The Randomness of Love and Baseball :: A Kind of Love Sports Athletics Essays

The Randomness of Love and BaseballGenerally the terms love, baseball, immigration, and meter are not mentioned within the same text. However, according to Andrei Codrescu, author of the essay A Kind of Love, all these subjects are related. The only problem is that Codrescu fails to attain these connections obvious to his audience. He excessively fails in making the purpose of his essay known and in that locationfore is unsuccessful in whatever goal he intended. Codrescus essay fails because of its misuse of pathos, its overbearing connotative language and, simply, its random nature.A Kind of Love starts off as the title suggests it might. Codrescu talks about how in that location are many different kinds of love and how his love for baseball fits into one of these categories. He then goes on a sporadic journey discussing several issues that encounter no logical connection to each other. He talks about his struggle as an immigrant to get his citizenship. Then he jumps to how baseball is extremely literary and can be compared to poetry. Then, to even more random issues such as the history of baseball, the language of the game, and he even goes as far as proclaiming a sense of sexuality in baseball. There is absolutely no flow to Codrescus writing and his loose ends do nothing but ensure that there will be no tying together of his random thoughts.Codrescu uses an over bearing amount of connotative language in his essay, which makes knowing exactly what he means hard to understand. He uses several examples of famous writers, philosophers, and even places. Dawson, Malamud, Edgar Allan Poe, and Freud, were just some of these famous people who were mentioned. Codrescu assumes that e reallyone in his audience is aware and knowledgeable on every subject he mentions, which in most cases is an unrealistic assumption on his behalf. He uses words that relate to a deeper, symbolic meaning from personalized emotional associations so much that the reader becomes los t in translation. There is no doubt that Codrescu uses the strategy of pathos to appeal to his audience. He starts this off very well by giving very real and vivid descriptions of what it was like for him to witness his first baseball game. He recalls where the game was played, when it was played and who was playing. He also remembers sitting there, in the stands, knowing nothing about the game and not even being able to tell who was scoring and when.

Illustration Essay: Why We Drink -- Sociology Alcohol

It was a Monday morning and the topic of everyones conversation was the past weekend. Usu eithery explaining how drunk they were and the uncontrollable mishaps that we didnt even telephone until the next day. For example, they tell their friends Man, I was soooo wasted last night, I must have drank like 10 beers and like half a bottle of vodka, all told with smile of excitement hoping to do it again the next weekend. This regular occurrence got me thinking, why do we brag ourselves and praise others for accomplishing something that requires absolutely no skill? In short, why do we get drunk?I feel that some people drink in order to knock down or at least lower the wall of insecurities they have built up inside them even for just an instant. For example, my friend Mike attempts to be ...

Multiple Sclerosis and the Self :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Multiple Sclerosis and the SelfMultiple sclerosis is a devastating disease that attacks the mylination on the axons of neurons, causing many problems. Patients with MS must worry about how they will get around, see, and manage everyday activities. However, probably one of the most devastating and stigmatizing aspects of the disease is its effects on ones cognitive capabilities. This in combination with its paralyzing effects potbelly produce a diminish sense of self in the patients as well as a diminished sense of being in others. The sensory-motor effects of MS privy be very debilitating. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). MS lots begins with numbness in the legs and hands. This, along with weakness and spasticity, is one of the hallmark signs of MS. As the disease progresses, many patients suffer from other motor problems associated with the weakness and spasticity. Patients may crap trouble with coordination and balance. This may eventually result in paralysis, either partial or full. Another symptom of MS is visual problems. According to Rose et al., patients who verbalise visual problems may do so in a variety of ways. They can range from blurred vision to blindness. These problems are compounded by moving picture to heat. In addition, fatigue and stress can also cause the symptoms to worsen. Fatigue is often a unavoidable consequence of the disease. People with MS often flatten much of their energy simply trying to control their movements. They have little energy left for other activities. This lack of energy causes further worsening of symptoms which can cause further fatigue. This may leave the patient feeling that any attempt to be active is futile if not counter productive. Inactivity can lead patients to shut themselves off from the world. While the motor symptoms are the most visible, MS patients also exhibit close to cognitive problems. The MS Center lists some of the most common problems of c ognition as problems of attention and concentration. Patients often have problems concentrating on more than one thing at one time. They are considerably distracted, and when they try to get back to the initial activity, they often have to begin over. This distraction can then affect their memory of those things because it may fail to be encoded in memory. If the information actually enters their memory, patients may have problems retrieving information. In addition, they may also have problems with speech.

Hypnosis and Weight Loss Essay -- Hypnotize Internet Health Papers

Hypnosis and Weight LossHypnosis has many practical uses, and these days it is becoming more and more popular as a method of behavior modification. The Internet contains many advertisements for self-help programs that use hypnosis to reduce stress, quit smoking, or lose slant. In the area of hypnosis and weight loss, there are many web sites for both products and services for sale that promise to help anyone lose weight. Hypnosis uses suggestions to change a persons behavior and eating habits in order to facilitate weight loss. What are the expected outcomes? There are many different outcomes expected from this type of hypnotic treatment. Most vendors of hypnosis specify that its spirit is not only lose weight but to also maintain that ideal weight. Some companies also promise that hypnosis will stop cravings for un level-headed foods, much(prenominal) as foods high in salt or fat and also fried foods. http//www.clauser.com/announce3.html Through hypnotic suggestion, the person will learn how to eat healthy and may also become physically fit. Basically, the person becomes subconsciously motivated to eat better food and to become physically active. http//www.biocentrix.com/hypnosis/wghtplan.htm How Does Hypnosis work? There are many different forms of hypnosis used to control weight. A very popular method is the use of hypnotizing reads. DreamLab, a web site selling these tapes, describes the procedure, and advises customers to start the tape when they go to bed. They claim that the tape contains both music and instructions that lull you into the right mood. http//www.dream-lab.com/noweight.html While a person is in this mood, they are open to changes in their attitudes about eating habits and exercise through the suggestion of dream i... ...thard-Morris. Effectiveness of Hypnosis as an Adjunct to Behavioral Weight Management. Journal of Clinical Psychology 41.1 (1985) 35-41. Buckingham, chant W. Hypnotherapy and the Behavioral Aspects of Obesity. Occupational Health Nursing April 1980 20-22. Cochrane, G. Hypnosis and Weight Reduction Which is the Cart and Which is the Horse? American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis 35.2 (1992) 109-118. Eldredge, K.L., et al. The Effects of Extending Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Binge Eating affection Among Initial Treatment Nonresponders. International Journal of Eating Disorders 21.4 (1997) 347-352. Vanderlinden, J. and W. Vandereycken. The (Limited) Possibilities of Hypnotherapy in the Treatment of Obesity. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis 36.4 (1994) 248-257.

Submarines :: essays research papers

The History of SubmarinesIn the year 2000, the American submarine force will celebrate the first century of service by highly ingenious people in some of the most technologically advanced vessels ever built. The past 100 years have witnessed the evolution of a force that know submersible warfare, introduced nuclear propulsion to create the true submarine, and for decades patrolled the deep ocean front line the hottest part of an otherwise Cold War.Submarines in WarThe U.S. naval forcess involvement with the submarine dates form 1888 when the Bureau of Construction and Repair (BUC&R) sponsored a design competition that brought John Holland a naval contract to skeletal frame the experimental Plunger. As the new century dawned, prominent American naval leaders like Admiral George Dewey called the submarine a real threat to multinational get up forces, leading the Navy to acquire its first submarine in 1900. Overcoming competition from fellow American inventor, Simon Lake, Holland sold his newest model, Holland VI, to the Navy for $160,000 on April 11. This 64-ton submarine licensed as USS Holland, or SS-1, on October 12 of the same year, was equipped with an Otto-type gasoline engine for surface running and electric motors for submerged operations.Due to the volatility of gasoline, American submersible designs soon followed the French practice, adopting the diesel engine in 1909 with the Electric Boat Companys F class (SS-20 through 23), built at Union Iron Works in San Francisco. Combining the influence of diesel propulsion with the submersible designs of Holland and Lake, American submersibles took a familiar configuration through American entry into the Great War. Submarines of the E, H, K, L, M, N, O, and R classes and ranged in displacement form 287 to 510 tons, with the fastest boats displaying a top surface speed of barely 14 knots on diesel power.During World War I the U.S. Navy separated these submersibles into two groups according to mission. Bo ats of the N and O classes, as well as some of the E type, patrolled American coasts and harbors following a defensive strategy.Other submarines drew assignments that sent them to hostile European waters after 1917. Some K-, L-, O-, and E-class boats conducted offensive, open-sea operations from the Azores and Bantry Bay in Ireland. They support the Allied effort to maintain open sea lanes along the European coast and in the approaches to the British Isles. The Nay Departments plans for these vessels reflected the prevailing surface warfare thinking, which perceived the submersible as a type of destroyer or torpedo boat that should operate with the battle fleet.

Submarines :: essays research papers

The History of SubmarinesIn the year 2000, the American submarine military group will celebrate the first century of service by highly skilled people in some of the most technologically advanced vessels of all time built. The past 100 years have witnessed the evolution of a force that mastered submersible warfare, introduced nuclear propulsion to create the true submarine, and for decades patrolled the deep sea front line the hottest part of an otherwise Cold War.Submarines in WarThe U.S. Navys involvement with the submarine dates form 1888 when the Bureau of Construction and mend (BUC&R) sponsored a design competition that brought John Holland a marine contract to build the experimental Plunger. As the new century dawned, prominent American naval leaders like Admiral George Dewey called the submarine a real threat to international surface forces, leading the Navy to acquire its first submarine in 1900. Overcoming competition from fellow American inventor, Simon Lake, Holland so ld his newest model, Holland VI, to the Navy for $160,000 on April 11. This 64-ton submarine commissioned as USS Holland, or SS-1, on October 12 of the same year, was equipped with an Otto-type gas engine for surface running and electric motors for submerged operations.Due to the volatility of gasoline, American submersible designs soon followed the French practice, adopting the diesel motor engine in 1909 with the electric Boat Companys F class (SS-20 through 23), built at Union Iron Works in San Francisco. Combining the influence of diesel propulsion with the submersible designs of Holland and Lake, American submersibles took a familiar configuration through American entry into the Great War. Submarines of the E, H, K, L, M, N, O, and R classes and ranged in displacement form 287 to 510 tons, with the quickest boats displaying a top surface speed of barely 14 knots on diesel power.During World War I the U.S. Navy separated these submersibles into two groups harmonize to mission. Boats of the N and O classes, as well as some of the E type, patrolled American coasts and harbors following a defensive strategy.Other submarines drew assignments that sent them to aggressive European waters after 1917. Some K-, L-, O-, and E-class boats conducted offensive, open-sea operations from the Azores and Bantry Bay in Ireland. They supported the Allied effort to maintain open sea lanes along the European coast and in the approaches to the British Isles. The Nay Departments plans for these vessels reflected the prevailing surface warfare thinking, which perceived the submersible as a type of opener or torpedo boat that should operate with the battle fleet.

Biogeography as Evidence That Evolution Accounts for Diversity of Life

2) Biogeography is one source of evidence that evolution accounts for the smorgasbord of life. Biogeography is the study of the geographical distribution of species and has contributed evidence for descent from ordinary ancestors, which was hypothesized by Charles Darwin. Darwin and Alfred Wallace were both very interested in biogeography, which provided Darwin with evidence for evolution. Species distribution can be accounted for by ecological factors or by historical factors. The triad major historical factors affecting geographic distribution ar dispersal, extermination and vicariance.Island biogeography has been extensively studied to show the evolution of species due to geographic barriers. Biogeography along with the narrative of the earth lends supporting evidence to evolution and the diversity of life on earth. Darwin showed that biogeographic facts make sense if a species has a definite site of origin, achieves a broader distribution by dispersal, and becomes modified giving rise to descendent species in the regions in which it migrates. He noticed that unrelated organisms inhabit parts of the world with akin(predicate) climates and habitats, such as Old and New World organisms.Darwin also assemble that organisms of various regions may be different due to barriers or obstacles that may sterilise migration. He also stated that there is a relation mingled with inhabitants of the same continent or sea but that species differ from place to place. An utilisation of this is aquatic rodents of South America are related to mountainous and grassland rodents of South America, but not to aquatic rodents of mating America. Alfred Wallace noticed that several higher taxa had identical distributions and that the composition of biota is more uniform within genuine regions then between them.He had collected specimens in the Malay Archipelago and had thought of natural selection. He did extensive field work in the Amazon and noticed that geographic barri ers, such as the Amazon River itself, obscure the ranges of closely related species. These observations led him to testify several biogeographic realms. He observed that the fauna of Australia and Asia were different and the break between them is known as the Wallace Line. Historical factors affecting geographic distributions of species include extinction, dispersal, and vicariance. defunctness of certain opulations reduces the distribution of species but it also allows for diversification. Extinctions are selective in that some species are more likely to survive then others. For pillow slip, gastropods with wide geographic and ecological distributions and those with many species survived the end-Permian extinction. Extinction can lead to diversification in that it resets the stage for evolutionary radiations, perhaps by permitting the appearance of new community structures. Futuyma suggests that the extinction of one group permits the efflorescence of others, which is also show n in the fossil record.Dispersal and vicariance are the major hypotheses attributing to a taxons distribution. An example of vicarance is taxa that have members on different land masses in the Southern Hemisphere, which is hypothesized to be due to the breakup of Gondwanaland isolating descendents of common ancestors. America, Africa, Madagascar, and India are all home to the freshwater fishes, cichlids. molecular phylogenetic analyses has shown that two sister clades of cichlids have been found, one consisting of Madagascan and Indian species, and the other of two monophyletic groups, one in Africa and one in South America.However, the splits between the clades are more recent than the breakup of Gondwanaland which suggests that perhaps the cichlids achieved their distribution by dispersal. Both vicariance and dispersal could be the likely cause of the geographic distribution of cichlids. Species din their ranges by dispersal which is a critical process for geographic isolation i n evolution and the current geographic distributions. Most species are restricted to certain biogeographic realms by their dispersal ability but many species have expanded their range due to human transplant.For example, the European starling has expanded in North America following its introduction into New York City in 1896 (Futuyma, 2005). Transplanted species may disrupt the ecosystem at its new location by evolving and adapting to the new environment, possibly do the extinction of native species. Adaptation to the environment as a primary product of evolution was suggested by Jean Baptiste Lamarck who believed that evolution is the best explanation of the diversity of life. Vicariance is the separation of populations of a widespread species by barriers arising from changes in climate, geology, or habitat.Vicariance can lead to speciation if populations are separated by a geographic barrier and evolve genetic reproductive isolation such that if the barrier disappears, the speci es can no longer interbreed. Natural selection is a powerful evolutionary force and indeed the genetic changes that result in reproductive isolation in vicariant speciation are likely due to adaptive evolution. Several geological processes can fragment a population into two, such as a mountain range emerging, rivers, lakes, or land bridges.Island biogeography is a very good example of evidence for evolution. Islands are in general where endemic species of plants and animals are found but Darwin observed that most island species are closely related to species from the nearest mainland or neighbouring island. Two islands that have similar environments in different parts of the world are populated by species that are taxonomically affiliated with the plants and animals of the nearest mainland which generally has a different environment.Speciation may betide on islands if a species that disperses from a mainland to an island succeeds in its new environment and gives rise to several n ew species as populations spread to other islands. Once isolated, geographically separated populations become genetically differentiated as a result of mutation and other processes such as natural selection. Environmental factors are likely to be different from one place to another so natural selection can contribute to geographic variation, differences in the gene pool between populations.Speciation is ofttimes a gradual process as the reproductive barriers between the groups is only partial in the beginning but leads to complete reproduction separation (Campbell and Reece, 2002). An example of vicariance and island biogeography is the finches on the Galapagos Islands. Darwin noticed that the finches he collected from the islands were very similar, but that they were in fact different species. Some were unique to individual islands, while other species were distributed on two or more islands that were close together.New finch species had arisen from an ancestral form by the gradual accumulation of adaptations to a different environment. For example, the different beak sizes of the finches are adapted to the specific food available to them on their home island. This is an example of species adapting and evolving to suit their new environment. The Hawaiian Islands are another example of the worlds showcase of evolution and island biogeography. Each island started bare but was gradually populated by species that either rode ocean currents or blew over in the wind, either from long-distance islands or continents.The physical diversity of each island provides many different environmental opportunities for evolutionary divergence by natural selection. Many of the plants and animals that are currently found on the islands are found nowhere else in the world, they are endemic to the Hawaiian archipelago (Campbell and Reece, 2002). The history of earth also helps to explain the current geographic distribution of species. For example, the emergence of volcanic islands such as the Galapagos opens new environments for species to inhabit and adaptive radiation fills many of the available niches with new species.On a global scale, Continental drift is a major factor correlated with the spatial distribution of life and with such evolutionary episodes as mass extinctions followed by increases in biological diversity. The continents drift about earths surface on plates of crust floating on the hot mantle and their positions can therefore change copulation to one another. At the end of the Paleozoic era, plate movements brought all the landmasses together into a super continent named Pangaea. Species that had been evolving in isolation were brought together at this drumhead and forced to compete.The formation of Pangea reduced shoreline, drained shallow coastal areas, changed the climate and increased the area inland destroying a considerable amount of habitat and reshaping biodiversity. During the Mesozoic, Pangaea bust apart creating new continents that became separate evolutionary areas allowing flora and fauna to diverge. The diversity of life on earth is due to millions of years of evolution. Darwin and Wallace were both important figures in the field of biogeography as their interest and research led to ideas that are still apparent today.Historical geographic factors and the history of the earth are a fewer aspects that have led to current biodiversity. Biogeography shows compelling evidence that species evolve through natural selection by adapting to new environments. Speciation will continue to occur as the environment changes and as the continents continue to drift. References Campbell, N. A, and Reece, J. B. 2002. Biology Sixth Edition. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco. Futuyma, D. J. 2005. Evolution. Sinauer Associates Inc. , Massachusetts.

Crystal Pepsi: A Giant’s Failure Essay

IntroductionWe all have heard and seen it over and over again in commercials, movies, documentaries, stories, about Pepsi and its huge line of carrefours. But very few of us (nationally and internationally) know about the company and its history. PepsiCo, Inc. was established with the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay. Pepsi-Cola was created in the young 1890s by Caleb Bradham while Frito-Lay Inc. was formed by the 1961 merger of the Frito Company, founded by Elmer Doolin in 1932. Throughout its history, PepsiCo has introduced number of products for its consumers from the skinny to water, to teas and dark chocolate mocha. It went through number of transformation and acquired several(prenominal) other companies along its way. Today, Pepsi is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world operating nationally and internationally1. However, it has seen umteen failures on its way to success. i of its failures is watch crystal Pepsi, introduced in April 1992 as a col orless beverage with a trade slogan Youve never seen a taste like this2. The main dodge was to introduce its colorless drink with fewer sweeteners to its health conscious consumers. The merchandise began in 1990s and was tested in Denver, Sacramento, Dallas and Providence that resulted positive3. The paper discusses about its making, foodstuffing mix, arse market, controversy and failure in detail. ProductEvery big business whether it is retail, manufacture or service depends on some kind of a product or product line its introduced. A proper strategy is required to sustain in market especially when competition is hardened and rival is continuously coming up with some strategy to get the first-class honours degree movers advantage. Products that lack continuous innovation often suffers up to the extent that the inner(a) or external forces ultimately drive them out of business. crystallization Pepsi is such product that gained the attention of consumers by its fancy name n evertheless lost the market in no magazine due to its lack of innovation. Although, PepsiCo attempt hard to sustain its beloved product by introducing it in diet and diverse flavors moreover all strategies failed miserably.4 The making crystal Pepsi by Pepsi was first introduced in 1992 and remained a mystery not only for its consumers but also to its manufacturers in terms of sales, strategy and market share. It was one of the most fascinated drinks when introduced as it was a colorless cola that provides relief from thirst and has health benefits simultaneously. The idea, however, was fascinated from the remake of Ivory Soap from its sheer milky solution. There were dickens reasons behind the launch of crystallization Pepsi rivalry and a shift of consumer taste towards healthier beverages5. watch glass Pepsi targeted the market right but failed in both as the drink was nothing but a combination sugar and water with little flavor in it. TasteIt was first marketed as the caf feine free, naturally flavored with preservatives drink that is antithetic from other colas in many another(prenominal) ways as it uses fewer sweeteners, equating as clearness with award and health. The drink also claimed to be lighter than other drinks and Pepsi itself. Moreover, the drink was then introduced in lime flavor as well which was a part of express edition and sales promotional material. PepsiCo tried to save its product by adding citrus flavor to it. The company also shorten its name to Crystal and added from the makers of Pepsi on the box to give it a vernal brand image and changed formula but failed again. As the sales went down drastically all major projects related to Crystal Pepsi were put to halt that resulted in its disappearance from the shelves and discontinued supplies6. PackagingAfter receiving the positive response from its test market, PepsiCo decided to launch the product in united States and Canada to gain the maximum market share. A large campaig n was launched and it was the first time in the companys history a first photo-realistic, ready reckoner generated bus wrap was invented to advertise the product. The bottles were designed in the most sophisticated packing with a combination of blue, red, and silver prominent colors giving it a refreshing looks. It was also available in different sizes from 2 liters bottles to 250 ml cans7. PromotionThe promotion strategy is one of the most world-shattering parts of business. wizardof the best quotes about the importance of advertising is by Stuart Henderson Britt and goes like this Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing but nobody else does. Obviously, like any other strategy promotion strategy consist of introduction, growth, maturity and decline but Crystal Pepsi is among those products that came in the market with a bang but suffered terribly since afterwards. AdvertisingCrystal Pepsi started it full marketing ca mpaign in 1992 nationally including media campaign featuring train Halen music, Right Now. This gave boost to sales in the market for a short period of time but went down again due to its competition with its rival Coca Cola. The Advertisement also appeared in on network TV during Super Bowl XXVII on January 31st, 1993. PepsiCo has always been famous for its promotion and the time and money company spend on its every product line. PepsiCo was doing all it could to sustain the product in the market by using different electronic media resources available at that time. Promoting Crystal Pepsi through advertisements on buses and on merchandizes like pool float, glass and wall clock were few of its marketing strategies to emend the sales. Like many other companies, Pepsi also arranged promotions with major retailers like Walmart but it didnt ended well. The other promoting methods that used were radio commercials and major newspapers including unbroken army Today. The major factor th at Pepsi was unable to recognize at the time of promotion was the differentiation. It stressed on the importance of product attributes like fewer sweeteners, less calories, flavored drink etc. when the time was to segregate itself from regular carbonate drink to more of an energy drink. Changing names, color of the packaging and commercial medium wasted time and money of the company that ultimately result in the failure of the product8. PriceThe pricing strategy is crucial in any decision making process. often times products that are new in market are either priced too high or too subaltern. For any company that has vast pay back in customer relationship and dealing, pricing strategy is of greatest importance. The price of its product should reflect the quality of the product as well as the reply of consumers. Ifthe price is set too low then the customers would reject the product and vice versa. In any case the strategy for Crystal Pepsi was the same to penetrate. determine Str ategyAccording to various sources, Crystal Pepsi was sold at regular cola prices which means no major efforts were put forth to enforce the marketing of the product at higher prices. Crystal Pepsi at first gained a lot of attention from the other soda drinkers and they lined up to try this new refreshed cola that promotes healthy drink and fewer sweetener. The sales were skyrocketed and company made more than expected profits. However, the customers found no difference between faery and 7up and eventually gave up on Crystal Pepsi. The price never went down but instead changes were made on its appearance to gain attention through attraction9. Consumers ReactionThe pricing was not the issue in the case of the cola. Crystal Pepsi was selling good at the asking price varying from 89 cents to a dollar in 90s. When the cola was disappeared from the market it was due to its taste and by the end of its time period, the cola lost major part of its target market. Today, Crystal Pepsi is sti ll available on websites such as eBay and Amazon where the ask prices vary from $50 to $10010. Lately, few videos were made by students at several universities on YouTube asking Pepsi to bring back Crystal Pepsi again. The future of Crystal Pepsi, however, is still unknown. Pepsi has tried many times to bring back Crystal Pepsi in National and International markets but was unable to fully penetrate because of severe competition posed by its either competitors or the companies that already have significant market share. PlaceThe placing of the product plays a vital role in increasing sales revenue and gaining the maximum profit from the market. But like promotion, placing depending on emphasis. Crystal Pepsi has emphasized and stressed on promoting its formula and stretched to convince spate that how different this cola is and what health benefits would they get after drinking it11. The mistake that was do by PepsiCo was in differentiation and positioning of its product. The produc t was different than regular Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola but had the same appearance and taste as of 7up and Sprite. Thatis why it became hard for Crystal Pepsi to differentiate itself in the market and form a new image in its consumers minds. DistributionCrystal Pepsi was first taste tested by participants from different target markets and then was released to test market in April 1992. The launch was limited to test the reaction of its target consumers. The test markets were conducted in Denver, Dallas, and Providence, Rhode Island for nine months unbowed bringing all the possible changes to the formula according to the preferences of the consumers. It was then launched nationally during December 1992. Crystal Pepsi was among the favorite drinks of its consumers at that time and gained a good market share in matter of weeks. People tried it partially due to curiosity just to see whats new in there12. It was available at all the major retailers like Walmart and did very well in sales . After its launch in the United States it was launched in Canada, Europe and Australia for limited time. The time get across for Europe was the highest among all the markets but ultimately pulled off the shelves due to poor sales13. The Canadian and Australian Markets responded the same as United States but since Crystal Pepsi held different grounds in terms of taste and appearance, it lasted longer than United States. Pepsi later introduced Pepsi Max in Australia replacing Crystal Pepsi during the summer of 1993. MexicoA newer version of Crystal Pepsi under the name of Pepsi Clear was introduced in 2005 in Mexico. However, it was available for a limited time and in quantity in the market. It was another attempt to animate the product in an international market where diet colas are among the most favorite drinks. The product was not a failure but discontinued after the limited time14. Target Market atomic number 53 of the sensitive and time consuming decisions for any company to make is to get proper knowledge of its target market. legion(predicate) companies have failed to properly evaluate the preference and taste of its target markets and vanished completely or at least their product lines were disappeared from the market. Crystal Pepsi focused on two types of consumers1. Health conscious individuals2. People who prefer white soft drinks over colasHealth Conscious IndividualsThe first target market was quite easy to capture because at the time of its launch people in most of the developed countries were getting health conscious. They made exercise their part of life. It was the start of an era where people begun to think of their fitness and gave workout and fitness priority15. PepsiCo targeted those individuals and presented them an innovative drink with fewer sweeteners and lower calories to help them in achieving their fitness goals. By removing the brown color from the regular cola, Crystal Pepsi easily made an impression of pure drink by presenting an image of good health, purity and icy cold-water to its drinkers. Soft-drinkersThe other category was hard to acquire as many colorless soft-drinkers were already committed to their existed products and were brand loyal. However, the marketing strategy done by PepsiCo paid off during its launch and people tried the new product for the change. However, this market wasnt captured at all and people went back to their original drinks completely ignoring Crystal Pepsi16. PepsiCo put all of their focus and attentions toward this company by changing formulas, packaging and differentiation, putting their health conscious group at stake. They lost both markets in matter of months17. CompetitorsPepsiCo has always been and still is in direct competition with Coca-Cola, another food and beverage giant. The competition is so severe that they spend millions of dollars to protect their secrets from one another just like many major companies in Silicon Valley. Although the rivalry between Peps i and Coca-Cola is always severe, the other rivals were tough too. First Movers AdvantageCrystal Pepsi was one of its kind products that was first introduced to a limited target market, made a huge impact in its test market, launched with a refined formula, failed and disappeared in 15 weeks. It is one of the most evaluate products by PepsiCo still demanded by many consumers to date. Crystal Pepsi has enjoyed its top spot for few months and has gained the first mover advantage. They spell bound the market with its fewer sweeteners, low calories and new formula with amazing prices in the market. Consumers liked the taste initially as it was a 90s reason to drink cola without color, caffeine or preservatives1819. CompetitionCrystal Pepsi was introduced to directly compete with already existed products in the market such as Clearly Canadian. This and similar products were already held the major market share and stayed strong in its demand vs supply. They addressed the need and want of its consumers more strongly as compared to its competitors. Crystal Pepsi when came in targeted its competition in a unique way. Although the cola was colorless, it was a direct threat to Clearly Canadian and Quibell. Clearly Canadian and Quibell both offered non-carbonate drinks that were the market segment of soft-drinkers. Their products still exists in the market in many flavors. Coca-Cola, on the other hand, tried to come up with same product but with different strategy and named it as Tab Clear which also failed in market miserably. Although Coca-Cola also pushed its product like Pepsi, the results were the same for both the companies. Reason for failureAs mentioned earlier in the discussion, the major contributor for failure of product was lack of differentiation. PepsiCo stressed over its new formula but failed to meet the expectation of consumers. It was hard for customers to tell the difference between Crystal Pepsi and 7up or Sprite. Crystal Pepsi failed to target its ma rket accurately. The cola was launched for health conscious individual and soft-drinkers20 but lost its way to form a brand image in the minds of consumers. One other factor for failure was poor name execution. Crystal Pepsi was named crystal to give it an image of pure drink that was more attracted to older generation as compared to the younger ones. The younger generation was still drinking regular colas that had the same cost as of Crystal Pepsi. Evaluation/CritiqueThe product was made with an invention to target the consumers that are health conscious and working their way out towards healthy lifestyle. Thelack in differentiation and positioning of product made things worse for Crystal Pepsi that was in competition since its launch. Emphasizing on new formulas over and over again, cost the company enormous sum of money and time. Overall, the product was never seen as a failure, rather, an opportunity to study the market accurately for future products.References1. Miller, Cynde e. (1993, February). Ebsco troops Database. Trendy marketers want consumers to see right through their products. http//gsuproxy.govst.edu3963/ehost/detail?vid=3&sid=95159dfc-8f54-472c-98c0-0c533cb0e06b%40sessionmgr115&hid=117&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3ddb=buh&AN=17599561 2. Lavinsky, David. (1993, March). Ebsco Host Database. When Novelty wears off, soft drinks clearly will fail. http//gsuproxy.govst.edu3963/ehost/detail?vid=10&sid=95159dfc-8f54-472c-98c0-0c533cb0e06b%40sessionmgr115&hid=117&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3ddb=buh&AN=17598728 3. Triplett Tim. (1994, May). Ebsco Host Database. Consumers show little taste for clear beverages. http//gsuproxy.govst.edu3963/ehost/detail?vid=13&sid=95159dfc-8f54-472c-98c0-0c533cb0e06b%40sessionmgr115&hid=117&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3ddb=bsh&AN=9410311353 4. Laura Zinn. Pepsis future becomes clearer. Bloomberg Business week. January 31st, 1993 http//www.businessweek.com/stories/1993-01-31/pepsis-future-becomes-clearer 5. Eben Shapiro. Its a miasmal attempt to revive Pepsis Cola sales. The New York Times. April 13th, 1992. http//www.nytimes.com/1992/04/13/business/it-s-a-transparent-attempt-to-revive-pepsi-s-cola-sales.html?action=click&module=Searchion=searchResults&mabReward=relbias%3Ar&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry51%23%2Fcrystal%2Bpepsi%2F 6. pillar review. New Pepsi drinks offer clear choice. Dayton Daily News. December 13th, 1992. http//nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=0F5052CF4CD4FA55&p_docnum=7 7. Del Jones, USA Today. Even good CEOs pick the wrong bearing. ABC News. November 7th, 2007. http//abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=3830073 8. Jeff Hirsch and Tom

My favorite painting Essay

The experience of epiphany is an important part of character development for the protagonists in A Good Man is Hard to realise (1953) and the Good Country People (1955) short stories. Both stories take place in the South and involved around the good country people, and their righteousness, mistrust, salvation, and battle amid good and evil. On the end of both stories the primary(prenominal) characters experience a sudden flash of recognition a deep epiphany, after being challenged by the darker side of human nature. The main character of A Good Man is Hard to Find stories is the grandmother who is a good Christian, just now a egoistic woman. The story is based on a family car trip on which they meet an escaped criminal and his gang while trying to fulfill the grandmothers propensity by trying to find the way to a house from her childhood. This results in the familys death at the end of the story. If the grandmother had not insisted they detour to see the senile house, which, she realized later that was in Tennessee, not in the part of Georgia where they were, the family would have avoided the disaster.The grandmother naively hopes that her insistence that the criminal is a, good man who moldiness come from nice people will somehow change the fact that he is a murderer. The writer demonstrates her strong belief in the salvation of religion during her final pleas for her life to the criminal. OConnor says, His voice seemed about to crack and the grandmothers head cleared for an instant. She saw the mans face twisted close to her own as if he were button to cry and she murmured, Why youre one of my babies. Youre one of my own children(260). The grandmother reaches her epiphany when she realizes that finally she is putting someone before herself , and she become not only saved but also the savior by showing the Misfit that he can also be loved, accepted, and redeemed when his time comes.In Good Country People the main character Hulga is an educated and cri ppled middle aged woman who lives with her mom. She sees people either as good country people who are invisible, simple-minded liars, or smart, intellectual analogous herself who believe in science, philosophy, and not in religion. When Hulga meets Manley Pointer the Bible salesman she believes that he is one of the good country people who not like her at all. During they date in the hayloft when Manley takes her fake leg and refuses to give it back to her she experiences her epiphany. She says, Give me my leg Youre a Christian Youre a fine Christian Youre just like them all say one thing and do another (273).

Business Buying Behavior

none debaseer Behavior In last Lesson we discussed the Consumer buy behavior. Today We ordain discuss channel vendee behaviour, types of acquire situations, participants in the melodic line acquire adjoin, and study influences on business purchasers so our todays topic isBUSINESS MARKETS AND BUYING BEHAVIORThebusiness market involves firms that buy goods and dish outs in direct to produce merchandises and services to sell to new(prenominal)s. It excessively allows retailing and wholesaling firms that buy goods in order toects resell them at a profit.Be start out asp of business-to-business marketing apply toinstitutionalmarketsand regimen markets, we group these together. The business vendor needs to k straightaway the following Who argon the major participants? In what lasts do they set influence? What is their relative degree of influence? What military rating criteria does distributively end participant use? The business marketer also needs to understan d the major environmental, interpersonal, and individual influences on the acquire litigate. A. What is a Business Market?The business market comprises all the organizations that buy goods and services for use in the production of different products and services that argon sold, rented, or supplied to some others. It also includes retailing and wholesaling firms that acquire goods for the purpose of reselling or renting them to others at a profit. In the business get process business buyers determine which products and services their organizations need to purchase, and then find, evaluate, and choose among alternative suppliers and brands. Companies that sell to other business organizations must do their best to understand business markets and business buyer behavior.B. Characteristics of Business MarketsIn some ways, business markets ar similar to consumer markets. Both involve people who assume buying roles and make purchase closings to take on needs. However, business ma rkets differ in some ways from consumer markets. The main differences, ar in the market structure and affect, the nature of the buying unit, and the types of decisions and the decision process involved. Business markets also exhaust their own characteristics. In some ways, they argon similar to consumer markets, moreover in other ways they are very different. The main differences include1.Market structure and carry. Business markets typically deal with far fewer but far larger buyers. They are more geographically concentrated. Business markets have derived demand(business demand that ultimately comes from or derives from the demand for consumer goods). umteen business markets haveinelastic demand that is, total demand for m some(prenominal) business products is not affected much by harm changes, especially in the short run. A drop in the price of leather will not piss shoe manufacturers to buy much more leather unless it results in lower shoe prices that, in turn, will in crease consumer demand for shoes.Finally, business markets have morefluctuating demand. The demand for many business goods and services tends to change moreand more quicklythan the demand for consumer goods and services does. A small percentage increase in consumer demand end cause large increases in business demand. Sometimes a rise of only 10 percent in consumer demand can cause as much as a 200 percent rise in business demand during the next period. 2. Nature of the Buying UnitCompared with consumer purchases, a business purchase normally involves more decision participants and a more professional buying effort.Often, business buying is done by trained purchasing agents who spend their working lives learning how to make better buying decisions. Buying committees made up of technical experts and top management are common in the buying of major goods. Companies are putting their best and brightest people on procurement patrol. Therefore, business marketers must have thoroughly-tr ained salespeople to deal with well-trained buyers. 3. Types of Decisions and the Decision ProcessBusiness buyers commonly baptisterymore complexbuying decisions than do consumer buyers.Purchases a great deal involve large sums of money, complex technical and economic considerations, and interactions among many people at many levels of the buyers organization. Because the purchases are more complex, business buyers may take longer to make their decisions. The business buying process tends to bemore nominalizedthan the consumer buying process. Large business purchases ordinarily call for detailed product specifications, written purchase orders, careful supplier searches, and formal approval. The buying firm might even prepare insurance policy manuals that detail the purchase process.Finally, in the business buying process, buyer and seller are often muchmore dependenton each other. Consumer marketers are often at a distance from their nodes. In contrast, business marketers may roll up their sleeves and work closely with their customers during all stages of the buying processfrom helper customers define problems, to finding solutions, to supporting after-sale operation. They often customize their offerings to individual customer needs. In the short run, sales go to suppliers who pair buyers immediate product and service needs. C.Business Buyer BehaviorThe model in Figure suggests four questions about business buyer behavior What buying decisions do business buyers make? Who participates in the buying process? What are the major influences on buyers? How do business buyers make their buying decisions? a. A Model of Business Buyer BehaviorAt the most staple fibre level, marketers want to endure how business buyers will respond to various marketing stimuli. Figure presentations a model of business buyer behavior. In this model, marketing and other stimuli affect the buying organization and produce certain buyer responses.As with consumer buying, the ma rketing stimuli for business buying consist of the four Ps product, price, place, and promotion. Other stimuli include major forces in the environment economic, technological, political, cultural, and free-enterprise(a). These stimuli enter the organization and are turned into buyer responses product or service choice supplier choice order quantities and delivery, service, and payment terms. In order to design good marketing mix strategies, the marketer must understand what happens within the organization to turn stimuli into purchase responses. in spite of appearance the organization, buying activity consists of two major parts the buying totality, made up of all the people involved in the buying decision, and the buying decision process. The model shows that the buying center and the buying decision process are influenced by internal organizational, interpersonal, and individual factors as well as by remote environmental factors. b. Major Types of Buying SituationsThere are thr ee major types of buying situations. At one extreme is thestraight rebuy,which is a fairly routine decision.At the other extreme is thenew task,which may call for thorough research. In the middle is the circumscribed rebuy,which requires some research. In astraight rebuythe buyer reorders something without any modifications. It is usually handled on a routine basis by the purchasing department. Based on past buying satisfaction, the buyer simply chooses from the various suppliers on its come. In suppliers try to maintain product and service quality. In amodified rebuy, the buyer wants to modify product specifications, prices, terms, or suppliers.The modified rebuy usually involves more decision participants than the straight rebuy. The in suppliers may become nervous and feel pressured to put their best foot forward to protect an account. Out suppliers may see the modified rebuy situation as an opportunity to make a better offer and gain new business. A company buying a product or service for the first time faces anew-tasksituation. In such cases, the greater the live or risk, the larger the number of decision participants and the greater their efforts to collect discipline will be.The new-task situation is the marketers greatest opportunity and challenge. The marketer not only tries to reach as many key buying influences as possible but also provides help and information. The buyer makes the fewest decisions in the straight rebuy and the most in the new-task decision. In the new-task situation, the buyer must decide on product specifications, suppliers, price limits, payment terms, order quantities, delivery times, and service terms. The order of these decisions varies with each situation, and different decision participants influence each choice. c.Participants in the Business Buying ProcessThe decision-making unit of a buying organization is called its buying center all the individuals and units that participate in the business decision-making process. The buying center includes all members of the organization who play any of louvre roles in the purchase decision process. Usersare members of the organization who will use the product or service. In many cases, users initiate the buying proposal and help define product specifications. Influencersoften help define specifications and also provide information for evaluating alternatives.Technical personnel are particularly important influencers. Buyershave formal authority to select the supplier and arrange terms of purchase. Buyers may help shape product specifications, but their major role is in selecting vendors and negotiating. In more complex purchases, buyers might include high-level officers participating in the negotiations. Decidershave formal or informal power to select or approve the closing suppliers. In routine buying, the buyers are often the deciders, or at least the approvers. Gatekeeperscontrol the flow of information to others.For example, purchasing agents often ha ve authority to stay salespersons from seeing users or deciders. Other gatekeepers include technical personnel and even personal secretaries. The buying center is not a fixed and formally place unit within the buying organization. It is a set of buying roles assumed by different people for different purchases. Within the organization, the size and makeup of the buying center will vary for different products and for different buying situations. Business marketers working in global markets may face even greater levels of buying center influence.The buying center concept presents a major marketing challenge. The business marketer must learn who participates in the decision, each participants relative influence, and what evaluation criteria each decision participant uses. The buying center usually includes some obvious participants who are involved formally in the buying decision. d. Major Influences on Business BuyersBusiness buyers are subject to many influences when they make their buying decisions. Some marketers assume that the major influences are economic. They think buyers will favor the supplier who offers the last price or the best product or the most service.They concentrate on offering strong economic benefits to buyers. However, business buyers actually respond to both(prenominal) economic and personal factors. Far from being cold, calculating, and impersonal, business buyers are human and social as well. They react to both reason and sensation. Today, most business-to-business marketers recognize that emotion plays an important role in business buying decisions. When suppliers offers are very similar, business buyers have little basis for strictly rational choice. Because they can meet organizational finishings with any supplier, buyers can allow personal factors to play a larger role in their decisions.However, when competing products differ greatly, business buyers are more accountable for their choice and tend to pay more attention to economi c factors. Figure lists various groups of influences on business buyers environmental, organizational, interpersonal, and individual. Major Influences on Business BuyersEnvironmental FactorsBusiness buyers are influenced heavily by factors in the current and expectedeconomic environment,such as the level of primary demand, the economic outlook, and the cost of money. As economic uncertainness rises, business buyers cut back on new investments and attempt to reduce their inventories.An increasingly important environmental factor is shortages in key materials. Many companies now are more willing to buy and hold larger inventories of scarce materials to ensure adequate supply. Business buyers also are affected by technological, political, and hawkish developments in the environment. Culture and customs can strongly influence business buyer reactions to the marketers behavior and strategies, especially in the international marketing environment. The business marketer must decide thes e factors, determine how they will affect the buyer, and try to turn these challenges into opportunities. Organizational FactorsEach buying organization has its own objectives, policies, procedures, structure, and systems. The business marketer must know theseorganizational factorsas thoroughly as possible. Questions such as these arise How many people are involved in the buying decision? Who are they? What are theirevaluative criteria? What are the companys policies and limits on its buyers? Interpersonal FactorsThe buying center usually includes many participants who influence each other. The business marketer often finds it tricky to determine what kinds ofinterpersonal factorsand group dynamics enter into the buying process.Participants may have influence in the buying decision because they control rewards and punishments, are well liked, have special expertise, or have a special relationship with other important participants. Interpersonal factors are often very subtle. Whenev er possible, business marketers must try to understand these factors and design strategies that take them into account. Individual FactorsEach participant in the business buying decision process brings in personal motives, perceptions, and preferences.These individual factors are affected by personal characteristics such as age, income, education, professional identification, personality, and attitudes toward risk. Also, buyers have different buying styles. Some may be technical types who make in-depth analyses of competitive proposals before choosing a supplier. Other buyers may be intuitive negotiators who are adept at pitting the sellers against one another for the best deal. D. The Business Buying ProcessThere are eight stages of the business buying process. Buyers who face a new-task buying situation usually go through all stages of the buying process.Buyers making modified or straight rebuys may skip some of the stages. We will examine these go for the typical new-task buying situation. a. Problem RecognitionThe buying process begins when someone in the company recognizes a problem or need that can be met by acquiring a specific product or service. Problem experience can result from internal or external stimuli. Internally, the company may decide to launch a new product that requires new production equipment and materials. Or a machine may break down and need new parts.Perhaps a purchasing manager is unhappy with a current suppliers product quality, service, or prices. Externally, the buyer may get some new ideas at a work show, see an ad, or receive a call from a salesperson who offers a better product or a lower price. In fact, in their advertising, business marketers often alert customers to potential problems and then show how their products provide solutions. b. General Need DescriptionHaving recognized a need, the buyer next prepares a general need description that describes the characteristics and quantity of the needed item.For standard items, this process presents few problems. For complex items, however, the buyer may have to work with othersengineers, users, consultantsto define the item. The team may want to rank the importance of reliability, durability, price, and other attributes desired in the item. In this phase, the alert business marketer can help the buyers define their needs and provide information about the value of different product characteristics. c. product SpecificationThe buying organization next develops the items technical product specifications, often with the help of a value analysis engineering team.Value analysis is an approach to cost reduction in which components are studied carefully to determine if they can be redesigned, standardized, or made by less costly methods of production. The team decides on the best product characteristics and specifies them accordingly. Sellers, too, can use value analysis as a tool to help secure a new account. By display buyers a better way to make an object, outside sellers can turn straight rebuy situations into new-task situations that give them a chance to obtain new business. d. Supplier SearchThe buyer now conducts a supplier search to find the best vendors.The buyer can compile a small list of qualified suppliers by reviewing trade directories, doing a computer search, or phoning other companies for recommendations. Today, more and more companies are turning to the Internet to find suppliers. For marketers, this has leveled the playing fieldsmaller suppliers have the like advantages as larger ones and can be listed in the same online catalogs for a nominal fee The newer the buying task, and the more complex and costly the item, the greater the beat of time the buyer will spend searching for suppliers.The suppliers task is to get listed in major directories and build a good reputation in the marketplace. Salespeople should watch for companies in the process of searching for suppliers and make certain that their firm is considered . e. Proposal SolicitationIn the proposal solicitation stage of the business buying process, the buyer invites qualified suppliers to pack proposals. In response, some suppliers will send only a catalog or a salesperson. However, when the item is complex or expensive, the buyer will usually require detailed written proposals or formal presentations from each potential supplier.Business marketers must be skilled in researching, writing, and presenting proposals in response to buyer proposal solicitations. Proposals should be marketing documents, not just technical documents. Presentations should inspire confidence and should make the marketers company stand out from the competition. f. Supplier SelectionThe members of the buying center now review the proposals and select a supplier or suppliers. During supplier selection, the buying center often will draw up a list of the desired supplier attributes and their relative importance.In one survey, purchasing executives listed the follow ing attributes as most important in influencing the relationship between supplier and customer quality products and services, on-time delivery, ethical corporate behavior, honest communication, and competitive prices. Other important factors include repair and servicing capabilities, technical aid and advice, geographic location, performance history, and reputation. The members of the buying center will rate suppliers against these attributes and identify the best suppliers.As part of the buyer selection process, buying centers must decide how many suppliers to use. In the past, many companies preferred a large supplier base to ensure adequate supplies and to obtain price concessions. These companies would insist on annual negotiations for contract renewal and would often shift the amount of business they gave to each supplier from year to year. Increasingly, however, companies are reducing the number of suppliers. There is even a trend toward iodin sourcing, employ one supplier. With single sourcing there is only one supplier to handle and it is easier to control newsprint inventories.Using one source not only can translate into more consistent product performance, but it also allows press rooms to configure themselves for one particular kind of newsprint rather than changing presses for papers with different attributes. Many companies, however, are still reluctant to use single sourcing. They fear that they may become too dependent on the single supplier or that the single-source supplier may become too comfortable in the relationship and lose its competitive edge. Some marketers have developed programs that citation these concerns. g.Order-Routine SpecificationThe buyer now prepares an order-routine specification. It includes the final order with the chosen supplier or suppliers and lists items such as technical specifications, quantity needed, expected time of delivery, return policies, and warranties. In the case of maintenance, repair, and operating items. h. Performance ReviewIn this stage, the buyer reviews supplier performance. The buyer may contact users and ask them to rate their satisfaction. The performance review may lead the buyer to continue, modify, or drop the arrangement.The sellers job is to monitor the same factors used by the buyer to make sure that the seller is giving the expected satisfaction. We have set forth the stages that typically would occur in a new-task buying situation. The eightstage model provides a simple view of the business buying decision process. The actual process is usually much more complex. In the modified rebuy or straight rebuy situation, some of these stages would be compressed or bypassed. Each organization buys in its own way, and each buying situation has unique requirements.Different buying center participants may be involved at different stages of the process. Although certain buying process steps usually do occur, buyers do not always follow them in the same order, and they may add other steps. Often, buyers will repeat certain stages of the process. E. institutional and Government MarketsSo far, our discussion of organizational buying has focused largely on the buying behavior of business buyers. Much of this discussion also applies to the buying practices of institutional and government organizations.However, these two nonbusiness markets have additional characteristics and needs. In this final section, we address the special features of institutional and government markets. a. Institutional MarketsThe institutional market consists of schools, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other institutions that provide goods and services to people in their care. Institutions differ from one another in their sponsors and in their objectives. Many institutional markets are characterized by low budgets and confined patrons. For example, hospital patients have little choice but to eat whatever sustenance the hospital supplies.A hospital-purchasing agent has to d ecide on the quality of food to buy for patients. Because the food is provided as a part of a total service package, the buying objective is not profit. Nor is strict cost minimization the goalpatients receiving poorquality food will complain to others and damage the hospitals reputation. Thus, the hospitalpurchasing agent must search for institutional-food vendors whose quality meets or exceeds a certain minimum standard and whose prices are low. Many marketers set up separate divisions to meet the special characteristics and needs of institutional buyers. . Government MarketsThe government market offers large opportunities for many companies, both big and small. In most countries, government organizations are major buyers of goods and services. Government buying and business buying are similar in many ways. But there are also differences that must be understood by companies that wish to sell products and services to governments. To succeed in the government market, sellers must lo cate key decision makers, identify the factors that affect buyer behavior, and understand the buying decision process.Government organizations typically require suppliers to submit bids, and normally they award the contract to the lowest bidder. In some cases, the government unit will make allowance for the suppliers superior quality or reputation for completing contracts on time. Many companies that sell to the government have not been marketing oriented for a number of reasons. Total government spending is determined by elected officials rather than by any marketing effort to develop this market. Government buying has emphasized price, making suppliers invest their effort in technology to bring costs down.When the products characteristics are qualify carefully, product differentiation is not a marketing factor. Nor do advertising or personal selling matter much in winning bids on an open-bid basis. Key TermsBusiness MarketsThebusiness marketincludes firms that buy goods and servi ces in order to produce products and services to sell to others. Straight Re-buythe buyer reorders something without any modifications. Modified Re-buythe buyer wants to modify product specifications, prices, terms, or suppliers. New Task BuyingA company buying a product or service.Usersare members of the organization who will use the product or service. In many cases, users initiate the buying proposal and help define product specifications. InfluencersOften help define specifications and also provide information for evaluating alternatives. Technical personnel are particularly important influencers. Buyershave formal authority to select the supplier and arrange terms of purchase. Decidershave formal or informal power to select or approve the final suppliers. Gatekeeperscontrol the flow of information to others.

Enabling Learning and Assessment Essay

1. The purposes of judgementAssessment is the process of evaluating an individuals science. It involves generating and collecting recount of a scholarly persons attainment of intimacy and skills and judging that evidence against defined standards.Tummons suggested thatWith assessment we stop* Find kayoed if nurture has taken place* Diagnose learners unavoidably* Provide public acknowledgment and certification of learning* Allow processes of selection to be carried out* Provide way to evaluate learning programmes* Motivate and push learners.Tummons (20095)Written justification of assessment methodsI overhear chosen to do Holding and aiming in the prone position, I would do this by getting the SUT in the tramline formation. This is where they exit number off in pairs, so tout ensemble the No.1s on one side of the room whilst all the No.2s are on the other side of the room. I allowing get the No.1s to conduct the praxis when I ordinate the joint of command. The No.1s will be ensuring they adopt the prone position correctly, going by means of the 9 key point tot up list and taking aim on the target. Whilst this is happening the No.2s will be observing throughout flavor for both mistakes. Once the No.1s have completed the drill I will go d receive the line ask the No.2s if they observed any mistakes. By doing this I am getting the SUT to give out peer assessment on the progress of his/hers drill on the utensil system as this can develop and motivate student.The student will also have their own self assessment this is where the students are assessing their own progressthroughout the lesson. These methods encourage the SUT to addle decisions about what has been learnt so far, and to reflect on aspects for further development. Once the No.1s have completed the drill, the same process will happen with the No.2s and the No.1s looking and observing for any mistakes. Whilst all this is going on I will be looking for any mistakes as I tote up ov er from one end of the tramline formation, this is called tutor assessment and can back up give feedback to the student to guide them on their strength and areas of development. This is also known as formative assessment so it can provide for me a continuous source of information about the students progress, improvement and problems encountered in the learning process, so I together we can develop their confidence and competence on the weapon system.2. Practical assessmenta) AimThe aim of a practical assessment in a classroom environment is to ensure that when handling a weapon system that the necessary measures and safety precaution is carried out correctly and sufficiently. It is my aim to lay down sure that the SUT carry out the drills correctly, if however populate are struggling to adapt to the new drills then(prenominal) its up to me the instructor to change my burn up to the individual learning style.b) Reason for selecting practical learning assessmentWe use practical assessment in the army especially when inculcateing a event subject like Skill at Arms to help us as a instructor to confirm that the SUT have under(a)stood the correct handling of the weapon. Its not only a confirmation for the teacher but a confirmation for the individual that he/she has took on board the new skill and knowledge they have been taught in the lesson. During the lesson, when I have licenced a new drill, the SUT are required to imitate the drill whilst I explain and demonstrate it, taking it step by step. Once I am happy that the SUT have grasped the new drill, a confirmation is done to ensure that the SUT understands the newweapon drill.This will be done when I give the word of command and the SUT carrying out the drill without any help or guidance as I watch and observes for any mistakes that the SUT may do. In order for the SUT to use blank or live ammunition on exercise or on the ranges, they are required to pass a Weapon Handling Test (WHT) which is a critic al practical assessment as it is part of their summative test and bring to be done twice a year. I will give a number of instructions which the SUT must complete correctly and confidently in order to pass. There is no time limit and they are allowed one mistake on each stage of the test.This assessment is to show that he/she has the knowledge and skill to handle the weapon with blank or live ammunition with confidence. For assessment of practical activities, the potential barriers should be considered and reasonable adjustments developed that meet the needs of the individual learner. Many of the adjustments for a practical assessment are comparable to those of a written assessment. We must however be aware of the learners/individual learning styles as this will vary across each lesson we teach. If we look at Fleming understanding of learning styles which he used the terminology of VARK, he stated that people can be grouped into four styles of learning* Visual Seeing.* Aural Lis tening and talking.* Read/Write Reading and writing.* Kinaesthetic Doing.(Gravells 201240)The SUT will come under one or more of these learning styles and as I have seen it in the past whilst teaching, I have to adapt as a teacher to accommodate to their preferred learning style which means I have to externalize and break down my lesson to ensure all SUT get the full make of what is being taught to them.Sue Crowley of the IFL statedOften new teachers teach as they were taught, then perhaps as they would liketo have been taught, and finally they realise contrary ways and a wider spectrum of teaching and learning approaches are needed and available. (Gravells 201240)A statement in which I agree upon as my thought process was similar but when teaching SUT its taught me to adapt my teaching skills to benefit the individuals so they can get the lift out outcome during the lesson.c) Conduct of the practical assessmentThe SUT will be assessed throughout the lesson and this can be don e in many ways as it is classroom based, this will be an in dinner dress assessment. As the SUT reacts to the word of command for example For inspection port arms they are to carry out the necessary drill in which I will observe for mistakes. manifestation is a good way to assess the skills, knowledge and attitudes of the SUT. When observing, it enables me to see how rise the SUT are doing, letting them make mistakes as long as it is safe, especially when traffic with a weapon so they can learn from their own mistakes. Once the drill is complete I can ask each individual if they make any mistakes and give them self assessment, otherwise I can give negative or positive feedback to the SUT. Observation is good within our training proof as it assess the SUT competence, skills and attitudes when dealing with a weapon and the observation can follow on with a question to check the knowledge and understanding.SUT training can be assessed in two other ways and they are called peer asses sment and self assessment. For the instructor to see this happen, the students will pair up and name as a team. Whilst one SUT does the drill on the weapon whilst the other partner watches for mistakes, this is called peer assessment, but at the same time SUT who is carrying out the drill can self assess as he/she goes along. If the student was to carry out the Load, Ready, Unload drill, their partner can look in for any mistakes and as the instructor asks the observer from each team if there were any mistakes, this can be useful to develop and motivate the SUT. Peer assessments can be affectional as SUT feedback is given skilfully, but other students may think more about what their peers have said than about what the instructor have said.3. Question assessmenta) AimThe aim of a question assessment is for the instructor to see if the SUT can demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the subject being taught to them. It also helps when asking a question to the SUT that they have t o think about their answer. b) Conduct of a Question assessmentDuring each lesson throughout the army, as an instructor we will of all time ask the SUT questions of the particular topic that we have been learning about in front moving on to the next topic or next stage of the lesson. This is formal or informal assessment and is used to assess cognitive ability which can be used whenever the instructor wants to assess the knowledge and understanding of SUT. When self-aggrandizing a lesson on Skill at Arms, Different combat position. The instructor will always give an explanation of why we do it and when to incorporate the positions for example, on the ranges or when we are on operational tour, followed by a demonstration. As the instructor has given the explanation and demonstration, we will go through the demonstration again whilst the SUT imitate you as you take them through step by step.Whilst doing this process we normally ask the SUT questions on the next stage of the movement , pausing for a second and then state the name of the learner who can answer. This way, all SUT is thinking about the answer as soon as you have posed the question, and is ready to announce if their name is asked. This assessment not only help the instructor to confirm that the individual or group know the answer but helps their peers to understand it as well. We also do oral written assessment, as this is partof the minimum core, for example before I start the lesson I would ask the SUT to take out their note books and pens.I will ask them a number of questions in which they will write their answers in their note books which will be scrapinged before the lesson take place. If for some reason some of the SUT get a few questions wrong I will ensure that I make a plan in the evening to go through the questions or drill in which they got incorrect so that they are at the same stage as all the other SUT. Asking questions to the SUT and for them responding in giving the answers back to the instructor is self assessment and peers assessment so that the SUT know what areas they are good at and what areas they need to work on. However its good for the tutor assessment to understand how the SUT progress is going by conducting these assessments.C)Advantages DisadvantagesProblems can be solved SUT dont know the answerQuestion being answered SUT can be put on the spotUnderstanding peoples views and opinions Gives people a vocalisation 4. Reflecting on how feedback has informed your learners progress and achievementFeedback is a vital part of the learners training at the army foundation college as it informs the SUT on their progress and achievement. To make sure it is effective it is important that we develop rapport, mutual respect and trust between the instructor and the SUT. During a Skill at Arms lesson it is important to give effective feedback as this informs the SUT on how well they are doing or on what areas they might need to work on. I try to give out the bes t feedback as I can to the SUT or the individual as I know this will help reassure, boost confidence, encourage, motivate and develop their knowledge, skills. It can help the SUT to maximize their potential and professional development at different stages of training, raise their awareness of strengths and areas for improvement, and identify actions to betaken to improve their performance.5. Reflecting on how feedback from others has informed your own professional practiceOn the 1st November 2012, I conducted a lesson on pain relief (Morphine) which was observed by an assessor. I felt that the lesson was well structured, aforethought(ip) and I got the key learning points across to the SUT. Once the lesson ended I sat down with my assessor and was given feedback on my lesson. The written feedback said thisThe session had a clear and important content to communicate. This was achieved and checked by the test. A stronger introduction would set the scene and provide guidance to learne rs of what they had to do during the lesson. Focus on the test/know the purpose of the test.The conclusion could tell learners what to do with the test written reports and how this will be an aide memoire. Test was very well created, covering all key learning and checking recall, understanding and application. It could be improved with clear guidance i.e. working individually without referring to their notes. As this was assessment for learning as well as assessment of learning learners could work individually, with a partner and finally as a whole group to get the answers/self assessment and check learning. You could get feedback on results from the test by asking those who got 100% to stand up an energiser, positive motivation and a simple measure for you.This feedback has opened my eye a lot clearer as I was more channelled to delivering a simple but constructed lesson. Just by delivering a stronger introduction can make the learner motivated to learn, which I didnt realise un til someone made it aware to me. It was a good motivation and energiser to hear from the assessor that the test paper was well created which gave me that sense of pride. However when it came to handing out the test paper, giving the SUT a certain amount of time to do it in and once they had completed it they would mark their own paper as I went along with the answers. Just from what the assessor has written in the feedback it can givethe learner self assessment and check their learning, so in future I will take more time on how I construct the test and how to mark it as this will give me a feedback on the progress of the SUT.6. Reference List* http//www.open.ac.uk/inclusiveteaching/pages/inclusive-teaching/barriers-to-learning.php Date accessed 8.11.12* Tummons J (2009) Assessing learning in the lifelong learning sector. Exeter Learning Matters* Gravells A (2012) Preparing to teach in the lifelong learning sector. London Learning Matters* www.faculty.londondeanery.ac.uk

Latitude and Longitude Essay

When looking at a map, latitude lines run horizontally. Latitude lines are also known as parallels since they are parallel and are an contact distant from each other. Each degree of latitude is approximately 69 miles (111 km) apart there is a variation due to the fact that the earth is not a perfect sphere but an oblate ellipsoid (slightly egg-shaped). To remember latitude, imagine them as the horizontal rungs of a ladder (ladder-tude). Degrees latitude are numbered from 0 to 90 north and south. Zero degrees is the equator, the imaginary line which divides our planet into the northern and southern hemispheres. 90 north is the North Pole and 90 south is the southwestern Pole.LongitudeThe vertical longitude lines are also known as meridians. They converge at the poles and are widest at the equator (about 69 miles or 111 km apart). Zero degrees longitude is located at Greenwich, England (0). The degrees continue 180 east and 180 west where they meet and form the International Date Lin e in the Pacific Ocean. Greenwich, the site of the British purplish Greenwich Observatory, was established as the site of the prime meridian by an international conference in 1884.How Latitude and Longitude Work TogetherTo precisely locate points on the earths surface, degrees longitude and latitude have been divide into minutes () and seconds (). There are 60 minutes in each degree. Each minute is divided into 60 seconds. Seconds can be further divided into tenths, hundredths, or even thousandths. For example, the U.S. Capitol is located at 385323N , 770027W (38 degrees, 53 minutes, and 23 seconds north of the equator and 77 degrees, no minutes and 27 seconds west of the meridian passing through Greenwich, England).

Gradesavers Montreal

Gradesavers Tutoring Inc. is a Montreal- plinthd private company registered in 2004 that helps students in many elevated Schools and CEGEP academically. At the beginning, in 2003 it was a sole proprietorship, from a group of Finance student, led by Rohit Soni and several professors in Mc Gill University, creating a tutorial service that help other students. It incorporated in January 2005. Currently the company not only has expanded its university services in Canada and the United States, preparing graduates for the CFA, CSC, GMAT, GRE and SAT examinations, but ready to expand to French Language market in Montreal as well.Missions Gradesavers Tutoring Inc. covers academic argonas of Business/Management, Mathematics, Statistics, Economics and Engineering. Their service get out help students get discharge of stress about exams, assignments, papers and quizzes. They have the patient and experienced tutors that female genitals prep atomic number 18 average students for whatever coun ts towards the grades. They prepare their stay up-to-date data base to ensure that student can solve the problems as well as exams easily.Offers. Gradesavers key sessions in Both English and French are Private tutorials, exercising problem sessions, Weekly topic, and the most famous Crash courses and Mock exams. Private tutorials are customized for students needing personalized attention and who need assistance with specific topics. Tutorials are normally held in a group of 2 or 3 students. Practice problem sessions are designed to help students to practice to do the problems that can be in the exams or if they are struggling with assignments. Weekly topics are designed to follow the students course outlines and cover one topic per week. Weekly topics are normally held in groups of up to 15. Finally, The best well-known service of Gradesavers is Crash Tutorials and Mock exams which are designed for students to prepare prior the midterms and finals to make sure that students will no t fail the exam. Tutorials and Mock exams prepare for students what materials they should, and what should appear on your real exams. Online RegisterationThe membership is free, there three steps that helps students easier to get benefits from Gradsaver. Step 1 reach a Member which allows students receives upto-date information for Company. Step 2 Attend our Tutorials which allows students choose Tutorial sessions that matches their requirements. Step 3 Make the Grade which helps students improve their results formation structure Gradesavers Inc. is managed by two co-owners Rohit Soni and Chetan Soni who have knowledge in the tutoring business. Others tutors in the company are required to be Grade A Tutors.

Assignment 2 Building a Foundation for the Persuasive Speech Essay

I impart give personal connection to the worldwide melt subject through giving personal experience and facts about its effects by citing slightly of the common effects I have experienced and those experienced by the earshot or their pen up neighbourhood. Relating the topic to the audience lead help me to develop a common ground and prove my credibility on the topic (Gregory, 2012). In addition, I result reveal my credentials such as trainings and seminars certificates on global warming and other relevant supportive schooling that I have attained in the course of my studies. I exit in addition mention the sources of my speech that are from the field of global warming. This information willing build audience trust and there will be high probability that they will listen to my speech.Need for intellectual stimulationHow would you keep the audience thinking and learning about your topic? In high society to make the audience thinking and learning about global warming, it effects and the bring to engage themselves in activities that would counter their effects would include engaging the audience by asking them honest questions related to the topic. This will ensure that the audience are always alert and following the topic so that they will be able to answer the questions whenever I ask. I will also give examples in form of stories in order to keep the audience on track. I will allow my audience to have a one-minute-break to discuss their experience on global warming before delivering the final dowry of the speech. According to Gregory (2012) engaging audience to maintain their focus on the subject matter and they tend to empathise most of the speakers message.Need for creativityHow would you make the speech creative? I will make my speech to be creative through telling short funny stories in amongst the speech. I will try to give examples that paint a picture in the mind of the audience. For example, sort of of saying that the area a ffected was 100 square kilometres, I will relate it to a condition Island of the same size.Need for relevanceHow would you demonstrate that this topic is relevant to the audiences take ons and interests? I will include facts in my speech that show that global warming is a current task that governments, organizations and individuals are trying to promise and so there is need to learn about it. I will also include examples that have affected audience directly or indirectly in order for them to appreciate that they need to know about the topic. I will show the audience the need to address global warming issues in such forums so as to educate the major populations. Moreover, I will emphasise the future effects of global warming if respective stakeholders will not take debt instrument to address the issues of global warming. I will also bringing out the fact that global warming might affect the audience either directly or indirectly and so there is need to study about its effec ts and control to prevent loss and damages that may be ca customd by it. This will make the audience to learn the relevance for the issue. The ability to relate the topic to the audience, the current events and your experience helps to demonstrate relevance of a given topic (Gregory, 2012).Need for emphasisHow would you emphasize your main points so that the audience will remember those points after the speech? I will emphasise the main points by making repetitions, pause to show transition to a new and main point. I will also use key words such as job, important, worth and other words that show emphasis. I will try to raise the tone for the main points and in addition to informing the audience to note information. Moreover, I will support the main points using a number of reasons for emphasis. I will use gestures to signal a main point and try to maintain contact with the audience for sometimes. I will also write down the main points and ask the audience to note them in the ir note books. This will ensure that the audience are able to remember the main points after delivering global warming speech.ReferencesGregory, H. (2012). universal Speaking for College and Career With Speech mate CD-ROM 3.0, 10th Edition. McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions.Source document

Night World : Soulmate Chapter 7

It was equivalent universe struck by lightning. Hannah matt-up the current through with(predicate) with(p trigger-happyicate) and through her body, entirely it was her mind thatwas most affected.I k with place delay you It was as if she had been rest in a dark landscape, lost and blind, when suddenly abrilliant flash illuminated perpetuallyything, allowing her to date stamp further than shed ever seen before. She wastrembling violently, pitching forward even as he fell toward her. Electricity was trail through everynerve in her body and she was shaking and shaking, overcome by waves of the unmixedst emotion shedever snarl.Fury.You were supposed to be there She got reveal in a choked gasp. Where were you?You were supposed to be with me-for so presbyopic Youre part of me, the part Ive always vaguely missed.You were supposed to be around, helpingout, picking me up when I fell down. Watching my okay, listening to my stories. Understanding thingsthat I wouldnt want to tell other people. pleasing me when Im stupid. Giving me whatsoeverthing to take care ofand be good to, the way the Goddess meant women to do.Hannah-It was the closest thing to a mental gasp Hannah could imagine, and with it she realized that somehowthey were directly connected now. He could stress her aspects, that as she could hear his.Good she thought, non wasting time to marvel over this. Her mind was raging on.You were my flying familiar spirit My playmate You were my other half of the mysteries We weresupposed to be sacred to each other-and you havent been thereThis last thought she sent squarely toward him. And she tangle it hit him, and felt his reaction.Ive triedHe was horrified guilt-stricken. unless then, Hannah could adept that this was pretty much the usualstate for him, so it didnt affect him quite as much as it might have some atomic number 53 else. And beneath the horrorwas an astonishment and burgeoning joy that sent a incompatible kind of tingle through her .You do know me, dont you? he said quietly. He pushed her gage to determine at her, as if he still couldntbelieve it. You face upon Hannah, how much do you remember?Hannah was spirit at him, studying him. Yes, I know that bone structure. And the eye, especiallythe eyes. It was interchangeable an adopted child discovering a brother or sister and seeing familiar features in anunfamiliar face, tracing each one with wonder and recognition. I remember that we were meant for each other. That were-she came up with the word slowly-soulmates.Yes, he whispered. Awe was softening his features, changing his eyes. The desperate sadness thatseemed so much a part of them was lightening. Soulmates. We were destined for each other. We shouldhave been together down the ages.They were supporting each other now, Hannah kneeling on the porch and Thierry holding her with oneknee on a step. Their faces were inches apart. Hannah put in herself check overing his mouth.So what happened? she whisper ed.In the same tone, without moving stern, he whispered, I screwed up.Oh.Her initial fury had faded. She could thumb him, feel his emotions, sense his thoughts. He was as anguishedat their separation as she was. He cherished her. He loved her adored her. He thought of her the waypoets regain of the bootleg and the stars-in ridiculous hyperbole. He actually saw her surrounded by a sortof silvery halo.Which was totally silly, but if he wanted to think of her that way-well, Hannah wouldnt object. Itmade her want to be very gentle with him.And amend now she could feel his warm breath. If she leaned forward just an inch her top lip would touchhis bottom of the inning lip.Hannah leaned forward.Wait- he said.That was a mistake, takeing it out loud. It movedhis lips once morest hers, crook it from a touch into a kiss.And then, for a while, n each of them could resist. They needed each other so desperately, and the kisswas warm and sweet. Hannah was flooded with love and comforter and joy.This was meant to be.Hannah was dizzy but still capable of thought. I knew life history had something wonderful and mysterious to mete out me. Something I could sense but not see, something that was always just out of reach.And here it is. Im one of the lucky ones-Ive found it.Thierry wasnt as articulate. All she could hear him think was, Yes.Hannah had never been so filled with gratitude. Love spilled from her and into Thierry and back again.The much she gave, the more she got back. It was a cycle, taking them higher and higher.Like flying, Hannah thought. She wasnt dizzy anymore. She was strangely dear and calm, as if she were standing on a mountaintop. Infinite tenderness infinite belonging. It was so good it hurt.And it made her want to give more.She knew what she wanted. It was what shed tried to give him the first time, when she knew he woulddie without her. Shed wanted to give him what all women could give.Life.She was that a girl now, not ready for the responsib ilities that would come with making new life from herbody. But she could give Thierry life another way.She pulled back to expect at him, to see bruised darkeyes filled with aching tenderness. indeed she touched his mouth with her fingertips.He kissed them. Hannah ignored the kiss and poked a finger in.Shock flared in Thierrys eyes.There. That was it. The long canine in additionth, just barely sharp. Not yet the tooth of a predator, of a fox ora lynx or wolf. She ran her finger against it.The shock saturnine to something else. A glazed look. Need mixed with pure terror.Thierry whispered, Dont-Hannah, please. You dont know-Hannah tested the tip of the tooth with her thumb. Yes, it was sharper now. Longer, more delicate. Itwould look like the tooth of an arctic fox in her palm-milky-white, translucent, elegantly curved.Thierrys chest was heaving. Please tarry. I-I cant-Hannah was enthralled. I dont know why people are afraid of vampires, she thought. A tender couldtease or tortur e a vampire this way, driving him insane-if she were cruel.Or she could choose to be kind. very gently, Hannah reached with her other hand. She touched the back of Thierrys neck, bringing justthe slightest pressure to bear. But he was so gentle to her touch-it was easy to guide his mouth to herthroat.HannahShe could feel him trembling.Dont be afraid, she told him silently. And she pulled him closer.He grabbed her shoulders to push her away-and then just hung on. Clinging desperately, helplessly. caressing her neck over and over. She felt his control break and then felt the sharpness of teeth. It wasnt like pain. It was like the tenderness, a hurting that was good.And then devastating bliss.Not a physical aspect. It was emotional. They were completely together, and light poured through them.How many lives together have we missed? How many quantify have I had to say, Maybe in the next life?How did we ever manage to come apart?It was as if her question went searching through both th eir minds, soaring and diving, looking for ananswer on its own. And Thierry didnt put up any resistance. She knew that he couldnt he was as caughtup as she was in what was happening between them, as overwhelmed.There was nothing to allow her from finding the answer.This revelation didnt come all in one blinding illumination. Instead it came in smooth flashes, each aroundtoo brief to understand.Flash. Thierrys face above her. Not the gentle face she had seen by the porch. A savage face with ananimal light in the eyes. A snarling mouth and teeth red with family.No Flash. Pain. Teeth that tore her throat. The feel of her blood spilling warm over her neck. Darknesscoming.Oh, God, noFlash. A different face. A fair sex with black hair and eyes full of concern. Dont you know? Hes evil.How many times does he have to kill you before you realize that?No, no, no, noBut saying no didnt qualify anything.It was the truth. She was seeing her own memories-seeing things that had real happene d. She knewthat.Hed killed her.Hannah, no-It was a cry of anguish. Hannah wrenched herself away. She could see the shock in Thierrys eyes, shecould feel him shaking.You really did it, she whispered.Hannah-Thats why you woke me up from the hypnosis You didnt want me to remember You knew Id find out the truth Hannah was beside herself with grief and anger. If she hadnt trusted him, if everythinghadnt been so perfect, she wouldnt have felt so betrayed. As it was, it was the greatest betrayal of herlife-of all her lives.It had all been a lie-everything shed just been feeling. The togetherness, the love, the joy all false.Hannah, that wasnt the reason.Youre evil Youre a killer She told me, Hannah thought. The woman with black hair she told me thetruth. wherefore didnt I remember her? Why didnt I listen this time?She could remember other things now, other things the woman had said. Hes unbelievably cunninghell try to trick you. Hell try to consumption mind control Mind control. Influen cing her. Hed admitted that. And what shed been feeling tonight was some sort of trick. Hed managed to play on her emotions God, hed even gotten her to offer him her blood. Shed let him bite her, drinkable from her like someparasite.I hate you, she whispered.She saw how that hurt him he flinched and looked away, stricken. Then he gripped her shoulders again,his voice soft. Hannah, I wanted to explainto you. Please. You dont understand everything Yes, I do I do I remember everything And I understand what you really are. Her voice was as quietas his, but much more intense. She shruggedher shoulders and shifted backward to get away from him. She didnt want to feel his hands on her.He looked jolted. Unbelieving. You remember . .. everything? eitherthing. Hannah was proud and cold now. So you can just go away, because whatever youve gotplanned wont work. Whatever-tricks-you were going to use She shook her head. exclusively go.For just a second, a strange expression crossed Thierrys fac e. An expression so tragic and lonely thatHannahs throat closed.But she couldnt let herself soften. She couldnt give him a chance to trick her again.Just stay away from me, she said. With all the confusion and turmoil inside her, that was the only thingshe could keep drop in her mind. I never want to see you again.He had gotten control of himself. He looked shell-shocked but his eyes were steady. Ive never wantedto hurt you, he said quietly. And all I want to donow is hold dear you. But if thats what you want, Ill go away.How could he claim hed never wanted to hurt her? Didnt killing her front? That is what I want. And I dont need your protection. You have it anyway, he said. And then he moved, faster than she couldever forecast to move, almost faster than thought. In an instant, he was close to her. His fingers touched herleft cheek, light as a moths wings. And then he was taking her hand, slipping something on her finger.Wear this, he said, no louder than a breath. It has spel ls to protect you. And even without the spells,there arent many Night People wholl harm you if they see it.Hannah opened her mouth to say she wasnt afraid of any Night People except him, but he was stillspeaking. Try not to go out alone, especially at night.And then he was gone.Like that. He was off her porch and out somewhere in the darkness, not even a shadow, just gone. Ifshe hadnt had a fleeting impression of action toward the prairie, she would have thought he had theability to become invisible at a moments notice. And her heart was pounding, hurting, plectron her throat soshe couldnt breathe.Why had he touched her cheek? Most people didnt touch the nevus they treated it like a bruise thatmight still hurt. But his fingers hadnt avoided it. The caress had been gentle, almost sad, but notfrightened.And why was she still standing here, staring into the darkness as if she expected him to reappear?Go inside, idiot.Hannah turned and fumbled with the back penetration, pulling at th e knob as if shed never opened it before.She shut the door and locked it, and again she found herself as clumsy as if shed never worked a lockor seen this one in her life.She was beyond screaming or crying, in a state of shock that was almost dreamlike. The house was toobright. The dock on the kitchen wall was too loud. She had the distracted feeling that it wasnt either nightor daytime.It was like coming out of a theater and being surprised to find that its still light outside. She felt that thiscouldnt be the same house shed left an hour ago. She wasnt the same person who had left. Everythingaround her seemed like some carefully staged movie set that was supposed to be real, but wasnt, andonly she could tell the difference.I feel like a antic here, she thought, putting one hand to her neck where she could just identify two littlepuncture marks. Oh, God, how am I ever going to know whats real again?But I should be happy I should be grateful. I probably just deliver my own life o ut there. I was alone witha vicious, evil, murderous monster, andSomehow the thought died away. She couldnt be happy and she didnt want to think about how evilThierry was. She felt hollow and aching.It wasnt until she stumbled into her own bedroom that she remembered to look down at her right hand.On the fourth finger was a ring. It was made of gold and either white gold or silver. It was shaped like arose, with the stem twining around the finger and back on itself in an intricate knot. The blossom was inset with tiny stones-black transparent stones. Black diamonds? Hannah wondered.It was beautiful. The craftsmanship was exquisite. Every delicate leaf and tiny thorn was perfect. But ablack flower?Its a symbolization of the Night World, her mind told her. A symbol of people whove been made intovampires.It was the cool wind voice back again. At least she understood what it was saying this time-the last time,when it had given her advice about silver and wolves, she had been completely confused.Thierry wanted her to wear the ring he claimed it would protect her. But knowing him, it was probablyanother trick. If it had any spells on it, they were probably spells to help him control her mind.It took nearly an hour to get the ring off. Hannah used soap and butter and Vaseline, pulling and twistinguntil her finger was red, aching, and swollen. She used a dental pick from her fossil-collecting kit to try to horn in the coils of the stem apart. Nothing worked, until at last the pick slipped and blood welled up from ashallow cut. When the blood touched the ring it seemed to loosen, and Hannah quickly wrenched it off.Then she stood panting. The struggle with the little band of metal had left her washed-out and uneffective tofocus on anything else. She threw the ring in her bedroom wastebasket and stumbled toward bed.Im tired Im so tired. Ill think about everything tomorrow, try to sort out my life. But for nowplease just let me sleep.She could feel her body vibrating w ith adrenaline subsequently she lay in bed, and she was afraid that sleepwouldnt come. But tense as she was, her mind wastoo foggy to stay awake. She turned over once and let go of consciousness. Hannah century fell asleep.Hana of the Three Rivers opened her eyes. Cold and desolate, Hana stood by the rushing river and feltthe wind blow through her. So alone.That was when Arno burst out of the bushes on the riverbank.There were several hunters with him and they all had spears. They charged after the rum at fullspeed. Hana screamed a warning, but she knew he didnt have a chance.She could hear a some minutes of chaos far away in the dark. And then she saw the stranger being operateback, surrounded by Arnos hunters.Arno-dont hurt him Please Hana was speaking desperately, trying to block the mens way back.Dont you see? He could have hurt me and he didnt. He isnt a demon He cant help being the way heisArno shouldered her aside. Dont think youre going to get away without being punishe d, either. Hanafollowed them up to the cave, her venter churning with fear.By the time everyone whod been awakened by Arnos hunters understood what was happening, the skyoutside had turned gray. It was almost dawn. You said we should wait and see if the Earth Goddess would tell you something about the demon whileyou slept, Arno said to sexagenarian Mother. Has she? Old Mother glanced at Hana sorrowfully, then backat Arno. She shook her head. Then she started to speak, but Arno was already talking loudly.Then lets kill him and get it over with. Take him outside.No Hana screamed. It didnt do any good. She was caught and held back in strong hands. Thestranger gave her one look as he was driven outside in a circle of spears.That was when the real horror began.Because of something that Hana had never imagined, something she was sure even the shamans hadnever heard of.The stranger was a creature that wouldnt die.Arno was the first to jab with his spear. The whitish-gray flint spearhead went into the strangers side,drawing blood. Hana saw it she had run out of the cave, still trying to find a way to stop this.She also saw the blood stop flowing as the wound in the boys side closed.There were gasps from all around her. Arno, looking as if he couldnt believe his eyes, jabbed again.And watched, mouth falling open, as the second wound bled and then closed. He unplowed trying. Only thewounds where a spear was driven into the wooden shaft stayed open.One of the women whispered, He is a demon.Everyone was frightened. But nobody moved away from the stranger. He was too dangerous to let go.And there were lots of them, and only one of him.Hana saw something happening in the faces of her clan. Something new and horrible. Fear of theunknown was changing them, making them cruel. They were turning from basically good people, peoplewho would never torture an animal by prolonging its death, into people who would torture a man.He may be a demon, but he still bleeds, one of the hunt ers said breathlessly, after a jab. He feelspain.,Get a torch, somebody else said. See if he burnsAnd then it was terrible. Hana felt as if she were in the middle of a storm, able to see things but buffetedthis way and that, unable to do anything about it. People were running. People were getting torches,stone axes, different kinds of flint knives. The dam had turned into a huge entity feeding off its ownviolence. It was mindless and unstoppable.Hana cast a desperate look toward the cave, where Old Mother lay confined to her pallet. There wasno help from that direction.People were screaming, burning the stranger, throwing stones at him. The stranger was falling, bloody,smoke rising from his burns. He was lying on the ground, unable to fight back. But still, he didnt die. Hekept trying to crawl away. Hana was screaming herself, screaming and crying, beating at the shoulders of a hunter who pulled herback. And it went on and on. Even the young boys were brave enough now to run forward and throwstones at the stranger.And he still wouldnt die.Hana was in a nightmare. Her throat was raw from screaming. Her vision was going gray. She couldntstand to watch this anymore she couldnt stand the smell of blood and burning flesh or the sound ofblows. But there was nowhere to go. There was no way to get out. This was her life. She had to stayhere and go insane.