Introduction to International Business Global Marketing Assignment

Introduction to International Business Global Marketing - Assignment Example Furthermore, as the retail market of China is growing rapidly just as United States, so, the organization of Wal-Mart desired to penetrate Chinese Markets (Yates, 2013). The Chinese retail market is recognized as one of the most growing market, with estimated revenues of $ 860 billion in the year 2006. Moreover, it is estimated that the retail revenue of the Chinese market might increase to $ 2.4 trillion by 2020. This estimated attracted the world’s leading retailer, Wal-Mart to penetrate into the market of China as compared to others. However, it had to face wide range of challenges or risks at the time of penetration or expansion. These are stated as below. Customer Preferences: this is recognized as one of the most important challenge that the organization of Wal-Mart had to face at the time of penetrating the market of China. However, in order to mitigate the challenge, the organization decided to implement the strategy of ‘go-native’, i.e. local adoption. The organization of Wal-Mart decided to implement the taste and preferences of the local customers so as to attract a wide range of customers of varying income groups and cultures. For example: Wal-Mart decided to offer fresh foods for dining purposes so as to enhance the reliability and loyalty of the customers towards the brand (Gereffi & Ong, 2012). Culture: the organization of Wal-Mart adopts the local culture of China at the time of promoting the products so as to attract a wide range of customers towards the brand that might amplify its brand value and market share. Logistics and supply Chain: in order to mitigate the logistics and supply chain issues, the organization of Wal-Mart recruited a wide range of suppliers in order to attain the ingredients very easily (Gereffi & Ong, 2012). Economic risks: inflation rates acted as one of the biggest economic risk for the organization

Recommendations for the Best Interests of a Child Essay Example for Free

Recommendations for the Best Interests of a Child Essay Ted and Joanna Kramer have been married for six years before she decided to leave him and their son Billy. She believes that she is unfit to continue being a mother and has decided to force her husband into taking care of their child by simply leaving. Mr. Kramer had been ignorant of the depression that has gripped his wife through more than half of their married life because he was too busy with his job. Both father and son were hoping that Mrs. Kramer would come back but weeks turned to months and she would just write letters. Meanwhile, Mr. Kramer and the child have been able to establish their own relationship and routines. They grew fond of each other and have learned to put more effort in keeping their bond stronger. On the other hand, Mrs. Kramer had transferred to another state and has been undergoing therapy. Upon realizing that she does have self-worth, she decided to come back to work in New York and fight for custody. Mr. Kramer is equally determined to keep the child because he was not sure if his wife was stable enough to really take care of their son. Recommendation The court must ensure that its decision would be for the best interests of Billy Kramer who is now seven years old. Upon examination of the situation and both parties’ relationship to each other, the recommendation is for both parents to share legal custody of the child. Physical custody shall be solely granted to the father, Ted Kramer. Joanna Kramer shall be allowed visitation rights. Recommendations are based on the following reasons: 1. Although both parents show great affection for their son, the absence of a caring father at home may be particularly tough for a boy; those who see little of their fathers during their childhoods and have no substitute male presence in their lives may later have trouble making and keeping friends. (Eisenberg, et. al. , 1996, p. 792) 2. Although records from Mrs. Kramer’s psychologist show, her positive response to therapy, approximately six years of depression cannot be solved in merely fifteen months. It would be wise for Mrs. Kramer to gain more understanding of herself and her own needs before she takes custody of their child. 3. Billy Kramer has already established a daily routine with his father and this has helped this child cope with the distressful absence of his mother. Should the court decide to grant Joanna Kramer full custody, this shall uproot Billy from the lifestyle he has already gotten used to and may affect him negatively. 4. Joint legal custody in this case shall be needed to support the child’s needs. Mrs. Kramer’s salary is higher than Mr. Kramer’s and Billy would benefit most if both parents can provide his needs financially. 5. The impact of change on the child must be taken into consideration. When parents live far away, it can be hard for children to maintain a feeling of continuity between both of their homes. (Davis Keyser, 1997, p. 391) 6. In general, custody laws and decisions favor continued and frequent contact between the child and both parents, as well as an ongoing role for both parents in the raising of their children. (http://www. healthline. com/galecontent/child-custody-laws) Visitation rights for Mrs. Kramer can help Billy feel secure about his family and self. Evaluation has been done to ensure the child’s interest and therefore, the recommendation is for both parents to share legal custody; Mr. Kramer be granted full physical custody; and Mrs. Kramer be granted visitation rights. References Davis, L. Keyser, J. (1997). Becoming the Parent You Want to Be. Broadway Books New York, p. 391. Eisenberg, A. , Murkoff, H. E. Hathaway, S. E. (1996). What To Expect The Toddler Years. Workman Publishing New York p. 792. Retrieved May 11, 2007 from http://www. healthline. com/galecontent/child-custody-laws

East Timor :: essays research papers

The tiny south pacific nation of East Timor has had a long and tumultuous history. While it has been touted as the first independent country of the 21st century, the government originally declared its independence in November of 1975. East Timor had spent over 300 years under Portugese rule and the colonial influences did much to shape Timorese culture and society. As a result East Timor developed very differently from its neighbours and had little in common with the former Dutch colony that became Indonesia. Portugese rule over East Timor was, like that in other colonies, oppressive and exploitive. The Portugese assumed a paternal role over the inhabitants of East Timor, regarding their own culture as superior. Rebellions were brutally suppressed and Portugese customs, and values along with the Portugese language were imposed on the Timorese. Despite this oppression independence movements in the colony remained strong. Political parties, once they were legalized, quickly formed and groups advocating independence won wide spread support. Following the trend towards decolonization is South East Asia Portugal allowed political parties as a step towards indpendence and democracy in East Timor. However the Portugese failed to ensure the security of East Timor. The was result was that nine days after it had declared its independence from Portugal, East Timor was invaded by neighbouring Indonesia. What followd was a quarter century of brutal oppression in which saw a quarter of the Timorese population lose their lives at the hands of Indonesian troops. The failure of the Portugese decolonization policies cleared the way for the genocide which occurred in East Timor.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Until the 1880s Portugese influnece in East Timor was strong, but not complete and the Timorese had been able to maintain their distinct cultural and religious heritages well into the nineteenth century. At this time Portugal was rapidly falling behind its colonial rivals both economically and militarily and thus sought to more fully exploit the economic potential of East Timor. In 1887, using the assassination of the colonial governor as a pretext, the Portugese government instituted harsh new economic programs designed to undermine the existing Timorese clan system, and bring the entire colony under the control of the colonial government. These plicies led to much resentemtn of the Portugese by the Timorese people and culminated in a massive uprising beginning 1910. The revolt lasted two years and was finally put down by Portugese troops in 1912.

Policies and procedures for communicating information Essay

Review of systems, policies and procedures for communicating information on health and social care workplace in accordance with legislative requirements. Health and safety laws never used to be in existence. It was the appointment of the first set of factory inspectors, initiated by the Provisions of the Factories Act of 1833, that brought about the foundations of health and safety. In recent times, a great leap was made when the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 was initiated. This was described as â€Å"a bold and far-reaching piece of legislation† by HSE’s first Director General, John Locke. This became the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in Great Britain. The health and safety Act of 1974 has led to initiation of several other Acts which includes the followings below 1.Health and safety (First Aid) Regulation 1981 2.Food Safety Act 1990 replaced by the food safety act of 1995 3.Management of health and safety regulation 1992 4.Manual handling operation regulation 1992 5.The Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1980 (NADOR), replaced by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation 1995 (RIDDOR). 6.The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002 Act This is just to mention a few. In 1977/78, the Health and safety annual report stipulated that there are overriding concerns to stimulate awareness of the risks and encourage the joint participation of workers and management in efforts to eliminate them. Hence, making communication of health and safety issues paramount in the work place. Basically, there are three approved modes of communication of health and safety and these are: 1.Verbal 2.Written 3.Graphics

Focus on a particular scene Essay

This essay will focus on a particular scene in â€Å"A View From The Bridge† An argument and subsequent fight rises between Eddie Carbone and Rodolpho, an Italian illegal immigrant and nephew of Eddie’s wife, Beatrice. A View from the Bridge was written by Arthur Miller and is set in a slum in New York in the 1950s.  A View From the Bridge is about a working class Italian immigrant community in the Red Hook section of New York, illegal immigrants often stayed until they settled into America or gained legal status. The story focuses on the Carbone family; Eddie, his wife Beatrice and their niece Catherine. They help Beatrice’s cousins, Marco and Rodolpho, who have illegally emigrated to America earn a living in order to send money home to their poverty stricken families in Sicily. The central theme of the play is honour. In act two Marco accuses Eddie of † Killing my children† and this obviously dirties Eddie Carbone’s name. Consequently Eddie challenges Marco to a fight in order to clear his name. This results in Marco fatally stabbing Eddie in the concluding brawl at the end of the play.  This scene comes at an important part of the play; this is because it sparks off the eventual fight between Eddie and Marco. The end of Act One is a turning point mainly because Eddie raises some highly controversial questions about Rodolpho’s sexuality when he says, â€Å"he sings, he cooks and he makes dresses† implying that he behaves like a traditional wife, Eddie appears to be questioning Rodolpho’s masculinty, Rodolpho doesn’t understand. As a result of this scene the vendetta between Eddie, Rodolpho and Marco grows more serious leading up to a tragic finish at the end of the play. The characters in this particular scene are Eddie, Catherine, Beatrice and two southern Italian immigrants called Marco and Rodolpho. Eddie and Beatrice look after their young seventeen year old, naive niece Catherine. (Louis and Mike are long shoremen like Eddie who don’t come into the story often.). The scene reveals the characters’ personalities such as Eddie’s moaning, self-questioning and bitter attributes when he jealously ridicules Rodolpho’s camp and effeminate personality. Beatrice is Eddie’s loving, loyal wife and Catherine has lived with them all her life so she is like a daughter to them. Beatrice is a housewife and lives on Eddie’s wages. Catherine appears to be a young naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve girl who is desperate to get a job, which Eddie will approve of. She seems to hope that if this happens Eddie will treat her in a more adult way and be proud of her. Marco is strong with a tough build. In a modern society he would be described as very much his own man. This means that he doesn’t let others make decisions for him. Eddie mentions that † Nobody questions Marco,† suggesting that Marco is more than capable of defending himself. Marco shows us that he is quiet, reserved and tough. He warns Eddie that he is a potential danger to him by raising a chair that Eddie fails to lift. Previously Marco has behaved in a more reserved fashion and had kept himself to himself. Almost as if he was in solitary confinement. In this part of the play Eddie behaves like a protective father, putting a curfew on the time that Catherine returns home. He also makes decisions about what men Catherine dates and what clothes she wears. He wants to control her life even though she is old enough to get married. Eddie goes on to say that he didn’t â€Å"like the looks† that she had been getting in the â€Å"candy store†. Furthermore he shows his disapproval about her waving to his friend Louis commenting â€Å"I could tell you things about Louis which you wouldn’t wave to him no more†. This suggests that Eddie at this point of the story is having trouble accepting that his niece has grown up and is becoming interested in men. He is also jealous of the relationship between Catherine and Rodolpho. It is apparent through Marco’s behaviour suggests that he is getting sick and tired of Eddie’s antics. This is evident when Marco intervenes in the heated sparring match between Eddie and Rodolpho. Another example of the rivalry between Marco, Rodolpho and Eddie is when Marco lifts a chair that Eddie fails to; Marco greets this with a â€Å"Triumphant smile†.  Rodolpho dances with Catherine after the sparring match with Eddie. This shows Eddie that Rodolpho loves her and is not just after his American citizenship. However this is more a message to Eddie that he isn’t scared of him and.

buy custom Brain Drivers essay

buy custom Brain Drivers essay Brain drivers the human body. Human mental level reflects from his/her mood, behavior and body language. The contemporary psychological theories stress on human emotional development than intelligence. The reason is that intelligence is integral, whereas the emotional needs development. Therefore, an emotionally sound personality can only be treated as the intelligent and intellectual. Gestalt therapy: An emotionally sound personality can take long lasting decisions from which they can get best results. However, in some cases there is found chaos of emotional intelligence that reduced the intellect as well. For theses people who possess disordered personality, there was introduced Gestalt therapy that completely based on contact, discussion, and sort out the problems and their solutions by dialogue. This type of therapy has been formed first time by Frederick (Fritz and Laura Perls in 1940. Gestalt approach: The major approach of Gestalt therapy is to get the insight. And, the insight information should not be an ordinary know-how of ones personality. But, it should have a normal contact process to get the appropriate insight. It might be dancing, singing or words dialogue. Hereinafter, Gestalt approach is about to build a contact between therapist and patient to form dialogue for benefit. However, the ultimate aim of client for the discussion and or dialogue would be to get his/her insight personality information like what they are doing, how they are doing and how it must be or how one can change himself When is "therapeutic change" considered to occur in the Gestalt approach? In Gestalt approach, the therapeutic change would be consideered to occur, when client have been aware of his/her insight. The therapist client discussion or dialogue continues till the conclusions and till solutions. Moreover, therapeutic change comes after process that starts from contact, go on with discussion/dialogue and end up at conclusions/solutions. Therefore, change occurs when a brain get aware of itself, and thinks about to change to be better. Conclusion: At the end of treatise, it is better to restate the thesis that is, brain drivers the human body. After comprehensive erudition of Gestalts therapy approach, it is clear that washing a brain could help reinstating a life into normal routine. Hence, people have changed their brains by Gestalts therapy approach. And, methodology of dialogue has worked to drive the brains in the right way. Buy custom Brain Drivers essay

Web Design for Selling Self

Web Design for Selling Self Introduction This is a report about a Web site design for selling self-published books. The site provides various books in various aspects of healthy living. Users can download the e-book at a fee.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Web Design for Selling Self-Published Books specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Many writers have resorted to self-publishing and there is a growing demand for an online business to sell such books. Selling digital books on the Web site has become profitable because of the large market throughout the world and a lack of physical inventory. The owner also has an option of conducting the business from any part of the world with the Internet connection. The e-books shall be useful to users and affect their living habits. Goal Definition The aim of this project is to create a Web site for selling self-published books that will attract younger generations who have interests in various topics ab out. The Web site should have more than 500 visitors in a month. Requirements The need to sale self-published books has increased with the development and accessibility of the Internet technologies. The Web site shall use effective payment options that are available in various parts of the world than what other businesses offer. The Web site shall have the following requirements in order to ensure professional services to visitors and users (Eccher 30).Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The visitor can start by browsing the available e-books on the subject of interest. The site may also suggest other books of interest for the visitor. Visitors who are members of the Web site can log in their accounts by using their user name and password. New users can register new accounts at the Web site at no cost. However, users who wish not to register may explore the avail able e-books, but they cannot purchase any item from the site. Users who have logged into their accounts can place their orders by specifying the required e-books, the number of copies needed and other important details, and then adding them to the cart. The system shall verify order details and provide the customer with the amount to pay for the items. In case of any challenge, the system instructs the user to change some of the details. The customer may repeat the process until no more challenges can be noticed. The system shall also verify that the customer has placed the right order, check the quality of the e-book. The customer will also specify the format of the e-book and the type of file (such as PDF, html, rtf,.doc etc). The customer may then execute the payment of the items by entering the appropriate payment details. The system shall support different options lack credit cards, VISA, PayPal, and other e-pay solutions. Prices of all items shall be in the US dollar equivale nt. The system must verify all payment details and establish the user’s identity in order to protect customers. Once the customer has executed the payment, he or she will receive a confirmation message through notification border in the account, personal e-mail, and phone number. In addition, the system sends the message to the department to effect the transaction.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Web Design for Selling Self-Published Books specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More After this process, the system then sends the e-book to the customer provided e-mail for download or the customer can get the e-book in the account he or she opened with the company. Before the transaction is complete, users also have a chance to terminate the transaction. Visitor The system shall also provide opportunities for customers to provide their feedback and suggestions on how to improve services, the Web site, and any other ar ea of interest to them. Fig. 1: Use case diagram The use case diagram represents the stages of making the online e-book transactions. It shows the scope of the Web site, functional areas, and possible interactions between the visitors and the Web site (Ambler 1). The major players in these processes are: Customer: the customer or the visitor is the major player in this process. The company provides opportunities for a customer in another location to purchase the book via the online method. Administrator: the administrator can control the entire process of the customer’s interaction with the system. He also takes the role of the system operator and supports the entire process involved in e-book purchase. The administrator verifies all the details and interacts with the customer during the purchase process.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Database server: the database server stores the members’ identities and other details. It is also important during the registration of a new member. Web server: the Web server contains details of e-books, costs, shopping cart, address, comment areas, rating, e-mail addresses, and other important aspects of the Web site. Users initiate the process by logging on to the system. On the other hand, new visitors can register and become a member. The customer can browse the available books, review their contents, and choose the suitable book. In addition, the customer can review the book, rate, and add his or her comments. The customer selects the e-book of interest and adds it to the cart. In case of any challenge, the customer can make changes to the order. He can see costs of the item, which the system sends to the administrator. The customer can then initiate payment by using any of the supported methods. After verification procedures and payment, the administrator can confirm t he payment and send the e-book to the customer. The customer may get the book in his account with the company or in his personal e-mail account. Fig. 2: Online e-book purchasing processes Site Plan Logical Structure The logical structure has assumed a simple form structure (Booch, Rumbaugh and Jacobson 82). However, this structure may change as the design may acquire new features. The site hierarchy has the entire common navigational links. In addition, topical links are also a part of the structure. However, the site avoids complex design to enhance usability and navigation. Visitors can navigate the site freely and move from one content to another. For instance, users can skip ‘About Us’ and transcend to ‘Product’ without passing through other areas. The site plan is clear, simple, and concrete. Thus, it is simple for visitors to navigate from one menu to another without experiences challenges of being lost. Design Prototype The design is interactive to allow the Web site to communicate the entire structure, contents, and functionality with other part is a manner provides ease of modification, usage, and merging without technical challenges. This model shows clickable elements of HTML sections, which users can navigate while in the site. The design shall also have the necessary feel, images, and typography that match an e-book Web site. The page has footer and header. At the Home page, there are also options for Register for new visitors or Member Log for existing users. At the Footer, there are buttons with links about Contact Us, Social media connection, Pricing, Help, and FAQ. The Contact Us link leads the customer to the company’s e-mail address and phone number and physical location. Users have the option of using any of the methods. Under the Pricing tab, customer can view each item with its price tag. In case a customer has challenges, there is a link for help of FAQs. Whenever the user clicks on the Register button, the registration page shall pop up with all the fields for personal detail requirements and other related information. The process is linear to allow users to follow a simple process of registration. Users must enter their last names, first names, e-mail address, zip (if applicable), phone number, physical address, and country. The user must then enter the password and confirm it by retyping the same password. In case of any error, the system will highlight the section with the problem, and the users can make the required changes. After this process, users can then click the button ‘finish registration’. It will show that the registration is successful, and the system automatically directs the new user to member’s page. However, users can also cancel their registration by clicking the registration button. The Login page leads the user to where they can enter their user e-mail addresses and password in order to gain access to their account and member’s pag e. Users have the option of ‘remember my log in details’, which they can confirm or reject. The system also has a Log out button for users who have completed their transactions. Once in the member’s area or in the account section, users can browse the available list of e-books, reviews, and ratings. User can also add comments and rate a book. They can choose a book of their interests and review its content before making a decision to purchase. Users can click on the remove button to remove an item from a list, or they can click on the cancel button to abandon the entire process. The customer can make the order and specify the quantity. All items have their price tags. The system has automatic total price calculation, which the customer can see at the bottom of the list. The payment button allows the customer to enter his or her payment information based on the preferred method. They can also cancel the transaction at this stage. The price list and total price are visible to the customer. The payment process requires the necessary customer’s information. A customer can choose to pay by card or use online payment solutions. In the case of online payment, the customer will just enter the e-mail address and link to the payment account. He will then confirm the required fields and verify information entered. The card option shall require the name, card number, and date of expiry. The process must undergo all security verification procedures before the customer can execute payment. The customer can then click the ‘confirmation’ and ‘submit button’ in order to execute the transaction. They can also cancel the order at this stage. The system automatically generates transaction details and sends to the customer activity section, personal e-mail, and specified mobile number. In addition, the notification and confirmation message also appears on the screen. Site Implementation After the prototype stage, the designer mu st now implement the site. In this phase, the designer only dealt with three phases. The first phase involves the implementation of the site structure design. The aim is to ensure that the designer distributed all contents of the prototype in a way that is user-friendly and logical. The designer had various users’ behaviors in mind and used WSDM (Web search and data mining) as the guiding principle in the process. However, the designer also recognized that he could not foresee future behaviors of the users. Therefore, the decision was on a speculative approach. Whereas the designer could measure other technical aspects like financial, time, and technical challenges, he could not measure users’ behaviors when using the site. The second phase involved the presentation of the design of the Web site. The aim was to create a favorable feel and look of the site. In this process, the designer used a layout that accounted for users’ characteristics and mission of the co mpany. The designer used templates in order to reduce several cases of testing, create a consistent design, and enhance the speed of the process. The approach allowed the designer to use automated codes and other graphic parts. The use of the templates also ensured that the Web site had a good layout for controlling different pages and functions. In fact, the designer realized that it was simple and cost-effective to use templates that only require insertion of information in the fields. The third phase was the logical data design, which aimed to provide appropriate data for users. The designer presented information in various chunks and parts. This process only strived to ensure that customers got the necessary information they sought. Thus, the designer concentrated on developing a perfect ontology for data. The designer used XML tool in this process. During the site implementation process, the designer ensured that the database was maintainable, allow for modification, could not interfere with other functions, and fast enough for users. Overall, the logical data design remained useful to the programmer. The designer relied on a Query Builder in order to develop such a database with a logical design. The designer used Web Builder tool like WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) to develop different Web pages. WYSIWYG allowed the designer to customize the site due to its several features, scripts, and templates. The Adobe Dreamweaver supported several processes, improved the workflow, and reduced time during the coding process. It had library code snippets server debug, and other coding tools. The designer could view the CSS as a whole unit. This made the process simple by allowing the user designer to see the style, identify areas for changes, and edit the style without changing the code. The designer generated important features like object chunks, structure of the site, navigation systems, logical data system, design templates, page model, images, text are as, logo areas, and typo styles. Testing Functionality Testing The designer tested for links of Web pages, connections, cookies, links for information submission and receiving. It also involved testing for â€Å"internal links, e-mail links, orphan pages, broken links, and links going to the same page† (Ash 23). Testing also covers all pages. Forms validate all lists in every field and default values. The designer also tested for cookies and HTML/CSS. Users could scroll the site without difficulties. Database testing This tested for consistency of information in the site, query results, retrieval, and updates. Usability Testing This involved testing for the ease of navigation, usage, clear instructions, and availability of the Main menu. There were no spelling errors. Color and font were visible. All contents were within the frame. All images had appropriate size. Interface Testing The designer tested for interface elements like â€Å"Web server and database server† (A sh 23). The designer ensured that all interface features interacted properly. There was a logical model for handling errors from application servers. The designer also tested for effects of interruption during transactions. The system always requested the user to cancel and confirm the process. Compatibility Testing This involved testing with different browsers, the mobile version, and printing options due different configuration. The Web site must match these standards. The designer used cross browser to ensure compatibility with the major browsers. AJAX required testing for user interface functionality, security testing, and other validation processes. The designer tested the Web site on various browsers like Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Opera browser among others. OS compatibility The designer tested for the Web site â€Å"functionality and compatibility with the various Operating Systems† (Nguyen, Johnson and Hackett 34). Not all graphic designs and interfaces may be compatible with the current Operating Systems. The designer tested OS like Windows, Solaris, and Linux among others. Mobile browsing The new age of technology has shifted to mobile devices, and mobile devices have increased Internet accessibility. Therefore, the designer tested for the Web site on a mobile browser for compatibility (Nguyen, Johnson and Hackett 34). Printing options Customers who wish to print their transaction details should not experience challenges. The designer tested for suitability of fonts, graphics, and page alignment for proper printing. Performance testing The Web site should bear the greatest load and stress. The designer tested for loading and connection speed. The system could handle several requests, large data, and connection to database and upload to certain pages. Stress testing The designer tested if the system could â€Å"handle large loads beyond its specified limits† (Nguyen, Johnson and Hackett 34). The areas of focus included log in, registration pages, and other input fields. The crash report was significant for future improvements. The designer also tested for stress functionality on various browsers, Oss, hardware, and, memory capacities, and software. Security Testing Finally, the designer tested for the Web site security features. The system had the ability to record all transactions, error messages, and unauthorized attempts of logins. Releasing The Web site was ready for a release after testing. The designer observed whether the Web site met users’ expectations. Users had the option of proving feedback about the overall site experience. The process also involved measures of goals and any possible correction required for the Web site functionality and usability. The Web site shall require constant maintenance in terms of improving current features, technology improvement, and changes in the visual features. In addition, the site shall require regular update of available books. Ambler, Scott. Us er Interface Design Tips, Techniques, and Principles. 2012. Web. Ash, Lydia. The Web Testing Companion: The Insiders Guide to Efficient and Effective Tests. New York: Wiley, 2003. Print. Booch, Grady, James Rumbaugh and Ivar Jacobson. The Unified Modeling Language User Guide, 2nd ed. Boston: Addison-Wesley, 2005. Print. Eccher, Clint. Professional Web Design: Techniques and Templates, 4th ed. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Nguyen, Hung, Robert Johnson and Michael Hackett. Testing Applications on the Web: Test Planning for Mobile and Internet-Based Systems, 2nd ed. New York: Wiley, 2003. Print.

Quotes From Ayn Rands Atlas Shrugged

Quotes From Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, is a philosophical novel. The theme (according to Rand) is  the role of mans mind in existence. Published in 1957, its a dystopian novel, centering around Dagny Taggart. Here are popular quotes from the novel. It was the joy of admiration and of ones own ability, growing together.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 3 He was a man who had never accepted the creed that others had the right to stop him.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 3 Against whom is any union organized?-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 4 This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 4 If ones actions are honest, one does not need the predated confidence of others, only their rational perception.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 6 I never believed that story. I thought by the time the sun was exhausted, men would find a substitute.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 7 This was the great clarity of being beyond emotion, after the reward of having felt everything one could feel.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 7 Now she was free for the simplest, most commonplace concerns of the moment, because nothing could be meaningless within her sight.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 7 It was useless to argue, she thought, and to wonder about people who would neither refute an argument nor accept it.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 7 Mr. Ward, what is it that the foulest bastards on earth denounce us for, among other things? Oh yes, for our motto of Business as usual. Well- business as usual, Mr. Ward!-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 7 Thought- he told himself quietly- is a weapon one uses in order to act... Thought is the tool by which one makes a choice... Thought sets ones purpose and the way to reach it.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 7 It was the greatest sensation of existence: not to trust, but to know.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 8 Dont ever get angry at a man for stating the truth.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 10 He knew no weapons but to pay for what he wanted, to give value, to ask nothing of nature without trading his effort in return, to ask nothing of men without trading the product of his effort.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 10 By the essence and nature of existence, contradictions cannot exist.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, Ch. 10 There might be some sort of justification for the savage societies in which a man had to expect that enemies could murder him at any moment and had to defend himself as best he could. But there can be no justification for a society in which a man is expected to manufacture the weapons for his own murderers.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 2, Ch. 1 Money is a tool of exchange, which cant exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 2, Ch. 2 Wealth is the product of mans capacity to think.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 2, Ch. 2 There are no evil thoughts except one: the refusal to think.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 2, Ch. 2 Love is our response to our highest values - and can be nothing else.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 2, Ch. 4 Only the man who extols the purity of a love devoid of desire, is capable of the depravity of a desire devoid of love.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 2, Ch. 4 When one acts on pity against justice, it is the good whom one punishes for the sake of the evil; when one saves the guilty from suffering, it is the innocent whom one ​forces to suffer.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 2, Ch. 6 You do not have to depend on any material possessions, they depend on you, you create them, you own the one and only tool of production.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 2, Ch. 8 They told us that this plan would achieve a noble ideal. Well, how were we to know otherwise? Hadnt we heard it all our lives- from our parents and our schoolteachers and our ministers, and in every newspaper we ever read and every movie and every public speech?-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 2, Ch. 10 She felt suddenly as if nothing existed beyond that circle, and she wondered at the joyous, proud comfort to be found in a sense of the finite, in the knowledge that the field of ones concern lay within the realm of ones sight.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 1 Whats wealth but the means of expanding ones life? Theres two ways one can do it: either by producing more or by producing it faster.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 1 What greater wealth is there than to own your life and to spend it on growing? Every living thing must grow. It cant stand still. It must grow or perish.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 1 Any man whos afraid of hiring the best ability he can find, is a cheat whos in a business where he doesnt belong.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 1 I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 1 Through all the centuries of the worship of the mindless, whatever stagnation humanity chose to endure, whatever brutality to practice–it was only by the grace of the men who perceived that wheat must have water in order to grow, that stones laid in a curve will form an arch, that two and two make four, that love is not served by torture and life is not fed by destruction–only by the grace of those men did the rest of them learn to experience moments when they caught the spark of being human.-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 1 When nothing seems worth the effort–said some stern voice in her mind–its a screen to hide a wish thats worth too much; what do you want?-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 2 Theres only one passion in most artists more violent than their desire for admiration: their fear of identifying the nature of such admiration as they do receive.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 2 Whether its a symphony or a  coal mine, all work is an act of creating and comes from the same source: from an inviolate capacity to see through ones own eyes–which means: the capacity to perform a rational identification–which means: the capacity to see, to connect and to make what had not been seen, connected and made before.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 2 Every man builds his world in his own image... He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 2 No ones happiness but my own is in my power to achieve or to destroy.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 2 If you are not convinced, ignore our certainty. Dont be tempted to substitute our judgment for your own.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 2 She was seeing the brand of pain and fear on the faces of people, and the look of evasion that refuses to know it–they seemed to be going through the motions of some enormous pretense, acting out a ritual to ward off reality, letting the earth remain unseen and their lives unlived, in dread of something namelessly forbidden–yet the forbidden was the simple act of looking at the nature of their pain and questioning their duty to bear it.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 2 People think that a liar gains a victory over his victim. What Ive learned is that a lie is an act of self-abdication, because one surrenders ones reality to the person to whom one lies, making that person ones master, comdemning oneself from then on to faking the sort of reality that persons view requires to be faked.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 2 You dont have to see through the eyes of others, hold onto yours, stand on your own judgment, you know that what is, is–say it aloud, like the holiest of prayers, and dont let anyone tell you otherwise.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 4 The only guilt of the victims, he thought, had been that they accepted it as guilt.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 5 It was a sense of extreme precision and of relaxation, together, a sense of action without strain, which seemed inexplicably youthful–until he realized that this was the way he had acted and had expected always to act, in his youth and what he now felt was like the simple, astonished question: Why should one ever have to act in any other manner?-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 6 From the first catch-phrases flung at a child to the last, it is like a series of shocks to freeze his motor, to undercut the power of his consciousness. Dont ask so many questions, children should be seen and not heard!–Who are you to think? Its so, because I say so!–Dont argue, obey!–Dont try to understand, believe!–Dont rebel, adjust!–Dont stand out, belong!–Dont struggle, compromise!–Your heart is more important than your mind!–Who are you to know? Your parents know best!–Who are you to know? Society knows best!–Who are you to know? The bureaucrats know best!–Who are you to object? All values are relative!–Who are you to want to escape a thugs bullet? Thats only a personal prejudice!-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 6 Man has no automatic code of survival. His particular distinction from all other living species is the necessity to act in the face of alternatives by means of volitional choice.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 Man has to be a man–by choice; he has to hold his life as a value–by choice; he has to learn to sustain it–by choice; he has to discover the values it requires and practice his virtues by choice. A code of values accepted by choice is a code of morality.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 By the grace of reality and the nature of life, man–every man–is an end in himself, he exists for his own sake, and the achievement of his own happiness is his highest moral purpose.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 Truth is the recognition of reality; reason, mans only means of knowledge, is his only standard of truth.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 Your mind is your only judge of truth–and if others  dissent  from your verdict, reality is the court of final appeal.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 The moral is the chosen, not the forced; the understood, not the obeyed. The moral is the rational, and reason accepts no commandments.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 Emotions are inherent in your nature, but their content is dictated by your mind. Your emotional capacity is an empty motor, and your values are the fuel with which your mind fills it.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 The symbol of all relationships among such men, the moral symbol of respect for human beings, is the trader. We, who live by values, not by loot, are traders, both in matter and in spirit. A trader is a man who earns what he gets and does not give or take the undeserved.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 Whoever, to whatever purpose or extent, initiates the use of force, is a killer acting on the premise of death in a manner wider than murder: the premise of destroying mans capacity to live.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 A morality that holds need as a claim, holds emptiness–non-existence–as its standard of value; it rewards an absence, a defect: weakness, inability, incompetence, suffering, disease, disaster, the lack, the fault, the flaw–the zero.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 To love is to value.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 Love is the expression of ones values, the greatest reward you can earn for the moral qualities you have achieved in your character and person, the emotional price paid by one man for the joy he receives from the virtues of another.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 Public welfare is the welfare of those who do not earn it; those who do, are entitled to no welfare.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 The man who refuses to judge, who neither agrees nor disagrees, who declares that there are no absolutes and believes that he escapes responsibility, is the man responsible for all the blood that is now spilled in the world.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 Every form of causeless self-doubt, every feeling of inferiority and secret unworthiness is, in fact, mans hidden dread of his inability to deal with existence.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 To fear to face an issue is to believe that the worst is true.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 All property and all forms of wealth are produced by mans mind and labor.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 The only proper functions of a government are: the police, to protect you from criminals; the army, to protect you from foreign invaders; and the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud by others, to settle disputes by rational rules, according to objective law.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 Every man is free to rise as far as hes able or willing, but its only the degree to which he thinks that determines the degree to which hell rise.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 All life is a purposeful struggle, and your only choice is the choice of a goal.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 Fight for the value of your person. Fight for the virtue of your pride. Fight for the essence of that which is man: for his sovereign rational mind. Fight with the radiant certainty and the absolute rectitude of knowing that yours is the Morality of Life and that yours is the battle for any achievement, any value, any grandeur, any goodness, any joy that has ever existed on this earth.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7 When you force a man to act against his own choice and judgment, its his thinking that you want him to suspend.-Ayn Rand,  Atlas Shrugged, Part 3, Ch. 7

How Can The Holocaust Be Explained Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

How Can The Holocaust Be Explained - Essay Example By doing so, endless research into this period in history has resulted in different viewpoints that even share important common ground regarding research into the Holocaust. In order to understand the entirety of historic events such as the Holocaust, it is important to take different intellectual perspectives. This helps one to attain a view that has minimum bias, and thus provides an explanation that may be generally considered. In studying historic events such as the Holocaust that took place during the Second World War, it is important to use different perspectives, as these help one to uncover how the event unfolded. This is of particular importance because the Holocaust is not a historic event that took place overnight; it was one that lasted years, and commenced under the strong hand of a military regime. Two perspectives that help in gaining insight into the Holocaust include the functionalist and intentionalist perspectives. These two perspectives are significant because they both share common ground, but argue their individual viewpoints. The intentionalist perspective holds that Hitler had intentions of annihilating the Jews from Germany much before 1939. The functionalist perspective holds that the cruelties the Jews faced were a result of competing forces in the lower German ranks, many of which were done to please Hitler1. Having said this, both perspectives accept that Hitler despised the Jews. Also, the common ground shared includes both perspectives acknowledging that the Holocaust took place, which is unlike other conflicting viewpoints. The intentionalist perspective and the functionalist perspective have two levels each. In the following part of the paper, both levels of each perspective will be included in the discussion, as they are significant in determining how the Holocaust can be explained. Proponents of the extreme side of the intentionalist perspective hold that Hitler had

Easy A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Easy A - Essay Example Vasquez’s review on the other hand focuses on the negative aspects of the movie; he fails to appreciate and accept that this movie is comedy. He is extremely critical of the way in which Easy A presents humorous situations and he asserts that the focus on being ‘funny’ is so marked that the film fails to appreciate the other realities of life. Beck’s intended audience is a person who has not watched the movie as yet; hence the approach that invites everybody to watch it. It appears to appeal to the youngsters who are more interested in matters pertaining to sexuality. Vasquez on the other hand tries to focus the audiences that are ‘choosy’; who judge the pros and cons of every expenditure that they are about to make. By providing a viewpoint that opposes the idea of watching this film, he supports the notion that this movie is definitely not worth-watching. Vasquez’s language is not academic, as he makes use of various slangs to express his

Conflict Interests and Goals Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Conflict Interests and Goals - Case Study Example During the conflict, it is important for the leader to be clear about the goals of the group, who often have multiple goals, in order to effectively manage conflict within its members. Since individual goals are usually contradicting in the conflict, they often cause confusion and internal tension between the group members. To diminish the costs and damages associated with conflicts, group members are required to be cautious and plan out their goals. This supports them to outline the nature of the conflict more noticeably, so that the conflicting parties are able to react maturely. (Cengage, 2008) While goals may evolve over the course of conflict, starting with a practically focused image of their goals and objectives helps parties to manuever conflicts with less resistance. (Foundation Coalition, 2011) How each TRIP goal functions for 2-3 of the people involved in the case study? TRIP goals with reference to â€Å"The Show Must Go On†: Topic Goals: Topic Goals are goals conc erning substantive issues that explain the nature of desires of each person associated with the conflict. They describe what the members are fighting for (Conflict Purple Group, 2011).

Should drugs and steroids be legalized in professional sports Research Paper

Should drugs and steroids be legalized in professional sports - Research Paper Example III. Negative Effects of Steroid Use. (i) Risks for the human body (ii) Risks for Men (iii) Risks for Women IV. Steroids in College Athletics and Professional Sports (i) Reasons for steroids use (ii) Testing for Steroid Use (iii) Incidents in the lives of Professional Athletes as a result of Steroid Use V. Steroid Use in the Adolescent Population (i) The "Hero Factor" (ii) Peer Pressure (iii) Risks for Teenagers who abuse steroids VI. Conclusion Ways of discouraging steroid use Name Professor Module Date Should Drugs and Steroids be legalized in Professional Sports? INTRODUCTION Eitzen, Stanley, & George, Sage. Sociology of North American Sport 7th Edition. California: McGraw Hill, 2003. Anabolic steroids refer to group molecules that contain synthetic analogs of testosterone as well as the authentic male sex hormone, testosterone. In the present sports scene, many athletes use anabolic steroids in order to build up on muscle mass. The history of the use of steroids goes back to the 1930s. Steroids first appeared in World War 2 when they were developed for the German army and legalized so that German soldiers could use them to be more destructive in war. After the war, American as well as European doctors often used steroids to take care of blood disorders such as anemia. Today, most steroids are utilized in veterinary medicine in the production of meat. Steroids help in building more muscle in lean beef cattle. Steroids are also used to generate muscle mass in race dogs and horses. According to this Sage and Fitzen, there is evidence to suggest that there are more than 3,000,000 standard anabolic steroid users in America even though they have not been legalized. Most of these users procure anabolic steroids through illegal means. ... Most of these users procure anabolic steroids through illegal means. According to these authors, who have comprehensively addressed different issues concerning the use of anabolic steroids, it is mainly the healthy athletes who turn to steroids in order to improve their already amazing performances in sports. The colloquial name for steroids, by which it is commonly referred in the streets, is ‘juice’ or ‘roids’. Benefits of Steroid Usage Assael, Shaun. Steroid Nation: Juiced Home Run Totals, Anti-aging Miracles and a Hercules in Every High School: The Secret History of America's True Drug Addiction. New York: ESPN, 2007. According to Assael, who has given a graphic account of the extent of steroid abuse among teenagers as well as professional athletes, steroids are not just the preference of athletes in sports that value a ragged physique (Assael 93). Some male and female athletes in different sports fields such as weightlifters, body builders, football pla yers, baseball players, runners, tennis players, basket ballers and swimmers have in the past used steroids to enhance their performances. In the present sports culture where many sport’s body’s have began to institute regulations that call for regular testing of athletes in order to counter steroid use, there are many tests that athletes in competitions like the Olympics have to undergo. This has not been successful in lessening steroid use, but has simply served to cause athletes to come up with more ingenious ways of ingesting steroids. By imitating the anabolic impact of testosterone, athletes believe that steroids help in generating additional tissues, contributes towards muscle recovery when they experience injuries in the field and

Working Capital and Financial Environment Case Study

Working Capital and Financial Environment - Case Study Example in this case, the most important elements in the environment are the other actors involved either directly or indirectly with a production process. In assessing the internal environment, the professionals try to identify all the relevant actors paying attention to stated goals and strategies. Abbott and Merck requires huge financial resources on research and development and financial internal control helps to evaluate and analyze financial situation and investments risks. In 2006, Abbott has $24.11 billion revenue while Merck has $23.34 billion. Merck operating margin is 24.48% while in Abbott operating margin is 17.84% (Abbott Laboratories 2007; Merck and Co. 2007). Internal control suggests that all activities are reasonably under control from the perspective of costs. Cost variances can be controlled by establishing a good change control process and sticking to it. First, all requests for changes are documented. The requests describe the impact of the change on costs, the schedule , the technical integrity of the deliverable, and other work being carried out. Once they are properly formulated, they are reviewed by a panel of players who are charged with overseeing progress on the activities.

Reflection Using Gibbs Cycle - Development of Your Academic Learning Essay

Reflection Using Gibbs Cycle - Development of Your Academic Learning Skills and Experience in Practice During 3rd Year - Essay Example Throughout the session, I did various presentations using PowerPoint to horn my visual skills. Ethical issues were also part of communication that I learned. Numeracy was part of module seven and the activities entailed gathering and recording data, understanding research data, drug calculation, and general mathematics. The activities involved in developing IT skills in module seven were word processing, blackboard discussion, searching Databases, Emailing, and the use of the internet. Additionally, throughout the model, I developed learning skills by engaging in activities like literature search, use of literature and research, summarizing information, time management, self-evaluation, and working to deadlines. The model also helped me to know ways of working with others. I now comprehend the role of multi-disciplinary team and negotiating in teams. Feelings At first, it could not see the significance of skills in nursing. However, after meeting severally with my personal tutor, I a cknowledged the importance of skills in supporting my transition into the role of a staff nurse. Evaluation Achievement in developing communication was evident through passing the test, but I failed my oral exam due to anxiety and panic. I also did not do well in exam techniques and I will improve by meeting in groups to share knowledge and read individually for six hours. In the first attempt, I failed drug calculation but I improved by doing weekly practice. This was achieved at a 100 percent on my second attempt. To advance critical thinking skillfulness, I read more books and attended tutorial. I achieved 54 percent in research and 50 percent in the dissertation and this was a good achievement in the critical appraisal skills. How the development will supports my transition into the role of nursing (Analysis) Communication The good communication skills that I developed during the module will help me when shifting from a student to a staff nurse. The written communication profici ency will help me in my career as a nurse because I will need to write clear instructions for the patient to understand. Through the development of the communication skills, I will efficiently communicate verbally in formal and informal way. This will helps me as a staff nurse when making presentations in formal meetings and in my peer work groups. Listening skills will be an important attribute, which will help me as a nurse to assist in getting patients to value me. This is because listening will be a way of showing my interests in what the patients will say. Listening skills is always associated with humility rather than talkativeness. It can be empathetic and therefore therapeutic (Debnath, 2009, p152). Numeracy Numeracy skills will also help me in my nursing profession. The drug calculation skills that I acquired in module seven will increase my competency. Through that skill, I will not make dose errors. It is essential for nurses to be able to make accurate calculations of me dicine doses and to be fully conversant with the component of drugs in current use. Nurses should have an understanding of formulae for complex calculations. This enables them to direct the correct quantity and volume of the drugs. Incorrect drug computations can cause mistakes in prescription and harm patients. Drug computation skillfulness will therefore enable me to give right ratios, percentages, fractions and be able to interpret information found in clinical

Working Capital and Financial Environment Case Study

Working Capital and Financial Environment - Case Study Example in this case, the most important elements in the environment are the other actors involved either directly or indirectly with a production process. In assessing the internal environment, the professionals try to identify all the relevant actors paying attention to stated goals and strategies. Abbott and Merck requires huge financial resources on research and development and financial internal control helps to evaluate and analyze financial situation and investments risks. In 2006, Abbott has $24.11 billion revenue while Merck has $23.34 billion. Merck operating margin is 24.48% while in Abbott operating margin is 17.84% (Abbott Laboratories 2007; Merck and Co. 2007). Internal control suggests that all activities are reasonably under control from the perspective of costs. Cost variances can be controlled by establishing a good change control process and sticking to it. First, all requests for changes are documented. The requests describe the impact of the change on costs, the schedule , the technical integrity of the deliverable, and other work being carried out. Once they are properly formulated, they are reviewed by a panel of players who are charged with overseeing progress on the activities.

Jonathon Swift's A Modest Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jonathon Swift's A Modest Proposal - Essay Example After 9/11 incidents US decided to take the war against terrorism to rouge states. With the help from the allies they bombed Afghanistan. They ended the Taliban era in Afghanistan. Now the allied forces and the US decided to take the war against terrorism in other parts of the world. Due to the past record of Iraq it became target for the allied forces. This war against terrorism helped in reducing the population of the world. The burden on mother earth became somewhat less. During and after the war many soldiers died. Both the allied forces and Iraq lost their soldiers Due to these deaths both the governments doesn't have to spend extra penny for their food, clothes and ammunition. They don't have to give monthly salaries to the dead. Thus they could use the money for other purposes. The allied forces include Australia, England etc. They send their sons and daughters to Iraq to die in the name of war against terrorism. They were willing to sacrifice their beloved ones to maintain a closer and friendly relationship with the US. By invading Iraq the US and the allied forces can get oil and other petroleum products cheaply. They fed their oil hungry industries by slowly making Iraq's only source for development perishable. This is just like taking from the needed and keeping it for themselves. The war on Iraq resulted in political instability in Iraq. ... It would work in favor of US, politically and economically. Iraq's position after the war is just like a blank paper on which the US and the allied forces could write anything i.e. they can mould Iraq's political and economic scenario as they wish. It is the best way of establishing a colonial rule. The ruling government in Iraq though has been declared elected democratically in under the US control. Thus the political decisions could be influenced by the US presence. It would help US in establishing temporary or permanent base for its troops in west Asia to expand their colonial rule.The war on Iraq provided other countries to have their own share for co-operating with US. It helped them to actively participate in different scandals. Scandal like oil-for-food program can easily surface. The war resulted in more employment. People from different countries work in Iraq and are awaiting their death to come which they don't know form which side it will come. Civil war is the result of US invasion of Iraq the civil war helped the Iraqis to become free from their filthy lives by becoming victims to it. Civil war is the best way for robbers, kidnappers and other anti-social elements to flourish their business. Thus they become richer and wealthier in a single night. Mafia gangs could emerge easily and can claim their position. Thus without much help from invading countries mafia can govern the society in Iraq. Children could take commando training at early age. Instead of spreading love they could spread hatred across the society. The war on Iraq helped US and the allied forces economically and politically. The industry that manufactures defense equipment was financially benefited. Due to the immediate requirement

Analyzing Competition Essay Example for Free

Analyzing Competition Essay As 2001 comes to a close, Sa Sa contemplates what else can be done to improve profitability and keep on growing. 1. What were the reasons for Sa Sa’s early success? SA SA was creating value for its customers by providing them with quality products at a fair price. Sa Sa was first of its kind to pioneer the concept of discount store for the cosmetics (create and control). It . did is fast in the initial stages of the business (compete) by making the stores bigger and better from 40 sqft in 1978 to 750 sqft in 1985 to 10 stores in mid 1990s. Sa Sa was able to provide value to its customer by keeping the purchase prices low by using â€Å"parallel importation† and passed saving to the customers. One of the other important factor was Sa Sa listened to its customer demand (which products to stock). Sa Sa allowed the customer to touch and feel the cosmetics products that drove the demand. We also see Sa Sa’s strategy to deter the new entrants by holding onto old location. They controlled the inventory depending on the sales rate and the shelf life of the products. Sa Sa uniquely combined the combined the cosmetics product knowledge to advice the customer and provided the products at lower cost in comfortable environment, thus creating value for the customer for the first time that no one has done before. This is Resource Based View, outcome of which gave Sa Sa a competitive advantage. Sa Sa developed the Core competency: Rare: Sa Sa’s core compentancy was rare until it disclosed it in IPO Valuable –yes customers found it valuable and made Sa Sa an household name. The sales people were one of the best trained in the industry but were poached by the competition. In early days the Sa Sa operated as a family-run culture, help retain them but afte the IPO, when Sa Sa changed strategy to be creating value for the Shareholders hard to imitate: it was not hard to imitate as evidenced by the whole slew of competitier copied once known. non-substitutable-yes, there were various product segments/tiers; Sa Sa focused top brand names Core Products Business Units End products Porters 5 forces: Industry Rivalry: Concentration: Diversity of the Competitors Product Differentiation Excess Capacity Exit Barriers Cost Conditions Supplier Power Threat Of Entry Buyer Power Threat of substitute What changes have occurred in the stores since Sa Sa’s early success? (Not including the strategic issues outlined in Figure A. ) Sa Sa was able to offer the cosmetics at a cheaper prices than competitors combined with the sales team able to help the customers with personal needs and using customer insights to buy/stock the inventories, Sa Sa had built unique value for the customers. Since the IPO, many new competitors (bonjour and rainbow) have entered the market. They are able to copy the core competency that was first developed by Sa Sa. Additionally very well known drugstores (Watson’s and Manning’s), have started offering the cosmetics! Both have used the existing infrastructure and corporate capital resource to position themselves as significant players with 13% annual growth rate. Many departmental stores have tried to differentiate themselves by providing all products from a brand and by offering free beauty advice in the stores. Some have tried to target the Who are Sa Sa’s key competitors? What implications does your assessment have for the decisions that Simon Kwok is facing about the future of Sa Sa? What were the key success factors behind Sa Sa’s story? What do you see as the major challenges and structural threats faced by Sa Sa? Market research. Review the market research data contained in the case. What are the key insights that you can learn from the findings? Assess the strategic initiatives that Sa Sa undertook recently. What are the positives negatives. How is Sa Sa perceived by consumers? What should Sa Sa do next? Whom to target? How should the company position itself against the likes of Bonjour? Other strategic moves?

Hamlet Claudius Suicide

Hamlet Claudius Suicide In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the main character Hamlet has both internal and external conflicts. Hamlet grieves for the death of his father and is angry that Claudius killed him. He also contemplates suicide and is constantly thinking about certain tasks he has to accomplish. Hamlet is under a great deal of pressure and anxiety. We see how Hamlet responds to both the internal and external conflicts. Hamlet is very depressed because of his fathers death and he is very upset that Gertrude married Claudius so quickly. This leads hamlet to one of his first conflicts, which is suicide. Hamlet initially speaks of suicide in his first soliloquy. He ponders why he should live with all of this chaos but Hamlet overcomes this internal conflict because he concludes that suicide is a sin. â€Å"O that this too too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew, Or that the Everlasting had not fixd His canon gainst self-slaughter.   O God!   God!† (Act 1, sc 2, lines 131-61.) Later on in the play, he meets his father in ghost form. His father informs Hamlet that he needs to get revenge against Claudius because he was the one that killed him. Hamlet is shocked and disgusted by this information and wants justice for his father. In the meantime, Hamlet puts on a show of craziness until he comes up with a plan to kill Claudius. Polonius believes Hamlet is acting crazy because of his recent breakup with Ophelia. When Polonius tries to talk to prince Hamlet, Hamlet acts immature, but Polonius doesnt know that Hamlet is pretending to be mad. This shows you how clever Hamlet is and how he reacts to his conflicts in various ways. Throughout the rest of the play he faces many conflicts. He is having trouble with avenging his fathers death and he doesnt know if he has the courage to kill Claudius. For the second time he contemplates suicide. â€Å"To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?† -(Act 3, sc 1, lines 64-98) In this soliloquy, Hamlet ponders suicide but, he is afraid of what will happen or where he will go after death. Hamlet is unselfish and doesnt take action; he overcomes this internal conflict and chooses to live. Hamlets reactions to the internal and external conflicts show him to be an intelligent and complicated character. He is overcome with different problems whether it is internally or externally. Many times he considers suicide but, is troubled by the consequences or the destination of his soul. Hamlet is bothered knowing that he killed more people then just Claudius. If Claudius wasnt a power hungry person, then none of this would have happened. So as you can see Hamlet has a lot of problems inside and out of him and he confronts them in different ways.

The whitlam government Essay -- essays research papers

The Whitlam Government (1972 – 1975) introduced many ideas that impacted on all the people of Australia. There may have been impediments that prevented the Whitlam Government from introducing new ideas, such as the Senate. Nevertheless in three years the Whitlam Government managed to win the hearts of many Australians. In their three year reign the Whitlam Government managed to create Medibank, establish firm relations with People’s Republic of China, establish the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (Giving all Aboriginals a ‘voice’), obtained responsibility for tertiary education over from the states and eradicated tertiary fees, and establishing Supporting Mother’s Benefit’s. These were only a few of their achievements. Gough Whitlam had previously seen and heard of the Medical health scheme systems based at U.K. which he favoured. The constitution was the barrier to introducing a health scheme in Australia, and the civil conscription clause. Medibank and other health schemes were designed to avoid civil conscription and provide healthcare service based on Government finance. Whitlam’s aim in creating this system was to break the connection between healthcare and money. Whitlam wanted to break free from the hindrance of money; he wanted healthcare system based on health needs of people rather than the importance of money requirements. In 1972, the introduction of universal health insurance system known as Medibank (now Medicare) was born. It provided significant benefits to the population of Australia who had previously not been able to afford sufficient medical care; it declined private medicine and commenced to pay 85% of medical and hospital fees. Medibank provided inexpensive treatment by hospitals and doctors to all permanent citizens of Australia. Medicare is publicly funded tax surcharge that comes under the title of Medicare levy which add to the scheme. People with low income are excluded which follows a good example. People earning a high income pay a higher tax therefore compensating the loss of low paid workers. Medibank made a vast impact on all the Australian society, as now many people could afford sufficient medical care chiefly people who were still tormented from poverty. The disadvantages might to some people be that the higher they earn the more they have to pay in tax for the Medicare levy. The Whitlam Government had established a... ... of the House of Representatives or a double dissolution and the only way possible for that to happen, was by the dismissal of Whitlam and his colleagues. Opposition parties of Whitlam had affirmed they would only pass the bill only if Whitlam called an election for the House of Representatives. This could not be agreed upon, so a double dissolution (simultaneous election for all members in both houses) had to be called. Kerr could have appropriately notified Malcolm Fraser that the recurrent postponement of Supply had shaped and unbearable constitutional crisis and that the first steps could be taken to determine it if Fraser would choose one of the two alternatives. These were to instruct supporters in the Senate to pass Appropriation bills, or to reject Supply outright. The first option would have resolved the crisis; the second would have left Kerr to seek further advice from responsible ministers. Also, Kerr could have arranged Whitlam a half-senate election, so long as the basic services of government would not subside and that Whitlam take notice of the effect of the election if it did not determine the crisis. These both alternatives were open to Governor General Kerr.

Chapter 14 The Unforgivable Curses

The next two days passed without great incident, unless you counted Neville melting his sixth cauldron in Potions. Professor Snape, who seemed to have attained new levels of vindictiveness over the summer, gave Neville detention, and Neville returned from it in a state of nervous collapse, having been made to disembowel a barrel full of horned toads. â€Å"You know why Snape's in such a foul mood, don't you?† said Ron to Harry as they watched Hermione teaching Neville a Scouring Charm to remove the frog guts from under his fingernails. â€Å"Yeah,† said Harry. â€Å"Moody.† It was common knowledge that Snape really wanted the Dark Arts job, and he had now failed to get it for the fourth year running. Snape had disliked all of their previous Dark Arts teachers, and shown it – but he seemed strangely wary of displaying overt animosity to Mad-Eye Moody. Indeed, whenever Harry saw the two of them together – at mealtimes, or when they passed in the corridors – he had the distinct impression that Snape was avoiding Moody's eye, whether magical or normal. â€Å"I reckon Snape's a bit scared of him, you know,† Harry said thoughtfully. â€Å"Imagine if Moody turned Snape into a horned toad,† said Ron, his eyes misting over, â€Å"and bounced him all around his dungeon†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The Gryffindor fourth years were looking forward to Moody's first lesson so much that they arrived early on Thursday lunchtime and queued up outside his classroom before the bell had even rung. The only person missing was Hermione, who turned up just in time for the lesson. â€Å"Been in the -â€Å" â€Å"Library.† Harry finished her sentence for her. â€Å"C'mon, quick, or we won't get decent seats.† They hurried into three chairs right in front of the teacher's desk, took out their copies of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, and waited, unusually quiet. Soon they heard Moody's distinctive clunking footsteps coming down the corridor, and he entered the room, looking as strange and frightening as ever. They could just see his clawed, wooden foot protruding from underneath his robes. â€Å"You can put those away,† he growled, stumping over to his desk and sitting down, â€Å"those books. You won't need them.† They returned the books to their bags, Ron looking excited. Moody took out a register, shook his long mane of grizzled gray hair out of his twisted and scarred face, and began to call out names, his normal eye moving steadily down the list while his magical eye swiveled around, fixing upon each student as he or she answered. â€Å"Right then,† he said, when the last person had declared themselves present, â€Å"I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures – you've covered boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves, is that right?† There was a general murmur of assent. â€Å"But you're behind – very behind – on dealing with curses,† said Moody. â€Å"So I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark -â€Å" â€Å"What, aren't you staying?† Ron blurted out. Moody's magical eye spun around to stare at Ron; Ron looked extremely apprehensive, but after a moment Moody smiled – the first time Harry had seen him do so. The effect was to make his heavily scarred face look more twisted and contorted than ever, but it was nevertheless good to know that he ever did anything as friendly as smile. Ron looked deeply relieved. â€Å"You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh?† Moody said. â€Å"Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago†¦.Yeah, I'm staying just the one year. Special favor to Dumbledor†¦.One year, and then back to my quiet retirement.† He gave a harsh laugh, and then clapped his gnarled hands together. â€Å"So – straight into it. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you countercurses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in the sixth year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then. But Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, and I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. You need to put that away, Miss Brown, when I'm talking.† Lavender jumped and blushed. She had been showing Parvati her completed horoscope under the desk. Apparently Moody's magical eye could see through solid wood, as well as out of the back of his head. â€Å"So†¦do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?† Several hands rose tentatively into the air, including Ron's and Hermione's. Moody pointed at Ron, though his magical eye was still fixed on Lavender. â€Å"Er,† said Ron tentatively, â€Å"my dad told me about one†¦.Is it called the Imperius Curse, or something?† â€Å"Ah, yes,† said Moody appreciatively. â€Å"Your father would know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse.† Moody got heavily to his mismatched feet, opened his desk drawer, and took out a glass jar. Three large black spiders were scuttling around inside it. Harry felt Ron recoil slightly next to him – Ron hated spiders. Moody reached into the jar, caught one of the spiders, and held it in the palm of his hand so that they could all see it. He then pointed his wand at it and muttered, â€Å"Imperio!† The spider leapt from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk and began to swing backward and forward as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a back flip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance. Everyone was laughing – everyone except Moody. â€Å"Think it's funny, do you?† he growled. â€Å"You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?† The laughter died away almost instantly. â€Å"Total control,† said Moody quietly as the spider balled itself up and began to roll over and over. â€Å"I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ron gave an involuntary shudder. â€Å"Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse,† said Moody, and Harry knew he was talking about the days in which Voldemort had been all-powerful. â€Å"Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will. â€Å"The Imperius Curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!† he barked, and everyone jumped. Moody picked up the somersaulting spider and threw it back into the jar. â€Å"Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?† Hermione's hand flew into the air again and so, to Harry's slight surprise, did Neville's. The only class in which Neville usually volunteered information was Herbology which was easily his best subject. Neville looked surprised at his own daring. â€Å"Yes?† said Moody, his magical eye rolling right over to fix on Neville. â€Å"There's one – the Cruciatus Curse,† said Neville in a small but distinct voice. Moody was looking very intently at Neville, this time with both eyes. â€Å"Your name's Longbottom?† he said, his magical eye swooping down to check the register again. Neville nodded nervously, but Moody made no further inquiries. Turning back to the class at large, he reached into the jar for the next spider and placed it upon the desktop, where it remained motionless, apparently too scared to move. â€Å"The Cruciatus Curse,† said Moody. â€Å"Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea,† he said, pointing his wand at the spider. â€Å"Engorgio!† The spider swelled. It was now larger than a tarantula. Abandoning all pretense, Ron pushed his chair backward, as far away from Moody's desk as possible. Moody raised his wand again, pointed it at the spider, and muttered, â€Å"Crucio!† At once, the spider's legs bent in upon its body; it rolled over and began to twitch horribly, rocking from side to side. No sound came from it, but Harry was sure that if it could have given voice, it would have been screaming. Moody did not remove his wand, and the spider started to shudder and jerk more violently – â€Å"Stop it!† Hermione said shrilly.† Harry looked around at her. She was looking, not at the spider, but at Neville, and Harry, following her gaze, saw that Neville's hands were clenched upon the desk in front of him, his knuckles white, his eyes wide and horrified. Moody raised his wand. The spider's legs relaxed, but it continued to twitch. â€Å"Reducio,† Moody muttered, and the spider shrank back to its proper size. He put it back into the jar. â€Å"Pain,† said Moody softly. â€Å"You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse†¦.That one was very popular once too. â€Å"Right†¦anyone know any others?† Harry looked around. From the looks on everyone's faces, he guessed they were all wondering what was going to happen to the last spider. Hermione's hand shook slightly as, for the third time, she raised it into the air. â€Å"Yes?† said Moody, looking at her. â€Å"Avada Kedavra,† Hermione whispered. Several people looked uneasily around at her, including Ron. â€Å"Ah,† said Moody, another slight smile twisting his lopsided mouth. â€Å"Yes, the last and worst. Avada Kedavra†¦.the Killing Curse.† He put his hand into the glass jar, and almost as though it knew what was coming, the third spider scuttled frantically around the bottom of the jar, trying to evade Moody's fingers, but he trapped it, and placed it upon the desktop. It started to scuttle frantically across the wooden surface. Moody raised his wand, and Harry felt a sudden thrill of foreboding. â€Å"Avada Kedavra!† Moody roared. There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air – instantaneously the spider rolled over onto its back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead. Several of the students stifled cries; Ron had thrown himself backward and almost toppled off his seat as the spider skidded toward him. Moody swept the dead spider off the desk onto the floor. â€Å"Not nice,† he said calmly. â€Å"Not pleasant. And there's no countercurse. There's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and he's sitting right in front of me.† Harry felt his face redden as Moody's eyes (both of them) looked into his own. He could feel everyone else looking around at him too. Harry stared at the blank blackboard as though fascinated by it, but not really seeing it at all†¦. So that was how his parents had died†¦exactly like that spider. Had they been unblemished and unmarked too? Had they simply seen the flash of green light and heard the rush of speeding death, before life was wiped from their bodies? Harry had been picturing his parents' deaths over and over again for three years now, ever since he'd found out they had been murdered, ever since he'd found out what had happened that night: Wormtail had betrayed his parents' whereabouts to Voldemort, who had come to find them at their cottage. How Voldemort had killed Harry's father first. How James Potter had tried to hold him off, while he shouted at his wife to take Harry and run†¦Voldemort had advanced on Lily Potter, told her to move aside so that he could kill Harry†¦how she had begged him to kill her instead, refused to stop shielding her son†¦and so Voldemort had murdered her too, before turning his wand on Harry†¦. Harry knew these details because he had heard his parents' voices when he had fought the dementors last year – for that was the terrible power of the dementors: to force their victims to relive the worst memories of their lives, and drown, powerless, in their own despair†¦. Moody was speaking again, from a great distance, it seemed to Harry. With a massive effort, he pulled himself back to the present and listened to what Moody was saying. â€Å"Avada Kedavra's a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it – you could all get your wands out now and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nosebleed. But that doesn't matter. I'm not here to teach you how to do it. â€Å"Now, if there's no countercurse, why am I showing you? Because you've got to know. You've got to appreciate what the worst is. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you're facing it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!† he roared, and the whole class jumped again. â€Å"Now†¦those three curses – Avada Kedavra, Imperius, and Cruciatus – are known as the Unforgivable Curses. The use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to earn a life sentence in Azkaban. That's what you're up against. That's what I've got to teach you to fight. You need preparing. You need arming. But most of all, you need to practice constant, never-ceasing vigilance. Get out your quills†¦copy this down†¦.† They spent the rest of the lesson taking notes on each of the Unforgivable Curses. No one spoke until the bell rang – but when Moody had dismissed them and they had left the classroom, a torrent of talk burst forth. Most people were discussing the curses in awed voices – â€Å"Did you see it twitch?† â€Å"- and when he killed it – just like that!† They were talking about the lesson, Harry thought, as though it had been some sort of spectacular show, but he hadn't found it very entertaining – and nor, it seemed, had Hermione. â€Å"Hurry up,† she said tensely to Harry and Ron. â€Å"Not the ruddy library again?† said Ron. â€Å"No,† said Hermione curtly, pointing up a side passage. â€Å"Neville.† Neville was standing alone, halfway up the passage, staring at the stone wall opposite him with the same horrified, wide-eyed look he had worn when Moody had demonstrated the Cruciatus Curse. â€Å"Neville?† Hermione said gently. Neville looked around. â€Å"Oh hello,† he said, his voice much higher than usual. â€Å"Interesting lesson, wasn't it? I wonder what's for dinner, I'm – I'm starving, aren't you?† â€Å"Neville, are you all right?† said Hermione. â€Å"Oh yes, I'm fine,† Neville gabbled in the same unnaturally high voice. â€Å"Very interesting dinner – I mean lesson – what's for eating?† Ron gave Harry a startled look. â€Å"Neville, what -?† But an odd clunking noise sounded behind them, and they turned to see Professor Moody limping toward them. All four of them fell silent, watching him apprehensively, but when he spoke, it was in a much lower and gentler growl than they had yet heard. â€Å"It's all right, sonny,† he said to Neville. â€Å"Why don't you come up to my office? Come on†¦we can have a cup of tea†¦.† Neville looked even more frightened at the prospect of tea with Moody. He neither moved nor spoke. Moody turned his magical eye upon Harry. â€Å"You all right, are you, Potter?† â€Å"Yes,† said Harry, almost defiantly. Moody's blue eye quivered slightly in its socket as it surveyed Harry. Then he said, â€Å"You've got to know. It seems harsh, maybe, but you've got to know. No point pretending†¦well†¦come on, Longbottom, I've got some books that might interest you.† Neville looked pleadingly at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but they didn't say anything, so Neville had no choice but to allow himself to be steered away, one of Moody's gnarled hands on his shoulder. â€Å"What was that about?† said Ron, watching Neville and Moody turn the corner. â€Å"I don't know,† said Hermione, looking pensive. â€Å"Some lesson, though, eh?† said Ron to Harry as they set off for the Great Hall. â€Å"Fred and George were right, weren't they? He really knows his stuff, Moody, doesn't he? When he did Avada Kedavra, the way that spider just died, just snuffed it right -â€Å" But Ron fell suddenly silent at the look on Harry's face and didn't speak again until they reached the Great Hall, when he said he supposed they had better make a start on Professor Trelawney's predictions tonight, since they would take hours. Hermione did not join in with Harry and Ron's conversation during dinner, but ate furiously fast, and then left for the library again. Harry and Ron walked back to Gryffindor Tower, and Harry, who had been thinking of nothing else all through dinner, now raised the subject of the Unforgivable Curses himself. â€Å"Wouldn't Moody and Dumbledore be in trouble with the Ministry if they knew we'd seen the curses?† Harry asked as they approached the Fat Lady. â€Å"Yeah, probably,† said Ron. â€Å"But Dumbledore's always done things his way, hasn't he, and Moody's been getting in trouble for years, I reckon. Attacks first and asks questions later – look at his dustbins. Balderdash.† The Fat Lady swung forward to reveal the entrance hole, and they climbed into the Gryffindor common room, which was crowded and noisy. â€Å"Shall we get our Divination stuff, then?† said Harry. â€Å"I s'pose,† Ron groaned. They went up to the dormitory to fetch their books and charts, to find Neville there alone, sitting on his bed, reading. He looked a good deal calmer than at the end of Moody's lesson, though still not entirely normal. His eyes were rather red. â€Å"You all right, Neville?† Harry asked him. â€Å"Oh yes,† said Neville, â€Å"I'm fine, thanks. Just reading this book Professor Moody lent me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He held up the book: Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean. â€Å"Apparently, Professor Sprout told Professor Moody I'm really good at Herbology,† Neville said. There was a faint note of pride in his voice that Harry had rarely heard there before. â€Å"He thought I'd like this.† Telling Neville what Professor Sprout had said, Harry thought, had been a very tactful way of cheering Neville up, for Neville very rarely heard that he was good at anything. It was the sort of thing Professor Lupin would have done. Harry and Ron took their copies of Unfogging the Future back down to the common room, found a table, and set to work on their predictions for the coming month. An hour later, they had made very little progress, though their table was littered with bits of parchment bearing sums and symbols, and Harry's brain was as fogged as though it had been filled with the fumes from Professor Trelawney's fire. â€Å"I haven't got a clue what this lot's supposed to mean,† he said, staring down at a long list of calculations. â€Å"You know,† said Ron, whose hair was on end because of all the times he had run his fingers through it in frustration, â€Å"I think it's back to the old Divination standby.† â€Å"What – make it up?† â€Å"Yeah,† said Ron, sweeping the jumble of scrawled notes off the table, dipping his pen into some ink, and starting to write. â€Å"Next Monday,† he said as he scribbled, â€Å"I am likely to develop a cough, owing to the unlucky conjunction of Mars and Jupiter.† He looked up at Harry. â€Å"You know her – just put in loads of misery, she'll lap it up.† â€Å"Right,† said Harry, crumpling up his first attempt and lobbing it over the heads of a group of chattering first years into the fire. â€Å"Okay†¦on Monday, I will be in danger of – er – burns.† â€Å"Yeah, you will be,† said Ron darkly, â€Å"we're seeing the skrewts again on Monday. Okay, Tuesday, I'll†¦erm†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Lose a treasured possession,† said Harry, who was flicking through Unfogging the Future for ideas. â€Å"Good one,† said Ron, copying it down. â€Å"Because of†¦erm†¦Mercury. Why don't you get stabbed in the back by someone you thought was a friend?† â€Å"Yeah†¦cool†¦Ã¢â‚¬  said Harry, scribbling it down, â€Å"because†¦Venus is in the twelfth house.† â€Å"And on Wednesday, I think I'll come off worst in a fight.† â€Å"Aaah, I was going to have a fight. Okay, I'll lose a bet.† â€Å"Yeah, you'll be betting I'll win my fight†¦.† They continued to make up predictions (which grew steadily more tragic) for another hour, while the common room around them slowly emptied as people went up to bed. Crookshanks wandered over to them, leapt lightly into an empty chair, and stared inscrutably at Harry, rather as Hermione might look if she knew they weren't doing their homework properly. Staring around the room, trying to think of a kind of misfortune he hadn't yet used, Harry saw Fred and George sitting together against the opposite wall, heads together, quills out, poring over a single piece of parchment. It was most unusual to see Fred and George hidden away in a corner and working silently; they usually liked to be in the thick of things and the noisy center of attention. There was something secretive about the way they were working on the piece of parchment, and Harry was reminded of how they had sat together writing something back at the Burrow. He had thought then that it was another order form for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, but it didn't look like that this time; if it had been, they would surely have let Lee Jordan in on the joke. He wondered whether it had anything to do with entering the Triwizard Tournament. As Harry watched, George shook his head at Fred, scratched out something with his quill, and said, in a very quiet voice that nevertheless carried across the almost deserted room, â€Å"No – that sounds like we're accusing him. Got to be careful†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Then George looked over and saw Harry watching him. Harry grinned and quickly returned to his predictions – he didn't want George to think he was eavesdropping. Shortly after that, the twins rolled up their parchment, said good night, and went off to bed. Fred and George had been gone ten minutes or so when the portrait hole opened and Hermione climbed into the common room carrying a sheaf of parchment in one hand and a box whose contents rattled as she walked in the other. Crookshanks arched his back, purring. â€Å"Hello,† she said, â€Å"I've just finished!† â€Å"So have I!† said Ron triumphantly, throwing down his quill. Hermione sat down, laid the things she was carrying in an empty armchair, and pulled Ron's predictions toward her. â€Å"Not going to have a very good month, are you?† she said sardonically as Crookshanks curled up in her lap. â€Å"Ah well, at least I'm forewarned,† Ron yawned. â€Å"You seem to be drowning twice,† said Hermione. â€Å"Oh am I?† said Ron, peering down at his predictions. â€Å"I'd better change one of them to getting trampled by a rampaging hippogriff.† â€Å"Don't you think it's a bit obvious you've made these up?† said Hermione. â€Å"How dare you!† said Ron, in mock outrage. â€Å"We've been working like house-elves here!† Hermione raised her eyebrows. â€Å"It's just an expression,† said Ron hastily. Harry laid down his quill too, having just finished predicting his own death by decapitation. â€Å"What's in the box?† he asked, pointing at it. â€Å"Funny you should ask,† said Hermione, with a nasty look at Ron. She took off the lid and showed them the contents. Inside were about fifty badges, all of different colors, but all bearing the same letters: S. P. E .W. â€Å"Spew?† said Harry, picking up a badge and looking at it. â€Å"What's this about?† â€Å"Not spew,† said Hermione impatiently. â€Å"It's S-P-E-W. Stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare.† â€Å"Never heard of it,† said Ron. â€Å"Well, of course you haven't,† said Hermione briskly, â€Å"I've only just started it.† â€Å"Yeah?† said Ron in mild surprise. â€Å"How many members have you got?† â€Å"Well – if you two join – three,† said Hermione. â€Å"And you think we want to walk around wearing badges saying ‘spew,' do you?† said Ron. â€Å"S-P-E-W!† said Hermione hotly. â€Å"I was going to put Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Change in Their Legal Status – but it wouldn't fit. So that's the heading of our manifesto.† She brandished the sheaf of parchment at them. â€Å"I've been researching it thoroughly in the library. Elf enslavement goes back centuries. I can't believe no one's done anything about it before now.† â€Å"Hermione – open your ears,† said Ron loudly. â€Å"They. Like. It. They like being enslaved!† â€Å"Our short-term aims,† said Hermione, speaking even more loudly than Ron, and acting as though she hadn't heard a word, â€Å"are to secure house-elves fair wages and working conditions. Our long-term aims include changing the law about non-wand use, and trying to get an elf into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they're shockingly underrepresented.† â€Å"And how do we do all this?† Harry asked. â€Å"We start by recruiting members,† said Hermione happily. â€Å"I thought two Sickles to join – that buys a badge – and the proceeds can fund our leaflet campaign. You're treasurer, Ron – I've got you a collecting tin upstairs – and Harry, you're secretary, so you might want to write down everything I'm saying now, as a record of our first meeting.† There was a pause in which Hermione beamed at the pair of them, and Harry sat, torn between exasperation at Hermione and amusement at the look on Ron's face. The silence was broken, not by Ron, who in any case looked as though he was temporarily dumbstruck, but by a soft tap, tap on the window. Harry looked across the now empty common room and saw, illuminated by the moonlight, a snowy owl perched on the windowsill. â€Å"Hedwig!† he shouted, and he launched himself out of his chair and across the room to pull open the window. Hedwig flew inside, soared across the room, and landed on the table on top of Harry's predictions. â€Å"About time!† said Harry, hurrying after her. â€Å"She's got an answer!† said Ron excitedly, pointing at the grubby piece of parchment tied to Hedwig's leg. Harry hastily untied it and sat down to read, whereupon Hedwig fluttered onto his knee, hooting softly. â€Å"What does it say?† Hermione asked breathlessly. The letter was very short, and looked as though it had been scrawled in a great hurry. Harry read it aloud: Harry – I'm flying north immediately. This news about your scar is the latest in a series of strange rumors that have reached me here. If it hurts again, go straight to Dumbledore – they're saying he's got Mad-Eye out of retirement, which means he's reading the signs, even if no one else is. I'll be in touch soon. My best to Ron and Hermione. Keep your eyes open, Harry. Sirius Harry looked up at Ron and Hermione, who stared back at him. â€Å"He's flying north?† Hermione whispered. â€Å"He's coming back?† â€Å"Dumbledore's reading what signs?† said Ron, looking perplexed. â€Å"Harry – what's up?† For Harry had just hit himself in the forehead with his fist, jolting Hedwig out of his lap. â€Å"I shouldn't've told him!† Harry said furiously. â€Å"What are you on about?† said Ron in surprise. â€Å"It's made him think he's got to come back!† said Harry, now slamming his fist on the table so that Hedwig landed on the back of Ron's chair, hooting indignantly. â€Å"Coming back, because he thinks I'm in trouble! And there's nothing wrong with me! And I haven't got anything for you,† Harry snapped at Hedwig, who was clicking her beak expectantly, â€Å"you'll have to go up to the Owlery if you want food.† Hedwig gave him an extremely offended look and took off for the open window, cuffing him around the head with her outstretched wing as she went. â€Å"Harry,† Hermione began, in a pacifying sort of voice. â€Å"I'm going to bed,† said Harry shortly. â€Å"See you in the morning.† Upstairs in the dormitory he pulled on his pajamas and got into his four-poster, but he didn't feel remotely tired. If Sirius came back and got caught, it would be his, Harry's, fault. Why hadn't he kept his mouth shut? A few seconds' pain and he'd had to blab†¦.If he'd just had the sense to keep it to himself†¦. He heard Ron come up into the dormitory a short while later, but did not speak to him. For a long time, Harry lay staring up at the dark canopy of his bed. The dormitory was completely silent, and, had he been less preoccupied, Harry would have realized that the absence of Neville's usual snores meant that he was not the only one lying awake.