Skunk Hour by Robert Lowell Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Skunk Hour by Robert Lowell - Assignment Example Connotation, on the other hand is defined as being what a particular word implies or is suggested to mean. Two words from â€Å"Skunk Hour† whose connotation brings greater meaning to the poem are â€Å"hermit† and â€Å"eyesores.† Both of these words invoke very strong imagery within the poem which, in turn, is helpful in understanding the piece’s overall meaning. The word â€Å"hermit† implies a person who is alone, a stranger to others, invisible, and perhaps odd looking. The fact that this word is used in conjunction with heiress is interesting as heiresses are not usually seen as hermits. Hermit influences the characterization of the heiress right from the very beginning of the poem. Eyesore is a word which connotes structures that are dilapidated, ugly, and vacant. It adds a lot of intrigue to the poem as the reader wonders why the heiress is buying up places that nobody else would want. Alliteration is a term which means that there are two words that begin with the same consonant in a group of words or a particular line. It can also refer to similar sounding words within the same group as well. There are several examples of alliteration within â€Å"Skunk Hour.† For example, in the fourth stanza, Lowell states â€Å"for fall,/his fishnets filled†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Lowell). The repetition of the â€Å"f† and the â€Å"f† sound in this group of words would be considered alliteration. Another example of alliteration occurs in the fifth stanza with the group of words â€Å"love-cars. Lights turned down, /they lay together, hull to hull,†(Lowell). Similarly to the previous example, this group repeats the letter â€Å"l† and the â€Å"l† sound in the words â€Å"love†¦lights†¦lay†¦hull†¦hull.† This repetition would be considered alliteration as well. Assonance is defined as the repetition of specific vowels or vowel sounds in a line or group of words. There are a few examples of assonance with the â€Å"Skunk Hour.† One example occurs between the two words of â€Å"off†

Information Technology in India Essay Example for Free

Information Technology in India Essay India is one of the great standup country in the field of science and technology. every year india produces more than 500 thousands engineers. No doubt it is a bulk producers of scientists and technologists. Information Technology remain the backbone of the economical growth of India. and you can see it from the observed facts of exports. The share of IT in exports has increased by 17% from 1990 to 2001. IT based sectors such as Backoffice, remote maintainence, accounting, public service, medical, insurence and other bulk processiong fields are rapidly expending. Indian companies such as HCL, WIPRO, INFOSYS, TCS are todays tough competitors for the other IT organizations. History of Information Technology in India The setup of IT in India was done by the Tata group in association with the Burroughs at Mumbai in 1967. The first software export zone SEEPZ was setup in 1973 this was what we can call the old avatar of the IT parks. at that time 80% of indias software were exported from there. The indian government baughtEVSEM computers from soviat unions in 1968 which was used in big organizations only for the technological and scientific researchs. After the freedom of india in aug 1947 it was an economically beleaguered country. but due to the efforts of PM late. sir Jawaharlal Nehru india very repidly become a wide scientific work-field, such big that it was ranked 3rd after the USA and Soviat Unions. But due to the production of more engineers then country can consume the number of emigrants increased and this supported forigen countries to get a large step ahead from india. The most of the helping hands in the USs scientific and technological improvement was Indian, in association with the californias silicon valley. During this time the creation of new organization was in progress. with enhancement of IT in india some well known groups stood-up some of the names are, National Informatic Center, Tata infotech, Patni Computers, Wipro, Infosys etc. In 1991 Department of electronic created a corporation called Software Technology Parks of India which are owned by govt. of India. They provide VSAT communication. and after 1993 Govt. allowed pvt. companies to own dedicated links. VSNL was first to introduce Gateway E-Mail service with the 64kbps leased line service. It was the ministry of Atal Bihari Vajpai who significantly improved the IT in india by placing development of IT in the five major priorities and form National Task Force on IT and software development. and within 90 days of the creation of NTF the suggested 108 recommendation for IT sector. And new telecommunication policy IT Act 2000 was created for legal procedures of electronic transaction and e-commerce. Present Day Situation The present day situation of IT is a bit down due to the recession occurred in the market some year back but India is recovering very soon and IT sector id again on its running speed toward the progress. In the 2010 the economical revenue from the outsourcing operation of IT industry was US$ 54.33 billion which is greater then the other Asian country. and this revenue is expected to be raised up-to US$ 255billion in this decade. the major hub in IT in India is Bangalore which is also called silicon valley of India. beside this other emergind hubs are Delhi(NCR), Hydrabad, Chenni, Pune, Mumbai etc. The IT services has grown by 2.4 % in 2010 and is expected to grown at the rate of 4.2 % in 2011. according to the report of IDC in march 2010 indias data center services had a revenue estimated upto US$1.39 billion. TRAI reported that country has more than 10 million broadband subscriber and these numbers will change into 100 millions by the 2014. and the market of PC in india has grown at the rate of 27% in the past year and of Notebook computers has grown with a rate of 52 % which is surprisingly a huge ratio as compared to other countries. India is seen as a business environment and is growing like pollution in the environment(i didnt got other example of rapid growth rate). IT services and solution providers Patni computers has signed a deal of 32 million US$ with the a UK- based IT service provider. Firstsource solution has a deal with Barclaycard. vertex (CMO) has announced a joint venture with shell transource to address the domestic BPO. The market of the networking equipment in india is estimated to grow at a rate of 15 % till 2012as per reported in dec.2010. the net investment in the software and hardware market is of US$ 10,406 million according to department of industrial policy and promotion. An IT company EMC corp. will touch the investment of US$ 2 billion by 2014. A russian IT security company plans to invest 2 billion us$ in hydrabad in coming financial year. Still the Indian IT industry has no dead end in its way ahead. I wish for the continuous progress of IT in India. Note : the above discussed article is written on the basis of research on the various web resuorces. though I had tried to provide best, still there is no lack of knowledge on Internet for the subject of the same.

Postman: Rant or Reason? Essay -- Essays Papers

Postman: Rant or Reason? In his novel, "Amusing Ourselves to Death", author Neil Postman describes to the reader, in detail, the immediate and future dangers of television. The arguement starts out in a logical manner, explaining first the differences between today's media-driven society, and yesterday's "typographic America". Postman goes on to discuss in the second half of his book the effects of today's media, politics on television, religion on television, and finally televised educational programs. All, he says, are making a detrimental imprint on our society, its values, and its standards. Postman explains that the media consists of "fragment[s] of news" (100), and politics are merely a fashion show. Although Postman's arguments regarding the brevity of the American attention span and the impotence of today's mass media are logical, his opinion of television's inability to educate is severely overstated. Neil Postman is right on the mark when he states that television is having an overall negative effect on our society: It promotes short attention spans. Postman takes as example for this argument the seven famous debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. In that time, Postman explains, audiences would "cheerfully accomodate themselves to seven hours of oratory" (44). This is a concept entirely unknown to today's society. In no stretch of the imagination would a sizeable crowd possibly willingly "subject" themselves to such a lengthy activity. The reason for this anomaly is television. A brief peek at any private television broadcasting station will show the reason: We're having entertainment fed to us in tiny portions. During each thirty or sixty minutes, our favorite sit-com family winds its way throug... ...not one posed by television, but by the potential for the public to overlook the positive qualities of television. Televised education has, despite its need for a short leash, a fair amount of useful applications. Postman must look past the negative image of television-zombie children in order to see the true potential beneath. That said, it is safe to add that network television would still benefit greatly from large handful of additional Postman-influence. Works Cited Fowles, Jib. "Advertising's Fifteen Basic Appeals." Common Culture, 3rd Edition. Ed. Petracca, Michael, and Sorapure, Madeleine. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001. 60-77. Lasn, Kalle. Culture Jam. New York: William Morrow and Company Inc, 1999. Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death. New York: Penguin Books, 1985. Schwartz, Tony. Media: The Second God. New York: Random House, 1981.

Fineprint Company Case

Case Overview FinePrint Company (FPC) owner and manager John Johnson is weighing a proposal from a local Virginia businessman by the name of Ernest Bradley and his small business â€Å"SmallPrint Shop† (SPS). FPC employs one sales representative and one printing-press operator, but it also relies on temporary labor to help with the fluctuations in volume. At current it is running at full capacity: 150,000 brochures a month. SPS is known for its basic printing services; however it is capable of more elaborate work.Recently it lost its largest client and is now sitting with idle capacity on its specialty press, which it bought mainly to serve their orders. It is hoping to do some elaborate work cheap for â€Å"FinePrint Company. † Because SPS would like to simply keep the press running, Bradley proposed a deal with FPC to print a maximum of 30,000 brochures at $8 per 100 brochures. John Johnson felt that SmallPrint was a good company that did dependable quality work. The proposal sounded like a good deal to him but he was unsure of the price comparisons.Issues The Fineprint Company faced two major internal issues. First is the fact that it is operating its production facility at near capacity. This leaves little room for new jobs and threatens to increase the fixed cost associated with the capacity. Second, FPC is relying heavily on temporary labor to meet volume changes in production. With the use of temporary workers comes the burden of fluctuating labor costs through wage changes and constant training. FPC also has external issues of SmallPrint affecting it in a positive way.When SPS lost its largest customer, it opened up opportunity for FinePrint to use its idle capacity. SPS’s limited exposure as an elaborate printing house and its willingness to work for cheap allows FPC the upper hand in negotiations on price of possible venture. Relationship Between Issues FPC’s consistent operation at near capacity increases its need to use t emporary labor. SmallPrint lost of a major customer and its lack of reputation as an elaborate print house caused it to have idle capacity.That idle capacity increased its need to make a discounted outsource deal with FinePrint. Relationships to Aim of the Company FinePrint Company’s use of temporary labor and consistent operation near capacity along with SmallPrint Shop’s idle capacity and willingness to deal cheap, has FPC considering an outsourcing deal with SPS to help free up production capacity and reduce need for temporary labor. Resulting in a possible reduction of manufacturing cost for FinePrint and ultimately a higher profit. Problem StatementWhile operating at near capacity and relying on temporary labor to meet the changing demand, FinePrint must pay close attention to cost and capability to expand. A proposal from a SmallPrint gives an opportunity to lower production costs and free up capacity for new orders, through outsourcing. Owner, John Johnson must review the offer carefully to decide if he will save or spend more outsourcing his current work to his rival, Ernest Bradley. Objectives John Johnson objective is to find a way to maintain or lower cost associated with production and free up manufacturing capacity.In conjunction with this he would like to maintain or increase his profits. He does this by considering the changes in cost of outsourcing 30,000 units of current production. Alternatives We found that Fineprint had four alternatives when deciding on this offer. Johnsons’ first option is to keep the situation as is. He would decline SmallPrint Shop’s offer to outsource 30,000 brochures per month for $8/100 brochures. Second, is to accept the deal offered by Ernest Bradley and lose $600 per month.Doing so to help out during troubled times. Third, Johnson can negotiate the price to be $6/100 brochures rather than $8/100 brochures in an effort to help out but still break-even. Lastly, they can buy out SmallPrint and use its capacity and workforce to cut cost on labor and open up to new jobs. Action Plan Since FinePrint Company is looking to keep its manufacturing costs low, it is in their best interest to decline the offer and adhere to their current production of 150,000 units 100% in-house.We made our decision based on the relevant cost involved, which includes direct material, direct labor and manufacturing overhead. We ignored the fixed costs, totaled at $12,000 a month, because they will not reduce with a partial outsource order. Currently, FPC’s total variable cost are $10,500 for 150,000 units, $7 per 100 brochures and only $6 being relevant cost. The $1 difference is attributed to variable sales cost, which FPC would incur because they would still need to sell 150,000 units. If it accepts the offer, FPC would be producing only 120,000 units for only $8,700 in variable costs.Although outsourcing results in savings of $1800, it is outweighed by the additional purchasing costs of $2400 for the 30,000 units at $8 per 100 brochures from Bradley. Choosing to accept the offer would result in a reduction to current profits by $600. The total costs of maintaining the current production level is $600 cheaper than outsourcing 20% of production volume. It costs FPC $22,500 to produce 150,000 units and $23,100 to produce 120,000 units while outsourcing 30,000 units. There is no reason to spend more purchasing product than it will cost to produce it in-house.Therefore, FPC should stick to full production of its orders. Potential Problems Johnson refusing to help them completely could result in broken relationship between Johnson and Bradley. In the future, it is possible that Johnson can end up in a similar situation as Bradley and the industry could remember him as the one who had denied help. FinePrint also has to deal with the fact it is still operating at near capacity. If it has customers come in with an order that exceeds capacity they may end up spending more or losing business.

Coffee and Starbucks Essay

Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin and Ziv Siegl founded Starbucks in 1971. Their goal was to sell the finest quality whole beans and ground coffees (Starbucks timeline and history, 2004). In 1982, Starbucks had grown to five stores and started serving coffee to restaurants and espresso bars. Harold Schultz was employed as the director of retail operations and marketing. Harold Schultz convinced the founders of Starbucks to open a downtown Seattle coffee bar, which opened in 1984. With the success of Seattle coffee bar, Schultz left Starbucks to start his own company named Il Giornale. In 1987, Il Giornale acquired Starbucks retail operations for 4 million dollars. In addition, Il Giornale changed its name to Starbucks Corporation and open locations in Chicago and Vancouver, B. C. (Starbucks timeline and history, 2004). Starbucks continued its expansion throughout the late 1980 and beyond. In 1991, Starbucks became the first privately owned U. S. Corporation to offer stock options to part time employees (Starbucks timeline and history, 2004). In the early 1990s Starbucks started setting up coffee shops in Nordstrom?  ¦s department stores, Barnes & Noble bookstores and ITT/Sheraton hotels. In 1995, the corporation began selling compact discs and formed an alliance with the Canadian bookstore, Chapters Inc. In 2000, Schultz promoted Orin Smith to the position of CEO. Schultz remained chairman for the corporation. This allowed Schultz to focus on Starbucks?  ¦ global strategy. Starbucks operates and licenses more the 7,500 coffee shops in more than 30 countries. Coffee Industry In the United States, coffee is the second largest import (Roosevelt, 2004). Furthermore, the United States, consumes one-fifth of all the worlds?  ¦ coffee (Global Exchange, 2004). The present industry is expanding. It is estimated that North America? ¦s sector will reach saturation levels within 5 year (Datamonitor. n. d. ). According to National Coffee Association (NCA), 8 out of 10 Americans consume coffee. In addition, it is estimated that half of the American population drinks coffee daily. The international market remains highly competitive. It is estimated that 3,300 cups of coffee are consumed every second of the day worldwide (Ecomall, n. d. ). The latest trends included dual drinkers, an increase in senior citizens consumption and a shift in consumption away from home. There has been a significant increase in the consumption of dual drinkers (NCA, 2004). Dual drinkers are people who drink both traditional coffee and gourmet coffee. According to NCA, 54% of America?  ¦s coffee drinkers are dual drinkers. Gourmet coffee is experiencing substantial growth with senior citizens. According to NCA, senior citizens coffee consumption leaped from 9% to 13%. Another trend is coffee consumption is moving outside the home. Coffee consumption away from home increased by 6%. Mission Statement The current mission statement is ?  §Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow. This mission statement fits well with the general direction and the future strategies of Starbucks Corporation. Principles The following principles compliment both Starbucks mission statement and their strategies. Our recommendation is to keep the current mission statement and principles. ?aProvide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity. ?aEmbrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business. ?aApply the highest standards of excellence to the purchasing, roasting and fresh delivery of our coffee. ?aDevelop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time. ?aContribute positively to our communities and our environment ? aRecognize that profitability is essential to our future success. SWOT Analysis StrengthWeakness ?aFinancial Resources ?aGlobal Presence ?aBeverage Innovator ?aReliance on US Domestic Markets ?aReliance on Beverage Innovation ?aInternational Expansion Problems OpportunitiesThreats ?aInternational Operations ?aContinued Growth of Gourmet Coffee Market ?aExpanding ? V Unit Clustering ?aSupply Risk/ Dependence on Trading Companies and Exporters ? aUS Market Reaching Saturation Levels ?aCompetition Internal Strength. A few of Starbucks strengths included strong financial position, name recognition and being creative beverage innovators. Starbucks has reported revenue from January to July 2004 as 409 million dollars, which gives the company a strong financial position. Starbucks has a strong global presence from its many stores and licensees units, which has made Starbucks a household name. Starbucks is known for their creative innovations of beverages. Starbucks is not afraid to experiment and test new drinks in their stores. Some of the beverages introduced are Fappuccino Blended Beverages or Iced Shaken refreshments. Internal Weakness Some of the weakness the corporation faces includes international expansion problems and dependence of the United States markets and beverage innovations. The corporation was forced to close a number of stores. These stores failed to entice potential customers and Starbucks was forced to end a joint venture due to the lack of success. Starbucks has a dependency on beverage innovation and US markets. It is estimated that 85% of the corporation revenues come from the United States (Datamonitor, n. d. ). Starbucks contributes its growth based on beverage innovations (Datamonitor, n. d. ). External Opportunities One opportunity deals with clustering its business units. Starbucks uses clustering to ensure domination in chosen geographical areas. This practice allows Starbucks to bring conveniences to customers and at the same time preventing new business from entering the market. The last two opportunities are profitability of international operations and the expected growth of the specialty coffee market. The profitability of international operations and the expected growth will give the company greater leverage into the world market and will promote new market expansions. External Threats. One major threat is the lack of superior coffee beans. The expansion of Starbucks operations and limited quantity of superior coffee beans may result in a shortage of supply. Other factors, which could affect the coffee beans, are weather, political and economic conditions. Organizations like Fair Trade could change or alter the coffee industry. Another threat to Starbucks is the dependence on trading companies and exporters for their supply of superior coffee beans. Although Starbucks has limited the risk by paying above average prices for the superior coffee beans, the risk is still there. The last threats are competition and market saturation. The success of the coffee industry will attract more competitors. A competitor with a serious financial backing and resources could compete against Starbucks (Datamonitor, n. d. ). It is estimated that if the current market growth continues saturation levels will be reached in five years (Datamonitor, n. d. ). Customer Satisfaction Customer Satisfaction is defined as the measure or determination that a product or service meets a customer’s expectations, considering requirements of both quality and service (www. eglin. af. mil/46tw/StrategicPlan/glossary.htm). A customer?  ¦s expectations of product quality, service quality, and price, then a firm will achieve high levels of customer satisfaction. On the other hand, if the customer?  ¦s expectations are not met, the customer will be disappointed and this is likely to lower the satisfaction level. Due to lowered satisfaction, the customer could choose to stop buying from the firm/company. There have been many studies done that have shown that high customer satisfaction increases the likelihood of corporate profitability. It also showed that the costs incorporated with keeping an existing customer are five times that of getting new ones The Starbucks Customer The Starbuck?  ¦s Corporation is the leading retailer in the coffee industry. The market size of the coffee industry in the United States for 2003 is near 18 billion. The company?  ¦s sales have increased 23. 9% in the year 2003. These statistics show how many people in the U. S. are drinking Starbucks coffee. Starbucks attracts a cult-like following, serving 25 million drinks a week at nearly 7,000 locations worldwide. At one time or another, just about everyone has been a customer at a Starbucks retailer. Based on research done on the Internet, we have identified who the typical Starbucks?  ¦ customer is. A typical Starbucks customer is a male or a female, age ranging from 18 to 55. In most cases, the Starbucks?  ¦ customer is a college student, businessperson or someone in their mid to late fifties. A Starbucks customer tends to be very loyal to the company and will not accept substitutes. The usage level of a typical customer is at least three times a week, for some; it is every day. The benefits sought by customers range from enjoyment, relaxation, energy, and reward. Those who are not in a hurry like to sit down for a cup of coffee, listen to the relaxing songs played at the shops, enjoy a conversation with a friend, or just way to be alone and study. Another important characteristic of a typical customer is that most of the customers are financially stable enough to be able to afford to spend at least $2. 50 for a small cup of coffee. A typical Starbucks?  ¦ customer spends and average of $40 to $65 a month for coffee drinks. However, there are many customers who spend well over $65 a month. Improving Customer Satisfaction According to Schultz, ? §our success is based on their continued trust in our people and our environment over long periods of time. † Redefining the industry you’re playing in doesn’t just mean hiring an agency to think up a fancy new slogan. To make it work, you have to offer high-quality new products and services that customers actually want, and that will reinforce the value offered by your core brand and expand the emotional connection your customers feel with it ( www. fastcompany. com from Issue 84 July 2004, Page 50 by:Alison Overholt). To continue the success that Starbucks had over the years, there must be ways to measure the customer? ¦s perceptions of the company. The customers are what make Starbucks what it is today, and to keep them we need to know what they expect from us. Based on research done on starbucks. com, it is evident that Starbucks values their customers. On the main page of the website there is a link to Customer Service; here the customer can ask questions or leave comments. This tool could be much more beneficial to the company if questions and/or comments could be asked by the customer. In the area of questions/comments-there is a drop down list of freqeuntly asked questions/comments, from this list the customer must pick. There could be many times when a customer has a question/comment, but it is not included on this list. The idea of having this link makes the customers feel that their opinions are valued, but there are a few areas that could be improved on that would be much more beneficial to the company. It is important that Starbucks asks for the opinions of their customers, but why only offer this online? Even though we have become such a computer savy world, there are still many people out there that are not computer literate. Many do not have access to computers, or some just do not know how to use them. This does not mean that these people don?  ¦t drink Starbucks coffee. To increase overall customer satisfaction, we should also incorporate a general product/service survey or some type of comment card in the retail stores. Surveys may seem tedious at times, but to help us find out information that could help our company in the long run, it is worth it. Surveys will give us an idea of how we can improve our product and service to satisfy the customer. Typical customer surveys are designed to measure: ?aOverall satisfaction ?aProduct-level satisfaction ?aImportance vs. satisfaction ? Timeliness of delivery ?aCustomer service process satisfaction ?aReturns and exchange process satisfaction ?aInterest in new potential products and services Included is sample survey that could be used to get a general idea of how our customers feel about our products and services. The main goal to achieve customer satisfaction needs to be: to find ways to deliver a great customer experience around your product or service. Customer expectations may be set, the idea is to exceed those expectations that they might already have. The recipe for a great cup of coffee includes four fundamentals, proportion, grind, water and freshness. Using the right proportion of coffee to water is the most important step in making great coffee. The shorter the brewing process, the finer the grind. The amount of time the coffee and water spend together affects the flavor elements that end up in your cup of coffee. Using fresh, cold water heated just off the boil is perfect for extracting the coffee?  ¦s full range of flavors. Use fresh ground coffee by grinding beans each time you brew the freshness is preserved. Starbucks quality is dependent on trading companies and exporters for its supply of green coffee. The company is looking to secure long term supply contracts, and in some cases has had to pay inflated prices in order to obtain such contracts. Starbucks responded to world coffee prices reaching 30-year lows during fiscal 2001 by offering suppliers more money to guarantee supply, and as such the risk of non-delivery on such purchase commitments is low. However, the nature of the business dictates that the company?  ¦s dependency on suppliers does put it at risk. Starbucks quality is at risk to the volatility of the supply and price of coffee. The company?  ¦s search for the superior standard coffee mean in can be adversely affected by multiple factors in the producing countries, including weather, political, and economic conditions. In addition, green coffee prices have been affected in the past, and may be affected in the future, by the actions of organizations and associations that have in the past attempted to influence prices of green coffee through agreements establishing export quotas or restricting global coffee supplies. The actions of these associations could cause a degree of costly disruption to Starbuck?  ¦s operations. Purchasing Guidelines Starbucks has also introduced coffee purchasing guidelines. The goal of these guidelines is to support Starbucks commitment to purchase coffee that has been grown and processed by suppliers who meet environmental, social, economic, and quality standards. Global coffee production can only be sustainable if it is economically viable, socially responsible, and environmentally sensitive at all levels of the supply chain. Over the past few years Starbucks has been working on the sourcing guidelines and they feel that is an important step that will help increase the production of high quality coffee and improve the health of the specialty coffee industry. With these guidelines, Starbucks is taking a leadership role in addressing the environmental and social issues surrounding the global coffee industry. This initiative is part of a long-term partnership between Starbucks and Conservation International to promote methods of coffee production that help to conserve global biodiversity. To launch these guidelines, Starbucks will enlist the support of coffee suppliers who are sustainable advocates. Starbucks has instituted a flexible point system that rewards performance in sustainable categories. Points will be accrued based on a supplier?  ¦s ability to meet sustainability guidelines, and suppliers who earn more points in the program will receive higher purchasing preference when Starbucks purchases green coffee. Starbucks has a long-standing practice of paying premium prices for coffee, and has always paid an average of at least $1. 20 per pound. As part of this practice, Starbucks will provide additional premiums of up to ten cents per pound to vendors based upon how well their coffee samples meet the standards. These financial incentives will help defray the costs incurred by participating suppliers. Suppliers wishing to participate will be required to provide independent, third party verification of their performance against the guidelines. Starbuck?  ¦s hopes that the success of this program demonstrates to the rest of the coffee industry that they can benefit by producing coffee in a way that protects global biodiversity and improves the livelihoods of coffee farmers. The Three Keys to Quality Coffee The three keys to quality coffee are: 1)Quality Green Arabica Coffee – The best coffee beans produce the best cup of coffee. 2)Fresh Roasted – Great tasting coffee relies on how soon the coffee is brewed, and consumed after roasting. For coffee to be fresh, and best, it must be consumed within five days after roasting, three hours of grinding, and fifteen minutes of brewing. The first sign that coffee is stale is a bitter taste. 3)Proper Brewing ? V Temperature and time, brewing is the extraction of coffee flavor oils from the roasted grounds using water. The best temperature for optimum extraction is water just off the boil (195 degrees to 205 degree Fahrenheit). This temperature will extract the full range of flavors from fresh roasted beans. Time is a function of brewing method and grind size. There are many ways to brew good coffee. Steeping and espresso are the two best methods. Financial Analysis Total net sales for Starbucks Corporation were analyzed for 2001, 2002, and 2003. The company had a total net sales increase of $639. 9M between the years 2001 and 2002. Another net increase of $786. 6M in sales occurred between 2002 and 2003. This is a positive sign because in a growing company, of course, we would expect a consistent increase in sales. A result of the increase in sales in part is due to a recent innovation of drive-throughs being added for the convenience of its many customers. Net income increased substantially to 215. 1M in 2002. This was due to the boom in sales and good control of its cost of goods sold. Net income increased to $53. 2M in 2003. The coffee giant acquired Seattle Coffee Company from AFC Enterprises for $72. 0M in 2003, as well. Income from operations took a boost up from $281. 0M in 2001 to $318. 7M in 2002, a difference of $37. 6M. Income from operations saw a considerable upturn of $424. 7M in 2003. In a growing company we would expect income from operations to grow from year to year. Cost of sales continued to increase $237. 2M between the years 2001 and 2002 and it peaked again $335. 9M between 2002 and 2003. This is normal when sales are increasing significantly. Management Strategies From cappuccinos to lattes to just regular coffee, the quality of Starbucks fine coffee beverages is worth the cost in dollars. An article from the Internet stated ?  §At $43 in mid-June, a share of Starbucks (SBUX) cost 47 times what Wall Street analysts expect the coffee-shop chain to earn per share this year. The typical stock in the S&P 500 index trades at just 19 times earnings (Rosato, D. , 2004, p. 124). The article continued to state that management is projecting Starbucks earnings to grow to 20% every year for the next three to five years. With an amazing growth rate like that its no wonder that their growth far exceeds the typical S&P stocks growth rate by as much as three times. Starbucks has a very strong balance sheet. It has little long-term debt and $380. 0M in cash. It continues to expand its long-term assets and finances them from its own cash flow. If a company is in a state of expansion, we would expect long-term assets to increase. The total current assets for the year ending September 29, 2002 for Starbucks Corporation were $847. 5M. For the year ending September 28, 2003 total current assets grew $76. 5M. This gives us a good indication that the company is expanding. Inventory increased from $263. 1M in 2002 to $342. 9 in 2003. In a growing company, we would expect inventory to increase. An article in the Internet stated that in November 2001, Starbucks offered their own Starbucks card. It was a convenient way for coffee drinkers to pay quickly and easily for their morning cup of coffee (Kuykendall, 2004, p. 7). Starbucks sold roughly $18. 0M of these gift cards. This strategy is a great way to increase volume and unlike other cards Starbucks said, ?  §It had never charged the fee noted on its cards — $2 a month after on year ? V to anyone (Kuykendall, 2004 p. 7). Another vision to increase its financial strategy was the introduction of the Duetto combo prepaid/credit card in late 2003. An article on the Internet stated how the Chicago based Bank One Corp. called Duetto worked with Starbucks to generate a program where cardholders would receive rewards based on their spending habits. Starbucks conducted a survey to determine the gift that was most attractive to customers and Colette Courtion, director of Starbucks Global Card Services stated, ?  §Duetto cardholders receive a one-time $10 ?  §preload and 1% in so-called Duetto dollars that are automatically loaded on the stored-value side each month for every Visa purchase made. Starbucks also donates $5 to the Starbucks Foundation, after every customer?  ¦s first Starbucks Card Duetto Visa purchase (Martin, Z. , 2004, p. 22). A half-pound of coffee was one of the great appealing rewards, as well. Bank One and Starbucks were very well pleased with the markets positive response to the Duetto card. We are in agreement with these financial strategies and as a team, we concur that Starbucks Corporation should continue the card services as a strategic process that gives their company a great competitive advantage. A key strength of Starbucks is being a disciplined innovator. Frappuccino blended beverages and iced refreshments were new innovations and helped the growth of Starbucks. Starbucks should continue coming up with new kinds of beverages, as that is its core product. Perhaps a vegetable drink that is geared more toward the healthier population like a low calorie, low fat, and low sugar carrot drink that is actually providing the body with good vitamins and minerals. According to information retrieved from the Factiva database, Starbucks Price/Earnings ratio in the last twelve months was 56. 9 and its current ratio was 1. 8. Starbucks is on the right track with their strategies and they have done such an excellent job so far that we believe these strategies will continue to bring revenues for many upcoming years. Growth Starbucks Corporation has a good strategic growth plan currently to enhance their business and gain market share over their competitors. In this section of the report, it will go over Starbucks current ideas about their growth and give different recommendations in how some other ideas may increase their current and future growth. In the current high completive coffee market Starbucks has a good market share and are opening location across the world. Starbucks have opened their location in markets before any of their competitors has any of their location even around that market. Starbucks has a global brand name over their competitors. Starbucks Corporation has roughly 7,500 retail locations across the world, with majority are owned and operated in the United States of America. Starbucks currently has locations across 30 different countries to set their business in the market before any competitors due. Even with Starbucks aggressive move to open many locations across the world they have very little profit with their business. The reasons that Starbuck?  ¦s profitability is low because they?  ¦re trying to cease the market first. In the fiscal year of 2003, the company has a total of nearly 1,300 licensed retail stores, with 1,000 in Asia-Pacific region, 176 in Europe/Middle East/Africa and the remainder in America, excluding North America (Canada, Hawaii, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Peru and Chile). Starbucks is headquartered in Seattle, derives approximately 85% of its revenues and substantially all of its profits from its domestic US market. The US market is the market that gives them the most profit of all markets. Starbucks started most of their locations at cold states based that more coffee drinkers live in cold states. With the new innovation of the cold flavored coffee drinks increased their chance to open more location in warm clement locations. Even with the rapid growth of coffee businesses in the US Starbucks has a large market share and with any change the Starbucks may due their competitors looks to target. Starbucks looks to enhance their brand image in the US market to increase their product sales from the stores that carry Starbucks coffee drinks, like Seven Eleven that carry only Starbucks coffee only. Starbucks reliance on the beverage innovation is important for the Starbucks future growth. With the increase for coffee store based on the need for coffee because of the new flavors, coffee market is growing but Starbucks looks to bring a new innovation to the market. The only problem at hand would be how long will the need and growth of the market last. In the international markets need less innovation then the US market based that there are less competitors in the market. International markets may need to have certain products for their taste. Most often different countries have different customs and life styles that could change the need for each custom. By the fiscal year of 2004, Starbucks international market will achieve profitability. About 23% of the company?  ¦s stores locations that are profitable are located in North America markets that include UK and Japan. Currently the specialty coffee sector accounts for 15% of the US retail market, and which is already worth $21 billion. By 2005, the retail coffee market will be worth $22 billion, and the specialty coffee will account for 41% of the market. Also Starbucks are looking to invent a coffee ice cream and ice cream coffee drink. All of the ice cream has many different flavors and if the newly product takes of like it?  ¦s planned on doing. The specialty coffee products are now sold even at retail store based on the growing need for it. Starbucks is looking to open coffee and ice cream combined stores in start a new market. Starbucks currently sees that more and more coffee business are opening threw out the US by small business owners, so Starbucks is selling more stores to lessen the opening of small businesses. Starbucks feels that if they sell their name that more small business owner would rather have a well-known name to enhance their chances in doing well. Starbucks owners will learn and gain from the innovation and marketing ideas that Starbucks will give. Starbucks will grow faster if they sell of most or all of their location because their will be less need in maintaining their stores and more need in bring new ideas to the market. Now their competitors are franchising their location to. Most of the Starbucks locations in malls or in strip malls across the world. Currently Starbucks are building freestanding locations and designing a drive threw so their customers can have a more convenient way when needing their service. With these newly developed locations will have a food line. They?  ¦re looking to have hot food and cold food to compete with the Tim Horton coffee business. They are also looking to stay open 24 hours, seven days a week. Starbucks is looking to carry donuts, breakfast sandwiches, bagels and other morning food. Starbucks interest to change to compete with Tim Horton?  ¦s may hurt their business or help their business based on the cost involved in the change. Starbucks has concerns regarding the US store growth potential. Currently if the growth continues, saturation levels within the North American retail division will be reached inside five years, the reasons why Starbucks has some concern is that about 75% of the companies revenue growth and a greater portion of its profit. Before the US market becomes saturated, the US market sales growth will grow slowly over the next three to five years. With this change of saturation point coming, the pressure will be on the international Starbucks division will need to grow faster. Currently Starbucks global coffee market is very competitive, and must compete against the likes of restaurants, coffee shops, and street carts. Any major competitors, with a large financial background and the same resources as Starbucks can enter the market at any time and compete directly against the company. Starbucks feels that they have a good market share and are aware of competition on all levels and can maintain its operational performance if its to maintain its status as the world?  ¦s leading specialty coffee retailer. Starbucks was one of the first coffee businesses in the market and will try to be one of the last to leave. The recommendation to Starbucks Coffee that if they are going to grow in the market faster than their competitors is not to change their business to be more like Tim Horton?  ¦s and have their own identity. Currently Starbucks started the wireless Internet access in their stores and now every competitor is doing it. Also, it will help Starbucks if they would enhance the online service to provide laptops and other computers at their locations. They should have online ordering of coffee so when business people need to go fast they can order online and pay online to have a faster way in getting there coffee. With the innovation of new products, Starbucks should think in expanding in creating a coffee machine that can be place at schools, hospitals, and other companies that may need coffee and late hours or that don?  ¦t need a store. They currently market their own coffee brand coffee to purchase at other store but they should have it accessible online to order. The best thing that Starbucks has going for them is that none of its direct competitors are selling their product at store and online. With the increase in people that drink specialty coffee, Starbucks should innovate more different flavored coffee to increase their potential growth currently and in the future. The international looks to be the best growth for their business and they should invest more into locations and countries. Summary In order to ensure future success, we feel that Starbucks should implement the following suggestions. To improve customer satisfaction, Starbucks should include a section where customers actually ask questions and/or leave comments both in store and at their website. In addition, Starbucks should incorporate a survey to measure customer satisfaction. To ensure quality, Starbucks should continue its current practices. The practice includes securing long-term contracts, paying premium prices for coffee and additional premiums to suppliers to ensure quality needs are meet. To guarantee financial security, Starbucks should continue its role as a disciplined innovator. Starbucks should continue to promote the use of Starbucks cards and Duetto combo prepaid credit cards. An important part of Starbuck continued growth is emphasizing their unique image and to continue to provide the latest technical advancements. Starbucks should start expanding by providing coffee machines at schools, hospitals and other similar organizations. These strategies will continue to promote Starbucks as a leading retailer in a highly competitive coffee industry. Starbucks Customer Survey Dear Customer: I want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you. Please help us serve you better by taking a couple of minutes to tell us how we are doing. We appreciate your business and want to make sure we meet your expectations. Attached you will find a coupon good for 1 free coffee.   

Poway Unified School District †Persuasive Essay

Poway Unified School District – Persuasive Essay Free Online Research Papers Poway Unified School District Persuasive Essay Stress is within all of us. How it is released is a different matter. Today kids are experiencing a large amount of stress from homework. The people who think that over 4 hours of homework a week are the people who demand kids to be adults. While kids want to just be kids. Poway unified school district wants to increase the homework per night average from 4 hours to the national average of 5 and a half hours. Poway unified school district should keep the hours per week of homework the same, to avoid stress, avoid being sick, and finely let kids be kids. At first 5 and a half hours of homework may seem like a good idea, but has anyone thought about the stress it would cause. Studies have show people who experience large amounts of stress are more likely to heart attacks and being sick. A young kid should not go home do homework puke get up puke again and not go to school and then worry about making up the homework that they missed, because they missed their lesson. Also, when you are a child being sick from stress isn’t fun, most of you have probably experienced being sick from stress. Thus, 5 and half hours of homework will increase stress levels and therefore increase the chance of being sick. Secondly, a survey showed that a group of 3rd who got 1 hour of playtime on top of their current reading lesson got 1.3% higher on their reading test scores. This shows that kids who are given time to play and have fun at least an hour more each day will in the long run be better then the one without time to play. What does this mean to amount of homework in a week? It means that by the time we complete our homework it is to late to play and therefore we lose 1.3% in our grades. That is very important in the long run, it could tell the difference from going to Stanford or a poor community college. Thus, getting at least 1 hour of recreation on top of homework is a necessity for having success in life. In another point of view, 5 and half hours of homework may seem like a good idea. For example, Dr Julian Betts, a professor found that â€Å"a student who did 15 minutes of math homework a night from the 7th grade to the 11th grade scored 65% higher on national math tests†¦.†. But, that is only 15 minutes of homework times 5 days, is an hour 15 minutes not 5 and half hours. This study is saying that we should have no more then 1 hour and 15 minutes of homework and is a complete waste of time to bring it as a point to increase homework to 5 and half hours. So an increase in homework would be totally inconceivable if all it takes to get a good score is 15 minutes a night (1 hour 15 minutes a week). Thus, homework should stay the same to avoid stress sickness and let kids be kids. We need to march down to P.U.S.D. (Poway Unified School District) to tell them keep the hours per week of homework the same until it stays the same for good, and we are doing this because if we don’t, kids will live a life of intense stress. We don’t want to end up like a grown up fearing for the risk of potential heart attack because of the massive stress that was put on us during our child hood. Research Papers on Poway Unified School District - Persuasive EssayThe Spring and AutumnStandardized TestingHip-Hop is ArtEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationTrailblazing by Eric AndersonResearch Process Part OneThe Hockey GameThe Masque of the Red Death Room meanings

Thomas Mores Utopia Essay Example

Thomas Mores Utopia Essay Example Thomas Mores Utopia Paper Thomas Mores Utopia Paper Essay Topic: Utopia Utopia Utopia, written by Sir Thomas More, is a description of a seemingly perfect society in contrast to a time and place where the wealthy were extravagant and the poor were worse than poor. England, during More’s time, (which was 1478 to 1535) was a place where the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. The Enclosure Movement that began to rise dramatically in the 1400s under England’s first Tudor king, Henry VII, had created an enormous gap between the wealthy and the poor. The vast majority of people were homeless and poverty stricken, because arable farming had decreased on huge amounts of traditional farm land and which was the only way of survival for the peasants. Vagabonds were imprisoned and thieves were hanged by the thousands. During the reign of Henry VIII, there were at least 72,000 thieves hanged (p. 15). The rich and powerful raised sheep, exported the wool for cash and became richer. In Utopia, More depicted a clear epitome of this time and, indirectly criticized England’s socioeconomical policies through a character created in the book, while reflecting his own humanistic beliefs concerning those policies. More’s, Utopia, or â€Å"perfect society,† is actually a creation of totalitarianism. However, totalitarianism, according to life in England during the Henry VIII reign, for the poor, would have been a much better life instead of one where politics, religion, and greed actually reduced the less fortunate to less than slaves. In Book I of Utopia, More described the consequences of the Enclosure Move-ment and England’s wars that created vagabonds and thieves. Speaking of the â€Å"nobility, gentry and holy men†(p. 18), More wrote that these social classes not only lived in â€Å"idleness and luxury while doing society no good†(p. 18), but, they also directly injured the peasants by enclosing land for pasture, thus, destroying homes and towns (p. 18). Furthermore, because of landowners’ greed, the former workers of the land had no where to go and became idle and were â€Å"jailed as idle vagrants† (p. 19). This enclosing has led to sharply rising food prices in many districts . . . so great numbers are forced from work to idle-ness,† wrote More. Vagrants were imprisoned, although, they were a creation of the rich and powerful, as were the soldiers who were disabled from England’s wars. Hunger stimulated thievery in the former farmers, as well as the disabled s oldiers who went back home to an England that did not support their soldiers after fighting her wars. More wrote, â€Å"it would be much better to enable every man to earn his own living, instead of being driven to the awful necessity of stealing and then dying for it† (p. 16). However, in Utopia, as More wrote, no one was hungry and everybody worked. Slothfulness was not tolerated and there was a job for everyone and everyone had to work. Agriculture was the primary occupation for need and not greed and men, as well as, women worked on the farms. Outside of the farm work, everyone learned a trade. Everyone only worked six hours a day, but because everyone had to work, their working hours provided â€Å"not only enough, but more than enough of the necessities and even conveniences of life†(p. 51). But, everyone was equal. There were no rich and poor and everyone all had the same food, clothing and housing. Private property did not exist. Utopians believed that human life was more valuable than owning material possessions. Practicality and reasoning are fundamentals that More used in his description of Utopian society. Political, religious and social structures are all practical and have a reasoning that are best beneficial to all Utopians. In the political aspect, Utopia was democratic. Any rules or laws made were for the exclusive welfare of all Utopians. Money did not exist and therefore those in government positions could not maintain or acquire power from financial superiority. Their constitution’s main goal was that â€Å"all citizens should be free to withdraw as much time as possible from the service of the body and devote themselves to the freedom and culture of the mind,† and this is where they thought the â€Å"happiness of life† existed (53). The Utopian religion that More depicted was tolerant. It was mandatory for the Utopians to accept three principles that included the belief that all human souls are immortal; humans are born for happiness by God’s grace; and, after death, there will be punishments or rewards according to vice or virtue (p. 6). One of the Utopians’ strictest rules was that no one should suffer concerning their religion and a person who fought about religion was deported or put into slavery (p. 94). Religion was based on reason and nature. â€Å"Virtue,† according to the Utopians, is defined â€Å"as living according to nature, â€Å" and â€Å"when an individual obeys the dictates of r eason in choosing one thing and avoiding another, he is following nature (p. 67). The Utopians believed it especially commendable and virtuous to help other beings in a humanistic manner than to take joy in others miseries (p. 7). The Utopian society that Thomas More created was seemingly a perfect society as an alternative to his sixteenth century world in England. Whether by nature or nurture that the Utopians would have become accustomed to the â€Å"totalitarian† ways of life, giving up their freedom for a guaranteed full stomach, a home and a life where pride and greed had no place to develop, would have been far better than the miseries of the homeless and poverty stricken in More’s real world. More’s world, where politics and religion, intertwined with ambition and power, stimulated wealthy nobles and aristocracy no matter the miseries of those they used to acquire their wealth and power. Power, such as that sought by Henry VIII in his Act of Supremacy that More refused to agree to and cost him his head. Before his beheading, Sir Thomas More did create in his Utopia, a practical and reasonable society. A perfect one is questionable. On one hand a communistic structure guaranteed that the Utopians would all be fed and have their needs, although, everyone was forced to work and would never acquire more than any other for their hard work. On the other hand, because education, religion, morals, private life and even pleasure was all controlled by the Utopian governing officials, the practical and reasonable society was a totalitarian society. The poor and miserable of England in the sixteenth century would probably have been better off in the Utopian world, although liberty was absent from the â€Å"perfect† society. I have read my paper and I did not cheat.

The Main Types of Essay Papers

The Main Types of Essay Papers Defining Narrative, Argumentative, Expository Essay Types Students of all ages face the necessity to complete various types of academic works. Types of assigned papers usually depend on students’ grade and specialization. However, some essay types are included in general education program. It means you inevitably have to write them no matter if you are studying Law or Science. This time we will define the major essay types including Narrative, Argumentative and Expository essays defining their features in addition to useful writing tips. Essay type 1 – Narrative essay Everything looks pretty simple here. All you need is to try a role of a storyteller. Speak to your audience in a written way and tell about any real-life experienced that stroke you in the past. Students like writing narrative essays although the paper may still be rather challenging for immature and amateur writers. Narrative essay topic examples: The Happiest Family Vacation; My Worst Enemy. Essay type 2 – Expository essay College students are familiar with this type of academic paper. They are actually the same as research papers. Here you need to deliver facts merely and support the topic and your point of view. The most challenging aspect of this essay is to arrange all paragraphs, sentences and thoughts establishing a coherence for the reader. Make sure your audience can put up with all facts and data you deliver. Expository essay topic examples: How do mobile devices affect people’s lives? The results of Communism. Essay type 3 – Argumentative essay This is where you need to persuade your readers that you provide the only right point of view. The name of the paper makes it clear that students are supposed to highlight strong arguments in favor of their opinions. Although you are allowed using other experts’ opinions, the main mission of the paper is to design one of your own. Argumentative essay topic examples: Can mobile devices replace live communication? Is the modern education program efficient when finding a job?

Marketing research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Marketing research - Essay Example the marketing feedback progression, marketing research offers decision makers with information on the usefulness of the existing marketing strategies and provide comprehension of the required modifications. Second, marketing research is the most important instrument for discovering new opportunities in the marketplace. Research plays a significant role in the development of marketing strategies for all kinds of organizations. Similarly, marketing research is essential for recognizing the target market for a product or service along with the effectiveness of pricing strategy, promotional activities and distribution of the products and services. Thus, marketers should consider marketing research an essential tool for effective marketing. Businesses, in the cotemporary world, are very different from those of the past. Business today is far more aggressive in their search of success. With the development of the Internet, competitiveness has gone global. A business that wants to continue to be competitive and be successful will need to understand the products and services that their target market needs and desires. This kind of information can only be obtained from marketing research. Not only will they need to understand what products and services should be introduced in the market, but also the success of their existing products and services. Information regarding what the company is doing right and what it could use to make their products and services better is fundamental to a business’ success. Therefore, it is only with the accurate information that companies can develop their marketing strategies or adjust the existing ones (Pride & Ferrell 2007). Philip Kotler (2006) defined marketing as â€Å"a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through developing, providing, and exchanging products and services of value with others. It is the process of planning and performing, pricing, promotion, and delivery of

Art Gallery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Art Gallery - Essay Example I was particularly impressed by his sculptures His sculptures are fascinating as they are made either from exotic wood or an assortment or stone pieces. The use of oxidized paint gives it a metallic copper finish as though the sculpture was done by an tribe in Africa or it came from an ancient people from an Aztec pyramid. The carving is done in such a way that the viewer sees what he want. There is a combination of modern with ancient. The chosen piece "Shrine" was displayed as a major piece in a the corner of one of the rooms. The lighting was excellent so as to show the effect of the oxidized finish. combines modern with ancient. I have to note that I did not mark the year it was done and I could not find it on internet. The cross on the top of the piece show his technique as a modern graphic designer. It is pretty and really gives no other indication until you start to think of the symbolism of the piece. As you take your eyes and start looking down you see the cross as a means of joining two pieces of wood or two people. It is quite common in both African and local culture in Latin American culture to have two people joined together in wood in the form of a statue. His technique is modern as the viewer needs to look awhile as to see the purpose of the Shrine. It is a shrine to the couple. It is a shrine to man and woman. There is no differentiation to the man and the woman. This is also another modern technique. Is the cross a protection of God? This is just an idea. The use of oxidization shows that the unification of man and wife is an ancient custom and will continue to last. This piece can be interpreted as just a piece of wood with a pretty form. In any other context it would have been interesting to take different statutes from different cultures to compare the same subject, then the viewer would have seen the meaning given to the Shrine. I chose this piece because it took work to figure out

The effect of national culture on Commitment forms within Essay

The effect of national culture on Commitment forms within international joint venture - Essay Example the huge population growth which had occurred in the Arab world due to work opportunities related to oil supplies resulting in considerable international migration to countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Such immigration is mainly from surrounding countries (Ali, 1986). Such large-scale immigration occurs because there is a shortage of national labour means there is a need to seek non-national workers who then end up making national a minority within their own country (Ali, 1986). Therefore this situation results in making the national culture a minority within its own environment and has significant implications for that culture. Ali provides data to prove this assertion. For example, the national population living in the United Arab Emirates has declined from 36 per cent in 1975 to 17 per cent in 1986 (Ali, 1986). In 1986 it was predicted that the proportion of nationals living in Saudi Arabia would fall to 9 per cent in 1990 and 2.5 per cent in 2000 (Ali, 1 986). In comparison in 1983 the Indian population living in the United Arab Emirates numbered 300,000, which was one and a half times the number of nationals living in the country (Ali, 1986). Ali went on to explore the reasons why countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates depended on non-national workforces. Some factors proposed by Ali (1986) included the relatively young age of the population of the Arab Gulf States’. For example in 1975 45 per cent of the populations of these states were under 15 (Hamady, 1978; cited by Ali, 1986). Also, there is a high illiteracy rate in the Arab Gulf States’. In 1978 the rate of illiteracy in this group raged from 31 per cent in the United Arab Emirates to 57 per cent of the population of Saudi Arabia (Al-Atiah, 1983; cited by Ali, 1986). These high illiteracy rates are due to problems in the education system which does not have the capacity to provide adequate educational and technical skills (Ali, 1986). This is due to the

Internet Marketing and an Impact on Buying Behaviour of Teenagers Personal Statement

Internet Marketing and an Impact on Buying Behaviour of Teenagers - Personal Statement Example Page, K., & Uncles, M (2004) define Internet marketing as a marketing strategy adopted by many entrepreneurs to reach out their customers through the Internet with an organized plan and a smart marketing campaign. The author argues that the online market is growing at a rapid pace compared to the retail market so that anyone with the need to make money select Internet as his first choice. As per the statistics available, in the fourth quarter of 2005, US retail e-commerce sales totaled $26.5 billion with an increase of 27.5% just from the third quarter of 2005. At the same time, millions of people are exploring opportunities on the Internet that made the competition stiff in online marketing. The author put forward two things; an effective plan and aggressive marketing for success in Internet marketing. He has pointed out that a website without planning and the identification of the target market will definitely end in failure whereas in-depth planning will increase the chances of su ccess more. The author also argued that even amidst the stiff competition, the future of Internet marketing is bright (Hartman, J. B., Gehrt, K., & Watchravesringkan, K., 2004). Mick, D.G., & Fournier, S (1998) defines In... strategies he has pointed out other methods such as site optimization, linking, and indexing, implementing online marketing partnerships with high-profile online businesses, paid keyword advertising, etc. as the successful strategies for Internet marketing. Buying behaviors of the teenage community Lenhart, A., Rainie, L., & Lewis, O (2001) reflects on buying behaviors of the teenage community in terms of their attitude toward appearance. They argued that the marketers should make advertisements to target "jockettes" (young women who have active lifestyles) and "young metrosexuals"(young men focussed on their outward appearances) in order to convince the teen community. Gender and brands can influence the buying habits of teens according to the author. Park, C., & Jun, J.K (2003) summarizes buying behaviors of teenagers with respect to the cool looking technology and customizations of products are essential for attracting teen customers. Personalization, style, and functionality are the major features of a product which influence the teen community. Impact of Internet marketing on buying behavior of teenagers The online purchasing behavior of teens for goods like books, apparels, dining, music, practices is around half of the teenage consumers that has risen significantly from the 31 percent of statistical from the result December 2000 (Park, C., & Jun, J.K., 2003). Teens are the major segment of Internet visitors. This is not easy to convince the teen community with conventional methods of marketing. A business plan and marketing strategies are essential for canvassing the teen community through Internet marketing.  

Analysis of policy document linked to school observation Essay

Analysis of policy document linked to school observation - Essay Example They have charts typically found in any pre-school classroom, although the titles have French translations. Unlike traditional classrooms, children were not given chairs and desks, instead they sit on the floor with no uniforms; the chairs and desks, however, are readily available in case they need those. The lecture and activity making are the most interesting parts. The teacher frequently instructs the children both in English and French, although she uses the latter most of the time. Children as young as 5 years old can already interact with their classmates with basic French words such as â€Å"comment allez-vous?† to mean â€Å"how are you?† The lesson for that day was nouns. The teacher had a huge chart full of big pictures of animals, places, celebrations, etc. Each picture is labeled with its English and French names. During the discussion, the children were so interactive and it seems to me that the teacher knows her pupils very well and knows how to handle

Internet Marketing and an Impact on Buying Behaviour of Teenagers Personal Statement

Internet Marketing and an Impact on Buying Behaviour of Teenagers - Personal Statement Example Page, K., & Uncles, M (2004) define Internet marketing as a marketing strategy adopted by many entrepreneurs to reach out their customers through the Internet with an organized plan and a smart marketing campaign. The author argues that the online market is growing at a rapid pace compared to the retail market so that anyone with the need to make money select Internet as his first choice. As per the statistics available, in the fourth quarter of 2005, US retail e-commerce sales totaled $26.5 billion with an increase of 27.5% just from the third quarter of 2005. At the same time, millions of people are exploring opportunities on the Internet that made the competition stiff in online marketing. The author put forward two things; an effective plan and aggressive marketing for success in Internet marketing. He has pointed out that a website without planning and the identification of the target market will definitely end in failure whereas in-depth planning will increase the chances of su ccess more. The author also argued that even amidst the stiff competition, the future of Internet marketing is bright (Hartman, J. B., Gehrt, K., & Watchravesringkan, K., 2004). Mick, D.G., & Fournier, S (1998) defines In... strategies he has pointed out other methods such as site optimization, linking, and indexing, implementing online marketing partnerships with high-profile online businesses, paid keyword advertising, etc. as the successful strategies for Internet marketing. Buying behaviors of the teenage community Lenhart, A., Rainie, L., & Lewis, O (2001) reflects on buying behaviors of the teenage community in terms of their attitude toward appearance. They argued that the marketers should make advertisements to target "jockettes" (young women who have active lifestyles) and "young metrosexuals"(young men focussed on their outward appearances) in order to convince the teen community. Gender and brands can influence the buying habits of teens according to the author. Park, C., & Jun, J.K (2003) summarizes buying behaviors of teenagers with respect to the cool looking technology and customizations of products are essential for attracting teen customers. Personalization, style, and functionality are the major features of a product which influence the teen community. Impact of Internet marketing on buying behavior of teenagers The online purchasing behavior of teens for goods like books, apparels, dining, music, practices is around half of the teenage consumers that has risen significantly from the 31 percent of statistical from the result December 2000 (Park, C., & Jun, J.K., 2003). Teens are the major segment of Internet visitors. This is not easy to convince the teen community with conventional methods of marketing. A business plan and marketing strategies are essential for canvassing the teen community through Internet marketing.  

Capital Punishment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Capital Punishment - Research Paper Example The final results were seven votes for Georgia Supreme Court and two votes against. The court in a seven to two decision stated that a death penalty did not violate the Eight and the Fourteenth Amendment under all circumstances. In extreme cases, when the defendant has been convicted of killing another person in a deliberate fashion, the appropriateness of death penalty is robust, provided it is carefully employed. There was an assurance of death penalty statute in Georgia’s Supreme Court by several jury findings as associated with the severity of the crime and the nature of the defendant as well as a comparison with each of the circumstances of the capital sentences. The court stated that capital punishment imposition with careful scrutiny acted as a useful deterrent to future capital crimes and that it was a proper means of the social retribution against the most serious offenders (Gregg v. Georgia, 1975). If the main concept behind death penalty is to put the dead person to justice, then no form of genteel behavior should be shown to the condemned person. â€Å"If our motive in executions is revenge or even instant punishment, let's let the bastards suffer as much as possible. â€Å"Let them fry," as some proponents of capital punishment say. Why bother to put them to sleep?† (R.E.B., 1996, p.2) It is also stated in the article that Americans favor capital punishment even if by a small margin. It must also be mentioned that there were some instances where seven innocent men were awarded the sentence but were set free after spending considerable time in prison (R.E.B., 1996, p.2). In a separate case of McCleskey v. Kemp (1987), McClesky was a black man who was convicted of killing... This essay describes the controversial issue of the capital punishment that is present in modern society today. The researcher describes the history of the capital punishment in different countries and cultures as well as debates on the necessity of such possibility. The researcher states that death sentence is an arguable phenomenon in our times, but it can become the only form of imparting justice in some rarest of the events. Though it may appear immoral and uncivilized in the high tech society of today, it helps in sending a strong message to the society. In some cases, the capital punishment also helps in relieving the inmate of the agony to wait for years deciding his fate. The essay presents that there are instances where people had begged to be executed as a form of moral liberation for their sins, and in of the cases discussed in this essay by the researcher, there is an instance of pure discrimination. As it is also mentioned in the essay as the highest form of all punishme nts, the jury needs to be extremely careful in awarding its sentences. It is important that no innocent must be killed for the sake of protecting the law. Justice must be done fairly at all times, considering both the defendant and the prosecution sides. It is also concluded by the researcher that death sentences are awarded to cleanse the society of social evils. It is also important to remember that the jury needs to ensure that it does not send a wrong signal to the society by building a silent anger amongst the people.

An Intercultural Comparison Between Chinese Essay Example for Free

An Intercultural Comparison Between Chinese Essay An intercultural comparison between Chinese and foreign humor Summary: Humor is  a wonderful work  of human civilization  and wisdom, she smiled as a bridge, bond people in different culture, and made people recognizing the power of the humor in their normal communication. This paper  will trace the  historical origins of  humor. From the humorous discourse features, themes, social functions, performance practices and seize of the  subtle to start  the  similarities and differences between Chinese and Western humor. Humor is  a wonderful work  of human civilization  and wisdom, she smiled as a bridge, bond people in different culture, and made people recognizing the power of the humor in their normal communication. 1. Origins and scopes of humor Humor  comes from the  Latin  word ‘humor’, it  is an  ancient Greek physiology term refers to the ‘fluid’. Greek physician Hippocrates believed that the human  health and  temperament  of different  types of  four kinds of  body  fluids  on  the mixing ratio. Temperament  theory  in ancient Greece, medieval and Renaissance  have a great impact. Thus, humor  is  the original meaning of four kinds of body fluids determined by  the proportion of the human mind, body, customary tendency, temperament, or  temporary  mental and emotions. The first of the humor into the field of aesthetics  is a famous British  dramatist, Ben Jones,  gradually  dilute the  meaning of humor physiology, aesthetics increasingly in-depth  the study  of  humor. Late in the 17th century, humor began to have the modern meaning; In the 18th century, humor  for the  aesthetic features  of  drama,  fiction, poetry,  prose and writing style with humor  for the  writers and artists  have been common. Such as in : Sunday school teacher: Hands up all those who want to go to heaven? Hands up †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ What about ou Terry? You haven’t got your hand up-don’t you want to go to heaven? Terry: Sorry, I can’t. Mum told me to go straight home. The  suspense  in  the beginning  of the first  discourse,  two,  third and  fourth inningdirect rendering. The  little boy’s ‘Sorry, I can’t. ’ is  a  reversal,  the last  one  is  a  hilarious  mutations. Cultural context  is an abstract,  general concept, an abstraction  form  in people’s everyday  social life. Because  discourse  is a communicative form,  while the  communication  is  carried out  in  certain situations, therefore, discourse analysis  must consider  its contents, participants in  communicative activities,  speech,  media  and other factors. In addition,  there is also a  certain  discourse  of environmental  factors, such as context, Marlinowski called it ‘Situational context’. Halliday thinks, from the  language  point of view  the use of  situational context  the most important three factors are:  language field,  the tone  and manner. Language field  is  corrected  in the event of  things;  tone  is  who is  communicative, their basic  conditions, characteristics, status  roles,  role relationships  between participants;  manner  refers to the language  in  the role of  communication, including communication  channels and modified way. From the above  humorous  point of view,  the language field  is  the scene ask questions in class;  communication of both  the teachers  and students; both  in communication  is the  unequal  status of  the teacher  is  the speaker, students aresubject to  speaker. Students  response should be to  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœsupport’ or  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœfight against’. The  confrontation  is  the beginning of  reversal,  which produce  humor. Communicative  role of the conversion  from the  point of view, discourse  is the speaker  and  the recipient  as a  center of  rotation. 3. Cross-cultural  comparison  of  Chinese and foreign  humor 3. 1 Themes Humor  is mankinds  an aesthetic  pursuit,  is  a reflection of  real life, first in  its  themes and  content  reflect  the unique  customs  of the  ethnic,  social and cultural. By traditional  Chinese  Confucianism  deeply rooted  that people  talk about sex  pale, therefore,  traditional Eastern humor neutral topic is taboo. The  humor  in  the West accounted for  a large proportion  of these  topics. 3. 2 Social functions Classified  according to their  social function  of humor as: negative humor(Deny  the shortcomings  of  life  and  negative  phenomena), positive humor(Affirm the  advantages  in life  and positive  phenomenon)  and pure humor(Does not  contain  affirm  and  negative,  just  full of  fun  to everyday phenomena  of  reflection). Europe and the United  States  purely  for entertainment  humor  in  a significant proportion of  the pure  humor,  this is  the time when  humor  from  the bud  will form  adistinctive  feature. The Chinese  sense of humor  seems to  bear  a heavier  historical mission – skewer the current ills. Throughout  hundreds of popular since the traditional dialogue  segment,  the vast majority of  satire  piece. 3. 3 Performance practices National characteristics  of humor  in  artistic  expression  on the  subject matter as  far as  clarity. It  is often  rooted in  long-standing  cultural traditions of a nation  and psychological quality,  the performance  is very subtle, delicate. China  has always been  deliberately seeking  humor  in the end,  the  taste  of the progressive  layers. Most indicative of  the Chinese  culture  of  humor  in the form  of humor  than the  comic. Crosstalk  of the  four  aspects of  the structure  corresponding to  the  four parts  of humor. Comic  from start to finish  with multiple  suspenses,  so that  the audience  is always  with interest, from the  tension  eased  to meet  expectations, and then  across  to the new expectations and new  meet. The  European and American  humor  often only one  piece  of suspense, comedy  to be more  suspense,  but because of  the integrity of  comedy,  the plot  of  coherence nd requirements, restrictions on  the use of  a lot of suspense. Crosstalk  is not,  although it  has some  plot lines, but not sticking to  the plot  needs the opportunity to  abandon the use of  suspense. On the contrary,  sometimes  to  the medium of  suspense, clever plot jumps from one to another with no ass ociated plot. 3. 4 Seize of subtle Subtle  sense of humor  is the  worlds nations   common feature. Each nations sense of humor  by  their historical  and cultural  tradition,  in the long-term artistic practice  in the  form  of  subtle style, extent  and methods vary. From the  perspective  of contemporary  humor  writing, in the  subtle  nature of  the pursuit, China  and Western countries  along two  different directions. Overall,  the humor  works of  Western-oriented  and  strive to concise of implicit, philosophy  combine  to make  more  room for  humor  after taste. The Chinese contemporary  humor,  its ability to  master the  subtle  and bright scales. 4. Summary Western countries,  Chinas  humor and  humor  in their  culture,  nurtured by  the soil  to form  a  different style. Through this  cross-cultural comparison, our  team  has  a better understanding of  world culture,  to accelerate  the pace of  China into the  world.

Problems of Uninformed Voters

Problems of Uninformed Voters Did you know many Democrats are opposed to standardized testing? Did you know many Republicans don’t believe there should be a set minimum wage? Many people don’t even know what the parties and candidates they are voting for represent. In the 2012 Presidential Election, Bipartisan Policy Center estimated there were about 126 million voters. Voting is essential in a democracy. Voting is the definition of a democracy. A democracy is a form of government in which people elect leaders by voting according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. Throughout American history, thousands of people have fought for this right to vote. We advocated for men of all ethnicities to be able vote, and later we extended this right to women. However, a democracy functions best when informed citizens vote. Unfortunately, much of today’s population is not quite as informed as they should be. Many adults lack the crucial knowledge to make informed political decisions, like voting. First, we will examine how uninformed voting is a problem today. Second, we will discuss why uninformed voting occurs as often as it does. Finally, I will offer a solution for this perpetual problem.   Ignorant voters hurt democracy. You cannot run an effective democracy when the citizenship is weak. Voting is a crucial aspect of citizenship. It is how you display commitment and respect to your country and form of government. People do not take this responsibility seriously enough. When people vote impulsively or don’t put enough thought into their decisions, our democracy is not a true reflection of what the people want. A survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2012 to determine how knowledgeable the public was on the presidential campaign. Their findings were alarming. Only 60% of registered voters were aware that Romney opposes gay marriage. Only 66% of registered voters knew of Obamas policy that allows undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as juveniles to remain here and apply for work permits. Additionally, in a 2006 Zogby Poll, 73% of Americans were able to identify the names of The Three Stooges, while a whopping 42% could identify the three bra nches of government. 77% of Americans could name off two of Snow White’s Seven Dwarves. On the other hand, 24% of people could name off two of the nine Supreme Court Justices. As sad as it is, the average voter probably spends more time becoming informed on which car to buy than who they want to run their country. Who you elect into office has such a huge impact on the future of all Americans, not just yourself. So don’t you agree we should be somewhat familiar with the candidates stances on current issues? And that we should understand the basic setup of our government and the officials that run it before we vote? Not knowing crucial details of a candidates intentions, you may be disappointed when they do something you weren’t expecting. And unfortunately, once your ballot is casted, you cannot take it back. For this reason, voters need to stay relatively updated on campaign issues, current events, and general workings of the U.S. political system.   Obviously, you can see how prevalent uninformed voting is in today’s society. But why is this happening so frequently? Well, think about like this. From the moment children are born, their lives are being shaped by those around them, in other words children learn what they live. And they spend the first eighteen years of their lives, some of the most influential ones, living with their immediate family. Inevitably, families who vocalize their political beliefs will naturally sway their child in that direction. Furthermore, their circle of friends will play a factor too. In my American Civics class last year, we put on a mock trial. Before the trial, we had to determine our political affiliation. As a class, we had to get up and divide ourselves into groups based on which party we wanted to represent in the trial. I observed that everyone just so happened to fall into the same group as their friends did. There were cliques within the parties. No one had the confidence to sp lit from their friends and represent their individual ideas. Family and friends can inhibit people from forming their own opinions. This results in a biased political perspective which may not reflect your core values. In other cases, it’s simply that people don’t care enough to become informed. They just vote to because they feel obligated to, but don’t give the decision much thought. People have disengaged themselves from politics because they don’t think it directly affects them. However, this could not be further from the truth. U.S. government and politics regulates so many aspects of our lives. It funds our public school, provides grants and loans for higher education, builds and maintains the roads we drive on everyday, provides the water that runs through our homes, and determines how much we pay in taxes. Most citizen have at least one political interest or concern. By voting, you can have a say in it. So take advantage of this opportunity and ta ke it seriously.   Now, how do we go about addressing this problem? Ideally, people would take matters into their own hands. You would perform research on the issues and stances of the politicians running for office. Once you establish where you stand, then you can compare the politicians views with your own and the one you are most compatible with is the politician you should vote to elect. It would also benefit you greatly to follow significant world-wide events. You should also be able to accurately depict the functioning of our government and which branches are responsible for which tasks. Reading the politics section in your paper, flipping to the news channel every once in a while, tuning into electoral debates during campaigns, and subscribing to magazines like Time, Newsweek, or U.S. News and World Report will keep you in the know. For someone who is apathetic in politics, the motivation to become informed has to come from within you. And to be brutally honest, many people would hear this a nd it would go in one ear and come right back out the next. As a last resort, we could require that all registered voters pass a comprehension test to prove their knowledge of politics. If we threaten to take the option to vote away from the uninformed, it could be just the spark we need to get them thinking seriously about politics. Amendments 15, 19, 24, and 26 to the Constitution only say that you cannot deny someone a vote on account of race, sex, failure to pay tax, or age after the individual reaches 18. Immigrants have to pass a test before being allowed to vote. Why do we assume that that all American-born citizens already know everything they need to know before voting? We have now analyzed the consequences of being an uninformed voter, the root cause of uninformed voting, and potential solutions to the problem. Winston Churchill once said, â€Å"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.† It doesn’t have to be that way. We can all become more informed.

Should School Be Compulsory? :: essays research papers

I believe that, after year 6, school should NOT be compulsory. By the time you have completed your primary education, you have learned the basic skills needed to get through life. High school is simply an extension of the basic skills learned in the primary school system, and is unneeded unless you pursue your education to a very high degree.It is not the government's decision whether or not you should have to attend high school. It should be the individual's choice, and forced on no-one, because by the time you have completed your primary education, you are old enough to make this decision.In high school there are more trouble makers who only disrupt the classes because they do not want to be there. These people disrupt the class and make it more difficult for those who are interested in the subject and want to learn. If school were optional, these students would not be in classes disrupting the class and ruining the chances of other students. Instead, they could be out in the work force making money and beginning their careers earlier, giving them more experience in the workforce and making it easier for them to rise up to a postition of responsibility. If school were optional, it would benefit both the students that want to learn and those that do not, and would rather be in the workforceThe sort of education that is offered in the high school system is not needed by all people. After primary school, students have learned the basic skills required to work in an untrained proffession, and do not need the more advanced education that high school offers. Sons or daughters often carry on the family business, and after completing their primary education, any further, more advanced education is unnecassary, because they can learn all they need to know about their future proffession from their father/mother.

Deception Point Page 78

â€Å"Anyhow, Mike,† the message went on, â€Å"tonight was incredible. Kind of makes you proud to be a scientist, doesn't it? Everyone's talking about how good this looks for NASA. Screw NASA, I say! This looks even better for us! Amazing Seas ratings must have gone up a few million points tonight. You're a star, man. A real one. Congrats. Excellent job.† There was hushed talking on the line, and the voice came back. â€Å"Oh, yeah, and speaking of Xavia, just so you don't get too big a head, she wants to razz you about something. Here she is.† Xavia's razor voice came on the machine. â€Å"Mike, Xavia, you're a God, yada yada. And because I love you so much, I've agreed to baby-sit this antediluvian wreck of yours. Frankly, it will be nice to be away from these hoodlums you call scientists. Anyhow, in addition to baby-sitting the ship, the crew has asked me, in my role as onboard bitch, to do everything in my power to keep you from turning into a conceited bastard, which after tonight I realize is going to be difficult, but I had to be the first to tell you that you made a boo-boo in your documentary. Yes, you heard me. A rare Michael Tolland brain fart. Don't worry, there are only about three people on earth who will notice, and they're all anal-retentive marine geologists with no sense of humor. A lot like me. But you know what they say about us geologists-always looking for faults!† She laughed. â€Å"Anyhow, it's nothing, a minuscule point about meteorite petrology. I only mention it to ruin your night. You mig ht get a call or two about it, so I thought I'd give you the heads-up so you don't end up sounding like the moron we all know you really are.† She laughed again. â€Å"Anyhow, I'm not much of a party animal, so I'm staying onboard. Don't bother calling me; I had to turn on the machine because the goddamned press have been calling all night. You're a real star tonight, despite your screwup. Anyhow, I'll fill you in on it when you get back. Ciao.† The line went dead. Michael Tolland frowned. A mistake in my documentary? Rachel Sexton stood in the restroom of the G4 and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked pale, she thought, and more frail than she'd imagined. Tonight's scare had taken a lot out of her. She wondered how long it would be before she would stop shivering, or before she would go near an ocean. Removing her U.S.S. Charlotte cap, she let her hair down. Better, she thought, feeling more like herself. Looking into her eyes, Rachel sensed a deep weariness. Beneath it, though, she saw the resolve. She knew that was her mother's gift. Nobody tells you what you can and can't do. Rachel wondered if her mother had seen what happened tonight. Someone tried to kill me, Mom. Someone tried to kill all of us†¦ Rachel's mind, as it had for several hours now, scrolled through the list of names. Lawrence Ekstrom†¦ Marjorie Tench†¦ President Zach Herney. All had motives. And, more chillingly, all had means. The President is not involved, Rachel told herself, clinging to her hope that the President she respected so much more than her own father was an innocent bystander in this mysterious incident. We still know nothing. Not who†¦ not if†¦ not why. Rachel had wanted to have answers for William Pickering but, so far, all she'd managed to do was raise more questions. When Rachel left the restroom, she was surprised to see Michael Tolland was not in his seat. Corky was dozing nearby. As Rachel looked around, Mike stepped out of the cockpit as the pilot hung up a radiophone. His eyes were wide with concern. â€Å"What is it?† Rachel asked. Tolland's voice was heavy as he told her about the phone message. A mistake in his presentation? Rachel thought Tolland was overreacting. â€Å"It's probably nothing. She didn't tell you specifically what the error was?† â€Å"Something to do with meteorite petrology.† â€Å"Rock structure?† â€Å"Yeah. She said the only people who would notice the mistake were a few other geologists. It sounds like whatever error I made was related to the composition of the meteorite itself.† Rachel drew a quick breath, understanding now. â€Å"Chondrules?† â€Å"I don't know, but it seems pretty coincidental.† Rachel agreed. The chondrules were the one remaining shred of evidence that categorically supported NASA's claim that this was indeed a meteorite. Corky came over, rubbing his eyes. â€Å"What's going on?† Tolland filled him in. Corky scowled, shaking his head. â€Å"It's not a problem with the chondrules, Mike. No way. All of your data came from NASA. And from me. It was flawless.† â€Å"What other petrologic error could I have made?† â€Å"Who the hell knows? Besides, what do marine geologists know about chondrules?† â€Å"I have no idea, but she's damned sharp.† â€Å"Considering the circumstances,† Rachel said, â€Å"I think we should talk to this woman before we talk to Director Pickering.† Tolland shrugged. â€Å"I called her four times and got the machine. She's probably in the hydrolab and can't hear a damn thing anyway. She won't get my messages until morning at the earliest.† Tolland paused, checking his watch. â€Å"Although†¦ â€Å" â€Å"Although what?† Tolland eyed her intensely. â€Å"How important do you think it is that we talk to Xavia before we talk to your boss?† â€Å"If she has something to say about chondrules? I'd say it's critical. Mike,† Rachel said, â€Å"at the moment, we've got all kinds of contradictory data. William Pickering is a man accustomed to having clear answers. When we meet him, I'd love to have something substantial for him to act on.† â€Å"Then we should make a stop.† Rachel did a double take. â€Å"On your ship?† â€Å"It's off the coast of New Jersey. Almost directly on our way to Washington. We can talk to Xavia, find out what she knows. Corky still has the meteorite sample, and if Xavia wants to run some geologic tests on it, the ship has a fairly well-equipped lab. I can't imagine it would take us more than an hour to get some conclusive answers.† Rachel felt a pulse of anxiety. The thought of having to face the ocean again so soon was unnerving. Conclusive answers, she told herself, tempted by the possibility. Pickering will definitely want answers. 92 Delta-One was glad to be back on solid ground. The Aurora aircraft, despite running at only one-half power and taking a circuitous ocean route, had completed its journey in under two hours and afforded the Delta Force a healthy head start to take up position and prepare themselves for the additional kill the controller had requested. Now, on a private military runway outside D.C., the Delta Force left the Aurora behind and boarded their new transport-a waiting OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter. Yet again, the controller has arranged for the best, Delta-One thought. The Kiowa Warrior, originally designed as a light observation helicopter, had been â€Å"expanded and improved† to create the military's newest breed of attack helicopter. The Kiowa boasted infrared thermal imaging capability enabling its designator/laser range finder to provide autonomous designation for laser-guided precision weapons like Air-to-Air Stinger missiles and the AGM-1148 Hellfire Missile System. A high-speed digital signal processor provided simultaneous multitarget tracking of up to six targets. Few enemies had ever seen a Kiowa up close and survived to tell the tale. Delta-One felt a familiar rush of power as he climbed into the Kiowa pilot's seat and strapped himself in. He had trained on this craft and flown it in covert ops three times. Of course, never before had he been gunning for a prominent American official. The Kiowa, he had to admit, was the perfect aircraft for the job. Its Rolls-Royce Allison engine and twin semirigid blades were â€Å"silent running,† which essentially meant targets on the ground could not hear the chopper until it was directly over them. And because the aircraft was capable of flying blind without lights and was painted flat black with no reflective tail numbers, it was essentially invisible unless the target had radar.