Cask Of Amontillado Essay

When the tunnels come to a dead end, Mentors chains Fortunate and buries him in the e catacombs. The literary elements of foreshadowing, symbolism, and irony help to create a tale of horror or found in the short story â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† written by Edgar Allan Poe. To build suspense in the story, Poe often employs foreshadowing. For example e, when Fortunate says, â€Å"l shall not die of a cough (Poe 66). Mentors replies, mat rue [.. J† (Poe 66), because he knows that Fortunate will in fact die from dehydration and starve ion in the crypt.He reshow's future events by employing the topic of death into the conversant ion. On the other hand, Mentor's description of his family's coat of arms also symbolizes future eve ants. The shield features a human foot crushing a tenacious serpent. In this image, the foot represents Mentors and the serpent represents Fortunate. Although Fortunate has hurt Mentors with biting inns Its, Mentors will ultimately crush him. The c onversation about Masons also foreshadows Forth anta's demise. Are not of the masons. ‘ ‘Yes, yes,' I said; yes, yes. ‘ ‘You? Impossible! A mason? ‘ ‘A m son,' I replied. A sign,' he said. It is this,' answered, producing a trowel from beneath the folds of my require† (Poe 68). When he declares that he is a â€Å"mason† by showing his trowel, he means t hat he is a literal stonemason and that he constructs things out of stones and mortar, namely F rotunda's grave. Pope's use of symbolism describes each character. â€Å"The man wore motley. He had on a tight fitting predestined dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap an d bells. I was so pleased to see him, that thought should never have done wringing his hand† (Poe 63). His face covered in a lack silk mask, Mentors symbolizes hidden things.In this case, the mask sys embolisms Mentor's hidden thoughts to kill Fortunate. On the other hand, Fortunate dons the mot ele ctrode costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Mentor's masked mot eves. The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortune's death sentence. Using symbolism such h as the setting of the dark and dank catacombs, Poe uses the gloomy environment to symbolize death a ND horrible things to come. We came at length to the foot of the descent, and stood together on the dam p ground of the catacombs f the Mentors† (Poe 66).The bones in the catacomb symbolizes that Forth NATO would soon be one of them. Using irony, Poe further uses literary elements to create a tale Of horror. Using g dramatic irony, Poe reveals the path of death that Fortunate is heading to. Fortunate is head Eng towards death but ironically does not even question the suspicious Mentors until the last mom .NET. â€Å"It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunate cause to duo bat my good will. Continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the Hough of his immolation† (Poe 63).Fortunate doesn't know what will happen to himself but both the audience and Mentors knows that the story' will end with Fortune's death. Another example Of irony is the situation irony of Fortune's name. â€Å"He had a weak point-?this Of rotunda-?although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided him elf on his connoisseurship in wine† (Poe 63). Fortunate, Italian for â€Å"the fortunate one,† ironically means t he exact opposite in this story, representing situational irony. Instead of the fortunate one, Fortunate comes the unfortunate one, dying from the hands of Mentors.

Overseas Students Participate in Cultural Activities Essay

Cultural activities are activities where people spend their leisure time attending cultural venues and events. For example, cultural activities include going to art galleries, museums, libraries, operas, concerts and the cinema. People want to get feelings of well-being and gain more knowledge by participating in cultural activities. Participation in cultural activities influences the development of students in many aspects, such as for entertainment and knowledge. The involvement of students in cultural activities can help them develop a well-rounded education. For overseas students in Australia, participating in native cultural activities can also help them reduce culture shock and provide a better way for students to understand more information concerning the history, customs and beliefs in Australia. In a survey concerned with participation in cultural activities among Australian people, it was found that about 85% of the Australian people who aged over 15 years old participated in at least one of cultural activity during the 12 months in 2005-06 (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (ABS) (2007). Going to the cinema was the most popular activity which had the highest percentages at 65% of people. Going to zoological parks and aquariums were the two second most common activities, at 36%; libraries and botanic gardens were at 34% (ABS, 2007). In addition, the same study found that people with higher educational background had considerably higher attendance rates than people with lower educational attainment at art galleries, museums, zoological parks and aquariums, libraries, popular music concerts, other performing arts and the cinema. Moreover, in previous research, it was found that about 25% of respondents went to the library over 20 times during the year. (ABS, 2007). However, little research has been done to compare differences in participation in cultural activities between overseas students in Australia and Australian people. The aim of this research is to find out whether overseas students’ cultural activity behaviors were similar to Australians. Methodology This research was carried out in Navitas English language school on 10th December 2010, and was concerned about the participation in cultural activities of overseas students. Data were collected through questionnaires in the school. The participants consisted of 50 overseas students (25 males and 25 females), who were aged between 18-24 and 25-34, just one person was over 35. The majority of the sample were Chinese; other subjects were from Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Indonesia, and Japan. The questionnaire, which was administered informally and contained 8 questions, was made up of three sections: demographic information, the type and the frequency of cultural activities. Specifically, 4 questions were developed to record general information; one question was about which cultural activities students participated in; the other 3 items asked about how often students participated in cultural activities per year, involving all cultural activities, going to the library and cinema. The survey was conducted by several groups; each group consisted of 2-3 students. These groups respectively entered different classes to collect data using questionnaires. After collecting this, the data was shared by all groups. Data from questionnaires were then collated and converted to percentages. The results were compared according to gender, education and frequency in graphs.

Tam o,Shanter by Robert Burns Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tam o,Shanter by Robert Burns - Essay Example e language in Robert Burns’s, Tam O’ Shanter, it seems to include an array of events, as formerly stated: â€Å"†¦a comic vision of the world torn between the pleasures of drink, camaraderie, song, dance, and sex on the one hand and Calvinistic duty, respectability, and restraint on the other† (Weston 337). From Robert Burns’s clever use of narration, intertwined with a variety of poetic devices, such as simile and personification, we find ourselves impeccably submerged in the ever changing characteristics found in Tam O’ Shanter. Now, as for the examination of the poem, we will begin bearing in mind that the conflicting personalities in the narration of the poem are the heart of the tale, and therefore, to understand it we must focus on the tone of the poem. In the opening stanza the narrator emphasizes the notion of himself in juxtaposition with Tam and others â€Å"While we sit bousing at the nappy / An’ getting fou and unco happy,† (5-6) as a means of presenting a cluster of men who seem to be conjuring up an unruly night. Moreover, their unruly event, which seems to be already known as unruly to the them is even further stressed in the last three lines of the stanza when it speaks of their significant others â€Å"where sits our sulky, sullen dame / Gathering her brows like gathering storm / Nursing her wrath to keep it warm (10-12). The words†Nursing her wrath† (12) indicates that when the men do finally decide to come home, their women will be waiting to confront them with an ger. Next we move into a vital point in the poem, as now the narration has changed its tone in focusing on Tam himself â€Å"O Tam! had’st thou but been sae wise,† (17). Here the nararator forces us to view Tam as a selfish vagabond, or rather mischievous man who listens to no know one, least of all his â€Å"wife Kate’s advice† (18) and he becomes less wise and even more disorderly in his nature. Moreover, the final lines of this stanza illustrate a prediction on behalf

Sociology - Family Relationships - Marriage Essay

Sociology - Family Relationships - Marriage - Essay Example It is both a physical and a mental need of every human being. People need to get married in order to develop a healthy society where children know who their parents are and the parents are liable to fulfill their children’s individual, social and economical needs. This is fundamental to the development of a progressive and humanistic society. Marriage squeeze is potentially an imbalance between the number of brides and grooms in a certain community. For example, the African America men tend to marry white American ladies leaving almost 43% African American women between the ages of 30 to 34 years unmarried. (Newsweek cited in Darleene, 2007). However, the women of the community tend to restrict themselves to African American men because of several reasons. Thus, there are more grooms in the African American community than brides. Marrying down is a term used to refer to the cases when an individual from a certain social and economic class tends to marry another from a lower class. Most African American women tend to marry down as they usually find no choice but to marry lower class men of their race. Some of the key factors that play a decisive role in the continuation of marriage are unemployment, lack of trust, lack of love and sincerity, abuse (either verbal or physical or both), infertility, unrealistically high expectations and financial distress. These are the factors that tempt the individual partners of the couple to break down the marriage in general. However, the most fundamental factors that decide whether or not a couple will stay married are the ability of either of the two partners to compromise, the degree of importance they impart to their relationship and the time they allow for the issues to get settled. If a couple is determined to stay married, nothing can destroy it. Sooner or later, every thing gets settled down and the two start to find comfort and peace in their

Analysis of LivingWell Inc. Strategic Approach to Environmental Essay

Analysis of LivingWell Inc. Strategic Approach to Environmental Factors - Essay Example This essay evaluates the alternative or additional strategic options available for adaptation to ensure surviving and thriving of the LivingWell Inc. company in to the next decade. The researcher states that in today’s intensely competitive world, organisations are increasingly pressured to achieve targets and goals with limited and scarce economic resources. Effective deployment of organisational strategy directs the scare resources and efforts towards a charted course, eliminating waste arising from lack of direction. In crafting organisational strategies, the impinging internal and external environment factors needs to be analysed. The researcher of this essay aims to analyse the strategic approach taken by LivingWell Inc., in responding to the environmental factors influencing the industry. In conclusion, it can be noted that LivingWell has responded to business conditions prevailing and anticipated, through a mixture of corporate, business and functional level strategies. The company with its strong financial backing is in a strong position to benefit from attractive industry opportunities. The Health, Fitness and Leisure industry is still at its developing stages across the world and there is significant for growth. The researcher concluds his analysis and states that the company should continue with those strategies, which are proven effective while considering the deployment of alternative strategic options to retain and develop its competitive positioning in the industry.

Explain three (3) world arguments for birth control and two (2) world Essay - 2

Explain three (3) world arguments for birth control and two (2) world arguments against birth control - Essay Example The pills further prevent ectopic pregnancies due to the fact that they are able to suppress ovulation which makes them the most preferred contraceptive alternative for women especially those who are at the risk of having ectopic pregnancies which is a great threat to life (Sanger, 2013). The birth control methods reduces the risk of contracting ovarian cysts which is a fluid-filled growth developing in the ovary. This is possible because the pills prevent ovulation. The methods further prevent pelvic inflammation diseases which are caused by bacteria that infect the fallopian tubes as well as the uterus and can cause infertility under extreme conditions. They also reduce the spread of acne which cannot be cured by other forms of medications. Birth control methods such as the use of pills lead to blood clots or venous thromboembolism especially in the legs and lungs. Recent studies have indicated that the chances of blood clot are six times high in women who use oral contraceptives in comparison to nonusers. The use of pills may not require the use of other drugs such as antibiotics, anticonvulsants, antifungals as well as herbal medicines which can affect the amount of contraceptive hormones that the can be absorbed by the stomach and other metabolic processes. It has been established that women who use birth control pills have increased systolic as well as diastolic blood pressure hence they need to keenly monitor their blood pressure so that they do not exceed the expected limit. Closely linked to blood pressure problems is heart attack condition which arises due to birth control pills and is more prevalent among those women who smoke cigarettes. This is highly witnessed among women who are 35 years and above hence those who use birth control pills at this age bracket should not smoke as that will increase chances of developing

Futures market investing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Futures market investing - Essay Example ed in the prices of grain to fall and therefore the dealers started selling the contracts as To Arrive contracts, that consisted of the delivery of the grain at a future date on a price specified already on the agreed contract. This got them buyers and reduced their risk and this is how futures market started gaining its roots in the commodities market. The futures market is usually defined as the auction market in which the participants of the market are involved in the transactions of buying and selling the commodities or the future contracts on the terms of the delivery dates in future with the present level agreed prices by both the parties (Valdez 35). Futures market and trading in this area is usually considered to be having a high level of risk involved with it and many speculation aspects are involved in this element. Investing in the futures market are considered as gambling by many investors as the market are unpredictable and anything can be expected for the future. Unpredictable market situations can be both positive and negative for the contractor but usually futures market tends to decrease the level of risk as at times prices are negotiated at an early stage (Sullivan and Sheffrin 76). Along with the element of risk that is involved in the futures market it is also an irony that the futures market can be used a tool for minimizing the level of risk. For this, there needs to be carried out proper planning and research, analysis needs to be made by looking at the facts and figures and the history, and then finally the money then should be managed accordingly. This way of using the future market tool can prove to be highly profitable. When the previous history and future prospects are analysed then it becomes easier for the investor to invest in the futures market for gaining substantial level of returns (Sullivan and Sheffrin 98). There are many reasons present for considering investment in the futures market by individuals and corporations. There

Stare Decisis and the Principle of Precedent Coursework

Stare Decisis and the Principle of Precedent - Coursework Example Gur-Arie highlights that though judicial independence was originally intended in order to have courts and judges who settle disputes impartially regardless of potential, proffers, and real favors. In addition, the judges are expected to uphold democratic accountability. However, the United States provisions promote the judiciary’s democratic control on one hand while promoting judicial independence on the other. This is evident in the present procedures for judicial budgeting that leaves the courts and judges under the oversight and slight control from the executive and the legislature. One best instance is that of executive branch influencing judicial funding levels through its propositions to Congress on fiscal policy. Furthermore, the Congress determines the extent of funding for the judicial branch. Conversely, the Legislators utilize their power on funding to reveal the approval or disapproval of how the judges manage the courts, and though rare, the legislators use their positions to reveal their approval or disapproval of decisions by the judiciary. In addition, Congress utilizes other control means to regulate the effects of judicial decision making and the threats of other decisions in the future. In this case, the fact that it is the president who appoints federal judges with the consent and advice of the Senate leaves the judiciary under the influence of political forces as the legislature and the executive seek to achieve their ambitions.

Product represent the New Design Paradigm Assignment

Product represent the New Design Paradigm - Assignment Example The first one in this case is that it has helped in alleviating the problems, which are associated with the use of desktop computers. In this case, the major problem is to do with immobility and convenience. At the same time, the laptop has become a rather important element concerning the way people conduct their business majorly due to its portability. The facilities, which are also associated with the use of laptops, also make it a rather dependable machine in the life of a person. An example of such a facility is the use of Wi-Fi for accessing the internet. In this regard, it is not necessary for a person to have wired connection to access the internet but this is made possible through wireless internet through Wi-Fi networks. Responsibility is something, which is expected of every member of the society. In this particular case, however, the responsibility, which is in focus, is in relation to being ecologically responsible and being socially responsible. In social responsibility, an individual ought to act and carry him or herself in a manner, which is beneficial to the individuals in the society. The main intention associated with this type of responsibility is such that the individual is able to maintain a balance between the ecosystem and the economy. It entails having a balance between the organizations and individuals together with the welfare of the society. On the other hand, ecological responsibility is mainly concerned with the environment and its preservation. This is bearing in mind the importance, which is attached to the environment in relation to the sustenance of human beings. In this case, the individuals in the society ought to see to it that they do not take actions, which may jeopardiz e the environment, for example using of detergents and letting water flow onto the soil or streams of water. There is significant impact on global production when looking at the elements,

Comparing Films of Macbeth Essay Example for Free

Comparing Films of Macbeth Essay Shakespeares Macbeth, was first performed before King James I at Hampton Court in 1606. Since then, Macbeth has gone on to be an ever-popular play, endlessly produced by a sea of directors. Having recently watched two of these productions, the first by the Polish director Roman Polanski and the other British director Gregory Dorans production for the Royal Shakespeare Company. It is apparent that there are great differences in how the two directors chose to portray the characters in the play. One of the interperative differences is in the character of Lady Macbeth. In the Royal Shakespeare Companys version we first meet Lady Macbeth in Act1 Scene5. She has black long hair, very pale skin, a slim figure and is dressed in black. Many critics have commented that her appearance is rather witch like and this is exactly what most people expect her to be. We witness her reading a letter when she suddenly looks up. This is of course the letter sent by her husband telling her of the witches prophecy of Kingship. She looks directly into the camera and although she maintains a blank expression we can sense from her piercing eyes that her mind is already over flown with ambition. As she folds the letter and looks up, evil intentions are in her eyes. The next shot we see is of her in the bath and although she does not show a lot of emotion her eyes reveal that she is still thinking deeply about the letter. She then begins to beg evil spirits to Unsex me here before ducking her head into the water. This is done through a narrative voice. We dont actually see her lips move. In the Polanski version we meet Lady Macbeth in Act1 Scene5. The similarities end here. In Polanskis version we see Lady Macbeth with long golden hair. This is often associated with innocence and femininity. But in Dorans version she has black hair. This is generally associated with evil. It is also important to note that she is dressed in white. This is again associated with innocence and purity, which we know Lady Macbeth is not. Lady Macbeth is very calm and gentle in the way she talks. Once again this contrasts with Polanskis version in which she speaks quite cunningly. In Polanskis version you could almost say she looks lifeless in this scene. We see her stand upon the battlements without any compassion for what she is thinking. This is strikingly different from the way she is depicted in the RSC version. Lady Macbeths final scene is Act5 Scene1. This is of course inversion as the first scene we met her in was Act1 Scene5. Doran uses further inversion in this scene as the last time we met Lady Macbeth she was wearing black. She is now wearing white. Doran, deliberately wanted us to notice this as he uses a black background to emphasise what she was wearing. In this scene we see her as a completely different person. When we first met her she looked very powerful and in control of herself but here we see her as totally out of control and insane. We also see that she depends a lot on the candle she is holding. This is ironic as in the Unsexing Scene she called on darkness to fall on her. We also see her rub her hands hysterically to get rid of the blood. This is also ironic as she earlier said, A little water will clear us of this deed. At the end of the scene she finally stops crying, looks up, and with a sense of realisation in her face, says her last words. What is done, cannot be undone. In Polanskis Act5 Scene1 we see Lady Macbeth as she awakens. Looking down she screams as she sees blood on her hands. Terrified, she cries, Gracious Duncan is dead. We then witness her walk about her chamber naked. (Hugh Hefners promise of nudity has been realised.) We see her open a box and pull out a now well-worn letter and read it aloud. This provides a full-circle sense to the tragedy. It takes the viewer back to the beginning of the story and reiterates how the horrible chain of events was started. This was very clever of Polanski; through Lady Macbeths sobbing she reads it, in the raggedness of the letter implies many repeated readings, Polanski shows her as, not so much mad but consumed by remorse for what they have done. I believe the two versions are very different, mainly because of the media they have been designed for. When Hugh Hefner promised at the launch of the film, a movie full of sex and violence I dont think it would have particularly appealed to Shakespeare lovers. Conversely the RSC production is unlikely to appeal to the stereotypical playboy reader. This is reflected in both films and as a result they were very different. The Polanski version, is very good in its own right but my personal favourite is Gregory Dorans simply because it has a more typical approach and is a lot truer to the text.

Online Media Has Become A Very Useful Tool Media Essay

Online Media Has Become A Very Useful Tool Media Essay The online media or the New Media has also been a consequence of dynamic communications technology developments and the need of a universal platform that emerges traditional media with the interactive power of computers and the participative aspect of the Internet. I strongly believe that online media has indeed become a very useful tool for citizens to play their role in political and social participation. The reasons are various: Internet is very popular and user-friendly, it give people the opportunity of engaging in civic discussion and there is a common lack of time, interest and proximity issues hinder their willingness in participating, As Margaret Scammell also pointed out in her paper The Internet and Civic Engagement: the Age of the Citizen-Consumer, (anul) the Internet, we hear constantly, will change everything. Thus far, however, the evidence for politics is rather small. We see vastly expanded information sources for citizens, new delivery systems for political institutions, greater opportunities for politics at the margins. But mostly we see the same old electoral and institutional politics with no evidence of huge new communities of participating citizens. What is actually emphasized here is the fact that we expect a greater involvement of citizens in political and social aspects on online media platforms, whereas new media online only endows us with brand new instruments of citizenship performance. Internet, as one of the 20th centurys most important developments, facilitates old and new functions of media, by orientating traditional media, like newspapers and television towards more participation, interactivity, flexibility, real time interaction, experiences and information sharing at a low cost. Politics and political participation of citizens is one of the topics of discussion over the Internet. The basic function of media informing people, is clearly seen in the huge World Wide Web community. Politicians have recently started to be aware of the impact that the Internet has, especially on young generations and therefore have moved online, where they have their own blogs, participate in online political forums, and get in direct contact with their electors. A very good example in this sense is Barack Obamas famous online campaign which helped him engage more with his voters and actually gave them the opportunity of integrating and even creating a political campaign. I think it helped us to access a lot of people by giving them to tools to organize, to create events, to connect with each others and giving them everything that they needed, so that when they had talking points to pass onto their families, videos, events in their area that were happening, community outreach pro grams in their state. Everything that we did was to connect people, because it was a movement that was fundamentally about people. (http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/12/04/felesky-rahaf.html Rahaf Harfoush interview) Moreover, even in 2000 American elections, American Online reported that seven of the all-time top ten live online chats were political, suggesting an increase in interest and involvement in the political process (Marlin 1999: 12 in CAROLINE J. TOLBERT AND RAMONA S. MCNEAL, KENT STATE UNIVERSITY). Another essential aspect of online citizenship is the civic engagement. One might argue that civic engagement online is one of the pioneer activities promoted online and which had a tremendous success among both nongovernmental organizations and participants to different online campaigns, petitions, manifestations. Its mobilizing character has had a very good outcome in community volunteer work, environmental causes and protest behavior, as it has engaged people in various discussions on social media platforms or in sharing experiences and thoughts about problems of common interest on YouTube, Blogs, MySpace, Facebook and websites. A very good example of a civic engagement campaign that has attracted many participants is the Greenpeace campaign. Promoting their activities in environmental causes and simultaneously asking for peoples direct involvement online has ensured the success of their campaign. Online medias main advantage that of offering great opportunities of sharing information and experiences to its users can sometimes turn into a disadvantage, because normal people are becoming journalists. This facilitates subjectivism and might sometimes lead to misinforming the other users. Moreover, many organizations, politicians or public figures have sensed the potential impact and success of online campaigns and therefore tend to control certain information flows for their own interest and even manipulate the content of forums, blogging, etc. The Web community facilitates the achievement of different types of citizenship, whether they are political, cultural, social or national. Citizens have often declared themselves dissatisfied with traditional media coverage; due to media concentration, the information and knowledge they get seems most of the times to be influenced by particular view that media moguls try to impose indirectly. Therefore the online media give them the opportunity of expressing themselves without restrictions and engage actively in different knowledge sharing activities and even direct participation to political decisions. Taken all this arguments into consideration, I believe that the new media indeed contribute to a better citizenship by means of more interaction, delivering own experiences and thoughts towards different political topics, being informed and having access to a greater range of knowledge sources. Online media, creates opportunities for all the Internet users to contribute to the main attribute of democracy and that is, being able to take part at political and social decision making process.

Beowulf Prepares for Battle Once Again :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

Beowulf Prepares for Battle Once Again The section in which Beowulf gets ready for another monster begins with Hrothgar informing him of Aeschere's death. The murder has been committed by Grendel's mother who comes to avenge her son's death. This is the proper thing for her to do in this society. Revenge was of great importance in Pagan society. It was the norm to avenge a murder, especially if no wergild was paid. Hrothgar offers Beowulf additional wealth if he can find and kill the female monster. This arrangement Hrothgar makes with Beowulf, for a second time, is referred to as comitatus. Beowulf tells Hrothgar not to worry, that Aeschere's killer will be found. He reminds Hrothgar that time must not be wasted on sorrow when revenge must be taken immediately. He promises Hrothgar that the woman will "not be lost." Beowulf will seek her out at the bottom of the lake, where her home is located, and kill her. This promise that Beowulf makes is called a boast. Hrothgar thanks God that Beowulf has said this because his frie nd's murder must be avenged and the murderer stopped before she kills again. Hrothgar and his thanes gather and go with Beowulf to search for the woman's home. They know it is in a pool not far from the hall. By following the monster's tracks through a narrow, difficult path, they soon find the lake. The Danes are then horrified to see Aeschere's head on the "sea-cliff" above the water. Through all this action, the horn that continually plays the war song is mentioned. The pool is described as hot and bloody in the passage. This may be a reference to the Christian element of hell. The lake may allude to hell, not only because of the bloody appearance of the water, but also because of the grotesque serpents swimming in it. Serpents have been associated with evil in Christianity. In the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, Eve was tempted by an evil serpent. The snakes in the lake are probably there to enhance the atmosphere of evil in the region. A third reason why the home of the monsters may be likened to hell has to do with who Grendel is. Hell, in Christianity, is a place where people who have sinned must go to suffer. Grendel is a descendant of Cain, who committed fratricide, (killing of one's own brother or a brother-slayer), probably the most horrible act one could be guilty of, especially in this warrior society.

My Blattiphobia :: Example Personal Narratives

Blattiphobia A great wave of fear filters through the body at the thought of creatures that slither and crawl. Of all the bugs, snakes, and spiders in this vast universe the appearance, feel, and behavior of the tree roach can induce a panic as intense as a heart attack. The appearance of a roach is fearful in itself. One of the frightening things about a roach is its shape. It is scary to think how aerodynamic its body is. The roach can flatten its body like a pancake, making it appear to move through walls. The "V" shaped antennae appear to be picking up human emotions, especially fear. The size of a roach can send my heart into my throat. I have seen roaches on my countertop two and one half inches long. Johnny Carson had an African variety on his show that was three inches long. It's frightening to think roaches are so big that Raid had to create a motel for them. Seeing a roach crawling in filthy places reminds us of the germs it carries. My skin shudders when I see a roach in the toilet. Roaches love to crawl in the grime under the kitchen sink. I once saw a roach bouncing in the dirt of one of my potted plants as if it were a puppy who had just received a bath. Fear can turn into convulsions as actual contact with a roach is made. Every nerve fires at the same time when a roach crawls on the skin. I became physically ill with fear when a roach ran up my bare leg. Once one jumped from a box into my lap and all my extremities thrashed about while trying to remove the bug from my skin. The ultimate contact was when the roach ran across my face; I wanted to die! Getting a roach caught in my hair was frightening--no, traumatic. A romantic evening on the porch turned into a scene out of "Psycho" when a roach dropped on my hair. Dinner was ruined when a roach dropped down the back of my dress at an outdoor restaurant. Momentary skin contact with a roach is bad; stepping on one spells phobia. The crunch of a big roach as it is stepped on sends waves up my spine.

The Tragic Hero: Creon or Antigone? Essay -- Character Analysis, Greek

In the Greek tragedy Antigone, the characters Antigone and Creon can both be thought of as the tragic hero of the play. Though Antigone does show some of these characteristics of a tragic hero, Creon demonstrates the attributes more clearly and concisely. Creon is the King of Thebes, as well as the uncle of Antigone. Creon took the throne after a tragic quarrel between his two nephews, Eteocles and Polyneices. Despite his harsh governing and his crude ideals, he is not good or bad. Creon is the tragic hero of the play Antigone, because of his superiority in his society, his nobility, and his tragic flaw, self-pride. Creon was known as the antagonist King in Antigone. A sample of Creon’s antagonist actions is quoted: â€Å"†¦Polyneices, I say, is to have no burial: no man is to touch him or say the least prayer for him; he shall lie on the plain, unburied; and the birds and the scavenging dogs can do with him whatever they like.† (Sophocles 1. 43-46) Though he is known for negative things, he is still perceived and still superior to every Theban. Antigone was known in the society as the princess; but, she did not show herself as a grand and known person. Creon is proud of his position in society and is prideful of his city and his decisions. Creon said proudly, â€Å"You forget yourself! You are speaking to your King!† (Sophocles 5. 66) Creon exhibits the trait of superiority almost to the point from this quote. Antigone, however, is only recognized for being the princess of the former king and committing an act of civil disobedience against King Creon. Creon and Antigone are also comparable in the area of nobility. Creon was the brother of Oedipus, the former king of Thebes. Quoted by Choragus, â€Å"But now at last is our new King is comi... ...t Creon was; however, he does understand how imprudent he was as a result of his own actions. After reading this argument, it is hoped that readers recognize that Creon is the tragic hero of Antigone. Creon and Antigone are both main characters of the play, but Creon’s character explains a tragic hero more so than Antigone’s. Creon’s superiority to his society, his nobility, and his tragic flaw self-pride assists in proving this topic. Because of Creon’s in-depth characteristics and unusual position in the story, it makes Antigone’s character seem like a minor character once analyzed. Almost every reader claims that since Antigone is the protagonist, the main character, and a princess, she is certainly the tragic hero. All in all, Creon is the tragic hero of the Greek Tragedy, Antigone by only three characteristics: superiority, nobility, and self-pride.

The Development of Concept through the National Curriculum

The National Curriculum was introduced into the English educational system after the Education Reform Act in 1988. The construct of kid psychological science was addressed and to a great extent influenced by the work of Jean Piaget. Piaget was the precursor of the ‘constructivist theory of cognizing ‘ and set frontward the first systematic theory of Cognitive Development. His theory provinces there are four back-to-back phases of cognitive development that are achieved at different ages throughout a kid ‘s life. As with all high profile theories, non all experts agreed. Lev Vygotsky thought the cultural background of kids had a major impact on cognitive development, ‘Any map in the kid ‘s cultural development appears twice, or on two planes. First, it appears on the societal plane, and so on the psychological plane. ‘ ( ? ? , 1981, pg 163 ) . The chief difference between Piaget and Vygotsky ‘s theories is Vygotsky believed even if a kid did n on possess the necessary accomplishments or cognition to finish a undertaking, if they were surrounded by person who did, they were likely to win when steered in the right way. Whereas Piaget stated a kid ‘s cognitive development is limited by what they are in affect ‘ready ‘ to larn. By using Piaget ‘s theory to the National Curriculum a more ‘child-centred ‘ attack can be practiced within the School System. Piaget one time said ‘Education, for most people, means seeking to take the kid to resemble the typical grownup of his society†¦ . but for me and no 1 else, instruction agencies doing Godheads†¦ . you have to do discoverers, pioneers and non conformists ‘ ( Bringuier, 1980, pg 132 ) . Forces and Motion organize a important sum of Physicss at all Key Stages in the National Curriculum. Forces have a cardinal function in how the Earth is positioned and how objects are held on the Earth. It is critical kids are taught where and how Forces and Motion affect us and how they determine twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours life. Jean Piaget published the first logical theory of cognitive development which when placed in an educational context can be used to better the educational system for all pupils. Piaget focused on how kids learn, adapt to an environment and any alterations that may happen. He thought kids must hold changeless interactions with the outside universe. Piaget besides discussed the theory of moral instruction and believed kids make moral opinions by detecting those around them, ‘the kid is person who constructs his ain moral universe position, who forms thoughts about right and incorrect, and just and unjust, that are non the direct merchandise of grownup instruction and that are frequently maintained in the face of grownup wants to the contrary ‘ ( Gallagher, 1978, pgA 26 ) . He thought instruction and the manner kids are taught can hold a important consequence on development. Piaget ‘s theory provinces there are four chief countries of Cognitive Development. The first, Sensori-motor, occurs between birth and the age of two. Child learn through their senses and actions, nevertheless are egoistic. The grounds Piaget gathered showed kids in this phase interact with their environment by pull stringsing objects, this is known as intelligence in action ( Michael W. Eysenck, 2000, Pg 411 ) . Towards the terminal of the sensori-motor phase kids begin to develop object permanency. The second of Piaget ‘s phases, pre-operational, is split into two sub-sections, Preconceptual ( aged two and four ) , and Intuitive ( aged four and seven ) . A chief feature of this phase is unlogical thought and centration. During this period it is non possible to alter a kid ‘s sentiment on something they believe to be true. For illustration if two spectacless with equal sums of H2O are shown to a kid, so one is transferred into a larger glass, a kid would province it contains less H2O than the other, even though they to the full observed the procedure ( Michael W. Eysenck, 2000, Pg 413 ) . The 3rd phase occurs between aged seven until about 12 and is known as Concrete Operational. At this point logical thought develops leting ideas to be organised coherently. However kids are still unable to believe abstractly and logical thought is confined to existent objects and topics that can be seen. Children are able to concentrate on more than one factor, for illustration when asked to choose similar objects, the 2nd object chosen will be similar to the first in dimensions and the 3rd chosen will be similar to the 2nd in coloring material ( Michael W. Eysenck, 2000, Pg 411 ) . The idea procedure behind the usage of experiments is understood as they comprehend be aftering, transporting out, showing and reasoning the consequences. The 4th phase is Formal Operational which occurs from aged 12 upwards, where kids are able to grok abstract thoughts leting topics such as Space and Gravity to be explored. Prior to this kids can non gain intangible thoughts and constructs. An of import measure in formal operational is when kids come across a state of affairs they do non understand, they are able to alter the manner they think in order to understand it. For illustration formulate a hypothesis and carry out a systematic trial to bring forth consequences to back up an reply. At Key Stage 1, kids are aged between five and seven and are at the Intuitive phase in Piaget ‘s Theory. Forces and Motion are introduced to the kids in the first twelvemonth of Key Stage 1 utilizing the faculty Pushes & A ; Pulls. During this, kids can anticipate to larn things such as how objects move and the different types of motion. Children may be asked to travel in different ways and so asked to discourse which parts of their organic structures move. Language skills progress in the intuitive phase nevertheless Piaget provinces this is a effect of basic cognitive progresss. Appraisals are kept in line with Piaget ‘s theory and can include labelling objects harmonizing to their motion for illustration push or pull. During twelvemonth two of Key Stage 1, Forces and Gestures are once more taught nevertheless cognition is expanded in the faculty Forces and Movement. The topics covered reinforce cognition antecedently taught in order to develop student ‘s cognition. Language and vocabulary is extended by presenting words such as turn, squeezing, stretch and draw out. Investigational skills begin to develop as kids are taught how to propose a inquiry and predict what will go on. The ‘fair trial ‘ construct is besides encouraged and expanded. These are cardinal accomplishments that are developed at a ulterior phase. Students move on to Key Stage 2 at the age of seven and go on until aged eleven. Harmonizing to Piaget ‘s they are Concrete Operational, the 3rd phase, intending logical logical thinking can be applied to existent objects. Forces and Motion are taught in Year 4 ( aged eight ) in the faculty Friction. Specific subjects are re-capped in order to consolidate old facts. Children are encouraged to utilize new equipment such as a forcemeter to carefully mensurate a force. New vocabulary and thoughts are besides introduced at this phase, for illustration ‘newton ‘ as the unit of force. Investigational accomplishments are progressed by acquiring students to be after an experiment and follow it through. The faculty Forces in Action is taught in Year 6 ( age ten ) and includes gravitation and weight. The footing of all subjects covered have been antecedently taught, this shows the continuity of the subject throughout the two Key Stages. This allows the kids to logically remember this information and expand it. As the kids are still in the Concrete Operational phase they are able to use logical thought nevertheless merely to existent objects. It is of import forces are used to explicate phenomena in mundane life to demo the importance and impact they have. Towards the terminal of this unit the construct of Gravity is introduced, nevertheless harmonizing to Piaget kids at this phase can non grok abstract theories. During Key Stage 3 kids are on the boundary line of the concluding phase, Formal Operational. During which persons are able to believe logically and rationally about possible events and abstract constructs. In Year 7 the students are taught the faculty Forces and their Effectss. Children are advanced by being taught the difference between mass and weight and how to associate forces in action to alterations in gesture. This provides a direct nexus back to faculties Forces & A ; Movement and Friction in Key Stage 1 and 2. At this phase the student ‘s learn why it is indispensable to reiterate measurings and experiments to turn out duplicability and dependability of consequences. They are introduced to the construct of different variables within an experiment and the importance of commanding these. During the concluding twelvemonth of Key Stage 3, Year 9 ( age 13 ) Forces and Motions is covered in three separate faculties. The first, Gravity and Space introduces the construct of abstract believing about objects and forces. This links back to the faculty Forces in Action from Key Stage 2. Gravity is antecedently touched upon in Key Stage 2, nevertheless harmonizing to Piaget ‘s theory they are unable to to the full grok abstract constructs. As a batch of new information is taught during this faculty, the students greatly expand their cognition. Investigational accomplishments are expanded in this faculty and students are made cognizant that Scientists research constructs together and construe the grounds. The 2nd forces faculty in Year 9 is called Rushing Up and is straight linked to several faculties antecedently taught in Key Stage 1 and 2 such as Pushes & A ; Pulls and Forces in Action. It expands earlier subjects by leting students to see the relationship between forces on an object and its motion. It introduces balanced and imbalances forces and how these explain the motion of falling objects. The concluding faculty is Pressure and Moments. This involves the impression of minutes and once more physiques on old information provided to the students. This is a major measure for kids as most of these subjects have non antecedently been taught. However there is still continuity as all the old cognition about clash and gravitation play an of import portion in understanding these constructs. As with old faculties the investigational accomplishments of the student ‘s are farther developed with anomalous consequences being introduced and preciseness measurings are reiterated. Due to the separation of single Sciences at Key Stage 4, Forces and Motions as a subject can be found in several topics, for illustration Physicss and Additional Science. Areas covered include how to depict the manner things move and what is impulse, this once more demonstrates continuity through the Key Stages. Ideas are besides expanded, for illustration when larning about impulses, kids are expected to be able to cipher impulse and how impulse can be used to cipher other values such as Force. At AS / A-Level, kids are no longer in mandatory instruction nevertheless Forces and Motion characteristic within Physics classs. Mechanics is introduced as a new subject which includes associating force to moving ridges. The topic of impulse is expanded and establishes round and oscillating gesture. The class Physics in Context steadfastly places natural philosophies in a scope of modern-day environments. It introduces pupils to new and exciting countries of natural philosophies and develops indispensable cognition and apprehension. The faculties allow students to see how cognition of forces and gesture underpins mundane activities such as conveyance and record breakage in athletics. The construct of Forces and Motion within the National Curriculum is introduced at the beginning of Key Stage 1 and is carried throughout mandatory instruction and station 16 surveies. Initial cognition is expanded and consolidated at the start of each faculty and all units link together. Although the faculties are non carried out in back-to-back schooling old ages, I believe that with construction of the National Curriculum, continuity is kept by recapping at the beginning of each unit. It is clear patterned advance within the topic occurs within the unit and there are besides countries for talented and gifted pupils to stand out. From looking at the National Curriculum, Piaget ‘s theory has had a major impact, as the degree at which the information is pitched straight relates to the features observed by him. For illustration in Key Stage 2 students are Concrete Operational and merely able to associate to existent objects and thoughts. Therefore Forces such as velocity and mot ion are chiefly covered. In Key Stage 4 students are Formal Operational and can grok abstract thought, hence Gravity, Space and Moments are introduced. However as with all major theories, there are countries that do non to the full explicate the construct, in this instance the cognitive development of kids. Psychologists such as Bower ( 1982 ) challenged Piaget ‘s theory and set frontward the thought that Piaget had a inclination to undervalue the cognitive ability of kids. Bower hid a plaything behind a screen and when the screen was lifted a few seconds subsequently, the plaything was longer at that place. The three to four month old kids in his survey showed a ‘surprised ‘ reaction therefore proposing object permanency can be present much earlier than Piaget published ( Michael W. Eysenck, 2000, pg 411 ) . Lev Vygotsky ‘s parts must besides be acknowledged who along with other publications researched the zone of proximal development. This stated that altho ugh kids may look to miss certain accomplishments when tested in a controlled environment, if tested once more when surrounded by person with the necessary cognition they are more likely to win. Although parts of Piaget ‘s Theory have been inquiry and to some extent disproved, as a whole no other theory has come near to explicating, in item, the manner in which kids ‘s thought and acquisition advancements. Mentions Books Eysenck, M. W. ( 2000 ) Psychology ; A Students Handbook, East Sussex: Psychology Press LTD, Publishers.

Marketing Mix (Research Paper) Essay

Business magazines and websites are abuzz with news about the value of marketing mix modeling as a way to help companies maximize returns on their marketing investments (ROMI). Despite the currency of this topic in the media, the concepts and tools of marketing mix modeling date back at least 30 to 40 years. The topic is of growing interest partly because of the corporate world’s interest in growing topline revenue. The last couple of decades have witnessed unparalleled cost cutting and staff reductions among the Fortune 500 in the U.S. The opportunities for further cost reductions are diminishing in number and scale, so the pressure for long-term financial performance from public markets can only be met by renewed emphasis on new products and revenue growth. A second reason for the growing interest in marketing mix modeling is the proliferation of new media (i.e., new ways to spend the marketing budget), including the Internet, online communities, search engines, event marketing, sports marketing, viral marketing, cell phones, and text messaging, etc. No one knows how to accurately measure the potential value of these many new ways to spend one’s marketing dollars. To grow revenue and profits, corporate executives need to understand the types of marketing investments that are most likely to produce viable, long-term revenue growth. That is, what combination of marketing and advertising investments will generate the greatest sales growth and/or maximize profits? Eureka! Marketing mix modeling might provide some answers to these challenging problems. What exactly is marketing mix modeling? The term is widely used and applied indiscriminately to a broad range of marketing models used to evaluate different components of marketing plans, such as advertising, promotion, packaging, media weight levels, sales force numbers, etc. These models can be of many types, but multiple regression is the workhorse of most marketing mix modeling. Regression is based on a number of inputs (or independent variables) and how these relate to an outcome (or dependent variable) such as sales or profits or both. Once the model is built and validated, the input variables (advertising, promotion, etc.) can be manipulated to determine the net effect on a company’s sales or profits. If the president of a company knows that sales will go up $10 million for every $1 million he spends on a particular advertising campaign, he can quickly determine if additional advertising investment makes economic sense. But, in a broader sense, a deep understanding of the variables that drive sales and profits upwards is essential to determining an optimal strategy for the corporation. So, marketing mix modeling can assist in making specific marketing decisions and tradeoffs, but it can also create a broad platform of knowledge to guide strategic planning. From a conceptual perspective, there are two main strategies to pursue in marketing mix modeling. One is longitudinal; the other is cross-sectional or side-by-side analysis. In longitudinal analyses, the corporation looks at sales and profits over a number of time periods (months, quarters, years), compared to the marketing inputs in each of those time periods. In the cross-sectional approach, the corporation’s various sales territories each receive different marketing inputs at the same time, or these inputs are systematically varied across the sales territories, and are compared to the sales and profit outcomes. Both methods are sound, and both have their place. Often, some combination of the two methods is the most efficient. .

The Return: Midnight Chapter 18

After breakfast Matt went online to find two stores, neither in Fel ‘s Church, that had the amount of clay Mrs. Flowers said she'd need and that said they'd deliver. But after that there was the matter of driving away from the boardinghouse and by the last lonely remains of where the Old Wood had been. He drove by the little thicket where Shinichi often came like a demonic Pied Piper with the possessed children shuffling behind him – the place where Sheriff Mossberg had gone after them and hadn't come out. Where, later, protected by magical wards on Post-it Notes, he and Tyrone Alpert had pul ed out a bare, chewed femur. Today, he figured the only way to get past the thicket was to work his wheezing junk car up by stages, and it was actual y going over sixty when he flew by the thicket, even managing to hit the turn perfectly. No trees fel on him, no swarms of foot-long bugs. He whispered â€Å"Whoa,†in relief and headed for home. He dreaded that – but simply driving through Fel ‘s Church was so horrible it glued his tongue to the top of his mouth. It looked – this pretty, innocent little town where he had grown up – as if it were one of those neighborhoods you saw on TV or on the Internet that had been bombed, or something. And whether it was bombs or disasterous fires, one house in four was simply rubble. A few were half-rubble, with police tape enclosing them, which meant that whatever had happened had happened early enough for the police to care – or dare. Around the burned-out bits the vegetation flourished strangely: a decorative bush from one house grown so as to be halfway across a neighbor's grass. Vines dipping from one tree to another, to another, as if this were some ancient jungle. His home was right in the middle of a long block of houses ful of kids – and in summer, when grandchildren inevitably came to visit, there were even more kids. Matt just hoped that that part of summer vacation was done†¦but would Shinichi and Misao let the youngsters go home? Matt had no idea. And, if they went home, would they keep spreading the disease in their own hometowns? Where did it stop? Driving down his block, though, Matt saw nothing hideous. There were kids playing out on the front lawns, or the sidewalks, crouching over marbles, hanging out in the trees. There was no single overt thing that he could put his finger on There was no single overt thing that he could put his finger on that was weird. He was Stilluneasy. But he'd reached his house now, the one with a grand old oak tree shading the porch, so he had to get out. He coasted to a stop just under the tree and parked by the sidewalk. He grabbed a large laundry bag from the backseat. He'd been accumulating dirty clothes for a couple of weeks at the boardinghouse and it hadn't seemed fair to ask Mrs. Flowers to wash them. As he got out of the car, pul ing the bag out with him, he was just in time to hear the birdsong stop. For a moment after it did, he wondered what was wrong. He knew that something was missing, cut short. It made the air heavier. It even seemed to change the smel of the grass. Then he realized. Every bird, including the raucous crows that lived in the oak trees, had gone silent. All at once. Matt felt a twisting in his bel y as he looked up and around. There were two kids in the oak tree right beside his car. His mind was Stillstubbornly trying to hang on to: Children. Playing. Okay. His body was smarter. His hand was already in his pocket, pul ing out a pad of Post-it Notes: the flimsy bits of paper that usual y stopped evil magic cold. Matt hoped Meredith would remember to ask Isobel's mother for more amulets. He was running low, and†¦ †¦and there were two kids playing in the old oak tree. Except they weren't. They were staring at him. One boy was hanging upside down by his knees and the other was gobbling something†¦out of a garbage bag. The hanging kid was staring at him with strangely acute eyes. â€Å"Have you ever wondered what it's like to be dead?†he asked. And now the head of the gobbling boy came up, thick bright red al around his mouth. Bright red – – blood. And†¦whatever was in the garbage bag was moving. Kicking. Thrashing weakly. Trying to get away. A wave of nausea washed over Matt. Acid hit his throat. He was going to puke. The gobbling kid was staring at him with stony black-as-a-pit eyes. The hanging kid was smiling. Then, as if stirred by a hot breath of wind, Matt felt the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It wasn't just the birds that had gone quiet. Everything had. No child's voice was raised in argument or song or speech. He whirled around and saw why. They were staring at him. Every single kid on the block was silently watching him. Then, with a chil ing precision, as he turned back to look at the boys in the tree, al the others came toward him. Except they weren't walking. They were creeping. Lizard-fashion. That's why some of them had seemed to be playing with marbles on the sidewalk. They were al moving in the same way, bel ies close to the ground, elbows up, hands like forepaws, knees splaying to the side. Now he could taste bile. He looked the other way down the street and found another group creeping. Grinning unnatural grins. It was as if someone was pul ing their cheeks from behind them, pul ing them hard, so that their grins almost broke their faces in half. Matt noticed something else. Suddenly they'd stopped, and while he stared at them, they stayed Still. Perfectly Still, staring back at him. But when he looked away, he saw the creeping figures out of the corner of his eye. He didn't have enough Post-it Notes for al of them. You can't run away from this. It sounded like an outside voice in his head. Telepathy. But maybe that was because Matt's head had turned into a roiling red cloud, floating upward. Fortunately, his body heard it and suddenly he was up on the back of his car, and had grabbed the hanging kid. For a moment he had a helpless impulse to let go of the boy. The kid Stillstared at him but with eerie, uncanny eyes that were half rol ed back in his head. Instead of dropping him, Matt slapped a Post-It Note on the boy's forehead, swinging him at the same time to sit on the back of the car. A pause and then wailing. The kid must be fourteen at least, but about thirty seconds after the Ban Against Evil (pocket-size) was smacked on him he was sobbing real kid sobs. As one, the crawling kids let out a hiss. It was like a giant steam engine. Hsssssssssssssssssssssss. They began to breathe in and out very fast, as if working up to some new state. Their creeping slowed to a crawl. But they were breathing so hard Matt could see their sides hol ow and fil . As Matt turned to look at one group of them, they froze, except for the unnatural breathing. But he could feel the ones behind him getting closer. By now Matt's heart was pounding in his ears. He could fight a group of them – but not with a group on his back. Some of them looked only ten or eleven. Some looked almost his age. Some were girls, for God's sake. Matt remembered what possessed girls had done the last time he'd met them and felt violent revulsion. But he knew that looking up at the gobbling kid was going to make him sicker. He could hear smacking, chewing sounds – and he could hear a thin little whistle of helpless pain and weak struggling against the bag. He whirled quickly again, to keep off the other side of crawlers, and then made himself look up. With a quiet crackle, the garbage bag fel away when he grabbed it but the kid held on to what was in – Oh my God. He's eating a baby! A baby! A – He yanked the kid out of the tree and his hand automatical y slapped a Post-It onto the boy's back. And then – then, thank God, he saw the fur. It wasn't a baby. It was too smal to be a baby, even a newborn. But it was eaten. The kid raised his bloody face to Matt's, and Matt saw that it was Cole Reece, Cole who was only thirteen and lived right next door. Matt hadn't even recognized him before. Cole's mouth was wide open in horror now, and his eyes were bulging out of his head with terror and sorrow, and tears and snot were streaming down his face. â€Å"He made me eat Toby,†he started in a whisper that became a scream. â€Å"He made me eat my guinea pig! He made me – why why why did he do that? I ATE TOBY!† He threw up al over Matt's shoes. Blood-red vomit. Merciful death for the animal. Quick, Matt thought. But this was the hardest thing he'd ever tried to do. How to do it – a hard stomp on the creature's head? He couldn't. He had to try something else first. Matt peeled off a Post-It Note and put it, trying not to look, on the fur. And just like that it was over. The guinea pig went slack. The spel had undone whatever had been keeping it alive up to this point. There was blood and puke on Matt's hands, but he made himself turn to Cole. Cole had his eyes shut tight and little choking sounds came from him. Something in Matt snapped. â€Å"You want some of this?†he shouted, holding out the Post-it pad as if it were the revolver he'd left with Mrs. Flowers. He whirled again, shouting, â€Å"You want some? How about you? You, Josh?†He was recognizing faces now. â€Å"You, Madison? How 'bout you, Bryn? Bring it on! You all bring it on! BRING IT – â€Å" Something touched his shoulder. He spun, Post-it Note ready. Then he stopped short and relief bubbled up in him like Evian water at some fancy restaurant. He was staring right into the face of Dr. Alpert, Fel ‘s Church's own country doctor. She had her SUV parked beside his car, in the middle of the street. Behind her, protecting her back, was Tyrone, who was going to be next year's quarterback at Robert E. Lee High. His sister, a sophomore-to-be, was trying to get out of the SUV too, but she stopped when Tyrone saw her. â€Å"Jayneela!† he roared in a voice only the Tyre-minator could produce. â€Å"You get back in and buckle up! You know what Mom said! You do it now!† Matt found himself clutching at Dr. Alpert's chocolate brown hands. He knew she was a good woman, and a good caretaker, who had adopted her daughter's young children when their divorced mother had died of cancer. Maybe she would help him, too. He began babbling. â€Å"Oh, God, I've gotta get my mom out. My mom lives here alone. And I have to get her away from here.†He knew he was sweating. He hoped he wasn't crying. â€Å"Okay, Matt,†the doctor said in her husky voice. â€Å"I'm getting my own family out this afternoon. We're going to stay with relatives in West Virginia. She's welcome to come.† It couldn't be this easy. Matt knew he had tears in his eyes now. He refused to blink, though, and let them come down. â€Å"I don't know what to say – but if you would – you're an adult, you see. She won't listen to me. She will listen to you. This whole block is infected. This kid Cole – â€Å"He couldn't go on. But Dr. Alpert saw it al in a flash – the animal, the boy with blood on his teeth and his mouth, Stillretching. Dr. Alpert didn't react. She just had Jayneela throw her a packet of Wet Wipes from the SUV and held the heaving kid with one hand, while vigorously scrubbing his face clean. â€Å"Go home,†she told him sternly. â€Å"You have to let the infected ones go,†she said to Matt, with a terrible look in her eyes. â€Å"Cruel as it seems, they only pass it on to the few who're Stillwell.†Matt started to tel her about the effectiveness of the Post-it Note amulets, but she was already cal ing, â€Å"Tyrone! Come over here and you boys bury this poor animal. Then you be ready to move Mrs. Honeycutt's things into the van. Jayneela, you do what your brother says. I'm going in for a little talk with Mrs. Honeycutt right now.† She didn't raise her voice much. She didn't need to. The Tyre-minator was obeying, backing up to Matt, watching the last of the creeping children that Matt's explosion hadn't scattered. He's quick, Matt realized. Quicker than me. It's like a game. As long as you watch them they can't move. They took turns being the watcher and handling the shovel. The earth here was hard as rock, heavy with weeds. But somehow they got a hole dug and the work helped them mental y. They buried Toby, and Matt walked around like some foot-dragging monster, trying to get the vomit off his shoes in the grass. Suddenly beside them there was the noise of a door banging open and Matt ran, ran to his mother, who was trying to heft a huge suitcase, much too heavy for her, through the door. Matt took it from her and felt himself encompassed in her hug even though she had to stand on tip-toes to do it. â€Å"Matt, I can't just leave you – â€Å" â€Å"He'l be one of those to get the town out of this mess,†Dr. Alpert said, overriding her. â€Å"He'l clean it up. Now we've got to get out so we don't drag him down. Matt, just so you know, I heard that the McCul oughs are getting out too. Mr. and Mrs. Sulez don't seem to be going yet, and neither do the Gilbert-Maxwells.†She said the last two words with a distinct emphasis. The Gilbert-Maxwells were Elena's aunt Judith, her husband Robert MaxWell, and Elena's little sister, Margaret. There was no real reason to mention them. But Matt knew why Dr. Alpert had. She remembered seeing Elena when this whole mess had started. Despite Elena's purification of the woods where Dr. Alpert had been standing, the doctor remembered. â€Å"I'l tel – Meredith,†Matt said, and looking her in the eyes, he nodded a little, as if to say, I'l tel Elena, too. â€Å"Anything else to carry?†Tyrone asked. He was encumbered by a canary birdcage, with the little bird frantical y beating its wings inside, and a smal er suitcase. â€Å"No, but how can I thank you?†Mrs. Honeycutt said. â€Å"Thanks later – now, everybody in,†said Dr. Alpert. â€Å"We are taking off.† Matt hugged his mother and gave her a little push toward the SUV, which had already swal owed the birdcage and smal suitcase. â€Å"Good-bye!†everyone was yel ing. Tyrone stuck his head out of the window to say, â€Å"Cal me whenever! I want to help!† And then they were gone. Matt could hardly believe it was over; it had happened so fast. He ran inside the open door of his house and got his other pair of running shoes, just in case Mrs. Flowers couldn't fix the smel of the ones he was wearing. When he burst out of the house again he had to blink. Instead of the white SUV there was a different white car parked beside his. He looked around the block. No children. None at al . And the birdsong had come back. There were two men in the car. One was white and one was black and they both were around the age to be concerned fathers. Anyway they had him cut off, the way their car was parked. He had no choice but to go up to them. As soon as he did they both got out of the car, watching him as if he was as dangerous as a kitsune. The instant they did that, Matt knew he'd made a mistake. â€Å"You're Matthew Jeffrey Honeycutt?† Matt had no choice but to nod. â€Å"Say yes or no, please.† â€Å"Yes.†Matt could see inside the white car now. It was a stealth police car, one of those with lights inside, al ready to be fixed outside if the officers wanted to let you in on the secret. â€Å"Matthew Jeffrey Honeycutt, you are under arrest for assault and battery upon Caroline Beula Forbes. You have the right to remain silent. If you give up this right, anything you say can and wil be used against you in a court of law – â€Å" â€Å"Didn't you see those kids?†Matt was shouting. â€Å"You had to have seen one or two of them! Didn't that mean anything to you?† â€Å"Lean over and put your hands on the front of the car.† â€Å"It's going to destroy the whole town! You're helping it!† â€Å"Do you understand these rights – ?† â€Å"Do you understand what is going on in Fel ‘s Church?† There was a pause this time. And then, in perfectly even tones, one of the two said, â€Å"We're from Ridgemont.†

Business Rules and Data Models Essay

A database is a structure that contains information about many different categories of information and about the relationships between those categories (Pratt & Adamsk 2010). Database objects are entities that exist within a database to support operations such as storing, retrieving and manipulating data. Organizations use large amounts of data and database management system to store and transform data into information to support making decisions. A database management system consists of the following three elements: 1. The physical database: the collection of files that contain the data. 2. The database engine: the software that makes it possible to access and modify the contents of the database. 3. The database scheme: the specifications of the logical structure of the data stored in the database. As we know, database is structured collection of data; computer based databases are usually organized into one or more tables. A table stores data in a format similar to a published table and consists of a series of rows and columns. In a database model, each object that we want to track in the database is known as entitiy. For example, in a college database there might be several entities which is known as set of similar objects. Some of the entities in college database are: 1. Student 2. Professor 3. Courses 4. Employees Attributes describes one aspect of an entity type. Entity type is described by set of attributes. An entity is a real-world item or concept that exists on its own (Shiflet, 2002). The set of all possible values for an entity is the entity type. Each entity has attributes, or particular properties that describe the entity. For example student Indra Paudel has properties of his own studentID, StudentName and StudentGrade. Figure 1 E-R Diagram notation for an attribute domain ( StudentGrade ) of an entity type (Student). Let’s have a close look of each entity and their attributes. Figure 1.1 the attributes of Student entity. Figure 1.3 the attributes of course entity. An entity is a distinguishable object in the enterprise. An entity has attributes that describe the properties of the entity. For example, a course is an object in the student information system. The course number, title, credits, and prerequisites are the attributes for the course. All the courses have same type of attributes. A collection of entities of the same attributes is called an entity set. Since each entity is distinct, no two entities can have the same values on the attributes. Each entity class has an attribute or a set of attributes that can be used to uniquely identify the entities. In case there are several keys in the entity class, we can designate one as the primary key. For example, we can designate the course title to be the key, assume that every course has a different title. A composite attribute is an attribute that is composed of two or more sub-attributes. For example, the Student entity class has the address attribute that consists of street, city, state, and zipcode. A multivalued attribute is an attribute that may consist of a set of values. For example, the Course entity class has the prerequisites attribute. A course may have several prerequisites. Therefore, the prerequisites attribute is a multivalued attribute. A derived attribute is an attribute that can be derived or calculated from the database. A derived attribute should not be stored in the database. For example, we may add an attribute named numOfPrerequisites to the Course entity class. This attribute can be calculated from the prerequisites attribute. Example of business rule: Department——offers——Course Course——Generates——-Class Professor——Teaches——Class A conceptual data model identifies the highest level relationships between the different entities, whereas physical data models represent how the model will be built in the database. A physical database model shows all table structure including column name, column data type, column constraints, primary key, foreign key, and relationships between tables. References Pratt, P.J, & Adamski J.J, (2011). Concepts of Database Management. Ohio, OH: CENGAGE Learning. Shiflet, A.b, (2002). Entity Relationship-Model. Retrieved from http://wofford-ecs.org/dataandvisualization/ermodel/material.htm

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

Political Science - terrorism - Essay Example Some states do not like to fight terrorism at all, but prefer to focus on more clearly defined international crimes. Finally, there is an argument which says that approaches to terrorism which include the terrorist are more effective in stopping such terror-related violence. One of the things that makes terrorism so hard to combat is that it is hard to define what exactly counts as terrorism and what counts as a legitimate mode of attacking an enemy. This issue is made more confusing when one tries to examine the historical definitions of similar attacks. One other major problem is that the word is heavily colored by the point of view of the person using it. For instance, many considered the Tamil Tigers to be terrorists because they used car bombs and other attacks on civilians. On the other hand, there were also many people who considered themselves freedom fighters, because they were fighting against an oppressive nationalist regime. This example should make the problematic nature of the term â€Å"terrorism† fairly obvious. Despite some confusion over how to define terrorism, few people deny that it is a current international problem. Attacks like those of Al Qaeda on the World Trade Center on 9/11 are clearly terrorism, and clearly should not be allowed to happen in order to make the world a safer place for everybody living in it. However, not everyone agrees that the consequences of fighting terrorism outweigh the benefits in terms of stopping terrorists from striking again. These consequences and benefits mostly stem from the same reality: that of dealing with an extremist group who is willing to take any action necessary to fight for their cause. Acts of terrorism usually are engaged by extremist movements who have little to no benefit in seeing the other sides point of view. Unfortunately, this situation is only made worse by fighting the

International Politics - advising John Deere on recent drought in Essay

International Politics - advising John Deere on recent drought in Brazil - Essay Example cy response to drought, the Brazilian government highly prioritizes the availability and distribution of clean drinking water to save the lives of the people living in affected communities more than the need to supply water for agricultural activities (Osava). As an end result, the profitability of the businesses related to agricultural products suffers most. A large number of agricultural farmers in Brazil purchase their agricultural equipments from the world’s biggest manufacturer of farming machineries known as Deere & Company. (John Deere) As part of Deere’s marketing strategy, the company extends a credit loan to as much as 17 countries worldwide including the medium- and large-scale agricultural businesses in Brazil (John Deere Credit). Since majority of the agricultural business in Brazil are seriously experiencing financial difficulty to pay their credit loan to John Deere Credit, several marketing and non-marketing strategy will be provided in order to prevent the negative financial impact of the phenomena in Brazil over the business performance of John Deere. Drought can exist in any country temporarily. Considering the demand for corn and soybean will always be present, it is highly expected that the business performance of agricultural companies in Brazil will normalize as soon as the period of drought ends. In times of a global natural phenomenon such as the existence of drought, it is advisable on the part of John Deere Credit management to extend the loan payment to affected agricultural companies in Brazil. This can be done by extending the number of payment years depending on the length of forecasted drought period and the time frame wherein the Brazilian farmers will be able to plant and harvest crops including a grace period of at least one year to allow these businesses to recover from the financial loss caused by the uncontrollable environmental factor. Considering the proposed strategy, John Deere Credit could maintain a good business

Strategy discourse and strategy's role in social responsibility Essay

Strategy discourse and strategy's role in social responsibility and sustainability - Essay Example The plan consists of sustainable procurement, reducing environmental impact stemming from the company’s business model, reducing waste, recycling and curbing over-consumption of energy; as well as reduction of the firm’s carbon footprint. Having defined the Sustainable Living Plan by Unilever, Polman did an excellent job of using discourse, this being narrative and storytelling, to ensure successful implementation of these objectives. Polman opened discourse with influential members of the Consumer Goods Forum to agree to abide by practices related to sustainable palm oil production, an issue that had deforested many regions. The company is also trying to change behaviours of millions of consumers worldwide, getting them to abide by being more proactive in water consumption by taking shorter showers. The Sustainable Living Plan will not be effective without contributions by vendors, competitors and even consumer markets, something that requires discourse and narrative to achieve effectively. Storytelling is an excellent forum for sharing norms and values that have been built from an organisation’s past experiences and also describe a desirable future. It is through this discourse that leadership is developed and provides opportunities to provide a compelling vision (Buckler and Zien 1996). It is through shared stories and narratives that understanding and organisational dedication is created, familiarising individuals with dominant and compelling narratives and anecdotes that assist in gaining commitment by others to adopt the norms and values described in such stories. Storytelling is also recognised as being a predictor of trust development in relationships. Such discourse provides opportunities for the storyteller to indicate his or her competencies and level of commitment toward a particular value or objective. The process of revealing personal narratives and

Marketing research Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing research - Term Paper Example Explain what the research firm means and what you might do. The research firm means that donors have declined in terms of donating towards the good course of the agency. Since before that there used to be high number of donations, the agency is determined to identify the root cause of the problem and come up with solutions. Thus, to solve this, I would explore and research on the root cause and find the main reason for the declining donations. Then I would give a detailed explanation of this to the agency in a language they can understand and then together we come up with a solution based on these findings. There are various advantages of secondary data over primary data. The first one is that it is in time saving and inexpensive to obtain. The reason is that secondary data is readily available either in the census or other records available for the organization unlike primary data which organizations have to conduct research to obtain. It is easily accessible and can be used over a long period of time (Jong & Berg, 2012). 4. An entrepreneur is contemplating establishing a funeral home in a small town. This person believes the demand for funeral home services is greater than the services being provided. The entrepreneur contacts a consultant and tells the consultant he needs a quantitative survey to determine the total demand for funeral home services in the small town and surrounding communities. If you were the consultant, how would you react to the entrepreneurs request for a survey? What kind of counter proposal would you make? It is quite unfortunate and for the entrepreneur to request for a survey to identify the total request for a funeral home services. The reason is that no one likes to lose their loved ones. Thus, I would be very shocked with the request since it would be like mocking the individuals who have lost their loved

Planning and conducting research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Planning and conducting - Research Proposal Example It usually includes interaction with potential customers regarding their work, interests, opinions, trends and buying habits as well as paying attention to customer insights for future plans regarding products and services. The purpose of market research is to: 1) know the customer needs and wants; 2) to know if the customer is satisfied with the product or need; 3) identify potential target markets; and 4) establish the best advertising strategy for a given group of customers (Bull, 1994). The purpose of this study is to determine what particular research method is deemed effective in addressing the shortcomings, from the planned success, the consortium has experienced in the past three years. As a consortium of twenty-five tour operators in the United Kingdom that sells about 100 holidays and has 6000 customers that have already placed orders in the past, it is important to know which part of the services provided by the operators is most liked and least liked by the customers. The primary aim of this paper is to determine what are the services that need to be upgraded and services that are unnecessary. This paper will try to present a method that will be able to answer the following questions. This study is operated under the quantitative paradigm wherein the survey method will be utilized in order to elicit the relevant information needed to complete research (Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, 1992). Besides, quantitative research plainly and distinctively specifies both the independent and the dependent variables under investigation (Matveev, 2002). It also follows resolutely the original set of research goals, arriving at more objective conclusions, determining the issues of causality and eliminates or minimises subjectivity of judgment (Kealey & Protheroe, 1996). The research variables were primarily analyzed in order to provide description on the factors that concerns the topic of the study. The variables of the study imply quantitative research wherein the data, situations, or other facts collected will be explained or correlated with other data. Basically, this research based its findings through quantitative research methods because this permits a flexible and iterative approach. Through this method, qualitative elements that do not have standard measures such as behaviour, attitudes, opinions, and beliefs are analysed. As such, the information that the informants of the study shared to the researcher will be accordingly examined, analysed and interpreted to answer the research questions presented. In order to gather the necessary data, the research will employ the survey method. The survey method will be implemented in three successive data collection procedures. These include the pretest of the questionnaire, the actual survey, and the back-checking after the analysis of the data. The pretest of the survey is necessary in order to identify possible shortcomings of the instrument that may hinder the efficient collection of valid and reliable data. On the other hand, the back-checking that will be implemented is to provide assurance that the results of the analysis are consistent with that of the available information and facts in the field. This research

Evidence based practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Evidence based practice - Essay Example DEFINITIONS AND BRIEF IMPORTANCE OF CLINICAL PRACTICE The term evidence-based practice (EBP) or empirically-supported treatment (EST) refers to preferential use of mental and behavioral health interventions for which systematic empirical research has provided evidence of statistically significant effectiveness as treatments for specific problems. (Thomas & Pring, 2005) A way in which this benefits medicine would be in studying the effects of cannabis. This drug has been found to share commonality with schizophrenia. Immunology research has found common receptors located in in immune cells, spleen macrophages, to be specific. These have the ability to alter immune cell migration and cytokine-release within body tissues and in the brain, these receptors tend to be abnormal in schizophrenia patients. More findings that hint at a larger relationship between, not cannabis itself – but receptors it depends on, and a biological predisposition towards schizophrenia. Research such as t his can bring nurses and medical technologists more fully into the treatment of psychiatric care. (Cabral & Staab, 2005) (Gong et al, 2006) An additional definition would be: "Evidence based medicine is the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. â€Å"Sackett et al's (1996, 71-72) And in this clinicians must integrate personal clinical expertise with the most cutting-edge external clinical evidence from systematic research. Another vital factor in Evidence-based practice is quality or performance improvement; how to streamline services in order to maximize the most efficient use of resources? (Bayea & Slattery, 2006) By definition: Performance Improvement (PI) is a method for analyzing performance problems and setting up systems to ensure good performance. PI is applied most effectively to groups of workers within the same organization or performing similar jobs. (Intrahealth.org 2011) A possibl e example would be to make systematized evaluations of patient needs based on probabilities. For instance, schizophrenics have a 25% higher proclivity towards illicit drug abuse than the general population. (Jablensky, 2000) Also, in studies of the neuropathology of the psychiatric disorder schizophrenia, findings have emerged which link the condition to brain receptors that are actually susceptible to molecules of cannabis. Schizophrenia is a challenging psychiatric disorder with a lifetime prevalence of 0.4% amongst the general population. (Desfosses et al. 2010) This can inform clinical choices, and influence the circumstances under which certain batteries of tests are ordered, and for whom, saving time and money. PART 2 ASPECT OF PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND RATIONALE I have chosen for the exploration of Evidence-based Practice a linkage between susceptibility to cannabis, and the neurological disorder, schizophrenia. Clinical research has established a connection, and where such a ssociations occur, it behooves clinicians to explore the phenomenon to aid diagnostic tools. Among the atypical antipsychotics used to treat schizophrenia, there are risks factors. Among these medications is clozapine (Clozaril). It is a

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 5

Project Management - Essay Example The conceptualisation, development and production of the aircraft took several years since the treaty between Britain and France was signed in 1962 but test flights of the Concorde could not be conducted till 1967 while scheduled flights could only be conducted in 1976 (Wikipedia, 2006). At the same time, after many years of faithful service as well as rising and falling fates, the Concorde was retired in 2003. As a product, it does present the complete lifecycle of a product going from an idea to a cultural icon to the eventual death of the product. The overall command and control for a project like Concorde would have to be handled by many individuals who are experts in their fields but one person would have the responsibility of conducted the entire project. There are several skills and competencies which one could seek when looking for a person to handle a project like Concorde of which the most important would be planning skills. However, before a discussion is made regarding the project manager’s skills and abilities, it would be logical to examine some of the primary activities involved with the project. The first activity required for the Concorde project would be to secure the required financing for the project. In historical terms, the idea and the product itself was so costly that no single company could manage to come up with the financing required for the project. In fact, Britain and France had to pool their resources before the production and prototyping process could begin (Wikipedia, 2006). A project manager here would need to be a part of the negotiations between the two countries so that s/he can guide the political process away from the technological process to create as little interference as possible. Once the financing or financial backers have been secured for the project, there is a significant cost involved in terms of time and money which concerns the mobilisation of the project. This activity is

Qantas Essay Example for Free

Qantas Essay Qantas Airways is an Australian based airline and is a subset of the Qantas Group. It is a public-listed company in the ASX (Australian Securities Exchange). The purpose of this research is to provide information of the Qantas Group focusing on its profitability, efficiency and liquidity for the last 3 years. This research paper also examines the financial analysis and provides other relevant information to support in the evaluation of the company. 1 Company Profile 1.1 History Qantas is the world’s second oldest airline. It was founded in the Queensland outback in 1920 and has been in continuous operation since that date. Qantas is Australia’s largest domestic and international airline and is recognised as one of the world’s leading long distance carriers. The name comes from the initial letters of the words in the original registered title – Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited. 1.2 Qantas Group Strategy Safety remains Qantas’ first operational priority and they are committed to maintaining the position as the leading Australian domestic carrier and one of the world’s premier sustainable long-haul airlines through the dual airline brands – Qantas and Jetstar. Qantas aim to maintain customer loyalty by delivering exceptional experiences through these dual brands, in conjunction with Qantas Frequent Flyer. The operating strategy is complimented with a prudent approach to capital management as they seek to deliver sustainable, long terms return to the shareholders. The Qantas Group strategic priorities are illustrated below. 4 1.3 Qantas Overview Qantas is Australia’s largest full service airline carrying 28 million passengers in 2011/2013 on 5,050 flights per week in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, North and South America, Africa and Europe. It is a founding member of the oneworld alliance. Qantas is a single integrated airlines providing airline transportation through its two Qantas brands – Qantas and QantasLink Main Markets Qantas’ main markets are domestic and international traffic to and from Australia. Qantas, a wholly-owned group of subsidiaries including QantasLink and Network Aviation, services 57 metropolitan and regional regular passenger transport destinations across Australia and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, as well as 19 dedicated fly-in-fly-out charter destinations. 2011/2012 Passenger Distribution Passenger Revenue Australia domestic 78% 51% International 22% 49% Customers Qantas carries business and leisure passengers Product Qantas offers passengers a premium network product on its extensive domestic and international network and through it oneworld membership, accessing 24 bilateral codeshare agreements (excluding Jetstar and Jetstar Asia with whom Qantas also has codeshare agreements), over 870 destination and 550 lounges. Passengers also have the opportunity to earn and redeem frequent flyer points across its global network. Qantas is focused on both business and leisure travellers by offering a one or two class product on domestic routes and a two, three or four class product for international services. 5 1.4 Jetstar Overview Jetstar commences operations in May 2004. It is the Qantas Group’s low fares airline and the largest low cost carrier in the Asia Pacific region. Jetstar comprises of Jetstar Domestic, Jetstar International and holdings in Singapore-based Jetstar Asia, Vietnam-based Jetstar Pacific and Jetstar Japan. In 2011/2012, its operations carried 18.7 million passengers to over  50 destinations in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Asia Pacific. Jetstar also recently announced its intention to invest in a new airline, Jetstar Hong Kong, with China Eastern Airlines in 2013. Main Markets Jetstar’s main markets are domestic and international traffic to and from Australia. Pan-Asian expansion has strengthened through Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Pacific and Jetstar Japan. New Zealand operations encompass both trans-Tasman and domestic New Zealand markets. 2011/2012 Passenger Distribution Passenger Revenue Australia domestic 57% 51% International 43% 49% Customers Jetstar focused on providing consistently low fares to predominantly leisure travellers. Product Jetstar offers domestic and international passengers a value based product with the flexibility to select additional operations in relation to seating, entertainment, catering, baggage and premium seating on long haul. Jetstar’s continual focus on leading online technology has enabled more innovative ways to book, check-in and board. 6 1.5 Fleet Qantas Group operates fleets comprises of Boeing 737-800, A330-200, A380-800 Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Bombardier Q400 and Boeing 717. Over the next 10 years, the Qantas Group has committed capital investment worth US$23 billion in more fuel efficient, next generation aircrafts such as A380-800, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A320 neo. 1.6 Corporate and Social Responsibilities The Qantas Foundation was established as a charitable trust in 2008. It forms part of the Qantas Group’s commitment to operating in a sustainable and socially responsible manner. The Qantas Foundation focus on two key areas: ï‚ § Initiative that provide an immediate experience for those in need (Changing lives) ï‚ § Experiences and opportunities that empower the next generation of Australians to make a difference in community (Empowering change) To deliver this vision, the Qantas Group leverage off the diverse resources of the  Qantas Group – from their employees, diverse network of suppliers and partnerships, and the use of their own airline. Another initiative that the Qantas Group took on is aiming for a world class performance by protecting the environment for the generations. They aim to reduce their carbon footprint through several proven measures such as: ï‚ § Aircraft weight reduction initiatives ï‚ § Efficient ground power units in lieu of jet fuel driven auxiliary power units ï‚ § Using GPS-based navigation technology to improve operational efficiency ï‚ § Investing in a fuel efficient fleet such as Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 ï‚ § Facilitating a sustainable aviation fuel industry in Australia On ground, together with their partners, innovative projects and partnerships were set to achieve this goal. One example is the Clean Up Australia campaign; started since 1996, the Qantas Group have been a key corporate partner for the Clean Up Australia Foundation. Key Successes 1. Maintained a downward trend on electricity, water and waste-to-landfill consumption since 2006, despite operational growth. 2. Reduced environment impact between 2005 and 2011: Reduced electricity consumption by 8% Reduced water consumption by 19% Reduced waste-to-landfill by 21% 3. Maintained a downward trend on jet fuel emission intensity 7 2. Key Strategies The Qantas Group has a broad portfolio and a clearly defined strategy with the following core goals: ï‚ § Build on the Groups domestic businesses through a clear focus on the customer ï‚ § Strengthened Jetstars presence across Asia to capture the full benefits of the regions low-cost leisure travel boom. ï‚ § Continue to expand Qantas Frequent Flyer by adding new partners and increasing ways for members to earn and spend points. Some of the changes seen were introducing a new tablet-based in-flight entertainment system called Q Streaming that received outstanding feedback from passengers. New order for 10 Fokker 100 aircraft were placed to extend Qantas reach into Western Australias mining centres as part of the Groups fly-in-fly-out strategy. Jetstars focus in the domestic market remained on building up  capacity on core leisure routes with modern fleet such as the A320 aircraft, adding almost 16,000 extra seats during the year. Qantas Group also expanded alliance with Am erican airlines, attracting consumers from the America regions. 8 2.1 SWOT Analysis on the Qantas Group STRENGTH Strong partnership with other alliance through its oneworld membership; accessing 24 bilateral codeshare agreements over 870 destination and 550 lounges. Passengers also have the opportunity to earn and redeem frequent flyer points across its global network which attracts consumer to choose the Qantas Airways over other airlines. Operate and fly in to many destinations such as Australia (Domestic), New Zealand, Asia, North and South America, Africa and Europe making Qantas Airways the ideal airline to consumers. WEAKNESS Qantas do not have many direct routes and depend heavily on its other airline partners. For example to get across to destinations such as Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, consumers have to transit at Dubai and change airlines to the Emirates to get to their final destination. This turns away consumers who prefer to fly in direct to the country. OPPORTUNITY Qantas subsidiary Jetstar announced its intention to invest in a new airline; Jetstar Hong Kong, in partnership with China Eastern Airlines this year. This expands the flying business into the Chinese market. THREAT The global fuel price increase affects the airline industry. With higher fuel prices, the airlines operating cost increases. To compensate, airline raise ticket prices to generate more revenue which in turn, turn away consumers and force them to look at other airline that provides competitive or even lower prices. Introduction of more low cost carriers from established airlines such as Scoot, a subsidiary airline of the Singapore Airline. 9 3. Ratios 3.1 Profitability Ratio (%) Profitability ratio is used to measure a company’s ability to generate revenue in relation to sales, assets and equity (i.e. often the sum of monies invested). It also shows how effective the company is being managed to stay profitable. Some commonly used profitability ratios include return on equity, return on investment, return on total assets, gross and net profit margins and return on capital employed. Profitability ratios provide investors guidance in their assessment of the company’s financial health and performance. For example, return on investment indicates whether the company is generating enough profits for its shareholders. Net profit margin declined by 0.52% in 2012 while an increase of 0.53% occurred in 2011 as seen in Table 1. It is slightly lower than the industry averages of 1.737% by 0.377%. The decline in net profit margin may be attributed to rising fuel costs, fall in freight, tours and travel revenue. In 2012, Qantas incurred restructuring costs of AUD376 million compared to nil in 2011, which is in relation to their initiative to reduce costs and improve business in the international segment. The other ratios such as Return on assets (ROA) and return on equity also declined to 2.12% and 3.38% respectively in 2012. Profitability Year/Ratio 2010 2011 2012 Industry averages Return on total assets (ROA) 1.76% 2.28% 2.12% 2.630% Return on equity 2.88% 4.26% 3.38% 5.290% Net profit margin 1.35% 1.88% 1.36% 1.737% 10 3.2 Efficiency Efficiency ratios are used to show how well a company uses its assets and liabilities efficiently to be able to earn significant amount of profits. Examples of efficiency ratios include asset turnover, inventory turnover, receivables turnover and payables turnover. Qantas may be considered as efficient in utilizing its resources to generate revenue, with asset turnover showing an increase to 252 days in 2012 compared to 245 days in 2011. Generally the higher a company’s asset turnover, it means the assets have been used more efficiently. From table 2, the number of days taken for creditors to be paid fell to 45.41 days in 2011, however a modest increase of 1.45 days was experienced in 2012. Compared to industry averages, Qantas took a longer time to pay their creditors. On the other hand, number of days debtors took to pay was shortened by 2.09 days in 2012 while there was an improvement of 1.62 days in 2011. However the receivables turnover is a little higher at 19.83 days co mpared to industry averages of 18.45 days. Inventory turnover shows the frequency a company’s inventory is sold and replaced over a period. A high turnover indicates strong sales while a low turnover may imply poor sales and hence excess inventory. Inventory turnover fell to 9.39 days in 2012 compared to 9.72 days in 2011. However the ratio is higher than industry average of 8.52 days. Table 2 Efficiency Year/days 2010 2011 2012 Industry averages Days payable 50.43 45.41 46.86 43.90 Days receivable 23.54 21.92 19.83 18.45 Days inventory 9.19 9.72 9.39 8.52 Asset turnover 234 245 252 284.70 11 3.3 Liquidity Liquidity ratio measures the company’s ability to pay its short term liabilities when due. It is calculated by dividing cash and other liquid assets by the short term borrowings and current liabilities. This will show the number of times the short term obligations are covered by the cash and liquid assets. The short term obligations are considered fully covered and the company is in good financial health if the value is greater than 1. The higher the liquidity ratio, the higher the capability the company possesses to meet its current liabilities. Examples of liquidity ratio include current ratio and quick ratio. Current ratio for Qantas was 0.90 in 2011 and 0.77 in 2012, near industry average of 0.81. In comparison to Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd whose current ratio is 0.65 in 2011 and 2012 (See table 4), Qantas appears more stable though the values of its current ratio are less than 1 for both years. Quick ratio also known as the acid-test ratio focuses on the most liquid as sets, leaving inventory out which may be hard to turn into cash in a timely manner. In the case of Qantas, the quick ratio was 0.71 in 2012, 0.14 drop from 0.85 in 2011, while industry average is 0.75. As compared to Virgin whose quick ratio was 0.61 in 2012, the company seems to be in a stronger position to meet its short term commitments. Table 3 Liquidity Year/Ratio 2010 2011 2012 Industry averages Current ratio 0.93 0.90 0.77 0.81 Quick ratio 0.88 0.85 0.71 0.75 12 Table 4 Growth Profitability and Financial Ratios for Virgin Australia Holdings Limited Liquidity/Financial Health 2010-06 2011-06 2012-06 Current Ratio 0.76 0.65 0.65 Quick Ratio 0.75 0.62 0.61 Financial Leverage 4.15 4.15 4.3 Debt/Equity 2.3 3.21 3.96 Source: 2013 Morningstar, Inc. 13 3.4 Gearing Ratio Gearing ratio compares owners’ equity or capital to borrowings. Gearing is a measure of financial leverage showing the extent to which a company’s activities or operations are funded by owners’ funds against borrowed funds. A high gearing ratio indicates that a company is using debt to pay for its operations and may risk inability to meet repayments in an economic downturn. The situation could be made worse where rates move upwards suddenly. Lenders are generally concerned about excessively high gearing ratio that may put their loans at risk for non-repayment. Some examples of  gearing ratio are debt equity ratio and net interest cover. For Qantas, the gearing ratio increased to 111.21% in 2012 compared to 98.05% in 2011. This means the company used debt instead of equity to fund its continuing operations. However, this ratio is lower that industry average of 130.547%. Net interest cover ratio refers to the ease a company pays interest expenses on outstanding debt. The lower the ratio, the more the company is burdened by debt expense. The company’s ability to meet interest payments may be doubtful when the ratio is 1.5 or lower. In Qantas case, the net interest cover ratio dropped sharply to 1.54 in 2012 against 3.96 in 2011. This ratio of 1.54 is close to the threshold of 1.5 and is indicative that Qantas may face cash flow problems and inability to meet interest expenses should rates increase suddenly. Table 5 Gearing Year/days 2010 2011 2012 Industry averages Net Interest cover ratio 4.16 3.96 1.54 2.35 Gross Gearing (D/E) 95.600% 98.050% 111.210% 130.547% 14 3.5 Investment ratio A shareholder can analyse the financial information available to determine if the investment in a company is of value and quality. The price/earnings ratio is the best known investment valuation indicators and used widely by investment professionals and investors. Generally the stock with a high price earnings ratio indicates that investors expect higher earnings growth in the future. The price earnings ratio for Qantas was 12.23 in 2012, 15.90 in 2011 and 29.14 in 2010. A sharp decline of 13.24 was recorded in 2011 due to market confidence in this stock prior to 2011. However the industry average is 12.25 which may suggest that investors may be less likely to