Night Vision Devices and History Research Paper

Night Vision Devices and History - Research Paper Example They incorporated active infrared to brighten up the scene. This was followed by generation 1 devices that relied on ambient light as opposed to an infrared light source. Examples of these devices include AN/PVS-2. With the changing technology, second generation night vision devices were developed. These devices featured a more advanced image intensifier than the previous generations (Stew 31). Seemingly, better clarity of the image was realized. Examples of these devices includes AN/PVS-4 and AN/VS-5 What Called For These Devices to Be Implemented Into Our Society Global population increase led to increased incidences of criminal activities. To curb this vice government institutions alongside nongovernmental organizations installed the night vision devices within their structures, this enabled proper monitoring of activities. The persons that thought of and developed this technology A night vision scientist, John Johnson, developed methods that predicted the target detection, identi fication and recognition (Anonymous 1). Upon the development of the image intensifier instrument, Johnson involved volunteer’s observers in order to test an individual ability to identify targets under varied conditions. Notably, this period marked a considerable development in the performance modeling of the night vision imaging systems. Other scientists behind this technology were George, Goodrich, James Ignatowski and William Wiley. They researched on the continuous channel electron multiplier APPLICATIONS FOR NIGHT VISION DEVICES. Application towards Safety Personnel using them For Search and Rescue. Night vision devices are used all over the world in rescue and maritime search. In a man overboard scenario, only the head of the person floating is visible. It is often visible as red or white balls against a dark background because the thermal heat of t greater the human head is greater than that of the water thus creating a 24 hour response capability (Anonymous 1). Moreov er, managing rescue at the sea has always been a complex undertaking. Occasionally, on scene commandos employ thermal imaging to keep track of the victims and their rescue personnel in the water. Notably, the improved situational awareness often increases the safety of all involved. As such, incorporation of the thermal imagers allows the maritime personnel to monitor whatever that is happening on land even in the event of darkness. Scientists using them for Further Scientific Research. Dr. Mark Horns of the department of engineering science and mechanics at Penn State University is working on the materials for night vision use. Thermograph employs vanadium oxide since its resistance changes with temperature (Vogel 36). It has been established that the relation between the change in temperature and resistance results to the temperature coefficient of resistivity of a material. At Penn State University, Dr. Horns group are currently studying on how nanotechnology enhancement to the m aterial properties and fabrication methods can help increase the temperature coefficient of resistivity for higher sensitivity, as well as, reduce production costs. The materials used are produced in the lab primarily by engaging the Pulsed DC Sputtering (Vogel 39). Medical Personnel using A Variant of NVDs for Practice or Further Medical UUT LIFESTAR’S is a civilian aero medical program that has embraced the night vision technology. It has been certified by the federal aviation administration to use

Virtuoso Teams Essay Example for Free

Virtuoso Teams Essay Bill Fischer is Professor of Innovation Management. He began his work-life as an apprentice electrician in the New York City building trades and his professional life as a development engineer in the steel industry. He served for two years as a lieutenant in the US Army Corps of Engineers; and has also worked with the World Health Organization for more than fifteen years on strengthening research and development institutes in developing countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Bill also was the Executive President and Dean of the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), in Shanghai. Bill writes a blog entitled The Ideas Business for Forbes.com and has recently author two books relating to innovation: Virtuoso Teams in 2005, and The Idea Hunter, in 2011 [both co-authored by Andy Boynton]. Andy Boynton is Dean of Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, one of the world’s leading business schools, the author of several books and co-creator of DeepDiveâ„ ¢, the world’s leading methodology for helping executives harness the power of teams to significantly improve problem-solving speed, innovation and results. Boynton was a professor of strategy at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland for 10 years. Boynton has recently launched new research projects to explore how distinguished experts from a variety of knowledge-domains work with ideas to achieve professional success and improve their effectiveness in social networks. His latest book, The Idea Hunter: How to Find the Best Ideas and Make them Happen (Jossey-Bass), is based on this research and is co-authored with Bill Fischer and William Bole. A virtuoso (from Italian virtuoso, Latin virtus meaning: skill, manliness, excellence) is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The term evolved with time, simultaneously broadening and narrowing in scope as interpretations went in and out of fashion and debates unravel. What words characterizes them best? This article is about these kind of teams which are so different from the ordinary, average teams. The Idea in Brief Imagine these high-stakes scenarios: Your company must enter an untested new market. Or reorganize to take advantage of a new IT platform. Or avert a public relations crisis brought on by product tampering. To manage such feats, you need virtuoso teamsgroups of top experts in their fields. But superstars are notorious for being temperamental and egocentric. You worry that forcing a group of them to work together will create a fatal explosion. So youre tempted to settle for an ordinary project team instead. Dont do it. Ordinary teams may play nice, but they produce results as unremarkable as themselves. Assemble your virtuoso teamand manage it with counterintuitive strategies, advise Fischer and Boynton. For example, instead of emphasizing the collective, celebrate individual egos by creating opportunities for solo performances. Then build group ego by encouraging a single-minded focus on the goal, your teams members will forge their most brilliant ideas. The Idea in Practice Fischer and Boynton suggest these principles for leading a virtuoso team: Assemble the stars. Hire only members with the best skills, even if they have little experience with the problem at hand. After investing heavily in a site promising a big oil find, Norsk Hydro discovered the site was dry. Team leader Kjell Sunde assembled a virtuoso team to avert an investor-relations crisis. The team included the best technical people from across the company. Its goal: Analyze reams of data, pinpoint what went wrong, and convince stakeholders such an outcome wouldnt occur again. Build the group ego. As your teams project progresses, help stars break through their egocentrism and morph into a powerful, unified team with a shared identity. Sunde initially broke with Norsk Hydros consensus-driven culture by publicly celebrating his team members and putting them squarely in the spotlight. He established a star mentality by nicknaming them the A-team. Then he built the teams group ego by protecting members from intrusive scrutiny from above, giving them unlimited access to resources, and treating their  conclusions as definitive. Make work a contact sport. Use face-to-face conversations in designated spaces to foster impassioned dialogue. Sunde established a dedicated team room and filled it with computer workstations and other scientific and communications equipment. The space functioned as a workroom and meeting place for candid, intense discussions that let members bounce ideas off each other. Respect the customers intelligence. Foster the belief that your teams customers want more, not less. Youll encourage them to deliver solutions consistent with this higher perception. For Norsk Hydros A-team, customers were equity market analysts. The teams job was to manage the markets reaction to news of the dry site. If its explanation was slapdash or incomplete, the companys market value would nosedive. The team provided thoughtful explanations that left market analysts impressed with the firms ability to respond convincingly and quickly to market concerns. The company received kudos in the press and was spared serious financial erosion. Herd the cats. Use time management strategies to balance team members needs for individual attention and intellectual freedom with the uncompromising demands and time lines of your high-stakes project. Sunde forced A-team members to keep presentations to 15 minutes. That encouraged members to use this allotment to maximum effect and discouraged aggressive members from imposing their viewpoints on others. The strong adherence to time made everyone aware they had to dance to the same rhythm.

Communication †sending and receiving verbal information

Communication – sending and receiving verbal information Communication is the complex process of sending and receiving verbal information. The communication process plays a very important role in the profession of nursing. Daily the nurses have to deal with a huge number of patients of diverse background. Some belong to educated background and understands thing very well but some are not educated, and for them understanding and communicating with the medical staff is very difficult so it is the responsibility of the nurses to improve their skills to such an extent that communicating with people of all sorts become possible for them. The communication could be verbal or nonverbal like by the use of expressions or jesters etc. The discussion among the nurses and the patients is conducted usually in a very hectic atmosphere; both the patients and nurses are in an urgency as a result of which unwanted issues may arise. The directions are often delivered to the patients on the phones rather than face to face. In the cases of emergency the commu nication skills gain very high importance as the decision about the procedure has to be made immediately but sometimes the patient nurse interaction is delayed too much as a result of which serious consequences could be faced. In order to avoid the problems in communication some strategies have been discussed in this paper. One technique to attain this objective is by the use of strategies which are being used by other industries and have been very effective like team resource management. It is a training course which has been designed by the aviation business. It emphasizes on combined decision making and team oriented approaches. The most excellent patient care can be provided when the nurses are accessible at all times. By the use of equipments like background-assessment-recommendation (SBAR), it is guaranteed that the delivered messages are very clear and not ambiguous in any kind of stressful situation (Leonard, Graham Bonacum, 2004).  U-nursing is also very effective in imp roving the patient nurse communication. The SWOT analysis is also given in the proposal. The above mentioned plans could be implemented easily. Some are not time consuming like changing the behavior and attitude of the nurses however some of them needs time like installation of wireless equipments. If the nurses lack the skills for good communication the above mentioned tasks becomes really difficult to handle. In order to deal with patients who have diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds and having different levels of knowledge, communication becomes a big challenge to the health care providers. Health care providers especially the nurses have always been very keen to advance the communication skills so that they can progress to better patients care services. In nursing, a heavy amount of information has to be provided and received in a narrow time period. In order to do this perfectly and smoothly the communication settings, history experiences and individual opinion of the people must be considered very deeply. So the communication enhancements mentioned above will prove to be very successful. From this study we have come to know that when you move toward alteration with a patient-centered attitude, the finest decisions are obvious. Table of Contents Introduction Communication means relocation of the information amongst the people. The nursing job involves continuous communication between the patients, their relatives and the nurses. The chances of miscommunication in this profession are very high which can lead to serious consequences.  For nurses it is really important that they should be aware of key communicating process and the height to risks and problems that they can come across as a result of miss-communication. It is important to have clear communication with patients especially for those nurses who are involved in collection of patient history. They should be aware of the art of educating the patients giving them the needed emotional help (Munhill, 2007, p.452). According to a report at Institute of Medicine, it has now been an established fact that secure and trustworthy relationship between a patient and the health care provider (especially nurse) depends upon healthy and good communication (Leonard, Graham Bonacum, 2004; Viney et al., 2006). Usually the goal of the health care providers is to achieve more in a smaller amount time as a result of which their relations with patients suffer. In this proposal we are going to discuss about how communications between the patients and the nurses can be improved in order to have a healthy and fruitful relationship. Analysis of change needed Efficient communication between the patients and health care providers especially nurses is a very important area in the hospital management but it is hampered by different problems. The discussion with the patients is conducted usually in a very busy environment; both the patients and nurses are in a hurry as a result of which undesirable issues are raised. Communication with the patients is mostly carried out through answering machines instead of having a direct interaction. According to the leadership theory as presented by Fred Fiedler suggests that effective group performance depended upon the proper match between a leaders style of interacting with his or her followers and the degree to which situation allowed the leader to control and influence (Robbins Coulter, 2008, p. 493). It is often argued that in a hospital setting, in-charge nurse is often lacking required competencies in relation to communicating with patients that represent a barrier in efficient leadership. One of the prime reasons being their promotion from the clinical nurse thus they are apt at dealing with medical issues but ill equipped to be regarded as a good communicator with patients (Connelly et al., 2003, p.298). Their relationship should be relationship oriented instead of focusing solely on routine tasks. Similarly path-goal theory as devised by Robert House also favours leader role to be more supportive, providing direction to relevant others (Robbins Coulter, 2008, p.498). A study conducted in United States of America concluded that 90% of the faults in patient analysis result from poor communication between the patients and the health care providers. Different sort of parameters like lack of sleep or proper rest, long duty hours, other part time jobs, personal issues or family concerns may have serious effects on the ability of nurses to interact with the patients. Therefore the present challenge is to develop an environment which is comfortable for nurses so that they can easily perform their job. One method to achieve this goal is by applying the strategies which have been adapted by industries working beyond provision of medical aid. Team resource management as constructed by aviation department could also bring desired outcomes. The strategy helps to direct all efforts towards equal participation in decision making, leading a team focused behavioral approach. The best patient care can be provided when the nurses are can be easily contacted in case of any issue during patients stay at the hospital. By using different electronic gadgets like situation-background-assessment-recommendation (SBAR), such methods help to convey lucid messages between both nurses and patients to overcome the challenging situation (Leonard, Graham Bonacum, 2004).  It is stated that many nurses save around 20 to 40 minutes every day if they have immediate contact with the specialists. Most of the hospitals of the Unites States still use the old weird telephone systems which not only waste time but also may lead to miscommunication. A new communication technology like that of Dalcon Alertcan provide a solution to this problem. It is a wireless technology and by the use of it the patients, nurses, staff and the physicians can stay in contact with each other all the time, while even on move. A study showed that 70 to 80 percent of time could be saved each day by th e use of this technology. The technology also provides direct alerts to the nurses on their devices (Kohn, Corrigan Donaldson, 2000). Another method is to employ the U-Nursing technique. By U Nursing we mean that the nurses are available to all the organizations and institutes at all the time by using the facilities from information technology. The SWOT analysis about this nursing technique is given below (Murray, 2007, p.32). SWOT Analysis: Strengths: User friendly and Less time consuming Expert advice avail all the time Infrastructure is very safe and secure International quality standards maintained Enhance the communication between the patients and the nurses Weaknesses: The setup costs are very high Nurses are not yet very much trained to use this system Lack of support and backup infrastructure Opportunities: Research studies will be facilitated Technology development in nursing profession If goes successful , could be applied to all the hospitals and has just one time setup costs Holistic and Humanized Threats: System breakdowns by attack of viruses leading to data loss High dependency on the information technology Intellectual proprietary issues Be short of leadership in nursing Misuse of personal information of patients and loss of privacy Ignorant patients may be misguided Plan of Action The plan of action for the above mentioned analysis is as follows: First the working hours of the nurses would be discussed and adjusted accordingly so that they can work attentively and efficiently and this will be done immediately. The salary structure would be revised so that there would be no need for part time jobs. Recognize any hindrances which may hamper the communication like can the patient converse in English easily or not? If not the nurse should arrange for an interpreter. If the hearing ability of the patient is not well, hearing aid should be provided. Training courses for the nurses would be arranged regarding communication skills so that they can improve their communication with the patients and the physicians. Infrastructure for the U-Nursing plan would be arranged. For this purpose letters would be written to higher authorities at the hospital or even the government level if required so that the funds could be provided. Once the approval is received for such plan then nurses would be trained for the use of such facilities. In hospital equipment would be updated like the use of wireless technologies to be implemented so that the wastage of time could be prevented. The patients would be able to communicate with the nurses through wireless gadgets at all the times so that emergency situations can be dealt with ease and efficiency. Evaluation strategy The real time monitoring strategies about these new things will be applied. The amendment trials are fruitful when they are structured keeping in view the present situation and are visible with healthy results. They are made on the existing method of doing things,  are visible and have positive outcomes (Greenhalgh et al., 2004; Rye Kimberly, 2007). The study would be evaluated by noticing the change in the general attitude of nurses, their change in appearance and social dealings. The qualitative and quantitative data will be used. For the qualitative data general observations will be done on the communication changes between nurses and the patients and for the qualitative data questionnaires will be given to the patients and they will be asked about the improvement in the communication skills of the nurses. They will be asked about the benefits or demerits of the use of wireless technology implemented in the hospital. If the patients provide us with the positive feedback this wi ll mean the change is a success. Conclusion The immediate problem and challenge in the health care industry is to manage and develop an environment which provides effective and transparent communication system between the patients and the health care workers especially nurses as they are the most frequent ones to come across with the patients. It is anticipated that the above mentioned changes will bring a positive and healthy change in the hospital environment and the communication skills of the nurses will be improved. Especially when the nurses will be trained accordingly the patients would definitely feel a positive change in the hospitals. It is wisely said that half of the illness of the patient is cleared out immediately when he is treated nicely by the health care provider.

Title IX and the Expansion of Educational Rights for Women :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Title IX and the Expansion of Educational Rights for Women Title IX legislation, passed in 1972, expanded the rights of an individual in ed ucational opportunities. It equalized academic prospects for individuals by ensuring that males and females must have equal access to educational possibilities. Title IX is traditionally attributed to the growth of athletic programs for women by demanding that programs for women are given the same amount of money and attention as men's teams. However, Title IX has dealt with a plethora of equality issues in education that have been overshadowed, for the most part, by the legislation's impressive impact on women in sports. Title IX is attributed to have an important effect on the number of women in higher education. Richard W. Riley, former U.S. Secretary of Education, asserted that, "The great untold story of success that resulted from the passage of Title IX is surely the progress that has been achieved in education. In 1971, only 18 percent of all women, compared to 26 percent of all men, had completed four or more years of college. This education gap no longer exists. Women now make up the majority of students in America's colleges and universities in addition to making up the majority of recipients of master's degrees. Indeed, the United States has become a world leader in giving women the opportunity to receive a higher education." (25 Years of Progress, The U.S. Department of Education, p.online). Many universities and colleges did not allow women entrance before the legislation (The Legislative Road to Title IX, The U.S. Department of Education, p. online). Title IX has had a huge positive outc ome on the availability of higher educational opportunities for women by making sure that women are given equal opportunities to men that help them graduate from and achieve academic success past secondary levels of schooling. This has logically resulted in an increased number of women in more specialized and higher paid jobs. Title IX is effectually changing the face of the American workplace by giving women the opportunity to learn, compete, and surpass men. Title IX also increased the opportunity of women to be free from sexual harassment in schools. It made sure that, "A high school student who was alleged ly subjected to sexual harassment and abuse by her coach-teacher could seek monetary damages against a school district under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972" (Wooster, "Sexual Harassment of Students under Title IX," p.

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Three

Bonnie fluffed her red curls as she hurried across Dalcrest's great lawn. It was so pretty here. Little flagstone paths bordered the lawn, leading off to the various dorms and classroom buildings. Brightly colored flowers – petunias, impatiens, daisies – were growing everywhere, by the sides of the path and in front of the buildings. The human scenery was pretty awesome, too, Bonnie thought, surreptitiously eyeing a bronzed guy lying on a toWellnear the edge of the lawn. Not surreptitiously enough, though – the guy lifted his shaggy dark head and winked at her. Bonnie giggled and walked faster, her cheeks warm. Honestly, shouldn't he be unpacking or setting up his room or something? Not just lying around half naked and winking at passing girls like a big †¦ flirt. The bag of stuff Bonnie had bought in the campus bookstore clinked gently in her hand. Of course, she hadn't been able to buy books yet, as they wouldn't sign up for classes until the next day, but it turned out the bookstore sold everything. She'd gotten some great stuff: a Dalcrest mug, a teddy bear wearing its own cute little Dalcrest T-shirt, and a few things that would come in handy, like an efficiently organized shower caddy and a col ection of pens in every color of the rainbow. She had to admit she was pretty excited about starting col ege. Bonnie shifted the bag to her left hand and flexed the cramping fingers of her right. Excited or not, al this stuff she'd bought was heavy. But she needed it. This was her plan: she was going to become a new person at col ege. Not entirely new; she liked herself fine, for the most part. But she was going to become more of a leader, more mature, the kind of person who people said, â€Å"Ask Bonnie,† or â€Å"Trust Bonnie,† rather than, â€Å"Oh, Bonnie,† which was completely different. She was determined to step out of the shadows of Meredith and Elena. They were both terrific, of course, her absolute best friends, but they didn't even realize how terrifyingly in charge they were al the time. Bonnie wanted to become a terrific, ful y in-charge person in her own right. Plus maybe she'd meet a real y special guy. That would be nice. Bonnie couldn't actual y blame Meredith or Elena for the fact that al the way through high school, she'd had plenty of dates but no serious boyfriends. But the simple fact was that, even if everyone thought you were cute, if your two closest friends were gorgeous and smart and powerful, the kind of guy who was looking to fal in love might find you a little bit †¦ fluffy †¦ in comparison. She had to admit, though, that she was relieved that she and Meredith and Elena were al living together. She might not want to be stuck in their shadows, but they were stil her best friends. And, after al †¦ Thud. Someone crashed into Bonnie's side and she lost her train of thought completely. She staggered backward. A large male body lurched into her again, briefly crushing her face against his chest, and she tripped, fal ing against someone else's side. There were guys al around her, shoving one another back and forth, joking around and arguing, paying no attention to her as she was jostled among them, until a strong hand suddenly steadied her in the midst of the turmoil. By the time she found her feet, they were moving off again, five or six male bodies swiping and shoving at one another, not stopping to apologize, as if they hadn't even noticed her as anything more than an inanimate obstacle in their path. Except for one of them. Bonnie found herself staring at a worn blue T-shirt and a slim torso with Well-muscled arms. She straightened up and smoothed her hair, and the hand gripping her arm let go. â€Å"Are you al right?† a low voice asked. I'd be better if you hadn't almost knocked me down, Bonnie was about to say snippily. She was out of breath, and her bag was heavy, and this guy and his friends seriously needed to watch where they were going. Then she looked up, and her eyes met his. Wow. The guy was gorgeous. His eyes were a clear, true blue, the blue of the sky at dawn on a summer morning. His features were sharply cut, the eyebrows arched, the cheekbones high, but his mouth was soft and sensual. And she'd never seen hair quite that color before, except on the youngest kids, that pure white-blond that made her think of tropical beaches under a summer sky†¦ â€Å"Are you okay?† he repeated more loudly, a frown of concern crinkling his perfect forehead. God. Bonnie could feel herself blushing right up to the roots of her hair. She had just been staring at him with her mouth open. â€Å"I'm fine,† she said, trying to pul herself together. â€Å"I guess I wasn't watching where I was going.† He grinned, and a tiny zing! shot right through Bonnie. His smile was gorgeous, too, and it lit up his whole face. â€Å"That's nice of you to say,† he said, â€Å"but I think maybe we should have been watching where we were going instead of shoving each other al over the path. My friends sometimes get a little †¦ rowdy.† He glanced past her, and Bonnie looked back over her shoulder. His friends had stopped and were waiting for him farther down the path. As Bonnie watched, one of them, a tal dark guy, smacked another on the back of the head, and a moment later they were scuffling and shoving again. â€Å"Yeah, I can see that,† said Bonnie, and the gorgeous white-blond guy laughed. His rich laugh made Bonnie smile, too, and pul ed her attention back to those eyes. â€Å"Anyway, please accept my apology,† he said. â€Å"I'm real y sorry.† He held out his hand. â€Å"My name's Zander.† His grip was nice and firm, his hand large and warm around hers. Bonnie felt herself blushing again, and she tossed her red curls back and stuck her chin bravely in the air. She wasn't going to act al flustered. So what if he was gorgeous? She was friends – sort of, anyway – with Damon. She ought to be immune to gorgeous guys by now. â€Å"I'm Bonnie,† she said, smiling up at him. â€Å"This is my first day here. Are you a freshman, too?† â€Å"Bonnie,† he said thoughtful y, drawing her name out a little like he was tasting it. â€Å"No, I've been here for a while.† â€Å"Zander†¦ Zander,† the guys down the path began chanting, their voices getting faster and louder as they repeated it. â€Å"Zander†¦ Zander†¦ Zander.† Zander winced, his attention slipping back toward his friends. â€Å"I'm sorry, Bonnie, I've got to run,† he said. â€Å"We've got sort of a†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He paused. â€Å"†¦ club thing going on. But, like I said, I'm real y sorry we almost knocked you over. I hope I'l see you again soon, okay?† He squeezed her hand once more, gave her a lingering smile, and walked away, picking up speed as he got closer to his friends. Bonnie watched him rejoin the group of guys. Just before they turned past a dorm, Zander looked back at her, flashed that gorgeous smile, and waved. Bonnie raised her hand to wave back, accidental y clunking the heavy bag against her side as he turned away. Amazing, she thought, remembering the color of his eyes. I might be falling in love. Matt leaned against the wobbly pile of suitcases he'd stacked by the entrance to his dorm room. â€Å"Darn it,† he said as he jiggled the key in the door's lock. Had they even given him the right key? â€Å"Hey,† a voice said behind him, and Matt jerked, tumbling a suitcase down onto the floor. â€Å"Whoops, sorry about that. Are you Matt?† â€Å"Yeah,† Matt said, giving the key one last twist and, just like that, the door final y opened. He turned, smiling. â€Å"Are you Christopher?† The school had told him his roommate's name and that he was on the footbal team, too, but the two of them hadn't gotten in touch. Christopher looked okay. He was a big guy with a linebacker build, friendly smile, and short sandy hair that he scrubbed at with one hand as he stepped back to make way for the cheerful middle-aged couple fol owing him. â€Å"Hi there, you must be Matt,† said the woman, who was carrying a rol ed-up rug and a Dalcrest pennant. â€Å"I'm Jennifer, Christopher's mom, and this is Mark, his dad. It's so nice to meet you. Are your folks here?† â€Å"Uh, no, I just drove up by myself,† Matt said. â€Å"My hometown, Fel ‘s Church, isn't too far from here.† He grabbed his suitcases and lugged them into the room, hurrying to get out of Christopher's family's way. Their room was pretty smal . There was a bunk bed along one wal , a narrow space in the middle of the room, and two desks and dressers crammed side by side on the other wal . The girls and Stefan were no doubt living in luxury, but it hadn't seemed quite right to let Stefan use his Power to get Matt a good housing assignment. It was bad enough that Matt took someone else's slot as a student and someone else's space on the footbal team. Stefan had talked him into doing just that. â€Å"Look, Matt,† he'd said, his green eyes serious. â€Å"I understand how you feel. I don't like influencing people to get what I want either. But the fact is, we need to stay together. With the lines of Power that run through this whole part of the country, we have to be on our guard. We're the only ones who know.† Matt had to agree, when Stefan put it like that. He'd turned down the plush dorm room Stefan had offered to arrange for him, though, and taken what the housing office assigned him. He had to hang on to at least a shred of his honor. Plus if he was in the same dorm as the others, it would have been hard to say no to rooming with Stefan. He liked Stefan fine, but the idea of living with him, of watching him with Elena, the girl Matt had lost and stil loved despite al that had happened, was too much. And it would be fun to meet new people, to expand his horizons a bit after spending his whole life in Fel ‘s Church. But the room was awful y smal . And Christopher seemed to have a ton of stuff. He and his parents went up and down the stairs, hauling in a sound system, a little refrigerator, a TV, a Wii. Matt shoved his own three suitcases into the corner and helped them bring it al in. â€Å"We'l share the fridge and the entertainment stuff, of course,† Christopher told him, glancing at Matt's bags, which clearly contained nothing but clothes and maybe some sheets and towels. â€Å"If we can figure out where to put it al .† Christopher's mom was prowling around the room, directing his dad on where to move things. â€Å"Great, thanks – † Matt started to say, but Christopher's dad, having final y managed to wedge the TV on top of one of the dressers, turned to look at Matt. â€Å"Hey,† he said. â€Å"It just hit me – if you're from Fel ‘s Church, you guys were the state champions last year. You must be some player. What position do you play?† â€Å"Uh, thanks,† Matt said. â€Å"I play quarterback.† â€Å"First string?† Christopher's dad asked him. Matt blushed. â€Å"Yeah.† Now they were al staring at him. â€Å"Wow,† Christopher said. â€Å"No offense, man, but why are you going to Dalcrest? I mean, I'm excited just to play col ege bal , but you could have gone, like, Division One.† Matt shrugged uncomfortably. â€Å"Um, I had to stay close to home.† Christopher opened his mouth to say something else, but his mother gave a tiny shake of her head and he closed it again. Great, Matt thought. They probably thought he had family problems. He had to admit it warmed him a little, though, to be with people who acknowledged what he'd given up. The girls and Stefan didn't real y understand footbal . Even though Stefan had played on their high school team with him, his mind-set was stil very much that of the Renaissance European aristocrat: sports were enjoyable pastimes that kept the body fit. Stefan didn't real y care. But Christopher and his family – they got what it meant for Matt to pass up the chance of playing for a top-ranked col ege footbal team. â€Å"So,† Christopher said, a little too suddenly, as if he'd been trying to think of a way to change the subject, â€Å"which bed do you want? I don't care whether I take top or bottom.† They al looked over at the bunk beds, and that's when Matt saw it for the first time. It must have arrived while he was downstairs helping with Christopher's luggage. A cream-colored envelope sat on the bottom bunk, made of a fancy thick paper stock like a wedding invitation. On the front was written in cal igraphy â€Å"Matthew Honeycutt.† â€Å"What's that, dear?† Christopher's mom asked curiously. Matt shrugged, but he was beginning to feel a thrum of excitement in his chest. He'd heard something about invitations certain people at Dalcrest received, ones that just mysteriously appeared, but he'd always thought they were a myth. Flipping the envelope over, he saw a blue wax seal bearing the impression of an ornate letter V. Huh. After gazing at the envelope for a second, he folded it and slipped it into his back pocket. If it was what he thought it was, he was supposed to open it alone. â€Å"I guess that's fate tel ing us the bottom bunk's yours,† Christopher said amiably. â€Å"Yeah,† Matt said distractedly, his heart pounding hard. â€Å"Excuse me for a minute, okay?† He ducked out into the hal , took a deep breath, and opened the envelope. Inside was more thick fancy paper with cal igraphy on it and a narrow piece of black fabric. He read: Fortis Aeturnus For generations, the best and brightest of Dalcrest College have been chosen to join the Vitale Society. This year, you have been selected. Should you wish to accept this honor and become one of us, come tomorrow night at eight o'clock to the main campus gate. You must be blindfolded and dressed as befits a serious occasion. Tell no one. The little pulse of excitement in Matt's chest increased until he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He sank down along the wal and took a deep breath. He'd heard stories about the Vitale Society. The handful of Well-known actors, famous writers, and great Civil War general that Dalcrest counted among their alumni were al rumored to have been members. To belong to the legendary society was supposed to ensure your success, to link you to an incredible secret network that would help you throughout your life. More than that, there was talk of mysterious deeds, of secrets revealed only to members. And they were supposed to have amazing parties. But they were just gossip, the stories of the Vitale Society, and no one ever straight-out admitted to belonging to it. Matt always figured the secret society was a myth. The col ege itself so vehemently denied any knowledge of the Vitale Society that Matt suspected the admissions people might have made the whole thing up, trying to make the col ege seem a little more exclusive and mysterious than it real y was. But here – he looked down at the creamy paper clutched in his hands – was evidence that al the stories might be true. It could be a joke, he supposed, a trick someone was playing on a few of the freshmen. It didn't feel like a joke, though. The seal, the wax, the expensive paper; it seemed like a lot of effort to go to if the invitation wasn't genuine. The most exclusive, most secret society at Dalcrest was real. And they wanted him.

Non Violent Resistance

Chenoweth and Stephan's arguments and research show that non violent campaigns are more successful than violent campaigns against violent political regimes. Though violent protests can show to be successful and they do get the point across though in a very different way, non violent protests I will have to agree, are the best and most efficient way to go about combating a violent opposition. With cases such as Dr.Martin Luther King, and Ghandi being two of the most noted cases. (not to say that there are not many more) The two writers argue 2 main points as to why a nonviolent approaches are strategically more sound than those that promote violence. The first argument is t hat when a violent force (especially a regime) tries to repress an non-violent campaign, the repression may backfire. â€Å"First, repressing nonviolent campaigns may backfire.In backfire, an unjust act—often violent repression—recoils against its originators, often resulting in the breakdown of obed ience among regime supporters, mobilization of the population against the regime, and international condemnation of the regime† (Cenoweth ; Stephan, 11) In turn when a violent regime confronts a non-violent regime with violence, it sends a message of hostility that will label that country hostile. I associate this with the, Nuke the Middle East comments.Though acts of terrorism may be common in the area the amount of civilian and peaceful citizens in the area would make a no holds bar bombing unacceptable (as well as unlawful in regards to international laws) They also mention a breakdown in support for the violent regime. I agree. As a violent force aggressively challenges a nonviolent movement that is just that, non violent, support tends to diminish from the regime causing a power shift and essentially the regime could collapse due to exhausting funds and lack of support.That is a very interesting and true perspective of a non violent protest strategy that I had not thought of and after thinking about it I tend I lean more towards this argument than I did when I had first began reading this article. Their second argument for non-violent campaigns is that they promote negotiations. They explain that most regimes are more easily swayed to negotiate with a non violent organization as they are not causing harm the regime itself or the military by taking hands on action.They bring up something called Correspondence Inference Theory. Basically we respond to an opponent based on their actions. If they're non violent you would confront them as such and the same goes if they are violent. They make the point that public acceptance is the heart of any resistance and the public masses would be more opt to follow a non violent one than a violent. The reason is simple, the public will not feel as threatened. I feel as though these are great arguments.If by chance a cop de tat had arose in the united states i feel i would be more opt to join a non violent route, suc h as the hippie movement in the 1960's where the protests were expressed via music instead of violence. Of course there are special occurrences where the two above arguments are invalid. During the civil rights protests many African American protesters were hosed down by the authorities even though they had followed Dr. Kings message of peace.Dr. King himself though an advocate of peace was assassinated by the opposition. As previously stated I agree with the authors that a non violent approach strategically is a wonderful idea but it has a down side and I believe that it leaves the peace makers vulnerable to opposition extremists who are not worried about international opinion A few recent examples being Terrorist organizations like Al Queda, and tyrants such as Hitler, Stalin, and North Korea.