Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Give Life A Chance For The Good Lord s Will - 871 Words

Give Life a Chance A mother s choice to kill, is not part of the Good Lord s will. Imagine being killed because someone didn’t want you. Imagine not having any say in whether or not you wanted to have a life. Well fetuses don t have a choice. How many babies do you think have been killed that would’ve made a dramatic impact on society? The answer is thousands. Their entire future is destroyed. Without abortion many valuable lives could be saved. Norma McCovery, also known as Jane Roe, is the woman behind the Roe vs Wade case. This act was passed in 1973, and it gives women the right to have an abortion. When Norma was 25 she wished to get an abortion, but couldn’t so she took it to court. Ironically Norma never got an abortion, instead she put her child up for adoption. According to Norma’ â€Å"’Abortion , to me, means going back to the condition of not being pregnant† ( qtd. In EndRoe). Norma did not completely understand that abortion was more than just not being pregnant anymore, it was more than that. Abortion is taking an innocent life away. Fast forward 40 years and she is now a pro-life activist and is now working hard trying to demolish the bill she passed. Even the woman that were behind the movement to authorize abortion have understood how detrimental abortion can be, especially to mothers. The most obvious reason why abortion is immoral is because it is the intentional killing of a human being. Although studies haven’t totally proven whether fetusesShow MoreRelatedThe Picture Of Dorian Gray1576 Words   |  7 Pagestransformation, Oscar Wilde s novel is suggesting that the hedonistic lifestyle, a lifestyle where gaining pleasure is the main goal of a person’s life, may seem like it is an exciting and wonderful way to live, however a person will slowly be corrupted if they are not careful in the way they carry out their lifestyle. Their life must be taken into their own hands and they must choose the people to be around and what they will do with their time to stay pure and good. Throughout Wilde s novel, the protagonistRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray1393 Words   |  6 Pagestransformation, Oscar Wilde s novel is suggesting that the hedonistic life style, a life style where gaining pleasure is the main goal, may seem like it is a fun and wonderful w ay to live, however a person will slowly be corrupted if they live in that way . One has to take life into one’s own hands and choose the people to be around and what one will do with one’s time to stay pure and good. Throughout Wilde s novel, the protagonist, Dorian Gray, is influenced by his companion, Lord Henry, to lead a hedonisticRead MoreViews Of Predestination And The Christian Faith1653 Words   |  7 PagesViews of Predestination: What to Believe This Semester has been great for me with being in Exploring the Christian Faith. It has been a good reminder and has also helped me learn more about my wonderful Lord. We discussed the idea of Predestination, but I will be exploring it even more. Let’s first start off with a definition of predestination. As a doctrine in Christian theology, the divine foreordaining of all that will happen, especially with regard to the salvation of some and not others. ItRead MoreSummary Of The Lord Is Salvation 1212 Words   |  5 PagesHis name was Hoshe a (â€Å"Salvation†) the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, but Moses went and renamed him Yehoshu a (â€Å"The Lord is Salvation†) or as in North American cultures traditionally known as Joshua (Numbers 13:16, NRSV). Joshua is a great leader from the bible he really shows how being faithful to God will end in complete success for you. I think it important to note, that just because he is a man in the bible and known as a great leader, Joshua was only human he let doubt settle in atRead MoreGod And The Potter Of Our Lives973 Words   |  4 Pagespeople use this phrase today in society, but do they really give their faithfulness to God? A time will come when everyone must answer to God for their choices and actions. Our nation today is resembling the nation of Judah increasingly each day. God is known as the Divine Potter of our lives, and He has a plan in store for us. God sent His son to wash away our sins for us, but not everyone gives thanks to the Lord for His goodness. Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; weRead MoreNot All Women Are For Children862 Words   |  4 Pageseven though everyone that knew her thought she was a great mother. Nevertheless, when her children were present, she always felt the center of her heart go hard. (Kennedy Gioia 2013, 235). Tessie Hutchinson, on the other hand seemed to be a very good mother, and was even late for the drawing of the lottery. Her lateness was explained by herself to Mr. Summers by stating, Wouldn t have me leave m dishes in the sink, now would you, Joe? (Kennedy Gioia 2013, 252). Tessie was so caught up inRead MoreMacbeth and Picture of Dorian Gray Essay1821 Words   |  6 Pagesfor the painting through an indirect Faustian Bargain. Quote: Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that! Social Values/Context: Aestheticism was exposed to Dorian Gray by Lord Henry who was an aesthetic himself, which ultimately leads to the Faustian Bargain. Quote: Oh, she is better than good – she is beautiful, murmured Lord Henry, sipping a glass of vermouth and orange-bitters. Dorian says she is beautiful, and he is not often wrong aboutRead MoreThe Law Of Attraction And The Power Of Prayer Essay887 Words   |  4 Pagesfaithful but turns a deaf ear to the unworthy? Or is there something to the concept of the law of attraction that might allow people to better control their destiny with conscious effort? The answers to these questions, like many things we encounter in life, lies somewhere in the middle, allowing us to understand how all sides of the argument can be right simultaneously. There are many proponents of the power of prayer, and I am not here to claim prayer has no power to perform miracles. Certainly thereRead More The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde760 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"there is no such thing as a good influence...because to influence a person is to give him ones own soul†¦he becomes an echo of someone elses music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him† (Wilde 18). â€Å"In The Picture of Dorian Gray†, Dorian’s portrait alters as Dorian himself alters his personality which exemplifies more of an influential transformation compared to Jekyll’s addiction to becoming Hyde in â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde†. Lord Henry, in The Picture of DorianRead MoreThe Divine Command Theory : A Man For All Seasons1640 Words   |  7 Pagescommands must be good, and anything that he denounces must be evil. According to DCT, a person is not moral without believing in God (Pojman 188 -9). The DCT can be applied to Sir Thomas More’s reasoning and actions in his life. In Robert Bolt’s play, A Man for All Seasons, Sir Thomas More is viewed as a saint or a person who is morally good. More’s conflict comes from his refusal to go against his morals and self that were connected to God and the Catholic Church. He is willing to give up his family

Monday, December 16, 2019

Protein Characterization by Electrophoresis Free Essays

string(58) " procedure was done for 100 \? L of bovine serum albumin\." EXPERIMENT NO. 15 PROTEIN CHARACTERIZATION BY ELECTROPHORESIS Abstract The molecular weights of protein extracts were assessed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Two sets of four protein samples, standard bovine serum albumin (BSA), invertase, egg albumin, and casein, were prepared; one set containing ? -mercaptoethanol (BME) while the other did not. We will write a custom essay sample on Protein Characterization by Electrophoresis or any similar topic only for you Order Now These were then analyzed through SDS-PAGE with 12. 5% resolving gel, prepared using 2 M Tris-HCl at pH 8. 8 and stacking gel, prepared using 0. 0625 M Tris-HCl at pH 6. . Results showed multiple bands located on the upper half of the gel, which suggested heterogeneity of the mixture and that the samples were heavy molecules. Introduction Proteins are biological macromolecules composed of one or more polypeptides, which are polymers of amino acids. Structurally diverse, these molecules also serve a myriad of functions from enzymes, which are the biological catalysts of many physiological reactions, to components that maintain the structural integrity and organization of cells (Pratt and Cornelly, 2011). Because of this, it has been a constant effort among chemists to extract and isolate proteins to determine the mechanisms by which they act and produce the results of their reactions. Further knowledge of their biological action could translate into the discovery of many resources that could facilitate humans’ and other species’ daily lives. Electrophoresis is an analytical tool through which one can examine the movement of charged molecules in an electric field. Many modern electrophoretic techniques use a polymerized gel-like matrix as a support medium. The molecules’ migration is dependent on the applied electric field, the rigid, mazelike matrix of the gel support, and their size, shape, charge, and chemical composition. The movement of a charged molecule in an electric field is given by: v=Eq? f (1) where v is the velocity of the molecule, E is the electric field magnitude, q is the net charge of the molecule, and f is a frictional coefficient dependent on mass and shape of the molecule. Hence, it is observed that under a constant electric field magnitude, the movement is dependent on the charge-to-mass ratio of the molecule. Since each molecule is expected to have unique charges and sizes, their mobility under the electric field would also be different. Gels used in electrophoresis with different pore size may be produced by using different concentrations of cross-linking agents. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) allows enhanced resolution of sample components due to separation based on molecular sieving and electrophoretic mobility. Because of the presence of a continuous network of pores in the gel, large molecules do not move easily through the medium compared to smaller ones. Two types of gels are used: the resolving and stacking gels, each having different concentrations of acrylamide and of different pH and ionic strengths. The denaturants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), a detergent, and ? -mercaptoethanol (BME), a reducing agent, are frequently used in PAGE. The action of these two denaturating agents cause the production of polypeptide chains of constant charge-to-mass ratios and uniform shapes due to the SDS molecules binding with the hydrophobic regions of the denatured polypeptide and masking the native charge of the protein by its negative charge. This restriction, coupled with the fact that mobility of the SDS-protein complexes are based on molecular size, forms the basis of the electrophoretic determination of purity and molecular weight (Boyer, 1993). This experiment will utilize SDS-PAGE to assess the molecular weights of the extracted proteins invertase, albumin, and casein, along with standard bovine serum albumin. The effect of the presence of ? -mercaptoethanol was also investigated. Methodology With the glass plates clean, the gel apparatus was first set up with the comb inserted between the glass plates. It was made sure of that the set-up would not leak by allowing a little amount of distilled water to enter it, which was discarded afterwards. A mark, one centimeter below the teeth of the comb, was placed on the glass plate. The resolving gel, at 12. 5% gel, was then prepared in an Erlenmeyer flask. Using a micropipette, 1450 ? L of 40% stock acrylamide, 775 ? L of 2% stock bisacrylamide, 875 ? L of 2 M Tris-HCl at pH 8. 8, and 1500 ? L of distilled water were measured and mixed in the Erlenmeyer flask. Afterwards, 47 ? L of 10% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 40 ? L of freshly prepared 10% ammonium persulfate (APS) were added to the mixture. Then, ten microliters (10 ? L) of tetramethylethylenediamine (TEMED) was added and, after mixing it by swirling not more than three times, the mixture was poured into the gel apparatus with the aid of a micropipette up to the mark. The gel was then overlaid with a small amount of isobutanol-water mixture before it would start to harden. After the gel has completely polymerized, the isobutanol mixture was removed from the apparatus. Two pairs of two resolving gels were prepared as one pair would be used for samples containing ? mercaptoethanol and another pair for those that do not contain the said chemical. The stacking gel was prepared by taking 265 ? L of 40% stock acrylamide, 140 ? L of 2% stock bisacrylamide, 350 ? L of 0. 625 M Tris-HCl at pH 6. 8, and 940 ? L of distilled water and mixing all four in an Erlenmeyer flask. Afterwards, 25 ? L of 10% SDS and 60 ? L of 10% APS were added to the one in the flask. Immediately before the solution was added, 5 ? L of TEMED was added to it and swirled not more than three times, similar to that done with the resolving gel. This mixture was then rapidly transferred by a micropipette over the resolving gel and, after placing the comb over it, left to harden. The samples were prepared by getting 100 ? L of the protein sample, 20 ? L of distilled water, and 80 ? L of loading buffer with ? -mercaptoethanol in plastic tubes for the electrophoresis of the samples containing ? -mercaptoethanol. For those samples not containing the latter reagent, 80 ? L of the loading buffer was added. The same procedure was done for 100 ? L of bovine serum albumin. You read "Protein Characterization by Electrophoresis" in category "Papers" These were then placed in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes after which these were immediately immersed in an ice water bath for 3 minutes. The protein samples used were invertase, albumin, and casein. The loading buffer was prepared by mixing 2. 5 mL of 10% SDS, 2. 5 mL of 0. 625 M Tris-HCl at pH 6. 8, 2. 5 mL of 10% glycerol, and 5. 0 g of 0. 02% bromophenol blue, and diluting to 25 mL with distilled deionized water. Eight tubes were done all-in-all. The gel slabs were then placed in the gel chamber. The gel chambers were then filled with gel running buffer, making sure that the gel was completely immersed. This buffer was prepared by mixing 3. 0 g Tris base, 14. 4 g glycine and 1. 0 g SDS, and diluting to 1 L with distilled deionized water.. The set-up was then placed on a level surface. At this point, the comb was removed in one fluid motion to ensure that the wells would have straight edges. Ten microliters (10 ? L) of the samples with ? -mercaptoethanol was loaded into the wells using a micropipette. With the voltage set at 100 V and the protective electrode covering placed over the set-up, the gel was run until the dye reaches a level of 1 cm above the bottom of the gel slab. This was done again for those samples without the ? -mercaptoethanol. After the gels have been run, the gel slabs were transferred from the glass plates to a flat-bottom container where a small amount of staining solution was added until the slabs were completely immersed. This solution was prepared by mixing 50 mL of methanol, 10 mL of glacial acetic acid, and 0. 25 mg of Coomassie Brilliant Blue R250, and diluting to 100 mL with distilled deionized water. After that, the background staining was removed by several washings of destaining solution. This solution was prepared by mixing 25 mL of 95% ethanol and 5 mL of glacial acetic acid, and diluting to 100 mL with distilled deionized water. Results and Discussion Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (PAGE) served as an effective tool in the characterization of protein standards and extracts because of the gel’s high resolving power for molecules up to 106 Da, accommodation of larger sized samples, an inert enough matrix with respect to the migrating entities, and physical stability of the matrix (Boyer, 1993). Polyacrylamide gels were prepared by the catalyzed and cross-linked polymerization of the acrylamide-bisacrylamide mixture. The polymerization reaction was facilitated by ammonium persulfate (APS), the polymerizing agent, due to its inherent instability and, hence, its tendency to decay and to give rise to molecules initiating these polymerization. Tetramethylethylenediamine (TEMED) was introduced to catalyze the decay of APS. Figure 1 presents the general equation for the polymerization reaction of the acrylamide-bisacrylamide mixture (Encor Biotechnology, Inc. , 2011). Figure 1. The polymerization reaction of the Acrylamide-bisacrylamide in the presence of ammonium persulfate and TEMED as the polymerizing agent and the catalyst respectively (Thermo Scientific, Inc. , 2011) Polymerization proceeded with the opening of an acrylamide double bond, allowing it to react with another acrylamide to produce a linear polyacrylamide. Cross links were generated through the incorporation of bisacrylamide into the linear polyacrylamides. Since molecular oxygen would react with the free radical sulfate ions (SO42-) thereby inhibiting polymerization, degassing was necessary. Furthermore, the tendency of molecular oxygen to react with SO42- would also be the reason why it would be necessary for PAGE gels to be poured into tubes or between glass plates instead of horizontal apparatuses. However, the degassing step was not done due to the unavailability of a degassing chamber. Isobutanol was added on top of the gel to also prevent the entry and accumulation of O2 (Encor Biotechnology, Inc. , 2011). Gel pore size is inversely proportional to the concentration of acrylamide. Therefore, to generate a broad and efficient range of protein separation, a discontinuous gel system was formulated, having a low acrylamide content on top and a high acrylamide content at the bottom. The capability of Tris-HCl to facilitate the propagation of electric current through the matrix qualified it as an appropriate loading buffer. It allowed the proteins to be drawn by the current through the sieving matrix slab (Thermo Scientific, Inc. , 2011). The polyacrylamide gel electrophoreses set-up had three important features. First, a stacking gel was cast over a resolving gel. Second, the two gel layers had different ionic strengths and pH. Third, the stacking gel had a lower acrylamide concentration and a lower pH. These conditions allowed the protein molecules to first concentrate into a tight band before entering the resolving solution. In this experiment in particular, the charge of the protein was kept uniform all throughout using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), a powerful detergent that would denature the protein and would leave it evenly negatively charged. Also, ? -mercaptoethanol was added to cleave the disulfide bonds, enforcing completely disrupted secondary, tertiary, and quarternary structures. Prior to the loading of the sample, the discontinuous gel system was immersed in a glycine-Tris buffer prepared at pH 8. 8. At this pH, the two form of glycine – its Zwitterion ion and glycinate – would exist in equilibrium. H3N+CH2COO- – H2NCH2COO- + H+(2) When the voltage was turned on, the entry of buffer ions (glycinate and H+) to the stacking gel (pH 6. 8) shifted the equilibrium to the left, increasing the concentration of glycine’s Zwitterion ion, which would have a zero net charge, and therefore, would be electrophoretically immobile. Since the protein molecules would still be anionic at pH 6. , they would replace the nonmobile glycine molecules in order to keep the current running. As such, the relative mobilities of the ions in the stacking gel would be Tris base protein sample glycinate. Furthermore, the thin band observed in the upper gel would actually pertain to the protein molecules sandwiched between the Tris-base and the glycinate ions. The resolving gel, on the other hand, had a pH of 8. 8. When the ionic front reached it, the equilibrium of glycine species shifted to the right. The increase in pH and decrease in pore size retarded the movement of proteins and rendered the glycinate ions greater mobility. The relative rates of movement then became Tris-base glycinate ions protein samples. From there, it was the mass of the protein molecules that governed their mobility and thus identified them (Boyer, 1993). For qualitative analysis of results, the Coomassie brilliant blue dye (R-250), being the most popular staining reagent for the electrophoresis of protein samples, was used. Its mechanism of binding to the basic and hydrophobic groups of proteins manifested in the dull, reddish-brown to intense blue color change of the solutions. The staining method was started with the water wash of the gel cast to remove the electrophoresis buffers from the matrix. The matrix was then washed with methanol followed by glacial acetic acid to prevent the diffusion of protein bands form the matrix. The treatment with the dye followed. Lastly, destaining measures were employed to get rid of excess dye from the background gel matrix. This would allow a clear visualization of the bands that had formed (Thermo Scientific, Inc. , 2011). Figures 2 and 3 are photographs of the two gels after incubation and subjection to the dye. Figure 2. Photograph of 1st gel Figure 3. Photograph of 2nd gel In figure 2, multiple bands existed. This could suggest that the samples had other components. These could come in the form of other proteins, contaminants, or other impurities. Nonetheless, any of these possibilities suggest one thing; the sample is not pure although there are occasional times when homogeneous samples result to multiple bands due to degradation during the electrophoresis procedure (Boyer, 1993). Also, the identity of the proteins could have been determined if there were standards or â€Å"markings† to compare these bands with. However, there were none. The only information that could be extracted from the photographs could be that the proteins in the samples were heavy that they were only located on the upper half of the gel. Conclusion The separation of biomolecules according to charge, size, and shape through electrophoresis could give significant information such as the purity, molecular weight, and, hence, the identity of the biomolecule. In this experiment, the multiple bands produced in the gel set-ups suggested that the samples were heterogeneous. Their location in the gel suggested that the proteins were relatively heavy ones. To gain more valuable information rom these data, it is recommended that a set of standard solutions be also run on the gel so that they could be used as references for the identification of the proteins in the samples. Also, the protein’s exact molecular size could be determined by preparing a calibration curve from a set of standard solutions of proteins, with of course, known concentration. The curve should be a plot of the logarithm of the molecular weight of the protein versus its mobility in the gel matrix. From this curve, the molecular weight of the protein in the sample solutions could be extrapolated. References 1. Boyer, Rodney. Modern Experimental Biochemistry. Third Edition. San Francisco, USA: Benjamin/Cummings, 1993. Scribd. Web. 29 November 2011. 2. Encor Biotechnology, Inc. â€Å"SDS-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). † Encor Biotechnology, Inc. Protocols. Encor Biotechnology, Inc. , 2011. Web. 30 November 2011 http://www. encorbio. com/protocols/SDS-PAGE. htm. 3. Thermo Scientific, Inc. â€Å"SDS-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). † Thermo Scientific, Inc. Protein Methods Library. Thermo Scientific, Inc. , 2011. Web. 30 November 2011 http://www. piercenet. com/browse. cfm? fldID=21518847-2D72-475F-A5B9-B236EC5B641E . How to cite Protein Characterization by Electrophoresis, Papers

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Case Study Solution about Retail Management of Pound Land Store

Question: Using the retailer chosen "Pound land", undertake a comprehensive and extensive look at the internal positioning of this company in regards to how it is dealing with the issues identified? Answer: Introduction Poundland is a public limited store situated in British. Poundland lies under the retail sector. As a retail shop Poundland sells different brands products in one place. The main aim behind starting this type of store was they wanted customers to get all their necessary items in one place in an affordable price. Subsequent to global financial crisis, the UK retailers have gone through significant downturn. Among them, mostly affected are the discount retail chains. Still, there are certain retailers who have manage themselves quite efficiently to deal with this major issue. Pound land is one of them (Armstrong, 2010). In the context of current external environment, it can be said that this particular industry has evidenced an increasing trend. Gap Analysis in Poundland Poundland before opening any new store analyses the market and customer requirement so that the products sold in that store are according to customers and market. Gap analysis in Poundland is used to analyse the difference between their present conditions with future condition in relation to communication, working culture, business environment, employee welfare, profit share and others (Armstrong, 2010). Poundland gap analysis assesses the analysis of their retail supply, surplus in items or profit and other working. Gap analysis in communication is done to analyse the difference in their consumer demand and requirement so that long term and short term plan are changed accordingly (Blake and Rivkin, 2010). Gap analysis can be in communication, delivery service, customer service and other services. Suppose customer wants packed uncooked chicken and the seller present in store is offering him different variety of pork meet, so the miscommunication or the mistake of seller done in under standing and analysing the demand of customer can affect Poundland business as well as customer relationship also. Different strategies adopted by Poundland for Marketing, Advertising and Promoting and list of competitors The promotional strategy adopted by Poundland is as they provide different discounted products every time which attracts more number of customers in comparison of their competitors. Marketing strategy adopted by Poundland is as they try to advertise their range of customers with the help of media i.e. Television, internet or web media and others for instance, Pound land has 26000 followers on Facebook and 38.7K followers on Twitter which explain that Poundland is active on Twitter more than Facebook because of the offers and vouchers (Plunkett, 2010). Pound land organizes different events to advertise their products and shops location which make easier to their customers (Blake, Buttner and Rivkin, 2010). The other promotional strategies adopted by Poundland are they provide credit cards to their regular customers, they invite celebrity in the shops for inaugurating different events so that huge number of customers gathers (Plunkett, 2010). The main competitors of Poundland in retail industry are as Wall mart, Iceland, Poundworld, Aldi. Price Tactics Hard discounting shops are famous for their rock bottom price. They can sell their products at extremely low costs as they are unbranded. However, Poundland are restricted as everything has to be a pound. To increase their sales volume Pound land adopted the discount pricing strategy by which they sell all products of their in house production on 1. Commented by (Armstrong) retail industry is based on customers requirement and needs, so Pound land price strategy for every store is different (Blake, Buttner and Rivkin, 2010). Pound lands in their old and new stores adopt different pricing strategies as the sales rates of both stores are different. New stores of Pound land usually offer discount and reduce price rate in their newly opened store to attract more and more customers. Location Pound land stores are often located within the city centre where they are easy to access. As mentioned by (Gelder and Woodcock, 2003) Pound land is nearly having 500 stores worldwide where they sell number of brands as per their customers demand and requirement. If Pound land decided to open any new store first they analyse different factors on which they store sales depends as customer demand in that particular location, availability of other facilities like transport, roads, water and etc. As commented (Field, 2009) location of any retail store decided their business profit and their operation procedure. As mentioned in one research (Plunkett, 2010) Pound land all stores are situated in good location which increases their sales in comparison of their competitors. Customer Services Pound Land retail stores have different customer services which are decided by their top managers. Pound Land store managers try to continue their customer service facility after the purchase. As commented (Gelder and Woodcock, 2003) customer service of any retail industry organization do not begin and finish on counter, to continue customer relationship store manager and other employees should always work on it (Gelder and Woodcock, 2003). Pound land influences their each and every employee for maintaining customer relation. Pound land after evaluating several problems regarding their customer relation decided to hire new employees who will only for on customer relationship i.e. within the store they will try to help customer in purchasing, choosing and other things if they face any problem (Plunkett, 2011). Pound land customers perception depends on their past experience of purchasing and choosing their products within the store (Plunkett, 2010). Pound land as a retail industry alw ays monitors their employees performance regarding customer relation within the store. Store Atmosphere Commented by (Field, 2009) main responsibilities of store manager of Pound land different stores are to always maintain positive environment within the store so that all employees are motivated. As stated by (Gelder and Woodcock, 2003) store environment of Pound land are always positive and motivational for their employees as well as their customers. The main responsibility of Pound Land store managers are as to maintain daily operation of their employees and the operation which are held within the stores. In contrast to this (Terriff, Osinga and Farrell, 2010) if store environment in positive all employees will automatically be influenced to work. Positive atmosphere of store helps managers in influencing their subordinates to perform better and complete their task on time. Operating procedures Pound land is a retail store where customers come to purchase different products offered by them. Pound land different stores location, services, products influence their perception customers regarding the company brand. As mentioned by (Gould, 2008) Pound land managers focus on their store operation and the cost which they invest and incur from operation. Pound land tries to manage their all store operation in an integration manner to run store easily. As stated (Guercini and Runfola, 2010) main factors of Pound land stores operations are as store manager, sales men and women, low level employees, customers and others. As mentioned (Morrow, 2010) Pound land is having its separate and vast warehouse where huge number of items can be stored. Pound land always focuses on their product quality which they get from various other companies and the quality of products which Pound Land is providing their customers (Terriff, Osinga and Farrell, 2010). Pound land always operate in proper hiera rchy Profitability Hard discounting stores tend to have a low profit margin strategy to attract price sensitive customers. Poundland keep prices low to keep sales volume high by doing things such as Bulk buying, own brand labels and cost cutting. Because prices are so low it means that sales volume will be higher. Another way that Poundland makes itself more profitable is by cutting costs where ever it can. For example staff costs are cut by only having around 5 members of staff throughout the whole store. The staff are paid well but have a lot of responsibilities when there is no customers at their till they are expected to do another task elsewhere in the store e.g. cleaning (Gelder and Woodcock, 2003). Hence Poundland profits are around million before taxation. Pound land organization always focuses on their profitability share i.e. to increase their profitability share they adopt various strategies and policies (Plunkett, 2010). If any store of Pound land is having poor sales in comparison of other competitors they evaluate the reason behind and then adopt new sales techniques and strategies. Pound land adopted lean and money inventory for their profitability retail operation (Gould, 2008). In contrast to these all profit able strategies Pound land try to increase their sales volume by opening new stores in such a location where no other retail stores are present and then Pound land offers customers low price product and launches various discount scheme. Commented (Morrow, 2010) Pound land to increase their sales cut down their supply chain system cost, manufacturing cost and motivate their employees to avoid wasting organization things. Recommendation Pound land work as per their customer demands in any particular region, so they should try to interact their customers face to face for getting feedback regarding their customer service, product quality and other services (Plunkett, 2010). Pound land should try to improve their product quality and service quality as per their customers and present market demand. To increase their sales volume Pound land should adopt new marketing, advertising and promotional strategies other than discount strategy. Supply chain system and technologies should be updated to increase the competitive advantage in retail industry (Terriff, Osinga and Farrell, 2010). Pound land before making changes in their rules, regulations and policies regarding employees or work should do analysis properly. Pound land should try to focus on their cost cutting strategy as it can de motivate their employees also (Plunkett, 2010). The recommendation and feedback if given by any customer should be considered as it will increase customers loyalty towards brand. Pound land should always update their discount and other offers on their official website and other social websites so that every customer is aware and attracts toward their products. Conclusion The study is all about Pound land pricing strategies, location, operating procedure, store atmosphere and other factors which are important for their business (Morrow, 2010). Pound land is a retail industry so the main factors on which their sales depend are customer relationship and the employee employer relationship (Plunkett, 2010). Pound land adopted several strategies and methods to influence their customers regarding their product and other services which differ from store to store. Commented (Plunkett, 2010) Pound land has won number of awards for their customer relation, customer services and the quality of products. Pound land sells huge number of fast moving products of different companies. The study is having brief study about the location, store atmosphere, customer relationship and etc. References Armstrong, J. (2010).Persuasive advertising. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Blake, C. and Rivkin, C. (2010).Stationary fuel cell application codes and standards. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Blake, C., Buttner, W. and Rivkin, C. (2010).Vehicle codes and standards. Golden, Colo.: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Field, S. (2009).Career opportunities in the retail and wholesale industry. New York: Ferguson/Facts on File. Gelder, D. and Woodcock, P. (2003).Marketing and promotional strategy. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. Gould, W. (2008).The Puerto Rico Gap Analysis Project. Ri o Piedras, P.R.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry. Guercini, S. and Runfola, A. (2010). Business networks and retail internationalization: A case analysis in the fashion industry.Industrial Marketing Management, 39(6), pp.908-916. Morrow, S. (2010).Work schedule manager gap analysis. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Research and Development. Plunkett, J. (2010).Plunkett's retail industry almanac 2010. Houston, Tex.: Plunkett Research. Plunkett, J. (2010).Plunkett's retail industry almanac 2011. Houston, Tex. (P.O. Drawer 541737, Houston TX 77254-1737 USA): Plunkett Research. Plunkett, J. (2011).Plunkett's Retail Industry Almanac 2012. Houston: Plunkett Research, Ltd. Terriff, T., Osinga, F. and Farrell, T. (2010).A transformation gap?. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.

Saturday, November 30, 2019

What Is Encomienda System Essay Example

What Is Encomienda System Paper The encomienda system was a trusteeship labor system employed by the Spanish crown during the Spanish colonization of the Americas and the Philippines in order to consolidate their conquests. Conquistadors were granted trusteeship over the indigenous people they conquered, in an expansion of familiar medieval feudal institutions, notably the commendation ceremony, which had been established in New Castile during the Reconquista. The encomiendo system differed from the developed form of feudalism in that it did not entail any direct land tenure by the encomendero; Indian lands were to remain in their possession, a right that was formally protected by the Crown of Castile because at the beginning of the Conquest most of the rights of administration in the new lands went to the Castilian Queen. These were laws that the Crown attempted to impose in all of the Spanish colonies in the Americas and in the Philippines. The maximum size of an encomienda was three hundred Indians, though it rarely reached near to that number. The encomenderos had the authorization to tax the people under their care and to summon them for labor, but they were not given juridical authority. In return, the encomenderos were expected to maintain order through an established military and to provide teachings in Catholicism. The little respect that the Europeans had for the Amerindians, however, helped corrupt the system rather quickly. We will write a custom essay sample on What Is Encomienda System specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on What Is Encomienda System specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on What Is Encomienda System specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer So, what was supposed to assist in the evangelization of the Natives and in the creation of a stable society became a blatant tool of oppression. The Crown established the encomienda system in Hispaniola in May 1493. And while it reserved the right of revoking an encomienda from the hands of an unjust encomendero, it rarely did. In the papal bull Inter caetera (1493, the Borgia Pope Alexander VI had granted the western newly found lands to the Castilian Crown, on the condition that it evangelize these new lands. By this he allocated everything discovered by Columbus to the Crown of Castile, on the condition that the monarchs set about propagating the Christian faith there, and provided the lands concerned†¦Because the ultimate title of the Amerindians land lay with the Castilian Crown, the system in the New World differed in that it did not entail any direct land tenure by the encomendero. Amerindian lands were to remain in their possession, a right that was formally protected by the Crown of Castiles initial title. [5]. These were laws that the Crown attempted to impose in all of the Spanish colonies in the Americas and in the Philippines.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

UNITED STATES NAVY SEALS essays

UNITED STATES NAVY SEALS essays One of the most famous Special Forces divisions in the United States military arsenal is the Navy SEALS. They are known throughout the world as one of the most States military has other Special Forces, such as the Army Rangers and Green Berets disciplined, skilled, and motivated teams ever. Although the United. However they are the most famous for the numerous operations that they have carried out. The United States Navy SEALS were formed as an extension of the World War Two Underwater Demolition Teams in 1962. President Kennedy was uncertain whether or not the Cold War would turn into a Hot War, so he directed the United States armed services to create special units dedicated to unconventional warfare. And the navys answer to this request was the formation of the United States Navy SEALs. For a trainee to become a SEAL he or she first needs to decide whether or not they have the dedication, will power, and commitment to make it through the intense training program that they must undergo. And if he or she is unable to make that decision themselves then the intense training program will soon help them decide. On December 25, 1996 one hundred forty-four men made the trip to the Navys Basic Underwater Demolitions school (BUDS). This is the first step to the yearlong training required to qualify as a Navy SEAL. This training camp is located on San Diegos Coronado Island during training there is a seventy percent dropout rate. This is completely due to the six months of hard-core training that they must endure. Some of the training that they must undergo is as follows. The applicants are plunged in frigid water until they are nearly hypothermic, they are knocked dizzy as they trudge through crashing surf, and forced to carry muscle-melting rubber rafts over their heads every time they jog from place to place. Finally comes Hell Week, it is the fifth week of training. This is wh ...

Friday, November 22, 2019

The Wind Tapped Like a Tired Man by Emily Dickinson

The Wind Tapped Like a Tired Man by Emily Dickinson The enigmatic Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) saw only ten of her poems published while she was alive. Most of her work, more than 1,000 poems with their odd capitalization, liberal use of em dashes and iambic pentameter rhyming structure, was published after her death. But her works have helped to shape modern poetry. Life of Emily Dickinson Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, Dickinson was a reclusive figure, who took to wearing all white clothing and stayed confined to her home later in life. Whether she was eccentric or suffering from some kind of anxiety disorder is a matter hotly debated among Dickinson scholars. She did not live her entire life at her familys Amherst home; she spent a year at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary but left before completing a degree, and visited Washington, D.C. with her father when he served in Congress.   Dickinsons body of work also included correspondence with friends. Many of these letters contained original poems.   After her death, her sister Lavinia collected Emilys vast collection of writing and attempted to organize it. Although early editors tried to normalize Dickinsons writing, taking out the unusual punctuation and random capitalized words, later versions of her work restored it to its unique glory, em dashes and all.   Emily Dickinsons Poetry With titles like Because I Could Not Stop for Death, and A Narrow Fellow in the Grass, its clear that Dickinsons poetry has a foreboding undertone.  Many academics believe that all of Dickinsons poems can be interpreted to be about death, some overtly, some with more subtle turns of phrase. Indeed, Dickinsons correspondence shows she was troubled by several deaths of people she was close to; a school friend died very young of typhoid fever, another of a brain disorder. Its not outside the realm of possibility that young Emily withdrew from social life because she was deeply affected by her losses. Questions for Study of The Wind Tapped Like a Tired Man Is this an example of a Dickinson poem in where she appears to be writing about one thing (the wind) but is actually writing about something else? In this poem, does the wind represent a man, or does it represent an existential fear of death, ever present and able to blow in and out as it pleases? Why is the man tired? Here is the full text of Emily Dickinsons poem The Wind Tapped Like a Tired Man The wind tapped like a tired man,And like a host, Come in,I boldly answered; entered thenMy residence withinA rapid, footless guest,To offer whom a chairWere as impossible as handA sofa to the air.No bone had he to bind him,His speech was like the pushOf numerous humming-birds at onceFrom a superior bush.His countenance a billow,His fingers, if he pass,Let go a music, as of tunesBlown tremulous in glass.He visited, still flitting;Then, like a timid man,Again he tappedt was flurriedlyAnd I became alone.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

IBM in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

IBM in China - Essay Example However, the process of manufacture of many of these parts contribute to pollution since they use CFCs and require high levels of power and cooling at datacenters, all of which have exacerbated greenhouse gas emissions and China’s increased energy use. China is a country where three decades of a communist regime have been followed by 25 years of â€Å"quasi-capitalism†, creating unrestrained economic and industrial growth and development, which have contributed heavily to pollution – China consumes 14.2% of the world’s energy and 70% of its rivers and lakes are heavily polluted. Some experts have contended that globalization impacts adversely upon the environment, since countries are forced to lower their production costs by neglecting to enact laws to preserve the environment and multinationals have the tendency to locate their polluting facilities in countries where environmental controls may be lax. In China, State environmental protection agencies are understaffed and are not equipped to cope with the burgeoning pollution levels in the country. Latest trends in China indicate that there is a growing antipathy in China against foreign investors, since it is the prevailing opinion that foreign investors use inexpensive Chinese labor and excessive amounts of energy to pollute the environment, then condemn the country for pollution and for producing cheap goods. Within China, IBM has recently been purchased by a Chinese Company Lenovo and with growing levels of fair competition within China, privatization is being encouraged. The switch to Lenovo could help IBM to tackle the stiff competition it is facing from other companies like dell and HP in the Asian region.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Brazil and Argentina Hyperinflation Experience at the Beginning of the Research Paper

Brazil and Argentina Hyperinflation Experience at the Beginning of the 1990s - Research Paper Example The period of the relatively high level of inflation lasted for about 15 years i.e. from 1980 to 1994 and resulted in significant political, economic as well as a social crisis for the country. One of the key reasons for this hyperinflation in the country was the creation of money supply to finance fiscal expenditure of the country. Government rather than using the taxes or borrowing started to created new money and hence the creation of money supply. During the 1990s, consumer price index ran into the factor of over 5 trillion thus indicating the overall severity of the inflation faced by the country. Argentine also faced the similar situation during the 1990s however, the consistent increase in inflation lasted from 1975 to early 1990s. during that period the overall value of Argentine’s Peso went down and the country introduced massive changes and reforms in the 1990s to initiate the process of recovery.   Hyperinflation in Brazil Brazil was a case of chronic inflation wh ich finally turned into hyperinflation and resulted in serious damage for the country. The key reason for this hyperinflation was the excessive creation of money to finance the expansion projects of the government. Rather than relying on the borrowing or improving tax collection, the government simply resorted to printing new money thus creating excessive money supply in the country. At the start of 1990, the consumer price index in the country was to the factor of 100 Million which reached to over 5 trillion by the end of 1997. Such sharp and abnormal increase in the level of consumer price index sustained for almost a decade and proved detrimental to the overall economic future of the country. It is, however, critical to note that the 1990s were the period during which the overall rate of inflation started to moderate owing to strict reforms being undertaken by the government. Since Brazil was facing higher episodes of inflation since the 1970s, therefore, 1990s was the period dur ing which country started to take measures to arrest such trends. (Barbosa, Cunha, and Elvia,183 ) At the start of the 1990s, the rate of inflation was over 30,000% however, it gradually started to decline and reached a level of 16% in 1997. As discussed above, this was a period of relatively important reforms undertaken by the country which resulted in sharp decline in the hyperinflation and economy started to witness the relatively moderate level of inflation rates. (Samuels,547) During this period, saving rates were almost negative as people continued to spend their cash due to the fact that its value was being eroded rapidly. Interest rates soared to a relatively high level in order to reduce the inflation and people who were already suffering from high inflation rates were forced to face higher interest rates also. It is, however, critical to note that the real GDP during the period remained at stagnant levels due to better agriculture output as well as a consistent increase in population during the decade. A real high level of hyperinflation affected the real incomes of the households as the consistent increase in inflation eroded the purchasing power of the individuals.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Consumer Packaged Goods Industry Essay Example for Free

Consumer Packaged Goods Industry Essay Wonderware relies on their services and expertise to take it into new opportunities and markets. From the 625 VAR/OEMs, approximately 2. 5% use Wonderware software to create solutions for food-products machinery in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. Out of almost exactly 3,000 SI companies currently active in the Wonderware Solution Provider Program, more than 46% devote some portion of their practice to serving customers in the CPG industry. 63 % of Wonderware Certified SIs and 82% of Wonderware’s ArchestrA Certified SIs are involved in the CPG industry. But just what do we mean when we talk about the CPG industry? The free reference section at Hoover’s online (www. hoovers. com/free/ind/dir. xhtml) includes a useful directory of industries and the following general definition: Consumer Products Manufacturers Companies that design, manufacture and/or market apparel, cleaning products, hand and power tools, home furniture, housewares, linens, and consumer electronics and appliances. However, things may not really be that simple. It’s actually more meaningful to describe the CPG industry as a set of consumer behaviors rather than trying to draw boundaries around a specific list of product names or brands. And the key behavior that best describes the CPG market is that of replenishment on some regular or frequent basis. The items are in fact consumed, in some sense or another, fairly rapidly. This means that they do have a shelf life – whether it’s the perishable nature of a snack food item or the fleeting glamour of a cell phone with features like text or pictures or videos. And of course that can mean that the value of an entire warehouse inventory, for a whole generation of product can go to zero in a hurry! Those behaviors tend to result in a steady flow of small recurring expenses (for a tube of toothpaste, a pack of beverages or even the latest personal electronic gadget) rather than large infrequent ones like the acquisition of a major capital asset for manufacturing. The problem for our manufacturing customers is that those small replenishable items still require the major manufacturing assets to produce them. The ability to rapidly reconfigure and re-task those expensive production machines and factories when customer whims change – in other words, agile manufacturing – can make the difference between profitability and receivership. The Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Industry and Solution Providers Page 3 2. Industry Comparisons The financial research tools at www. etrade. com (account membership required) offer some useful comparisons between the consumer goods industry and other major industry sectors. It’s not necessarily the fastest-growing business ector – compared to general technology, financial or energy companies – but certainly respectable when it comes to overall sector profit margins. The non-cyclical sub-category of the CPG industry, in fact, ranks well above the Transportation, Basic Materials, and Capital Goods and Services industries. The consumer cyclical category includes apparel, recreational products, personal electronics, automobiles and replacement parts such as tires. The non-cyclical category includes beverages, tobacco, personal products, office supplies and food items. The Industry Browser information tools at the Yahoo! Finance Industry Center (biz. yahoo. com/p/3conameu. html) may surprise you in terms of the relative sizes and profitability of some segments in the Consumer Goods categories. For instance, the top five segments by market capitalization are as follows: The Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Industry and Solution Providers Page 4 Segment Auto manufacturers Food – major diversified Cigarettes Beverages – soft drinks Cleaning products Market Capitalization ($B) 296 281 269 266 205 The largest segments are not necessarily the most profitable, however. The top five segments by overall profit margin are: Segment Cigarettes Cleaning products Beverages – brewers Beverages – soft drinks Confectioners Net Profit Margin (%) 17 13 12 11 10 Somewhat surprisingly, the largest segment by market capitalization – Auto Manufacturers – is one of the least profitable at just 1. 8%. The sizable and highly visible – but keenly competitive – Electronic Equipment category is squeezed down to just 2. 5% overall net margin. 3. What CPG Companies Need from Solution Providers For our Consumer Packaged Goods customers to succeed, they must deal with a number of internal and external pressures and demands. Those internal drivers include: Protecting or increasing profits Reducing costs related to: o Supply-chain management – Net asset turns on raw materials and finished goods inventories, efficient sourcing decisions and reducing scrap or return rates o Manufacturing – Improving operational efficiency and employee productivity o Information technology – Cost containment and outsourcing, standardization and consolidation of server assets, increasing reusability, and an application infrastructure that protects and maximizes key databases and information assets Mergers, acquisitions, breakups and spin-offs The Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Industry and Solution Providers Page 5 o o Integration (or disconnection! ) of supply-chain linkages Operational complexity and startup costs – dealing with dissimilar bestpractice philosophies, variations in processes, applications and technology, and training to improve and align vital human resources. External forces and demands that our CPG customers face include: Meeting changing customer needs and requirements Preserving brand integrity – through product quality and safety as well as regulatory requirements Speed to market with more (and often complicated) new products. Now, with all those pressures facing our Consumer Packaged Goods manufacturing customers, what can we – a world-class community of solution providers and a world-class software supplier – provide to help them face such challenges? First of all, we can provide a platform for growth – an eco-vision – that can grow and evolve as the fickle customer marketplace changes and the companies adapt. We can offer an architecture built around re-usable components – not just software objects, but encapsulated best practices and intellectual capital. That means lower project-to-project costs and a common service architecture from production to process. We can deliver an architecture for incremental investment, avoiding the â€Å"big bang† approach that held back the promise of advanced manufacturing execution systems (MES) for so long, for example.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Comparing William Blakes The Tyger and The Lamb Essay -- The Tyger Th

Comparing William Blake's â€Å"The Tyger† and â€Å"The Lamb† William Blake is referred to as many things, including poet, engraver, painter and mystic, but he is probably most famous for his poetry. Blake began writing the poems below in about 1790 whilst living in Lambeth, London. His poetry has a wide range of styles but his most famous poems are those from â€Å"Songs of Innocence† and Song of Experience†. The two sets of poems are designed to show different states or ways of seeing. They are Blake's way of representing the different ways in which people actually experience the world. In â€Å"Songs of Innocence† the language is simple and repetitive, the lines are kept short and the rhymes are obvious. A childlike vision is conveyed through Blake's clever use of voices with their varying perspectives and questions. The poems reveal particular states of being and ways of seeing which the author is not saying are the whole truth. The poems have a joyful quality but they contain a subtle awareness of sorrow. â€Å"Songs of Experience† contrasts strongly with the softness of â€Å"Songs of Innocence†. These poems show how horrible and cruel the world really is under the surface of what we see. Blake has many themes represented in his poems from Song of Experience and Songs of Innocence but they mainly centre on his childhood, the aspects of rural and urban life, his protest against the horrible way of life and a strong disliking to the way the Church was run. These points will be discussed in the next poem analyses. â€Å"The Tyger† and â€Å"The Lamb† are often 2 poems paired together and I think that was Blakes intention, for example line 20 of â€Å"The Tyger† it says â€Å"Did he who made the Lamb make thee?† So these will be the first t... ...oem. There are many harsh words such as â€Å"cold† used to describe the church as it is but when he describes what he wants it to be the feeling of the poem becomes warmer, like that of a poem in Song of Innocence. From these poems I believed that what Blake means by â€Å"Innocence† is that of a simple life where you don’t know about the troubles around you and blissfully go along with life as it hits you. And from this, â€Å"Experience† is what life is really life, it concentrates on the negative sides of things and shows that there is always an improvement to be made. I personally find Blake's poems rather intriguing. At first when you look at one of two poems it is hard to understand the ideas that blake puts forward but after many poem analyses it becomes clear of the difference between Innocence and Experience. Blake must have been a very conscious man.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Structural Adjustment Programme and the Nigerian Economy

HIS predecessor and father James had already ran the country monetary assets down. Charles got into power with no money and a high taste for lavish things. In 1640 Charles wanted to go to war and he demanded that parliament should give him the money, when they refused he became furious and wanted to dissolve them. The issues kept piling up and tension grew between Charles and the parliament. It eventually got to the point where Charles dissolved the parliament because of their refusal to release money to him, and he ruled without them for 1 1 years.After those years a Scottish group called The Covenanter tried to obtrude England, as a result Charles put the parliament together again, with the sole alma of raising funds to stop the group. To his disappointment the parliament refused to help him and he dissolved them yet again. He finally had to pay the Scottish people 850 Euros everyday to prevent them from moving forward, he eventually ran out of money in 1641 and was forced to call back parliament. Charles lack of money and his peoples revolution against him. Another factor to consider is that of religion.The English people did not like or want to be ruled by Catholics. Charles went ahead to marry a French Catholic lady, this caused a lot of anger and unrest amongst the people; not only that but it gave the people yet another reason to despise Charles. After dissolving parliament he made Laud the Archbishop, Laud went ahead to make a lot of changes in the church like making the priests wear robes, putting up stained-glass windows and building statues within and outside the church; this changes made the English people remember Catholicism whish they despised so dearly.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Diversity Organizations Worksheet Essay

What has been the status of women in the United States throughout history? Throughout history women have been seen as less than to men. It has been rough on the women coming from minority groups because not only are they looked down on because of the group they are associated with but they are also women. For example, in the black community during the civil rights movement when blacks could not vote, and when they finally were allowed to vote, the women still could not. There has also been situations within the workforce when women could do a â€Å"manly job† but according to society they were not capable. †¢What is the status of women in the U.S. today? The status of women in the U.S. today has improved a lot. According to The State of Women in America, â€Å"women made up only about one-third of the workforce in 1969, women today make up almost half of all workers in the United States. Women are also stepping up to lead the country; a record number of women ran for public office in 2012, and a record-high percentage of women are serving in Congress.† Women today feel more apart, rather than an outcast. It is also clear to see that America is going to start to see changes with leaders of the country. Women are also paid equally to men according to their qualifications for the nature of the job. †¢What are some examples of concepts or constructions of masculinity and femininity that you see in society and in media? With media today, masculine males are seen as military men, or law enforcement officers, also most athletic figures. Men are shown to not to have emotion or care about women’s feelings.men are also portrayed to not care that much about their physical appearance. A man sitting back watching his favorite sports team and drinking beer on his favorite couch, while his wife is in the kitchen cooking and cleaning , as well as taking care of the children. Feminine in the media today is coming off as a petite, big breasted, and a fit body.it is seen on the famous lingerie commercials as well in movies associated with tough guys and fast cars. These commercials and movies give society a view that women should be a certain size and carry themselves a specific way. †¢Historically, what has been the social status of GLBT people? Historically, the social status of GLBT people has been very rough. It was hard for these individuals come out of the closet and be who they really are in front of the public eye. GLBT people have been discriminated against almost as much as African Americans. For example men who had a more feminine side could not show that because they feared that they may be beaten, or set aside from the rest of the men. These individuals believe because they live the way they choose they are unable to find jobs because companies would be ashamed to have them working for their company unless the owner is gay themselves. There has been a lot of changes throughout history to ensure that all Americans are being treated equal. †¢What is the status of GLBT people in the U.S. today? GLBT people in the U.S. today are beginning to experience a lot more equality. What this means is they are now starting to be allowed to marry one another. They are receiving a lot more protection in places like prisons, or jails. The overall awareness for these individuals has increased. Media has allowed for them to tell their stories, and there are some television shows about their lifestyles as well. Media has probably the largest impact in today’s society, so the fact that media is now coming around to promote the awareness is definitely a plus for GLBT people. †¢What are some social and political issues relevant to women and GLBT people in the U.S.? The social and political issues that surround this is that the women are becoming more lavish in today’s politics, and they are very tough within our political system. Hilary Clinton is a strong female in politics and has made a name for herself. There are many other women that have strong traits and similarities in politics just as Mrs. Clinton does and these women are just as valuable as the men are. GLBT people have also made a very recognizable name for themselves by using as many avenues as possible to strengthen their movement for equality. The media has been a big influence for these individuals and it is constantly on the rise. Gay marriage has been a big update on news channels all across America and is spreading like a rapid fire. This has given them the ability to come out and be who they are and not worry too much about what others have to say about them. There is still along path ahead of both women and the GLBT community but they are well on their way.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Mahogany Fruit as an Alternative Charcoal Essays

Mahogany Fruit as an Alternative Charcoal Essays Mahogany Fruit as an Alternative Charcoal Paper Mahogany Fruit as an Alternative Charcoal Paper Mahogany Fruits are often thrown away. What most people do not know is that the dried pulps are good substitute of charcoal and firewood. Mahogany Fruit also known as a hard wood. Mahogany Is a fast-growing forest trees commonly made into furniture or used in construction materials. More importantly, mahoganies effectively prevent soil erosion and flood hence these are often planted along river banks. Mahogany trees do not bear flower but grow buds which develop into brown oblong fruit. The fruits fall when they mature, and the dried ones break spreading on the ground. Mahogany is one of the resourceful in our environment especially the fruit (sky fruit). It can be used as Alternative Charcoal or Fuel. And many people use this fruit as their medicine or healing. Significance of the Study: This study Intends to make use of Mahogany Fruit as a major component In making Alternative Charcoal to save money and to keep environment clean. Student This study can help for Student to have an idea about Mahogany Fruit sed as an Alternative Charcoal. Teacher This study can help for Teacher to understand the use of Mahogany Fruit and make their own Alternative Charcoal out of Mahogany Fruit. By this study they will come up with easier. Hypothesis: Null: There Is no difference between charcoal and Mahogany Fruit. significant effect between Charcoal and Mahogany Fruit. Alternative: There Is a difference between charcoal and Mahogany Fruit.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Blood Promise Chapter TwentyFour

I’d never seen it coming. Hell, no one had. Avery had made a good show of being an air user. Each Moroi had a very low level of control in each element. She’d just barely done enough with air to make it seem like that was her specialization. No one had questioned her further because honestly, who would have ever expected another spirit user around? And since she was out of school, she had no reason to be tested anymore or forced to demonstrate her ability. No one was there to call her on it. The more I thought about it, the more the little signs were there. The charming personality, the way she could talk people into anything. How many of her interactions were spirit controlled? And was it possible†¦ was it possible that Adrian’s attraction had been compulsion on her part? I had no reason to feel happy about that, but†¦ well, I did. More to the point, what did Avery want with Lissa? Avery compelling Adrian into liking her wasn’t too out there. He was good-looking and came from an important family. He was the queen’s great-nephew, and although family members of the current monarch could never inherit the throne immediately afterward, he’d have a good future, one that would always keep him in the highest circles of society. But Lissa? What was Avery’s game there? What did she have to gain? Lissa’s behavior all made sense now-the uncharacteristic partying, weird moods, jealousy, fights with Christian†¦ Avery was pushing Lissa over the edge, causing her to make horrible choices. Avery was using some sort of compulsion to spin Lissa out of control, alienating her and putting her life in danger. Why? What did Avery want? It didn’t matter. The why wasn’t important. The how was, as in how I was going to get out of here and back to my best friend. I looked down at myself, at the delicate silk dress I wore. Suddenly, I hated it. It was a sign of how I’d been, weak and useless. I hastily took it off and ransacked my closet. They’d taken away my jeans and T-shirt, but I’d at least been allowed to keep my hoodie. I put on the green sweater dress, seeing as it was the sturdiest thing I had, feeling moderately more capable. I slipped the hoodie on over it. It hardly made me feel like a badass warrior, but I did feel more competent. Sufficiently dressed for action, I returned to the living room and started that pacing that tended to help me think better-not that I had any reason to believe I was going to come up with new ideas. I’d been trying to for days and days with no luck. Nothing was going to change. â€Å"Damn it!† I yelled, feeling better with the outburst. Angry, I flounced into the desk chair, amazed that I hadn’t simply thrown it against the wall in my frustration. The chair wobbled, ever so slightly. Frowning, I stood up and looked at it. Everything else in this place was state-of-the-art. Odd that I’d have a faulty chair. I knelt down and examined it more closely. There, on one of the legs, was a crack near where the leg joined with the seat. I stared. All of the furniture here was industrial strength, with no obvious joints. I should know, seeing how long I’d beat this chair against the wall when I first arrived. I hadn’t even dented it. Where had this crack come from? Slamming it over and over had done nothing. But I hadn’t been the only one to hit it. That very first day, I’d fought with Dimitri and come after him with the chair. He’d taken it from me and thrown it against the wall. I’d never paid attention to it again, having given up on breaking it. When I’d later tried cracking the window, I’d used an end table because it was heavier. My strength hadn’t been able to damage the chair-but his had. I picked up the chair and immediately slammed it into that diamond-hard window, half-hoping I might kill two birds with one stone. Nope. Both remained intact. So I did it again. And again. I lost track of how many times I slammed that chair into the glass. My hands hurt, and I knew despite my recovery, I still wasn’t at full strength. It was infuriating. Finally, on what felt like my gazillionth try, I looked at the chair and saw the crack had grown bigger. The progress renewed my will and strength. I hit and hit, ignoring the pain as the wood bit into my hands. At long last, I heard a crack, and the leg broke off. I picked it up and stared in amazement. The break hadn’t been clean. It was splintered and sharp. Sharp enough to be a stake? I wasn’t sure. But I knew for a fact that wood was hard, and if I used enough force, I might be able to hit a Strigoi’s heart. It wouldn’t kill one, but the blow would stun. I didn’t know if it’d be enough to get me out of here, but it was all I had now. And it was a hell of a lot more than I’d had one hour ago. I sat back on the bed, recovering from my battle with the chair and tossing the makeshift stake back and forth. Okay. I had a weapon now. But what could I do with it? Dimitri’s face flashed in my mind’s eye. Damn it. There was no question about it. He was the obvious target, the one I’d have to deal with first. The door suddenly clicked open, and I looked up with alarm. Quickly, I shoved the chair into a dark corner as panic raced through me. No, no. I wasn’t ready. I hadn’t fully convinced myself to stake him. It was Inna. She carried a tray but didn’t wear her usual subservient expression. The brief look she gave me was filled with hate. I didn’t know what she had to be pissed off about. It wasn’t like I’d caused her any damage. Yet. I strode over like I was going to examine the tray. Lifting the lid, I saw a ham sandwich and french fries. It looked good-I hadn’t eaten in a while -but the adrenaline running through me had shoved any appetite I might have to the background. I glanced back up at her, smiling sweetly. She shot me daggers. Don’t hesitate, Dimitri had always said. I didn’t. I jumped at Inna, throwing her so hard against the floor that her head slammed back. She looked dazed, but quickly recovered and tried to fight back. I wasn’t drugged up this time-well, not much-and my years of training and natural strength finally showed themselves again. I pressed my body against her, keeping her firmly in place. Then, I produced the stake I’d had concealed and pressed those sharp points against her neck. It was like being back in the days of pinning Strigoi in alleys. She couldn’t see that my weapon was a chair leg, but the sharp points got her attention as I dug them into her throat. â€Å"The code,† I said. â€Å"What is the code?† Her only response was a string of obscenities in Russian. Okay, not a surprise, considering she probably didn’t understand me. I flipped through the meager Russian-English dictionary in my head. I’d been in the country long enough to pick up some vocabulary. Admittedly, it was equivalent to a two-year-old’s, but even they could communicate. â€Å"Numbers,† I said in Russian. â€Å"Door.† At least, that’s what I hoped I said. She said more impolite things to me, her expression defiant. It really was the Strigoi interrogation all over. My stake bit harder, drawing blood, and I forcibly restrained myself. I might question whether I had the strength to pierce a Strigoi heart with this, but severing a human’s vein? Cake. She faltered a little, apparently realizing the same thing. Again, I attempted my broken Russian. â€Å"Kill you. No Nathan. Never†¦Ã¢â‚¬  What was the word? The church service came back to me, and I hoped I had it right. â€Å"Never eternal life.† It got her attention. Nathan and eternal life. The things most important to her. She bit her lip, still angry, but her tirade had stopped. â€Å"Numbers. Door,† I repeated. I pushed the stake in harder, and she cried out in pain. At last she spoke, rattling off a series of digits. Russian numbers were something I had memorized pretty solidly, at least. They were essential for addresses and phone numbers. She cited seven numbers. â€Å"Again,† I said. I made her say it three times and hoped I had it. But there was more. I was pretty sure the outer door had a different code. â€Å"Numbers. Door. Two.† I felt like a caveman. Inna stared, not quite getting it. â€Å"Door. Two.† Understanding glinted in her eyes, and she looked mad. I think she’d hoped I wouldn’t realize the other door had its own code. More cutting with the stake made her scream seven more numbers. Again, I made her repeat them, realizing I had no way to know if she was telling me the truth at least until I tried the numbers. For that reason, I decided to keep her around. I felt guilty about what I did next, but these were desperate times. In guardian training, I’d been taught both to kill and to incapacitate. I did the latter this time, slamming her head back against the floor and rendering her unconscious. Her expression went slack, her eyelids drooping. Damn. I was reduced to hurting teenage humans. Standing up, I moved to the door and punched in the first set of numbers, hoping I had them right. To my complete and utter astonishment, I did. The electronic lock clicked, but before I could open the door, I just barely made out another click. Someone had unlocked the outer door. â€Å"Shit,† I muttered. I pulled away from the door immediately, picked up Inna’s unconscious body, and hurried to the bathroom. I set her in the tub as gently as possible and had just shut the bathroom door when I heard the main door open. I felt the telltale nausea that signaled a Strigoi was nearby. I knew one of the Strigoi could smell a human, and I hoped shutting her away would be enough to mute Inna’s scent. I emerged from the hall and found Dimitri in the living room. I grinned at him and ran into his arms. â€Å"You’re back,† I said happily. He held me briefly and then stepped back. â€Å"Yes.† He seemed slightly pleased at the greeting, but soon his face was all business. â€Å"Have you made your decision?† No hello. No how are you feeling? My heart sank. This wasn’t Dimitri. â€Å"I have more questions.† I went over to the bed and lay down in a casual way, just like we always did. He followed a few moments later and sat on the edge, looking down at me. â€Å"How long will it take?† I asked. â€Å"When you awaken me? Is it instantaneous?† Once more, I launched into an interrogation session. Honestly, I was running out of questions, and at this point, I didn’t really want to know the intricacies of becoming Strigoi. I was becoming more and more agitated with each passing moment. I had to act. I had to make use of my fleeting opportunity here. And yet†¦ before I could act, I had to reassure myself that this really wasn’t Dimitri. It was stupid. I should know by now. I could see the physical changes. I’d seen his coldness, the brutality. I’d seen him come fresh from a kill. This wasn’t the man I’d loved. And yet†¦ for that one fleeting moment earlier†¦ With a sigh, Dimitri stretched out beside me. â€Å"Rose,† he interrupted, â€Å"if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were stalling for time.† Yeah, even as a Strigoi, Dimitri knew how I thought and schemed. I realized if I was going to be convincing, I had to stop playing dumb and remember to be Rose Hathaway. I put on a look of outrage. â€Å"Of course I am! This is a big deal. I came here to kill you, and now you’re asking me to join you. You think this is easy for me to do?† â€Å"Do you think it’s been easy for me to wait this long?† he asked. â€Å"The only ones who get choices are Moroi who willingly kill, like the Ozeras. No one else gets a choice. I didn’t get a choice.† â€Å"And don’t you regret that?† â€Å"No, not now. Now that I’m who I was meant to be.† He frowned. â€Å"The only thing hurt is my pride-that Nathan forced me and that he acts as though I’m indebted to him. Which is why I’m being kind enough to give you the choice now, for the sake of your pride.† Kind, huh? I looked at him and felt my heart breaking all over again. It was like hearing the news of his death once more. I suddenly grew afraid I might cry. No. No tears. Dimitri always talked about prey and predators. I had to be the predator. â€Å"You’re sweating,† he said suddenly. â€Å"Why?† Damn, damn, damn. Of course I was sweating. I was contemplating staking the man I loved-or thought I’d loved. And along with sweat, I was sure I was giving off pheromones of my agitation. Strigoi could smell all of those things, too. â€Å"Because I’m scared,† I whispered. I propped myself up and stroked the edge of his face, trying to memorize all of his features. The eyes. The hair. The shape of his cheekbones. In my imagination, I overlaid the things I remembered. Dark eyes. Tanned skin. Sweet smile. â€Å"I†¦ I think I’m ready, but it’s†¦ I don’t know. It’s such a big thing.† â€Å"It’ll be the best decision of your life, Roza.† My breathing was growing rapid, and I prayed he’d think it was because of my fear of being turned. â€Å"Tell me again. One more time. Why do you want to awaken me so badly?† A slightly weary look crossed his face. â€Å"Because I want you. I’ve always wanted you.† And that’s when I knew. I finally realized the problem. He’d given that same answer over and over, and each time, something about it had bothered me. I’d never been able to pinpoint it, though. Now I could. He wanted me. Wanted me in the way people wanted possessions or collectibles. The Dimitri I’d known†¦ the one I’d fallen for and slept with†¦ that Dimitri would have said he wanted us to be together because he loved me. There was no love here. I smiled at him. Leaning down, I kissed him gently. He probably thought I was doing it for the reasons I always did, out of attraction and desire. In truth, it was a goodbye kiss. His mouth answered mine, his lips warm and eager. I held out the kiss a little longer, both to fight back the tears leaking out of my eyes and to lull him into an unsuspecting state. My hand closed around the chair leg, which I’d hidden in my hoodie pocket. I would never forget Dimitri, not for the rest of my life. And this time, I wouldn’t forget his lessons. With a speed he wasn’t ready for, I struck out and plunged the stake through his chest. My strength was there-sliding the stake past the ribs and straight into his heart. And as I did it, it was like piercing my own heart at the same time. Blood Promise Chapter TwentyFour I’d never seen it coming. Hell, no one had. Avery had made a good show of being an air user. Each Moroi had a very low level of control in each element. She’d just barely done enough with air to make it seem like that was her specialization. No one had questioned her further because honestly, who would have ever expected another spirit user around? And since she was out of school, she had no reason to be tested anymore or forced to demonstrate her ability. No one was there to call her on it. The more I thought about it, the more the little signs were there. The charming personality, the way she could talk people into anything. How many of her interactions were spirit controlled? And was it possible†¦ was it possible that Adrian’s attraction had been compulsion on her part? I had no reason to feel happy about that, but†¦ well, I did. More to the point, what did Avery want with Lissa? Avery compelling Adrian into liking her wasn’t too out there. He was good-looking and came from an important family. He was the queen’s great-nephew, and although family members of the current monarch could never inherit the throne immediately afterward, he’d have a good future, one that would always keep him in the highest circles of society. But Lissa? What was Avery’s game there? What did she have to gain? Lissa’s behavior all made sense now-the uncharacteristic partying, weird moods, jealousy, fights with Christian†¦ Avery was pushing Lissa over the edge, causing her to make horrible choices. Avery was using some sort of compulsion to spin Lissa out of control, alienating her and putting her life in danger. Why? What did Avery want? It didn’t matter. The why wasn’t important. The how was, as in how I was going to get out of here and back to my best friend. I looked down at myself, at the delicate silk dress I wore. Suddenly, I hated it. It was a sign of how I’d been, weak and useless. I hastily took it off and ransacked my closet. They’d taken away my jeans and T-shirt, but I’d at least been allowed to keep my hoodie. I put on the green sweater dress, seeing as it was the sturdiest thing I had, feeling moderately more capable. I slipped the hoodie on over it. It hardly made me feel like a badass warrior, but I did feel more competent. Sufficiently dressed for action, I returned to the living room and started that pacing that tended to help me think better-not that I had any reason to believe I was going to come up with new ideas. I’d been trying to for days and days with no luck. Nothing was going to change. â€Å"Damn it!† I yelled, feeling better with the outburst. Angry, I flounced into the desk chair, amazed that I hadn’t simply thrown it against the wall in my frustration. The chair wobbled, ever so slightly. Frowning, I stood up and looked at it. Everything else in this place was state-of-the-art. Odd that I’d have a faulty chair. I knelt down and examined it more closely. There, on one of the legs, was a crack near where the leg joined with the seat. I stared. All of the furniture here was industrial strength, with no obvious joints. I should know, seeing how long I’d beat this chair against the wall when I first arrived. I hadn’t even dented it. Where had this crack come from? Slamming it over and over had done nothing. But I hadn’t been the only one to hit it. That very first day, I’d fought with Dimitri and come after him with the chair. He’d taken it from me and thrown it against the wall. I’d never paid attention to it again, having given up on breaking it. When I’d later tried cracking the window, I’d used an end table because it was heavier. My strength hadn’t been able to damage the chair-but his had. I picked up the chair and immediately slammed it into that diamond-hard window, half-hoping I might kill two birds with one stone. Nope. Both remained intact. So I did it again. And again. I lost track of how many times I slammed that chair into the glass. My hands hurt, and I knew despite my recovery, I still wasn’t at full strength. It was infuriating. Finally, on what felt like my gazillionth try, I looked at the chair and saw the crack had grown bigger. The progress renewed my will and strength. I hit and hit, ignoring the pain as the wood bit into my hands. At long last, I heard a crack, and the leg broke off. I picked it up and stared in amazement. The break hadn’t been clean. It was splintered and sharp. Sharp enough to be a stake? I wasn’t sure. But I knew for a fact that wood was hard, and if I used enough force, I might be able to hit a Strigoi’s heart. It wouldn’t kill one, but the blow would stun. I didn’t know if it’d be enough to get me out of here, but it was all I had now. And it was a hell of a lot more than I’d had one hour ago. I sat back on the bed, recovering from my battle with the chair and tossing the makeshift stake back and forth. Okay. I had a weapon now. But what could I do with it? Dimitri’s face flashed in my mind’s eye. Damn it. There was no question about it. He was the obvious target, the one I’d have to deal with first. The door suddenly clicked open, and I looked up with alarm. Quickly, I shoved the chair into a dark corner as panic raced through me. No, no. I wasn’t ready. I hadn’t fully convinced myself to stake him. It was Inna. She carried a tray but didn’t wear her usual subservient expression. The brief look she gave me was filled with hate. I didn’t know what she had to be pissed off about. It wasn’t like I’d caused her any damage. Yet. I strode over like I was going to examine the tray. Lifting the lid, I saw a ham sandwich and french fries. It looked good-I hadn’t eaten in a while -but the adrenaline running through me had shoved any appetite I might have to the background. I glanced back up at her, smiling sweetly. She shot me daggers. Don’t hesitate, Dimitri had always said. I didn’t. I jumped at Inna, throwing her so hard against the floor that her head slammed back. She looked dazed, but quickly recovered and tried to fight back. I wasn’t drugged up this time-well, not much-and my years of training and natural strength finally showed themselves again. I pressed my body against her, keeping her firmly in place. Then, I produced the stake I’d had concealed and pressed those sharp points against her neck. It was like being back in the days of pinning Strigoi in alleys. She couldn’t see that my weapon was a chair leg, but the sharp points got her attention as I dug them into her throat. â€Å"The code,† I said. â€Å"What is the code?† Her only response was a string of obscenities in Russian. Okay, not a surprise, considering she probably didn’t understand me. I flipped through the meager Russian-English dictionary in my head. I’d been in the country long enough to pick up some vocabulary. Admittedly, it was equivalent to a two-year-old’s, but even they could communicate. â€Å"Numbers,† I said in Russian. â€Å"Door.† At least, that’s what I hoped I said. She said more impolite things to me, her expression defiant. It really was the Strigoi interrogation all over. My stake bit harder, drawing blood, and I forcibly restrained myself. I might question whether I had the strength to pierce a Strigoi heart with this, but severing a human’s vein? Cake. She faltered a little, apparently realizing the same thing. Again, I attempted my broken Russian. â€Å"Kill you. No Nathan. Never†¦Ã¢â‚¬  What was the word? The church service came back to me, and I hoped I had it right. â€Å"Never eternal life.† It got her attention. Nathan and eternal life. The things most important to her. She bit her lip, still angry, but her tirade had stopped. â€Å"Numbers. Door,† I repeated. I pushed the stake in harder, and she cried out in pain. At last she spoke, rattling off a series of digits. Russian numbers were something I had memorized pretty solidly, at least. They were essential for addresses and phone numbers. She cited seven numbers. â€Å"Again,† I said. I made her say it three times and hoped I had it. But there was more. I was pretty sure the outer door had a different code. â€Å"Numbers. Door. Two.† I felt like a caveman. Inna stared, not quite getting it. â€Å"Door. Two.† Understanding glinted in her eyes, and she looked mad. I think she’d hoped I wouldn’t realize the other door had its own code. More cutting with the stake made her scream seven more numbers. Again, I made her repeat them, realizing I had no way to know if she was telling me the truth at least until I tried the numbers. For that reason, I decided to keep her around. I felt guilty about what I did next, but these were desperate times. In guardian training, I’d been taught both to kill and to incapacitate. I did the latter this time, slamming her head back against the floor and rendering her unconscious. Her expression went slack, her eyelids drooping. Damn. I was reduced to hurting teenage humans. Standing up, I moved to the door and punched in the first set of numbers, hoping I had them right. To my complete and utter astonishment, I did. The electronic lock clicked, but before I could open the door, I just barely made out another click. Someone had unlocked the outer door. â€Å"Shit,† I muttered. I pulled away from the door immediately, picked up Inna’s unconscious body, and hurried to the bathroom. I set her in the tub as gently as possible and had just shut the bathroom door when I heard the main door open. I felt the telltale nausea that signaled a Strigoi was nearby. I knew one of the Strigoi could smell a human, and I hoped shutting her away would be enough to mute Inna’s scent. I emerged from the hall and found Dimitri in the living room. I grinned at him and ran into his arms. â€Å"You’re back,† I said happily. He held me briefly and then stepped back. â€Å"Yes.† He seemed slightly pleased at the greeting, but soon his face was all business. â€Å"Have you made your decision?† No hello. No how are you feeling? My heart sank. This wasn’t Dimitri. â€Å"I have more questions.† I went over to the bed and lay down in a casual way, just like we always did. He followed a few moments later and sat on the edge, looking down at me. â€Å"How long will it take?† I asked. â€Å"When you awaken me? Is it instantaneous?† Once more, I launched into an interrogation session. Honestly, I was running out of questions, and at this point, I didn’t really want to know the intricacies of becoming Strigoi. I was becoming more and more agitated with each passing moment. I had to act. I had to make use of my fleeting opportunity here. And yet†¦ before I could act, I had to reassure myself that this really wasn’t Dimitri. It was stupid. I should know by now. I could see the physical changes. I’d seen his coldness, the brutality. I’d seen him come fresh from a kill. This wasn’t the man I’d loved. And yet†¦ for that one fleeting moment earlier†¦ With a sigh, Dimitri stretched out beside me. â€Å"Rose,† he interrupted, â€Å"if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were stalling for time.† Yeah, even as a Strigoi, Dimitri knew how I thought and schemed. I realized if I was going to be convincing, I had to stop playing dumb and remember to be Rose Hathaway. I put on a look of outrage. â€Å"Of course I am! This is a big deal. I came here to kill you, and now you’re asking me to join you. You think this is easy for me to do?† â€Å"Do you think it’s been easy for me to wait this long?† he asked. â€Å"The only ones who get choices are Moroi who willingly kill, like the Ozeras. No one else gets a choice. I didn’t get a choice.† â€Å"And don’t you regret that?† â€Å"No, not now. Now that I’m who I was meant to be.† He frowned. â€Å"The only thing hurt is my pride-that Nathan forced me and that he acts as though I’m indebted to him. Which is why I’m being kind enough to give you the choice now, for the sake of your pride.† Kind, huh? I looked at him and felt my heart breaking all over again. It was like hearing the news of his death once more. I suddenly grew afraid I might cry. No. No tears. Dimitri always talked about prey and predators. I had to be the predator. â€Å"You’re sweating,† he said suddenly. â€Å"Why?† Damn, damn, damn. Of course I was sweating. I was contemplating staking the man I loved-or thought I’d loved. And along with sweat, I was sure I was giving off pheromones of my agitation. Strigoi could smell all of those things, too. â€Å"Because I’m scared,† I whispered. I propped myself up and stroked the edge of his face, trying to memorize all of his features. The eyes. The hair. The shape of his cheekbones. In my imagination, I overlaid the things I remembered. Dark eyes. Tanned skin. Sweet smile. â€Å"I†¦ I think I’m ready, but it’s†¦ I don’t know. It’s such a big thing.† â€Å"It’ll be the best decision of your life, Roza.† My breathing was growing rapid, and I prayed he’d think it was because of my fear of being turned. â€Å"Tell me again. One more time. Why do you want to awaken me so badly?† A slightly weary look crossed his face. â€Å"Because I want you. I’ve always wanted you.† And that’s when I knew. I finally realized the problem. He’d given that same answer over and over, and each time, something about it had bothered me. I’d never been able to pinpoint it, though. Now I could. He wanted me. Wanted me in the way people wanted possessions or collectibles. The Dimitri I’d known†¦ the one I’d fallen for and slept with†¦ that Dimitri would have said he wanted us to be together because he loved me. There was no love here. I smiled at him. Leaning down, I kissed him gently. He probably thought I was doing it for the reasons I always did, out of attraction and desire. In truth, it was a goodbye kiss. His mouth answered mine, his lips warm and eager. I held out the kiss a little longer, both to fight back the tears leaking out of my eyes and to lull him into an unsuspecting state. My hand closed around the chair leg, which I’d hidden in my hoodie pocket. I would never forget Dimitri, not for the rest of my life. And this time, I wouldn’t forget his lessons. With a speed he wasn’t ready for, I struck out and plunged the stake through his chest. My strength was there-sliding the stake past the ribs and straight into his heart. And as I did it, it was like piercing my own heart at the same time.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

How Antibotic Resistance occurs and Prevention of Resistance Essay

How Antibotic Resistance occurs and Prevention of Resistance - Essay Example The situation is so serious that some medical experts have suggested the fact that the medical field might again fall into the dark period where there were no antibiotics (Davies & Davies 2010). Antibiotic resistance is a serious medical issue that is led to by many reasons and many drug resistance strains have of bacteria have resulted for example the strains of Neisseria gonorrhea. Antibiotic resistance has evolved owing to many underlying causes. Human activities have been a major cause. These include the utilization of antibiotics regularly for agricultural purposes and the disposing of wastes containing a high quantity of the antibiotics. Treatment plans for wastewater are also seen to have high quantities of genes and resistant bacteria. The incorrect use of antibiotics is another reason for the formation of drug resistant strains of bacteria. Genetic changes are the most common reason for the creation of resistance strains. The most common mutations are noted in the genes that code for the ÃŽ ²-lactamase enzymes. Intrinsic resistance is another process which results in resistant bacterial strains. This results as the genetic code of certain bacteria already possesses the capability of forming new resistant strains. Certain bacteria already possess the ability of preventing the functioning of antibiotics and hence this is also a cause of antibiotic resista nce (Davies & Davies 2010). Neisseria gonorrhea is a common bacterial agent which has had many genetic changes that have resulted in making many antibiotics ineffective in its treatment. Sulfonamides were considered to be the best treatment for gonorrhea but after a short period of their usage resistant strains of this bacteria came forward. Gonococcus bacteria have the capability to adapt to changes in their surrounding and undergo changes which is the reason for the