The role of the management in organizational Behavior Essay

The role of the management in organizational Behavior - Essay Example A readjustment of work-roles and behavior of employee teams, to cope with new challenges, is the first step to initiating changes in organizational culture. It is this first step that translates into new attitudes. Thus, behavior changes attitudes, and not the reverse; change happens from bottom up, and not top down. And for this to happen effectively, the CEO should be willing to change too, based on the signals received by her from the teams at the grassroots. Additionally she has the task of encouraging these teams to 'lead' the company in the direction required, without herself being directive. Her role is that of a competent doctor assisting childbirth. If the process is going smoothly, the doctor waits and encourages the mother, and provides her all the assistance required. Medical intervention should happen only in an emergency! What is the process that teams go through while resolving business issues Beer et al (p160) state that research has proven that "interfunctional coordination, decision making, work organization and concern for people" are the four indicators of performance-in the long run-and not financial parameters, which in the short term, can spike or recede in response to other factors. These four factors are directly connected with team functioning. Apart from this, they talk of six distinct steps (pp161-164) taken by successful managers to elicit task-related responses-i.e. a response ideally suited to deal with the task at hand. What are these six steps First, mobilizing commitment to change through a joint diagnosis of business issues. Here, the operative word is 'joint'. The participation in this process ensures a commitment to the process of change required to tackle this problem. Second comes the process of drafting a 'shared vision' to organize to cope successfully with the situation. Note, it is not the CEO spelling out the steps to be taken, it is the team ('shared') doing this. In this process, new roles and responsibilities are taken on, but since it does not involve change in titles or remuneration there is less resistance to the steps. Here, cross-functional teams operate-teams from across different departments and at different levels of the hierarchy-the only criterion for the composition of teams being that it is the most conducive to task attainment. Then (third) comes a pro-active fostering of consensus for the new way of functioning, and building competence and cohesion to achieve it. The new way of functioning would require new skills, and employees seek to gain these skills. This process is assisted by the management. Apart from this, if the management sends out a message that team functioning is what is required, then the building of competence and cohesion happens quickly and smoothly. (Fourth) Once team functioning has succeeded in one department, it has to spread to other departments. However, it is likely to fail if it is a top-down effort. Other departments, which would be at various levels of readiness to reorganize themselves into new functional teams, need to work out their own way of attaining this. The management has to stand by and cheer, as it were, without pushing. (Fifth) Once the process of change has more or less spread through most departments, the new roles and team relationships have to be institutionalized, so that the company does not inadvertently slip back to the

Attitude, Emotions, Personality, and Values Essay

Attitude, Emotions, Personality, and Values - Essay Example In this kind of situation, individuals act confidently towards the subject. People’s behaviors are also influenced by attitudes and emotion when a similar attitude is repeatedly expressed. Additionally, people may opt to alter their attitude in order to align with their behaviors in the workplace and other social places (Hockenbury and Hockenbury, 2007). An individual’s behavior is to a greater extent influenced by his/her personality and values. A person’s personality influences his/her extraversion, which is an extremely crucial aspect in human behavior. It entails the level in which an individual is sociable, outgoing, and talkative. Extraversion helps in demonstrating some individual traits such as the behavior of an inspirational leader. Personality and value also influence individuals’ agreeable behaviors. Agreeable behavior demonstrates the extent to which an individual is tolerant, kindness, warm, and sensitivity. These traits are to a great extent influenced by a person’s values and personality. Personality and value also determines one’s neuroticism traits. Neuroticism entails the level in which an individual is moody, temperamental or anxious. Individuals’ mood plays a significant role in determining behavior both in social setup and in the workplace (Hockenbury and Hockenbury, 20 07). Employee performance is considerably influenced by the level of satisfaction and motivation in an organization. Employees are always motivated toward improving their performance through five main plans. These include recognition, appreciation, satisfaction, inspiration, recognition, and compensation. To improve employee performance in workplace, motivation is very relevant and essential. Motivation increases employees’ performance and commitment in all excellence levels. There is always a very strong linkage between motivated and satisfied employee and employee performance. To satisfy and motivate employees for effective performance, managers need to

Pet Sitting Service Essay -- essays research papers

Marketing Summary Plan WAGS TO WHISKERS PET SITTING SERVICE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A service such as Wags to Whiskers Pet Sitting Service is very important to people who own animals. Pets are not merely animals to many people, but considered children. Knowing that a pet is being cared for in their own environment is a much sought after relief for many people. Wags to Whiskers offer a variety of services for an owner when it comes to caring for the pet while a person is away from the home. Items such as feed and watering, walking or exercise, and grooming are just a few of the services available. Cost for services will range from $5 to $35 depending upon the service and time frame needed to complete the service. The services can be used on a daily basis or for an extended amount of time when a person is out of town. Concentration on professionals and senior citizens will be the target audience to begin the Wags to Whiskers Pet Sitting Service. The area of concentration will include the three counties of Northern Kentucky, Boone, Kenton, and Campbell. Because owners feel guilty for leaving their pets alone for long periods, pet sitting services is one of the fastest growing businesses. If Wags to Whiskers has the perseverance, the opportunities are there for the making in the pet sitting business. This can be accomplished through multiple avenues of advertising, such as newspapers, vet offices, etc. Goals for Wags to Whiskers will consist of making $25,000 in the first year of business and growing in additional clientele, staff, and revenue over the next three years. PRODUCT DEFINITION Wags to Whiskers Pet Sitting Services offer clients who are busy working long hours away from home a much-needed peace of mind. It is important to the client to know the animal is well taken care of during their absence. Regardless of the type of pet Wags to Whiskers Pet Sitting Service offer feeding, watering, exercise and/or play, administer of medication, transportation to the vet, massages, and will make air travel arrangements for pets. According to Mary Jean Ballner who spoke at the NAPPS annual conference in January, 2005, â€Å"Benefits (from massages) are the same as for humans (increases blood flow, releases endorphins, soothes) Benefits pet sitters by (accelerates bonding with all animals, aids with ‘difficult’ pets, relaxes scared animals).† Other services offered... ... NAPPS to care for exotic animals 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quarterly newsletter to clients and others to keep customers informed about services and products CONTROLS Monitoring Wags to Whiskers marketing plan will be an ongoing task. Advertisement will be important to track to determine who is providing the most new customers to Wags to Whiskers. Advertisements placed in the local newspapers should be checked quarterly to see if they are paying for themselves. If not, it will be necessary to find other avenues of advertising, such as pet magazines and the websites for the top three pet sitting organizations in the United States. If most of the new business is coming to Wags to Whiskers by word-of-mouth from current clients, it will be important to find a way to show appreciation, such as a free service for every new client received. Service fees could be a concern if business in the first six months is not on target to meet the first year revenue of $25,000. Improvement in this area may require looking at costs incurred compared to revenue coming in. Changes such as driving routes, time spent in traffic and time spent with pet must be reviewed for better efficiency.

Total Housing Loan in Malaysia

Total housing loan in Malaysia have been increase from year to year. This is stated in the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) annual statistic report. Currently, there is an increase in the housing loan that have been approved by the bank from 2011 to 2012 . In order to own a house, there is a large amount of money is needed. House is a long term property and the price is high. Not every people are afforded to buy their own house if they have not completed certain requirements. Since house price is expensive, the availability of housing finance is very important. Nowadays, home financing has offer many kind of financial products to the homebuyers when purchasing their dream house. There are already various institutions which offer housing loans that prospective borrowers can access such as banks, state housing corporation/agencies or mortgage institutions. It has become very important that the financial institutions to determine the factors that are pertinent to the homebuyers in selecting a mortgage home loan provider as there are a rapid change and more sophisticated homebuyers on this day. In order to establish whether the homebuyers have the potential capacity to pay for their desired home, they were asked to estimate the average purchase price, the deposit required, and the deposit that they could afford as well as any saving that could be added to the funding package. Currently, Ministry of Housing and Local Government has introduced housing loan scheme or Skim Pinjaman Perumahan (SPP) which aim to help people with the low income to buy a house. The target group for this scheme are the households with the earning between RM500. 0 to RM1200. 00 per month and are not eligible for another loan to build a house or buy a completed low-cost house. Besides that, homebuyers have to consider in many dimensions such as down payment, maturity of the contract, repayment structure, the ability to refinance, the possibility of being subject to borrowing constraints, and the evolution of economic variables such as interest rate, inflation, house appreciation rate, unemployment rat e and income growth. Mortgage loan is one of the alternatives or source of finance in home purchases and it become the popular choice where property was used as the main sources of collateral secure the loan made. Today, there are more financial alternatives offered to the public and at the same time there are more options for Malaysian bank customers to choose from. In exploring the information would help service providers to identify appropriate marketing strategies needed to attract new borrowers. This study attempts to deepen about consumer decision making when selecting a service provider and what criteria are of most importance.

Fairy Tale Analysis Essay

Fairytales are unique, not only as a form of literature, but as works of art which are fully comprehensible to the child as no other form of art is. † we were introduced several versions of Cinderella in â€Å"Damsels in Distress†. For generations, the Cinderella story had been one of the most popular fairytales around the world; there are countless modified versions of it. For this analysis, I chose â€Å"Cinderella† by Charles Perrault and â€Å"Ashputtle† by the Grimm Brothers and applying them to the ideas from the article, â€Å"The Struggle for Meaning†. The most familiar version of â€Å"Cinderella† in western society was the written by Charles Perrault in 1667, it was then later used by Disney for a children’s film production. The Grimm Bothers’ modified version of the story is mainly based on Perrault’s version with a little twist in it. In general, both of the stories share a similar story-line. A widower with his daughter (Cinderella or Ashputtle) was remarried to a â€Å"stuck-up† woman and her two daughters. The man’s daughter are Cinderella or Ashputtle, they were named by their stepsisters, and have been treated poorly by their stepsisters. It happened that the King of the kingdom had a son who was anxious to get married; so he gave a ball, and invited all the ladies in the kingdom to go to it. Cinderella (or Ashputtle) was invited, but her evil stepsisters forced her not to go. Cinderella (Or Ashputtle) made a wish to go to the ball, and magic happened, it clothed her in a beautiful dress, but it will only last until midnight. The Prince fell in love with her at the ball at first site, but Cinderella (Or Ashputtle) ran home, leaving only a glass shoe behind, because it was almost midnight. The prince ordered every woman in the kingdom to try it on, he knew he found the real Cinderella (or Ashputtle) when no other woman in the kingdom could fit the glass shoe but Cinderella (Or Ashputtle). The authors made the morals of Cinderella and Ashputtle very clear. The story of Cinderella had one simple moral, always be generous to people, Cinderella accepted her sisters’ apologies at the end of the story. Ashputtle had the same moral but told in a different way, Karma will always strike back; Ashputtle’s sisters’ eyes were pecked out for treating Ashputtle poorly. â€Å"Many parents believe that only conscious reality or pleasant and wish fulfilling images should be presented to the child- that he should be exposed only to the sunny side of things. But such one-sided fare nourishes the mind only in one-sided way, and real life is not all sunny. † In Bruno Bettelheim’s â€Å"The Struggle For Meaning†, Mr.Bettelheim talked about how fairy tales can be so effective at grasping children’s minds into the ideas and morals of the fairy tales. â€Å"A child needs to understand what is going on within his conscious self so that he can also cope with that which goes on in his unconscious. † Cinderella is a very â€Å"effective† story, just like children’s fantasy, the setting of the story is in a kingdom involved with kings and queens. The magic is a crucial part of the story of Cinderella; it turned the ordinary story into a fascinating fairytale. Most fairytales gives the reader a straightforward message to the moral. This way, it allows younger audiences to relate to the main character or the hero of the story to him or herself to understand the story, â€Å"The more simple and straightforward a good character, the easier for a child to identify the hero from the villain. † Ultimately, the message sent to the child from Cinderella is, â€Å"bad guys die, I don’t want to die, I want to be good. Another reason that fairytales are effective, â€Å"In fairytales, as in life, punishment or fear of it is only a limited deterrent to crime† â€Å"Deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told to me in my childhood than in the truth that is taught by life† (The Piccolomini,III,4. ) Fairytales portray realistic views of human nature and struggles while incorporating enchanting fictional themes and characters, after all it’s this fictious fantasy sparks the reader’s interest, as they may find some valuable meanings of life from the tale.

Identifying Granitoids and Other Granite Rocks

Identifying Granitoids and Other Granite Rocks Granite rock has become so common in homes and buildings that anyone these days can name it when they see it in the field. But what most people would call granite, geologists prefer to call granitoid until they can get it into the laboratory. Thats because relatively few granite rocks out there are truly petrologically granite. How does a geologist make sense of granitoids? Heres a simplified explanation. The Granitoid Criterion A granitoid meets two criteria: (1) it is a plutonic rock that (2) has between 20 percent and 60 percent quartz. Plutonic rocks cooled at depth very slowly from a hot, fluid state. A sure sign is well-developed, visible grains of various minerals mixed in a random pattern  as if they had been baked in a pan in the oven. They look clean, and they dont have strong layers or strings of minerals like those in sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.​As for the quartz, a rock with less quartz than 20 percent is called something else, and a rock with more than 60 percent quartz is called quartz-rich granitoid (a remarkably simple answer in igneous petrology). Geologists can assess both of these criteria (plutonic, abundant quartz) with a moments inspection. The Feldspar Continuum OK, we have abundant quartz. Next, the geologist evaluates the feldspar minerals. Feldspar is always present in plutonic rocks whenever theres quartz. Thats because feldspar always forms before quartz. Feldspar is mainly silica (silicon oxide), but it also includes aluminum, calcium, sodium, and potassium. Quartz- pure silica- wont start forming until one of those feldspar ingredients runs out. There are two types of feldspar: alkali feldspar and plagioclase. The balance of the two feldspars is the key to sorting out the granitoids into five named classes: Granitoid with only (90%) alkali feldspar is alkali-feldspar graniteGranitoid with mostly (at least 65%) alkali feldspar is syenograniteGranitoid with a rough balance of both feldspars is monzograniteGranitoid with mostly (at least 65%) plagioclase is granodioriteGranitoid with only (90%) plagioclase is tonalite True granite corresponds to the first three classes. Petrologists call them by their long names, but they also call them all granite. The other two granitoid classes arent granites, although granodiorite and tonalite in certain cases can be called a name very much like granite (see the next section). If you have followed all this, then you will readily understand the QAP diagram that shows it graphically. And you can study the gallery of granite pictures and assign at least some of them exact names. The Felsic Dimension OK, weve dealt with the quartz and the feldspars. Granitoids also have dark minerals, sometimes quite a lot and sometimes hardly any. Usually, feldspar-plus-quartz dominates, and geologists call granitoids felsic rocks in recognition of this. A true granite can be rather dark, but if you ignore the dark minerals and assess only the felsic component, it can still be properly classified. Granites may be especially light-colored and nearly pure feldspar-plus-quartz- that is, they may be very highly felsic. That qualifies them for the prefix leuco, meaning light-colored. Leucogranites may also be given the special name aplite, and leuco alkali feldspar granite is called alaskite. Leuco granodiorite and leuco tonalite are called plagiogranite (making them honorary granites). The Mafic Correlative Dark minerals in granitoids are rich in magnesium and iron, which dont fit in felsic minerals and are called the mafic (MAY-fic or MAFF-ic) component. An especially mafic granitoid may have the prefix mela, meaning dark-colored. The most common dark minerals in granitoids are hornblende and biotite. But in some rocks pyroxene, which is even more mafic, appears instead. This is unusual enough that some pyroxene granitoids have their own names: Pyroxene granites are called charnockite, and pyroxene monzogranite is mangerite. Still more mafic a mineral is olivine. Normally olivine and quartz never appear together, but in exceptionally sodium-rich granite the iron-bearing variety of olivine, fayalite, is compatible. The granite of Pikes Peak in Colorado is an example of such a fayalite granite. A granite can never be too light, but it can be too dark. What stone dealers call black granite is not a granite at all  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹because it has little or no quartz in it. Its not even a granitoid (although it is a true commercial granite). Its usually gabbro, but thats a subject for another day.

Describe A Life Changing Event †Scholarship Essay

Describe A Life Changing Event – Scholarship Essay Free Online Research Papers Describe A Life Changing Event Scholarship Essay Six months ago I broke my back, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Until that point I took much of the goodness in my life for granted. You are looking at a picture of the clamshell brace or lumbosacral support that I wore while my spine healed. It was made of unrelentingly stiff plastic. Since I had to wear it during summer vacation, it also made me very hot and uncomfortable. Ten days before my injury I ran the race of my life, and I had no idea. I was in incredible shape and ran my best times in two events without much effort. I compete in the 1500 meters and the 3000 meters, so during the races there is time to reflect somewhat. I decided to take it easy in both races and didnt push myself. I ran faster than I ever had. Ironically, in the middle of the race I considered the possibility that I was running my last race, and therefore should try harder. I dismissed the idea. If my future had been revealed to me I would have raced as if my life depended on it. I would have tried. That race haunted me all summer. Now when I tell myself that I could be running my last race, I listen. Life is too precious to waste, and not giving your all at everything you do is wasteful. Every day I try to be the best person I can be. While I was wearing the brace I wasnt supposed to run, jump, or swim. The only exercise that was approved by the doctor was taking my dog for walks in the mornings. This meant I spent much less time with my friends. They are more active than my brace allowed me to be. The first few weeks away from track were really hard. It was tough seeing other kids out enjoying themselves and competing. It was difficult not to notice kids out on the track who raced with the same mindset I used to. They obviously didnt give it everything they had. It made me so mad. My injury affected my life in ways I couldnt have predicted. When I first hurt my back I stopped drinking alcohol because I was focused on healing quickly and staying healthy. It didnt take long before I stopped looking forward to my return to drinking. In fact, I had no urge to drink at all. At first my friends bugged me for not going to parties as I used to, but after a while we didnt even see each other that much. Now we pass in the halls and we see each other at football games, but it isnt the same. I can no longer understand the mentality of focusing life around partying, around destroying your body and mind. My body deteriorated during the summer and my work in getting back into shape before track season is going to be monumental. The last thing I need is to make it harder on myself. My rationale for avoiding alcohol extends beyond track. It also became clear to me that living my life to its full potential and being held back by the consequences of drinking are mutua lly exclusive. At cross-country practices this year I worked harder than anyone else. Every time I started to feel tired and weak and considered slowing down, I reminded myself that I could be running in my last practice and if I gave up now I would regret it later. As the season progressed I advanced my position within the team, and by then end of the season I was on varsity. During the season I out-raced lots of guys who were my physical superiors. The reason for my increased performance is simple: after a race I can truthfully say that I ran as hard as I could. That is how I want to live my life: honestly, with no regrets. Research Papers on Describe A Life Changing Event - Scholarship EssayThe Spring and AutumnTrailblazing by Eric AndersonThe Hockey GameBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm X19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraHip-Hop is ArtThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationMind TravelMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesCapital Punishment

How to Create User Control Components in VB.NET

How to Create User Control Components in VB.NET A user control is just like the Visual Basic supplied controls, such as TextBox or Button, but you can make your own control do whatever you like with your own code. Think of them like bundles of standard controls with custom methods and properties. Whenever you have a group of controls that youre likely to use in more than one place, consider a user control. Note that you can also create web user controls but theyre not the same as web custom controls; this article only covers the creation of user controls for Windows. In more detail, a user control is a VB.NET class. The class Inherits from the Framework UserControl class. The UserControl class gives your control the base functions it needs so it can be treated like the built-in controls. A user control also has a visual interface, much like a VB.NET form that you design in VB.NET. Four Function Calculator Control To demonstrate a user control, were going to create our own four function calculator control (this is what it looks like) that you can drag and drop right onto a form in your project. If you have a financial application where it would be handy to have a custom calculator available, you can add your own code to this one and use it just like a Toolbox control in your projects. With your own calculator control, you could add keys that automatically input a company standard such as a required rate of return, or add the corporate logo to the calculator. Creating a User Control The first step in creating a user control is to program a standard Windows application that does what you need. Although there are some extra steps, its still often easier to program your control first as a standard Windows application than as a user control, since its easier to debug. Once you have your application working, you can copy the code to a user control class and build the user control as a DLL file. These basic steps are the same in all versions since the underlying technology is the same, but the exact procedure is a little different between VB.NET versions. Using Different VB.NET Versions You will have a small problem if you have the VB.NET 1.X Standard Edition. User controls have to be created as DLLs to be used in other projects and this version wont create DLL libraries out of the box. Its a lot more trouble, but you can use the techniques described in this article to learn how to get around this problem. With the more advanced versions, create a new Windows Control Library. Follow this link to see the VB.NET 1.X dialog. From the VB main menu, click Project, then Add User Control. This gives you a form design environment almost identical to the one you use for building standard Windows applications. Add the components and code for your control and customize the properties you need. You can copy and paste from your debugged standard Windows app. In fact, the code for the CalcPad control (more on this below) was copied with no changes.Build your solution to get the DLL file for your control. Remember to change the Configuration to Release before the Build for production use.To move the control to the Toolbox, right-click the Toolbox and select Add/Remove Items...Using the .NET Framework Components tab, browse to the DLL for your component (probably in the bin folder of the Windows Control Library solution). Click Open when the DLL file is selected to move the control to the Toolbox, then choose OK. See this screenshot of CalcPad in the VB.NET 1.1 Toolbox. To check out your work, you can close the Windows Control Library solution and open a standard Windows Application solution. Drag and drop your new CalcPad control and run the project. This illustration shows that it behaves just like the Windows calculator, but its a control in your project. This isnt everything you need to do to move the control into production for other people, but thats another subject! The procedure for building a user control in VB.NET 2005 is almost identical to 1.X. The biggest difference is that instead of right-clicking on the Toolbox and selecting Add/Remove Items, the control is added by selecting Choose Toolbox Items from the Tools menu; the rest of the process is the same. Heres the same component (actually, converted directly from VB.NET 1.1 using the Visual Studio conversion wizard) running in a form in VB.NET 2005. Again, moving this control into production can be an involved process. Usually, that means installing it in the GAC, or Global Assembly Cache.

Human Pollution and Hazardous Chemicals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Pollution and Hazardous Chemicals - Essay Example The research paper â€Å"Human Pollution and Hazardous Chemicals† investigates the influence of hazardous chemicals on human health through ways such as water, soil, and air (atmosphere). Human pollution are man-made pollutions that are caused by human beings through release of toxic substances and hazardous chemicals into the natural environment thereby causing hazardous and huge health effects and undesirable environment for human health. The great increase in human pollution results from faster population increase, increased industrialization and faster infrastructure development that forces man to clear the natural resources available for better ecosystem being. These results from human actions and activities like energy generation especially from nuclear generating plant, consumption, industrial production, waste disposal, and transportation. The pollutants may reach the surrounding human environments through ways such as water, soil, and air (atmosphere). Studies have sh own that most of the water pollutants come from land such as chemical fertilizers, detergents, pesticides, heavy metals, oil, plastics, sewage, and other metals where they accumulate deep down in the ocean flow and sediments, and later consumed by marine organisms which may later be re-introduced to the global food chain when they are consumed by man. Pollutants like Sulphur dioxide gas and carbon monoxide when excessively released into the atmosphere may lead to depletion of ozone layer leading to global warming and changes in climate systems.

Strategy Management in the course Purchasing and Logistics Essay

Strategy Management in the course Purchasing and Logistics - Essay Example Another strategy for them to adopt is marketing strategy which is a very powerful measure to give them an added competitive advantage in the business arena. Consequently it will allow the organization to focus on concentrating its resources on the greatest opportunities so as to boost sales and attain a sustainable competitive advantage.1 Marketing strategy can be termed as a high-level formula involving the "generals" of the organization in determining how to bank and upgrade the firms strengths while taking advantage of its opponents/ competitors weaknesses. Barclaycard should therefore consider making e marketing strategy a major component of their various strategies. This is because the strategy will define how Barclaycard will engage its clients, predictions and the overall competition in the marketing field for assured success. A marketing strategy will serve as the base of a marketing plan. The plan contains a set of specific actions necessary to successfully implement a specific marketing strategy. For example: attaching low price tags to their products so as to attract more customers. Once the organization establishes a relationship with consumers, it will sell additional, higher-margin services which will enhance the consumers interaction with the low-cost service. The marketing strategy will adequately integrate Barclaycard’s marketing goals, its policies, and sequences of action into a solid whole. The strategy’s objective will be that of providing a foundation for the development of a tactical plan, thereby allowing the e organization to effectively and efficiently carry out its mission. The strategy should flow from the organizations mission statement since the strategy is derived from much broader corporate strategy, missions and goals With every marketing strategy being unique, both generic and specific strategies can be categorised in a number of ways. Michael Porter categorized the strategy on the dimensions of strategic strength and

Introduction to campylobacter Literature review

Introduction to campylobacter - Literature review Example 163–189). Since campylobacter is present in large quantities in stool, isolation may be considered from this point. However, it is important to note that isolation requires certain conditions of microphilic atmosphere and a media that contains antibiotics. Several methods have been developed to isolate campylobacter. One of them is the membrane filtration. This is used in isolating the microorganism from low turbidity water. Filters of pore size of 0.45 microns are used, and the water is passed as the platting is done face down for the selective agar for the campylobacter. The selective agar is described below in another isolation method. The filters in this process are removed after an overnight incubation. The streaking of plate for isolation before re-incubation then follows this. Prior lab tests have indicated that in the presence of pre-filtration with filters of pore sizes of 6.0 and 5.0 has consistent results of recovery of about 30 jejuni CFU per 250 ml of the seeded water that is nat ural (Line 1711–1715). The other method of isolation is the conventional cultural method. In the laboratory, the sampled specimen is prepared for isolation. If, for example, the sample of raw chicken, a sample of filtrated, chicken rinse water may be used. The water is taken and centrifuged at a rate 16000 times the weight for a period of ten minutes in a minimum temperature of 4 degrees. With an enrichment media of Preston broth, the supernatant is discarded while the pellet is suspended. After the sampled pellet is re-suspended, incubation of the sample at a microbic atmosphere that has 10 percent carbon dioxide, 5 percent oxygen and 85 percent nitrogen. All this happens at a temperature of 3 degrees for 24 hours. The enrichment broth is made consistent with the nutrient broth with supplementation including trimethoprim 10 mg/l, cefoperazone 15 mg/l, rifampicin 5 mg/l, polymyxin B 2500 iu/l and amphotericin 2mg/l. This enriched culture is then placed in

Essay Question Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Question - Essay Example In addition, Creon is to take care of Oedipus children, that is, Antigone and Ismene, and Oedipus sons, Polyneices, and Eteocles. When the two sons of Oedipus become of age, they start to fight over who is to rule Thebes. Polyneices being the older brother believed to be the rightful heir to the throne Thebes since he had the birthright. However, Eteocles causes an uprising against Polyneices and ousts him out of power. Polyneices retaliates with an army in a battle where the two brothers kill each other. Creon ascends to the throne once again. Conflict arises in Thebes when the new king Creon makes a decree that it is only Eteocles that will be honored with a befitting burial since Eteocles fought for Thebes. On the other hand, the body of Polyneices was to be left in the field to rot and be eaten by animals for leading a violent uprising against Thebes using a foreign army. The decree of Creon, which prohibited anyone against burying Polyneices was to serve as an example to Polyneices followers (Sophocles & Johnston, 2007). Creon declared that Polyneices did not deserve a honorable burial since Polyneices waged war against Thebes and, therefore, a traitor of Thebes. The declaration does not go well with Antigone, who asserts that her brother Polyneices deserves to be buried even though he was a traitor of Thebes (Sophocles & Johnston, 2007). A conflict arises between Antigone and Creon since Antigone believes that they have a divine duty to the gods to bury the dead. In addition, antigone is determined to bring honor to her family by burying her brother. Antigone saw it as immoral and dishonorable for the body of their brother to be left in the fields unburied like someone who had no family. Antigone makes an emotional appeal with Ismene for them to bury their brother since even though Polyneices is guilty of betraying the state, they should show him sisterly love and

Nike Research Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nike Research Plan - Essay Example However, the USA population that purchases apparels at Target stores might be too big to be recruited to the research study. Therefore, a sample population that is largely representative of the entire USA population purchasing apparels at Targets will be adopted. Nike suffered a great deal in sales and popularity decline, after the Tiger Woods personal scandal that saw the whole of the golf industry lose in sales and profits. There is no doubt therefore, that a need to improve both the image and financial performance of Nikes golf apparel exist. Thus, the research project has defined the research question as; â€Å"Could Nike’s diminished popularity within the golf community increase by introducing an exclusive line of low-cost apparel to be sold at Targets all over the United States?† The sampling method to be applied in this research study is the cluster sampling technique. Cluster sampling technique is the most appropriate for this research study. This is because; the study seeks to establish the population of customers who purchase apparels at Target stores in the USA, Thus making the group of customers at each Target store an already clustered population. The choice of cluster sampling as the method sampling technique is informed by the fact that the entire population that purchases apparels at Targets is unknown, while its characteristics of are also unclear. Further, the suitability of cluster sampling technique for this study is also informed by the fact that the sample clusters targeted by this study are geographically convenient (Ahmed, 2009). This research study targets to collect data from the population that purchases apparels at Targets, which then means that such clusters are conveniently clustered at the different geographical Target store location s.

Political Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 7

Political Science - Essay Example Illegal immigrants areundocumented immigrantsor aliens in the United States who enter the borders of United States without government permission or those who stay beyond the termination date of a visa. There are different causes of illegal migration ranging from economic incentives of a better life, chain immigration to join relatives, American government inefficiency, and globalization to trade agreements. Illegal migration however has such benefits as availability of cheap labor and payment of taxes by the immigrants. Racial profiling refers to government activity directed at a suspect or group of suspects because of their race, whether intentional or because of the disproportionate numbers of contacts based upon other pre-textual reasons. This is common in America especially when it comes to people from the Middle East but it should be in tandem with the Fourth Amendment. Rawls would have condemned Middle East profiling and the outlawing of illegal migration based on his write-ups.In his ‘A Theory of Justice’ (1971) he made contributions to liberal political philosophy namely: justice as fairness; reflective equilibrium; overlapping consensus; public reason; veil of ignorance; and original position. Rawlsianism provides for the most reasonable principles of justice as those which everyone would accept and agree to from a fair position. Justice as fairness comprises two main principles of Liberty and Equality with the second divided into Fair Equality of Opportunities and the Difference Principle in the order of priority. The Liberty Principle provides for entitlement of everyone to basic liberties while the Equality Principle establishes distributive justice. Fair Equality of Opportunity provides for access to positions to everyone regardless of their social background, ethnicity or sex. The Difference Principle regulates inequalities by permitting them to the advantage of the worst-off (Cohen and Fermon

Nike Research Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nike Research Plan - Essay Example However, the USA population that purchases apparels at Target stores might be too big to be recruited to the research study. Therefore, a sample population that is largely representative of the entire USA population purchasing apparels at Targets will be adopted. Nike suffered a great deal in sales and popularity decline, after the Tiger Woods personal scandal that saw the whole of the golf industry lose in sales and profits. There is no doubt therefore, that a need to improve both the image and financial performance of Nikes golf apparel exist. Thus, the research project has defined the research question as; â€Å"Could Nike’s diminished popularity within the golf community increase by introducing an exclusive line of low-cost apparel to be sold at Targets all over the United States?† The sampling method to be applied in this research study is the cluster sampling technique. Cluster sampling technique is the most appropriate for this research study. This is because; the study seeks to establish the population of customers who purchase apparels at Target stores in the USA, Thus making the group of customers at each Target store an already clustered population. The choice of cluster sampling as the method sampling technique is informed by the fact that the entire population that purchases apparels at Targets is unknown, while its characteristics of are also unclear. Further, the suitability of cluster sampling technique for this study is also informed by the fact that the sample clusters targeted by this study are geographically convenient (Ahmed, 2009). This research study targets to collect data from the population that purchases apparels at Targets, which then means that such clusters are conveniently clustered at the different geographical Target store location s.

Summary of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Essay Example for Free

Summary of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Essay lIn â€Å"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,† Stephen Covey helps people become more effective when dealing with the significant challenges of life. In details, Stephen Covey provides guidelines for managing time and balancing studies, social life, job, and other priorities. The first three habits are focused on personal victories. They teach how to develop self-mastery and dependence. Those three habits are: Be Proactive, Begin with the End in Mind, and Put First Things First. Habits four, five, and six address interdependence, the success in working with others. Habit four: Think Win-Win, habit five: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood, and habit six: Synergize. The seventh habit: Sharpen the Saw, talks about building one’s personal production capability through self-renewal and continual improvement. After reading this book, I was encouraged to think about what I can do to develop myself and become the best of me. Therefore, I have decided to take the following steps to improve myself: improve my communication and teamwork skills; keep myself focused on what matters the most; be being proactive; and take the time to renew myself and nurture my body, mind, heart, and spirit. My first recommendation to myself is to improve my communication and teamwork skills. Habit four: Think Win-Win and habit six: Synergize, made me realize the importance of teamwork. Habit four taught me that teamwork and long-term relationships require cooperation by seeking mutual benefit. For every problem, there exists a solution that allows everyone to succeed. According to the book, most people learn to base their self-esteem on comparisons and competition with others. They regard their success as the failure of someone else. If they win, others lose. Other people are the opposite. They think if they lose, others win. They accept loss just to make other people happy. People with such mentalities, find it hard to share the recognition and power of others. They cannot be happy for the successes of others even those closest to them. However, a person with win-win mentality is respectful and assertive at the same time. â€Å"It’s not you or me. It’s both of us. It’s not a matter of who gets the biggest piece of the pie. There’s more than enough for everyone. It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet. The other habit that encouraged me to improve my communication and teamwork skills is habit six. It showed me how people produce more together than the sum of what they could produce separately. This habit mainly says teamwork and trust should be built by creatively cooperating with other people and identifying the contributions of them which is synergizing. There are several examples of the synergetic situations . Stephen Covey gives a couple of them. One example is about two politicians being able to get 1 million votes each, but when working together they are able to get 2. 5 million votes. This example represents the classic 1+1 = 2. 5 equation. Another example is about two people who are too short to pick apples from a tree. But when working as a team with one on the shoulders of the other, they can pick many apples. Stephen Covey also illustrates how to create a synergetic model. To produce a synergetic climate one needs to assess three specific habits: have a win-win attitude (habit 4), seek to understand before to be understood (habit 5), and believe you can achieve more together than alone (habit 6). Moreover, valuing the differences is the essence of synergy. To synergize, one needs to acknowledge and appreciate the differences between people. To believe that those differences are not annoying, but they are precious and there is much to gain from accepting them. After realizing how important teamwork is, habit 5 teaches how to develop a powerful communication skill: listening. Habit 5: Seek to Understand, Then to Be Understood, helped me to understand the concept of listening. Seeking first to understand requires getting inside the talking person’s frame and see the situation the way she/he sees it. You need to understand his/her point of view but not necessarily agree with them. When listening to other people, you should not be thinking about what you are going to say next when the other person stops talking. Instead, you should really listen to what they are saying without interrupting them. You need to try to understand them which will build a bridge between your paradigms and the paradigms of them. This way you will more likely have a stronger influence. My second recommendation to myself is to stay focused on what matters the most to me. This recommendation came in to my mind after reading the second habit: Begin With the End in Mind. This habit taught me how to live with a purpose. It is based on the principle that things need to be created mentally before they are physically created. For example, a plane is first created in someone’s mind before it is actually built. Effective people determine their own futures. First, they mentally plan it according to their values and principles. Second, they physically create it through their positive actions and behaviors. During my college life, I have always had busy weeks in which I had to deal with lots of exams, home woks, quizzes, and projects. In such weeks, I tend to spend all my time only doing my school responsibilities. However, as Stephen Covey says in the second habit, â€Å"most people on their death beds don’t wish they had spent more time at the office! † By the end of each semester, I see myself getting good grades but still not satisfied because deep in my heart school is not my only priority. In order to stay focused on what matters most, I will first determine what matters most to me. In his book, Stephen Covey lists various questions that I will explore when I try to discover myself. After I find out my sense of purpose and meaning in life, I will begin to write my personal mission statement. It will act as a leading constitution by which I will evaluate my daily decisions. Moreover, when trying to keep my focus on the task at hand, I will use Stephen Covey’s life-management quadrants. In the third habit: Put First Things First, he uses a chart with four quadrants that are the result of two axes: urgent and important. Urgent activities call for immediate attention. Important activities are valuable and add to the personal mission, values, and high priority goals. To put first things first is to organize and manage time and events according to the values and vision the person defined in his/her personal mission statement. I always get caught up in day to day crisis, which represent the urgent and important things, and I get distracted from what it is important to me. What I need to do is to spend more time in the important but not urgent quadarant. I will also use a planner to schedule my tasks and activities each week. I will always re-valuate my plans based on my personal mission statement. Those two habits also reminded me that I need to start planning my career path. I will go to my advisor to discuss my career opportunities. I will also take an aptitude test to help me evaluate my talents, abilities, and interests so I can use that information when choosing my career path. I will also write down a list of the most important skills I need to be successful in college and work to improve each one of them. Another thing I want to develop in myself is to increase my proactivity. A lot of times it happened that I receive a grade that I think is unfair and I get upset, which gets me nowhere. Habit one: Be Proactive taught me that whenever I get a grade that I think I do not deserve, I should make an appointment with my professor to discuss it and see what I can learn. To be proactive is to have a choice and control over the situations. A company can be proactive rather than to be under the mercy of the industry. For example, if an industry is facing a downturn, a company can be proactive by developing a plan to cut down the costs and use the industry downturn to its benefit by increasing the market share. Proactive people do not blame other people or circumstances for their own mistakes. They understand whatever they do is what they have chosen to do. They accept responsibility for their choices. When facing a stimulus, they stop and allow themselves to choose a response based on their personal values. In contrast, reactive people do not choose how to respond to stimuli; instead they react immediately without thinking and based on their feelings at that moment. â€Å"There is a gap between stimulus and response, and the key to both our growth and happiness is how we use that space. In the book, Stephen Covey advises his readers to divide events and circumstances into two categories: circumstances they can influence through choices and circumstances they cannot influence at all. Proactive people focus their effort on the things they can control which Stephen Covey calls the Circle of Influence. They do not worry about the things they do not have influence on which he calls the Circle of Concern. By doing so, they increase their control on more and more of those things that are in their Circle of Concern. Reactive people focus on their Circle of Concern. They blame other people or circumstances which both are beyond their influence, for their failures. To be more proactive, I plan to do the following things. I will write down a list of the things in my Circle of Concern that I am always worrying about then I will work on letting go of them one by one. I will pay more attention to my behavior and language and identify the reactive ones. For example, whenever I say â€Å"I can’t do it† I will change that to â€Å"I will try. † Also, from now on I will not let other people’s bad mood rub off on me and ruin my day. This is my choice† will be the attitude I will always adopt. My last recommendation to myself is to take care of my body, mind, heart, and soul. The seventh habit says to be effective one should balance between the production and the production capacity. I will not be able to effectively do the previous recommendations without renewing myself and nurturing my body, mind, heart, and soul. Steph en Covey clarifies this point with the example of the goose and the golden eggs. A poor farmer had a goose. The goose suddenly started to lay a solid golden egg every day and the farmer soon became very rich. The farmer also became very greedy and began to think the goose must have all the golden eggs within it. In order to get all the golden eggs immediately, he killed the goose. As soon as he did that, he discovered there were not golden eggs within it. The moral of the story is that the need of the balance between production and production capability is critical. If one tries to increase the immediate output without considering the production capacity, this capability will be lost. The need for balance between production and production capability applies in physical, financial, and human asset. For example, a person in charge in a factory can increase the output of a machine by stopping the scheduled maintenance and using that time operating the machine and maximizing the production. However, in the future, more maintenance will need to be performed on the machine and the future production will be greatly minimized. That person may be blamed for causing such a mess. The production and production capability applies to customer loyalty as well. A restaurant may have a good reputation for serving great food. If the owner decides to cut down the costs and lower the quality of the served food, the profits will rise immediately. However, as soon as the customers sense the change in the food quality, their trust will be lost. The profits will definitely decline. The need for this kind of balance also applies to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual assets. One should take the time for self-renewal; to preserve and enhance the four human assets. Renewal increases the person’s capacity to undertake the challenges of daily living. It creates growth and change in that person’s life. Without this renewal, the body becomes feeble, the mind mechanical, the emotions dead, and the spirit insensitive. Therefore, I plan on doing the following activities. To preserve my body, I will start an exercise program and I will choose something I really enjoy like badminton. I will also make sure to get at least seven hours of sleep every day. Lastly, I will continue to eat my balanced diet. To nurture my mind, I will start to read more books and solve at least one puzzle every day. To take care of my heart, I will try to build new friendships and have meaningful connections with others.

Appropriateness Of Tesco Enterprises Information Systems Information Technology Essay

Appropriateness Of Tesco Enterprises Information Systems Information Technology Essay The world is fast becoming a global village. The systems used to collect informations yesterday are different from those used today. More advanced and competitive information system are being produce everyday. Every business no matter how small, like a small retailer store, depends on high technology to store data. To them now it is a living tool and the still keep their doors open to welcome new form of change in information systems. Information system has now become the bread of life in every organizational operation. This paper is going to expatiate more on how information system operates to enhance business in our world today. Tesco enterprise will be use as the yard stick to better understand the development of Information systems. Findings 2.1 Information Systems. Definition. According to Kenneth and Jane Laudon, Information systems can be defined technically as a set of interrelated components that collect to retrieve process, stores, distributes information to support decision making and control on an organization. Information systems are the systems of persons, data records and activities that process the data of information in a given organization, either through manual processes or automated processes. This system is consist of people, procedures, softwares, hardwares and data that helps in effective decision making. Philip Kotler says A marketing information system consist of people, equipments and procedures to gather, sort and analyze, evaluate and distribute needed, timely and accurate information to marketing decision makers. According to Erik BOHLIN, Stranford L. LEVIN, Nakil SUNG, Chang-HO YOON (2004), the effect of information technology systems on globalization, innovation, growth and productivity are immense. Information technology system has contributed immensely to the globalization of production and capital markets by reducing cost of information and communication. They stated that technology has made it easier for multinationals and other companies to spread production facilities all over the world, to coordinate international marketing campaigns and to ease collaboration in projects taking place in different continents. There are various types of information systems such as Office Information system, database management system, Decision supporting system and transaction processing system. Information systems are normally created to perform task for which the human brain can not handle well enough some of these task are controlling many business processes simultaneously, performing complex calculations and storing large amount of information. Many businesses invest huge amounts of money in information systems for the following reasons; For rapid production of goods and services To develop excellent and effective communication skills. Improve decision making Have operational excellence For competitives advantages For survival Customer and supplier intimacy. It saves time and money and makes life easy and comfortable. Levels of management. There are three hierarchical levels of management on an organization; the senior level management, the middle level management and the operational level of management. Senior Level Management. This is the highest level of management. They are concern with making good and effective decisions for the development of the enterprise. They supply answers to questions about the long term plans of the company such as what kind of products will the company be producing in the next five years or what method will they apply to improve their business. There are many kinds of information systems that managers at this level can use in order to ease the work and quickly too, some of the systems are seen as follows: Executive Support System. (ESS) It is a reporting software which helps senior managers transform data into useful summarize reports. It allows them quick assess to reports coming from different levels and different departments in the company such as staffing, billing, cost allocation, scheduling and many others. ESS is most useful to senior managers like Chief Executive Officers in order to enable the make decision easily. ESS forecast the future. ESS relies highly on information MIS and DSS database for decision making. It can not work in isolation less the company becomes dysfunctional. Middle Management. The main duty of the managers at this level is to monitor the activities of the subordinates, collect information from junior management and reassemble them and give the feedbacks or report to those at the senior management team. Their reports help in strategic planning thus leading to effective decision making to achieve their objectives. They are responsible for implementing the senior managers policies and plans to the workers. They also need to ensure that employees are well motivated and should act responsibly in maintaining company values. Management Information System (MIS) This system is meant to serve mostly middle managers. It helps them regulate the various operations in an organization. It helps in the internal control procedures. MIS are distinct from regular information systems in that they are used to analyze other information systems applied in operation activities in the organization. OBrien, J (1999). MIS as a system : It is a system that makes available the right information to the right person (senior managers) at the right time, place, form and at the right cost. It monitors daily sales, profit and lost accounts. It gathers feedbacks and current reports. It also answers all day to day questions about the company. Inputs of MIS: Customer Relationship Management (CRM), this a process created to handle the companys relationship or contact with its customers. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). This is a system that helps managers coordinate all the resources information and functions of a business. Transaction Process Management (TPS). It records all daily routines in a company. Recommended softwares for MIS: Database retrieve application Service control manager- a component of Microsoft Windows operating System. Software Configuration Management (SCM) used to track down and control changes in softwares. Decision Support System (DSS). It a group of information systems that support businesses and organizations in decision making activities. It helps most the middle class managers to make quick and effective decisions. It helps middle managers compile important information from a combination of business models, raw data, personal knowledge or documents to solve problems and then take decisions. Functions of DSS. It helps to solve unpredicted problems such as non-routine issues. Deducts external information like price change, government change in tax. It gathers and inventory of current information assets including legacy, dataware house and data marts. It produces comparative sales figures different periods. Finally it presents revenue figures base on new products sales assumptions. Fundamental Components. Knowledge base User interface The model ( decision content and user criteria). Holsapple and Whinston (1996) classify DSS in to six frame works Text-oriented DSS Database-oriented DSS Spreadsheet-oriented DSS Solver-oriented DSS Rule-oriented DSS Compound-oriented DSS DSS support base system can be divided into three categories; Personal support Group support Organization support First line managers as operational managers. They control the day to day services in an organization. They focus on manageing the processes to produce and distribute products and services to customers. Transaction Process System. This system serves the operational level managers. It helps them trace the daily routine in the company for example sales entry and delivery. It also helps the managers to monitor status of operations in relation to external environment. 3. Appropriateness of TESCO Enterprise Information Systems. TESCO plc is Britains largest retailer enterprise. Tesco provides grocery homeshopping services, consumer goods, telecommunication and financial services online. Online shopping is a highly use information system in Tesco. This information system is the direct buying of goods and services over the internet or other computer networks. Through this system, many businesses have developed due to online competition services. There are other websites besides Tesco that offer hosting services for online stores and small retailers these are Yahoo, Amazon.com and eBay. A collection of online stores are known as Virtual Shopping Malls. Become.com helps online shoppers make the ideal decision on shopping online. That is their mission. Security Measures Definition These are steps taken to protect information and information systems from unauthorized users, access, disclosure disruption, modification and destruction. Security measures are meant to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. Tesco has securing tags on its products. This is due to the rise of shoplifting caused by the economic crisis in the country. This was decided by the management team. Many UK businesses whether big or small, depend greatly on American District Telegraph (ADT) or simply ADT, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and Digital Video Recorders (DVR) as a source of integrated electronic security system. Tesco is one of those convenience supermarkets that depend highly on the services provided by the above security systems. These security systems provide fast alarm responses to burglary, fire attacks, violence and unnecessary disturbances in Tesco. These security systems reduce a safe and convenient environment for Tesco customers. They help reduce crime wave, protect people and property. Tesco also applies the use of security codes in their online services. This is to ensure that the online customer placing the order is actually in possession of a credit/ Debit card and that the amount of money in the card is legitimate. All these procedures is to prevent Credit/ Debit card fraud Also to trace and track down thieves who are in possessions of other peoples cards through well advance information technology. BMT Micro security software makes sures no database after online transaction is stored during online payment so hackers will not find their way easily into peoples accounts. That is why codes are needed so is will be hard for them to trace. Card Security Code (CSC) or Card Verification Value is another security feature for credit/debit transaction online providing online security against fraudulent cards. Recommended information security. Unified Threat Management (UTM), this is to prevent intruders and softwares from affecting Tesco delicate networks less the loose their data informations. Antivirus is also needed to check Tesco computers for the presence of virus that may crash the computers and loss database information that have not yet been processed. These antivirus needs constant updates. . Cloud Computing Cloud computing is the latest internet base computer system whereby shared resources such as softwares and information are provided to computers. It describes a new suppliement, consumption and delivery Information Technology model services based on the internet. It helps provides easy access to remote computing site provide by the internet. It is a less expensive form of computing. It avoids capital expenditures on hardwares, softwares and services because the pay only provider for they use. Consumption is billed on subscription basis with no upfront cost. Benefits: Low barrier to entry. Share infrastructure and cost Low management overheads Immediate access to a broad range of applications. The contract can be terminated at any time. According to Nicholas Carr, the strategic importance of information technology is diminishing as it has become standardized and less expensive. Issues against Cloud Computing. Although cloud computing is a less expensive system of computing, enterprises may pay more on operating expenses. Cloud computing has been highly criticized for its lack of privacy between users and their hosting companies. They hosting companies may monitor at will the communication and data stored in their systems. For example the National Security Agency (NSA) that works with American Telephone and Telgraph (AT T) and Verizon Communications, monitors all their phones which make people insecure for lack of privacy. There is no security in cloud computing but the Cloud Computing Alliance has been form to promote security assurances. Tesco is not using cloud computing services. But they can subscribe for it so as to spend less on information technology system. Conclusion. From the above information, we have seen how important information systems are in the development of an organization as it is being applied at every managerial level in a business. So it is recommended that business owners should continue searching for more advance information systems that will help ease their supply and distribution chain. Recommendations. Information system is the only way for businesses to survive the pressure and competition that they are facing. If there is a any business that has not yet be highly connected to advance information systems, then that business should make a strategic plan about implementing cloud computing for a start because it is less expensive and will help the business save for future unforeseen circumstances. References OBrien, J (1999) Management Information Systems- Manageing Information Systems in the Internet work Enterprise. Boston. Irwin MC Graw-Hill. ISBN 0071123733. Kenneth and Jane Laudon, Managing the Digital Firm, 8th Ed. Kotler, Philip, Keller, Kevin Lane (2006), Marketing Management, 12th edition. Pearson Education. Erik BOHLIN, Stranford L. Levin, Nakil SUNG, Chang-HO YOON (2004) Global Economy and Digital Society. Elsevier , Amsterdam. Nichlas Carr, (2008) Clouds and Storms.

Coming Full Circle in Anna Karenina Essay -- Literary Analysis

What happens when you cut yourself off from society, or are cut off by it? This is the main question that Leo Tolstoy explores in Anna Karenina. Isolated from society, Anna is destroyed by a conflict of wills. The desire of the individual is forced to give way to society’s restrictions and requirements, represented in the image of the railroad. Those who do not conform to society will ultimately face death, a fate, that both Anna and Vronsky will not be able to outrun as a consequence of their illegitimate relationship. Besides personifying the necessity of living within society’s realm of expectations, the railroad serves a central role in the organizational plan of the novel. The major railway scenes can be interpreted as pillars supporting the structure of the novel by connecting the Anna/Vronsky storyline. It is at a railway station where Anna is introduced to Vronsky, where he admits his love to her and where Anna makes her first and last appearance. The recurrence of motifs and the final return to initial associations within Anna Karenina serve to create the symmetrical architecture of the work. The first mention of the railroad is in context of children and their games, which serves as a premonition of the events to come. The children who are aware of the current distraught household are playing with a box, representing a train. Stiva’s eldest girl is heard telling off her younger sibling, telling him that â€Å"[she] told [him] not to put the passengers on the roof†, instructing him to â€Å"[pick them up !† (Anna Karenina p.7). The children’s games foreshadow not only the accident at the station but Anna’s suicide at the conclusion of the novel. ... ... As a result of Anna’s willingness to abandon her home and husband to build her happiness on other human being’s suffering. Anna’s action causes Kitty to suffer heartbreak as she loses Vronsky, the man she loved, to Anna. In addition, Anna and Vronsky’s relationship breaks up Anna and Karenin’s marriage and causes Serezha to grow up without his mother’s presence. The wrath of society punishes Anna for her sin by crushing her, metaphorically as well as literally. Bibliography Tolstoy, Leo. Anna Karenina. Translated by Yuri Corrigan. London: Genius Translators Press, 1999. Bayley, John. Tolstoy and the Novel. London, 1966. Gustafson, Richard. Leo Tolstoy: Resident and Stranger. Princeton, 1986. Jahn, Gary. The Image of the Railroad in Anna Karenina. The Slavic and East European Journal Vol. 25, No. 2 (Summer, 1981), pp. 1-10

Blake Coleridge Swift :: essays papers

The Symbolism of Christ William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Jonathan Swift were very different writes but are bound by basic Christian beliefs. In their writings there are strong references to Christ and symbolic images of Him. Blake writes "The Lamb" as a symbolic representative of Christ. Coleridge uses many form of religious symbolism in his poem "The Rhime of the Ancient Mariner", but the thing that stands out the most is how the albatross represents Christ. Swift writes in "Gulliver's Travels", of a man named Pedro de Mendez who is a savior to Gulliver. These three authors show us how Christian views and Jesus are a part of life not just in the Bible but also in current society. Blake uses our questions about faith to emphasize the importance of Christ in our lives. Blake emphasizes the connection of which the child is naturally aware, when he writes, "I, a child, and thou a lamb, We are called by his name"(p.1289). The tone, however, is the genuine simplicity of a child's speech. The first verse is a series of questions addressed to the lamb, which represents Jesus. The second stanza begins with the child being able to answer those questions. Blake writes, "Little Lamb, I'll tell thee"(p.1289). Meaning that the child understands Christ being the savior. These questions are asked purely for the satisfaction that it gives the child in answering and to show the child's understanding of God. Blake shows Christ in a way that is innocent like the child. Blake writes this poem using the example of the lamb found in nature to represent Christ and uses the child to represent man trying to understand God. Blake uses the lamb to represent Christ in nature in the same way that Coleridge uses the albatross to represent Christ in nature. Coleridge uses religious and natural symbolism, which correspond with one another and play the most important roles in this poem. Although there are many different interpretations of this poem, one idea that has remained common throughout the poem is that of the religious symbolism present. Especially that of Christ and his ability to save, which was present throughout this poem. The symbolism is that of the albatross. The albatross saves the Mariner for bad weather and keeps the sailors in

Evaluation of Literature Reviews of Three Articles Essay

A literature review is a report of information published earlier from books, journals, newspapers, or any reliable articles that show relevance and significance to the research study being conducted. It is not just a summary of knowledge and scholarly opinions on a specific topic by scholars and academic researchers, but it is also a critical   analysis of various literatures that seeks to determine what knowledge and ideas are already known that   serve as the guide and support to the thesis statement and objective of the research study being conducted (Taylor, 2006). A literature review is the part of an academic research study that helps understand the research problem. From this, it can be viewed that a literature review must have the following criteria: (1) shows diversity of ideas, theories and opinions by reviewing the most recent literatures but also acknowledges old literatures whenever needed (e.g. for historical purposes); (2) not simply summarizes the literatures available but most importantly, it critically analyzes, describes, and compares such literatures in an organized manner; and (3) should address the issues or problems that leads to the achievement of the objectives of the research study being carried out.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A good literature review can be best described by analyzing the literature review section of at least three articles, comparing and contrasting them using the four criteria mentioned above. Article 1 is entitled ‘Integrating Earnings and Cash Flows Per Common Share’. The article aims to determine the importance of reporting both the earnings per share and the cash flow per share and how such reports can provide information about the financial health of an organization. Article 1’s literature review is good because it was able to present various recently published studies that show what happened when only the earnings per share was reported, giving emp hasis on the importance of timely reporting both the earnings per share and the cash flow per share ; that is, it was able to provide a good theoretical framework for the study, helping the authors achieve the article’s objective. The authors are aware of the purpose of the study and that the article is intended for accountants, financial analysts, managers and accounting and finance students, thus they were able to review and analyze significant past studies that can address the issue without the need to define technical financial terms. Most of these studies were published recently, between the years 1997 to 2005, ensuring that the content of the literature review is not outdated for timeliness is important in dealing with technical issues like financial and accounting issues. The review also reflects a diversity of relevant ideas about the topic. However, the literature review is not well organized; a literature is discussed in a paragraph and the next paragraph discusses another literature without logically correlating one from the other as if the next paragraph is for another topic. The authors could have used words such as moreover, for instance, or furthermore that help readers understand clearly the comparisons and relationships between the literatures being reviewed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The next article is entitled ‘Security Returns and the Value Relevance of Accounting Data’ which was published in 1999. The article is very technical in nature that readers without a good background in accounting cannot be able to fully understand the article. In fact the article was presented at the American Accounting Association Doctoral Consortium and at the American Accounting Association/Taiwan Accounting Association First Globalization Conference, which means that the author is very much aware of the audience who will benefit the article. Since it was presented in a conference of professional accountants, the article can be used as an academic source for students and other accountants. It aims on determining the relationship and relevance between a firm’s accounting data and the returns it gained. The literatures reviewed present evidences that address this issue and show that accounting data reflect the financial gains, conditions and events in a firm which are important in decision-making. However,   the journals used as references are quite old which were actually published between the years 1940 and 1999. It would be better if the authors found and used research studies that have recent and newer ideas about the issue because â€Å"the more recent the study, the more valuable it tends to be† (Literature Review, 2004.). The literature review is also very brief but shows comprehensiveness and organization although it does not show a diversity of opinion because it uses only few literatures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The third article is about human resource management entitled ‘Why people stay: using job embeddedness to predict voluntary turnover’ published in 2000. Its literature review section reviews and compares various peer-reviewed journals and academic books that dealt with theories about employee turnover, motivation, job satisfaction, employee attitudes, organizational behavior, and job commitment. Among the three articles, this article is the most organized research study as well as the one having the most diverse ideas and theories, resulting to a very comprehensive review. It uses headings and subheadings to indicate changes in topic and subtopics. Its content includes past and current theories, reflecting that the authors acknowledged and effectively integrated these theories to come up with better findings that help achive the objectives of the study. The authors have effectiveley compared and contrasted such theories that resulted to more reliable conclusions. The review is an effective reference to managers, professionals, and various organizations as well as students to be able to have knowledge on employee retention. References: Easton, P. (1999) Security Returns and the Value Relevance of Accounting Data,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Accounting Horizons 13:4, pp.399-412 â€Å"Literature Review† (2004) retrieved online on March 9, 2007   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     http://library.ups.edu/instruct/ricig/comm105/litreview.htm Mitchell, T., Holtom, B., Lee, T., and Erez, M (2000) Why People Stay: Using Job   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Embeddedness to Predict Voluntary Turnover   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Academy of Management Journal, 44:8; 1102-1121 Stone, K. and Niemeyer, R. (2005) Integrating Earnings and Cash Flows Per Common   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Share, The Journal of Theoretical Accounting Research, Fall, 1, 1, Accounting    and Tax Periodicals, pp. 63- 76 Taylor, Dena (2006) The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting It   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved online on March 9, 2007   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/litrev.html

Analysis Henry V Speech Battle of Harfleur Showing His Power and Role as a Leader Essay

Analysis of Henry’s speech of Harfleur showing his role as a leader and an inspiration Henry’s speech to his men before the battle of Harfleur is one of the most powerful, inspirational speeches of all time. The speech defines Henry as not only a friend unto his men, but also a powerful leader; ‘Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more’, literally meaning to the break in the walls my friends, referring to the walls of Harfleur. Henry is conjuring his men in a rally, including soldiers, noblemen and commoners, with the use of repetition of ‘once more’ to enforce the fact that this is not the first time it has been done, bringing up the memory of the Englishmen’s warlike ancestors of which they aspire to be like, so that they will follow him in his conquest. The speech holds strong wildly exaggerated themes, to shock the public with what would happen if they were not to fight or help Henry in this great cause. The purpose is partly to prove that the men were fighting for a good reason, and so they can have faith in their leader, but also to inspire them to fight the French ‘or close up the wall with our English dead’, ironic as the hole in the wall of Harfleur is enormous and would take thousands of bodies to even half fill but a thought which would not leave you. Henry V is a negotiator, he reasons with his men, suggesting that men must not always fight, that ‘In peace there’s nothing so become a man as stillness and humility’ the soft ‘s’ sibilance adds a calming tone, and paints a picture of the ideal man, of which most men would inspire to be like, who is calm and good humoured. He goes on to contrast this with ‘but when the blast of war blows in our ears’, the onomatopoeic plosive ‘b’ sound is so loud and clear, as is the war with the imagery of ‘blows in our ears’ shows us that even the ideal man cannot ignore this, will not ignore this and that he must turn from the pacifist to the fighter. The metaphorical language depicts the man turning from the civilised human he has become, back to nature with his predatory-like mind and that he must ‘imitate the action of the tiger’ and fight for his worth as an Englishman. Dynamic imperatives are used to directly address the audience, showing Henry’s leadership skills as he is telling them what to do and think ‘stiffen the sinews, conjure up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage’ he is urging his men to change in state, from man to the fighter to a point of uncontrollable anger and ferocity for battle. Similes are used powerfully in addition to these imperatives; ‘like the brass cannon’ referring to the eyeball popping out of ones skull in rage, he is consuming his audience with the passion and rage of war with powerful imagery changing the atmosphere and preparing them for the battle of their lives where they are to prove themselves to the world, wildly exaggerated but very inspiring and puts him in complete control of all of their emotions, defining his status as King and leader. In addition to the metaphorical comparison between human and animal, Henry relates the feelings of war to the processes of nature; ‘galled rock’ the men are hard as rocks, both in physical power and mentality. Other images include the ‘swilled with the wild and wasteful ocean’ proving to his men that it is a natural process for one to be overpowered with rage, especially when it is for a good cause as the one he is suggesting, and that we must take what is ours (France) like the waves take control of the ocean. The men are reduced to powerless bodies; Henry goes on in his speech to control not only their minds but their bodies with ‘set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide’ the strong imagery instinctively makes you do the action which in itself grinds you and makes one feel consumed with rage, this is beyond inspiration, the men are physically empowered by the speech. Furthermore he makes it every man’s duty to their mothers to fight ‘dishonour not your mother. The sentence is short and stands out for clarity as it is an important part of his speech, he wants them to feel guilty if they do not make their mothers, of which have raised them, proud. Onomatopoeic repetition adds rhythm to the speech and commands the men to go forth with their duties with use of ellipsis; ‘on, on’ the choice to go to war is no longer a choice but a factor of life that must happen, the men have turned into the animals of war and have now become ‘noble English’ further inspiring them to be as their forefathers were. For after all their ‘blood is fet from fathers of war proof’ of which they must live up to, and the alliteration of the ‘f’ sound adds dynamicity to the speech, the war has become a physical part of them, it’s in their blood. Not only do the men want to follow in the footsteps of their forefathers, but Henry wants them to make history; ‘teach them how to war. Again another short sentence, he wants them to set the example, be the best men any King could have, slightly blowing his own trumpet there. Strong imagery of England and patriotism is used to make the men feel not only proud of their mothers and the king but also their country ‘the mettle of your pasture’ as England is seen to be fields of green countryside, much like the battlefield in which they fought. To enforce this he uses rhetorical questions ‘swear that you are worth your breeding’ of which every man would swear he is, as part of his ego but also no man wants to feel unworthy. Henry also says that he can see the drive and determination in all of their eyes; ‘noble lustre in your eyes’ metaphorical but inspiring nevertheless, he makes every man feel as though he truly can do it, he is a fighter. A further simile ‘I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips’ the greyhounds being hunting dogs, hungry for power. Follow your spirit and upon this charge’ act on your instincts, don’t think for war is something not of emotion of the weak, and as you do this you must ‘cry â€Å"God for Harry, England and Saint George! †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ a half rhyme with charge the final couplet uses imperatives to state the cause as to which the men are fighting and boosts moral and patriotism, saint George being the patron saint of England, the final push for these men from men to soldiers.

Bloodlines Chapter Twenty-Six

IT TOOK DAYS for me to finally get the whole story, both about Lee and about how Eddie and Jill had come to the rescue that night. Once I had Lee as the missing piece, it was easy to connect the murders of Tamara, Kelly, Melody, and Dina, the human girl he'd mentioned. All of them had been killed within the last five years, in either Los Angeles or Palm Springs, and many had documented evidence of knowing him. They weren't random victims. What little we could find out about Lee's history came from Clarence, though even that was muddled. By our best guesses, Lee had been turned forcibly into a Strigoi about fifteen years ago. He'd spent ten years that way until a spirit user restored him, much to Lee's dismay. Clarence hadn't had all his wits about him even then and hadn't questioned how his son had returned home after ten years without aging. He evaded answering our questions about Lee being a Strigoi, and we didn't know if Clarence simply hadn't known or was in denial. Likewise, it was unclear if Clarence knew his own son was behind Tamara's death. The far-fetched vampire hunter theory was probably easier for h im to stomach than the murderous truth about his son. Investigations into Lee's college in Los Angeles showed he hadn't actually been enrolled there since before he became Strigoi. When he'd become Moroi again, he'd used college as an excuse to stay in Los Angeles, where he could more easily pursue victims – and we suspected there were more of them than we had records for. From what we'd observed, he'd apparently tried to drink from a few of each race, in the hopes that one of them would be â€Å"the one† to make him a Strigoi again. Further research into Kelly Hayes had uncovered something I should have thought of right away. She was a dhampir. She'd looked human, but that stellar sports record was the tip-off. Lee had stumbled onto her when visiting his father five years ago. Getting the drop on a dhampir wasn't easy, which was why Lee seemed to have gone to the effort of dating her and luring her in. None of us knew anything about the â€Å"bastard spirit user† who'd converted him, though that was of interest to both the Alchemists and the Moroi. There were very few spirit users on record, and with there still being so much unknown about their powers, everyone wanted to learn more. Clarence was adamant that he knew nothing about this mystery spirit user, and I believed him. Alchemists were in and out of Palm Springs all week, cleaning up the mess and interviewing everyone who'd been involved. I met with a number of them, telling my story over and over, and finally had my last debriefing with Stanton over lunch one Saturday. I'd kind of had a perverse interest in knowing what had happened to Keith but decided not to bring it up in light of everything else going on. He wasn't here, which was all I cared about. â€Å"Lee's autopsy revealed nothing that wasn't ordinary Moroi, according to their doctors,† Stanton told me between bites of linguine carbonara. Eating and discussing dead bodies weren't mutually exclusive, apparently. â€Å"But then, something†¦ magical likely wouldn't show up anyway.† â€Å"But there must be something special about him,† I said. I was simply moving my own food around the plate. â€Å"The fact that his aging slowed was proof enough – but the rest? I mean, he drank from so many victims. And then I saw what Jacqueline did to him. That should have worked. All the correct procedures were followed.† It amazed me that I could speak so clinically about this, that I could sound so detached. Really, though, it was just that second-nature Alchemist mode taking over. Inside me, the events of that night had left a permanent mark. When I closed my eyes at bedtime, I kept seeing Lee's death and Jacqueline feeding him the blood. Lee, who'd brought Jill flowers and taken us all mini-golfing. Stanton nodded thoughtfully. â€Å"Which suggests that those who are restored from being Strigoi are immune to ever being turned again.† We sat in silence for a moment, letting the weight of those words settle over us. â€Å"That's huge,† I said at last. Talk about an understatement. Lee presented a number of mysteries. He had begun aging once he became a Moroi again, but at a much slower rate. Why? We weren't sure, but that alone was a monumental discovery, as was my suspicion that he could no longer use Moroi magic. I'd been too freaked out to notice anything strange about Lee's behavior when Jill had asked him to create fog while we were golfing, but looking back, it occurred to me he'd actually looked nervous about her requests. And the rest†¦ the fact that something had changed in him, protected him, however unwillingly, from becoming Strigoi? Yeah. â€Å"Huge† was an understatement. â€Å"Very,† Stanton agreed. â€Å"Half our mission is to stop humans from choosing to sacrifice their souls for immortality. If there was a way to harness this magic, figure out what protected Lee†¦ well. The effects would be far-reaching.† â€Å"To the Moroi as well,† I pointed out. I knew that among them and the dhampirs, being forcefully turned Strigoi was often considered a fate worse than death. If there was some magical way to protect themselves, it would mean a lot since they encountered Strigoi far more than we did. We could be talking about some kind of magical vaccine. â€Å"Of course,† said Stanton, though her tone implied she wasn't nearly as concerned about that race's benefits. â€Å"It might even be possible to prevent the future creation of all Strigoi. There's also the mystery of your blood. You said the Strigoi didn't like it. That could be a type of protection too.† I shivered at the memory. â€Å"Maybe. It all happened so fast†¦ it's hard to say. And it was certainly no protection from the Strigoi wanting to snap my neck.† Stanton nodded. â€Å"It's certainly something to look into eventually. But first we have to figure out what exactly happened to Lee.† â€Å"Well,† I said, â€Å"spirit has to be a key player, right? Lee was restored by a spirit user.† A waiter came by, and Stanton waved her plate away. â€Å"Exactly. Unfortunately, we have a very limited quantity of spirit users to work with. Vasilisa Dragomir hardly has the time to experiment with her powers. Sonya Karp has volunteered to help, which is excellent news, especially since she's a former Strigoi herself. At the very least, we can observe the slowed aging firsthand. She's only available for a short while, and the Moroi haven't answered my request yet for some other useful individuals. But if we had another spirit user on hand, one with no other obligations to distract him from helping us fulltime†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She looked at me meaningfully. â€Å"Adrian?† I asked. â€Å"Do you think he'd help research this? Some magical way to protect against Strigoi conversion? Like I said, between Sonya and the others, he'd have help,† she added quickly. â€Å"I've spoken to the Moroi, and they're putting together a small group with expertise on Strigoi. They plan on sending them out soon. We just need Adrian to help.† â€Å"Wow. You guys move fast,† I murmured. At the words â€Å"Adrian† and â€Å"research,† my mind had put together images of him in a lab, wearing a white coat, bent over test tubes and beakers. I knew that the actual research wouldn't look anything like that, but it was a hard picture to shake. It was also hard to imagine Adrian seriously focused on anything. Except, I kept having that nagging thought that Adrian would focus if he only had something worth caring about. Was this important enough? I really wasn't sure. It was too hard to guess what purpose might be noble enough to get Adrian's attention. But I was pretty sure I knew some less-thannoble perks that might get him on board. â€Å"If you can get him his own place, I bet he'd do it,† I said finally. â€Å"He wants out of Clarence Donahue's pretty badly.† Stanton's eyebrows rose. She hadn't expected this. â€Å"Well. That's not a huge request, I suppose. And actually, we're already paying the bill for Keith's old apartment since he took out a year-long lease. Mr. Ivashkov could simply move into there, except†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Except what?† Stanton gave a small shrug. â€Å"I was going to offer it to you. After much discussion, we've decided to simply make you the Alchemist on point here, in light of Keith's†¦ unfortunate departure. You could leave Amberwood, move into his apartment, and simply oversee activities from there.† I frowned. â€Å"But I thought you wanted someone with Jill all the time.† â€Å"We do. And we've actually found a better choice – no offense. The Moroi were able to locate a dhampir girl Jill's age, who could not only serve as Jill's roommate but also as a bodyguard. She'll be joining the researchers who are coming out. You don't have to pose as a student anymore.† The world reeled. Alchemist schemes and plans, always in motion. A lot had been decided in this week, it seemed. I considered what this meant. No more homework, no more high school politics. Freedom to come and go when I wanted. But it also meant removing myself from the friends I'd made – Trey, Kristin, Julia. I'd still see Eddie and Jill, but not to the same extent. And if I was on my own, would the Alchemists – or my father – help fund college classes? Unlikely. â€Å"Do I have to leave?† I asked Stanton. â€Å"Can I give the apartment to Adrian and stay on at Amberwood for a while? At least until we figure out if we can get another place for me?† Stanton didn't bother hiding her surprise. â€Å"I didn't expect you'd want to stay on. I figured you'd especially be happy to no longer room with a vampire.† And like that, all the fears and pressure I'd faced before coming to Palm Springs descended on me. Vamp lover. I was an idiot. I should've been jumping at the chance to get away from Jill. Any other Alchemist would. In offering to stay, I was likely putting myself under suspicion again. How could I explain that there was so much more to my choice than just a change of roommate? â€Å"Oh,† I said, keeping a neutral face. â€Å"When you said you were getting Jill a dhampir her own age, I figured she'd be the roommate and I wouldn't have to room with Jill anymore. I thought I'd have my own in the dorm.† â€Å"That can probably be arranged†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"And honestly, after some of the things that have happened, I'd feel better still keeping an eye on Jill. It'll be easier if I'm at the school. Besides, if it takes an apartment to make Adrian happy and work on this Strigoi mystery, then that's what we need to do. I can wait.† Stanton studied me for several long seconds, breaking the silence only when the waiter dropped the bill off. â€Å"That's very professional of you. I'll look into the arrangements.† â€Å"Thank you,† I said. A happy feeling welled up in me, and I almost smiled, picturing Adrian's face when he heard about his new place. â€Å"There's just one more thing I don't understand,† remarked Stanton. â€Å"When we investigated the apartment, we saw some fire damage. But none of you who were there reported any.† I put on a contrived frown. â€Å"Honestly†¦ so much of it's a blur with the blood loss and the biting†¦ I'm not really sure. Keith had some candles. I don't know if one got lit†¦ or I don't know. All I keep thinking about is those teeth and how terrible it was when I was bit – â€Å" â€Å"Yes, yes,† said Stanton. My excuse was flimsy, but even she wasn't entirely impervious to the thought of being fed on by a vampire. It was pretty much an Alchemist's worse nightmare, and I was entitled to my trauma. â€Å"Well, don't worry about it. That fire is the least of our worries.† It wasn't the least of my worries. And when I got back to campus later that day, I finally dealt with it and hunted Ms. Terwilliger down where she was working in one of the library offices. â€Å"You knew,† I said, shutting the door. All thoughts of student-teacher protocol vanished from my head. I'd been sitting on my anger for a week and could now finally let it out. I'd spent my life being taught to respect sources of authority, but now one of those had just betrayed me. â€Å"Everything you made me do†¦ copying those spell books, making that amulet ‘just to see what it was like'!† I shook my head. â€Å"It was all a lie. You knew†¦ you knew it was†¦ real.† Ms. Terwilliger took off her glasses and peered at me carefully. â€Å"Ah, so I take it you tried it?† â€Å"How could you do that to me?† I exclaimed. â€Å"You have no idea how I feel about magic and the supernatural!† â€Å"Oh,† she said dryly. â€Å"I do actually. I know all about your organization.† She tapped her cheek, mirroring the one my tattoo was on. â€Å"I know why your ‘sister' is excused from outdoor activities and why your ‘brother' excels in sports. I'm very informed about the various forces at work in our world, those hidden from most human eyes. Don't worry, my dear. I'm certainly not going to tell anyone. Vampires aren't my concern.† â€Å"Why?† I asked, deciding not to acknowledge her outing everything I strove to keep secret. â€Å"Why me? Why did you make me do that – especially if you claim you know how I feel?† â€Å"Mmm†¦ a couple of reasons. Vampires, as you know, wield a sort of internal magic. They connect with the elements on a very basic, almost effortless level. Humans, however, have no such connection.† â€Å"Humans aren't supposed to use magic,† I said coldly. â€Å"You made me do something that violated my beliefs.† â€Å"For humans to do magic,† she continued, as though I hadn't spoken, â€Å"we must wrest it from the world. It doesn't come so easily. Sure, vampires use spells and ingredients occasionally, but nothing like what we must do. Their magic goes from the inside out. Ours comes from the outside in. It takes so much effort, so much concentration and exact calculation†¦ well, most humans don't have the patience or skill. But someone like you? You've been grilled in those painstaking techniques since the time you could talk.† â€Å"So that's all it takes to use magic? An ability to organize and measure?† I didn't bother hiding my scorn. â€Å"Of course not.† She laughed. â€Å"There is a certain natural talent needed as well. An instinct that combines with discipline. I sensed it in you. You see, I have some proficiency myself. It gives me coven status but is still relatively small. You? I can feel a wellspring of power in you, and my little experiment proved as much.† I felt cold all over. â€Å"That's a lie,† I said. â€Å"Vampires use magic. Not humans. Not me.† â€Å"That amulet didn't light itself on fire,† she said. â€Å"Don't deny what you are. And now that we've determined as much, we can move on. Your innate power might be greater than mine, but I can get you started in basic magical training.† I couldn't believe I was hearing this. It wasn't real. It was like something from a movie because no way was this my life. â€Å"No,† I exclaimed. â€Å"You're†¦ you're crazy! Magic's not real, and I don't have any! It's unnatural and wrong. I won't endanger my soul.† â€Å"So much denial for such a good scientist,† she mused. â€Å"I'm serious,† I said, barely recognizing my own voice. â€Å"I want nothing to do with your occult studies. I'm happy to go on taking notes and buying you coffee, but if you keep making these kinds of crazy statement and demands†¦ I'll go to the office and demand to be switched to another teacher. Believe me, when it comes to working bureaucracy and administrative staff, that is something I have innate power in.† She almost smiled, but then it faded. â€Å"You mean that. You'd really reject this amazing potential – this discovery – that you have?† I didn't answer. â€Å"So be it.† She sighed. â€Å"It's a loss. And a waste. But you have my word that I won't bring it up again unless you do.† â€Å"That,† I said vehemently, â€Å"is not going to happen.† Ms. Terwilliger merely shrugged by way of answer. â€Å"Well, then. Since you're here, you might as well go get me some coffee.† I moved toward the door and then thought of something. â€Å"Were you the one calling Nevermore and asking about vampires?† â€Å"Why in the world would I do that?† she asked. â€Å"I already know where to find them.† Great, I thought. Another mystery. I made it to the cafeteria later that day just as Eddie, Jill, and Micah were finishing dinner. Jill was understandably having a difficult time adjusting to Lee's death and all the revelations we'd uncovered – including his desire to make her his undead queen. Both Eddie and I had talked to her as much as we could, but Micah seemed to have the greatest soothing effect on her. I think it was because he never openly addressed the topic. He knew Lee had died but thought it was an accident and naturally knew none of the vampiric connections. While Eddie and I constantly tried our hand at being amateur psychologists, Micah simply tried to distract her and make her happy. â€Å"We have to go,† he said apologetically when I sat down. â€Å"Rachel Walker is going to give us a lesson on one of the sewing machines.† Eddie shook his head at him. â€Å"I still don't know why you signed up for sewing club.† That wasn't true, of course. We both knew exactly why Micah had joined. Jill's face wore the grave look it had had since Lee's death – a look she would carry for a while, I suspected – but the ghost of a smile flickered over her lips. â€Å"I think Micah has the makings of a real fashion designer. Maybe I'll walk in his show one day.† I shook my head, hiding my own smile. â€Å"No modeling of any kind, not for a while.† After the show, Lia and other designers had gotten in touch, all wanting to work with Jill again. We'd had to refuse in order to protect her identity here, but it had made Jill sad to have to do it. Jill nodded. â€Å"I know, I know.† She stood up with Micah. â€Å"I'll see you back in our room later, Sydney. I'd like to talk some more.† I nodded. â€Å"Absolutely.† Eddie and I watched them hurry off. I sighed. â€Å"That's going to be a problem,† I told him. â€Å"Maybe,† he agreed. â€Å"But she knows what she can and can't do with him. She's smart. She'll be responsible.† â€Å"But he doesn't know,† I said. â€Å"I feel like Micah's fallen for her too much already.† I eyed Eddie carefully. â€Å"Among other people.† Eddie was still watching Micah and Jill, so it took him a moment to pick up on my meaning. He jerked his gaze back to me. â€Å"Huh?† â€Å"Eddie, I'm not going to claim to be any expert in romance, but even I can tell that you're crazy about Jill.† He promptly looked away, though his flush betrayed him. â€Å"That's not true.† â€Å"I've seen it all along, but it wasn't until that night at Keith's that I really understood what I was seeing. I saw how you looked at her. I know how you feel about her. So, what I want to know is: how come we have to keep worrying about Micah at all? Why aren't you just asking her out and saving us all a lot of trouble?† â€Å"Because she's my sister,† he said wryly. â€Å"Eddie! I'm serious.† He made a face, took a deep breath, and then turned back toward me. â€Å"Because she can do better than me. You want to talk about social rules? Well, where we come from, Moroi and dhampirs don't have serious relationships.† â€Å"Yeah, but that's like a class thing,† I said. â€Å"It's not quite the same as humans and vampires.† â€Å"Maybe not, but with her, it might as well be. She's not just any Moroi. She's royal. A princess. And you've seen how she is! Smart and strong and beautiful. She's destined for great things, and one of them isn't being involved with a controversial guardian like me. Her bloodline's regal. Hell, I don't even know who my dad is. Dating her is not even possible. My job is to protect her. To keep her safe. That's where all my attention needs to be.† â€Å"And so you think she deserves being with a human instead?† I asked incredulously. â€Å"Dancing the line of a taboo upheld by both our races?† â€Å"It's not ideal,† he admitted. â€Å"But she can still have a fun social life and – â€Å" â€Å"What if it was another guy?† I interrupted. â€Å"What if some other human asked her out, and they simply went on a casual date? Would you be okay with that?† He didn't answer, and I knew my hunch was correct. â€Å"This is about more than you not feeling worthy of Jill,† I said. â€Å"This is about Micah too, isn't it? About how he reminds you of Mason.† Eddie blanched. â€Å"How do you know about that?† â€Å"Adrian told me.† â€Å"Damn him,† said Eddie. â€Å"Why can't he be as oblivious as he pretends?† I smiled at that. â€Å"You don't owe Micah anything. You certainly don't owe him Jill. He's not Mason, no matter how much they look alike.† â€Å"It's more than looks,† said Eddie, growing pensive. â€Å"It's the way they act too. Micah's the same – outgoing, optimistic, excited. That's how Mason was. There are too few people like that in the world: people who are genuinely good. Mason was taken away from the world too soon. I won't let that happen to Micah.† â€Å"Micah's not in danger,† I said gently. â€Å"But he deserves good things. And even if he's human, he's still one of the best matches I know of for Jill. They deserve each other. They both deserve good things.† â€Å"And so, you're going to let yourself suffer as a result? Because you're so in love with Jill and convinced that she deserves some prince that you aren't? And because you feel it's your duty to support all the Masons in the world?† I shook my head. â€Å"Eddie, that's crazy. Even you have to see that.† â€Å"Maybe,† he admitted. â€Å"But I feel like it's the right thing to do.† â€Å"Right? It's the masochistic thing to do! You're encouraging the girl you want to be with one of your best friends.† â€Å"I want her to be happy. It's worth sacrificing myself.† â€Å"It makes no sense.† Eddie gave me a small smile and a gentle pat on the arm before turning toward an approaching shuttle bus. â€Å"Remember when you said you were no expert in romance? Well, you were right.†