Succubus Heat CHAPTER 3

I neither packed nor called Dante when I got home. I was exhausted. Talking to Seth had been too depressing. I lived too close to the bookstore, I decided. What had once been convenient now felt oppressive. A few blocks simply wasn't enough distance between Seth and me. I kind of wished Emerald City had another branch somewhere that I could work. In lieu of that, maybe I was the one who needed to find a new residence. My lease here was ending soon, and until now, I'd never considered anything except renewing. Moving was a startling-and weirdly appealing-thought, and I pondered it as I drifted off to sleep that night, my cat Aubrey snuggled against my legs. The next morning, I had to scramble to pack my things. Jerome hadn't given me any specific time to be in Vancouver, only â€Å"soon.† I decided not to test the exact terms of that. Packing didn't take long, fortunately. I could shape-shift any clothing I wanted, but I had some favorites I preferred to just take with me. It was another lingering human habit. There were also cosmetics and other toiletries I wanted with me; I liked to do my own hair and makeup if I had the time. I was pouring my third cup of coffee in the kitchen when I felt the tingle of immortal signatures appear in my living room. Only a higher immortal, like a demon or angel, could directly teleport in, and I immediately recognized these two. Grace and Mei. They were Jerome's lieutenant demonesses. Heaven ran its agenda in a haphazard way, but ours was carefully organized. Territory was parceled out to archdemons, who in turn controlled a network of subordinate demons and lesser immortals like me and my friends: succubi, vampires, and imps. Jerome handled the big issues in the area, went to meetings with the demons who were above him, and was in charge of discipline. Grace and Mei handled the minutiae and paperwork and also kept an eye on the far reaches of Jerome's territory, areas he was too busy for and uninterested in. His full jurisdiction actually stretched along the coast of western Washington, though his base of operation was the Seattle metropolitan area. That was also where most of his staff was located. He only kept an occasional eye on the outskirts and left it to Grace and Mei to keep him apprised of what occurred there. For whatever reason, the demonesses always wore matching clothing. Today they sported black pantsuits, tailored to a perfect fit. Grace was blond and Mei black-haired, but their hairstyles were also similar: bluntly cut at the chin. Both wore brick-red lipstick. â€Å"Good morning, Georgina,† said Grace. â€Å"We're here with last-minute instructions,† said Mei. â€Å"Oh, okay.† I was relieved. I'd been afraid Jerome had sent them to find out why I hadn't already crossed the Canadian border. â€Å"You guys want some coffee?† I offered them something every time they were here, and every time, they refused. So, I was a bit astonished when Grace asked, â€Å"What kind?† â€Å"Um†¦Starbucks. Their house blend.† â€Å"No,† replied Grace and Mei in unison. I shrugged and sat down on the couch. Aubrey had been lying there a minute ago but was nowhere in sight now. She hated these two. Mostly they creeped me out. â€Å"Okay,† I asked. â€Å"What's the scoop?† They remained standing. Mei crossed her arms. â€Å"Jerome wants you to understand the situation with Cedric. The two of them have had a†¦disagreement over territorial lines.† This perked my interest. â€Å"Ah. It's him, then. We'd heard Jerome had something going on with another demon.† â€Å"The two of them had been eyeing each other's areas,† explained Grace. â€Å"In the hopes of expanding their own boundaries into one large Pacific Northwest†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She paused thoughtfully. â€Å"†¦empire?† I suggested. She shrugged by way of agreement. â€Å"Something like that,† said Mei. â€Å"But eventually, they put the dispute aside and gave up, each settling for their current territories. That's why Jerome is lending you to Cedric, as a sign of good will.† I was too intrigued to retort about the degradation of Jerome â€Å"lending† me to anyone. â€Å"Jerome doesn't do things out of good will,† I pointed out, recalling his snide remark about altruism last night. â€Å"There's more going on.† Grace nodded. â€Å"Indeed. Jerome suspects that Cedric actually hasn't given up the struggle and is still plotting against him. Jerome wants you to spy and report back.† Oh, I didn't like that. Not at all. â€Å"He wants me to spy on another demon? An arch demon? Do you know what kind of trouble I could get in if Cedric finds out?† Neither demoness said anything. It was no concern of theirs if I got smote. Considering Jerome's current attitude toward me, it probably wasn't much of a concern for him either, aside from having to send a requisition to Personnel for a new succubus. â€Å"So,† continued Mei, â€Å"you'll have two agendas. You need to let Jerome know what Cedric's doing. And, you need to infiltrate Cedric's problem cult and keep them in line-although, if you make things a little uncomfortable for Cedric along the way, Jerome won't mind.† â€Å"Right. The Canadian Satanists. What on earth are they doing that's such a big deal? Putting 666 on the backs of hockey jerseys?† My joke had no effect on either demoness. Someday, I thought, I'd get one of them to crack a smile. â€Å"They're attracting attention, enough that Cedric's superiors are embarrassed. They'd prefer this cult conduct its evil in more subtle ways.† â€Å"Last I knew, true Satanists aren't actually evil per se,† I mused. The rep aside, most Satanists were more into just acknowledging chaos and humanity's wild, base nature. â€Å"Most aren't actually out conducting bloody rituals or spray-painting pentagrams on walls.† â€Å"Actually,† said Mei, â€Å"this group is spray-painting pentagrams on walls.† â€Å"Oh,† I said. â€Å"That's lame.† â€Å"They think they're evil†¦Ã¢â‚¬  began Grace. â€Å"†¦but they're not,† finished Mei. â€Å"They need to be reined in.† â€Å"Okay, sure. No problem.† Influencing wannabe Satanists was a piece of cake compared to spying on a demon. I glanced at the time. â€Å"Anything else? I should probably head out.† â€Å"Yes,† said Mei. â€Å"Jerome wants you to check in on Tawny.† â€Å"Seriously?† I groaned. â€Å"He hates me.† The demonesses neither confirmed nor denied this statement. â€Å"See you around, Georgina,† said Grace. â€Å"We'll check in,† said Mei. They vanished. With a heavy heart, I finished my packing and told Aubrey good-bye. Then I lugged my suitcase down to my Passat, off to play Mata Hari. I just hoped my end would be better than hers. Once you clear Everett, a naval city just north of Seattle, the drive up to Canada is pretty easy. The speed limit goes up, and the most exciting attractions along the way are casinos and outlet malls. About a half-hour from the border, I reached Bellingham, the current residence of Tawny Johnson. Tawny was a succubus, a very new succubus. Technically, I was her mentor, but her assignment in Bellingham mercifully limited our interactions. She'd come to Seattle back in December and had gotten involved with an imp named Niphon who'd been trying to make my life more of a living hell than it already was. He'd roped her into his plans, and as angry as I'd been about it, I knew the fault was his more than hers. She hadn't really known what she was doing and had been convinced he could help fast-track her career. Nonetheless, she'd gotten in enough trouble that Jerome had sent her out of the city. It was better than being sent back to Hell, so really, the arrangement suited all of us just fine. I gave her a call, and we met up at a caf? ¦ just off I-5. Tawny was easy to spot when she entered the place. Despite the fact that Tawny had been kind of a con artist when she was a mortal-a profession you'd think would lend itself well to succubus work-she was actually pretty horrible at seduction. Oh, she could still get guys to sleep with her, but it was more thanks to her availability rather than any particular wiles on her part. In particular, she was convinced that the most alluring form she could take was that of a six-foot blonde with breasts that would have given a human a back injury. Tawny also had a penchant for spandex and metallic fabrics that I found disturbing but that delighted Hugh and the vampires to no end. I made a mental note to tell them about the chartreuse hot pants she wore today. â€Å"Georgina!† she exclaimed, dancing over to my table on gold stilettos. â€Å"I'm so happy to see you.† She held out her arms, like maybe I was supposed to stand and hug her, but I remained sitting. Taking the hint, she sat down as well. â€Å"What are you doing here?† â€Å"I'm going to Vancouver,† I said, wrapping my hands around my white chocolate mocha. â€Å"Jerome wanted me to stop by and see how things were going.† Her eyes lit up. â€Å"Great! I've been spending a lot of time over at Western.† She leaned forward and spoke in a sage voice. â€Å"You know, if you're ever having trouble getting someone into bed, you should go check out college guys. They're so easy.† â€Å"Thanks for the tip,† I said dryly. â€Å"I'll keep it in mind.† She pursed her lips and eyed me. â€Å"Doesn't look like you need it, though,† she added wistfully. â€Å"I could never get a glow like that.† Too bad she hadn't seen the glow in full effect yesterday. It would have blown her away. â€Å"You will,† I said. â€Å"Someday.† Some day far, far away. Tawny had miles to go before gaining the subtleties required to land really moral guys. â€Å"I don't know how you do it. You aren't even blond. I mean, maybe a little, but mostly you're a brunette. I just don't see guys going for that.† My hair was long and light brown, lightly highlighted with gold. My eyes were a hazel-green that I also suspected didn't fit in with her worldview of what was sexy, at least if her baby blues were any indication. â€Å"Yeah, well, some people are into kinky stuff, I guess.† The waiter showed up and took our lunch orders. I made myself comfortable and prepared to do some mentoring. â€Å"So,† I said. â€Å"You got any questions?† Tawny titled her head, long-lashed blue eyes filled with thought. â€Å"Yeah. There's something I've been wondering about.† â€Å"Okay, go for it.† â€Å"These colleges guys†¦they're kind of, like, fast.† â€Å"Fast?† â€Å"Yeah. You get them into bed, and it's over before it begins.† â€Å"They're eighteen or twenty. Still pulsing with adolescent hormones. They don't really know what they're doing yet.† â€Å"Yeah, yeah, I know,† she said. â€Å"Except, when you're going down on them, it takes forever . You know what I mean?† I forced a straight face. â€Å"It's one of the mysteries of the universe, Tawny. You just gotta roll with it.† â€Å"But my mouth gets sore,† she whined. â€Å"Makes my jaw ache the next day! Isn't there any way to speed it up?† My immortal friends would die if they could hear this conversation. â€Å"You can try the ‘don't stop' trick. Or maybe tell them you want them to come on your face. That'll get things moving.† â€Å"Ew! That's disgusting.† I shrugged. â€Å"Don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the answer.† â€Å"But how can I even say anything when my mouth is, well, you know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thus went the rest of our lunch conversation, and blow jobs turned out to be the mildest of topics. Fortunately, no one sat within listening distance. I ate my chicken salad as fast as I could, eager to be on my way. As we were paying the bill, a thought came to me. â€Å"Hey, Tawny. You're practically on top of Cedric's turf here. You ever see any signs of him and Jerome fighting?† She shook her head. â€Å"No. I've never even met Cedric. But there's a vampire here in town who's mentioned them fighting before. He seems to think it's a big deal.† â€Å"Everyone seems to, and yet†¦I don't know. I have a weird feeling about all this. Like that someone's trying to cover up something.† Tawny placed some cash on the table, her clawlike nails lacquered and red. For half a moment, she looked remarkably wise. â€Å"Back when I was doing cons, the best way to pull one past people was to make a big deal about something else. Misdirection.† It was quite possibly the most intelligent thing I'd ever heard Tawny say. â€Å"Yeah, but if so, what are we being misdirected from?† â€Å"Hell if I know. That's for smart people like you to figure out. I'm just trying to get college guys to speed up their blow jobs.† My first minute in Canada, I got pulled over. Right after you go through customs, there's a short stretch of the freeway with an incredibly low speed limit. Every time I drive through there, I try to drive that speed. And I'm the only one who ever does it. All the locals zip through that area, already driving the speed that the freeway clicks up to about half a mile (or kilometer or whatever) later. Every time, just before I officially hit the higher speed zone, I finally crack and speed up too-and that's always when the cops get me. I've been pulled over three times. This was my fourth. I handed over my license and other pertinent paperwork to the cop. â€Å"American, eh?† he asked, like it wasn't perfectly obvious. â€Å"Yes, sir,† I said. â€Å"You know you were speeding, don't you?† He mostly sounded curious, not harsh. â€Å"Was I?† I asked blankly, looking at him with doe eyes. I saw the succubus glamour seize him. â€Å"But the sign said sixty-five.† â€Å"Sixty-five kilometers per hour,† he corrected gently. â€Å"We use the metric system here.† I blinked. â€Å"Ohhhh. God, I forgot. I feel so stupid.† â€Å"It happens a lot,† he said. He handed my stuff back without even running it. â€Å"I'll tell you what. I'll let you go this time. Just make sure you get the units right, eh? Your speedometer's got kilometers per hour underneath the miles per hour.† â€Å"Oh, that's what the little numbers are for, huh-er, eh?† I gave him a dazzling smile. â€Å"Thank you so much.† So help me, he tipped his hat. â€Å"Happy to help. Be careful now, and enjoy your stay.† I thanked him again and headed off. It's worth noting here that while I've been pulled over four times in this stretch, I've also gotten off four times. Canadians. So nice. I made it into downtown Vancouver without further incident and checked into my hotel. It was a boutique one over on Robson Street, and I decided maybe Jerome didn't hate me after all. Or at least, Hell's travel agency didn't hate me. Robson was a fun neighborhood, full of restaurants and shopping. I threw my stuff into my room and then headed off to meet Cedric. He would have sensed me crossing into his territory, but I wanted it officially noted for the record that I was here so that I didn't get in further trouble with Jerome. Unlike Jerome, who was impossible to find sometimes, Cedric actually had a suite of offices over in the Financial District. I kind of liked that. The front desk was staffed by an imp named Kristin. She seemed pleasant enough, just incredibly busy. She told me I'd lucked out and that Cedric could fit me in right now. Walking into his office, I found him at his desk, reading something on Wikipedia. He glanced up. â€Å"Oh. Jerome's succubus.† He turned from the monitor and gestured to a chair opposite his desk. â€Å"Have a seat.† I sat down and immediately began assessing the office. Nothing about it screamed evil. It was neat and sleek, with an expansive window full of office buildings beyond him. Silver perpetual motion balls sat on his desk, and one of those framed motivational posters hung on the wall. It had a picture of a struggling pine sapling in front of a larger tree and read, DETERMINATION . Cedric himself didn't look too evil either. He had an average build and pretty blue-gray eyes. He kept his hair shaved army-style, and like Kristin, the biggest vibe I got off him was busy. Inasmuch as one could be busy surfing Wikipedia, that is. I glanced at the screen, curious as to what he'd been looking at. Demonic takeovers, perhaps? â€Å"Oh, that,† he said, following my gaze. â€Å"Just a hobby of mine. It's the entry on marsupials. I just like going in sometimes and putting in incorrect information. It's always fun to see how long it takes them to notice. They're better about it than they used to be, but that just makes it more of a challenge. I just wrote about how marsupials are an integral part of the Lutheran Eucharist.† He chuckled at his own ingenuity. â€Å"God, I hated the Reformation.† I smiled, not entirely sure what to say. Cedric clasped his hands in front of him, face turning serious. â€Å"So, let's get down to business. You're here to spy on me.† My mouth opened, but nothing coherent came out right away. â€Å"Um†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He waved his hand. â€Å"No, no, it's fine. You don't honestly expect me to believe Jerome would do me a favor without strings attached? Whatever. I don't have anything to hide. He can keep his territory-I'm too busy watching my own. You can tell him whatever you want so long as you do what I need you to.† â€Å"Right,† I said, finding my voice at last. â€Å"Your embarrassing Satanic cult.† He grimaced. â€Å"God, those guys are such a pain in the ass. What do you know about them?† â€Å"That they aren't Satanists like the usual groups, not like Anton LaVey's followers or the anti-Christians.† I felt like a student reciting in front of a class. â€Å"They think they're anti-Christian, but mostly, they're just ridiculous. Just some flakes in search of identity who got together and thought it'd be cool to be evil. They have meetings in robes and keep making up secret handshakes.† â€Å"And that's a problem?† â€Å"Nah, I don't care about any of that. They can play dress-up all they want. What's annoying is that they're doing all the things people think evil people do but don't actually do. They ripped up a bunch of bibles once and left them on this church's lawn. They also appear to have a fondness for spray paint.† â€Å"I heard about that.† â€Å"They keep writing stupid stuff like ‘The Angel of Darkness is Lord' and ‘What Would Satan Do?'† Cedric rolled his eyes. â€Å"Yeah, like that's original.† â€Å"I can see why you'd be embarrassed,† I admitted. â€Å"No kidding. The worst part is that they're attracting some media attention- especially among local churches. So, now those guys are doing their own sort of backlash and triggering a whole bunch of demonstrations about faith and light and all that stuff. Not what we need. Kind of defeats our purpose, really.† â€Å"What do you want me to do?† â€Å"Kristin hangs out with them sometimes. They know her and recognize what side she works for, but frankly, she doesn't have the people skills to manipulate them. She'll take you to them and give them some bullshit about how you're high-ranking in the ways of evil or something equally absurd. Then, I want you to hang out with them and just be part of their group. Stop them from doing more stupid things. Get them to go back to their role-playing in the basement. Hell, if you can convince them to disband, go for it.† He eyed me. â€Å"You're a succubus. You've been around for a while. You should be able to talk them into anything.† I nodded. â€Å"I can.† â€Å"Good. I'm tired of them. I'm not allowed to interfere directly, and my own people are too busy.† He stood up and walked toward the door. I took the hint and followed. â€Å"Do whatever you want the rest of the day. Kristin'll take you over to them tomorrow. Check them out. See what you think. I've got some appointments in the morning, but stop by anyway and give me your impressions of those fools.† â€Å"Is there anything in particular you want me to find out for you?† â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"In addition to keeping them out of trouble, I want you to simply observe them. They're not just attracting media attention-they're attracting attention from my superiors.† Ah, yeah. Hell could get pissy about that kind of thing. â€Å"If someone's purposely manipulating them, I want to know.† â€Å"Okay.† He gave me a narrow-eyed look. â€Å"And I hope it's not Jerome.† He still had that mild, businesslike exterior, but I heard the stern note in his voice. I shivered but gave him a smile anyway, trying not to think about misdirection. â€Å"I hope not either.† I was a bit surprised at how short my meeting with Cedric had been. I was more surprised still that after all the grief Jerome had given me about the urgency of this trip, I now had nothing to do. Of course, if he was trying to get rid of me, this was as good a way as any. My bad attitude and I were out of Seattle. It was dinnertime when I got back to Robson Street, so I found food at an Ethiopian restaurant a few blocks from my hotel and lingered over the remains of my meal with a novel I'd picked up a few days ago. Afterward, I wandered up and down the street, looking at various shops and designers, but eventually had to stop after passing two T-shirt stores. One sold retro stuff and had a dark purple Quiet Riot shirt in their window. Another sold Canadian souvenirs and displayed a shirt showing a map of Canada in red with a map of the U.S. below it in blue. The caption read: â€Å"Canada Likes It on Top.† If I'd still been dating Seth, I would have bought him both. He would have shaken his head and given me a slight quirk of the lips as he tried to hide his smile. The thought depressed me, and I found myself growing sadder and sadder as I walked back to my hotel. In that moment, I would have given anything to be with Seth again, to right the wrongs we'd done to each other back around Christmastime. Losing him was losing a part of me that- Searing, white-hot anger suddenly shot through me. What the fuck was I whining about? Why should I miss him? Why should I pine for someone who'd betrayed me and hurt me with my friend , of all people? Seth didn't deserve my longing or my love, and as I continued walking, that dark despair within me transformed to rage and spite-just as it had done nearly every day for the past four months. When I got back to the hotel, I was no longer sad. I was pissed. I hated everyone and everything, but especially Seth. I wanted to make him pay. Unfortunately, there was no way to do that, not here in Vancouver. Passing near the hotel's bar on my way through the lobby, I paused and surveyed the patrons. It was a veritable smorgasbord of men, most of them lone travelers making transient friends over their drinks. My succubus lust sprang up in me, and suddenly, all I wanted was to get drunk and go to bed with some guy. I wanted to lose myself in the haze of alcohol and fucking, in the hopes that it might all dull the pain that lay buried under my anger. And as I scanned the room, one guy in particular caught my attention. The face was all wrong, but he had hair almost the same color as Seth's. It was worn messy too, though it appeared as though he'd achieved that look with gel, rather than the lack of brushing Seth employed. No, this guy wasn't a perfect match by any means, but he was close, and there was an aura of shy vulnerability about him that I liked. Putting on a smile, I strolled across the room to introduce myself. I might not be able to actually punish Seth, but at least for tonight, I could pretend that I could.

Like the Molave Essay

Not yet, Rizal, not yet. Sleep not in peace: There are a thousand waters to be spanned; there are a thousand mountains to be crossed; there are a thousand crosses to be borne. Our shoulders are not strong; our sinews are grown flaccid with dependence, smug with ease under another’s wing. Rest not in peace; Not yet, Rizal, not yet. The land has need of young blood-and, what younger than your own, Forever spilled in the great name of freedom, Forever oblate on the altar of the free? Not you alone, Rizal. O souls And spirits of the martyred brave arise! Arise and scour the land! Shed once again your willing blood! Infuse the vibrant red into our thin anemic veins; until we pick up your Promethean tools and, strong, Out of the depthless matrix of your faith in us, and on the silent cliffs of freedom, we carve for all time your marmoreal dream! Until our people, seeing, are become like the Molave, firm, resilient, staunch, rising on the hillside, unafraid, Strong in its own fiber, yes, like the Molave! II. Not yet, Rizal, not yet. The glory hour will come Out of the silent dreaming from the seven thousand fold silence We shall emerge, saying WE ARE FILIPINOS! and no longer be ashamed sleep not in peace the dream is not yet fully carved hard the wood but harder the woods yet the molave will stand yet the molave monument will rise and god’s walk on brown legs The Literary Interpretation Of Like The Molave: By: Rosie Normanton The main interpretation of the Filipino poem Like the Molave is one regarding how the people of the Philippines must work to make the nation stronger. The poem states that a region of the Philippines – Rizal – cannot yet rest, as there is still much work to be done to make the area successful. At the beginning of the poem, the poet outlines how the Philippines is dependent on other nations, and must work towards becoming independent in the future in order to support its citizens. Like The Molave also highlights the importance of the younger generation, and how they must fight for their country and improve the Filipino way of living. The poet believes this will grant the nation freedom. Like The Molave also talks about heroes and how they inspire regular Filipinos to be great themselves and joins them on the quest to make the Philippines a more prosperous place. The poem states that whilst many Filipinos are achieving great things for their country, there is still much m ore to be done and more residents must contribute to the efforts. In short, Like the Molave is about inspiring the Filipino nation to improve their country and make it self-sufficient.

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Discussion Board Post Response - Essay Example Both learning organizations and complex adaptive systems could be used as frameworks for change in your organization. For instance, creating a culture that encourages support, learning, and critical thinking characteristic of the learning organization model could help employees understand and comprehend the need for respecting the chain of command in your organization (Nesse et-al, 2010). Elizabeth Harrell, I concur with your statement that the way an organization is structured will depict the overall culture of the organization. In this regard, the ways in which communication is conducted within your organization also portrays the culture of the organization (Geller, 2006). Your example of formal communication within your organization is also spot on. The regular meeting you hold every morning to discuss patients issues is an example of formal communication. In my current organization, any form of communication conducted through the official channels such as meetings, memos, and letters is considered formal. Any form of communication conducted through unauthorized means is considered informal. For instance, employees discussions during lunch time breaks on issues pertaining the patients is unauthorized as such informal may easily fall into the wrong hands hence breaching patients confidentiality. This is therefore an example of informal

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Discussion Questions - Coursework Example In practice, this could be used by introducing barriers, gates and out of bounds limitations so as to control traffic. Such move and an organisation would prevent the criminals who may have a getaway vehicle from being concealed within the premises of the building. In the same breadth and line of thought, the clearly defined exits seal all the prospective loopholes where the criminals may slip and run away from the buildings and places of target. In rhetoric sense and aspect, one ought to ask the questions: is it possible for a person to enter or leave the place without being accounted for or being noticed? Are there other entry/exit places such as rooftops? It is my reasoned view and humble submission that I would educate other people by putting signs and posts in big connotations on the benefits of security in the place. For instance, help them develop behavioral patterns such that if they see a stranger they ought to report them to the security office. In the concept and aspect of natural surveillance, criminals tend to operate in an environment where they are less visible and anonymous. Thus, surveillance refers to the aspect and instance where the place or location is visible and closely monitored by designate officials at all times. In the conventional and common wisdom, there are two approaches and perspectives to accomplish these. To begin with, there is the aspect of having well defined sight lines which are manned and controlled by video and CCTV cameras. Secondly, there is the notion of articulating social interactions and cohesion where each person assumes the role and duty of surveying and maintaining security. This is critical so as to ensure that all people or all the activities that would be happening at the place would be accounted for and be seen by all the others without hustles. The social interactions on their part ensures that there are security

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This is my final so it has to be good - Essay Example However, the major challenge was on how to put down this information in written form so as to communicate it to the intended readers. I always found myself making several drafts before giving a final paper. This made me spend a lot of time to come up with a piece of writing that effectively communicated what was intended. One of my major challenges at the beginning of the course was grammar. Being an international student, I did not have adequate knowledge on grammar rules in English. Particularly, tenses were very difficult to understand. Because different words have different ways of how to change their tenses, I always found myself making mistakes. I mixed different tenses in my writings which confused readers. Additionally, determining the right preposition to use in different situations was difficult. It was difficult to determine when to use by, on and in. Even more challenging was using these prepositions to correctly come up with phrasal verbs. From this course, I learned that passive sentences are used in academic writing. I had difficulties changing active sentences into passive sentences. Wrongfully mixing active and passive sentences in my writing made me fail in academic writing. Secondly, ensuring coherence in writing was a challenge. It was difficult to connect sentences and even words together to come up with an appropriate text. I learned about conjunctions and how they are used for this function. Each of the conjunctions learned have different purposes and can only be used for the specific purposes that they should meet. Some like and, also and additionally are used to show addition while others like however and but show that the argument is opposing what was stated earlier (Gangal 53). Selecting which conjunction to use in a given context was challenging at times, especially when they were to be placed at the beginning of the sentence. Therefore, I always found myself using conjunctions used to contrast when I intended to use

Inflation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Inflation - Essay Example Economists have defined inflation as the sustained general increase in the price of goods and services (Hart, 2010 p.10). When the prices goes up more money can only pay for fewer goods and services and the currency is said to have lost its purchasing power as the medium of exchange as well as the unit of account in an economy. when the prices goes up the situation is said to be price inflation while the money is in large supply the situation is referred to as monetary inflation((Hart, 2010 p.12). Several other concepts are related to inflation such as deflation which refers to a fall in the price levels generally while disinflation refers to a rate decrease in inflation. Hyperinflation is when the price increase is beyond control (Dwivedi, 2010 p.447). A general belief among economist is that inflation is caused by excess money supply in the economy which pushes demand for both goods and services. The measure of inflation is done through rating the increase in prices over a specified period of time. Inflation rate is expressed as a percentage and is calculated by working out the change in the price index and more so the consumer price index (Frisch, 1983 pg 9). The price index on itself cannot give the rate of inflation but it becomes useful when calculating the inflation rate. This rate is the percentage change rate of price index over a period of time. To calculate the inflation rate the formula below is used The widely used examples of indices to calculated inflation include consumer price index (CPI) which measures change in prices of goods and services(in a fixed basket) purchased by a consumer( Frisch, 1983 pg 12). This fixed basket has goods and services put together and are representative of the economy. The producer price index that measures price change in average as received by domestic producers. It measures the price paid by producers. It differs from the CPIs in that subsidizes in price, tax and profit may cause change in amount

Privacy Issues in the Workplace- Technology and Social Media Essay

Privacy Issues in the Workplace- Technology and Social Media - Essay Example ployer from jeopardizing the employees right to engage in union activities or other protected activities seeking to attain mutual aid or protection within and outside the company (National Labor Relations Board Web). However, under the recent technological advancements, privacy issues have increased with the new technological generating new privacy concerns for both the employees and the employer. Ideally, the new technological advancements allow the employer to gain access to employee’s information around his scope of work. Through the new technology, the employers can initiate telephone monitoring, social media monitoring, electronic mail and voice mail, video monitoring, computer monitoring, and other workplace privacy protections. Where E-mail/Internet is concerned, the employer can access all the emails and online conversation of an employee. Indeed, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, stipulates that an employer has can monitor electronic communications, e-mail and Internet surfing, and instant messaging of an employee where employee is using the employer-provided computer system (US Department of Justice Web). As such, it is the duty of the management to brief the employees on the application of this rule upon employment to avoid privacy issues. On the other hand, computer monitoring comes in handy where employers use computer software to access the screen or stored in the employees computer terminals and hard disks.  They can additionally invoke keystroke monitoring and count time spent away from the computer. Since the employer own s the computer and the terminals, he therefore has a right to monitor an employee’s computer usage. However, certain federal offer minimal rights against computer monitoring like the Fourth Amendment of the US constitution that restricts unreasonable search and seizure (Privacy Rights Clearing House Web). Employers can also initiate social media monitoring of the employees by accessing their Facebook and twitter

Sports life experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sports life experience - Essay Example My interest in swimming was inspired by my family. Even before I became a swimmer, swimming was a leisure activity that brought part of my family together whenever they needed an enjoyable time out. Today, swimming is one of the many sports I enjoy with or without the notion of leisure or a family time out. In other words, swimming continues to define my sporting personality. Another key experience that I have in sports is shooting. In this sporting activity, I have one-year experience. When I started shooting, I was confident that I would progressively develop my amateur shooting skills. Over the course of the one year, I became a first learner and quickly raised my bar beyond that of an amateur. Today, my experience in shooting is outstanding one year on. Shooting as a sporting activity enables me to switch from one activity to another, thus eliminating monotony in my sports life. More diversity in my sports life experience is reflected in horse riding. In this sport, I have one-year experience. Before I started horse riding, I was looking for a sport that would redefine my ability, potential, and risk-taking perspective. The idea was to engage in a sport that would further test my agility. My one year experience in horse riding has been exceptional in the sense that it capitalizes on my optimistic perception and approach to life. My experience in sports has had its long-term aspect as well. I have over four years’ experience in bodybuilding and at least five years’ experience in soccer. In the body building practice, I am driven by the need to stay healthy, in shape, to work with other experts in this field, and ultimately to build a competitive platform for my sporting expertise. Every day challenges the previous day, but this is the factor that enhances my skills and experience in sports especially in bodybuilding. Finally yet importantly, I play an active role in soccer. This sport is common and famous

Motifs in Bless Me, Ultima Essay Example for Free

Motifs in Bless Me, Ultima Essay The novel Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya describes the maturation of a boy named Antonio, who witnesses more than his fair share of deaths at a young age. He struggles with the injustices of these deaths and thus begins to question his once-solid religious beliefs. During the conflict Antonio experiences many vivid dreams, which are considered motifs in the work. The dream motif is a catalyst for the theme of the importance of independent thinking to maturation, because through his subconscious Antonio finds the understanding he craves by facing his fears and questioning his future. In many of Tony’s dreams he encounters his fears. One of these fears is that his three older brothers will go to hell, because they gamble and spend their time at Rosie’s, which is considered the whore house. In his dreams, Tony tries to protect their innocence: â€Å"Do not enter [Rosie’s], I cried. It is written on the waters of the river that you shall lose your souls to hell if you enter† (70). He is terrified that they will go to hell and be punished for eternity. Tony’s begging is to no avail; his brothers enter anyway. His troubled thoughts then turn to his own innocence: â€Å"Oh, where is the innocence I must never lose† (71). He struggles with the concept of maturing and losing the innocence he feels he needs to become a priest. As the novel progresses, however, Tony loses his innocence because of the many deaths he sees. He realizes that this is a given part of maturation, and that he can still hold integrity without innocence. Another struggle of Tony’s is the fact that he is caught in the middle of his parents’ dreams. His mother wants him to become a farmer-priest, and his father wants him to become a vaquero. In his sleep he struggles with which dream he will follow, and often see his parents arguing about it: â€Å"Oh please tell me which is the water that runs through my veins, I moaned my mother crooned softly, it is the water the Church chooses to make holy and place in its front. It is the water of your baptism Lies, lies, my father laughed, through your body runs the salt water of the oceans. It is that water which makes you Marez and not Luna† (120). Tony cannot understand which parent’s blood runs in his veins, and becomes more confused when they argue over it. However, in his dreams Tony most often sees himself as a priest: â€Å"I swung the dark robe of the priest over my shoulders then lifted my hands in the air† (26). It seems like this is the profession he will most likely choose. Throughout the novel Antonio yearns for understanding. He wants to know why God allows evil o triumph over good, and why the innocent sometimes die. In waking he cannot find the answers, but in dreams they come to him. When he questions in his sleep where his innocence is, Ultima appears in the dream and tells him, â€Å"There in the land of the dancing plains and rolling hills, there in the land which is the eagle’s by day and the owl’s by night is innocence. There where the lonely wind of the llano sang to the lovers’ feat of your birth, there in those hills is your innocence† (71). This shows Tony that he can always find innocence in nature. When Tony cannot decide which parent’s water runs in his veins, Ultima tells him, â€Å"The waters are one, Antonio† (121). He realizes that Luna blood and Marez blood mix in his veins. The answers in his dreams allow Tony to lessen his questioning in his waking world. Antonio’s dreams allow him to face his fears and think them through, which helps to eventually resolve them. Letting go of certain problems, such as his loss of innocence, helps him to mature. He discovers through his dreams that he does not have the blood of a Luna or a Marez; he has the blood of both. He also realizes that it is more likely that he will become a priest than a vaquero. With this understanding he settles on his future and makes his own decisions rather than being torn between those of his mother and father. When he learns to make his own decisions he matures into a man. Tony’s dreams guide him towards the theme of the importance of independent thinking to maturation.

Relationship between social media and Indian cultural collectivism

Relationship between social media and Indian cultural collectivism Prakash Thakur, an Indian student in London, has once said that Internet and his iPhone are parts of his life and cannot live without it, not even get off home without his smartphone. He is an active Facebook user, log in several times a day via iPhone and relies on this networking website to stays in touch with his friends and colleagues, receives his beloved brands promotions, suggests/comments/complains about products, services and every other things that pass through his life and share it regularly with his connected friends. After being in the UK for almost 2 years, he is now called himself Internet savvy. He is more likely to purchase products or services that one or more of his friends or colleagues use or recommended, more likely to search for reviews and comments and the best deal online rather than walk around the high-street, and more likely to say it out loud in every possible ways he can online and offline. The author has been amused of how important of Internet in Prakash and her life nowadays. Distance does not matter anymore to get in touch with family and friends. Only few mouse clicks, we are real-time connected through texts, pictures, audio voices, and videos. Physical textbooks, novel, and newspaper are less important when we could find, read and download almost everything on Internet via laptop, PDA and smartphone like BlackBerry, iPhone, HTC, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and etc. Study in MIB course has been made a significant change for me to rely more on electronic resource and database through GGSBs e-library and started to read the whole series of Twilight Saga e-book version on my laptop. A thought of having an e-book reader is more attracted when iPad is launched into the market to make my life easier to read e-book and it will make me look in-trend. All above are the examples of our everyday life. Internet and Web savvy that is what we are. We acquaint in searching for best deal and become astute online customers. Internet is EVERYTHING; up-to-date all sort of information, shopping, chatting with friends (or to the world), learning, working, finding a date, and finding a job. Thanks to technology that allowed us to access to the Internet everywhere, anytime and any devices we want where there are an access point. Internet may make our life easier and more convenient, however, there is always one major problem for every internet and web users too much. For example, when I thought about buying e-book reader, I did not know where to start, then easiest way that everyone in this generation knows Googling it. By typing e-book reader, the result would be 13.4 million Webs for me to have a look. Thats far too much and actually, it is impossible to expose all those results. As a business student, I realise that it is challenging for any companies or any brands to stand out among the crowd to be at the top of 13.4 million. And this is just the beginning. Consumers are now have more choices to choose and more power on brands they consumed about their opinions and more likely to spread out their words like virus. To be continuingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. The clearer definition of Web 2.0 by OReilly (2005) said that the 7 characters of Web 2.0 are 1) the web platform that 2) harnessing collective intelligence where 3) data is the next Intel inside which 4) allowed companies to have co-developer and work together daily to end the software release cycle. In addition, Web 2.0 will also create 5) lightweight programming models including 6) software above level of single device which 7) rich in users experiences II. Digital Life: Facts Figures Everyday, or almost everyday in the UK, according to Statistical Bulletin: Internet Access 2010 (Office of National Statistic, 2010), there were 30.1 million out of the total of 38.3 million adults internet users in the UK used the internet from their homes, workplace and when they were on mobiles. As shown in Figure II-1, unsurprisingly, internet was used primarily to send or receive emails as high as 90 per cent while it was used to search for information about goods and services just 75 per cent. In addition to that, there were 51 per cent of internet users used internet so as to read or download online news, newspapers or magazines meanwhile watching web television or listening to web radio were counted only 45 per cent. Interestingly, another 43 per cent of internet users posted messages to chat sites, social networking sites and blogs , and 38 per cent were user-generated content as they uploaded their photos, music or videos to a website (Office of National Statistic, 2010). According to the report, majority of youngster age 16 to 24 years old, in the report, 75 per cent of them posted messages on Internet whilst half of them uploaded self-created content. Figure II-1 Internet activities in the UK 2010 (Office of National Statistic 2010) Moreover, Digital Influence Index studied of how the Internet has transformed the consumers behaviour around the world, McRoberts et al. (2010) found that in the UK, individuals spend about 14 hours per week using the internet. So, to answer the question why there were so many adult users actively use Internet? McRoberts et al. (2010) revealed that 30 per cent of the UK consumers trusted internet as the most important(main) source of information rather than e-mail or information received from family, friends and/or colleagues which represented 19 per cent and 16 per cent respectively. Moreover, more than half of the UK respondents (54 per cent) believed that the online communication with others was a safe thing to do and over one third of consumers did not read printed newspaper or magazine anymore, instead, they go online. However,internet has been allowing users to participate or response back to the web as user-generated contents and share information online, still, more than of the UK consumers think there was an excess of sharing personal information and many things that was said online is boring (McRobert et al., 2010). Clearly, internet has been influencing and continuously changing the users way of life. People are just not only retrieving information from web sites but also able to create, upload, and participate or even express opinions back to the web in a real-time. All of these impacts from the internet are credited to the term Web 2.0, therefore, it is very crucial to understand and embrace the definition and effect of Web 2.0 in our life. 2.1 Web 2.0 The term Web 2.0 is considerably a vague meaning. Web 2.0 is defined internet users as user-generated content which can be seen in public reviews and comments, blogs and video in two way communication (Fenn, 2009; Ryan Jones, 2009). In addition, with Web 2.0, Internet users relatively have more control and interactivity of the content rather than just being viewers sites owners (Funk, 2009). The clearer definition of Web 2.0 by OReilly (2005) said in the 7 characters of Web 2.0 are as follow; The web as platform Website is considered as a station for two-way communication whilst user controls the data or called The network as platform. It is a platform for people to; tagging: del.icio.us, Flickr and Furl, contribute in page rank: TripAdvisor, Amazon review and epinion, participation in blog, enabling the long tail Harnessing Collective Intelligence Massive numbers of internet users are associating with and creating the network. They are dominating the market exponentially and producing an astonishing collective work in real time. This concept is so called Crowdsourcing. On the other hand, the Web is learning from the users and become gradually smarter. Such as results and location in web search will now show you the most likely what you want in your local area. Data is the Next Intel Inside Web 2.0 companies core competency is database management. Therefore, the company strives to be the first who gain and restrain the data assets and put it into their system services. End of the Software Release Cycle The daily basis operations expertise matching development, is the core competency for Web 2.0 companies. At the same time, the companies co-developer is the users as seen in open source development platform in Gmail, Flickr, del.icio.us and Google map. Together, developers and co-developers (users) are working in at least daily basis to upgrading their software. Lightweight Programming Models As seen in RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and REST (Representational State Transfer), Innovation in assembly is a must to create the effective new business model from syndicating reusable commodity components. Software Above the Level of a Single Device Concept of two-way communication is applied to many digital devices to be connected in real time. More than one device is needed, for example, one computer hosting the browser while another one is used to host the server. This is the basic requirement for the basic web application. Moreover, not only the PC that can access to the internet application, but any handheld devices with internet service can also do. Rich User Experiences Web 2.0 can benefit from shared data by creating and developing their products and services by learning from their users. Apparently, Web 2.0 is about people communicating, generating and engaging. Web 2.0 usages can be seen in blogs, wikis, social network websites, web applications, video-sharing websites, folksonomy and more. Significantly, we are now communicating more and more everyday through digital world in the global scale. Therefore, Web 2.0 can attract business people to pay attention to it, especially marketer. III. Digital Marketing Nowadays, internet is not just one of marketing channels; instead, it is the significant part for business future (Chaffey and Smith, 2008). Marketing strategies on the internet have been changing. Strauss and Frost (2009) explained the significant impacts of Web 2.0 in todays market that; Power shift from sellers to buyers. Consumer and business buyers are now easily to make an online post that have a massive impact to the business. Buyers attention and relationship are vital. The companies need to listen and learn to engage with their customers. Search engines are now reputational engines. Search marketing is the important part of marketing plan as a search engine result pages (SERP) and its popularity are improvingcan increase brand exposure and awareness, site traffic, companys image and sales. Market and media fragmentation. There are an increasing specific-interest market and declining mass marketwhich mean that market and media are now customised according to the consumers needs. Content is still king online. Contents change quickly in digital word and are driven by consumer-generated media. Marketers need to engage and respond back to the network. Connections are critical. Social networking is unavoidable. It is about who you know online and what they say about you. Improve online and offline strategy integration. As in multichannel marketing offering more than one channel to the consumers to buy products and services. Intellectual capital rule. The crucial resources are not money, but instead, they are creativity, imagination and entrepreneurship. The long tail. The term is coined by Chris Anderson. The concept refers to the economy of abundance where small amount of products sales can collectively increase the revenue significantly. The example from Amazon shows that 57 per cent of total sales come from the small quantities of very different kind of hard-to-find books in a large volume. Benefits of Web 2.0 have been used widely by businesses as material marketing strategies in epidemic rate to communicate to their customers and prospects and enhance their brand experiences. Chaffey and Smith (2008) illustrated how people in online marketplace communicate to each other which he called the web-based community communications model as shown in Figure II-2. Communications are facilitated by the sender or the company to both customers, opinion leaders and opinion formers who will encourage word-of-month online and spread the message to other customers. Furthermore, the company needs to listen and keeps an eye on the customers closely about what they have been talking about in order to improve its brand values. Figure III-1 A web of conversations accelerating word-of-mouth. C, customer; OL, opinion leader Furthermore, within this model, brand awareness is spreading among the relevant community members who will then pass along the viral messages to other members as a form of Affiliate marketing (Chaffey and Smith, 2008). From this model, the online marketer has to carefully select the appropriate channel of online media used in particular community or network so as to achieve the companys objectives. When Web 2.0 is used collectively to connect people together through PC or any other handheld devices like model above, it is called Social Media (Strauss and Frost, 2009). Social media is also called User-generated media (UGM) or consumer-generated media (CGM) which Strauss and Frost (2009) defined as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦these are Web pages allowing social networking and are primarily authored by internet usersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦User-generated media are the norm. The impact of Web 2.0 and the web-based community communication pattern indeed influenced the online customers and their behaviour. Chaffey and Smith (2008) mentioned that brand control is unlocked from marketers, the customers have their own brand discussions. Moreover, Harris Interactive, (2007) as cited in Chaffey and Smith (2008), reported that 80 per cent of consumers who have a bad or negative experience in customer services, they will not go back to the company ever again. The angry customers could be lurking in the various brands attacking blogs or websites. Also, the consumer communications in the market are effected by cultureAs a result, shared patterns were created in terms of thoughts, emotions, and behaviours (Pennington, 2009). Therefore, to understand customers behaviour inside out, it is vital to the companies and marketers to appropriately approach their customers and prospects with the right message at the right time and using the right communication channels. 3.1 Digital Customers Digital, or online, customers are also called as the Net Generation has significantly 8 characteristics that Tapscott (2008) refered as norm distinctive attitudinal and behavioural characteristic. These norms differentiate the Net Geners from any other generations. Tapscott (2008) explained the eight norms as follow; Freedom the internet gives Net Geners to have freedom of choice to do whatever they want anywhere they want it. Customization Net Geners will make what they want and make it right to their needs and desires. Scrutiny the internet provides information for Net Geners to scrutinise the products and services. For the company, candour is the best way to reach the Net Geners with easy access information. Integrity -Net Geners are increasingly favoured for the company or any organizations that behave honestly, considering and transparent. Collaboration  ­- Net Geners collaborate to each other online and influence each other to discuss their opinions on products, services, brands and companies. Entertainment amusement and fun are the point of interest for the Net Geners Speed immediate response is preferable. Net Geners often e-mail to people at work because it is faster. Innovation Net Geners prefer the greatest and newest innovative products to make them up-to-date within their social group and create their positive images. Therefore, for marketers, to use use the available technology both effectively and efficiently to communicate to the Net Geners or the online consumers is considerably critical. The behaviour of online consumers have been changing. They are now trust each other rather than advertisings or companys websites (Strauss and Frost, 2009). Ideal online customer, as Chaffey and Smith (2008) suggested, is the person who rates and reviews the product or service online and his opinions could influence another 100 persons regardless of how regular he buy. This group of individuals is called engaged customers whose marketers must try to strengthen the relationship with and stimulate the word-of-mouth. The freedom of communication and choices in digital world are now make consumers are more sophisticated than ever as information is overloaded to them (Strauss and Frost, 2009). Therefore, the concept of attention economy is created where Strauss and Frost (2009) explained that it is the idea that information might be infinite, but the demand for it is limited by human capacity. Moreover, there is a trend that online consumers will participate and engage in a group of people whom they share interests and consider other as a person like themselves (Strauss and Frost, 2009). Obviously, online consumers are grouped together and form their own communities they are segmenting themselves. 3.2 Market Segmentation Segmentation is the vital starting point for marketing strategy. It is relevant to the marketer to segment the market according to the group of people who share similar characteristics and preferences which differentiate them from the others in the market. (Strauss and Frost, 2009). There are four types of market segmentation which are based on geographic location, demographic, psychographic and behavioural related to the uses of products. In the digital world where there is no physical boundary, the population cannot be acculately justified and online consuming behaviour is changing rapidly. However, the observation showed that online users have grouped themselves according to their interest. Therefore, the psychographic segmentation is the most effective to be applied to the digital world where the group of people who share the similar activities, interests, opinions, attitudes, lifestyles, and value. (Strauss and Frost, 2009). Psychographic segment is significantly related to culture because culture is what we defines a human community, its individuals and social organisation (Mooij, 2009). 3.3 Culture Culture, a sophisticated word, is described in Mooij (2009) that culture produces individuals ideas, values, acts, emotions and even part of identity. Hofstede (1984 cited in Cry et al., 2008) defined culture as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the member of one group from another. Pennington (2009) also explained the term culture as the shared, learned patterns of thoughts, feelings, appetites, and behaviours, based upon a climate of values, for organizing or adapting to the natural and social environments. People mostly unconsciously absorb their cultures. And culture defined their perspectives toward things differently, including themselves, others, societies, organisations, nature and universe (Kotler and Keller, 2006). For marketer, cultural differences play an important part of both marketing communication and brand management strategies, especially in the global scale (LaPlante, 2005). Geert HofstedeTM cultural dimensions power distance, individualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity, and uncertainty avoidance had been used in management and marketing perspective to better understand national culture (Cry et al., 2008). Specifically considering in individualism-collectivism, this dimension is described as relationship of individual toward others. Individualism society will value personal interest, individual decision-making, and lose social bounding (Cyr et al., 2008). On the contrary, collectivism is the society where social members are integrated strongly into cohesive groups (Itim International, 2009). In order to identify the level of collectivism in particular culture, Shulruf et al. (2003) presented the measurement tool for individualism and collectivism in a practical way. The measurements for collectivism society are interdependent to each other or relatedness, has sense of in-group belonging, and prefers harmony by seeking advice. Whilst individualisms measurements are the opposite independence, self-reliance, and self-focused (Shulruf, et al., 2003). 3.4 Brand According to the American Marketing Association (AMA), brand is defined as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors (Heding et al., 2009). Consumers use brand names to identify what products or services that would satisfy their purchase (Rowley, 2004). While Pennington (2009) mentions that brand is important to social objects to communicate, identify and distinguish consumers in their market culture. Everything can be branded; products, services, stores, individuals, places, or ideas (Kotler and Keller, 2006) Especially in this digital-driven market, products and services are rather imitated easily but not brand, therefore, to create strong and powerful brand is extremely crucial (Chernatony and McDonald, 2005). The successful brand can be seen in Millward Brown Optimor (2010) cited in Clark (2010) reported that Google has the highest brand value with $114,260 million in 2010, 14 per cent increase from last year and its rank is unchanged from 2009. People know what Google is, they even use the brand as a verb to search online is to google (Kotler and Keller, 2006). So, to brand a product or service, it is about making consumers know the differences especially in the intensely competitive market. To Rosen and Rosen (2009), building a brand is the artful masters of awareness and marketers have to be careful with every aspect of brand. Brand equity is explained as the power of a brand lies in what resides in the minds of customers. and the concept plays critical role in branding process (Keller et al., 2008). To acquire brand equity, Keller (2008) suggested that marketer have to establish high level of brand awareness, in which consumers ability to recognise and recall brand, and strong positive attitude toward brand image which will result in brand association that consumer perceived the uniqueness of brand. In Pappus research (2005), it had proved that brand awareness is one of the two distinct attributes of brand equity. 3.5 Brand Awareness Kapferer (2008) said that brand awareness is a collective phenomenon that holds a reassuring message from individual level and have a correlation with many aspects i.e. trust, closeness of people, accessibility, reliability and traditional styling. Brand awareness is defined as ability to identify (recognise or recall) the brand within the category, in sufficient detail to make a purchase (Kotler and Keller, 2006). It is the likelihood of the brand trace in memory in the different conditions that will come to consumers mind (Keller, 2008). Brand awareness can be measured by 1) recognition ability to identify brand in different situations and 2) recall to retrieve brand element when some probe or cue is given (Keller, 2008). Since brand awareness is the fundamental step to acquire brand equity, therefore, it is also the most important step to start building brand especially in online market. To be top-of-mind in consumers mind in the product that relatively low-involvement choice such as electronic book or e-book, the awareness of brand is suggested to be the first criteria that consumer will choose unless other new brands draw their attention (Elliot and Percy, 2007). Therefore, efficient and effective communication channels that influence brand awareness must be carefully selected in order to create, sustain, and strengthen brand (Kotler and Keller, 2006) 3.6 Marketing Communication Media, Viral Marketing and Brand Awareness Marketing communication (MarCom) is the brand building tool used with other strategies to acquire and enhance customer relationship in the long term (Strauss and Frost, 2009). Consumers need to be aware of the product before anything else. Digital Media is nowadays used to communicate to target market as one of the tool for Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Digital media includes E-mail, web sites, and social media. According to Strauss and Frost (2009) social media here consists of; Blogs online diaries, or journals, frequently updated and presented in chronological order on Web page (from the term Web log). Social Networks social structures made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations) that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as values, visions, idea, financial exchange, friends, kinship, dislike, conflict, trade, web links à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ disease transmission (epidemiology), or airline routes. Social network idea is based on theory of six degree of separation where individual is able to connect to every other person within six other people or less. According to Kirby and Marsden (2006), viral marketing refers to any strategies that make people pass along marketing message to others in exponential growth like virusand this occurred among social network as well (Strauss and Frost, 2009). De Chernatony and McDonald (2005) suggested that critical successful communication is the understanding of brand in social media context and consumers. In Cruz and Fill (2008) research to identify key criteria of viral marketing, one of their findings is that to evaluate the viral marketing, the most popular criterion is awareness. IV. E-book The definition of e-book or as known as ebook or digital book from the NetLingo (2010) is that it is a book that can be downloaded and read on a computer or other digital device. There are several e-book formats nowadays including The Mobipocket Reader, The Adobe/Glassbook eBook Reader, Microsoft Reader, PALM OS or WINDOW CE, HTML format, The Open eBook Publication Structure, The Rocket eBook, the SoftBook, Adobe PDF, Rich Text Format, and ASCII (NetLingo, 2010). The market value in terms of online book buying, Fenn (2009, p.46) reported that in 2008, the figure revealed at  £415 million and accounted for 13 percent of all new book sales. Now, the fact that there are at least about 3.5 million e-books available to download for free (World Public Library Association, 2009) from only one website called WorldeBookFair.org has been attracting more consumers to own e-books. As technology changing rapidly, market recently experienced more brands of electronic reader device (e-reader or e-book reader) in the market such as Sony PRS 505, Amazon Kindle 2, iRex IIiad 2, Bebook, Cybook Gen 3 and the list continue (ebook-reader-guide.com, 2009). Especially, the entrance of new Apples newest device called iPad has been triggering the e-book market to be more popular. As Jobs (2010) cited in Stone (2010) that for each iPad that the Apples sale in last two month, 2.5 e-books were downloaded or more than five millions books. The trend of e-book is on the rise as e-book buyers bought less printed books than before, not buying printed books at the rate 25 and 15 per cent respectively (Book Industry Study Group (BISG) (2010) cited in Holt, 2010). As Epps and McQuivey (2009) said that two new e-readers will be launched in India which will allow Indian consumers to start catching up with the e-book trend. Obviously, e-book market is growing and still has very high potential room to grow in the digital world. V. India India is the country that holds several reputation names. It is the worlds second largest population after China which has approximately 1,157 million people in July 2010 (CIA, 2010), the fourth largest, after the United State, China and Japan, in terms of oil consumption in 2009 (eia, 2010), and one of the BRIC countries the world fastest growing and largest economies (ONeill, 2001 cited in Rozhnov, 2010). Therefore, it is important to see overview of the country. From CIA (2010), India governed as a federal republic where the government share the power with another 28 states. The English common law is used as a based legal system in India. Economic in India is growing, 6.5 per cent in 2009, and is regarded as the world second highest growth within major economies. Service sector accounted for 54.9 per cent in GDP. Inflation rate is still as high as 10.9 per cent in 2009 (CIA, 2010). In term of society, 29 per cent of population is classified as urban where the literacy rate is 61 per cent. Even though India consists of variety of language, however, English is still widely used to communicate among national, political, and commercial people (CIA, 2010). As a culture, Indian was identified as collectivist where family is the central of the society and people value group performance (Banerjee, 2008). For technology, CIA (2010) reported 81per cent of Indians are internet users. The penetration of internet users, 51 million are active users, 40 million in urban area and 11 million in rural area (Juxt, 2010 cited in India Microfinance, 2010). Moreover, in India, 40 per cent of online consumers bought products online which increased 18 per cent from last year. As a result, the growth in online shopping has increased by 33 per cent (Juxt, 2010 cited in India Microfinance, 2010) As a consequence(has as a result previously), India is one of the high potential markets for e-book industry due to its population size, economic growth, unique social and cultural context, as well as technology development. VI. Research Methodology This project is exploratory market research as the paper aim to gather unique information and develop relevant strategies from the information derived as well as relationships between variables (Aaker et al., 2010; Saunders et al., 2009) This chapter will summarize the research methodology used to achieve the projects objectives as well as research philosophy, approach, strategies, and method choice. Furthermore, the conceptual framework is also described in this chapter. The selection of research methodology is determined by objectives and research questions which also will be demonstrated in this chapter. 6.1 Research Question The research question for this paper is How the social media with viral massage should be used among Indian as a collectivism culture to enhance brand awareness in e-book market? The following research objectives are established to address the research question stated above. By the end of this paper, all answers would be issued. How much social media with viral message is used in Indian cultural collectivism? How much Indians aware of e-book? What is the relationship between social media with viral marketing and Indian cultural collectivism? What is the relationship between Indians cultural collectivism that rela

John Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums Essay -- John Steinbeck The Chrysa

John Steinbeck's The Chrysanthemums The Chrysanthemums is a story that takes place in the Salinas Valley of California. The story's main character is Elisa Allen. Elisa is thirty-five years old. She is a character that goes through development and many changes in the story. Throughout the story Elisa Allen goes through both physical and mental changes." In the beginning of the story Elisa is strong and eager"). She is working in her garden. Her husband Henry comes over to see her and asks her if she would like to go to town for dinner and a movie. Elisa becomes all happy when Henry asks her to do this. Elisa tells Henry that she would like to go to town. "She said she would like to go to town with him like she really didn't get to spend much time with him". Elisa's mental attitude changes once again when the man tells her that he wants to give the chrysanthemum seeds to a lady that he sees during his trip. When Elisa heard what the man wanted to do " she ran excitedly along the geranium bordered path to the back of the house" . She was running to get a flower pot to put the chrysanthemum seeds in. The man left with the flower pot and Elisa was very happy. Elisa was really happy when she left with her husband to go to town. This didn't last very long. Her whole attitude changed when she saw what the man had done with the chrysanthemum seeds. They had all been thrown on the side of the road. The man just left with the flower pot. Elisa had felt really hurt when s...

Living with Depression, Mania, and Medication Essay -- Personal Narrat

Living with Depression, Mania, and Medication Depression joined my life shortly after I entered middle school and tagged on persistently through my adolescent years. At first, my sullen moods were brushed off as mere hormonal changes, but I quickly became aware there was something more behind them. The severity of depression is difficult to explain without personal thoughts and examples. I know that my depression is coming long before it sets in. There is a cloud of forewarning that starts to move in on the vibrancy of my thoughts and vision; the world becomes distorted and negative. Slowly, this bleakness moves in from the outside world down to the pit of my stomach where it creates a dark, menacing feeling that makes me want to cry, scream, and vomit all at the same time. The feeling beckons me to a state of hopelessness and complete despair. Lingering thoughts of paranoia become prominent which leaves friends as foes out to abandon me and complete strangers as agents out to destroy me. The thoughts of negativity drag me deepe r and deeper until I am convinced there is no bottom; they separate me from the outside world. It is in this lowest state that one of two things happens: either I am persuaded by suicidal tendencies or the blackness lifts without a trace. Without medication, death was always a daunting possibility of ending this horrid affair. The cycling of depression became a constant part of my life leaving me always afraid of what was around the corner. The other side of that corner did not appear in my life until the end of high school. Around the time of my eighteenth birthday, my mania began its cycle. The brutality of mania may set in as mere normalcy, but, in time, that same "normalcy" can end worse than d... ...nia, and medication are all part of the bipolar disorder that will be with me for the rest of my life. The cruelty of depression and ruthlessness of mania are something that no person should have to bear. They force a person to doubt society, reject friends, and lose sanity while the disease slowly starts killing the victim from the inside out. However difficult my past has been made by depression and mania, my life has come to look brighter with the advancement of medication. Bipolar disorder is a life- long disease that will always have its setbacks; however, it is a disease that, with the proper medication, will not keep me locked in a cage separate from the outside world. With the diagnoses of bipolarity, I know that I will have to deal with depression and mania, but I also know that I was not born crazy. I was born with a disease, but I was meant to live as me. Living with Depression, Mania, and Medication Essay -- Personal Narrat Living with Depression, Mania, and Medication Depression joined my life shortly after I entered middle school and tagged on persistently through my adolescent years. At first, my sullen moods were brushed off as mere hormonal changes, but I quickly became aware there was something more behind them. The severity of depression is difficult to explain without personal thoughts and examples. I know that my depression is coming long before it sets in. There is a cloud of forewarning that starts to move in on the vibrancy of my thoughts and vision; the world becomes distorted and negative. Slowly, this bleakness moves in from the outside world down to the pit of my stomach where it creates a dark, menacing feeling that makes me want to cry, scream, and vomit all at the same time. The feeling beckons me to a state of hopelessness and complete despair. Lingering thoughts of paranoia become prominent which leaves friends as foes out to abandon me and complete strangers as agents out to destroy me. The thoughts of negativity drag me deepe r and deeper until I am convinced there is no bottom; they separate me from the outside world. It is in this lowest state that one of two things happens: either I am persuaded by suicidal tendencies or the blackness lifts without a trace. Without medication, death was always a daunting possibility of ending this horrid affair. The cycling of depression became a constant part of my life leaving me always afraid of what was around the corner. The other side of that corner did not appear in my life until the end of high school. Around the time of my eighteenth birthday, my mania began its cycle. The brutality of mania may set in as mere normalcy, but, in time, that same "normalcy" can end worse than d... ...nia, and medication are all part of the bipolar disorder that will be with me for the rest of my life. The cruelty of depression and ruthlessness of mania are something that no person should have to bear. They force a person to doubt society, reject friends, and lose sanity while the disease slowly starts killing the victim from the inside out. However difficult my past has been made by depression and mania, my life has come to look brighter with the advancement of medication. Bipolar disorder is a life- long disease that will always have its setbacks; however, it is a disease that, with the proper medication, will not keep me locked in a cage separate from the outside world. With the diagnoses of bipolarity, I know that I will have to deal with depression and mania, but I also know that I was not born crazy. I was born with a disease, but I was meant to live as me.

Integrity: Morality Essay

The definition of integrity is vague and rather open ended. Morals are the premise for all perceptions of integrity and should be further explored to better understand the cloudiness behind integrity. Morals are the standing personal ideas of what basic fibers construct all decisions, right or wrong. But morals are personal, and ever changing, never exactly the same person to person. For example, the Ten Commandments, implemented on primitive people for thousands of years attempted to instill basic morality into barbaric people who, with the fear of a higher power, abided. The late George Carlin summarized these ten into a basic 4. Don’t lie, cheat, steal, or kill. Now, in a civilized world, in a country that defines social civility, these 4 seem easy and almost givens. But, in third world countries where life is not easy, and everyday is eat or be eaten, morals are far less important. Millions, everyday, commit all four acts without hesitation. Morals are expendable when survival lies in the balance. Survival, of what? Survival of life, survival of an idea, survival of a relationship? Millions have killed millions because they thought their agenda was more prevalent, or their god justified it, or because they needed to in order to fulfill the instinctual desire to live at all costs. In no way am I saying that ethics should be readily broken for personal gain, but the principles that so many try to live by aren’t as universally important as they seem. I truly believe that if you are not living for other people, you are not truely living. Relationships mean everything. Its not just the way you treat family, or your friends, its everyone. I treat people how I would want to be treated and give respect where respect is due. My morals are much more diverse then just don’t lie, steal, cheat, or kill . My morals are reflective of today’s day and age, not as dated and black n’ white as those four. My morals are competitive, like our present society. I never intend to hurt anyone, and my actions are far from malicious, but if the survival of something I hold close lies in the balance, I am willing to bend my moral code in order to ensure the continued existence of what I view jeopardized. I stand by what I believe; those are my morals. Live for others, but never forget who is left at the end of the day. I’ve always viewed integrity as personal. Its how you a carry yourself. Its how you act when no one is watching. But, this is all personal. I don’t let other people dictate my integrity, I let my actions speak, and I ask myself at the end of the day, if I acted like the man I want to be. Many days, when I reflect on myself, I realize I haven’t been. And this is life, improving day to day so you never repeat mistakes.

Pepsico Swot Analysis Essay

When making any investment decision, it is important for a potential investor to gain insight into the company. An evaluation of the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats will help the investor determine if the venture is worth going into (Nickels, McHugh & McHugh, 2010). It also provides details about the internal status of the business and the future growth to expect in the future. SWOT Analysis Conducting a SWOT analysis of PepsiCo will help the company determine where change is possible. If the company is at a turning point, an inventory of its strengths and weaknesses can reveal possibilities. The identified strengths can be built on and used to their full potential and makes can be made to reduce the weaknesses. Potential problems that need to be addressed or at least recognized are identified. It will help PepsiCo discover what it does well, could improve, whether they are making the most of the opportunities around them, and whether there are any changes in the market that may require changes in the business (Nickels et al., 2010). Strengths PepsiCo has a diverse product portfolio that includes foods, snacks, and beverages with annual revenue of over $66 billion. The PepsiCo brands such as Pepsi, Gatorade, Tropicana, Mountain Dew, Lay’s, Aquafina, Sierra Mist, Fritos, and Quaker stand for quality and are well recognized household names. These brands generate over $1 billion each in annual global sales revenue which gives PepsiCo an advantage over its competition that have limited product line (â€Å"Brands,† 2012). Lower sales in one product line because of unforeseeable circumstances can be offset with promoting sales from another product line. PepsiCo’s geographical footprint is another strength of the organization. It currently operates in more than 200 countries worldwide which provides PepsiCo with diverse income sources. In 2011, only 50% of the company’s revenue came from the United States but this did not impact PepsiCo’s overall revenue growth because of the company’s increasing revenue from other parts of the world like Asia, Russia, Europe, and Latin America (â€Å"The Power of PepsiCo,† 2012). Weaknesses With the diverse portfolio of PepsiCo, not all products produced by this  company bear it name and its holdings are still seen by the public as separate entities, not as parts of PepsiCo. Its branding is not obvious and not easily recognized and this is hurting the image of the company. One of its most popular brands, Gatorade, recently changed its name to multiple sub-brands such as â€Å"G Prime 01,† and â€Å"G Series Pro 03 Recover† (Edwards, 2011). PepsiCo is gradually losing its credibility because of its lack of stability in management. The company has a high turnover rate and in the last four years, 26 senior marketing managers have resigned and those that are still with PepsiCo have been moved from one brand to another or from one division to another (Edwards, 2012). The revenue of PepsiCo is over dependent on sales to Wal-Mart. In 2011, approximately 18% of PepsiCo’s North American net revenue was from sales to Wal-Mart (including Sam’s Club). As a result PepsiCo is highly influenced with the business strategies of Wal-Mart (â€Å"The Power of PepsiCo,† 2011). Opportunities PepsiCo is investing its resources by expanding its operation in emerging foreign markets like China and Russia and developing continents like Africa. With the company’s recent purchase of Wimm-Bill-Dann, a Russian food and beverage company with huge market shares in dairy and juice products, PepsiCo will expand greatly its presence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and is expected to increase its annual sales revenue by $5 billion (â€Å"Pepsi Absorbs Wimm,† 2011). PepsiCo recently signed a partnership agreement with Theo Muller, a German dairy company to sell its dairy products in the US starting with yogurt. PepsiCo will also invest in research to create new dairy products for the US market. This is a great opportunity for PepsiCo to increase its future revenue because it is predicted that annual revenue of $9 billion will be generated by 2016 with nearly 100 million American households expected to buy yogurt products (Steinberg, 2012). Threats PepsiCo faces a strong competition from The Coca-Cola Company, its primary competitor in the carbonated beverage category. These two companies have  had a long history of rivalry since the 1800s with Coca-Cola has a leader for most of the period. PepsiCo recently lost its five-year partnership deal with Dunkin’ Brands to Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola products will now be offered in 7,000 Dunkin’ brands outlets instead of PepsiCo products. In January 2012, Dunkin’ Brands announced the plan to double their outlet stores to 14,000 over the next 20 years. This is a huge revenue loss for PepsiCo (Fisher, 2012). Also in 2010, Diet Coke overtook Pepsi to become the second largest soda brand in the Unites States behind Coke, moving Pepsi to third (Theodore, 2012). There has been a steady decline in carbonated drink sales for the past seven years in the US with total sales dropping one percent in 2011. Americans are now turning to healthier food and drinks like bottled waters to avoid the high sugar contents in soda (â€Å"Soda Sales Fall,† 2012). Even with the diverse portfolio of PepsiCo, this decline in sales of carbonated soda drinks will have a negative impact on its total revenue. United States federal, State, and local laws and other regulatory authority in foreign countries could have a negative impact on the sales and profitability of PepsiCo. PepsiCo’s marketing, manufacturing, and distribution of its products can be affected as a result of what the government dictates. Also Governmental agencies that exist where PepsiCo operates can impose new labeling, accounting standards, product requirement, marketing practices, and taxation requirement. In California, PepsiCo is required to post a warning label on any product sold that contains a substance that the state has found to cause cancer or birth defect. If this type of law is enacted in other states or foreign countries, it would affect the sales of PepsiCo products (â€Å"The Power of PepsiCo,† 2011). Investor Analysis As a result of the SWOT analysis, investing in PepsiCo would yield a positive return on investment. The analysis shows a strong company with increase in earnings for the past five years. PepsiCo’s increasing presence in developing countries is most relevant in the decision to invest. With nearly 72% of the world’s processed food consumption in 2050 predicted to be  happening in developing countries because of increase in population, this will give PepsiCo a competitive edge. Internal and External Stakeholders The success or failure of PepsiCo is determined by how the wants and needs of its internal and external stakeholders are met. The internal stakeholders of PepsiCo are associates, shareholders, and board of directors. The external stakeholders of PepsiCo are consumers, local and foreign communities, retail and food service customers, partners, suppliers, and competitors. PepsiCo meets the needs of its associates by providing a supportive and empowering workplace. The company helps its employees to succeed by helping them develop the skills needed to increase the growth of the company (â€Å"Talent Sustainability,† 2012). The need of the shareholders of PepsiCo is met by striving to deliver top of the line financial performance and providing a high return on their investment (â€Å"Performance,† 2012). In 2011, the dividends paid to PepsiCo’s shareholders was six percent higher than 2010 ((â€Å"The Power of PepsiCo,† 2011). PepsiCo provides its consumers with a diverse list of products that delivers affordability and great taste. The company has recently begun offering consumers a wide range of healthy foods and beverages. Current products are constantly been improved and new products created to meet the changing needs of consumers (â€Å"Stakeholders Engagement,† 2012). Local jobs are created in the developing countries that PepsiCo operates in. PepsiCo provides support for education through PepsiCo Foundation grants. The company is working to protect the water resources they have used in India and working with nonprofit organizations to promote sustainable agricultural practices (â€Å"Stakeholders Engagement’† 2012). Products are delivered directly to retail and food service customers such as grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, and vending machines. PepsiCo  also assist these stakeholders with marketing services that contributes to the customers’ growth and profit (â€Å"Stakeholders Engagement,† 2012). Conclusion A company’s strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats must be analyzed to determine the potential of the return on investment. Even with its weaknesses, PepsiCo is a strong company with earnings growth over the past five years, and has enough cash on hand to maintain its operation. With the new initiatives that PepsiCo is working on, such as expanding its market into developing countries and providing healthier options to its consumers, the company will be able to meet the needs of its stakeholders. References Brands. (2012) Retrieved from http://www.pepsico.com/Brands.html Diet Mountain Dew, Brisk and Starbucks Ready-T0-Drink Beverages Grow to the Billion-Dollar Brands for PepsiCo. (2012, January 26) Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/news-article/2139612-diet-mountain-dew-brisk-and-starbucks-ready-to-drink-beverages-grow-to-be-billion-dollar-brands-for-pepsico Edwards, J. (2011, June 22). Pepsi Just Can’t Stop Pulling the Tab After Shaking Up Management. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-42749107/pepsi-just-cant-stop-pulling-the-tab-after-shaking-up-management/ Edwards, J. (2012, May 10). How Pepsi Management Shuffles Led To Sales Collapse. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/how-pepsis-management-shuffles-led-to-sales-collapse-2012-5?op=1 Fisher, B. (2012, June 12). Pepsi loses Dunkin, Eyes Emerging Markets. Retrieved from http://beta.fool.com/bobbyfisher/2012/06/12/pepsi-loses-dunkin-eyes-emerging-markets/5599/?logvisit=y&source=eptcnnlnk0000001 Nickels, W. G., McHugh, J. M., & McHugh, S. M. (2010). Understanding Business (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Pepsi Absorbs Wimm-Bill-Dann. (2011) Retrieved from http://rt.com/business/news/pepsi-absorbs-wimm-bill-dann-333/ Performance. (2012) Retrieved from http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Performance-with-Purpose.html Stakeholder Engagement. (2012) Retrieved from http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Overview/Stakeholder-Engagement.html Steinberg, J. (2012, July 11). PepsiCo Expanding Its American Portfolio With Dairy Products. Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/article/714491-pepsico-expanding-its-american-portfolio-with-dairy-products Talent Sustainability. (2012) Retrieved from http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Talent-Sustainability.html The Power of PepsiCo – 2011 Annual Report. (2011) Retrieved from http://www.pepsico.com/annual11/downloads/pep_ar11_2011_annual_report.pdf Theodore, S. (2012, August 13). Diet Coke Enters A New Decade: The Carbonated Soft Drink Brand Has Come A Long Way. Retrieved from http://www.mintel.com/blog/diet-coke-enters-new-decade-carbonated-soft-drink-brand-has-come-long-way Tomlinson, S. (2012, March 3). Soda Sales Fall Faster As Americans Turn To Healthier Options. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2118291/Soda-sales-fall-faster-Americans-turn-healthier-options.html

India cinema Essay

India cinema over the ages has developed a flavor and aroma of its own. The vibrancy and exuberance of our cinema is unparalleled across the globe. India cinema, over the year, has transcended the barriers of language, art and culture, broken all the bonds and crossed all borders to colour the entire world with is emblematic song, dances, music, melodrama and didacticism. India cinema has a bit of everything. It has the capacity to imbibe all the shades and every spice of life within its ambit. It has been mystifying, enthralling, enchanting and entertaining millions since a long long time now. Every today, watching cinema is the most popular mode of entertainment and a favourite pastime of people from all section of society transcending over cast, creed, race or religion. In fact, bollywood after cricket is a sub-religion of the country. From the most common man to the intellectual and the elites-all enjoy watching movies in their leisure time with their friends and families. Cinema works as a great unifying factor which brings together the high and the low, the rice and the poor , the young and the old-all under the same roof for next two or three hour . It entertains without discrimination, thrill and tickles without knowing a difference man and man. I too, like watching movies with my parents and friend in my spare time. Last year, Sahara Motion Picture initiated a new era in India cinema. The long awaited animation movies for children were released and it runs successfully in theaters all over the country. Not only children but also teenagers, old and young, all cinema halls in large number to watch-Hanuman. I too had been waiting for the movie eagerly. Once the movie was released, my friend’s family and mine made plans to watch the movies in our nearest theater on the ensuing Sunday. We all were extremely excited. In fact, my friend and I could hardly wait for weekend. On the appointed Sunday, we reached the theatre filled with thrill excitement through and through. Predictable, none of us were disappointed after watching the movie. Since then, it has become one of my favourite movies. The movie is a fabulous animation of the legend of the faithful friend and follower of Lord Ram and his greatest accomplice in the battle against Ravana. The movie traces the entire life-story of Hanuman-right from his birth to the fulfillment of the aim which he was bore. The stories begin with sin and wickedness increasing on the earth and all the Gods rushing to Brahma-the Creator for his protection. The movie brilliantly captures the miraculous birth of Hanuman and his innocent childhood pranks to his education from the Sun god. The scene when the little Hanuman wakes up and mistakes the sun peeping form behind a mango tree to be mango and rushes to eat it out of grave hunger is one of my favorites. The way he reaches the sun and fight Rahu is extremely interesting. Hanuman- who is the incarnation of Lord Shiva grows up loved and pampered and gradually being trained for his great appointed task. As he grows up, he meets Lord Ram who is also growing up in his palace with his brothers. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Lord Shiva and Hanuman was extremely amusing with his multi-coloured cap and his extraordinary feats amused all of us extremely. Even the Kite scene when little Ram’s kite gets lost amidst the clouds and Hanuman disguising as the monkey is also my favourite scene. The rest of the movie too is interesting. One never loses interest throughout the movie. The movie, all through, captivates one’s attention thoroughly. The other scene, which really liked, is the ones when Hanuman goes to Lanka to search Sita. The entire sequence of the scenes thereafter is my favourite. L really liked each and every scene-the way Hanuman burns down the entire Lanka to teach Ravana a lesson and the scene later of the famous Kumbhakaran with his legendary sleep and appetite. In short, there is nothing that I don’t like about the movie. Enjoyed every bit of it and all the more so in the company of my friend and my family. I like the movie not only because it is entertaining but also because it teaches a lot about our rich and ancient mythology and the Hindu religion to us. It is usually seen that we don’t get the opportunity to know about our religion and the legends in our mythology in normal course of our lives. The movie is didactic and educative for children as the honest Hanuman, which he harbours for his lord Ram. The movie not only enriches and educates the innocent and fertile young minds but also the old adults alike. The movie was not only like by we friend but also by our parents which was a proof of how wonderful the movie was, even though but also by our parent which was a proof of how wonderful the movie was, even though an animation caters to the need of a specific age group and strata of the society. The animation was of best quality, the special effects very graphical and the morals and l hope we get many more such movies to see in the near future which educate as well as entertain the viewers irrespective of their age, cast, culture religion or race.