Night World : Huntress Chapter 18

Jez heard herself scream, but only faintly. There was a roaring in her ears as if the BART train was coming at her again. And a pain that engulfed her whole body, sending agonized spasms through her limbs. It centered in her chest, though, where something white-hot was lodged inside her, crushing her lung and dislodging her internal organs and burning right beside her heart. She'd been staked. What she had done so often to others had been done to her. She hadn't realized anything could hurt like this. She was glad none of her victims had lived long to keep suffering. The wood of the stake was poisoning her heart, she knew. Even if it were removed, she would die. No vampire could survive contact between living wood and its undead heart. Still, she would live for a little while-in unimaginable agony as the poison ate through her. A voice was screaming in her mind. Jez-JezJezJez†¦ Over and over, incoherently. Morgead, she thought. And she hoped he wasn't feeling any of what she was feeling through the silver cord that connected them. Hugh and Claire were sobbing. Jez wished they wouldn't. They had to stay calm; to think of a way to save themselves. Because she couldn't help them anymore. Over the sobbing she heard a shrill and angry voice. Lily. â€Å"What is wrong with you?† Lily was saying. â€Å"Don't you see what's happening to her? Don't you want to save her?† Through the red haze that filled Jez's vision, she felt dim approval. They were doing what she'd told them. Whichever of them was the Wild Power was suppressing it Good. That was what mattered. Although she couldn't really remember why any longer†¦. Suddenly a face broke through the red haze. It was Lily, bending over her. â€Å"Don't you understand?† Lily yelled. â€Å"You can stop this right now. Ill have him kill you cleanly-all the pain will be over. All you have to do is tell me who it is.† Jez smiled at her faintly. She couldn't breathe to answer, and she didn't want to try. Would you believe that I don't know? she thought. No, I don't think you would. †¦ The pain was getting less by itself. It was as if Jez was moving farther and farther away from it. â€Å"How can you be so stupid?† Lily was screaming. Her face was twisted, and to Jez's vision, floating in a scarlet mist. She looked like a monster. Then she turned and seemed to be screaming at someone else. â€Å"All right. Get the other vampire down here, too. Morgead.† She was looking at Jez again. â€Å"We'll just have to stake your friends one after another until the Wild Power decides to reveal itself.† No. No†¦ Suddenly everything was much clearer around Jez. She could see the room again, and she could feel her own body. There was still the roaring in her ears, but she could hear Claire's sobs over it. No. Lily couldn't mean it. This couldn't be happening†¦. But it was. They were shoving Morgead down on the floor beside her, and Claire and Hugh beyond him. The thugs with spears were getting into position. No. No. This can't happen. Jez wanted to scream at them, to tell the Wild Power to do something, because everything was lost now anyway. But she didn't have air to scream. And she felt so adrift and confused anyway†¦. Her universe had become disjointed. Her thoughts seemed to be unraveling at all once, past memories combining with flashing sensory impressions from the present, and with strange new ideas†¦. If it was involuntary, why didn't the Wild Power work magic more often? Unless there was some other requirement†¦. I can't let this happen. The dampness of blood spreading around her heart. †¦ Claire's nails digging into her arms. â€Å"When there's no physical way to escape †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Power in the blood. Claire on the floor there. Screaming and screaming†¦ Something building inside her, hotter than the stake. Morgead beside her whispering, â€Å"Jez, I love you.† Pierce with the stake over him. Morgead looking up unafraid†¦. Hotter than the heart of a star. Hugh in the distance saying almost quietly, â€Å"Goddess of Life, receive us; guide us to the other world. . . .† Hotter than the sun and colder and bluer than the moon, like fire that burned and froze and crackled like lightning all at once. Something that filled her with an energy that was past rage and past love and past all controlling and that she recognized in her soul even though she'd never consciously felt it before. It was swelling Jez to bursting, a pure and terrible flame that was never meant to be unleashed like this†¦. â€Å"Do it!† Lily shouted. And Jez let it free. It came roaring out from her in a silent explosion. Blue fire that streamed from her body and blasted in all directions, but especially up. It came out and out and out, engulfing everything, flowing from her in a never ending torrent. Like a solar flare that didn't stop. It was all she could see. Blue flames, streaked with blue-white lightning that crackled almost soundlessly. Just like the fire that had cocooned her on the BART tracks. Except that now she could tell where it was coming from, even if she couldn't direct it. She knew how to let it out, now, but once out it did what it wanted. And it wasn't meant to be used this way. That was the only thing she knew clearly about it. She'd been letting it slip out when she was desperately upset-when she was worried for someone's life, and she knew that she couldn't do anything else to save them. That was forgivable, because it had been unconscious. This wasn't. She was probably violating some law of the universe or something. The blue fire was only meant to be used in the last battle, when the darkness came and the Four were called to stand against it. I suppose that means I should try to stop now, Jez thought. She wasn't sure how to do it. She guessed that she needed to call it back, somehow, to draw it down into her body again. Maybe if I sort of tug†¦. She did-something. A gathering-up with her mind. It was harder than letting the fire go had been, but it worked. She could feel it returning, flooding back inside her, as if she were sucking it in. †¦ And then it was gone, and Jez could see the world again. Could see what it had done. The house had disappeared. Or most of it, anyway. There was about a foot and a half of ragged wall left all around, with charred insulation spilling out. Blue energy like electricity ran along the edges here and there, fizzing. Other than that, no house. Not even chunks of wreckage lying around. There were fine bits of debris floating down, making the sunlight hazy, but that was all. It got†¦ vaporized, Jez thought, searching for the right word. No Lily. No Azarius. No Pierce. And none of the ugly thugs. Goddess, Jez thought. I didn't mean to do that. I only wanted to stop them from hurting Morgead and Claire and Hugh. †¦ What about them? she thought in a sudden panic. She turned her head, painfully. They were there. And alive. They were even stirring. The cords they'd been tied with were lying on the carpet, sizzling with that same blue energy. It's so weird to have a carpet without a house to go with it, Jez thought fuzzily. She was going away again. And that was too bad, but at least it didn't hurt anymore. The pain was gone completely, replaced by a warm and sleepy feeling-and the sensation of gently floating outward. Her eyelids felt heavy. â€Å"Jez? Jez!† It was a husky whisper. Jez opened her eyes to see Morgead's face. He was crying. Oh, dear, that was bad. Jez hadn't seen him cry since†¦ when was it? Sometime when they'd been little kids†¦. Jez, can you hear me? Now he was talking in her mind. Jez blinked again, and tried to think of something comforting to say to him. â€Å"I feel warm,† she whispered. â€Å"No, you don't!† He said it almost in a growl. Then he looked behind him, and Jez saw Hugh and Claire crawling up. They were all shining with golden light. â€Å"You're so pretty,† she told them. â€Å"Like angels.† â€Å"This isn't the time for your weird humor!† Morgead shouted. â€Å"Stop it! Don't yell at her!† That was Claire. Claire was crying, too, lovely tears that shone as they fell. She reached out and took Jez's hand, and that was nice, although Jez couldn't exactly feel it. She could see it. â€Å"She's going to be all right,† Morgead was snarling. â€Å"She's lost blood, but she'll be okay.† Someone was stroking Jez's hair off her face. She felt that; it was pleasant. She frowned slowly at Morgead, because there was something important to tell him, and talking was difficult. â€Å"Tell Hugh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she whispered. â€Å"Tell Hugh your freaking self! He's right here! And you're not going anywhere.† Jez blinked with the difficulty changing focus. Yes, there was Hugh. He was the one stroking her hair. â€Å"Hugh†¦ the prophecy. I figured out what the two eyes watching were. They're the sun and the moon-get it? Two eyes†¦ for somebody who belongs to both worlds.† â€Å"The Day World and the Night World,† Hugh said softly. â€Å"You got it, Jez. That was so smart.† â€Å"And blood,† Jez whispered. ‘†Power in the blood'-that's why I couldn't do it anytime I wanted. Blood has to flow before you can let out the power. The first two times Claire was scratching me. And this time . . .† Her voice died off, but it wasn't important. Everybody could see the blood this time, she knew. Hugh's voice was thick. â€Å"That was smart, too, Jez. You figured it out. And you saved us. You did everything just right.† â€Å"No†¦ because there's only going to be three Wild Powers now†¦.† â€Å"No, there aren't,† Morgead raged. â€Å"Listen to me, Jez. There's no reason for you to die-â€Å" Jez couldn't manage a smile anymore, or a sentence. But she whispered gently, â€Å"Wood†¦ poison.† â€Å"No, it isn't! Not to humans. And you're half human, Jez. You're vampire enough to survive something that would kill a human, but you're human enough not to be poisoned by wood.† Jez knew better. She couldn't see much anymore. Only Morgead, and he was getting indistinct. It wasn't that the world was dimming, though-it was getting brighter. Everything was golden and shining. Four less one and darkness triumphs, Jez thought I'm so sorry about that. I hope they can manage it somehow. It would be so sad for everything human to be lost. There's so much good in the world, and so much to love†¦. She couldn't even see Morgead now. Only gold. But she could hear. She could hear Claire whispering to her in a voice broken by tears, and feel wetness dropping on her face. â€Å"I love you, Jez. You're the best cousin anybody could ever have.† And Hugh. He was crying, too. â€Å"Jez, I'm so proud to be your friend†¦.† And then, through the mist and the gold and the warmth and peace, came a voice that wasn't gentle at all. That was roaring in sheer outrage and fury. â€Å"DONT YOU DARE DIE ON ME, JEZEBEL! DON'T YOU DARE! Or I'll follow you to the next world and KILL you.† Suddenly, in the pretty gold mist, she could see something else. The only thing in the universe that wasn't golden. It was a silver cord. â€Å"You come back and you do it right now,† Morgead bellowed in her ears and in her mind. â€Å"Right now! Do you hear me?† The peace was shattered. Nothing seemed quite so warm and wonderful anymore, and she knew that once Morgead got into one of his Excited States, he wouldn't stop yelling until he got what he wanted. And there was the cord right in front of her. It was strong, and she could feel that the other end was somewhere in. Morgead's heart, and that he was trying to drag her back to him. All right. Maybe if I just grab on†¦. Somehow, she was holding on to it, and bit by bit, pulling herself back. And then the golden light was fading and she was inside a body that hurt and Morgead was holding her and kissing her and crying all at the same time. Claire's voice came from beyond him. â€Å"She's breathing again! She's breathing!† â€Å"I love you, you stupid human,† Morgead gasped against Jez's cheek. â€Å"I can't live without you. Don't you know that?† Jez whispered, â€Å"I told you never to call me Jezebel.† Then she fainted. â€Å"Time for a nice bath,† the nurse said. â€Å"And then we can have a visitor.† Jez eyed her narrowly. The woman was kind, but she had some mania for sponge baths, and she was always putting strange-smelling ingredients in the water. Which was actually not that surprising since she was a witch. â€Å"Skip the bath,† Jez said. â€Å"Let the visitor in.† â€Å"Now, now,† the witch said, shaking a finger and advancing with the sponge. Jez sighed. Being a Wild Power in a Circle Daybreak sanctuary meant that she could have pretty much anything she wanted-except that everyone was still treating her like a little kid. Especially the nurses, who spoiled her and flattered her, but talked to her as if she were about three. Still, she was glad to let the Circle take care of some things. Keeping her relatives safe, for instance. Although she was almost fully recovered, thanks to a strong constitution and a lot of healing spells from the witches, she wasn't up to that yet. Uncle Bracken and the entire Goddard family needed constant protection, since Hunter Redfern and the Night World Council were all undoubtedly after them by now. The Circle had imported some experts from back East to take care of it. A rival vampire hunter, of all things, named Rashel something. Plus her soulmate, a vampire-turned-Daybreaker called Quinn. At least they were competent. They'd gotten Jez's uncle Bracken, as well as the remnants of the gang out of San Francisco, a city that was going to be bad for their health for a while. Morgead was trying to get the gang to join Circle Daybreak for their own good, and he said that Raven, at least, was showing some interest. Val and Thistle were being stubborn, but that was hardly surprising. What was important was that they were alive. Pierce, on the other hand, was simply gone. No one had seen a trace of him or Lily or any of her people since Jez blasted them. Apparently they had truly been vaporized, and Jez couldn't bring herself to feel too badly. â€Å"All done!† the nurse said brightly, straightening Jez's pajama top. Which was just as well because at that moment a black head came poking in the door. â€Å"What is going on in here? You getting ready to go to the opera or something?† Jez raised her eyebrows at Morgead. â€Å"Maybe. Are you telling me I can't?† He snorted and came in as the nurse went out â€Å"I wouldn't dare tell you that. You're the princess, right? You can have anything.† â€Å"Right,† Jez said, with huge satisfaction. â€Å"So how*re Hugh and Claire?† â€Å"Claire's fine; she fits right in with the witches here. I think she's trying to get them to put up a Web page. And Hugh's just his same stupid self. He's off saving chipmunks from toxic waste or something.† â€Å"And how about the kid?† â€Å"The kid,† Morgead said, â€Å"is living it up. The Day-breakers are crazy about her; something about one of the oldest Old Souls ever found:-I dunno. Anyway, they're trying to talk her mom into letting her live here. She says thanks for saving her life and she's drawing you a picture.† Jez nodded, pleased. It would be nice if Iona came to live at the sanctuary; it meant Jez could see her a lot. Not that Jez planned to live here all the time herself-she and Morgead needed their freedom. They couldn't be penned in; they had to be able to come and go. She just hadn't gotten around to telling the Daybreakers that yet. With the people she loved taken care of, she could turn her attention to other matters. â€Å"Is that chocolate?† â€Å"It's the only reason you like to see me, isn't it?† Morgead said, allowing her to take the box. He sat beside her, looking tragic. â€Å"Nah,† Jez said with her mouth full. She swallowed. â€Å"Everybody brings 'em.† Then she grinned. â€Å"I like to see you for a different reason.† He grinned wickedly back. â€Å"I can't think what that could be.† â€Å"Hmm†¦ you're right†¦ maybe there is no other reason.† â€Å"Watch it, Jezebel,† he growled and leaned forward menacingly. â€Å"Don't call me that, idiot.† â€Å"You're the idiot, idiot.† â€Å"And you're-† But Jez never got to finish, because he stopped her mouth with a kiss. And then his arms were around her-so gently- and the silver cord was humming and everything was warm and there were only the two of them in the world. One from the land of kings long forgotten; One from the hearth which still holds the spark; One from the Day World where two eyes are watching; One from the twilight to be one with the dark. [The End]

Multi agency teams work Essay

Multi-agency teams work together by bringing practitioners from all different sectors and professions within childcare to provide effective and in depth way of working to support children and young people. This includes support of that child or young person’s family. Multi-agency teams work together to ensure the children and young people that require additional support have exactly the right professionals around them to achieve their maximum potential. Assessment may include: ââ€" ªParents and family ââ€" ªPediatrician ââ€" ªEducational Psychologist ââ€" ªSpecialist Teachers for Learning Support, Hearing, Vision, Sensory Impairment, Autism/Complex Communication Difficulties ââ€" ªClinical Psychologist ââ€" ªSpeech and Language Therapist ââ€" ªPhysiotherapist ââ€" ªOccupational Therapist. In addition to parents, one or more of these people may be involved, helping to gain an understanding of children’s communication strengths and needs, and how speech and language can be developed. They can also provide information, advice, guidance and training. If a child needs support from a speech therapist, a social worker, teacher and health worker, then a team of those professionals will be set up, but with the consent of the child, young person and family. Support may include: ââ€" ªSpeech and language therapist ââ€" ªEducational psychologist ââ€" ªPhysiotherapist ââ€" ªOccupational therapist ââ€" ªHealth visitor ââ€" ªSpecialist teachers for Learning Support, Hearing, Vision, Sensory Impairment and Complex communication/Autism These people with specialist knowledge and skills support the people in daily contact with the child. They try to remove barriers to achievement, agree strategies, provide training and identify, and sometimes provide, resources By working together, the team will enable children to make maximum progress and improve the quality and ease of their lives. The members of these teams will share information and support each another so that the child / young person’s needs are met as efficiently and effectively as possible. There are some circumstances where multi-agency teams work together literally in one place. There are other examples where teams may operate virtually- via email/ web cam. The role of a practitioner requires them to meet regularly to discuss the needs of the child or young person in question. This is so they can plan and carry out coordinated, targeted interventions. Development may include: ââ€" ªParents and family ââ€" ªChild minder ââ€" ªEarly Years setting staff such as playgroup leaders, nursery nurses and play/nursery assistants ââ€" ªSchool staff such as teachers, teaching assistants and lunchtime supervisors ââ€" ªConnexions staff ââ€" ªBefore & after school care. These people listed above are the people who come into contact with the child in question every day. They apply their training and knowledge to the situation and know how to be good communication partners, and how to provide a good communication environment. They are the ones actively developing the child’s speech and language. They can share ideas about what does and what does not work for individual children. References Worcestershire County Council and Worcestershire. (2011). Effective multi-agency working and collaboration. Available: http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/cms/speech-language-communication/targeted-s pecialist-provision/effective-multi-agency-working.aspx. Last accessed 18/9/14.

Planning and Budgeting for Women Cancer Foundation Term Paper

Planning and Budgeting for Women Cancer Foundation - Term Paper Example In most states, business registration information is found from the office of the secretary of state. As in the case of this business, the name of the business is Women Cancer Foundation which will be identified by all clients (Miller et al., 2006). The healthcare business also needs exceptional license or authentication which will comprise of an assessment of a background scrutiny on the partners or individuals operating the business. This will be followed by getting into contact with the insurance companies to acquire covers for liability and malpractice. There is no business that can operate or make service decisions without considering the insurance covers taken for the healthcare facility. The insurance and registration charges can be recognized in a budget as constant or fixed costs but can also be charged on a monthly or annual basis (Nah & Osifo-Dawodu, 2007). Another important aspect is the estimation of the probable revenue for the hospital. The source of revenue might incl ude donations from international health non-governmental organizations, patient charges, insurance credits and tax reliefs. Before the services can be priced, all these revenues must be estimated to find the best fair price for the specific services. The policy makers must deduct a fraction of the bills to the patient that might not be collected, charity work anticipated by the health facility and the work it does. Moreover, the expected expenses must be figured out beginning with the visible facility. It must be determined the cost of setting up the structures, the maintenance costs of every department , the utilities and the costs of acquiring special equipment and the amount that will be used per day on each patient. In addition, the costs of maintaining some of the non-medical facilities must be determined which also include advertising g costs. However, care and due diligence must be excised to avoid passing all the costs to the patient with the main intention of accumulating p rofits. There are those cancer patients who cannot meet the costs of medication available given the state of economic recession that hits everyone within the nation (Nah & Osifo-Dawodu, 2007). There are factors to consider when planning and making essential decisions within the healthcare centre. It is required that the management must be familiar with the cost of staff. It must be noted that the staff and other employees who comprise of the consultants and contracts outsourced such as laundry and staffing of nursing need to be paid and given other allowances. The fringe benefits must be determined to ease out the process of budgeting. all the costs of beds, the number of hours worked for every staff and number of hours spent by patients on the beds must be determined inclusive of the costs of replacement of the beds must be factored in the budget and planning process (Wolper, 2004). Most importantly, the costs of expansion must also be factored in. The health care facility must pla n as to whether their facilities might be renovated or new ones put in place. The potential benefits of the expansion must be considered to prevent erecting redundant structures. Thus the revenue must be estimated when doing a plan for the budget. This will also involve space for the parking garage, landscaping costs, window cleaning washing and grounds men. Besides, the funds set aside for emergency services must also be considered to enable the

Review on Childhood Obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Review on Childhood Obesity - Essay Example Moreover, the effect this disease has on children is far more complicated. Clearly, there is a dearth in the literature regarding childhood obesity. In order to address this problem, this essay will review the current literature available regarding childhood obesity and its underlying causes. It aims to provide a sketch regarding the topic, and mark the starting point for possible research directions that could be taken to better understand the disease, and hopefully treat and prevent it in the future. Child obesity is one of the most challenging issues facing healthcare providers today. It has become an epidemic not only in North America, but in the whole world as well. According to statistics, approximately 22 million children under 5 years of age are overweight across the world, where the number of overweight children and adolescents has doubled in the last two to three decades, including in developing countries and regions where an increase in Western behavioral and dietary lifestyles is evident (Deckelbaum & Williams, 2001). According to Ganz (2003), Overweight is the most common health problem among young people in the United States today. In the past three decades, the proportion of overweight children and adolescents has increased 2- to 3-fold. Currently, 15% of children are overweight, with a similar number who are heavy enough to be at risk for obesity. Overweight in childhood confers a greater risk for adult obesity, as well as a number of other chronic health conditions. Clearly, overweight is a major heath issue facing our nation. In addition, the journal article, "Childhood Obesity: Future Directions and Research Priorities" (Hill, 1998), also warns of the expectation that the next generation of children is likely to be fatter and less fit than the current generation due to the low priority given to childhood obesity in the public agenda. The authors argue for the need to prioritize research agendas in the future, particularly in the etiology, treatment, and prevention of childhood obesity; and the need to move the issue of childhood obesity higher in the public agenda. Schonfeld-Warden & Warden (1997), in another study entitled "Pediatric Obesity: An Overview of Etiology and Treatment," also indicates that the primary reasons for the increasing upward trends of child obesity are the combination of sedentary behaviors and diet. He argues that fat content in American diets has increased because more foods with higher fat contents are now available. Unfortunately, finding an effective treatment for the disease is a daunting task. According to Tanios (2000), there are three reasons why it has been difficult for people today to treat obesity, he enumerates: (1) the disinterest society has had on the disease because it was never considered as a major health problem before; (2) the availability of refined foods abundant today; and (3) the tendency for the disease to be inherited. Obesity, and child obesity in particular, is therefore a complex disease, and underlying causes for it are poorly understood. Nature vs. Nurture: The Interplay of Factors In order to understand the complexity of child obesity as a disease, it is imperative to first identify the cause of the disease. There are two general arguments that explain the cause of obesity. On the one hand, there is the contention that obesity is caused by a

Chinese history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Chinese history - Essay Example China in its quest to borrow communism also borrowed and adapted European style art and literature from 1949 onward. Communism, which seeks to make all things look alike in its quest for social equality has not been able to diminish the traditional literature in China. The concept of â€Å"Redness† held by the Chinese Communist Party in, which holds that no expertise or knowledge is needed to do anything, is a concept deeply contradicted by Chinese literature. Those that introduced the â€Å"red† concept into Chinese art due to the great pressure put on artisans by the Central Cultural Revolution Group did between 1966-1976. It was further compounded and reinforced by Mao Zedong’s fourth wife who placed expectations on the artisans to produce art that were â€Å"red, bright and shining†. Older artisans who were traditional in their trade became irrelevant, which resulted in their humiliation and dishonor. Some were prosecuted accordingly, as the people reg arded them as traitors. The dichotomy in thought in China is evident in the way the country portrays itself to the outside world. The Chinese Revolution is part of the history of China and, as with every historical event has differing and conflicting accounts of its impact on Chinese life. Those who sought to establish communist socialism sought to change the politics of China and its culture. Contrastingly, those who wanted to maintain the status quo were regarded as elitists concerned about themselves at the expense of the masses. Chinese art and literature done by artisans inside or outside the country was a reflection of the ruling political party’s manifesto. All literature and art had to portray the government in good light or else its creators were labeled as government dissidents liable to face prosecution. The Marxist- Leninism of Mao suppressed intellectual and artistic freedom by its conformist regulations. However, artisans who managed to defect from China

Conflict resolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

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British Petrolium Exploration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

British Petrolium Exploration - Essay Example Finally BP Explorations current strategies against future competitions they face are also discussed. According to Forbes (2004), BP was compared with, Shell, ExxonMobil and Total. The data were taken from the companies non-financial reports (CnFR), added on with more information on their CSR website. This data was made available at the time of the analysis (BP, 2005; ExxonMobil,2004; Shell, 2004; Total, 2004). The prime objective of the analysis was to get information on the actions which the companies attributed to CSR, what the inducements, aims, and targets for these actions were, and how they designed to attain this. A real study of the four companies reveals the fact that they are very similar in many respects. The table below presents some vital information about the 4 companies. Apart from the information presented in the above table all the companies possess a major part of the value chain of oil and gas resources. The four companies are concerned from extraction to retailing and they have a large petro-chemical activity. Corporate governance is a mode of the direction and control which the companies have on their operations. ... This term derived force only after the corporate scandals like Enron in which leaders profited themselves rather then the company. The companies deal with this issue by giving a description of proper assessment making procedure and the economic interests of those making these determinations, i.e. stock options, participation in other companies etc. Extended producer liability is regarding the responsibility for the products after they have been sold, generally for the use and removal phase of the life cycle. BP centers on modifying their customers to use their products safely (BP, 2001, BP Business Policies: What we stand for. Retrieved April 21, 2009 from www.bp.com). Smart technology moves Getting the right technology is vital for building a competitive energy business and for creating a sustainable future. The strategy which was instituted on tackling precise technologies in back up of clear business goals (Frontiers, December 2003), is now bearing fruit in the case of BP. The company is developing so that it faces to meet the challenge of the world's rising energy demand by discovering new ways of getting at more hydrocarbons from on hand and new resources. The company also believes in BPE 5 developing and delivering new products to customers. In a way by investing in technology the business in BP is shaping up and is opening up new alternatives. At present BP ranks as the number two oil and gas company and this company has achieved through its market capitalization.'Market Capital is nothing but the share price multiplied by the number of shares in issue, Rankings are normally done on a $ basis.' When calculating in dollars for BP the ADR price (American Depository Receipt - the

Whats cool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Whats cool - Essay Example Different people had their own way of defining it. To begin with, cool was seen as a behavioral characteristic. Cool mainly, was a behavioral attitude practiced by black American men in the US. As a slang word, it was used to mean that a person is ok or in a relaxed state (Simchona par 1). Cool is also a positive attribute assigned to an awesome or great thing. Underdogs, rebels, and the likes of slaves, prisoners, bikers and political dissents, all fostered a cool attitude. This rebellion often invited punishment. Other people view cool as a state of well-being. In the modern society, cool is seen to bring a sense of serenity and internal peace. Other terms used to explain this is the absence of conflict, a state of balance and harmony. This meaning is of an African origin. In other cases cool can be used to describe the absence of excitement or composure in a person. The idiom, ‘Keep your cool’ best defines this. Also in the phrase ‘I’m cool with that’, used to express agreement or assent (Bornstein 3). People also view cool in the form of aesthetic appeal; it is taken as an attitude adopted by intellectuals and artists, who have aided in its infiltration into the culture. Today, it is a global phenomenon having spread across the globe. In fact, the concepts of cool have existed in several cultures over the centuries. Cool has also existed as an epithet. It is a common slag word among the young people and is well understood by the English- speaking people. It has gone to the extent of being used as a vocabulary in languages besides English. It is seen generally as an epithet with a range of related adjectival meanings. Through creativity and innovation, cool appears to be a classic case of resistance to authority. A paradoxical fusion of submission and subversion is represented by â€Å"so cool† (Bornstein 6). In the early 1960s and 1970s, cool like groovy was a very popular expression of satisfaction. Like groovy,

Currently Israel controls Palestinian water, what rights does Israel Research Paper

Currently Israel controls Palestinian water, what rights does Israel have to manage water crucially needed or the Palestinian people - Research Paper Example rael has recently reconfirmed its intention to implement the decision of the Local Israeli Assembly for Organization and Building to give a piece of land from the Hadera area to build a desalination plant for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority†¦The Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) [...] states that the Palestinian side is unwilling to purchase water at such a high cost from sources that are on the Mediterranean Coast and Jordan River, knowing that this water in fact partially belongs to the Palestinians but is inaccessible for them. (EMIS) If the Palestinians do not want water, what is their agenda? The agenda is Palestinians want to expel Jews from Israel. They believe that Israel should be Palestine, despite the military victories giving Israel more land. The Gaza Strip is a very small area of land with a total area of only 360 square kilometers (roughly 150 square miles — ed.). It is underlain by a shallow aquifer, which is contiguous with the Israeli Coastal Aquifer to the north. Gaza is the â€Å"downstream user† of the Coastal Aquifer system, and hence water abstraction in Gaza does not affect Israeli water supplies†¦In addition, missile strikes and ground incursions have repeatedly damaged and destroyed pipelines, and maintenance personnel have been arrested, shot at, or even killed whilst trying to carry out repairs†¦Inadequate sewage treatment infrastructure and damage to wastewater and drinking water pipelines has allowed sewage water to contaminate drinking water supplies, leading to sharp increases in water borne diseases in many areas†¦Failure to control over-pumping has led to sea-water intrusion into the aquifer to the extent that, in 2003, only 10 % of the wells produced water of World Healt h Organization (WHO) drinking water standards. (Gray) For another, Israel has never â€Å"helped itself† to water â€Å"beneath Palestinian lands.† Israel obtains roughly 50 percent of its water from the Sea of Galilee and the Coastal Aquifer, both

Organisational Behaviour and Development-Assessment Task No 2 Essay

Organisational Behaviour and Development-Assessment Task No 2 - Essay Example These are the questions we will seek to address in this report and attempt to provide solutions based on various researches. Emotions in the workplace have a profound effect on everything we do as it affects thoughts and behaviors. On the other hand, attitudes are a representation of beliefs, feelings and behavioral intentions towards a person, object or event and involve conscious logical reasoning unlike emotions which occur as events often without awareness. Emotions affect workplace attitudes. In the workplace as we interact with co-workers, individuals experience a variety of emotions that shape our feelings towards the company, the job itself and our bosses. The most common of this attitude researched about in the work place are job satisfaction and organizational commitment (Workplace emotions and attitudes, n.d). From our case study, Fran’s Hayden suffered significant adverse effects at Dairy engineering arising substantially from job satisfaction and job role expectat ions. Job satisfaction represents an individual’s evaluation of their job and work content (Workplace, n.d). Frans expectations were affirmed from Peter Bruton her boss, Rob the chief accountant and herself. First we learn that Fran’s was interested in a position in the dairy engineering in the hope that she will gain practical experiences in addition to the higher salary. She was offered a position she knew she will not enjoy but still went ahead and accepted it. she was told her work will entail compiling the monthly report known as â€Å"big brother† but later she found her work was entirely clerical which made her wonder why MIS needed her yet she had very little to do in that department. Obviously Fran’s expectations of practical experience were not met. The other problems identified from the case study that made it unbearable for Fran is the poor organizational structure of dairy engineering. Every organization has components that require profession al and effective management. The key components of an organization are people and structure. Formal organizational structures are hierarchical with people at each level having their own objectives and people at the lower levels report to higher level managers. This system has the principle of unity of command inbuilt in it. This determines the efficiency of the organization which depends on the free flow of information, efficient communication system, well defined authority and responsibilities supported by detailed policies, rules and regulations. An organization must have outlined systems that are understood by everyone in the organization (Ashraf, n.d.). Looking at the Fran scenario in the dairy engineering, there was no formal on boarding process in place. On her first day of work, she was accompanied by a colleague who introduced her to the rest of the team then her boss explained to her what her duties are and she started working. A formal new hire process ensures that new emp loyees like Fran are given the same information with respect to company policies, expectations and procedures that ensures consistency and accuracy (Plowman, 2010). When Fran boss went on leave, Fran took orders from Rob the chief accountant who gave her the opportunity to attend a management workshop in Auckland. When Fran got back, her boss Burton was furious that he had not been consulted and he felt his authority was being undermined.Fran is not to blame since all she did was do as she was told. The

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Essay Example for Free

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Essay John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected the president of the United States of America in 1960 at a young age. At that time, the General Eisenhower was ageing. He was known for his frequent heart attacks and his love for golf than he was, for his opposition to the military industrial complex especially among the young people. At the same period, the young generation had a sense of optimism, that nothing was impossible and that no problem could go unresolved. The time had come for the older generation who had made mistakes to move over and let the new comers find solutions to the problems that faced Americans. They did not want to repeat the mistakes that the older generation had done, like the wars and the crusades against the ‘red menace’. These ideas motivated their white supporters and the black students from the South who were fed up with the policies that ruled them before. As a young catholic politician, JFK, together with a young black Baptist minister, Martin Luther King, expressed their high hopes and the dreams for the era of the young generation to rule. William Terence says that it was this young generation that had loyally pledged allegiance to the flag each morning in school, and it was in the schools across the nation that they were told of the unique promise of America. While the adults were concerned with leisure, the young generation, who had been constantly reminded in high school of their fortunate status as citizens of the wealthiest democratic society in the world, was determined to make the American dream become a reality. (William T. M. R. , 1997, pgs 57-58) President Kennedy’s cause on civil rights According Garth E. Pauley in the book, â€Å"The modern presidency and civil rights†, President Kennedy was known as the champion of civil rights and the leader of a ‘second reconstruction’. His attitude towards the civil rights has been considered irrational. It is said that he was not knowledgeable on the civil rights because they were alien to most of his experience. He was from a privileged lifestyle that did not provide him with a deep knowledge or feelings about the racial prejudices that his fellow citizens possessed. He also had little interaction with black people in Boston or in Hyanisport except as servants. However, meetings with the African Americans leaders seemed to advance the president a little in his own commitment to human rights. He was sympathetic of the many problems confronting the blacks, and therefore worked to ensure the passage of the housing, employment, tax and education measures to help improve the circumstances for the black people. (Pauley Garth E. , 2001, pgs 105-112) In 1963, Kennedy ultimately took strong action on civil rights and spoke about the moral imperative of racial inequality. In doing so, he needed to satisfy the score of Americans, who protested against prolonged federal inaction, reduction in the potential for racial violence and attempt to maintain the shred of confidence that the African Americans still had in the federal government. President Kennedy also wanted to aid the moderate civil rights leaders like Roy Wilkins, Martin Luther King, Jr. and James Farmer in securing their objectives lest the movement be taken over by radicals. He also led the fight for civil right in order to prevent the isolation of black leadership and the embitterment of the African American people. (Pauley Garth E. , 2001, pgs 105-112) JFK’s core beliefs President Kennedy was a man with core beliefs concerning certain issues surrounding humanity. An example of such beliefs is his stand on war and the Cuban missile crisis in 1943. His aversion to war was more pronounced during the first decades of the nuclear era. As early as 1947, the 29 year old freshman and congressman was gripped by the escalating suspicions of the cold war, which drove him to warn of the nuclear apocalypse publicly. In his own words, he said that, â€Å"The greatest danger is a war which would be waged by the conscious decision of the leaders of Russia some 25 or 35 years from now. She will have the atomic bomb, the planes, the ports, and the ships to wage aggressive war outside her boarders. Such conflict would truly mean the end of the world and all our diplomacy and prayers must be exerted to avoid it. † His words show his core belief on war, that it is immoral and inhuman. Stern Sheldon M. , 2003, pg 40) In the book Averting the ‘final failure’, Sheldon says that in all of president Kennedy’s life, he had a high regard for personal courage and toughness, but at the same time, he loathed the brutality and the carnage of war. He also had a profound historical paradox; that human beings had never been capable of building a peaceful and stable world, but at the same time, war, especially between nations possessing nuclear weapons, was no longer a rational option. The president was also an anti-communist just like his missile crisis advisers, but he understood that once military conflict was unleashed between the nuclear superpowers, all bets were off. (Stern Sheldon M. , 2003, pg 41) The Cuban missile crisis provided the supreme test of President Kennedy’s capacity to have an open mind and, at the same time, to hold fast his core beliefs about war in the face of unyielding pressure from the experts around him. (Stern Sheldon M. , 2003, pgs 41) The president also believed in liberty and in doing what one wanted to do. He was an athlete, a family man, and the Pulitzer Prize- winning author. He did anything he wanted to do, and hence his decision to engage himself in politics at such a young age. (Gramm Kent, 2001, pg 183) Effect of Catholic background to JFK’s rule Religion is one of the critical elements emphasized especially by the Democrats in presidency, who confess that they must retain the trust of God fearing Americans. In 1960, The Democratic Party appointed John. F. Kennedy as their presidential candidate, despite him being a catholic, but most of his supporters Protestants. He was the second catholic to receive the presidential nomination after Alfred E. Smith of New York, thirty two years earlier. Smith suffered a devastating defeat after a campaign that was marred by vicious religious bigotry. Given this history, JFK addressed a speech before hundreds of Southern Baptist religious leaders in Houston, Texas, on September 12, 1960. In his speech, he expressed his regrets in the necessity of religion to the American presidential candidates. He said that there were other more important issues that could be considered to help decide who the president should be, like hunger, disease and inequality. (North David, 2004, pgs 97-99) He added that issues like war, hunger, ignorance and despair knew no religious barriers. But since his catholic background had had made religion an issue in the campaign, Kennedy said that, â€Å"it is apparently necessary for me to state once again- not what kind of church I believe in for that should be important only to me, but what kind of America I believe in. † He also said, â€Å"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be a catholic) how to act and no protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote†¦. † He further stated that his conception of America was one in which â€Å"no public official either requests or accepts instruction on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source† and â€Å"where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials. † President Kennedy believed that religion should be a president’s own affair and should not affect American policies or the way he rules. (North David, 2004, pgs 97-99) JFK’s death and its effect on the civil right movements On November 22nd, 1963, the civil right movement received a crushing blow of JFK’s death. The president was solidly behind the civil right efforts and was actively pushing Congress for the passage of a major rights bill. This bill would make possible full equality among the African Americans and the Whites. On a visit to Dallas, as President Kennedy rode with his wife Jackie in a convertible in a parade, three shots rang out, hitting Kennedy in the head and neck. The president died shortly after. The death of the president made the future of the civil rights legislation uncertain. It was however ironical that the death of the president strengthened the proposed civil right bill, an advantage to the civil rights movements. Prior to his death, any civil rights legislation would have required significant compromise to pass both houses of congress. After his death, President Johnson (his successor) refused to compromise. The civil right Acts were also boosted by the fact that the presidential election was upcoming, and Johnson strongly endorsed the Civil Rights Act. With key Republicans emerging as allies and other law makers less inclined to squabble over a bill an assassinated president supported, the bill passed both houses of Congress with no significant changes. Later on, President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act into law. Effect of John. F. Kennedy’s presidency in the 21st century Today, the values of John F. Kennedy are evident, an example being the election of President Barack Obama. President John, F. Kennedy fought for equality among the African Americans and the Whites. In the 1960, it was impossible for a black man to become the president. All this started to change when President Kennedy pushed for the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. His assassination was a boost to passing of the bill, signaling the beginning of equality among all. The election of president Obama was definitely a reaping of fruits from the seeds sown by President JFK. The policies of President John F. Kennedy are seen in effect today, where equality reigns among all Americans, regardless of their cultural background, race or color. The fact that President Obama became president at 47 years could also be an inspiration by President Kennedy. In 1960, when John Kennedy was elected president, he received a lot of support from the young people. The old leadership had failed; the policies used then were fair. John F. Kennedy’s era was the start of the young leadership’s rule. He gave hope to the young and to the black African Americans, and was determined to attain the American dream. This was the case with the recent election. Most people preferred a young president to being ruled by an elderly person. President Obama gave America a hope, and promised to push America to achieve the American dream. Just as the youths supporting President John F. Kennedy believed, that nothing was impossible, so did the election of president Obama prove. The election of Obama’s election was also boosted by the fact that the Americans were fed up with Bush’s policies, which were also similar to those of John McCain. (Curtis Mark, etal, 2009, pgs 107-108) References 1) Curtis Mark, Owens Ronn, Age of Obama: A Reporters Journey with Clinton, McCain and Obama in the Making of the President, 2008, Nimble Books LLC, 2009, pgs 107-108 2) Gramm Kent, November: Lincolns elegy at Gettysburg, Indiana University Press, 2001, pg 183 3) North David, The crisis of American democracy: the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004, Mehring Books, 2004, pgs 97-99 4) Pauley Garth E. , The modern presidency civil rights: rhetoric on race from Roosevelt to Nixon, Texas A M University Press, 2001, pgs 105-112 5) Penrice Ronda Racha, African American History for Dummies, For Dummies, 2007, pg 169 6) Stern Sheldon M. , Averting ‘the final failure’: John F. Kennedy and the secret Cuban Missile Crisis meetings, Stanford University Press, 2003, pgs 40-41 7) William Terence Martin Riches, The civil rights movement: struggle and resistance, Palgrave Macmillan, 1997, pgs 57-58

Creation of an Online Prescence

Creation of an Online Prescence Scenario Assignment No 1 of 1- Sit 1 As an IT administrator for ACS (Awesome Clothing Store), you are responsible for the companys infrastructure including its online presence. The company has commissioned a new website in order to improve their revenue and reach a higher segment of customers. The developers have delivered the code and database for the website and you are now responsible for bringing it online as well as perform maintenance and adding any additional features that might be required in the future. The website has been developed in PHP and MySQL as well as other technologies such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Please refer to Appendix A for an explanation of the files that you will be given. You are required to prepare a preliminary report which includes your opinion, and diagrams with appropriate reasons. Following are the questions that you need to answer to achieve the criteria set. Task 1 Deploying an Application under a PHP Environment (P1.1, P1.2, M1, D1) The application must be deployed on the web. Explain what is required in terms of hosting services for your application to work correctly. Support your answer by mentioning a number of hosting services that you can choose, select the best one and justify your answer. Illustrate the difference between client-side scripting and server-side scripting supporting your answers with practical examples used in the application. P1.1 Explain the methods and techniques required to host a website. In your answer make reference to registering a domain name and the need to host the websites files online. Registering a domain in a jurisdiction is the first step   popular domain are after the .com are .tv (Tuvalu) .me Montenegro one of the most or the most popular domain registering broker is GoDaddy its vital to select the right domain name so youll ensure that site reaches more hits. 1.Planning and evaluating the best possible route. The site will consist of series of files, so we will need the capacity for files. We can either host them on a local web server or a cloud web server such as AWS. 2.We need to evaluate all the avail webhosting services and come up with the moist suitable 3Various companies such as godaddy offer domain checker, they can also provide an alternative domain after successfully finishing the registration procedure including WHOIS database assign, where the webmaster information us made public or set in private mode. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Once We have registered we can use the appropriate tools to upload the content. P1.2 Evaluate the different types of hosting offered by web host providers. Elaborate in detail on at least 2 hosting services and give examples of actual hosting companies offering these packages. For testing and development purposes, deploy the given application and database to a local server such as XAMPP. Currently on the market various webhosting solutions are available there is: Complimentary Hosting Shared Hosting Virtual Hosting Dedicated Hosting Collocated Hosting Complimentary Hosting Complimentary web hosting is ideal for small pages with low traffic, and not for corporate or business use. Such service include various adds and pop-ups and with limited or no support. The Good points in free hosting sen/ices are: Free Ideal for personal websites Ideal to learn on them The Bad points in free hosting services are: -Usually you cannot choose your own domain -Few, limited or no software options -Limited security options -Limited or no database support -Limited technical support -Lack of professionalism -Advertisements As we can see, there are a lot of cons in going to free hosting, however one has to see his need. Shared hosting is very cost effective. With shared hosting, your web site gets its own domain name, and is hosted on a powerful server along with other web sites. Shared solutions often offer multiple software solutions like e-mail, database, and different editing options. Normal technical support tends to be good. This is recommended for the small businesses. The Good points in virtual hosting services are: Low Cost. The cost is usually shared with others. Ideal for small business Multiple Software options You can have your own domain Normal support is quite good. Negative   points with virtual hosting services are: Limited security due to shared resources Limited traffic volume Limited support Dedicated hosting On dedicated hosting, web site is hosted on Its ideal for high demand traffic and sites. One should expect dedicated hosting to be high avail bile and more secure, with various platform solutions. M1 Explain how effective judgments have been made by suggesting which hosting package is most suitable for this scenario and elaborate in detail why a specific hosting package was chosen over another. Due to the limitation of of our solution For our online clothing website, We can opt to host our own resources, a solution that with we need to procure for resources, where can come result in isses from from ISP or owned   hardware. We can also opt shared hosting. Where it is more feasible option since it includes load balancer, uptime guarantee redundancy site, SLA and higher avability. For this option, we can partner with amazon AWS AWS offers a perfect solution for our goal because most of the backend administration is done automatically various geolocation data centres which translates in faster browsing speed, they offer some tools to write and store our website and they guarantee 99.9% uptime. 99.9% uptime means that we can afford 1 min 15secs downtime daily or 7 hours 33min 66 seconds yearly. Although that seems a lot, hen breakdown the expense, Its more than acceptable for an online fashion store . Of course, the nature of the business is online and the time it makes offline means loss of money, however, taking everything into consideration, we can say this package is the best we can use. Other packages such as GoDaddy or hosting our own server are too expensive for our purpose. GoDaddy, for instance, offers a 247 support to its dedicated hosting. They also 99.9% network uptime, the price will shoot up to â‚ ¬88 a month compared with the AWS which is just â‚ ¬47 a month. Show that conclusions have been arrived at through synthesis of ideas and have been justified by analysing: 1. How the hosting services will make your PHP application work correctly on the web. 2. Evaluate in detail the difference between client-side scripting and server-side scripting by giving practical examples from the application. XAMPP is the tool that is going to be used for our site. After we build the site design and make it available online we are required to create a hosting account, where we decided to make it with on AWS. Then with filezilla (ftp) we need to upload the content to our website. Web Tools such as Dreamweaver have a build in FTP, and one can upload the changes immediately. When upload is completed, one must preview the project for a UAT (user acceptance test). AWS has this functionality and one can find it by clicking web hosting, next to the hosting account that we want to use Server side Scenario The server-side scenario uses a scripting tool on a web server. A users request is triggred directly on a web server to create dynamic HTML files. These files are sent to the client browser. It is usually supplies interactive sites that integrates with databases or other data API. Clients scenario Client usually triggers scripts via browsers. This will be processes on the clients side. The source code is downloaded from the web server to the clients computer through the web browser Scripting language tools should be enabled to perform this operation. This might also create a security threat loophole, with various warning messages being displayed on clients browser. P1.3 Explain the legal requirements of hosting an online website. Once successfully uploaded there is a whole legal framework to be followed. 1.Company Information 2.Web Accessibility and the Disability Discrimination Act 3.The Data Protection Act 4.Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 5.Electronic Commerce Regulations (EC Directive) 6.PCIDSS 7.The EU Anti-Spam Laws 8.The EU Cookie Directive 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Legal information such as trading licence vat, numbers etc.

Professional and Therapeutic Communication Reflection

Professional and Therapeutic Communication Reflection Willian Roger Dullius Nurses have determined the communication and interaction for nursing since Florence Nightingale in the 19th century. The method to provide the communication depends on the place where it is applied having a focus to interact and satisfy the client’s needs, once that communication is the basis of health promotion and prevention (Fleischer, Berg, Zimmermann, WÃ ¼ste, Behrens, 2009). Throughout this paper, I will answer the questions one and two, which are related to the class NUSC 1P10. Reflection can be defined in numerous ways. Firstly, it can be defined as an active process, which has different aspects of interpretation. Secondly, it can be an action to reflecting or a stage of being reflected. Thirdly, it can be defined as thoughts about something where require careful considerations. Finally, reflection can be defined as a process of observation in a specific action. All of these definitions reflect to a cognition’s method in a specific circumstance related to the person (OBrien, 2014). As a purpose of reflection in the context of teaching and learning, the reflection’s process provides a positive outlook on the material, which has been studied and analyzed. The moment of reflection also provides an opportunity for the student to look at what they have done in class. Thinking about what, why, when, where, how to do something such as assignment is a way to develop the critical thinking, which is an essential for the academic student. As a result, the reflection is responsible to develop the self-observation and self-evaluation in order to improve the academic skills as well as personal skills. Gardner (1986) also argues that the reflection is a fundamental part of the learning process for everyone, which is daily developed. The reflection provided an important contribution to my learning in the class. When we did reflections through this course in lectures or in class lab, I could think about my mistakes and after to analyzing why I did them, I corrected them. For example, when I was doing my weekly lab reflection reviewing my working, I could improve my paper. Fixing them, it contributed to change the way how I respond those activities considering my expectations. In another example, during the lab activity, I had numerous challenges. One of them is that I was looking for the patient considering his disease process. However, I should be looking for whole client’s history instead of just the disease process. After reflection about my practice, I could reflect more broadly in respect of the client’s history (looking more for social determinants than process of disease). I also made mistakes related to questions and language barriers, so reviewing these challenges aspects I could understand what was necessary to change and how to perform and provide my communication skills (see Appendix A). Still, reflecting on my lab activities, I could see a language difference between the first to last day (see Appendix B). It is explicit that I had an improvement because of in the beginning the semester, some activities which required interaction in group (talking and listening), were developed with low successful expectance; however, working to improve and reviewing words to pronounce and adding in the correct method did a change in a variety of aspects in my perspective of class’s interaction. Nevertheless, considering my background in communication skill, I have begun to look at a broad perspective of interaction among client and health professionals as well as with general people. In this course, a friend had a problem. Analyzing, doing a summary and paraphrasing, using the reflection’s process, I could help him. Instead of I give my opinion or solution to his problem, I motivated him to reflect his own history under the problem. Thus, he could find by himself how to cope that problem. After that, I gave him some feedback (evaluation) about that situation. In fact, looking my methodology and evaluating this process, I could understand and see in practice how the reflection’s process is helpful and it is a way that improves the communication skill. In relation to the question two, my communication skills have changed over this term because during this term I could review my thoughts and understand that communication is essential my daily activities with emphasis in my professional career. According to Burke, Boal, Mitchell (2005), the communication is present not only in terms of professional and patient, but it is an essential on health team. It needs to be present among health professionals providing better care for their clients. For example, when we are discussing health promotion and prevention, the communication is, basically, the basis to develop activities. Hence, the communication is a skill that needs to be built considering their environment. In this process, I could note improvements in my communication skill such as in the client’s response where I, as a nurse, need to provide concise responses related to the conversation, so it will initiate affective responses to me, as a nurse, and for the client, who needs to be cared (see Appendix C). In addition, people need to consider the cultural aspects of each other during the communication, which means, it is necessary to relativize and not to generalize in the communication process. In this course, I could experience in our lab and lectures activities how students perceive health considering the client’s background, which enabled us to better assess those clients. Nonverbal communication is another skill that I have improved throughout this course. In the past, I did not give importance to client’s gestures during my assessment. However, in this course I could see how it is important. Sometimes, the body of the client does agree with his speaking and as a nurse I might get this minor detail and try to understand the real situation that the patient is involved. Another skill that I learned refer to SOLER. Using the SOLER’s technique, I could improve my communication with the patient because it provides more confidence; however, I know that it requires practice. To learn about SOLER was an amazing because in my country, Brazil, I have never learned about it. Thus, as it was new for me, I need to improve more. Although it is not taught in my course, I understand that is extremely important, so I will use in my clinical practice and to share this information with my professors in Brazil. Likewise, my listen skill has also improved during our course. Now, I incentive the client talks as much as possible. I stay in silence to just hear him/her speech. As a result, I can better analyze and evaluate those aspects and conditions related to the client, providing a better assessment. Thus, I can identify how I have changed my listening in order to better assess the client during the interview. In the past, I listened with superficial; however, now I have developed a deep and adequate time throughout my nursing assessments. Another skill that I have improved is the paraphrasing, which was not accurate in my academic skill because it is not common in my native language. In fact, I am aware that it is hard for me to paraphrase well, so I have introduced in my daily communication to practice and improve it as much as possible. In brief, throughout this course, I could notice improvements in my communication skills, which were done through the reflection’s process after those activities developed during the course. Thus, combining theory and practical aspects must provide better understand and improvement in the student’s skills. Communication is an essential skill in the human beings, and it is raised with daily activities and reflections. References Burke, M., Boal, J., Mitchell, R. (2005). Communication for better care: improving nurse-physician communication. Education For Primary Care, 16(2), 217. Fleischer, S., Berg, A., Zimmermann, M., WÃ ¼ste, K., Behrens, J. (2009). Nurse-patient interaction and communication: A systematic literature review. Journal Of Public Health (09431853), 17(5), 339. doi:10.1007/s10389-008-0238-1 Gardner, R. (1986).The psychotherapeutic techniques of Richard A. Gardner. Cresskill, N.J.: Creative Therapeutics. OBrien, R. (2014). Expressions of hope in paediatric intensive care: a reflection on their meaning. Nursing In Critical Care, 19(6), 316-321. doi:10.1111/nicc.12069 Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C

Microsoft vs. Netscape :: essays research papers

Battle of browsers: rounds one and two In 1994, Marc Anderseen invented a new way to search and retrieve information from the Internet: the Netscape Navigator. Netscape’s rising sales and the phenomenal growth of the Internet make its shares go through the roof and even before the Company had any profit; it was valued at $2.7 billion. However, the scenario didn’t go that well for so long and a very powerful and ambitious man came into the picture. Bill Gates put 2,000 of his best programmers to create a browser of his own: The Explorer. The battle of the browsers officially started; Microsoft’s share of the browser market increased from 2.9 percent at the end of 1995 to more than 40 percent by the end of 1997, while Netscape’s market share fell to 54 percent. The Internet was growing at an outstanding pace and many people believed that it was going to affect every business. However, Gates dismissed the Internet and Netscape as unimportant, saying that they would have no impact on him. He quickly found out how wrong he was and how these new threats in the environment were going to affect his business, and he managed to find the way for converting this threat into an opportunity. Thus, he changed the direction of his strategy and he entered into a new business: the Internet world. He realized that he was missing out an opportunity in the market that could make his company grow in a huge way; so he adopted a follower strategy, which is very ironic knowing that they have always been the leaders. He strategically fit-in by matching his resources and strengths (capital, know-how and people) to the changing environment. As Netscape was ahead he needed to act quickly before it was too late, so he took advantage of his power as a leader and focuse d on regaining position over Netscape by adding the browser as an integral part of Windows, giving free copies to the public and forcing manufacturers to install the browser on the machine. In other words, he used his best existing resource which was Microsoft Windows as part of the strategy and used his monopoly to stifle competition and defeat its rivals. However, this strategic choice could have never succeeded at the business level, if Microsoft wouldn’t have the competitive advantage of understanding the customer and the market as they do.

Creation Versus Evolution - Both Arguments Can be Right Essay -- Creat

Creation Versus Evolution â€Å"Creation Versus Evolution.† What’s wrong with this title? Read it to yourself a few times, and then answer that question. We’ve all heard of the argument. Creationism, the idea that God created all the species as they appear today, versus Evolutionism, the idea that all life evolved from simple bacteria to all the species that appear today, is a familiar controversy. Ever since Darwin first published the Theory of Evolution in his controversial 1859 book The Origin of Species, the debate has raged between religion and science. But this debate is something that has always puzzled me. From the time I first understood what the Theory of Evolution was really saying, I found it difficult to reject. Scientifically, every shred of evidence in biology and genetics I have ever seen points to it, directly or indirectly. And religiously – Evolutionism does not contradict Creationism. Evolution is based on two underlying principles that themselves are not at all controversial: heredity and natural selection. Heredity is the principle that organisms pass on different combinations of their traits to their offspring. If an organism has strong traits that help it to survive, then its offspring are likely to possess some of those same strong traits and themselves be more likely to survive. The second principle is natural selection, better known as â€Å"survival of the fittest.† According to natural selection, the organisms with strong, â€Å"fit† traits are more likely to survive long enough to reproduce than are the organisms with weak, â€Å"unfit† traits; thus over time, the strong organisms (as a species, or subspecies) will survive and the weak ones will die out. In this way, only the strong traits that help organisms to survive will be preserved over long periods of time. For instance, all the long-necked giraffes that were able to reach foo d in tall trees were able to survive, while all the short-necked ones weren’t able to compete and died out. These two principles, taken alone, are not controversial. Most people seem to intuitively accept them as being true, because they make so much sense and because there is so much scientific evidence to back them up. However, when they are combined together in the Theory of Evolution, something happens. The assertion is made that, over time, species engaging in natural selection and passing on thei... ...y displaces or precludes that same faith. To react with such fear and narrow-mindedness to this â€Å"new-fangled† idea of Evolution, then, belies a fundamental problem with the Anti-Evolution Creationist viewpoint. These Creationists react with fear to this different way of thinking about the origin of life not because this different way is wrong, but because these Creationists are afraid that they are wrong in their beliefs. Secure Creationists who are confident in their faith have no reason to feel at all threatened by the Theory of Evolution; they are free to embrace it as just another argument for their faith. I believe that it is only the insecure Creationists who are Anti-Evolutionists, because on some level they realize that their faith is weak – that maybe their narrow view of things isn’t the only â€Å"right way† to look at the world. But, as Comedian Dennis Miller (and any scientist concerned with the truth) would say, â€Å"That’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.† Works Cited Kimball’s (1983) Biology, 5th edition Green, Joel B., & Longman, Tremper (Eds.). (1996). Holy Bible -- The Everday Study Edition. Dallas: Word Publishing. IUK Correspondent, April 29, 1996

Melancholy Hamlet Essay examples -- Essays on Shakespeare Hamlet

Melancholy Hamlet  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In Shakespeare’s tragic drama, Hamlet, the multi-faceted character of the hero is so complex that this essay will enlighten the reader on only one aspect of his personality – his melancholy dimension.    Our understanding of the true extent of the protagonist’s melancholic mental state needs to be informed. A.C. Bradley in Shakespearean Tragedy presents convincing evidence regarding the true depth of the hero’s melancholy sentiment:    Hamlet and Horatio are supposed to be fellow-students at Wittenberg, and to have left it for Elsinore less than two months ago. Yet Hamlet hardly recognizes Horatio at first, and speaks as if he himself lived at Elsinore (I refer to his bitter jest, ‘We’ll teach you to drink deep ere you depart’). Who would dream that Hamlet had himself just come from Wittenberg, if it were not for the previous words about his going back there? How can this be explained on the usual view? Only, I presume, by supposing that Hamlet is so sunk in melancholy that he really does almost ‘forget himself’ and forgets everything else, so that he actually is in doubt who Horatio is. (370)    The depressing aspect of the initial imagery of the drama tend to underline and reinforce the play’s melancholy. Marchette Chute in â€Å"The Story Told in Hamlet† describes such imagery of the opening scene:    The story opens in the cold and dark of a winter night in Denmark, while the guard is being changed on the battlements of the royal castle of Elsinore. For two nights in succession, just as the bell strikes the hour of one, a ghost has appeared on the battlements, a figure dressed in complete armor and with a face like that of the dead king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father (35... ...ven Press, 1999. Rpt. from Introduction to Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Philip Edwards. N. P.: Cambridge University P., 1985.    Levin, Harry. General Introduction. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1974.    Mack, Maynard. â€Å"The World of Hamlet.† Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Rev. ed. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Oxford University P., 1967.    Rosenberg, Marvin. â€Å"Laertes: An Impulsive but Earnest Young Aristocrat.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: Univ. of Delaware P., 1992.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line nos.   

Othello: Religious Motifs Essay

Othello: Religious Motifs BY Cherrry678 Relationships in which people allow themselves to be manipulated through their weaknesses are truly flawed and have a great potential for failure. These relationships can become tainted by Jealousy and rumours nurtured by deceitful individuals. Such is the situation in Shakespeare’s Othello, which depicts the tragic downfall of an apparently perfect relationship. Shakespeare uses images of heaven in the beginning of the play to emphasize the seemingly flawless love between Othello and Desdemona. Furthermore, as the play progresses, the Juxtaposition etween heaven and hell is used to represent the manipulative powers of Iago over Othello revealing the weaknesses of Desdemona and Othello’s relationship. As a result, the twisted heaven and hell imagery used near the end of Othello reflects the eventual break down of Othello and Desdemona’s marriage. Thus, in Shakespeare’s Othello, the connotation of the religious motifs throughout are used to develop the idea that even the most loving couples have their flaws leaving them vulnerable to the destructive powers of Jealousy brought on by the manipulative influences of others, resulting in suspicion and ultimately betrayal. The seemingly perfect love between Othello and Desdemona is initially emphasized by Shakespeare’s use of heavenly images. Through images of heaven, Othello’s passionate love for Desdemona is revealed. After being accused by Brabantio of using enchantments to win over his daughter’s love, Othello swears against it assuring their love is true: And till she come, as truly as to heaven I do confess the vices of my blood, So Justly to your grave ears I’ll present How did I thrive in this fair ladys love, And she in mine (1. 3. 122-126). Othello swears on heaven that his love for Desdemona and her love for him is not a esult of witchcraft, but the result of an honest love for one another. The image of heaven is used to emphasize that Othello believes that the love between him and Desdemona is as pure as heaven itself. To call their love heavenly shows an exaggerated passion between the two further emphasizing the appearance of their perfect union. Similarly, Desdemona feels that the love between her and Othello is destined to be, and through Shakespeare’s use of divine imagery this point is emphasized. Upon arriving in Cyprus, Desdemona and Othello are reunited for the first time since their Journey: â€Å"The heavens forbid/ But that our loves and comforts hould increase/ Even as our days do grow†(2. 1. 190-192). For Desdemona to pray that nothing come between them and their eternal happiness shows a great deal of passion. Furthermore, to believe that their love will only die if they die highlights the certainty in which Desdemona feels that their love is more than Just a coincidence, but rather fate itself. The intensity of Desdemona’s feelings for Othello adds to the idea that their marriage is ideal. Moreover, images of the soul illustrate Desdemona’s love and her willingness to risk her entire being to be with Othello. When confronted bout her love for Othello, Desdemona reveals that [her] heart’s subdued/ Even to the very quality of [her] lord. [She] saw Othello’s visage in his mind, Did [she her] soul and fortunes consecrate (1. . 250-254). â€Å"From the beginning, Desdemona has viewed love as a risk and challenge. She has violently uprooted herself from her father’s protection and the conventional expectations of Venetian society†¦ â€Å"(Thomas Neely 96). Desdemona believes that a life full of risks and unknown dangers is worth living if she is by Othe llo’s side. This complete devotion of body and soul reveals Desdemona’s feelings of loyalty towards Othello. The rendering of her soul; her whole entire being, wholly to Othello emphasizes the impeccable love between the two of them. Thus, through heavenly images the apparently perfect union between Desdemona and Othello is portrayed throughout the first scenes of the play. Despite the apparent perfect relationship between Othello and Desdemona, the flaws within their marriage are revealed through lagds manipulative powers as illustrated by the Juxtaposition of heaven and hell. Shakespeare uses lagds character to bring about the doubt in Othello and Desdemona’s perfect heavenly love through mages of hell. During his first soliloquy, part of lagds plan is revealed: â€Å"l have’t! It is engender’d! Hell and night/ Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light†(l . . 392-393). Desdemona and Othello’s relationship is represented as the good in the world; the light. For their relationship is that of perfection, they both love and trust each other with a deep passion. However, Iago is the opposite of this heavenly light and with him comes hell and corruption. When the c haracters meet, the sense of perfection is lost and human faults come into play. Furthermore, the Juxtaposition f heaven and hell illustrates that Iago is the tempter in Othello and Desdemona’s relationship. After giving Cassio advice on how to approach Othello regarding his job, Iago reveals his true plan: Divinity of hell! When devils will the blackest sins put on, They do suggest at first with heavenly shows, AS I do now (2. 3. 321-324). By comparing himself to a devil that appears innocent, Iago is revealing his ability to deceive those around him with a fapde of kindness. â€Å"To interpret Iago as a devil in turn implies Iago is more than that: a fiend whose fiendishness remains unproven in [the] play†¦ (Christofides 19). Furthermore, the contrast of the heaven and hell further highlights the Machiavellian nature of Iago that allows him to manipulate those around him without feeling remorse. Consequently, Iago tricks Othello into believing he is an honest man, thus, giving him the ability to manipulate Othello. Moreover, there is a lack of trust between Othello and Desdemona which is made evident through comparisons to the devil. Clearly, Othello is suspicious of something when he accuses Desdemona’s hand of being â€Å"hot, hot, and moist† and require[ing] a sequester from liberty, fasting and prayer, uch castigation, exercise devout; For here’s a young and sweating devil here that commonly rebels (3. 4. 34-39). By accusing Desdemona of having a moist hand, a symbol of amorous nature, he is accusing her of being unfaithful. Othello believes that Desdemona is a devil who needs to repent for the crimes she has committed against him. However, Othello has no proof that she has done any harm; he is simply accusing her based on lies told to absence of trust within their marriage. As a result, perverse images of heaven are used to show that lagds trickery has caused Othello to give up on those he loves. While Iago fills Othello’s head with lies of Desdemona and Cassio together, Othello comes to the conclusion that â€Å"†¦ is true†¦. [and] [a]ll [Othellds] fond love thus doles] [he] blow to heaven. ‘ ‘Tis gone†(3. 3. 444-446). By believing what Iago says to be the truth in such a brash manner, a lack of confidence in Othello is revealed. This lack of confidence causes Othello to doubt other aspects of his life such as his relationship with Desdemona allowing Iago to further manipulate Othello. Therefore, Iago has the power to make Othello believe that Desdemona is being unfaithful to him thus, ausing Othello to lose all hope in his marriage. This loss of love is reflected through Othello’s loss of religion. Therefore, lagds manipulative influences expose the true weaknesses within Othello and Desdemona’s relationship which is reflected through contrasting images of the divine and damned. Furthermore, due to their marriage’s weaknesses, the eventual breakdown of Othello and Desdemona’s relationship is reflected through twisted heaven and hell imagery. Through the ironic use of divine images it is shown that when he is overcome by Jealousy, Othello’s sense of Justice becomes twisted. When confronted by Emilia, Othello gives reason as to why he killed Desdemona: Cassio did top her. Ask they husband else. O, I were damn’d beneath all depth in hell But what I did proceed upon Just grounds -ro this extremity (5. 2. 136-139). Othello’s sense of morality is corrupted; he believes that he is Justified in killing Desdemona because of her betrayal. â€Å"Here, Othello Judges on behalf of God†¦ but, of course, the audience knows Desdemona has been misjudged, that the sword of justice should rightly 21) for Desdemona is innocent. Othello has been tricked by Iago into believing that he has the authority to choose what is right nd wrong. He then uses this authority misguidedly, resulting in the breakdown of his character and eventually his relationship with Desdemona. Additionally, the ironic reference to damnation further depicts Just how twisted his morality is; for he believes that what he did was truly Just. Moreover, Shakespeare illustrates the contrast between Othello’s assumed morality and his true crime by once more using images of heaven and hell. After Desdemona is dead, her virtuous nature is compared to Othello’s: â€Å"O, the more angel she,] And you the blacker devil! â€Å"(5. 2. 130-131). Othello lacks confidence within himself due to his differences, hich is emphasized through the use of a racial comment. However, these differences had meant nothing in the beginning, for the love between him and Desdemona was too strong. Consequently, Othello lets these differences get to him allowing Iago to manipulate him into losing the morality and honour he first possessed, reducing him to evil; a devil in comparison to Desdemona. Resulting in the further breakdown of Othello and Desdemona’s relationship. Ultimately, as a result of distrust and Jealousy Othello betrays Desdemona, as is depicted through the use of religious images. Emilia reveals to Othello the true tragedy of his crime: â€Å"This deed of thine is no more worthy heaven/ Than thou wast worthy her†(5. 2. 160-161). Othello so overcome by Jealousy and anger is no longer associated with heavenly his entire marriage to Desdemona and ultimately leading to his betrayal of her. However, since Desdemona is still associated with heavenly images, it emphasizes her loyalty which in contrast further underlines Othello’s flaws and the tragedy of his betrayal. Thus, through twisted images of heaven and hell Othello’s betrayal of Desdemona and its consequential ruin of their relationship is portrayed. The shift from positive to negative connotation of the religious motif throughout Othello is used to develop the idea that even the most loving couples can have their flaws manipulated by others allowing them to be overcome by Jealousy, resulting in a lack of trust and ultimately betrayal. In the beginning, heavenly images are used to illustrate an almost perfect love between Othello and Desdemona. Later, near the middle of Othello, the playwright uses contrasting images of heaven and hell to represent lagds manipulative powers over Othello revealing the flaws within Othello nd Desdemona’s relationship. Thus, the ironic use of heaven and hell imagery near the end of the play mirrors the tragic breakdown of Othello and Desdemona’s marriage. Since relationships are not perfect they can become easily tainted when left to the deceitful will of others. For when people allow their weaknesses to rule over their lives true tragedy ensues. It is up to those individuals to decide whether or not to let the lies brought about by others to affect them or not. This is the decision that ultimately determines the strength of a relationship, not the number of flaws within it.

Five Forces Framework Essay

Porter’s Five Forces Model is a model that analyzes an industry to help develop a business strategy. The model uses five forces that have been identified to categorize an industry as intensely competitive or not competitive at all and this will then determine the attractiveness of the market.There are many features of an industry in which a company competes that determines the level of competition it will face and the profits it will get. The most famous classification was done by Michael Porter, known as Porters Five Forces framework which can help a company determine its potential profits by looking at five sources of competitive pressure. The five sources of competition are: 1. Threat of new entrant 2. Threat of substitutes 3. Rivalry among existing competitors 4. Bargaining power of suppliers 5. Bargaining power of buyers. Porter’s Five Forces In particular, we will focus on three different industries; We will start analyzing the five forces in the smartphone industry and then we will continue dealing with the personal computer industry and finally we will present digital music portable industry. SMARTPHONE Industry: In general the smartphone market is rapidly changing, with constant product introductions. It is characterized by quickly evolving technology and designs, short product life cycles, aggressive pricing, rapid imitation of product and technological advancements, and highly price sensitive consumers. Self-elasticity and cross-elasticity are high. No one firm in the market has sufficient market share to control prices, resulting is strong rivalry and competitive pricing. 1. Threat of new entrant: The barriers to entry are high due to the existence of patents, high fixed costs and economies of scale, regulation, and brand loyalty. The individual market participants engage in attempts at product differentiation, some being more  successful than others. The standout is Apple, which has successfully differentiated its iPhone, and stands a good chance of maintaining that differentiation due to its closed and all-inclusive model or development and use.Barriers to entry in the smartphone market are relatively high, but the rapid growth of the market is providing opportunities despite this. There are significant fixed costs associated with smartphone manufacturing. While most firms have the hardware of the phones manufactured overseas by foreign companies, the costs of developing the research and engineering personnel to design and test the smartphone and software can be prohibitively expensive for an entering firm. These fixed costs include not just the cost of the manpower, intellectual knowhow, intellectual property, computers, test equipment, prototyping devices and supplier and manufacturer contracts, but also the time necessary to develop all of these. Because the industry moves so quickly, an entering firm would either have to enter with existing resources targeting the smartphone market, or it would have to have another significant competitive. Moreover consumer will face an high switching costs if they decide to change their products, as a result of the fidelity every brand put on its product. Because all these reasons smartphone industry is extremely difficult to enter. As a result the threat of new competition is low. Smartphone production needs huge number of money and high technology. Even if established the company, it is impossible for new brand to compete with big company like Apple and Samsung. 2. Threat of substitutes : As a result of the high barrier to entry, to build and launch a substitute product is a hard work. Thus Threat of substitute is low. It’s extremely difficult to enter Smartphone production; because this industry base on high technology. As a result, it’s very hard to invent the substitute to replace smartphone with low price and more power function. 3. Rivalry among existing competitors:With rapid innovation necessary for a rapidly changing market, where customers are very price conscious, rivalry among firms in the smartphone market is fierce. Firms in the smartphone market actively work to adopt the successful ideas and technology of their competitors. This has been the trend with large touch screens, touch friendly operating systems, embedded cameras, and availability of an easy to  use app store, among other things. As consumers are more and more driven to purchase by the features that are available on the smartphone, there is a constant rivalry among firms to match each other on features. There is also an effort to stifle each other’s efforts to develop those technologies through obtaining of patents and filing lawsuits seeking injunctions and trade restrictions. No particular firm in the market has a significant amount of market power; every firm is vying for a greater piece of the pie. This has resulted in drivin g down of smartphone prices and relative price parity for flagship smartphones from each major firm. Firms are heavily involved in price discrimination, pricing their phones differently based on the sale outlet. Smartphones sold through retailers are frequently cheaper than those sold through network service providers. The one exception to this is Apple. Apple maintains price equivalency no matter the outlet, and the prices it charges for its smartphones is in many cases much higher than its competitors. Because Apple has been able to do this, its smartphone sales are reportedly highly profitable, while smartphone sales for Motorola have not been profitable at all. Rivalry also comes from outside the manufacturers’ market as other firms try to cash in on the smartphone profits. Google open sourced the Android OS so that it could find revenue from sales of apps and ads through the smartphones that run the OS. This cuts directly into Apple’s effort to become the dominant player in the smartphone manufacturer market, changing the nature of the market significantly. Such changes are likely to continue as other firms attempt to enter the market. Therefore, threat of substitute might have two factors (price and performance) which allows customer to switch the product as well as willingness of buyers to switch. Threat of substitute can be reduced as much as buyers become loyal to the products. To give an example, Apple has been able to create an â€Å"ecosystem†. People buy iPhone for standard, apps and other Apple’s product for upgradeability and stability which gives customer the ability to transfer knowledge and apps among devices 4. Bargaining power of suppliers: Bargaining is very high; Smartphones’ producers have to deal with two different categories of supplier: the hardware producers and the software. Because smartphone production market is not easy to enter , also supplier are limited. If the smartphone company  changes their supplier of components or CPU, the performance of smartphone will change a lot. So the company have to stay under their suppliers’ rule and they have to accept their price, that will be reflected in the price of the final product inevitably. The smartphone company are not willing and will be not willing to take the risk to change their suppliers, in order to maintain the quality of their products. 5. Bargaining power of buyers: customers are not concentrating on price; when they decide to buy a new smartphone they will take into consideration the design and the prestige the product will give them. Sometimes they choose basing on the advertising they receive. So they do not have a strong influence on this industry. Firms get the power to influence their customer and their ability is to make them trust in their own brand, providing for some value added. Take iPhone for example, the function of iPhone is just as good as some that other smartphone could have; However, the price of iPhone is one of the highest in the entire variety of smartphone present in the market, just because the prestige of iPhone is very high. This example shows that the bargaining power of customer is quite low. PC INDUSTRY The computer hardware industry consists of companies that manufacture and assemble personal computers, computer hardware, and computer peripherals. This industry is highly competitive, which means that companies must continuously be innovative in order to sustain a competitive advantage. The major companies of this industry include Oracle, IBM, HP, Dell, Apple, and Toshiba. This analysis will focus on computer manufacturing since it is the largest component of the industry, containing 43.7% of the market’s total value. The computer industry has been rapidly growing and shows no signs of slowing despite the recent economic downturn. 1. Threat of New Entrants :PC market is dominated by some major competitors as Hp, Dell, Acer, Apple, and others who currently have nearly the entire market share; this will likely discourage any potential new companies from entering the market. So we can state that the personal computer industry is characterized by a very weak threat of new entrants. A huge problem that  has to be faced in order to entry this market is that the market requires significant investments to be made in research and development to continually develop innovative products as well as large fixed start-up costs for manufacturing and employees and customer service.Existing firms can benefit from their capabilities of manufacturing at lower prices because of the advantage of economies of scale, where the will have fewer per unit costs as a result of their large scale production. Companies trying to enter the market will initially have smaller production and will consequently have higher prices. In the personal computer industry there is currently much emphasis put on price because consumers have become more price sensitive as personal computers have become more or less a commodity. New entrants will not only have higher prices but they will likely have a less innovative product as well because they do not have equal funding for research and development as other established brands and they will also have to deal with the brand loyal customers that have trusted the existing players in the industry for years. By attempting to join the market without any market share it will also be important for a new entrant to focus its investments more heavily on advertising and marketing then existing brands. A new entrant to the personal computer market will likely not fare well and is almost guaranteed to always be a second mover as the larger companies will develop more innovative products more rapidly because of their many competitive advantages. 2. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: It is possible to identify three different groups of suppliers in the personal computer industry including hardware suppliers, software suppliers and service suppliers. The first group is not able to exert a significant power. The core of their products are generally standardized and they compete by focusing on creating better, more advanced products at a better price and not through their attempts to differentiate them. As a result, firms within the industry are able to switch between this kind of suppliers relatively easily. It is really in the hands of the firm and which strategy they are committed to that will determine whether or not they will utilize a high or low end supplier. On the other hand, suppliers of hardware and software within the industry play a critical role in the pricing of products. With the quality of a computer being largely  determined by their microprocessors and application system installed within them. If a firm is following a high quality strategy then it can be expected that their prices will generally be higher to reflect the higher prices they are paying their suppliers.In terms of service suppliers, the service that can be offered within the personal PC industry include internet, tech support and repair services. These suppliers focus highly on operational performance and relational performance in order to increase customer satisfaction. They also offer a variety of customer loyalty programs in attempts to lock in and expand their customer base while trying to gain the competitive edge over competitors within the service industry of personal computers. While the PC industry changes regularly, it can be observed that only the central processing unit (CPU) is a key input. All other items are commodity in nature and so don’t command a bargaining power. Intel has a significant market power as it is a single major supplier of microprocessor and has an 80% of market share.Thus, Dell as computer manufacturer holds a power over the suppliers as opposed to the suppliers holding a power over the manufacturers. It is the suppliers that are in direct competition with each other. The suppliers are often forced to slash prices or merge with larger companies in order to survive. Hence, the bargaining power of suppliers is moderate. 3. Bargaining Power of Buyers: The personal computer industry is somewhat vulnerable against the bargaining power of buyers. Personal computer buyers are price-sensitive. Buyers are interested in quality and specifications thus making consumer loyalty low. Should one company not offer a product a product to suit the customer’s needs, they will find one that will. Buyer power is reduced slightly as computers are increasingly seen as a necessity due to the importance of online communication and information processing. Moreover, in the last recent years, some new technologies came on the market providing customers with the possibility to have more and more alternative options to the personal computer as smartphones, tablet computers, and other handheld devices like Ipods have most of the same capabilities as a personal computer. Because of the availability, sleekness, and trendiness of these alternatives, personal computers are becoming more and more obsolete. Personal computer must differentiate itself  in order to regain market share and compete with these newer alternative options. Large businesses, governments and schools which buy computers in large volumes have the power to bargain on price, quality and service. PC manufacturers can reduce a threat of buyer power by differentiating their product.DELL has introduced a new way of selling (direct model concept); buyers can directly buy computers with DELL without a so called middle man. By using this concept, computers cost per unit can be reduced. Furthermore, buyers are able to customize the PC based on their needs. The basis of this model, the direct model concept is to improve efficiency by effectively eliminating the intermediaries thereby allowing the company to speak directly to the customer. Dealing directly with customers allows Dell to customize their orders according to the customers’ needs. But, despite several ways in which manufacturers have differentiated their products and found ways to increase switching costs, customers still see units as very similar and thus choose primarily on price.To conclude we can consider a strong bargaining power of buyers. 4. Rivalry among Existing Firms: There is fierce competition between the top manufacturers in the personal computer industry. As the PC has increasingly become a commodity in a household, the fight to keep costs low while bringing the best product to the market has become a never ending battle. Thus competitors are trying to produce a low cost, powerful machine with the most efficient operating system. Firms specialize in different areas in order to compete amongst their rivals. Some focus on innovation and attempt to bring the newest technology to their customers first. Nevertheless, others may focus on their distribution channel and services throughout their firm. For example, DELL is focusing on distribution channel and high quality service while others such IBM and Apple focus more on innovation. All these create differentiation to some extent. Low-cost production at DELL contributes its positive growth rate, while other major manufacturers are experiencing negative growth rates. However, one of the fiercest areas is the price competition throughout the industry. It is to underline that the determinants of a pc’s quality are the microprocessor and application systems installed. As a result, there is a direct correlation between the firm’s profitability and the profitability of the firm’s suppliers.The major  manufacturers as DELL, IBM, HP, Acer and Apple are in competition to produce the least expensive and most efficient machine. Japanese companies such as Fujitsu, Toshiba, Sony and NEC also have large market shares.This intense competition are beginning to be felt its effect.Some companies exit via selling to other companies or simply exiting the industry altogether. For example, Compact Computers was acquired by Hewlett-Packet in 2002 while Xerox exi ted the computer business and concentrate on printers. Today, regardless of the number of companies present, the computer industry will continue to expand and remain competitive for a number of years to come, although threat to industry rivalry will continue to be strong. 5. Threat of Substitutes and Complements: Although it is very hard and challenging for a new entrant to join the personal computer industry there are currently other growing industries such as the smartphone, tablet, TV set/top boxes industries which are predicted to affect the sales of personal computers. All those alternatives started to encroach on functionality that was once the sole purview of the PC. Also if those products have different major players, their offers similar benefits to consumers that a personal computer also has. Moreover the technology advances are improving those products day by day. Thus they continue to increase in popularity and in performance, leading the sales of personal computers to a decline. The internet can now be accessed through phones and tablets and they are more portable than a laptop. Currently laptops and personal computers offer many unique applications and are compatible with much more software than smartphones and tablets. If smartphones and tablets can attain greater memory space, processing speeds, and compatibility with similar software, smartphones and tablets may be an all-in-one alternative to personal computers. Not only smartphone and tablet, but also some advanced game device like Sony PS3 allowed consumers to watch DVDs, surf the web, and play the game directly online in addition to play traditional video games. As technology continues to increase these separate industries may merge into one, or at least drastically affect each other.Hence we can conclude that threat from substitutes is strong in the PC industry. Digital Music Portable Industry 1. Threat of new entrant: In this industry, threat of entry is medium because the production cost is quite low. For example, the cost of material, packaging, assembly of iRiver (H320) only costs  £69 and the company can sell it in retail shop at  £153 (Skee G., 2005) Therefore, it may attract new competitors to enter into the market due to the low cost of material and the high product margin. Furthermore, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reports that the demand for music on the internet and mobile phones is booming and it may replace physical formats such as tape, CD, and DVD in the future; hence, it can be predicted that the market is still growing gradually (The Computer & Internet Lawyer, 2005). As a result, many companies come into the market and pose new threat to existing companies. For example, Microsoft has recently entered to this industry and launched â€Å"Zune† into the market. Many experts believe that Zune might be a competitive rival with iPod; however, it is not easy for new entrants to gain market share in this industry. It is obvious that Apple is still the market leader because Apple has economies of scale in its production that Apple produces and sells iPod more than 10 million with the high margin cost in each year. Next, Apple’s product is highly differentiated from other brands that customers still buy iPod due to its differentiation. For instance, iPod Nano, the latest model from Apple, has attractive features such as full color screen and the copyright-click wheel button, and iTune system which customers can use it easily to buy and download songs into iPod from internet. As a result, it is difficult for new entrants which have recently entered into the market to develop product to overcome existing companies in the industry. 2. Threat of substitutes : he threat of substitute product in the industry is medium because digital portable music products are quite unique which could not be easily replaced by other products. Products have many advantages for customers. For example, it is cheaper to download songs from internet into iPod than buy CD audio. Next, the quality of sound is equal to an original CD after encoding into audio file format. Customers can enjoy listening music as the same as they enjoy listening music from original CD but cheaper price. Therefore, these are reasons why a MP3 player is still popular today. However, in this last recent years we can see the birth of new product which perhaps can replace MP3 player. They are the new mobile phone and smartphone that are provided with an integrated music players ( previously Nokia N91 with a built-in 4GB hard drive or Motorola E398 with removable memory card and now iPhone, Galaxy and so on). Music phone can download songs via WAP or GPRS and store it in a built-in or removable memory. Importantly, many experts believe that the music phone will be the most serious threat to the industry in the near future because it is all-in-one functions that customers can use it for both communication and entertainment. According to some recent research, the benefit of music phone will make some consumers may hesitate to spend  £149 on MP3 Player when they could buy music phone with  £169 or  £189. 3. Rivalry among existing competitors: In this industry, the intensity of competition is high because there are many players in the industry and each company try to complete with each other by developing new products in the market all the time. For example, Microsoft has recently launched their new product which is MP3 player â€Å"Zune†. It has many features which is different from other products in the market such as an integrated FM tuner, bigger screen, and WiFi connection. Microsoft reports that Zune can penetrate into the market and gain the market share from dominant companies. Two weeks after launching, it took the second place of the market from SanDisk and grabbed 9% of the U.S.A. market but following Apple whose its product (iPod) still dominated the market (Martell, D., 2006) Moreover, â€Å"Cut Price† is popular business strategies in the industry. Most companies use it to overcome with other competitors and it can drive the industry to be more competitive. For example, Creative is a MP3 Player manufacturer that lost the market position to Apple two years ago. In 2005, Sim Wong Hoo, the founder of Creative, declared war on Apple’s iPod by launching new and modern product (Creative Zen Neeon) which Apple tried to counter by cutting price on its product that it forced Creative to do the same thing in its product; therefore, the intensity of rivalry was increasing gradually from this situation. (Sudhaman A., 2005) Besides, the market is growing very fast in the industry that it could also make the industry to be more competitive as well. For instance, iRiver anticipates that MP3 player market in Thailand  will continue to grow increasingly and consumer’s demand will double in the near future; therefore, iRiver has launched new product in the market which it hopes to gain more market share from 13.7% up to 20%. (Veerasak, 2005) When the market is growing very fast; it tends to stimulate many companies to enter and launch their product in the market to gain profit in the industry. 4. Bargaining power of suppliers: In this industry, the bargaining power of supplier is medium because, firstly, there are a lot of suppliers which provide materials for companies such as flash memory, hard disk, semiconductor, and so forth. These suppliers mostly come from Asia region especially in China which is a major source for many companies due to the low price of material. Secondly, according to a supplier in the industry, iSuppli anticipates that the shipment of MP3 players with Hard Disk Drive (HDD) – based product is growing up to 42.6% in 2009 from 26.6% in 2004. Consequently, it made many suppliers come to produce material for MP3 Player market. (Electronic News, 2005) Thirdly, most companies in the industry have power to negotiate with suppliers regarding the price of material. Nowadays, the demand of digital music player is growing dramatically; therefore, the growth of the market made many companies have to produce their product in high volume in order to serve market’s need and it made suppliers lost bargaining power because the large production gives company to be able to order material in high volume from suppliers. Furthermore, some companies that need lots of material in their production tend to have a long-term agreement with supplier to supply them material. For example, Apple need to have lots of material such as flash memory and hard disk memory for its product; therefore, Apple decided to make a long-term supply agreement with flash memory manufacturers such as Samsung, Toshiba in order to get good deal of price and ensure to have material for their product up until 2010. 5. Bargaining power of buyers. The bargaining power of buyer in the industry is low. Although, there are a lot of competitors in the market, products in some companies made a great success in sales volume because of their specific characteristics, such as iPod for example. It is not product’s price but it is product’s differentiation and the brand of the product.  Firms have the power to address customers to choose their specific product focusing on marketing tools. As a result, Apple can set price for its product and it can push high switching cost to customers if they want to change to other products in the market. Importantly, customers buy iPod because it also contains good features and attractive appearance. For instance, although, the price of iPod Nano is higher than other competitors in the market, the excellent features and functions of the product such as it can be played movies and it has higher storage capacity compared to previous model (iPod Mini) made Apple to get lots of profit from iPod Nano in 2005 which iPod Nano is not only just Apple’s best-selling iPod, but also the best – selling digital music player model worldwide.