Recruit Requirements Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Recruit Requirements - Assignment Example The applicant further needs to have a valid driver’s license and successfully pass Physical Abilities Test (PAT), Polygraph examination, ad psychological examination (Florida highway patrol: 65th anniversary 1939-2004, 2005). They must be a citizen of United States aged 21 years or older. They should possess a High School Diploma or GED. They should also not have visible tattoos on their bodies when wearing standard uniform of the day. They should not have used any illegal drugs whatsoever for a period of not less than 3 years of making application or after they have attained 30 years of age. The applicant should also demonstrate good moral character and have no felony convictions, arrests or other law enforcement engagements entailing perjury, false statements, or criminal traffic offences. Other qualification include six months free of tobacco use and must have successfully passed investigation tests and polygraph examination (Gee, 2014). A contrasts of the requirements for Florida State Police and join Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office reveal a lot of similarity. However, an officer at sheriff’s office must be at least 21 years old as compared to 19 years age required for the state police. Also, while both of state police and sheriff’s office insists on physical qualifications, the former pays a lot of attention on this qualification. This is evidenced by the limited number of female employees in these department who find the training to be excessively rigorous. However, due to the nurture of their engagement and their expansive jurisdictional coverage, it is necessary for the state police to be a notch higher than their state counterparts when it comes to physical fitness. It is under the discretion of the physician conducting PAT to determine that the applicant meets the physical requirements necessary to perform the basic functions that appertains to the

The History of the Internet Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The History of the Internet - Research Paper Example At the height of Cold War, in 1962, the American Government was devising a plan that would enable the military to maintain its command and control system in an event of nuclear attack on the US. The RAND Corporation was given the task to conduct research and studies to find how the US army could maintain its command and control system if any of US cities come under nuclear attack. After due deliberation and diversified studies, Rand Paul Baran from RAND Corporation submitted his final proposal for a Packet Switched Network (Ruthfield 1995). ARPA, a branch of US department of defense ARPANET awarded a contract to BBN to develop a decentralized architecture network. BBN constructed physical network linking four locations University of California at Los Angeles, SRI (in Stanford), University of California at Santa Barbara, and University of Utah. According to the record, the network was connected through a 50 Kbps circuits on wire (Ruthfield 1995). By 1973, it was established that besides ARPANET other networks have come into a successful existence like National Physical Laboratory in England and the scientific network CYCLADES in France. Undoubtedly, these different networks with different approaches are the foundation of our modern internet. CYCLADES, being a commercial network, had many commercial users who began transferring data from one user to the other. Here Packet switching was born (Dave n.d). In 1976, Dr. Robert M. Metcalfe developed Ethernet, which was a crucial invention to moving data faster through a coaxial cable. Following, Package Satellite Project, SATNET came into existence which connected United States with Europe thus bringing about the first intercontinental Internet in the history (Dave n.d). The same year ARPANET started working on a protocol, later to be called, TCP/IP to bring together different networks without interfering their basic structure. With the invention of TCP/IP protocol it became possible to connect

Special Needs Children in the UK

Special Needs Children in the UK Special Needs Children Introduction The essay will examine a number of polices and initiatives that have received attention from the UK government. There have been changes in the policies surrounding the country’s curriculum. Issues surrounding this policy reform will be examined in detail. Current trends in education policy have promoted inclusion. This means that children with special needs have been incorporated into mainstream classes. Post compulsory schooling is also top on the education agenda. Besides this, recent education policy has been surrounding issues of school’s marketability. All these issues will be examined and the subsequent impact of those policies given. (Besley and Ghatak, 2003) Inclusion of special needs children Before the introduction of polices around this area, there was an eight year old girl; Victoria Climbie who died under mysterious circumstances. There was therefore a need to make sure that interests of all children were safeguarded regardless of their nature. (Gipps and Stobart, 1997) The main Act passed surrounding the issue of inclusion was the ‘Every Child Matters Policy’ in the year 2004. The purpose of this Act was to ensure that all the children in the UK were adequately encompassed in the education regardless of the fact that they had special needs. It was passed with five aims; Protecting the social and economic well being of the child Ensuring that all children contribute positively to society Ensuring that children received enjoyed good health Ensuring that children were safe Find out how our expert essay writers can help you with your work The spirit of the Act is that most children should have the opportunity to learn together whether or not they have disabilities. Most of them had been placed in special schools where they were rather isolated. Most of them lacked the ability to socialize and fit into the rest of the world. But through inclusion into mainstream schools, children with special needs have been able to improve their social skills. Psychologists also claim that a mixed environment is more conducive for children’s learning rather than when they are isolated. Their self esteem also receives a boost because thy feel that they are good enough to learn with other children.(Blanden Gregg and Machin, 2005) Benefits of inclusive education are not only felt by those children with special needs alone, they are also beneficial to normal children. This is because they learn that children with special needs are not so different from them. It eliminates the fears and stereotypes that come are associated with special needs children. (Gipps and Stobart, 1997) However, there is a need for teachers to prepare well for these special needs children. Failure to do so will result in poor adjustments by the child and surrounding classmates. It is also the responsibility of all stakeholders in the field of education to readjust their systems such that children with special needs can fit in well. It has been emphasised time and time again that mainstream schools should not expect children with special needs to adjust to their programme. Instead, the opposite should occur.(Machin and Vignoles, 2004) This policy has increased the availability of resources towards the education of children with special needs. It has also exposed children with special needs to better teaching facilities and skills. Consequently, it has improved their performance and contributed to the attainment of their potential. (Besley and Ghatak, 2003) Marketability in schools In the early nineties, it had been found that most children above the age of sixteen had low retention rates. This normally applied to those who came from low income households. Most of them would drop out and join the market without ample knowledge to make it out there. Even those who were encouraged to stay ended up performing very poorly because they seemed not to have an interest in schooling. There results were clear evidence that something needed to be done to increase their numbers. It was found that in the late eighties, close to sixty seven percent of the students who sat for the GCSE exam got marks that fell below the A to C grade. It was therefore necessary to introduce a system that would encourage students to tackle the whole journey and complete it. (Kingdon and Stobart, 1998) You can get expert help with your essays right now. Find out more The government introduced the Education Reform Act of 1988; it was designed to encourage schools to admit more students. The government started funding schools directly rather than through the use of local government. Schools that admitted more students were liable to greater funds than those with lesser numbers. Parents were also given the choice of deciding which schools they would like to take their children. This was one of the most evolutionary policies because it allowed them to make the choice for themselves. (Gibbons, 2005) Alongside choice, parents were also given the choice of deciding who would be representing them in school boards. Schools were expected to be more accountable to parents by giving them more information about themselves. In light of those changes, the government introduced league tables. These were publications of students’ results in the newspapers highlighting the performance of those at the age of sixteen. It provided information about the best schools so that other non performing schools would be encouraged to improve. (Le Grand, 1993) Overly, the reform was aimed at making schools market themselves. They were not allowed to fall out or fail in the creation of a good market standing. As the years went by schools have a sort of quasi market in which their fate lies in their own hands (Gibbons, 2005) The main impact of this reform is that overall retention rates in the education system have increased. There have been more students completing their education and many of them are pursuing higher education. However, when one examines this issue critically, they realise the highest number of students getting retained in good schools come from privileged backgrounds. When schools market themselves, parents with higher income sources are able to afford the best schools because it is very likely that those very schools have the resources and personnel to achieve good performance. Consequently, this policy has brought about some elements of inequality in the UK education system. Most people from low income backgrounds lack the ability to afford good schools as seen from statistics. This has brought about social-economic disadvantages among members of the education community.(Le Grand, 1993) Despite these social problems, one must not ignore the facts on the ground; the number of students passing the final exams has increased. Whether some of them are coming from certain backgrounds does not undermine the increase in numbers. Centralisation During the early nineties, the UK realised that there was inadequate literacy levels among members of the adult population. Research conducted in this area revealed that this field needed some improvements. Surveys were done among young adults and older ones. The older ones were found to have average rates of literacy. However, the younger adults were found to fall below average levels compared to other countries who participated in the surveys. (Machin and McNally, 2004) These were the reasons why the UK government decided to change its curriculum. It created a national curriculum that was common to all schools. This was necessary in order to ascertain the same standards were maintained throughout all schools within the country. It was also done to ensure that those standards were high such that students could attain the high levels of literacy. The UK decided not to leave the duties and responsibilities of making a curriculum to specific schools but has introduced a national curriculum. These changes applied to students between the ages of seven to sixteen years.(Vignoles and Machin, 2004) Centralisation in the UK education sector has also taken the form of National Numeracy and Literacy classes. These are classes that are supposed to be taught on a daily basis to students in primary schools. They are meant to reinforce good literacy skills. Rigorous methods of assessment for these methods are also available from the government. Its main aim was to ensure that children leaving primary school had basic literacy skills. Tests were also conducted to ensure that students can adhere to requirements. Students are expected to sit for tests at the ages of 16, 14, 11, and 7 corresponding to key stages 4, 3, 2 and one. (Besley and Ghatak, 2003) The impact of this reform was that parents became more aware about what their children are learning. On top of this, nationalisation of the curriculum has the ability to standardise teaching processes. In the past, the education sector in the UK has had serious problems in recruiting competent and intelligent teachers. This was as a result of the negative mentality associated with the teaching profession (most bright students think it is below them); most teachers may not be very efficient in the teaching process. They therefore require some sort of guide to help them in determining what the right and wrong materials for teaching are. This was the reason why some of them were not choosing the right areas to address. A national curriculum is therefore an aid to teachers who may otherwise not know exactly what to teach.(Machin and McNally, 2004) Find out how our expert essay writers can help you with your work A survey done during 2004 in four hundred schools implementing the national curriculum shed some light on the impact of this policy. It has shown that attainment of literacy has greatly improved and children have better knowledge. However, these schools that showed the highest levels were the ones that observed strict adherence to stipulated requirements. (Hoxby, 2003) Admission into fields of higher education During the nineties, the UK government realised that there are few people who pursue higher education. This could be attributed to the fact that most of them had not done so well in their GCSE exam and therefore felt no need to continue. Some of the people who made the choice not to pursue higher education ended up joining vocational schools. This is not such a bad thing when results emerging from it are capable of earning those students respectable jobs in the market. But this was not the case, most students attending vocational training were not able to get good jobs and this left a lot to be desired in the field of education. (Bradley, 2001) One policy that was passed in response to this need was the improvement of Vocational training. Since UK realised that there were substantial members from student bodies who preferred this system, then they decided to improve it. The government has focused on making vocational training more professional and lucrative in the job market. This has been achieved through introduction of the National Vocational Qualification which was designed to make this field more streamlined. The policy introduced the issue of apprenticeship where students could attend regular classes but at the same time practice their skills at a work place for a period of three years. This would go a long way in ensuring that students who complete vocational training are highly qualified and have adequate capability to meet the demand of the highly competitive labour market.(Dearden, 2002) Another aspect of policy within the UK that deals with encouragement of students to join higher education is the issue of Education Maintenance Allowance. This policy was introduced in order to encourage students coming from low income households to continue with higher education. This was a fee given to students between the ages of sixteen and nineteen who came from families that received low incomes. Homes that qualified had to be below a certain criteria designed by the government. The government realized that even if the quality of vocational schools had been improved, this was not enough to increase the numbers of students coming from poor homes. The allowance is continuously increased when students improve their performance thus encouraging them to keep up with attendance and to perform well.(Hoxby, 2003) You can get expert help with your essays right now. Find out more These reforms have had several effects on the education system in the UK. First of all, maintenance allowance has been very successful. A survey done on the year 2004 showed that there are 4.5 percent more students who continue onto higher education as a result of the introduction of an allowance. Besides this, it was found that retention rates increased to seven percent among males in their second nature. The research shows that most of these students were hindered from participating in higher education because students had insecurities about sources of funding. (Hansen and Vignoles, 2005) However, the vocational policies passed have not been very effective in bridging the gap between the academically qualified students and students who have passed through vocational training. The problem with this policy is that is has undergone too many reforms, consequently, employers are not aware of the exact curriculum that students follow within those vocational schools. Employers shun students who come from vocational schools because they believe that these students are the weak ones who could not qualify for other formal education systems. Some employers even prefer workers without any qualifications at all. The government should therefore focus on other more productive policies.(Chubb and Moe, 1990) Conclusion Education policy in the UK is constantly evolving. The most promising of these policies is that of inclusion of special needs children into mainstream schools. Vocational training policies have not been effective in encouraging students to pursue higher education. However, introduction of a centralised curriculum has improved performance. Similarly, introduction of quasi markets in education have also been highly successful.(Dixit, 2002) Reference: Besley, T. and M. Ghatak (2003): Incentives, Choice, and Accountability in the Provision of Public Services; Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Vol. 19, pp. 235-249 Blanden, J., P. Gregg and S. Machin (2005): Educational Inequality and Intergenerational, Mobility, in Machin, S. and A. Vignoles (eds.) What’s the Good of Education?; The Economics of Education in the United Kingdom, Princeton University Press Bradley, S. et al (2001): School Choice, Competition and the Efficiency of Secondary Schools in England; European Journal of Operational Research, No. 135, pp 527-544 Chubb, J and T. Moe (1990): Politics, Markets and UK’s Schools; The Brookings Institution Dearden, L. et al (2002): The Returns to Academic and Vocational Qualifications in Britain; Bulletin of Economic Research, No. 54, pp 249-274 Dixit, A. (2002): Incentives and Organizations in the Public Sector; Journal of Human Resources, No. 37, pp.696-727 Gibbons, S. et al (2005): Choice, Competition and Pupil Achievement; forthcoming Centre for Economics of Education Discussion Paper, No. 20, pp. 27 Gipps, C. and G. Stobart (1997): Assessment: A Teachers Guide to the Issues; Hodder and Stoughton Publishers Hansen, K. and A. Vignoles (2005): The United Kingdom Education System in an International Context, in Machin, S. and A. Vignoles (eds.) what’s the Good of Education?; The Economics of Education in the United Kingdom, Princeton University Press Hoxby, C. (2003): The Economics of School Choice, Chicago University Press Kingdon, M. and G. Stobart (1998): GCSE Examined; Falmer Press Le Grand, J. (1993): Quasi-markets and social policy; Macmillan Machin, S. and S. McNally (2004): The Literacy Hour; Centre for the Economics of Education Discussion, Paper 43 Machin, S. and A. Vignoles (2004): Educational Inequality: The Widening Socio-Economic Gap; Fiscal Studies, No.25, pp 107-28

My Personal Ethics Essay -- being an ethical decision maker

According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, ethics is defined as â€Å"moral principles that govern a person’s or group’s behavior.† Therefore, in an ideal world, ethics should play the ultimate role when making a decision. If ethics are the principles which guides one’s behavior then, ideally, all decisions should be made entirely based on ethics. Unfortunately, such is not always the case. A few problems arise when one tries to make an ethical decision, especially as a leader. First, ethics may mean different things to different people. For example, my religious and spiritual beliefs are the foundation for what I deem ethical. However, for someone else, ethics might be based on laws or their own personal understanding of what is right or wrong. Generally, I do believe there are some behaviors that all can agree upon as being ethical or unethical. For example, most people understand that stealing from someone or murder is wrong. However, it is difficult, at times, to have similar ethical expectations of others as one does of themselves because of these differences in the understanding of ethics. Additionally, there are times when it might be easier for a leader to make an unethical decision for an immediate gain or to appease the wants of others. Examples of these include leaders who embezzle money or use other schemes to make money quickly or unlawfully. For most leaders, making ethical decisions tends to be the goal. I firmly believe that more often than not, leaders do make ethical decisions for the betterment of their organization or business. There are cases when making an unethical decision might be easier, but the true character of a leader is tested when they are confronted with such a decision. Making the easier ... ...ply share with others what I believe and value. I also communicate my personal ethics through my actions. If my decisions are made according to my ethical beliefs, then others should be able to recognize, through my behavior, what my personal morals are. Overall, being an ethical decision maker is important to me. As a leader, I understand that I play a part in establishing what is considered right and wrong, based on my actions and decisions. My hope is to always be an example, and being ethical is the foundation of setting a good example for others. The old adage, â€Å"actions speak louder than words† rings true in relation to ethics. I aim to show people what my moral principles are based on my actions. At times, it can get difficult because I might let emotions cloud my judgment, but after all, doing the right thing for the sake of others is most important to me.

Week 9’s Final

Part One †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Write an essay of at least 700 words. Comprehensive writing skills must be used. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The First Amendment to the Constitution bars Congress from infringing on the freedom of speech of the citizenry of the United States. It does not prohibit private restrictions on speech. With this in mind, many universities have over the years instituted speech codes or have banned hate-speech. If you were in charge of a university what rules would you make for student conduct online?Explain your reasoning and support your answer with examples and other evidence. If our legal reality truly reflected our political rhetoric about liberty, Americans and especially American college and university students would be enjoying a truly remarkable freedom to speak and express controversial ideas at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Virtually every public official declares a belief in â€Å"freedom of speech. † Politicians extol the virtues of freedom and boast of America’s unique status as a nation of unfettered expression.Judges pay homage to free speech in court opinions. Even some fringe parties’ communists and fascists who would create a totalitarian state if they were in power have praised the virtues of the freedom they need for their survival. Few individuals speak more emphatically on behalf of freedom of speech and expression, however, than university administrators, and few institutions more clearly advertise their loyalty to this freedom than universities themselves.During the college application process, there is a very high probability that you received pamphlets, brochures, booklets, and catalogs that loudly proclaimed the university’s commitment to â€Å"free inquiry,† â€Å"academic freedom,† â€Å"diversity,† â€Å"dialogue,† and â€Å"tolerance. â€Å"You may have believed these declarations, trusting th at both public and private colleges and universities welcome all views, no matter how far outside the mainstream, because they want honest difference and debate.Perhaps your own ideas were â€Å"unusual† or â€Å"creative. † You could be a liberal student in a conservative community, a religious student at a secular institution, or even an anarchist suffering under institutional regulations. Regardless of your background, you most likely saw college as the one place where you could go and hear almost anything—the one place where speech truly was free, where ideas were tried and tested under the keen and critical eyes of peers and scholars, where reason and values, not coercion, decided debate.Freedom and moral responsibility for the exercise of one’s freedom are ways of being human, not means adopted to achieve this or that particular point of view. Unfortunately, ironically, and sadly, America’s colleges and universities are all too often dedicate d more to censorship and indoctrination than to freedom and individual self-government. In order to protect â€Å"diversity† and to ensure â€Å"tolerance,† university officials proclaim, views deemed hostile or offensive to some students and some persuasions and, indeed, some administrators are properly subjected to censorship under campus codes.In the pages that follow, you will read of colleges that enact â€Å"speech codes† that punish students for voicing opinions that simply offend other students, that attempt to force religious organizations to accept leaders who are hostile to the message of the group, that restrict free speech to minuscule â€Å"zones† on enormous campuses, and that teach students sometimes from their very first day on campus that dissent, argument, parody, and even critical thinking can be risky business. Simply put, at most of America’s colleges and universities, speech is far from free.College officials, in betraying th e standards that they endorse publicly and that their institutions had, to the benefit of liberty, embraced historically, have failed to be trustees and keepers of something precious in American life. This  Guide  is an answer and, we hope, an antidote to the censorship and coercive indoctrination besetting our campuses. In these pages, you will obtain the tools you need to combat campus censors, and you will discover the true extent of your considerable free speech rights, rights that are useful only if you insist upon them.You will learn that others have faced and overcome the censorship you confront, and you will discover that you have allies in the fight to have your voice heard. The  Guide  is divided into four primary sections. This introduction provides a brief historical context for understanding the present climate of censorship. The second section provides a basic introduction to free speech doctrines. The third provides a series of real-world scenarios that demons trate how the doctrines discussed in this  Guide  have been applied on college campuses.Finally, a brief conclusion provides five practical steps for fighting back against attempts to enforce coercion, censorship, and indoctrination. Part Two †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Write an essay of at least 700 words. Comprehensive writing skills must be used. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Between 1949 and 1987, the Fairness Doctrine was an FCC rule designed to provide â€Å"reasonable, although not necessarily equal† opportunities in presenting opposing viewpoints in radio broadcasting in order to avoid one-sided presentations.The practice was repealed under President Reagan as part of a wider deregulation effort. Do you think the Fairness Doctrine should be revived, revised, or left dead? Why? The  Fairness Doctrine  was a policy of the United States  Federal Communications Commission  (FCC), introduced in 1949, that required the holders of  broadcast licenses  to both present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was, in the Commission's view, honest, equitable and balanced.The FCC decided to eliminate the Doctrine in 1987, and in August 2011 the FCC formally removed the language that implemented the Doctrine The Fairness Doctrine had two basic elements: It required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of  public interest, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. Stations were given wide latitude as to how to provide contrasting views: It could be done through news segments, public affairs shows, or editorials.The doctrine did not require equal time for opposing views but required that contrasting viewpoints be presented. The main agenda for the doctrine was to ensure that viewers were exposed to a diversity of viewpoints. In 1969 the  United States Supreme Court  upheld the FCC's general  right  to enf orce the Fairness Doctrine where channels were limited. But the courts did not rule that the FCC was  obliged  to do so. 3]  The courts reasoned that the scarcity of the broadcast spectrum, which limited the opportunity for access to the airwaves, created a need for the Doctrine. However, the proliferation of cable television, multiple channels within cable, public-access channels, and the Internet have eroded this argument, since there are plenty of places for ordinary individuals to make public comments on controversial issues at low or no cost. The Fairness Doctrine should not be confused with the  Equal Time  rule.The Fairness Doctrine deals with discussion of controversial issues, while the Equal Time rule deals only with political candidates. The Fairness Doctrine has been both defended and opposed on First Amendment grounds. Backers of the doctrine claim that listeners have the right to hear all sides of controversial issues. They believe that broad-casters, if left alone, would resort to partisan coverage of such issues. They base this claim upon the early history of radio.Opponents of the doctrine claim the doctrine's â€Å"chilling effect† dissuaded broadcasters from examining anything but â€Å"safe† issues. Enforcement was so subjective, opponents argued, there was never a reliable way to determine before the fact what broadcasters could and could not do on the air without running afoul of the FCC. Moreover, they complain, print media enjoy full First Amendment protection while electronic media were granted only second-class status. I'll be honest, I'd never even heard of the Fairness Doctrine until I read this question.After looking it up on a few different sites, I'd have to say I’m still not entirely sure whether or not I think it should be reinstated. I see both pro's and cons to requiring licensed broadcast stations to present controversial public issues (which tends to apply mainly to political situations) in a fair, equal and honest way. I think this would create a more balanced source of rational discourse and  information  for the public on such issues and in this way serves the public interest.That being said, I think this is getting uncomfortably close to infringing upon freedom of the press and speech. I understand that the Fairness doctrine has the best of intentions and has even served us well in the past, But often, even good legislation leads to increased powers and control for government. No matter how many checks and balances our government has, It only takes one government official's loose interpretation of a law in order to justify abusing his office and encroaching up the basic rights our constitution grants us.

Night World : The Chosen Chapter 2

Bating him or doing something with his teeth. Tearing and sucking. Making noises like Pal did when he ate his dog food. For a moment Rashel was frozen. The whole world had changed and everything seemed like a dream. Then she heard somebody screaming and her throat hurt and she knew it was her. And then the tall man looked at her. He lifted his head and looked. And she knew that his face alone was going to give her nightmares forever. Not that he was ugly. But he had hair as red as blood and eyes that shone gold, like an animal's. There was a light in them that was like nothing she had ever seen. She ran then. It was wrong to leave Timmy, but she was too scared to stay. She wasn't brave; she was a baby, but she couldn't help it. She was still screaming as she turned around and darted through the flap in the tent. Almost darted through. Her head and shoulders got outside and she saw the red plastic tubes rising above her-and then a hand clamped on the back of her Gymboree shirt. A big strong hand that stopped her in midflight. Rashel was as helpless as a baby kitten against it. But just as she was dragged back into the tent, she saw something. Her mother. Her mother was coming around the corner of the climbing structure. She'd heard Rashel screaming. Her mother's eyes were big and her mouth was open, and she was moving fast. She was coming to save Rashel. â€Å"Mommeeeeeeeee!† Rashel screamed, and then she was back inside the tent. The man threw her to one side the way a kid at preschool would throw a piece of crumpled paper. Rashel landed hard and felt a pain in her leg that normally would have made her cry. Now she hardly noticed it. She was staring at Timmy, who was lying on the ground near her. Timmy looked strange. His body was like a rag doll's-arms and legs flopped out. His skin was white. His eyes were staring straight up at the top of the tent. There were two big holes in his throat, with blood all around them. Rashel whimpered. She was too frightened to scream anymore. But just then she saw white daylight, and a figure in front of it. Mommy. Mommy was pulling the tent flap open. Mommy was inside, looking around for Rashel. That was when the worst thing happened. The worst and the strangest, the thing the police never believed when Rashel told them later. Rashel saw her mother's mouth open, saw her mother looking at her, about to say something. And then she heard a voice-but it wasn't Mommy's voice. And it wasn't an out-loud voice. It was inside her head. Wait! There's nothing wrong here. But you need to stand very, very still. Rashel looked at the tall man. His mouth wasn't moving, but the voice was his. Her mother was looking at him, too, and her expression was changing, becoming relaxed and . . . stupid. Mommy was standing very, very still. Then the tall man hit Mommy once on the side of the neck and she fell over and her head flopped the wrong way like a broken doll. Her dark hair was lying in the dirt. Rashel saw that and then everything was even more like a dream. Her mother was dead. Timmy was dead. And the man was looking at her. You're not upset, came the voice in her head. You ‘re not frightened. You want to come right here. Rashel could feel the pull of the voice. It was drawing her closer and closer. It was making her still and not afraid, making her forget her mother. But then she saw the tall man's golden eyes and they were hungry. And all of a sudden she remembered what he wanted to do to her. Not me! She jerked away from the voice and dove for the tent flap again. This time she got all the way outside. And she threw herself straight at the gap in the climbing structure. She was thinking in a different way than she had ever thought before. The Rashel that had watched Mommy fall was locked away in a little room inside her, crying. It was a new Rashel who wiggled desperately through the gap in the padded room, a smart Rashel who knew that there was no point in crying because there was nobody who cared anymore. Mommy couldn't save her, so she had to save herself. She felt a hand grab her ankle, hard enough almost to crush her bones. It yanked, trying to drag her back through the gap. Rashel kicked backward with all her strength and then twisted, and her sock came off and she pulled her leg into the padded room. Come back! You need to come back right now! The voice was like a teacher's voice. It was hard not to listen. But Rashel was already scrambling into the plastic tube in front of her. She went faster than she ever had before, hurting her knees, propelling herself with her bare foot. When she got to the first fish-bowl window, I though, she saw a face looking in at her. It was the tall man. He was staring at her. He I banged on the plastic as she went by. Fear cracked in Rashel like a belt. She scrambled I faster, and the knocks on the tube followed her. He was underneath her now. Keeping up with I her. Rashel passed another window and looked down. She could see his hair shining in the sunlight. She could see his pale face looking up at her. And his eyes. Come down, came the voice and it wasn't stem anymore. It was sweet. Come down and we'll go get some ice cream. What kind of ice cream do you like best? Rashel knew then that this was how he'd gotten Timmy into the tent. She didn't even pause in her scrambling. But she couldn't get away from him. He was traveling with her, just under her, waiting for her to come out or get to a place where he could reach in and grab her. Higher. I need to get higher, she thought. She moved instinctively, as if some sixth sense was telling her which way to turn each time she had a choice. She went through angled tubes, straight tubes, tubes that weren't solid at all, but made of woven canvas strips. And finally she got to a place where she couldn't go any higher. It was a square room with a padded floor and netting sides. She was at the front of the climbing structure; she could see mothers and fathers standing and sitting in little groups. She could feel the wind. Below her, looking up, was the tall man. Chocolate brownie? Mint chip? Bubble gum? The voice was putting pictures in her mind. Tastes. Rashel looked around frantically. There was so much noise-every kid in the climbing structure was yelling. Who would even notice her if she shouted? They'd think she was joking around. All you have to do is come down. You know you have to come down sometime. Rashel looked into the pale face turned up to her. The eyes were like dark holes. Hungry. Patient. Certain. He knew he was going to get her. He was going to win. She had no way to fight him. And then something tore inside Rashel and she did the only thing a five-year-old could do against an adult. She shoved her hand between the rough cords that made the netting, scraping off skin. She pushed her whole small arm through and she pointed down at the tall man. And she screamed in a way she'd never screamed before. Piercing shrieks that cut through the happy noise of the other kids. She screamed the way Ms. Bruce at preschool had taught her to do if any stranger ever bothered her. â€Å"Help meeee! Help meeee! That man tried to touch me I† She kept screaming it, kept pointing. And she saw people look at her. But they didn't do anything. They just stared. Lots of faces, looking up at her. Nobody moving. In a way, it was even worse than anything that had happened before. They could hear her, but nobody was going to help her. And then she saw somebody moving. It was a big boy, not quite a grown-up man. He was wearing a uniform like the one Rashel's father used to wear before he died. That meant he was a Marine. He was going toward the tall man, and his face was dark and angry. And now, as if they had only needed this example, other people were moving, too. Several men who looked like fathers. A woman with a cellular phone. The tall man turned and ran. He ducked under the climbing structure, heading toward the back, toward the tent where Rashel's mother was. He moved very fast, much faster than any of the people in the crowd. But he sent words to Rashel's mind before he disappeared completely. See you later. When he was definitely gone, Rashel slumped against the netting, feeling the rough cord bite into her cheek. People down below were calling to her; kids just behind her were whispering. None of it really mattered. She could cry now; it would be okay, but she didn't seem to have any tears. The police were no good. There were two officers, a man and a woman. The woman believed Rashel a little. But every time her eyes would start to believe, she'd shake her head and say, â€Å"But what was the man really doing to Timmy? Baby-doll, sweetie, I know it's awful, but just try to remember.† The man didn't believe even a little. Rashel would have traded them both for the Marine back at the carnival. All they'd found in the tent was her mother with a broken neck. No Timmy. Rashel wasn't sure but she thought the man had probably taken him. She didn't want to think about why. Eventually the police drove her to her Aunt Corinne's, who was the only family she had left now. Aunt Corinne was old and her bony hands hurt Rashel's arms when she clutched her and cried. She put Rashel in a bedroom full of strange smells and tried to give her medicine to make her sleep. It was like cough syrup, but it made her tongue numb. Rashel waited until Aunt Corinne was gone, then she spat it into her hand and wiped her hand on the sheets, way down at the foot of the bed where the blankets tucked in. And then she put her arms around her hunched-up knees and sat staring into the darkness. She was too little, too helpless. That was the problem. She wasn't going to be able to do anything against him when he came back. Because of course he was coming back. She knew what the man was, even if the adults didn't believe her. He was a vampire, just like on TV. A monster that drank blood. And he knew she knew. That was why he'd promised to see her later. At last, when Aunt Corinne's house was quiet, Rashel tiptoed to the closet and slid it open. She climbed the shoe rack and squirmed and kicked until she was on the top shelf above the clothes. It was narrow, but wide enough for her. That was one good thing about being little. She had to use every advantage she had. With her toe, she slid the closet door back shut. Then she piled sweaters and other folded things from the shelf on top of herself, covering even her head. And finally she curled up on the hard bare wood and shut her eyes. Sometime in the night she smelled smoke. She got down from the shelf-falling more than climbing-and saw flames in her bedroom. She never knew exactly how she managed to run through them and get out of the house. The whole night was like one long blurred nightmare. Because Aunt Corinne didn't get out. When the fire trucks came with their sirens and their flashing lights, it was already too late. And even though Rashel knew that he had set the fire-the vampire-the police didn't believe her. They didn't understand why he had to kill her. In the morning they took her to a foster home, which would be the first of many. The people there were nice, but Rashel wouldn't let them hold her or comfort her. She already knew what she had to do. If she was going to survive, she had to make herself hard and strong. She couldn't care about anybody else, or trust anybody, or rely on anybody. Nobody could protect her. Not even Mommy had been able to do that. She had to protect herself. She had to learn to fight.