Economic case for Precision agricuture apply to Ireland Article

Economic case for Precision agricuture apply to Ireland - Article Example Tobacco is also grown in limited areas. Irish agriculture mainly comprises of the small family farm. About 67 percent of the farms cover less than 50 acres (20 hectares), and another 25 percent are smaller than 20 acres (8 hectares). The number of people employed in agriculture continues to decrease as mechanization increases and young men and women find better-paying occupations in the cities. The number of agricultural workers in Ireland declined by about 50 percent between the years 1960 and 1991 (Britannica Student Encyclopedia, 2006). The future of Irish agriculture greatly depends on sustainable practices and proper economic planning. Precision agriculture is one of the best ways to increase the farm production. Precision Agriculture is a now a term used throughout agricultural systems worldwide. Precision agriculture can be defined as a comprehensive system designed to optimize agricultural production through the application of crop information, advanced technology and management practices. Precision agriculture begins with crop planning and includes tillage, planting, chemical applications, harvesting, and post harvest processing of the crop (Roberson, 2004). Precision farming utilizes three technologies: Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Variable Rate Technology (VRT). GPS provides navigation that can position a tractor within a few feet anywhere in a field. GIS computer systems capture, manage, and analyze spatial data relating crop productivity and field inputs. VRT provides "on-the-fly" estimation of field inputs. Working in concert, GIS, GPS, and VRT provide information that allows producers to apply inputs, such as fertilizers and insecticides, precisely in a sustainable manner (Ball and Peterson 2001). Further the collected information may be used to more precisely evaluate optimum sowing density, estimate specifically fertilizers and other inputs needs, and to more accurately

Demonstrate Enhanced Self Awerness, Interpersonal and Self-Managment Essay

Demonstrate Enhanced Self Awerness, Interpersonal and Self-Managment Skills When Establishing and Maintaining Professional and T - Essay Example Prior to conclusion, the student will reflect on his/her personal skills and highlight one action point for each that will benefit you in maintaining professional and therapeutic relationship. Literature Review The process of establishing a strong nurse-patient relationship could result from a constant or regular interplay or covert negotiation between the nurse and the patients until both parties are able to reach a mutual and satisfying relationship (Morse, 1991). Depending on the time spent between the nurses and the patients, nurses are expected to build trust and meet the individual needs of each patient. According to Morse (1991), nurses who are not willing or failed to commit themselves to the patients would end up forming a unilateral relationship rather than a nurse-patient relationship. ... Caring is the central force when developing nurse-patient relationship that aims to protect the patient’s dignity (Kozier et al., 2004, p. 72; Astedt-Kurki et al., 2007). Therefore, developing trust between the nurse and the patient is important (Yamashita and Mound, 2005). For nurses to be able to successfully perform the seven nursing roles (i.e. the stranger role, resource role, teaching role, counselling role, surrogate role, leadership role, and technical expert role) in caring for the patients, Peplau emphasizes the need for nurses to communicate and be a good listener to the patient (Courey et al., 2008). For example, by listening to the specific needs and personal experiences of the patients, the nurses will be able to have a better understanding on how they should provide caring and treatment to the patients without causing any unnecessary internal conflict between the two parties involved (Di Joseph and Cavendish, 2005). Communication skills can affect the success or failure of a nurse-patient relationship. Therefore, nurses should be aware of their choices of words, sentence structure, and tone of voice (Kozier et al., 2004, p. 427). In most cases, patients who are emotionally happy and satisfied with the development of nurse-patient relationship are more open in revealing their emotions with the nurses (Astedt-Kurki et al., 2007). Once the patient is able to share his personal experiences with the nurses, the nurses will have more opportunity to communicate with the patients and be able to provide them with the comfort they need to be able to cope with their health status. As part of strengthening the relationship between the nurses and patients, Tveiten and Severinsson (2006) revealed that a

American Idiot Essay Example for Free

American Idiot Essay The song that I chose to write about is titled American Idiot by Green Day. This song was on Green Day’s album titled American Idiot. This album was originally released in 2004. American Idiot, the song, peaked at number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. My reason for choosing this song is that it talks about how the media runs society and how people shouldn’t let the media run their lives. The main social issue that is talked about in this song is how the media runs our lives and society. One of the lines in the song is â€Å"Don’t wanna be an American idiot, one nation controlled by the media. † This line refers to how people in America rely heavily on the media for everything. They trust every word that is printed in a newspaper or magazine or said on television without question. People hang on every word that is pumped through the media. I don’t consider this to be a personal problem because it refers to all people being controlled by the media. It is not as if the singer in the song is the only one that the media affects. Media is worldwide ways of letting people know what is going on around them. What Billy Joe Armstrong is saying throughout this song is that people need to realize is that not everything that a person hears is necessarily true and people should not panic just because of what the news says. Green Day is an American rock band that was formed in 1987. the group consists of three members: Billy Joe Armstrong(vocals), Tre` Cool(drums), and Mike Dirnt(bass). In 1988, they signed to Lookout Records and then in 1989 they released their first EP titled 1,000 Hours. However, the band didn’t have much success until it released the album Kerplunk in 1993. After Kerplunk’s success, Green Day proceeded to leave Lookout Records and sign with Reprise Records. In 1994, they released their first major label debut, Dookie. Over the next few years, Green Day would have much success but then decided to take a break in 1996. They returned in 1997. When they returned, they began to work on a new full-length album. This album was entitled Nimrod and was released in October of 1997. This album deviated from their normally pop-punk style of music and gave listeners a variety of music. They didn’t release another album until 2000 when they released Warning which further continued their new sound that they started with Nimrod. After releasing Warning, they were nominated for 8 awards in the California Music Awards. They won all eight awards. The band then continued their success over the next few years. In 2004 the band released American Idiot. And then in 2006 they won the Grammy for record of the year because of the track Boulevard of Broken Dreams which spent 16 weeks at the top of the charts. The lyrics to American Idiot are as follows: â€Å"Dont wanna be an American idiot. Dont want a nation under the new mania. And can you hear the sound of hysteria? The subliminal mindfuck America. Welcome to a new kind of tension. All across the alienation. Everything isnt meant to be okay. Television dreams of tomorrow. Were not the ones whore meant to follow. For thats enough to argue. Well maybe Im the faggot America. Im not a part of a redneck agenda. Now everybody do the propaganda. And sing along in the age of paranoia. Welcome to a new kind of tension. All across the alienation. Everything isnt meant to be okay. Television dreams of tomorrow. Were not the ones whore meant to follow. For thats enough to argue. Dont wanna be an American idiot. One nation controlled by the media. Information age of hysteria. Its calling out to idiot America. Welcome to a new kind of tension. All across the alienation. Everything isnt meant to be okay. Television dreams of tomorrow. Were not the ones whore meant to follow. For thats enough to argue. †

Teachers’ Practices for Written Feedback in Nursing

Teachers’ Practices for Written Feedback in Nursing LITERATURE REVIEW AND ANALYSIS PAPER1 Factors Influencing Teachers’ practices to provide written feedback to nursing students Introduction/Background The process of evaluation is significant to acquire information to judge students’ learning, to define proficiency in practice and to derive a judgment about students. Evaluation fulfills two major roles: it is formative and summative (Oermann Gaberson, 2013, p. 9). With formative evaluation, teacher evaluates students’ learning and performance, and provides them definite feedback about the knowledge and expertise which still needs to be modified and enhanced. It is usually considered as diagnostic and many researchers (Bienstock et al., 2007; Corcoran, Halverson, Schindler, 2014) found it helpful in students’ learning and improvement in their career. On the other hand, summative evaluation is end-of-instruction evaluation designed to determine what the student has learnt. It was usually occurred at the end of the learning process. There are a number of strategies which has used to evaluate students’ learning and skills. The most common tool used to enha nce students’ learning is feedback system. Feedback is â€Å"an interface between teachers’ pedagogical goals; students’ learning needs; and institutional and governmental education policies, which structure and regulate practices and procedures† (Bailey Garner, 2010). Numerous ways are used to give feedback for example; written, verbal, peer, audio, online, student to faculty, faculty to student, structured feedback, unstructured feedback, face to face feedback, and so on. In fact, feedback is given to students from faculty for their improvements and making them aware about their progress and informing them about their strength and areas for improvements. In my teaching and academic career, I have observed that, there is a great diversity in teachers’ practices of providing feedback to their students. Some teachers follow the strict principles of feedback while others do not. I want to explore â€Å"what are the factors which influence on teache rs’ practices to provide feedback to their students† and â€Å"what are the perceptions of students about their feedback which they receive from their faculty or teachers†. Purpose/Aim of the paper This paper aims to; Analyze existing literature on teachers’ practices for written feedback as well as challenges for teachers to provide written feedback to their students. Appraise students’ perceptions/expectations from written feedback on their assignments. Identify the gaps between what is known and what is not known through literature. Significance of the topic It is well recognized that feedback is an essential constituent of academic discipline which offers consideration and improvement in learning as well as in teaching in any discipline (Corcoran, Halverson, Schindler., 2014; Giles, Gilbert, McNeill, 2014; Horeman et al., 2013; Matzie et al., 2009; Rogers et al., 2012). Eminence feedback plays an important role in learning and teaching part whether it is provided or received. There are a few studies conducted on feedback in nursing academia to explore different aspects of feedback in order to improve learning and teaching in nursing education. Literature search strategy In order to explore the studies conducted on â€Å"teachers’ practices about feedback on written assignments†, an ample search was conducted through a number of Databases, including PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Google scholar, and Science direct. Different key terms were used to search the existing data on the selected topic. The terms used in searching databases were â€Å"written assignment†, teacher’s practices† teacher’s feedback†. â€Å"Written feedback† was the inclusion criteria in searching literature but the studies conducted other than â€Å"nursing discipline† were also included. Most of the studies conducted in developed countries e.g. Canada, USA, U.K, England, Norway, and Australia. There are some studies conducted in Asian countries, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and in Pakistan but unpublished. The detailed flow diagram for search strategy is following; (Flow diagram for literature selection) In addition, substantial assistance was also taken from librarian in order to access some online articles, which were quite relevant to the topic. Furthermore, reference lists in all including studies were explored and secondary sources which were quite relevant to the chosen topic were searched manually for reading and including literature as a primary source. Moreover, two unpublished theses of Iqbal (2013) â€Å"Teachers’ accounts of their perceptions and practices of providing written feedback to nursing students on their assignments† and Khowaja’s (2011) â€Å"students’ perceptions and their responses to written feedback in nursing degree program in Karachi† have been issued from library in order to review and include necessary and important information in this paper. I have also attended seminar which was conducted by one of senior student on a relatively similar topic (feedback to improve learning) to get additional information in order to au gment my paper. Literature review Literature review has organized according to four different themes. Importance/Usefulness of written feedback Characteristics of effective feedback Challenges for teachers and students in feedback Discrepancy in teachers and students’ perception about feedback 1. Importance/Usefulness of written feedback Feedback is given to students from faculty for their improvements and making them aware about their progress and informing them about their strength and areas for improvement (Bourgualt, Mundy Joshua, 2013; Corcoran et al., 2014; Giles, Gilbert, McNeill, 2014; Horeman et al., 2013; Khowaja, 2011; Rogers et al., 2012). On the contrary, MacLellan (2001) argued that the most common purpose of the students and the staff for feedback is to grade or rank the achievement. Braend et al. (2010) directed a study on Fifth year medical students at the University of Oslo and recommended that most of the students considered triangulation feedback from teachers and patients valuable but time-consuming. Rogers, et al. (2012) had conducted an interventional study to focus student-centred approach for improving feedback in medical education in the clinical settings. The satisfaction rate was significantly higher in the group receiving feedback with instructions rather than the group receiving compli ments without any instructions (p. 23). No doubt, feedback plays an important role in students’ learning and improvements, but it is also a fact, that feedback in the form of evaluation is also used for the purpose of ranking the students’ achievements. Although one author argued with other researchers’ findings but according to second author feedback was considered useful in another context (to grade achievement). Furthermore, some of the studies had conducted in comparison of different feedback channels to the students. Besides that, instructions for the students are very useful in clinical settings. 2. Characteristics of effective feedback Quality feedback should be within time limit, explicit, productive and should be based upon non-judgmental attitude (Bienstock et al., 2007, p. 508). Newton, Wallace, and McKimm (2012) conducted interventional study changing from a free-text feedback form to a simple structured feedback proforma focusing the areas of improvement in students’ performance which has increased in both the quantity and quality of feedback. In addition, Maclellan (2001) also inquired about student’s understanding of feedback and concluded that learning occurs when students really perceive feedback as an enabling and helping tool for improvement rather than being judgemental about their achievements. Moreover, it was concluded that teachers should openly discuss with the students how they can integrate this feedback in their upcoming papers (Hyland, 2003, p. 228). In addition, There should be a balance between strength and areas for improvements while providing feedback to students to make it useful for them (Hyland, F., Hyland, K., 2001). There is a great importance of technology in enhancing feedback for the students in their practical tasks as feedback is recorded for students so they can reflect upon themselves and can review their weakness and strengthening areas (Corrigan Hardham, 2011). Bourgualt, Mundy and Joshua (2013) conducted a pilot study by using audio feedback on student nurses’ written assignments and concluded that instructors’ focus was on the provision of positive/constructive feedback as the instructors were high alert before giving feedback and they had also highlighted the important areas to share with the students for their improvement (p.44). The excellence of feedback depends upon many components which should be kept in consideration to make it effective. Except these features, effective feedback depends upon the form in which it is used whether in a simple form or some kind of structured form. Different studies concluded different aspects of quality feedback but the focus of most of the studies was to keep balance between students’ strength and areas for improvements and feedback should be simple and easy for the students to interpret so that they could incorporate the feedback into their next assignments. Moreover, teachers should incorporate advanced technology to make feedback effective and keep in consideration of students’ belief or understanding about feedback while providing feed back to them. 3. Challenges for teachers and students Language and vocabulary is a big challenge for the teachers in providing feedback to students and for the students in understanding and interpreting the meaning of feedback (Bailey Garner, 2010; Weaver, 2006). Schartel (2012) determined that numerous medical educators have limited knowledge about theoretical models of feedback and also dearth of skills in providing feedback (p.77). Harvey, Radomski and OConnor (2013) conducted a study on medical students for clinical supervision and concluded that only 16% written feedback statements focused on the forward learning objectives for the students. From the above mentioned studies’ findings, it can be analyzed that the focus of the studies was on the language, knowledge and vocabulary of the teachers which they used in providing feedback to the students. In this context, students often valued feedback but tutors comments would be more useful for them. Furthermore, sometime tutors do not provide detailed feedback to the students because of some contributing factors, sometime, personal, or institutional. Teachers should get proper training for feedback and should be trained in giving feedback. 4. Discrepancy in teachers own practices and students’ perception about feedback I have experienced in my academic career being a student and being a teacher that teachers have different perceptions and different opinions on the purpose for providing feedback to the students and teachers do not know how their students would take their feedback and how it would be helpful for them. There is also ample evidence from literature to support that there is a great controversy between teacher’s perception about providing feedback and student’s expectation and interpretations of those written comments (Carless, 2006; Garner Bailey 2010; Goldstein, 2004; Jensen et al, (2012). Moreover, Weaver 2006) concluded that students need support from faculty to understand feedback what they mean to it. He also determined a number of themes about feedback which are solely awkward for the students like comments too broad or unclear, lack of direction, intensive negative comments Moreover, these findings also supported by Bailey and Garner (2010) by suggesting that teache rs are not very sure about the purpose of providing feedback to their students. (p. 187). Another similar kind of study has been done in order to explore the gap between faculty and the residents for receiving and giving feedback. Jensen, et al. (2012) concluded that residents/students satisfaction for the feedback was significantly lower than the satisfaction level of the faculty for giving feedback (p.248). In addition, Parboteeah and Anwar (2009) suggested that teachers considered feedback more useful rather than students in many contexts. On the contrary, Montgomery and Baker (2007) conducted research by triangulation design between students and faculty and they recommended that there is a well synchronization between students’ perception about feedback and teacher’s self-assessment in giving feedback to their students (p. 82). All the studies conducted on the above mentioned theme, concluded that there is a great diversity among teachers and students in the process of feedback, but there is only one study (Montgomery Baker, 2007) revealed synchronization among students and faculty about feedback. Gap in literature: There is enough evidence from existing literature about students’ perceptions regarding feedback and teacher’s expectation from students. Literature also available on a discrepancy in teachers’ actual practices in providing feedback to students and what they believe to provide. There is a need to explore the factors influence teachers’ practices to provide feedback which they really want to provide and what is the extent of those factors in Pakistani Nursing context. Restatement of problem and its significance/implication for nursing: Despite of importance of feedback in educational system, only one study has conducted in Pakistani context on â€Å"teachers’ practices about feedback†, which is unpublished yet. But none of the study conducted on â€Å"what factors influence on teachers’ practices for written feedback† and â€Å"what is the extent of pre-determined factors affecting teachers’ practices in providing written feedback to students†. This study probably would add new knowledge to the existing phenomena of written feedback and new interventions could be designed based on the study findings to improve or enhance the teachers’ practices for providing written feedback to their students ultimately to boost learning and teaching practices in nursing education. Conclusion: To conclude, Feedback is not only important from student’s perspective but it is also significant from faculty and educational objectives. There are many studies conducted on the given phenomena but all the studies conducted in developed countries and some of them in Asian countries. Almost all the studies are designed qualitatively, some mixed methods, but none of the study designed quantitative. There is a need to explore the extent of predetermined factors influencing teachers’ practices in providing feedback which they really want to give to their students, so that according to study findings, interventions could be designed to improve teachers’ practices in nursing education.

ee cummings :: Essays Papers

â€Å"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting,†-E.E. Cummings. E.E. Cummings was considered one of the most innovative poets of the twentieth century. Now I will tell you a little bit about him. Edward Estlin Cummings was born on October 14, 1884 in Cambridge Massachusetts. He spent his early years in Cambridge until he began to attend Harvard University in 1912. E.E. Cummings graduated in 1916 with an M.A. and a B.A. in English and classic literature. After graduating from Harvard, Cummings joined the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, in France. He was an ambulance driver during World War I until he wrote letters back home criticizing the conduct of the war, and the nervous French censors had him arrested and sent him to a detention center, where he remained for three months before being released. While in the French prison Cummings wrote the basis of his first published book The Enormous Room. This book was considered one of the greatest literary works to come out of World War I. This book was written as a journal of Cummings prison stay. It is said to be heightened by an experimental prose style and a hatred of a bureaucracy that could treat helpless and innocent civilians so cruelly. Cummings was drafted into the U.S. Army in shortly after the 1918 Armistice. He depicts military life satirically in such poems as, â€Å"i sing of Olaf glad and big.† After the war, Cummings devoted himself entirely to his writing and painting, publishing 11 books of poems. He also published a second antibureaucracy journal entitled Eimi (Greek for "I Am"), in 1933. Besides being a poet, Cummings was a playwright, prose writer, and painter. Most of the time, however, he was a poet. Cummings received the Bollingen Prize for poetry in 1957. He also received the Shelley Memorial Award for poetry in 1944, along with being awarded the Charles Eliot Norton Professorship at Harvard for the academic year 1952-1953. Cummings life ended on September 3, 1962 at the age of 80. Cummings poetry, noted for its eccentricities of typography, language, and punctuation, usually seeks to convey a joyful, living awareness of sex and love was the first of its kind. ee cummings :: Essays Papers â€Å"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting,†-E.E. Cummings. E.E. Cummings was considered one of the most innovative poets of the twentieth century. Now I will tell you a little bit about him. Edward Estlin Cummings was born on October 14, 1884 in Cambridge Massachusetts. He spent his early years in Cambridge until he began to attend Harvard University in 1912. E.E. Cummings graduated in 1916 with an M.A. and a B.A. in English and classic literature. After graduating from Harvard, Cummings joined the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, in France. He was an ambulance driver during World War I until he wrote letters back home criticizing the conduct of the war, and the nervous French censors had him arrested and sent him to a detention center, where he remained for three months before being released. While in the French prison Cummings wrote the basis of his first published book The Enormous Room. This book was considered one of the greatest literary works to come out of World War I. This book was written as a journal of Cummings prison stay. It is said to be heightened by an experimental prose style and a hatred of a bureaucracy that could treat helpless and innocent civilians so cruelly. Cummings was drafted into the U.S. Army in shortly after the 1918 Armistice. He depicts military life satirically in such poems as, â€Å"i sing of Olaf glad and big.† After the war, Cummings devoted himself entirely to his writing and painting, publishing 11 books of poems. He also published a second antibureaucracy journal entitled Eimi (Greek for "I Am"), in 1933. Besides being a poet, Cummings was a playwright, prose writer, and painter. Most of the time, however, he was a poet. Cummings received the Bollingen Prize for poetry in 1957. He also received the Shelley Memorial Award for poetry in 1944, along with being awarded the Charles Eliot Norton Professorship at Harvard for the academic year 1952-1953. Cummings life ended on September 3, 1962 at the age of 80. Cummings poetry, noted for its eccentricities of typography, language, and punctuation, usually seeks to convey a joyful, living awareness of sex and love was the first of its kind.

Home Confinement: An Alternative to Incarceration Essay -- Argumentati

Home Confinement: An Alternative to Incarceration      Ã‚   West Virginia state prisons have a maximum capacity of 2,154 inmates; currently they house 2,363 inmates, and more remain in City and County lockups to manage the overflow (West Virginia Blue Book). Home Confinement solves this problem. Reduction of the prison population should be reason enough to institute home confinement, but other reasons do exist. Would you like lower taxes? Home confinement costs much less than incarceration. Do you favor less crime? For certain types of criminals, home confinement has a better rehabilitation rate. Home confinement also differs from incarceration by the fact that it allows the confined person to contribute to society. For all of these reasons, minor offenders, who pose no real threat to society, should be sentenced to home confinement.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The easiest way to solve the overcrowded prison problem is, simply, not to arrest so many people. That will never happen as it cannot be justified. Another alternative, to build more prisons or add on to existing ones, will cost a great deal. Home confinement is the best solution; the offender does not take up space in prison and can hold a job or take care of familial obligation. If a prisoner is under house arrest, it seems nothing prevents him from escaping. In most cases, flight is not a viable option for the home confined. Their sentence is usually light and the re... ...se two counties realize great success with these endeavors, encouraging others to follow.       Works Cited Ball, Richard A., Huff, C. Ronald, Lilly, J. Robert. House Arrest and Correctional Policy: Doing Time at Home. California: Sage, 1988. "Good Idea, In Spades." Editorial. The Herald Dispatch 26 Sept. 1998: 6A. "Home Confinement Proves Effective in Dollars and Sense." March 1997. Available at  Ã‚     http://www.uscourts.gov/mar97ttp/homeprob.htm. McCarthy, Belinda R. Intermediate Punishments: Intensive Supervision, Home Confinement and Electronic Surveillance. New York: Criminal Justice Press, 1987. West Virginia Blue Book. Holmes, Darrel E. Ed. Charleston WV: Chapman, 1997      

Succubus Revealed Chapter 11

It was hard leaving Seth's side in the morning. We'd had too few nights together recently, and each day that passed only served to remind me I was that much closer to the transfer. Lying in his arms, watching him sleep in the early sunlight, I thought back to what he'd said about Andrea getting better. If that was true, if she was healing, then there was a chance the ties keeping Seth here might lessen. I felt selfish even thinking that way, but surely it wasn't too terrible a thing to wish we could all get a happy ending. After a leisurely breakfast, Seth and I went over to the Mortensens'. He was on babysitting duty while Andrea went to a doctor's appointment, and I was there to pick up Brandy. Chaos met us at the door, and Brandy practically flew outside, breathless and laughing. â€Å"Don't go in there,† she warned me, after I gave Seth a quick kiss good-bye. She and I headed toward my car. â€Å"It's crazy. Mom and Dad slept in, and Grandma let Kendall and the twins ‘help' with breakfast.† â€Å"What are they making?† â€Å"Waffles,† she said. â€Å"From scratch. I don't know which was scarier: Kendall mixing the batter or Morgan and McKenna on duty with the waffle iron. They set the smoke detector off twice.† I couldn't help but laugh as I pulled out of the driveway. â€Å"And you and Kayla didn't help?† â€Å"No way,† Brandy replied. â€Å"I stayed away from that mess, and Kayla was in one of her silent moods today.† â€Å"Aw.† I kind of wished now that I'd taken a moment to go inside. Tiny Kayla had a special place in my heart. Though she was better than she used to be, she still had a tendency to simply watch her world without a word, and it could be difficult coaxing conversation from her. Some of this was shyness, and some of this – I suspected – was from the fact that Kayla was psychic. Her skills were still undeveloped, but she was sensitive to the workings of the supernatural world, which I had to imagine would make anyone of any age silent at times. â€Å"She'll be fine. She loves waffles.† Brandy smiled, and I was happy to see her so upbeat for a change. She shouldered just as much stress as the adults. â€Å"If any actually get made.† We drove downtown, and I quizzed Brandy about what she was looking for in a dress. She had little to offer, which was both charming and kind of heartbreaking. Brandy wasn't a tomboy, but with all of her family drama, dresses had been understandably off her radar. In fact, when her face lit up at all the downtown lights and decorations, it became clear that family had really been the only thing in her life recently. â€Å"I haven't seen any of the holiday stuff this year,† she told me, gazing out the windows. A pang in my heart reminded me that this would be my last year to see Seattle in all its holiday finery. â€Å"We usually always come down here so that the girls can see Santa. There's been no time.† â€Å"The girls haven't seen Santa?† I asked, snapping out of my moment of self-pity. â€Å"That's not fair, especially considering I see a little too much of him.† It made me wonder how many drinks it would take to coax Walter into a house call. It also convinced me more than ever to make this a special day for Brandy. I couldn't expect her not to worry about her mom, but today, with Andrea on the mend and Seattle's shopping wonderland ready to explore, Brandy was entitled to worry just a little less than usual. She deserved to think about herself. I took her on a whirlwind tour of designer stores, chastising her for looking at price tags. I wanted this to be about more than the dress itself. I wanted her to have an experience, to feel like a princess. I made sure the salespeople were falling all over themselves to help her, which wasn't always so easy to do at such a busy time of the year. Brandy's radiant expression told me it was worth the effort, and we finally hit gold at our third store, finding what was unquestionably the dress. It was made of dark pink satin wrapped around to create a sheath silhouette that could still show off her figure without being pornographically tight. Satin flowers near the top added a whimsical edge, and the straps and knee-length made me feel it wouldn't get her kicked out of a church function. We spent the next hour finding the perfect shoes and jewelry for it, and although each new purchase clearly made her uneasy, she stopped questioning me about the cost. She didn't know about Margaret's f unding, but it had long since been spent. Exhausted and triumphant with our purchases, we went to lunch at an Italian restaurant frequented by other ladies of leisure. It was inside a larger, elegant shopping complex, and just as we were about to enter the restaurant, I saw a familiar face emerge from a nearby store. Something in my chest clenched, and I spoke before I could help myself. â€Å"Doug!† It took him a moment to figure out who'd called to him. When he did, a series of emotions played over his face. I wondered then how the encounter would have been different if Brandy hadn't been there. Would he have even acknowledged me? Maybe. Maybe not. But Brandy's presence guaranteed politeness. No matter how angry Doug might be at me, he wouldn't snub her. â€Å"Kincaid,† he said, strolling over to us. â€Å"And little Brandy. How's it going?† â€Å"Good,† she said cheerfully. The two of them, I realized, could have been related if Seth and Maddie had ended up getting married. The weird fallout from their breakup hadn't had as big an effect on Brandy as the rest of us, though, and she was genuinely happy to see him. â€Å"We're shopping.† He favored her with a smile, and I wondered if he was avoiding eye contact with me. â€Å"Last minute Christmas gifts?† he asked. â€Å"Not a chance,† I said. â€Å"This is all for Brandy. She's going to a dance tonight.† â€Å"Oh, I see how it is,† he said. â€Å"Getting ready to break some hearts for the holidays, huh?† She turned bright red. â€Å"No! It's at my church!† Teasing girls was familiar and easy territory for Doug. â€Å"Yeah?† he said, forcibly keeping a straight face. â€Å"Then why are you blushing? Church boys' hearts break just as easily as us sinners', you know. I'm sure you'll leave a trail of hundreds in your wake.† â€Å"No,† she protested. â€Å"Not hundreds – â€Å" â€Å"Just one?† he asked slyly. Brandy looked to me for help, and I laughed. â€Å"I knew there was someone.† â€Å"You guys are terrible,† she said, though she didn't look that upset. â€Å"Can I go put our name on the list?† â€Å"Sure,† I said, still laughing. But the instant she was inside the restaurant, Doug's playful manner vanished. â€Å"Well, I've got to go,† he said, starting to turn away. â€Å"Wait, Doug, I . . .† He looked back at me, but I was at a loss. What could I say? That I was sorry for sleeping with his sister's fiance? That I was sorry for lying to all of them and breaking her heart? How could you apologize for something like that? â€Å"It . . . it was good to see you,† I said at last. â€Å"You too,† he said, though he didn't sound convincing. He nodded toward the restaurant. â€Å"And her. I hope she has fun.† â€Å"Me too. She deserves it, what with everything else going on.† He had attempted to leave again, but my words made him pause. â€Å"How's her mom?† I shrugged. â€Å"Good days and bad days. It's up and down. . . . sometimes it seems hopeless, sometimes it's like everything's fixed. Wreaks havoc on everyone. . . . you just can't assume anything, you know? She's having some good days right now, but it's been a hard road for all of them. We just never know what's going to happen next and have to hang in there as best we can. I'm trying to help, but I don't know. . . . I don't feel like it's enough. But what could be?† I promptly shut up, realizing I was rambling. Doug said nothing, his dark eyes studying me for several heavy seconds. Then, his gaze shifted to Brandy, speaking to the hostess, for a few more moments before returning to me. â€Å"You're a good person, Kincaid,† he said softly. And this time, he did leave. Nothing else he might have said could have surprised me more. In all the imagined conversations I'd had with Doug, I'd expected frigid politeness at best – and that had seemed like a long shot. More often than not, I'd envisioned him telling me terrible, hurtful things, things I deserved. As much as a secret part of me yearned for him to forgive me so that we could be friends again, I really didn't think I deserved that forgiveness. I watched him walk away until Brandy stuck her head out from the restaurant door and called that they had a table. Despite how pensive my meeting with Doug left me, I was still able to enjoy the rest of the afternoon with Brandy. We were both in good spirits when we arrived back at the Mortensen home, and mine soared even higher when I saw Seth's car in the driveway. I hurried inside, eager to see him, only to have my mood shatter when I saw his face. Margaret and Terry wore similar expressions. Brandy, normally so observant, was too keyed up over her purchases to notice that there had been a significant mood shift in the house, compared to the bubbly chaos of this morning. â€Å"We had such a great time,† Brandy told them, face shining. â€Å"I got the best dress.† Margaret gave her a tight smile. â€Å"Why don't you try it on for us?† Brandy didn't need to be told twice, and Kendall and the twins followed her uproariously to the bedroom, offering to â€Å"help.† The instant they were gone, I turned to the adults. â€Å"What happened?† â€Å"Bad prognosis at the doctor's,† said Seth, when no one else spoke right away. â€Å"But she was improving,† I argued. I looked at them all for confirmation. â€Å"Right?† â€Å"We thought so,† said Terry. â€Å"At the very least, she seemed to be feeling better. But in these situations . . . well, cancer tricks you that way. It's why people go so long without ever knowing they have it. She woke up feeling bad this morning, and the doctor confirmed our fears.† I was kind of in awe at how calmly he managed to deliver that. I wasn't sure I could have without breaking down. Honestly, I didn't know how he'd been able to handle any of this with as much strength and determination as he had. If this were happening to the love of my life, I was pretty sure I'd crawl into in a corner and cry. Or would I? Looking at Seth, at those beloved features and compassionate expression, I suddenly knew that wasn't true. If the one I loved needed my strength, then I would give all I had within me. â€Å"We're not telling Brandy yet,† said Seth. â€Å"We're not going to keep it from her, but we figured it would be best to wait until after tonight.† I nodded slowly, having no words. I was usually so quick with a quip or soothing line, but what response could I make to that? Especially when, moments later, Brandy came bounding back down the stairs in the pink dress. Each twin held a shoe, and Kendall carried the glittering chandelier earrings we'd found just before lunch. I was reminded of Cinderella's mouse retainers. Brandy's tastes had been foremost in my mind while shopping, but I'd also had half an eye on what I thought her family would approve of in fashion. As she spun around for them, however, I realized it didn't matter. I could've brought her home in rags, and they would've loved it so long as she wore the look of radiance on her face that she did now. That was what sold it, one spot of pure joy in the dark cloud that kept hanging over this family. The adults were too overcome with emotion to speak, so Kendall did it for us. â€Å"Doesn't she look like a princess?† She kept trying to smooth nonexistent wrinkles out of the skirt, much to Brandy's dismay. â€Å"I want a dress like this.† Morgan sat down on the floor and tried to forcibly push the shoe on Brandy's foot while she still stood, furthering my Cinderella images. McKenna joined in as well, and both nearly succeeded in knocking their older sister over. â€Å"Well?† Brandy laughed. â€Å"What do you think?† â€Å"It's beautiful,† said Margaret. â€Å"You're beautiful,† said Terry. Having successfully dislodged the twins, Brandy stepped into the shoes, flushing under the praise of her family. â€Å"I hope I don't fall in these. How stupid would that look?† â€Å"I don't think anything could make you look stupid,† said Seth. â€Å"You're perfect from head to toe.† â€Å"Okay, you guys,† said Brandy, growing embarrassed. â€Å"Now you're just pushing it.† The â€Å"head to toe† comment suddenly reminded me of something. â€Å"Oh. I won't be here to do your hair. I have to go to work soon.† At that moment, calling in sick seemed like a reasonable idea. Nothing seemed more important than giving her a perfect night. â€Å"That's okay,† said Brandy. â€Å"I can do it. Or maybe Mom can.† â€Å"She's been kind of tired today,† said Terry neutrally. â€Å"But I know she'll want to see you before you leave.† â€Å"I can do a French twist,† said Margaret, surprising us all. â€Å"If you want to wear it up.† â€Å"Will you show me?† asked Brandy. Margaret nodded. â€Å"Sure, let's go upstairs.† Before they did, Brandy paused to give me a giant hug. â€Å"Thank you so much, Georgina. For everything.† They went upstairs, followed by the littler girls, all of whom thought there was nothing so wonderful as dressing up their older sister. Actually, I realized, that wasn't entirely true. Not all of them felt that way. â€Å"Where's Kayla?† I asked. She hadn't been in the entourage. Terry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, in a way similar to what I'd often seen Seth do. â€Å"In the living room, I think. She's been out of sorts today. Sometimes I think she can figure out what's going on, even when we don't tell her.† With Kayla's abilities, I didn't doubt it was true. I remembered Brandy saying Kayla had been in a â€Å"silent mood† since this morning and wondered just how much of her mother's illness the little girl was in tune with. I left the brothers to seek her out and found her curled up in a corner of the overstuffed sofa, making herself so small that she was almost lost in the cushions. â€Å"Hey, you,† I said, sitting down beside her. â€Å"How's it going? Don't you want to see Brandy's dress?† Kayla shifted her face, looking at me with huge blue eyes. â€Å"Georgina,† she said. â€Å"You have to make it stay away.† My thoughts were on the dress, so it took a moment for me to follow what she was saying. â€Å"Make what stay away, honey?† â€Å"The Darkness.† There was something in the way she said the word that let me know she wasn't referring to shadows. When she said â€Å"Darkness,† I could feel the personification in her word, the looming threat of something – or someone – tangible. With a pang, I remembered that Kayla had been able to sense Nyx when she'd escaped her angelic captors. I leaned toward Kayla, glad Seth and Terry were preoccupied. â€Å"Kayla, are you talking about . . . about the creature you felt before? The one you could sense on me?† Nyx's return would be a complication I most certainly didn't need in my life right now. She shook her head. â€Å"A different one. The Darkness comes here, to my house. To see my mommy. Will you make it go away?† â€Å"Is it here now?† I asked uneasily. â€Å"No. Just sometimes.† â€Å"How many times?† Kayla thought about it. â€Å"Two.† A cold feeling crept over me. â€Å"Was last night one of those times?† She nodded. â€Å"Have you seen it?† I asked her. â€Å"No. But I feel it. I can tell where it's at when it's here.† She peered at me beseechingly. â€Å"Will you make it stop?† I had no clue what this Darkness was or what I could do to stop it, but theories were running wild in my head. I kissed her forehead. â€Å"I'll do what I can, baby. I promise. I've got to leave now, but I'll see what I can find out for you, okay? We'll make sure the Darkness doesn't come back.† Like the flip of a switch, Kayla's whole demeanor changed. Whereas she'd been sad and withdrawn moments ago, she was now beaming and hopeful. All that faith – in me. With my empty assurance to take on something I didn't understand, she was able to put aside all of her fears and worries. All was right in her world now, thanks to me. She put her arms around me and kissed me back, and I felt like my heart would break when I finally untangled myself from her. Holiday cheer was calling, as well as a burning need to suddenly talk to Roman. Seeing as how we kept missing each other lately, I sent him a text with a reminder of when I'd be home tonight and that I had important information for him. He was so caught up in his conspiracy theories that I wasn't sure if he'd want to make time for what he'd probably see as a little girl's fantasies. Kayla's perceptions – despite her difficulties in articulating them – had proven accurate before. I didn't know what she was sensing this time, but if there was a force inside the Mortensen household, I intended to stop it.