Case assignment for sport facilities and venues Study

Assignment for sport facilities and venues - Case Study Example The dilemma being faced by Atkins is similar to the one faced by many expanding business organisations that is to decide whether or not expand their operations beyond a certain point in terms of cost and profitability. ... This growing seasonal demand versus the diminishing capacity is an operational challenge at Golden Shores.The problem remains that this demand is not permanent or steady through out the year.The aim would thus be for a profit sustainable methodology to apply to the capacity planning decision that faced operations management for the tennis facilities. Some statistical calculations Next pertaining to the query about the number of tennis courts which will be needed in July 2004 and its comparison to the present capacity as well as the way ahead for the planning for the next season in terms of capacity by Ms Atkins it is possible to show the following workings. These workings take into account the peak months of usage as well as the past use of the facility.The rate at which the demand is increasing and the cost of utilising 100% capacity of each court alongwith tariff management. It can be seen from Exhibit 3 that July and August are the peak months for Guest nights with the total court hours peaking to 2885 hours. The factors or the formula I would suggest for Ms Atkins would be to focus on capacity decisions which determine other measures of service management such as productivity, growth, change, and competition. GS tennis courts will have to as a part of the service industry provide services as and when they are demanded because it cannot be inventoried.The cost would the demand variability which will lead to alternating periods of idle service workers or facilities and consumer waits. This cost has to be subtracted as a trade off to the cost of idle resources versus consumer retention since a dissatisfied consumer base is likely to hurt the long-term profits and

Fastenal Case Essay Example for Free

Fastenal Case Essay The comprehensive document is an overview of Fastenal Canada LTD and how it relates to sales management. The document first provides an introduction to the problem and company background of Fastenal, which includes a description of various views of Fastenal. It further goes into detail about the recommendations that relates to the two main parties involved, which are the customers and the company itself. The document also includes an in-depth implementation plan, which is broken down into short, medium, and long-term tasks to accomplish. Through out the document there is a mention of the vendor managed inventory model (VMI). By using VMI, we were able to use a different approach to avoid risks associated with the â€Å"bricks and mortar† approach. Fastenal should choose to implement the following business plan because a well thought out analysis went into determining the problem and coming up with a solution for the future growth of the company. All decisions were made with the company in mind and focusing on the strong relationship between the costumer and Fastenal. Introduction Fastenal Canada LTD is a subsidiary of Fastenal Company, which was founded in 1967. Fastenal Canada LTD operates as a wholesaler and retailer of industrial and construction supplies in Canada. They have over 200 stores across Canada, 66 of which are in the western region. Fastenal’s growth strategy has always relied heavily on new store opening because the high demand for its products and services across Canada (Fastenal, 2012). It tends to be risky as well as costly when opening stores using the â€Å"bricks and mortar† approach. The introduction of the vendor managed inventory model (VMI) has been advantageous. Fastenal receives an electronic data via email, informing them of its distributor sales and inventory stock level. This system makes it fast and efficient for the customers and sales associates. Fastenal interprets the electronic data and there is an automatic responsibility of maintaining the inventory level for the customer. Fastenal is looking for a different expansion model approach to be used as a growth driver in Western Canada. Our new proposed strategy gives Fastenal the ability not only maintains its desired identity but it gives them the ability to increase the market share and tap into a fresh new market. Our goal is to assess the situation in hand and work in the given environment to keep the strong customer relationships since it is an important component in the company. Problem Definition How can Fastenal use its new vendor managed inventory model to increase its market share? End market sales during the months of 2012 grew 19.8% from the manufacturing customers while the residential construction customers grew 17.9% (Fastenal, 2012). The advantage to VMI is that it releases the customer of having to worry about the level of their inventories. Fastenal interpret the electronic data and automatic take control of the responsibility of maintaining the inventory level for the customer. How can Fastenal reduce financial risk? Every scenario where there is a change in the way things are done or achieved there is always risks to failure or loss. In many cases where there is loss or failure, there is often a way that it could have been avoided or done differently to avoid the negative outcome. Fastenal needs to avoid these situations by planning ahead and finding ways to avoid the risks that may pose problems or loss in the near future. â€Å"Bricks and Mortar† approach induces many financial risks so another approach is necessary to prevent them. Situation Analysis Customers and the sales force are the stakeholders who are most affected. Strong customer relationships are the essence of Fastenal’s success and form an important component of their competitive advantage. The problem arises due the to lack of education the customer has about ordering online which deceases the efficiency PartStore has to offer. Ordering online reduces rushing the parts to the counter or waiting on the phone. Customers are also able to check parts availability and prices, as well as place an order. However when PartStore was introduced there was some confusion with it. Creating a frustrating relationship between the customer and sales person. Recommendations Consignment Inventory Consignment inventory usually involves the supplier, placing inventory at a customer’s location without getting rid of its ownership of the inventory. Since the owner retains the ownership of its products the customer does not pay until it is sold or used. However, before we examine how Fastenal can benefit from our proposed consignment program it is important to first examine some potential market of interest. The City of Edmonton According Edmonton’s 2012 budget report, almost all municipalities across Canada face a significant infrastructure deficit. Neighborhood renewal occurred periodically with funding from other orders of government, yet it failed to address the full life-cycle requirements of preventative maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. Over time, the condition of roads, sidewalks and sewers deteriorated, resulting in more frequent collapsed sewers, increased sidewalk hazards, and dramatically increased maintenance like pothole repairs. The Office of Infrastructure and Funding Strategy highlighted the need for ongoing funding for neighborhood infrastructure to overcome an anticipated $2.2 billion funding gap in neighborhood roads and related infrastructure. This situation provides a tremendous opportunity for Fastenal to penetrate and serve this market. Market potential The total number of potential infrastructure that needs to be fixed in any given time is the market. The market potential for Fastenal products in units would be equal to the number of potential infrastructure that require repairing, assuming that each infrastructure repair would use Fastenal product. Fastenal can benefit for inventory consignment within the city of Edmonton, however administration is important to understand how the current business model can be used to Fastenal’s advantage in delivering the services. FAST 5000 is a vending machine that provides workers with immediate access to materials and equipment’s. The FAST 5000 machine is installed at customer sites and Fastenal keeps them filled with needed products ranging from safety equipment’s, cutting tools supplies to office supplies. Fastenal handles everything from the delivery of the machines to the installation and restocking of the machine whenever the inventory level becomes low. Through the flexible web reporting system Fastenal customers are able to view and manage the machine’s inventory usage. Cory Jansen, Fastenal’s Vice President of Internal Operation have claims that having the FAST 5000 have reduced production consumption in many cases by more than 30 percent (City of Edmonton, 2012). In the midst of 2.2 billion dollar worth of infrastructure repairs that the city of Edmonton needs, someone will have to supplies this market with their required materials and tools to complete the repair work. Fastenal should approach the city of Edmonton with a proposal outlining how the FAST 5000 can be beneficial to the construction site and within the city offices. The city of Edmonton as a corporation serves a population of more than 750,000 residents; the corporation is segmented into seven different departments each department is responsible for providing a particular service to Edmonton residents. We suggest that Fastenal concentrate on the four main departments within the corporation that is more likely to benefit from the FAST 5000 or the FAST 3000 services, which are the: Office of the City Manager, Sustainable Development, Transportation Services and Infrastructure Services. Office of the City Manager will benefit from the FAST 5000 if Fastenal stocks them with office supplies, such as pens, pencils, papers, etc. Since each development must akin to a strict budget the FAST 5000 can provide the solutions to maintaining those budget, by reducing product consumption, having on-hand inventory, and administration costs, while providing new insight into usage and spending habit that can be used toward next years City budget. Fastenal can implement the same strategy within other municipalities across Canada. Implementation Fastenal needs to place a unit in each site under the City of Edmonton. We believe it to be reasonable to set one to three year goal to place a FAST 5000 machine in each site over the next three years. First step is to write up a proposal to bring to the Simon Farbrother, who must approve it. He is the city manager and makes the major decisions in these cases. This process can take up to three months to be able to present the proposal. This also creates awareness of the product to the potential client. The proposal must go through other levels of approval and be voted on by the city council, therefore this may take another three months. Once the plan is approved the production and distribution can be put into motion. The city of Edmonton has many different branches and sites in the Edmonton area. The marketing department in Fastenal will start to put together the proposal and presentation. The marketing department will create a miniature FAST 5000 as part of a press kit along with a formal written proposal. The press kit will also open up and contain testimonials from previous clients Fastenal has worked with. It will also have a brief description of the key factors and attributes of the FAST 5000 and what sets it apart from prior units. Once the plan is approved, Fastenal will be required to submit the bet to the city manager. Since Fastenal is the sole provider of the vendor managed inventory systems (FAST 5000, FAST 3000). This implies that there is only one supplier that can fulfill the requirement and that any attempt to obtain bids would only result in one supplies being able to bid on the contract which is Fastenal. The bid will contain the benefits and costs of going through with the deal and the estimated completion date of placing the units in different sites throughout Edmonton. Once the city has awarded them the contract they will immediately move forward, and Fastenal will provide the services as stated in the proposal. Fastenal will place the minimum required machines in each site as outlined by the contract. Time Line Immediately| Delivering units| Week 1| Submitting a bid| Week 2| Proposal| 3 months| Meeting with Simon Farbrother | 3 months| Vote by city council| 6 months| Full Approval| TBA| Expansion into further sites and markets| Budget Since we do not have any costs that are being associated with this project our cost is zero, therefore the budget is not present. Risk and mitigation Risk| Mitigation| Underperformance of sales force | * Bring on a skilled team * Have the team mentor new people * Make teamwork part of the culture * Hire skillful and enthusiastic employees | Sales loss on FAST machines| * Proper training * Information to customer about store * Finding good location| Unrealistic customer and schedule expectations| * Make the customer feel comfortable and at ease * Set schedule goals around frequent deliveries | Conclusion The problems we wanted to address were â€Å"How can Fastenal use its new vendor managed inventory model to increase its market share?† and â€Å"How can Fastenal reduce financial risk?†   Our new proposed strategy gives Fastenal the ability to not only maintains its desired identity but it gives them the ability to increase its market share and tap into a fresh new market. Strong customer relationships are the essence of Fastenal’s success and have formed an important part of their competitive advantage. Our business purposed plan intended to keep the strong customer relationships. Through our implementation approach we have demonstrated how Fastenal can transform it’s current solution into a continued transparent business model. Fastenal’s opportunities will be awarded by the skill and creativity they have to meet the customer demands. Reference City of Edmonton. (2012). Budget. Retrieved April 2012, from http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/budget_taxes/budget-2012.aspx Fastenal. (2012). Fastenal . Retrieved April 2012, from http://www.fastenal.com Mackenzie, H. (. (2008). Sales Managment in Canada (1st Edition ed.). (D. Thompson, Ed.) Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Person Prentice Hall.

Legacy of the Cold War

Legacy of the Cold War Sana Karwan Benjamin Boyce The Legacy of the cold war All through history, conflicts and battles between civilizations and nations have been inevitable. Nations have built military protections, whether they were threatened or not. Many wars have happened throughout our history, some small and some huge. Two of the important wars in history are the world wars happened in the twentieth century. In â€Å"Understanding Global Conflict and Cooperation: Intro to Theory and History† by Joseph Nye and David Welch, it is mentioned that the alliance system between the countries in Europe appeared to be multipolar, then it became less stable and Germany rose in power, the balance of power seemed less multipolar and became a bipolar system of alliance and increased the likelihood of war, which was the first world war. After the First World War, the League of Nation was formed; the main aim of the league was Collective Security. But the league failed to attain what it was established for. Although against the rules of the league, but Britain and France formed an alliance and guaranteed the safety of Poland. One of the reasons based on a state level of analysis was when Adolf Hitler moves his troops to Poland and World War Two starts. Adolf Hitler’s target was Russia, Germany had a Fascist government and USSR had a Communist government. After attacking the USSR by the Germans, Josef Stalin allies with the United States and the Britain against Germany, forming the big three. Stalin had conditions fighting this war against the Germans, which was taking all the territories he wants after the war is over. After the defeat of the Germans, the wartime allies, the US and the USSR, so quickly become enemies and the Cold War starts. The cold war left the world militarized, thousands of people lost their lives, many countries financial and economic states were influenced, and the last but not the least, it left a legacy of Nuclear Weapon on the world. (Nye and Welch, 2012) The United States ends the Second World War by being the international policeman, fighting against communism. With the initiatives the US started, USSR started to worry and wanted to show off his power against the US as well. The Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine were two initiatives by the United States, one to aid Europe rebuild its countries that were affected by the war and the later was to indirectly fight communism. The USSR as a communist country, did not take the Marshall Plan, he did not want to be indebted to the US and didn’t want to show the US they need their money. Also, with the Truman Doctrine, the Republicanism/Communism war started between the two major powers of the second half of the twentieth century. (JFK Library, 2015) The Cold War was the tense relationship between the United States and USSR and their allies. The war started after the Second World War ended up to the collapse of the Soviet Union, from 1945 to 1991. The outbreak of the war was difference in ideology of the two powers. Each one of them was trying to convince the other who is stronger. Politically, the Soviet Union was fighting for Marxism and the United States for Republicanism, and economically, the USSR was supporting communism and the US was supporting capitalism. The two countries never directly confronted each other militarily, but threatened each other by nuclear weapon and fought proxy wars- using the resources of other countries to showcase power. The war defined the foreign policy of the two powers and was a competition of who is the superpower. (Kramer, 1999) Arthur Schlesinger based on a revisionist thesis thinks that after the Second World War, US deliberately abandoned their policy of helping and collaboration of the European countries to rebuild Europe. Exhilarated by the possession of atomic bomb, the United States undertook a course of aggression of self-designed to abolish the communism influence of Russia on Eastern Europe and to establish democratic and capitalist states. Truman, the US president at that time, left the Russians no alternative but to defend their boarders. On the other hand, John Mearsheimer claims that â€Å"the absence of war in Europe since 1945 has been a consequence of three factors: the bipolar distribution of military power on the continent; the rough military equality between the two states compromising the two poles in Europe, the United States and the Soviet Union; and the fact that each superpower was armed with a large nuclear arsenal.† Mearsheimer argues that possibility for major crisis and in stability in Europe was very likely after the cold war. He also believes that Europe without the superpowers would be more likely to suffer violence than the past 45 year. In addition to that, he considers that the anarchic nature of these two super powers over Europe pretty much defined their foreign policies. (Schlesinger, 1967) (Mearsheimer, 1990) Mearsheimer explains the Cold War as the longest period of peace in European history. During the Cold War, Europe faced no major war according to him, only a couple of minor wars that didn’t bring Europe to major war. Furthermore, he illustrates that there were major crisis in Europe during the early years of the war which again didn’t not bring Europe to the brink of war. He believes that domestic factors, especially nationalism caused the wars of the pre 1945 era, while the post 1945 era, although European states were more concerned about peace, but domestic factors had lesser important in the international community, since distribution of military power between states had characterized Europe. Based on these assumptions, during the cold war, a militarized Europe was the result of the Cold War. (Mearsheimer, 1990) I interviewed my father about the military influence of the Cold War. He told me that based on what I have read about the Cold War is that after the Second World War the USSR had influenced and Controlled much of Eastern Europe, and the United States took that into consideration, that they didn’t want that communism view to spread more. They didn’t confront each other militarily, but the world was in a psychological war because of these two superpowers. The influence of the Cold War reached Africa, central Asia and the Middle East, specifically Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. The Cold War left a legacy of heavy militarization of the World that there was no national or international security. The US and the USSR developed far more advanced nuclear weapons than the Hiroshima experience. The countries under the Soviet Union were oppressed, there was no democracy in Russia, and the Soviet Union was so busy in aiding the country and other countries that were aga inst the US militarily led to the collapse of the USSR. When I asked him about the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s and the influence of the Cold War, he recalled that although the Iraq was under the circle of the Soviet Union, but the United States was helping Iraq indirectly. In 1988, the US hit one of Iran’s airplanes in Iraq and this was an alert. Also in his opinion in Central Asia, with the establishment of Taliban and Al-Qaida, the US was helping these currently so called terrorist groups against the Soviet Union. This reminded me of the â€Å"I am Malala† book by Malala Yousafzaithat I read recently. As a kid, Malala recalls how the US is helping Taliban against Russia. C. Fred Bergsten talks about three global transformations to the world economy after the Cold War. â€Å"First, the reforms in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if successful, will end the Cold War and most East-West confrontation, and will allow substantial reductions in military arsenals. Second, the salience of security issues will decline sharply; economics will move much closer to the top of the global agenda. Third, the world economy will complete its evolution from the American-dominated regime of the first postwar generation to a state of US-Europe-Japan tripolarity.† what he means by these transformations is that the role of individual states will go back to the international economic positions they supposed to have. Also, he is trying to draw our attention to a united Europe with a strong economy that will create a large market for trade. The reason he is talking about these economic roles of Europe is that the United States is in relative economic decline. During the World Wars in Europe, the United States appeared to have the largest economy that was willingly helping the European countries to rebuild Europe. (Bergsten, 1990) In conclusion, the Cold War left a huge economic and military legacy on the world. It left the world with plenty of military bases of the United States around the world. May be the economic legacy of the Cold War was not as big as the military legacy, but it took time for Europe to rebuild itself. In my opinion, the legacy of the Cold War can be obviously seen in Central Asia, especially in Afghanistan, where Al-Qaida was established in. The United States helping the terrorist group in Afghanistan against USSR hit back on them in September 11, 2001. So, the Cold War that is called to be the longest period of peace in Europe had a corrupt aftermath on the world and left the world militarized that we cannot help fixing. Works Cited Bergsten, C. Fred. The Wrold Economy after the Cold War. The New American Realism. Foreign Affairs. Council on Foreign Relations. Vol. 69, No. 3 (Summer, 1990), pp. 96-112. March 20, 2015. Kramer, Mark. Ideology and the Cold War. Review of International Studies. Cambridge University Press. Vol. 25, No. 4 (Oct., 1999), pp. 539-576. March 19, 2015. Mearsheimer, John. Back to the Future: Instability in Europe after the Cold War. International Security. The MIT Press. Vol. 15, No. 1 (Summer, 1990), pp. 5-56. March 20, 2015. Nye Jr., Joseph and Welch, David. Understanding Global Conflict and Cooperation: An Introduction to Theory and History. 9th edition. February 19, 2012. March 19, 2015. Schlesinger, Arthur. Origins of the Cold War. The New American Realism. Foreign Affairs. Council on Foreign Relations. Vol. 46, No. 1 (Oct., 1967), pp. 22-52. March 20, 2015. The Cold War. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Museum. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Museum, n.d. March 19, 2015. I also interviewed my father.

Effect of Social Isolation Depression on Cognitive Decline

Effect of Social Isolation Depression on Cognitive Decline There is a lot of literature investigating how lifestyle factors are associated with protecting cognitive decline in old age. The influence of lifestyle factors on cognitive ageing is of much interest as it is within an individual’s power to change their lifestyle given the knowledge of how it affects their cognition. By identifying what lifestyle factors are related to poorer cognitive function in older adults, individuals can take the necessary interventions to steer themselves on to the right path towards maintaining cognition throughout their lifespan and therefore ensure a better well-being and quality of life. Social factors include many aspects, such as social activities, social networks, social support, living situation and marital status (Hertzog et al., 2009). However this essay focuses on social isolation and loneliness. Depression is commonly included in studies with social isolation and loneliness and therefore is also considered. There is empirical evidence to su ggest that both social isolation/loneliness and depression are related to level of cognition in old age, and this association will be discussed. How social relationships are conceptualised is important as individuals may have a large social network and an active social lifestyle, but few close friends who they feel they can rely on. Considering there are many different ways of conceptualising social lifestyle, researchers need to ensure that their measurement does assess the factor it is supposed to. This is also true for measuring cognitive ability. Including specific domains instead of, or as well as, one general cognitive assessment is favoured in the literature as it allows researchers to examine whether the predictor variables have an influence on cognitive functioning as a whole, or if it only affects certain domains of cognition. DiNapoli et al. (2014) measured global cognition and four specific domains by assessing performance on 6 tasks. However, they warn readers to be cautious of the findings within the domains as some were based on one task and others were based on two, so there is a lack of consistency within the cognitive measurement. This study investigated the effect of social isolation on cognitive function in older adults. The researchers suggest that social isolation is combined of two dimensions: social disconnectedness and perceived isolation and so these were included in the study as secondary predictors. The Lubben Social Network scale-6 (LSNS-6) was used to measure the three social predictors. Social disconnectedness was measured by 2 items from the scale; perceived isolation was measured using 4, and social isolation was the score of all 6. They were all found to have significant effects on global cognitive performance and on the four domains. Perceived isolation was found to affect cognition almost twice as much as social disconnectedness did. This suggests that while having more social relationships is important for maintaining cognition, how we personally feel about our relationships is more important. However, Cronbach’s alpha was considered when determining internal consistency of the LSNS-6 and social disconnectedness was not suggested to be a reliable measurement. This may be because Cronbach’s alpha is affected by the number of items included and social disconnectedness was only measured by 2 items. Because of this, the researchers warn readers to treat the association of social disconnectedness and cognition with caution, although it is unlikely that the result was hugely affected by this as it is consistent with previous findings. This study is a good example of how social factors can be conceptualised in different ways. Social isolation is considered in this study as a combination of social disconnectedness and perceived isolation, whereas others consider social isolation and disconnectedness to be the same thing, and perceived isolation to be something separate. Cornwell Waite (2009) refer to social isolation/disconnectedness as a lack of interaction with others, infrequent participation in social activities and a small social network. Loneliness, on the other hand, refers to perceived isolation and perceived disconnectedness from others, meaning it is about the dissatisfaction with social relationships, intimacy or support, rather than the physical absence of them. It could therefore be argued that there was not a need to measure social isolation as a combination of disconnectedness and perceived isolation, and instead these two factors should have been measured more extensively as separate entities. Depression was included as a covariate. Although it significantly correlated with poorer cognitive performance it was not found to be significant in any of the main regression analyses and therefore was only briefly mentioned. The study included a very specific sample of Appalachian community-dwelling elders, presumably because of the â€Å"isolated† stereotype associated with Appalachia (Hsiung, 2015), although the study does not discuss this. The results therefore may not represent the overall elderly population. As well as ensuring adults were aged 70 or above and from West Virginia, they also had to have at least four natural teeth in order to participate but it is not explained why. Wilson et al. (2007) focused on the effect of loneliness on cognition in old age. As it was a longitudinal study, some participants were lost but a total of 823 older adults were included in the final analysis. Cognitive ability was measured at baseline and at each follow-up. However, there was a discrepancy in the study as some participants were followed-up five times and others only twice, meaning that those who were assessed more may have performed better due to having more familiarity with the tests. Loneliness was measured using a modified version of the de Jong-Gierveld Loneliness scale. The original scale was made up of two components: emotional loneliness and social loneliness. Emotional loneliness is considered the lack of a close intimate relationship such as a partner or a best friend and social loneliness is considered as the lack of a social network or group of friends (De Jong Gierveld Tillburg, 2006). However this study only measured emotional loneliness. Two other minor changes were made but it was still found to be a valid and reliable measurement. Social isolation was also measured using standard questions assessing network size and frequency of social activity. Loneliness was related to cognitive ability at baseline on each cognitive measure, and also to more decline over time in global cognition and in three of the five domains. The longitudinal design allowed researchers to not only observe the effect of loneliness at one point in time but also examine the inter action between loneliness and time and how they affect cognition together. Participants were all free of dementia at the beginning of the study but over the four years 76 participants developed signs of dementia that met the criteria for Alzheimer Disease (AD). It was found that lonely individuals were 2.1 times more likely to develop AD than those who were not lonely. Social network was not related to incidence of AD but perceived loneliness was which suggests that the quality of relationships is more important than the quantity for developing AD. Depressive symptoms were also assessed with a 10-item version of the Centre for Epidemiological Studies – Depression (CES-D) scale. 1 item asked about loneliness and was analysed separately from the remaining 9. This 1 question about loneliness showed a stronger relationship with development of AD than depression did when it was measured using the remaining 9 items. This suggests that loneliness affects cognition more than depression does. When loneliness was analysed with the risk of developing AD, but de pression was controlled for, there was a modest reduction in the association showing that loneliness is partly determined by depressive symptoms. However, when depression and AD were analysed controlling for loneliness, there was a much larger reduction of association, suggesting that loneliness may be an important aspect of the relation between AD and depression. The researchers explored the possibility of reverse causation, which means that loneliness is a consequence of cognition decline instead of it being a cause or contributing factor. They were able to do this as they carried out a post-mortem examination of the brain in the participants who passed away in order to quantify AD pathology and cerebral infarctions. These were not found to have an association with loneliness and therefore do not support the possibility of reverse causation. However this is a very complicated subject and more research is needed. The more likely explanation suggested is that loneliness has a negative effect on the neural systems underlying cognition which is why lonelier individuals experienced more cognitive decline. Luanaigh et al. (2011) also investigated the effect of loneliness, specifically on different domains, in elders free of dementia. A doctor and a researcher visited the participants’ homes to assess them. This could be viewed as a strength of the study as it meant participants would feel more comfortable in their own homes, especially since they have willingly agreed to this, compared to having to travel to an unfamiliar environment, which could also cause fatigue. The Mini Mental State Examination was included as a way of measuring global cognition which is a very brief cognitive test. A detailed psychometric test, much like those used to measure the several domains, would have been better. The measurement of loneliness contained only one question: â€Å"do you feel lonely?† Although there were four possible answers to this question, it could be argued that one item is not enough for adequate measurement. On the other hand, it could also be argued that asking the direct question if an individual feels lonely is an accurate and sufficient measure of loneliness. Those who answered ‘sometimes’ and ‘often’ were grouped together in the ‘lonely’ group, and those who answered ‘rarely’ and ‘never’ were grouped in the ‘not lonely’ group. This meant that the severity of loneliness was not considered. Overall, loneliness was found to be significantly associated with global cognition even when depression and social networks were controlled for. The two domains most strongly associated with loneliness were processing speed, which is consistent within the research, and delayed visual memory, which is a new finding and therefore requires more research. Just like the problems of conceptualising social isolation, there are also problems with conceptualising depression. There are many severities of depression, which Dillon et al. (2014) explores. 118 depressed older adults and 40 healthy controls were matched on age and education. One problem with this is that for every 12 depressed participants there are only 5 controls. There were four subtypes of depression: Major Depression Disorder; Dysthymia Disorder; Subsyndromal Depression Disorder; and Depression due to (mild Alzheimer) dementia. Those who had moderate-severe dementia were excluded from the study. Global cognitive performance was worse for the depressed group than the controls suggesting that depression is associated with poorer cognitive functioning in old age. All four sub-types showed impairments with memory, however this could be due to the fact that they were recruited from a memory clinic, meaning it is a biased sample as they all had memory complaints. Aside from memory, the subtypes all showed impairments with different domains. This illustrates the importance of measuring both global cognitive function and specific domains, and also of looking at different subtypes of depression instead of only depressive symptoms. Overall, the research shows that depression and social isolation/loneliness in old age are related to poorer cognitive functioning. It is suggested that how individuals perceive their social relationships is more important than number of relationships when it comes to cognition. Therefore interventions should focus on perceived support and loneliness. As the studies are of observational design, the direction of the relationship is unclear. It is not possible to say that depression or loneliness cause cognitive decline as they could in fact be consequences of the decline. The relationship between depression and loneliness is also complicated as one could influence the other. As mentioned in one study, a depression scale asked about loneliness and therefore researchers need to ensure their measurements are valid. Longitudinal studies are able to look at level of decline over time but cross-sectional studies are not, and therefore more longitudinal research would be useful to understand how the period and severity of depression and loneliness affect how cognition changes with time. Word count Title = 10 Essay = 2000 References Cornwell, E. Y. Waite, L. J. (2009). Social Disconnectedness, Perceived Isolation, and Health among Older Adults. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 50(1), 31-48. doi: 10.1177/002214650905000103 De Jong Gierveld, J. Van Tillburg, T. (2006). A 6-Item Scale for Overall, Emotional, and Social Loneliness: Confirmatory Tests of Survey Data. Research of Aging, 28(5), 582-598. doi: 10.1177/0164027506289723 Dillon, C., Tartaglini, M. F., Stefani, D., Salgado, D., Taragano, F. E., Allegit, R. F. (2014). Geriatric depression and its relation with cognitive impairment and dementia. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 59(2), 450-456. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2014.04.006 DiNapoli, E. A., Wu, B., Scogin, F. (2014). Social Isolation and Cognitive Function in Appalachian Older Adults. Research on Aging, 36(2), 161-179. doi: 10.1177/0164027512470704 Hertzog, C., Kramer, A. F., Wilson, R. S., Lindenberger, U. (2009). Enrichment Effects on Adult Cognitive Development. Can the Functional Capacity of Older Adults Be Preserved and Enhanced? A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 9(1), 1-65. Hsiung, D. C. (2015). Two Worlds in the Tennessee Mountains: Exploring the Origins of Appalachian Stereotypes. Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. Luanaigh, C. O., Connell, H. O., Chin, A. V., Hamilton, F., Coen, R., Walsh, C., Walsh, J. B., Caokley, D., Cunningham, C., Lawlor, B. A. (2011). Loneliness and cognition in older people: The Dublin Healthy Ageing study. Aging and Mental Health, 16(3), 347-352. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2011.628977 Wilson, R. S., Krueger, K. R., Arnold, S. E., Schneider, J. A., Kelly, J. F., Barnes, L. L., Tang, Y., Bennett, D. A. (2007). Loneliness and Risk of Alzheimer Disease. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64(2), 234-240. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.64.2.234 1

Quebec Separatism Essay -- Quebec Separatism

Canada is known by outsiders to be a very peaceful country. But if you ask any Canadian they well tell you that is unfortunately not the case. For there is a large ongoing conflict between Canadians. The conflict is between the French and the English, or more specifically between Quebec and the rest of Canada. As a result of this conflict, along with some wrongdoing and propaganda. Quebec has considered and has gone as far to hold referendums over Separatism (Surette,2014). Separatism is that the province of Quebec separates from the rest of Canada to form its own country. Which would have immense effects on indubitably Quebec but also the rest of Canada (Martin, 2014). This report will focus on the root causes and origin of Quebec Separatism, the current state of Quebec Separatism and finally how we as a society can act towards Quebec Separatism. Root Causes and Origin The root causes of Quebec Separatism go back almost a thousand years! This is because a large cause for Quebec Separatism is the conflict between the French and the English people. These conflicts go back to when France and England first became countries, and ever since then it seems the two countries have been at constant war with one another (Henley, 2011). This constant fighting spawns a built in belief of hatred for one another (Henley, 2011), which would make it hard for the two to live in the same country as they try to do in Canada. But out of all the wars the French and English fought, the most influencing for Quebecois and all of Canada was the sever year war taking place between 1756 and 1763 (Upper Canada History, 2011). The special thing about this war was that part of it was over the influence of the territory to be later Canada (Upper Canada histor... ...ions.ca/scripts/ovr2011/default.html Patriquin, M. (2014, April 11). The epic collapse of Quebec separatism. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from Maclean’s website: http://www.macleans.ca/politics/the-epic-collapse-of-separatism/ Quebec Separatism. (2006). Retrieved May 15, 2014, from The History of Canada website: http://www.linksnorth.com/canada-history/quebecsep.html Scott, M. (2011, November 28). More anglophones see English-French relations as problem. Retrieved May 12, 2014, from Montreal Gazette website: http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/More+anglophones+English+French+relations+problem+Poll/5777450/story.html Surette, R. (2014, March 24). Quebec separatism and the peculiar entity called ‘English Canada’. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from Rabble website: http://rabble.ca/columnists/2014/03/quebec-separatism-and-peculiar-entity-called-english-canada

Essay --

There was also the isolation of the USA that was a problem. After all the problems they had while joining World War One, they wanted to be isolated and get away from European problems. They didn’t join the League of Nations, which was a disadvantage for them and made them weaker because the USA was a very powerful country. In addition, there was a problem of foreign policy and aggression. In the early 1930s, Hitler began to pursue many foreign policies. He increased his army by approximately 300,000 soldiers. The Treaty of Versailles only allowed him of 100,000. Hitler also rearmed, which was also against the Treaty and developed secretly an air academy to train pilots and built over 1000 aircrafts. Even though he was breaking several terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations was doing nothing to stop him, which showed how weak they were becoming. In the Treaty of Versailles, the Saar Land, which was part of Germany, was given to and ran by the League of Nations. In 1935, as the League promised Hitler, a plebiscite occurred. The people of the Saar were to vote if they...

The Return: Nightfall Chapter 34

Elena had once fallen off that balcony and Stefan had jumped and caught her before she could hit the ground. A human falling from that height would be dead on impact. A vampire in full possession of his or her reflexes would simply twist in the air like a cat and land lightly on their feet. But one in Damon's particular circumstances tonight†¦ From the sound of it, he had tried to twist, but had only ended up landing on his side and breaking bones. Elena deduced the latter from his cursing. She didn't wait to listen for more specifics. She was off like a rabbit, down to the level of Stefan's room – where instantaneously and almost unconsciously, she sent out a wordless plea – and then down the stairs. The cabin had turned completely into a perfect duplicate of the boardinghouse. Elena didn't know why, but instinctively she ran to the side of the house that Damon would know the least: the old servant's quarters. She got that far before she dared whispering things to the house, asking for them rather than demanding them, and praying that the house would obey her as it had obeyed Damon. â€Å"Aunt Judith's house,† she whispered, thrusting the key into a door – it went in like a hot knife into butter and turned almost of its own volition, and then suddenly she was there again, in what had been her home for sixteen years, up until her first death. She was in the hallway, with her little sister Margaret's open door showing her lying on the floor of her bedroom, staring with wide-open eyes over a coloring book. â€Å"It's tag, sweetie!† she announced as if ghosts appeared every day in the Gilbert household and Margaret was supposed to know how to deal with it. â€Å"You go running to your friend Barbara's and then she has to be It. Don't stop running until you get there, and then go see Barbara's mom. But first you give me three kisses.† And she lifted Margaret and hugged her tightly and then almost threw her at the door. â€Å"But Elena – you're back – â€Å" â€Å"I know, darling, and I promise to see you again another day. But now – run, baby – â€Å" â€Å"I told them you would come back. You did before.† â€Å"Margaret!Run!† Choking on tears, but maybe recognizing in her childlike way the seriousness of the situation, Margaret ran. And Elena followed, but zagging toward a different staircase when Margaret zigged. And then she found herself confronted by a smirking Damon. â€Å"You take too long to talk to people,† he said as Elena frantically counted her options. Go over the balcony into the entry way? No. Damon's bones might still hurt a little but if Elena jumped even one story, she would probably break her neck. What else? Think! And then she was opening the door into the china closet, at the same time shouting out, â€Å"Great-aunt Tilda's house,† unsure if the magic would still work. And then she was slamming the door in Damon's face. And she was in her Aunt Tilda's house, but the Aunt Tilda's house of the past. No wonder they accused poor Auntie Tilda of seeing strange things, Elena thought, as she saw the woman turning while holding a large glass casserole dish full of something that smelled mushroomy, and screaming, and dropping the dish. â€Å"Elena!† she cried. â€Å"What – it can't be you – you're all grown up!† â€Å"What's the trouble?† demanded Aunt Maggie, who was Aunt Tilda's friend, coming in from the other room. She was taller and fiercer than Aunt Tilda. â€Å"I'm being chased,† cried Elena. â€Å"I need to find a door, and if you see a boy after me – â€Å" And just then Damon stepped out of the coat closet, and at the same time Aunt Maggie tripped him neatly and said, â€Å"Bathroom door beside you,† and picked up a vase and hit the rising Damon over the head with it. Hard. And Elena dashed through the bathroom door, crying, â€Å"Robert E. Lee High School last fall – just as the bell's rung!† And then she was swimming against the flow, with dozens of students trying to get to their classes on time – but then one of them recognized her, and then another, and while apparently she'd successfully traveled to a time when she wasn't dead – no one was screaming â€Å"ghost† – neither had anyone at Robert E. Lee ever seen Elena Gilbert wearing a boy's shirt over a camisole, with her hair falling wildly over her shoulders. â€Å"It's a costume for a play!† she shouted, and created one of the immortal legends about herself before she had even died by adding, â€Å"Caroline's house!† and stepping into a janitor's closet. An instant later, the most gorgeous boy that anyone had ever seen appeared behind her, and rocketed through the same doors saying words in a foreign language. And when the janitor's closet opened, neither boy nor girl was there. Elena landed running down a hallway and almost crashed into Mr. Forbes, who looked rather wobbly. He was drinking what seemed to be a large glass of tomato juice that smelled like alcohol. â€Å"We don't know where she's gone, all right?† he shouted before Elena could say a word. â€Å"She's gone right out of her mind, as far as I can tell. She was talking about the ceremony at the widow's walk – and the way she was dressed! Parents don't have any control over children anymore!† He slumped against the wall. â€Å"I'm so sorry,† murmured Elena.The ceremony. Well, Black Magic ceremonies were usually held at moonrise or midnight. And it was just a few minutes before midnight. But in those minutes, Elena had just come up with scheme B. â€Å"Excuse me,† she said, taking the drink out of Mr. Forbes's hand and dashing it directly into the face of Damon, who had appeared out of a closet. Then she shouted, â€Å"Some placetheir kind can't see!† and stepped into†¦ Limbo? Heaven? Some place their kind couldn't see.At first Elena wondered about herself, because she couldn't see much of anything at all. But then she realized where she was, deep in the earth, beneath Honoria Fell's empty tomb. Once, she had fought down here to save the lives of Stefan and Damon. And now, where there should have been nothing but darkness and rats and mildew, was a tiny, shining, light. Like a miniature Tinkerbell – just a speck, it hovered in the air, not leading her, not communicating, but†¦protecting, Elena realized. She took the light, which felt bright and cool in her fingers, and around her she traced a circle, big enough for a full-grown person to lie down in. When she turned back, Damon was sitting in the middle. He looked strangely pale for someone who had just fed. But he said nothing, not a word, just gazed at her. Elena went to him and touched him on the neck. And a moment later, Damon was again drinking deep, deep, of the most extraordinary blood in the world. Usually, he would be analyzing by now: taste of berry, taste of tropical fruit, smooth, smoky, woody, rounded with a silken aftertaste†¦But not now. Notthis blood, which far surpassed anything for which he had words. This blood that was filling him with power such as he had never known before†¦. Damon†¦ Why was he not listening? How had he come to be drinking this extraordinary blood that tasted somehow of the afterlife, and why was he not listening to the donor? Please, Damon. Please fight it†¦ He ought to recognize that voice. He'd heard it enough times. I know they're controlling you. But they can't controlallof you. You're stronger than they are. You're the strongest†¦. Well, that was certainly true. But he was getting more and more confused. The donor seemed to be unhappy and he was a past-master at making donors happy. And he didn't quite remember†¦he really should remember how this had started. Damon, it's me. It's Elena. And you're hurting me. So much pain and bewilderment. From the beginning, Elena had known better than to outright fight the tapping of her veins. That would only cause agony, and it wouldn't do her the slightest bit of good except to stop her brain from working. So she was trying to make him fight off the horrible beast inside him. Well, yes, but the change had to come from inside. If she forced him, Shinichi would notice and just possess him again. Besides, the simpleDamon, be strong gig wasn't working. Was there nothing to do but die, then? She could at least fight that, although she knew that Damon's strength would make it pointless. With every swallow he took of her new blood, he got stronger; he changed more and more into†¦ Into what? It washer blood. Maybe he would answer its call, which was also her call. Maybe, somehow inside, he could beat the monster without Shinichi noticing. But she needed some new power, some new trick†¦ And even as she thought it, Elenafelt the new Power moving in her, and she knew that it had always been there, just waiting for the right occasion to use it. It was a very specific power, not to be used for fighting or even for saving herself. Still, it was hers to tap. Vampires who preyed on her got only a few mouthfuls, but she had an entire blood supply filled with its enormous vigor. And calling upon it was as easy as reaching toward it with an open mind and open hands. As soon as she did, she found new words coming to her lips, and most strangely of all, new wings springing from her body, which Damon was holding bent sharply back from the hips. These ethereal wings were not for flying, but for something else, and when they fully unfurled they made a huge, rainbow-colored arch whose very tip circled back again, surrounding and enfolding Damon and Elena both. And then she said it telepathically.Wings of Redemption. And inside, soundlessly, Damon screamed. Then the wings opened slightly. Only one who had learned a great deal about magic would have seen what was happening inside them. Damon's anguish was becoming Elena's anguish as she took from him every painful incident, every tragedy, every cruelty that had ever gone into making up the stony layers of indifference and unkindness that encased his heart. Layers – as hard as the stone at the heart of a black dwarf star – were breaking up and flying away. There was no stopping it. Great chunks and boulders fractured, fine pieces shattered. Some dissolved into nothing more than a puff of acrid smelling smoke. There was something at the center, though – some nucleus that was blacker than hell and harder than the horns of the devil. She couldn't quite see what happened to it. She thought – she hoped – that at the very end even it blasted open. Now, and only now, could she call for the next set of wings. She hadn't been sure that she would live through the first attack; she certainly didn't feel as if she could live through this one. But Damon had to know. Damon was kneeling on one knee on the floor, with his arms clasped tightly around him. That should be all right. He was still Damon, and he'd be a lot happier without the weight of all that hatred and prejudice and cruelty. He wouldn't keep remembering his youth and the other young blades who'd mocked his father for being an old fool, with his disastrous investments and his mistresses younger than his own sons. Neither would he endlessly dwell on his own childhood, when that same father had beaten him in drunken rages when he neglected his studies or took up with objectionable companions. And, finally, he would not go on savoring and contemplating the many terrible things he'd done himself. He had been redeemed, in heaven's name and in heaven's time, by words put into Elena's mouth. But now†¦there was something that he needed to remember. If Elena was right. If only she were right. â€Å"Where is this place? Are you hurt, girl?† In his confusion, he couldn't recognize her. He had knelt; now she knelt beside him. He gave her a keen glance. â€Å"Are we at prayer or were we making love? Was it the Watch or the Gonzalgos?† â€Å"Damon,† she said, â€Å"it's me, Elena. It's the twenty-first century, now, and you are a vampire.† Then, gently embracing him, with her cheek against his, she whispered,†Wings of Remembrance.† And a pair of translucent butterfly wings, violet, cerulean, and midnight blue in color, sprouted from her backbone, just above her hips. The wings were decorated with tiny sapphires and translucent amethysts in intricate patterns. Using muscles she had never used before, she easily drew them up and forward until they curled inside out, and Damon was shielded within them. It was like being enclosed in a dim, jewel-studded cave. She could see in Damon's fine-bred features that he didn't want to remember anything more than he did right now. But new memories, memories connected with her, were already welling up inside him. He looked at his lapis lazuli ring and Elena could see tears come to his eyes. Then, slowly, his gaze turned on her. â€Å"Elena?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Someone possessed me, and took the memories of the times I was possessed,† he whispered. â€Å"Yes – at least, I think so.† â€Å"And someone hurt you.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"I swore to kill him or make him your slave a hundred times over. Hestruck you. He took your blood by force. He made up ludicrous stories about hurting you in other ways.† â€Å"Damon. Yes, that's true. But, please – â€Å" â€Å"I was on his track. If I'd met him I might have run him through; might have ripped his beating heart out of his chest. Or I might have taught him the most painful lessons I've heard tales of – and I've heard a lot of tales – and at the end, through the blood in his mouth, he would have kissed your heel, your slave until he died.† This wasn't good for him. She could see it. His eyes were white all around, like a terrified colt's. â€Å"Damon, Ibeg you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"And the one who hurt you†¦was me.† â€Å"Not you by yourself. You said it yourself. You werepossessed .† â€Å"You feared me so much you stripped yourself for me.† Elena remembered the original Pendleton shirt. â€Å"I didn't want you and Matt fighting.† â€Å"You let me bleed you when it was against your true will.† This time she could find nothing to say but, â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"I – dear God! – I used my powers to afflict you with terrible grief!† â€Å"If you mean an attack that causes hideous pain and seizures, then yes. And you were worse to Matt.† Matt wasn't on Damon's radarscope. â€Å"And then I kidnapped you.† â€Å"Youtried .† â€Å"And you jumped out of a speeding car rather than take your chances with me.† â€Å"You were playing rough, Damon. They had told you to go out and play rough, maybe even to break your toys.† â€Å"I've been looking for the one who made you jump from the car – I couldn't remember anything before that. And I swore to take out his eyes and his tongue before he died in agony. You couldn't walk. You had to use a crutch to get through the forest, and just when help should have come, Shinichi drew you into a trap. Oh, yes, I know him. You wandered into his snow globe†¦and would be wandering still if I hadn't broken it.† â€Å"No,† Elena said quietly. â€Å"I would have been dead a long time ago. You found me at the point of suffocation, remember?† â€Å"Yes.† A moment of fierce joy on his face. But then the trapped, horrified look returned. â€Å"I was the tormenter, the persecutor, the one you were so terrified of. I made you do things with – with – â€Å" â€Å"Matt.† â€Å"O God,† he said, and it was clearly an invocation to the deity, not just an exclamation, because he looked up, holding his clenched hands to heaven. â€Å"I thought I was being a hero for you. InsteadI'm the abomination. What now? By rights, I should be dead at your feet already.† He looked at her with wide, feral, black eyes. There was no humor in them, no sarcasm, no holding back. He looked very young and very wild and desperate. If he'd been a black leopard he'd have been pacing his cage frantically, biting at the bars. Then he bowed his head to kiss her bare foot. Elena was shocked. â€Å"I'm yours to do what you please with,† he said in that same stunned voice. â€Å"You can order me to die right now. After all my clever talk, it turns out that I'm the monster.† And then he wept. Probably no other set of circumstances could have brought tears to Damon Salvatore's eyes. But he had boxed himself in. He never broke his word, and he'd given his word to break the monster, the one who had done all this to Elena. The fact that he had been possessed – at first a little, and then more and more, until his entire mind was simply another of Shinichi's toys, to be picked up and put down at leisure – didn't make up for his crimes. â€Å"You know that I – I'm damned,† he told her, as if perhaps that might go a small way toward restitution. â€Å"No, Idon't ,† Elena said. â€Å"Because I don't believe that's true. And Damon, think of how many times you fought them. I'm sure they wanted you to kill Caroline that first night you said you felt something in her mirror. You said you almost did it. I'm sure they want you to kill me. Are you going to do it?† He bent toward her foot again, and she hastily grabbed him by the shoulders. She couldn't stand to see him in such pain. But now Damon was looking this way and that, as if he had a definite purpose. He was also twisting the lapis lazuli ring. â€Å"Damon – what are you thinking? Tell me what you're thinking!† â€Å"That he may pick me up as a puppet again – and that this time there may be areal birch rod. Shinichi – he's monstrous beyond your innocent belief. And he can take me over at a moment's notice. We've seen that.† â€Å"He can't if you'll let me kiss you.† â€Å"What?† He looked at her as if she hadn't been following the conversation properly. â€Å"Let me kiss you – and strip out that dying malach inside you.† â€Å"Dying?† â€Å"It dies a little more each time you gain enough strength to turn your back on it.† â€Å"Is – it very big?† â€Å"As big as you are by now.† â€Å"Good,† he whispered. â€Å"I only wish I could fight it myself.† â€Å"Pour le sport?† Elena answered, showing that her summer in France last year hadn't been entirely wasted. â€Å"No. Because I hate the bastard's guts and I'd happily suffer a hundred times its pain as long as I knew I was hurtingit. â€Å" Elena decided this was no time for delay. He was ready. â€Å"Will you let me do this one last thing?† â€Å"I told you before – the monster who hurt you is your slave now.† All right. They could argue about that point later. Elena leaned forward and tilted her head up, lips pursed slightly. After a few moments, Damon, the Don Juan of darkness, got the point. He kissed her very gently, as if afraid to make too much contact. â€Å"Wings of Purification,† Elena whispered against his lips. These wings were as white as untrammeled snow, and lacelike, barely existing in some places at all. They arched high above Elena, shimmering with an iridescence that reminded her of moonlight on frosted cobwebs. They encased mortal and vampire in a web made of diamond and pearl. â€Å"This is going to hurt you,† Elena said, not knowing how she knew. The knowledge seemed to come moment by moment as she needed it. It was almost like being in a dream where great truths are understood without needing to be learned, and accepted without astonishment. And that was how she knew thatWings of Purification would seek out and destroy anything foreign inside Damon and that the feeling could be very unpleasant for him. When the malach didn't seem to be coming out of its own accord, she said, prompted by her inner voice, â€Å"Take off your shirt. The malach is attached to your spine and it's closest to the skin at the back of your neck where it entered. I'm going to have to strip it out by hand.† â€Å"Attached to my spine?† â€Å"Yes. Did you ever feel it? I think it would have felt like a bee sting at first, as it entered you, just a sharp little drill and a blob of jelly that attached to your spine.† â€Å"Oh. The mosquito bite. Yes, I felt that. And then later, my neck began to ache, and at last my whole body. Was it†¦growing inside me?† â€Å"Yes, and taking over more and more of your nervous system. Shinichi was controlling you like a marionette.† â€Å"Dear God, I'msorry .† â€Å"Let's make him be sorry instead. Will you take off your shirt?† Silently, like a trusting child, Damon took off his black jacket and shirt. Then, as Elena motioned him into position, he lay across her lap, his back hard with muscle and pale against the dark ground on either side. â€Å"I'm sorry,† she said. â€Å"Getting rid of it this way – pulling it out through the hole where it entered – will really hurt.† â€Å"Good,† grunted Damon. And then he buried his face in his lithe, flat-muscled arms. Elena used the pads of her fingers, feeling at the top of his spine for what she was looking for. A squishy point. A blister. When she found it, she pinched it with her fingernails until blood suddenly spurted. She almost lost it then as it tried to go flat, but she was pursuing it with sharp nails – and it was too slow. At last she had it held firmly between thumbnail and two fingernails. The malach was still alive and aware enough to feebly resist her. But it was like a jellyfish trying to resist – only jellyfish broke apart when you pulled. This slick, slimy, man-shaped thing retained its shape as she slowly pulled it through the breach in Damon's skin. And it was hurting him. She could tell. She started to take some of the pain into herself, but he gasped, â€Å"No!† with such vehemence that she decided to let him have his way. The malach was much larger and more substantial than she had realized. It must have been growing a long time, she thought – the little blob of jelly that had expanded until it controlled him to the fingertips. She had to sit up, then scoot away from Damon and back again before it lay on the ground, a sickly, stringy, white caricature of a human body. â€Å"Is it done?† Damon was breathless – it really had hurt, then. â€Å"Yes.† Damon stood and looked down at the flabby white thing – barely twitching – that had made him persecute the person he cared most about in the world. Then, deliberately, he trampled on it, crushing it under the heels of his boots until it lay torn in pieces, and then trampling the pieces. Elena guessed that he didn't dare blast it with Power for fear of alerting Shinichi. At last, all that was left was a stain and a smell. Elena didn't know why she felt so dizzy then. But she reached for Damon and he reached for her and they went to their knees holding each other. â€Å"I release you from every promise you made – while in the possession of that malach,† Elena said. This was strategy. She didn't want to release him from the promise of caring for his brother. â€Å"Thank you,† Damon whispered, the weight of his head on her shoulder. â€Å"And now,† said Elena, like a kindergarten teacher who wants to move quickly on to another activity, â€Å"We need to make plans. But to make plans in utter secrecy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"We have to share blood. But Elena, how much have you donated today? You look white.† â€Å"You said you'd be my slave – now you won't take a little of my blood.† â€Å"You said you released me – instead you're going to hold that over me forever, aren't you? But there's a simpler solution. You take some ofmy blood.† And in the end that was what they did, although it made Elena feel slightly guilty, as if she were betraying Stefan. Damon cut himself with the minimum of fuss, and then it began to happen – they weresharing minds, melting seamlessly together. In much shorter a time than it would take to speak the sentences aloud, it was done: Elena had told Damon of what her friends had found about the epidemic among the girls of Fell's Church – and Damon had told Elena everything he knew about Shinichi and Misao. Elena concocted a plan for scaring out any other possessed youngsters like Tami, and Damon promised to try to find out where Stefan was from the kitsune twins. And, finally, when there was nothing more to say, and Damon's blood had restored faint color to Elena's cheeks they made plans as to how to meet again. At the ceremony. And then there was only Elena in the room, and a large raven winging its way toward the Old Wood. Sitting on the cold stone floor, Elena took a moment to put all she now knew together. No wonder Damon had seemed so schizophrenic. No wonder he had remembered, and then forgotten, and then remembered that he was the one she was running from. He remembered, she reasoned, when Shinichi was not controlling him, or at least was keeping him on a very loose rein. But his memory was spotty because some of the things he'd done were so terrible that his own mind had rejected them. They had seamlessly become part of the possessed Damon's memory, for when possessed Shinichi was controlling every word, every deed. And in between episodes, Shinichi was telling him that he had to find Elena's tormentor and kill him. All very amusing, she supposed, for this kitsune, Shinichi. But for both her and Damon it had been hell. Her mind refused to admit that there had been moments of heaven mixed in with the hell. She was Stefan's, alone. That would never change. Now Elena needed one more magical door, and she didn't know how to find one. But there was the twinkling fairy light again. She guessed it was the last of the magic that Honoria Fell had left to protect the town she had founded. Elena felt a little guilty, using it up – but if it wasn't meant for her, why had she been brought here? To try for the most important destination she could imagine. Reaching for the speck with one hand and clenching the key in the other she whispered with all the force at her command: â€Å"Somewhere I can see and hear and touch Stefan.†