Computer Networks And Internet Protocol Television Essay Example for Free

Computer Networks And Internet Protocol Television Essay The advent of computer has changed the way the world moves. Distance factor is no longer a problem. The physical might appear a big place with things at far off places but the world in virtual form doesn’t believe in distance. Everything can be achieved within minutes if not seconds. The whole technology behind this mega change is based on computer and is termed as Information Technology. This technology has led to the creation of a cyber world or electronically generated world with the help of computers connected to each other through suitable wires. Now words like cybercafe, cyber chat, cyberspace, cyber shopping, etc. have started making rounds. People can send electronic mails to far off places within seconds. Details and information are getting transferred within few seconds. People in Shanghai and New York are just seconds away. Transferring data in electronic form is actually the fastest way to transfer things. It’s not only the message transfer that has been revolutionized but also the business world. There are virtual shopping malls with website offering you a range of products ranging from computer peripherals to groceries. Companies are now providing details of their product through their website and are accepting customers’ requests of information and now even orders for products are being accepted. Everything is available. Money transfer can easily be done through wire transfer techniques. People do not wait. This world is not ruled by armed soldiers or any nuclear weapon. It’s the information which rules. The physical world just has to react on the outcome. Its role is just for receiving and sending. This high performing virtual world has made significant change in the performance of the actual world (Tanenbaum, 2003). Things in real world are now easier to comprehend. Outsourcing has helped in accessing low cost labor in far off Asian nations like India and China. Multinational companies like Microsoft, IBM, GM. , GE etc. have offices in almost in each part of the world with performance of each of these units can be monitored from any of its offices. Their offices have been networked though LANs i. e. , Local Area Network and WANs i. e. , Wide Area Network. They have virtually made themselves available to their customers any time anywhere and just a click away (Tanenbaum, 2003). 2. Computer System Network of computers A computer system and network of computers are actually two different but interrelated things. A computer system is just a normal computer including peripherals and software necessary for the functioning of the device (Webopedia). But if we talk of Computer Network, it can be defined in a very simple way as a network of computers (Princeton). But giving full importance to all factors getting into act when we talk about network, the definition which actually makes complete sense is none other than the two or more computers connected together to share hardware, software and data and has been implemented according to some topology (Tanenbaum, 2003). The network can have all peripherals located within an office or building. This arrangement is often termed as Local Area Network or LAN (Tech, 2006). If the same is achieved in a wide area i. e. , computers connected to the network are located at places as diverse as countries in different continents, we can call the same as Wide Area Network or WAN (Cisco, 2006). Calling all computers and other intelligent parts of it as nodes, the term network topology can be defined as patterns of links connecting a pair of nodes of a network. 3. Internet Protocol IPTV Technology related television services which include uplink and transmission has seen some of very revolutionary inventions of modern science. The television delivery system has now moved from terrestrial transmission through analog signals to encrypted digital signals through internet as well as IPTV (Anderson, 2006). The entertainment world through television is now very much eager to move from TV being delivered through cable to Internet Protocol Television with content being viewed through technologies used for computer networks (Lu, 2006). The last decade of the 20th century witnessed the massive growth in Internet Protocol based services. Now with the fast development of hardware and software technologies, this internet world has now developed to accommodate services like VoIP and many other telecom products (Wikipedia, 2007). It is a system which delivers digital television services to registered subscribers in a managed network with address based technology. The unique IP address of a subscriber provides him a virtual address over a network and creates a connection between the service provider and the television (Wikipedia, 2007). 4. Television through IPTV: a new experience IPTV is going to give the most electrifying experience to its subscribers. It’s not just seamless TV viewing but also more interactive and personalized. Things like participation in a game show or any discussion board will only require the use of the remote while sitting on the couch. Now the user will not feel being bombarded with a long list of channels rather get a very creative option to receive them with a much richer experience (International Engineering Consortium, 2007). The two-way signal broadcasting system through the network over which IPTV depends, allows the viewers to make selection that too on demand with time shift option. The additional services which can also be incorporated with IPTV are the Web Browsing i. e. surfing the internet, gaming with a game console with the current system and finally the communication applications which can enable email, MMS, Chat, etc (Telecom Italia, 2006). Figure 1 (IPTV delivery Infrastructure) The Set-Top Box which has made this IPTV happen which at one end is connected to the TV set while the other end to an ADSL connection can easily be made to supply Broadcast TV services (BTV) as well as Video On Demand (VOD) services. This BTV facilitates the simultaneous reception by the users of a traditional TV channel. And using multicasting protocols IPTV can make available services which are similar to experiences of a traditional TV like Free-to-air or Pay TV or a Pay-Per-view service (Luarel Networks). The same IPTV can be used by service providers to provide the VOD service which is made available on request. The VOD service requires implementation through IP unicast protocols (Ericsson, 2006). The enhanced IPTV can also make Personal Video Recorder (PVR) services available. The local PVR makes way for video-recording on the STB hard-disk with another set of functions for live, pause and replay. Similarly the Network-based PVR stores the data on the operator’s server which is generally used for VOD (International Engineering Consortium, 2007). On technological point, the IPTV makes way for better utilization of available infrastructure like the bandwidth. Traditional transmission technology actually sends more than hundred channels simultaneously while the IPTV requires just one channel to be sent to the subscriber at a time. Every time the user selects a channel or a program, a new streaming takes place with data related to the newly selected channel (Anderson, 2006). 5. IPTV: More Advantages, More services More Business The IPTV will lead to a very new level of interactivity among Internet and data mainly as voice and video. A cable based TV network beams data in form of video mostly in MPEG format through an explicit bandwidth portion while the internet which enables high speed data transfer works on an IP based network and the data transfer is based on packets rather than streams. Both the technologies are technically very different. This IPTV is an amalgam of both the successful technologies. Being a data-centric application, the packets over this network can deliver both video as well as data (International Engineering Consortium, 2007). Figure 2: Telecommunications IPTV system solution The traditional cable network is often overloaded with more than 100 channels being transmitted simultaneously. So there is a limitation of maximum number of channels that can be made available to the subscriber. IPTV has a very clear advantage (Times News Network, 2006). Theoretically this technology can make almost infinite number of channels at the customer’s disposal. The transmission line actually transmitted a single channel which has been demanded by the customer. So the infrastructure usage per customer is negligible while opening a new era of almost every channel on the planet being made available to the user. The IP technology being a packet based product requires an acknowledgement to be sent to the source for every packet. This ensures that every packet sent by the source should remain intact and any loss of data will require resending of the same packet. This feature ensures very high quality of the product which the subscriber will receive (Anderson, 2006). The advantages associated to IPTV is not just conventional entertainment and advertisement based business but the technology can have its usage in developing new products which can make way to many other forms of businesses. The web based training is one of the many other possibilities. The IPTV network can be used to run different courses by making the videos of the classes available to the registered students (International Engineering Consortium, 2007). IPTV is the next big thing after telecom and internet. The business possibilities associated with this technology is almost as broad as the human thought. Almost all telecom companies are putting big money in exploration and marketing of this product (Blau, 2005). The business network and the corporate LAN’s may be greatest beneficiary with the delivery of videos and television content. The customized content delivery and the extremely secure network will reduce the theft cases to negligible. Customization facility will help the advertisers to understand the behavior of consumers and then will go for personalized ads that will translate into significant business returns (Iyer, 2005). 6. Conclusion The IPTV is going to be the next big thing in communication and media industry. With money pouring inform all big telecom companies IPTV is going to be a very serious business with entertainment becoming more and more customizable. The subscriber will experience a very different medium of entertainment with highest level of interactivity and almost innumerable possible services that too very much on his own wishes. 7. Bibliography Anderson, N. (2006) An introduction to IPTV. Available from http://arstechnica. com/guides/other/iptv. ars [Accessed 10 October 2007] Blau, J. (2005) Internet TV: Still Fuzzy, but Promising. IDG News ServiceAvailable from http://www. pcworld. com/news/article/0,aid,122138,00. asp [Accessed 10 October 2007] Cisco Systems, 2006. Wide Area Network. http://www. cisco. com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/ito_doc/introwan. htm [Accessed 10 October 2007]

Relationship between perfectionism and social anxiety

Relationship between perfectionism and social anxiety 1.1 Introduction Perfectionism is the attitude of an individual that strives to achieve perfection in everything they do. People with perfectionism tend to outdo themselves and make sure everything is in the best form. As perfectionism strives one to be perfect, it is also taxing on the individual for they are pressured to excel, or to meet standards either imposed by others or oneself. This strive is more a common among students as they tend to excel in academic prevalence in an increasing competitive environment. Though the advantages of having this strive, there too are drawbacks, in particular, the level of social anxiety experienced by one. There a number of theorists which have discussed the potential role of perfectionism in problems of social anxiety (e.g., Heimberg Becker, 2002; Schlenker Leary, 1982), but there has been little investigation done on how perfectionist personality characteristics relate to social anxiety and its consequences. (Laurenti, Bruch Haase, 2008). Social anxiety is a disorder where one experiences higher levels of anxiety when engaged in an interaction. As such one may feel fear of being inarticulate, boring, or appearing awkward when interacting with others. According to cognitive theories of social anxiety (e.g., Schlenker Leary, 1982), reviews on interpersonal situations typically involves two aspects: an estimate of ones own abilities (i.e., social self-efficacy) and an estimate of what is an acceptable performance in that particular situation (i.e., others standards) and, presumably, it is the discrepancy between these two appraisal responses that triggers social avoidance and negative effect (Laurenti et al., 2008). Thus, this study aims to examine the relationship between perfectionism and the level of social anxiety among university students in University Putra Malaysia. This study will identify the factors which are related to perfectionism and social anxiety. These factors are referred to ones personal characteristics which include gender, personality, education stream and emotional quotient. Researching the impact of this relationship between perfectionism and social anxiety may lead to the development of an overview about the role of perfectionism in influencing the level of social anxiety among university students therefore in a way, encouraging positive social engagement among them. 1.2 Statement of the problem Is social anxiety a bad thing? Perhaps no; social anxiety can help us to be more sensitive toward others people feeling and needs which is needed in building relationships. Social anxiety will only become a problem while it is excessive or outside the norm. So what are the anxiety symptoms? What causes them to experience social anxiety? To what extent will social anxiety impact ones relationship with others? This study aims to determine the relationship between perfectionism and social anxiety among UPM students. Specifically, this study identifies factors which are related to perfectionism and social anxiety, i.e. personal characteristics (gender, education stream, personality and emotional quotient).As such we will focus on these several research questions that would guide us for the research content. How personal characteristic will influence someone perfectionism behavior? Does personal characteristic cause someone to experience social anxiety? How perfectionism will influence social anxiety? 1.3 Significance of the study The purpose of carrying out this study is to mainly determine the relationship between perfectionism and social anxiety level among students studying in UPM. Perfectionism when over done would inevitably cause nervousness or anxiety among students which in the long run will lead to stress or other serious problems such as burnout, depression or many other physiological complications. By studying this symptom among individual especially students, it may help to reduce the negative side effect of perfectionism. The study may also help individuals to cope and handle with perfectionism without adding unwanted anxiety to them. As we know that perfectionism among general people will cause signs of anxiety and stress, we want to investigate if it affects UPM students and the significance of the effect. As being a perfectionist will make a person very demanding about the standards of work done, this study will measure the amount of anxiety levels experienced by a UPM student. By measuring the anxiety levels, we will be able to understand if it causes extra stress on a UPM student and causes their performance to be affected. This study will also benefit the other students at the university level in Malaysia as it may be an indicator of how university students react to anxiety when striving to be perfect. It will help to identify the common trend among students and determine if perfectionism leads to over nervousness among students in Malaysia; which in the long run cause their performance to be affected. When perfectionism is identified early or thought correct ways to cope with it, students may be able to avoid being stressed out due to anxiety. This may help to increase the performance of university students without adding unwanted anxiety levels. 1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: General objective: The present study aims to determine the relationship between perfectionism and social anxiety among UPM students. (Gender, program of student, personality and emotional quotient) Specific objectives: To describe personal characteristics (gender, program of student, personality and emotional quotient) of the students. To describe student perceived perfectionism. To describe the social anxiety level of the students. To determine the relationship between gender and perfectionism. To compare the difference of perfectionism across student personality. To determine the relationship between emotional quotient and perfectionism. To determine the relationship between courses of student and perfectionism. To determine the relationship between gender and social anxiety. To compare the difference of students personality across social anxiety. To determine the relationship between emotional quotient and social anxiety. To compare the difference of student courses across social anxiety. 1.5 Hypotheses: The purpose of the present study is to examine how perfectionism influences social anxiety level. Given the preceding theoretical and empirical outcomes that we had collected through the study, a number of hypotheses which reflects the association between perfectionism and social anxiety level are proposed: There is no significant relationship between gender and perfectionism level There is no significant difference in perfectionisms across students education streams There is no significant relationship between personality and perfectionism There is no significant relationship between emotional quotient and perfectionism There is no significant difference between gender and social anxiety level There is no significant difference between social anxiety levels across students education streams There is no significant difference between students personality and social anxiety level There is no significant relationship between emotional quotient and social anxiety level There is no significant relationship between perfectionism and social anxiety level Conceptual framework Antecedent Variable Personal characteristic Gender Education Stream Personality Emotional quotient Independent Variable Perfectionism Dependent Variable Social Anxiety To have a more clearly illustration of the relationship between perfectionism and social anxiety among university students in UPM, a conceptual framework is prepared above. There are three types of variables in this research which are referred to antecedent variable, independent variable and dependent variable. For the antecedent variable, it includes the personal characteristics whereby gender, education stream, personality and emotional quotient is taken into view. The independent variable refers to perfectionism while the dependent variable refers to the level of social anxiety. 1.6 Definition of terminology Perfectionism Conceptual definition: Someone who has perfectionism is a person who is not satisfied with anything unless it is completely perfect. Operational definition: For this study, we used the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) by Hewitt Flett (1991) to assess the levels of multidimensional perfectionism in students. Social anxiety Conceptual definition: It means the interaction between a human and the environment around them that causes the feeling of worrying about something. Operational definition: The social anxiety level is measured using the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) developed by Mattick Clarke (1998) which has been used to assess prevalence, severity, and treatment out-comes of social phobia and social anxiety disorders. Gender Conceptual definition: The sex of a person whether its a male or female. Operational definition: This part of information is obtained from the background questionnaire form which will be filled up by the respondent. Courses of student Conceptual definition: The stream of studies of university students whether its science or arts. Operational definition: The information will be obtained by the questionnaire which will be filled up by the respondent. Personality Conceptual definition: It refers to the university students character in how they behave towards other people. Operational definition: In this study the scale used to measure the personality is The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator by Briggs (1985). Emotional quotient Conceptual definition: This means the amount or degree of a feeling such as love, hate, or anger and how they control it. Operational definition: The emotional quotient in this study will be measured using the Emotional-Quotient Inventory which is widely used worldwide. 1.7 Limitation of the study: It is to be certain that there are some limitations with respect to the present studies that need to be acknowledged. As such the data collection might be possible that it would affect the accuracy of the results. The first limitation relates with the extent to which the findings would manage to generalize beyond the previous studies. The numbers of similar research that relates to our present study is limited. Thus, further empirical or duplication of the studies are needed to enhance the current topic and thus would further support future findings. Second limitation here would mainly relate to the small sample size and its location. The small sample size would create a possibility of the data collected to be either ending up with particularly good or particularly bad. Consequently, it is difficult to find an established significant relationship from the data collected, as the statistical method used usually requires a bigger sampling to justify that the result did not fully happen by chance alone. To note, the study will be implemented at UPM, Malaysia. The respondents focused only on university students. Participants may have differed in key ways from non-respondents. Hence, this study limits the ability to generalize the findings and does not represent the population at other places. The nature of respondents also poses a risk. It is to say that, respondents may tend to answer favorably as they perceived to want to be favorable and not be labeled as others or with having a disorder by having higher levels of social anxiety. This would hamper the significance of the result and a certain degree of discretion may be needed. Besides that, there might be other factors that influence the level of social anxiety besides perfectionism which have not been identified or taken into account in our study. To make it simple, there is the possibility that there are more relevant factors to be considered that would significantly influence the dependant variable which is the level of social anxiety. However, the studies and discussion of these other factors are beyond our scope for the present study. Therefore, it would be ideal that more factors can be encompassed within the research. Furthermore, the data collection mainly relies on survey-based information in which we believe contains a certain degree of bias. Undeniably, the response rates through this method are much more satisfactory and faster; but it is possible that other relevant methods would generate different outcomes than the survey-based candidates did. The research design also prevents us from achieving better result since the nature of the data being collect, it would be better to include even more time towards the research. Therefore, it would be best that future research be more convincing if the researchers can relate even more factors into the current study theme.

The Moroccan Goums In The French Army International Relations Essay

The Moroccan Goums In The French Army International Relations Essay Linguistically speaking, the term Goum comes from the Arabic word (قم) pronounced with a Maghrebi accent which means stand up. This term is going to define a military unit that was formed by the French army to be used first internally for pacification purposes and then externally for fighting the Axis powers in World War II. The Goums were predominantly Berbers from the region of the Middle as well as High Atlas, their simple lifestyle and isolation from the lowland in Morocco distinguish them from the other Moroccans mainly the Arabs and Arabized Berbers. Their way of fighting made them fierce warriors that were admired by the French militarily and feared by the Germans and Italians, in addition to the fact that they condoned many barbarous acts that they were doing to their enemies. They regard war as a way of living to the extent that they were assiduous in their missions by perfecting their fighting methods. The Goums made a reputation as redoubtable warriors both in Moro cco, North Africa and Europe with the testimony of many military officers. This research papers will analyze the emergence Goums by dividing the papers into three parts. The first one is devoted to the origin of the Goums, the second to the contribution of the Goums within the French Army in World War II and the last to the fate of the Goums after the end of World War II. The Origin of the Goums and the Pacification of Morocco The Goums were first recruited from the Berber tribes that were objected to the French army such as Ait Warayn, Ait Seghrouchn, Imermuchn, Ichqirn, Izayyan, Ait Yahya†¦The origin of the Goums goes back to the area of the pacification of Morocco; they were used against the resisting Berber tribes in the Atlas Mountains until 1934, the end of the pacification. The birth of the Goums is going to be in 1908 when the French General D`Amande recruited six Goums in the regions of Chaouia to fight the resistance against France in tribal area. The first resident general in Morocco was General Louis-Hubert Lyautey who intended to rule Morocco indirectly by using the Moroccan elite that would govern the country for the benefit of France. However, his idea of indirect rule did not prove to be successful as the Makhzen under the sultan was not able to control the regions outside its realm (Blad Siba) such as the Atlas Mountains, where tribal societies were either with the central power or a gainst themselves. Lyautey realized that diplomacy is not working with the tribes in the mountains therefore he resorted to organizing North African French troops such as the Tirailleurs and Spahis to fight insurrections. Under these circumstances le Service Des Affaires Indigenes et Renseignements (AIR) came into being, the service divided auxiliaries recruited from the tribes into three distinct groups: Partisans, Mokhaznis and Goums. The Goums were the elite of the French colonial force and their assigned mission was to police the rebellion areas among their tribal areas and was used as â€Å"Groupes Mobiles,†pacification soldiers that performed the task of inspection as they know their areas more than the French. The Atlas Mountains attested to be a tough mission for Lyautey due to the harshness not only of its mountains but also of its inhabitants, to the extent that the French Morocco was separated from the Atlas Mountains by the River of Oum er Rebia, thus deemed a region off the French Control. When Lyautey started his military campaign against the tribes in the Atlas Mountains staring from the city of Khenifra, he encountered a fierce resistance from the Zaini tribe mainly from Moha o u Hammou, Moha ou Said and Ali Amhaouch. Lyautey relied on Goums as well as Algerian and Senegalese Tirailleurs to get Moha ou Hammou.But the price was high as the French military was subject to many defeats with its pinnacle in the Battle of Elhri in 1914. Regarding the ethnic composition of Goums, when they were first formed in 1908 in the region of Chaoia they were a mix of both Arabs and Berbers. However in the late 1920s, the French are going to confine the recruitment of Goums to be mainly from the Middle as well as the High Atlas. From this perspective the Goums were distinct from other colonial troops such as tirailleurs and saphis by being distinctly Berbers, a reason that made France to use them as police officers against any resistance. The Berber tribe ofAit Seghrouchn is going to be the most favored by the French to recruit the Goums. The tribe was attacked by the French and many of its inhabitants decided to enlist in the French army due to the death of their family. The Berber name of the tribe â€Å"ouchn† means wolf. The way of their fighting is derived from their attribution to this animal. According to Barbara Ehrenreich, the Scandinavian warriors were leaving their human form and assuming the form of a bear when they go to fight, from which the origin of the word berserk came. Consequently, when the Goums of Ait Seghrouchn went to fight they assume the form of a wolf and leave behind their human form. The Goums were noticeable for their quality of loyalty to the extent that they remained faithful to their officers during the dissents in Morocco. As it is stated by Edward L. Bimberg, â€Å"during all these turbulent years the Goums remained steadfast. While the tribes of their origin vacillated loyal to the French one day, fighting them the next the Goumiers remained faithful, not to France, but to their officers, the Frenchmen to whom they owed their fealty.†The tribes proved to be a difficult task for the French, but â€Å"Eventually, it was nature that defeated the tribesmen. The French dammed the streams that ran through the Berber positions, cutting off their water supply.† And by 1933, â€Å"the last of the dissident tribes, the AÄ ±Ã‚ ¨t Abdi, the AÄ ±Ã‚ ¨t Sokhlman and, toughest of them all, the AÄ ±Ã‚ ¨t Haddidou, came down out of their mountain strongholds and submitted to the French generals. The pacification of Morocco was complete.† After the e nd of the pacification, the Goums became obsolete and there was the idea of discharging the Goums as they were no longer needed. However, due to their ferocity and trustworthiness the French agreed to keep them as gendarmerie (police officers) in case new dissents aroused and by the start of World War II the Goums were going to have a new mission where they built a reputation of being fine warriors. Tunisia In 1939 Germany invaded Poland ushering the start of the Second World War and it is obvious that France will be using its colonial troops such as Tirailleurs, Spahis and Zouaves to fight the Axis powers. The Goums were also on the picture, however they were used as a police rather than military force but eventually they were sent to Tunisia to fight the Italian and German forces in its border with Libya. unlike the French, the Berber when they were fighting the Germans had no natural or historical animosity towards them, on the other hand they just fought for the sake of fighting and the fact of being paid for their service was a motivation for them to fight savagely against the Germans.] When the French realized the power of the Goums they organized them in tabors to be used in military missions, the tabor came to be used in hand with the word irregular. The Goums were deployed in Tunisia two times. First, In 1940 Tunisia was menaced to be attacked by Italians from its East-South border with Libya. Therefore, in May 1940 the Goums were deployed to Tunisia to fight against the Italians. However, when France lost in the Phoney War, it negotiated an armistice that allowed the Vichy government to head the country of France. It is worth mentioning that in contrast to the Italians who were being wary of the Berbers as a threat the German did not regard the Berber as a menace but rather a band of peasants. Additionally, France pointed to the Germans that they were used as gendarmerie. Thus they were allowed for their continuation in Vichy France; in the meantime the Goums were the resort of France to build its army without any interference from Germany.The fact of being situated in the mountainous region of Morocco made the action of French officers unnoticeable. What made the Berbers to be highly admired by the French was their loyalty to the extent that they remain loyal even during their defeat by Germany and under Vichy France. As it is stated by Moshe Gershovich, â€Å"this manifestation of Berber loyalty towards the France`s worst moments in history was celebrated as shining proof of the common bond which had been forged between the two peoples, the ultimate fruit of colonial genius and benevolence.† Second, in 1942 the Goums were redeployed in Tunisia where they acquired a reputation as brave and fearsome warriors who showed to the allied forces their skill in infantry They helped capture the city of Bizerte and Tunis, to the extent that British General Brian Horrocks described the Berbers as â€Å"the toughest of all†¦on whom pain and discomfort seem to have no effect whatever. The Goums fighting performance in Tunisia made them the suitable candidate to fight the Axis powers in Italy. The Mission in Italy After their participation in Tunisia which showed to the allied forces the fierceness and warrior quality of the Berbers they were taken to Sicily on what was called operation â€Å"Husky,† the 4th tabor that went was composed of 58 French officers and 678 Goums. Sicily did not prove to be a hard terrain for the Goums as its rugged and mountainous terrain were similar to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Nevertheless, they did found the Island â€Å"hellishly hot, unbelievably dusty and malarial besides.† The 4th tabor was essential at helping the American 1st division that was heavily attacked by Italians. The Sicilian campaign ended after the capture of Messina, which proved to be a crucial battle for the Goums as it is proposed by Edward L. Bimberg: It was their first adventure overseas, the first time in their history they had fought outside Africa†¦they had overcome what may have been some- thing of an inferiority complex, a sense of being ‘‘country bumpkins† fit to fight only in African wars. One way or another, for the Moroccan irregulars Sicily was an important breakthrough. The fall of Sicily paved the way for the fall of Sardinia and Corsica. The French were aware of the power of the Goums and their competence in war and after their deployment in Tunisia the French army added a metal unit insignia in which it was written â€Å"Who Laughs Last Laughs Best†which served as a reminder for its enemies about the glorious victories of Goums against Germans. In 1943, due to the success of the Goums in Tunisia and Sicily with four tabors being under the command of the allied forces, a new position was created under the name of the Commandment des GoumsMarocains (CGM) with Colonel Augustin-Leon Guillaume as its commander Its role was to maintain communication between those four tabors. The American relied on CGM which would be a part of the fifth army of Clark to invade Italy under the codename of Avalanche.The Goums did not find the new invasion to be hard for as the allied forces did not like the terrain the Goums find an advantage in it, as it is stated by Edward L. Bimberg: â€Å"as far as mountain fighting was concerned the Goumiers were at no such disadvantage. The Italian peaks and ridges†¦meant nothing to the Moroccans.†And while the Germans regarded the mountains as a barrier for defense against the allies, the Goums did not find difficulty in their specialty as mountain warriors. While the Goums did a remarkable job of fighting the Axis powers, a new element of their charater was revelaed by their misconduct that was noticeable by Italians. As it is declared by Edward L. Bimberg: They were not popular with the Italians. This was the result of the off-duty conduct of some of them in the mountain villages and isolated valley farms†¦certain elements among the Moroccans had engaged in a wild spree of rape and pillage across the Italian countryside when they were not busy killing Germans. In the movie La Ciociara which is based on the novel La Ciociara by Alberto Moravia, the group rape of two women by the Goums after the Battle Messina was portrayed. These brutal events were engraved in the memory of Italians as an Italian word marocchinare came to describe those events. Moreover, In 1964 a monument was erected in the city of Roca di San Pietro, named Mammai Cioria to remind Italians of the atrocities committed by the Goums. The reasons behind the misconduct of the Goums has to do with the fact such things as rape and loot can be explained through the isolation of the Berber tribes in the Atlas Mountains. The reason why the people went to war in the first place was to rape and loot, to the extent that Alexander the Macedonian was portrayed as being gay for not indulging into rape during his conquests.Barbara Ehrenreich stated that â€Å"war not only depart from the normal; it inverts all that is moral and right: in war one should kill, should steal, should burn cities and farms, should perhaps even rape matrons and little girls. † She even pointed out that â€Å"rape has been endemic wherever warriors rule and was even legalized in medieval Europe as the feudal lord`s droit de seigneur.†Edward L. Bimberg stated that: Not that they had anything against the Italians†¦Their origins, however, can-not be forgotten; to the Moroccan tribesman, that was the way war was waged. To the victor belonged the spoils, and the Goumiers were somewhat puzzled by the restraints put upon them by their officers. This misconduct of the Goums was used as justification by the French authorities for its brutal policies when dealing with tribal people in Morocco. The Moroccans indulged in rape, theft, pillage and murder, consequently Clark, the head of the Fifth American division under which the Goums were supervised, ordered the execution of law transgressors. Accordingly, 15 Moroccans were executed while 54 were imprisoned to various sentences. The action committed by the Goums came as a surprise to the French officials Alphonse Juin, commander of the French Expeditionary Corps (CFE), and Guillaume. Therefore, the French decided to bring Berber women to Italy through the US Navy LST to prevent future misconducts by the Goums, to the extent that they were the only soldiers in WWII that brought their women with them.Surprisingly, the policy did help in quelling rape and pillage but the disgrace did not disappear. Apart from their misconduct in Italy, the Goums were also known for the fact that during the night they would sneak in the American tents and steal their stuff. Additionally, their way of fighting involved also the process of cuttin g throats and ears which was reminiscent of what the Trojans did to their enemies,the basic aim of these practices was to take souvenirs. The Goums succeeded in chasing the Germans down and reached the cities of Rome and Siena where they fought their last battles in Italy. After that, the Goums have to go to Naples to be embarked directly in southern France to fight the German in what was called Operation Dragon. Italy was an opportunity for Berbers to distinguish themselves again after Tunisia as worthy warriors who can survive under any conduction. As it is pointed out by Edward L. Bimberg: The Italian campaign was the supreme testing ground for the Moroccan Tabors. Could these lightly armed primitive tribesmen survive in modern warfare? Their officers maintained that they could and did, that their performance in the mountains of Italy was proof of their value, even in the most difficult circumstances†¦Supply alone, with one air drop and 4,000 mules, was in itself an almost magical accomplishment. When the Goums were preparing to be embarked in Southern France, the French`s inspector general`s department published a report about the Goums, which mentioned their strong points as well as weak points. It pointed to the qualities of Berbers in warfare such as â€Å"scouting and patrolling† particularly in Mountains, Overflowing or swarming, or what is called by French as â€Å"de`bordement† which means being fast to attack with the element of surprise, in addition to Adaptability, endurance and cleverness in making booby trapsThe major weak points of the Goums tend to be lack of inventiveness especially in the absence of French chiefs,the fact of taking orders instead of improvising is a constant characteristic of the Goums, In addition to their reluctance to attack a well-equipped target as they prefer â€Å"war of movement to a sedentary siege.† Another interesting fact that is mentioned in the report is the Goums` dislike and contempt of the tank, which is normal as any warrior society fears new weapons because not only do they menace their life but also the survival of their groups as fighting elite that is redoubtable and in need of in addition to the fact that a man who fights through a tank is hiding in a machine. For instance, the samurai had the same feelings as they were abhorred by the invention of guns to the extent that they banned it.The report was made with the intent of finding solutions to the weak points as well ameliorating the strong elements of the Goums, for instance by equipping them with anti-tank rifles. The Mission in France The participation of the Goums in operation dragon (also known as Anvil) was at doubt not because the French doubted the warfare power of the Goums, but out of fear from their reputation as being prone to rape and plunder like in Italy, to the extent that Pope Pius XII in Vatican had protested against the use of Goums in Europe. However, General Guillaume defended the Goums and asked for their participation in the French soil.In France, the Goums were going to be under the command of General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny who unlike Giraud, Juin and Guillaume was neither African nor having an experience of fighting in North Africa. Another issue that was an obstacle for the deployment of the Goums in southern France is the military nature of Operation Dragon which was gigantic as it included â€Å"five battleships, nine escort carriers with 216 aircraft, 122 destroyers and escort vessels and 466 land- ing craft, all from five navies American, British, French, Australian and Greek and a n imposing fleet of transports and supply ships as well.† Finding room for the Goums among this vast military along with their mules and horses was a cumbersome one. Many officers showed their opposition to the inclusion of the Goums in the ships as well as undermining their capacity as warriors based on their looks. For instance, General Alexander Patch of the American force was against their deployment. Nevertheless, the need for Goums attested to be vital for the Allied forces as General De Lattre convinced the officers that opposed the Goums Deployment in the operation, mainly the Americans. He pointed out to their specialty of mountain warfare which would be useful in getting along the mountain ranges surrounding the two cities: Toulon and Marseille, in addition to the Alps and the Vosges in Alsace. To put things differently, regardless of their look or reputation as rapist and plunderers, the Goums were crucial for the success of Operation Dragon. Moreover, regarding the issue of rape and pillage De Gaulle agreed to the deployment of Goums in France as long as they were not used in cities. Eventually, 6000 Goums along with 1200 mules were embarked in the ship heading towards the shores France. The German forces that were stationed in France to defend the South were the 19th army under the control of General Friedrich Wiese. The major German power was stationed in two major French cities Marseille and Toulon. In the former, it was the 244th Infantry Division as well as naval and Luftwaffe ground units and the latter it was 242nd Infantry Division and the Kriegs-marine.The cities captured by Germany such as Marseille were used as fortresses while the leading roads to the city were fortified by artillery, machine guns, mines and wire. What made the invasion more difficult is due to the fact that the Germans followed Hiller`s rule of fighting to the last man. Regardless of the way the German fought, the Goums had the advantage of identifying war as a reason for their life therefore making the best of it. What was noticeable regarding the Goums in contrast with the allied forces is their Berber character that can be seen from their clothing: djellaba, rezzas and mule-riding. T o the extent that De Lattre described their march toward Marseille as â€Å"trotting along in single file with their mules, bare footed, their hob-nailed boots hanging about their necks or slung at their belts with their tin helmets. The endless striped djellabas gave the landscape an African appearance.† The Goums proved to be worthy of their reputation as fierce warriors, they were mostly used in areas that involved inhospitable terrains such as the Mountains of Alps where the Goums were stationed to guard the eastern border of France with Italy, their mission was to prevent any infiltration of Axis powers to France from the Alps to the Col de Larche while the allied forces guarded the less harsh border between Col de Larche and the Mediterranean Sea. The Alps proved to be a strenuous terrain for the Goums, as it is acknowledged by Edward L. Bimberg The Alpine terrain in that area was particularly difficult, even for the Goumiers. They found the footing around the Col de Larche and the Plateau des Bouchieres extremely unstable. It was all shale, a rock made of densely packed clay that split easily into layers, of a type unique to the territory and strange to the Moroccans They had never before experienced this kind of stone that sheared off underfoot as they marched, making the uphill going doubly difficult and the down- hill even more dangerous. The fight in Alps was an arduous one that generated many casualties from both sides. However, as the German received heavy losses in Southern France mainly by losing Toulon, Lyon, Grenoble and Marseille†¦ Hitler ordered his troops to evacuate Southern France. The next mission of the Goums in France after the Alps is going to be in the Vosges Mountains. The new terrain was different from the Atlas Mountains as it was â€Å"heavily forested, dark and dank,†to put it in other words â€Å"Its terrain was perfect for defense, and the Germans had made the most of it.†So, De Lattre expected a long battle in the area which was hindered by the weather as well as the harsh terrain, however the general relied on deceiving the German to think that their aim is at the Vosges instead of Belfort Gap, an aim in which he succeeded at. In order to do that, the Goums were kept busy by fighting the German on the mountains, and eventually the victory paved the way to freeing Alsace and getting the Colmar Pocket. The Mission in Germany Obtaining Alzace was not enough for the French, for that reason De Gaulle urged his army to go further, beyond the Alsace in the Rhine to capture the capital of Wà ¼rttemberg and Baden province, Stuttgart. However, there was an obstacle as the other bank of Rhine is settled by â€Å"the mountainous, wooded terrain of the Black Forest.† But that was not obstacle for the Goums whose reputation did not stop at Italy and Tunisia but arrived to Germany too as the people were more fearful of the Goums than the regular allied forces. As it is affirmed by Edward L. Bimberg, â€Å"The German civilians were, understandably, totally cowed, and the white bed sheets of surrender were displayed everywhere. They were particularly fearful of the Goumiers, whose hooded djellabas and scraggly beards made them seem like some avenging medieval monks.† As the French army occupied such cities as Karlsruhe and Pforzheim, the next step is to invade Stuttgart. However, the American forces und er the command of General Devers were engaged in fighting the Germans in the north. De Lattre was recalcitrant to the orders of his superiors and preferred to go to the mission without informing the Americans, his plan was to surround the city by isolating it like a siege and the Goums were used effectively in that matter. Just like Alsace, getting Stuttgart was not enough for the French but they sought something further which is Ulm, the basic interest of French is based on its pride, it wants to be known in history that France reached as far in Germany as the Danube River.Another city that De Latter was after is Sigmaringen, the headquarters of the French Vichy government in exile, under the command of Marshal Petain.Although the two cities were missions for the American Seventh Army De Latter made it a personal mission to get the honor of France as well as capturing the traitors: Marshal Petain and Pierre Laval. Once the Allied forces captured German cities, there was a task that the Goums were skillful at that it was always performed after the fall of each German city, the task was mopping up or what is called in French ratissage. The final place where the Goums along the allied forces fought the German is in the Voralberg Massif in the Austrian Alps. After the End of World War II The Goums fought with the French army in the World War Two with loyalty and efficiency however Germany was not the last mission where the Goums served but they also went as far as Indo china in 1948 1854. Until where they severed a heavy defeat in the Tonkin Region in the north, ten tabors were sent to the area, the reason for the defeat is due to the guerrilla warfare tactic employed by the northern Vietnamese as well as the terrain that was unprecedented for the Goums. In the process many left were given to the Goums including other North African soldiers to join the Vietnam military by referring to them as comrade. When the Goums were discharged from the French army due to the end of World War II and the changing time in Morocco as Moroccans ask for Independence under the PI, The Goums preferred to support the Pasha of Marrakesh, El Glawi in contrast with the supporters of Mohemmed V. the king went into exile and Mohammed Ben Arafa became the sultan for a short period and by the independence. Conclusion The Goums were good at fighting and helped the allied forces in their war against the axis power, they were used under the command of French officers, and they proved their warrior spirit in Tunisia, Italy and Germany. To the extent that only four of the Goums have become prisoners of war during their experiences in Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, France , Germany and Austria. The Goums are specialized in mountain warfare however during their deployment in Europe they proven to be adaptable to other types of warfare. The Goums are not mercenaries but military unit under the international law and a basic evidence of that is the fact that the Goums were fighting in Europe for the sake of France to the extent that â€Å"When one Goumier was offered a monetary reward, he refused it saying, ‘‘It is for France.Their reputation seems to be tarnished by the brutal events of Ciociara and the defeat in but still they did a difficult work of helping the allied forces freeing Europe from t he Axis powers. 5,039 words Bibliography Maanouni, Ahmed El dir. Les goumiersmarocains(Moroccan Goums). with Eric Deroo and Alain de Sedouy. GMT Productions, 1993. Bimberg, Edward L. The Morrocan Goums: Tribal Warriors in a Modern War. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1999. Eisenhower, John S. D. They Fought at Anzio. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 2007. El Merini, Abdelhak. L`armeemarocaine a traversl`histoire (Moroccan Army through the History). Rabat: Dar Nachr El Maarifa, 2000. Ehrenreigh, Barbara. Blood Rites: Origins and the History of the Passions of War. Henry Holt and Company: New York, 1997. Gershovich, Moshe. Collaboration and Pacification: French Conquest, Moroccan Combatants, and the Transformation of the Middle Atlas. Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 24.1 (2004): 139-146. Gershovich, Moshe. French Military Rule in Morocco: Colonialism and its Consequences. London: Frank Cass, 2000. Ilahiane, Hsain. Historical dictionary of the Berbers (Imazighen).The Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland, 2006. Maghraoui, Driss. The Moroccan Colonial Soldiers: Between Selective Memory and Collective memory, in Ali Abdullatif Ahmida, ed., Beyond Colonialism and Nationalism in the Maghrib: History, Culture, and Politics (Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, New York: Palgrave, 2000): 49-69. Maghraoui, Driss. Nos goumiers Berbà ¨res: the ambiguities of colonial representations in French military novels. The Journal of North African Studies 7: 3 ( 2002): 79-100. Bouchareb, Rachid. Indigà ¨nes (Days of Glory). with Jamel Debbouze, Roschdy Zem and Samy Naceri. Tessalit Productions, 2006. Van Creveled, Martin. The Tansformation of War. New York: The Free Press, 1991. De Sica, Vittorio dir. La Ciociara (Two Women). with Sophia Loren and Jean-Paul Belmondo.Compagnia Cinematografica Champion, 1960. Moshe Gershovich, French Military Rule in Morocco: Colonialism and its Consequences (London: Frank Cass, 2000), 187. Edward L. Bimberg, The MorrocanGoums :Tribal Warriors in a Modern War , 3.

Elizabeth Essay -- essays papers

Elizabeth The 1998 movie â€Å"Elizabeth,† directed by Shekhar Kapur, from a script by Michael Hirst, is a historical epic that takes place during and after the mid-16th-century period when England’s Princess Elizabeth was nearly eliminated by her half-sister, Queen Mary. It portrays the events of Mary’s death, Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne, and the struggles and events that she must overcome in order to preserve the strength of the English Monarchy, and establish Protestantism as the chief English religion. She must also maintain her stability and safety as a female ruler in a male-dominated society. The movie is beautifully made, with eloquent and realistic costumes, and prominent actors, and it successfully turns an important historical period into a riveting drama filled with action and romance. However, looking at â€Å"Elizabeth† from a historical standpoint, it is lacking in terms of accuracy. The chronological events in the movie do not follow with the historical events, and instances that happened over many years are crammed into a short period of time. Also, many events are exaggerated, or even completely made up in order to add to the dramatic appeal of the movie. Despite these flaws, â€Å"Elizabeth† does correctly relate the main aspects of Queen Elizabeth I’s rule. Elizabeth was born in 1533, the daughter of the infamous Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. When Elizabeth was three, her mother was beheaded for treason and adultery, and Parliament declared her marriage to Henry invalid, which made Elizabeth illegitimate. Her chances of ever ascending the throne were again thwarted by the birth of Edward, the son of Henry and his third wife. When Edward, a Protestant, died in 1553, his older half-sister, Mary, a Catholic, took the throne. Mary always held bitter feelings toward Elizabeth because Anne Boleyn treated Catherine of Aragon, Mary‘s mother, badly. To avoid angering Mary, Elizabeth â€Å"conformed outwardly to Catholicism,† but she secretly hoped and plotted to restore Protestantism. She was briefly locked up in the Tower of London, and was almost executed. The movie begins with the execution of three Protestant activists, ordered by Mary, illustrating her hatred and intolerance for Protestants. In order to avoid angering Mary, â€Å"Elizabeth continually had to proclaim her pious distaste for heresy.†(Jagger) In the movie, Mary ... ...o about two hours, and make these two hours interesting. To do so, facts had to be manipulated in order to make the movie more interesting and easy to follow. Important characters were omitted, conspiracies grouped together, and people were misrepresented. Elizabeth was portrayed as a happy and fun-loving young woman, when historians describe her as a somewhat cold-hearted woman who shared her father’s nasty temper. The filmmakers turned the history into a drama that has the essential characteristics of any entertaining movie: suspense, good guys and bad guys, and a riveting love story. They were not attempting to make an accurate documentary of Elizabethan England, but a dramatized interpretation of it that would be enjoyable to viewers, and provoke interest in the Elizabethan era. Bibliography: Hartl, John. Movie Review: ‘Elizabeth’ is unstuffy historical epic, stirring up overlooked British history† November 20. McCaffrey, Wallace, Susan Doran, Chris Haigh, and Norman Jones. Ridley, Jasper. The Shrewdness of Virtue . London: Viking Penguin Inc, 1987 Encyclopedia Britannica 1999-2000 Elizabeth I. Crown Copyright, 1997, 1998, 1999.

Multiple Sclerosis Essay -- Health Medical Medicine Essays

Multiple Sclerosis The primary objective of this paper is to raise fundamental questions in regards to multiple sclerosis, and to explore possibilities that attempt to answer these inquiries. Second, the prospective outcome is to provide a solid knowledge base for which my peers may begin to understand the relationship between multiple sclerosis and neurobiology and behavior. The first question to address in the general schema of this essay is: What is Multiple Sclerosis? Multiple Sclerosis also commonly referred to as MS is considered an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). The key to understanding MS is to recognize its relationship to the human immune system. The immune system is an intricate network of specialized cells and organs that defends the body against attacks by foreign agents also known as antigens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. To the contrary, in the case of multiple sclerosis, the connection between the immune system and the body is interrupted when the immune system identifies itself, particularly the white matter of the central nervous system as a foreign body, and consequently destroys the myelin. The myelin is a fatty tissue composed of rich protein and lipids that protect and insulate the nerve fibers, which serve to carry out electrical impulses. The central nervous system is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves; thusly MS affects several areas of the human anatomy. Multiple Sclerosis could be described as the loss of myelin in multiple locations throughout the body, which then exposes the nerve fibers and leaves scaring called sclerosis. The next question that should be addressed is: What are the principal functions of myelin? In... ...of living with this disease, instead of at its mercy. First, one needs to acknowledge the existence of the disease. Second, an individual should allow time to process the idea of living with the disease. Third, one should become an active agent in fighting the disease by becoming informed. Fourth, a person should be willing to make adjustments, which may alter one's lifestyle. In conclusion an individual should not be afraid of multiple sclerosis, but dare to live a fulfilling life. Bibliography 1)http://www.nationalmssociety.org 2)http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/pubs/multiple_sclerosis.htm 3)http://www.undestandingms.com/ms/articles/cognitive.asp For further information check out 4)http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_ 5)http://www.docguide.com/news/content.nfs/NewsPrint/ 6)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?

Book Of Job: Suffering Essay -- essays research papers

Book of Job: Suffering The book of Job 1:3, in The New Oxford Annonated Bible, states "Job was the greatest man among all in the East." He was a faithful servant of God, he owned thousands of animals, and had many servants and friends. Job had a very large family with seven sons and three daughters. Why was Job chosen to suffer and receive punishment at the hands of the Lord one may ask? The major themes in the book describe the ways Job deals with suffering and despair the Lord handed him. How one deals with despair and suffering is what makes a person who he or she is. The Lord is not a stranger to suffering. Psalms 69:33-36, states â€Å"The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people. Let heaven and earth praise him. The seas and all that move in them. For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it; the children of his servants will inherit it; and those who love his name will dwell there.† God does not intentionally inflict despair and heartache on his believers for no reason at all. I think the despair we experience, and how we deal with it, is a test to show our true selves. The Lord does not make us suffer because of what we have done. Through suffering, we become better people and grow as an individual. You find your identity through terrible experiences. I have dealt with serious heartache and do believe that I have grown from it...

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Twenty-One

â€Å"What's taking so long?† Bonnie asked, bouncing on the bal s of her feet. â€Å"Stop being so hyper,† Meredith said absently, craning her neck to see over the crowd outside McAl ister. There was some kind of bottleneck by the entrance to the dorm that was slowing everyone down. She shivered in her thin top; it was starting to get cold at night. â€Å"Security's at the door,† Bonnie said as they got closer to the entrance. â€Å"Are they carding people to get in?† Her voice was shril with outrage. â€Å"They're just checking that you have a student ID,† someone in the crowd told her, â€Å"to make sure you're not a crazed kil er from off campus.† â€Å"Yeah,† his friend said. â€Å"Only on-campus kil ers al owed.† A couple of people laughed nervously. Bonnie fel silent, biting her lip, and Meredith shivered again, this time for reasons that had nothing to do with the cold. When they final y got to the front of the line, the security guards glanced quickly at their IDs and waved them through. Inside, it was crowded and music was pumping, but no one real y seemed to be in a partying mood. People stood in smal groups, talking in undertones and glancing around nervously. The presence of the security guards had reminded everyone of the danger lurking unseen on campus. Anyone could be responsible, even someone in the room at that very moment. As she thought about that, Meredith's view of the room shifted, the other students around her changing from innocent to sinister. That curly-headed frat boy in the corner – was he eyeing his pretty companion with something more than simple lust? The faces of strangers twisted viciously, and Meredith took a deep breath, calming herself until everyone looked normal again. Samantha was coming toward her, a red plastic cup in her hand. â€Å"Here,† she said, handing Meredith a soda. â€Å"Everyone's on edge tonight, it's creepy. We'd better stay alert and not drink,† she said, already on the same wavelength as Meredith. Bonnie squeezed Meredith's arm in fareWelland took off into the crowd to look for Zander. Meredith sipped her drink and warily eyed the strangers surrounding her. Despite the general malaise hanging over the party, some people were so wrapped up in each other that they were managing to have a good time anyway. She watched a couple kiss, as ful y focused on each other as if there was no one else in the world who mattered. They weren't worrying about the attacks and disappearances on campus, and Meredith found herself feeling a sharp pang of envy. She missed Alaric, missed him with a bone-deep longing that stayed with her, even when she wasn't consciously thinking about him. â€Å"The kil er could be right here at this party,† Samantha said unhappily. â€Å"Shouldn't we be able to sense something? How can we protect anyone if we don't know who we're up against?† â€Å"I know,† said Meredith. The crowd parted, and she saw a face she hadn't expected: Stefan, leaning against the far wal . His eyes lit up when he saw her, and he glanced past her with a hopeful half smile already forming on his lips. Poor guy. No matter what Meredith thought about Elena's decision to take a break – and, for the record, Meredith thought that Elena was doing the right thing; her entanglement with both Salvatore brothers meant that they had al been heading for trouble – she couldn't help pitying him. Stefan had the look of someone who was experiencing the same sharp pang of loneliness and desire as Meredith did when she thought of Alaric. It must be worse for him, because Elena was so close and because she chose to separate herself from him against his wishes. â€Å"Excuse me for a second,† she said to Samantha, and went to Stefan. He greeted her politely and asked about her classes and her hunter training, although she could tel that he was burning to talk about Elena. He had such good manners, always. â€Å"She's not here yet, but she's definitely coming,† she told him, interrupting one of his pleasantries. â€Å"She had something to do first.† His face bloomed into a smile of grateful relief, and then he frowned. â€Å"Elena's coming here alone?† he asked. â€Å"After al the attacks?† â€Å"No,† Meredith reassured him. She hadn't thought of this, and she didn't think she should tel him Elena was with Damon. â€Å"She's with other people,† she settled for saying and was glad that her answer seemed to satisfy him. Meredith sipped her drink and hoped grimly that Elena had the sense not to bring Damon to the party. Matt spotted Chloe from across the room. Tonight was the night, he decided. Enough playing around, enough exchanging glances and gentle, platonic hugs and hand squeezes. He wanted to know if she felt the same way he did, if she felt like maybe there was something between them worth exploring. She was talking to someone, a guy he recognized from Vitale, and her curly brown hair shone softly in the light from overhead. There was so much life in Chloe: the way she laughed, the way she listened to what the guy was saying, attentive and involved, her face focused. Matt wanted to kiss her, more than anything. So he started working his way across the room toward her, nodding at people he knew as he passed them. He didn't want to look too uncool and eager, not like he was making a beeline for her, but he didn't want to stop and lose her in the crowd, either. Matt. Matt jerked as if he'd been stung as the silent greeting hit him. Twisting around to see where it was coming from, he found Stefan standing right behind him and frowned irritably at him. He hated when Stefan got into his head like that. â€Å"You could have just said hi,† he told Stefan, as mildly as he could. â€Å"You know, out loud.† Stefan ducked his head apologetical y, his cheeks flushing. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he said. â€Å"That was rude of me, but I just wanted to get your attention. It's so loud in here.† He gestured around, and Matt wondered, as he sometimes had before, how the life of a modern teenager seemed to the vampire. Stefan had experienced more than Matt probably ever would, but the loud rock music and the press of bodies al around him seemed to make him uncomfortable, showing the cracks in his disguise as someone young. He tried hard, for Elena's sake, Matt knew. â€Å"I'm waiting for Elena,† Stefan said. â€Å"Have you seen her?† The lines of his face were anxious, and, just like that, Matt's picture of Stefan as someone too old, too out of place here, snapped. Stefan looked achingly young, lonely and worried. â€Å"Yeah,† Matt said. â€Å"I just saw her at the library. She said she was coming here later.† He bit his tongue to keep from adding that he'd seen her there with Damon, of al people. Matt wasn't quite sure what was going on between Elena and the brothers, but he figured Stefan didn't need to know that Elena and Damon were together. â€Å"I'm supposed to be staying away from her,† Stefan confided sadly. â€Å"She feels like she's coming between Damon and me, and she wants some time for us al to work things out before the two of us can be together again.† He glanced up at Matt, almost beseechingly. â€Å"But I thought since there are so many people here, it isn't like we'd be alone.† Matt took a swal ow of his beer, his mind working furiously. Now he knew he'd been right not to mention that Damon and Elena had been together. What game was Elena playing now? It was a shock, too, to realize how far out of the loop he'd gotten. When did al this happen? Since Christopher's death, he'd been avoiding his friends, spending so much time focused on the Vitale Society that he missed this big development in their lives. What else was he missing? Stefan was stil looking at him as if he was seeking some kind of approval, and Matt rubbed the back of his neck thoughtful y, then offered, â€Å"You should talk to her. Let her know how unhappy you are without her. Love is worth taking the chance.† As Stefan nodded, considering, Matt's eyes sought out Chloe in the crowd again. The guy she'd been talking to was gone, and she was alone for the moment, biting her lip as she looked around the room. Matt was about to excuse himself and head toward her when another voice spoke in his ear. â€Å"Hi, Matt, how's it going?† Ethan came up beside him, his golden brown eyes focused on Matt's. Matt felt himself straightening up and pul ing back his shoulders, trying to look loyal and honorable, a promising candidate, everything the Vitale wanted him to be. Matt saw this reaction to Ethan in the other pledges as Well: whatever Ethan wanted them to be or do, they wanted, too. Some people were just natural leaders, he guessed. They chatted for a minute, not about the Vitale Society, of course, not in front of Stefan, but simple friendly stuff about footbal and classes and the music that was playing, and then Ethan turned the warmth of his smile on Stefan. â€Å"Oh, uh, Ethan Crane, Stefan Salvatore,† Matt introduced them, adding, â€Å"Stefan and I went to high school together.† Stefan and Ethan started making conversation, and Matt looked for Chloe again. She wasn't in the last place he had seen her, and he started to panic, until he found her again in the crowd, moving to the music. â€Å"I can't help noticing just a slight accent, Stefan,† Ethan was saying. â€Å"Are you from Italy original y?† Stefan smiled shyly. â€Å"Most people don't hear it anymore,† he said. â€Å"My brother and I, we left Italy a long time ago.† â€Å"Oh, does your brother go here, too?† Ethan asked, and Matt decided the two of them seemed happy enough together and that it was okay for him to leave now. â€Å"I'l catch up with you guys later,† he said. Taking another swal ow of beer, Matt strode through the crowd, straight toward Chloe. Her eyes were shining, her dimples were showing, and he knew the time was right. Like he had told Stefan, love was worth taking the chance.