Fcuk Swot

SWOT Analysis Prepared for: Prepared by: 2 September 2008 Introduction I have created this SWOT analysis on French Connection’s Regent St. branch. I have identified and discussed the strengths/weaknesses of the store, and examined the opportunities and threats it may face. Strengths French Connection targets a fashion-oriented customer typically aged 18 – 35 and produces fashion-forward, well made, on trend, accessible clothing. Positioning is in the upper end of the mass market so that pricing reflects the good quality and fashion element of the offer. It is a well-known brand that all young adults can identify. The brand holds a large share of the competitively priced clothing industry, with a large capital they are able to advertise and market the products on television, Internet and large billboards across the globe. During my visit in the Regent St. branch, I found a nice, clean and well presented store. The strong shop window invites for a quick browse. The good layout gives grate opportunities for positioning best sellers, new collection and add-ons. Most of current trends are presented in the new collection. Very good designs in women’s wear satisfying different tastes and needs. Effective merchandising in women’s area, good stock presentation is giving great ideas for matching items and for whole outfits. Good range from classy to casual. Staff has good a product knowledge. Management seems committed and confident. Comfortable shopping ambiance. Down stairs till area good selling point. The location offers a wide range of customers. (high footfall) Weaknesses Poor selection of men’s wear. Men’s Visual merchandising is not as strong as the women’s, although in the shop window they were presented better then the lady’s. Unfortunately I found the men’s area half as effective as the women’s. I know most of the company’s profit is coming from women’s wear but I think there are a lot of potential male customers out there and a little bit more focus on men’s wear would bring them in more often. Customer service: During my visit I was approached once after 15 minutes browsing in the store. The staff seemed demotivated and there was no interaction with customers on the shop floor nor by the till. After trying on an item wasn’t offered a different color in the same style, a different style in the same color or an add-on. Lack of selling techniques) Also I wasn’t informed about witch items are on sale or where can I find them and they are quite â€Å"hidden† so found it a bit difficult to identify them. (Lack of promoting sales in store) Staff left their sections unattended leaving no possibility for me asking for help. (Lack of attention to the shop fl oor) Store’s interior needs a refit with a trendier design. Changing room on the ground floor is tight and during peak hours just disappointment for customers. Kid’s section upstairs easy to miss out for customers who don’t even know there’s a selection for kids. Ground floor till area poor of add-ons, found just a small box of bangles. Opportunities More staff meetings and training on selling techniques, customer service, customer relations (keeping regular customers is one of the first priorities). Doing role plays during quiet times to build confidence. Customer service checklist twice a week monitoring staff performance with regular feedbacks. (constructive criticism. ) More team spirit. On the maping plan assign staff to sections so they’re responsible for it for the day. Great visual merchandising opportunities due to store layout. Monitoring sales week by week and merchandise accordingly. Staff (Men mostly) wearing latest trends this way giving examples for customers what to look for. Sales assistant who’s greeting customers by the entrance promoting sales or at least inform customers where to find items on sale and the new collection. Because of the location lot of tourists are visiting the store, they are a good amount of potential sales. (With the right atmosphere and service it’s easy to get them spending). Under the staircase in the men’s section is a good area for positioning better selling products because that is the only spot what you can see from the upper level when you’re looking down if there’s more to see downstairs. Ground floor changing room more organized and approachable. Local competitors have poor products. Can surprise competitors. Threats †¢ Customers leaving store without purchasing an item. †¢ Theft (Staff not paying attention), high stock loss. †¢ Loosing regular customers and potential regular customers. †¢ High staff turnover. †¢ Poor reputation among customers. ———————– fcuk fcuk

Swot Analysis Guide Essay

SWOT Analysis GuideThe comprehensive usher to the SWOT analysis methodIn the undermentioned usher we will present you to several widely used strategic be aftering methods. They enable concern executives and strategians to measure options. program for the strategic ends and implement the alterations necessary to accomplish those ends. The rating version of the usher Distribution note: You may NOT administer the original or modified version of the papers. Check more information about licensing in licence. txt BSCDesigner. com AKS-Labs SWOT Analysis GuideCopyright  © AKS-Labs Page 2 SWOT analysis: debut and usage of the method in the concern environment If you are even remotely familiar with a concern universe. you have surely heard about the competitory environment. strategic planning and concern analysis. There are several different methods presently used in the concern universe and one of the most popular st strategic rating tools is the SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for strengths. failings. chances. and menaces. Strengths Failings Opportunities Menaces Swot can be farther classified in to internal and external factors. Strength and weaknesses belong to the internal factors. and the chances and strength are classified as external factors. Why usage Swot analysis you might inquire? Well. it is a really utile and extremely effectual tool when utile planning for the strategic ends. when seeking to analyse the environment the company operates in. and it is a good ocular illustration of the challenges company faces. What is alone about SWOT is that it enables directors and executives to name the key advantages and disadvantages of the company and lucifers them with the external factors that will act upon the company’s public presentation in the short and the long tally. To give you a better apprehension of the method. let’s expression at some of the illustrations of strength. expression failings. chances and strength. Strength †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Rights to rational belongings ; patents. Strong trade name. High client satisfaction. Cost effectual methods in operations. Availability of inexpensive resources. Advantage of a extremely efficient and effectual distribution webs. AKS-Labs ? 2501 Blue Ridge Road Suite 150 ? Raleigh ? NC ? 27607 World Wide Web. measurebusiness. com [ electronic mail protected ]/* */!function(t. e. r. n. c. a. p){try{t=document. currentScript||function(){for(t=document. getElementsByTagName('script'). e=t. length;e--;)if(t[e]. get Attribute('data-cfhash'))return t[e]}();if(t&&(c=t. previousSibling)){p=t. parentNode;if(a=c. getAttribute('data-cfemail')){for(e=''. r='0x'+a. substr(0. 2)|0. n=2;a. length-n;n+=2)e+='%'+('0'+('0x'+a. substr(n. 2)^r). toString(16)). slice(-2);p. replaceChild(document. createTextNode(decodeURIComponent(e)). c)}p. removeChild(t)}}catch(u){}}()/* ]]>*/ Business Analysis Methods Guide SWOT Analysis GuideCopyright  © AKS-Labs Page 3 Failings †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ No patents. Weak or no trade name developed. Low clients satisfaction. High cost construction. Expensive natural resources. Poor distribution webs. As you have likely noticed. strength and failings are precisely the antonyms of each other. It is true in a batch of existent instances when the strength for one company is a failing for another. If one has an entree to cheap energy and other company doesn’t. the former has the strength over the latter. Strengths– Strong trade name – Cheap resources Failings– High costs – No patents Opportunities– Technology – Low trade barriersSwot Menaces– Regulations -Trade barriers Opportunities †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Underutilized client market ; there is a room to turn and bring forth gross. Modern technologies. Relaxed ordinances. Globalization. Since there are fewer barriers. companies may spread out. Menaces †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Changing consumer demands and wants. Substitute merchandises and new entrants. Regulations. Trade barriers. Business Analysis Methods Guide AKS-Labs ? 2501 Blue Ridge Road Suite 150 ? Raleigh ? NC ? 27607 World Wide Web. measurebusiness. com [ electronic mail protected ]/* */!function(t. e. r. n. c. a. p){try{t=document. currentScript||function(){for(t=document. getElementsByTagName('script'). e=t. length;e--;)if(t[e]. getAttribute('data-cfhash'))return t[e]}();if(t&&(c=t. previousSibling)){p=t. parentNode;if(a=c. getAttribute('data-cfemail')){for(e=''. r='0x'+a. substr(0. 2)|0. n=2;a. length-n;n+=2)e+='%'+('0'+('0x'+a. substr(n. 2)^r). toString(16)). slice(-2);p. replaceChild(document. createTextNode(decodeURIComponent(e)). c)}p. removeChild(t)}}catch(u){}}()/* ]]>*/ SWOT Analysis GuideCopyright  © AKS-Labs Page 4 As you can see. the method can be universally used for about any status and environment. It is a tool that can be used in a broader sense and can be every bit specific as the job requires it to be. A simple SWOT analysis graphic is shown below for exemplifying intents. Stakeholders of the SWOT analysis are several. They are: direction. employees. providers and distributers. and clients. Let’s non bury that the ultimate end is to deli present the highest client satisfaction possible in order to bring forth gross and maximise net incomes. SWOT provides equal processs and guidelines for the direction to pattern. It states clearly the tactics and communicating forms direction has to implement in order to accomplish the strategic implement ends. Employees are directed and trained to increase productiveness and cut down mistakes. Suppliers and distributers are considered in order to plan extremely effectual and efficient supply ironss and distribution webs ; and eventually the clien t satisfaction and trueness is one of the most rks ; of import facets that SWOT helps to measure and program for. Who uses the method? SWOT is used by the directors and top executives in the rating. planning. and execution proce procedure. In the rating procedure. top executives review the available resources. step the grosss and the mark cost constructions. and one time ready. set out a strategic program that stipulates the way that company is traveling to take. In this procedure. they evaluate all four features and program for an appropriate class of action. For the planning procedure. upper and mid degree direction reviews the graph. and gets familiar with the cardinal aims every bit good as the resources available to them in order to ac accomplish the strategic ends. In the execution procedure. thanks to the clear definitions of what is traveling to impact the company’s public presentation. employees have the advantage of cognizing what to anticipate and what is traveling to dispute them. SWOT helps them expect the hereafter hurdlings and program suitably in anticipate order to get the better of the barriers. As you can see. SWOT is an exemplifying method of concern planning and rating. It enables the direction to clearly place the advantages and disadvantages they are faced with. and plan the realistic ends in order to accomplish overall organisational success. Advantage of the method is that it is various. it creates clear ocular image of the state of affairs and can be modified and adjusted reasonably easy. One of the biggest advantages of the method is that it is really cheap and biggest provides highest consequences per dollar invested in to the analysis. Cost efficiency and public presentation effectivity is one of the grounds why the method has been popular among the concern executi executives sine the sixtiess. Business Analysis Methods Guide AKS-Labs ? 2501 Blue Ridge Road Suite 150 ? Raleigh ? NC ? 27607 World Wide Web. measurebusiness. com [ electronic mail protected ]/* */!function(t. e. r. n. c. a. p){try{t=document. currentScript||function(){for(t=document. getElementsByTagName('script'). e=t. length;e--;)if(t[e]. getAttribute('data-cfhash'))return t[e]}();if(t&&(c=t. previousSibling)){p=t. parentNode;if(a=c. getAttribute('data-cfemail')){for(e=''. r='0x'+a. substr(0. 2)|0. n=2;a. length-n;n+=2)e+='%'+('0'+('0x'+a. substr(n. 2)^r). toString(16)). slice(-2);p. replaceChild(document. createTextNode(decodeURIComponent(e)). c)}p. removeChild(t)}}catch(u){}}()/* ]]>*/ SWOT Analysis GuideCopyright  © AKS-Labs Page 5 SWOT and Balanced Scorecard Before we go in to the inside informations of the balanced Scorecard method and compare it to the SWOT analysis. let’s take a expression at the BSC ( Balanced Scorecard ) and specify what it is. what it does and ) how it differs from the SWOT analysis. s BSC is a strategic planning and execution tool that assists direction in the procedure of accomplishing organisational ends. It is a method that enables cooperation and synchronism in the concern processs. Typically. balan balanced Scorecard consists of several Fieldss ( normally 4 ) . which lists the topic of involvement and the stairss that would let the company to make highest consequences in the listed Fieldss. A simple version of a basic BSC is illustrated below. Balanced Scorecard As you can see. there are four Fieldss: fiscal. internal concern processs. larning and growing and clients. We will discourse each one of them in little more item in order to give you a better understating of how the method works. Financial ; in this subdivision directors list some of the cardinal stairss and ends they need to accomplish in s order to win in their ultimate end. Stairss might be take downing fixed costs. low purchase. possible IPO etc. As for the internal concern procedure. it might affect preparation. b better communicating. altering organisational construction. etc. For the acquisition and growing. it might sketch the procedure of preparation. growing schemes ( acquisition. franchising ) . and mark market portion. Equally far as the Business Analysis Methods Guide AKS-Labs ? 2501 Blue Ridge Road Suite 150 ? Raleigh ? NC ? 27607 World Wide Web. measurebusiness. com [ electronic mail protected ]/* */!function(t. e. r. n. c. a. p){try{t=document. currentScript||function(){for(t=document. getElementsByTagName('script'). e=t. length;e--;)if(t[e]. getAttribute('data-cfhash'))return t[e]}();if(t&&(c=t. previousSibling)){p=t. parentNode;if(a=c. getAttribute('data-cfemail')){for(e=''. r='0x'+a. substr(0. 2)|0. n=2;a. length-n;n+=2)e+='%'+('0'+('0x'+a. substr(n. 2)^r). toString(16)). slice(-2);p. replaceChild(document. createTextNode(decodeURIComponent(e)). c)}p. removeChild(t)}}catch(u){}}()/* ]]>*/ SWOT Analysis GuideCopyright  © AKS-Labs Page 6 clients are concerned. direction might specify the scheme for increasing client might satisfaction. trade name development. and advertisement. What is of import to understand is that. there is a difference between the SWOT and BSC. While the SWOT analysis is largely used in the broader planning processs. such as strategic ends for processs. the organisation. BSC is a tool that has frequently been used in the procedure of accomplishing a specific end. To do it clear. SWOT is used to specify the end. and the BSC is used to plan a program to accomplish that end. BSC is non purely limited to this peculiar intent and can be successfully used in a broader planning ; but we have found that the method is most appropriate and utile when planning for a peculiar scheme and stairss for implementing it. While the design presented supra is non a standard one. most often we encounter 4 field ted designs. An alternate design is presented below. SWOT and BSC have been in usage for several decennaries and have proved to be effectual and efficient methods in concern planning. The two methods have often been viewed as rivals. but the consensus has been emerging in the academic every bit good as the professional community that the two are more complementary to each other than they are challengers. Both methods are comparatively inexpensive to plan and implement. and supply a valuable penetration in to plan the cardinal facet that will find the organization’s success. In decision it has to be mentioned that. BSC and SWOT are two methods that help specify ends. stairss. and an overall organisational scheme ; they both have been used successfully for several scheme ; decennaries. Even in the modern age of engineering and alternate methods. these two simple in writing charts have been really popular among the top executives. Business Analysis Methods Guide AKS-Labs ? 2501 Blue Ridge Road Suite 150 ? Raleigh ? NC ? 27607 World Wide Web. measurebusiness. com [ electronic mail protected ]/* */!function(t. e. r. n. c. a. p){try{t=document. currentScript||function(){for(t=document. getElementsByTagName('script'). e=t. length;e--;)if(t[e]. getAttribute('data-cfhash'))return t[e]}();if(t&&(c=t. previousSibling)){p=t. parentNode;if(a=c. getAttribute('data-cfemail')){for(e=''. r='0x'+a. substr(0. 2)|0. n=2;a. length-n;n+=2)e+='%'+('0'+('0x'+a. substr(n. 2)^r). toString(16)). slice(-2);p. replaceChild(document. createTextNode(decodeURIComponent(e)). c)}p. removeChild(t)}}catch(u){}}()/* ]]>*/ SWOT Analysis GuideCopyright  © AKS-Labs Page 7 More in the full version of the Business An Analysis Methods Guide Guide: †¢ 29 page SWOT usher ( Adobe PDF file ) :†¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Alternative methods to SWOT analysis Steps in work outing jobs utilizing Porter’s Five Forces for Competitive Position Solving jobs utilizing the SWOT analysis – 5 illustrations in format: Problem. Response with SWOT. Result SWOT analysis: decisions SWOT FAQ SWOT checklist †¢ 21 PowerPoint templets ( . pptx file ; look into illustrations below ) for SWOT analysis presentation†¢ 32 page PEST Analysis Guide ( Adobe PDF file )†¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Introduction to the method and job of PEST PEST and SWOT PEST and its extensions Step-by-step usher on how to utilize PEST for work outing concern jobs step Key success factors of PEST Examples of real-life use of PEST life Conclusions PEST FAQ Checklist for PEST Other facets related to PEST Reappraisal of the most popular concern analysis methodsThe reappraisal includes debut to the method. step bit-by-bit algorithms. pros and cons. best measure patterns. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 80/20 Pareto Analysis ( 4 page ) Break-even Analysis ( 4 page ) even Competitive Analysis ( 4 page ) Key Ratio Analysis ( 3 page ) Plague Analysis ( 3 page ) SWOT Analysis ( 4 page )Discrepancy analysis ( 4 page ) â€Å"What if†¦Ã¢â‚¬  simulation ( 4 page ) Learn more online: hypertext transfer protocol: //www. measurebusiness. com/ Business Analysis Methods Guide AKS-Labs ? 2501 Blue Ridge Road Suite 150 ? Raleigh ? NC ? 27607 World Wide Web. measurebusiness. com [ electronic mail protected ]/* */!function(t. e. r. n. c. a. p){try{t=document. currentScript||function(){for(t=document. getElementsByTagName('script'). e=t. length;e--;)if(t[e]. getAttribute('data-cfhash'))return t[e]}();if(t&&(c=t. previousSibling)){p=t. parentNode;if(a=c. getAttribute('data-cfemail')){for(e=''. r='0x'+a. substr(0. 2)|0. n=2;a. length-n;n+=2)e+='%'+('0'+('0x'+a. substr(n. 2)^r). toString(16)). slice(-2);p. replaceChild(document. createTextNode(decodeURIComponent(e)). c)}p. removeChild(t)}}catch(u){}}()/* ]]>*/

Industrial production of laccase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Industrial production of laccase - Essay Example This enzyme is mostly seen in higher plants and fungi. In plants, laccases can be seen in trees, turnips, cabbage, asparagus, beets, apples, pears, potatoes and other vegetables. It is also detected in other plant species like mango, mung bean, prune, syncamore, peach, pine and lacquer. It is also evident among insects likeCalliphora,Diploptera,Drosophelia, Sarchophaga,Rhodnius and Papilio.However, wood rotting fungi are the most common producers of Laccase. Even though laccase is present in plants, insects and fungi it’s activity is limited in bacteria like Marinomonas meditteranea, Azospirillium lipoferum. Laccase is an enzyme with less saccharide compounds in bacteria and fungi compared to plants. The studied that conducted are on extracellular proteins although intracellular proteins are found in several insects and fungi. The purified form of laccase exhibits a blue appearance. The production of laccase from fungi is practiced for industrial use. As per Mayer( 2002, pg 55 1-65)â€Å"Laccases are involved in fungal virulence and possibly in lignification in higher plants† History and Development The laccase enzyme was discovered in Japanese tree Rhus Vernicifera more than one century ago. For many years it was believed that only the ligninolytic system of some white rot fungi could aid in production of lacasse. However, it was Bourbonnais andPaice who found that laccase can catalyze the oxidation of non – phenolic benzylalchohols with the aid of redox mediator. This led to the discovery that laccase mediator system can degrade effectively residual lignin. Because of its extensive reaction capabilities and broad usage in biotechnology it was further studied. In most fungi, lacasse is produced at low level which is not enough for commercial purpose.Lacasse are promising enzymes which has a conventional usage in industries like textile, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals and nanobiotechnology. Lacasse is generally produced by fungi grown on ba sal media at low concentration. As per Gedikli(2010,pg.9 -16) â€Å"Lacasse activity depends on the type of fungal strain used, growth conditions employed, the presence and the absence of inducers, incubation time, nature and composition of culture medium and genetic manipulation†.In order to obtain higher concentration various supplements need to be added like metal ions. White rot fungi is known to have diverse response to inducers in lacasse activity. If inducers are added it can enhance the concentration of lacasse.The lacasse production is highly depended on the cultivation conditions of the fungi strains. The lacasse is primarily produced in industries by submerged cultivation method. However, the excessive growth of mycelium is one of the disadvantages of this method as it hampers the production yield due to mass transfer and metabolic limitation. But this situation can be controlled by the immobilization of cells. Solid state fermentation is also a method to produce l accase. The laccase enzyme is extracellular and secreted in to a medium through filamentous fungi. The secondary metabolism of different fungi generally produces lacasse. The lacasse production is influenced by different factors like type of cultivation, concentration of

How the Rate of the Reaction Is Affected by Activation Energy, Assignment - 1

How the Rate of the Reaction Is Affected by Activation Energy, Temperature, Frequency of Collisions and Orientation of Collisions - Assignment Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that since Activation Energy (Ea) refers to the amount of energy that must be overcome for a chemical reaction to proceed, it varies inversely with the ‘rate of the reaction’ so, at higher Ea, the reaction proceeds slowly whereas, at lower Ea, the reaction goes fast. Temperature is typically associated to the kinetic energy (KE) of the system and their direct proportionality to the collisions of molecules per unit time indicates that higher temperature bears corresponding increase in reaction rate while lower temperature favors a decrease in reaction rate. Â  Generally, more frequent collisions yield higher effective collisions per unit time which would increase the rate of chemical reaction whereas less frequent collisions decrease the rate of such reaction. With proper orientation of molecules during collisions, a higher reaction rate is favored while through improper or lack of orientation among colliding molecules, a lower r eaction rate can be expected. According to the graph, the minimum energy for a reaction is readily achieved with a greater number of collisions at T2 through the same requirement is met at T1 with fewer collisions. Thus, since the rate of chemical reaction is determined by the number of collisions that temperature facilitates, reaction rate depends on control upon temperature. A certain reaction has an activation energy of 54.0 kJ/mol. As the temperature is increased from 22Â °C to a higher temperature the rate constant increases by a factor of seven. Calculate the higher temperature. Catalyst -- a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction or increases the rate of such reaction by means of lowering the activation energy, yet is neither consumed nor is produced in the reaction process.

Free writing journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Free writing journal - Essay Example Connie’s attempt to become a young sexy woman attracted the eyes of Arthur Friend. And when he approached her at home, she got scared because he was not the young man he told her to be. Also, his calm voice and coaxing seemed to be too powerful for Connie. And when he told her that he will harm his family, Connie’s terror led her to come out of the house and go to him. Oates created a clear picture of one possible scenario of teenager’s fun gone wrong. Instead of just giving her the excitement of a secret life, her attempt to look and become a more mature and sexy woman led her to harm’s way. This story was in not just a good read for adolescents but it was also a lesson. It may be fiction but it can be real for some teenagers. It evokes images of violence, even rape. Though there were no explicit statements that indicated there was violence or crime that happened, the images that Oates described seemed to suggest that there was something that happened to Connie, something terrifying. It might have been in her mind only but it suggested that her encounter with Friend destroyed her attempt to delineate her two different sides. The story left us with the lesson that adolescents, same as Connie’s age, need proper guidance to prevent them from going down the wrong

The factors that students use when selecting which University to Assignment

The factors that students use when selecting which University to attend - Assignment Example For researchers to reach an understanding of university choosing process, it was vital to investigate the stages that university applicants go through when choosing universities. Researchers established various models of the university selection process. The three foremost stages of the models are predisposition, search and choice. Predisposition is the first stage of university choosing process. Predisposition is the college desire formation stage. This period is regarded as young adult students decisive to attend university (Perera, Kusumawati, and Yanamandram, 2010). At this stage, certain contextual features impact students. Some of the impacts include socioeconomic status, talent accomplishment, sex, approaches, race, and educational history of the parents and peers around them. Research shows students with high socioeconomic standing are more anticipated to attend university than students with less socioeconomic standing. Student’s talent and accomplishment have also been acknowledged as compact evidence of university attendance (Vickers, and Bekhradnia, 2007). As a young adult student’s talent and accomplishment upsurge when in high school years, they are more likely to chase higher education. Researchers have also recognized that parental inspiration to attend university has a direct effect on university attendance (Donald, 2006). Student’s peer groups with interest in attending university are more likely to chase an undergraduate degree than those without interest. (Vickers, and Bekhradnia, 2007).... (Vickers, and Bekhradnia, 2007). Researchers have branded the second stage of university choosing process to be research stage. Once the students have made up their mind that they are going for higher education, they always hunt for information about universities of their interest. Students make a list of universities, which scholars have denoted to as choice set. Students use this choice set to obtain ideas that will aid them in decision making to apply to universities (Donald, 2006). The final stage of university choosing process has been recognized to be choice stage. At this stage students remind themselves the acceptance to attend universities of their choice. Students decide to attend one of the universities based on the university’s characteristics that they are favourable to their needs. Hence, students will have a variety of approaches in making their ultimate decision (Vickers, and Bekhradnia, 2007). Social issues University is a place for individual growth and socia lization and not just a place for academic progress. Students prefer universities containing students with different background. For instance, students who are planning to be a journalist in the future, they will prefer universities that have different students around the globe as it will help them in developing their career of journalism. On the other hand, some young adult students prefer universities with most students from the same contextual as their own (Yu, 2011). For example, students from Chinese black community are most likely to choose universities with most students from Chinese backgrounds. Student’s level of participation is an essential part of their

Thinking Blues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Thinking Blues - Essay Example This ‘first encounter’ as he calls it and the many that followed brought on the realization that there was a palpable tension between the author and other nighttime pedestrians especially women just because he was black. He became ‘thoroughly familiar’ with ‘the language of fear’ within a year of his coming to Chicago. He learned to expect car-drivers stopped at traffic lights to hurriedly lock their car doors as he crossed in front of their cars on dark, lonely intersections. He learned to deal with pedestrians preferring to cross to other side of the street rather than have to pass him. He suffered ‘unpleasantries’ with people like policemen, bouncers etc whose job it is to keep troublemakers at bay. To keep his peace of mind the author has learned to control his anger at being mistaken for a criminal every now and then. In actual fact he makes it a point to make elaborate gestures of being peaceful and on the right side of the law likening his various ways of assuring his ‘victims’ to the cowbell worn by hikers in bear country. Through his essay the writer brings forth very clearly the dilemma and dangers that are faced in public spaces in urban America by black men who do not conform to the stereotype of being themselves dangerous or outside the law. Black Men and Public Space, by Brent Staples is an essay that illustrates the above thesis very poignantly. His hurt more than indignation at being perceived as dangerous simply because he was big, burly and black is palpable through out the essay. The essay begins with the words, â€Å"My first victim was a woman- white†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . (Staples, para1) In actual fact, it is the author himself who was victimized. Soon after he arrived in Chicago as a young graduate who by his own admission was timid, a ‘softy’, a ‘good boy’ and one who ‘doubted the virtues of intimidation’ got wrongly suspected of being a mugger

Juvenile Court System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Juvenile Court System - Essay Example Most of them have mental health and substance abuse problems and have not committed violent offenses. Historically, the key function of the juvenile court system was to act in the best interests of the child. In particular, young offenders were entitled to counsel, to be silent in interrogations and to face their accusers. However, the recent research indicates that the effectiveness of the juvenile court system has significantly decreased due to its continual transformation into adult court system. The juvenile court is more than a court. In addition to judges, probation officers, social workers, mental health professionals, parents and educators are involved into process. The process of maturity is not easy for children and they should be provides with intervention and protections from society. The mission of the juvenile courts is to become the center of rehabilitation and protection for young offenders (Jacob 2003). Most of the young offenders do not commit the serious crimes, but they still violate the state of federal law which if committed by the adult would constitute the crime (Rubin 1996). For many years, the society is struggling to decrease the level of juvenile criminal activities and is trying to identify what motivates the youth to commit crimes. The juvenile court system was intended to address the underlining causes of criminal activity and take the corrective actions. Advantages of Juvenile Court System The effective intervention strategies have developed and integrated into Juvenile Court System despite of the significant problems presented by the young offenders. From the personal perspective, young offenders experience numerous educational and psychological problems. The emotional and economic factors have the significant impact on their criminal involvement. From the epidemiological perspective, young offenders have high percentage of arrests for serious crimes (especially boys). From social perspective, antisocial juveniles as the participants of the child mental and education programs cause enormous governmental resources. In overall, the existing corrective programs for young individuals are effective. Traditional approaches of Juvenile Court System include psychodynamic, humanistic and behavioral (Borduin 1994). In some judicial districts, antisocial young people are referred to the mental health centers for individual psychotherapy where they can receive the individual counseling from the juvenile court representatives. In the middle 1990s, juvenile courts referred an increasing number of delinquent youth for outpatient family therapy as the part of their probation and this tendency has remained today. Peer and family interventions have proved to be high effective in reducing delinquent behavior as well. The so-called multisystemic therapy is the home-based treatment approach including the commitment to maintaining children at home, time-limiting and goal-orienting treatment plans. Unlike pure family intervention approach of juvenile courts, multisystemic therapy is more effective in addressing and reducing the causal models of delinquent behavior (Borduin 1994). The therapy's purpose is to understand the relation between the identified problems and broader systemic context.

Branding Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Branding Analysis - Essay Example Consumers identify a brand's distinctive capabilities based on their perceptions that have themselves been created by the marketers over a period of time. A genuine brand is "the internalized sum of all the impressions received by the customers and consumers resulting in a distinctive position in their mind's eye based on perceived emotional and functional benefits" (Knapp). Attributes: Attributes are things that usually speak about the product. A brand usually conveys attributes of the product in order to inform existing customers and at the same time attract new potential customers. For example, the attributes of Raymond's suits are stylish, fashionable and modern and stitched of high quality premium clothing. Benefits: In order for a brand to be successful in the market, it is necessary that the product attributes eventually transform into both emotional and functional benefits of the same. If the same example of Raymond's suits which was mentioned above is considered attributes like style and fashion will transform into emotional benefits and the quality of clothing will transform into functional benefits. ... Values: Most of the brands associate some value with themselves. For example, the baseline of the brand Raymond - 'The Complete Man,' communicates a value proposition that the clothing makes a man complete and perfect. Culture: Brands also represent a certain culture. Even this aspect can be better explained with the same example of Raymond that we've been discussing all through. Raymond projects a culture of family bonding like father and son, husband and wife along with Indianness like respect for elders etc, in its advertisements. Personality: Brands communicate personality status. Raymond suggests that it is a brand for a man who cares for his family, society, and himself. User: Brands clearly state their user segments. Raymond is targeted at upper middle class and upper class customers. Brand Personality Brand personality is of immense importance to a firm. This is evident from the fact that most companies spend a lot of time, money and energy in brand building along with the brand's personality. It would be difficult for a company to imagine existence without the brand name and brand personality. For example, if a customer is asked to select one of two chocolates kept in front of him/her, one with the Cadbury's brand name on it visible and the other, also a Cadbury's but with the brand name hidden, the customer, in all probability selects the one with the Cadbury's name visible on it. This shows the importance of the brand name. Companies have to understand that brands and their personality mean a lot and are at the heart of any business activity. Hence, it is necessary that a firm has to exercise full control over its brands. It is often felt that most of the companies have a constrained perception about their brands. They tend to feel

PhD program Essay Example for Free

PhD program Essay I would like to present my personal statement for consideration for a PhD program at the highly esteemed Brunel University. The Uk is home to the world’s leading universities and is characterized by diversify, tradition, a blend of tradition and sophistication and immense economic advantages. Studying in the Uk will make e competitive and will have a global edge over students from other countries. I choose to pursue the PhD course so as to attain further qualification in my area of expertise s I will exhibit higher competence and knowledge levels. The world is rapidly changing with individual being required to be specialists in their areas of expertise. Specialization means that distinct tasks are assigned to specific individuals. This creates a sense of responsibility and accountability thus increasing staff productivity. It will also improve my career prospects and eventually lead to my qualification for pay. I believe this is a natural human instinct to want to do better socially and is part of the self-actualization process. A postgraduate qualification will present me with the knowledge of improving efficiency in educational planning and administration. There is a lot of debate surrounding the investment in education, with eyebrows being raised on the commitment of educators to the process. It is without a doubt that educators play a central role in any integrated education system and have a powerful impact on the success of students. This is illustrated by comparison of performance of students in institution of varying quality. I choose Brunel University because it has been renowned for over forty years as a center of quality and a leader in education in terms of teaching and research. Brunel lays emphasis ion the development of life skill such as communication, which enables its students to have interpersonal skills that render them successful within personal and professional circles. This is also encourages through the rare quality of student and staff interaction. The fact that Brunel has only one campus encourages interaction and socialization of its diverse student population. This demonstrates its commitment to the development of human values. Brunel University has a reputable academic resource facility that is constantly being updated with the latest resources so as to ensure that its student fraternity is in step with the rest of the world. Technology has also been integrated into the system, as Brunel is aware of the importance of technology to education. For the postgraduate students, Brunel has an especially specially designee program that is customized to suit their individual needs. The fact that research is at the very center of Brunel’s educational approach is very attractive to me. Brunel offers the opportunity for supported research by offering the PhD students two supervisors to assist them through out their program by monitoring and assessing their progress. This assists the students to stay on track and to be able to finish their program in good time. I love my work as a teacher and failure to do so would only spell disaster for my students. I am a very humble, affectionate and pleasant person with a deep sense of commitment, devotion and loyalty to my work and my students. I have excellent organization, leadership and time management skill with an ability to multitask and prioritize competing and demanding deadlines. I am capable of working as an individual or as part of a team. I hope that you will consider me favorably and give me the opportunity to be a part of the Brunel community.

Effects Of Thermal Pollution On Aquatic Species

Effects Of Thermal Pollution On Aquatic Species The pollution is the biological, chemical or physical alteration of the water, land, or air that is harmful to living organisms, ocean waters and surface waters. The surface waters, such as lakes, rivers, streams, and underground aquifers can get affected in different way. They can get polluted in common way including human and animal wastes, pathogenic microorganisms, pesticides, and sediment. The water pollution can happen in industrial nations by wasting toxic metals, organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and acids. The human activities that can contribute to pollution are constructions, drilling, dam construction, salting of roads and driveways to melt the ice, waste disposal and agriculture. Sometimes even hot water can consider as a pollutant. The effects of water pollution follow the path of the waters as they trickle through soil, filter through rock beds, and flow down streams and river system, and into oceans. The excess amount of inorganic nutrients such as nitrates and phos phates or raw sewage pollutes lakes or ponds, algae and aquatic plants overgrow. As of the aquatic plants die, they fall in the bottom of the water and the bacteria and other microorganisms decompose the remaining of them and that uses up all the dissolved oxygen in the water and suffocating the other aquatic life in the lake or pond. Thermal pollution is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature, which is associated with increase in water temperature in streams, lakes or the ocean due to the discharge of heated water from industrial processes. How does the water quality change? It changes when water is used in industrial and power plants as a coolant. Whenever it is used and returned to the natural environment, the temperature changes, because warmer water effluent creates a reduced oxygen supply in the environment and therefore it affects aquatic ecosystems. Whenever the power plants are opened or shut off for repair, the fish and other aquatic species, cannot adapt to sudden changes in temperature and they are killed by thermal shock. In addition to harming aquatic life that cannot tolerate the warmer water, the warmer temperatures lower the amount of dissolved oxygen. The elevated temperature decreases the dissolved oxygen in water and this harms aquatic animals by increasing the metabolic rate of aquatic animal due to increased enzyme activity, which results in increase in food consumption within organism shorter period of time. Sometimes this results in disruptions of the food chain and decrease in biodiversity. The higher water temperature can also result in increases in aquatic plant growth rates, shorter lifespan and over population of the species. Algae blooms also reduce oxygen levels. The higher temperature denatures the life supporting enzymes by breaking disulphide and hydrogen bond in enzymes structure, which results in the inability to break down lipids which leads to malnutrition. The heated water has multiple effects on the nearby ecosystem. The warmer temperatures increase the ability of plants to photosynthesize, which may spur an algal bloom. It also increases the stress on plants and animals in the water. The temperature changing harms the fish and other aquatic organisms in many ways. The fish and invertebrates are ectotherm s; where they are cold blooded animals, which are slow moving, slow growing and adapted to specific water temperature. This warmer temperature speeds up their metabolism, which harms their ability to survive and reproduce. The native fish like trout may lose their ground while nonnative take place instead of them. All these power plants have different types of cooling systems, which is easiest and cheapest cooling method, where cool water is withdrawn from a nearby water body and hot water is returned to the same water body. Soon as the system is by far the most environmentally destructive, the closed cycle cooling reuses the cooling water so that the waste heat does not leave the plant, but still excess heat is released into the atmosphere from the plant towers. The nuclear energy is the No 1 source of the free electricity which provides 20% of the United States electricity. There are 437 nuclear power plants are in operation and 55 are under construction worldwide. Those 437 plants have a net capacity of about 371 GW and the 55 will have capacity of 51 GW to generate the energy. The 20% of the electricity is provided by 104 reactors in whole United State, where 35 of the reactors are boiling water reactors and 69 of them are pressurized water reactors. In the boiling water reactors, 14 of them are one reactor; 9 of them are two reactors and 1 has three reactors. For the pressurized water reactors, 15 of them are one reactor, 24 of them are two reactors and 2 of them have three reactors. There are 32 companies which are licensed to operate the nuclear reactors in United States. As of the 2009 records, 8 of the states have 31 reactors and those states generate largest percentage of the electricity. The Vermont state has generated largest perc entage of the electricity in 2009, which was 72%, then 2nd largest comes to New Jersey 55.1%, following Connecticut 53.4%, South Caroline 52.0%, Illinois 48.7%, New Hamphshire 44.1%, Virginia 39.6% and at last in 8 state Pennsylvania with 35.1%. The United States largest nuclear plant is located at Palo Verde in Arizona. That plant has 3 reactors which generates 1,311 MW, 1,314 MW, and 1,317 MW for a total of 3,942 megawatts. On the other side Uniteds smallest nuclear power plant is at the Ft. Calhoun in Nebraska with 1 reactor and capacity of the 482 MW of generation electricity. In the time line the newest nuclear power plant that was built was in June 1996, in Tennessee. This plant is called Watts Bar 1, which is located in the spring city, and the capacity for generation if 1,123 MW. From 1990s to 2000s there have been 4 other plants have been built, which are in August 1993, the Comanche Peak 2 with capacity of 1,158 MW and in 1990, the Comanche Peak 1, with capacity of 1,209 M W. The other 2 were in August 1990, the Seabrook 1 in New Hampshire with 1,244 MW capacity and in January 1990, Limerick 2 in Pennsylvania with 1,134 MW by Exelon Corporation. The oldest operating nuclear plant is Oyster Creek in New Jersey, operating license since April 1969. The nuclear reactor is a device to initiate, control and sustain a nuclear chain reaction. The most common use of it is in generation of electrical power and to transport the power. The nuclear reactor is usually involves heat from the reactor chamber to power steam turbines. These reactors are made by 4 major manufacturers. The reactor manufacturers are GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Westinghouse, AREVA NP and Asea Brown Boveri/Combustion Engineering (ABB-CE), where ABB-CE is the worldwide nuclear business company. As of the generation capacity by all the nuclear power plants in United Nations 20.2% or 798.7 billion kilowatt-hours (bkWh) of the total U.S. electricity and 14% or 2,560 billion kilowatt-hours of the worlds electricity in 2009. In comparison to other sources, 1,000 MWe reactors has 90% of amount of electricity has generated in 1 year. The generated electricity is 7.9 billion KWh, which is good for 740,000 households. To generate that much amount of energy by other fuel sour ces, it would require 13.7 million barrels of the oil or 3.4 million tons of coal or 65.8 billion cubic feet of the natural gas. As of the plant performance the South Texas Project 2 in Texas has generated of 11.8 billion KWh in 2007 with most electricity generation record and the longest operating period between refueling goes to LaSalle 1 from Illinois in February 2006 for 739 days. Oyster Creek, Hope Creek, Salem Nuclear Power Plant Figure : Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station.The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generation Station (OCNGS) is oldest operating nuclear power plant in United States, which is located in Forked River in the Lacey Township, in New Jersey. This plant is spread out in 700 acres of the land and build by Burns Roe, Inc. and owned by the Exelon Corporation. It is one of the four nuclear power plant unit in New Jersey. The other 2 units are at the Salem Nuclear Power Plant, and the Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station. The OCNGS plant was built in 1965 and started power generating in December, 1969 with a license to work for 40 years, but in 2009 the license was extended for another 20 years by The Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The plant draws its cooling water from Barnegat Bay, and dumps the water into the Atlantic Ocean through Barnegat Inlet. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued the license for first 40 years on the basis of the economic and antitrust considerations, but not techni cal limitations (Peter N. Tabbot M.P.H. and Mark G. Robson, M.P.H. September 2006). The OCNGS has a capacity of producing 619 MWe, the total power generated in 2007 was 5077 GW-h and from last 5 year average generation capacity is 5042 GW-h by using a boiling water reactor (BWR). This power plant has generated 4.9 million MWh with capacity factor of 91% and served 600,000 homes as of 2009 record. Each day the OCNGS uses 1.3 billion gallons of Barnegat Bay Water for its antiquated cooling system, which is 2.2% of the total volume of the bay per day and over 790% of the bay per year (CITATION). When the plant automatically shuts downs for safety reasons, fish gets killed due to lack of warm water that input into the bay. In 2002, 5,876 fish were killed, and plant was fined $1 million, where as in 2006, only 80 fish died; 2007 another 5,304 were killed, and the plant was fined $67,859 and in 2008, 38 fish died in following a shutdown. These cooling towers should prevent these fish kil ls that is causing by higher temperature and somehow reduce the higher temperatures near the plants current discharge area back to normal. This plant has approximately 700 employees, which their payroll is around $53 million in 2003 and $63 million in 2009 also where the property tax for 2009 was $2.4 million. This plant has increased output associated with 1034 jobs in New Jersey and 915 jobs in Ocean County. This plant has sponsorship the united way of Ocean County by contributing more than $277,000 in 2009 and counted as largest employee run campaign in Ocean County. The plant intakes and discharges 1.4 billion gallons of the water on daily basis, and it taken in at a speed of 1-2,000 cubic feet per second, which is the force of medium sized river. The giant sucking action brings the assortment of the smaller aquatic life that flows through the grate and gets killed in the process of the cooling the reactor, which is called as entrainment. Where the larger aquatic life such as st riped bass, white perch and endangered sea turtles, gets pinned on the grate and often die, or seriously gets injured by the rush of oncoming water, which is impingement. This plant has developed a record of killing sea turtles in last ten years from 1992 to 2000, 17 sea turtles and 6 sea turtle mortalities. In September 2002, the plant has largest fish kill since 1985, they has over half a million fish dead, due to plant operators fault. They had failed to turn off the dilution pumps during emergency shut-downs and allowing millions of gallons of the hot water to enter the creek and bay. The modern pollution controls require them to install a closed cycle cooling system, which draws water into the plant for cooling, re-circulates and expels the heat through cooling towers. This system reduces the water intake and discharge by 95%, saving 13 million fish and shellfish and a loss of tens of millions additional larvae annually. It also eliminates the fish kills caused by thermal shock from the discharge, stop the dumping over 365 tons of toxic ware into the bay annually. The NJ DEPs current draft permit for oyster creek does not require the plant to install a closed cycle cooling system. But they have gotten 3500 acres of wetlands for restoration for fall back option as the alternative way. Figure : Salem Nuclear Power Plant. Figure : Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station. The other three nuclear power stations are located in Lower Alloways Creek Township, New Jersey in United States. Those all three plants owned by PSEG Nuclear LLC and Exelon Generation LLC. Two of the power stations are called Salem Nuclear Power Plants, which are pressurized water reactor nuclear power station and the other one is called a Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station, which is a thermal nuclear power plant. These three plants share an artificial island in the Delaware Bay. As of the 2004 record, the plants have paid $1.23 million in property taxed to Lower Alloways Creek, accounting for 55% of the townships $2.25 million property tax. The plants have expenditures in the four counties surrounding the plants totaled more than $170 million in 2004. The labor has represented $145.5 million, the goods and services represented as $24.7 million. These spending within region represents, around 27% of the plants total spending of $617 .8 million and 66% of the $256.3 million spent in New Jersey and Delaware (Nuclear Energy Institute September 2006). The Salem Nuclear Power Plant has two units, which were started in 1977 and 1981 and those two plants have a combined capacity of 2275 MWe. The unit 1 is licensed to operate until August, 2016 and unit 2 is licensed to operate until April, 2020. The PSEG have applied for a 20 year extension of license for both of these units. The technical problem made the Salem Reactors to shut down for two years in 1990s. They had found several difficulties, including leaky a generators, and unreliable controls on the reactor. In 2004, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission revised the oversight of this plant and ordered authorities to increase the monitoring overnight. Those plant uses more than 3 billion gallons of the Delaware Bays water every single day for cooling, replacing the closed cooling system. The Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station which is thermal nuclear power plant wa s established in 1986, and it has license to operate the plant until April, 2026. It also has applied for a 20 years extension for license renewal. This plant has producing capacity of 1059 MWe, and in 2007 it has produced 8104 GW-h, where it has average of 7528 GW-h in last 5 years of energy production. This is the plant has the cooling towers, which is designed to remove the heat by pumping water up into the tower and allowing it to fall down inside the tower. Soon as the heat passes the water, it exchanges the some of the heat and evaporates some of the water. The evaporated flows out the top of the tower and form of a fine cloud like mist, where the cooled water is collected at the bottom of the tower and pumped back into the plant for reuse. This kinds of cooling towers are used where the land and water is expensive and where the state of federal regulations make alternatives impractical. The New Jersey has been ranked 10th in nuclear capacity and 9th place in nuclear generatio n in 2008. Effects of the Nuclear Power Plants The discarded radioactive materials from nuclear submarines and military waste have been a major source of radioactivity in the oceans. Those discarding materials have caused fatal harm to marine life, and it has also entered the food chain as some organisms like shell fish concentrate radioactivity in their bodies which are later consumed by humans. The pesticides like DDT and PCBS can enter the oceans through city waste water and industrial discharges from farms and forests. The Thermal pollution is when high or low temperature water is discharged from an industrial source. The difference in temperatures can kill corals and other sensitive marine organisms that are not developed to handle the different temperatures. The Thermal discharges of unused heat from fossil fuel or from fission in the nuclear fuel constitute another kind of environmental impact. Thermal effects in biota include problems with reproduction, growth, survival of larval forms, juveniles and adults. Regulatory ag encies establish water temperature standards to govern heated discharges from the power plants to prevent catastrophic kills to occur, or thermally induced demise of aquatic populations. Fish, plankton and benthos are all affected at various degrees by thermal discharges from power plants. Other environmental impact common to all nuclear power plants are the highly visible transmission lines associated with the generation and distribution of electricity. Underground cables are not yet an economically feasible solution for most cases of transmission of electricity. Radioactive effluents released from nuclear power plants are, however, the main object of monitoring and control to minimize exposure of the public to ionizing radiation. Another effect of the nuclear power plant would be acid rain. The acid rain is the slightly acidic, with the pH of 5.6 of lower, which is due to small amount of carbon dioxide in water droplets to form mild carbonic acid. The other steps which lead to acid rain is the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides released into the atmosphere primarily by nuclear power plants and metal ore refineries. All these oxide gases then react with water vapor to produce sulfuric acid, nitric and nitrous acid, which dissolve in the water droplets, and then combine with normal droplets and form into raindrops, in this case count as acid raindrops. In the Northeastern United States, have very low buffering capacity, therefore if the rainfall is acidic the most rocks and soils have increased their acid levels by 5 to 10 fold in the past few decades. The acidic soil lover the pH of the streams those flow over them, and the Environmental Protection Agency has reported in 2000, that approximately 580 of the str eams in the Mid-Atlantic coastal plain were found to be acidic including 90% of the streams in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey and that was highest percentage in the nation. This combined acidity has lowered the pH of some lakes around 5.0 and even Little Echo Pond in Franklin, New York got lowered until pH of 4.2 in the Northeastern United States. Effect on the Ocean mammals Figure : The Green Turtle.The Green sea turtle is the larger sea turtle with binomial name Chelonia mydas from Cheloniidae family with only species in the genus Chelonia. It is the endangered species listed by IUCN and CITES. It is with low, broadly oval carapace and small head with one pair of pre frontal scales that are unique to them. Their shell length ranges from 36-43 inches and weights average between 200-300 pounds. They evolved more than 150 million years ago, and they spend entire lives in the sea, even more then come to the surface to breathe, and remain underwater for several hours for resting. They inhabit warm, tropical and subtropical waters, they migrate northward as temperature increase in the late spring, and stays there until late fall. Their nesting occurs in warm temperate and subtropical regions on open sandy beaches above high tide mark in front of well developed sand dunes. As of the Harold Haines and William Kleese, the scientist from the Miami, Florida, prov ed that the role of water temperature in the induction and maintenance of a dermal herpes virus infection (gray-patch disease) of young, green sea turtles, which influence of other recognized stress factors were negligible. In their research the animals that were subjected to a gradual increase in water temperature from 25 to 30C and a subsequent decrease to 25C, where they were maintained, had a period before onset of clinical signs and severity closer to that of control animals. In their findings they indicated that both the induction of clinical gray-patch disease and the severity of the lesions are affected by water temperature and suggest that one possible means of control of this herpes virus infection under intensive aquaculture conditions might be water temperature manipulation. The endangered Kemps Ridley, Atlantic Green and Loggerhead turtles are killed each year as they are attracted to the warm water and then sucked toward death on the fooling system intake. The manatees, the large, fully aquatics, and mostly herbivorous marine mammals, which sometimes known as sea cows. They eat over 60 different plant species such as mangrove leaves, turtle grass, and types of algae, using their divided upper lip. The adult manatee eats around 10% of their body weight per day and especially small amounts of fish from nets. They have very few natural predators, like sharks, crocodiles and alligators over time to time. The main causes of their death for sea cows are human related issues, human objects, habitat destruction and natural causes such as disease and temperatures. Another main natural event and unpreventable cause for the manatees death would be red tide which is proliferation of tiny marine organisms knows as dinoflagellates. Figure : phytoplankton.The phytoplankton is the autotrophic component of the plankton community. They are too small to see it with naked eye, but if they are in higher numbers, than it can appear as green discoloration of the water due to presence of chlorophyll in their cells. The Phytoplankton obtains energy from the process of photosynthesis, also it accounts for half of all photosynthetic activity on Earth. The effects of the elevated water temperatures and residual chlorine at a coastal nuclear power plant on the biomass and productivity or periphyton and phytoplankton, but not productivity was significantly lower in the outlet region than in the intake region. The phytoplankton is the key food item in both aquaculture and mariculture, where both utilize phytoplankton for the feeding of the animals being farmed. In mariculture, the phytoplankton is naturally occurring and is introduced into enclosures with the normal circulation of seawater, where in aquaculture; the phytoplankt on must be obtained and introduced directly. The phytoplankton is used as a food stock for the production for rotifers, which are in turn used to feed other organisms, and also used to feed aquaculture molluscs. The species made of only one or few cells, the phytoplankton is the responsible for 50% of the primary productivity on the earth. Waste Product of the Nuclear Power Plant Figure : Decay in radioactivity of HLW.The waste product of the nuclear power plant is the radioactive waste. The radioactive wastes are very small relative to the waste produced by the fossil fuels and other sources. This waste product is containing radioactive material, which is the product of the nuclear fission, which comes from not directly connected to the nuclear power industry. The waste that has been produce diminishes over time, so in principle to that that material needs to be isolated for long time to no longer pose a hazard. The waste can be generally classified either low level or high level. The low level radioactive waste considers as highly radioactive part of nuclear reactors and waste from medical procedures, which comparatively easy to dispose and relatively small half life. The high level radioactive waste is material from the core of the nuclear reactor or from nuclear weapon. Most of the high level waste emit large amounts of radiation and have really long half lives. The radiation coming of the radioactive waste exposes the human and that can cause about 1% of all cancers, which increase cancer risk by 0.002% of reducing the life expectancy. Each year the nuclear power plants produces the 200,000 m3 of low level waste and about 10,000 m3 of the high level waste products including fuel as waste. 1000 MWe of the light water reactor generates about 200-350 m3 low level waste per year, it also discharges about 20 m3 of used fuel, which corresponds to 75 m3 disposal volume. Where the used fuel is reprocessed only 3 m3 of glass is produced, which is similar to 28 m3 of disposal canister. All this compares with an average of 400,000 tons of ash produced from coal, plant and other power sources of the same power capacity.

Julius Caesar Essay: Brutus as the Tragic Hero -- Julius Caesar Essays

Brutus as the Tragic Hero of Julius Caesar  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare’s tragedy, Julius Caesar, displays Brutus as a tragic hero, blinded loyalty and devotion. Brutus's heroic belief of honor and virtue was so powerful that it drove him to perform villainous actions and lead to his destruction. The tragic hero is "presented as a person neither entirely good nor entirely evil, who is led by some tragic flaw to commit an act that results in suffering and utter defeat." (Morner, Kathleen & Rausch, Ralph. 1991, Pg. #227) Brutus was guided by his firm decrees of honor, yet he was unconsciously hypocritical. He praised himself for refusing bribes and not acquiring money through dishonest means, "For I can raise no money by vile means" (Act IV Scene iii) yet he rebuked Cassius for refusing to share with him his own fraudulent gains. He strove for uprightness using dishonest and corrupt ways to accomplish his supposed morals. In Julius Caesar, Cassius approached Brutus with the idea of assassinating Caesar. Cassius needed Brutus because of his renowned heroic qualities. He used Brutus as an insurance policy, declaring "Brutus shall lead, and we will grace his heels with the most boldest and best hearts of Rome." (Act III, Scene i) Cassius lead him to fear Caesar is too ambitious and despotic. This forced Brutus to come to the conclusion that Caesar's death is the only way to solve Rome's problem. "And therefore think him as a serpent's egg, Which hatched would, as his kind, grow mischievous, And kill him in the shell." (Act II, Scene i) Brutus believed that this is for Rome's own good, "not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." (Act III, Scene ii) Cassius manipulated Brutus into thinking that he must eliminate C... ...and devotion destroyed him. The greatest good in this tragic hero lead him to the wickedest evil. Works Cited http://student.cscc.edu/ENGL/Engl264/traglex.htm. Shakespearean Tragedy. 11-29-99. Yahoo. Bloom, Harold. William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Chelsea House Publisher; Connecticut, New York, & Pennsylvania. 1988, Pg. #33 - 36 Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z. Roundtable Press, Inc.; New York. 1990, Pg. #78 - 80 Durband, Alan. Shakespeare Made Easy: Julius Caesar. Barron's Educational Series, Inc.; New York. 1985. Ludowyk, E.F.C. Understanding Shakespeare. Cambridge University Press; New York. 1962, Pg. #184 - 187 Morner, Kathleen & Rausch, Ralph. NTC's Dictionary of Literary Terms. National Textbook Company; Illinois. 1991, Pg. #225 - 227 Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. Dover Publications, Inc.; New York. 1991.   

Considering The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as an Effective

Considering The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as an Effective Representation of Evil The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, originally published in 1886 by Robert Louis Stevenson, arguably remains a popular novella even today because of its representations of evil and themes concerned with evil such as morality. Originally written for a Victorian audience, the text follows the conventions of the time - for example, the Georgian style of introducing and portraying characters by their social class and status. In writing his classic, Stevenson wanted to "focus on the suggestion that evil is potentially more powerful than good"1 - an idea which would have been out of place then. Indeed, though the Victorian era was a period of great scientific advancement, society was still firmly routed in religion: Sunday would be reserved for Church, a copy of the Bible would be the only book possessed by many, and blasphemy was considered both morally and legally a major crime. Though Charles Darwin had challenged the Biblical theory of Creation some seven years earlier in his thesis The Origin of Species, his works were generally not accepted by the majority of the population - it is extremely likely, as well as logical, that most of his support would have come from the scientific community, which is ironic considering that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde focuses around the medical profession. Therefore, by focusing on the suggestion that "evil is potentially more powerful than good" 1 - i.e. that God was not almighty or prevalent - Stevenson risked not only the popularity of his novella, but of his reputation as an author. The defi... .../ 3 See: Stafford News 4 Mike Wolfe, Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent 5 Wikipedia [www] http://www.wikipedia.org/ 6 Genesis 4:11 - The Bible (The King James Version) 7 The Inland Voyage, Robert Louis Stevenson 8 Classic Notes [www] http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/jekyll/ 9 Essay Crawler [www] http://www.essaycrawler.com/viewpaper/55322.html/ 10 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Criticism [www] http://www.enotes.com/dr-jekyll/7417/ 11 The Carew Murder Case 12 Wikiquote [www] http://www.wikiquote.com/ 13 Peter Bell the Third, P.B. Shelly 14 Wikipedia [www] http://www.wikipedia.org/ and Dr. Mumtaz Pardhan 15 The Placebo Effect: Harnessing Your Mind's Power to Heal [www] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/12/031231084101.htm. 16 Leil Lowndess, Relationship Psychologist

Monty Python and the Holy Grail Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Monty Python and the Holy Grail† is a satiric comedy about the quest of King Arthur. The movie starts out with Arthur, King of the Britons, looking for knights to sit with him at Camelot. He finds many knights including Sir Galahad the pure, Sir Lancelot the brave, the quiet Sir Bedevere, and Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir Lancelot. Through satire and parody of certain events in history (witch trials, the black plague) they find Camelot, but after literally a quick song and dance they decide that they do not want to go there. While walking away, God (who seems to be grumpy) come to them from a cloud and tells them to find the Holy Grail. They agree and begin their search. While they search for the Grail, scenes of the knight's tales appear and the reasons behind their names. Throughout their search, they meet interesting people and knights along the way. Most of the characters die; some through a killer rabbit (which they defeat with the hol y hand grenade), others from not answering a question right from the bridge of Death, or die some other ridiculous way. In the end, King Arthur and Sir Bedevere are left and find the Castle Arrrghhh where the Holy Grail is. They are met by some French soldiers who taunted them earlier in the film and were not able to get into the castle. The movie ends with both King Arthur and Sir Bedevere being arrested for killing a real-life man who was a historian. In the movie, the three main types of comedy I recognized were farce, parody, and satire. Farce is comedy designed to provoke the audience into simple, hearty laughter and often uses highly exaggerated or caricatured character types and puts them into improbable and ludicrous situations. It also makes use of broad verbal humor and physical horseplay. Some examples of farce in the movie are: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the beginning of the movie, you hear the sound of music and horses. However, it turns out that it was not horses at all; it was the sound of King Arthur’s squire pounding two coconut halves together to make the sound of horses galloping. They then go on to confront two soldiers at the castle gates o invite their lord to be apart of the round table .they approach a castle and are quickly confronted by soldiers on top of the castle walls. The soldiers go on to question about their mode of transportation. King Arthu... ...arody is the imitation if a work of literature, art, or music for amusement or instruction. Parody usually uses exaggeration or inappropriate subject matter to make a serious style seem ridiculous. Some examples parodies in the movie are: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The comedic affect of the scene where Arthur and his men are kept away from the castle by farm animal warfare is a parody to when King Uther Pendragon attacked the Duke of Cornwall’s castle and was kept off with fire, soldiers and other one would expect in combat. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There was a scene where King Arthur and his knights hid inside of a wooden rabbit to invade the castle. This was a parody of the wooden Trojan horse used to invade the Greeks in the Illiad.The comedic affect was delivered when the king and his men got out of the horse before they even got into the castle. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were also scenes ever so often a historian would pop up and give you a brief narrative about what was going on in the movie. This was a parody of all the historians that covered the story of Arthur. The comedic affect was delivered when Arthur killed the historian at the end of the movie.

Buying Cycle

The Buying Cycle refers to the key events and the processes in which the fashion buyer is involved in order to  buy a garment range for a retail or a mail order company. ? The length of the buying cycle varies from company to company. It usually takes a year between reviewing the current season’s sale and delivering the product into stores. Fashion Industry traditionally splits the year into two main seasons; * Spring/Summer- February- July Autumn * Winter- August  ± JanuaryThe competitive and constantly changing fashion business requires a more frequent introduction of merchandise, resulting in most stores introducing new ranges many times in between these two main seasons. The occurrence and the names of sub-seasons vary from company to company. Sub-Seasons Seasons| Approximate Durations (with Overlaps)| Spring Transition| mid Jan – Feb end| 6 weeks| Spring| Feb beg – Mar end| 8 weeks| Spring Promo| Apr beg – mid Apr| 2 weeks| Summer 1| mid Apr †“ May end| 6 weeks| Summer 2| mid May – mid July| 8 weeks|Summer Sale| mid July – Aug beg| 2 weeks| Autumn Transition| mid July – Aug end| 6 weeks| Autumn| Aug beg – Sept end| 8 weeks| Winter 1| Oct beg – mid Nov| 6 weeks| Winter Festive/Holiday| mid Oct – mid Nov| 3 weeks| Winter 2| mid Nov – Jan beg| 6 weeks| Winter Sale| Jan beg – mid Jan| 2 weeks| PHASES – Various ranges introduced within the season. TRANSITIONALS – Ranges which bridge the gap between one season and the next season. The Buying Cycle Review of current Season’s sales Budget Planning Comparative Shopping Directional Shopping Sourcing for product developmentRange planning Garment samples sourcing for range Pre Selection of garment samples Price negotiation with suppliers Final Range Selection Placing orders for ranges Pre production sampling & approvals Bulk garment manufacturing Delivery of products to the retailer Purchase by customer R eview of current season’s sales *In the current scenario buyer works simultaneously for three seasons with very challenging workload. Buyer handles three buying cycles which overlaps at one time – Review of sales of on going season, Range planning for the ext season & Pre production approvals for the coming seasons. Review of current Season’s sales This review often takes the form of presentations to the buying team and the design department team if the company has one with samples of garments from the range which was in stores last season and analysed. QC department may contribute to the meeting by commenting on any technical problems which may explain low sales figure, for instance colour or fit in production differing from the catalogue photograph of the garment.After sales review meeting, Buyer is armed with the knowledge of which styles the customer currently likes and dislikes and a framework of successes to build upon for the new season. So a rough idea o f a new range plan can start to be penciled in.? This whole exercise is further gets the flavor of current trends, PESTEL influence and affected by Next season’s forecasting. They may also be learnt from other buyer’s sales figures, so if a new fabric or colour has been trialed in another product, the buyer can decide whether or not to run it too. Budget PlanningMerchandisers usually plan budgets in conjunction with buyer. The framework of the budget is based largely on the last season’s performance as discussed at the range review. Comparative Shopping * Often referred as comp. shop. * Under taken at the beginning of each season and continues with once a month visit. * Buyers & Designers are involved. * Starts with the looking at current merchandise in the stores of competitors which sell comparable ranges. * Report will be produced with few sketches & information grid. * Analysis of missing important trends in own range. Directional Shopping Term used for trip s to gain inspiration for design concepts. * Trips depend upon the buyer’s product range & travel budget. * Buyer may visit designer RTW ranges to mass market ranges. * Makes note on key shapes, details, colors and fabric for reference. * Buyers usually have budget to buy samples which are referred as bought samples. * Designers may share responsibility of directional shopping with buyers. Sourcing for product development Garment samples are bought from different stores as during directional shopping which resemble the product range of the buyer or some new trend.Range Planning It is a stage where buyers define the detail of the range that is to be offered to the customer in terms of styling, fabric, design, suppliers and prices. Pre Selection Time after the Range planning stage at the Buyer’s end can be in form of the Line review/Range review meeting.? Garments samples featuring on the Range plan are presented. Participants are the Design, Marketing, Merchandising and QC teams. Range is reviewed vis a vis: * Styling, Colors, Price and Delivery. * Sourcing strategy regarding product and Supplier base. Period after Line/ Range reviewFinalization of the Styles , suppliers, prices for the Final Range.? Involves: * Informing suppliers regarding the styles which have been included in the final Range. * Change in styles if any. * Price re-negotiations. * Order Delivery dates re-negotiations. * Styles dropped. * Request for additional samples if required for the final range review meeting by the buyer. Final Order Placement After the Final Range Selection meeting, orders are placed with the suppliers in form of sending Purchase orders /Purchase sheets for each individual items selected to be on the range.These may be generated by the Merchandising department or by a separate Purchase department. Critical path/Time and Action Calendar for the buyer The key activities and the timelines associated with them, for processes like product development and produ ction of any item forms the critical path or the Time and Action calendar. By virtue of the T&A the various activities involved in the Product development/Production processes and the responsible party is fixed.

Discuss official statistics with regard to how useful Essay

Depending on whether the sociologist is a positivist or an interpretivist, official statistics may be worthless. Positivists see official statistics as valuable sources of quantitative information that can be used to investigate cause and effect relationships, like Durkheim did when investigating suicide. According to positivists, official statistics are hard, social facts that are separate from an individual, yet affect their behaviour. Most positivists accept the validity and reliability of official statistics. An interpretivist does not take the same view as a positivist. They believe that they are not measurements of facts, and are rather social constructions created by the meanings people attach to behaviour. Police may attach meanings to murder or burglaries and it is the job of a sociologist to understand how those meanings are constructed. Marxists take yet another view. They believe that official statistics are tools created by the bourgeoisie to enforce their ideology onto the proletariat. These tools can be used to mask the true inequalities of society and capitalism. They will take note of Conservative governments switching the methods use to measure unemployment over 30 times, in most cases resulting in a fall in unemployment. Using official statistics is good for the sociologist as they cost very little to use whilst being readily available. Samples are also very large and the census involves the entire population; whilst normally samples this large wouild be outside a sociologist’s budget, statistics can be used to get a large sample without costing the sociologist much. If many official statistics are collected over time, they can be used to establish relationships and trends over time. Effects of legislation and bills can also be measured through these large scale surveys. As statistics such as the census are required to be taken in every EU member state, international comparisons can be made. More often than not, these statistics are the only data available. However, these statistics are often collected for administrative and beaurocratic reasons, not sociological reasons and for this reason, classifications made by governments may not be suitable for sociological reasons. As these are produced by the state, they may be biased to favour a certain government to reflect success of policies. Some data may be avoided and focus on the bad rather than the good, such as talking about social scroungez s instead of talking about the number of non-domiciles. As said before, interpretivists argue that official statistics are not facts, but rather social constructions â€Å"The police create crime† is a view taken by some as it is ultimately up to them to arrest people and make the statistics. If a nice, respectable middle class person is stopped for speeding, the police may not arrest the person and let them off with a warning. If an incident is too small or trivial, it is not worth the effot of arresting someone. Rape cases also go un-reported as women may find it difficult to admit to the shame and humiliation of owning to it to a policeperson. If crime benefits both parties, for example, blackmail or drugs trade, this is unlikely to reported by either party. Official statistics are useful for those who have no objection to their use and sociologists whose budgets maybe limited. They have benefits such as being made readily available, and being cheap and in the public domain, but they can be subject to bias (how to categorise unemployed people changed three times in the eighties, with the number falling each time) and classifications for use with governments may have been objectionalised differently to how a sociologist would do so.

Comedy of Errors Essay

â€Å"The Comedy of Errors† Plato states that: â€Å"The measure of a man is what he does with his power. † But is this true? Or does it depend on a person’s money and possessions? Perhaps it is the family they were born into, or even their gender. And how can reputation affect your class standing? In â€Å"The Comedy of Errors† William Shakespeare explores the interplay of these various possibilities that can determine a person’s class. Shakespeare shows us that a persons family can determine their social status. As well as affect how they are treated. Taking for example the twin Dromios, they came from an extremely poor family. â€Å"A mean woman was delivered / Of such a burden, male twins, both alike. † (?.?. 54) Because their mother was so poor they were adopted by Egeon, however as opposed to becoming his children they became servants for his biological children (also twins) with each twin receiving his own minion. Throughout the Dromios lives they remained servants, even when they were split apart they stayed with their master. Being servants for different masters meant that they were treated differently. Dromio of Ephesus was beaten and kept uneducated â€Å"I have some marks of yours upon my pate, / Some of my mistress’ marks upon my shoulders, ( I.?. 83) While Dromio of Syracuse was given an education and treated like a brother as opposed to a servant, Antipholus of Syracuse demonstrates: A trusty villain, sir, that very oft, When I am dull with care and melancholy, Lightens my humor with is merry jests. (I. II. 19) If they had had wealthy parents with much more power then they would never have become servants and would most likely have servants of their own. Another and perhaps more common way to define a person’s social status is by their wealth, that is their money and possesions. Even though in our modern society wealth has little to do with your social status, in William Shakespeare’s time the more money you had the more power you had. For example Adriana and her husband Antipholus of Ephesus, clearly their money and possessions greatly benefited them in life. All this wealth leads them to have a very good reputation. However if their reputation gets tarnished they will lose their money and in consequence their power: If by strong hand you offer to break in Now in the stirring passage of the day, A vulgar comment will be made of it; And that supposed by the common rout Against your yet ungalled estimation. (III. I. 47) Looking at this quote it is clear that if Antipholus goes through with his threat, his reputation will be tarnished. Therefore he decides against it. â€Å" You have prevailed. I will depart in quiet / And, in despite of mirth, mean to be merry. (III. I. 156) An additional example is Solinus the duke of Ephesus. When he is ready to execute Egeon he uses the power he has to grant him one day of freedom. Duke: Now trust me, were it not against our laws, Against my crown, my oath, my dignity, My soul should sue as advocate for thee. But thou art adjudged to the death, Yet will I favor thee in what I can. therefore, merchant, I’ll limit thee this day. By giving Egeon a day of fr eedom the duke boosts his reputation in Ephesus as a sympathetic and selfless leader. All the while knowing that there is no way Egeon will accomplish his goal. The third and perhaps most prominent way of defining a person’s social standing is their gender. A factor that is still entrenched in our modern society. In â€Å"The Comedy of Errors† there are many obligations women have to fill that men do not. For example as Egeon is telling the duke his tragic story he mentions that although his wife was not in love with him and did not want to marry him, they clearly ended up married. â€Å"In Syracusa was I born and wed / Unto a woman happy but for me. (I. I. 37) This quote demonstrates that as a woman one of her obligations was to get married, even if it was to someone she did not love. This also makes evident the fact women were not free to make their own decisions. Furthermore women were often considered lesser beings than men, they were not allowed as much freedom as their spouse was. â€Å" Good sister, let us dine and never fret. / A man is master of his own liberty. † (II. I. 6) This quote highlights that fact that men were free to come and go as they pleased whereas women were not.

Bloodlines Chapter Thirteen

MY CELL PHONE RANG at the crack of dawn the next morning. I was already up, being an early riser, but Jill rolled over in bed and put her pillow over her head. â€Å"Make it stop,† she groaned. I answered and found Eddie on the other end of the line. â€Å"I'm downstairs,† he said. â€Å"Ready to practice some self-defense before it gets too hot.† â€Å"You're going to have to do it without me,† I said. I had a feeling Eddie was taking his promise to Clarence about training us very seriously. I felt no such obligation. â€Å"I've got a ton of homework to do. That, and I'm sure Ms. Terwilliger's going to make me do a coffee run today.† â€Å"Well, then send Jill down,† said Eddie. I glanced over to the cocoon of blankets on her bed. â€Å"That might be easier said than done.† Surprisingly, she managed to rouse herself enough to brush her teeth, take aspirin for a headache, and throw on some workout clothes. She bid me farewell, and I promised to check on them later. Not long after that, Ms. Terwilliger called with her coffee demand, and I prepared myself for another day of trying to fit in my own work with hers. I drove over to Spencer's and didn't even notice Trey until I was standing right in front of him. â€Å"Ms. Terwilliger's?† he asked, pointing to the caramel sauce cappuccino. â€Å"Huh?† I looked up. Trey was my cashier. â€Å"You work here?† He nodded. â€Å"Gotta make spending money somehow.† I handed him some cash, noting that he'd charged me half price. â€Å"Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't look so great,† I told him. He looked tired and worn out around the edges. Closer inspection showed bruises and cuts as well. â€Å"Yeah, well, I had kind of a rough day yesterday.† I hesitated. That was a leading comment, but there was no one in line behind me. â€Å"What happened?† I asked, knowing it was expected. Trey scowled. â€Å"That asshole Greg Slade wreaked havoc in football tryouts yesterday. I mean, the results aren't up yet, but it's pretty obvious he's going to get quarterback. He was like a machine, just plowing guys over.† He extended his left hand, which had some bandage-wrapped fingers. â€Å"He stepped on my hand too.† I winced, remembering Slade's out-of-control athleticism in PE. The politics of high school football and who was quarterback weren't that important to me. True, I felt sorry for Trey, but it was the source behind the tattoos that intrigued me. Keith's warnings about not causing trouble rang back to me, but I was unable to stop myself. â€Å"I know about the tattoos,† I said. â€Å"Julia and Kristin told me about them. And I get now why you were suspicious of mine – but it's not what you think. Really.† â€Å"That's not what I've heard. Most people think you're just saying that because you don't want to tell where you got it.† I was a little taken aback by that. I was pretty sure Julia and Kristin had believed me. Were they actually spreading around the opposite? â€Å"I had no idea.† He shrugged, a small smile on his lips. â€Å"Don't worry. I believe you. There's something kind of naively charming about you. You don't seem like the cheating type.† â€Å"Hey,† I scolded. â€Å"I'm not naive.† â€Å"It was a compliment.† â€Å"How long have these tattoos been around?† I asked, deciding it was best to move in. â€Å"I heard since last year.† He handed me my coffee, thinking. â€Å"Yeah, but it was the end of last year. School year, I mean.† â€Å"And they come from a placed called Nevermore?† â€Å"As far as I know.† Trey eyed me suspiciously. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Just curious,† I said sweetly. A couple of college kids dressed like rich hobos got in line behind me and regarded us impatiently. â€Å"Can we get some service here?† Trey gave them a stiff smile and then rolled his eyes at me as I moved away. â€Å"See you around, Melbourne.† I headed back to Amberwood and delivered Ms. Terwilliger's coffee. I wasn't in the mood to stay leashed to her all day, so I asked if I could go elsewhere if I kept my cell phone handy. She agreed. The library had too much activity and – ironically – noise for me today. I wanted the solitude of my room. As I was cutting across the lawn to catch the shuttle, I spotted some familiar figures behind a cluster of trees. I changed direction and found Jill and Eddie squaring off in a small clearing. Micah sat cross-legged on the ground, watching avidly. He waved at me as I approached. â€Å"I didn't realize your brother was a kung-fu master,† he remarked. â€Å"It's not kung fu,† said Eddie gruffly, never taking his eyes off Jill. â€Å"Same difference,† said Micah. â€Å"It's still pretty badass.† Eddie feinted, like he was going to strike at Jill's side. She responded fairly quickly with a block, though not quite fast enough to match him. Had he been serious, he would have hit her. Still, he seemed pleased with her response time. â€Å"Good. That would deflect part of a hit, though you'd still feel it. Best is if you can duck and dodge altogether, but that takes a little more work.† Jill nodded obediently. â€Å"When can we work on that?† Eddie regarded her with pride. That expression softened after a few moments of study. â€Å"Not today. Too much sun.† Jill started to protest and then stopped herself. She had that worn-out-from-the-light look again and was sweating heavily. She glanced up at the sky for a moment, as though begging it to give us some cloud cover. It remained unresponsive, so she nodded at Eddie. â€Å"All right. But we're doing this tomorrow at the same time? Or earlier maybe. Or maybe tonight! Could we do both? Practice tonight when the sun's going down and then again in the morning? Would you mind?† Eddie grinned, amused at her enthusiasm. â€Å"Whatever you want.† Smiling back, Jill sat down beside me, getting into as much shade as possible. Eddie regarded me expectantly. â€Å"What?† I asked. â€Å"Aren't you supposed to learn to throw a punch?† I scoffed. â€Å"No. When would I ever need to do that?† Jill nudged me. â€Å"Do it, Sydney!† Reluctantly, I allowed Eddie to give me a quick lesson on throwing a punch without injuring my hand in the process. I barely paid attention and felt like I was mostly providing entertainment for the others. When Eddie finished with me, Micah asked, â€Å"Hey, would you mind showing me some ninja moves too?† â€Å"They have nothing to do with ninjas,† protested Eddie, still smiling. â€Å"Come on up.† Micah leapt to his feet, and Eddie walked him through some rudimentary steps. More than anything, it seemed like Eddie was sizing up Micah and his capabilities. After a while, Eddie grew comfortable and let Micah practice some offensive moves to get rid of an attacker. â€Å"Hey,† protested Jill when Eddie landed a kick on Micah. Micah shrugged it off in a guy kind of way. â€Å"No fair. You wouldn't hit me when we were practicing.† Eddie was caught off guard enough that Micah actually got a hit in. Eddie gave him a look of grudging respect and then said to Jill, â€Å"That was different.† â€Å"Because I'm a girl?† she demanded. â€Å"You never held back with Rose.† â€Å"Who's Rose?† asked Micah. â€Å"Another friend,† explained Eddie. To Jill, he said: â€Å"And Rose has had years more experience than you.† â€Å"She's had more than Micah too. You were going easy on me.† Eddie flushed and kept his eyes on Micah. â€Å"Was not,† he said. â€Å"Were too,† she muttered. As the boys sparred again, she said quietly to me, â€Å"How am I ever going to learn if he's afraid of breaking me?† I watched the guys, analyzing what I knew of Eddie so far. â€Å"I think it's more complicated than that. I think he also just believes you shouldn't have to take the risk – that if he's doing a good enough job, you shouldn't have to defend yourself.† â€Å"He's doing a great job. You should have seen him at the attack.† Her face got that haunted look it did whenever the attack that had driven her into hiding was mentioned. â€Å"But I still need to learn.† She lowered her voice even more. â€Å"I really want to learn to use my magic to fight too, not that I'll get much practice in this desert.† I shuddered, recalling her display from the night before. â€Å"There'll be time,† I said vaguely. I stood up, saying I had to go get some work done. Micah asked Eddie and Jill if they wanted to get lunch. Eddie said yes immediately. Jill looked to me for help. â€Å"It's just lunch,† said Eddie meaningfully. I knew he still thought Micah was harmless. I didn't know, but after seeing how infatuated Jill was with Lee, I figured Micah would have to make some pretty aggressive moves to get anywhere. â€Å"I'm sure it's fine,† I said. Jill looked relieved, and the group headed off. I spent the day finishing off that miserable book for Ms. Terwilliger. I still thought having to copy the archaic spells and rituals verbatim was a waste of time. The only point I could see for it was that if she ever did need to reference them for her research, she would have an easy computer file to check and not risk damage to the ancient book. It was evening by the time I finished that and my other homework. Jill still wasn't back, and I decided to use the opportunity to check on something that had been bothering me. Earlier in the day, Jill had mentioned Eddie defending her in the attack. I'd felt from the beginning that there was something strange about that initial attack, something that they weren't telling me. So, I logged onto the Alchemists' network and pulled up everything we had on the Moroi rebels. Naturally, it was all documented. We had to keep track of important events among the Moroi, and this ranked pretty high. Somehow, the Alchemists had gotten pictures of the Moroi Court, with protesters lined up outside one of the administrative buildings. Dhampir guardians were easy to pick out as they mingled and kept order. To my surprise, I recognized Dimitri Belikov – Rose's boyfriend – among those doing crowd control. He was easy to spot since he was almost always taller than everyone around him. Dhampirs look very human, and even I could admit that he was pretty good-looking. There was a rugged handsomeness to him, and even in a still photograph, I could see a fierceness as he watched the crowd. Other protest pictures confirmed what I knew. By far, most people supported the young queen. Those against her were a minority – but a loud and dangerous one. A video from a human news show in Denver showed two Moroi guys nearly getting in a bar fight. They were shouting about queens and justice, most of which wouldn't make sense to a human observer. What made this video special was that the guy who'd filmed it – some random human with a cell phone camera – claimed he'd seen fangs on both men in the argument. The videographer had submitted his recording claiming he'd witnessed a vampire fight, but no one gave it much credibility. It was too grainy for anything to show up. Still, it was a reminder of what could happen if the Moroi situation spun out of control. A status check showed me that Queen Vasilisa was indeed trying to get a law passed so that her rule was no longer dependent on there being at least one other person in her royal family. Alchemist experts guessed it would take three months, which was about what Rose had said. The number loomed in my head like a ticking time bomb. We needed to keep Jill safe for three months. And for three months, Vasilisa's enemies would be trying harder than ever to get to Jill. If Jill died, Vasilisa's rule would end – along with her attempts to fix the system. Yet none of this was what had really driven me to research. I wanted to know about Jill's initial attack, the one that no one talked about. What I found wasn't much help. No Alchemists had been there at the time, of course, so our information was based on what Moroi sources had reported. All we knew was that â€Å"the queen's sister had been viciously and severely attacked – but had made a full recovery.† From what I'd observed, that was certainly true. Jill showed no signs of injury, and the attack had occurred a week before she came to Palm Springs. Was that enough time to heal from a â€Å"vicious and severe† attack? And was an attack like that enough to make her wake screaming? I didn't know but still couldn't shake my suspicions. When Jill came home later, she was in such a good mood that I couldn't bear to interrogate her. I also remembered too late that I'd meant to research the case of Clarence's niece and her bizarre death by throat-slitting. Jill's situation had distracted me. I let the matter go and called it an early night. Tomorrow, I thought drowsily. I'll do it all tomorrow. Tomorrow came much more quickly than I expected. I was woken out of a heavy sleep by someone shaking me, and for a split second, the old nightmare was there, the one about Alchemists carrying me away in the night. Recognizing Jill, I just barely stopped myself from screaming. â€Å"Hey, hey,† I scolded. There was light outside, but it was purplish. Barely after sunrise. â€Å"What's going on? What's the matter?† Jill looked at me, face grim and eyes wide with fear. â€Å"It's Adrian. You have to rescue him.†