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Smoke From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Smoke (disambiguation). Smoke from a bee smoker, used inbeekeeping the smoke of burning tungsten in alightbulb Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases[l] emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass.It is commonly an unwanted by- product of fires (including stoves, candles, oil lamps, and fireplaces), but may also be used for pest control (fumigation), communication (smoke signals), defensive and ffensive capabilities in the military (smoke-screen), cooking (smoked salmon), or smoking (tobacco, cannabis, etc. ). Smoke is used in rituals, when incense, sage, or resin is burned to produce a smell for spiritual purposes. Smoke is sometimes used as a flavoring agent, and preservative for various foodstuffs.Smoke is also a component of internal combustion engine exhaust gas, particularly diesel exhaust. Smoke inhalation is the primary cause of death in victims of indoor fires. The smoke kills by a combination of thermal damage, poisoning andpulmonary irritation caused y carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and other combustion products. Smoke particles are an aerosol (or mist) of solid particles and liquid droplets that are close to the ideal range of sizes for Mie scattering of visible light.This effect has been likened to three-dimensional textured privacy glass[citation needed] † a smoke cloud does not obstruct an image, but thoroughly scrambles it. Contents [hide] 1 Chemical composition 1. 1 Visible and invisible particles of combustion 2 Dangers of smoke 2. 1 Smoke corrosion 3 Secondhand smoke inhalation 4 Measurement of smoke 5 Medicinal smoke 6 See also 7 References External links Chemical composition[edit] This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. April 2011) The composition of smoke depends on the nature of the burn at a high temperature and with small amount of smoke produced; the particles are mostly composed of ash, or with large temperature differences, of condensed aerosol of water. High temperature also leads to production of nitrogen oxides. Sulfur content yields sulfur dioxide, or in case of incomplete combustion, hydrogen sulfide. Carbon and hydrogen are almost completely oxidized to carbon dioxide and water. Fires burning with lack of oxygen produce a significantly wider palette of compounds, many of them toxic.Partial oxidation of carbon produces carbon monoxide, nitrogen- containing materials can yield hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, and nitrogen oxides. Hydrogen gas can be produced instead of water. Content of halogens such as chlorine (e. g. in polyvinyl chloride or brominated flame retardants) may lead to production of e. g. hydrogen chloride, phosgene,dioxin, and chloromethane, bromomethane and other halocarbons. Hydrogen fluoride can e formed from fluorocarbons, whether fluoropolymers subjected to fire or halocarbon fire suppression agents. 2] Phosphorus and antimony oxides and their reaction products can be formed from some fire retardant additives, increasing smoke toxicity and corrosivity. Pyrolysis of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), e. g. from burning older transformer oil, and to lower degree also of other chlorine-containing materials, can produce a potent carcinogen, and other polychlorinated dibenzodioxins. Pyrolysis of fluoropolymers, e. g. teflon, in presence of oxygen yields carbonyl fluoride (which hydrolyzes readily to HF and C02); ther compounds may be formed as well, e. g. arbon tetrafluoride, hexafluoropropylene, and highly toxic perfluoroisobutene Emission of soot from a large dieseltruck, without particle filters. Pyrolysis of burning material, especially incomplete combustion or smoldering without adequate oxygen supply, also results in production of a large amount of hydrocarbons, both aliphatic (methane, ethane, ethylene, acetylene) and aromatic (benzene and its derivates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; e. g. benzo[a]pyrene, studied as a carcinogen, or retene), terpenes. Heterocyclic compounds may be also present.Heavier hydrocarbons may condense as tar; smoke with significant tar content is yellow to brown. Presence of such smoke, soot, and/or brown oily deposits during a fire indicates a possible hazardous situation, as the atmosphere may be saturated with combustible pyrolysis products with concentration above the upper flammability limit, and sudden inrush of air can cause flashover or backdraft. Presence of sulfur can lead to formation of e. g. hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, sulfur dioxide, carbon disulfide, and thiols; especially thiols tend to get adsorbed on surfaces and produce a ingering odor even long after the fire.Partial oxidation of the released hydrocarbons yields in a wide palette of other compound s: aldehydes (e. g. formaldehyde, acrolein, and furfural), ketones, alcohols (often aromatic, e. g. phenol, guaiacol, syringol, catechol, and cresols), carboxylic acids (formic acid, acetic acid, etc. ). The visible particulate matter in such smokes is most commonly composed of carbon (soot). Other particulates may be composed of drops of condensed tar, or solid particles of ash. The presence of metals in the fuel yields e. g. ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, or sodium chloride.Inorganic salts present on the surface of the soot particles may make themhydrophilic. Many organic compounds, typically the aromatic hydrocarbons, may be also adsorbed on the surface of the solid particles. Metal oxides can be present when metal-containing fuels are burned, e. g. solid rocket fuels containing aluminium. Depleted uranium projectiles after impacting the target ignite, producing particles of uranium oxides. Magnetic particles, spherules of magnetite-like ferrous ferric oxide, are present in coal smoke; their increase in deposits after 1860 marks the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. ] (Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles can be also produced in the smoke from meteorites burning in the atmosphere. ) [5] Magnetic remanence, recorded in the iron oxide particles, indicates the strength of Earth's magnetic field when they were cooled beyond their Curie temperature; this can be used to distinguish magnetic particles of terrestrial and meteoric origin. [6] Fly ash is composed mainly of silicaand calcium oxide. Cenospheres are present in smoke from liquid hydrocarbon fuels. Minute metal particles produced by abrasion can be present in engine smokes.Amorphous silica particles are present n smokes from burning silicones; small proportion of silicon nitride particles can be formed in fires with insufficient oxygen. The silica particles have about 10 nm size, clumped to 70-100 nm aggregates and further agglomerated to chains. [3] Radioactive particles may be present due to tra ces of uranium, thorium, or other radionuclides in the fuel; hot particles can be present in case of fires during nuclear accidents (e. g. Chernobyl disaster) or nuclear war. Smoke particulates have three modes of particle size distribution: nuclei mode, with geometric mean radius between 2. 20 nm, likely forming by condensation of carbon moieties. accumulation mode, ranging between 75-250 nm and formed by coagulation of nuclei mode particles coarse mode, with particles in micrometer range Most of the smoke material is primarily in coarse particles. Those undergo rapid dry precipitation, and the smoke damage in more distant areas outside of the room where the fire occurs is therefore primarily mediated by the smaller particles. [7] Aerosol of particles beyond visible size is an early indicator of materials in a preignition stage of a fire. 3] Burning of hydrogen-rich fuel produces water; this esults in smoke containing droplets of water vapor. In absence of other color sources (nitr ogen oxides, particulates†¦ ), such smoke is white and cloud-like. Smoke emissions may contain characteristic trace elements. Vanadium is present in emissions from oil fired power plants and refineries; oil plants also emit some nickel. Coal combustionproduces emissions containing aluminium, arsenic, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, mercury, sel enium, and uranium. Traces of vanadium in high-temperature combustion products form droplets of molten vanadates.These attack the passivation layers on metals and ause high temperature corrosion, which is a concern especially for internal combustion engines. Molten sulfate and lead particulates also have such effect. Some components of smoke are characteristic of the combustion source. Guaiacol and its derivatives are products of pyrolysis of lignin and are characteristic of wood smoke; other markers aresyringol and derivates, and of forest fires. Levoglucosan is a pyrolysis product of cellulose. Hardwood vssoftwood smokes differ in the ratio of guaiacols/syringols.Markers for vehicle exhaust include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, hopanes, steranes, and specific nitroarenes (e. . I-nitropyrene). The ratio of hopanes and steranes to elemental carbon can be used to distinguish between emissions of gasoline and diesel engines. [8] Many compounds can be associated with particulates; whether by being adsorbed on their surfaces, or by being dissolved in liquid droplets. Hydrogen chloride is well absorbed in the soot particles. [7] Inert particulate matter can be disturbed and entrained into the smoke. Of particular concern are particles of asbestos.Deposited hot particles of radioactive fallout and bioaccumulated radioisotopes can be reintroduced into the atmosphere y wildfires and forest fires; this is a concern in e. g. the Zone of alienationcontaining contaminants from the Chernobyl disaster. Polymers are a significant source of smoke. Aromatic side groups, e. g. in polystyrene, enhance generation of smoke. Aromati c groups integrated in the polymer backbone produce less smoke, likely due to significant charring. Aliphatic polymers tend to generate the least smoke, and are non-self-extinguishing.However presence of additives can significantly increase smoke formation. phosphorus-based and halogen-based flame retardants decrease production of smoke. Higher degree of cross-linking between the polymer chains has such effect too. [9] Visible and invisible particles of combustion[edit] Smoke from a wildfire Depending on particle size, smoke can be visible or invisible to the naked eye. This is best illustrated when toasting bread in a toaster. As the bread heats up, the products of combustion increase in size. The particles produced initially are invisible but become visible if the toast is burned or cooled rapidly.Smoke from a typical house fire contains hundreds of different chemicals and fumes. As a result, the damage aused by the smoke can often exceed that caused by the actual heat of the fire . In addition to the physical damage caused by the smoke of a fire – which manifests itself in the form of stains – is the often even harder to eliminate problem of a smoky odor. Just as there are contractors that specialize in rebuilding/repairing homes that have been damaged by fire and smoke, fabric restoration companies specialize in restoring fabrics that have been damaged in a fire.Dangers of smoke[edit] Smoke from oxygen-deprived fires contains a significant concentration of compounds that are flammable. A cloud of smoke, in contact with atmospheric oxygen, therefore has the potential of being ignited – either by another open flame in the area, or by its own temperature. This leads to effects like backdraft and flashover. Smoke inhalation is also a danger of smoke that can cause serious injury and death. Many compounds of smoke from fires are highly toxic and/or irritating. The most dangerous is carbon monoxide leading to carbon monoxide poisoning, someti mes with the additive effects ofhydrogen cyanide and phosgene.Smoke inhalation can therefore quickly lead to incapacitation and loss of consciousness. Sulfur oxides, hydrogen chloride nd hydrogen fluoride in contact with moisture and materials. When asleep the nose does not sense smoke nor does the brain, but the body will wake up if the lungs become enveloped in smoke and the brain will be stimulated and the person will be awoken. This does not work if the person is incapacitated or under the influence of Drugs and/or alcohol Cigarette smoke is a major modifiable risk factor for lung disease, heart disease, and many cancers.Reduced visibility due to wildfire smoke in Sheremetyevo airport (Moscow, Russia) 7 August 2010. Smoke can obscure visibility, impeding occupant exiting from fire areas. In fact, the poor visibility due to the smoke that was in the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire in Worcester, Massachusetts was the exact reason why the trapped rescue firefighters couldn't evacuate the building in time. Because of the striking similarity that each floor shared, the dense smoke caused the firefighters to become disoriented. 10] Smoke corrosion[edit] Smoke contains a wide variety of chemicals, many of them aggressive in nature. Examples are hydrochloric acid and hydrobromic acid, produced fromhalogen- containing plastics and fire retardants, hydrofluoric acid released y pyrolysis of fluorocarbon fire suppression agents, sulfuric acid from burning of sulfur-containing materials, nitric acid from high-temperature fires where nitrous oxide gets formed, phosphoric acid and antimonycompounds from P and Sb based fire retardants, and many others.Such corrosion is not significant for structural materials, but delicate structures, especially microelectronics, are strongly affected. Corrosion of circuit board traces, penetration of aggressive chemicals through the casings of parts, and other effects can cause an immediate or gradual deterioration f parameters or even premature (and often delayed, as the corrosion can progress over long time) failure of equipment subjected to smoke.Many smoke components are also electrically conductive; deposition of a conductive layer on the circuits can cause crosstalks and other deteriorations of the operating parameters or even cause short circuits and total failures. Electrical contacts can be affected by corrosion of surfaces, and by deposition of soot and other conductive particles or nonconductive layers on or across the contacts. Deposited particles may adversely affect the erformance of optoelectronics by absorbing or scattering the light beams.Corrosivity of smoke produced by materials is characterized by the corrosion index (C'), defined as material loss rate (angstrom/minute) per amount of material gasified products (grams) per volume of air (m3). It is measured by exposing strips of metal to flow of combustion products in a test tunnel. Polymers containing halogen and hydrogen (polyvinyl chlori de, polyolefins with halogenated additives, etc. ) have the highest Cl as the corrosive acids are formed directly with water produced by the combustion, polymers containing halogen only (e. polytetrafluoroethylene) have lower Cl as the formation of acid is limited to reactions with airborne humidity, and halogen-free materials (polyolefins, wood) have the lowest Cl. [7] However, some halogen-free materials can also release significant amount of corrosive products. [11] Smoke damage to electronic equipment can be significantly more extensive than the fire itself. Cable fires are of special concern; low smoke zero halogen materials are any substance or structure, the chemicals contained in it are transferred to it.The corrosive properties of the chemicals cause the substance or structure to decompose t a rapid rate. In some instances the chemicals are absorbed into the substance or structure that it comes into contact with, i. e. clothing, unsealed surfaces, potable water piping, wood , etc. , which is why in most cases dealing with a structure fire they are replaced. Secondhand smoke inhalation[edit] Secondhand smoke is the combination of both sidestream and mainstream smoke emissions. These emissions contain more than 50 carcinogenic chemicals.According to the Surgeon General's latest report on the subject, â€Å"Short exposures to secondhand smoke can cause blood platelets to become stickier, damage the lining f blood vessels, decrease coronary flow velocity reserves, and reduce heart variability, potentially increasing the risk of a heart attack† [12] The American Cancer Society lists â€Å"heart disease, lung infections, increased asthma attacks, middle ear infections, and low birth weight† as ramifications of smoker's emission [13] Measurement of smoke[edit] As early as the 1 5th Century Leonardo da Vinci commented at length on the difficulty of assessing smoke, and distinguished between black smoke (carbonized particles) and white ‘smok e' which is not a smoke at all but merely a suspension of harmless ater droplets. Smoke from heating appliances is commonly measured in one of the following ways: In-line capture. A smoke sample is simply sucked through a filter which is weighed before and after the test and the mass of smoke found. This is the simplest and probably the most accurate method, but can only be used where the smoke concentration is slight, as the filter can quickly become blocked. Filter/dilution tunnel.A smoke sample is drawn through a tube where it is diluted with air, the resulting smoke/air mixture is then pulled through a filter and weighed. This is the nternationally recognized method of measuring smoke from combustion. Electrostatic precipitation. The smoke is passed through an array of metal tubes which contain suspended wires. A (huge) electrical potential is applied across the tubes and wires so that the smoke particles become charged and are attracted to the sides of the tubes. This method ca n over-read by capturing harmless condensates, or under-read due to the insulating effect of the smoke. However, it is the necessary method for assessing volumes of smoke too great to be forced through a filter, i. . , from bituminous coal. [14] Ringelmann scale. A measure of smoke color. Invented by Professor Maximilian Ringelmann in Paris in 1888, it is essentially a card with squares of black, white and shades of gray which is held up and the comparative grayness of the smoke Judged. Highly dependent on light conditions and the skill of the observer it allocates a grayness number from O (white) to 5 (black) which has only a passing relationship to the actual quantity of smoke. Nonetheless, the simplicity of the Ringelmann scale means that it has been adopted as a standard in many countries. Optical scattering. A light beam is passed through the smoke.A light detector is situated at an angle to the light source, typically at 900, so that it receives only light reflected from passi ng particles. A measurement is made of the light received which will be lower as the concentration of smoke particles becomes higher. Optical obscuration. A light beam is passed through the smoke and a detector opposite light will be measured. Combined optical methods. There are various proprietary optical smoke measurement devices such as the ‘nephelometer' or the ‘aethalometer' which use several different optical methods, including more than one wavelength of ight, inside a single instrument and apply an algorithm to give a good estimate of smoke. Inference from carbon monoxide.Smoke is incompletely burned fuel, carbon monoxide is incompletely burned carbon, therefore it has long been assumed that measurement of CO in flue gas (a cheap, simple and very accurate procedure) will provide a good indication of the levels of smoke. Indeed, several Jurisdictions use CO measurement as the basis of smoke control. However it is far from clear how accurate the correspondence is. Medicinal smoke[edit] Throughout recorded history, humans have used the smoke of medicinal plants to cure illness. A sculpture from Persepolis shows Darius the Great (522-486 SC), the king of Persia, with twocensers in front of him for burning Peganum harmala and/ or sandalwood Santalum album, which was believed to protect the king from evil and disease. More than 300 plant species in 5 continents are used in smoke form for different diseases.As a method of drug administration, smoking is important as it is a simple, inexpensive, but very effective method of extracting particles containing active agents. More importantly, generating smoke reduces the particle size to a microscopic scale thereby increasing the absorption of its active chemical principles. 1 5] see alsocedit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Smoke.

Conan Doyle Essay

In the â€Å"The Blue Carbuncle† Sherlock Holmes solves the mystery of a stolen diamond. The criminal in this story is a man named James Ryder. After James Ryder had stolen â€Å"The Blue Carbuncle† he stuck it down a goose’s throat. The goose that had the diamond was distributed the Breckenridge Stall, then sold to a goose club at the Alpha Inn. Sherlock Holmes bumps into James Ryder outside the Breckenridge Stall. Sherlock Holmes makes the criminal confess to what he had done. Sherlock Holmes then lets him go free because he thinks that he will not commit any more crimes, because of how fearful he was. It was quite important for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to create a strange atmosphere because it adds to the tension. All three stories have strange and unusual atmospheres, but each story’s atmosphere is different. In â€Å"The Red Headed League†, Conan Doyle describes the area of Saxe-Coburg Square. He shows how unpleasant and muddled the area is. â€Å"It was a pokey, little, shabby-genteel place, where four lines of dingy two-storied brick houses looked out into a small railed-in enclosure, where a lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded laurel bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden and uncongenial atmosphere. † The words that are used here show the messiness and unpleasantness of the area. The words â€Å"pokey†, â€Å"little†, â€Å"shabby-genteel†, â€Å"dingy† and â€Å"smoke-laden† all give a pretty good idea that the area was quite chaotic. In â€Å"The Speckled Band† Conan Doyle created a thrilling and frightening atmosphere, as if it was a horror story. â€Å"The Speckled Band† was set at â€Å"Stoke Moran† in â€Å"Surrey†, which is where Julia Stoner was killed. At the beginning of the story when Helen Stoner is talking to Sherlock Holmes about her problems she describes how the night was when Julia was killed. â€Å"It was a wild night†, this shows that that night was unlike any ordinary night. â€Å"The wind was howling outside, and the rain was beating and splashing against the windows. † This describes a lot of the atmosphere; it shows that the weather was quite stormy. This also explains why Helen couldn’t sleep. â€Å"Suddenly, amidst all the hubbub of the gale, there burst forth the wild scream of a terrified woman. † Conan Doyle’s intended effect was to thrill the reader; Conan Doyle has achieved this by using the words â€Å"wild†, â€Å"howling† and â€Å"beating†. Here the writer’s effect was to try and scare or thrill the reader. Whereas in â€Å"The Blue Carbuncle† the atmosphere was a little different. â€Å"It was a bitter night†. Here, Conan Doyle is trying to show the reader that it is cold outside. He achieves this by describing the night as â€Å"bitter†. The reader will also know that it is cold because Holmes and Watson both put on their â€Å"ulsters† and â€Å"cravats†. â€Å"Outside, the stars were shining coldly in a cloudless sky†, here Conan Doyle is trying to show the reader that the area is very calm and peaceful, unlike in â€Å"The Red Headed League† where the area is busy and unpleasant. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used different ways to show that these stories take place in the 1880’s and 1890’s. Most of the time he mentions â€Å"carriages†, which were used in that time. Nowadays carriages are not used because they have been replaced by cars. In â€Å"The Red Headed League† when Sherlock Holmes is memorising all the shops at Saxe-Coburg Square he comes across a shop that makes carriages. â€Å"McFarlane’s carriage-building depot†. Here the writer intended to show the reader that this was a time where carriages were used as a form of transport. The effect on the reader is that the reader knows this story is set in the 1890’s. Conan Doyle also uses dates and newspapers to show that these stories are set in the 1880’s and 1890’s. In â€Å"The Speckled Band† and â€Å"The Red Headed league† Conan Doyle mentions the date, but he does not mention the date in â€Å"The Blue Carbuncle†. In â€Å"The Speckled Band†, right at the beginning of the story while Dr. Watson is narrating, he says â€Å"It was early in April, in the year ’83†; hear the writer is showing the reader that this story is taking place in the year 1883. In â€Å"The Red Headed League†, the note that Jabez Wilson shows to Sherlock Holmes had a date on it. The note said, â€Å"THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE IS DISSOLVED. October 9, 1890. † Also when Mr. Wilson is showing Sherlock Holmes the advertisement he mentions the date on the newspaper. â€Å"It is The Morning Chronicle of April 27, 1890. Just two months ago. † By saying that the newspaper was from two months ago, Conan Doyle is telling the reader that this story was set in 1890. Conan Doyle did not always use the same techniques, to show that each story was set in the 1880’s and 1890’s. Unlike â€Å"The Speckled Band† and â€Å"The Red Headed League†, in â€Å"The Blue Carbuncle† there are no dates to show that the story is set in the 1880’s and 1890’s. Conan Doyle uses different techniques to show that this story is also set in that time. In â€Å"The Blue Carbuncle† and â€Å"The Red Headed† Conan Doyle refers to gas-lit lamps, as gas lamps were used in the 1880’s and 1890’s. In â€Å"The Blue Carbuncle† when Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were jus about to leave the Breckenridge stall, Watson narrates â€Å"Turning round we saw a little rat-faced fellow standing in the centre of the circle of yellow light which was thrown by the swinging lamp. † He also says, â€Å"He sprang round, and I could see in the gas-light that every vestige of colour had been driven from his face. † Also in â€Å"The Red Headed League† Watson says, â€Å"We rattled through an endless labyrinth of gas-lit streets until we emerged into Farrington Street. † These references to gas lamps show that the stories were set in the 1880’s and 1890’s. Conan Doyle also referred to matches in â€Å"The Speckled Band†. Even though we use matches nowadays, we do not use them for the same purposes as in the 1880’s and 1890’s. In those times they were used to see in the dark or to light lanterns. When Helen stoner is talking about what happened to her sister Julia she mentions a match. â€Å"In her right hand was found the charred stump of a match, and in her left a match-box. † This shows that when Julia woke up she struck a match to see what was going on. The value of money in the 1880’s and the 1890’s was much different than the value for money now. At that time people were paid around i 4 a week, which was considered quite a lot of money. Whereas, people now are paid much more and with i 4 you cant really buy much. The social differences in those times also show that these stories were based in the 1880’s and 1890’s. If you look at Helen Stoner, she was a rich woman that lived in a big house with servants. In those times rich people were considered superior to poorer people. Nowadays you wouldn’t find servants working for rich people, because weather your rich or poor you have rights. The audience or readers would recognise the places named in the stories, which are all in England. The intended effect of the writer was to make the reader feel as if he or she was in the story itself, which would make it feel more dramatic. Conan Doyle achieves this by using areas in London that most people live in. Places such as â€Å"Holborn† and â€Å"Harrow†. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used very unusual titles for his stories to intrigue the reader. When a reader sees the title â€Å"The Speckled Band†, he or she wouldn’t think of a venomous Indian snake. The reader wouldn’t know what to think, which make them want to read the story to see what â€Å"The Speckled Band† is. The same with â€Å"The Red Headed League†, which is a very unusual title. The reader wouldn’t think that that â€Å"The Red Headed League† was a club for read headed people who were paid i 4 a week for copying the â€Å"Encyclopaedia Britannica†. Conan Doyle uses these unusual titles to throw the reader off track. In â€Å"The Speckled band† Conan Doyle makes the reader think that the gypsies are the ones that killed Julia Stoner. He makes it look like all the evidence points to them. Helen Stoner says, â€Å"†¦ perhaps to these very gypsies in the plantation. I do not know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wear over their heads might have suggested the strange adjective which she used. † The effect on the reader was that he or she would be thrown off track to make the story feel more interesting. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle uses some very interesting openings to grab the reader’s attention. Also, every character that Conan Doyle introduces is different in some way, which makes the story feel more interesting and also to intrigue the reader.

Violence at Work: Westside Health Sytems

Violence At Work: Westside Health Systems Located in Chicago, Illinois is a private nonprofit health care system called â€Å"Westside Health Systems†. The company consisted of a hospital, a nursing home and 5 minor emergency clinics. Maryanne Walker is the Director of Pharmacy Services, and oversees the main pharmacy located in the hospital, a pharmacy in the nursing home and four satellite pharmacies. She directly reports to her supervisor Nancy Smith. Maryanne is one of 5 total supervisors in Pharmacy Services.Rhonda Carter the inventory supervisor , is the direct supervisor of both employees involved in the allegation : Susan Miller and Brenda Lawson, both pharmacy technicians in the receiving area. The episode claimed that Susan had allegedly assaulted Brenda in the hospital pharmacy, with no witnesses. She had â€Å"grabbed her by the shoulders, shoved her against a partition, and perhaps drew her fist back as if to hit her. † When both Susan and Brenda were inter viewed in relation to the incident their stories differed in levels of just how severe the fight and physical aggravations were. (More thoroughly explained in the case study. If you were Maryanne what actions would you take and why? As Maryanne, I would conduct another round of interviews for both parties involved (Susan and Brenda) as well as a with Rhonda to highlight the main causes of such a situation and give us further explanations. The interviews would be recorded, with the consent of the interviewee. Then, I would end with a fourth interview with Susan, Brenda and Rhonda and ask them to clarify any misunderstandings, as well as give them a talk on how their actions were completely unacceptable and would not be tolerated in the future. A written write up would be in need for Brenda.Rhonda would be put into a â€Å"Special Review† period, due to her failure to report back to her supervisors or even deal with arising problems with her employees. In this case, the trouble some employee was Susan, who seemed to get away with leaving early, coming into work on off days, breaking the computerized inventory system with no reprimand, as well as an overall unfriendliness towards other employees. A discussion with Rhonda is necessary to find out exactly the reason why she felt that many of Susan’s past issues were never reported to upper management when her mental health were clearly a risk at he workplace. In fact, Rhonda may be up for termination for a lack of proper supervision and disciplinary action on Susan. In fact, Susan had two events in which she injured herself, which in turn could have been a liability to Westside Health Systems. All of these incidents which come to light much later than they should have are enough to terminate Rhonda for her unsatisfactory job performance. Keeping in mind that this is a private organization and the company is at right for termination without notice.As for Susan, given that she has clinical depression and is prescribed Prozac, her time around those substances at work may become a hazard for her stability and overall work performance. Therefore, we suggest a â€Å"Wellness Program† including psychotherapy and counseling as well as education on overall wellness (eating habits, exercising, healthy living). I would then provide the company’s employees a special training on workplace violence. The goal of this course would be to give employees awareness of violence in the workplace, how to recognize the warning signs, and what actions to take to prevent or minimize violence in the future.It is also important to define workplace violence in accordance with the pharmaceutical company’s policies: List the types of workplace violence. Identify warning sign levels related to potential workplace violence. List the action steps taken in response to workplace violence. Identify ways to prevent workplace violence. Ways to encourage employees to report incidents in which they feel threatened for any reason by anyone inside or outside the organization. Skills in behaving compassionately and supportive towards employees who report incidents.Skills in taking disciplinary actions. Basic skills in handling crisis situations. Basic emergency procedures, including who to call and what support resources and services are available. Appropriate screening of pre-employment references. Basic skills in conflict resolution. 2. In light of this incident, should West-side change any of its â€Å"standards of behavior policies† or † Corrective action policies†? Explain. The only changes that I would suggest to West-Side regarding their standards of behavior policies would include:In any verbal counseling, both the employees direct supervisors should be present along with a member of upper management. This would ensure that no favoritism is being placed in one employee over another. Further, I would ensure that employees sign a statement acknowledging t he fact that verbal counseling was undertaken. In written counseling, I again would require that each employee sign a statement that they received said written counseling. I am not sure how well written counseling would be as it does not require personal interaction between the employer and employee.Include a statement that indicates all parties involved will be required to meet management to discuss the matter. Failure to do so may require said employee to be reprimanded for simply refusing said meeting. The system of correction that West-side has is not a progressive one. I would suggest that it is progressive. If an employee is continuously getting into altercations or causing problems, big or little, each should be taken into account. Question 3: How can westside prevent future incidents of workplace violence?WestSide can prevent future incidents of workplace violence by sending out a clear statement to each employee on violence at work ( as previously mentioned in question 1) y et also enforce that violence at work is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. In order to maintain a violence-free environment the first step against it in the workplace would be to install video surveillance using an I. P. System. An I. P. Video Surveillance system has several benefits which could be used in the advantage of companies (like a pharmaceutical one).It prevents theft, allows for all personnel to be monitored in work areas, and allows the company to clearly record the face of every customer entering the premises. Video recording would be used as proof if the situation required one. It is clear that management at Westside does not have the knowledge to handle workplace violence issues. It would be important for Westside to ensure that management has the tools necessary to handle such situations. Management is essential in any workplace. They provide the standards for employees and are the individuals responsible for ensuring that the workplace is a safe one .If management is not prepared, it is possible that a workplace altercation can be taken out of context and can cause the workplace to be even more unsafe. To avoid this situation the company could implement a new way to work, using PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT to better increase communication between employees. Moreover workshops could also be use as a way to improve relations and communication. An other important fact to review would be the hiring process. Next time they hire an employee, even a relative of another employee, they will need to perform a thorough background checks.Incidents like Susan may have been avoided by doing so. A Psychologist could also be helpful during the hiring process or even after if needed, who may conduct psychological tests as a screening process. Westside has a stressful environment due to its link with the health care system and its distribution of drugs. Therefore mistakes should be diminished to a strict minimum. A Psychologist would be able to determ ine if the workplace is not harmful for the candidate and if working with addictive and mind-altering substances (even though prescribed) such as prozac will or will not be a concern.Last but not least the jobs and tasks that are assigned to them should be clearly defined to avoid mistakes. As written in the case study Susan is performing her supervisor's job ( filling a patient’s prescription) which should normally by law be conducted by the licensed pharmacist. Clear rules should be re defined to prevent any situation that could lead to an argument and troublesome outcomes for employees and the company. With all of these proposed solutions, a positive outcome is possible. Both to resolve the issue of violence and to improve the overall image and structure of Westside Health Systems.

Litterature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Litterature - Essay Example Baldwin’s socio-economic, gender, racial, and religious conditions shape a personal-universal writing style, which aims to write for people who establish and develop their identities, using their own frame of references. Cultural Issues and Influences Baldwin’s cultural issues intersect concerns for race, gender, and class, where Harlem is one of the strongest cultural influences on Baldwin. The poverty of his family and neighborhood and the religiosity of his stepfather affected his work aesthetics and style. Gerald Meyer believes that the key to understanding Baldwin’s politics is through analyzing his Harlem roots and culture. While some writers like Langston Hughes saw Harlem as a black Mecca, Baldwin lived in it and remembers it as a ghetto.† Baldwin’s â€Å"The Harlem Ghetto† dispels notions of aesthetic greatness that some writers attribute to it: †¦the buildings are old and in desperate need of repair, the streets are crowded and dirty; there are too many human beings per square mile†¦ All of Harlem is a place pervaded by a sense of congestion, rather like the insistent, maddening, claustrophobic pounding in the skull that comes from trying to breathe in a very small room with all the windows shut.† (39 qtd. in Meyer 274). ... Furthermore, though coming from a low economic status with racial and gender concerns, Baldwin resists being a black fundamentalist or to conform to any label. Instead, he supports diverse views, a devotion which signifies his multiracial and multi-gender politics. He does not want to be seen as a Negro writer or as a gay writer per se (Field 7). In writing for all, nevertheless, critics charged him for having no unifying ideology. Francois Burgess disparages Baldwin’s works as being too broad: â€Å"Alone among Black contemporary writers, Baldwin could not or did not know how to find a central ideology that would give to his work coherence and unity† (Bobia 54 qtd. in Field 7). But this paper believes that Baldwin only writes from what he feels is personally right, which resonate with those who experience or witness the same struggles. Baldwin does not have to conform to the frameworks and labels of others to become the writer that he wants to be. Aside from Harlem, Pa ris shaped Baldwin’s writings through the theme of expatriation. Baldwin leaves America, not only because he is disillusioned with the persecution of his race and gender in the U.S., but more so because he wants to distance himself from these struggles, in order to find his identity, including his writing voice. Price describes Baldwin’s Parisian stopover as a â€Å"liberating experience,† that gives him â€Å"the sanction, if one can accept it, to become oneself† (313 qtd. in Tomlinson 136). Baldwin cannot be himself in a society that attacks him from different sides. The physical distance refreshes him, reminding him of his roles and functions as a writer and as an American. Robert Tomlinson argues that the theme of expatriation in Baldwin’s works

MUSIC HISTORY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MUSIC HISTORY - Essay Example , freedom in intonation and inflection and a combination of style depending on the artist and the audience and the historical orientations, regarding social class and music preference. Medieval Music is the first style known to music historians and was found in the early 12th Century as secular music. Most music notes originated from Church music, giving it religious basis. They had rigid rules regarding rhythm and melody. The style is majorly a simple vocal and little instrumentation exists. Hildegard von Bingen is one of the musicians known from the medieval period; despite no record history, existing that may give details regarding the nature of the compositions of the medieval music. Renaissance is another style of music that took over after the medieval music. It originated from 1400 to 1600. The style had its origin in the sacred and secular vocals of the early musicians of the medieval days. The music had more freedom regarding harmony and rhythm. The composers were good choral writers, few instruments existed, and their vocals played a big role over the words. The instrument is played most of the time, words are few, and this makes it sound boring to the listener. The late stage had more harmony with strong sensation for each. The choral compositions enjoyed variety such as acapella anthems with many variations and dance movements. These made the music richer and more entertaining. Thomas Tallis and Josquin de Prez are musicians of this genre who enthralled the audiences although the music was still undergoing development. Baroque style of Music came after the Renaissance style and was common from 1600 to 1750, and is where the modern orchestra was born, along with operas, choruses, and recitals. Baroque music is heavily recitative in style especially opera and basso continuo. The soft string instruments were replaced by a violin, viola and cello. This was advancement in the music instruments. The instruments played a great role in the song as words are

You can write the title Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

You can write the title - Assignment Example The company is a company that is useful in the bringing together of labor, business, governments, residents, and to improve lives for individuals. 1. Context- that should be the general layout of the website including visual design. The website for United Way Company is one that is easy to navigate and the color scheme for the website is appropriate for its marketing design. The website is readable because it has some white space that has wordings that can be easily read by the people visiting the website. I would rate the company’s website at 9/ 10 because I have a definite way of navigating the website and the context is understandable. 2. Commerce- The website is safe because it is meant for commercial purposes. A website that is safe is one that cannot pass information about person transacting in the website to people that do not have authorization. It would be appropriate for a company to encrypt its website so that it can become safer to use. I would rate the website at 5/10 because it has no clear security system. 3. Connection- this is the ability of a site to link with other sites. The content should be in such a way that it can be retained or can be used as a path out of the site. For united way, I did not spot such a link and I think that the company should work on that. I would rate the website at 2/10 because there are no connection links. 4. Communication- Communication is a component in which the company is able to communicate to its customers. That is done by the customers signing up for offers that may include surveys and newsletters. United Way Company’s website has a way of communicating with customers because it shows any future events or news that may be useful to the customers. I would rate the website at 8/10 because the company communicates about its future events. 5. Content- This usually includes the sound, graphics, or texts that have been used in the website. The company that

Business Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Ethics - Research Paper Example Facts that surrounded the Lehman Brothers Holdings Incorporation’s case comprise the following: first, Lehman Brothers Holdings Incorporation frequently utilized contracts as a way of financing their activities. Second, the repurchase contracts employed by the corporation are perceived as the liability and enhance the corporations' leverage percentage. Third, ambiguity in the standards of financial accounting permitted the contracts to be shifted off-balance sheet in case need is met. Fourth, Lehman Brothers Holdings Incorporation would push repurchase contract liabilities off of the financial statement all through reporting phases so as to mislead stakeholders by reducing control. Maybe if the stakeholders were aware, it may have had a negative impact on the Lehman Brothers Holdings Incorporation stock prices. Fifth, at that time, little or no financial corporations were using these deceiving tactics (Lubben 1). The fall of Lehman Brothers Holdings Incorporation was not as a result of a sole tumble in ethical decision performed by a single imprudent worker. It would have been almost out of the question for a single incident to make Lehman Brothers Holdings Incorporation collapse, particularly after the corporation had overcome numerous difficulties in the past. Instead, Lehman Brothers Holdings Incorporation’s failure was the growing impact of several mishaps caused by a number of parties and individuals (Madsen and Shafritz 23). The unethical practices can be classified into three actions: deceit declared by the corporation’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard Fuld; cover up sanctioned by Chief Financial Officer, Erin Callan; and neglect in place of Ernst & Young. In 2007, the housing marketing was starting to falter, the corporation’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard Fuld was embedded in a highly leveraged and aggressive business model. This was similar to other Wall Street actors at the period. Whereas Lehman Brothers Holdings Inco rporation’s rivals had the ability to forecast the impending fall and assess probable results of mortgage shirk, the corporation’s Chief Executive Officer did not change the strategy. Instead, He advanced into mortgage- supported safety investments, incessantly escalating Lehman Brothers Holdings Incorporation’s asset range to one of unduly elevated risk given the market situation (Lubben 1). This implies Richard Fuld was adamant, but when it was an occasion to accept the issue, he did admit his failure or take responsibility. In 2007, the Chief Executive Officer had a chance to air concerns on the corporation’s short-term financial condition and its tremendous participation in risky loans. In contrast, he disregarded it in support of communicating to Wall Street and stakeholders that there was no existence of foreseeable issues (Lubben 1). Had Richard Fuld been honest, appropriate solutions would have been developed. This would have assisted to minimize or prevent the financial problems that occurred.

Business Management practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Management practice - Essay Example Managing the workforce’ behavior and attitude in today’s modern times still reflects the influence of at least six major schools of management thought. These are the influences of Frederick Taylor’s Scientific Management, Henri Fayol’s Management Process School, the Human Relations School by Mayo, the Quantitative Sciences School, the General Systems Theory, and the more modern Management and Culture school of thought (Rodriguez, 2001). But the growing complexities of the modern organizations, even becoming global in character, have necessarily required the evolution and development of other perspectives to deal with people. In one article over the internet, one management consultant even declared that â€Å"classic management theory dies† (Joffinza, 2007). Modern times have brought the classic management theory into a challenge. New perspectives which emerge from the growing multi-cultural nature of organizations are borne, thus new paradigms are d eveloped either to complement or replace the classic management theory. Since an organization is composed of individuals with varying personalities converging together to achieve organizational goals, it is inevitable that conflicting interests and clashing personalities will slow down organizational momentum in achieving previously set goals. This is due to the fact that individuals have their own personal agenda that may be different from other co-workers. It is thus necessary to manage such varied behavior and attitude in the workplace in order to promote a harmonious inter-personal relationships in the workplace, thus minimizing any disruptive behavior that can affect the operations of the business. Managing the behavior and attitude of the workforce is so important in every organization that its study has already evolved as a formal discipline. Organizational behavior,

Health for community and people across lifespan Essay

Health for community and people across lifespan - Essay Example People are influenced by a variety of life issues and circumstances. It was highlighted that some are predictable or might be chosen at the same time some are unpredictable. In a situation where life became suddenly changed there will be consequences that might be out of control and an individual becomes stressed. Both ideas involve broad view, for an instance issues like redundancy or divorce may be predictable while other people are not expecting to lose their job or divorced. Nevertheless, life changing events frequently involves positive learning also risk of stress (Aldworth et. al2010). Page: 159, This assignment deals with health needs in the community in order to meet the provision across lifespan, the perspective of people regarding inclusion, access to choice, and disengagement of services. Also, factors affecting access to health care of an individual from the perspectives of social, health and behavioural science theory. Also the role of a nurse within the multi-disciplinary team will be explored in the delivery of holistic care. And it relates to an individual in decision making. In the scenario, it is very evident that social exclusion is present and it will reflect on this assignment. However, a recommendation and advice will be made for the individual on how to promote health, wellbeing and lifestyle (University of Bedford). The main focus of this essay is Gladys a 51 year old lady. She parted from her husband soon after the delivery of Joshua and presently divorced. At present, she lives with her two sons, her granddaughter and her father in-law in a 4 bed roomed house through the housing association. Presently, she is a full time carer for her granddaughter and her father in-law. She does smoke roll-ups, but unable to afford a car (University of Bedford). She was separated from her husband right after the birth of Joshua, which shows her tendency towards the postnatal depression. Postnatal depression

Reflective account on disability and society Essay

Reflective account on disability and society - Essay Example I subscribe more to the social model of disability which faults society in discriminating against individuals with disabilities. It is not their fault that they were born or acquired impairments that limits their abilities to function normally like the majority. It is a good thing that this point was realized by lawmakers who have created legislations to support and protect them such as the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and the Equality Act that replaced it. Positive social models encourage society to provide opportunities to disabled individuals such as inclusion in education and equal opportunities in employment. Enabling and empowering them makes a huge difference in their lives and helps boost their self-esteem in the realization that their rights as human beings are respected. I was more concerned with children with disabilities. They are just beginning their lives and if society looks down upon them in their young age and are not given the support they need, then hopes for a better future are significantly reduced. This deprives society of possible contributions which may further help in its growth and progress. Individuals who have disabilities such as Nick Vujicic, Hellen Keller, Franklin Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, and more have gone on to be successful in their lives despite their disabilities. If they were not given the chance early on to develop their skills, then it would have been a huge loss to society. It is amazing how science has brought about positive developments in medical, behavioural and educational interventions to help people with disabilities. Various therapies have been designed to address the needs of different illnesses and developmental disorders. Inclusive strategies both in educational institutions and workplaces have been embracing the diverse conditions of the disabled population. What is more heart-warming is the collaboration of various agencies to provide multi-agency support so that all aspects of the disabled

Reading and Writing with an Attitude Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reading and Writing with an Attitude - Essay Example Ultimately, although procrastination can adversely affect all forms of production and output, it is an especially bad habit with regards to the process of writing due to the fact that the writing process cannot be completed in a single sitting. As a function of the reading, planning, outlining, drafting, and revising process, it is necessary to budget a great deal of time for the writing process in order to make sure that it is complete and relevant to the subject matter or requirements that have been set out. Moreover, proofreading the finished product also takes time and seeking to make any last minute additions for relevance takes time as well. With regards to how I acquired this particular shortcoming, it can be simply enough understood that it was acquired as a result of improper time management early in my scholastic endeavors. With regards to the impacts that it has had, these can be understood to be wholly negative. Ultimately, as a means of correcting this habit, it has been necessary for me to seek to meticulously budget my time so that procrastination in the writing process cannot even be a

Automatic Railway Level Crossing Essay Example for Free

Automatic Railway Level Crossing Essay Abstract: In the rapidly flourishing country like ours, accidents in the unmanned level crossings are increasing day by day. No fruitful steps have been taken so far in these areas. The objective of our project is to provide an automatic railway gate at a level-crossing replacing the gates operated by the gatekeeper. It deals with two things. Firstly, it deals with the reduction of time for which the gate is being kept closed. And secondly, it provides safety to the road users by reducing the accidents. By employing the automatic railway gate control at the level crossing the arrival of the train is detected by the sensors placed near to the gate and transmits the information to the gate controller via wired or wireless. Hence, the time for which it is closed is less compared to the manually operated gates. The operation is automatic i. e. , error due to manual operation is prevented. By employing the automatic railway gate control at the level crossing the arrival of train is detected by the sensor placed on either side of the gate at about 3km from the level crossing. Hence, the time for which it is closed is less compared to the manually operated gates and also reduces the human labour. This type of gates can be employed in an unmanned level crossing where the chances of accidents are higher and reliable operation is required. Since, the operation is automatic error due to manual operation will be prevented. Once the arrival of the train is sensed, the sensed signal is sent to the microcontroller via, wired or wireless transmission and it checks for possible presence of vehicle between the gates. Subsequently, buzzer indication and light signals on either side are provided to the road users indicating the closure of gates. Once, no vehicle is sensed in between the gate the motor is activated and the gates are closed. But, for the worst case if any obstacle is sensed it is indicated to the train driver by signals (RED) placed at about 1km, so as to bring it to halt well before the level crossing. When no obstacle is sensed GREEN light is indicated, and the train is to free to move. The departure of the train is detected by sensors placed at about 1km from the ate. The signal about the departure is sent to the microcontroller, which in turn operates the motor in reverse way and opens the gate. Thus, the time for which the gate is closed is less compared to the manually operated gates. Also reliability is high as it is not subjected to manual errors. Components : IR sensors or Vibration sensors, Microcontroller, L293D(driver IC), Stepper motor, Wireless Transmitter and Receiver, power supply. HARDWARE IMPLEMENTATION Micro Controller Totally 40-pin DIP package manufactured with CMOS Technology. L293D (motor driver IC) Racially L293D 16DIP /ULN 2003 IC is used to drive the stepper motor. STEPPER MOTOR This is used to open and close the gates automatically when it is rotated clock wise or anticlockwise direction. Stepper motor requires 500m amps current, so use the L293D drivers to drive the stepper motor. SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION Keil By 1. B. BHARATH KUMAR REDDY – 113004045 2. P SAMBASIVA RAO – 113004161 3. T. RANGA VINOD KUMAR 113004207 4. T. SIVA NARAYANA REDDY 113004205

Hackers And Ethical Hackers

Hackers And Ethical Hackers Cyber security is one of the most critical aspects of security that any organization in the modern world must be concerned with. Why? Mostly because of Black-hat Hackers. The following review is a general discussion about hackers and its best countermeasure, Ethical Hacking. The reason I chose this topic is because it is of great interest to me, as I someday want to be an Ethical hacker as well. Review The word hacker in the past was defined as a person who loves playing a around with software or electronic systems. They wanted to discover new things on how computers operate. Today the term hacker has a different meaning altogether. It states that a hacker is someone who maliciously breaks into systems for personal gain. Technically, these criminals are crackers (criminal hackers). Crackers break into (crack) systems with malicious intent. They are out for personal gain: fame, profit, and even revenge. They modify, delete, and steal critical information, often making other people miserable. (Kevin Beaver, Stuart McClure 2004, p10) Most of the literature I read give the definition of the word hacker as previously stated or to mean mostly the same thing. The history of hacking dates back to the 1960s when a group of people in MIT hack the control systems of model trains to make them run faster, more effectively or differently than they were designed to. (Peter T. Leeson, Christopher J. Coyne, 2006). Because of such activity by these individuals computer owners and supervisors took away their access to computers. As a result the hacking community came up with their own code known as the hacker ethic: 1. Access to computers -and anything which might teach you something about the way the world works should be unlimited and total. Always yield to the Hands-On Imperative! 2. All information should be free. 3. Mistrust Authority Promote Decentralization. 4. Hackers should be judged by their hacking, not bogus criteria such as degrees, age, race or position. 5. You can create art and beauty in a computer. 6. Computers can change your life for the better. (Paul A Taylor, 2005) The above code is still followed today and not only by hackers but by others as well. Not all hackers today have the same level of expertise. Depending on the psychology and skills of a hacker they can be put into four groups.(M.G. Siriam) Old School Hackers is one group and they believe that the internet should be an open system. Script kiddies is another and they are computer novices that use tools created by professional hackers to hack systems. Most of the hackers today fit into this group. The next group is professional criminals or crackers. They break into systems for the purpose of stealing and selling information they gathered.. The final group is coders and virus writers. They are elite individuals with a very high skill in programming and operating systems that write code and use other people in charge of releasing their code to the wild. Organizations and institutions today are under a lot of stress to protect their information from external as well as internal security threats to their computer systems. As such most of them have come up with the solution of hiring Ethical Hackers. To catch a thief, you must think like a thief. Thats the basis for ethical hacking. Knowing your enemy is absolutely critical (Kevin Beaver, Stuart McClure, 2004, p13). In other wards Ethical hackers (white-hat hackers) are experienced security and network experts that perform an attack on a target system with permission from the owners, to find loop holes and vulnerabilities that other hackers could exploit. This process is also known has Red Teaming, Penetration Testing or Intrusion Testing. (www.networkdictionary.com) The end goal of ethical hackers is to learn system vulnerabilities so that they can be repaired for community self-interest and as a side-product also the common good of the people.(Bryan Smith, William Yurcik, David Doss, 2002) Every Ethical hacker should follow three important rules as follows: Firstly Working Ethically. All actions performed by the ethical hacker should support the organizations goals that he works for. Trustworthiness is the ultimate tenet. The misuse of information is absolutely forbidden. Secondly Respecting Privacy as all information that an ethical hacker gathers has to be treated with the utmost respect. Finally Not Crashing Your Systems. This is mostly due to no prior planning or having not read the documentation or even misusing the usage and power of the security tools at their disposal. (Kevin Beaver, Stuart McClure, 2004, p16-17) The main attacks or methods that an ethical hackers or even hackers perform are of as follows: Non Technical Attacks: No matter how secured an organization is in terms of software and hardware, it will always be vulnerable to security threats because securitys weakest link are people or its employees. Social engineering is a type of non technical attack where hackers exploit the trusting nature of human beings to gain information for malicious purposes. Other attacks can be of physical nature such as stealing hardware equipment or dumpster diving. Operating-System Attack: Hacking an operating system (OS) is a preferred method of the bad guys. OS attacks make up a large portion of hacker attacks simply because every computer has an operating system and OSes are susceptible to many well-known exploits.(Kevin Beaver, Stuart McClure, 2004, p15) Distributed denial of service attacks(DDoS): This is the most popular attack used by many hackers to bring down systems. Its a type of attack that overloads the network or server with a large amount of traffic so that it crashes and renders any access to the service. Internet Protocol (IP) spoofing: It is a way of disguising the hackers real identity. This method allows a hacker to gain unauthorized access to computers by sending a message to a computer with an IP address showing that the message is from a trusted host. To accomplish this, a hacker must use different tools to find an IP address of a trusted host, and then alter the packet headers so it appears that the packets are coming from the host. (Tanase 2003). The process of ethical hacking contains many different steps. The first thing that is done is to formulate a plan. At this stage getting approval and authorization from the organization to perform the penetration test is extremely important. (Kevin Beaver, Stuart McClure, 2004, p15). Next the ethical hacker uses scanning tools to perform port scans to check for open ports on the system. Once a cracker scans all computers on a network and creates a network map showing what computers are running what operating systems and what services are available, almost any kind of attack is possible (Bryan Smith, William Yurcik, David Doss, 2002) This method is used by hackers as well but for mainly for malicious purposes. After scanning has been done the ethical hacker selects the tools that are going to be used to perform certain tests on the target system. These tools can be used for password cracking, planting backdoors, SQL injection, sniffing etc. The tests need to be carefully performed bec ause if they are done incorrectly they could damage the system and could go unnoticed. (Bryan Smith, William Yurcik, David Doss, 2002) Finally the plan needs to be executed and the results of all the tests then need to be evaluated (Kevin Beaver, Stuart McClure, 2004, p22) Based on the results the ethical hacker tells the organization about their security vulnerabilities as well as how they can be patched to make it more secure. A grey hat hacker is a type of hacker that has the skills and intent of a ethical hacker in most situations but uses his knowledge for less than noble purposes on occasion. Grey hat hackers typically subscribe to another form of the hacker ethic, which says it is acceptable to break into systems as long as the hacker does not commit theft or breach confidentiality. Some would argue, however that the act of breaking into a system is in itself unethical.(Red Hat, Inc, 2002) Grey hats are also a form of good hackers that usually hack into organizations systems without their permission, but then at a later stage send them information on the loop holes in their system. They also sometimes threaten to release the holes they find unless action has been taken to fix it. (Peter T. Leeson, Christopher J. Coyne, 2006) Conclusion Testing the security of a system by breaking into it is not a new idea but is something that is practised in all aspects of industry. For example if an automobile company is crash-testing cars, or an individual is testing his or her skill at martial arts by sparring with a partner, evaluation by testing under attack from a real adversary is widely accepted as prudent.(C.C. Palmer, 2001) Since the security on the Internet is quite poor at present, ethical hacking is one of the only ways to ways to proactively plug rampant security holes. Until such time a proper social framework is founded, to differentiate the good guys (white hats) from the bad guys (black hats), a law must not be brought into effect, as this may risk taking away our last hope of stabilizing defense and not realize it until it is too late. In the end, it is up to the society to consider the social and ethical standards to apply to the ever-changing technology, so valuable information does not fall into the wrong han ds for the wrong purposes.

Pi :: essays research papers

In mathematics, Pi is the symbol denoting the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. The ratio is approximately 3.14159265, pi being an irrational number (one that cannot be expressed as a simple fraction or as a decimal with a finite number of decimal places) and a transcendental number (one without continuously recurrent digits). Electronic computers in the late 20th century have carried pi to more than 100,000,000 decimal places. Using a computer program, I calculated pi into 1000 decimals: 3.14159265 358979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679 8214808651 3282306647 0938446095 5058223172 5359408128 4811174502 8410270193 8521105559 6446229489 5493038196 4428810975 6659334461 2847564823 3786783165 2712019091 4564856692 3460348610 4543266482 1339360726 0249141273 7245870066 0631558817 4881520920 9628292540 9171536436 7892590360 0113305305 4882046652 1384146951 9415116094 3305727036 5759591953 0921861173 8193261179 3105118548 0744623799 6274956735 1885752724 8912279381 8301194912 9833673362 4406566430 8602139494 6395224737 1907021798 6094370277 0539217176 2931767523 8467481846 7669405132 0005681271 4526356082 7785771342 7577896091 7363717872 1468440901 2249534301 4654958537 1050792279 6892589235 4201995611 2129021960 8640344181 5981362977 4771309960 5187072113 4999999837 2978049951 0597317328 1609631859 5024459455 3469083026 4252230825 3344685035 2619311881 7101000313 7838752886 5875332083 8142061717 7669147303 5982534904 2875546873 1159562863 8823537875 9375195778 1857780532 1712268066 1300192787 6611195909 2164201989.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pi occurs in various mathematical calculations. The circumference (c) of a circle can be determined by multiplying the diameter (d) by : c = d. The area (A) of a circle is determined by the square of the radius (r): A = r2. Pi is applied to mathematical problems involving the lengths of arcs or other curves, the areas of ellipses, sectors, and other curved surfaces, and the volumes of solids. It is also used in various formulas of physics and engineering to describe such periodic phenomena as the motion of pendulums, the vibration of strings, and alternating electric currents. In very ancient times, 3 was used as the approximate value of pi, and not until Archimedes (3rd century BC) does there seem to have been a scientific effort to compute it; he reached a figure equivalent to about 3.14. A figure equivalent to 3.1416 dates from before AD 200. By the early 6th century Chinese and Indian mathematicians had independently confirmed or improved the number of decimal places. By the end of the 17th century in Europe, new methods of mathematical analysis provided various ways of calculating pi. Early in the 20th century the Indian mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan developed ways of calculating pi that were so efficient that they have been incorporated into computer algorithms, permitting expressions of pi in millions of digits. Pi :: essays research papers In mathematics, Pi is the symbol denoting the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. The ratio is approximately 3.14159265, pi being an irrational number (one that cannot be expressed as a simple fraction or as a decimal with a finite number of decimal places) and a transcendental number (one without continuously recurrent digits). Electronic computers in the late 20th century have carried pi to more than 100,000,000 decimal places. Using a computer program, I calculated pi into 1000 decimals: 3.14159265 358979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679 8214808651 3282306647 0938446095 5058223172 5359408128 4811174502 8410270193 8521105559 6446229489 5493038196 4428810975 6659334461 2847564823 3786783165 2712019091 4564856692 3460348610 4543266482 1339360726 0249141273 7245870066 0631558817 4881520920 9628292540 9171536436 7892590360 0113305305 4882046652 1384146951 9415116094 3305727036 5759591953 0921861173 8193261179 3105118548 0744623799 6274956735 1885752724 8912279381 8301194912 9833673362 4406566430 8602139494 6395224737 1907021798 6094370277 0539217176 2931767523 8467481846 7669405132 0005681271 4526356082 7785771342 7577896091 7363717872 1468440901 2249534301 4654958537 1050792279 6892589235 4201995611 2129021960 8640344181 5981362977 4771309960 5187072113 4999999837 2978049951 0597317328 1609631859 5024459455 3469083026 4252230825 3344685035 2619311881 7101000313 7838752886 5875332083 8142061717 7669147303 5982534904 2875546873 1159562863 8823537875 9375195778 1857780532 1712268066 1300192787 6611195909 2164201989.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pi occurs in various mathematical calculations. The circumference (c) of a circle can be determined by multiplying the diameter (d) by : c = d. The area (A) of a circle is determined by the square of the radius (r): A = r2. Pi is applied to mathematical problems involving the lengths of arcs or other curves, the areas of ellipses, sectors, and other curved surfaces, and the volumes of solids. It is also used in various formulas of physics and engineering to describe such periodic phenomena as the motion of pendulums, the vibration of strings, and alternating electric currents. In very ancient times, 3 was used as the approximate value of pi, and not until Archimedes (3rd century BC) does there seem to have been a scientific effort to compute it; he reached a figure equivalent to about 3.14. A figure equivalent to 3.1416 dates from before AD 200. By the early 6th century Chinese and Indian mathematicians had independently confirmed or improved the number of decimal places. By the end of the 17th century in Europe, new methods of mathematical analysis provided various ways of calculating pi. Early in the 20th century the Indian mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan developed ways of calculating pi that were so efficient that they have been incorporated into computer algorithms, permitting expressions of pi in millions of digits.

Tarzan of the Apes and Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano :: Sociology Essays Research Papers

The Primitive In Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African When societies judge other cultures their judgments are often biased and ethnocentric. In Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes, Tarzan, â€Å"the perfect specimen of white masculinity and testament to the viability of white civilization,[1]† projected many ideals and views of European society. Olaudah Equiano gave a first hand account of his life from his captive into slavery through his liberation in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African. In these two novels members of the European and African society classify the other’s culture as â€Å"primitive†. These classifications lead the reader of both novels to question: What is primitive? Raised in the jungle by apes Tarzan never lived in European civilization yet he â€Å"inherited† the mannerisms and ethics of that society. Burroughs positioned Tarzan at the top of the hierarchy of civilization while he placed the African Mbongo tribe at the bottom. As Tarzan watched the cannibal rituals of the Mbongo, â€Å"[he] began to hold his own kind in low esteem[2]†. Many in Burroughs’ society disregarded the cultural practices of the Africans by writing them off as being primitive and lacking value. Overlooking the social structure and the established customs, Europeans considered the Africans primitive because they were different. Tarzan did not interact with the Mbongo he found them to be savage and uncivilized. This ethnocentric lens that created distinctions and separation transcended the cultural borders. At age 11, slave traders kidnapped Olaudah Equiano, a child who never knew any culture outside of his own. When he first encountered white people, his initial reaction showed the same culture shock and ethnocentric view displayed by Tarzan. â€Å"I came among people who did not circumcise, and who ate without washing their hands. They cooked their provisions in iron pots, and had European cutlasses and cross bows, which were unknown to us; and fought with their fists among themselves. Their women were not so modest as ours for they ate, drank, and slept with their men. But, above all, I was amazed to see no sacrifices or offerings among them.

Unfair Treatment of Immigrant Workers :: essays research papers

As the airbus 300 made its final approach along San Francisco international airport, I saw the Golden Gate Bridge sitting on its splendor lit by the rising sun. I then closed my eyes and said to myself â€Å"I am finally here.† Thus, my journey in search of a better life began. A few minutes later I was off the plane and was already making my way to the customs and immigration check point. I handed my papers to the immigrations agent, he took a look at my passport and documents and without asking any questions handed them back to me, smiled and said, â€Å"Welcome to the United States.† Two months after arriving in the United States, I found myself working long hours and struggling with homesickness. I also discovered the racial tensions and discriminations that were directed at every foreign Information Technology worker. My discovery was also augmented by the comments made by one of my white American born co-worker named Al. He said, â€Å"We are being invaded here, they are taking away our jobs†- referring to the arrivals of more and more foreign IT workers. Not only that, my company was also discriminating us and we were not properly compensated as the signed contract indicated. Before a foreign national could work for a United States company and could come to work in the United States, a contract is required by the Department of Labor that would state how much this particular person would be paid, and that the salary must not be lower or greater than the current existing wage on his field of specialty. Then, the company must submit that same contract to the Department of Justice before a visa could be issued. In my case and for many other foreign workers, our contract which was approved by both departments was breached. We were not even paid half of what the signed contract stated. We worked long hours without compensation. And by the end of the year our W2s’ proved it. And every time we asked or complained, the company would then ask us how much our salary was in the Philippines, and then they would ask us to compare it to what we are making here. And if that answer would not satisfy us, they then would threaten to cancel our visa. Therefore, all I can do is bite my tongue, put up and look at the bright side- I am are here and someday I will get my greencard and I then will be able to live the American dream. Unfair Treatment of Immigrant Workers :: essays research papers As the airbus 300 made its final approach along San Francisco international airport, I saw the Golden Gate Bridge sitting on its splendor lit by the rising sun. I then closed my eyes and said to myself â€Å"I am finally here.† Thus, my journey in search of a better life began. A few minutes later I was off the plane and was already making my way to the customs and immigration check point. I handed my papers to the immigrations agent, he took a look at my passport and documents and without asking any questions handed them back to me, smiled and said, â€Å"Welcome to the United States.† Two months after arriving in the United States, I found myself working long hours and struggling with homesickness. I also discovered the racial tensions and discriminations that were directed at every foreign Information Technology worker. My discovery was also augmented by the comments made by one of my white American born co-worker named Al. He said, â€Å"We are being invaded here, they are taking away our jobs†- referring to the arrivals of more and more foreign IT workers. Not only that, my company was also discriminating us and we were not properly compensated as the signed contract indicated. Before a foreign national could work for a United States company and could come to work in the United States, a contract is required by the Department of Labor that would state how much this particular person would be paid, and that the salary must not be lower or greater than the current existing wage on his field of specialty. Then, the company must submit that same contract to the Department of Justice before a visa could be issued. In my case and for many other foreign workers, our contract which was approved by both departments was breached. We were not even paid half of what the signed contract stated. We worked long hours without compensation. And by the end of the year our W2s’ proved it. And every time we asked or complained, the company would then ask us how much our salary was in the Philippines, and then they would ask us to compare it to what we are making here. And if that answer would not satisfy us, they then would threaten to cancel our visa. Therefore, all I can do is bite my tongue, put up and look at the bright side- I am are here and someday I will get my greencard and I then will be able to live the American dream. Unfair Treatment of Immigrant Workers :: essays research papers As the airbus 300 made its final approach along San Francisco international airport, I saw the Golden Gate Bridge sitting on its splendor lit by the rising sun. I then closed my eyes and said to myself â€Å"I am finally here.† Thus, my journey in search of a better life began. A few minutes later I was off the plane and was already making my way to the customs and immigration check point. I handed my papers to the immigrations agent, he took a look at my passport and documents and without asking any questions handed them back to me, smiled and said, â€Å"Welcome to the United States.† Two months after arriving in the United States, I found myself working long hours and struggling with homesickness. I also discovered the racial tensions and discriminations that were directed at every foreign Information Technology worker. My discovery was also augmented by the comments made by one of my white American born co-worker named Al. He said, â€Å"We are being invaded here, they are taking away our jobs†- referring to the arrivals of more and more foreign IT workers. Not only that, my company was also discriminating us and we were not properly compensated as the signed contract indicated. Before a foreign national could work for a United States company and could come to work in the United States, a contract is required by the Department of Labor that would state how much this particular person would be paid, and that the salary must not be lower or greater than the current existing wage on his field of specialty. Then, the company must submit that same contract to the Department of Justice before a visa could be issued. In my case and for many other foreign workers, our contract which was approved by both departments was breached. We were not even paid half of what the signed contract stated. We worked long hours without compensation. And by the end of the year our W2s’ proved it. And every time we asked or complained, the company would then ask us how much our salary was in the Philippines, and then they would ask us to compare it to what we are making here. And if that answer would not satisfy us, they then would threaten to cancel our visa. Therefore, all I can do is bite my tongue, put up and look at the bright side- I am are here and someday I will get my greencard and I then will be able to live the American dream.

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Seventeen

â€Å"That was amazing! Seriously,† Bonnie said happily, skipping along with her hand in Zander's. â€Å"I am, like, the Queen of Quarters. Who knew I had this hidden talent?† Laughing, Zander threw his arm around her shoulders and pul ed her closer. â€Å"You are pretty awesome,† he agreed. â€Å"Drinking games, visions, astrology. Any other skil s I should know about?† Snuggling against him, Bonnie frowned in mock concentration. â€Å"Not that I can think of. Just be aware of my general wonderfulness.† His T-shirt was soft and worn, and Bonnie tilted her head a bit to rest her cheek against it. â€Å"I'm glad we got our friends together,† she said. â€Å"I thought Marcus and Meredith real y hit it off, didn't you? Not romantical y, at al , which is good since Meredith has a super-serious boyfriend, but it was like they shared the same secret jock language. Maybe we can al hang out in a group again sometime.† â€Å"Yeah, Meredith and Marcus real y bonded over their workouts,† Zander agreed, but there was a hesitation in his voice that made Bonnie stop walking and peer up at him sharply. â€Å"Didn't you like my friends?† she asked, hurt. She and Meredith and Elena had always had what they privately cal ed a â€Å"velociraptor sisterhood.† Cross one of them and the other two would close in to protect her. Zander had to like them. â€Å"No, I liked them a lot,† Zander assured her. He hesitated, then added, â€Å"Elena seemed kind of †¦ uncomfortable, though. Maybe we're not the kind of people she likes?† Bonnie stiffened. â€Å"Are you cal ing my best friend a snob?† she asked. Zander stroked her back appeasingly. â€Å"Sort of, I guess. I mean, nice, but just kind of a snob. The nicest kind of snob. I just want her to like me.† â€Å"She's not a snob,† Bonnie said indignantly. â€Å"And even if she was, she's got a lot to be a snob about. She's beautiful and smart and one of the best friends I've ever had. I'd do anything for her. And she'd do anything for me, too. So it doesn't matter if she's a snob,† she concluded, glaring at him. â€Å"Come here,† Zander said. They were near the music building, and he pul ed her into the lit alcove by the front door. â€Å"Sit with me?† he asked, settling on the brick steps and tugging her hand. Bonnie sat down, but she was determined not to snuggle up to him again. Instead, she kept a distance between them and stared stubbornly out at the night, her jaw firmly set. â€Å"Listen, Bonnie,† Zander said, pushing a long strawberry blonde curl out of her eyes. â€Å"I'l get to know Elena better, and I'm sure I'l like her. I'l get her to like me, too. You know why I'm going to get to know her better?† â€Å"No, why?† said Bonnie, reluctantly looking at him. â€Å"Because I want to know you better. I'm planning on spending a lot of time with you, Bonnie McCul ough.† He nudged her gently with his shoulder, and Bonnie melted. Zander's eyes were so blue, blue like morning on the very first day of summer vacation. There was intel igence and laughter with just a touch of a wild longing in them. He leaned in closer, and Bonnie was sure he was about to kiss her, their first kiss at last. She tilted her head back to meet his lips, her eyelashes fluttering closed. After a moment of waiting for a kiss that didn't come, she sat up again and opened her eyes. Zander was staring past her, out into the darkness of the campus, frowning. Bonnie cleared her throat. â€Å"Oh,† he said, â€Å"sorry, Bonnie, I got distracted for a minute.† â€Å"Distracted?† Bonnie echoed indignantly. â€Å"What do you mean you – â€Å" â€Å"Hang on a sec.† Zander put a finger to her lips, shushing her. â€Å"Do you hear something?† Bonnie asked, uneasy tingles creeping up her back. Zander got to his feet. â€Å"Sorry, I just remembered something I have to do. I'l catch up with you later, okay?† With a halfhearted wave, not even looking at Bonnie, he loped off into the darkness. Bonnie's mouth dropped open. â€Å"Wait!† she said, scrambling to her feet. â€Å"Are you just going to leave me here† – Zander was gone – â€Å"alone?† she finished in a tiny voice. Great. Bonnie walked out to the middle of the path, looked around, and waited a minute to see if there was any sign of Zander coming back. But there was no one in sight. She couldn't even hear his footsteps anymore. There were pools of light beneath the street lamps on the path, but they didn't reach very far. A breeze rustled the leaves of the trees on the quad, and Bonnie shivered. No sense in standing here, Bonnie thought, and she started walking. For the first few steps down the path toward her dorm, Bonnie was real y angry, hot and humiliated. How could Zander have been such a flake? How could he leave her al alone in the middle of the night, especial y after al the attacks and disappearances on campus? She kicked viciously at a pebble in her path. A few steps further on, Bonnie stopped being so angry. She was too scared; the fear was pushing the anger out of her. She should have headed back to the dorm when Meredith and Elena did, but she'd assured them, gaily, that Zander would walk her back. How could he have just left her? She wrapped her arms around herself tightly and went as fast as she could without actual y running, her stupid high-heeled going-out-dancing shoes pinching and making the bal s of her feet ache. It was real y late; most of the other people who lived on campus must be tucked into their beds by now. The silence was unsettling. When the footsteps began behind her, it was even worse. She wasn't sure she was real y hearing them at first. Gradual y, she became aware of a faint, quick padding in the distance, someone moving lightly and fast. She paused and listened, and the footsteps grew louder and faster stil . Someone was running toward her. Bonnie sped up, stumbling over her feet in her haste. Her shoes skidded on a loose stone in the path and she fel , catching herself on her hands and one knee. The impact stung sharply enough to bring tears to her eyes, but she kicked off her shoes, not caring that she was leaving them behind. She scrambled up and ran faster. The footsteps of her pursuer were louder now, starting to catch up. Their rhythm was strange: loud periodic footfal s with quicker, lighter beats in between. Bonnie realized with horror that there was more than one person chasing her. Her foot skidded again, and she barely caught her balance, staggering sideways a few steps to keep from fal ing, losing more ground. A heavy hand fel on Bonnie's shoulder, and she screamed and whipped around, her fists raised in a desperate bid to defend herself. â€Å"Bonnie!† Meredith gasped, clutching Bonnie's shoulders. â€Å"What are you doing out here by yourself?† Samantha came up beside them, carrying Bonnie's shoes, and doubled over, panting for breath. â€Å"You are way too fast for me, Meredith,† she said. Bonnie swal owed a sob of relief. Now that she was safe, she felt like sitting down and having hysterics. â€Å"You scared me,† she said. Meredith looked furious. â€Å"Remember how we promised to stick together?† Meredith's gray eyes were stormy. â€Å"You were supposed to stay with Zander until you got home safely.† Bonnie, about to respond heatedly that it hadn't been her choice to be out here alone, suddenly closed her mouth and nodded. If Meredith knew that Zander had left Bonnie out here by herself, she would never, never forgive him. And Bonnie was mad at Zander for leaving her, but she wasn't quite that mad, not mad enough to turn Meredith against him. Maybe he had an explanation. And she stil wanted that kiss. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Bonnie said abjectly, staring down at her feet. â€Å"You're right, I should have known better.† Mol ified, Meredith swung an arm over Bonnie's shoulders. Samantha silently handed Bonnie her shoes, and Bonnie pul ed them back on. â€Å"Let's walk Samantha back to her dorm, and then we'l go home together,† she said forgivingly. â€Å"You'l be okay with us.† Around the corner from her room, Elena sagged and leaned against the hal way wal for a moment. It had been a long, long night. There had been drinks, and dancing with the huge shaggy-haired Spencer who, as Samantha had warned her, did try to pick Elena up and swing her around. Things got loud and aggravating, and the whole time, her heart hurt. She wasn't sure she wanted to navigate the world without Stefan. It's just for now, she told herself, straightening up and plodding around the corner. â€Å"Hel o, princess,† said Damon. Elena stiffened in shock. Lounging on the floor in front of her door, Damon somehow managed to look sleek and perfectly poised in what would have been an awkward position for anyone else. As she recovered from the shock of his being there at al , Elena was surprised by the burst of joy that rose up in her chest at the sight of him. Trying to ignore that happy little hop inside her, she said flatly, â€Å"I told you I didn't want to see you for a while, Damon.† Damon shrugged and rose graceful y to his feet. â€Å"Darling, I'm not here to plead for your hand.† His eyes lingered on her mouth for a moment, but then he went on in a dry and detached tone. â€Å"I'm just checking in on you and the little redbird, making sure you haven't disappeared with whatever's gone sour on this campus.† â€Å"We're fine,† Elena said shortly. â€Å"Here I am, and Bonnie's new boyfriend is walking her home.† â€Å"New boyfriend?† Damon asked, raising one eyebrow. He'd always had – something – some connection with Bonnie, Elena knew, and she guessed his ego might not be thril ed to have her moving past the little crush she'd focused on him. â€Å"And how did you get home?† Damon asked acidly. â€Å"I notice you haven't picked up a new boyfriend to protect you. Not yet, anyway.† Elena flushed and bit her lip but refused to rise to the bait. â€Å"Meredith just left to patrol around campus. I notice you didn't ask about her. Don't you want to make sure she's safe?† Damon snorted. â€Å"I pity any ghoul that goes after that one,† he said, sounding more admiring than anything else. â€Å"Can I come in? Note that I'm being courteous again, waiting for you out here in this dingy hal way instead of comfortably on your bed.† â€Å"You can come in for a minute,† Elena said grudgingly, and opened her bag to rummage for her keys. Oh. She felt a sudden pang of heartache. At the top of her bag, rather crushed and wilted now, was the daisy she'd found outside her door at the beginning of the evening. She touched it gently, reluctant to push it aside in the hunt for her keys. â€Å"A daisy,† said Damon dryly. â€Å"Very sweet. You don't seem to be taking much care of it, though.† Purposely ignoring him, Elena grabbed her keys and snapped the bag shut. â€Å"So you think the disappearances and attacks are because of ghouls? Do you mean something supernatural?† she asked, unlocking the door. â€Å"What did you find out, Damon?† Shrugging, Damon fol owed her into the room. â€Å"Nothing,† he answered grimly. â€Å"But I certainly don't think the missing kids just freaked out and went home or to Daytona Beach or something. I think you need to be careful.† Elena sat down on her bed, drew her knees up, and rested her chin on them. â€Å"Have you used your Power to try to figure out what's going on?† she asked. â€Å"Meredith said she would ask you.† Damon sat down next to her and sighed. â€Å"Beloved, as little as I like to admit it, even my Power has limits,† he said. â€Å"If someone is much stronger than me, like Klaus was, he can hide himself. If someone is much weaker, he doesn't usual y make enough of an impression for me to find him unless I already know who he is. And for some ridiculous reason† – he scowled – â€Å"I can never sense werewolves at al .† â€Å"So you can't help?† Elena said, dismayed. â€Å"Oh, I didn't say that,† Damon said. He touched a loose strand of Elena's golden hair with one long finger. â€Å"Pretty,† he said absently. â€Å"I like your hair pul ed back like this.† She twitched away from him, and he dropped his hand. â€Å"I'm looking into it,† he went on, his eyes gleaming. â€Å"I haven't had a good hunt in far too long.† Elena wasn't sure that she ought to find this comforting, but she did, in a kind of scary way. â€Å"You'l be relentless, then?† she asked, a little chil going through her, and he nodded, his long black lashes half veiling his eyes. She was so sleepy and felt happier now that she'd seen Damon, although she knew she shouldn't have let him in. She missed him, too. â€Å"You had better go,† she said, yawning. â€Å"Let me know what you find out.† Damon stood, hesitating by the end of her bed. â€Å"I don't like leaving you alone here,† he said. â€Å"Not with everything that's been happening. Where are those friends of yours?† â€Å"They'l be here,† Elena said. Something generous in her made her add, â€Å"But if you're that worried, you can sleep here if you want.† She'd missed him, she had, and he was being a perfect gentleman. And she had to admit, she would feel safer with him there. â€Å"I can?† Damon quirked a wicked eyebrow. â€Å"On the floor,† Elena said firmly. â€Å"I'm sure Bonnie and Meredith wil be glad for your protection, too.† It was a lie. While Bonnie would be thril ed to see him, there was a decent chance Meredith would kick him on purpose as she crossed the room. She might even put on special pointy-toed boots to do it. Elena got up and pul ed down a spare blanket from her closet for him, then headed off to brush her teeth and change. When she came back, al ready for bed, he was lying on the floor, wrapped in the blanket. His eyes lingered for a minute on the curve of her neck leading down to her lacy white nightgown, but he didn't say anything. Elena climbed into bed and turned out the light. â€Å"Good night, Damon,† she said. There was a soft rush of air. Then suddenly he whispered softly in her ear, â€Å"Good night, princess.† Cool lips brushed her cheek and then were gone.