Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a Metaphor in Mrs....

When WWI was over, many people questioned the brutality that carried on over the four years that the war was happening. The Europeans trust in authority and in their country began to collapse, and Modernism was a way they could respond to the damage of those beliefs. It was obvious that the old world was gone and a new one had started to arise. In this new world, while other aspects of Europe were advancing, improvement in the psychiatric treatment of mental conditions, for example shell-shock, fell short. Most of British society remained unaware and uninterested in the problems that these illnesses forced on the veterans. This insensitive attitude toward the soldiers inspired Virginia Woolf to write Mrs. Dalloway. In this novel she shows†¦show more content†¦In fact, he doesn’t really pay much attention to the plane, but it’s the twirling smoke that he focuses on. Through Septimus’s thoughts, Woolf gives us access to Septimus’s thought process an d mental state. For the people surrounding Septimus, the plane soaring overhead is symbolic of rebirth and a chance to place their problems behind them and look ahead, optimistically, into the future. For Septimus, however, the plane represents war, death and destruction, and toffee advertisements by this war machine is a perfect example of why modern society disturbs Septimus. It’s also one reason for his inability to assimilate into a modern, post-war society. We eventually find out that it was after the death of Septimus’s friend and fellow soldier Evans, that his mental health started to deteriorate. After four years of war, he can no longer feel emotions. Even after he marries a young Italian woman named Rezia, his mental state keeps getting worse. Rezia, like most of society, doesn’t understand what’s wrong with her husband. â€Å"For she could stand it no longer. Dr. Holmes might say there was nothing the matter†¦he was not Septimus now†¦he was mad!† (23-24) Rezia knows something is wrong, but she hasn’t any idea what it could be because even Dr. Holmes doesn’t think there is anything wrong with him. â€Å"Dr. Holmes examined him. ThereShow MoreRelatedThe And Of The Light Brigade By Alfred Lord Tennyson2214 Words   |  9 PagesThroughout history, authors have responded to historical events like the war through different genres of literature from novels to poems. In this paper; I will look at how Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, September 1st, 1939 by Wystan Hugh Auden and The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson respond to various historical events. A comparison between these texts will show the many similarities and differences in how they respond to the theme of war. In addition to this, I will examine

Although the public sector Free Essays

The ability of today’s health care system to provide high quality care to an aging society depends on the resources available to pay for these services. Although the public sector will bear much of the burden of health and long term care costs many of the required future resources will need to come from the elderly themselves, as is the case today. Unless public insurance systems become much more generous in coming years the elderly will bear the costs of many types of uncovered services. We will write a custom essay sample on Although the public sector or any similar topic only for you Order Now Drugs and long term costs will top the list of uncovered services. However, emerging elective procedures, perhaps in die area of gene therapy, and cutting edge diagnostic tools may not be uniformly covered by future insurance programs. Senator George Allen, R-Va. , introduced the Long-Term Care Act of 2005. The legislation, if passed, will make it possible for individuals to use money from their 401 (k) and 403 (b) plans to purchase long-term care in insurance with pretax dollars without penalty. The Long-Term Care Act is similar to companion legislation introduced in the House by Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb. It would allow individuals to use their Individual Retirement account (IRA) pretax dollars without penalty in addition to using their 401 (k) and 403 (b) plans. Allen’s proposal, cosponsored by Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla. , was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The House bill was sent to the House Sub-Committee on Health just this past March. By the year 2030, Medicaid’s nursing home expenditures are expected to reach $130 billion per year. Private long-term care insurance could reduce Medicaid’s future institutional care expenses by more than $40 billion each year, while giving those who are insured alternatives to nursing homes, such as home care, adult day care or foster care and assisted living. The costs of long-term care can be staggering and quickly exhaust even a modest estate. The magnitude of the cost for long-term care is potentially catastrophic to the average American with the median annual income of $52,000. According to a recent market survey, nursing home stays average two and one-half years with an average yearly cost of $55,000 per year or a total of approximately $138,000. It is easy to see how such care could quickly deplete the asset of a household. Four out of 10 people living to age 65 and older will use a nursing home for long-term care and 21% of those will stay for 5 years longer. Many others will use home health care. Depending on the required level of skill, home health care may equal the cost of nursing home care. The Congressional Budget Office has projected long-term care costs will double from 2000 to 2020. Further compounding the situation has been the diminished willingness of the federal and state governments to continue to absorb over fifty-seven percent of the long-term care costs through Medicare and Medicaid. Policy-makers have been seeking and choosing techniques that limit public responsibility and financial involvement in favor of transferring more and more costs back to the individual through the private system. A major policy goal is to change public opinion to view long-term care a particular risk and thus the responsibility of the individual rather than that of the government. With such a shift in thinking long-term care insurance would be a component of retirement planning with emphasis on a private-sector solution rather than a public one. Facing the reality of financing long-term care may require a national crisis in which care becomes unavailable or unaffordable. Under such circumstance, there might be a heightened awareness of the need for clear public policy. Policy-makers will have to face the only feasible alternatives to the existing system: full public financing of long-term care funded by tax dollars or greater incentives for private long-term insurance both through group and individual plans. These approaches are far from perfect by to leave the system as it is could mean long-term damage to the economy through the hugely inefficient diversion of money to pay for long term care that we see today. Reference: American Council of Life Insurance (1998). Who will pay for the Baby Boomers’ Long- Term Care Needs? Washington, D. C. : Cynthia E. Conrad Ann Costello Beam, B. and J. McFadden (1998). Employee Benefits. Detroit: Dearborn. Bell, A. (2001) . â€Å"Group LTC Plans Jump 121% Last Year†. National Underwriter. (http://www. nunnews. com/zrchives/th_archive/2000/-105-01/1200118grouplte. asp). How to cite Although the public sector, Papers

Poet Appreciation Lenny DellaRocca Essay Example For Students

Poet Appreciation: Lenny DellaRocca Essay Not many people are honored to say they were In the presents of a famous poet who read to there This semester in my poetry class I was In the presence of eight poets including the one I am going to write about today, his name is Ellen Ideological. When I first saw Ellen Ideological go through the doors into my classroom I had a feeling I was not going to like him for some reason. As soon as he got settled in and started reading my feeling changed about not Liking him and I enjoyed every word that came out of his mouth. With his poems I feel like he does not hold back, like he goes not even care about how anyone would feel about his words and I liked that about his poems. I favorite poem from Ellen Ideological is called The Last Laugh. The reason why I liked this poem so much Is because It Is so real. He says what Is on his mind and does not change words around to try to sugar coat anything. Some of my favorite parts of the poem are, We sat in the office smoking cigarettes drinking coffee talking to Installers ate pot brownies you baked the night before while The Others The Straight Ones looked at us suspiciously. The reason why I liked this part of the poem is because not a lot of people talk about smoking cigarettes because people are against It because It kills people. So for him to say that to me it means that he does not care about what other people think of him. Also, when he said eating pot brownies; that to me means he is fearless. The reason why I believe that he is fearless is because not a lot of people do drugs and a lot of people Judge others because they do drugs so when he said he was doing a kind of drug Is brave of him. I feel like he does not care what other people think and I admire people like that. Also something I really did not understand is when he said, The Straight Ones. That line through me off guard because when he was telling the class about his life he said he has a wife so I am pretty confused about that one line. Another poem that I Like written by Ellen Is called, Here. The reason why I liked this poem is because it shows the love of someone Ellen loves. My favorite part is, The bright place, I said. And she said, where. Here, I said, here where there Is, where its you when you sleep. And she said, I know where that Is. And I knew she could always go there even hen I could not, could not, because sometimes, though togetherness created it. The reason why I liked this part of the poem is because it shows Ellen being sensitive with someone he loves. In this part of the poem it shows how much he loves this person and how peaceful it is to be in the brightest place and that brightest place is while she is sleeping next to him. Together they created the brightest place by love and everyone who is in love will have that brightest place Ellen talks about. I like Lenss poem and I do plan on buying one of his books on day when I go to the book store.

The Link Between Scientific Management and the Human Relations Approach free essay sample

The link between Scientific Management and the Human Relations approach There are inherent tensions in organisations – and they are resolved by the process of management. There are a number of management strategies that can be observed with the passing of time. Two important ones are scientific management and the human relations approach. The first is represented by scientific management or the classical school of management theory. The scientific management approach strove to control people and keep down their costs. It emphasised the need for rationality, clear objectives, the right of managers to manage and adopted work study and similar methods. These led to the reduction of tasks to their basic elements and the grouping of similar elements together to produce low-skilled, low-paid jobs, epitomised by assembly line working with a large measure of interchangeability between workers. Workers tended to be treated relatively impersonally and collectively (management and labour) and the nature of the psychological contract was calculative, with a focus on extrinsic rewards and incentives. We will write a custom essay sample on The Link Between Scientific Management and the Human Relations Approach or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Such a strategy encouraged a collective response from workers, hence the development of trade unions. While this strategy epitomised the management approach of the first half of the 20th century, it has left its legacy in many management practices, such as organisation and method study, job analysis and description, selection methods, an overriding concern for efficiency and the bottom line, appraisal and performance management. The human relations approach to the tensions in organisations emerged during the middle of the 20th century. It developed in parallel with an increasingly prosperous society in which there were strong trade unions and later a growing acceptance of the rights of individuals to self-fulfilment. Child (1969) identifies its emergence in British management thinking as a response to growing labour tensions. It tempered scientific management by its recognition that people differed from other resources, that if they were treated as clock numbers rather than as human beings they would not be fully effective at work and could even fight back to the point of subverting management intentions. It also recognised the significance of social relations at work – the informal organisation. Managers therefore had to pay attention to the nature of supervision and working in groups and teams. And, to find ways of involving employees through job design, motivation and a democratic, consultative or particpative style of management. The nature of the psychological contract was co-operative. Adapted from Beardwell, Claydon and Holden (2004: 81-82)

Clerestory Windows in Architectural Design

Clerestory Windows in Architectural Design A clerestory window is a large window or series of small windows along the top of a structures wall, usually at or near the roof line. Clerestory windows are a type of fenestration or glass window placement found in both residential and commercial construction. A clerestory wall often rises above adjoining roofs. In a large building, like a gymnasium or train station, the windows will be positioned to allow light to illuminate a large interior space. A smaller home may have a band of narrow windows along the very top of a wall. Originally, the word clerestory (pronounced CLEAR-story) referred to the upper level of a church or cathedral. The Middle English word clerestorie means clear story, which describes how an entire story of height was cleared to bring natural light to sizable interiors. Designing With Clerestory Windows Designers who wish to maintain wall space and interior privacy AND keep a room well-lighted often use this type of window arrangement for both residential and commercial projects. It is one way to use architectural design to help your home out of the darkness. Clerestory windows are most often used to naturally illuminate (and often ventilate) large spaces such as sports arenas, transportation terminals, and gymnasiums. As modern sports stadiums and arenas became enclosed, with and without retractable roofing systems, the clerestory lens, as its called on the 2009 Cowboys Stadium, became more common. Early Christian Byzantine architecture featured this type of fenestration to shed overhead light into the massive spaces builders were beginning to construct. Romanesque- era designs expanded the technique as medieval basilicas achieved more grandeur from height. The architects of Gothic-era cathedrals made clerestories an art form. Some say it was  American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) who adapted that Gothic art form to residential architecture. Wright was an early promoter of natural light and ventilation, no doubt in response to working in the Chicago area during the height of Americas industrialization. By 1893 Wright had his prototype for the Prairie Style in the Winslow House, showing second-story windows under the enormous eave overhang. By 1908 Wright was still struggling with a perfectly beautiful design when he wrote: ...often I used to gloat over the beautiful buildings I could build if only it were unnecessary to cut holes in them.... The holes, of course, are the windows and doors. By the time Wright was marketing his Usonian homes, the clerestory windows had become an important part of both the interior design, as seen in the 1939 Rosenbaum house in Alabama, and the exterior design, as in the 1950 Zimmerman House in New Hampshire. The best way to light a house is Gods way - the natural way.... Wright wrote  in The Natural House, a 1954 classic book on American architecture. The best natural way, according to Wright, is to place the clerestory along the southern exposure of the structure. The clerestory window serves as a lantern to the house. More Definitions of Clerestory or Clearstory 1. An upper zone of wall pierced with windows that admit light to the center of a lofty room. 2. A window so placed. - Dictionary of Architecture and Construction The topmost windows of a church nave, those above the aisle roof, thus any high band of windows - G. E. Kidder Smith, FAIA A series of windows placed high on a wall. Evolved from the Gothic churches where the clerestory appeared above the aisle roofs. - John Milnes Baker, AIA Architectural Examples of Clerestory Windows Clerestory windows illuminate many of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed interior spaces, especially the Usonian home designs, including the Zimmerman House and the Toufic Kalil Home. In addition to adding clerestory windows to residential structures, Wright also used rows of glass in more traditional settings, such as his Unity Temple, Annunciation Greek Orthodox, and the original library, the Buckner Building, on the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland. For Wright, the clerestory window was a design choice that satisfied his aesthetic and philosophic ideals. Clerestory windows have become a mainstay of modern residential architecture. From the 1922 Schindler Chace house designed by the Austrian-born R. M. Schindler to the student designs of the Solar Decathlon competition, this type of fenestration is a popular and practical choice. Remember that this new way of design is centuries old. Look up at the great sacred places across the world. Heavenly light becomes part of the prayerful experience in synagogues, cathedrals, and mosques throughout the ages, from Byzantine to Gothic to Modern structures like architect Alvar Altos 1978 Church of the Assumption of Mary in Riola di Vergato,  Italy. As the world became industrialized, natural light from clerestory windows supplemented the gas and electric lighting of venues such as Grand Central Terminal in New York City. For a more modern transportation hub in Lower Manhattan, Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava returned to ancient architectural history, incorporating a modern oculus - a version of Romes Pantheon extreme clerestory - showing again that whats old is always new. A Selection of Clerestory Window Examples Dance Studio, Preserving Wall SpaceTurner Contemporary Gallery, David Chipperfield Architects, United KingdomKitchen, 1922 Schindler House, Los Angeles, CaliforniaKarl Kundert Medical Clinic, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1956, San Luis Obispo, CaliforniaGothic Exeter Cathedral, United KingdomItalian Byzantine Church of Saint Vitale in Ravenna, ItalySunlight Shining Into Grand Central Terminal, New York City Sources Frank Lloyd Wright On Architecture: Selected Writings (1894-1940), Frederick Gutheim, ed., Grossets Universal Library, 1941, p. 38Dictionary of Architecture and Construction, Cyril M. Harris, ed., McGraw- Hill, 1975, p. 108G. E. Kidder Smith, FAIA, Sourcebook of American Architecture, Princeton Architectural Press, 1996, p. 644.John Milnes Baker, AIA, American House Styles: A Concise Guide, Norton, 1994, p. 169Additional photo credits: Cowboy Stadium, Ronald Martinez/Getty Images (cropped); Winslow House, Raymond Boyd/ Getty Images (cropped); Alto Church, De Agostini/Getty Images (cropped); Zimmerman House, Jackie Craven

Delphi Thread Pool Example Using AsyncCalls

Delphi Thread Pool Example Using AsyncCalls This is my next test project to see what threading library for Delphi would suite me best for my file scanning task I would like to process in multiple threads / in a thread pool. To repeat my goal: transform my sequential file scanning of 500-2000 files from the non threaded approach to a threaded one. I should not have 500 threads running at one time, thus would like to use a thread pool. A thread pool is a queue-like class feeding a number of running threads with the next task from the queue. The first (very basic) attempt was made by simply extending the TThread class and implementing the Execute method (my threaded string parser). Since Delphi does not have a thread pool class implemented out of the box, in my second attempt Ive tried using OmniThreadLibrary by Primoz Gabrijelcic. OTL is fantastic, has zillion ways to run a task in a background, a way to go if you want to have fire-and-forget approach to handing threaded execution of pieces of your code. AsyncCalls by Andreas Hausladen Note: what follows would be more easy to follow if you first download the source code. While exploring more ways to have some of my functions executed in a threaded manner Ive decided to also try the AsyncCalls.pas unit developed by Andreas Hausladen. Andys AsyncCalls – Asynchronous function calls unit is another library a Delphi developer can use to ease the pain of implementing threaded approach to executing some code. From Andys blog: With AsyncCalls you can execute multiple functions at the same time and synchronize them at every point in the function or method that started them. ... The AsyncCalls unit offers a variety of function prototypes to call asynchronous functions. ... It implements a thread pool! The installation is super easy: just use asynccalls from any of your units and you have instant access to things like execute in a separate thread, synchronize main UI, wait until finished. Beside the free to use (MPL license) AsyncCalls, Andy also frequently publishes his own fixes for the Delphi IDE like Delphi Speed Up and DDevExtensions Im sure youve heard of (if not using already). AsyncCalls In Action source code HTML In essence, all AsyncCall functions return an IAsyncCall interface that allows to synchronize the functions. IAsnycCall exposes the following methods: //v 2.98 of asynccalls.pas IAsyncCall interface //waits until the function is finished and returns the return value function Sync: Integer; //returns True when the asynchron function is finished function Finished: Boolean; //returns the asynchron functions return value, when Finished is TRUE function ReturnValue: Integer; //tells AsyncCalls that the assigned function must not be executed in the current threa procedure ForceDifferentThread; end; Heres an example call to a method expecting two integer parameters (returning an IAsyncCall): TAsyncCalls.Invoke(AsyncMethod, i, Random(500)); function TAsyncCallsForm.AsyncMethod(taskNr, sleepTime: integer): integer; begin result : sleepTime; Sleep(sleepTime); TAsyncCalls.VCLInvoke( procedure begin Log(Format(done nr: %d / tasks: %d / slept: %d, [tasknr, asyncHelper.TaskCount, sleepTime])); end); end; The TAsyncCalls.VCLInvoke is a way to do synchronization with your main thread (applications main thread - your application user interface). VCLInvoke returns immediately. The anonymous method will be executed in the main thread. Theres also VCLSync which returns when the anonymous method was called in the main thread. Thread Pool in AsyncCalls An execution request is added to the waiting-queue when an async. function is started...If the maximum thread number is already reached the request remains in the waiting-queue. Otherwise a new thread is added to the thread pool. Back to my file scanning task: when feeding (in a for loop) the asynccalls thread pool with series of TAsyncCalls.Invoke() calls, the tasks will be added to internal the pool and will get executed when time comes (when previously added calls have finished). Wait All IAsyncCalls To Finish The AsyncMultiSync function defined in asnyccalls waits for the async calls (and other handles) to finish. There are a few overloaded ways to call AsyncMultiSync, and heres the simplest one: function AsyncMultiSync(const List: array of IAsyncCall; WaitAll: Boolean True; Milliseconds: Cardinal INFINITE): Cardinal; dynamic array If I want to have wait all implemented, I need to fill in an array of IAsyncCall and do AsyncMultiSync in slices of 61. My AsnycCalls Helper two dimensional array Heres a piece of the TAsyncCallsHelper: WARNING: partial code! (full code available for download) uses AsyncCalls; type TIAsyncCallArray array of IAsyncCall; TIAsyncCallArrays array of TIAsyncCallArray; TAsyncCallsHelper class private fTasks : TIAsyncCallArrays; property Tasks : TIAsyncCallArrays read fTasks; public procedure AddTask(const call : IAsyncCall); procedure WaitAll; end; WARNING: partial code! procedure TAsyncCallsHelper.WaitAll; var i : integer; begin for i : High(Tasks) downto Low(Tasks) do begin AsyncCalls.AsyncMultiSync(Tasks[i]); end; end; This way I can wait all in chunks of 61 (MAXIMUM_ASYNC_WAIT_OBJECTS) - i.e. waiting for arrays of IAsyncCall. With the above, my main code to feed the thread pool looks like: procedure TAsyncCallsForm.btnAddTasksClick(Sender: TObject); const nrItems 200; var i : integer; begin asyncHelper.MaxThreads : 2 * System.CPUCount; ClearLog(starting); for i : 1 to nrItems do begin asyncHelper.AddTask(TAsyncCalls.Invoke(AsyncMethod, i, Random(500))); end; Log(all in); //wait all //asyncHelper.WaitAll; //or allow canceling all not started by clicking the Cancel All button: while NOT asyncHelper.AllFinished do Application.ProcessMessages; Log(finished); end; Cancel all? - Have To Change The AsyncCalls.pas :( I would also like to have a way of cancelling those tasks that are in the pool but are waiting for their execution. Unfortunately, the AsyncCalls.pas does not provide a simple way of canceling a task once it has been added to the thread pool. Theres no IAsyncCall.Cancel or IAsyncCall.DontDoIfNotAlreadyExecuting or IAsyncCall.NeverMindMe. For this to work I had to change the AsyncCalls.pas by trying to alter it as less as possible - so that when Andy releases a new version I only have to add a few lines to have my Cancel task idea working. Heres what I did: Ive added a procedure Cancel to the IAsyncCall. The Cancel procedure sets the FCancelled (added) field which gets checked when the pool is about to start executing the task. I needed to slightly alter the IAsyncCall.Finished (so that a call reports finished even when cancelled) and the TAsyncCall.InternExecuteAsyncCall procedure (not to execute the call if it has been cancelled). You can use WinMerge to easily locate differences between Andys original asynccall.pas and my altered version (included in the download). You can download the full source code and explore. Confession NOTICE! :) 2.99 version of AsyncCalls The CancelInvocation method stopps the AsyncCall from being invoked. If the AsyncCall is already processed, a call to CancelInvocation has no effect and the Canceled function will return False as the AsyncCall wasnt canceled. The Canceled method returns True if the AsyncCall was canceled by CancelInvocation. The Forget method unlinks the IAsyncCall interface from the internal AsyncCall. This means that if the last reference to the IAsyncCall interface is gone, the asynchronous call will be still executed. The interfaces methods will throw an exception if called after calling Forget. The async function must not call into the main thread because it could be executed after the TThread.Synchronize/Queue mechanism was shut down by the RTL what can cause a dead lock. no need to use my altered version Note, though, that you can still benefit from my AsyncCallsHelper if you need to wait for all async calls to finish with asyncHelper.WaitAll; or if you need to CancelAll.

Wotif.com Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Wotif.com - Case Study Example Having established a good name and profitable business operation in Australia, Wotif.com's logical choice for expansion is its neighboring country New Zealand. The proximity of the nations is considered very strategic because the target markets are the almost alike or the same. And since buyers are almost always looking at the proximity of these countries, they somehow consider buying from one or the other. Another is that since Wotif.com is very near New Zealand, customers who are aware of its services in Australia, most could also be aware of them in their neighboring country. Venturing in farther and highly unknown markets like North America, Western Europe or China did not become an option as these markets are already controlled by other huge players. The great distance and different consumer culture will also post additional challenges. In the merchant model, the companies buy the properties like hotels and others at a wholesale price, charge a sensible markup and sell them to customers. However, in the commission based model like the one employed by Wotif.com, its responsibility is solely on the provision of a venue where buyers and sellers can transact. The prices are set by the merchants and it gets a certain percentage of the price that the properties are sold. Noting that properties are not liquid and often requires high payment prices, a company operating on commission based model is more likely to succeed as it entails less risk and is assured of commission when the merchant sells. 4. Using appropriate diagrams illustrate the supply chain for online companies such as Wotif.com, eBay, Dell Computers and Amazon.com. Identify the similarities and the differences between the business models. (8 marks) Wotif.com is the same as eBay since they create value by providing venue for buyers and sellers to transact. They both profit from having a fee to post merchandises and commission to some items. Dell is a manufacturer which distributes its products directly to customers and is employing a significantly different business model from Wotif and eBay since its sets its price. For Amazon, it functions as an online store carrying merchandises from other manufacturers. Version 2. 1. How has Wotif.com maintained its competitive advantage in the marketplace (4 Marks) Wotif.com maintained its competitive advantage in the marketplace by continuing its quest of becoming the lowest cost provider of venue for merchants and buyers of properties. Another is by safeguarding its position as the most profitable and respected business organization in the online accommodation market through strategic pricing strategy and efficient business model. 2. Why would Wotif.com choose New Zealand as their first international market when there are potentially more lucrative markets in North America, Western Europe or China (4 Marks) Wotif.com's decision of conquering its neighbor New Zealand instead of huge yet unknown markets like North America, We

Evaluation of the United States Airline Industry Using Porter's Five Essay

Evaluation of the United States Airline Industry Using Porter's Five Forces Theory - Essay Example The five forces that shape industry competition include rivalry among existing competitors, threat of new entrants, threat of substitute products or services, bargaining power of buyers, and bargaining power of suppliers (Porter, 2004). These forces form the microenvironment, in contrast with the more general concept of macro-environment. They constitute the forces impacting a company, thereby influencing its capability to serve its customers and to ensure profits. The company has to re-assess the marketplace if there is alteration in any of the forces (Aruvian’s R’search, 2011). The Airlines Deregulation Act of 1978 resulted in several years of low profitability in the industry, with lowered airline fares and the entry of several new firms into the market. â€Å"The financial impact on both established and new airlines was enormous† (Desai, Patel & Quach, 2004, p.2). The consequences of deregulation on the airline industry can be understood by studying Porter’s Five Forces and the influence of complements to the industry. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to examine the United States Airline Industry, and to determine whether it is an attractive industry, based on Porter’s Five Forces model. ... The United States Airline Industry has grown significantly since the end of World War II. In 1945, the leading airlines flew 3.3 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs). By the mid-1970s, with the development of deregulation, the chief carriers of the industry flew130 billion RPMs. By 1988, following a decade of deregulation, the number of domestic revenue passenger miles had inreased ten-fold (Aruvian’s R’search, 2011). This is reiterated by Desai et al (2004) who state that in the period 1965-1978 the federal government regulated the airline industry by means of enforcing artificial wage increases and artificial price levels. Further, â€Å"from 1980 to 1990 the number of passengers traveling by air increased by approximately 72%† (Desai et al, 2004, p.2). The rapid growth of the United States Airline Industry before 1990 has declined; however air travel continues to be the preferred mode of transportation for most Americans because of its cost effectiveness and time saving features. Contrasting with the significant growth of the previous decade, during the 1990-1998 period the United States airline industry experienced only 36% growth. Additionally, during the post-deregulation era, labour negotiations fuelled several labour strikes. The big airlines have tried to reduce costs, but have been hindered by strong oppostion from labour unions. For example, Unions have battled against interventions attempting to shift unprofitable routes to lesser cost regional jets with lower paid pilots. The large airlines have been caught in traditional fare wars that adversely impact their already poor profit margins, because of facing cut-throat competition especially from low-cost rival airlines. â€Å"The domestic airline industry in

Are many of lufthansas challenges identified Essay Example for Free

Are many of lufthansas challenges identified Essay Are many of lufthansas challenges identified in the case similar to those being experienced by other businesses in todays global economy? By iJazwahid RWC 2: Lufthansa: Taking Mobile Computing to the Skies While Keeping the Mobile Workforce Connected 1 . Are many of Lufthansas challenges identifies in the case similar to those being experienced by other businesses in todays global economy? Explain and provide some examples? While the specifics of each challenge are particular to Lufthansas situation, many are hared by other global organizations. Examples could include: Provide a mobile workforce with equipment that fits their needs while it does not get in the way of accomplishing their objectives (not only technical specifications, but also upgrades and updates, stability, etc) Distribute training and other non-directly value-adding activities during non-productive periods both to maximize efficiency and reduce downtime Provide adequate support to mobile operations while keeping a tight lid n cost and being able to Justify the investment Redefine processes to accommodate new mobile technologies and needs of a distributed workforce including communication, meeting and decision making practices 2. What other tangible and intangible benefits, beyond those identified by Lufthansa, might a mobile workforce enjoy as a result of deploying mobile technologies. Explain. Examples could include: Increased, all-around, communication, both with the organization and with personal relationships (family, friends, etc). Especially important for a highly mobile workforce such as airline pilots. Remote access to corporate applications, important since increasingly more of the employees interaction is self-managed (payroll systems, expense reports, etc. ) More productive time spent at customer locations and streamlined order taking and processing Ability to timely collect and report data on the competitive environment, both for the own organization and competitors (prices, volume, advertising, etc)

My Papa’s Waltz - Battered Knuckles Essays -- My Papas Waltz Essays

My Papa’s Waltz - Battered Knuckles  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many people look back on memories with a pleasant slant. A backpacker may love to go to the mountains, but every time that person ventures out he encounters a blizzard. The weather is not always conducive to the backpacker and can cause great discomfort. However, when the hiker returns to his normal routine he usually forgets about the bad experience so that he can continue loving the mountains and happily plan his next adventure. Similarly, Theodore Roethke's, "My Papa's Waltz" is a poem about a man who tries to make a horrible event into something much more pleasant to think about. The speaker seems to be remembering back to his childhood and finally uncovers dark memories about his father. The child in the poem finally realizes that childhood was full of scary nights in which he sometimes feared for his life. The speaker has tried for years to believe that he loved his father, but he finally understands what really happened in his boyhood home. The speaker in this poem begins by commenting on how much his father drinks. The father ...

Great Talkers Little Doers

In addition to commercial advertising and ideological propagandathere is social advertising, which refers to the advertisements whichdeal with social causes and are aimed at the welfare and well-being of the people. Its target audience is not specific class but the masses whocan be educated about socially relevant issues like health, familywelfare, literacy, national security, to mention a few issues only. Theimportance of such advertisements has reached such heights thateven the government falls back upon them quite often to highlight theissues to immediate concern.Undoubtedly, in today’s context, carryingout campaigns through social communication is of paramountimportance. The society, the economy, the politics and the mediaexposure are bringing about changes which are so radical and dynamicthat they are creating dissonance and upheavals. In order to withstandthe negative effects of changes, we certainly need these kinds of campaigns through advertising or propaganda, for su stainingcommunication with the masses at large. In short, advertising not onlyinfluences the buyer’s perception but also his responses to socialproblems.It has its negative effects but the positive side far out-stripsthe negative side. WE TALK MORE, WORK LESS Undeniably, there are millions of people in India who think little,act even less but talk too much. Indulgence in idle gossip, disgruntledattitudes, bitter criticism of all and sundry, frustration over their sorryplight, fate and â€Å"kismat†, have in fact become national pastimes. Thenumber of those who can claim that they keep their tongue within theirlips and never talk in vain is limited. The talk of the common people,mostly irresponsible, creates the impression that they have little to do.Indians are indeed typical of the people of the Orient who have nothingworthwhile to say, and yet contrive to spend the longest time in sayingit. Those who have endless time on their hands are great babblers. Thinking and r eflection postulate a certain degree of education andintellectual development. About 64 per cent of the people in India areilliterate; so they have not developed the qualities of thinking andreflection. Montesquieu truly said that the less men think, the morethey talk. India is a land of myriad tongues. The 1961 census listed1652 languages as mother tongues spoken in India, and the 1971census, retaining he number, presented a somewhat more realisticpicture. Judged by any standard, India is Babel of tongues, perhaps thelargest in the world. This Babel has been the outcome of a cumulative process resulting from the influx of various races into the countrythrough the centuries. Talkers are never good doers; this explains theproverbial sloth, idleness and complacency of the average Indian. Ourmaterial output, our productivity and production, our net contributionto the country’s Gross National Product (GNP) are all far too low.Whilepeople should learn to use their hands and to be active all the time(like the Japanese who have raised their country to the pinnacle of glory despite the havoc done to their economy during World War II), wehave mastered the technique of whiling away time talking and talking,doing little positive, constructive and concrete work. Jawaharlal Nehru, in a speech way back in 1952, said he wastired of people who merely talk about various things. However wise youmay be (in India the number of truly wise, sagacious men and womenis limited), he said, you can never enter into the spirit of a thing if youonly talk about it and do nothing.We do not know the value of time; sowe do not mind spending precious hours in idle gossip. In part thedisinclination to be up and doing all the time is the result of ourfatalistic beliefs and attitudes. Most of us tend to believe that what Godhas ordained cannot be averted. What will be, will be; so, they argue,why needlessly waste energy in thwarting God’s will? Besides, there are many among us who be lieve that flattery isthe shortest route to success in today’s India. The great talkers, thewily, garrulous politicians who sway audiences through their loud talk,all manage to mislead the people and promote their selfish ends.Aflatterer is in the excellent company of imitators because imitation isconsidered the sincerest form of flattery. The easiest weapon adoptedby flatterers and sycophants is smooth talk, not work. A ready and glibtongue has at times proved to be a more precious weapon than gifts of cash and kind. Through a facile tongue the flatterers continually createillusions and a world of make-believe. Almost all great talkers are greatflatterers; praise inevitably becomes their forte. Then there are those hose talk mostly comprises advice to alland sundry on everything on earth. Like air and water, advice too canbe had free. Self-appointed advisers are great talkers; they talk theirway into your hearts and they even drive away rationality, good senseand the quality of discriminating between chalk and cheese. Asking foradvice is to tout for flatterers. And flattery feeds the ego and isexhilarating. Most talkers become bores. But let it be said in defense of the growing tribe of talkers that they do manage at times to relieveboredom.A quiet gathering at which all those present are serious-minded people deeply engrossed in thought and philosophy wouldappear to maintain the silence of the graveyard. The talkers relatefunny incidents, describe lively experiences and entertain theircredulous listeners, quieten and comfort the people, for hours together. There is no tax on talk and gossip. So the idle, endless talker flourishesat the cost of the silent, constructive worker. It is the latter who canhelp ensure national progress, not the ceaseless twisters of the tongue,even though the latter manage to find credulous audiences.True,sincere and genuine workers cannot stand non-sensical postures,including nonsense talk. But work does not lie in marching up anddown the streets, shouting slogans and lodging protests. Many of ustend to resort to strikes and work stoppages. Undeniably, our future amongst nations, and the good name of our country, depends entirely upon our work and work alone. Muchvaluable work can be done silently and without becoming noisy orindulging in aimless talk. If everyone realises the truth of this dictum,the salvation of the country would not be far off

Supply and Demand Simulation

1 Supply and Demand Simulation Connie F. Dents ECO/365 November 6, 2012 Tulin Koray 2 Supply and Demand Simulation The Supply and Demand Simulation is about the rental of two- bedroom apartments that is managed by Goolife Management Company. The Goodlife Management Company is in the City of Atlantis. The Simulation will show the different scenarios in how the shift in demand and supply curve, demand and supply shift, price ceilings, and the equilibrium changes, also the decrease and increase, and how supplies changes can stay the same.This assignment asks to identify two microeconomics and two macroeconomics principles or concepts from the simulation. Before one can identify he or she needs to know the definition of microeconomics and macroeconomics. As stated by (Colander, 2010) Microeconomics is the study of individual choice and how that choice is influenced by economics forces. Macroeconomics is the study of the economy as state by (Colander, 2010). Scenario one and four identify microeconomics concepts.In scenario one it describes the Goodlife management company, which manages two- bed room apartment’s has a large amount of vacancy, to have less vacancy the Goodlife management company would need to lower the rate on the rental property from 28% to 15%. By reducing the rental rate quantity is but a lower rate with other things remain constant. The Goodlife Company will have more apartments, which are not at a demanded. 2 The rental company continues to have surplus of apartment but to rent them the rental rate would have to be reduced. In the fourth scenario it explains that Lintech has move to Atlantis, which increase the city ofAtlantis population. The increase demand for apartments have increased, this will increase the rate of rent. Because the rental is higher, but this is a demand and supply increase, and the 2,350 apartment would have been rented for the price of $1,400. Macroeconomics is identified in scenario three and seven. In scenario thr ee a statistics was provided by the Atlantis housing survey on the demand for two- bedroom apartments in the city of Atlantis. It states that so many apartments will be demanded, but survey shows an imbalance between quantity demanded and quantity supplied at the price of renting a two-bedroom apartment.Because of high rent folk that works in Atlantis lives in neighboring towns because of the low rent. For there not to be a balance between quantity demanded and quantity supplied the rental rate have to decrease. When the scale is balanced, it show equilibrium has been meet. When the rental rate is below the equilibrium this causes for the quantity demanded is larger than the quantity supplied, this leads to a shortage of apartment in the market. Scenario seven states that the government imposed a price ceiling on rental property in the last two years that cannot exceed $1500. 3The imposing of the price ceiling in this scenario is below equilibrium as in this case, it makes the quant ity supply less than the quantity demand. As stated in the (ecampus. phoenix. edu) prices ceiling can have both economic and social consequences. In scenario two the shift of supply curve is upward sloping, and in scenario four the demand curve shifts to the left. In scenario two where the supply curve is upward sloping this was caused from an increase in rental rate. In scenario four the cause of the shift in the demand curve is caused from more people demanding apartments.In the shift of supply curve it would not affect the equilibrium price, as stated in the (ecampus. phoenix. edu) the supply curve for products are imaginary line at a point, which tells you the quantities, and the decision maker cannot access the supply curve. In the shift of the demand curve means that the quantity demanded is more than the quantity supplied at the original equilibrium, and the decision maker would increase the quantity demand. In the workplace I would apply it to access as to what student are a ccomplishing according to mastery, partial mastery, or non- mastery, and his would help all person who are assisting the students to know what his or her needs are. Price elasticity of demands affected consumers as related to the simulation is the increased and decreasing prices of the rental property. Folk that worked in the city of Atlantis lived in neighboring city because of the high priced two-bedroom apartments. 5 Reference Economics for Business, University of Phoenix, Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu Colander, D. C. (2010). Economics (8th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill

Panera Bread Business

Panera Bread Business Company Background Founded in 1981 by Ron Shaich and Louis Kane, the famous Panera Bread Company started operating under the brand name Au Bon Pain Co. Inc. It first grew along the United States’ east coast before it was internationalized between early 1980’s to 1990’s. This immense growth had the implication of making the company a dominant business operator in the category of bakery-cafe. In 1993, Au Bon Pain Co. Inc. bought St.Louis Bread Company. At the time of this acquiring, St.Louis Bread Company had 20 bakery cafes. In 1993 to 1997, the company recorded an increment of 75 percent in its mean unit volumes. This prompted the alteration of the brand name from Au Bon Pain Co. Inc. to Panera Bread Company. In 1997, the Panera Bread Company recognized its capacity for growth to become a leading bread maker in the United States. However, to achieve this noble potential, heavy investment of monetary resources was required.Advertising We will write a custo m case study sample on Panera Bread Business specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Indeed, in 1999, the company completed a transaction involving a sale of the business units of Au Bon Pain Co., Inc. only remaining with those of the Panera Bread Company. With regard to Panera Bread, after the completion of this transaction, â€Å"the companys stock has grown thirteen-fold, and over $1 billion shareholder value has been created† (Para. 5). The company acquired the title of the best performer under the category of restaurants with 1, 5, and 10-year shareholders’ returns. Later, in 2007, Panera Bread Company also purchased paradise bakery and cafe. As Panera Bread points out, â€Å"in March 2012, the company announced that Bill Moreton and Ron Shaich would both assume the roles of chief executive officers† (Para. 2). Currently, Shaich acts as the co-CEO and the chairperson of the board of directors. On the other hand, Bill Moret on is the co-CEO and the president of Panera Bread Company. As at September 2012, the company had established business presence in 44 states where it operated 1,625 bakeries. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis involves strategic planning approaches engineered to evaluate strengths, limitations, and opportunities without negating threats that businesses face in their operation environment. Strengths are the traits that make it possible for an organization to have an advantage in comparison to other organizations. For the case of Panera Bread Company, the strengths include appealing and attractive food menus that comprise a variety of products from which customers can choose. According to Panera Bread Company Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, these products include â€Å"fresh baked goods, made-to-order sandwiches on freshly baked breads, soups, salads, custom roasted coffees, and other complementary products† (10). Due to the company’s strong financial position, it has managed to invest in cozy cafes, which create a smoothing environment for the customers. This has the impact of making the company build a strong customers’ experience.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The strength is implied in the company’s statement of goals, missions, and aims in which it stipulates that the central goal is to ensure that Panera Bread Company is the first choice of all customers who crave for sandwiches, soup, and salads. In addition to these strengths, the company has an enormous distribution ability covering a large geographic area (44 states as of Septembers 2012). It has products having relatively better quality while compared to its competitors. It has differentiated its services with the rival companies besides accumulating customers’ beliefs that the company stocks fresh breads. Besides, it has developed a powerful and win ning business strategy. Amid the above-cited strengths, Panera Bread Company encounters some weaknesses. These include the traits of Panera Bread Company that place it at a disadvantage in comparison with rival companies operating in the same industry. One of the weaknesses is the heavy investments in bread centric line of business, which means that Panera Bread Company has a narrow product line. Other weaknesses are higher prices at the company-owned stores in comparison to the franchises, declining customer service, and customer preferences. In particular, alterations of preferences and customer tastes may make them consider opting for buying more nutritious food items in other restaurants. Contextualization of this weakness introduces some chances that the company may consider as existing external chances, which, while utilized, may make it improve its performance. They include international expansions and opening of new outlets to tap the growth potential within the suburban mar kets. The fact that the company has a weakness of narrow product line introduces an opportunity for introduction of new items in the product line. On the other hand, Panera Bread Company encounters external chances that impair its performance. These are threats to the operation of the company. They include lawsuits, government regulations, and competition from rival companies such as Sturbucks and Mc Donald among other local and international restaurants offering fast foods. In the context of lawsuits and drawing from Panera Bread Company Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the company admits that it is â€Å"subjected to other routine legal proceedings, claims, and litigations in the ordinary course of its business† (10).Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Panera Bread Business specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This requires heavy commitment of financial resources and management attention. Saturation of the mark et creates another incredible threat. The company would encounter challenges in getting strategic places for opening new outlets consistent with its strategic plan of enhancing profitability through rapid expansion. Strategies to attack major problems faced by Panera Bread Panera Bread Company encounters several problems in the derivation of its strategic plans to enhance a continuous growth in an environment that is saturated by a variety of companies offering similar or substitute products. One of the problems of the company is that it offers products in its company-owned stores at prices that are higher than the franchises. A significant reason for these differences is the need to gain higher profit margins to cater for the costs of running the business-associated issues that are extrinsic from the control of the company such as the cost of settlement of lawsuits filed against the company by past employees. For instance, in 2009, Nick Sotoudeh filed a case costing the company 5 m illion dollars in its settlement (Panera Bread Company Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q 2 4). In 2010, Corey Weiner, Caroll Ruiz, and Denarius Lewis filed another case against the company costing 1.5 million dollars in its resolution (Panera Bread Company Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q 2 4). To meet this cost to ensure that Panera Bread Company is able to offer bread at its own stores at competitive prices, it is crucial that the company results to intensive growth. On the positive side, growth is vital since it will provide the necessary economies of scale. This means that the company will remain profitable amid making small profit margins for every product sold. The negative side of this strategic move qualifies as a technique of enhancing growth such as forming joint ventures with other big competitors such as McDonald who will deprive the company of its executive control power. Panera Bread Company is likely to experience the problem of reduced profitability due to narrow product li nes. To resolve this problem, it is crucial that it focuses on widening its product lines. This strategic move will, on the positive side, help in drawing more customers to its stores. Hence, the revenue will also hike. On the other hand, the strategic move will increase the logistical costs and other costs associated with service delivery at the stores. Therefore, under certain circumstances, increment in revenues would be outweighed by the resulting additional costs.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Somewhat different from the above two strategic moves, to address the challenge of how to increase revenues, the company can resolve to recruit more franchises besides opening more stores that are company-owned. On the positive end, this would increase revenues. On the other hand, increasing the number of company-owned stores would truncate into recruiting more staff, a case that increases the risk of experiencing more employees’ filed lawsuits. Another strategy that has not perhaps been considered by the company is focusing on extending its services away from America and Canada to other continents of the world. On the positive side, this would increase the sales of the company since being global implies meeting new fresh markets in which the company can develop products consistent with the demand requirements. Unfortunately, the option would expose the company to different political, legal, and cultural environments. Consequently, Panera Bread Company would have to change so me of its practices to match the new demand. For instance, there might be a conflict between the accounting standards. The company deploys the U.S’ GAAP, which might contradict the national generally accepted accounting principles of the new nations in the global space. Strategy that works With the current financial and business environment of the Panera Bread, the best option for dealing with the challenge of the need to increase profitability of the company is via recruitment of more franchises besides opening company- owned stores within Canada and America. Hence, I would open 300 new company-owned stores and franchises at the first phase of expansion of Panera Bread Company. The rationale for this strategy is based on the argument that, as evidenced by the estimations of good will in its balance sheet, the company has an immense market value. Additionally, in comparison to potential competing companies, Panera Bread Company has an incredible market position by virtue of i ts strengths. However, as argued before, the market is highly saturated with restaurants. Hence, there is a dominant challenge of acquiring buildings in strategic places within many cities where the company may consider as having the requisite market segment it targets. Additionally, at the entry level, many of these competing restaurants have the will and ability to pose competitive challenges to the company at the new franchises and or company-owned stores since they will have secured their market share. However, given the brand image and the quality of products and services offered by Panera Bread, the company has probabilities of getting some of this market share to build the clientele level at the new stores and franchises. The claim holds especially when it invests to improve its service delivery experience to levels above those of the existing restaurants in the new markets. Utilizing the strategy of growth through recruitment of more franchises and company-owned stores is pa rticularly significant in enhancing Panera Bread Company’s competitive position since it will make it develop the capacity to take a full advantage of the economies of scale. At the current size of Panera Bread Company, attempts to exploit the markets of all continents of the world are found unworthy due to many standards and legal compliance issues, which go into adding the cost of running the company. Implementation of the strategy In the implementation of the strategy of recruiting more franchises and opening of new company-operated stores, several considerations are vital before the implementation process kicks off. In the first place, this strategy needs financing. It is thus vital to consider whether the financial position of the company and the anticipated incomes can support the strategy. If not, it is critical to consider whether there are alternative sources of finance. Fortunately, with regard to Panera Bread Annual Report on Form 10-K, the company charges a  "franchise fee of $35,000 per bakery-cafe (of which it generally receives $5,000 at the signing of the ADA and $30,000 at or before the bakery-cafe opening)† (4). By noting that Panera Bread Company does not support the construction of the franchises, the money raised through the fees is utilizable in opening of the additional company-owned stores. According to Panera Bread Annual Report on Form 10-K, the company also has accessibility to a loan facility of 250 million dollars as an additional source of capital (3). Similar to the old food dealers like Mc Donald, the implementation of the strategy proposed above means the focus would entail opening a store or franchise and then waiting for the customer to do the purchasing. Based on the experience he or she gains with the product, he or she becomes loyal and hence a regular customer. Therefore, the strategy is customer-centric. For the success of such a strategy, it is crucial that an organization possesses the capability to p enetrate new markets. It should develop services and products, which create an immense appeal to the customers besides possessing the capacity to offer outstanding customer services (Wheelen and Hunger 851). Fortunately, these are some of the strengths of Panera Bread Company. With these strengths, the challenges in the implementation process rests in the development of customer-centric growth strategies in the new company-owned stores and franchises. I would accomplish the implementation of the strategy from three customer-centric paradigms. These are identification of core business, creation of propositions that have high value and impacts, and focusing on businesses that are highly linked to the core business of the company. Determination of the core business of the new stores starts with the identification of the core business that will be conducted in the stores and the franchises. In other words, expansion through the opening of new stores and franchises is not done blindly bu t rather with considerations of geographic areas and channels that would help to generate the highest amount of revenues. Therefore, before the company’s financial resources are committed to opening and subsequent running of the stores, profitability benchmarking and evaluation of the reputation of the company within the new geographical areas are necessary. In this approach, the stakeholders of the company are fully involved in the implementation process. Some of the stakeholders that I would include are non-loyal and loyal customers of the existing stores. The views of the loyal customers on why they embrace the products of the company are critical success factors of the strategy implementation. They would help in incorporating the attributes of the company that attract them in the new stores and franchises. On the other hand, the views of the disloyal customers create opportunities of establishing new stores that have improved customer service experience. This would help t o avoid replication of the past mistakes in the new franchises and stores. Arguably, this step of implementation of the project involves planning and analysis stage. It would take six months and an estimated cost of $ 210, 000. The second implementation step is the creation of propositions that have high values and impacts on the sub-segments of the potential customers. Based on the results of the first step discussed above, sub-segmentation of the customers’ groups in the new franchises and stores based on the found needs and anticipated buying patterns coupled with the profit contributions of the forecasted sales are vital in setting of a mechanism of reaping most from the new markets. This mechanism encompasses creation and innovation of value propositions targeting the sub-segments that are likely to be most attractive. This step is followed by conducting a field test of the impacts of the propositions. Based on the results of the field tests, scaling up is done. This ste p of the implementation process of the strategy is the analysis phase of the project. It is anticipated to take about 3-31/2 months. Its budget is $1 million. Most of this money caters for the wage expenses of analysts and data collection staff. Lastly, there is a need to focus on businesses that are highly linked to the core business of the company. The need implies that, after conducting a number of field tests and analyzing the potential of the success of the growth strategy, the next course of action will be to channel the resources of the company to open stores and accept franchise requests in areas that are likely to have large clientele. The point here is that there is no need of investing in an area where no substantive sales can be made to make the stores break even in the shortest time possible. Thus, the idea is to open stores selectively depending on the competitiveness of the market segments and sub-segments. Conclusion/Evaluation of Strategy’s success Upon imple mentation of the growth strategy, it is crucial to evaluate its success capacity. In the context of the proposed strategy for solving the problems of the Panera Bread Company, success refers to the accomplishment of the predicted outcomes when the strategy is implemented. The desired outcome is the increment of the revenue levels of the new stores and franchises such that the stores would be able to break even in the shortest time possible. On the other hand, it is desired that the new franchises end up being profitable so that Panera Bread Company can get substantive royalties. Measuring success calls for the evaluation of the strategy on its capacity to realize the core objective of the company. Measuring success in the context of the strategy for growth of the Panera Bread Company takes six approaches. In the first place, the strategy is implemented within fixed timelines. Therefore, one of the measurable success factors is whether the various time schedules for the strategy impl ementation were accomplished within the set timeframes. The other success factor is the degree to which the scope of the growth strategy has been released. The original plan is to open 300 stores and franchises. Thus, success is measured in terms of the number of the new company-owned stores and franchises opened. Thirdly, the implementation of the strategy must be consistent with the set budget. Consequently, the degree of success of the strategy is measurable from the context of the degree to which the implemented strategy complies with the budget constraints. Fourthly, it was argued in the implementation section that the overall goal of the strategy is to focus on opening stores in regions that will attract large clientele only who would get loyalty based on the company’s products. Thus, success may be measured from the dimension of the degree of customers’ loyalty, which is measurable through customers’ satisfaction levels. Unfortunately, satisfaction is onl y measurable qualitatively (either happy or unhappy). A subtle strategy of organizational growth needs to reduce the weakness and threats of an organization within the new operational centers. For this purpose, SWOT analysis is vital in determining whether the threats and weaknesses of the old stores and franchises have been replicated in the new geographical locations of the Panera Bread company-owned stores and franchises. Lastly, the success of the strategy may be measured in terms of the improvements of service quality in the new company-owned stores and franchises. Therefore, the growth sort for Panera Bread Company is not only in terms of numbers of stores and franchises but also in terms of increased quality service delivery in every new company-owned store or franchise that opens. Measuring success this way is inspired by the argument that learning organizations stand better chances of success than those, which do not learn. Panera Bread Annual Report on Form 10-K. Annual R eport Pursuant To Section 13 Or 15(D) Of The Securities Exchange Act Of 1934 For The Fiscal Year Ended December 27, 2011. Web. Panera Bread Company Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Quarterly Report Pursuant To Section 13 Or 15(D) of the Securities Exchange Act Of 1934 For the quarterly period ended September 25, 2012. Web. Panera Bread. Company Overview. Web. Wheelen, Thomas, and David Hunger. Strategic Management and business policy. New Jersey, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.

Analytic Philosophy Is Not A Systematic Philosophy Essay -- Education, L

â€Å"The use of analytic philosophy in education has some direct bearing on students, but perhaps it is most useful for educators in helping clarify what they propose to teach† (Ozmon Craver, 2008, p265). While the idea is well intentioned, the problem in today’s society is that teachers do not have much academic freedom and they are not well trained in analyzing their own curriculum. Today’s educational system is very much entrenched in standards and rote memorization of concepts. Teachers are expected to achieve certain scores on standardized tests or suffer from scrutiny from government entities or their school administrators. This need to teach an overabundance of standards has resulted in a system where teachers are con... ... middle of paper ... ... Craver, 2008, p267). One could argue that the analytic is exactly what our students are missing in order to become the best they can be. We are producing students who lack the skills to think critically. The focus on learning how to use language and understand it is essential to creating the mind that is capable of dissecting all the messages they encounter in a meaningful way. In the classroom, analysts are concerned about materials and methods and believe that both need to be scrutinized. Unfortunately, as long as our public education institutions are dependent upon government funding to offer their programs, the restrictions and constraints that come along with accepting that money will hinder the analytic process. While the analytic philosophy could have a profound effect on our educational system, our current structure just will not allow it to take hold.

The advantages of online shopping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The advantages of online shopping - Essay Example With the growth of online shopping, emerge several market footprint coverage opportunities for stores that can cater for offshore demand and services requirements appropriately. That point illustrates one of the benefits of online shopping that is; it saves time. With online shopping the buyer doesn’t need to physically go to the store to buy the product. He simply loggin or go to the website of the company whose product/service he wishes to buy, make an order, pay and the service will be acquired or delivered in case of a product. This saves time that the buyer might have used to go to the store. Another advantage of online shopping is that it very convenient. That is, who does not want to go to the store, make that long queue before being served? Most consumers prefer buying at their convenient time and place. In fact, many consumers would rather pay more but get a convenient service provided the service meets their demands. Online shopping is a global concept that is taking over the contemporary business environment. Online retailing corporations such as Amazon.com, Alibaba, eBay and many more are clear demonstrations of how online shopping is taking over the global business environment. Most consumers prefer online shopping to physical shopping because it gives them the opportunity to access varied varieties of products. At his convenient time or schedule, a consumer is able to access various sites that have the product he is looking for, compare prices and quality, comparing terms and conditions before making the decision on which one to buy. In fact most online stores emphasizes on convenience. It is only online shopping that gives the consumer the advantage of comparison shopping with just a click on the internet. Online shopping is comparatively cheap. That is, instead of fuelling his/her car or taking a walk to the store, a consumer simply needs some internet bundles to access the product he/she is looking.

Understanding the Consumer Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Understanding the Consumer Assignment - Essay Example Although, this model might look applicable in the modern world however consumer behavior is far too complex to be predicted on the basis of one single model. The reason is that today consumers themselves are very diverse and so any one set of assumption cannot hold true for everybody. In the paragraphs ahead it will be discussed how things as simple as signing one’s name, the name a person has been given by his or her family and the culture one lives in can have an influence on purchase decisions. Consumer decision making process and online shopping Haubl & Trifts (2000) propose in their study on the impact of decision aids on online shopping and consumer decision process that interactive decision aids are made for helping customers online. These decision aids help during the initial display of products available online and they also help in detailed comparison between preferred substitutes which might have highly wanted characteristics with regards to consumer decision making . Such aids permit online shoppers to conveniently find products that have been over-priced or find products which have been dominated by competitors’ inferior products due to competitors spending excessively on online advertising. Consequently, market has become more economically efficient. Generally, the presence of interactive decision aids on e-commerce websites should improve the skill of customers to find products that correspond to their personal preferences and, consequently, result in considerable optimistic and good effects for consumers. (Haubl & Trifts, 2000). Impulsive buying and culture An early study failed to differentiate among impulsive buying and unplanned buying (West, 1951) but it did describe both as the dissimilarity between actual procurement and procurement planned before. However, all procurements not planned beforehand are not impulsive ((Kollat & P.Willett, 1967; Stern, 1962). Instead, impulsive buying is comparatively more unprompted and spur-of-t he moment (Inman,Winer, and Ferraro 2009; Rook 1987; Rook and Fisher 1995) than unplanned procurement, which comprises of procurement not planned beforehand (Stern 1962). Zhang, Winterich, and Mittal (2010) describe the link between impulsive buying and Power Distance Belief (PDB) (Zhang et al., 2010). The authors discuss in details the concept of power distance. Power distance can be defined as the amount of power or authority a group is willing to accept without being forced to do so. There are high power distance cultures and also low power distance cultures. Usually, in high PDB cultures people try to learn self-control which is needed for accepting authority. Such people are reluctant to act on impulses or emotions unless told by somebody in authority to act in a certain way. The reason behind learning and practicing self-control is that this is appreciated by others. Tibet is an example of a high PDB culture. On the other hand, low PDB cultures suggest that less attention shou ld be given to authority or source of power and self-control is not as necessary as some people might think (Hofstede, 2001). For instance, students belonging to low-PDB cultures feel encouraged enough to start chatting randomly, stating their different opinions openly, and even going as far as disagreeing with their teachers if they think teachers

Afirmative Action and Black America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Afirmative Action and Black America - Essay Example Abolition of slavery became the bone of contention between the North and South. This resulted in the Civil War between the northern states termed the 'Union' and the seceded southern states forming the 'Confederacy'. Ultimately the resistance was overcome by the Union and the era of Reconstruction started to put back the ravaged economy of the southern states. The rebelled 11 Confederate states had to be restored to their positions in the Union and provided with loyal governments. The role of the emancipated slaves in southern society had to be defined and settled. With the end of Civil War slavery assumed a new form, viz segregation 1. New Black Codes that restricted the rights of the newly freed slaves were enacted in the South. White dominance was methodically resurrected through secret terror organizations like "Ku Klux Klan". The southern whites found it very difficult to adopt a social order devoid of slavery. This led to what is popularly known as "Jim Crow Laws" in the U.S. history. Enacted in the beginning of 1880s these statutes legalized segregation of blacks. The name of the enactments leads one to assume that a person named 'Jim Crow' was the architect of these laws where as it stems from a popular minstrel song 'Jump Jim Crow', a dance performed with blackface by the white comedian Thomas Dartmouth. Black codes enacted during 1865-66 restricted the fundamental rights of African Americans. They were prevented from voting by ridiculous 'poll tax' and unfair 'literacy tests' and intimidation. Blacks were required to attend separate s chools and colleges, railway cars and buses had separate sections earmarked for them. They were not even allowed to sit with the whites for public amusements and entertainments thus denied participation in mainstream community life. Even places of employment were segregated. Protagonists of these savage laws got a shot in the arm when the U S Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the so-called separate but equal accommodation in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). During 1900 to 1920 segregation extended to hospitals, jails and even churches entrenching a full-fledged apartheid regime. The Civil Rights Act 1964 The crusader of civil rights movement in the U S Dr. Martin Luther King said "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character". Before we delve into 1964 Civil Rights Act we must remember that it had a predecessor in "The Civil Rights Act of 1957", which was introduced during Eisenhower's presidency but never saw the light of the day. Eisenhower was not known for his support of the civil rights. He believed that one could not force people to change their beliefs; such changes had to come from the heart of the people involved and not as the result of legislation from Washington. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the brainchild of John F Kennedy who became President in 1960 (National, 1964) 2. He wanted to redress the discrimination that had persisted in spite of civil rights laws and constitutional guarantees. The new president was faced with some indisputable facts about the African Americans such as: 57 percent of African American housing settlements was categorized to be of unacceptable standard. Life expectancy of African American was 7 years less than that of whites. Their infant mortality was twice compared to that of whites. Blacks found it very difficult to get mortgages from mortgage lenders. Property values dropped

Cold War Causes and Effects

Cold War Causes and Effects The timing of the Cold War was crucial and one of the most diverse in the recent world history. Not only was it a war of diversity, but a war of great length that lasted about fifty years. What made this time so significant was that the whole world was involved in this war in some way. The world was split into two opposite teams and one minor mistake could have easily resulted in another world war. The Cold War is different from most wars for the simple reason of it was a war that was never actually fought. The Cold War started because Europe lost power at the end of World War II. This left the Soviet Union and the United States competing for economic and military rule. Both countries believed their policies were the best and ultimately wanted all others to follow. George Kennan coined the term containment to describe the appropriate American response to dealing with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Ojserkis, 2003: 53). Containment was a way for the United States to stall the spread of communism and they used this as their main strategy. The United States used both economic and military tactics to ensure their security and influence policies against communism. The Cold War had relatively calm periods but also had periods of high tension. Despite many conflicts, there was never any military force directly between the Socialist and Capitalist. U.S. President Harry S. Truman developed the Truman Doctrine on March 12, 1947. The policy stated that the U.S. would support Turkey and Gr eece to prevent their fall to communism. Several circumstances produced this unexpected presidential success in foreign affairs: the appointment of a new Secretary of State; Trumans own leadership-often erratic, but tough in responding to the large issues of foreign policy and national security; and an economic crisis in Europe (Hammond, 1969: 19). The Marshall Plan was a program developed by the United States to help aid European Countries after World War II. George C. Marshall was the man with the plan and his efforts for world peace would later be honored by the Nobel Peace Prize. The Marshall plan was also offered to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, but they did not accept it. The United Nations had the role of stopping wars between different countries. The Marshall Plan helped better the lives of many people. As soon as Congress had authorized the Marshall Plan expenditures for the first year, the Administration, with the cooperation of the Republic leadership in the House and Senate foreign relations committees, began to lay the legislative groundwork for the North Atlantic Treaty (Hammond, 1969: 26). The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, was created as a result of the Cold War and was designed as a defense mechanism against communism. Doubtless the Warsaw Pact, multilateral military alliance with a combin ed command structure, was largely what it appeared to be-a mirror image of NATO (Hammond, 1969: 57). Russia formed the Warsaw Pact as a comeback to the establishment of NATO. Our membership in NATO today is still necessary for peace among the nations. After World War II, the Soviet Union strengthened its military power enough that it felt able to challenge the United States in Europe. One major crisis of the Cold War involved the Soviet Union blocking grounds to Berlin in attempt to allow Communist to start supplying fuel and food. The Soviet Union wanted control over the city of Berlin and they thought by cutting off all ground supplies they could do so. Little did they know, the United Kingdom and United States would respond with the Berlin Airlift to reach the people of West Berlin with the supplies they needed. Flights were continued daily for about a year and then the block finally ended. How the United States and their allies overcame the block and helped the people of Berlin would determine their destinies for many years to come. Although the Berlin blockade undoubtedly increased Cold War tensions and helped foster the environment in which the American arms build-up would later develop, it did not, in itself, lead to any la rge and long-term strengthening of the U.S. military (Ojserkis, 2003: 23). The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. As a result of the collapse of the Communist, the Cold War ended. This is what finally gave the United States major military powers. A war without a fight is difficult to explain. That is what makes the Cold War so unique. This was an expensive war; both sides took hard hits financially and it lasted over four decades. The Cold War probably could not have been avoided since there were too many differences between the United States and Russia. With so many controversies between the leaders it is hard to believe that anything could have been done to have made them see eye to eye.

The Theatre and its Identity Crisis Essay -- Female Roles in Theatre

My trust in the definitiveness of reality is swiftly disintegrating beneath me. The deeper I dive into the abyss of theory, the more I realize that nothing I have learned is safe from change; that facts may actually be temporary and that everything is a prisoner of our construction of time. In admitting this, I worry that these hypotheses are the beginning of a tiny delusion that will begin to gradually eat away at the rest of my sanity. That scares me a bit, yes, but even as I sit here writing, I love this newfound instability because it’s ironically made me feel more grounded than I’ve ever felt. Armed with these ideas, I have looked back at the world I’ve grown up with and finally begun to see society’s seams tugged apart, its splintered frame exposed, and the fear and worry of its people uncovered. But I have also exposed, buried deep within its guarded chest, the hope and innovation and change that inspires humanity’s pervasive drive towards pr ogress. It’s within this fragmented existence that I feel that I have a place within this generation’s script. However, it’s now a matter of figuring out which role is mine. The cynic inside me can’t help but look at the cast list and feel an irrepressible sense of sadness; with such a long list of characters to choose from, why do we prescribe such commonplace roles to ourselves? I believe that it all starts with gender. Judith Butler reasons in her inspirational essay â€Å"Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory† that gender is a performance. She observes that sex (the biological facts defining male and female) is not what actually makes a man and man and a woman a woman, but rather that one’s gender identity is determined through a styliz... ...easy for the less informed to drown in if one detail is highlighted with greater weight. It’s been a constant power struggle between these two genders whose desperate goal is to find some sort of order amidst chaos. It’s simply easier to have a leader, but the ways in which we’ve selected these privileged few I find disquieting. Though I do not believe that gender is one hundred percent learnt, as Butler believes, I do think that societal impositions play too strong a role in creating identities. This is especially true in the theatre, and I know that many of my female classmates will agree with this. Women are capable of acting in masculine manners just as the converse is true for men. But if this idea is to ever branch out into the real world, whatever that may mean, the theatre is a perfect place for its journey to begin- and I believe that has every right to.

Bloodlines Chapter Fifteen

ADRIAN SLEPT for a lot of the way back to Palm Springs. Apparently, his late-night partying with Carla and Krissy had resulted in very little rest. Thinking about it made me uncomfortable. Thinking about Jill experiencing it through him made me ill. There'd been little we could do for Carla and Krissy except offer our sympathies. Strigoi attacks happened. It was tragic and terrible, but the only way most Moroi could protect themselves was to exercise caution, keep their whereabouts secure, and stay with guardians if possible. For non-royal Moroi living and going to school in the world like Carla and Krissy were, guardians weren't an option. Plenty of Moroi got by like that; they just had to be careful. The two of them thought the circumstances surrounding their friend's death were awful. That was true. They were. But neither girl thought much past that or felt there was anything odd about the throat-slitting. I wouldn't have either if I hadn't heard Clarence's account of his niece's death. I brought Adrian back to Amberwood with me and signed him in briefly as a guest, figuring Jill would feel better about seeing him in the flesh. Sure enough, she was already waiting for us in the dorm when we arrived. She hugged him and flashed me a grateful look. Eddie was with her, and though he said nothing, there was a look of exasperation on his face that said I wasn't the only one who thought Adrian had behaved ridiculously. â€Å"I was so worried,† Jill said. Adrian ruffled her hair, which made her duck away. â€Å"Nothing to worry about, Jailbait. So long as the wrinkles come out of this shirt, there's no harm done.† No harm done, I thought, feeling anger kindle within me. No harm except Jill has to watch Adrian hook up with other girls and endure his drinking binges. It didn't matter if Lee had supplanted her old crush on Adrian. She was just too young to witness anything like that. Adrian had been selfish. â€Å"Now,† Adrian continued, â€Å"if Sage would be kind enough to keep playing chauffeur, I'll take us all out to lunch.† â€Å"I thought you didn't have any money,† I pointed out. â€Å"I said I don't have very much money.† Jill and Eddie exchanged looks. â€Å"We, um, were going to meet Micah for lunch,† Jill said. â€Å"Bring him along,† said Adrian. â€Å"He can meet the family.† Micah showed up shortly thereafter and was happy to meet our other â€Å"brother.† He shook Adrian's hand and smiled. â€Å"Now I see some family resemblance. I was starting to wonder if Jill was adopted, but you two kind of look like each other.† â€Å"So does our mailman back in North Dakota,† said Adrian. â€Å"South,† I corrected. Fortunately, Micah didn't seem to think there was anything weird about the slip. â€Å"Right,† said Adrian. He studied Micah thoughtfully. â€Å"There's something familiar about you. Have we met?† Micah shook his head. â€Å"I've never been to South Dakota.† I was pretty sure I heard Adrian murmur, â€Å"That makes two of us.† â€Å"We should go,† said Eddie hastily, moving toward our dorm's door. â€Å"I've got some homework to catch up on later.† I frowned, puzzled by the attitude change. Eddie wasn't a bad student by any means, but it had been obvious to me since coming to Amberwood that he didn't take the same interest in the school that I did. This was a repeated year for him, and he was content to just play along and only do what was necessary to stay in good standing. If anyone else thought his behavior was odd, they didn't show it. Micah was already talking to Jill about something, and Adrian still looked like he was trying to place Micah. Adrian's generous offer to buy lunch only extended to fast food, so our meal was quick. After a week of dorm food, though, I appreciated the change, and Adrian had long since made his views clear on Dorothy's â€Å"healthy† cooking. â€Å"You should've just gotten a kids' meal,† Adrian told me, pointing to my half-eaten burger and fries. â€Å"You could have saved me a lot of money. And gotten a toy.† ‘†A lot' is kind of an exaggeration,† I said. â€Å"Besides, now you have leftovers to help get you by.† He rolled his eyes and stole a fry off my plate. â€Å"You're the one who should take the leftovers home. How do you even function on so little food?† he demanded. â€Å"One of these days, you're just going to blow away.† â€Å"Stop it,† I said. â€Å"Just telling it like it is,† he said with a shrug. â€Å"You could stand to gain about ten pounds.† I stared at him incredulously, too shocked to even come up with a response. What did a Moroi know about weight gain? They had perfect figures. They didn't know what it was like to look in the mirror and see inadequacy, to never feel good enough. It was effortless for them, whereas no matter how hard I worked, I never seemed to match their inhuman perfection. Adrian's eyes drifted over to where Jill, Eddie, and Micah were animatedly talking about practicing more self-defense together. â€Å"They're kind of cute,† said Adrian in a voice pitched just for my ears. He played with his straw as he studied the group. â€Å"Maybe Castile was on to something about letting her date at the school.† â€Å"Adrian,† I groaned. â€Å"Kidding,† he said. â€Å"Lee would probably challenge him to a duel. He couldn't stop talking about her, you know. When we got back from mini-golfing, Lee just kept going on with, ‘When can we all go out again?' And yet, he dropped off the face of the earth when he was in LA and I needed him.† â€Å"Had you made plans to meet up?† I asked. â€Å"Had he agreed to take you home?† â€Å"No,† Adrian admitted. â€Å"But what else was he really doing?† Just then, a gray-haired man passed by, bumping into Jill's chair as he balanced a tray of burgers and sodas. Nothing spilled, but Eddie jumped to his feet with lightning speed, ready to fly across the table and defend her. The man backed up and mumbled an apology. Adrian shook his head in amazement. â€Å"Just send him as a chaperone with whoever she goes out with, and we'll never have to worry.† Knowing what I knew now about Adrian and Jill's bond, I was able to regard Eddie's protectiveness in a different light. Oh, sure, I knew his guardian training had instilled that nature into him, but there always seemed to be something a little stronger there. Something almost†¦ personal. At first, I'd wondered if maybe it was because Jill was just part of his larger circle of friends, like Rose. Now, I kept thinking it might go further than that. Jill had said Eddie had been the only one to try to protect her the night of the attack. He'd failed, most likely through timing and not because of a lack of skill. But what kind of mark must that have left on him? He was someone whose sole purpose in life was to defend others – and he'd had to watch someone die on his watch. Now that Adrian had brought her back to life, was it almost like a second chance for Eddie? An opportunity to redeem himself? Maybe that's why he was so vigilant. â€Å"You look confused,† said Adrian. I shook my head and sighed. â€Å"I think I'm just overthinking things.† He nodded solemnly. â€Å"That's why I try to never do it.† An earlier question popped into my head. â€Å"Hey, how come you told those girls your name was Jet?† â€Å"Standard practice if you don't want chicks to find you later, Sage. Besides, I figured I was protecting our operation here.† â€Å"Yeah, but why Jet? Why not†¦ I don't know†¦ Travis or John?† Adrian gave me a look that said I was wasting his time. â€Å"Because Jet sounds badass.† After lunch, we returned Adrian to Clarence's, and the rest of us went back to Amberwood. Jill and Micah went off to do their own thing, and I convinced Eddie to go to the library with me. There, we staked out a table, and I brought out my laptop. â€Å"So, we found out something interesting when I picked up Adrian today,† I told Eddie, keeping my voice library soft. Eddie gave me a wry look. â€Å"I'm guessing the whole experience of picking up Adrian was interesting – at least from what Jill told me.† â€Å"It could've been worse,† I speculated. â€Å"At least he was dressed when I got there. And there were only two other Moroi there. I didn't stumble into a sorority house full of them or anything.† That made him laugh. â€Å"You might have had a harder time getting Adrian out of there if that was the case.† My laptop screen flared to life, and I began the complicated process of logging into the Alchemists' mega-secure database. â€Å"Well, as we were leaving, the girls he was with found out that a friend of theirs was killed by Strigoi the other night.† All humor vanished from Eddie's face. His eyes went hard. â€Å"Where?† â€Å"In LA, not here,† I added. I should've known better than to open up the conversation like that without clearly stating beforehand that he didn't need to be on the lookout for Strigoi on campus. â€Å"As far as we know, everyone's right – Strigoi don't want to hang out in Palm Springs.† Eddie became about one percent less tense. â€Å"Here's the thing,† I continued. â€Å"This Moroi girl – this friend of theirs – was allegedly killed like Clarence's niece.† Eddie's eyebrows rose. â€Å"With the slit throat?† I nodded. â€Å"That's weird. Are you sure that's what happened – to either of them? I mean, we're just going off of Clarence's report, right?† Eddie drummed a pencil against the table as he pondered this. â€Å"Clarence is nice enough, but come on. We all know he's not quite there.† â€Å"That's why I brought you here. And why I wanted to check this database. We keep track of most Strigoi-related deaths.† Eddie peered over my shoulder as I brought up an entry on Tamara Donahue from five years ago. Sure enough, she'd been found with a cut throat. Another search on Melody Croft – Krissy and Carla's friend – also turned up a report from last night. My people had been on the scene and quick to log the information. Melody too had had her throat slit. There had been other reported Strigoi murders in LA – it was a big city, after all – but only two matched this profile. â€Å"Are you still thinking about what Clarence said – about vampire hunters?† Eddie asked me. â€Å"I don't know. I just thought it was worth checking these out.† â€Å"Guardians weighed in on both of these cases,† said Eddie, pointing at the screen. â€Å"They also declared them Strigoi attacks – there was blood taken from both girls. That's what a Strigoi does. I don't know what a vampire hunter does, but I just don't see drinking blood as part of their goal.† â€Å"I wouldn't think so either. But neither of these girls was drained.† â€Å"Strigoi don't always finish drinking from their victims. Especially if they're interrupted. This girl Melody was killed near a club, right? I mean, if her killer heard someone coming, they'd just take off.† â€Å"I suppose. But what about the throat-slitting?† Eddie shrugged. â€Å"We have tons of accounts of Strigoi doing crazy things. Just look at Keith and his eye. They're evil. You can't apply logic to them.† â€Å"Um, let's leave his eye out of this.† Keith wasn't a case I wanted brought up. I sat back in my chair and sighed. â€Å"There's just something bugging me about all the killings. The half-drinking. The throat-slitting. They're both strange things happening together. And I don't like strange things.† â€Å"Then you're in the wrong profession,† said Eddie, his smile returning. I smiled back, my mind still turning everything over. â€Å"I suppose so.† When I didn't say anything else, he gave me a surprised look. â€Å"You're not actually†¦ you don't think there are vampire hunters, do you?† â€Å"No, not really. We have no evidence to think they exist.† â€Å"But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Eddie prompted. â€Å"But,† I said. â€Å"Doesn't the idea freak you out a little? I mean, right now, you know who to look out for. Other Moroi. Strigoi. They stand out. But a human vampire hunter?† I gestured to the students gathered and working in the library. â€Å"You wouldn't know who's a threat.† Eddie shook his head. â€Å"It's pretty easy, actually. I just treat everyone as a threat.† I couldn't decide if that made me feel better or not. When I returned to my dorm later, Mrs. Weathers flagged me down. â€Å"Ms. Terwilliger dropped something off for you.† â€Å"She brought me something?† I asked in surprise. â€Å"It's not money, is it?† So far, none of my coffee purchases had been reimbursed. By way of answer, Mrs. Weathers handed over a leather-covered book. At first, I thought it was the one I'd just finished. Then I looked more closely at the cover and read Volume 2. A yellow sticky note attached to the book had Ms. Terwilliger's spidery writing on it: Next. I sighed and thanked Mrs. Weathers. I'd do any task my teacher asked of me, but I was kind of hoping she'd assign me a book that was more of a historical account than recipes for spells. As I was walking down my hall, I heard a few exclamations of alarm from the far end. I could see an open door and a few people huddled around it. Hurrying past my own room, I went to see what the problem was. It was Julia and Kristin's room. Although I wasn't sure I really had the right, I pushed my way past some of the frightened onlookers. No one stopped me. I found Kristin lying on her bed, twitching violently. She was sweating profusely, and her pupils were so large, there was hardly any discernible iris. Julia sat near her on the bed, as did a couple girls I didn't know so well. She looked up at my approach, her face filled with fear. â€Å"Kristin?† I cried. â€Å"Kristin, are you okay?† When no response came, I turned to the others. â€Å"What's the matter with her?† Julia anxiously refolded a wet cloth and placed it on Kristin's forehead. â€Å"We don't know. She's been like this since this morning.† I stared incredulously. â€Å"Then she needs to see a doctor! We need to call someone now. I'll get Mrs. Weathers – â€Å" â€Å"No!† Julia jumped up and caught hold of my arm. â€Å"You can't. The reason she's like this†¦ well, we think it's because of the tattoo.† â€Å"Tattoo?† One of the other girls caught hold of Kristin's wrist and turned it so that I could see the inside. There, tattooed in glittering coppery ink on her dusky skin, was a daisy. I remembered Kristin pining for a celestial tattoo, but last I knew, she couldn't afford it. â€Å"When did she get this?† â€Å"Earlier today,† said Julia. She looked abashed. â€Å"I lent her the money.† I stared at that sparkling flower, so pretty and seemingly harmless. I had no doubt it was what was causing this fit. Whatever was mixed with the ink to provide the high wasn't reacting correctly with her system. â€Å"She needs a doctor,† I said firmly. â€Å"You can't. We'll have to tell them about the tattoos,† said the girl who had been holding Kristin's hand. â€Å"No one believed Trey, but if they saw something like this†¦ well, everything at Nevermore could be shut down.† Good! I thought. But to my astonishment, her words were met with nods from the other gathered girls. Were they crazy? How many of them had those ridiculous tattoos? And was protecting them really more important than Kristin's life? Julia swallowed and sat back down on the edge of the bed. â€Å"We were hoping this might pass. Maybe she needs a little time to adjust.† Kristin moaned. One of her legs trembled like it was having a muscle spasm and then stilled. Her eyes and their large pupils stared off blankly, and her breathing was shallow. â€Å"She's had all day!† I pointed out. â€Å"You guys, she could die.† â€Å"How do you know?† asked Julia in astonishment. I didn't, not for sure. But every once in a while, Alchemist tattoos didn't take either. In ninety-nine percent of the cases, human bodies accepted the vampire blood used in an Alchemist tattoo, allowing its properties to infuse with our own, kind of like a low-grade dhampir. We gained good stamina and long life, though hardly got the amazing physical abilities dhampirs received. The blood was too diluted for that. Even so, there was always the occasional person who got sick from an Alchemist tattoo. The blood poisoned them. It was made worse because the gold and other chemicals worked to keep the blood infused in the skin, so it never had a chance to leave. Those left untreated died. Vampire blood wouldn't cause a euphoric high, so I didn't believe there was any in this tattoo. But the treatment we used for Alchemist tattoos relied on breaking down the metallic components of the tattoo in order to release the blood, allowing the body then to clear it naturally. I had to assume the same principle would work here. Only, I didn't know the exact formula for the Alchemist compound and wasn't even sure it would break down copper like it did gold. I bit my lip, thinking, and finally made a decision. â€Å"I'll be right back,† I told them, racing to my room. All the while, an inner voice chastised me for foolishness. I had no business attempting what I was about to. I should go straight to Mrs. Weathers. Instead, I opened my room door and found Jill with her laptop. â€Å"Hey, Sydney,† she said, smiling. â€Å"I'm IM-ing with Lee and – † She did a double take. â€Å"What's wrong?† I turned on my own laptop and set it on the bed. While it booted up, I reached for a small metal suitcase I'd carefully packed but never expected to use. â€Å"Can you go get me some water? Quickly?† Jill hesitated only a moment before nodding. â€Å"Be right back,† she said, jumping off her bed. While she was gone, I unlocked the case with a key I always kept on me. Inside it were small amounts of dozens of Alchemist compounds, the kinds of substances we mixed together and used as part of our jobs. Some ingredients – like the ones I used to dissolve Strigoi bodies – I had lots of. Others, I had only a sampling of. My laptop finished booting up, and I logged onto the Alchemist database. A few searches and I soon had the formula for antitattoo treatment pulled up. Jill returned then, carrying a cup brimming with water. â€Å"Is this enough? If we were in any other climate, I could've pulled it straight from the air.† â€Å"It's fine,† I said, glad the climate had kept her from magic. I scanned the formula, analyzing which ingredients did what. I mentally deleted the ones I was certain were specific to gold. A couple I didn't even have, but I was pretty sure they were simply for skin comfort and weren't requisite. I began pulling out ingredients from my kit, carefully measuring them – though still moving as quickly as possible – into another cup. I made substitutions where necessary and added an ingredient I was certain would break down copper, though the amount required was only a guess on my part. When I finished, I took the water from Jill and added the same amount that was in the original instructions. The final result was a liquid that reminded me of iodine. I lifted it up and felt a little like a mad scientist. Jill had watched me without comment the entire time, sensing the urgency. Her face was filled with concern, but she was biting back all the questions I knew she had. She followed me when I left the room and headed back to Kristin's. More girls were there than before, and it was honestly a wonder Mrs. Weathers didn't just hear the racket. For a group so intent on protecting their precious tattoos, they weren't being particularly covert. I returned to Kristin's bedside, finding her unchanged. â€Å"Expose her wrist again, and hold her arm as still as possible for me.† I didn't direct the command to anyone but put enough force into it that I felt certain someone would obey. I was right. â€Å"If this doesn't work, we get a doctor.† My voice left no room for argument. Julia looked paler than Jill but gave a weak a nod of acceptance. I took the washcloth she'd been using and dipped it into my cup. I'd never actually seen this done and had to guess about how to apply it. I made a silent prayer and then pressed the washcloth against the tattoo on Kristin's wrist. She let out a strangled cry, and her whole body bucked up. A couple nearby girls instinctively helped hold her down. Tendrils of smoke curled up from where I was holding the washcloth against her, and I smelled a sharp, acrid odor. Waiting what I hoped was an acceptable amount of time, I finally removed the washcloth. The pretty little daisy was mutating before our eyes. Its clean lines began to run and blur. The coppery color began to shift, darkening into a bluish green. Before long, the design was unrecognizable. It was an amorphous blob. Around it, red welts appeared on her skin, though they seemed to be more of a superficial irritation than anything dire. Still, the whole thing looked terrible, and I stared in horror. What had I done? Everyone else was silent, no one knowing what to do. A couple minutes passed, but they felt like hours. Abruptly, Kristin stopped twitching. Her breathing still seemed labored, but she blinked, her eyes focusing as though suddenly seeing the world for the first time. Her pupils were still huge, but she managed to look around and at last focus on me. â€Å"Sydney,† gasped out Kristin. â€Å"Thank you.†