcare system is being questioned. This was demonstrated in a 2007 National Health Interview Survey showing that 43 million Americans did not have an insurance coverage (Adams et al. as cited in Benson et al., 2011, p. 28). A report by Families USA (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as cited in Benson et al., 2011) stated that most citizens below 65 had an insufficient health insurance during the period of 2007-2008. The road to a perfect healthcare system for the Obama administration and the American people is still a long way. There are many problems and challenges along the way, one of w hich is that most Americans with the insurance coverage are fearful of changing the questioned healthcare infrastructure. Why are Americans afraid of change? Change is a matter of acceptance with courage; courage is significant for accepting an improvement. Americans are afraid of changing the healthcare infrastructure for many reasons which will be discussed in this essay. The unique U.S. healthcare system allows the private sector to help the public sector or the government with providing health care. It is this kind of the system that allowed the private sector, particularly the insurance companies, to commit abuses and malpractices with ordinary citizens as the victim. It is also through this system that the Obama administration wants to incorporate changes and provide an avenue of perfect health for the American people. The healthcare system is a complicated topic involving political, cultural, and moral aspects where change could not be easily implemented as it involves many a reas. Politicians could not reach a point, while all the classes of society could not agree on the kind of change they wanted. In his first address to Congress, President Obama identified healthcare as a primary focus that required an appropriate funding regardless of the existing recession in 2009 (Obama as cited in Benson et al., 2011, p. 28). Historical Development and Current State of Health Care Delivery Before the signing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, also known as the ObamaCare), there were several challenges, or problems, the government and the American people had to face. The PPACA was challenged by 26 state governments, but the controversy was resolved by the Supreme Court ruling in June 2012, which upheld the provision of the law that every American should have a health insurance or pay a fine. This individual mandate was a significant part of the ObamaCare, and, so, the Supreme Court ruling was a big boost and support for the law. Had the cour t ruled otherwise, the entire Affordable Care Act would have fallen (Tate, 2012, p. 4). The U.S. healthcare system allows a combination of private and public insurance agencies to provide healthcare insurance to American citizens. Many insurances of this kind were sponsored by their respective employers. Before the passage of the Affordable

Vulnerable Body Critical Discourse Of Code Blue Nursing Essay

Vulnerable Body Critical Discourse Of Code Blue Nursing Essay When words of Code Blue are announced through overhead speakers, my heart always skips a beat, and I will start my personal struggle again among professional, legal and ethic obligation: did I take the right action on a right patient and did I do a right thing? Code blue means a patient, who is in Full Code status, is suffering a event of cardio-respiratory arrest, and immediately needs a starting of full advanced cardiac life support protocol, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), medication, and mechanical ventilation (Lewis, Heitkemper Dirksen, 2006, p.166). I have been working in an adult inpatient medicine unit for six years. I can not exactly remember how many times I initiated a code blue call and have participated with the resuscitation team. Most of the patients that I have involved in code blue have died during the resuscitation process with a huge mess of blood, airway secretion, urine, bowel movement and medication on his or her body or survived less than 24 hours. After each resuscitation action, I felt emotionally drained, depressed, guilty, helpless and frustrated with the code status decision Full Code. In this paper, by presenting a resuscitation scenario, I will conduct a discourse analysis about this clinical d ilemma from both liberal-humanist and scientific-medical perspectives. Through analysis, I understood that clinical dilemma happens all the times, and it also will happen in the future. Nurses need to seek how to explore the contradictions or tensions from different discourses and understand them to grieve over. At the end of the paper, I discuss the implication of the future nursing practice based on the knowledge acquired from this discourse analysis. Personal Story It was my first year in an adult inpatient medicine unit after my graduation from a nursing school. Mr. D was a 97 years old widower. He was admitted to the hospital for congested heart failure, shortness of breath and also found to have pneumonia. He was intubated for respiratory difficulty in the intensive care unit then eventually developed multisystem organ failure, sepsis, and meningitis. Also, he was at the end stage of liver disease, and illustrated by brain damage signs from circulating toxins, hepatic encephalopathy. Arriving at my unit, he complained of shortness of breath and dizziness. His jaundiced skin glowed bright yellow. He showed delirium, repeated the same questions in slurred voice incoherently. He presented a marginal blood pressure, lungs were full of fluid, and oozed blood from his gums and injection sites was hardly to clot. All his limbs were extremely swollen. Nasogastric feeding tube was in situ. Oxygen was supplied at 4-liter by nasal prongs with saturatio n of 88 92%. While checking orders to create a Kardex, I realized his code status was Full Code, and physicians progress notes indicated that decision of code status was discussed between health care team and family three times. Two days later, I found Mr. D was not responding to my greeting and touch during my hourly round checking at 10:00 in the morning; no breathing sound heard, and no palpable pulse. I hit the code blue button on the wall at beside and started CPR. A code blue announcement automatically was delivered through overhead speaking system. Code team arrived in one minute. Night gown was stripped off; an aged body was totally naked. Deep suction via yankauer was made in rush, a tube was inserted down his throat, and then into his lungs in a harsh manner, and a ventilator took over his breathing, blood noted in his mouth; a cardiac monitor was hooked up to his chest; chest compression was made in a powerful manner to reach the depth of 5cm, rib and sternum bones broken noise was heard; a big needle-like catheter for getting artery blood gas by a respiratory therapist was poked into to several locations, blood contaminated his right upper arm and inner thigh; venopuncturing for intravenous cannu la insertion by a nurse was re-poked four times on both extremely swollen arms and blood messed on forearms; isosource of nasogastric feeding came from his nose and mouth, foul odour smelled; epinephrine was injected two times; defibrillator was applied three times with strong electric shock. Twenty minutes later, the physician ordered to stop the resuscitation effort and give up. Mr. D was left naked in the bed, lying without moving, deadly pale on his face. Everybody was exhausted, leaving the room with disappoint on face, and huge mess on the bed and floor. Tears were running down in familys cheek, too sad to say a word. Analyzing Personal Struggle Full code is permission for a code team to insert a ventilation tube into failing lungs, apply electric shock to a fibrillating heart, and unleash a extra blood of punctures, dissections, and exsanguinations on the human body. A resuscitation based on Full Code is supposed to be performed aiming in offering the patient a benefit. However, these interventions are marginally effective (Hiberman, Kutner, Parsons Murphy, 1997; Perers, Abrahamsson, Bang, Engdahl, Lindqvist Karlson, et al, 1999), lives saved and functioning restored only for a small number (15% worldwide average) of people (McGrath, 1987; Saklayen, Liss Markert, 1995; Schneider, Nelson Brown,, 1993). Subjecting a dying person to CPR who is believed there is virtually no hope of survival is a terrible way to practise health care; it is inhumane; and it is an assault. Despite significant improvements made in training, equipment, and drugs, the overall CPR survival rate has remained almost the same over the past 30 years (Beall, 2001). Findings from 33 studies showed that about 16% of patients under age 70 and 12% of patients aged 70 and older survived CPR only (Kaye Mancini, 1996). After participating in the resuscitation for Mr. D, I have been struggling over this real scenario at: (1) what is the quality of death; (2) who can decide the code status; and (3) what can I do for advocating my patient? As a nurse, I have to deal with life-and-death decisions with each of my patients. With the participating in the resuscitation for Mr. D and witnessed his death, I am wondering: what is a quality death? What a kind of process is a quality death? Who defines it? What is the resuscitation doing? How much do patients in terminal life stage have to understand about what dying is like? How well patients dignity could be preserved and integrated into the resuscitation process? How well patients wish could be respected in the decision of code status? How does a patient want everything to be done to extend his life Full Code in hospital parlance, or a patient wants to let his/her death happen naturally without interference a Do Not Resuscitate order? Does the Full Code status really benefit the patients interest or just benefit a substitute decision makers/familys interest? As for Mr. Ds scenario, is the Full Code status his real wish? Is the dying process his real belief about dying? Is t he dying process his real value about the death? Did he image his death with broken sternum and ribs, massive blood mess and contamination? Did he image that, at the end of life, he was surrounded by the code team rather than by his family members? Unfortunately, I have no solution to seek the true answers yet; I felt the contradiction and tension between the resuscitation on behalf of a Full Code status and quality death: professionally, I have duty of care to participate in the resuscitation action and do whatever required for such a purpose, but ethically and morally, I do not want to do any harm on my patients during the resuscitation. It has become my clinical dilemma of struggle for many years. The decision of code status is a complex and controversial topic. Theoretically, it seems simple and easy to declare either patient or patients substitute decision maker will be the subject to make decision about code status. However, in the real working environment, I noted that many patients indications on code status are blank, not checked yet; and sometimes they are left as blank for a long period; also, some patients code status has been changed reversely from Do Not Resuscitate to Full Code by their family; Mr. D was one of such examples. It tells me that the decision process in not a straight-forward linear procedure; it is organic or dynamic. The confusion for me is who is the real decision maker during this organic process, the patient own, patients family/substitute decision maker or a health care provider? As a regulated professional, a health care provider is rarely taking action as such decision maker; usually, either patients or their family will be. While the patient i s capable, it is clear that the patient decides it for himself or herself. However, my wondering is that there are so many factors that will impact patients capacity when decision needed to be made on the code status, such as age, medical condition, the quality of life, religious views and overall wishes. Further more, like the perception on pain, capacity is really subjective; a sound judgement on patients capacity also is difficulty. Who can decide a patients capacity is either intact or impaired without any interest conflict? Like Mr. Ds scenario, due to his senior age and confused medical condition, his daughter was his decision maker from the admission; the reality of his condition was recorded as deteriorated daily, and he had been incapable to provide any input about his code status; the progress notes show us that his code status has been changed from Full Code to Do Not Resuscitate, and then back to Full Code again during a five-week period of hospitalization. Is there any interest conflict in the process while his daughter made decision of turning over on his code status for him, and does such change will really benefit him in relieving suffering, restoring functioning and improving his quality of life? As a member of heath care team, what I can do to advocate my patients decision is really limited so that I am feeling helpless. Being a sick people in a hospital might be very stressful; in additional to physical symptoms, people may feel anxious, depressed and helpless. Also, family members might be place under a difficult time and position during a medical crisis; family members may disagree, emotions might be high and medical information can become confusing agent. In such a stressful circumstance, any possible irrational decision could be made without considering the reality and possibility. Perhaps, we can say nurses are knowledgeable to provide information, as well as nurses know more about the patients daily condition than a physician so that a nurse really can make some good input for health care team and family in decision-making to advocate patients benefit; however, the final decision is totally depending on patients or their substitute decision-makers understanding about the context of code status; they are legally granted the power. Like Mr. Ds case, his decision-maker alternatively requested change of his code status from Do Not Resuscitate to Full Code on his behalf that resulted in futile and miserable resuscitation, even if his most responsible physician could not apply any influence on it. Health care providers are not legally granted such a power, and ethically, we also can not apply our opinions, judgement or choice on patients or their decision-makers decision. So, I have been struggling over the relationship between power and knowledge; under such circumstance, knowledge is not and does not have the power at all. What we can do is through information providing to empower our patients or their decision-maker to use their power to make a right choice on code status to avoid such futile and miserable resuscitation happened on Mr. D without any benefit, but harm. Exploring Discourse Analysis The clinical dilemma as identified in the above scenario, the contradiction and tension are mainly triaged from respecting the patients own or their decision-makers choice on code status while providing our resuscitating intervention. In order to understand the issue, I did literature review on decision making on code status choice. I chose the patients or their decision-makers decision of choice on their code status and how to empower them in making a right decision by information providing to advocate for patients benefit in quality of life at the end of life as my focus. In the following sections, I will use Mr. Ds case to analyze this clinical dilemma from both liberal-humanist discourse and scientific-medical discourse perspectives. Scientific-medical discourse: empower patients to make right choice on code status According to Grant, Giddings Beale (2005), the scientific-medical discourse is based on the biomedical mode of medical science. Its core concept is that a human body is a collection of different parts that are organically organized and form different systems that manifest as a set of symptoms (Brown Seddon, 1996, a, b). It constitutes the scientific fundamentals and becomes the root of nursing science (Grant, Giddings Beale, 2005, p.499). That is the reason I chose it as one of my discourse. Medical knowledge explicitly tells me that life maintenance must be under the control of homeostatic balance, which is maintained by normal functions of all organs; and homeostatic control mechanism can maintain only in a relative narrow constancy (Thibodeau Patton, 2005, p.16). CPR is a desperate technique that is used on the people who are might be suffering cardiac arrest in order to deliver oxygen to blood stream and maintain a cardiac circulation to keep vital organs, such as such as the brain, be oxygenized to be alive, to delay brain death, and maintain the heart to remain responsive to defibrillation; in many type of patients, it virtually never works; for a patient with an advanced age and life-threatening illness who is dying of the underlying disease, there is very limited benefit because survival is rare ( As articulated by Grant, Giddings and Beale (2005), nurses had sound technical knowledge of bodily diseases, the associated symptoms, predisposing causes, and appropriate treatment (p.499) from medical science. Under the influence of biomedical model ideology, the interventions of nursing care have been constructed as a set of tangible, specifically operate-able and measurable procedures that are implemented in a methodical manner step by step, for example, nursing process. Reflecting on Mr. Ds case, by informing them the updated condition and possible prognosis through my careful and objective assessment, I can support my patient or their decision-maker to choose a right code status to avoid a violent death that occurs during an advanced cardiac life support and artificially prolonged life maintenance. It is not to apply my opinion or choice on them. It is to empower them to make right choice in a supportive manner to preserve patients dignity and quality of life, as well as death. In such a way, my professional integrity also will be benefited in maintaining, professional contradiction and personal tension will be avoided. Liberal-humanist Discourse: Advocating Patient According Grant, Giddings Beale (2005), the liberal-humanist discourse of nursing care is a holistic approach; the patient is viewed as a whole person and a unique individual, not the collection of different parts only. Empathic nursing care does not only deal with patients biomedical issues, but also emphasize patients autonomy, rationality, emotions, understandings and dignity; it is characterized by respecting patients self-determination, free choice, and self-representation (Praeger, 2002). The ethic ideology of liberal-humanist discourse of nursing care is underpinned by two assumptions: nurses commitment to a trust therapeutic interpersonal relationship of care and having moral obligation to act (Dyson, 1997, p. 200) on behalf of patients (Grant, Giddings Beale, 2005). Such a sound holistic approach becomes the grand rationale I choose it as one of my discourses. Also, it casts and shapes my best nursing practice by providing my patients and their family holistic caring. However, it must be understand that such an universal or global ideology itself has an underlying contradiction and tension that I experienced in my patient Mr. Ds scenario, that is, under some circumstance or specific context, it is difficulty that empathetic nursing care must have commitment to trust interpersonal relationship by respecting the patients autonomy and at the same time, nurses also have moral obligation to act on behalf of the patient. As for Mr. Ds case, health care team discussed the code status choice in multiple family meetings based on informed decision principle. The whole caring process demonstrated the empathetic caring by respecting familys decision on the code status choice, taking appropriate and timely resuscitation action morally on behalf of the decision maker. However, the misery result was the violation of patients dignity and quality of death in the dying process, which is actually avoidable and it morally generates the ethic guilty and tension in health carers emotion, because health carer eventually does not have the legal authority to take action to morally prevent such an avoidable misery event to be happened. Such contradiction and tension in professional, legal and ethic principles basically contribute to my distress and confusion. Implications for Nursing Practice The discourse from either scientific-medical approach or the liberal-humanist approach, while peoples life reaches the end stage life-span, not only does the physical body, but also the person as a whole, become a vulnerable object. Being a ill person in a hospital can be terribly overwhelming with physical symptoms, anxiety, depressed and helpless, as well as invasive treatment, diagnostic interventions and a variety of information that is related to each procedure. A treatment is supposed to be of benefit if it relieves suffering, restores functioning and improves quality of life; it will become a burden if it causes pain, prolongs dying without offering a benefit or increases distress. When we emphasize that patients do have some control over what kind of treatments they do and do not want, but in how many cases patients really implement their control over the treatments? Taking Mr. Ds scenario as an example, being in his senior age and impaired cognitive status, it is impossible for him to be a host to get his treatment and care plan under the control of his wishes; his decision maker on his behalf, driven and masked by a general graceful desire that is often seen in the most of people, just wants everything has to be done to remain alive to save and prolong his physical life, even if a few more minutes, legally places not only his physical body, but also a person as a whole at the risk of vulnerable position unconsciously while choosing a Full Code status. As a nursing member of the code team, I have professional obligation to do some inhumane resuscitation actions on his vulnerable body and impair his dignity of death. So, putting myself into Mr. Ds shoes, if either my parents or I were in his age and health condition, I really need the preservation of self-determination, free choices and self-representation in decision making on code status choice choose DNR, let me go naturally without pain, suffering and inhumane resuscitating effort. Our patient-center nursing care philosophy always makes us be aware of that patients need to be supported, not blamed (Kammerer, Garry, Hartigan, Carter Erlich, 2007). From the liberal-humanist discourse of nursing care views, committed to trust interpersonal relationship with patients, empathy and communication are two core concepts. When a persons life is at the brink of death, a clear mind is a rarely existed. Often, it will be more difficulty to accept and respect a frail mind than a frail body. Terminally ill people may look differently, feel even worse and terrible, and think in another way. They need advocacy, protection and caring in humane, patient, and professional ways. Supporting their ability to get their lives under control is no less important than keeping their blood pressure under control. Communication in an empathetic passion is more conducive to doing the right thing than rigid legal documents. Nursing has moral, as well as professional, obligation to communicate our scientific-medical knowledge to support patients in determining what kind of code status they want to be and make their wishes known to their loved ones. Family is an integrated part of our clients, which are facing a difficult position during a medical crisis. Identically, we have above obligation to support patients family members in knowing what a loved one wanted that will help them get peace of mind that they are honouring the wishes of their loved one. In such a way, our professional development will be in growth, and our personal distress that is involved in the discourse tension will be released. Summary According to the learning goals of this course, discourse from scientific-medical approach and liberal-humanist approach on a real clinical situation is presented in this paper. Personal distress, frustration and confusion arisen from the clinical dilemma have been analyzed. Nursing care can be explored from different kinds of contradictory discourses. All these contradictory discourses might contribute to nurses feeling of distress, frustration or confusion when encountering different clinical situations. The liberal-humanist ideal of ethic of care focus on viewing a person as a whole and respecting patients self-determination, free choice, and self-representation, bur patients need advocates and support from scientific-medical approach in decision-making. Furthermore, for professional and personal development, nurses should learn to understand these different discourses in one situation and take effective strategies to solve the clinical dilemma. Committing to a trust therapeutic i nterpersonal relationship with patients will help nurses understand patients better, and it also helps nurses to find the meaning of the event so that effective solutions could be figured out to solve clinical dilemma.

Phenomenon :: essays research papers

John Travolta. Those two words used to send millions of women (and men) all around the world into a dancing frenzy back in the seventies. He could claim credit for the modern equivalent of the estrogen brigades (for the net crazy "X-philes") of Fox Mudler and Assistant Director Skinner. But nowadays, equipped with a paunch and that same disarming smile, he is proving himself to be more than a passing fever. Together with the great cast of this latest offering from the Disney studios, Travolta lifts "Phenomenon" (tele-kinetically, no less) above the mass of mediocre summer releases. For doubting thomases who thought his brilliant gun-slinging portrayal in "Pulp Fiction" was just "luck of the draw", his portrayal of a simpleton with nothing but heart should re-categorise Travolta from "comeback kid" to "talented actor"; he did not allow "Phenomenon" to degenerate into "Forrest Gump Part 2". The similarities are obvious: a nice, simple fellow earns the favour of Lady Luck and does extraordinary things. Yet, that's all there is. "Phenomenon" packs a higher reality-density than "Gump". Countless scenes in "Gump" had me trying to pull wool over my eyes just to stop myself from laughing at the sheer ludicrousness. Despite the fact that going to the movies is about the suspension of disbelief, it should never be equated with treating the audiences as hoards after hoards of idiots. George Malley (Travolta), on the other hand, comes across very naturally (and believably) as a small town simpleton who doesn't know what to make of his very strange birthday "present". One flash of light and he flips through calculus books in a flash. It's not heavenly intervention, but unleashing the possibility of what the mind is truly capable of. Yet, George quickly learns that he isn't capable of something: affecting what other people think. Small-town insecurities and parochialism soon turn once friends into dumber-than-simpleton fools; with the exception of three very well casted characters. Kyra Sedgwick plays Lace, George's love interest. The agony of having gone through the loss of her perfect family show through her smiles. Despite being intent on keeping George at arms' length, head-strong Lace falls in love with George, with no small help from her two precocious kids. Gerard Dipego's choice of the two kids as parallels and inversions of the adults' relationship is simply brilliant. It is the little girl who extends herself to George when Lace plays the silent, "I want to keep my life simple" girl.

By the River

The story of Harry Howdy living In a small country town and his growth Into a young man Is a ‘bloodcurdling'. That Is, It describes his coming of age, a process that moves children, sometimes quite roughly, into the adult world. The death of his mother and the loss of a dear childhood friend certainly force Harry to enter this adult world, as they teach him the importance of close and supporting relationships. Harry has to take on adult responsibilities earlier than expected after the loss of his mother to a fatal disease.Both he and his brother Keith, take over the housework â€Å"my rather and me shared the duties our mother left us† to help their father, who Is busy In full time employment, providing for the family. It is Harry and Keith who keep the household running by â€Å"cooking† and keeping â€Å"the bathroom shining like a medal†. Harry has to combine these adult responsibilities with the grief that he feels, not only with the death of his mother , but also the death of his close friend Linda Mahoney. Linda Mahoney was Harry close school friend and her support enabled him to cope with the death of his mother and the small mindedness of his town.She shared her levels, ambitions, and her delouses orange cake with Harry. â€Å"She held out an orange cake and a card† and â€Å"l sat in the shade, enjoying her dreams and the sound of her eager voice until she stopped, closed her book, look up at me and ask, ‘What do you want to be Harry? ‘ â€Å". This highlights Land's kindness to Harry and the way that she wants to encourage his dreams. When Linda drowned in a flood when Harry was 14, he grieved for her. From then on, Harry visited her memorial cross â€Å"so that our town had something worth remembering†, to tell her stories and to be close to her.He kept the area tidy In memory of Linda. Just like his father looked after his mother's memorial. His school friend, Johnny Barlow, also grieved Land's d eath. As the story in By the River progresses, Johnny Barlow became Harry close friend. This was despite the Barlow family having a bad reputation in town. The father â€Å"lines up empty beer bottles†; the eldest brother â€Å"received two years Jail, for beating up a businessman†, the other brother Wayne, â€Å"motorbikes, the pub and girls†. The youngest son Johnny suffered as a result of the poor reputation of his family.He'll turn up Like his brother, locked In Jail'. In Harry corning of age, his father teaches him to form his own opinions of people and not to rely on other people's misjudgment. While everyone in their town judges Johnny, Harry becomes friends with him. Harry discovers a ring on Linda Mahogany grave and learns that Johnny cared for Linda and that he is actually capable of emotionally hurting despite what some people might think, â€Å"she sat between us, remember? † Together they grieve for Linda and live through the judgment of the town.By the River' Is a powerful Illustration of the life of a young boy who grows up following the death of his mother and close friend Linda Mahoney. It provides vivid examples of the difficulties of living in a small country town. Through Harry experiences in assuming adult responsibilities, through his coping with grief and through his reassessment of people's characters, Harry transitions from childhood Into adulthood. In the beginning, Harry only wants to escape his town. Through his becoming of an adult, Harry realizes that, If he Is going to leave this

A Game of Thrones Chapter Fifty-two

Jon Othor,† announced Ser Jaremy Rykker, â€Å"beyond a doubt. And this one was Jafer Flowers.† He turned the corpse over with his foot, and the dead white face stared up at the overcast sky with blue, blue eyes. â€Å"They were Ben Stark's men, both of them.† My uncle's men, Jon thought numbly. He remembered how he'd pleaded to ride with them. Gods, I was such a green boy. If he had taken me, it might be me lying here . . . Jafer's right wrist ended in the ruin of torn flesh and splintered bone left by Ghost's jaws. His right hand was floating in a jar of vinegar back in Maester Aemon's tower. His left hand, still at the end of his arm, was as black as his cloak. â€Å"Gods have mercy,† the Old Bear muttered. He swung down from his garron, handing his reins to Jon. The morning was unnaturally warm; beads of sweat dotted the Lord Commander's broad forehead like dew on a melon. His horse was nervous, rolling her eyes, backing away from the dead men as far as her lead would allow. Jon led her off a few paces, fighting to keep her from bolting. The horses did not like the feel of this place. For that matter, neither did Jon. The dogs liked it least of all. Ghost had led the party here; the pack of hounds had been useless. When Bass the kennelmaster had tried to get them to take the scent from the severed hand, they had gone wild, yowling and barking, fighting to get away. Even now they were snarling and whimpering by turns, pulling at their leashes while Chett cursed them for curs. It is only a wood, Jon told himself, and they're only dead men. He had seen dead men before . . . Last night he had dreamt the Winterfell dream again. He was wandering the empty castle, searching for his father, descending into the crypts. Only this time the dream had gone further than before. In the dark he'd heard the scrape of stone on stone. When he turned he saw that the vaults were opening, one after the other. As the dead kings came stumbling from their cold black graves, Jon had woken in pitch-dark, his heart hammering. Even when Ghost leapt up on the bed to nuzzle at his face, he could not shake his deep sense of terror. He dared not go back to sleep. Instead he had climbed the Wall and walked, restless, until he saw the light of the dawn off to the cast. It was only a dream. I am a brother of the Night's Watch now, not a frightened boy. Samwell Tarly huddled beneath the trees, half-hidden behind the horses. His round fat face was the color of curdled milk. So far he had not lurched off to the woods to retch, but he had not so much as glanced at the dead men either. â€Å"I can't look,† he whispered miserably. â€Å"You have to look,† Jon told him, keeping his voice low so the others would not hear. â€Å"Maester Aemon sent you to be his eyes, didn't he? What good are eyes if they're shut?† â€Å"Yes, but . . . I'm such a coward, Jon.† Jon put a hand on Sam's shoulder. â€Å"We have a dozen rangers with us, and the dogs, even Ghost. No one will hurt you, Sam. Go ahead and look. The first look is the hardest.† Sam gave a tremulous nod, working up his courage with a visible effort. Slowly he swiveled his head. His eyes widened, but Jon held his arm so he could not turn away. â€Å"Ser Jaremy,† the Old Bear asked gruffly, â€Å"Ben Stark had six men with him when he rode from the Wall. Where are the others?† Ser Jaremy shook his head. â€Å"Would that I knew.† Plainly Mormont was not pleased with that answer. â€Å"Two of our brothers butchered almost within sight of the Wall, yet your rangers heard nothing, saw nothing. Is this what the Night's Watch has fallen to? Do we still sweep these woods?† â€Å"Yes, my lord, but—† â€Å"Do we still mount watches?† â€Å"We do, but—† â€Å"This man wears a hunting horn.† Mormont pointed at Othor. â€Å"Must I suppose that he died without sounding it? Or have your rangers all gone deaf as well as blind?† Ser Jaremy bristled, his face taut with anger. â€Å"No horn was blown, my lord, or my rangers would have heard it. I do not have sufficient men to mount as many patrols as I should like . . . and since Benjen was lost, we have stayed closer to the Wall than we were wont to do before, by your own command.† The Old Bear grunted. â€Å"Yes. Well. Be that as it may.† He made an impatient gesture. â€Å"Tell me how they died.† Squatting beside the dead man he had named Jafer Flowers, Ser Jaremy grasped his head by the scalp. The hair came out between his fingers, brittle as straw. The knight cursed and shoved at the face with the heel of his hand. A great gash in the side of the corpse's neck opened like a mouth, crusted with dried blood. Only a few ropes of pale tendon still attached the head to the neck. â€Å"This was done with an axe.† â€Å"Aye,† muttered Dywen, the old forester. â€Å"Belike the axe that Othor carried, m'lord.† Jon could feel his breakfast churning in his belly, but he pressed his lips together and made himself look at the second body. Othor had been a big ugly man, and he made a big ugly corpse. No axe was in evidence. Jon remembered Othor; he had been the one bellowing the bawdy song as the rangers rode out. His singing days were done. His flesh was blanched white as milk, everywhere but his hands. His hands were black like Jafer's. Blossoms of hard cracked blood decorated the mortal wounds that covered him like a rash, breast and groin and throat. Yet his eyes were still open. They stared up at the sky, blue as sapphires. Ser Jaremy stood. â€Å"The wildlings have axes too.† Mormont rounded on him. â€Å"So you believe this is Mance Rayder's work? This close to the Wall?† â€Å"Who else, my lord?† Jon could have told him. He knew, they all knew, yet no man of them would say the words. The Others are only a story, a tale to make children shiver. If they ever lived at all, they are gone eight thousand years. Even the thought made him feel foolish; he was a man grown now, a black brother of the Night's Watch, not the boy who'd once sat at Old Nan's feet with Bran and Robb and Arya. Yet Lord Commander Mormont gave a snort. â€Å"If Ben Stark had come under wildling attack a half day's ride from Castle Black, he would have returned for more men, chased the killers through all seven hells and brought me back their heads.† â€Å"Unless he was slain as well,† Ser Jaremy insisted. The words hurt, even now. It had been so long, it seemed folly to cling to the hope that Ben Stark was still alive, but Jon Snow was nothing if not stubborn. â€Å"It has been close on half a year since Benjen left us, my lord,† Ser Jaremy went on. â€Å"The forest is vast. The wildlings might have fallen on him anywhere. I'd wager these two were the last survivors of his party, on their way back to us . . . but the enemy caught them before they could reach the safety of the Wall. The corpses are still fresh, these men cannot have been dead more than a day . . . .† â€Å"No,† Samwell Tarly squeaked. Jon was startled. Sam's nervous, high-pitched voice was the last he would have expected to hear. The fat boy was frightened of the officers, and Ser Jaremy was not known for his patience. â€Å"I did not ask for your views, boy,† Rykker said coldly. â€Å"Let him speak, ser,† Jon blurted. Mormont's eyes flicked from Sam to Jon and back again. â€Å"If the lad has something to say, I'll hear him out. Come closer, boy. We can't see you behind those horses.† Sam edged past Jon and the garrons, sweating profusely. â€Å"My lord, it . . . it can't be a day or . . . look . . . the blood . . . â€Å" â€Å"Yes?† Mormont growled impatiently. â€Å"Blood, what of it?† â€Å"He soils his smallclothes at the sight of it,† Chett shouted out, and the rangers laughed. Sam mopped at the sweat on his brow. â€Å"You . . . you can see where Ghost . . . Jon's direwolf . . . you can see where he tore off that man's hand, and yet . . . the stump hasn't bled, look . . . † He waved a hand. â€Å"My father . . . L-lord Randyll, he, he made me watch him dress animals sometimes, when . . . after . . . † Sam shook his head from side to side, his chins quivering. Now that he had looked at the bodies, he could not seem to look away. â€Å"A fresh kill . . . the blood would still flow, my lords. Later . . . later it would be clotted, like a . . . a jelly, thick and . . . and . . . † He looked as though he was going to be sick. â€Å"This man . . . look at the wrist, it's all . . . crusty . . . dry . . . like . . . â€Å" Jon saw at once what Sam meant. He could see the torn veins in the dead man's wrist, iron worms in the pale flesh. His blood was a black dust. Yet Jaremy Rykker was unconvinced. â€Å"If they'd been dead much longer than a day, they'd be ripe by now, boy. They don't even smell.† Dywen, the gnarled old forester who liked to boast that he could smell snow coming on, sidled closer to the corpses and took a whiff. â€Å"Well, they're no pansy flowers, but . . . m'lord has the truth of it. There's no corpse stink.† â€Å"They . . . they aren't rotting.† Sam pointed, his fat finger shaking only a little. â€Å"Look, there's . . . there's no maggots or . . . or . . . worms or anything . . . they've been lying here in the woods, but they . . . they haven't been chewed or eaten by animals . . . only Ghost . . . otherwise they're . . . they're . . . â€Å" â€Å"Untouched,† Jon said softly. â€Å"And Ghost is different. The dogs and the horses won't go near them.† The rangers exchanged glances; they could see it was true, every man of them. Mormont frowned, glancing from the corpses to the dogs. â€Å"Chett, bring the hounds closer.† Chett tried, cursing, yanking on the leashes, giving one animal a lick of his boot. Most of the dogs just whimpered and planted their feet. He tried dragging one. The bitch resisted, growling and squirming as if to escape her collar. Finally she lunged at him. Chett dropped the leash and stumbled backward. The dog leapt over him and bounded off into the trees. â€Å"This . . . this is all wrong,† Sam Tarly said earnestly. â€Å"The blood . . . there's bloodstains on their clothes, and . . . and their flesh, dry and hard, but . . . there's none on the ground, or . . . anywhere. With those . . . those . . . those . . . † Sam made himself swallow, took a deep breath. â€Å"With those wounds . . . terrible wounds . . . there should be blood all over. Shouldn't there?† Dywen sucked at his wooden teeth. â€Å"Might be they didn't die here. Might be someone brought 'em and left 'em for us. A warning, as like.† The old forester peered down suspiciously. â€Å"And might be I'm a fool, but I don't know that Othor never had no blue eyes afore.† Ser Jaremy looked startled. â€Å"Neither did Flowers,† he blurted, turning to stare at the dead man. A silence fell over the wood. For a moment all they heard was Sam's heavy breathing and the wet sound of Dywen sucking on his teeth. Jon squatted beside Ghost. â€Å"Burn them,† someone whispered. One of the rangers; Jon could not have said who. â€Å"Yes, burn them,† a second voice urged. The Old Bear gave a stubborn shake of his head. â€Å"Not yet. I want Maester Aemon to have a look at them. We'll bring them back to the Wall.† Some commands are more easily given than obeyed. They wrapped the dead men in cloaks, but when Hake and Dywen tried to tie one onto a horse, the animal went mad, screaming and rearing, lashing out with its hooves, even biting at Ketter when he ran to help. The rangers had no better luck with the other garrons; not even the most placid wanted any part of these burdens. In the end they were forced to hack off branches and fashion crude slings to carry the corpses back on foot. It was well past midday by the time they started back. â€Å"I will have these woods searched,† Mormont commanded Ser Jaremy as they set out. â€Å"Every tree, every rock, every bush, and every foot of muddy ground within ten leagues of here. Use all the men you have, and if you do not have enough, borrow hunters and foresters from the stewards. If Ben and the others are out here, dead or alive, I will have them found. And if there is anyone else in these woods, I will know of it. You are to track them and take them, alive if possible. Is that understood?† â€Å"It is, my lord,† Ser Jaremy said. â€Å"It will be done.† After that, Mormont rode in silence, brooding. Jon followed close behind him; as the Lord Commander's steward, that was his place. The day was grey, damp, overcast, the sort of day that made you wish for rain. No wind stirred the wood; the air hung humid and heavy, and Jon's clothes clung to his skin. It was warm. Too warm. The Wall was weeping copiously, had been weeping for days, and sometimes Jon even imagined it was shrinking. The old men called this weather spirit summer, and said it meant the season was giving up its ghosts at last. After this the cold would come, they warned, and a long summer always meant a long winter. This summer had lasted ten years. Jon had been a babe in arms when it began. Ghost ran with them for a time and then vanished among the trees. Without the direwolf, Jon felt almost naked. He found himself glancing at every shadow with unease. Unbidden, he thought back on the tales that Old Nan used to tell them, when he was a boy at Winterfell. He could almost hear her voice again, and the click-click-click of her needles. In that darkness, the Others came riding, she used to say, dropping her voice lower and lower. Cold and dead they were, and they hated iron and fire and the touch of the sun, and every living creature with hot blood in its veins. Holdfasts and cities and kingdoms of men all fell before them, as they moved south on pale dead horses, leading hosts of the slain. They fed their dead servants on the flesh of human children . . . When he caught his first glimpse of the Wall looming above the tops of an ancient gnarled oak, Jon was vastly relieved. Mormont reined up suddenly and turned in his saddle. â€Å"Tarly,† he barked, â€Å"come here.† Jon saw the start of fright on Sam's face as he lumbered up on his mare; doubtless he thought he was in trouble. â€Å"You're fat but you're not stupid, boy,† the Old Bear said gruffly. â€Å"You did well back there. And you, Snow.† Sam blushed a vivid crimson and tripped over his own tongue as he tried to stammer out a courtesy. Jon had to smile. When they emerged from under the trees, Mormont spurred his tough little garron to a trot. Ghost came streaking out from the woods to meet them, licking his chops, his muzzle red from prey. High above, the men on the Wall saw the column approaching. Jon heard the deep, throaty call of the watchman's great horn, calling out across the miles; a single long blast that shuddered through the trees and echoed off the ice. UUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooo. The sound faded slowly to silence. One blast meant rangers returning, and Jon thought, I was a ranger for one day, at least. Whatever may come, they cannot take that away from me. Bowen Marsh was waiting at the first gate as they led their garrons through the icy tunnel. The Lord Steward was red-faced and agitated. â€Å"My lord,† he blurted at Mormont as he swung open the iron bars, â€Å"there's been a bird, you must come at once.† â€Å"What is it, man?† Mormont said gruffly. Curiously, Marsh glanced at Jon before he answered. â€Å"Maester Aemon has the letter. He's waiting in your solar.† â€Å"Very well. Jon, see to my horse, and tell Ser Jaremy to put the dead men in a storeroom until the maester is ready for them.† Mormont strode away grumbling. As they led their horses back to the stable, Jon was uncomfortably aware that people were watching him. Ser Alliser Thorne was drilling his boys in the yard, but he broke off to stare at Jon, a faint half smile on his lips. One-armed Donal Noye stood in the door of the armory. â€Å"The gods be with you, Snow,† he called out. Something's wrong, Jon thought. Something's very wrong. The dead men were carried to one of the storerooms along the base of the Wall, a dark cold cell chiseled from the ice and used to keep meat and grain and sometimes even beer. Jon saw that Mormont's horse was fed and watered and groomed before he took care of his own. Afterward he sought out his friends. Grenn and Toad were on watch, but he found Pyp in the common hall. â€Å"What's happened?† he asked. Pyp lowered his voice. â€Å"The king's dead.† Jon was stunned. Robert Baratheon had looked old and fat when he visited Winterfell, yet he'd seemed hale enough, and there'd been no talk of illness. â€Å"How can you know?† â€Å"One of the guards overheard Clydas reading the letter to Maester Aemon.† Pyp leaned close. â€Å"Jon, I'm sorry. He was your father's friend, wasn't he?† â€Å"They were as close as brothers, once.† Jon wondered if Joffrey would keep his father as the King's Hand. It did not seem likely. That might mean Lord Eddard would return to Winterfell, and his sisters as well. He might even be allowed to visit them, with Lord Mormont's permission. It would be good to see Arya's grin again and to talk with his father. I will ask him about my mother, he resolved. I am a man now, it is past time he told me. Even if she was a whore, I don't care, I want to know. â€Å"I heard Hake say the dead men were your uncle's,† Pyp said. â€Å"Yes,† Jon replied. â€Å"Two of the six he took with him. They'd been dead a long time, only . . . the bodies are queer.† â€Å"Queer?† Pyp was all curiosity. â€Å"How queer?† â€Å"Sam will tell you.† Jon did not want to talk of it. â€Å"I should see if the Old Bear has need of me.† He walked to the Lord Commander's Tower alone, with a curious sense of apprehension. The brothers on guard eyed him solemnly as he approached. â€Å"The Old Bear's in his solar,† one of them announced. â€Å"He was asking for you.† Jon nodded. He should have come straight from the stable. He climbed the tower steps briskly. He wants wine or a fire in his hearth, that's all, he told himself. When he entered the solar, Mormont's raven screamed at him. â€Å"Corn!† the bird shrieked. â€Å"Corn! Corn! Corn!† â€Å"Don't you believe it, I just fed him,† the Old Bear growled. He was seated by the window, reading a letter. â€Å"Bring me a cup of wine, and pour one for yourself.† â€Å"For myself, my lord?† Mormont lifted his eyes from the letter to stare at Jon. There was pity in that look; he could taste it. â€Å"You heard me.† Jon poured with exaggerated care, vaguely aware that he was drawing out the act. When the cups were filled, he would have no choice but to face whatever was in that letter. Yet all too soon, they were filled. â€Å"Sit, boy,† Mormont commanded him. â€Å"Drink.† Jon remained standing. â€Å"It's my father, isn't it?† The Old Bear tapped the letter with a finger. â€Å"Your father and the king,† he rumbled. â€Å"I won't lie to you, it's grievous news. I never thought to see another king, not at my age, with Robert half my years and strong as a bull.† He took a gulp of wine. â€Å"They say the king loved to hunt. The things we love destroy us every time, lad. Remember that. My son loved that young wife of his. Vain woman. If not for her, he would never have thought to sell those poachers.† Jon could scarcely follow what he was saying. â€Å"My lord, I don't understand. What's happened to my father?† â€Å"I told you to sit,† Mormont grumbled. â€Å"Sit,† the raven screamed. â€Å"And have a drink, damn you. That's a command, Snow.† Jon sat, and took a sip of wine. â€Å"Lord Eddard has been imprisoned. He is charged with treason. It is said he plotted with Robert's brothers to deny the throne to Prince Joffrey.† â€Å"No,† Jon said at once. â€Å"That couldn't be. My father would never betray the king!† â€Å"Be that as it may,† said Mormont. â€Å"It is not for me to say. Nor for you.† â€Å"But it's a lie,† Jon insisted. How could they think his father was a traitor, had they all gone mad? Lord Eddard Stark would never dishonor himself . . . would he? He fathered a bastard, a small voice whispered inside him. Where was the honor in that? And your mother, what of her? He will not even speak her name. â€Å"My lord, what will happen to him? Will they kill him?† â€Å"As to that, I cannot say, lad. I mean to send a letter. I knew some of the king's councillors in my youth. Old Pycelle, Lord Stannis, Ser Barristan . . . Whatever your father has done, or hasn't done, he is a great lord. He must be allowed to take the black and join us here. Gods knows, we need men of Lord Eddard's ability.† Jon knew that other men accused of treason had been allowed to redeem their honor on the Wall in days past. Why not Lord Eddard? His father here. That was a strange thought, and strangely uncomfortable. It would be a monstrous injustice to strip him of Winterfell and force him to take the black, and yet if it meant his life . . . And would Joffrey allow it? He remembered the prince at Winterfell, the way he'd mocked Robb and Ser Rodrik in the yard. Jon himself he had scarcely even noticed; bastards were beneath even his contempt. â€Å"My lord, will the king listen to you?† The Old Bear shrugged. â€Å"A boy king . . . I imagine he'll listen to his mother. A pity the dwarf isn't with them. He's the lad's uncle, and he saw our need when he visited us. It was a bad thing, your lady mother taking him captive—† â€Å"Lady Stark is not my mother,† Jon reminded him sharply. Tyrion Lannister had been a friend to him. If Lord Eddard was killed, she would be as much to blame as the queen. â€Å"My lord, what of my sisters? Arya and Sansa, they were with my father, do you know—† â€Å"Pycelle makes no mention of them, but doubtless they'll be treated gently. I will ask about them when I write.† Mormont shook his head. â€Å"This could not have happened at a worse time. If ever the realm needed a strong king . . . there are dark days and cold nights ahead, I feel it in my bones . . . † He gave Jon a long shrewd look. â€Å"I hope you are not thinking of doing anything stupid, boy.† He's my father, Jon wanted to say, but he knew that Mormont would not want to hear it. His throat was dry. He made himself take another sip of wine. â€Å"Your duty is here now,† the Lord Commander reminded him. â€Å"Your old life ended when you took the black.† His bird made a raucous echo. â€Å"Black.† Mormont took no notice. â€Å"Whatever they do in King's Landing is none of our concern.† When Jon did not answer, the old man finished his wine and said, â€Å"You're free to go. I'll have no further need of you today. On the morrow you can help me write that letter.† Jon did not remember standing or leaving the solar. The next he knew, he was descending the tower steps, thinking, This is my father, my sisters, how can it be none of my concern? Outside, one of the guards looked at him and said, â€Å"Be strong, boy. The gods are cruel.† They know, Jon realized. â€Å"My father is no traitor,† he said hoarsely. Even the words stuck in his throat, as if to choke him. The wind was rising, and it seemed colder in the yard than it had when he'd gone in. Spirit summer was drawing to an end. The rest of the afternoon passed as if in a dream. Jon could not have said where he walked, what he did, who he spoke with. Ghost was with him, he knew that much. The silent presence of the direwolf gave him comfort. The girls do not even have that much, he thought. Their wolves might have kept them safe, but Lady is dead and Nymeria's lost, they're all alone. A north wind had begun to blow by the time the sun went down. Jon could hear it skirling against the Wall and over the icy battlements as he went to the common hall for the evening meal. Hobb had cooked up a venison stew, thick with barley, onions, and carrots. When he spooned an extra portion onto Jon's plate and gave him the crusty heel of the bread, he knew what it meant. He knows. He looked around the hall, saw heads turn quickly, eyes politely averted. They all know. His friends rallied to him. â€Å"We asked the septon to light a candle for your father,† Matthar told him. â€Å"It's a lie, we all know it's a lie, even Grenn knows it's a lie,† Pyp chimed in. Grenn nodded, and Sam clasped Jon's hand, â€Å"You're my brother now, so he's my father too,† the fat boy said. â€Å"If you want to go out to the weirwoods and pray to the old gods, I'll go with you.† The weirwoods were beyond the Wall, yet he knew Sam meant what he said. They are my brothers, he thought. As much as Robb and Bran and Rickon . . . And then he heard the laughter, sharp and cruel as a whip, and the voice of Ser Alliser Thorne. â€Å"Not only a bastard, but a traitor's bastard,† he was telling the men around him. In the blink of an eye, Jon had vaulted onto the table, dagger in his hand. Pyp made a grab for him, but he wrenched his leg away, and then he was sprinting down the table and kicking the bowl from Ser Alliser's hand. Stew went flying everywhere, spattering the brothers. Thorne recoiled. People were shouting, but Jon Snow did not hear them. He lunged at Ser Alliser's face with the dagger, slashing at those cold onyx eyes, but Sam threw himself between them and before Jon could get around him, Pyp was on his back clinging like a monkey, and Grenn was grabbing his arm while Toad wrenched the knife from his fingers. Later, much later, after they had marched him back to his sleeping cell, Mormont came down to see him, raven on his shoulder. â€Å"I told you not to do anything stupid, boy,† the Old Bear said. â€Å"Boy,† the bird chorused. Mormont shook his head, disgusted. â€Å"And to think I had high hopes for you.† They took his knife and his sword and told him he was not to leave his cell until the high officers met to decide what was to be done with him. And then they placed a guard outside his door to make certain he obeyed. His friends were not allowed to see him, but the Old Bear did relent and permit him Ghost, so he was not utterly alone. â€Å"My father is no traitor,† he told the direwolf when the rest had gone. Ghost looked at him in silence. Jon slumped against the wall, hands around his knees, and stared at the candle on the table beside his narrow bed. The flame flickered and swayed, the shadows moved around him, the room seemed to grow darker and colder. I will not sleep tonight, Jon thought. Yet he must have dozed. When he woke, his legs were stiff and cramped and the candle had long since burned out. Ghost stood on his hind legs, scrabbling at the door. Jon was startled to see how tall he'd grown. â€Å"Ghost, what is it?† he called softly. The direwolf turned his head and looked down at him, baring his fangs in a silent snarl. Has he gone mad? Jon wondered. â€Å"It's me, Ghost,† he murmured, trying not to sound afraid. Yet he was trembling, violently. When had it gotten so cold? Ghost backed away from the door. There were deep gouges where he'd raked the wood. Jon watched him with mounting disquiet. â€Å"There's someone out there, isn't there?† he whispered. Crouching, the direwolf crept backward, white fur rising on the back of his neck. The guard, he thought, they left a man to guard my door, Ghost smells him through the door, that's all it is. Slowly, Jon pushed himself to his feet. He was shivering uncontrollably, wishing he still had a sword. Three quick steps brought him to the door. He grabbed the handle and pulled it inward. The creak of the hinges almost made him jump. His guard was sprawled bonelessly across the narrow steps, looking up at him. Looking up at him, even though he was lying on his stomach. His head had been twisted completely around. It can't be, Jon told himself. This is the Lord Commander's Tower, it's guarded day and night, this couldn't happen, it's a dream, I'm having a nightmare. Ghost slid past him, out the door. The wolf started up the steps, stopped, looked back at Jon. That was when he heard it; the soft scrape of a boot on stone, the sound of a latch turning. The sounds came from above. From the Lord Commander's chambers. A nightmare this might be, yet it was no dream. The guard's sword was in its sheath. Jon knelt and worked it free. The heft of steel in his fist made him bolder. He moved up the steps, Ghost padding silently before him. Shadows lurked in every turn of the stair. Jon crept up warily, probing any suspicious darkness with the point of his sword. Suddenly he heard the shriek of Mormont's raven. â€Å"Corn,† the bird was screaming. â€Å"Corn, corn, corn, corn, corn, corn.† Ghost bounded ahead, and Jon came scrambling after. The door to Mormont's solar was wide open. The direwolf plunged through. Jon stopped in the doorway, blade in hand, giving his eyes a moment to adjust. Heavy drapes had been pulled across the windows, and the darkness was black as ink. â€Å"Who's there?† he called out. Then he saw it, a shadow in the shadows, sliding toward the inner door that led to Mormont's sleeping cell, a man-shape all in black, cloaked and hooded . . . but beneath the hood, its eyes shone with an icy blue radiance . . . Ghost leapt. Man and wolf went down together with neither scream nor snarl, rolling, smashing into a chair, knocking over a table laden with papers. Mormont's raven was flapping overhead, screaming, â€Å"Corn, corn, corn, corn.† Jon felt as blind as Maester Aemon. Keeping the wall to his back, he slid toward the window and ripped down the curtain. Moonlight flooded the solar. He glimpsed black hands buried in white fur, swollen dark fingers tightening around his direwolf's throat. Ghost was twisting and snapping, legs flailing in the air, but he could not break free. Jon had no time to be afraid. He threw himself forward, shouting, bringing down the longsword with all his weight behind it. Steel sheared through sleeve and skin and bone, yet the sound was wrong somehow. The smell that engulfed him was so queer and cold he almost gagged. He saw arm and hand on the floor, black fingers wriggling in a pool of moonlight. Ghost wrenched free of the other hand and crept away, red tongue lolling from his mouth. The hooded man lifted his pale moon face, and Jon slashed at it without hesitation. The sword laid the intruder open to the bone, taking off half his nose and opening a gash cheek to cheek under those eyes, eyes, eyes like blue stars burning. Jon knew that face. Othor, he thought, reeling back. Gods, he's dead, he's dead, I saw him dead. He felt something scrabble at his ankle. Black fingers clawed at his calf. The arm was crawling up his leg, ripping at wool and flesh. Shouting with revulsion, Jon pried the fingers off his leg with the point of his sword and flipped the thing away. It lay writhing, fingers opening and closing. The corpse lurched forward. There was no blood. One-armed, face cut near in half, it seemed to feel nothing. Jon held the longsword before him. â€Å"Stay away!† he commanded, his voice gone shrill. â€Å"Corn,† screamed the raven, â€Å"corn, corn.† The severed arm was wriggling out of its torn sleeve, a pale snake with a black five-fingered head. Ghost pounced and got it between his teeth. Finger bones crunched. Jon hacked at the corpse's neck, felt the steel bite deep and hard. Dead Othor slammed into him, knocking him off his feet. Jon's breath went out of him as the fallen table caught him between his shoulder blades. The sword, where was the sword? He'd lost the damned sword! When he opened his mouth to scream, the wight jammed its black corpse fingers into Jon's mouth. Gagging, he tried to shove it off, but the dead man was too heavy. Its hand forced itself farther down his throat, icy cold, choking him. Its face was against his own, filling the world. Frost covered its eyes, sparkling blue. Jon raked cold flesh with his nails and kicked at the thing's legs. He tried to bite, tried to punch, tried to breathe . . . And suddenly the corpse's weight was gone, its fingers ripped from his throat. It was all Jon could do to roll over, retching and shaking. Ghost had it again. He watched as the direwolf buried his teeth in the wight's gut and began to rip and tear. He watched, only half conscious, for a long moment before he finally remembered to look for his sword . . . . . . and saw Lord Mormont, naked and groggy from sleep, standing in the doorway with an oil lamp in hand. Gnawed and fingerless, the arm thrashed on the floor, wriggling toward him. Jon tried to shout, but his voice was gone. Staggering to his feet, he kicked the arm away and snatched the lamp from the Old Bear's fingers. The flame flickered and almost died. â€Å"Burn!† the raven cawed. â€Å"Burn, burn, burn!† Spinning, Jon saw the drapes he'd ripped from the window. He flung the lamp into the puddled cloth with both hands. Metal crunched, glass shattered, oil spewed, and the hangings went up in a great whoosh of flame. The heat of it on his face was sweeter than any kiss Jon had ever known. â€Å"Ghost!† he shouted. The direwolf wrenched free and came to him as the wight struggled to rise, dark snakes spilling from the great wound in its belly. Jon plunged his hand into the flames, grabbed a fistful of the burning drapes, and whipped them at the dead man. Let it burn, he prayed as the cloth smothered the corpse, gods, please, please, let it burn.

Score Card Essay

Score Card Essay Score Card Essay PERSONAL APPLICATION PORTFOLIO Eyasu Theodros 1. Provide a brief introductory statement highlighting your strength and supporting your application for this overseas assignment First of all I would like to express my gratitude for the consideration. I welcome the opportunity to be considered for the lead recruiting and training consultant role at our newly created office in United Arab Emirates. I have more than 10 years of experience in the recruitment and development of technical talent; Five (5) years of experience have been obtained in my current role. I have had direct responsibility for recruiting technical talent and assessing their need for additional training and certifications. Although I have not travelled internationally for business purpose , I traveled quite a lot to Africa, Asia and Europe. My positions had taken me to many cities throughout the U.S. where I had a chance to work with different kind of people with different social,economical and cultural background. I had a privilege to work with department heads to ensure that appropriate training and certification classes are arranged to meet specified employee and corporate goals. My current job responsibility requires me to overseas our upward mobility and career development programs. Specifically I am responsible to make sure that are clearly defined and communicated to all employees, and regularly evaluated to ensure that they are applicable to company goals as well as to the industry at large. I understand Every international venture it has its own benefits and challenges. Working with people from different backgrounds is not always straightforward It can be the source of the challenge and opportunity. Being lead recruiting and training consultant in the newly created office in United Arab Emirates requires more than professional skills and experience it will require a unique set of personal, cross cultural and intercultural communication skills. I believe that I have the personality and the professional dimensions required to serve successfully as an expatriate in United Arab Emirates. 2. Discuss the likely implications of the key similarities and differences in cultural values and how they will either serve as relative strength for you or as areas upon which you are likely to need support. (Use Hofstede, Project GLOBE, and other research to help with the challenges and ideas for overcoming them). Based on my research on the I have learned the following cultural values : * United Arab Emirates is an Arab country in the Southeast of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf. * Islam is the official religion and Arabic is the official language. * UAE oil reserves are ranked as the world’s seventh-largest and is one of the most developed economies in Western Asia. * Many human rights issues for non-citizens exist with companies’ and employers’ non-compliance with labor laws. * The culture mainly revolves around the religion of Islam and traditional Arab and Bedouin culture * Women are not highly regarded in the UAE * Highly disciplined society * Believe in team spirit and support each other It is obvious there is a clear difference in cultural values. The most notable difference in cultural value is women right. In The U.S. women not only expect to be a part of the workforce but they also look forward to serving in leading roles and at very high levels. Islam shaped the overall beliefs and shared value system in United Arab Emirates,as a result of that women do not hold high esteem. Generally speaking the United Arab Emirates society is a musclinely oriented society. Furthermore, a cultural study of United Arab Emirates Hofstede, revealed that the society score very high on power distance, Masculinity, collectivist and uncertainty avoidance categories . Hofstede’s

How Can the Work Setting Encourage Children and Young Peoples Positive Behaviour Essays

How Can the Work Setting Encourage Children and Young Peoples Positive Behaviour Essays How Can the Work Setting Encourage Children and Young Peoples Positive Behaviour Paper How Can the Work Setting Encourage Children and Young Peoples Positive Behaviour Paper There are many ways in which the work setting can encourage childrens and you peoples positive behavior, they are as follows: 1. Developing positive relationships All children will crave attention from an early age, as babies we coo and smile. This is why its important to build positive relationships from an early age or as soon as possible the reason for this is children need support and attention from us, if the relationships are not good the children may feel they can not get positive attention easily so are more likely to show unwanted behaviour to get negative attention. Taking time to talk and have fun with children is therefore important. 2. Listening to children and valuing their opinion It is important for children to feel they can express their feelings and opinions, sometimes children may need help in doing this. If they feel they cant express them they may become frustrated and show unwanted behavior. This is why its important to listen to what the children want to do, the reason why they are showing unwanted behavior and ideas is because these are all ways of helping children to develop confidence. 3. Providing a challenging and stimulating environment Children and young people enjoy having fun and learning provided that the environment is a stimulating one. With this in mind we have to think about what type of equipment, resources and layout is on offer. Children may have the same toys at home so it is worth having a wide variety to choose from and rotate them to provide the children with a challenge. 4. Planning experiences well Boredom is often a key factor in unwanted behavior Children and young people will often find things to do that may not always be desirable to entertain themselves if nothing is in place to keep them busy or the ctivities that are in place are too easy or of no interest to the child. Planning experiences are linked to understanding childrens development and also the individual needs and interests of the child. 5. Giving children choices It is important to give children choices, this allows them to learn about having some responsibility. As it can be very frustrating being a child as you dont have much control over where you go and who you may see. Given children choices also means that they will be less frustrated which may prevent unwanted behaviour. The choices given need to be appropriate for the age and stage of development of the child and must also be genuine. For example saying to a child do you want to go outside if there isnt any choice. 6. Meeting the individual needs of a child For children to show positive behavior, their basic needs need to be met. These need include, food, love attention, stimulation and sufficient sleep. There is a link between childrens behaviour, language skills and their stage of development. 7. Being inclusive Each child is unique and some may need more attention then others at some point, they may need extra support or reminding more often. As every child is an individual and each child should feel valued and cared for in each practice, the heart of every practice should be inclusive. When settings show an inclusive practice children tend to show positive behaviour. 8. Acting as role models Children can pick up on adults behaviour and this is one way where they can learn positive behaviour and also unwanted behaviour such as swearing this is why any adult working with children must act as a good role model and show positive behaviour at all times such as kindness, taking turns and gentleness. 9 Setting clear boundaries for children. Each child needs boundaries. They wont know them straight away and will take a while to fully understand what is expected of them. This is why it is important for adults to set fair boundaries that are appropriate for the childs age and explain to the child why they are in place e. g we walk not run to prevent accidents. 10. Reinforcing positive behavior All children need encouragement. Praise, encouragement and rewards are great ways of showing positive behaviour. For this to be most effective, it is important that children understand why praise is given. And that the praise is given when the child has done something right like sharing. 11. Encourage children to resolve conflict When children get to a certain age they begin to play cooperatively which means by the age of about four alot of children start to resolve conflict on their own. As adults we still need to show children how to do this in a positive way. As children grow older adults need to step back and see if children can resolve conflicts on their own. It is also important to give praise when this is done, if the children are still finding it difficult, it may be useful to act as a guide rather then tell them exactly what to do. 12. Looking for reasons for inappropriate behavior If children are happy they will generally show positive behaviour unless they are tired, poorly or hungry. When children start showing unwanted behaviour it is important to figure out why they are behaving in that way. This may mean talking to parents along with observing the child closely. Event recordings can be useful when monitoring a childs behaviour as you can usually tell how long a child has been showing a certain type of behaviour and also when and why. 13. Following your behavior policy All settings that follow the EYFS should have a behavior policy in place. This policy should set out how a setting intends to manage unwanted behavior, it should also show that practitioners encourage positive behavior. 14. Following plans for individual behavior Some children may need additional support to learn positive behavior. for example if they have a learning difficulty. To support these children a plan should be drawn up and show what strategies the adult needs for certain situations. The parents should be involved in then plans so there is consistency.

The Expert Guide to the Columbia Supplement

The Expert Guide to the Columbia Supplement SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Only 6% of applicants are admitted to Columbia every year. Do you want to be one of them? If so, you’ll need to write amazing Columbia essays as part of your application. In this article, we’ll outline the different types of essays you need to write for your Columbia Supplement and teach you how to write an essay that will help you stand out from the thousands of other applicants. What Does the Columbia Supplement Include? Like many major colleges and universities, Columbia University requires its applicants to submit essays as part of their application for admission. Columbia requires that you write a total of three essays and answer five short answer questions. You’ll need to answer a prompt provided by the Common Application or Coalition Application, depending on which one you use to submit your Columbia application through. You’ll also need to respond to two Columbia-specific short essay questions. The Columbia essay prompts offer you plenty of opportunities to show off your qualifications as an applicant and wow the admissions committee. The first, and longest, essay that you’ll write for Columbia will be based on one of the essay prompts provided by the Common App or the Coalition App, depending on which application you use to apply to Columbia. If you want to learn how to write a great essay for the Common App or Coalition App, check out our dedicated blog posts on each topic. Columbia Essays, Analyzed In this section, we’ll be looking at both of the Columbia supplemental essays in depth. Remember, every applicant must answer both essay prompts, so you don’t get to choose which essay you would like to write. You’ll need to answer each essay prompt strongly if you want to be admitted to Columbia. Let’s take a look at each of the two Columbia supplement questions and see how to write something meaningful for each. Columbia Essay Prompt #1 Please tell us what you value most about Columbia and why. (300 words or fewer) This prompt is deceptively simple. While the question is brief, you should take care to answer it with specific information about Columbia and why it is the best university for you. The admissions committee is interested in learning about your curiosity inside and outside of the classroom, so don’t feel like you have to limit your expressed interest in Columbia to its academic resources. For instance- how are you planning to utilize Columbia’s location? That being said, remember that the most important thing here is to be specific. Although the fact that Columbia is in NYC can certainly be a draw, do not use "city life" as your topic- it’s too broad and will sound insincere. A better answer would be to talk about the partnerships Columbia has with the many companies that are in New York City or to discuss how certain Columbia classes integrate with the world-class museums nearby. The committee is looking for students who will take advantage of all that Columbia has to offer them as an institution- so be honest in your response, and do some research. Instead of simply saying that Columbia has great academics, go into detail about a professor you admire or a class you are excited to take. Maybe there is an internship or specific program that you only have access to through Columbia. Being specific is more powerful than speaking in generalized platitudes. Don’t feel limited to your potential major. You don’t have to write solely about your predicted course of study. In fact, this prompt is an opportunity to diversify your academic portfolio, so to speak, and show the committee that you’re curious and open to new ideas. Columbia Essay Prompt #2 The third essay that you’ll write for Columbia will depend on the college that you’re applying to. Columbia’s application has different prompts for Columbia College and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering And Applied Sciences. While the prompts are basically the same, the strategies will differ a bit based on the school to which you’re applying. Columbia houses different fields of study under each of the colleges. If you’re interested in the Arts, Life Earth Sciences and Humanities, you’ll apply to Columbia College. If you’re interested in Engineering, you’ll apply to the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The colleges are not the same- each reviews its applicants separately and you’ll take different curriculum depending on the school that you’re accepted to. While you can have the freedom to talk about different academic interests in this prompt, you should make sure that you’re talking about experiences that are at related to the school you’re applying to. Don’t wax on about how you want to write like Keats if you’re applying to the engineering school. Columbia College Prompt If you are applying to Columbia College, tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the field or fields of study that you noted in the Member Questions section. If you are currently undecided, please write about any field or fields in which you may have an interest at this time. (300 words or fewer) Although this essay gives you a chance show yourself as a well-rounded person who has a variety of different interests and talents, make sure that you are describing a real, true experience from your life that inspired you to pursue your projected major in college. If you have absolutely no clue what you’re going to major in, it’s still crucial to describe an experience that inspired you to care about and study something. It can be simple, but it has to be genuine. Columbia’s committee is more likely to take notice of a real interest in something you actually care about than an exaggerated account of your experience serving soup at a shelter that one time with your school’s National Honors Society chapter. Essays are a great opportunity to present yourself as a well-rounded person. Don’t repeat information that the committee can find elsewhere on your application. Take the time to share fun, personal details about yourself. Be specific- the committee wants to get a real picture of you as a person. Don’t just say that you love to play video games, say exactly which video games you love and why. This essay is also a great time to show off your community- the friends, family, teammates, etc. who make up your current life. Since the prompt asks about personal experiences, you can talk about the deep bonds you have and how they have affected you. What the admissions committee mainly wants to see is that you’re an intellectually curious student. Whatever your passion is, elaborate on how it has become an intellectual pursuit. For instance, if you’re interested in studying Classics, you can talk about how you’ve researched the origins of different myths. If you care about studying journalism, talk about why you’re so passionate about an impartial press. Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science Prompt If you are applying to The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the field or fields of study that you noted in the Member Questions section. (300 words or fewer) This Columbia essay prompt is exactly the same as the prompt for Columbia College, with one big caveat: there’s no room for being undecided here. If you’re applying to The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, you’ll need to select a field or fields of study. Because you’re required to select your potential field of study, your essay needs to be related to that selection. You need to relate your course of study to your personal interests, not what you think the admissions committee wants to hear. Don’t say that you want to engineer an issue the world’s clean drinking water shortage just because you think it sounds good to the people reading your essay. That’s not to say you can’t talk about providing more people clean drinking water- you just have to have a personal connection to issue. Want to get into Columbia or your personal top choice college? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Columbia Short Answer Questions Analyzed In 150 words or fewer, please list a few words or phrases that describe your ideal college community. This question asks you to describe what you are looking for from your college community. The word "community" is key here- you’re not just talking about academic experience. You should also mention what you want from your peers and out-of-class life, too. The other key to this prompt is brevity- you need to cover a lot of ground in less than 150 words. You don’t want to waste words here. You’ll need to get your point across quickly and clearly. You should describe a community that reflects Columbia’s values: a place where academic curiosity and rigor are prioritized. That being said, you don’t want to sound trite or like you’re over exaggerating. Don’t say that you want to participate in endless literary salons just to sound smart. Instead, say things that actually ring true: e.g., you want a community where people are excited to create art or talk about what they’re learning in class. Don’t try to cover your entire college experience in less than 150 words. It’s better to paint a vivid picture of a small portion of your ideal college life than a blurry one of your entire experience. For the four list questions that follow, we ask that you list each individual response using commas or semicolons; the items do not have to be numbered or in any specific order. No narrative or explanatory text is needed. It is not necessary to italicize or underline titles of books or other publications. Author names may be included, but are not required. You do not need to fill the entire space or use the maximum number of words; there is no minimum word count in this section, so please respond to the extent that you feel is appropriate. Please list the following (150 words or fewer for each question): the titles of the required readings from courses during the school year or summer that you enjoyed most in the past year; the titles of books read for pleasure that you enjoyed most in the past year; the titles of print or electronic publications you read regularly; and the titles of the films, concerts, shows, exhibits, lectures and other entertainments you enjoyed most in the past year. This question can be intimidating! It’s normal to be nervous to share what you’re reading or enjoying outside of class. That being said, you should opt for honesty here, rather than impressiveness. Don’t feel like you need to say that enjoyed reading Hind Swaraj if you actually vastly preferred your English class’ foray into Tolkien. Be truthful and real. This question is also a great opportunity to share different interests that you have. If you love Miyazaki films, but also love documentaries about climate change, feel free to share! The more information you give, the more fleshed out you’ll be as a person. It’s important to note the directions here: don’t justify your responses or give any commentary. Simply list the works you’ve enjoyed and leave it at that. You can choose to list the works in a number of ways: alphabetically, chronologically, or in order of interest. I’d suggest going chronologically or in order of interest, but there’s not a right or wrong way to go here. How to Write a Great Columbia Essay: 3 Key Tips Regardless of which Columbia essay prompt you’re responding to, you should keep in mind the following tips for how to write a great Columbia essay. #1: Use Your Own Voice The point of a college essay is for the admissions committee to have the chance to get to know you beyond your test scores, grades, and honors. Your admissions essays are your opportunity to make yourself come alive for the essay readers and to present yourself as a fully fleshed out person. You should, then, make sure that the person you’re presenting in your college essays is yourself. Don’t try to emulate what you think the committee wants to hear or try to act like someone you’re not. If you lie or exaggerate, your essay will come across as insincere, which will diminish its effectiveness. Stick to telling real stories about the person you really are, not who you think Columbia wants you to be. #2: Avoid Cliches and Overused Phrases When writing your Columbia essays, try to avoid using cliches or overused quotes or phrases. These include quotations that have been quoted to death and phrases or idioms that are overused in daily life. The college admissions committee has probably seen numerous essays that state, â€Å"Be the change you want to see in the world.† Strive for originality. Similarly, avoid using cliches, which take away from the strength and sincerity of your work. Columbia’s admissions committee will see hundreds, if not thousands, of essays that talk about how much the applicant loves New York City. Saying that you want to study amongst the bright lights of the Big Apple is trite and overdone. If you are excited about going to school in New York City, make sure that you have a really specific reason that also ties to Columbia’s opportunities. #3: Check Your Work It should almost go without saying, but you want to make sure your Columbia essays are the strongest example of your work possible. Before you turn in your Columbia application, make sure to edit and proofread your essays. Your work should be free of spelling and grammar errors. Make sure to run your essays through a spelling and grammar check before you submit. It’s a good idea to have someone else read your Columbia essays, too. You can seek a second opinion on your work from a parent, teacher, or friend. Ask them whether your work represents you as a student and person. Have them check and make sure you haven’t missed any small writing errors. Having a second opinion will help your work be the best it possibly can be. Recap: Writing the Columbia Supplemental Essays Your Columbia essays cover a lot of ground! You'll have the opportunity to share why you want to attend Columbia, as well as about your academic interests and potential pursuits. You'll also get to talk about Columbia's community and the art and literature that interests you. Be honest and sincere in your Columbia essays. Make sure your essays are a great representation of who you are as a person, not just a What’s Next? Wondering how to excel on the "Why Columbia" essay?We break down this essay prompt and specific examples on our blog. You might be wondering what kind of test scores you need to get into Columbia and other similar schools. We tell you what good scores are for Ivy League schools plus MIT, Stanford, and UChicago here. Looking for a detailed guide on how to be one of the few students accepted to Ivy League level schools? Read PrepScholar co-founder Allen Cheng's reflections on his college application and tips for how you can get into Harvard and other Ivy League-level schools. Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now:

Statistical Tool for Financial Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Statistical Tool for Financial - Research Paper Example However IPOs problems affect not simply corporations but also start-up companies facing plenty of obstacles, including the cost of Compliance with Sarbanes Oxley. Modern corporate finance however unanimously points to a formidable hurdle: Portfolio executives. Considering that the timing of an IPO will be driven by company growth and market conditions, we have based our assumptions for an efficient portfolio strategy on improving capital markets with IPOs hoping to maximise their wealth. With a rapid growth of issuers' activity on the cable markets, expected to continue in the next few years, we have used Time Warner Cable unit for this case study. If Section 1 illustrates and develops the implications of a newly created portfolio detailing executive level strategic financial decisions for the following year, Section 2 is more focused on the concept of decision planning as well as on its effects in case of poor corporate governance decisions. We have based the risk-return characteris tics of our rolling portfolio investment strategy on stocks bought and held for up to one year. Although the average long-run portfolio return is low and in line with market reactions to security offer announcements, this IPO stocks appear as long-shots, securing a buy-and-hold returns of 1,000 percent. In line with average NASDAQ market capitalization our IPO firm exhibits relatively high stock turnover and low leverage, contributing to lower systematic risk exposures. To analyse the implications of these strategic decisions, we have based our assessment on globally acknowledged peer-reviewed research and theory. Our conclusions are finally presented in Section 3. 1. Newly created portfolio strategy and executive-level strategic financial decision making The acknowledgement that flipping is useful in helping to create liquidity may convince an executive team that focusing resources almost exclusively on a few late-stage assets is a wise move. Measuring value and risk at portfolio level can contribute to appropriately capture the portfolio strategic risk and induce executives dissatisfied with the current status quo to analyse if they intend to leave corporate strategic risk management and diversification completely to shareholders and markets or how an independent growth path can be possible in their high-risk business. To analyse these issues it is important to develop a structured approach that helps senior executives better understand the impact of portfolio decisions on risk and value of the corporate or therapy area level portfolios. Therefore we have based our approach on assessing a strategy of purchasing and holding successive IPO stocks receives an expected return commensurable with risk. Usually this can be achieved by crea ting different market scenarios reflecting uncertainty around the product profile and resulting in a Risk and Value plot at the portfolio level. In consideration of the above, we have assessed this portfolio by using the Markowitz two assets portfolio model. Clearly when managing a very active investment portfolio against a well-defined benchmark, the goal of the manager should be to generate a return that exceeds that of the benchmark while minimizing the portfolio's return volatility relative to the benchmark. Assuming a portfolio of assets

Alcoholism and Its Effects to the Community of Jersey City Term Paper

Alcoholism and Its Effects to the Community of Jersey City - Term Paper Example There is also the study of the various societal issues that affect the city. One of the issues is alcoholism and its effect on the population of the city spreads wide. It is important to review these issues and the various health issues that accompany it in both a human and the society as a whole. The demographic study of the area shows that in the 2010 census, the country had around 246,594 people in total. Of this vast population, people under the age of 18 years were 23.5%. The number of people from the population that was above the age of 65 was 13.5%. Scrutinizing the gender aspect of the population, there was some form of balance as 51.3% of the people were females. The city has a vast population of white people as compared to black people despite its proximity to the suburbs of New York that have very many black people. In New Jersey, 69.1% of the population comprised of white people while 13.7% represented the black community. The rest of the population remaining to make up 1 00% comprised people of mixed Races and backgrounds (Jacobs, 2012). Other statistics on the city tend to show the various issues involved with the drinking population of the city. Alcoholism has been an issue on the rise and the police have grown more vigilant in an effort to curb this issue. The national bureau of statistics brought out the Driving under the Influence statistics. Drunk driving in the United City is a very widespread felony and the reduction of this is very influential. The statistics showed that earlier years and specifically in the year 1995, 689 cases of drunken driving reports in New Jersey came in. By the year 1999, the cases had gone down as 653 cases of drunk driving were reported. However, of the most recent statistics from the 2009, there were 721 cases of driving under the influence. That was a very sharp increase as compared to initial years (Jacobs, 2012). The Alcoholic Anonymous is one of the services that have had its services in New Jersey of the few past years. This is because of the noted increase in alcoholism in the city. 77% of the alcoholics in Jersey City do not actually recognize the service and just go on with their daily activities. However, for the 23% of the population that pays attention to the recent trends in the system, they have benefited greatly through training and there have been some extra services of the past three years to help reduce the addiction of some of the members. The number of people migrating out of the city in the past 3 years has increased steadily. Interviews with some of these people clearly show that the 15% of the reason behind this is alcoholism. The people state that it is hard for them to bring up their children in the neighborhoods as they feel that they will grow to be regular drinkers as has been the case of many of the people living there without the ability to control oneself (Cindy, 2008). There was also the review of the number of pubs in the city and this goes well to support the issues brought out by the emigrants. Studies show that over the last three years, the number of pubs in Jersey City has increased at a rate of around 27%. The reason as to why this has happened is the fact that the tax rate on alcoholic beverages has gone down from the last budget. This has made entrepreneurs major in venturing into the alcoholic business that seems profitable by a very large margin. Jersey City is known to be one that is easily influenced by changes around and the amount of peer