Last Sacrifice Chapter Eleven

I BRACED MYSELF, EXPECTING TO see the Dashkov brothers appear again with some last minute â€Å"advice.' Instead I saw– â€Å"Adrian!' I ran across the garden I'd appeared in and threw my arms around him. He hugged me back just as tightly and lifted me off the ground. â€Å"Little dhampir,' he said, once he put me down again. His arms stayed around my waist. â€Å"I've missed you.' â€Å"I've missed you too.' And I meant it. The last couple days and their bizarre events had completely unhinged my life, and being with him–even in a dream–was comforting. I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him, enjoying a small moment of warmth and peace as our lips met. â€Å"Are you okay?' he asked when I broke away. â€Å"No one'll tell me much about you. Your old man says you're safe and that the Alchemist would let him know if anything went wrong.' I didn't bother telling Adrian that that probably wasn't true, seeing as Abe didn't know we'd gone freelancing with some backwoods vampires. â€Å"I'm fine,' I assured Adrian. â€Å"Mostly bored. We're holed up in this dive of a town. I don't think anyone will come looking for us. I don't think they'd want to.' A look of relief spread over his handsome face, and it occurred to me just how worried he was. â€Å"I'm glad. Rose, you can't imagine what it's like. They aren't just questioning people who might have been involved. The guardians are making all sorts of plans to hunt you down. There's all this talk about â€Å"deadly force.† â€Å"Well, they won't find me. I'm somewhere pretty remote.' Very remote. â€Å"I wish I could have gone with you.' He still looked concerned, and I pressed a finger to his lips. â€Å"No. Don't say that. You're better off where you are–and better not to be associated with me any more than you already are. Have you been questioned?' â€Å"Yeah, they didn't get anything useful out of me. Too tight an alibi. They brought me in when I went to find Mikhail because we talked to–‘ â€Å"I know. Joe.' Adrian's surprise was brief. â€Å"Little dhampir, you've been spying.' â€Å"It's hard not to.' â€Å"You know, as much as I like the idea of having someone always know when you're in trouble, I'm still kind of glad I don't have anyone bound to me. Not sure I'd want them looking in my head.' â€Å"I don't think anyone would want to look in your head either. One person living Adrian Ivashkov's life is hard enough.' Amusement flickered in his eyes, but it faded when I switched back to business. â€Å"Anyway, yeah. I overheard Lissa's †¦ um, interrogation of Joe. That's serious stuff. What did Mikhail say? If Joe lied, that clears half the evidence against me.' It also theoretically killed Adrian's alibi. â€Å"Well, not quite half. It would have been better if Joe said you were in your room during the murder instead of admitting he's a flake who doesn't remember anything. It also would have been better if he hadn't said all this under Lissa's compulsion. Mikhail can't report that.' I sighed. Hanging out with spirit users, I'd started to take compulsion for granted. It was easy to forget that among Moroi, it was taboo, the kind of thing you'd get in serious trouble for. In fact, Lissa wouldn't just get in trouble for illicitly using it. She could also be accused of simply making Joe say whatever she wanted. Anything he said in my favor would be suspect. No one would believe it. â€Å"Also,' added Adrian, looking dismayed, â€Å"if what Joe said gets out, the world would learn about my mother's misguided acts of love.' â€Å"Im sorry,' I said, putting my arms around him. He complained about his parents all the time but really did care about his mother. Finding out about her bribery had to be tough for him, and I knew Tatiana's death still pained him. It seemed I was around a lot of men in anguish lately. â€Å"Although, I really am glad she cleared you of any connection.' â€Å"It was stupid of her. If anyone finds out, she'll be in serious trouble.' â€Å"What's Mikhail's advice then?' â€Å"He's going to find Joe and question him privately. Go from there. For now, there's not much more we can do with the info. It's useful for us †¦ but not for the legal system.' â€Å"Yeah,' I said, trying not to feel disheartened. â€Å"I guess it's better than nothing.' Adrian nodded and then brushed away his dark mood in that easy way of his. Still keeping his arms around me, he pulled back slightly, smiling as he looked down at me. â€Å"Nice dress, by the way.' The topic change caught me by surprise, though I should have been used to it with him by now. Following his gaze, I noticed I was wearing an old dress of mine, the sexy black dress I'd had on when Victor had unleashed a lust charm on Dimitri and me. Since Adrian hadn't dressed me for the dream, my subconscious had dictated my appearance. I was kind of astonished it had chosen this. â€Å"Oh †¦' I suddenly felt embarrassed but didn't know why. â€Å"My own clothes are kind of beat up. I guess I wanted something to counteract that.' â€Å"Well, it looks good on you.' Adrian's fingers slid along the strap. â€Å"Really good.' Even in a dream, the touch of his finger made my skin tingle. â€Å"Watch it, Ivashkov. We've got no time for this.' â€Å"We're asleep. What else are we going to do?' My protests were muffled in a kiss. I sank into it. One of his hands slid down the side of my thigh, near the dress's edge, and it took a lot of mental energy to convince myself that him pulling the dress up was probably not going to clear my name. I reluctantly moved back. â€Å"We're going to figure out who killed Tatiana,' I said, trying to catch my breath. â€Å"There's no â€Å"we,† he said, echoing the line I'd just used on Victor. â€Å"There's me. And Lissa. And Christian. And the rest of our misfit friends.' He stroked my hair and then drew me close again, brushing a kiss against my cheek. â€Å"Don't worry, little dhampir. You take care of yourself. Just stay where you are.' â€Å"I can't,' I said. â€Å"Don't you get it? I can't just do nothing.' The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. It was one thing to protest my inactivity with Dimitri, but with Adrian, I needed to make him and everyone else at Court think I was doing the â€Å"right thing.' â€Å"You have to. We'll take care of you.' He didn't get it, I realized. He didn't understand how badly I needed to do something to help. To his credit, his intentions were good. He thought taking care of me was a big deal. He wanted to keep me safe. But he didn't truly get how agonizing inaction was for me. â€Å"We'll find this person and stop them from doing whatever it is †¦ they want to do. It might take a long time, but we'll fix it.' â€Å"Time †¦' I murmured against his chest, letting the argument go. I'd get nowhere convincing him I needed to help my friends, and anyway, I had my own quest now. So much to do, so little time. I stared off into the landscape he'd created. I'd noticed trees and flowers earlier but only now realized we were in the Church's courtyard–the way it had been before Abe's assault. The statue of Queen Alexandra stood intact, her long hair and kind eyes immortalized in stone. The murder investigation really was in my friends' hands for now, but Adrian had been right: it might take a while. I sighed. â€Å"Time. We need more time.' Adrian pulled away slightly. â€Å"Hmm? What'd you say?' I stared up at him, biting my lower lip as a million thoughts spun through my mind. I looked again at Alexandra and made my decision, wondering if I was about to set new records in foolishness. I turned back to Adrian and squeezed his hand. â€Å"I said we need more time. And I know how we can get it †¦ but †¦ well, there's something you have to do for me. And you, uh, probably shouldn't mention it to Lissa yet †¦' I had just enough time to deliver my instructions to Adrian–who was as shocked as I'd expected–before Dimitri woke me up for my shift. We switched off with little conversation. He had his usual tough face on, but I could see the lines of fatigue etched upon his features. I didn't want to bother him–yet–with my Victor and Robert encounter. Not to mention what I'd just told Adrian to do. There'd be plenty of time for a recap later. Dimitri fell asleep in that easy way of his, and Sydney never stirred the entire time. I envied her for a full night's sleep but couldn't help a smile as the room grew lighter and lighter. She'd been inadvertently put on a vampire schedule after our all-night adventures. Of course, Lissa was on the same schedule, which meant I couldn't visit her during my watch. Just as well. I needed to keep an eye on this creepy collective we'd stumbled into. These Keepers might not want to turn us in, but that didn't make them harmless either. I also hadn't forgotten Sydney's fears about surprise Alchemist visits. When late afternoon came for the rest of the world, I heard stirring inside the house. I gently touched Dimitri's shoulder, and he jerked awake instantly. â€Å"Easy,' I said, unable to hide a smile. â€Å"Just a wakeup call. Sounds like our redneck friends are getting up.' This time, our voices woke Sydney. She rolled over toward us, her eyes squinting at the light coming through the badly screened window. â€Å"What time is it?' she asked, stretching her limbs. â€Å"Not sure.' I had no watch. â€Å"Probably past midday. Three? Four?' She sat up almost as quickly as Dimitri had. â€Å"In the afternoon? † The sunlight gave her the answer. â€Å"Damn you guys and your unholy schedule.' â€Å"Did you just say â€Å"damn'? Isn't that against Alchemist rules?' I teased. â€Å"Sometimes it's necessary.' She rubbed her eyes and glanced toward the door. The faint noises I'd heard in the rest of the house were louder now, audible even to her ears. â€Å"I guess we need a plan.' â€Å"We have one,' I said. â€Å"Find Lissa's sibling.' â€Å"I never entirely agreed to that,' she reminded me. â€Å"And you guys keep thinking I can just magically type away like some movie hacker to find all your answers.' â€Å"Well, at least it's a place to–‘ A thought occurred to me, one that could seriously mess things up. â€Å"Crap. Your laptop won't even work out here.' â€Å"It's got a satellite modem, but it's the battery we have to worry about.' Sydney sighed and stood up, smoothing her rumpled clothes with dismay. â€Å"I need a coffee shop or something.' â€Å"I think I saw one in a cave down the road,' I said. That almost got a smile from her. â€Å"There's got to be some town close by where I could use my laptop.' â€Å"But it's probably not a good idea to take the car out anywhere in this state,' said Dimitri. â€Å"Just in case someone at the motel got your license plate number.' â€Å"I know,' she said grimly. â€Å"I was thinking about that too.' Our brilliant scheming was interrupted by a knock at the door. Without waiting for an answer, Sarah stuck her head inside and smiled. â€Å"Oh, good. You're all awake. We're getting breakfast ready if you want to join us.' Through the doorway, scents of what seemed like a normal breakfast drifted in: bacon, eggs †¦ The bread had gotten me through the night, but I was ready for real food and willing to roll the dice on whatever Raymond's family had to offer. In the house's main section, we found a flurry of domestic activity. Raymond appeared to be cooking something over the fireplace while Paulette set the long table. It already had a platter of perfectly ordinary scrambled eggs and more slices of yesterday's bread. Raymond rose from the fireplace, holding a large metal sheet covered in crisp bacon. A smile split his bearded face when he spotted us. The more of these Keepers I saw, the more I kept noticing something. They made no attempts to hide their fangs. From childhood, my Moroi were taught to smile and speak in a way that minimized fang exposure, in case they were out in human cities. There was nothing like that here. â€Å"Good morning,' said Raymond, carefully pushing the bacon onto another platter on the table. â€Å"I hope you're all hungry.' â€Å"Do you think that's, like, real bacon?' I whispered to Sydney and Dimitri. â€Å"And not like squirrel or something?' â€Å"Looks real to me,' said Dimitri. â€Å"I'd say so too,' said Sydney. â€Å"Though, I guarantee it's from their own pigs and not a grocery store.' Dimitri laughed at whatever expression crossed my face. â€Å"I always love seeing what worries you. Strigoi? No. Questionable food? Yes.' â€Å"What about Strigoi?' Joshua and Angeline entered the house. He had a bowl of blackberries, and she was pushing the little kids along. From their squirming and dirty faces, they clearly wanted to go back outside. It was Angeline who had asked the question. Dimitri covered for my squeamishness. â€Å"Just talking about some of Rose's Strigoi kills.' Joshua came to a standstill and stared at me, those pretty blue eyes wide with amazement. â€Å"You've killed the Lost? Er–Strigoi?' I admired his attempt to use â€Å"our' term. â€Å"How many?' I shrugged. â€Å"I don't really know anymore.' â€Å"Don't you use the marks?' Raymond scolded. â€Å"I didn't think the Tainted had abandoned those.' â€Å"The marks–oh. Yeah. Our tattoos? We do.' I turned around and lifted up my hair. I heard a scuffling of feet and then felt a finger touching my skin. I flinched and whipped back around, just in time to see Joshua lowering his hand sheepishly. â€Å"Sorry,' he said. â€Å"I've just never seen some of these. Only the molnija marks. That's how we count our Strigoi kills. You've got †¦ a lot.' â€Å"The S-shaped mark is unique to them,' said Raymond disapprovingly. That look was quickly replaced by admiration. â€Å"The other's the zvezda.' This earned gasps from Joshua and Angeline and a â€Å"What?' from me. â€Å"The battle mark,' said Dimitri. â€Å"Not many people call it zvezda anymore. It means â€Å"star.† â€Å"Huh. Makes sense,' I said. The tattoo was, in fact, kind of shaped like a star and was given when someone had fought in a big enough battle to lose count of Strigoi kills. After all, there were only so many molnija marks you could cram on your neck. Joshua smiled at me in a way that made my stomach flutter just a little. Maybe he was part of a pseudo-Amish cult, but that didn't change the fact that he was still good- looking. â€Å"Now I understand how you could have killed the Tainted queen.' â€Å"It's probably fake,' said Angeline. I'd been about to protest the queen-killing part, but her comment derailed me. â€Å"It is not! I earned it when Strigoi attacked our school. And then there were plenty more I took down after that.' â€Å"The mark can't be that uncommon,' said Dimitri. â€Å"Your people must have big Strigoi fights every once in a while.' â€Å"Not really,' said Joshua, his eyes still on me. â€Å"Most of us have never fought or even seen the Lost. They don't really bother us.' That was surprising. If ever there was a Strigoi target, a group of Moroi, dhampirs, and humans out in the middle of nowhere would be it. â€Å"Why not?' I asked. Raymond winked at me. â€Å"Because we fight back.' I pondered his enigmatic statement as the family sat down to eat. Again, I thought about the entire community's willingness to fight when we'd first arrived. Was it really enough to scare off Strigoi? Not much scared them, but maybe certain things were too much of an inconvenience to deal with. I wondered what Dimitri's opinion would be on that. His own family had come from a community that separated itself somewhat from mainstream Moroi life, but it was nothing like this. All of this spun in my mind while we ate and talked. The Keepers still had a lot more questions about us and Tatiana. The only one not participating was Angeline. She ate as little as Sydney and kept watching me with a scowl. â€Å"We need some supplies,' said Sydney abruptly, interrupting me in the middle of a gruesome story. I didn't mind, but the others looked disappointed. â€Å"Where's the nearest town that would have a coffee shop †¦ or any restaurant?' â€Å"Well,' said Paulette. â€Å"Rubysville is a little over an hour north. But we have plenty of food here for you.' â€Å"Its not about food,' I said quickly. â€Å"Yours has been great.' I glanced at Sydney. â€Å"An hour's not so bad, right?' She nodded and then glanced hesitantly at Raymond. â€Å"Is there any way †¦ is there any way we could borrow a car? Ill †¦' The next words clearly caused her pain. â€Å"I'll leave the keys to mine until we get back.' He arched an eyebrow. â€Å"You've got a nice car.' Sydney shrugged. â€Å"The less we drive it around here, the better.' He told us we could take his truck and that he â€Å"probably' wouldn't even need to use the CR-V. Sydney gave him a tight smile of thanks, but I knew images of vampires joyriding in her car were dancing through her head. We set out soon after that, wanting to be back before the sun went down. People were out and about in the commune, doing chores or whatever else it was they did with their lives. A group of children sat around a dhampir reading a book to them, making me wonder what sort of education process they had here. All of the Keepers stopped whatever they were doing as we passed, giving us either curious looks or outright smiles. I smiled back occasionally but mostly kept my eyes ahead. Joshua was escorting us back to the â€Å"parking lot' and managed to walk beside me when we reached the narrow path. â€Å"I hope you won't be gone long,' he said. â€Å"I'd wanted us to talk more.' â€Å"Sure,' I said. â€Å"That'd be fun.' He brightened and chivalrously pushed aside a low-hanging branch. â€Å"Maybe I can show you my cave.' â€Å"Your–wait. What? Don't you live with your dad?' â€Å"For now. But I'm getting my own place.' There was pride in his voice. â€Å"It's not as big as his, of course, but it's a good start. It's almost cleaned out.' â€Å"That's really, um, great. Definitely show me when we're back.' The words came easily to my lips, but my mind was pondering the fact that Raymond's house was apparently â€Å"big.' Joshua parted ways from us when we reached Raymond's truck, a big red pickup with a seat that could just barely hold the three of us. Considering the Keepers didn't leave the woods much, the truck seemed like it had seen a lot of miles. Or maybe just a lot of years of disuse. â€Å"You shouldn't lead him on like that,' Dimitri said, when we'd been on the road for about ten minutes. Surprisingly, Sydney had let him drive. I guessed she figured a manly truck deserved a manly driver. Now that we were moving, my mind had focused back on the task at hand: finding the other Dragomir. â€Å"Huh?' â€Å"Joshua. You were flirting with him.' â€Å"I was not! We were just talking.' â€Å"Aren't you with Adrian?' â€Å"Yes!' I exclaimed, glaring at Dimitri. His eyes were fixed on the road. â€Å"And that's why I wasn't flirting. How can you read so much into that? Joshua doesn't even like me that way.' â€Å"Actually,' said Sydney, sitting between us, â€Å"he does.' I turned my incredulity on her. â€Å"How do you know? Did he pass you a note in class or something?' She rolled her eyes. â€Å"No. But you and Dimitri are like gods back at camp.' â€Å"We're outsiders,' I reminded her. â€Å"Tainted.' â€Å"No. You're renegade Strigoi – and queen-killers. It might have all been southern charm and hospitality back there, but those people can be savage. They put a big premium on being able to beat people up. And, considering how scruffy most of them are, you guys are †¦ well †¦ let's just say you two are the hottest things to walk through there in a while.' â€Å"You're not hot?' I asked. â€Å"It's irrelevant,' she said, flustered by the comment. â€Å"Alchemists aren't even on their radar. We don't fight. They think we're weak.' I thought back to the enraptured faces and had to admit that a lot of the people there did have a weathered, worn-out look. Almost. â€Å"Raymond's family was pretty good- looking,' I pointed out. I heard a grunt from Dimitri who no doubt read this as evidence of me flirting with Joshua. â€Å"Yeah,' she said. â€Å"Because they're probably the most important family in town. They eat better, probably don't have to work in the sun as much. That kind of stuff makes a difference.' There was no more talk of flirting as we continued the drive. We made good time to Rubysville, which looked eerily similar to the first town we'd stayed in. When we stopped at what appeared to be the Rubysville's only gas station, Sydney ran inside to ask a few questions. She came back, reporting that there was indeed a cafe of sorts where she could plug in her laptop and try to look up what we needed. She ordered coffee, and we sat there with her, too full from breakfast to order anything substantial. After a couple dirty looks from a waitress who seemed to regard us as loiterers, Dimitri and I decided to take a walk around town. Sydney looked almost as pleased as the waitress about this. I don't think she liked having us hover around. I'd given Sydney a hard time about West Virginia, but I had to admit the scenery was beautiful. Soaring trees, full of summer leaves, surrounded the town like an embrace. Beyond them, mountains loomed, very different from the ones I'd grown up with near St. Vladimir's. These were rolling and green, covered in more trees. Most of the mountains surrounding St. Vladimir's had been stony and jagged, often with snowy peaks. A strange sense of nostalgia came over me, thinking back to Montana. There was a good possibility I'd never see it again. If I spent the rest of my life on the run, St. Vladimir's was the last place I could go. If I was caught, well †¦ then I'd definitely never get to see Montana again. â€Å"Or any place,'I murmured, speaking out loud before I could catch myself. â€Å"Hmm?' asked Dimitri. â€Å"I was just thinking about if the guardians find us. I never realized how much there was I wanted to do and see. Suddenly, that's all at stake, you know?' We moved off to the side of the road as an orange pickup came driving by. Children out of school for the summer screeched and laughed in the back of it. â€Å"Okay, suppose my name isn't cleared and we never find the real murderer. What's the next-best-case scenario? Me: always running, always hiding. That'll be my life. For all I know, I will have to go live with the Keepers.' â€Å"I don't think it'll come to that,' said Dimitri. â€Å"Abe and Sydney would help you find some place safe.' â€Å"Is there a safe place? For real? Adrian said the guardians are increasing their efforts to find us. They've got the Alchemists and probably human authorities looking for us too. No matter where we go, we'll run the risk of being spotted. Then we'll have to move on. It'll be like that forever.' â€Å"You'll be alive,' he pointed out. â€Å"That's what matters. Enjoy what you have, every little detail of wherever you are. Don't focus on where you aren't.' â€Å"Yeah,' I admitted, trying to follow his advice. The sky seemed a little bluer, the birds a little louder. â€Å"I suppose I shouldn't whine over the dream places I won't get to see. I should be grateful I get to see anything at all. And that I'm not living in a cave.' He glanced over at me and smiled, something unreadable in his eyes. â€Å"Where do you want to go?' â€Å"What, right now?' I glanced around, sizing up our options. There was a bait and tackle store, a drugstore, and an ice cream parlor. I had a feeling that last one would be a necessary trip before leaving town. â€Å"No, in the world.' I eyed him warily. â€Å"Sydney's going to be pissed if we take off for Istanbul or something.' This got me full-fledged laughter. â€Å"Not what I had in mind. Come on.' I followed him toward what looked like the bait and tackle store and then noticed a small building tucked behind it. Naturally, his sharp eyes had seen what I missed– probably because I'd been fixated on the ice cream. RUBYSVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY. â€Å"Whoa, hey,' I said. â€Å"One of the few perks of graduating was avoiding places like this.' â€Å"Its probably air conditioned,' he pointed out. I looked down at my sweat-soaked tank top and noticed a faint pink tinge to my skin. With my tanned complexion, I rarely burned, but this was some serious sun–even so late in the day. â€Å"Lead on,' I told him. The library was mercifully cool, though even smaller than the one at St. Vladimir's. With some uncanny sense (or maybe just a knowledge of the Dewey Decimal System), Dimitri led us over to the travel section–which consisted of about ten books, three of which were about West Virginia. He frowned. â€Å"Not quite what I expected.' He scanned the shelf twice and then pulled out a large, bright-colored one entitled 100 Best Places to Visit in the World. We sat down cross-legged on the floor, and he handed me the book. â€Å"No way, comrade,' I said. â€Å"I know books are a journey of the imagination, but I don't think I'm up for that today.' â€Å"Just take it,' he said. â€Å"Close your eyes, and flip randomly to a page.' It seemed silly, considering everything else going on in our life, but his face said he was serious. Indulging him, I closed my eyes and selected a page in the middle. I opened to it. â€Å"Mitchell, South Dakota?' I exclaimed. Remembering I was in a library, I lowered my voice. â€Å"Out of all the places in the world, that makes the top hundred?' He was smiling again, and I'd forgotten how much I'd missed that. â€Å"Read it.' â€Å"†Located ninety minutes outside of Sioux Falls, Mitchell is home to the Corn Palace.† I looked up at him in disbelief. â€Å"Corn Palace?' He scooted over next to me, leaning close to look at the pictures. â€Å"I figured it'd be made of corn husks,' he noted. The pictures actually showed what looked like a Middle Eastern–or even Russian–style building, with turrets and onion domes. â€Å"Me too.' Reluctantly, I added, â€Å"I'd visit it. I bet they have great T-shirts.' â€Å"And,' he said, a sly look in his eyes, â€Å"I bet no guardians would look for us there.' I made no attempts to conceal my laughter, imagining us living as fugitives in the Corn Palace for the rest of our lives. My amusement brought us a scolding from a librarian, and we quieted as Dimitri took his turn. Sao Paolo, Brazil. Then my turn: Honolulu, Hawaii. Back and forth we passed the book, and before long, we were both lying on the floor, side by side, sharing mixed reactions as we continued our â€Å"global tour of the imagination.' Our arms and legs just barely touched. If anyone had told me forty-eight hours ago that I'd be lying in a library with Dimitri, reading a travel book, I would have said they were crazy. Almost as crazy was the realization that I was doing something perfectly ordinary and casual with him. Since the moment we'd met, our lives had been about secrecy and danger. And really, those were still the dominant themes in our lives. But in those quiet couple of hours, time seemed to stand still. We were at peace. We were friends. â€Å"Florence, Italy,' I read. Pictures of elaborate churches and galleries filled the page. â€Å"Sydney wants to go there. She wanted to study there, actually. If Abe could have managed that, I think she would have served him for life.' â€Å"She's still pretty obedient,' Dimitri remarked. â€Å"I don't know her well, but I'm pretty sure Abe's got something on her.' â€Å"He got her out of Russia, back to the U.S.' He shook his head. â€Å"It's got to be more than that. Alchemists are loyal to their order. They don't like us. She hides it–they're trained to–but every minute with the Keepers is agony. For her to help us and betray her superiors, she owes him for some serious reason.' We both paused a moment, wondering what mysterious arrangement my father had with her. â€Å"Its irrelevant, though. She's helping us, which is what matters †¦ and we should probably get back to her.' I knew he was right but hated to go. I wanted to stay here, in this illusion of tranquility and safety, letting myself believe I might really make it to the Parthenon or even the Corn Palace someday. I handed the book back to him. â€Å"One more.' He picked his random page and opened the book. His smile fell. â€Å"Saint Petersburg.' A weird mix of feelings entangled themselves in my chest. Nostalgia–because the city was beautiful. Sorrow–because my visit had been tainted by the awful task I'd gone there to do. Dimitri stared at the page for a long time, wistfulness on his face. It occurred to me then that, despite his earlier pep talk, he had to be experiencing what I did for Montana: our old, favorite places were lost to us now. I nudged him gently. â€Å"Hey, enjoy where you're at, remember? Not where you can't go.' He reluctantly shut the book and dragged his eyes away from it. â€Å"How'd you get so wise?' he teased. â€Å"I had a good teacher.' We smiled at each other. Something occurred to me. All this time, I'd figured he'd helped break me out because of Lissa's orders. Maybe there was more to it. â€Å"Is that why you escaped with me?' I asked. â€Å"To see what parts of the world you could?' His surprise was brief. â€Å"You don't need me to be wise, Rose. You're doing fine on your own. Yes, that was part of it. Maybe I would have been welcomed back eventually, but there was the risk I wouldn't. After †¦ after being Strigoi †¦' He stumbled over the words a little. â€Å"I gained a new appreciation for life. It took a while. I'm still not there. We're talking about focusing on the present, not the future–but it's my past that haunts me. Faces. Nightmares. But the farther I get from that world of death, the more I want to embrace life. The smell of these books and the perfume you wear. The way the light bends through that window. Even the taste of breakfast with the Keepers.' â€Å"You're a poet now.' â€Å"No, just starting to realize the truth. I respect the law and the way our society runs, but there was no way I could risk losing life in some cell after only just finding it again. I wanted to run too. That's why I helped you. That and–‘ â€Å"What?' I studied him, desperately wishing he wasn't so good at keeping emotions off his face. I knew him well; I understood him. But he could still hide things from me. He sat up, not meeting my eyes. â€Å"It doesn't matter. Let's go back to Sydney and see if she found out anything †¦ although, as much as I hate to say it, I think it's unlikely.' â€Å"I know.' I stood with him, still wondering what else he would have said. â€Å"She probably gave up and started playing Minesweeper.' We headed back toward the cafe, stopping briefly for ice cream. Eating it while we walked proved quite the challenge. The sun was nearing the horizon, painting everything orange and red, but the heat lingered. Enjoy it, Rose, I told myself. The colors. The taste of chocolate. Of course, I'd always loved chocolate. My life didn't need to be on the line for me to enjoy dessert. We reached the cafe and found Sydney bent over her laptop, with a barely eaten Danish and what was probably her fourth cup of coffee. We slid into seats beside her. â€Å"Hows it–hey! You are playing Minesweeper!' I tried to peer closer at her screen, but she turned it from me. â€Å"You're supposed to be finding a connection to Eric's mistress.' â€Å"I already did,' she said simply. Dimitri and I exchanged astonished looks. â€Å"But I don't know how useful it'll be.' â€Å"Anything'll be useful,' I proclaimed. â€Å"What did you find?' â€Å"After trying to track down all those bank records and transactions–and let me tell you, that is not fun at all–I finally found a small piece of info. The bank account we have now is a newer one. It was moved from another bank about five years ago. The old account was still a Jane Doe, but it did have a next-of-kin reference in the event something happened to the account holder.' I could hardly breathe. Financial transactions were lost on me, but we were about to get something solid. â€Å"A real name?' Sydney nodded. â€Å"Sonya Karp.'

Microsoft Opens the Gates: Patent, Piracy, and Political Challenges in China Essay

Microsoft faced many macro risks when operating in China. Many of these risks included software piracy, Chinese government pressure to transfer technology, host government promotion of competitor products, discriminatory procurement practices by sub-national authorities in China, and the strong encouragement for Microsoft to enter joint ventures with local firms. One main micro risk that Microsoft faced was when the Beijing Municipal government avoided Microsoft by awarding operating system software contracts for 2,000 PCs to Red Flag Linux. I see these risk increasing due to the fact that the Chinese Central Bank has put new restrictions to foreign exchange transactions in attempt to control the flow of convertible currency out of the country. This restriction set in place by the Chinese Central Bank was described as a â€Å"crackdown† on illegal transactions. This change will effectively make it more difficult for both domestic and international companies to move capital in and out of China. In result, only increasing the risks for MNCs to do business in China. Another main reason why I see the risks increasing is that the Chinese government has not made an effort to control the piracy/counterfeiting issues. Counterfeiters are China’s largest state owned factories. These risk are also found in other developing countries such as India where piracy and counterfeiting is a big issue. After the U. S. – China accord on intellectual property rights in 1992, it encouraged Microsoft to explore further opportunities in China. In order to manage political risk in China, initially, Microsoft signed various agreements with Chinese PC producers to pre-load its software on their computers. Other approaches to manage political risk included opening Microsoft Research China (Microsoft’s second international research lab and the first one in Asia) and signed agreements with China’s top four computer makers to preinstall Windows XP on their machines. One of the most notable approaches was when Microsoft signed an accord with the Shanghai Municipal government whereby agreed to help develop Shanghai’s software sector, expand its Shanghai regional support center into a global support center, and train thousands of software architects. Ultimately, Microsoft continued to manage political risks throughout the years by continuing to build agreements with Chinese PC manufacturers, develop new partnerships and better its relations with the Chinese government. I favor the strong ties that Microsoft built over the past two decades with the Chinese government and feel that all the techniques they used to manage political risk were needed in order to conduct profitable business in such a scrutinized country and economy. Going forward, Microsoft should continue to try and enforce IPR and keep healthy relationships with the Chinese for obvious reasons. They should keep developing partnerships and build a Microsoft oriented software sector in China through training/certification to strengthen the company’s forecast. By having to deal with lower levels of government, it created an initial challenge to â€Å"win† over the lower level of government in order to strengthen Microsoft’s overall relationship with China. Specific challenges included when the they signed agreements with China’s State Development & Planning Commission to invest in education/training, signed a large investment and cooperation deal with the Beijing Commission on Science & Technology and struck partnership deals with various Chinese companies such as Petro China. Although Microsoft kept making strong efforts to strengthen the relationship with China, they still faced many challenges to overcome China’s discrimination towards the company by requiring all ministries to purchase Linux based software. These challenges created new opportunities for Microsoft to create new initiatives to benefit the Chinese economy which in result helped them build a strong footprint in China. Yes other firms do have the same risk management options as Microsoft did. Other firms did have the same risk management options because all MNCs faced the same macro/micro issues that Microsoft faced when entering the China markets which included pressure to transfer technology, host government promotion of competitor products, discriminatory procurement practices by sub-national authorities in China, and the strong encouragement to enter joint ventures with local firms. Microsoft is creating serious risks by supporting, financing, and transferring technology to local Chinese software firms but had to do so in rder to have success in China. By them giving back to the Chinese economy, in return a large percentage of software users are using Microsoft product legally and illegally. In result, the end user is most likely using a Microsoft product and creates brand awareness. Microsoft used the appropriabiltiy theory to manage their risks by only sharing information with their partners that is only appropriate in order to make the partnership work.

Colonial Language, Behavior and Identity Formation in Two Tempests

Colonial language, behavior and identity formation in Two Tempests Shakespeare in his last work, The Tempest tells the story of Proespero, the duke of Milan who is exiled to an island. The conflicts throughout the play arise from the desire of power over nature and people. Prospero overtakes the power from the native people on the land and is fighting for his title; that has been stolen by his brother. The influence of colonization is present in The Tempest, and is demonstrated in the characters Caliban and Ariel; who become Prospero’s servers in order to get free.Cesaire writes A Tempest, based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, to help the reader understand its message better. The theme remains the same, but Cesaire emphasizes more deeply on the characters Caliban and Ariel. Cesaire presents them as people of the new world, who are under the influence of a foreign power, Prospero. Cesaire presents Caliban and Ariel with slightly different characteristics as Shakespeare, sh owing the important role of their language, behavior and actions.The very first change that Cesaire made in A Tempest we can see at the beginning of the play where the author mentions Ariel as a mulatto slave and Caliban as a black slave. Their change in color is significant because Cesaire expresses the post-colonial influence on the characters. The example of colonization is presented by a white conqueror, Prospero, who takes over the native people on the island, Caliban and Ariel. The two Characters, Caliban and Ariel are described differently in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Cesaire’s A Tempest.A Tempest is a post-colonial writing, and Cesaire forms his characters with stronger and more significant characteristics. Caliban’s personality becomes more important than in Shakespeare’s play. In The Tempest, Caliban is an insolent, uneducated slave who is controlled through magic by Prospero, while in A Tempest; he becomes an aggressive and defined black ma n. In The Tempest, we can see Caliban as a child of a witch, Sycorax, who is a poor judge of character, acting like an animal and willing to get free.In Cesaire’s play the way he enters the scene is already telling us that he becomes a strong and brave character with a personality. Caliban’s word to Prospero, â€Å"Uhuru† (Cesaire 1. 2. 10-11), shows his rebellious attitude towards his master, letting him know about his eagerness to become free and independent on his island again. â€Å"Uhuru† in Swahili means freedom and for Caliban means his life. With this word, Caliban is showing to Prospero his defiance towards the situation, in which he becomes a slave of his own land.Caliban is the one who introduced the island to Prospero, and he expects to be treated with respect. Caliban is a fighter who is ready to choose death over humiliation: â€Å"Call me X. That would be best. Like a man without a name. Or, to be more precise, a man whose name has been st olen. You talk about history and everyone knows it. † (Cesaire 18) With Prosepero’s arrival to the island, Caliban becomes a slave of its own land. In spite of difficulties and his situation, Caliban does not easily admit defeat.The fact that he wants to be called X rather than Caliban, shows his fight for his free will that he has as a person. In Cesaire’s play Caliban becomes aware of his situation and he knows that a person can be considered a person, if that has the right to take decisions over himself. Prospero has power over Caliban, gives him a new name, and with that Prospero steals his identity and his whole being as a human. This contrasts with Shakespeare’s play where Caliban’s fight for his personality is less important; he just exists and obeys as a slave.Caliban represents the suppressed category of people who are under foreign intruders’ power and forced to obey their commands. The language that Cesaire uses for his characters is more aggressive and eloquent than in Shakespeare’s play. Caliban is arguing furiously with Prospero, showing the injustice of Prospero’s power over him: â€Å"You lied to me so much, about the world, about myself, that you ended up by imposing on me an image of myself. † (Cesaire 3. 5. 22-24) The way Caliban talks to his master shows the tormented relationship that they have.Caliban uses the language that Prospero taught him in a way that expresses his anger and his suffering as a slave of his land. The way Prospero treats Caliban is an example of the colonized lands where the new rulers used the native people for their advantage. The colonizer’s influence on native people is presented by Shakespeare and Cesaire too, just in different languages. For Caliban, there is no importance in speaking Prospero’s language: â€Å"You taught me language, and /my profit on’t/Is, I know how to curse. † (Shakespeare 1. 2. -4); he is forced to do that in order to obey his commands. The colonization of the island took away Caliban’s own language, his name and his home that now he calls â€Å"ghetto†. (Cesaire 13) Shakespeare doesn’t focus as much as Cesaire on Caliban’s character. The language what he uses is from 1400s, and the characters are used mostly for their role in the play and not as a symbol of the colonized lands as in Cesaire’s play. Changing the character’s color and language, Cesaire shows the essence of the diversity in people and their important role in life according to their skin and language.Ariel’s change is substantial, too. He is presented as a mulatto slave, which is another character of colonized lands. His identity is totally different from Caliban’s; he is the naive and obedient slave and not the fighter like Caliban. Ariel is representing the category of people who are ready to obey the master’s command and waiting for changes to happen. Ariel knows that Prospero uses him for his own purpose, and despite of all that, he approaches his tasks with enthusiasm, reporting any activities that he observes.Even though Shakespeare describes Ariel as a sprite, he has human qualities; he is longing for his liberty. He is invisible, but his actions are important, and he reflects human emotions: â€Å"ARIEL. If you now behold them, your affections / would become tender. / PROSPERO. Dost thou think so, spirit? / ARIEL. Mine would, sir, were I human. † (Shakespeare 5. 1. 35-39) Throughout the play, Ariel, the mulatto slave, is described as a compliant server and is treated in a nice way comparative to Caliban, who is treated horribly and threatened.The different treatment of slaves shows us that even between slaves are classifications, and they all have their place in world according to their skin color. In contrast with Shakespeare, Cesaire represents the two characters on a deeper level and focuses more on their personal ities. Throughout the play, Cesaire describes Caliban and Ariel as two servants with different desires and places in the colonized land. Caliban is ready to fight for what belongs to him, including his identity, in contrast with Ariel, who accommodates to the situation and waits for a better future.

Internship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Internship - Essay Example In addition, the communication goal entails having proficient skills in the written materials that I pass on to other departments. It is vital that this goal was achievable. This regards the fact that it possessed direct and achievable procedures in attaining its proficiency. In building the same, it was the same to build on a feasible rapport with the employees and mangers. This became the fundamental idea in highlighting the vital strategies in enhancing communication. This relates to the idea that communication is vanity without a core rapport with the partners in the same. The goal was to make the employees friends. In this sense, I could articulate proper responses and communication to fellows. To begin with, proper listening skills were vital accompaniment of communication. This occurred from the realization that individuals pay attention to those who conduct the same (Buhler 78). This means that communication was a means to achieving other objectives of affectivity in relationships. Listening was essential for manifesting caring nature in the conversations. More essentially, daily conversations contributed to enhancing relations and communication skills. The practical way of achieving the same pertained to asking relevant questions. In addition, gratitude was an essential way of engaging others in building one’s communication skills. Since the HR department dealt with employees’ welfare, it was vital to express appreciation for their work. This was an essential way of creating response scenarios with employees. More essentially, it was vital to express appreciation in amiable ways. This pertained to avoidance of sarcasm in the same scenarios. In close relation to the same, expression of empathy helped build communication platforms with employees. It creates mutually benefitting scenarios for constructive communication. Additionally, humor was a superb skill of enhancing communication. It was an

Economic Policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Economic Policies - Essay Example Such happened after the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) permeated 36 billion yuan (or HK$45.2 billion) to be fed to its banking system via bills and forward bond repurchase agreements which motivated short term loans in the market that was scaled up last month (Reuters, 2013, p. 1; The Economist, 2013, p. 1). Banking sector current condition While they are hopeful that the money market rates will be normalized by July, but economists began to note that the bond repurchase in seven days slumped to 69 bps to 4.76 % since June, the zenith period for liquidity squeeze (Reuters, 2013, p. 1). The overnight repossession rate dropped 63 bps to 3.79 % and the 14-day rate lurched nearly 100 bps to 5.09% based on reports (Reuters, 2013, p. 1; The Economist, 2013, p. 1). ... 1; The Economist, 2013, p. 1). Critics pointed that China lacked the capacity exercise the standard monetary policy and governance pointing the lack of better stimulus packages that is best exercised by the Japanese government (The Economist, 2013, p. 1). It is most poised for deleveraging its system noting how its credit system grows expediently than its annual growth domestic product (GDP) (The Economist, 2013, p. 1). The total social financing lowered its ratio hence, affecting its interbank fiscal condition with the cash at critical situation. Need for reform Some critics recommended that structural reform should be undertaken for Chinese banking system, suggesting the need to undertake initiatives to liberalize the interest rates and to raising prices of utilities. The problem is further exacerbated by the heavy public spending and tax cuts (Dobson & Kashyap, 2006, pp. 103-108). Its economy is likewise heavily dependent on exports and its government needs to grapple with its hig h level economic issues with its neighbours and with countries with which they have trading relations (Dobson et al., 2006, pp. 103-108). The credit ratio of the country also scaled up, higher than what they have from its monetary conditions in the past. While it’s admitted that increasing credits for domestic entrepreneurs of China could help improve the resource needs of these small businesses but the returns remained undertrained, and so is the payment (Dobson et al., 2006, pp. 103-108). It is not likewise certain if these entrepreneurs possessed such credit worthiness that would warrant fast and expedient repayment of loans and interests, especially so that most

Finding proper article from the daily press or other sources n writing Essay

Finding proper article from the daily press or other sources n writing 2 pages report about article - Essay Example This brief paper discusses some of the important issues in international trade relations. The world economy is in a recession brought about by the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States which started sometime in 2007 but later spread worldwide. Because of it many developed countries are facing financial and economic crises as a consequence as seen in the sovereign debt crisis in European countries such as the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) which undermined the euro currency and unity of the European Union. It is a crisis of unprecedented proportions which had adversely affected world trade in general. Recent news reports as seen in the international media point to a lingering crisis that had defied easy solutions. World trade today is conducted mostly under the WTO supervision but there are many trade blocs now in existence that grant special most favored nation status (MFN) to some countries that trade with each other. This is a violation of the WTO rules that state countries should let free trade prevail through its non-discrimination policy in place. An example of a specific trade bloc is the so-called G-20 (or group of 20) consisting of the twenty most economically powerful countries of the world. However, this group failed to produce a single plan of action that will adequately address the Great Recession in contrast to the Great Depression of 1933. The world today is facing similar challenges in world order as economies are facing stubbornly high unemployment rates such as the U. S. and Europe. A G-20 meeting held in Seoul (South Korea) last year to address the most pressing issues failed to come up with a solution as member-countries could not agree on what steps to take. This is a dangerous situation which had frayed international trade relations because of some massive international trade imbalances of some countries (China and Germany in

Measuring Business Performance Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Measuring Business Performance - Coursework Example In fact efficiency can metrically be measured using cycle time and capacity utilization, and in short efficiency refers to the time it takes a process or a person to achieve a given result. On the other hand, effectiveness shows the target results are achieved, and in short it is the level of results from the employees or process within a system. In an organisation, employees who achieve their targets in their respective departments for instance employee A achieves a set target of 10, 000 unit sales is said to be effective. Conversely, an employee who achieves the target within the shortest time possible is efficient. Efficiency and effectiveness are very important components of the business function, and there a number of reasons why businesses are interested in achieving higher levels of efficiency and effectiveness. 1. Effectiveness and efficiency assists businesses in setting up of organizational goals, and hence they important in business because they are the ingredients the business attains its goals, and efficiency corresponds to time goals, whereas effectiveness corresponds to results. 2. In the present face of intense competition brought about by globalization, businesses must employ tools that assist in profitability. This implies that reducing costs and increasing revenue, and a business that employs effective methods shall surely make higher returns. 3. Efficiency and effectiveness contribute positively to the business as it helps in aligning the organizational structure towards good communication and cohesiveness, and through the principle of transitivity, this will benefit the customers, who in turn become loyal and retained. The company selected for the purpose of task three is Friends Life, and its shares are being traded publicly traded at the London Stock Exchange. The annual results for 2013 and 2012 financial year are located at the

Art history from 1580-1980 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Art history from 1580-1980 - Essay Example This was 1793 painting of nude man with an appearance a real classical young man. Other paintings before 1800 that show naturalism are Francisco Goya’s paintings named â€Å"And so Was His Grandfather† and â€Å"You who cannot†. Artists highly engaged with the nature from 1580-1980. They did this by spending their time to study nature. They started shifting from religious and supernatural paintings to nature paintings. They engaged with nature in their art by portraying objects in their arts as they appear exactly in reality. This was done based on the artists’ scientific knowledge. There was a strong connection between science and art. Examples of paintings that depict nature include John constable’s â€Å"The Hay Wain† and Joseph Mallord’s â€Å"Snowstorm: Hannibal and Army† (Rothko & Rothko 65). Other nature paintings include Theodore Gericault’s â€Å"The Raft of Medusa† and William Blake’s â€Å"Dante Running from The Three Beasts†. All these were painted after 1800. Nature was depicted in the renaissance arts in various forms. For instance, it was presented in paintings, sculptures and music during that period. Naturalism was significant to many artists and movements. For instance, it was significant to humanisms movement. During the renaissance period the society had started to focus more on human values than religious values. As such, artists painted humans in the natural world to show their position on earth. Nature was also significant to naturalism movement where artists were recognized based on how well their represented nature in their paintings. Nature became a source idea for many artists. They got their ideas by simply studying or observing it (Rothko & Rothko

Introduction to fiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Introduction to fiction - Essay Example Whilst searching for symbolism in the story, I cam across a few points like, â€Å"It was large enough so that it didn’t seem fragile, or particularly vulnerable if anyone sideswiped the table or Mondo blundered into it during play. She asked her husband to please not drop his house key in it. It was meant to be empty† (207). This excerpt primarily describes the fact that her husband, Andrea’s, was someone was not part of the bowl theory and could not identify with the symbol. When mentioning that she had bought the bowl at a craft fair in secret with her lover, it further signifies that she has been looking for her lost love and continuing affairs with him through the bowl. She must have not acted quickly enough to seize the moment with her lover, hence the line, â€Å"Her lover had said that she was always too slow to know what she really loved† (209). Through this we get the impression that perhaps she was too obsessed with the bowl to continue on with her affair. At one point it is shared that she even â€Å"†¦dreamed of the bowl. Twice in a waking dream-early in the morning, between sleep and the last nap before rising-she had a clear vision of it† (208). The bowl represented her affair and eventually it would be the bowl that ends her marriage. When looking back on the story, it opens with â€Å"The bowl was perfect† (206). Andrea feels like she made a mistake not admitting her affair and starting a life with her lover; therefore she loves the bowl as if it were her ex-lover and obsesses over it because to her, it is all she has left of him. She explains her guilt in this manner, â€Å"Sometimes in the morning, she would look at him (her husband) and feel guilty that she had such a constant secret† (208). She is continuing her affair through the bowl and is still having feelings of guilt. This further signifies her inertia with her ex-lover and clings on to the bowl in memory

Can gm crops add to productivity of UK agriculture Research Proposal

Can gm crops add to productivity of UK agriculture - Research Proposal Example when the UN cites food insecurity as a major threat in the future, it is imperative to allow the technology proven fit to human and escalate the food production levels as Godfray et al. (2010) suggest. Surprisingly, even the UK has not been in a position to ensure food security mitigation as evidenced by the industry in the country. Currently, food and drink in the UK accounts for 7% of the country’s GDP; it employs over 3.5million people (Zilberman, Kaplan, Kim, Sexton & Barrows, 2014). Despite the figures, the UK has to import 40% of the food consumed by its residents. Interestingly, notwithstanding this import, the UK in 2007 made  £12 billion from its food export and  £7 billion a year later, according to Turco and Maggioni (2014). Evidently, food in the UK is a vital economy component as it helps both in feeding its residents thus saving money as well as increases its financial capabilities. As evidenced by the figures proved above, the issue of agriculture is pivotal to its growth thus explaining the reason for the continued debate concerning GM technology. Some agree, â€Å"GM crops can boost productivity in lean times† (Parul (2011p.34) while others strongly oppose this notion. Those disagreeing argue that GM technology has proved to reduce the harvests. According to Dalla-Corte and Dhein-Dill (2012), it was noted that when GM was used in Brazil, there was a 10% decline in the soya harvest. In response to these assertions, the other section contest that this decline is not necessarily attributable to the GM but other factors (Birch, Begg and Squire, 2012) Clearly, from the above information one could conclude that the issue of GM has not been well understood by all the parties. While one group argues about the decline in the harvest, another provides a reason, which clearly seems valid. For that reason, a research ought to be conducted to ascertain the exact effect of GM technology on the UK agriculture. As already proven, agriculture is an imperative

The growth in bond issues in Australia Essay Example for Free

The growth in bond issues in Australia Essay The stock of Commonwealth Government Securities rose rapidly in 1990 and peaked in 1997 and it the fell existed and continued till 2003. If the fall continued it would be harmful to the financial market and hence the government announced the it would maintain the viability of the CGS market. At present the value of such bonds exceeds $300 billion. The bonds in Australia in the market represented by Non-CGS and Semi issuance. The Stock of such $300 billion, which is more than 3 times of stock of CGS and Semis. In Australia, the government and non-government sectors issuing the bonds in order to raise the capital. The investors domestic or offshore markets are attracted with the issue of bonds, since the bonds provide secured amount with regular coupon payment for entire life of the bond. The minimum investment in bond is $500,000. For the domestic issue, the commonwealth bank was ranked in number one in the issue of bonds for 2004. It offered fixed and floating rate debt securities. GOVERNMENT During 1990s, the domestic market confined to government borrowers. There is a trend to issue of bonds by financial and non-financial borrowers occasionally issued the bonds into the domestic market only. But since past decade, the corporate bond market in Australia expanded rapidly. The non-government bonds equivalent to 25% GDP. Due to such increase the government bond outstanding fallen. It is an automatic incident since the non-government bonds increasing rapidly as they are capturing the offshore market. During 1990 the Australian government issued the bonds less than $50 billion and even up to 2005 it was continued with $50 billion. During 1995 to 1999 the bond issue was gone up to $100 billion. But the government want to be stable the issue of the bonds and to maintain $50 billion. It is a good sign to the government’s view because the issue of bonds indicates the debt ness of the organization. Due to stability of the issue of the bonds, the image of the government will be increased. STATE GOVERNMENTS In Australia, the State Governments also issuing the bonds and they are also mainlining the Australian government’s policy by maintaining that the debt issue i. e. bonds issue should not be more than $50 AUD billions. Since it is the government policy, they cannot issue more than $50 billion. The state government issues bonds called as Semi Government bonds. These are issued via State governments other than Federal Government. The credit rating varies for every state and hence normally there may be higher rate than commonwealth Government bonds. NON-GOVERNMENT BONDS The banks started to provide more housing loans and it reflected to fall mortgage rates due to lower inflation and increased competition. Of course due to good economic conditions. The banks also diversified its funds to other markets through the local and offshore issuance of bonds and asset-backed securities. With this effect, the non financial corporate increased their borrowing from banks, besides issue of their own bonds. Issue of bonds in such small country leads to beneficial, shift to low inflation and caused to issue of demand for fixed interest bonds. Issue of non-government bonds can be termed as Australian private sector. The issue of such bonds relates to domestic and offshore market. The private is institutions represented by financial institutions, predominant banks. They issued the bonds into offshore markets more than 80% of their total bonds. The issue of bonds in offshore market is rapidly developed from 1990 and at present the outstanding is $350 billions whereas the domestic market i. e. onshore market captures only $200 billion. KANGAROO BONDS It is an Australian dollar-denominated bond issued by a non-Australian entity in the Australian market. It is a bond issued by the foreign entity in Australia. The Kangaroo bonds are also long term debt security issued by the non-residents in the Australian domestic market. Kangaroo bonds play the major role in non-government bond market. During 2003-2004, with the issue of kangaroo bonds, the level of non-government bonds raised from $1. 8 billion to $15. 2 billion. Almost most of 70 percent of this amount contributed by the residents of Australia. The main reason for such contribution in Kangaroo bonds is since the government of Australia reduced the debt security. During that time the government has budget surpluses. Moreover the Australian government encouraged the privatization of some of public departments, which caused the privatization proceeds received. The most of the privatization proceeds and budget surpluses used for repaying the debt. Therefore government stopped to issue the bonds. Under this juncture, the kangaroo bonds were released and rapid growth is inevitable for kangaroo bonds. During that period, since there is other alternative, as the government is not issuing the bonds and highly credit rating given for Kangaroo bonds, Australian investors supposed to get Kangaroo bonds. FLOW OF FUNDS The non-government bonds increased significantly while the Treasury bonds declined. The Flow of funds represented by the non-government bonds, State Government and Commonwealth Government. The importance of bonds credibly increased since 1990 and the Commonwealth Government maintained such level, which is not, exceeded more than 60 billion dollars. The bond category increased since the bonds between money market securities and shares with strong guarantee, though it provides lower yield. Hence the flow of funds in the Australia rapidly increased with the cause of issue of bond securities. Since the investors seeking to avoid the losses of share prices, they shifted their platform to the bonds category. CONCLUSION Since the Australian government maintaining such policy not to issue more than $50 billion, it is inevitable to the other institutions to issue the bonds to get the funds. The domestic market is not having such funds, naturally the financial institutions, banks and other companies started to get the funds through offshore markets by issuing of funds. Due to increase of role by the non-government sector, the government bond out standings fallen as the budget surpluses available to both Central and State Governments. Consequently the role of non-government bonds has increased to become large segment in the Australian bond market.

Shakespeares portrayal of Hotspur in Act 3 Scene 1 Essay Example for Free

Shakespeares portrayal of Hotspur in Act 3 Scene 1 Essay With close reference used to dramatic methods, discuss Shakespeare’s portrayal of Hotspur in Act 3 Scene 1. Hotspur has several ongoing characteristics in the play, with the main one that is constantly being brought forward is his egotism that shows in his interaction with other characters. In line 16, after listening to Glendower’s boast, Hotspur feels that his ego has been threatened. This character development tells us that Hotspur doesn’t like to be outshone by others. â€Å"Why, so can I, or so can any man, but will they come when you do call for them?† Hotspur’s taunting tone is shown here as he claims anyone can do what Glendower says he can do, but questions if it will actually work, belittling him. â€Å"Methinks my moiety, north from Burton here, in quantity equals not one of yours.† Hotspur believes he deserves more, and he would re-route the channel to get his way; â€Å"And here the smug and silver Trent shall run in a new channel, fair and evenly. It shall not wind with such a deep indent, to rob me of so rich a bottom here.† Hotspur wants more of what he has already got and isn’t grateful for his shares, with this showing his self-centered and egocentric personality. Hotspur constantly speaks in a derisive tone to others and often rudely interrupts them in pieces of dialogue. In this particular scene, Hotspur is being portrayed by Shakespeare as a disrespectful character. He bluntly denies Glendower’s boast about his magic powers and mocks him when he mentions the meteor shower that occurred on the night of his birth, â€Å"Why, so it would have done at the same season if your mother’s cat had but kittened, though yourself had never been born.†, which lets his antagonistic ego to foster friction between his allies. His obvious opinions is not necessarily a bad trait however, as this shows us that he wears his heart on his sleeve, and is very honest with others; whether it be negative or positive. â€Å"Let me not understand you, then; speak it in Welsh.† This recurring characteristic adds character development to Hotspur. When it comes to plot development, Hotspur forgetting the map at the start of the scene shows that he is impractical and has a lack of foresight. Also, his lack of sophistication and refinement is shown when he insults literature, meaning Shakespeare portrays Hotspur as very uncultured. His fiery and argumentative side is exhibited with his use of imagery in the scene, however his political naivety in also revealed as he allows personal feelings to intrude on his personal relationships, and presents his lack of diplomatic maturity. Hotspur’s arrogance is exposed when he begins arguing for the sake of arguing after interaction with Glendower in a battle of wills makes Hotspur boast after Glendower gives in, and once again feeds into his egotistical side. Another thing established in this scene is Hotspur’s reputation, as after more interaction with Glendower, he reveals what others say about him and that he has a renowned, infamous and fearsome reputation. Hotspur is known to be a brave, ruthless warrior in battle. His short temper and reckless attitude has not only gained himself a nickname, but also a rash status. Hotspur’s best trait, his boldness and quick temper, is also his worst flaw, as he may be valiant in battle but cannot manipulate or work with allies, and is very tactless. His quick temper causes him to alienate Glendower, one of his family’s most important allies, which is not a smart move. Hotspur is not only rude to his allies, but also his Lady. He jokes to her â€Å"Come, Kate, thou art perfect in lying down. Come, quick, quick, that I may lay my head in thy lap.† He later says â€Å"Come, Kate, I’ll have your song too.† To which she replies â€Å"Not mine, in good sooth.† Instead of letting it go, Hotspur becomes enraged at Lady Percy; â€Å"Not yours, in good sooth! Heart, you swear like a comfit-maker’s wife!† He tries one last time to convince her â€Å"Come, sing.† But she still won’t, to which he leaves in anger; â€Å"I’ll away within these two hours, and so come in when ye will.† and leaves her in tears. Hotspur disregards other’s feelings and wishes, even his Lady’s. This brings up Hotspur’s cruel ways and his childlike actions when he does not get his way, along with his selfishness, and his irresponsibility towards his personal relationships. In this scene, Shakespeare continues to portray Hotspur with a mocking attitude, a hot tempered mind, his open mind and the fact that he is a ruthless fighter, and starts to bring up his self centered, impatient and immature acts, that is mainly brought to our attention through his interaction with other characters and his actions during heated and normal moments, from battle, to conversations in the Boar’s Head Tavern.

Marketing Analysis for Indian Restaurant

Marketing Analysis for Indian Restaurant Aim and vision The main aim is to provide customers with authentic Indian food laced with the captivating taste and nutritional values of traditional Indian herbs and spices served in a traditional Indian (Punjabi) sitting to give the complete feel of incredible India, at the prices which dont make people think twice. The target customers are large number of Indian student and families in the area with the aim of taking locals into our food by capitalizing on the growing popularity of traditional Indian food. The main focus of our mission statement is to satisfy our customer by offering traditional Indian food and also provide quality service in the form quick home delivery service. Being a high class community, most of the people in Hatfield are working in offices from 9 to 5. In order to attract these customers we will provide competitive prices to attract customers from competitors. Introduction We will start food business with the name of DELI-SIOUS which will be traditional foods. For the location of our business we are choosing Hatfield which is one of the City of Hertfordshire County. We chose this business because according restaurant guide there was an opportunity available for Indian traditional food restaurant in the region of Hatfield. To gain this opportunity I made a marketing plan for investors to cash this opportunity. (Restaurant guide) In the preparation of this report both primary and secondary data is involved. Primary data was collected from local people of the Hatfield by using questionnaires and interviews. While secondary data were collected from Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) and also related books, journals, websites regarding marketing. To analyse the external and internal environment we used Swot analysis as a tool to know about the market. I have also research related sources regarding my marketing plan such as trip advisor, restaurant guide and mintel international group Ltd. Financial overview We have a small business loan of  £50,000 provided by two business partners, which have to be paid back in instatements in coming three years. In first year of our business we dont have to pay any installments and after first year we have to pay installments on the interest rate of 5.6%. There are three profitable opportunities available in the region of Hertfordshire country, which are: Opening a retail premises Starting a landscape gardening business Launching a virtual office support service From the above opportunities we have chose restaurant business, according restaurant guide there is an opportunity available in Hatfield for Indian food. The allocation of resources will be discussed in the action plan. In the first year of our business which is 2010, our expected profits will  £5000 and in 2011 we will expect more then  £7000 because of increasing sale by 40% in 2011. We further aim that our expected profit in 2012 will be more then  £10,000 because of increasing sale by 40%. To achieve these profits we will capture the market with the help of differentiation strategy. Our expected sales in 2010 will be  £30,000, we will increase our sales in 2011 by 40% our expected sales will be more 42,000. We further looking to increase our sales in 2012 by 40%, as a result our expected sales in 2012 will be  £59,000. We have an objective to capture 15% market share by the end of Dec 2015. Market overview Hatfield is located in the County of Herefordshire originally Bishops Hatfield, is in the Welwyn Hatfield district of Hertfordshire, in the south of England. Hatfield is 20miles (32km) to the north of London and separated from the city by the Green Belt. The town has excellent transport links with the nearest airport at Luton only 14miles (23km) away and Stansted airport also within easy reach. Most nearest cities are St.Albans, Luton, Hemelhempstead and Welwyn Garden city. We can target the people of nearest cities such as Luton, St.Albans and Hemelhempstead because people from these cities have a job in Hatfield. Our high target customers will be students and staff of Hertfordshire University. (AAroutefinder.com) In Hatfield there are 17 restaurants are working but they are not offering Indian traditional food, in order to cash this opportunity I have a marketing plan for investors to invest in this restaurant. As for people living standard is concern in Hatfield, majority people belongs to middle and high class having income per year from  £25,000 to  £40,000. (Restaurant guide) According Hertfordshire county council in 2001 census the population of Hatfield has expanded over 28,000 and still growing. Due to high competition in the market challenges can be faced in the market. Competitors created barriers for new entrants but we can enter in the market with the help innovative ideas and competitive prices. (Hertfordshire County Council) Market Research According to McDonald (2007:366) Market Research is a logical, objective collection and analysis of data about a particular target market, environment and also competition, It always incorporates some form of data collection and could be secondary research or primary research which is directly collected from a respondent. It can be classified either as external or internal. The main purpose of the market research project is to achieve an increased understanding of the subject matter. In the preparation of this report both primary and secondary research has been conducted to collect the data. Market research enables the business to know about the challenges, barriers and need of the target customers in the market. Market segmentation Kotler (1997) states that market segmentation is the classification of portions of the market that is different from one another. Due to segmentation firms will be able to satisfy the need of the target customers We will segment the market into different parts, such students, young couple, and local community people. We will provide special offers to the students on Tuesday in order to attract them. Mostly students and young couples like spicy food we will offer spicy food to them. We will also offer coffee and tea to target the people working in offices and also entertain them with a soft music. Market segmentation of DELI-SIOUS Restaurant Market segmentation of DELI-SIOUS can be vegetarian, non-vegetarian and target market of DELI-SIOUS will be students and staff of Hertfordshire University, young couples and local community of Hatfield. Some cities like St.Albans and Hemelhempstead and Welyn Garden city are near to Hatfield so we can also target these cities as well. To attract Indian community customers we will offer vegetarian food (for Menu see Appendix). We will target local community of Hatfield by offering Chilies food because they prefer these foods, To target students we will offer special discounts on Tuesday, to target families we will offer free kids food. SWOT analysis In order to achieve goals and objectives and overcome problems, practitioners suggest strategic tools in the form of porters forces and swot analysis. According to Alison (2004) SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that helps in identifying external factors (i.e. opportunities and threats) for, and internal factors (i.e. strengths and weaknesses) that need to be considered for determining where a business should be going in the future and how to you overcome upcoming threats . On other hand David (2007) argues that Swot analysis indicating the smart objectives by analysing both internal and external factors in the business environment. SWOT analysis for DELI-SIOUS: Strengths: The location we will select is very attractive because its near to St.Albans and most people are coming from St.Albans to Hatfield. Opportunity available in the Hatfield town for traditional food, only few restaurants are offering traditional food. We have highly qualified and experienced staff to satisfy the need of the target customer by offering quality food and service. We will offer reasonable prices to attract customers from competitors, moreover price catering to every section of society. (www.restuaantguide.com) Weaknesses: We have some weaknesses such as we will be new in the market and to overcome this weakness we will focus on the promotions and also by using networking. We will be restricted to resources but we looking to get loan from bank by the end of Dec 2010. Opportunities: Open chain of restaurants To make restaurant a multi cuisine to expand customer. By offering traditional food we can easily attract customers from our competitors. Threats: High competition in the market, which can be a threat for our restaurant and also some barriers created by competitors for new entrants. But we can overcome this threat with the help of innovative food such as traditional Indian food. Recession can also be a threat for our restaurant, to overcome this threat we will offer reasonable prices as compare to our competitors. Gap analysis for DELI-SIOUS Restaurant In 2010 our expected sales will be  £30,000 and we plan to increase by 25% by 2011, which means our sales in 2011 will be  £42,000. We further aims that we also increase our sales by 25% by 2012, which means our expected sales in 2011 will be  £59000. From the above graph it is quite clear that between 2010 and 2012 we have a gap of  £29,000. In order to overcome this gap, we need to adopt marketing strategies in the form of penetration strategy and differentiation strategy. By adopting penetration strategy we will penetrate in the market with the help of an effective advertisement and also by offering quality traditional Indian food to our target customers. After penetration in the market we will adopt differentiation strategy to differentiate our business from competitors by offering competitive services and prices. By adopting these strategies we can create a competitive advantage in the market. In our restaurant we will have 25 seating capacity, to reach 2010 target sales we expect 40 to 55 customer per day. In 2011 we expect 55 to 80 customers each day and in 2012 we will further expect 80 to 110 customers each day. Smart objectives According to Croft (1994) objectives play a vital role in the making the marketing plan successful. He further suggest strategic tools in the form of Swot analysis, Porters five forces and Pest analysis as an environmental analysis which have to be conducted to control overall marketing plan. By clarifying the task employees will be motivated to reach the given targets and as a result overall performance of the organisation can be improved. These objectives should be smart, measureable, specific, realistic achievable and timed. Smart objectives for DELI-SIOUS Restaurant Survival Objectives: The most significant objective of our business will be to penetrate into the restaurant market as well to promote our restaurant in Hatfield with the help of efficient advertisement by offering traditional Indian food and excellent customer service to our target customers. After penetration we need to focus on increasing the sales and market share. Profitability objectives: our profitability objective is to reach 15% return on capital employed by Dec 2012 because we have a loan of  £50,000 provided by business investors; we need to pay installments after one year. Promotion objectives: To increase awareness of the restaurant in the market with the help of networking and effective advertisements. Market share objectives: we have an objective to increase our market share by 15% by the end of Dec 2015. Sales objectives: We aims to increase our sales by 40% by end of Dec 2011 and we will further increase it 40% by end of Dec 2012. In 2009 our focal point will be the survival and penetration in the market by adopting penetration strategy. Strategy to achieve objectives To reach the given objective 1st we need to adopt Penetration strategy to achieve our most vital objective which can be survival objectives. Which can be possible by adopting penetration strategy and to make this strategy successful we will focus on the advertisement such as advertising restaurant in the local newspaper, distribution of leaflet in the local community and most important to use social and business networking. By using this strategy we will promote our business in the target market to attract the target customers. We will offer reasonable prices as compare to our competitors as a result our restaurant will be differentiated from competitors. After penetration in the market we will focus on achieving sales and market share objectives by increasing the sales and market share. We can achieve these objectives by adopting Differentiation strategy. By using this strategy we will differentiate our restaurant from competitors by offering traditional Indian food with Indian them e to our target customers and excellent customer services. Marketing Mix for DELI-SIOUS Restaurant Product: Projected Meal 1: Vegetarian Mixed Platter According to our mission statement we will more focus on the traditional Indian food such as herbs and spices. With the help of traditional food we can easily attract customer to creative a competitive position in the market Confirming to health standards. Free and quick home delivery service. Price Proposed price for Meal1:  £15.95 Currently due to recession customers demand for discounts from restaurant, by offering reasonable prices we can meet their demands. Special price offers for students on Tuesday. Special price offers on advance table booking. Place Proposed location: Hatfield e will make our restaurant more attractive with the help of an effective furnishing. In our restaurants customers will feel a theme of India by enjoying the Indian traditional food. We have 50 seating capacity, we plan to increase in 2011. Promotion We will promote our restaurants with the flyers, leaflets and advertising in the local newspapers. We will offer special deals to students of university as a tool of promotion. We will use our networking to promote our restaurants in the local people by arranging event in the local community. Resources Allocation Loan provided by the investors is  £50,000 for the coming three years with a rate of 5.6%. In order to utilise this capital in a best possible way we will use  £13,000 on the hiring the building and  £9,000 will be used for the building refurnishing. While  £24,000 will be use as working capital and 8% of the budget will served on the promotions of the restaurant which is  £4000. Total salary of the employees will be  £6,800 per month which can be subtracted from working capital. For details see appendix. Monitoring All the operations such as advertising, finance, raw material, of our business will be supervised by manager. All the subordinate are responsible to report to the manager on daily basis and manager is responsible to report to the business owners. Purchasing of inventory will be done on a weekly basis to minimise the warehouse cost. Risk and Contingency plan and strategy Currently one of the high risks to our business is the recession many businesses are falling down and unemployment has increasing rapidly in the UK. In Hatfield there is high competition in the market between rivals and creating barriers for entrants in the market. One more risk to our business is the substitute products such as University restaurants and forum. (Financial times) In order to overcome the above risks to our business we have a contingency plan and strategies. To overcome the recession risk we will offer discounts to our target customers. To overcome the second risk to our business we will adopt cost leadership strategy by reducing the cost we will be able to compete with our competitors. To overcome the risk regarding university restaurants forum we will offer special deals to the students in order to attract them. References Croft, M. J.(1994) Market segmentation. 2nd edition. Published by Routledge. David F R. (2007) Strategic management concepts and cases (12th edition), Pearson international edition. De Wit, B Meyer, R (2004) Strategy Synthesis (Resolving Strategy Paradoxes to Create Competitive Advantage), (3rd edition)Thomson Business Press Jobber, D. (2004) Principles and practice of marketing, 4th edition. Berkshire: McGraw Hill. Luther, W. M. (2001) The marketing plan. 3rd edition. Library of congress cataloging. McDonald, M. (2007) Marketing Plans, 6th edition. Oxford: Elsevier. Restaurant guide available online at [http://www.restaurant-guide.com/uk+south-east+hertfordshire+hemel-hempstead.htm] {Date accessed 8th Dec 2009} Stanley, P. (1993) International marketing. 2nd Edition. Chartered Institute of Marketing. Rieple, A. (2001) The strategic management of organisations, Prentice Hall Route planner available at [http:www.theaa.com/route-planner] {Date accessed: 2nd Dec 2009} Trip Advisor, Visiting Hatfield, [Online], and www.tripadvisor.com {Date accessed: 7th Dec 2009} Up My Street, Neighbours in Hertford, [Online], Available: www.upmystreet.com {Date accessed: 5th Dec 2009}

The Polemic about Tattoos :: essays research papers fc

The polemic about tattoos I was wondering why tattoos are a controversial point in our society! There are people against and people that really like tattoos, but who is right? Should I think it is a good or a bad thing? Maybe for the tattooists the art involves is worth the pain and sacrifice of being tattooed. For the religious, it is a sin to sacrifice one’s body with so meaningless purpose. Now I don’t think there are excuses to justify so drastic a way of art, but analyzing the points of view I will try to clarify some questions I still have about this body art such as the reason people have tattoos, â€Å"When did tattooing start?†, the dangers involved in this procedure, the removal of a tattoo and society’s reaction to tattooed persons. Thinking it is weird to have one’s body penetrated many times by a needle to make only a drawing I do not think is worth it. So, why do people have tattoos? Why it is a common place nowadays? Probably because people see that the tattoo is a way of expression, but the real motivation to acquire it varies among groups and cultures. It marks thoughts, opinions, memories†¦Some persons obtains tattoos as a means of asserting their personal identity or sexual orientation. Tattoos may be a testament to feelings of love, they have been associated with rites of passage and identification with groups. Nowadays tattoos is used for some cosmetic medical procedures and permanent make-up applications, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ web site. Some women seek facial tattooing as method of permanent adornment that reduces the need of cosmetics, what can be helpful when, for example, a compromised vision impairs the ability to apply make-up. Talking with a friend who likes a lot of body art, Manoela Cunha, she said: â€Å"I like tattoos because they make me feel â€Å"the one†! There is no one else in the world like me it is a way of identification†. She adds: â€Å"It is not a rebellion of thoughts, it’s just something I like and I really don’t care about other peoples judgment†. She said it is not a painful thing, none of her 3 tattoos and her piercing hurt, and she is planning to get others. Analyzing the past, I can see it is not a recent thing. I read once in a web site about frequently asked

Importance of Setting and Wallpaper in The Yellow Wallpaper

Importance of Setting and Wallpaper in The Yellow Wallpaper   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Room itself represents the author’s unconscious protective cell that has encased her mind, represented by the woman, for a very long time. This cell is slowly deteriorating and losing control of her thoughts. I believe that this room is set up as a self-defense mechanism when the author herself is put into the asylum. She sets this false wall up to protect her from actually becoming insane and the longer she is in there the more the wall paper begins to deteriorate. This finally leads to her defense weakening until she is left with just madness and insanity. All of the characters throughout the story represent real life people with altered roles in her mind. While she is in the mental institute she blends reality with her subconscious, forming this story from events that are happening all around here in the real world.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the reader is introduced to the woman we find her talking about very strange and unusual happenings occurring around her. She evens states that she has a condition that signifies insanity, but the doctor would never tell her straight to her face that she was insane. She says, â€Å"I think it is due to this nervous condition†(453). This shows that she knows there is something wrong with her. This nervous condition she refers to can only mean that she is having mental problems and is possibly going insane.   We can infer this because during this time period, the doctors did not state that someone was insane because they had no medical proof. Instead they would just tell the patients that they have a nervous condition, and send them away. She says, â€Å"I always fancy I see people walking in the numerous paths and arbors, but... ...f the bad that is going on in her real life, so she would have a happy place to live. With the collapse of her happy place her defense was gone and she had no protection from her insanity anymore. This caused all of her blocked out thoughts to swarm her mind and turn her completely insane. When the doctor found her, he tried to go in and help her. When the doctor finally got in he fainted because he had made so many positive changes with her and was utterly distressed when he found out that it was all for naught. This woman had made a safety net within her mind so that she would not have to deal with the reality of being in an insane asylum, but in the end everything failed and it seems that what she had been protecting herself from finally conquered her. She was then forced to succumb to her breakdown and realize that she was in the insane asylum for the long run. Importance of Setting and Wallpaper in The Yellow Wallpaper Importance of Setting and Wallpaper in The Yellow Wallpaper   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Room itself represents the author’s unconscious protective cell that has encased her mind, represented by the woman, for a very long time. This cell is slowly deteriorating and losing control of her thoughts. I believe that this room is set up as a self-defense mechanism when the author herself is put into the asylum. She sets this false wall up to protect her from actually becoming insane and the longer she is in there the more the wall paper begins to deteriorate. This finally leads to her defense weakening until she is left with just madness and insanity. All of the characters throughout the story represent real life people with altered roles in her mind. While she is in the mental institute she blends reality with her subconscious, forming this story from events that are happening all around here in the real world.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the reader is introduced to the woman we find her talking about very strange and unusual happenings occurring around her. She evens states that she has a condition that signifies insanity, but the doctor would never tell her straight to her face that she was insane. She says, â€Å"I think it is due to this nervous condition†(453). This shows that she knows there is something wrong with her. This nervous condition she refers to can only mean that she is having mental problems and is possibly going insane.   We can infer this because during this time period, the doctors did not state that someone was insane because they had no medical proof. Instead they would just tell the patients that they have a nervous condition, and send them away. She says, â€Å"I always fancy I see people walking in the numerous paths and arbors, but... ...f the bad that is going on in her real life, so she would have a happy place to live. With the collapse of her happy place her defense was gone and she had no protection from her insanity anymore. This caused all of her blocked out thoughts to swarm her mind and turn her completely insane. When the doctor found her, he tried to go in and help her. When the doctor finally got in he fainted because he had made so many positive changes with her and was utterly distressed when he found out that it was all for naught. This woman had made a safety net within her mind so that she would not have to deal with the reality of being in an insane asylum, but in the end everything failed and it seems that what she had been protecting herself from finally conquered her. She was then forced to succumb to her breakdown and realize that she was in the insane asylum for the long run.

The Silence of the Lambs - Hannibal Lecter, American Idol Essay

The Silence of the Lambs - Hannibal Lecter, American Idol Few modern horror movies have matched the critical acclaim of Jonathan Demme's 1991 The Silence of the Lambs, featuring Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal psychiatrist. The film, along with Alfred Hitchock's Psycho (1960), is one of few horror/suspense films accepted by movie critics as one of the best American films ever produced. However, as the trilogy of movies in the Hannibal Lecter series progressed, many feared that the character would become commercialized, as he has in many ways. In the two subsequent films, Ridley Scott's sequel, Hannibal (2001), and Brett Ratner's 2002 prequel, Red Dragon, Lecter often seems more of a parody of himself, playing up the larger-than-the-screen status bestowed upon him after Anthony Hopkins's superior performance in Lambs. While many critics were upset at the â€Å"commercialization† of one of the greatest characters in the history of American cinema, an even more interesting change may be indicated through the character's acceptance in mainstream culture. Hannibal Lecter is a different type of cannibal monster than those previously seen in horror films, as shown through his motivations and criminal actions, and has been accepted by the audience as an â€Å"anti-hero† instead of the antagonist of the movie. Cannibalism has become a prevalent theme in horror movies since the 1960s. According to Robin Wood, â€Å"[t]he cannibalism motif functions in two ways. Occasionally, members of a family devour each other [ . . . ]. More frequently, cannibalism is the family's means of sustaining or nourishing itself† (84). The latter theme has been seen throughout several movies, including Tobe Hooper's cult classic The ... ..., both the intellectual and the primal self. And, whether most viewers would admit it or not, he is, in many ways, the type of person we are encouraged to be. Works Cited Ebert, Roger. â€Å"The Silence of Lambs.† Chicago Sun-Times. 14 Feb. 1991. Gregory, Bettina. â€Å"Hannibal Lecter: The Honey in the Lion's Mouth.† American Journal of Psychotherapy 56.1 (2002): 100-14. Martingale, Moira. Cannibal Killers: The History of Impossible Murders. New York: Carroll, 1993. Sagan, Eli. Cannibalism: Human Aggression and Cultural Form. New York: Harper, 1974. Sanday, Peggy Reeves. Divine Hunger: Cannibalism as a Cultural System. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1986. The Silence of the Lambs. Dir. Jonathan Demme. Orion, 1991. Wood, Robin. â€Å"The American Nightmare: Horror in the '70s.† Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan. New York: Columbia UP, 1986.

New Technologies Essay

Public relations is the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organisation with the public interest, and plans and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance. Public relations is the management function that identifies, establishes, and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organisation and the various publics on whom its success or failure depends. Cutlip Scott et al. Effective Public Relations, Prentice Hall 2000 Public Relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you. Public relations practice is the discipline which looks after reputation – with the aim of earning understanding and support, and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between organisations and its publics. Harrison Shirley, Public Relations – An introduction, Thomson Learning 2000 Public relations practice is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics. Jenkins Frank, Public Relations Techniques, Butterworth Heinemann 2nd edition Public relations consists of all forms of planned communication, outwards and inwards, between an organisation and its publics for the purpose of achieving specific objectives concerning mutual understanding. Jenkins Frank, Public Relations, Pitman 5th edition Comparison of the characteristics of advertising and public relationsUse of media Purchase media space Normally relies on or time gaining media coverage Degree of control over Relatively tight control Relatively little if any the message over the content and control over content and timing of the message timing of the message Message credibility Normally low credibility Normally relatively high credibility Types of target audience Relatively narrow target Often aimed at a audience usually market relatively broad range related of publics/audiences Focus of the activity Relatively short-term Situation oriented Expected time horizons Market/sales oriented Both short and long term for planning and results objectives and impact. objectives and impact. Forms of evaluation Established measurement Relatively limited number Techniques for coverage of evaluation techniques and cost efficiency used, often confined to measures of media coverage Mode of payment for Agencies receive payment Agencies paid on the agency services in the form of commission basis of fees for from the media based on consultant’s time or by the space or time booked annual retainer for the client Black Sam, Public Relation: revision workbook, HTL publications 1992 pg8 Comparison of propaganda and public relations Sender Varying degrees of source Clear identification of the Identification sender Purpose To build a movement or To achieve consent or a following develop dialogue Message One sided, varying degrees May moderate between of accuracy arguments accuracy important Media Similar media may be used in both cases Receiver Similar audiences may be targeted in both cases Black Sam, Public Relation: revision workbook, HTL publications 1992 pg9 â€Å"New Technologies are drastically changing the whole business of Public Relations† Mobile phones, video recorders, DVD players PCs etc, technology that began as business-to-business has steadily developed for use in the home, in the business market, technology is primarily a productivity tool, but in the home it is much more leisure or entertainment, competing for attention against TV or the cinema. Technology is the technical means people use to improve their surroundings. It is also knowledge of using tools and machines to do tasks efficiently. We use technology to control the world in which we live. Technology is people using knowledge, tools, and systems to make their lives easier and better. People use technology to improve their ability to do work. Through technology, people communicate better. Technology allows them to make more and better products. Our buildings are better with the use of technology. We travel in more comfort and speed because of technology. Yes, technology is everywhere and can make life better.www. ask. com According to most of the articles in the reference list, and the interview with Dan Pinch (consultant at PR agency Weber Shandwick), the biggest impact for the world of public relations in the last five years is most certainly the internet. It has overcome time-zone problems in communicating with clients in the United States as well as the Eastern European countries, and it has so much to offer in speed, quality and communication. Along with various interactive software packages (appendix (ii)) that make it easier for consultants to do their job efficiently and swifter than before. Understanding the unique properties of the internet: *it provides a unique medium in which communities and groups can form, reform, transform and dissolve. *It is relatively inexpensive, *users can be anonymous or have different online personality and act differently as a result, *it recognises no geographic boundaries, *once a message is out, the sender loses control, and *there are already many more internet than non-internet channels for communication. â€Å"It is clear that the internet has and is continuing to change the communication model or paradigm. It is changing the very nature of the relationship between an organisation and its publics in terms of process, content, location, speed and power. † The Public Relations e-Commission www. icas. co. uk e-PR @ ICAS, internet information The internet has created new tools and changed objectives; an altered geography of web sites, newsgroups, usenets, chat rooms, and mailing lists, and a revised lexicon with terms like rogue web sites, metatabs, text-crawlers, reciprocal linking, hyper-text-perts, and search engine placement; the names can make the internet sound very complex, however it is a useful communication tool. With information travelling at the velocity of light, communicators discover fresh ways to deliver and monitor news that keeps them two steps ahead of the media and the competition. Do you want to know if your client or company will be front-page news before the scoop is even in print? No problem! With the emergence of new methods of monitoring media, you can be notified before the news hits the stands or makes the airwaves; today public relations practitioners are receiving ‘real-time’ news-breaks. Public relations consultants can distribute information or look at reports of media placements in literally seconds than wait a week or two. Which system to use depends on the user’s needs, budget and equipment available for collecting or broadcasting data; the more exclusive and appropriate the information sent or received, the more expensive it is. Service companies are constantly coming up with new programs and applications to help public relations practitioners reach the media. Clipping services have upgraded their offerings with daily fax delivery and on-line media monitoring to match the client’s clip profile. Source: Public Relations Society of America, Technology transforms media relations work. Public Relations Journal, Nov 1993 v49 n11 p34(1) News distribution companies allow PR agencies to get vital information to the press on a large scale in a short time. Traditionally an agency would have to do their press release, put them in envelopes, and mail them out to all journalists. With news distribution companies like Pr Newswire, Pimms, Expedite all you do is e-mail them the release with a list of contacts and they will e-mail, fax, or post the information out. Pr Newswire also has capabilities of putting information onto a newswire service which can be accessed by large broadcast and press agencies. Contact Management Software are programmes supplied by companies like Media Disk and PR Newswire, they are large databases containing numerous names of journalists, together with respective publications; the systems should be continuously updated to keep data current. These systems allow users to build mailing lists for effective targeting and distribution of messages. Technology has changed many aspects (from speed of receiving documents via e-mail, to message boards and chat rooms where rumours can be heard of first etc. ) in the world of Public Relations. However, the areas in which it has not changed much is the talking to journalists, PR consultants still have to use the phone a great deal and face-to-face communication will always remain an important way of conducting business; clearly shown with the latest British Airways advertisement, with the strap line ‘It’s better to be there’. The advertisement shows that the use of technology is all well and good however making the effort to go and see the client is even better! (appendix (v)). According to Dan Pinch ‘Human contact of the actual daily job will always stay the same, Public Relations is all about human contact; that will never go away’. â€Å"Public relations whether it is offline is and always will be about human relationships! † The Public Relations e-Commission www. icas. co. uk e-PR @ ICAS, internet information To keep with the times it would be obvious to assume that many of the PR firms are or should be using a combination of easy data access and delivery technology to maintain their client base. Clipping services, news wires and informational databases have upgraded their offerings to supply their clientele with information releases. The functions of Public Relations can now be helped along with today’s technology, the creation of publicity for products and services can be done in numerous ways, from the internet to placement in films. Opinion forming on a particular issue can be dealt with by posting an article on the internet and getting feedback from the public. The ability to download photographs from the internet can help media relations. The use of television, cinema, radio, and internet can help with business sponsorship; getting more coverage in a variety of ways. PR on the Internet also includes a new set of assumptions, with response speeds measured in seconds, not hours, and a â€Å"through the looking glass† distortion that can make a single person on an Internet newsgroup more potent than the entire public relations department of a major corporation. â€Å"Nobody is small on the Web,† says Alan Wallace, a principal at Santa Monica-based Inter Active Agency, a brash, two-year-old firm dedicated to the proposition that PR agencies not already on the Internet are already out of business. Source: Richard Rapaport, PR finds a cool new tool. Forbes, Oct 6, 1997 v160 n7 pS100(6) The internet has clearly made the workload easier to handle for PR firms, however there is also a negative aspect about this tool; there are scarier implications that surround the world of internet, such as the reality, that corporate status can be savaged as dissatisfied customers and shareholders exchange comments on the World Wide Web. It can all occur without the companies’ knowledge, if they are not monitoring, and contributing to the forum, message boards and chat rooms it can end up as a damaging mix of rumours and misrepresentation, and severe consequences can follow, as Quigley Cold-Eeze discovered (appendix (iii)). When a company faces a crisis, there has never been a more powerful or potentially more destructive tool than the internet, according to Text 100 managing director Katie Kemp: â€Å"Once it gets on the net, you lose control of it. † Source: Haymarket Publishing Ltd, PR makes its way to IT boardrooms, Marketing, May 27, 1999 p59(2) PR agencies that have the technical expertise can set up monitoring services. Edelman Technology, the high-tech sector of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, assists the complex needs of technology corporations large and small. Staffed by IT specialists in key global markets, Edelman is among the leading industry players in the area of high-tech PR. Edelman has a system called I-Wire which monitors the internet, checking on 55,000 user groups and bulletin boards. It means that if there’s trouble, the team responsible can take action. â€Å"As technologies converge and the pace of development slows, competition for press coverage will intensify,† says Lewis. â€Å"Agencies with little knowledge of journalism and poor technical expertise will be exposed. Weak stories will fail, and so will weak agencies. â€Å"