Lightning Phenomenon Essays - Lightning, Meteorology,

Lightning Phenomenon Lightning is a characteristic wonder that happens more frequently than we might suspect it does. That streaking streak, trailed by an uproarious thundering commotion, that makes your knees clasp is hazardous as a result of its capricious striking power. Being struck by lightning can be lethal, so the more insurances you take in front of time, the more secure you are. Lightning not just influences us, it additionally has an extraordinary sway on our man-made structures and obviously, our normal environmental factors. As indicated by Professor Martin Uman, one of the world's driving lightning specialists: Lightning is an impact of jolt inside a tempest. As the rainstorm creates, collaborations of charged particles produce an extraordinary electrical field inside the cloud. An enormous positive charge is as a rule amassed in the solidified upper layers of the cloud and a huge negative charge with a littler positive are is found in the lower divides. (4) This produces what you see, a lightning streak, which might be two or 300 feet in length (25). The glimmer itself might be just as wide as a pencil, but since it is very sweltering, more smoking than the sun, its gleam seems, by all accounts, to be wide to the natural eye. When lightning pushes the air from its way, it grows it rapidly causing a 2 boisterous blast, which we call thunder (25). William R. Newcott, some portion of the National Geographic Editorial Staff, depicts lightning as a waterway of power racing through a gully of air. Moving [SIC] quick as 100,000 miles a second, lightning singes wild and relentless through bent channel as long as ten miles, (83) he clarified. Lightning, being a characteristic event, is entirely eccentric which makes it much progressively risky. Martin Uman, executive of the University of Florida's Lightning Research Laboratory is cited in Omni saying, A man was chatting on a phone close to Gainesville, Florida, when lightning hit the wires. He passed on in a flash, shocked. Three or four individuals bite the dust that way consistently (Wolkomir 1). It is difficult to accept that somebody could simply bite the dust while utilizing the telephone. No one can really tell what will occur next when it comes to lightning. Truth be told, even as of late, the territory of New Jersey was hit by lightning causing different threats. On June 6, 1996, a Sewaren oil capacity tank in Woodbridge, New Jersey, was hit by lightning causing a fierce blast. This fire bursted for an incredible 28 hours. As per a staff report in the Asbury Park Press, two representatives endeavoring to kill the force to the territory endured electrical consumes, and were evidently the main setbacks (A1). Luckily, the 3 different tanks didn't detonate, or a couple more setbacks may have come about. Numerous individuals in the zone felt and heard the power of the blast. Staff authors include, that close by unwinding in his pontoon off Cliff Road, Rick Bothwell detailed inclination the blast, even on the water. I heard a blast and a whoosh. It felt like a blast out of a cylinder, he said (A1). Inland, close by neighbors additionally felt the effect of the blast. The ground just thundered from the front of house to the back, said Richard Swallick, who lives on West Avenue inside two or three hundred yards of the tank field (A1). Specialists are exceptionally uncertain with regards to what caused this practically awful blast. Moreover in this article, Elaine Makatura, a representative for the state division of Natural Protection, said it was too soon to guess on what the natural effect of the burst will be (Staff Report A5). In otherwords, they don't have the foggiest idea whether any unsafe synthetic compounds were discharged during the blast. Contaminants noticeable all around could cause a difficult issue for neighbors of the gas store region. Subsequent to something like this occurs, the inquiry that rings a bell, is would lightning be able to strike twice? All things considered, as per Bernhard Warner, a staff author for the Asbury Park Press, there was a littler blast in Linden, New Jersey, at the Tosco Refining Co. in no time before the one in Woodbridge detonated (A5). A 4 supervisor at the treatment facility would not say in the case of lightning caused the fire, since it is still under scrutiny. It appears the more things, we find out about nature, the more inquiries emerge. Sway Friant, a representative for the State Department of Community Affairs, is cited in the Home News and Tribune, via Sean P. Carr, saying we have always been unable to vanquish Mother Nature, and we never will be (B1). He has a genuine idealistic perspective, huh. In spite of the fact that, after Carr calls attention to that their are thirty-five

The Life and Poetry of W.B. Yeats Essay -- Poets, biography, Biographi

William Butler Yeats was conceived on the thirteenth of June in 1865, in Sandymount, Country Dublin, Ireland. His family was incredibly masterful. His dad, John Butler Yeats, contemplated workmanship at Heatherley’s Art School in London, his sibling Jack turned into a well-eminent painter, and his sisters Elizabeth and Susan got associated with the Arts and Crafts development, which was the utilization of handcrafted questions and boycotting mechanical articles. Yeats grew up as an individual from the previous Protestant Ascendancy, where the adjustments in Ireland legitimately hindered him as a result of his legacy. During his youth, he encountered political force moving ceaselessly from the Protestant Ascendancy, which impacted his sonnets later on in his life. At two years old, his family moved to England for his dad to contemplate craftsmanship and become a craftsman. From the outset, he and his kin were instructed at home, where his mom engaged them with stories and folktales from Ireland. His dad gave an instruction of just topography and science and took William to common history investigations. On 26 January 1877, William Yeats entered the Godolphin elementary school in Hammersmith where he would learn for a long time, before his family moved back to Dublin. In 1881, Yeats proceeded with his training at Erasmus Smith High School in Dublin, close to his father’s studio. Yeats invested the vast majority of his energy there, meeting the city’s craftsmen and essayists. It was during this time when he began to compose verse. During the long periods of 1884 and 1886, Yeats went to the Metropolitan School of Art, when in 1885 his verse works and paper of â€Å"The Poetry of Sir Samuel Ferguson† were distributed in the Dublin University Review. Others of his works from this time incorporate a play about a religious administrator, a priest and a lady ... ...ows of the irate desert flying creatures. The dimness drops once more; however now I know That twenty centuries of stony rest Were vexed to bad dream by a shaking support, Furthermore, what harsh brute, its hour come round finally, Sluggards towards Bethlehem to be conceived? The sonnet starts with a portrayal of different grievous circumstances: the bird of prey, an allegory for an individual, can't hear the falconer, God, which implies that individuals can't hear what God is stating, and that tumult and political agitation will maintain the administration. The Second Coming is when Jesus or some other strict figure returns to the world, and something major happens that changes the present lifestyle. For this situation, a dream of a sphinx comes out of Spiritus Mundi (Spirit of the World) and goes towards Bethlehem, potentially saying that the Anti-Christ will return and spread the awful happenings all through the world.

A View the from the Class Audrey Misquith COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

A View the from the Class Audrey Misquith COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog The SIPA Office of Alumni and Development is pleased to share another installment of A View from the Class, a SIPA stories series featuring current SIPA students, recently graduated alumni, and SIPA faculty. In this issue, we feature recently graduated SIPA student Audrey Misquith MPA 18, Master of Public Administration concentrating in Economic and Political Development (EDP) and specializing in Advanced Policy and Economic Analysis.   What were you doing prior to attending SIPA? After graduating from Bangalore University with a bachelor’s degree in financial management and a minor in accounting and taxation, I worked as a deputy manager at a government-owned development bank in India. I led teams through entire credit cycles, specializing in the sectors of agriculture, education, medicine, and infrastructure. On the side, I designed initiatives and managed operations for two education non-profits that served low-income school children. Why did you choose SIPA? I chose SIPA for its widely-recognized reputation as a global public policy school. Since my regional interests lay in South Asia, Africa, and the Middle-East, SIPA was a good fit given its vast repertoire of courses tailored to this region.   I was particularly interested in transitioning to the non-profit sector and with my previous banking experience with small and medium enterprises and agriculturists, I hoped to gain solid academic training that would complement the practical skills I had picked up on the field. Why did you choose your particular areas of study? The EPD track offered what I was looking for. The workshop component meant applying important skills learned in the classroom on the ground with the opportunity to work with innovative social enterprises and multilateral organizations. I chose Advanced Policy and Economic Analysis as my specialization to further widen my data analytic skill-set. Please describe some of your SIPA experiences. My SIPA experience has been fabulous. Highlights include a class on “Global Inequality” with Professor Suresh Naidu, “Advanced Economic Development” with Professor Eric Verhoogen, and classes with political science and humanitarian industry experts, Dr. Lisa Anderson and Dr. Dirk Salomons. My summer internship at Plan International in Uganda was a fulfilling experience as well. My primary responsibility was to inform the operating model of a scale-up of Plan’s flagship economic empowerment program for youth farmers. This semester, I travelled to Brazil to meet with government officials and the World Food Programme’s staff to assess the World Food Programme’s Center of Excellence(CoE)’s south-south cooperation strategy with the West African region. Recently, my team claimed the runners-up prize for the Dean’s Public Policy Challenge grant and won a $20,000 grant to fully launch a technological platform to raise HIV awareness in Indias rural district of Solapur. What are your plans after SIPA? I am most interested in roles that involve a combination of program design and implementation. I like to get my hands dirty, so roles that entail scaling up a development intervention or building an initiative from scratch are most appealing. I lean towards food security and livelihoods and public health.

The Impact of Video Games on Children - 2120 Words

Children and teenagers form a good number of the world’s population. Their large numbers means they are a good market for any product that targets them. Their customer loyalty is also outstanding since they do this until they outgrow the product. Companies that sell to this age group usually have to do their marketing once in a while since most of the marketing is done by their clients, the children and teens. Children and teens make this possible by asking their parents to buy them products similar to those of their peers. Statement of purpose The purpose of this paper is to research on whether video games are bad on children or teens. Hypothesis Many toys have been manufactured for use by children and teenagers in their play. Video games are also sought after for play by children. This paper is going to look at whether video games are good or bad for children and teenagers. The Hypothesis in this case will be; †¢ Video games are bad for children. †¢ Video games cause violence in children Reason why parents buy video games There are many reasons why parents buy video games for their children. One is reason is that parents buy video games for their children to act as a distraction for them. Most of such parents do not want to be disturbed by their children when they come from work or when working on some chores at home. The best alternative to them is buying video games for their children so that they can be kept busy and they get time to relax and enjoy their time orShow MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Video Games On Children1594 Words   |  7 PagesStaffileno 12 April 2017 The Impact of Video Games on Children Introduction â€Å"Video games are bad for you, that’s what they said about rock-n-roll† (Shigeru Miyamoto). Video gaming is regarded as a ubiquitous part of children and adolescents’ life. Children who are daily involved in this activity in the US account for 97% of their total. Additionally, for those at an average of 8-13 years old, approximately, 8.5% of them are addicted to playing video games. Moreover, children at the age of 13-18 spendRead MoreNegative Impact Of Video Games On Children1278 Words   |  6 PagesNegative Impact Of Video Games When you look around these days, kids as young as five years old are holding their portable devices as their eyes are glued to their screens and their minds clueless about their surroundings. Increasing violence and contents of the video games have a huge impact on our generation of young children mentally and physically. When I was growing up, video games used to be a source connecting people around the world with their mutual love of fun filled games. However, overRead MoreViolent Video Games and Their Impact on Children850 Words   |  3 PagesViolent Video Games and Their Impact on Children Outline Introduction A. Thesis: Although there are some reports of such games terribly impacting children, most research says that the violence in them is understood to be unrealistic, and thus not internalized and regurgitated back through increased aggressiveness in behavior. Reports Showing Violent Video Games Increase Aggression Exposure to violent video games has been lined to increases in aggression. Such reports have linked violent videoRead MoreThe Negative Impact of Video Game Violence on Children Essay example735 Words   |  3 Pagesfactors is children playing violent video games. Although video games are commonly used by children there can be negative effects when introduced to violent video games. Recent studies have shown a correlation between violent video games and the behavior of young children. Violent video games influence childrens behavior because their attitudes become more aggressive, the availability of violent games has become very easy for children , and with the help of technology the graphics of the video gamesRead MoreImpacts of Video Gaming1704 Words   |  7 PagesScientific research supports that video games have implications on the youngsters. In addition, they support the claim with concrete findings addressed in the literature review. In their reports, various researchers state that video games affect the social, psychological, and physical well-be ing of children. This research report supports the scientific view that although video games are beneficial in terms of improving attention, they negatively affect the children’s social being on a deeper contextRead MoreEffects of Violent Video Games on Children Essay1660 Words   |  7 PagesEffects of Violent Video Games on Children The use of video games has become tremendously popular among children and adolescents in the past decade. In fact, â€Å"Sixty-eight percent of U.S. households play computer or video games.† (David Jenkins, 2009) This statistic reveals how important it is to understand the effects that these games can have on individuals and more specifically, children. Over the years, numerous studies have been conducted investigating whether video games have positive orRead MoreDangers Of Video Games880 Words   |  4 Pagesmost children like to play video games. Sometimes, parents have seen their children the violence and aggression. Video Games helpful or dangerous. Video Games have developed dramatically. It has been a controversial discussion of whether video games are helpful or dangerous to a child. Indeed some are of the view that video games are dangerous because it has a negative impact on the health for children, and because they have filled with violent content. However, in my observation, some video gamesRead MoreThe Effects of Video Games on Children1610 Words   |  6 Pagesparticipants also suggested that the games caused the children to have strong imaginations, while a few disagreed. 61.0% said that electronic games did not cause the children to lack good behavior. The survey also showed that electronic games do not cause the children to be skilled in terms of their self expression, and do not cause them visual stress. On the issue concerning obesity, the percentage of the respondents who said that electronic games caused children to be obese was equal to the fractionRead MoreViolent Video Games Essay889 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å" Video game violence has become a highly politicized issue for scientists and the general public † ( Ferguson, 2007 p309). The video game is always controversial as some of them contain sexual and violence and so on. Especially some violence games were played by the adolescents. Adolescents are very fragility. Vi olent video games are negative for the children which will impact their social relationship, their health and make them has aggressive behavior. First violent video games will impactRead MoreEffects of Video Games on Childrens Behavior1744 Words   |  7 PagesAn analysis about the effects of video games on children behavior Effect of Video Games on Children’s Behavior Introduction Social scientists have been examining the effect that video games have on behavior. From the introduction of video games in the 1980s, there have been numerous research studies to this effect (Andersen Taylor, 2008). The issue has become even more significant in the modern context because these video games have become bloodier and more realistic than ever before. Even

Modal Verbs Grammar and Construction for ESL

Modal verbs help qualify a verb by saying what a person can, may, should, or must do, as well as what might happen. The grammar used with modal verbs can be confusing at times. Generally speaking, modal verbs act like auxiliary verbs in that they are used together with a main verb. She has lived in New York for ten years. - auxiliary verb hasShe might live in New York for ten years. - modal verb might Some modal forms such as have to, be able to and need are sometimes used with together with auxiliary verbs: Do you have to work tomorrow?Will you be able to come to the party next week? Others such as can, should, and must are not used with an auxiliary verb: Where should I go?They mustnt waste time.   This page provides an overview of the most common modal verbs including many exceptions to the rule. Can - May Both can and may are used in question form to ask permission. Examples of Asking Permission with May and Can Can I come with you?May I come with you? In the past, may was considered correct and can incorrect when asking for permission. However, in modern English it is common to use both forms and considered correct by all but the strictest of grammarians. Can - To Be Allowed To One of the uses of can is to express permission. In the simplest sense, we use can as a polite form to request something. However, at other times can expresses permission to do something specific. In this case, to be allowed to do something can also be used. To be allowed to is more formal and is commonly used for rules and regulations. Examples of Simple Questions: Can I come with you?Can I make a telephone call? Examples of Asking Permission Can I go to the party? Am I allowed to go to the party?Can he take the course with me? Is he allowed to take the course with me? Can - To Be Able To Can is also used to express ability. Another form that can be used to express ability is to be able to. Usually, either of these two forms can be used. I can play the piano. Im able to play the piano.She can speak Spanish. Shes able to speak Spanish. There is no future or perfect form of can. Use to be able to in both future and perfect tenses. Jacks been able to golf for three years.Ill be able to speak Spanish when I finish the course. Special Case of the Past Positive Form When speaking about a specific (non-general) event in the past only to be able to is used in the positive form. However, both can and to be able to are used in the past negative. I was able to get tickets for the concert. NOT I could get tickets for the concert.I couldnt come last night. OR I wasnt able to come last night. May / Might   May and might are used to express future possibilities. Do not use helping verbs with may or might. He may visit next week.She might fly to Amsterdam.   Must Must is used for strong personal obligation. When something is very important to us at a particular moment we use must. Oh, I really must go.My tooth is killing me. I must see a dentist. Have to Use have to for daily routines and responsibilities. He has to get up early every day.Do they have to travel often? Mustnt vs. Dont Have To Remember that mustnt expresses prohibition. Dont have to expresses something that is not required. However, if the person may choose to do so if he or she pleases. Children mustnt play with medicine.I dont have to go to work on Fridays. Should Should is used to ask for or give advice. Should I see a doctor?He should leave soon if he wants to catch the train. Should, Ought to, Had Better Both ought to and had better express the same idea as should. They can usually be used in place of should. You should see a dentist. Youd better see a dentist.They should join a team. They ought to join a team. NOTE: had better is a more urgent form. Modal Various Verb Forms Modal verbs are generally followed by the base form of the verb. She should come with us to the party.They must finish their homework before dinner.I might play tennis after work. Modal Verbs of Probability Modal verbs grammar can become especially confusing when taking a look at the verbs which follow the modal verb itself. Usually, modal verbs grammar dictates that modal verbs are followed by the base form of the verb to the present or future moment. However, Modal verbs can also be used with other forms of verbs. The most common of these modal verbs grammar forms is the use of the modal plus a perfect form to refer to a past time when using a modal verb of probability. She must have bought that house.Jane could have thought he was late.Tim cant have believed her story. Other forms used include the modal plus the progressive form to refer to what may / should / could be happening at the present moment of time. He may be studying for his math exam.He must be thinking about the future.Tom can be driving that truck, hes sick today.

The Effects Of Drug Use Free Essays

Maybe some of us have a good idea that the illegal drug business is still huge but covered somewhere among the â€Å"black† economy markets. After all the numbers one could hear tossed around, I am afraid that the sad truth could be, that no one really knows just how huge this business might be, how many people die, how much blood money has been made and than laundered into legal businesses. It is terrible to imagine how many subways and basements come to be â€Å"the places for being in the clouds†. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effects Of Drug Use or any similar topic only for you Order Now According to the National Drug Prevention League drugs are an object of the fastest growing trade, except the Internet. Some of you might share my opinion that it is a billion-dollar industry that takes a comfortable place in our society. Drugs have always been with mankind as we seem to carry an inherent need to consume mind altering substances. Many people, who didn’t use drugs before, know only that â€Å"that thing† can make them feel in a strange way. But drugs could harm people when using them. It is not a secret that the consequences could be severe for the users. It is essential that people are educated at a very young age and presented with the appropriate social re-enforcers to understand that there are viable reasons that drugs are dangerous – they destroy lives. Drugs affect people’s thinking, awareness and senses. They have huge effect on people’s physical and mental health because of the chemical reactions they provoke in humans’ bodies. They lead to hallucinations, hearing voices, suspision and a feeling of â€Å"everyone is out to get me†. Also they make most of the organs in your body disfunction, poison blood, kill brain cells and finally, in most cases, kill the person that abuses them. Hallucinations can make people experience things that aren’t real. Probably drug users are looking exactly for that â€Å"escaping the reality† for a while. Don’t you think that until now, modes of life have been based on the material slavery of the masses? Does our society offer us a different life than working all day long and going home to get some rest for the next working day? Maybe not, and maybe that is why people who are using drugs do believe drugs are the magic formula that leads someone to a world totally different from the boring every-day life. There is a clich? that says – â€Å"People have the strange instinct to break every rule once it is established†. When I went to Holland 3 years ago, I found that the government had established some rules that were quite strange for me at first. In 1976, Holland decriminalized marijuana possession. From that time on one can go into a retail shop and purchase small amounts of marijuana. This could be one of the reasons why Holland has a low level of heroin use, a low level of cocaine use, much lower than most of the other countries do. What actually happened was that the marijuana became the filter, preventing harder drug use. But do people of our society really know where the drugs are going to and who are their greatest consumers? It is a pity that one of the easiest places to find some drugs could be in schools. Students who turn to more potent drugs usually do so after first using cigarettes and alcohol, and then marijuana. Maybe there are some people who know that drugs transform schools into marketplace for dope dealers. However, students who continue to use drugs learn that drugs can make strange things with their thoughts and feelings, and the greater a student’s involvement with marijuana, the more likely it is that student could begin to use other drugs in conjunction with marijuana. When talking about night parties, I got used to seeing guys smoking marijuana as imperturbably as they drink their beers. Can you think about somebody you know who has taken drugs in front of you? Here, the bad thing could be that you might have seen at least one person taking drugs freely. â€Å"This is a family problem†- some could say. And according Dan Check’s book † The Success and Failure of George Bush’s War on Drugs† the problem is coming rather from the family than somewhere else. Maybe the society has to rely on the family, as being the strongest entity in its structure to solve the huge-spread drug problem that exists. But here, the weird thing is that parents can’t really see the symptoms of drug addiction in their children. And it is a â€Å"public secret† that the gap between parents and kids is getting bigger and bigger. I don’t want to imagine what the difference between parents and children could be in the next generations. But parents shouldn’t wait until they think their child has a problem. Many young people in treatment programs say that they had used alcohol and other drugs for at least two years before their parents knew about it. Maybe their parents should begin to talk earlier about the effects of alcohol and other drugs use and keep the lines of communication open all the time. Isn’t it better to let your child know that you are concerned, and that you can work together to find answers of these so important questions? It is really harder to stop drug use among children once it is there. Most of the times, after students get involved with drugs, they start to sell them or begin to steal from family, friends, or employers in order to buy the next dose. Determining the consequences of harder drug use could help the new generation stop using them. Maybe facing the answer of this question will make people think about the real price they are paying when drugs are involved. Along with â€Å"escaping the boring reality†, the teeth rot out, the appetite is lost, and the stomach doesn’t function properly. The gall bladder becomes inflamed and eyes and skin turn yellow. In some cases, membranes of the nose turn a flaming red and breathing becomes difficult. Oxygen in the blood decreases, bronchitis and tuberculosis develop. Good traits of character disappear and bad ones emerge. Sex organs become affected too. Veins collapse. Nerves snap. Imaginary and fantastic fears blight the mind. Sometimes complete insanity results. Many times, death comes much too early. Such is the torment of being a drug addict and such is the plague of being one of the walking dead bodies. The statistics show that in the period 1994 – 1999 the rate of death caused by â€Å"hard-core† drugs use has increased with 6%. Maybe the answer for preventing humans and most of all the young people from taking dope is hidden somewhere among all these questions that are hard to be faced by the society. Who is responsible for this to happen? And who is really interested in preventing the dope disaster? Is there something that can be done if we, the human beings, do not realize the importance of the dope problem? Drugs have made a tremendous impact on American society over the past thirty to forty years, yet many Americans are ambivalent regarding their opinions relating to drugs in terms of decriminalization, availability, impact on society, and mental and physical health impacts. How to cite The Effects Of Drug Use, Essay examples

Human Psychological Behavior and Cyber Security Breaches

Question: Discuss about the Human Psychological Behavior and Cyber Security Breaches. Answer: Introduction Over the past 25 years information security and information risk management has been in its merge of development. From the deeper analysis of various cases of cyber attacks it is evident that most of them are as a result of human psychological and behavioral nature influence. This article is therefore organized in the perspective of recurring pattern that asks about identified computerized security affirmation and the impact of the human behavior and psychological nature towards information risk control. The objective of this work is to recognize segments of advanced security that would benefit by further research and change in light of the composition review disclosures. The content of this article present a necessity for the computerized security field to investigate set up industry districts to benefit by capable practices for instance, human trustworthiness assessment alongside upgraded methods for endorsement. The article proposes the change of a framework that will be in perspe ctive to describe a repeatable assessment which identifying with the compass of individual viewpoint exercises and can work with various organizational security models and cyber security acts. The paper additionally concentrates on the formation of different models and routes in which related digital wrongdoings as a major aspect of human data chance administration. The paper additionally reason towards formation of routes on how the past security models can be extended to fledgling dangers in human data management. It concludes with the discussion of various findings and the models to be used and what future research should entail. Several business and non trading organizations have been suffering from security breaches and cyber attacks which happen from within the internal environment of the business; most of the attacks are as a result of psychological state of the individual worker of behavioral leading to collapse and low profit margin by the organizations experiencing security breaches. This review suggests that human lead is not relentless and can be determinedly influenced by associations. Therefore, in this like manner a general artless conviction that awful things so to speak happen to different people (Halder, Jaishankar and Jaishankar 2012). Various investigations similarly found that people were anxious to endeavor risky practices. Individuals were truly compensated as they were seen as pleasing for allowing an event to happen without applying security controls or practice. In the midst of the written work review examine into various parts of attestation and human psychology and behavior was in like manner investigated. These incorporated the usage of fear interests and besides customer impressions of perilous direct identifying with computer and cyber security (Saini, Rao and Panda 2012). Fear as one of the parts of human conduct and psychological elements are convincing trades that merge as genuine destinations to get a result required by association. A positive fear ring would drive a risk control handle which can influence a productive outcome as the message recipient handles a mental way to remove a threat. Fear can be a decent component that can be used inside human associations and progressing, for instance, to move undermining Tosmo ruler. Johnston and Warkentin moreover laid out a Fear Appeals Model (FAM) lacing parts, for instance, maxim reality chance, and risk insufficiency, response sufficiency, self plenitude, social effect, prompts behavioral reason (Robinson 2006). Johnston and Warkentin moreover grant that the review helps the routine of information security relationship by revealing the trademark dangers of customer self-association. Moreover, customers are not solid in their practices approaches to manage impelled security and in this manner their ar rangements does not offer tasteful certification. A view that is moved around the present scene estimations highlighted before in this article. Besides the related human behavior direct some segment of cyber attacks and security breaches, are based on psychological attempts of unsafe lead whereby individuals would get a handle on action regardless of a known peril related with the development (Herath and Rao 2009). Johnston in like way express that individuals show a really earnest conviction that breaches essentially happen to different people. Aytes Connolly on the other hand commented that the self picture of present day, security sharp customers does not track problems security to an unfathomable degree with the accessibility and guaranteed associations. In like way, there is a specific enchanting thought included by Aytes and Connolly which bestowed that, by a wide edge of the time, customers can share passwords, open email relationship without checking them for infections and security dangers or with any negative outcomes (Anderson and Agarwal 2010). They are in truth repaid in this lead, since they are either seen as strong in case of sharing passwords or they save time by not checking for scopes and other data chance issues (McKnight, Cummings and Chervany 2008). According to this is hence stopped impossible to miss that as model identified with human conduct and mental models can be utilized to breaking point security ruptures which can be avoid as clarified. In association with the fear intrigue framework highlighted inside this article, it has been shown that fear interests in separation do not give intense or adequate attestation, as per its definition and affiliations an organization should not rely on this sort of framework. The message could be misconceived, ignored or even slighted in perspective of acknowledgments, associations and social effect (McKnight, Cummings and Chervany 2008). Henceforth, this approach should be used as an advised system just and remembering the true objective to present certification obliges feedback to the fear intrigue sender to assert consistence. This therefore explains the limitations of the model and a much accurate model based on the psychology and human behavior (Workman, Bommer and Straub 2008). This could be an arrival attestation message, channel, examination, report, test or audit. A better than average relationship here would be the usage of TCP in PC frameworks organization to guarantee movement as set out later in this article. Described insistence is central for effective information security organization as Aytes and Connolly express: The disclosures prescribe that it is unimaginable that PC customers will basically change their direct due to essentially being outfitted with additional information as for figuring perils and sharpen (Robinson 2006). It is likely that affiliations ought to approve consistence when the risks warrant information extricate. Application of various psychological and behavioral models can assist in the control of the daily increasing cyber attacks and security breaches. Companies as well as organizations should use behavioral and psychological approaches and perspectives to reduce the daily cyber crimes happening from within the organization setting. What is the connection amongst human psychology and conduct towards the expanding digital wrongdoings and data chances today? How can a formal confirmation identifying with human psychological research be made so as to set out different ways that can be utilized to contain information security breaches? What models of human brain science ought to organizations use keeping in mind the end goal to decrease the expanding digital assaults and security breaks on different firms inside different enterprises? Can human psychology and behavior be changed to have new human conduct which can help decrease a few digital assaults on the planet today? Research methodology The current study utilizes various types of interview to come up with various findings. It involves application of qualitative research technique where questions were developed in relation to behavior and psychological aspects. The questions were organized in such away where the interview was intensive with small number of respondents who were mostly the management teams of various firms. The research exploits all the three types or interview formats thats structured, unstructured and semi structural formats. The organization based on the structural questions involved the use of a chain of predetermined questions which were answered by all the selected groups. The application of this format of interview was accompanied with simple data analysis where various answers obtained are compared to another. In situation where the identified research target groups had a tight schedule unstructured interview was applied. In such cases there was application of questions which were not previously organized. Another form of interview structure used is the semi structural form of interview which combined both unstructured and structured forms where similar questions were asked to all the identified groups. Finding analysis According to the results obtained from the interview on various businesses as well as none trading organizations, several cyber crimes were found. It was found that there have been tremendous volumes of bona fide human administrations related data breaks paying little heed to the introduction of the Information Governance Toolkit (IGT) with more than seven thousand two hundred and fifty five clients (Workman, Bommer and Straub 2008). It is evident that even though NHS data cracks in the region of study in the year 2014 and 2011 showing an increased cyber attacks. An outcome from the review shows volume increases whereby there was a 101 percent advancement from the year 2013 to the year 2014 (Rhee, Kim and Ryu 2009). Outside of the Australia as a country, the case continues with unanticipated presentation of private or delicate data being 83% higher for social security relationship than different ventures however the most unimportant performing industry in scene reaction. as per the i nterview conducted on the Australian selected firms and organization it was found that the rate of cyber breaches have increased from 93% to 95% within a span of a year. It was discovered that most of the problems were psychological and human behavior related (Rhee, Kim and Ryu 2009). The Government in the year 2015 security breach audit outline that there had been a development in the amount of security breaks with broad margin to 90% compared to the last audit which revealed total breaches to be at 80%. According to this finding, one could have easily deduced that of cyber security breaks are believed to be continuing and has become an ordinary part of business now and cannot be completely decimated (Rhee, Kim and Ryu 2009). The diagram furthermore perceived that around 9 out of 10 endless affiliations evaluated now mope some over security break suggesting that these scenes are by a nearby conviction. The report similarly communicated that associations should ensure they are regulating the risk in like way, and notwithstanding the extension in staff care (Kraut et.al 2014). Organizational employees interviewed are inclined to realize that cyber attacks are contaminations and diverse sorts of poisonous programming which can results in to an organization seizing from operation and they can lose their jobs in the process. Strikingly the diagram found that levels of security care passed on had run up appeared differently in relation to the prior year regardless of the way that staff related cyber breaches have raised (Kraut et.al 2014). The review showed that 72% of extensive affiliations now pass on nonstop security care planning to their staff and 68% the previous year (Workman, Bommer and Straub 2008). This highlight simply pushes out standard security care information to the delegates which are not aloof strategies for computerized security attestation in association with human lead. According to the above theoretical frame and findings above, the paper therefore agrees with the prescriptions set by the government. As demonstrated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, confirmation is described as being 'Avocation for conviction that the other four security destinations; Respectability, openness, order, and obligation have been tastefully change by a particular utilization (Workman, Bommer and Straub 2008). Various stakeholders should therefore ensure that they have a psychological and behavioral model to cub the situation. In like manner, having that as a fundamental need, it is troublesome for fit people abiding at the most elevated purpose of the various leveled dynamic framework, for instance, Chief Official Officers, Boards, Managing Directors, Owners and Senior Managers to have assurance or guarantee that the information that their individual affiliation is responsible for taking care of is agreeably secured. This issue has been disturbed by the change of wording used during the time including utilization of the term affirmation incorrectly (Workman, Bommer and Straub 2008). It is truly insinuating the importance of supporting controls or countermeasures being associated. CESG recognized four segments of insistence inside an affirmation show. There are four segments of psychology and human behavior insistence, incidental affirmation, execution as confirmation and operational certification (Stanton et.al 2015). In light of the disseminated computerized security events and breaks in the scopes of operational insistence and outward affirmation inside the field of advanced security created in this model. CESG describes open practical affirmation as the activities critical to keep up the cyber security, structure or organization's security convenience once it has entered operational use (Stanton et.al 2015). Outward assertion is furthermore described as any development self-ruling of the change condition which gives a level of trust in the system of an organization. Management of various organizations should create various psychological models to maintain internal security breaches and cyber attacks. In light to the present position inside customary principles whereby security accreditation ventures should be flexible and require the relationship to comprehend what ought to be checked and the system for seeing as conveyed inside clarifications 9.1a and 9.1b by the English Standards Institution (Anderson and Agarwal 2010). Standard confirmation rehearses have been static for quite a while and not advanced at the pace of progression and mechanized security. It is fundamental to have a deft security certification structure set up to address the issues of separating affiliations and bodies. All things considered, the present structures are to an incredible degree wide and in spite of being in proximity for a long time does not show up, all around, to be thoroughly watching out for mechanized security particular accreditation necessities as the breaks and estimations laid out in this article have appeared. Conclusion From the above discussion and the whole content of the study it is evident that the available models applied to control cyber and information security breaches are not enough. This is deduced from the findings obtained through the interviews performed. According to the study analysis, most of the problems resulting to cyber attacks. Even though various models have been created, the rate of cyber security breaches still raises thus the need of specific models based on human behavior and psychology is created. The content of this paper has therefore suggested creation of various models based on human behavior as well as psychology can be utilized to reduce the increasing cyber security breaches. The future research should therefore include various gaps which are not included in the current study. These include models which can relate to various breaches resulting from unemployment as well as other factors. In conclusion the the psychological and behavioral models created in the study d iscussion should be utilized to help reduce the high rate of cyber crimes. References Anderson, C.L. and Agarwal, R., 2010. Practicing safe computing: a multimedia empirical examination of home computer user security behavioral intentions. Mis Quarterly, 34(3), pp.613-643. Stanton, J.M., Stam, K.R., Mastrangelo, P. and Jolton, J., 2015. Analysis of end user security behaviors. Computers security, 24(2), pp.124-133. Liang, H. and Xue, Y., 2010. Understanding security behaviors in personal computer usage: A threat avoidance perspective. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 11(7), p.394. Workman, M., Bommer, W.H. and Straub, D., 2008. Security lapses and the omission of information security measures: A threat control model and empirical test. Computers in human behavior, 24(6), pp.2799-2816. Kraut, R., Olson, J., Banaji, M., Bruckman, A., Cohen, J. and Couper, M., 2014. Psychological research online: report of Board of Scientific Affairs' Advisory Group on the Conduct of Research on the Internet. American psychologist, 59(2), p.105. Rhee, H.S., Kim, C. and Ryu, Y.U., 2009. Self-efficacy in information security: Its influence on end users' information security practice behavior. Computers Security, 28(8), pp.816-826. McKnight, D.H., Cummings, L.L. and Chervany, N.L., 2008. Initial trust formation in new organizational relationships. Academy of Management review, 23(3), pp.473-490. Herath, T. and Rao, H.R., 2009. Protection motivation and deterrence: a framework for security policy compliance in organisations. European Journal of Information Systems, 18(2), pp.106-125. Robinson, S.L., 2006. Trust and breach of the psychological contract. Administrative science quarterly, pp.574-599. Saini, H., Rao, Y.S. and Panda, T.C., 2012. Cyber-crimes and their impacts: A review. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications, 2(2), pp.202-9. Halder, D., Jaishankar, K. and Jaishankar, K., 2012. Cyber crime and the victimization of women: laws, rights and regulations. Information Science Reference.

Contrast Of Romeo And Juliet An West Side Story Essays -

Contrast Of Romeo And Juliet An West Side Story Contrast of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story Essay submitted by Bob Garrard Three Hundred Fifty Years of Blind Love: A Contraposition of Shakespeare and Robbins' Romeo and Juliet Andy Warhol once said, They say that time changes things, but actually you have to change them yourself. Two hundred fifty years passed between the original Romeo and Juliet and the premiere of West Side Story on Broadway in 1957. However, time did not change the message of the story, simply the creators' unique visions evolved. Shakespeare's delivery of the timeless tale of desperate love in his classic Romeo and Juliet proves to only intensify through retelling and modern interpretation. Audiences cherish Romeo and Juliet as one of the most beloved plays of all time from the Elizabethan Age to the present. Romeo and Juliet have attained the role as the quintessential lovers, and the noun, a Romeo, is synonymous with lover. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is closely based on Arthur Brooke's tale, The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet. The language, attitudes, and customs detailed in the play are generally English, in spite of Brooke's original Italian setting. In 1949, choreographer Jerome Robbins decided to retell Brooke and Shakespeare's romantic tragedy using song and dance, elements of racism and nationalism, and a modern vernacular. Robbins called upon the musical talents of composer Leonard Bernstein and the words of Arthur Laurents for the script and book. The love story proved to have universal appeal throughout all artistic forms, as it had already been adjusted for opera and ballet. The contemporary adaptation of this timeless classic alters details and deepens the message of hatred, but maintains Brooke and Shakespeare's vision. The relationships between the characters, plot sequence, and theme of hatred in West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet intertwine resulting in two similar, yet varying versions of the most famous love story of all time. The relationships between the characters of West Side Story and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet are reflective of their respective time periods and the original story. Maria and Juliet represent a slightly practical counterpart to both Tony's and Romeo's idealistic nature. Maria's brother Bernardo and Juliet's cousin Tybalt portray impulsively stubborn and violent characters who both die from wounds inflicted by the male lead. Lieutenant Schrank is similar to Prince Escalus, although Schrank is unfair in his treatment and attitude towards one gang- the Sharks. Anita and Nurse both take on the role as Juliet's confidant and trusted friend, often tampering with their roles as messengers. The mischievously tomboyish Anybodys, who desperately wants to be a Jet, would best fit into the role of Balthasar, since it was she who aided Tony in escaping after the rumble, as well as later informing the other Jets that Tony was being hunted. Finally, the character of Doc appears to fulfill the role of Friar Laurence because both possess somewhat of a peacekeeping nature. Doc attempts to get through to Tony by dramatically pleading, Why do you live like there's a war on? Why do you kill? (2.5). All of the characters are consistent to the heart and soul of the story as well as the slightly differing plots. West Side Story maintains Romeo and Juliet's intricate and exciting plot using appropriate adaptations to accommodate mid-twentieth-century pop culture. For instance, both artistic forms portray mutual disrespect between the parties. At the dawn of Romeo and Juliet, Capulet's cohorts harass Montague's. I will bite my thumb at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it, boasts Sampson (1.1.42-43). In the opening scene of West Side Story, several members of a Puerto Rican gang insult A-rab, a member of the opposing gang. It is here where Lieutenant Schrank becomes aware of the potential rumble. In Romeo and Juliet Escalus, Prince of Verona, threatens, If ever you disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace (1.1.103-104). In West Side Story, Schrank mediates in his own way when he declares, I got a hot surprise for you: you hoodlums don't own the streets(1.1). Later, another similarity takes place. Riff convinces Tony to attend the dance at the gym just as Benvolio persuades Romeo to attend the Capulets' masquerade. Tony confesses to Riff that he's reachin' out for something(1.2), just what, he doesn't know. Riff encourages Tony by proposing, Maybe what you're waitin' for'll be twitchin' at the dance! (1.2). Shakespeare and director Jerome Robbins choose to draw

Biography of Ruth Handler, Inventor of Barbie Dolls

Biography of Ruth Handler, Inventor of Barbie Dolls Ruth Handler (November 4, 1916–April 27, 2002) was an American inventor who created the iconic Barbie doll in 1959 (the doll was named after Handlers daughter Barbara). Barbie was introduced to the world at the American Toy Fair in New York City. The Ken doll was named after Handlers son and was introduced two years after Barbie debuted. Handler was the co-founder of Mattel, a company that manufactures a variety of popular toys. Fast Facts: Ruth Handler Known For: Handler founded the toy company Mattel and invented the Barbie doll.Born: November 4, 1916 in Denver, ColoradoParents: Jacob and Ida MoskoDied: April 27, 2002 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaSpouse: Elliot Handler (m. 1938-2002)Children: 2 Early Life Handler was born Ruth Marianna Mosko on November 4, 1916, in Denver, Colorado. Her parents were Jacob and Ida Mosko. She married Elliot Handler, her high school boyfriend, in 1938. Mattel With Harold Matt Matson, Elliot created a garage workshop in 1945. Their business name Mattel was a combination of the letters of their last and first names. Matson soon sold his share of the company, so the Handlers, Ruth and Elliot, took full control. Mattels first products were picture frames. However, Elliot eventually started making dollhouse furniture from picture frame scraps. That proved to be such a success that Mattel switched to making nothing but toys. Mattels first big-seller was the Uka-a-doodle, a toy ukulele. It was the first in  the line  of musical toys. In 1948, the Mattel Corporation was formally incorporated in California. In 1955, the company changed toy marketing forever  by acquiring the rights to produce the popular Mickey Mouse Club products. The cross-marketing promotion became common  practice  for future toy companies. In 1955, Mattel released  a  successful patented toy cap gun called the burp gun. Invention of Barbie In 1959, Ruth Handler created  the Barbie doll. Handler would later refer to herself as Barbies mom. Mattell founders Ruth and Elliott Handler with a barbie doll. Courtesy of Mattel   Handler watched her daughter Barbara and friends playing with paper dolls. The children used them to play make-believe, imagining roles as college students,  cheerleaders,  and adults with careers. Handler aspired  to invent a doll that would better facilitate the way young girls were playing with their dolls. Handler and Mattel introduced Barbie, the teenage fashion model, to skeptical toy buyers at the annual Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959. The new doll was very unlike the baby and toddler dolls that were popular at the time. This was a doll with an adult body. What was the inspiration? During a family trip to Switzerland, Handler saw the German-made Bild Lilli doll in a Swiss shop and bought one. The Bild Lilli doll was a collectors item  and  not intended for sale to children; however, Handler used it as the basis for her design for Barbie. The Barbie doll’s first boyfriend, the Ken Doll, debuted two years after Barbie in 1961. Handler said Barbie was a symbol of freedom and possibility for young girls and women: â€Å"Barbie has always represented that a woman has choices. Even in her early years, Barbie did not have to settle for only being Ken’s girlfriend or an inveterate shopper. She had the clothes, for example, to launch a career as a nurse, a stewardess, a nightclub singer. I believe the choices Barbie represents helped the doll catch on initially, not just with daughters- who would one day make up the first major wave of women in management and professionals- but also with mothers.† The Story of Barbie Handler created a personal story for the very first Barbie doll. She was named Barbie Millicent Roberts and she was from Willows, Wisconsin. Barbie was a teenage fashion model. Now, however, the doll has been made in many versions connected to over 125 different careers, including president of the United States. Barbie came as either a brunette or blond, and in 1961, a red-headed Barbie was released. In 1980, the first African-American Barbie and Hispanic Barbie were introduced. The first Barbie was sold for $3. Additional clothing based on the latest runway trends from Paris were sold as well for between $1 and $5. In 1959, the year Barbie was released, 300,000 Barbie dolls were sold. Today, a mint condition #1 Barbie doll can fetch as much as $27,000. To date, more than 70 fashion designers have made clothes for Mattel, using in excess of 105 million yards of fabric. There has been some controversy over Barbies figure ever since it was realized that if the doll were a real person, her measurements would be an impossible 36-18-38. Barbies real measurements are 5 inches (bust), 3 1/4 inches (waist), and 5 3/16 inches (hips). Her weight is 7  ¼ ounces, and her height is 11.5 inches. In 1965, Barbie had bendable legs and eyes that opened and shut. In 1967, a Twist N Turn Barbie was released that had a movable body that twisted at the waist. The best-selling Barbie doll of all time was the Totally Hair Barbie of 1992, which had hair from the top of her head to her toes. Other Inventions After fighting breast cancer and undergoing a mastectomy in 1970, Handler surveyed the market for a suitable prosthetic breast. Disappointed by the options available, she set about designing a replacement breast that was more similar to a natural one. In 1975, Handler received a patent for Nearly Me, a prosthesis made of material close in weight and density to that of natural breasts. Death Handler developed colon cancer in her 80s. She died on April 27, 2002, at the age of 85. Handler was survived by her husband, who died on July 21, 2011. Legacy Handler created one of the worlds most successful toy companies, Mattel. Her Barbie doll is one of the most popular and iconic toys in the world. In 2016, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris had a Barbie show featuring hundreds of dolls alongside artworks inspired by Barbie. Sources Gerber, Robin.  Barbie and Ruth: the Story of the Worlds Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her. Harper, 2010.Stone, Tanya.  The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: a Dolls History and Her Impact on Us. Paw Prints, 2015.

Film analysis with historical references - Cidade de Deus (City of Research Paper

Film analysis with historical references - Cidade de Deus (City of God) (2002) - Research Paper Example The book was written by Paulo Lins, who was born in 1958 in Estacio, a black district of Rio, close to the docks; and later was rehoused in the City of God after the disastrous floods of 1966 (Lamnews, 2004). Living in the broken city with almost no infrastructure, Paulo experienced the dark side of the favela – the local gangsters, drug dealers, murders and thefts. The book was later turned into a feature film in 2003 that was critically acclaimed around the world, was nominated for four Academy Awards and gave a deep insight on the burning issue in Latin America – youth violence, crime and drugs (Oliveira, 2009). This write-up attempts to analyze the movie Cidade de Deus (City of God) in the historical and present context of youth violence and crime in Latin America. The Story of Cidade de Deus (2003) The movie "City of God" opens with a frantic chicken escaping slaughter hounded by a gang of pistol-packing prepubescents. The chase leads the protagonist, photojournali st Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) in the middle of a proxy gunfight between the gangsters and the police. In a way, the first scene depicts the essence of the movie where Rocket is finding his ground between his two worlds. The movie unearths the decline of â€Å"City of God† over the span of 15 years, from a sunbaked ghetto of earth-colored houses having children playing soccer games and petty thievery in front yards into a sinister slum swarming with armed adolescent gangsters dealing in cocaine and murders. In the middle of this change, Rocket narrates his life in the slum, a child of the 60s; he witnesses barbarity, greed, rape and revenge that fuel a catastrophic gang war. The movie is split into three chapters, each drearier and more horrendous than the one before; narrating through parallels, the interweaving destinies of Rocket and his childhood playmates, Li'l Dice (Douglas Silva) who changes his name upon growing up to Li'l Ze (Leandro Firmino da Hora) – an ult ra-violent, psychotic, drug-dealing socio-path. In the 70s, Li’l Ze’s only link to humanity is his lieutenant Benny (Phillipe Haagensen) whose murder leads him to be even more ferocious. Apart from dealing in hard drugs and combating with other gangs and police, Li'l Ze also â€Å"grooms† pre-teenagers (â€Å"Runts†) by supplying weapons and making them snoopers. A decade later, Li'l Ze's finds his empire threatened by the very Runts who rebel against his authority. It all builds up to a shootout between Li'l Ze and a rival gang leader Knockout Ned (Seu Jorge), a peaceable bus-fare collector turned avenger after Li'l Ze rapes his girlfriend and shoots his brother. Rocket, on the other hand, despite living in the middle of violence, escapes from the criminal life through his passion for photography. His sensational photo of Li'l Ze and his posse ends up on the front page of a newspaper. Surprisingly, Rocket is encouraged by the publicity-hungry thug to be his court photographer. Most of the movie's final bloodbath is witnessed through his camera's lens. The narration of City of God uses many close-up shots, extreme close-up shots and flash backs making the movie very gripping. Gangs and Crime in Latin America Youth gangs are among the core features of the landscape of violence in Latin America and the Caribbean. Known by many names, pandillas, maras, bandas, galeras, quadrilhas, barras, chapulines, they are permeating throughout the territory, and are

Thoughts and Experiences of a Travelling Tourist Essay

Thoughts and Experiences of a Travelling Tourist - Essay Example When we talk about the â€Å"Arabian Gulf† for example, Qatar, Kuwait, and Dubai, they almost share the same culture, religion, and language. People can find the hospitality in those countries that they never saw it before because it is a part of their culture. Arabian Gulf countries always attract people who search for summer activities like adventure, hunting, diving, luxurious hotels, traditional food, and so many other things. Furthermore, turrets always change their mind about those countries if they have misunderstood about Arab, Islam, or the Middle East in general. Middle East countries have been known to the world as dangerous countries because of the media and news, which have biased views. However, we sometimes need to see thing closely (Harrison 34). On the other hand, countries always share something together, which makes one say: it is really a small world. For example, when I went to Egypt I found that they share languages with other countries, with some of speaking Arabic, English, or even French. Egypt was really different country than all countries I’ve visited before, however. The people there are always happy and want to have fun and celebrate most of the time. They are willing to help others, especially tourists. We should not also forget the important things that make Egypt an attractive destination in Africa, which is Phrenic ancient, Nile River, museums, and the different cities like, Sharm Alshiekh, which is an awesome small city on the beach, located on the border of Israel. I also took a trip to Paris, arriving at Beauvais Airport outside the city. Thankfully, the airport offered shuttle services to take travelers to the city center, which depart every twenty minutes after the flight. I used the metro to commute around the city since it was cheaper, although sometimes I preferred to use the hop on or hop off tourist buses in the city.  

Marketing Planning Is A Logical Sequence Of Events Marketing Essay

Marketing Planning Is A Logical Sequence Of Events Marketing Essay Marketing planning is a logical sequence of events leading to the setting of marketing objectives and a formulation of plans for achieving them. The complexity of marketing planning means that when organizations embark on it, they should expect to encounter a number of organizational, attitudinal, process and cognitive problems. First we have generally explained the process of and techniques used for auditing the marketing environment. Then we have carried out the Swot and Pest analysis of our selected organization CHIEF. Chief is a Pakistani owned fast food company that is committed to providing innovative products that are consumer and lifestyle focused. Chief Burger offers a wide and varied menu to customers specializing in quality burger chicken products. We have also generally discussed different internal and external barriers to marketing planning and make suggestion that how CHIEF may overcome these barriers to marketing planning. We have briefly discussed that according to w hich techniques CHIEF should audit the marketing environment. We have also discussed other possible marketing barriers which CHIEF may undertake and give suggestions to deal with these barriers. Finally we have evaluated the current auditing marketing technique which CHIEF is practicing against the defined process and on these analysis, recommended some suggestions to CHIEF that may better overcome the threats and avail opportunities in the environment. P1: Explain the processes and techniques used for auditing the marketing environments. Environmental Audit   Background Companies conduct environmental audits to obtain accurate comprehensive and meaningful information for the company through which companys management can make important decisions and make new strategies. A companys management decisions are heavily based on environmental audit.    Planning an Environmental Audit   Companies must have a clear idea of their objectives before conducting an environmental audit. Before conducting the audit they should also take full commitments from directorate level and should then communicate it to personnel at all levels.  Ã‚   PROCESS OF MARKETING AUDIT Basically there are following four steps involved in the process of marketing audit. A: Selecting the Auditor: in this stage of marketing audit the decision is taken about the auditor that who will conduct the overall process of auditing. Usually an experienced outside party is hired for this purpose.   B: Deciding the Areas of Audit: the second step is deciding the areas of audit. In these step objectives goals and mainly scope and breadth of the audit are decided. C: Identifying and Collecting Data: in this step the auditors usually identifies and categorizes the sources of data thus using these sources further data is collected. D: Report Preparing and Presentation: the last step involves the preparing of data. After it is completed and thoroughly checked it is further provided and presented to the client. The process of marketing audit is very broad and extensive in nature in a way that it includes almost all marketing related aspects. It basically includes marketing environment marketing strategy marketing organization marketing systems marketing mix, marketing productivity and profitability. Kotlers and Armstrong, 2008 Marketing environment is very wide in nature. Basically it includes microenvironment and macro environment. So for the auditing purpose different tools are used which may include SWOT analysis STEEPLED analysis and Five Forces Analyses etc. There are also several other purposes and benefits of marketing audit. A number of these are stated as under: Determination of Work Process: one of the main purposes of marketing audit is that it is very beneficial in determining the working process. It determines and evaluates that what the company or firm is currently doing and assesses its history of work that what it has done in its past? Future Recommendations: marketing audits center of attention is its future recommendations for the firm. It bases its research for this purpose and accordingly provides useful recommendation for the future mechanisms. Thus it is not only useful for historical or current processes but it is also used for following sessions of business. Opportunity Hunting and exploiting them: likewise marketing audit it also pretty useful in hunting the opportunities that the firm can exploit. Thus different opportunities can be availed with proper handling. Similarly it can also identify the source to be used for availing those opportunities.   Weakness Eradicator: Nipping the evil in the buds would not be wrong if referred with marketing audit. Marketing audit not only helps in eliminating the current weaknesses but is also helpful in recognizing the weaknesses that the firm can face in future. Thus with the help of marketing audit proper plans can be set up for eradicating both the current and future weaknesses. Enhancement in Marketing Planning: marketing audit also plays a pivotal role in enhancing the marketing plan. It brings improvement in the marketing plan of a firm as required which results in making the firm more successful and thus it can work more efficiently and effectively. Similarly marketing audit is also very significant because: Marketing audit is really helpful in improving marketing efficiency and effectiveness. Moreover it brings proper awareness throughout the firm about its environment. It supports building of internal relationship in the firm. Similarly it is helpful in identifying ill-used marketing resources and thus preparing a proper plan for their favorable use. It is used for prognosis and diagnosis purpose, similarly for preventive and curative purposes. It also identifies several areas of accomplishment and the foreseeable challenges that are found in an organization which are a cause of affecting return on investment (ROI).  Ã‚   In short marketing audit provides a snapshot of the whole marketing process of an organization Internal Environmental Audit Following are some of the internal environmental factors which affect the organizations. Customers The customers of the organization are the micro environmental factor that affects the business environment. The customer is the king in this era and the organization has to create strategies  Ã‚   keeping in mind the customers. The cash and loss that are made by the organization are on the basis of customers.  Ã‚   Employees Employees are the main tools of a company. A capable and efficient staff of an organization gets edge over its rival. The staff of an organization will work efficiently if they are motivated so the employees must be motivated in order to create and maintain quality of the organizations products or services. Suppliers Suppliers also affect the organization environment. A bad quality of supply can degrade the quality of product that the company is providing. A good contact with supplier is important in order to receive raw materials at time and at right cost with best quality. Shareholders Shareholders are the important stakeholders of large companies. These are the significant parties as they can have an effect on the organization in many ways. For example: the shareholders can sue the company on wrongful acts. The organization must take shareholders in account because such parties can push the public limited company to a private limited company like PTCL.   Media The organization must take media into account while auditing the environmental factors of the organization. Wrong steps or statements taken and spoken by the organization can put itself into a situation. Bad publicity can be spread by the media. Sometime the media comes handy for the organization by promoting its products etc.   Competitors Competitors have to be taking into account as this micro environmental factor can help the organization to make fruitful decisions. The organization must keep keen eye on its competitors and should notice its practices. An important info can be received by the competitors that will help the organization. Publics: Publics are usually any groups that keeps stake in the organizations operational activities and objective accomplishment capabilities. Internal Publics, General Publics , Media Publics, Financial Publics, Government Publics etc. are the some types of publics. These must also be monitored while conducting environmental audit. Different Auditing techniques    Every business wants to know where it stands in the market along with the position of its competitors. For this purpose, following are some of the tools that help businesses for this purpose:   1) SWOT Analysis: SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The SWOT analysis helps in knowing your strengths and weakness and also helps an organization figure out what its major threats are along with the areas where opportunities for success can be exploited.    2) Ansoffs Matrix: Ansoffs Matrix is used by for knowing the growth in the market. This matrix allows marketers to find ways for growing the business by existing and/or new products, in existing and/or new markets. This matrix helps companies decide what course of action should be taken given current performance of the company. It consists of four groups i.e. market penetration, product development, market development and diversification.   3) The Boston Consulting Group or BCG Matrix: BCG Matrix has two controlling aspect namely relative market share meaning relative to the competition and market growth. This matrix performs similarly to the Ansoff Matrix in that it lets the organization know the growth that is taking place within the market of a particular product.    4) Core Competencies: Core competencies are techniques that deliver value to the customer. It gives potential access to a extensive variety of markets. It should make an important contribution to the supposed customer benefits of the end product.    5) Gap analysis: Gap analysis helps the organization in knowing where they are now and where they want to be in the recent future with the help of deciding business strategies and tactics. There is a simple structure to be followed in Gap analysis:   The first step is to decide on which factors will Gap be judged on. For example, by market share, profit, sales and some other factor. The second step is to ask two questions; where are we now? And where do we want to be?    6) PEST analysis: The PEST analysis is used in the process of environmental scanning. It gives an overview of the different macro environmental factors that the company has to take into consideration. It is a helpful strategic tool for perceptive market growth or decline, potential, business position and direction for operations.  The Factors are:   Political factors Economical factors Social factors Technological factors 7) Value Chain Analysis: The value chain analysis is a technique used in knowing about the development of competitive advantages and the different activities, which help in creating value. The primary activities involved are inbound logistic, service, marketing and sales, operations etc and the support activities are technological development and human resource management.    P2: Apply organizational and environmental auditing techniques in a given situation. CHIEF BURGER Mission Statement: Chief will be a leading Pakistani owned fast food company that is committed to providing innovative products that are consumer and lifestyle focused. We will achieve this by meeting our customer expectations Chief Burger offers a wide and varied menu to customers specializing in quality burger chicken products. They now offer products that have appeal to all ages and tastes including the sizzling steak, Chicken cheese burger, special chief pizza and chicken chow Mein to name a few. SWOT PEST ANALYSIS OF CHIEF BURGER SWOT Analysi A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats involved in a project or in a business venture or in any situation of an organization requiring a decision in pursuit of an objective. It involves the monitoring of internal and external market environment to the organization. Strengths: Chief burgers has got strong corporate image and brand name because they are the pioneer of fast food in Peshawar Chief Burgers has got strong market share as compare to its competitors. It has got low prices for both high and middle class people Chief Burgers special cheese burger, chicken steak burger, are one of its strengths because no other restaurant in Peshawar provides these kinds of burger with such quality and low prices One of the strengths of Chief Burgers is its location because its located in the center of university road. It has equal distance from Hayatabad and sadder. Location of Chief Burgers is also a center of attraction due to Jawad Towers, City Towers. People come to shop and diner or lunch at near by in chief Chief Burgers has a competitive edge over others in prices because it has lower prices than its competitors which are KFC and Pizza Hut Chief Burgers has loyal and trust worthy customers Chief Burgers offers maximum number of food variety Chief Burgers has minimum advertising budget but still has largest market share Weaknesses: Chief Burgers is not providing home delivery It is not providing any packages for kids and students Chief Burgers is not paying any attention to its promotional mix There is no special services like Pizza Hut i.e. it serves the customers a pizza within 19 minutes failing which customers are offered a free pizza There is no female employee to serve females thats the reason why most females are unwilling to eat at chief There is no car parking area which discourages people who have their own transport There is no departments integration Chief Burgers isnt providing any kind of entertainment facilities for kids and teenagers Opportunities: Chief Burgers has the opportunity to open new outlets nation wide because of the finance available and brand name Chief Burgers can introduce home delivery system Chief Burgers can use media for its advertisements like giving ads at TV Channels Participation in exhibition and fun fairs by stalls at different schools, colleges and universities can increase the sales Better use of customer information by the use of databases and home deliveries Threats: The expansion of low cost super markets. Pizza hut and KFC are providing free home deliveries, providing the best service which is creating a good and strong quality image in the eyes of their customers. Increase of local restaurants providing great variety of local food, due to which chief is losing its new customers. Different union strikes affects the business of Chief Burgers Threats of different pressure groups and food inspectors Chief Burger PESTLE Factors PESTLE analysis is a useful strategic tool for understanding market growth or decline, business position, potential and direction for operations. The headings of PEST are a framework for reviewing a situation, and can in addition to SWOT be applied by companies to review strategic directions, including marketing proposition. The use of PESTLE analysis can be seen effective for business and strategic planning, marketing planning, business and product development and research reports. PESTLE also ensures that companys performance is aligned positively with the powerful forces of change that are affecting business environment PESTLE is useful when a company decides to enter its business operations into new markets and new countries. The use of PESTLE, in this case, helps to break free of unconscious assumptions, and help to effectively adapt to the realities of the new environment Political factor: Chief Burger is a member of chamber of commerce of Pakistan It has a valid license with patent protection The employee pay is not less than 5000 according to the ordinance of 2006 Being a member of chamber of commerce Chief Burger cant set prices below its productivity because of anti dumping legislations It repels monopoly market and creates a perfect market for its competition If competition comes in the market Chief Burger can not cover proper advertisement techniques as they lack in marketing department. In contrast the competitors (KFC, Pizza Hut) can cover it easily Chief Burger can easily cope with certain fluctuating political changes much better than other because its the member of chamber of commerce Economical factors: Chief Burger has an economical benefit of cheap labor Because of high inflation rate of consumer price index according to (http:www.world66.com)which is 15.8% results in the expenses of raw material and other supplies Per capita income according to www.pakpostive.com has decreased by 50% in the last two years. Therefore Chief Burger as a business is getting loss straight away through market sales Social factors: Chief Burger can not sell products which are banned in Islam like ham burgers and alcoholic drinks Due to the culture and traditions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, most people dont like to hang out with families in restaurants which affects Chief Burgers sales Chief Burger inevitably built separate portion for families due to social trend Most people are used to eating conventional food like (Charsi Tikaa, Jalil Kabab) etc therefore the sales of chief burger is affected somewhat. Technological factors: Chief Burger uses two kinds of databases for record keeping and interpretations of data 1.MS SQL database system for main office 2.interpretation and simple calculation machine for daily record keeping and calculations Technologically Chief Burger has improved its revenue through internet reservations on website www.chief.com.pk in which information is given about the products portfolio Chief Burger uses the following cooking equipments effect of which is clear in the quality products it produces. 1-Hani Pani for pizza making 2-Electric Meat Grinder 3-Electric Cheese Smelter for pizza 4-Ice Machine Flakers 5-Electric Coffee Brewer 6-Electric Ovens 7-Electic Dish Washer Legal factors: It has a valid license with patent protection. They have valid license for fast food restaurant from local authorities. They have outstanding record in the book of food inspectors. Member of all frontier Hotel restaurant association. They have good coordination with local security organization, police etc for better security of citizens. They have valid work permit at the place Jawad plaza. They have proper contract with supplier, employees and other stakeholders. Environmental factors: The chief has very ethical way of business. They have neat and clean environment. Facilities of public hall as well as family hall according to the tradition of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They are on the sound place in terms of environment (University road university town). Very friendly environment as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is known for hospitality. P3: Identify the main barriers to marketing planning BARRIER A barrier is an obstruction that prevents the coming-into-force of a exacting measure or causes holdup in its implementation. Barriers can be inflexible or flexible, the latter being able to be conquer given sufficient time or resources. Land use measures be likely to face more inflexible barriers than, say management or information measures. Types of barrier: Barriers can be moreover positive or negative. A positive barrier occurs when one of the objectives of the strategy limits the ability of a measure to accomplish other objectives. Environmental restraints are examples, and their burden could well improve the measure or its performance. By contrast, a negative barrier, such as insufficient legislation, may cause delays and surplus costs in the implementation of the measure. The negative barriers can be assembled into three categories: Legal and institutional: short of legal powers to put into practice a particular measure, and legal responsibilities which are crack between agencies, limiting the capability of the city authority to implement the exaggerated measure; Financial: budget restrictions warns the overall expenses on the strategy, financial restrictions on precise measures, and limitations on the elasticity with which revenues can be used to finance the full variety of measures; Political and cultural aspects: deficient of political or public acceptance of a measure, limits imposed by pressure groups, and cultural trait, such as attitudes to enforcement, which power the effectiveness of measures. Political barriers Governments from time to time place limitations on trade, preventing entry into the marketplace. Sometimes, governments make the trade in of certain goods unbeneficial by placing duties on the imports. Other times, governments do not let goods into the country at all. Duties are used by governments to defend developing industries that cannot yet compete with other industries abroad. Goods are banned for a variety of political causes. Occasionally the products are seen as harmful to the customers. Other political barriers are in retribution to barriers put by other countries. TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIERS Technology manipulates all aspects of a peoples life. Barriers in technology can be clear, like teachers who are deficient in funding and support, or people in countries with governments that inflict restriction by blocking complete asses to the Internet. Barriers can also be more revolutionary, like the commercialization of application and software which go beside the open-source collective strength that constrains technology to new heights. Financial barriers Standard of living often depends on the sum of money a person has to pay out and invest. Many ordinary activities that can get better ones standard of living, such as going to college, opening a business, buying a house, roving and buying a car, require a important amount of financial resources. When high expenses make a certain activity hard to afford, it is measured a financial barrier. Financial barriers can occur in many dissimilar contexts and have an effect on individuals, families and businesses. An individual can face a financial barrier any time, choose not to do something because of its cost. ECONOMIES OF SCALE The boost in  efficiency of production  as the numeral of goods  being produced raises.  Typically, a company that accomplishes economies of scale lowers the standard cost per unit through amplified production since fixed costs are shared over an increased number of merchandises.   Internal and External Economies of Scale Alfred Marshall made a difference between internal and external economies of scale. When a company decreases costs and increases production, internal economies of scale have been accomplished. External economies of scale arise outside of a firm, within an industry. Thus, when an industrys capacity of operations expands due to, for example, the formation of a better shipping network, resulting in a ensuing reduce in cost for a business working within that industry, external economies of scale are said to have been accomplished. With external ES, all firms within the industry will advantage. CUTURAL BARRIERS Cultures give people with customs of thinkingways of seeing, hearing and interpreting the world. Thus the similar words can mean dissimilar things to people from different cultures, even when they speak the same language. Stella Ting-Toomey describes 3 ways in which culture obstructs with effective cross-cultural understanding. Primary is what she named cognitive constraints. These are the edges of orientation or world analysis that gives a backdrop that all new information is evaluated to or inserted into. The 2nd one is behavior constraints. every culture has policies about appropriate manners which have an effect on spoken and nonverbal statement. Whether one seems the other individual in the eye-or not; whether one says what one means openly or talks around the matter; how close the people position to each other when they are talkingall of these and many more are regulations of politeness which vary from culture to culture. The third one is emotional constraints. Different cultures control the display of emotion in a different way. Some cultures get extremely arousing when they are discussing an issue.   They shout, they weep, they show their annoyance, fear, aggravation and other feelings explicitly. Other cultures attempt to remain their emotions concealed, exhibiting or sharing only the rational or truthful feature of the situation. SOCIAL BARRIERS Social barriers are simply layers that we have built around ourselves to protect us from the outside world, they are barriers we put up when meeting new people which protect us from being emotionally hurt when talking to others. Introverted people arent actually introverts at all, but rather extroverts who have many social barriers inside their head that stop them from saying certain things. COMMUNICATION BARRIERS An effective communication barrier is one of the troubles faced by many companies. Many social psychologists speak out that there is 50% to 70% loss of meaning while transforming the messages from a sender to a receiver. They approximate there are four basic places where communication could be understand wrongly. Little barriers of effective communication in an association are given below. Physical Barriers One of the main barriers of communication in a place of work is the physical barrier. Physical barriers in a company include large working areas that are physically alienated from others. Other interruptions that could cause a physical barrier in an association are the environment, background noise Language incapability to talk in a language that is known by both the sender and receiver is the utmost barrier to effective communication. When a person uses unsuitable words while conversing or writing, it could lead to confusion between the sender and a receiver. Emotions emotions might be a barrier to communication if you are absorbed in your emotions for several reasons. In such cases, you tend to have problem listening to others or accepting the message expressed to you. A small number of the emotional interferences include aggression, annoyance, resentfulness and terror. Lack of Subject Knowledge If an individual who sends a message shorts subject information then he may not be able to transmit his message obviously. The receiver could get the wrong idea of his message, and this could direct to a barrier to effective communication. Stress One of the key communication barriers faced by workers in most of the organization is stress. When an individual is under huge stress, he may find it hard to understand the message, foremost to communication deformation. At the point of stress, our psychological frame of mind depends on our viewpoints, experiences, objectives and principles. Thus, we fall short to understand the spirit of communication. P 4: Suggest how organizations may overcome barriers to marketing planning Planning is a logical sequence of events leading to the setting of marketing objectives and a formulation of plans for achieving them. The complexity of marketing planning means that when organizations embark on it, they should expect to encounter a number of organizational, attitudinal, process and cognitive problems. This essay is an attempt to outline some of those problems; however it is beyond this essay to clarify all possible barriers in implementing a marketing plan. CHIEF can overcome all these possible barriers to marketing planning by making objective, strategies, marketing plans and implementing those strategies. Manager need to instruct and demonstrate that how in cooperation they can achieve the strategies, shared the values of marketing, organizational structure should reflect customer groups and by undertaking effective process of marketing audit and techniques. M 1: Make an effective judgment  that how will the studied organization  audit the marketing environment The process of marketing audit is very broad and extensive in nature in a way that it includes almost all marketing related aspects. It basically includes marketing environment, marketing strategy, marketing organization, marketing systems, marketing mix, marketing productivity and profitability. CHIEF, a Pakistani owned fast food restaurant that is committed to providing high quality products to consumers and achieving this by customer expectations. The current position of CHEIF is good in Market also the CHEIF attract customers but have to do a lot. During our analysis and meeting with the manager (CHIEF), we come to know that CHIEF is not using any type of marketing audit techniques and they do not have any marketing specialized people and even they didnt studied their market right. They didnt undertake such common things like competitors strength, market share, opportunities, technological factors, threats economic factors etc. CHIEF is suffering a lot in the market because increasing of local restaurants providing great variety of local food, due to which chief is losing its new customers. CHIEF is not taking promotional aspect seriously for their products due to which they are loosing their customers because the lack of awareness. CHIEF main direct competitors are international fast food restaurants (Kfc, Pizza Hut) having a strong brand image and known for high quality products, providing pizzas in minimum time and locally direct competitors are Thames Burger, Masooms restaurant, Mr. Cod etc. The effects of direct customers are that these organizations are selling products that are similar in nature. There is a high level of competition in the market among those organizations in order to get more and more market share. The organization specializes in similar product line which forces the organization to produce more quality in the products and sell at low prices The indirect competitors of CHIEF are Shiraz Restaurants, Lasania, Usmania, Balana, Charsi Tikka Shop, Dawat, Namak Mandi Food Street etc The indirect competitors effect the competition. These businesses provide similar items that can satisfy the need of the customers  I-e appetite. So it extends the competition level even more as the organization starts struggle to grab more and more market share and increase its selling. CHIEF is heavily struggling in order to take market le

Blood Promise Chapter Thirteen

The next day was Easter. Everyone was up and around, getting ready to go to church. The whole house smelled delicious, filled with the scents of Olena's baking. My stomach rumbled, and I wondered if I could wait until this afternoon for the huge dinner she'd prepared. Even though I wasn't always sure about God, I'd gone to church a lot in my life. Mostly, it was a courtesy to others, a way of being polite and social. Dimitri had gone because he found peace there, and I wondered if going today might offer me some insight on what I should do. I felt a little shabby accompanying the others. They'd dressed up, but I didn't have anything other than jeans and casual shirts. Viktoria, noticing my dismay, lent me a lacy white blouse that was a little tight but still looked good. Once I was settled with the family into a pew, I looked around, wondering how Dimitri could have taken solace in the Academy's tiny chapel when he'd grown up with this place. It was huge. It could have held four chapels. The ceilings were higher and more elaborate, and gold decorations and icons of saints seemed to cover every surface. It was overwhelming, dazzling to the eye. Sweet incense hung heavy in the air, so much so that I could actually see the smoke. There were a lot of people there, human and dhampir, and I was surprised to even spot some Moroi. Apparently, the Moroi visiting town were pious enough to come to church, despite whatever sordid activities they might be engaging in. And speaking of Moroi†¦ â€Å"Abe isn't here,† I said to Viktoria, glancing around. She was on my left; Olena sat on my right. While he hadn't struck me as the religious type, I'd kind of expected him to follow me here. I hoped that maybe his absence meant he'd left Baia. I was still unnerved by our last encounter. â€Å"Did he leave town?† â€Å"I think he's Muslim,† Viktoria explained. â€Å"But last I knew, he's still around. Karolina saw him this morning.† Damn Zmey. He hadn't left. What was it he'd said? A good friend or a bad enemy. When I said nothing, Viktoria gave me a concerned look. â€Å"He's never really done anything bad when he's around. He usually has meetings and then disappears. I meant it before when I said I didn't think he'd hurt you, but now you're worrying me. Are you in some kind of trouble?† Excellent question. â€Å"I don't know. He just seems interested in me, that's all. I can't figure out why.† Her frown deepened. â€Å"We won't let anything happen to you,† she said fiercely. I smiled, both at her concern and because of her resemblance to Dimitri in that moment. â€Å"Thanks. There are some people back home who might be looking for me, and I think that Abe is just†¦ checking up on me.† That was a nice way of describing someone who was either going to drag me back to the U.S. kicking and screaming-or just make me vanish for good. Viktoria seemed to sense I was softening the truth. â€Å"Well, I mean it. I won't let him hurt you.† The service started, cutting off our conversation. While the priest's chanting was beautiful, it meant even less to me than church services usually did. It was all in Russian, like at the funeral, and no one was going to bother translating it for me today. It didn't matter. Still taking in the beauty of my surroundings, I found my mind wandering. To the left of the altar, a golden-haired angel looked at me from a four-foot-tall icon. An unexpected memory came to me. Dimitri had once gotten permission for me to accompany him on a quick weekend trip to Idaho to meet with some other guardians. Idaho wasn't any place I was keen on going, but I welcomed the time with him, and he'd convinced school officials that it was a â€Å"learning experience.† That had been shortly after Mason's death, and after the shock wave that tragedy had sent through the school, I think they would have allowed me anything, to be honest. Unfortunately, there was little that was leisurely or romantic about the trip. Dimitri had a job to do, and he had to do it quickly. So we made the best time we could, stopping only when absolutely necessary. Considering our last road trip had involved us stumbling onto a Moroi massacre, this one being uneventful was probably for the best. As usual, he wouldn't let me drive, despite my claims that I could get us there in half the time. Or maybe that was why he wouldn't let me drive. We stopped at one point to get gas and scrounge some food from the station's store. We were up in the mountains somewhere, in a tiny town that rivaled St. Vladimir's for remote location. I could see mountains on clear days at school, but it was a totally different experience being in them. They surrounded us and were so close it seemed like you could just jump over and land on one. Dimitri was finishing up with the car. Holding my sub sandwich, I walked around to the back of the gas station to get a better view. Whatever civilization the gas station offered disappeared as soon as I cleared it. Endless snowy pines stretched out before me, and all was still and quiet, save for the distant sound of the highway behind me. My heart ached over what had happened to Mason, and I was still having nightmares about the Strigoi who'd held us captive. That pain was a long way from disappearing, but something about this peaceful setting soothed me for a moment. Looking down at the unbroken, foot-high snow, a crazy thought suddenly came to me. I let myself go, falling back-first to the ground. The thick snow embraced me, and I rested there a moment, taking comfort in lying down. Then I moved my legs and arms back and forth, carving out new hollows in the snow. When I finished, I didn't get up right away. I simply continued lounging, staring up at the blue, blue sky. â€Å"What,† asked Dimitri, â€Å"are you doing? Aside from getting your sandwich cold.† His shadow fell over me, and I looked up at his tall form. In spite of the cold, the sun was out, and its rays backlit his hair. He could have been an angel himself, I thought. â€Å"I'm making a snow angel,† I replied. â€Å"Don't you know what that is?† â€Å"Yes, I know. But why? You must be freezing.† I had on a heavy winter coat, hat, gloves, and all the other requisite cold-weather accessories. He was right about the sandwich. â€Å"Not so much, actually. My face is a little, I guess.† He shook his head and gave me a wry smile. â€Å"You'll be cold when you're in the car and all that snow starts melting.† â€Å"I think you're more worried about the car than about me.† He laughed. â€Å"I'm more worried about you getting hypothermia.† â€Å"In this? This is nothing.† I patted the ground beside me. â€Å"Come on. You make one too, and then we can go.† He continued looking down at me. â€Å"So I can freeze too?† â€Å"So you can have fun. So you can leave your mark on Idaho. Besides, it shouldn't bother you at all, right? Don't you have some sort of super cold resistance from Siberia?† He sighed, a smile still on his lips. It was enough to warm me even in this weather. â€Å"There you go again, convinced Siberia is like Antarctica. I'm from the southern part. The weather's almost the same as here.† â€Å"You're making excuses,† I told him. â€Å"Unless you want to drag me back to the car, you're going to have to make an angel too.† Dimitri studied me for several heavy moments, and I thought he might actually haul me away. His face was still light and open, though, and his expression was filled with a fondness that made my heart race. Then, without warning, he flopped into the snow beside me, lying there quietly. â€Å"Okay,† I said when he did nothing more. â€Å"Now you have to move your arms and legs.† â€Å"I know how to make a snow angel.† â€Å"Then do it! Otherwise, you're more like a chalk outline at a police crime scene.† He laughed again, and the sound was rich and warm in the still air. Finally, after a little more coaxing on my part, he moved his arms and legs too, making an angel of his own. When he finished, I expected him to jump up and demand we get back on the road, but instead, he stayed there too, watching the sky and the mountains. â€Å"Pretty, huh?† I asked. My breath made frosty clouds in the air. â€Å"I guess in some ways, it's not that different from the ski resort's view†¦ but I don't know. I feel different about it all today.† â€Å"Life's like that,† he said. â€Å"As we grow and change, sometimes things we've experienced before take on new meaning. It'll happen for the rest of your life.† I started to tease him about his tendency to always deliver these profound life lessons, but it occurred to me then that he was right. When I'd first begun falling for Dimitri, the feelings had been all-consuming. I'd never felt anything like it before. I'd been convinced there was no possible way I could love him more. But now, after what I'd witnessed with Mason and the Strigoi, things were different. I did love Dimitri more intensely. I loved him in a different way, in a deeper way. Something about seeing how fragile life was made me appreciate him more. It had made me realize how much he meant to me and how sad I'd be if I ever lost him. â€Å"You think it'd be nice to have a cabin up there?† I asked, pointing to a nearby peak. â€Å"Out in the woods where no one could find you?† â€Å"I would think it was nice. I think you'd be bored.† I tried to imagine being stuck in the wilderness with him. Small room, fireplace, bed†¦ I didn't think it'd be that boring. â€Å"It wouldn't be so bad if we had cable. And Internet.† And body heat. â€Å"Oh, Rose.† He didn't laugh, but I could tell he was smiling again. â€Å"I don't think you'd ever be happy someplace quiet. You always need something to do.† â€Å"Are you saying I have a short attention span?† â€Å"Not at all. I'm saying there's a fire in you that drives everything you do, that makes you need to better the world and those you love. To stand up for those you can't. It's one of the wonderful things about you.† â€Å"Only one, huh?† I spoke lightly, but his words had thrilled me. He'd meant what he said about thinking those were wonderful traits, and feeling his pride in me meant more than anything just then. â€Å"One of many,† he said. He sat up and looked down at me. â€Å"So, no peaceful cabin for you. Not until you're an old, old woman.† â€Å"What, like forty?† He shook his head in exasperation and stood up, not gracing my joke with a response. Still, he regarded me with the same affection I'd heard in his voice. There was admiration too, and I thought I could never be unhappy as long as Dimitri thought I was wonderful and beautiful. Leaning down, he extended his hand. â€Å"Time to go.† I took it, letting him help pull me up. Once standing, we held hands for a heartbeat longer than necessary. Then we let go and surveyed our work. Two perfect snow angels-one much, much taller than the other. Careful to step inside each outline, I leaned down and hacked out a horizontal line above each head. â€Å"What's that?† he asked, when I stood beside him again. â€Å"Halos,† I said with a grin. â€Å"For heavenly creatures like us.† â€Å"That might be a stretch.† We studied our angels for a few moments more, looking at where we had lain side by side in that sweet, quiet moment. I wished what I'd said was true, that we had truly left our mark on the mountain. But I knew that after the next snowfall, our angels would disappear into the whiteness and be nothing more than a memory. Dimitri touched my arm gently, and without another word, we turned around and headed back to the car. Compared to that memory of him and the way he'd looked at me out there on the mountain, I thought the angel looking back at me in church seemed pale and boring in comparison. No offense to her. The congregation was filing back to their seats after taking bread and wine. I'd stayed seated for that, but I did understand a few of the priest's words. Life. Death. Destroy. Eternal. I knew enough about all this to string together the meaning. I would have bet good money â€Å"resurrection† was in there too. I sighed, wishing it were truly that easy to vanquish death and bring back those we loved. Church ended, and I left with the Belikovs, feeling melancholy. As people passed each other near the entrance, I saw some eggs being exchanged. Viktoria had explained that it was a big tradition around here. A few people I didn't know gave some to me, and I felt a little bad that I had nothing to give in return. I also wondered how I was going to eat them all. They were decorated in various ways. Some were simply colored; others were elaborately designed. Everyone seemed chatty after church, and we all stood around outside it. Friends and family hugged and caught up on gossip. I stood near Viktoria, smiling and trying to follow the conversation that often took place in both English and Russian. â€Å"Viktoria!† We turned and saw Nikolai striding toward us. He gave us-by which I mean, he gave her-a brilliant smile. He'd dressed up for the holiday and looked amazing in a sage shirt and dark green tie. I eyed Viktoria, wondering if it had any effect on her. Nope. Her smile was polite, genuinely happy to see him, but there was nothing romantic there. Again, I wondered about her mystery â€Å"friend.† He had a couple of guys with him whom I'd met before. They greeted me too. Like the Belikovs, they seemed to think I was a permanent fixture around here. â€Å"Are you still going to Marina's party?† asked Nikolai. I'd nearly forgotten. That was the party he'd invited us to the first day I'd met him. Viktoria had accepted then, but to my surprise, she now shook her head. â€Å"We can't. We have family plans.† That was news to me. There was a possibility something had come up that I didn't know about yet, but I doubted it. I had a feeling she was lying, and being a loyal friend, I said nothing to contradict her. It was hard watching Nikolai's face fall, though. â€Å"Really? We're going to miss you.† She shrugged. â€Å"We'll all see each other at school.† He didn't seem pacified by that. â€Å"Yeah, but-â€Å" Nikolai's eyes suddenly lifted from her face and focused on something behind us. He frowned. Viktoria and I both glanced back, and I felt her mood shift too. Three guys were strolling toward my group. They were dhampirs as well. I didn't notice anything unusual about them-smirks aside-but other dhampirs and Moroi gathered outside the church took on expressions similar to those of my companions. Troubled. Worried. Uncomfortable. The three guys came to a stop by us, pushing their way into our circle. â€Å"I thought you might be here, Kolya,† said one. He spoke in perfect English, and it took me a moment to realize he was talking to Nikolai. I would never understand Russian nicknames. â€Å"I didn't know you were back,† replied Nikolai stiffly. Studying the two of them, I could see a distinct resemblance. They had the same bronze hair and lean build. Brothers, apparently. Nikolai's brother's gaze fell on me. He brightened. â€Å"And you must be the unpromised American girl.† It didn't surprise me that he knew who I was. After the memorial, most of the local dhampirs had left telling tales about the American girl who had fought battles against Strigoi but carried neither a promise mark nor a graduation mark. â€Å"I'm Rose,† I said. I didn't know what was up with these guys, but I certainly wasn't going to show any fear in front of them. The guy seemed to appreciate my confidence and shook my hand. â€Å"I'm Denis.† He gestured to his friends. â€Å"Artur and Lev.† â€Å"When did you come to town?† asked Nikolai, still not looking happy about this reunion. â€Å"Just this morning.† Denis turned to Viktoria. â€Å"I heard about your brother. I'm sorry.† Viktoria's expression was hard, but she nodded politely. â€Å"Thank you.† â€Å"Is it true he fell defending Moroi?† I didn't like the sneer in Denis's voice, but it was Karolina who voiced my angry thoughts. I hadn't noticed her approaching our group. She didn't look happy to see Denis at all. â€Å"He fell fighting Strigoi. He died a hero.† Denis shrugged, unaffected by the angry tone of her voice. â€Å"Still makes him dead. I'm sure the Moroi will sing his name for years to come.† â€Å"They will,† I replied. â€Å"He saved a whole group of them. And dhampirs too.† Denis's gaze fell back on me, his eyes thoughtful as he studied my face for a few seconds. â€Å"I heard you were there too. That both of you were sent into an impossible battle.† â€Å"It wasn't impossible. We won.† â€Å"Would Dimitri say that if he were alive?† Karolina crossed her arms over her chest. â€Å"If you're only here to start something, then you should leave. This is a church.† It was funny. Upon meeting her, I'd thought she seemed so gentle and kind, just an ordinary young mother working to support her family. But in this moment, she seemed more like Dimitri than ever. I could see that same strength within her, that fierceness that drove her to protect loved ones and stand up to her enemies. Not that these guys were her enemies, exactly. I honestly didn't yet understand who they were. â€Å"We're just talking,† said Denis. â€Å"I just want to understand what happened to your brother. Believe me, I think his death was a tragedy.† â€Å"He wouldn't have regretted it,† I told them. â€Å"He died fighting for what he believed in.† â€Å"Defending others who took him for granted.† â€Å"That's not true.† â€Å"Oh?† Denis gave me a lopsided smile. â€Å"Then why don't you work for the guardians? You've killed Strigoi but have no promise mark. Not even a graduation mark, I heard. Why aren't you out there throwing yourself in front of Moroi?† â€Å"Denis,† said Nikolai uneasily, â€Å"please just leave.† â€Å"I'm not talking to you, Kolya.† Denis's eyes were still on me. â€Å"I'm just trying to figure Rose out. She kills Strigoi but doesn't work for the guardians. She's clearly not like the rest of you soft people in this town. Maybe she's more like us.† â€Å"She's nothing like you,† Viktoria snapped back. I got it then, and a chill ran down my spine. These were the kind of dhampirs that Mark had been talking about. The true unpromised ones. The vigilantes who sought out Strigoi on their own, the ones who neither settled down nor answered to any guardians. They shouldn't have unnerved me, not really. In some ways, Denis was right. In the simplest terms, I really was like them. And yet†¦ there was an air about these guys that just rubbed me the wrong way. â€Å"Then why are you in Russia?† asked one of Denis's friends. I already couldn't remember his name. â€Å"This is a long trip for you. You wouldn't have come here without a good reason.† Viktoria was picking up her sister's anger. â€Å"She came to tell us about Dimka.† Denis eyed me. â€Å"I think she's here to hunt Strigoi. There are more in Russia to choose from than there are in the States.† â€Å"She wouldn't be in Baia if she was hunting Strigoi, you idiot,† returned Viktoria evenly. â€Å"She'd be in Vladivostok or Novosibirsk or somewhere like that.† Novosibirsk. The name was familiar. But where had I heard it? A moment later, the answer came to me. Sydney had mentioned it. Novosibirsk was the largest city in Siberia. Denis continued. â€Å"Maybe she's just passing through. Maybe she'll want to join us when we go to Novosibirsk tomorrow.† â€Å"For God's sake,† I exclaimed. â€Å"I'm right here. Stop talking about me like I'm not. And why would I want to go with you?† Denis's eyes gleamed with an intense, feverish light. â€Å"Good hunting there. Lots of Strigoi. Come with us, and you can help us go after them.† â€Å"And how many of you will come back from this?† Karolina asked in a hard voice. â€Å"Where's Timosha? Where's Vasiliy? Your hunting party keeps getting smaller each time you return here. Which one of you will be next? Whose family will be the next to mourn?† â€Å"Easy for you to talk,† retorted the friend. Lev, I think his name was. â€Å"You stay here and do nothing while we go out and keep you safe.† Karolina gave him a disgusted look, and I recalled how she was dating a guardian. â€Å"You go out and rush into situations without thinking. If you want to keep us safe, then stay here and defend your families when they need it. If you want to go after Strigoi, go join the guardians and work with those who have some sense.† â€Å"The guardians don't hunt Strigoi!† cried Denis. â€Å"They sit and wait and cower before the Moroi.† The unfortunate part was, he had a point. But not entirely. â€Å"That's changing,† I said. â€Å"There's a movement to start taking the offensive against the Strigoi. There's also talk of the Moroi learning to fight with us. You could help be a part of that.† â€Å"Like you are?† he laughed. â€Å"You still haven't told us why you're here and not with them. You can say what you want to the rest of this group, but I know why you're here. I can see it in you.† The crazy, eerie look he gave me almost made me think that he could. â€Å"You know the only way to rid the world of evil is to do it on our own. To seek out the Strigoi ourselves and kill them, one by one.† â€Å"Without a plan,† finished Karolina. â€Å"Without any thought of the consequences.† â€Å"We're strong and we know how to fight. That's all we need to know when it comes to killing Strigoi.† And that was when I understood. I finally got what Mark had been trying to tell me. Denis was saying exactly what I had been thinking since I left St. Vladimir's. I'd run off without a plan, wanting to throw myself into danger because I felt I had a mission that only I could carry out. Only I could kill Dimitri. Only I could destroy the evil within him. I'd been giving no thought to how I'd pull it off-seeing as Dimitri had beat me more often than not in fights when he was still a dhampir. With a Strigoi's strength and speed now? The odds were definitely against me. Still, I hadn't cared. I'd been obsessed, convinced I had to do this. In my own head, what I had to do made sense, but now†¦ hearing those sentiments from Denis, it sounded crazy. Just as reckless as Mark had warned. Their motives might be good-just as mine were-but they were also suicidal. Without Dimitri, I honestly hadn't cared much about my own life. I'd never been afraid to risk it before, but now I realized there was a big difference between dying uselessly and dying for a reason. If I died trying to kill Dimitri because I had no strategy, then my life would have meant nothing. Just then, the priest walked over and said something to us in Russian. From his tone and expression, I think he was asking if everything was okay. He'd mingled with the rest of the congregation after the service. Being human, he probably didn't know all the dhampir politics afoot, but he could undoubtedly sense trouble. Denis offered him a simpering smile and gave what sounded like a polite explanation. The priest smiled in return, nodded, and wandered off when someone else called to him. â€Å"Enough,† said Karolina harshly, once the priest was out of earshot. â€Å"You need to go. Now.† Denis's body tensed, and mine responded, ready for a fight. I thought he might start something then and there. A few seconds later, he relaxed and turned to me. â€Å"Show them to me first.† â€Å"Show you what?† I asked. â€Å"The marks. Show me how many Strigoi you've killed.† I didn't respond right away, wondering if this was a trick. Everyone's eyes were on me. Turning slightly, I lifted the hair off the back of my neck and showed my tattoos. Little lightning-shaped molnija marks were there, along with the mark I'd gotten for the battle. From the sound of Denis's gasp, I was guessing he'd never seen that many kills before. I let my hair go and met his gaze levelly. â€Å"Anything else?† I asked. â€Å"You're wasting your time,† he said at last, gesturing to the people behind me. â€Å"With them. With this place. You should come with us to Novosibirsk. We'll help make your life worthwhile.† â€Å"I'm the only one who can make anything of my life.† I pointed down the street. â€Å"You were asked to leave. Now go.† I held my breath, still bracing for a fight. After several tense moments, the group retreated. Before turning around, Denis gave me one last piercing look. â€Å"This isn't what you want and you know it. When you change your mind, come find us at 83 Kasakova. We leave at sunrise tomorrow.† â€Å"You'll be leaving without me,† I said. Denis' smile sent another chill down my spine. â€Å"We'll see.†