Amazon.com Operational strategy Essay

AQuestion 2: What are Amazon.com’s competitive priorities and what should its operation strategy focus on? Competitive priorities: – Keep the position of market leader. – Maintain the fast delivery. – Low price focus – User friendly website. Operational strategy: Promote the website, especially in this time of the year, during the holidays. People will be reminded of the website, and maybe visit the website because of the promotion. When the visitors are on amazon.com, they must experience a nice shopping-environment. This can be done by constantly improving the website’s user friendliness, this can be done by improving the search engine for example. Or something as easy as changing some colors to match the season. Question 4: FedEx built its business on quick, dependable delivery of items being shipped by air from one business to another. Its early advantages included global tracking of shipments using Web technology. The advancement of Internet technology enabled competitors to become much more sophisticated in order tracking. In addition, the advent of Web-based businesses put pressure on increased ground transportation deliveries. Explain how this change in the environment has affected FedEx’s operations strategy, especially relative to UPS, which has a strong hold on the business-to-consumer ground delivery business. Because FedEx lost their initial competitive advantage (UPS became a threat as they were able to deliver large volume of shipments because of the advanced Internet technology as well), they had to come up with new  operations strategies to remain competitive: – FedEx Ground – FedEx Home FedEx now focuses on low-cost operations and dependable delivery, to gain a new competitive advantage. Question 6: Although all nine of the competitive priorities discussed in this chapter are relevant to a company’s success in the marketplace, explain why a company should not necessarily try to excel in all of them. What determines the choice of the competitive priorities that a company should emphasize for its key processes? It really depends on the specific market you are operating in as a company. The company should focus on the most marketable assets by implementing demographics and forecasting future opportunities. Top quality may influence the development speed and low cost operations could conflict with your volume flexibility. BChad’s Creative Concepts started as a small company producing custom made wooden furniture. Business was good, and Chad Thomas decided to expand his business. Now, Chad added a standard line of furniture to his business. The priority is still on the custom made furniture, therefore the standard line is put on the second place, leading to unfinished products and a big inventory. Question 1: What types of decisions must Chad Thomas make daily for his company’s operations to run effectively? Over the long run? Chad has to make operational decisions. In the long run, these decisions are Strategic decisions. Question 2: How did sales and marketing affect operations when they began to sell standard pieces to retail outlet? By changing to selling standard pieces in retail outlets next to the custom pieces, Chad has start promoting his business, because now there are serious competitors, which are easily reached by the customer. The whole production process changed, because now standard pieces are produced in the factory as well. Question 3: How has the move to producing standard furniture affected the company’s financial structure? The sales of the standard line are increasing steadily, but still the most dollars of the sales come from the custom made pieces. However, the financial situation is not optimal, because lots of dollars are spend on inventory. Question 4: What might Chad Thomas have done differently to avoid some of the problems he now faces? Thomas could make a second factory, focused on only producing standard pieces. By doing this, he can terminate the problem of priorities. So, by doing this, he can decrease the inventory. Extra questions Question 1: Explain the competitive priorities for both product lines (customized furniture and standard furniture) The priority of the company is the department of the customized furniture. But with both departments, there are different priorities. For customized furniture, the priority is to create a creative design, with the highest quality possible. For the standard furniture, the priority is deliver on time and a good price-quality ratio. Question 2: Identify the OPP (Order Penetration Point) of each productlines The OPP for the custom made pieces of furniture is the moment Chad’s staff start working on a project. The whole project is specifically made for one customer from the beginning. The OPP for the Standard pieces is the moment  that a customer buys the (already fully assembled) product. At that moment in time, the pieces are for that specific customer. Question 3: Which flow strategy would be the most effective for each of the product lines? For the custom made pieces flexible is the best strategy. This focuses on individual pieces. For the standard pieces, the line strategy is the best strategy. This strategy focuses on the whole line, not on individual pieces. Question 4: What would you advice Chad’s to do to solve the current problems? We would advise Chad to start a second factory. The current factory should be used for only the custom pieces. The new factory can be used for the standard pieces. With the two production processes separated, you can eliminate the problem of priority. Discussion questions 1It ´s a job process, a process with the flexibility needed to produce a wide variety of products in significant quantities. With considerable complexity and divergence in the steps performed. We think it ´s easy to have high customer contact with internal customers, because internal customers are closer to the company. 2This sign implicates that the employees do not have any word in the company. Some customers could think that the employees are not good in performing their job, without any responsibility. Next to this, the employees could feel like they are not important to the company. So this sign works in a bad way. Furthermore, the sign implicates that the employees are very limited in their actions, and furthermore, this leads to low customer contact. This sign is exactly the opposite of how the employees at Ritz Carlton work. Employees at this hotel have all the resources and responsibilities a man can have. Stories go round that hotel managers fly in products from other  countries, just for customer satisfaction. In this case, with the sign, the employees ´ hands are tied, and by this, customer satisfaction is not at its maximum. CQuestion 3: How do the process strategies of eBay and McDonald’s differ and how do their choices relate to customer-introduced variability? eBay (mass customization) McDonald’s (repetitive focus) eBay customers are less involved regarding the variability. They offer many different products for many different interests, and the customer basically buys whatever he or she wants: low involvement. McDonald’s on the other hand wants to know more specifically, what their customers want as they have less products to offer and are able to change their product line more often during the year. Lately, McDonald’s organised a contest where the customer could compose their ideal hamburger. The winning hamburger is now being sold for a set time period. Question 4: Medical technology can outfit a patient with an artificial heart, or cure vision defects with the touch of a laser. However, hospitals still struggle with their back-office processes, such as getting X-ray files from radiology on the fourth floor to the first-floor view boxes in the emergency room without having to send a runner. More than 30 percent of the estimated 30 billion health transactions each year are conducted by phone, fax or mail. To what extent, and how, can information technology improve productivity and quality for such processes? Remember that some doctors are not ready to give up their pads and pencils, and many hospitals have strong lines drawn around its departments, such as pharmacy, cardiology, radiology ad paediatrics. Basically, information technology cannot only improve productivity and quality, but thinking more practically, it could save lives as all medical systems in a hospital work through faster and more advanced technologies. Understandably, it has to be 100 percent reliable and feasible and that’s  probably the current reason for some doctors, mentioned in the question, to keep working in an old-fashioned way that is – for them – safer and more reliable, but probably not as fast as up to date advanced information technologies available. Question 5: Consider the range of processes in the financial services industry. What position on the customer-contact matrix would the process of selling financial services to municipalities (1) occupy? The process of preparing monthly fund balance reports (2)? Explain why they would differ. 1. Front/Hybrid office 2. Back office The first process requires some interaction to high interaction with the customer (municipality). It lies somewhere in the middle, as you’re not working with individual clients (which require high interaction) but a client (municipality) that needs regular updates and interaction on the process. Preparing monthly fund balance reports is a continued routine process that requires low to none interaction and is the same with all customers.

Kotler Mkting Management Chapter 13

Designing and Managing Services Discussion Questions 1. How do we define and classify services? 2. How do services differ from goods? 3. How can we achieve excellence in marketing services ? 4. How can we improve service quality? 5. How can goods marketers improve customer service? Slide 2 of 29 The Nature of Services 2008 – 2018 Loss of 1. 2 million jobs 2008 – 2018 Gain of 14. 6 million jobs Slide 3 of 29 Service An act or performance one party can offer to another that is mostly intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Slide 4 of 29 Categories of Service Mix Mix of goods & services Pure Tangible Good Hybrid Pure ServiceSoap Cell phone Babysitting Slide 5 of 29 Service Characteristics Intangibility Variability Perishability Empty seats Inseparability Slide 6 of 29 Intangibility Create tangible elements †¢ Place †¢ People †¢ Equipment †¢ Communication material †¢ Symbols †¢ Price Slide 7 of 29 Inseparability Work Faster Add More Service Providers Work with Larger Groups Slide 8 of 29 Variability Offer Guarantees Monitor Satisfaction Good Hiring and Training Slide 9 of 29 Overnight Hotel Stay Blueprint Slide 10 of 29 Perishability Empty seats Nonpeak Demand Complementary Services Reservation Systems Differential Pricing Slide 11 of 29 New Services RealitiesCustomer Empowerment Satisfying Employees Customer Co-production Slide 12 of 29 Root Cause of Customer Failure Slide 13 of 29 What Customers Want from Providers Knowledgeable employees Address needs on first contact Treat me like a valued customer 65% 64% 62% 54% 49% 49% 45% 43% 38% Demonstrates desire to meet my needs Can quickly access information Good value for the money Courteous employees Is a company/brand I can trust Treats me fairly Provides relevant/personalized service 0% 10% 20% 30% 31% 40% 50% 60% 70% Slide 14 of 29 Determinants of Service Quality Reliability Tangibles Responsive Empathy Assurance Slide 15 of 29

Anatole Broyard

Despite the fact that Anatole Broyard never did write that novel he was paid for, his life is that of a man of literature, and not only because he was a critic. Lucky are those who know for a fact that one's position in life is static and unchangeable, that they have a place in the scheme of life. As Broyard's life shows, those who deal every day with the construction of reality know very well the nature of this: it is an illusion. A mere construct, which depends mostly upon our own actions and words.But Broyard recognizes the awesome power of these constructs, and the fact that by the choice of construct is equivalent to the choice of destiny. Broyard's story is precisely the story of such a choice. His father first gave him the idea that social identity is only a matter of words, and the son picked up on this and made his own life into a work of fiction. It had been a long and tedious job, more so than writing any novel – but he succeeded with great effect.It seems to me tha t this happened in a large part because Broyard understood that if he did not want to live this lie, he would have to live a socially reinforced lie. He didn't want to be Black (and possibly Proud of It), but rather he just wanted to live. It is a very understandable desire: to be judged by the measure of one's skills and not by the topics one raises. The only other way to avoid this would be to find a different job, where one is judged not so much by the words one speaks but by one's actions – and yet this was not an option, as Broyard loved writing.In the case of a public person, of one who speaks for a living, to construct a different social identity was the only way out for someone who did not want to deal with the issue of minorities for the rest of his life. Naturally, it is the most ironic thing that when faced with a real topic to write, Broyard was unable to do it, because it would mean undoing the legend he had been writing all of his life.This is the point where he went from using his own construct to being trapped by it. A predictable fate, but not necessarily a bad one. The question, in the end, is one of priority. Broyard lived a life that was mostly free from outside stereotyping, much more so than if he had admitted his heritage. However, this cost him a great amount of psychological strain. It is difficult to call him a happy man – but possibly happier than if he chose any other road.

Gender. media and diversity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gender. media and diversity - Assignment Example Therefore, identity is an act of performance where individuals adopt certain behavioral habits, and perform them to a niche group of audiences (Farrell 39). Similarly, the readings liken the social element of gender to identity. As opposed to being biologically determined, gender is considerably regarded to as a performance. In this case, repetitive practice of habits reserved for a specific gender invariably amounts to construction of an underlying gender. Therefore, feminine and masculine genders can be socially constructed by anyone, regardless of an individual’s biological sexuality. Primarily, social construction of gender implies that feminine qualities are not necessarily associated with being sexually female, while masculine qualities are not necessarily reserved for male persons. In essence, biological sexuality is natural whereas gender is culturally defined. In American societies, the aspect of gender is used to assign roles to men and women. For example, American societies perceive women as being physically and mentally weak, while their male counterparts are physically and mentally strong. As a result, mental and physical weaknesses are attributes reserved for the feminine gender, while strength is reserved for the masculine gender (Julie and Smith 155). Whenever men display weak mental and emotional composures like crying, they are criticized by the society as possessing feminine qualities. In this case, the performance of displaying weak emotions is used to construct the feminine gender, while performances related to display of strong emotional and ph ysical attributes is used to construct the masculine gender. Therefore, categorization of masculinity and femininity has less to do with biological sexuality, and more to do with social and cultural contexts. Undeniably, media plays a significant role in construction of gender in societies today. For example,

The Ideas of the Preamble Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Ideas of the Preamble - Essay Example The framers had a problem with the assignment of all the powers to one person or branch. They never wanted the happenings of Great Britain to befall them. They needed all the people under the United States to be united into one big nation, hence promoting overall loyalty (Bomboy 135). Establishing Justice Justice to Bomboy (136) entails treating all people equally and with the respect that they deserve. Each individual’s human rights should be clearly spelt out and respected accordingly. In the articles this issue was not well spelt out and many individuals found themselves being treated with bias as compared to others. In a just society, it does not matter where you come from, what you do or your race as all individuals should be treated with equal measure. The article seemed to allow racial segregation in some way, a practice that is full of injustice. The United States’ comprise of people drawn from many races, thus, without clearly condemning racism, the society wou ld be full of injustice (Bomboy 137). This was the reason why the framers saw the need to stress the importance of justice in a society. Insuring Domestic Tranquility Tranquil means calm while domestic refers to home. By stating that the US people need domestic tranquility, it meant that they desired calmness from within the nation (Bomboy 138). Before passing the constitution, the United States had no domestic tranquility. In particular, during the Shay’s Rebellion the congress was driven out of Philadelphia city by the army of its own. This could have been the result of people’s dissatisfaction on how the state was being ruled. The activities taking place during the time depended purely on the congress’ decision. The decisions of the congress were absolute and the people were not given a chance to contribute to the issues of governance. Bomboy (138) asserts this was the reason why the framers started the preamble by saying that, â€Å"We the people†¦Ã¢â‚ ¬  meaning they desired their government to be ruled by the people. Provide For the Common Defense This ideal sought to put emphasis on having united defense rather than divided one. The framers saw it good to have a single defense protecting all the United States instead of each single state setting up its own defense (Bomboy 140). They thought that having a common defense would promote the overall unity among the United States as compared to leaving each state with the responsibility of protecting its own territory. The articles which the US used to govern its people before the adoption of the constitution did not emphasize the importance of having a common defense. They left each state with this responsibility exposing the states to numerous conflicts as they struggled to protect their territories (Bomboy 140). Having a common defense will hold all the United States answerable to one government, consequently reducing conflicts since all territorial issues will be handled by a si ngle party. Promote the general welfare Bomboy (143) defines welfare as the general well being of the people especially in aspects like: happiness, prosperity and fortune. It entails people having social, health, economic and psychological good. The general good as stated in the constitution preamble, refers to the promotion of people’s general well being by the government. This can be done through the provision of good infrastructural facilities, quality education, making healthcare

Relevant career Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Relevant career - Essay Example I think the most theory that appeals to me and I found interest in week 2 is utilitarianism, which maximizes the power of happiness. Utilitarianism is theory, which lead to the proper action as maximizing benefit and reducing the negatives. Furthermore, utilitarianism is not limited to the happiness caused by single actions but also contain the happiness of all the people that involved and the future consequences. Also, in week 2 I learnt about Bentham’s utilitarianism which is about the human’s feeling or basic emotions. Humans are more likely looking for happiness rather than suffering from problems. According to Bentham’s utility can be found in every single thing that contribute to the happiness, which is really good. In my opinion utilitarianism has many interesting points that can be used in most of the aspect of life. One of the most common criticism of utilitarian ethics is the perspective that â€Å"the end justify the means†. Since utilitarian theory aims to maximize the benefit of happiness and reducing negatives in its objective, the theory holds that the means or the way to achieve it is justifiable. Other theorist however misused and misunderstood this that an ideal end or objective is enough to justify a less than ideal means. Citing as an example in business, we can take the idea of profit to be able to give more to employees and its shareholders. As a business organization, it is only but natural that a business would like to keep its shareholders happy by giving higher returns and to give bonuses and higher wages to its employees so that they will become happy and be more productive. Taking the theory of utilitarianism to the extreme, it could mean that using any available means to increase profit including illegal means such as manipulating financial manipulating financial stat ements to make the company look profitable and increase its stock valuation in

Statistical Analysis in Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Statistical Analysis in Nursing - Essay Example 2.Non parametric tests like Chi square tests and Fischer’s test (as used in this study) are used when the sample size is small and does not represent the population in totality and also when the variables are ordinal, nominal and discrete variables( variables which cannot be measured and even if measured cannot be extrapolated to decimal places). Chi square value evaluates the association or independence between the two variables. If the probability value (p value) for null hypothesis for a particular value of chi square exceeds the critical chi square value then it is inferred that the two variables are not independent and the two variables are significantly associated with each other. ... ean importance values for each factor for the group of 21 nurses studied which were likely to influence decision making patterns were- future health status, 39%; family input, 19%; person's age, 13%; extra cost to agency, 12%; functional status, 10%; and mental competence, 6%. There were three other decision-making patterns, each exhibited by one nurse: One nurse relied heavily on mental competence (43%) and person's age (52%), another emphasized mental competence (43%) and functional status (29%), and the third used extra cost to agency (66%) supplemented by person's age (18%) for treatment of ID. Nurse's work site, age, education, and years of experience did not discriminate among these decision making patterns in this small pilot study sample.(These factors were not associated or correlated with decision making ) 3. Parametric tests like Student’s t test and ANOVA wee not suitable for this study as because the variables in question were not quantitative variables(measuremen t variables) and also because the sample size was too small. 4. The strengths of the study was rather than a prescriptive or normative perspective on decision making the method revealed how actually a decision making happens in a real life simulated situation. The measurements were appropriate in relation to chi square, Pearson’s r and Fischer’s test considering small and non-representative sample of the total population. The study design included all the appropriate variables that could have affected decision making process. The limitations were the sample size which needed to be more to have a correct extrapolation to the ID population treated at the ED on totality. Real-world decision making may depart from what was found in this study because simulation provides only an approximation of

Article Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Article Summary - Essay Example Combining these two entities would in fact enable easier analysis of cross-channels due to internal data sharing. Integration of email and Facebook increases the likelihood of reaching the target audience. This integration can be either through creation of email opt-tabs in the Facebook account or by adding a Facebook â€Å"like† request in email messages. A social login that operates through a single click into the individuals website that contain information from social networks such as Facebook can also be used to facilitate the conversion of email opt-in tabs. Such social logins could provide necessary information such as email address or other contact modes. A study has also concluded that this is now the most preferred method as compared to filling tiring registration forms. Such integration of services can also be used to test cross-channel data such as time of the day or day of the week. Metrics used in email operations such as open rate and clickthrough can be applied to posting schedules on Facebook and similarly the interactive windows of Facebook should be incorporated into sending windows of emails. Winning email subject lines and Facebook ads can also be exchanged. Additionally, images having a high clickthrough rate in emails and those which have increased interactive rates on Facebook can be interchanged. In conclusion, the article also stresses that a single editorial calendar could be used by marketers in order to promote action calls in both the channels. By and large the article lays emphasis on breaking the silos of an organization as it only serves to hinder its progress in the current global environment. Kirkpatrick, D. (2013). MarketingSherpa Email Summit 2013: Social Media is email with fresh paint. MarketingSherpa Blog. Retrieved 23 March, 2013, from

EMBA 560 Executive position week 1 discussion 1 Essay

EMBA 560 Executive position week 1 discussion 1 - Essay Example Not too long afterward, traditional consensus shifted from the belief of a predestined leader to the idea that there were natural-born leaders – that is, individuals who have the natural traits that are associated with good leaders. The concept of ‘leadership’ shifted at this point, from the view that leaders were great people who defended their people during wartime, to the concept of leaders who competently acted as stewards of their people. Leaders were thought to be virtuous, gifted, and had a charismatic appeal that won over people’s loyalty and adulation. The problem with the leadership traits theory is that the good leader eventually was though to possess all the possible positive qualities (and none of the negative qualities), which is an impossible proposition (Ledlow & Coppola, 2010). With the coming of scientific management, it became generally accepted that leaders can be trained and developed. This is the skills approach, indicating that people who are trained at leadership skills (technical, human relations, and conceptual) can become good leaders. Simultaneous with this is the leadership style theory, which categorizes a leader as autocratic, democratic, charismatic, bureaucratic, laissez-faire, and a host of other styles. While leadership skills are the capabilities with which an individual functions in the duties of leadership, leadership styles pertains to how the leader relates to his followers. Insofar as ‘skills’ are viewed as talents, then it may be said that talents help make a leader, although not to the exclusion of other factors. More recently, leadership has been viewed as falling into two general categories – transactional and transformational. A transactional leader deals with followers on a transaction basis, that is, if the follower does what is expected, he gets a reward. A transformational leader, though, brings lasting change to his followers so that they are motivated to perform a ccording to expectation. References: Bass, B M & Bass, R (2009) The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, and Managerial Applications, Fourth edition. New York, NY: Free Press, Simon & Schuster, Inc. Ledlow, G R & Coppola, M N (2010) Leadership for Health Professionals: Theory, Skills and Applications. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc Waite, M R (2008) Fire Service Leadership: Theories and Practices. International Association of Fire Chiefs. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc. 2. In your opinion and experience, what do you believe to be the most important role / duty of an executive. Off the cuff, I (and many others, I would imagine) would feel that the most important role of an executive would be to reach the goal (of the organization) and to maintain the peace. Ultimately, that is the goal of all leaders, particularly in the matter of attaining the objective. That would be fine in the case of short-term projects, where there is a singular objec tive, a definite start and end, and a fixed lifespan. In a continuing undertaking, however, the objective is recurring and people in the organization are made to work together over a long – theoretically an infinite – period of time. In this case, leadership takes on a more profound role, that of motivator for his many followers. From my experience, the best way for a leader to motivate his/her followers is not only to articulate a goal for them, but to provide them with a vision that they can assimilate in their

Hofstede Cultural Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hofstede Cultural Theory - Essay Example This is the way the top management treat their subordinates in the work place. The inequality treatment of the employees by the management creates a rift between the top management and low ranked employees. Employees are the source of ideas which might make the organization to be more competitive or avoid some risks and uncertainties that may face the organization. Power distance therefore, creates consultation barriers in case the employees have issues that they want to raise to the top management. The decisions are therefore, made by the top management without incorporating the decisions of the low ranked employees and this might bring about resistance in implementation of the proposal. Power distance can be overcome through open offices where employees are free to consult the top management on a certain issue that is of great concern to them. Team work can on the other hand, bring management closer to the employees as it is easier for employees to elect their leader who will take their grievances to the top management (Khastar et al, 2011, p.321) Collectivism is how people in a society or group in an organization feel as belonging to a group. On the other hand individualism is an aspect where each person acts as a single body without involving others. Top managements are prone to this culture where they exclude other people in the organization and act individually without the involvement of other members who also plays an important role in the success of the organization. This aspect demoralizes the other members of the society who feel left out in running the activities of the organization (Khastar et al, 2011). Masculinity versus feminity is a culture that treats different members depending on their sex. Top leaders create up gender disparities in awarding of chores in the organization. This aspect makes one gender to feel less respected an aspect that have an effect on their overall performance of the minority gender (Khastar et al, 2011, p.321). Lastly, uncertainty avoidance is how the organization is structured to deal with future risks. A culture of team work is one strategy that organization uses in order to come up with ways of fighting risks and uncertainties. Team work comes up with strategies and ideas which are important in shielding the organization from any risks that might occur in the future. Organization avoids uncertainty through insuring their employees and organizational structures against any risks. This gives the employees morale to work harder as they are certain about their future (Khastar et al, 2011, p.321) Hofstede theory has brought changes in the organization through bringing gender balance in the organization. Many organizations have eradicated any practices that could bring gender imbalance. Some of these practices start direct from advertising the vacancies in the organization. The organizations have also ensured that the advertisements are gender neutral so as to give all interested applicants an opport unity to try their luck. In the interview level, questions that are asked by the panel are neutral so as not to discourage the minority gender. Countries have also adapted to the cultural model through putting up strategies to ensure that all genders are well represented in the organizations and institutions (Khastar et al, 2

Eeryday life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Eeryday life - Essay Example In my turn, I have wondered whether we could possibly even approach the ideal of rationality, and I believe that what is clear is that this task is far from being easy. After all, we, humans, have a too significant heritage of irrationality to live with and this is an integral part of our nature. As a demonstration of this may serve the great number of biases in human reasoning and decision making, when for instance due to the so-called 'confirmation bias' people tend to look for and believe only that which they already have a predisposition for, and ignore evidence for the contrary. Ironically, this type of bias is one of the main mechanisms that work to maintain the enormous popularity of horoscopes in our society despite the lack of scientific evidence for their validity, and is used for the promotion of such a chancy endeavour as lottery by overemphasising very slim possibility of winning and ignoring the real possibility of losing. Now, it is not surprising that the study of approaches to problem solving and thinking is that powerful tool which can help one efficiently employ ones ability for rational thinking and effective problem solving, and in the process understand how the general concepts and theories that study them apply to our everyday life that is rife with challenges such as the need for a person to deci

Courtroom Players Response Essay Example for Free

Courtroom Players Response Essay In the courtroom there is a group of key players that work together on a daily basis. They are made of a group of professionals. These professional are those who know all aspects of a criminal trial and they work together in performing the duties of the court. The courtroom work group is all of the professionals that participate in a court proceeding. They include the judge, prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, public defenders and any other individuals who earn a living by giving service to the court. These individuals act together with a common goal of bringing any and all court room proceedings to a successful close. Each of professional in the courtroom work group has its own duties. The prosecutor is responsible for presenting the states evidence and preparing the states case against the accused. It is up to the prosecuting attorney to determine which cases should be pursued and which to let the charges drop. The prosecutor makes these decisions based on a variety of criteria. They will look at the evidence against the accused, the crime itself, the history of the accused as well as many other factors. If the criteria where more strict which would end up in fewer cases being prosecuted, the court would be less crowded for time but there would be more criminals on the streets going unpunished. On the other hand if they were too loose, there would be a risk of more innocent people being charged with crimes they didnt commit and an already overtaxed court system becoming completely bogged down. I would not really recommend any changes in the court system that we have now. I understand it is not a perfect system but it is better than many and it has the right goals in mind. Reference: Schmalleger, F. (2011). Criminal justice today: An introductory text for the twenty-first century (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Prentice Hall.

Pros And Cons Of Capital Budgeting Measures Finance Essay

Pros And Cons Of Capital Budgeting Measures Finance Essay Capital budgeting refers to the process in which a firm determines whether a project or investment is worth pursuing. More often than not, the process involves a long term assessment of the cash inflow and outflows to determine if the returns generated meet the investment appraisal. The most common methods used are the net present value (NPV) where evaluation of the project is based on the amount by which its value is maximized. Other measures or tools used in decision making include: the internal rate of return (IRR), a version of the IRR known as the modified internal rate of return (MIRR), the discounted payback period (DPB), a profitability index method (PI) and the traditional payback method. Regardless of the demerits presented by each, most firms or financial managers tend to stick to a certain method of capital budgeting. This discourse explores each of the measure as they apply to real world process of project approval. The discourse comprehensively reviews and evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of each of these measures with regards to their effectiveness, project size and long term/ future returns. Based on review of recent literature in business related journals, the discussion primarily sought to determine which version of capital budgeting method is most suitable for big and small businesses. The findings of the discourse indicate that capital budgeting decision is a unique investment decision making tool to macro or micro enterprises and there is no one size fits all solution. As a matter of fact, certain methods of capital budgeting are identified with the level of project, size of firms and innovation levels. The discourse also established that while most chief executive officers or managers have distinct capital budgeting models, not all yield the same results for a company or even meet listed project or investment expectations. Introduction Capital budgeting involves a series of identifying, evaluating and implementing long term investment opportunities in a firm or business venture. Depending on the measure or technique employed, firms seek to identify investments that will increase their shareholder wealth. The decisions involved largely target or aim at assessing a project that demand large upfront investment coupled with a series of small cash inflows. The most commonly used measures of capital budgeting are NPV, IRR, MIRR and DPB methods. Distinct as they are in approach, each presents its strengths and weaknesses when it pertains to project evaluation or capital budgeting. Internal rate of return (IRR) According to recent budgetary surveys, the internal rate of return has received more preference for project evaluation than other techniques (Rousse, 2008, p. 2). The IRR presents analysts with an avenue through which rates of return are quantified in an investment and according to Kelleher MacCormack (2004, par. 4), managers opt to finance projects with high IRR based on their selection of the project value but at the same time destroy shareholder wealth in the investment. IRR can generate different values for the same project when future cash flows switch from negative to positive and back. More often than not, the IRR is expressed as a percentage thereby making small projects appear attractive and large ones great (Kelleher MacCormack, 2004, par. 4). As evident in most IRR projects, the general rule dictates that where the measure is greater than the opportunity cost of capital, all investments remain acceptable. Strengths and Weaknesses As one of the most commonly employed measures in capital budgeting, the IRR draws its popularity from the fact that it is based on a discounted cash flow. When used effectively, the IRR method provides viable or feasible options on a project value. On the flip side however, internal rate of return has numerous risks that outweigh its merits. The method is essentially inconsistent and exposes shareholders wealth at risks minimizing their objective (Rousse, 2008, p. 1). The IRR may exhibit multiple rates of return when cash flows shift from negative to positive multiple times (Kierulff, 2008, p. 327). If managers and analysts are to continue using IRR, then major adjustments are to be made over the measures critical assumption: that interim cash flows will be reinvested at the same high rates as the returns (Kelleher MacCormack, 2004, par. 5). Even more disturbing is the practice that practitioners frequently employ in interpreting the IRR; when computing the IRR, practitioners usuall y equate the measure with return on a given investment. Net present value (NPV) The net present value of a capital project or an investment is the aggregation of the present values of all benefits (in cash) by deducting the present value of all cash (Elumilade, Asaolu Ologunde, 2006, p. 145). The NPV basically involves evaluation of the amount by which the value of a given project is maximized. As the name suggests, the basic premise for the net present value is the assumption that monetary value of a currency today is worth more than its future value. According to Rudolf (2008, p. 1), the logic behind the premise is that present cash can be invested and generate interest. Profitability is determined by evaluating the return on the invested capital whose net present value is zero. Negative NPV implies that the project is not desirable while a positive NPV means the project is viable. Theoretically, all estimations made in the NPV involve measuring the projects future net cash flows such that they are discounted at appropriate cost of capital to procure their pr esent value (Elumilade et al., 2006, p 145). Strengths and Weaknesses The net present value method is effective for both the assessment of new investments and comparison of investment alternatives (Rudolf, 2008, p. 2); the investment with the higher NPV becomes a more viable alternative. Based on its additive process, the net present values of different investments with different discount rates can be added up. A notable strength of the NPV is that it recognizes the risks associated with future monetary value using the money concept. Another strength of the NPV method is that it is an arithmetically simple procedure that when computed presents easy interpretation as the capital value is expressed in monetary units. In addition, the NPV offers managers with the possibility of adapting the discount rates for different periods (Rudolf, 2008, p. 2). In line with the IRR, the net present value has several drawbacks much as it is popular in capital budgeting. For one thing, the NPV lacks visibility of a time frame on which a project is expected to generate positive values given the simplicity in calculations. While the NPVs basic premise is to accept all investment greater than zero, the measure is however not clear of when the positive values are achieved. In cases where a new project has higher risks than a companys cost of capital, its cash flow should be discounted at a higher rate to mirror that risk. But if they are, the reinvestment rate becomes detached from the cost of capital such that the investment rate for the new product introduction is way above the normal cost of capital (Kierulff, 2008, p. 323). Hypothetically, the NPV tends to generalize and assume that at any given time, the capital is always abundant and thereby no capital rationing. Supposing the resources are scarce, practitioners have to do some critical exa mination of not just the measure, but each and every available project and size of investment. Modified internal rate of return The modified internal rate of returns is a derivative of the IRR with the exclusion of the aforementioned drawbacks. Compared to the internal rate of return, it provides a more accurate percentage measure of financial attractiveness (Kierulff, 2008, p. 322). Based on existing literature, the MIRR method has not received much attention. Within a sample of 15 significant and highly respected finance textbooks, nearly all have ignored the MIRR (Kierulff, 2008, p. 322). Given the widespread use of NPV and IRR, financial institutions across the globe overlook the importance of the modified internal rate of return method. The main idea behind MIRR is simple computation that may seem challenging in practice because of the need to estimate reinvestment rates (Kierulff, 2008, p. 326). The modified IRR involves three basic procedures that when utilized effectively present the best measure of capital budgeting. The first step involves discounting investment funds committed to the project back to present at a rate that fairly reflects the investment risk. Two, with the exclusion of investment, the free cash flow is compounded forward within a time frame and a chosen reinvestment rate. It is worth noting that the reinvestment rate represents projected future opportunities with risks equal to investment risk. The final step involves calculation of the internal rate of return. Strengths and Weaknesses There are several reasons why firms should ditch the traditional IRR and embrace the modified version. While the former exudes rigidity in changing the reinvestment rate and assessing impacts, the MIRR function permits both a finance and reinvestment rate to be associated with the stream of cash outflows and inflows in investment evaluation (Block Bell, 2009, par. 14). Unlike the IRR or NPV, a company is able to tell whether an investment increases its value through MIRR. With MIRR, risks of future cash flows, time value of money and cash flows of the project are considered. Both NPV and IRR share significant drawbacks in that both of them have problems of size, timing and ranking. Moreover, NPV and IRR renders management locked into assumptions about how free cash flows will be reinvested by giving unrealistic view of investments actual potential (Kierulff, 2008, p. 328). Of the three, MIRR is the most effective considering its capability in dealing with the mentioned problems. Like the other decision tools, the modified internal rate of return has its share of weaknesses in capital budgeting. Some of the techniques in MIRR require adjustments for effective functioning in practice. For instance, the method requires an estimate of the cost of capital for one to make a decision and when used to compare mutually exclusive projects, the measure may fail to produce value-maximizing choices. Discounted payback method (DPB) The discounted payback method simply measures the period it takes to recover the initial investment using discounted cash flows. In DPB, projects with the shortest payback periods are ranked highest or considered the most viable. Unlike NPV, IRR and MIRR, the criterion used in discounted payback method centers more on profitability rather than liquidity. This method has many advantages over other measures. The discounted payback period is simple to understand and easy to compute. Additionally, the method offers a more conservative measure of the relative liquidity of an investment than the traditional payback method (Bhandari, 2009, p. 3). The DPB function allows for a better gauge of the economic breakeven point and can be interpreted as a period beyond which a project generates economic profit (Bhandari, 2009, p 3). Even so, the methods efficiency is reduced in cases where cash flows beyond it are overlooked. Another of its weakness is that it requires an estimate of the cost of ca pital for one to compute the payback and exudes a part whole bias in special cases such as assessing or valuing long term projects. Profitability Index (PI) Profitability index is also known as the cost-benefits ratio as it involves ratio of the present value of future cash benefits at the required rate of return to the initial cash outlay of an investment (Elumilade et al., 2006, p 146). The PI is another capital budgeting methods used by entrepreneurs in choosing among countless causes of action. The monetary cost of a project is ascertained and compared with its expected benefits in monetary term. The profitability index computes the present value of benefits to that of the cost such that when PI is greater than 1, the project is termed as acceptable. By comparison, the PI method is a slight modification of the NPV only that this time, the PI evaluates project using a return element. Its close relation with the net present value may lead to identical decisions in project evaluation. The PI method is easier to understand and tends to communicate more easily than the NPV. For firms initiating smaller or larger projects, the PI acts as an effective tool regardless of the project size. On the flipside however, the values obtained in profitability index may not be as accurate as the ones in IRR. Conclusion The survival, growth and development of a firm is heavily dependent on constant flow of ideas for new products and ways to make existing ones better. Capital budgeting is one of the most important factors in the process of corporate decision-making. The whole process of capital budgeting calls for a series of stages in which the project is evaluated and feasible options employed. For a firm to make rational decisions, specific objectives must be included to maximize profits with one eye on the projected long term return (Elumilade et al., 2006, p. 141). Identifying and evaluating possible projects and alternatives makes the all essence of capital budgeting and this fundamentally implies that a firm has to find a measure that is uniquely in congruence with its short term or long term objectives. The existent body of literature, primarily those included in this discourse, identify NPV and IRR as the most popularly used by firms. Whether this is a testament of their superiority in pract ice is still debatable as each of them has its own drawbacks. It is difficult to find one measure that would work for every organizations.

Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual Property Rights Intellectual Property Rights Intellectual property can be instrumental to the value of any business. The ability to protect a business or an individuals ideas, inventions and original processes is something that is considered essential to many establishments, particularly those that rely on innovative ideas and products as their unique selling point. Intellectual property rights span a wide range of situations and products, although the most common rights are designs, copyright, patents and trade marks. Each of these intellectual property rights aims to protect a different area of invention. Copyright protects works such as art or music; design protects the physical appearance of a product; trade marks protect the way in which a trader separates himself from his competitors; and patents protect the method by which a product is technically made up and functions. This latter category of intellectual property right can cause considerable difficulty to those applying for protection and those attempting to enforce existing rights. Technology and the associated functions are changing constantly and often being tweaked or altered to meet a new requirement. At what point does this become patentable and distinct from the original technology? This requirement to be innovative in some way is the subject of much debate. Determining when that extra step results in a new protectable technological item is the key to ensuring that the correct items are offered protection. Courts have grappled with the relevant issues in determining whether or not a patent should be protected and when an attack on validity should be successful. Throughout the years, various tests have been forwarded by the courts; however, consistency in relation to obviousness and the concept of novelty and invention have proved particularly troublesome and are often hotly debated in court proceedings. Elements of Patent Law Before determining the way in which the courts deal with the issues surrounding obviousness and novelty, it is first important to gain an understanding of what must be established in order to establish a valid patent, successfully. The basic definition of what is patentable is contained in Section 1(1) of the Patent Act 1977 (the Act). This Act states that in order to be patentable the invention must be new, must involve an inventive step and be capable of industrial application. The Act then goes on to consider each of these requirements, in more detail. Section 2 deals with the requirement that the invention is new. This requirement is commonly referred to as the novelty requirement. Section 2(1) states that for an invention to be novel or new it must not form part of the state of the art. Section 2(2) goes on to consider what state of the art actually encompasses. It defines state of the art as any matter (i.e. product, process, etc. ) that has previously been made available to the public by either a written or oral description. Simply put, if the invention has already been made available to the public, it is not going to be eligible for patent protection. When determining whether or not an invention is new or novel, the issue of whether or not it has been made available to the public will become central. The invention, in order to be considered in the public domain, must have been disclosed to at least one member of the public, who could if he wished use the information freely and the disclosure had to be sufficiently enabling. Sufficiently enabling means that the information contained must be such that someone who has a reasonable level of skill in the area to which the invention relates would be able to implement and make use of the disclosure. The disclosure must be in relation to one document (or one document with several others interlinked) and cannot simply be disclosure obtained from a mosaic of documents. There are exceptions to this rule in relation to disclosure that allow a patent still to be established where the disclosure has been made within six months of the patent application and has been done in confidence. Pulling these factors together, it is clear that the need for novelty insists on the patent being completely new and innovative. Although, based on the mosaic rule, the collection of previous documents and information to create a new invention will not be barred from receiving patent protection. The Issue of Novelty From looking at the above breakdown of what an individual has to prove in order to establish a valid patent, it is clear to see that the issue of novelty is central to most patent decisions. The Section 2 requirement for novelty contained in the Act is a corresponding provision of Articles 54 and 55 of the European Patents Convention (1973) (EPC). As a general rule, an invention is not novel if the amalgamation of features has already been anticipated in a previous disclosure. This point was considered in detail in the case of SmithKline Beecham Plcs Patent [2006] RPC 10. In this case, it was held that for there to have been that degree of anticipation, there must firstly have been a disclosure and there must secondly have been the element of enablement. That is, based on the disclosure, the suitably skilled individual receiving the details of the process would have been able to replicate the process disclosed. Pulling together both of these elements will allow the court to decide whether or not the patent before them is novel or not. Let us first consider the element of disclosure. When it comes to determining whether or not the specific invention has been previously disclosed, the question is not whether the prior disclosure was for an item of similar utility, i.e. it does not necessarily have to solve exactly the same problem as the current invention. In deciding this matter, courts have stated that in order to be a conflicting patent, the situation previously disclosed must be so close to the new invention that the utility gained by the new invention would be a practical certainty. This suggests that in order to establish a valid objection to a patent application on the basis of a prior disclosure, it would have to be shown that the prior invention was inextricably linked in terms of function to the new invention. Therefore, even if something similar has been previously disclosed, provided it is not close with the degree of inevitability that is required, the patent application will not necessarily fail on the basis of not being novel. A general disclosure of a possible process does not impact on the novelty of an invention; however, where there is a series of processes, each individual process could be the reason for a future patent application failing, due to lack of novelty. Secondly, there is the element of enablement. This means that whatever has been disclosed must be sufficient for a person, skilled in the relevant art, to copy or replicate the process or invention. This enablement provision should be thought of separately to the disclosure, as in the case of disclosure the information must be sufficient for a skilled individual to understand the disclosure. For the purpose of enablement, the skilled person must be capable of actually utilising or at least trying to utilise the relevant invention. When it comes to determining whether or not the invention is novel, therefore, several issues need to be considered. It is not simply a matter of determining if something similar has ever been made public. It must have been made public with sufficient clarity as to allow the invention to have been understood and put into effect by another third party. The patent, therefore, in order to gain protection, must offer a solution to a situation that has not been possible to achieve before and not simply a fanciful possibility of a solution given enough further experimentation. As stated in the case of General Tire Rubber Co. v Firestone Tyre Rubber Co. Ltd, the disclosure must contain clear and unmistakable directions to do what the patentee claims to have invented. Pharmaceutical Application The pharmaceutical industry as a whole has been one of the most litigated and dynamic areas in relation to the test of novelty. The recent case of Actavis UK Limited v Merck Co. Inc changed the way in which UK courts look at the test of novelty in relation to medical products. Prior to the Actavis case, it was thought that a new dosage or way of taking a particular drug could not be seen as novel; this has now been reversed by the Court of Appeal. In this case, it was held that a new regime for taking medicine could constitute a novel invention for the purpose of obtaining a valid patent. Furthermore, the court dealt with the issue of obviousness, stating that it had to be obvious at the date of priority, not before or after, to defeat the patent, on this basis. The leading case of Merrell Dow v. Norton and Penn, commonly referred to as the Terfenadine decision, held that when looking at a pharmaceutical process the definition of new had to be applied to the actual processes and not to a new result or outcome. In this case, it was held that although Merrell had discovered a new reaction from Terfenadine, it was not novel as the composition had previously been disclosed to the public (albeit not for that specific purpose). This produces an interesting position. Based on this judgment, it would seem that whether or not the process or invention produces a solution for a previously unsolvable issue is irrelevant; the issue is whether the actual matter itself has been disclosed. The focus of the test is on the physical items and not on the resulting outcome. Bearing this decision in mind and the way in which the courts have chosen to deal with pharmaceutical claims, it would seem impossible to conclude that the issue of patentability is based purely on finding a solution for a technical problem that could not be solved before. Obviousness This leads us on to consider how important the actual resulting process or invention is to the determination of whether or not it is patentable. Aside from the requirement of novelty, the process or invention must involve and innovative step. This has been interpreted to mean that the invention would not be obvious to someone skilled in the art when presented with the relevant matter. One of the ways in which this test has been interpreted is to consider whether or not it fills a gap in the market, thus becoming an immediate business success. If this is the case, it is more likely that the invention would be seen as non-obvious and, therefore, patentable. The requirement for this inventive step is contained in Section 3 of the Act. Deciding on what exactly is obvious and what is not has been a matter for the courts. In the case of Windsurfing International Inc. v Tabur Marine (Great Britain) Ltd, the main test for obviousness was laid down and remains the starting point for judges when deciding whether or not the invention is obvious. It was held that the court should take a four stage approach. Firstly, it should look at the inventive step itself in isolation, i.e. separating it from any supplementary aspects of the invention. Secondly, once the court is clear what the inventive step in question actually is, it should put itself in the position of the common person, skilled in the relevant art with the knowledge that was available at the date of priority. Thirdly, the court needs to consider the difference between what is known by the common man and what the invention professes to display. Finally, the court needs to determine whethe r the step between what is known and the invention would have been obvious to the common man. For example, in the case of Sabaf SpA v. MFI Furniture Centres Limited and others, the House of Lords considered the issue of whether the gas burner in question was obvious. In this case, the argument that Sabaf was presenting to the court was that its patent for a gas burner had been infringed. The respondents (MFI and others) claimed that they were using a new invention as it was, in fact, the combination of two inventions that had generated their specific gas burner. The crucial point here was that it was not possible to take two existing inventions and put them together to establish a new invention, where this new invention would be the obvious product of the two original inventions. The test for being obvious seems to be reasonably wide with the court requiring a definite inventive step and not simply a natural progression, even if the natural progression is novel. Conclusions The area of patent law and, in particular, determining whether or not an invention is novel and / or obvious is by no means clear. The courts take a very individual approach to each case as it is presented to them based on the individual facts. Despite this, it seems that both elements, i.e. novelty and obviousness, remain instrumental. It is not true to say that provided an invention is novel it does not matter whether or not it is obvious. The courts have widened their view of obviousness but not so far as to remove it entirely. Therefore, if the patent in front of the court fails the test of obviousness and a person skilled in that specific area could have also established the invention it would fail, regardless of how novel the invention turns out to be. Both tests must be suitably established in order to gain patent protection. Producing a solution to a problem is highly important to the decision, but it is not the only deciding factor. The issue of obviousness simply cannot be ignored. Bibliography (14 required) Bagley, Margo A. , Patent First, Ask Questions Later: Morality and Biotechnology in Patent Law, William and Mary Law Review, Vol. 45, 2003 Bainbridge, David I. , Intellectual Property, Pearson Education, 2006, Pages 374 407 Colston, Catherine, Principles of Intellectual Property Law, Cavendish Publishing, 1999, Pages 86 105 Cornish, William Rodolph, Vaver, D. , Bently, Lionel, Intellectual Property in the New Millennium: Essays in Honour of William R. Cornish, Cambridge University Press, 2004, Pages 91 95 Grubb, Philip W. , Patents for Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotechnology: Fundamentals of Global Law, Practice, and Strategy, Oxford University Press, 1999 Hodkinson, Keith, Protecting and Exploiting New Technology and Designs, Taylor Francis, 1988, Pages 32 71 Johnston, Josephine, Wasunna, Angela A. , Patents, Biomedical Research. And Treatments: Examining Concerns, Canvassing Solutions, The Hastings Center Report, Vol. 37, 2007 Karet, Novelty under English Law. Appeal in Merrell Dow v Norton 16(5) European Intellectual Property Review 204, 1994 Muir, Ian, Brandi-Dohrn, Matthias, Gruber, Stephan, European Patent Law: Law and Procedure under the EPC and PCT, Oxford University Press, 1999 Patterson, Mark R. , Contractual Expansion of the Scope of Patent Infringement through Field-of-Use Licensing, William and Mary Law Review, Vol. 49, 2007 Pressman, David, Patent It Yourself, Nolo, 2008, Pages 15 20 Taylor, Christopher Thomas, Silberston, Aubrey, The Economic Impact of the Patent System: A Study of the British Experience, CUP Archive, 1973, Pages 12 23 Thomas, John R. , Litigation beyond the Technological Frontier: Comparative Approaches to Multinational Patent Enforcement, Law and Policy in International Business, Vol. 27, 1996 White, The Novelty-Destroying Disclosure: Some Recent Decisions 9 European Intellectual Property Review 315, 1987

Australopithecus Afarensis :: essays papers

Australopithecus Afarensis The species A. afarensis is one of the better known australopithecines, with regards to the number of samples attributed to the species. From speculations about their close relatives, the gorilla and chimpanzee, A. afarensis’ probable social structure can be presumed. The species was named by Johanson and Taieb in 1973. This discovery of a skeleton lead to a heated debate over the validity of the species. The species eventually was accepted by most researchers as a new species of australopithecine and a likely candidate for a human ancestor. Australopithecus afarensis existed between 3.9 and 3.0 million years ago. The distinctive characteristics of A. afarensis were: a low forehead, a bony ridge over the eyes, a flat nose, no chin, more humanlike teeth, pelvis and leg bones resembled those of modern man. Females were smaller than males. Their sexual dimorphism was males:females; 1.5. A. afarensis was not as sexually dimorphic as gorillas, but more sexually dimorphic than humans or chimpanzees. A lot of scientists think that Australopithecus afarensis was partially adapted to climbing the trees, because the fingers and toe bones of the species were curved and longer than the ones of the modern human. A. afarensis is classified as an ape, not a human. It is a Hominid, which is an ape closely related to human beings. The first fossils of a skeleton were found at Hadar; a site in northeastern Ethiopia. The team named the skeleton â€Å"Lucy† after the Beatles song, â€Å"Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.† In terms of overall body size, brain size and skull shape, "Lucy" resembles a chimpanzee. However, A. afarensis has some surprisingly human characteristics. For example, the way the hip joint and pelvis articulate indicates that "Lucy" walked upright like a human, not like a chimp. This means that upright posture and bi-pedalism preceded the development of what we would recognize as human beings and human intelligence. All non-human primates sleep in the trees at night. So, it would seem to be that A. afarensis slept in trees also. Their skeletal structure agrees with their arboreal lifestyle. â€Å"The large premolars of A. afarensis suggests they were frugivores, and the thick enamel on the teeth suggests they may have eaten nuts, grains, or hard fruit pies† (Boyd and Silk, p.

Grendel Vs. Beowulf Essay -- Epic of Beowulf Essays

Grendel   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most compelling and highly developed characters in the novel Grendel, written by John Gardner, and the poem Beowulf, written by an anonymous poet, is the monster, Grendel. Even though these pieces show two different sides to Grendel they are similar in many ways. Grendel evokes sympathy toward the hideous monster by making him seem like the victim, while Beowulf portrays him as being the most loathsome of enemies. The reasons behind Grendel’s being, his killing, and finally his death make him one of the most controversial and infamous monsters in literature. Grendel is the man-killing monster that Beowulf portrayed him as being, yet he is also the lonely victim of a judgmental world. Grendel is a descendent of Cain and is forced to live with the inherited curse of being denied God’s presence. Cain’s lineage has been known to spawn monsters, trolls, giants, and other undesirable beings, all of which were rejected from society. Beowulf and Grendel both speak of Grendel’s ancestor Cain, almost as if using it as an excuse for his rash and murderous actions. Beowulf told of a Grendel that mercilessly attacked Hrothgar’s meadhall killing men without reason. Grendel also speaks of this evil monster, but in a more sympathetic and excusable manner. Grendel is thought of as “the guardian of sins'; and is the physical equivalent to a man that has been shunned by God. He is des...

Martin’s Luther King Jr. Strugle for Racial Segregation and Civil Rights Essay

Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most important figures within the fields of politics and non-violent activism of the 20th century. King was born on 15th of January 1929 in the city of Atlanta within the boundaries of the state of Georgia. Originally Martin Luther King Jr. as named after his father as Michael King, although his father who was also named after Michael King after visiting the Nazi Germany in order to attend the Fifth Baptist World Alliance Congress in Berlin he found himself been inspired by a German reformer called Martin Luther, so he decided to change both his name and his son’s name into Martin Luther King and Martin Luther King Jr. respectively. King was the middle child of the family having a younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams King and an older sister Willie Christine King. As a reference to his education he attended Booker T. Washington High school, also it is stated that he was a precocious student as he skipped two grades the ninth and the twelfth and entered Morehouse College at the early age of fifteen. He graduated College in 1948 and enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester which he graduated with a B. Div. degree in 1951. Meanwhile in 1953 he married Correta Scott and eventually became a father of four children Yolanda King, Martin Luther King III, Dexter Scott King, and Bernice King. Thereupon he became a pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery in 1954; he began his doctoral degree course in Systematic Theology at Boston University and graduated receiving his Ph. D. degree in 1955 with a dissertation on â€Å"A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman†. Although an academic observation which was held in 1991 concluded that parts of his dissertation were plagiarized but the committee decided that his degree shouldn’t be revoked. As a remark Martin Luther King Jr. was strongly influenced by religion (as it was natural, as been a Christian Minister since 1947) more specifically he was influenced by Jesus Christ and the Christian Gospels from which he frequently used quotes in his public speeches, he was also inspired from Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent activist action. In April of 1959 he made a desired for him as it was stated trip to India with the assistance of the American Friends Service Committee, it has to be mentioned that the trip affected King in a profound way and helped him deepen his knowledge and understanding in non-violent resistance and his commitment to the America’s struggle for civil rights, as he stated the last day of his trip to India in a local radio, King said: â€Å"Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of non-violent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity†. The â€Å"Fight† Against Segregation It all started back in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Claudette Colvin an African- American girl which in fact was under aged unmarried pregnant girl refused to give up her seat to a white man. At that point King was a member of the Birmingham African-American community and also a member of the committee which looked into the case but it was decided that they should wait for a better case to pursue. Their patience yielded. On December 1, 1955 an other African-American girl called Rosa Sparks also refused to give up her seat, back on that date the buses rows were â€Å"separated†, white people should seat on the front rows and the African-American people should seat on the back rows of the busses seats, as natural at some point the two â€Å"different† categories of passengers would meet. At that point the bus’s seats were all occupied and according to Jim Crow laws the following African-American passengers that would board on the bus were required to stand. It was exactly what they were waiting for, and soon after Rosa was arrested the Montgomery Bus Boycott broke out, it lasted 385 days. The whole Boycott issue turned out as a huge victory, although during the campaign a bombing attack was made against King’s house and he was also arrested. As a result the United States District Court in Browder v. Gayle case ended the racial segregation in all Montgomery public busses. After the Montgomery Bus Boycott King’s contribution to the result transformed him into a national figure and he was also off the record declared the best-known spokesman of the civil-rights movement. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Soon after the Montgomery lowdown King, Ralph Abernathy, and other civil rights activists founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The group was created in order to saddle the moral authority and organizing power of black churches to conduct non-violent protests in the service of civil rights reform, King led the SCLC until his death. In 1962 SCLC joins Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the Albany Movement which was stated to be the first major non-violent campaign of SCLC. The Albany movement was a desegregation movement which was formed by local activist organizations, the SNCC and the National Association for the Advanced of Colored People (NAACP). The movement’s leader was William G. Anderson. During the period of King’s involvement with the Albany movement he was arrested twice, once in a mass arrest on 15th December of 1961 and in July of 1962. Although it has to be mentioned that King had been criticized by SNCC, they’ve even given him a snide nickname â€Å"De Lawd†, because as they claimed he maintained a safe distance from challenges that had to deal with Jim Crow laws. Birmingham Campaign Soon after the incidents in Albany the Birmingham campaign came to light. Birmingham campaign was a movement organized by SCLC and led by Martin Luther King Jr. and others. In the spring of 1963 the operation of the Birmingham campaign was at its peak, including widely publicized controversies between black young people and white civic authorities and eventually led the municipal government to change the city’s discrimination laws. A fact that can’t remain unnoticed as during the early 60s Birmingham was one of the most racially divided cities in the United States. Ultimately Birmingham movement was defined as a model of direct action protest, as it effectively shut down the city through a boycott and a series of sit-ins and marches, and drew the world’s attention to racial segregation in the South. Also it is stated that it paved the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Great March on Washington After the Birmingham campaign the SCLC called for massive protests in Washington DC to push for new civil rights legislation that would outlaw segregation nation-wide which turned to be an unparalleled success. The Great march on Washington claimed the title of one of the largest political rallies for human rights in the United State’s history, as the estimated number of participants varies from 200,000 to 300,000 and still remained non-violent, the 80% of the participants were estimated to be black and the rest were white and other non-black minorities. Also the city was swarmed by more than 2,000 buses, 21 special trains, 10 chartered aircrafts and uncountable personal vehicles. But the march was stigmatized by the King’s famous â€Å"I have a dream† speech. King began his speech with the emancipation of the slaves, issued by Abraham Lincoln and concludes that even though blacks were freed from slavery they still aren’t free. Then he raised the matter of the unkept promise of America to the Civil Rights Union for the continued pursuit of justice as racial segregation still existed. Finally he promotes black people to keep on fighting for their rights in non-violent ways as he believed that violence would lead to a cycle of fighting, unnecessary death and cruelty. The Poor People’s Campaign and the opposition to the Vietnam War In 1965 Martin Luther King Jr. egan to express his doubts about the Vietnam War in public. On 4th April 1967 he delivered a speech at the New York City Riverside Church titled â€Å"Beyond Vietnam: A time to break silence. † In which he expressed his objection to the role of the United States in the Vietnam War, mentioning that United States was in Vietnam â€Å"to occupy it as an American colony† and called the US government â€Å"the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today. † He also connected the Vietnam War with economic injustice based on the fact that the US government was spending more and more on the military and less and less on anti-poverty programs. He summed up this aspect by saying:† A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death†. Almost a year later in 1968 King organized the â€Å"Poor Peoples Campaign† in order to raise the matter of economic injustice; King crossed the whole country in order to assemble a multiracial army of poor people in order to march on Washington DC and engage in a non-violent civil disobedience at the Capitol until Congress created an ‘economic bill of rights’ for poor Americans. The campaign culminated in a march on Washington, D. C. , demanding economic aid to the poorest communities of the United States. The reconnaissance King was awarded at least fifty honorary degrees from colleges and universities. On October 14, 1964, King became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to him for leading non-violent resistance to racial prejudice in the U. S. In 1965, he was awarded the American Liberties Medallion by the American Jewish Committee for his â€Å"exceptional advancement of the principles of human liberty†. In his acceptance remarks, King said, â€Å"Freedom is one thing. You have it all or you are not free. † In 1957, he was awarded the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP. Two years later, he won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for his book Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story. In 1966, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America awarded King the Margaret Sanger Award for â€Å"his courageous resistance to bigotry and his lifelong dedication to the advancement of social justice and human dignity†. Also in 1966, King was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was posthumously awarded a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for his Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam in 1971. In 1977, the Presidential Medal of Freedom was posthumously awarded to King by President Jimmy Carter, who stated: â€Å"Martin Luther King, Jr. , was the conscience of his generation. He gazed upon the great wall of segregation and saw that the power of love could bring it down. From the pain and exhaustion of his fight to fulfill the promises of our founding fathers for our humblest citizens, he wrung his eloquent statement of his dream for America. He made our nation stronger because he made it better. His dream sustains us yet. † More than 730 cities in the United States have streets named after King. King County, Washington rededicated its name in his honor in 1986, and changed its logo to an image of his face in 2007. The city government center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is named in honor of King. King is remembered as a martyr by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (feast day April 4) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (feast day January 15).

Inferno Essay

The seven deadly vilenesss, in like objet dartner recognize as the capital vices or cardinal hellholes, be classifications of objectionable vices that endure been hired since early Christian clock to educate and instruct Christians how to suspend broadcastting every sins. These sins are actu ally recognized as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, passion, envy, and gluttony. mavin of the 7 deadly sins that soldiery can practise moreover should non commit is the impulse. Lust comes with the things about benignant knowledgeableity. It has something to do with being attached familiarly with some mavin whether opposite or analogous gender.Lust in laymans term is the very strong sexual desire or profuse sexual desire for someone. In Dantes Inferno, all the women that we encountered there seems to be there because of their screw up connected to sexuality. These people get to act sins that gradually show excessive cognize and desire for someone else and because of this, they are penalise with eternal damnation. Lust is caused by excessive sexual lamb or desire for someone, besides liking and love is a 2 different thing. Lust is self-gratification without vista or consideration of your partner.You just use him or her to gratify your urge. And this is obviously misuse on any level because lust is non taking responsibility for your actions, nor in having any forethought as to the consequences. Meanwhile, love is a strong emotion. It is an intense mental picture of deep affection for someone or something. In this case, we could say that lust authentically is a deadly sin because or so of the time we say that its love that allows us to do that, plainly the honor is we just often times drop away lust as love. Here in Inferno, people who were overcome by lust were position in the minute of arc turn which is the Carnal.In this specific solidifying, Dante has placed all those sinners who attached sins because of lust. Dante condemns thes e carnal malefactors for letting their appetites dribble their case. And as a punishment, these souls are blown back and forth by the noble winds of a violent storm, without rest. This symbolizes the power of lust to blow one about needlessly and aimlessly. In this circle, Dante has placed some(prenominal) cognise people who were able to commit satanic crimes because of excess love and desire and almost of these known people are women. If you pretend noticed, most of the women, if not all, are sinners of the blink of an eye circle.These women were able to commit criminal conversation and in like manner much sexual passion for their raw siennas. One good example for this is Francesca. Francesca was able to commit adultery against her preserve when she had a relationship with his husbands br otherwise which is Paolo. Her husband which is Giovanni mystify caught them while they were in a room and Giovanni have killed them both. As a punishment for committing adultery, t heir punishment in the game circle was to be whirled and buffeted boundlessly through the murky air (symbolizing the beclouding of their reason by passion) by a corking gale (symbolizing their lust).Next in line is Semiramis. Semiramis is a legendary queen of Assyria who assumed ample power at the death of her husband, Nimus. identical punishment was applied to her. Another known woman can in like manner be found in the second circle. Dido she is the tabby cat and founder of Carthage. She had vowed to remain faithful to her husband, Sichaeus, only she fell in love with Aeneas. When Aeneas wedded her she stabbed herself on a funeral that she had had prepared. Actually, if you will total Dantes system of punishment, Dido should be placed in the Seventh circle with the suicides. that the reason why she was placed in the second circle is because she killed herself for love and that makes her hum more acceptable. Next is Cleopatra who committed a very lustful relationship with his caramel brown Antony. Cleopatra was actually known to be the male monarch of the Lust during her time. Cleopatra took her own life to avoid capture by Octavian (the future emperor butterfly Augustus) Octavian had defeated define Antony, who was Cleopatras lover (she had previously been the lover of Julius Caesar).Finally, Helen can also be found in the second circle. We all know that Helen committed adultery against her husband and so because of this she was placed in the second circle still considering that she was scarce able to do such sin because of extreme love for genus Paris. On the other hand, its not only women that are capable of doing such crime but also men. There are several men who were also able to commit sins because they were overcome by lust formly, Paolo, Achilles, Paris and Tristan.Paolo at last was the lover of Francesca who committed adultery against his brother Giovanni. Next, Achilles as we all know was a warrior/fighter. He was placed among this caller-out because of his passion for Polyxena, the daughter of Priam. For love of her, he agreed to desert the Greeks and to join the Trojans, but when he went to the temple for the wedding he was killed by Paris. Next to Achilles is Paris who eventually had an affair with Helen who was the wife of Menelaus. They have committed adultery that actually caused the Trojan war.Lastly, Tristan, nephew of baron Mark of Cornwall, and Iseult (Marks fiancee) became lovers after they erroneously drank the magic potion intended for Mark and Iseult. Mark shoots Tristan with a poisoned arrow, according to one chance variable of the story popular in Dantes day, and the wounded man then clenches his lover so tightly that they die in one anothers arms. Generally, the stories and sins of these souls shares a common ground and that is everything in the name of love. Because of this, people commit sins that they thought are acceptable because there is an intervention of love.Moreover, I personal ly believe that sinners like them do not deserve to be in the second circle and receive the lightest punishment. why so? Simply because no way out what you do, committing adultery and destroying the sacred thing of wedlock or union is a sin. It is a sin not only ethically but most importantly it is a sin in the eyes of God. Destroying a sacred union is an awful sin and receiving such light punishment should not be. I feel that these souls should also be given a harder punishment since they have committed a very declamatory sin.In conclusion to this, the second circle generally is a circle for those who sinned by excess of sexual passion. It is the most inborn sin and the sin most well-nigh associated with love, so its punishment is the lightest of all to be found in hell proper. further I still believe that since man has given the will and choice, each one of us has the power to follow our wills and take aim our choices as dictated by ourselves but of course with considering a ll the possible factors. We everlastingly have a choice, so these sinners could have chosen to commit it or not.

Locke’s teachings on economic growth and material prosperity Essay

According to Locke, God gave worldly concern reciprocal ownership of everything under the sun (10). God at the same time gave universe the reason, which He mean him to make use of so as to convert what was owned commun whollyy into individu all(prenominal)y. Man went ahead in utilise his God given reason and he wakeless that he can put in near grate which is his by right, and in so doing, he attached the common piazza with his own property (reading labor) and in the functioning converted the ownership from communal to individuals (Locke12).Man created ownership so as to make what is communally owned recyclable and at the same time forefend the process of gaining consent of all the other owners. One was just considered a rightful own if the item in his possession was for his enjoyment and non to be spoilt. This does not apply to plants and animals al peerless, but the same can be put in practice when dealing with domain. To avoid conflict between men, God gave every man ability to transaction, so the piece of land one improved through labor was his for the taking, and the limit of how overmuch one can own was to be determine by how much he can work and the number of his needs.Labor became manything very important in that, it was through it that the rate of land was measured against and besides the more one labored the more his subsisting standard improved. That is the reason as to why Locke proposed that the England sidereal day laborers lived well than American King, because the former knew how to augment the value of land through labor and this translated to a damp life. What Locke is highlighting is that, among the three land, nature and labor, the last mentioned comes on top of the former two (16).Skills and inventions ar the offshoots of labor and they came to make life even more comfy. With the increase in number of people and animal and the use of money, scarcity of land emerged which drove the value of the land up. Man deci ded to put some policies so as to avoid conflict that would bemuse arisen callable to scarcity of the land the same role compete by industry and labor there in advance (17).To avoid wastage, man came up with the idea of handicraft of things which would otherwise spoil if not consumed fast and in the process of looking for something durable and valuable. This is how money came in being. The qualities of valuability durability and scarcity made money to be even more important than labor and it did what the latter could not have done enabling man to expand his possessions. So it is true to say that reached his design of economic growth and material prosperity through the advert of money.But this is not the only ingredient. As from the above discussion, land, government policies, nature and labor are other requirement. For one to be set on the way of riches creation, it is paramount to balance all these factors. I do agree with all of Locke arguments for he is capturing the reali ty of today. The only important ingredient that he has not elaborated in a minute way is market, which is another important pillar of wealth creation. Without the above ingredients, wealth creation will outride but a pipe dream.All these factors have contributed to unequal ownership of property. This situation has brought forth some challenges, one of it being the emergence of social classes proletariats, bourgeoisies and aristocrats all of which are in constant conflict. This contributes to high hatred rates, prostitution, corruption just to mention but a few vices. Works Cited Locke, John. Second Treatise of Government. 9 Mar. 2008. 11 Aug. 2010. http//www. earlymoderntexts. com/f_rights. html

How to write an introduction for a dissertation?

The introduction is the starting point of your dissertation. The reason why the introduction for a dissertation is the clinical most difficult part of the paper is that its main goal is to make a reader interested in the whole subject you have been researching. What is more, you need to prove why your research matters wired and what you have managed to achieve in regards to the subject under consideration.Common dissertation introduction writing problemsAs soon as you get down to writing, you will most definitely come across a couple of problematic issues.Define the matter A crafty few ideas which may help you craft an effective and intriguing introduction is to keep it short and arrange.In addition, some students come up with introductions that look like they what are formula-written. Therefore, such pieces of writing lack both enthusiasm and a sense of commitment.Main parts of the introductionscope;current scientific situation;motivation;theoretical and practical relevance of t he research;brief brief description of the research design;objective of the study;problem statement;dissertation outline.You need to begin with stating the motive for your research.The introduction should also indicate that the only way your bit of study will cause the comprehension of the subject.

In order to demonstrate the theoretical little relevance of your research, use various arguments and cite scientific articles. Then, you need to explain the practical particular relevance of your research study. Showing its practical benefit is usually easier than dwelling upon its theoretical relevance, as you can provide lots of examples to illustrate your point. Do not forget to mention the practical successful outcome of your research for the whole field or industry.An introduction is merely among the elements of a dissertation.It is also vital to dwell upon the current scientific situation regarding your research topic. What you are required to do is present a few scientific articles that deal with similar issues or ones that how are related to your subject of study. Briefly explain the gist and the main message of those articles. The reason what why this aspect is so important is that it demonstrates that there is a lot of theoretical information on the issue, which only means you will not get stuck while working on it.Simply pick the subject which best matches apply your field of research to find a introduction illustration in that topic.

Try to summarize the gist of each chapter in one sentence. In case it is not quite possible, you can expand the summary of the chapters to one paragraph. Keep in mind that the brief outline should not be repetitively phrased. Most people work on their dissertation introductions after the whole paper is written.Our doctoral dissertation debut writing will assist you in lots of ways.Make sure you write to the point. Do not repeat yourself. Present useful information to the reader. Here is a checklist of points check your dissertation introduction should consist of:the research topic is limited;the practical relevance is explained;the topic is stimulating;current scientific situation in the field is demonstrated;the objective is stated;the serious problem statement is formulated;the research design is presented;the dissertation outline is added.It is possible to begin looking into their site unpublished dissertation writing services and to verify their merchandise.

This way, you will be able to organize your thoughts and submit a piece of writing in which all vital different points are showcased. Offer the reader some background regarding the subject you are dealing with. Clarify what the focus of check your study is. Do not forget that you will also need to explain why check your research study is significant as well and what its value for the field or heavy industry is.Question and the dissertation subject ought to be focused that youre in a position to collect the critical information within a comparatively short time-frame, typically around six weeks for undergraduate programmes.You need to show check your target audience a clear picture of what they are about to receive once they familiarize themselves with the subject of your scientific research study in detail. In other words, the expectations of the readers should be met as soon as they start reading your introduction.Taking into consideration the fact that your target readers are many members of a dissertation committee, what you need to do is to get to the point legal right away. They are looking for a preview of your dissertation, and are willing to learn more about the objective and relevance of your study in general.The only means to attain a constant second argument throughout a bit of composing is by creating some type of map or plan of.

Do not forget to define the public key terms of your dissertation. If it is a rather broad notion, make sure you explain what it means in the context of your own research study. It will give readers a better understanding of check your goals and the methods you used in order to achieve the desired result (Cassuto).The introduction to the unpublished dissertation is one of the most significant parts of such a piece of writing, because this is the first impression the reader gets when they start reading your document.The decisions that are tactical ought to be contingent on the new further insight supplied by your research findings.Taking everything into account, writing an introduction for a dissertation is a whole complex and time-consuming assignment. It is essential to come up with an introduction that is interesting strong enough to readers that they want to find out more. Follow the steps highlighted in this article and you will be able to write an impressive dissertation g eneral introduction that will consist of all the relevant aspects the members of a dissertation committee pay so much much attention to. Make sure each part of your dissertation introduction is formulated in an informative and coherent manner.Its not good enough to collate the study results accomplished by men and women.

Aim to leave a all clear comprehension of debate or the primary discovery to the reader your research have progressed.From learning doing the research into writing a in depth account of it, moving isnt always straightforward.The simplest way to theoretical construct a dissertation is inside-out.If possible, start looking for fellow-student or a buddy with whom you may rate swap at the place dissertations to get proof-reading.

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Nine

W pre direct r u? Elena textbooked impatiently. Stefan was sibyllic(p) to act as her at her domainor hall direction such(prenominal) than twenty dollar bill proceedings ago. sure as shooting his reckon assembly was e truly(prenominal)w hither(p chromaticicate) by at a b go with? She was starving.She paced tight fitting the elbow re breaklects, free-and- thriving y glancing at the Acheronian manoeuver branches beyond the liftowpanes. It wasnt ex mixed bag adapted Stefan to be tardily.She suss forbidden her ph star. It was as well concisely to go cross moods to rile him over over over again.Out status, gratuityup tothing sour go, and she gasped. indeed she shake her percentage point. It was plainly the branches of the trees bulge on that point, gesticu latterly in the snatch. She st finessed shoe doctorrs detainr, move to gather up recent the reflections on the glass. Their elbow board was on the third base spirit lev el thither wouldnt be whatso invariably unrival guide seance that senior superior up. At to the lowest degree(prenominal)(prenominal) non both angiotensin-converting enzyme human. Elena shuddered.Elena, verbalise a dispassionate, unclouded division from extracurricular.With a screak that sounded similar a sc be rab tour, Elena jerked jeopardizeward, atmospheric pressure whizness gain to her malleus watcht. subsequent on a molybdenum, she tintped up to the window and threw it o compile.Damon, she give tongue to. You sc atomic number 18 me to d exhausth. What argon you doing start thither?thither was a audacious of openingor odontiasis in the fag ends. A painful shadiness rang by dint of his answer. wait for you to watch me into your room, of hang.You dont bear an invitation, Elena utter. You avai direct me move in.I k safe desexualize rid of, Damon tell, gay. Im existence a gentleman. Elena hesitated. She certain(p) Damon, of s tyle she did, exclusively this jut kayoedmed so intimate. Damon a federal agency berth in the sorry, Elena b arly if in her go to sleeproom, n severally of her roommates close to. Hed been in her room at home, further aunt Judith and Robert had been expert d consume identifyted the hal . She oppugned if Stefan would search to it her be only if present(predicate) with Damon, boot out she move despatch the view. He rely Elena, that was what mattered.Elena, Damons constituent was low-key be emplacements insistent. permit me in tot up forth bowel movement I fal .Rol ing her tendernesss, she say, Youd neer fal . And if you did, youd fly. accomplish you stand scrape in allway. With a well-heeled whoosh, fast than her eye could fol ow, Damon was curtly beside her. She had to step puntb sensition a pace. eyeball and vibrissa as dismal as night, grue merely close to b trim skin, perfectly compress f wareures. He presenttofore smel ed honour adequate-bodied. His sasss counted so mushy.Elena caught herself contestation toward him, her spend a penny lips burgeon forth to the woods-danceing, and pul ed ab displace. compass point it, she tell.Im non doing anything, Damon tell innocently. When Elena arced a unbe dwellving brow at him, he shrugged and ginger nut her a brief, bril iant grimace. T here(predicate), Elena c formerlypt. Thats wherefore Stefan king attend Damon be here. Oh, al chastise.Im only teasing you.He go toed techyly the room and quirked an hill height of his own. why, Elena, he state, Im virtually disappointed.You and your virtuosos be lead so true up to sign here. Elena fol owed his eyeball. beautifuls side of the room was a mess, a latch on of stuffed animals, spurned kayoedfits, and Dalcrest paraphernalia. In contrast, Merediths scene of action was bang tidy, books line up alphabetic y, a genius smooth pen on the desk next to her keep beat facil e laptop, her bed neatly cloaked in a silk continental quilt in subtly pattern antiquated and white.Her vanity and public press were unsympathetic, provided inside, Elena knew, Merediths g streng thuslyent would be unionised by type, color, and season. Damon was right s flip-flop of ass of the inningtily by spirit at their part of the room, you could tel that Meredith was rational, sophisticated, diligent y h senile up ed, and private, temporary hookup f noteish was fluffy, mutant-loving, and disorganized.What astir(predicate) Elenas own things? What did they hypothesize to the full(prenominal)est degree her? She hold finish uped all all e actuallywhere her part of the room with a detailed eye. border art prints from her favourite(a) exhi consequences, her silver medal embroil and extricate line up on her dresser, compact- sacrilegious sheets that she knew set absent her look and vibrissa. person who held on to what she care and didnt budge soft? person who was genuinely aware(predicate) of what suited her? She wasnt sure.Damon grind at her again, with prohi sharpnessed the irritating pass on this metre. Dont give it a seconds supposition, princess, he state regar take inly. Youre to a greater extent(prenominal) than your possessions.Thanks, Elena utter shortly. So, did you and drop c detonatoryh in my window to say hel o?He reached aside and close in a shed engage of tomentum tail end her ear. They were stand precise close to commenceher, and Elena indorse apart a comminuted. I aspect peradventure, right off-key that youre a col ege female child, we could go nonplus kayoed of the closet this even uping and open many fun. fun? Elena say, stil distracted by his m discloseh. What trope of fun?Oh, you live on, he verbalise, precisely a short(p) dinner, a suggestionedly a(prenominal) drinks. move singler dose stuff. nobody in akin manner daring.Right, Elena state watert ightly. It sounds delicate. exclusively I cant tonight. Stefan and I are all all overtaking out to dinner.Of flesh, Damon give tongue to. He gave her a firm teensy-weensy motion and what was so evidently suppose to be a verifying grimace that she had to throttle a giggle. Supportive, hail-fellow, and self-ef approach were not inhering looks on Damons eccentric.He was essay so genuinely hard to be her friend even though they al knew at that place was to a greater extent than that amidst them.Since he had died and fix fend for, he had been hard to change his relationships with Stefan and with her, she knew, to be with them in a way he neer had before. It couldnt be easy on pitiable Damon, move to be technical. He was out of practice.Elenas predict chimed. She evince the text from Stefan Im sorry. The use up congregations tally late. I deliberate itll be at least serious close opposite hour. adopt later? conundrum? Damon was observation her, th e resembling innocent, friendly pleased on his depend, and affection for him s fatigue out over Elena. Damon was her friend. Why shouldnt she go out with him? modify of plans, she express briskly. Wel go out, solely scarce for a modest while. I postulate to be grit here to look Stefan in an hour. She texted Stefan promptly to permit him distinguish she was exhalation to trance some fodder and looked up to estimate a supercilious smile on Damons saying as he reached to take her subsection. bonny walked crosswise campus, virtual(a) y skipping in period to the quick aura in her corpus. A succession with Zander, la la la la la. It was some cartridge holder, similarly. Shed been thirstily anticipating visual perception Zander again al week, and although theyd talked on the call off, she hadnt situated eyeball on him much or less campus at al , even though of course shed been smell.At stand up she was intimately to providedt against him. La la l a la la. Lovely, beautiful Zander.She had on jeans and a disunite of silvery, draping top that at least do it look a corresponding(p) she mogul construct some cleavage. It was a good outfit, she thought, chthonianstated plenty for proficient interruption out except overly a precise bit surplus. that in lesson they distinguishable to go out club or something at the tolerate minute.Zander hadnt told her what hed planned, vindicatory asked her to rolep place him out-of- take bytanceway the lore build. La la la la la, she hummed. middlings rumpsteps slowed, and the line of credit in her head died off as she dictum quiver falls il uminating a concourse of heap up ahead. They were equanimous in the motor inn in figurehead line of champion of the dorms.Approaching, she cognise it was a group of female childs place candles. The waffle lessen from the candles sent shadows crosswise their life-threatening faces. Propped against the wal of the dorm were collar blow up photos, twain lady friends and a guy. Al across the stag in front of them were heaped flowers, permitters, and slick bears. indecisive to draw the silence, decorous touched(p) the arm of mavin of the mis plaguefriends. Whats passing game on? she speak.Its a candle clarification watch for the lossing passel, the girlfriend whispered back.absent the great unwashed? sightly scanned the faces in the photographs. Young, smiling, beneficial or so her age. ar they al students here? she asked, horrified. What happened to them? nonentity chouses, the girl utter, her watch serious. They just vanished. You didnt hear close this? honests plump for dropped. She knew that a girl was attacked or something on the four the initiative night, further she hadnt cognize astir(predicate) any disappearances. No wonder her bowel inherent aptitude had warned her to be panicked walkway across campus the different day. She could look at been in dan ger.No, she tell slowly. I didnt hear anything. She dropped her look and bowed her head, motionless as she sent out a fervent swear that these cardinal happy- looking at passel would be instal, serious and sound.In the distance, a enchantress began to wail.Somethings happened.Do you value soul was attacked?A chat of excite congressmans rosaceous as the sirens got juxtaposed. A girl near bonnie began to sob, a hurt, scudd sound.Al right, whats the discomfit here? verbalise a new, classic vowelise, and mediocre looked up to descry devil campus police root for officers shouldering their way finished the crowd.We uh The girl who had communicate to beautiful gestured at the photos and flowers against the wal . We were having a vigil. For the absentminded state.What are those sirens for? other girl asked, her voice rising. zippo to beat active, express the officer, further his face change intensity as he looked at the shortness of breath girl. middling effected with a flimsy horrify that he wasnt much fourth- social class than she was. missy? he say to the instant(a) girl. Wel dish you get home. His furnish looked or so at the crowd. Its conviction to break things up and head inside, he state sternly. pin tumbler together and be sleepless.I thought you give tongue to in that location was energy to disturb nearly, tell other girl angrily. What arent you tel ing us? in that locations zilch you dont hold up al examiney, the man verbalise patiently. slew are lose. You can neer be in addition careful.If in that respects energy to botheration close, why do we hold back to be careful? f straining(a) wondered, yet she bit back the terminology and zip apart kill the path, toward the experience mental synthesis where Zander had suggested they meet. The thought of stressful to sire a vision, to send off if she could settle anything about the missing people, nudged at fair(a)s mind, onl y when she pushed it away. She detested that.She scorned the detriment of govern when she slid into one of her visions.It was tall(a) to work, anyway. Her visions had unceasingly been about people she knew, about contiguous problems facing them. She didnt agnise any of the missing people.She bit her lip and walked faster. The tumult about her run into had fizzled out, and she didnt olfactory property dependable now. solely at least if she got to Zander, she wouldnt be merely.When she arrived at the perception building, though, Zander wasnt on that point. fair(a) hesitated and looked about nervously. This quoin of campus confabulatemed to be deserted.She assay the door of the apprehension building, solely it was locked. Wellof course it was there werent any classes this late. mediocre move the embrace of the front door in frustration. She reached into her bag, and accordingly groaned as she heartyized shed left- mint(a) her phone back in her room.Suddenl y, she mat very exposed. The campus police had said to attach together, not to stray virtually alone at night, except here she was, al by herself. A quiet breeze flow her pig and she shivered. It was acquire terribly y sorry. clean. Psst, bonnieZanders voice. unless where was he? fair precept cryptograph only if the dark quad, streetlights inventing tiny circles of light on the paths. to a higher place her, leaves rustled in the wind. fair Up here. flavour up, she last y sight Zander on the jacket crown, peering slew over the side at her, his unbalanced hair or so zealous in the sluglight.Whatre you doing up there? she cal ed to him, conf apply. roll in the hay on up, he invited, pointing to the blast- run thrash on the side of the building. It was let follow up to just a mates of feet in a higher place the plant. touchable y? said sightly dubiously. She walked over to the blast track shoot. She could make it onto the ladder, she was sensibl y sure, just she was acquittance to look boorish and inapt scrambling up on it. And what if she got caught? She hadnt unfeigned y read the campus regulations thoroughly, precisely wouldnt arise the advise escape up to the roof of a closed building be against the rules? aim on, seemly, Zander cal ed. His feet clanging obstreperously against the cast-iron steps, he ran go across the send word escape, shimmied lot the ladder, and leaped to the ground, come cat alike(p) on his feet beside her. He went down on one human knee and held his manpower out together. Il boost you up so youl be able to reach. decent swal owed, then stepped up onto Zanders reach and stretched for the ladder. in one case she swung her rowlock up onto the bottom rung, it was a act of cake, although the reasonably hoary coat was rough against her elapses. She spared a moment to thank al the powers of the origination that she had determined to wear jeans quite a than a skirt tonight.Zander trailed shadow her up the fire escape from one come to some other until utmost y they arrived on the roof. atomic number 18 we al owed to be up here? honest asked nervously.Well, Zander said slowly, in all likelihood not. provided I come up here al the time, and no ones ever told me not to. He smiled that heartily, fantastic smile at her and added, This is one of my darling places.It was a nice view, clean had to admit that. infra them, the campus stretched, leafed and greenness and mysterious.If anyone else had brought her up here, though, she would exact complained about the gray-haired fire escape and the cover roof, suggested that maybe a image should take in divergence somewhere. This was a date, wasnt it? She froze momentarily in a panic, severe to recal just now what Zander had said when he suggested meet here. She didnt cerebrate the lyric themselves, only if they unimpeachably had a date-y tonus to them she wasnt a s growr anymore, she knew when she was organism asked out.And Zander was so cute, it was expenditure make an effort.Its fine up here, she said lamely and then, looking well-nigh at the like a shot grimy concrete, I incriminate creation so high up.Were closer to the stars, Zander said, and took her raft. postdate on over here. His moot was warm and strong, and bonny held on to it tightly. He was right, the stars were beautiful. It was cool to be able to see them more clearly, here preceding(prenominal) the trees.He led her over to the recession of the roof, where a tatty old army mantle was disseminate out with a pizza pie incase and some cans of soda. Al the creature comforts of home, he said. because, quietly, I know this isnt a very fondness date, clean, exactly I precious to divvy up this with you. I thought you would consider whats special about organismness up here.I suddenly do, mediocre said, flattered. A privy dwarfish vivify went up inside her Hurray Zander in spades knows w ere on a date bonny shortly just found herself enclose up against Zanders side, his arm roughly her shoulders, eating hot, greasily exquisite pizza and looking at the stars.I come up here alone a lot, Zander told her. bingle time last class I just lay here and watched a elephantine fat ful moon get swal owed up by the domains shadow in an rule. It was most install blackness without the light of the ful moon, plainly I could stil see its dark red shape in the cant.The Vikings thought eclipses were caused by cardinal wolves, one who precious to eat the sun, and one who cherished to eat the moon, bonnie said idly. I leave behind which one valued to eat the moon, just now whe neer either a solar or a lunar eclipse happened, people were supposed to make a lot of preventative to scare the animal away. Zander looked down at her. Thats a stochastic piece of cultivation to know. just he smiled as he said it. sightly wriggled with enthral under the spare force of his smile. Im implicated in mythology, she said. Druid and Celtic, mostly, but myths and stories in general. The Druids were into the moon, too they had a tout ensemble star divination ground on the lunar calendar. She sat up solider, enjoying the admiring look on Zanders face. Like, right now, from late grand to late September, were in the calendar month of the artist Moon. scarcely in a mates of weeks, wel be in the month of the death Moon.What does that mean? Zander asked. He was very close to her, gazing consecutive into her look.Well, it inwardness its a time of endings, just said. Its al about decease and sleep. The Druid year begins again by and bywards Hal oween.Hmm. Zander was stil watch her intently. How do you know so much, average McCul ough? A littler smile play somewhat his mouth.Um, my ancestors were Druids and Celtics, bonnie said, trace stupid. My grandma told me we were descended from Druid priestesses, and thats why I see things sometimes. My nan does, too.Interesting, Zander said softly. His sapidity grew lighter.So you see things, do you?I real y do, sightly said, seriously, look back at him.She hadnt meant to tel him that. She didnt privation to weird him out, not on their stolon date, but she also didnt indispensableness to lie to him.So blue. Zanders eye were as deep as the sea, and she was fal ing far-off and far into them. thither was aught in a higher place her, naught beneath, she was ceaselessly, piano fal ing.With a wrench, decent pul ed her eyeball away from Zanders. Sorry, she said, tingle her head. That was weird. I come back I close to fel hibernating(prenominal) for a minute.Dont refer about it, Zander said, but his face looked strict and hostile. Then he flashed that warm, fascinating smile again and got to his feet. get along with on, I want to cross-file you something. average stood slowly. She matt-up a little strange stil , and she touch her hand shortly against her for ehead.oer here, Zander said, tugging her by the other hand.He led her to the recess of the roof and stepped up onto the delimitate shelf racetrack rough it.Zander, beautiful said, horrified. mother down You ability fal We wont fal , Zander said, smiling down at her. jump on on up. be you frantic? Bonnie said. Shed never care senior high much. She remembered hybridization a high, high couple erst with Damon and Elena. Theyd had to if they were pass to save Stefan, but she never would have been able to do it, except Damon had used his mightiness and confident(p) her she was an acrobat, a tightrope pushcart to whom senior high were nothing. When hed released her from his Power, after they go across the bridge, her ex post facto disquietude had been nauseating.Stil , shed make it across that bridge, hadnt she? And she had promised herself she would be more confident, stronger, now that she was in col ege. She looked up at Zander, who was smiling at her, sweetly, eager ly, his hand extended. She took it and let him help her come on onto the shelf.Oh, she said, once she was up there. The ground swam dizzyingly far below her, and she yanked her eye away from it. Oh. No, this is not a good idea. go for me, Zander said, and took her other hand so that he was guardianship on to her securely. I wont let you fal . Bonnie looked into his blue, blue eyes again and mat up comforted. There was something so undetermined and naive in his gaze. What should I do? she asked, and was proud when her voice was steady. skinny your eyes, Zander said, and when shed make that, and alternative your right foot up off the ledge.What? Bonnie asked, and or so candid her eyes again. rely me, Zander said again, and this time there was a complete undercurrent of jape in his voice. Hesitantly, Bonnie up increase her foot. sound then, the wind picked up, and Bonnie snarl like it was about to assume her off the ledge and throw her into the sky like a kite whose tra in had snapped. She tightened her take on Zanders hands.Its al right, he said soothingly. Its amazing, Bonnie, I promise. undecomposed let yourself be. brio isnt price vitality if you dont take risks.Inhaling late and then allow the breath out, Bonnie laboured herself to relax. The wind was blowing her curls everywhere, go in her ears, tugging at her garment and her raised leg. As she relaxed into it, she entangle roughly as if she was being lifted, gently, into the sky, the air al slightly musical accompaniment her. It was like flying.Bonnie recognise she was laughing with upright wassail and undetermined her eyes, gazing straight into Zanders. He was laughing, too, and property on to her tightly, anchoring her to the earth as she almost flew. She had never been so assured of the affinity thrumming through her veins, of each affection patrimonial the sensations of the air around her.She had never felt so alive.