Proficiency Level Analysis Essay

For this assignment, I will group a seventh grade class into appropriate groups depending on their proficiency levels. There are five English proficiency levels in Ms. Jensen’s class, Pre-Emergent, Emergent, Basic, Intermediate, and Proficient. By looking at the score results of the Arizona English Language Learners Assessment (AZELLA), I will be able to place the students into appropriate groups by placing higher level students with ELL students during in-class activities to help them understand and succeed in their classroom assignments. When looking at the class roster, I noticed that Ramon is at the Pre-Emergent and Emergent level throughout Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking areas so I would place him in a group with students who are mostly at the Intermediate and Proficient Level so he can pick up the English language faster and easier. â€Å"Students can be paired or grouped as either ‘like-ability’ or ‘cross-ability’. Cross-ability is where students of different proficiency levels work together and the benefit of cross-ability matching is that the higher-level students can help the lower-help students† (Roberts, 2007). There is a total of fifteen students, therefore I would create five small groups of three. The first group would consist of Ramon, Aryanna, and Carlos. The second group would be Gabriel, Hailey, and Jerry. The third group would include Corynn, Desiree, and Michael. The fourth group would include Jakob, Noah, and Suzanne while my last group would consist of Hade, Petie, and Rebecca. My explanation for placing these students in these specific group is because each group would consist of a low level student (Emergent) with a Basic and Proficient level student. When working during class activities, the higher level (Intermediate/Proficient) students will help out the lower level (Emergent/Basic) students understand the assignment by providing additional support and being a role model to them across Reading, Writing, Listening,  and Speaking areas. In order for this kind of classroom setting to work, I would need the support of the higher-level students to help with providing the additional help to the ELL students. The teacher still would model the assignment first and provide a guided practice and then walk around each group to see what help is needed. I think creating small groups of three would work better than groups of five because ELL students would gain more knowledge and understanding when they have one or two students helping then instead of three to four persons. This is because students working in smaller groups are better able to focus and help each other. When the group has too many students, they have the tendency of getting sidetracked and potentially cause conflict within the group. References Roberts, Melinda. (2007). â€Å"Teaching in the Multilevel Classroom†. Pearson Education, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.pearsonlongman.com/ae/download/adulted/multilevel_ monograph.pdf

Effect of Social Media on Nigerian Undergraduate Essay

Rapid growth of popular online communication mediums has introduced new ways for the students to communicate. The vast array of social communication changes introduced by the relatively young prologue of social network site mandate the essences of this study. This study accessed the influenced social media (facebook in particular) on Nigeria youth in the higher institution. Specifically it attempts to collect facts on the positive and negative influence of facebook on Nigeria youth. Background of the Study  New type of communication influence by rapidly changing internet-based-technologies have spurred research on mass communications theory(Ruggerio,2000). during the period of 1988 to 1998 the internet grow nearly 100 percent every year as of January of 1998,it was estimated that 102 million people were using the internet globally(Bastian,1998). in 2007, the pew internet & American life project forecasted that between 165 and 210 million users were surfing the internet in the united states alone (fallows,2007). Between November of 2006 and December of2009,the pew Internet & American life project found that teenagers and young adults were consistently to highest users of the internet. social network sites, in particular, have provide a prominent medium for relationship formation (valkenburg, Peter & sebouten,2006). As the internet quickly grow many key online technologies began to take shape. In 2008, social networking site were among the fastest rising most visited websites. CBC News reported that the popular social networking website Facebook jumped from the 60th most visited website to the 7th most visited website in 2008. One social network site in particular has become one of the most visited internet websites in the world. Initially started in February of 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, the social network site Facebook. com has become largely popular. Its mission has been to â€Å"give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected† (Facebook. com, 2009). Millions of users are empowered to communicate with friends, share information such as photographs and videos, and learn more about the individuals they meet on Facebook everyday (Facebook. com,2009) At the time of data collection for this study Facebook. om had over 900 million active users, approximately half of Facebook’s active users log into Facebook on a given day. In addition, users have historically spent 500 billion minute per month on Facebook (Facebook. com, 2010). As of spring of 2010, Facebook had become the most popular social network site in the world. As online social networking grows in popularity the number of users placing personal information online does as well. Studies as shown that undergraduates put high levels of personal information online/ including inappropriate and appropriate information,which can be easily accessed by anyone.  This study focused on the influences of social networking on undergraduate that are using Facebook. This literature review discusses the previous research and findings on the influence of Social Media (Facebook) on undergraduate, youth and children. According to data gathered from several sources by Online Education . net. Social media may have positive impact on students’ sense of themselves in the community. social media-using students were twice as likely as other students feel well-liked by their peers and to participate in extracirricular activities. And more of Facebook-using students (as compared to students who didn’t use Facebook) said they felt connected to their school and the world. However, negative effects abound student who use Faceebok and hit the books simultaneously found their multitasking led to a lower grades than those of their more focused peers. Not only do grade suffer, but students might actually end up feeling depress. As Facebook’s dominance continues to grow, we are starting to realize the impact it is having in society, particularly on youth. DR. Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, researches on how technology impacts youth. Rosen presented his study at the 119th American Psychological Association Convention in Washington DC. His findings are based on survey responses from computer-based surveys distributed to 1,000 urban adolescents and his own 15-minute observation of 300 teenagers that were studying. Rosen said in a presentation title† Poke Me: How Social Network can both Help and Harm Our Kids. He said his research found both negative and positive influences linked to social networking. Rosen’s top three potential negative effects of Facebook; 1. Teenager who use Facebook more often show narcissistic tendencies while young adults who have a strong Facebook presence show more sign of other psychological disorders, including antisocial behaviours, mania, and aggressive tendencies. 2. Daily over use media and technology has a negative effect on the health of all children, preteens, an teenagers by making them more susceptible to future health problems’ 3.  Facebook can be distracting and can negatively impact learning. Studies found that middle school, high school, and college students who checked Facebook at least once during a 15-minute study period achieved lower grades. Rosen’s top three potential positive effects of Facebook; 1. Young adult who spend more time on Facebook are better at showing â€Å"virtual empathy† to their friends 2. Online social networking can help introverted adolescents learn how to socialized behind the safely of various screens, ranging from two-inch smart phone to 17-inch laptop.   3.  Social networking can provide tools for teaching in compelling ways that engage young students. Jasmine, P. (2011) rightly said; today youth is addicted to social networking site like orkut, Facenook, e. t. c. But nowadays especially Facebook is most popular amongst youth. Due to this over indulgence, their studies suffer a lot. Even it not only hinder their studies but also their physical, social, mental and ethic growth. Children have become couch potato. Parents are under stress to see their children spending more and more time on this social network sites. ot only children became a prey of these but every age group fascinated of this sites. this sites are meant for connecting people, to make them socialize, communicate with each other, share videos, photos, their past memories etc. but people especially youth used whole day wasting their time on this sites. they are addicted to this sites. Mose Jator(2011)also has this to say; social networking is good to some extent that people share views and ideas as well as keep in touch with friends and love ones. ooking at it on the other hand, you will discover that people today tend to use this avenue for their selfish interests which in most cases offend public decency. Some use fake identity. Looking at it on the other hand, you will discover that people today tend to use this avenue for their selfish interests which in most cases offend public decency. Some use fake identities with the sole aim of cheating hence the prevalence of cybercrime. Many youth today found themselves in one secret society and either consciously or unconsciously through social networking. Walther (1995) postulates that computer-mediated communication(e. g. social network)offers additional opportunity for students with limited amounts of time for socialization to develop their personal relationship than their face-to-face peers(as cited in Mazar, Murphy & Simonds,2007). Methodology The intent of this study is to examine the influence of facebook on undergraduates. it seek to determine the positive and negative impact of facebook have on undergraduates attitude, grade and social life. An interview with 15 respondent from the major higher institutions in kwara state. Interview guide was used in collecting in-depth or rich data from the respondent. the purpose of this section is to describe the methodology used in this qualitative study. Findings Social media has become an integral part of our lives and no group feels it impact more than students. Facebook started on college campuses and it continue to thrive there the most. there’s no doubt that social media has had a huge impact on the lives of students, but what’s less clear is whether this impact has been good or bad. As a result of the interview guide administered to undergraduate of higher institution of Kwara state. Akinkunmi Jayeola, a business study student of Kwara state polytechnic posited that facebook are good platform for sharing what’s in your mind, a good medium of communication, easiest and cheapest means of communication. it’s a good way to stay connected with your friends in this fast going trend. You get a good knowledge about present going things. He later go further by pointing out the negative side of it by stressing that, if you give it so importance it will make you as slave. Another opinion from Afolayan Kabir another student from same institution also elaborate what Akinkunmi has said by stressing that facebook is good to use if we use it to some limit. it help us in improving our communication, use for creating awareness and negative aspect of it is that students waste too much time on this site. Baderu Ayotunde also have something to say; he rightly stress that it is good for student to use facebook if it is used in a right way because it a means for individual to explore the world without physically taking risks. nother student expositing on Baderu’s point of view that facebook is a good things for youth of Nigeria to think beyond friendship to close or old friends and new friends around the globe, one can share thought to each other and exchange the knowledge. he further enriches his point by sitting instant like; Today if breaking news happens before the news channels flashes, facebook flashes up the detail which were uploaded or shared by t he nearby person using facebook. he took his stand that to him that facebook is the way to develop the people of Nigeria and aware them. Najeeb Blogun student of university of Ilorin held a contrary opinion by stating that facebook have a negative impact on youth by spoiling their life and killing their most valuable time in chatting rather than spending time more on their studies. He go further by also positing that youth are cheatting one another by their false name on facebook, like a boy coming into facebook and introducing himself as a girl to divert attention towards himself and exploiting the people’s mind, it may also increase terrorism. In exploring the underlying structures of influence of facebook on Nigeria youth, the fact deduce is that facebook site has became the means of communication where individual were connected with friends and relatives with this sites as they don’t have enough time to spend with their friends in their busy schedule they can stay connected with them by sharing their feelings, thoughts, pictures etc. It’s the easiest and cheapest means of communication as now that internet is easily accessible to everybody. As anything that exceeds its limit becomes addiction therefore this can affect anyone that got addicted to facebook. The information uploaded can be misused by the people so it increases the question of privacy. so adaptation of things in limited ways is important.

Monkey Drug Trials Experiment

Title: Monkey Drug Trials Experiment Authors: Deneau, Yanagita & Seevers Year: it was done in 1969 Purpose: The purpose of the experiment was to look at the effects of self-administration on drugs, drug abuse, and drug dependence in humans, by testing it on monkeys. They wanted to observe whether a monkey would become addicted to drugs or not, and to understand better the effects of drugs. Method: First a method was developed, to teach the monkeys how to self- administer the drugs through intravenous catheters.Then the psychologist injected the monkeys for the first time the drugs. Because they were several monkeys each one received a different drug, some received cocaine, morphine, amphetamines, nalorphine,mixtures, chlorprmazine, mescaline, codeine, pentobarbital, ethanol, and caffeine. The researchers observed a behaviour right afterwards the administration, and after some days they started to provided the prepared drug solutions to the monkeys to see, if they were going to self a dminister or not, afterwards they were already taught how to do it. Results:The results show that in consequence of the drug administration the monkeys became dependent on the drugs. The animals were out of their mind, that some tried desperately to escape and they broke their arms. The monkeys that took cocaine suffered convulsions, some other monkeys ripped off their own fingers (possibly because of hallucinations). Another monkey taking amphetamines took all of the fur from his arm and belly, and in the case of cocaine and morphine mixed, the monkeys died after two weeks. The psychological dependence of the drug effects occurs when the monkey oluntarily starts the self-administration of the drug. The monkeys developed psychological dependence on morphine, codeine, cocaine, d-amphetamine, pentobarbital, ethanol, and caffeine. All of the drugs except caffeine produced psychotoxicity. Monkeys didn’t created a psychological dependence on nalorphine, morphine-nalorphine mixture s, chlorpromazine, mescaline or physiological saline These experiments also showed that the monkey’s biological traits were similar to the human ones, and conclude that the key factor on drug abuse is the psychological dependence.The researchers founded the reason why drug abuse takes place and how can a psychological treatment will help people give up the drug addiction. Discussion: The experiment was very controversial because it was very unethical and the monkeys suffered a lot of pain, and in some cases died of overdose. The Helsinki declaration was founded in 1964 and since here they have been updating principles of good practice in this kinds of experiments. They say, â€Å"Welfare of animals used for research must be respected†. Since here the ethical views for non-humans subjects started.Later on the APA gave instructions to determine whether an experiments on animals is acceptable or not. For example animal research should not harm the animal or distress it on any way. If the researchers don’t follow this code, they wont be allowed to keep on with the experiment. In the case of this experiment was already done, but that’s why still now a days is very controversial and shocking, and is listed in one of the 10 most unethical psychological experiments. Personal opinion: This experiment in my opinion was useful to psychology.But I don’t agree with the methods that were applied. The researchers taught some behaviours to the monkeys that unless humans never show them how to do they will never do it by themselves, like self-administrating drugs, it is not something that in their natural environment are going to learn, so they are alienating the monkey from its normal behaviours. In my own opinion I know, that monkeys have very similar biological traits in compare to humans, and in this case I did find it useful because thanks to it, late in that times esearchers found the main key on drug dependence which is the psychologic al dependence the desire to always get more of the drug and feel what it makes you feel over and over again. Nowadays if they realize this experiment, we will say it’s not something new to humanity, that drugs create certain effects on the human body and clearly creates psychological dependence, but back in those days the use of drugs was just starting and this knowledge was not so obvious and known by so many people.I do agree it was unethical, doing those sort of things to the monkeys and probably In some cases there can be many differences between animal behaviour and human behaviour, therefore results for one another cannot be generalised. I would never do it, but after the realization of it, you analyse a little and the results are very useful, to act and treat on time a drug addiction. Sources * Psue76, â€Å"Monkey drug trails 1969† * Springer link â€Å"Psychopharmacology† * Mind power news â€Å" 10 most unethical psychological experiments† * Psychology Hawks â€Å"Psychology gone bad: when animals pay the price for  science. †

Sun shines enterprise case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Sun shines enterprise - Case Study Example Sunshine faces numerous threats, strengths, opportunities and limitations the business venture is faced with. Sunshine enterprise operates a chain of restaurants in various locations. These restaurants are managed by Abby, who is the manager of the business. He is responsible for scrutinizing the quality of services offered by the workforce in the company. This has significantly enabled the company to expand continuously. This is because they have the ability to address the complaints and reactions of the customers, hence maintaining better and quality services. On the other hand, Sunshine enterprise is faced with numerous limitations. For example, the company is solely managed by one individual, who is the manager of the business venture. This is a limitation because it is extremely hard to manage the quality of services provided in six restaurants by oneself (Fine, 2009). Therefore, they should consider hiring several staff members to maintain the quality of services provided in the company. In addition, Sunshine has a vast opportunity in the business world. This is because they have the ability to expand the business. The current case study asserts that the company runs six restaurants in various locations. The company can use the profit generated from these six restaurants to expand the business by setting up more restaurants in other locations. The company can also consider rewarding their employees in order to maintain the quality of services provided (Fine, 2009). This can involve the provision of incentives in the form of rewards. The company also faces various threats in the business world. Sunshine Enterprise faces a considerable threat in delivering quality services based on the small number of employees in the company (Fine, 2009). The company should consider increasing the number of staff members to improve the quality of services provided in

Children who are brought to the US illegally should be deported if Essay

Children who are brought to the US illegally should be deported if they are discored as adults - Essay Example However, around 12% are from Asia and 8% from South America (Colton-Sonnenberg, pp.4). Illegal immigration however is quite a difficult issue, because of differing views, misinformation, and lack of information (Haines & Rosenblum, pp.1). It is also a heated political debate, because the issue in the discussion has many dimensions, some of which include legal, economic and moral (Chapman, pp.272). According to some people, however it is victimless crime. This is because the immigrants provide a cheap form of labor. However, illegal immigration causes a large amount of hardships for Americans, especially those belonging to the lower strata of the population. This is mainly because of the fiscal drain that illegal immigrants may cause (APRA, 2006). The issue whether children who had previously crossed borders illegally but have in effect, lived their whole life as US citizens, should be deported if discovered is a very pertinent one. One very important criticism includes the fact that children born in the United States to illegal immigrants serve as ‘anchor’ to their families. ... 77). Deportation has received quite a lot of criticism. Mass deportation of illegal immigrants might have disastrous effects on families. Sometimes immigrants’ families may consist of one legal parent, one illegal parent or a legal, or an illegal or also citizens of the US if born there. Estimates of Urban Institute state that two-thirds of all children of illegal parents are actually US born citizens. Mostly, if the illegal parent is the breadwinner of the family, and if deported, the children are most likely to be leaving as well, the children being U.S citizens. However, only deporting the parents is not even morally correct or economically feasible. Therefore, the debate of deportation of children remains a particularly raging one (Steinger, pp.34). In addition, some people are of the view that having citizen children is no legal defense to the deportation. Therefore, the government often accepts the de facto deportation of children as a necessary step to enforce immigrati on laws against their parents. In addition, the chance that illegal immigration may continue to occur is because of this incentive of having citizenship by giving birth to a child. Not only do this but also the immigrants do not pay taxes; however, the children receive all the benefits of a good education and a health system. In this way, there is a fiscal drain in the U.S, having a negative impact on the budget (Neuman, pp.182). Many people are also of the view that there has been a misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment, done to grant rights of citizenship to the slaves after the Civil war. However, at that time, no illegal immigration occurred and there were no immigration laws until 1875. Therefore, many people assert that the

Understanding Cross-Cultural Issues in the Contemporary World Essay

Understanding Cross-Cultural Issues in the Contemporary World - Essay Example Today, we have multinational companies that operate across different continents and regions of the world thanks to the concept of globalization. Yet, every community or society has its own unique culture. It is interesting to know how the cultural differences play out in this global village context. Globalization has intensified cultural interaction, leading to emergence of multi-cultural societies (Liu, 2012: 94-95). Culture is a strong element that influences the behaviors, perceptions, and attitudes of a community. Based on this understanding, it is important to establish how these cultural influences play out when people from one culture interact with those from a different culture. This forms the basis of this study. The study purposes to investigate the integration of Korean culture in the UK culture. This study will be relevant to understanding cross-cultural issues in the contemporary world because it focuses on a real cross-cultural integration. 1. How do Koreans perceive UK culture? This research question will focus on the perceptions that Koreans have when they interact with UK citizens in the UK. The main objective of this research question will be to highlight the cultural disparities and or similarities between Koreans and British citizens. 2. How do Koreans react to the cultural disparities or similarities when they come to the UK? This research question focuses on the reaction of Koreans when they come to the UK. The main objective of the research question is to identify specific responses, whether cultural assimilation or isolation, of Koreans in the UK. It will also highlight the aspect of cultural dominance. Culture can be defined as the unique shared characteristics of a group that differentiates it from other groups (McLaurin, 2006: 9; Herzog & Leker, 2011: 58; Moore, 2004: 5). Therefore, different communities can be identified by their unique cultures. In identifying a group’s

Management Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 10

Management Accounting - Essay Example The two sections are not independent of each other and they are intertwined so as to work properly in achieving the specific goals they have been designed to. In the fast changing world and the high cost of business managers have to set up budgets for what to invest and understand the priorities to focus on. A budget is the plan set by the organization for the forthcoming period and it is designed at different level of the organization. The top management focuses on the master budget which is more detailed and requires integration and coordination of every part of the organization. The primary role of budgeting is systematic planning (Taylor III, 2013). The challenge of setting up a good master budget focuses more on the people hired to do and how they ensure they also are concerned with the macro while also being detailed to the micro management priorities of the business. Contrary to organization budgeting is not forecasting but is more of a leadership role of accompany than a financial one (Mettanen, 2005). Transaction cost economics this is the most complicating accounting calculation top managers’ face. It needs a lot of time and is more complex and it is widely used to decentralize multinational organization it involves understanding the tax related issue within the geographical area as well as ensuring that the cost incurred for raw materials is up to the required and that reducing operating cost (Laitinen, 2002The objective of this transfer cost is more of ensuring proper resource of allocation as well as minimizing cost and also having a competitive advantage over the rest of its competitors. Preparing of benchmarking involves a lot of consideration and managers in this have to understand the qualities required for the benchmarking and how to rate and rank the staff. The challenge when embracing this can lead to employees who think they are sacked. This requires

Writing Express Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writing Express Reflection - Essay Example From this discussion it is clear that the subject involved the role that chief nursing officer plays in relation to the staff nurses, which was made easier through the internet searches. Sometime ago, the reporter would have had to scan a book or article to get this information and see whether the information was related to the subject. In addition, taking the writing express course has helped me appreciate that he prefers a visual style of learning, rather than an auditory one. For instance, the author learnt more about the subject by reading related material and viewing graphics and charts. Since the writing express class was mainly visual as an online course, he was happy that this was his preferred learning style.This essay declares that  the writing express course has also helped him to understand and appreciate himself better, while it has also given him skills and abilities that the reporter can use in his future courses. For instance, his is better equipped to collect resea rch and identify related resources; while he will also be able to order articles and books online.  While using my research skills in finding articles related to CNOs and their roles around the staff nurses, the author also found very helpful tutorials and he now knows that the internet has numerous resources that he can use in his future courses if any questions arise.  The writing express course also aided me in identifying and achieving work-related goals.

The squaters' world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The squaters' world - Essay Example The issue is not about who is right or wrong or whether squatting is good or not, but to understand the situation of squatting as a whole.   Throughout this analysis, we will see that squatting is an alternative movement which fights for its own rights and asserts a different lifestyle that is anti-capitalist. Millions of people squat in the world. It is the oldest way of living. According to the Oxford Dictionary, squatting means â€Å"unlawfully occupy an uninhabited building or area of land.†(Oxford Dictionary 2008). Squatters exist all around the world, from Bombay to New York the action is the same but the purposes differ. In Nairobi shantytown, peoples have no other choice but to do squatting to survive. They sometimes live with several families in the same built â€Å"house†. In a certain way, the squatters are the capitalism’s indirect victims. In western countries, squats represent a warm place to spend the night but also an alternative way of living. It is a strong philosophy which stands up against capitalism. The conditions of living can be poor or good, depending on the country and the geographical situation. Inhabitants can find a free place where many activities occur and where many different people live.   According to Luca Pattaroni from the Laboratory of Urban Sociology of the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, â€Å"research shows that most squatters are people of low income, from a wide range of social background† (Swissinfo 2008). Indeed squatters are not only homeless. They can be young rebels,  artists, or travelers. In many cases, we find students and citizens who cannot afford the extremely high Geneva rental accommodations. There are also many refugees and immigrants from Africa, Latin America and from Central Europe.   Squats are socially centered, where people from uncommon horizon cohabit. Junkie, militant or tramp with any limited age are welcomed to

Dining experience in a New York Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Dining experience in a New York - Essay Example The examination of Ninja New York is one which goes a step further with the services provided, not only for the taste and expectations in quality. This is furthered with creating a story behind the operations and management while displaying alternatives within the industry for those that are interested in the food and beverages. Examining how this particular operation has worked and the results which have occurred provide opportunities with those who are providing services in restaurants while examining challenges that this also creates. Analysis of Ninja New York The basis of Ninja New York immediately moves outside of the competition by creating a myth behind the food and beverages provided. The basis of this is to show a myth that is related to the ninjas in ancient civilization practicing until they found a secret and mythical village where they began to create magical and secret recipes. This main story line is able to build the main identity of the food and the approaches which are taken in the restaurant toward the food. The result is that the myth immediately creates a sense of curiosity and mystery toward the products provided while developing a brand image that stands ahead of other competitors that are also offering Eastern foods. The myth that is a part of this follows the understanding that the Ninja restaurant was already a part of Japan then was brought to New York. The result is the ability to create an atmosphere with the Japanese style of food. The restaurant does this by dividing the sections with the Ninja Village and the Rock Burn dining. This follows with the myth of the ninja, specifically with not making a mistake with the food otherwise one goes into the ninja chamber. These areas are designed specifically with the myth intact and to create an understanding of ancient Japan and how this relates to the food and beverages which are served. By doing this, there is an immediate expectation toward the quality of the food and the mystery whic h the restaurant has created behind this. The overall atmosphere which is created with Ninja New York follows with the expectations by the operations management to continue to create the atmosphere with the food and beverages as well as the presentation which one has. The training includes acting and moving like a ninja while serving others the food. There is also a training to study the menu ingredients, specifically because of the relationship to Japan that is created. The ninja food that is a part of the restaurant is based on having high quality food brought from Japan and which holds the same mystery and myth of the ninja concepts. The concepts include desserts, such as Ninja Art Desserts, including bonsai plants. The food and beverage continues with the right presentation and with being interactive, allowing the customers to move into the theme of the ninja arts through the food they are eating. For example, a dish made with crab and grapefruit has a sword in the middle. When this is pulled out, dry ice is released to make smoke. The ideas come from proposing creative ideas that move into the theme of the ninja, specifically which moves into the menu through a contest. The result is that the servers and chefs are able to become a part of the restaurant with the development of the food and

International Law In Business Dispute Essay Example for Free

International Law In Business Dispute Essay With the diversity in the exchange of business portfolio continues to grow, a rational legal device should help to solve the various conflicts that arise in various international business conflicts developing from such business transactions. The international business and trade are basic pillars for the growth and economic sovereignty of the global states. The compliment of comparative and absolute advantages will constantly remain upraised. Hence therefore, the global states will remain morally upright in exchanging commercial activities and products from one state to another.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like any other activity operating within social dimensions, business activities are partied with various conflicts. However, with the rationality ascribed to the conflict theory working within social structures, the same is critical in providing standards of social changes and revolutions. Perhaps, without conflicts within business structures, the same cannot strike a step ahead in horror of growth and development. However, the same business conflict is impartial in preventing adequacy of cohesion in international business standards. With the counterfeit results of international business conflict, a rational analyst would be indifferent of the role played by the international business in the same. Therefore, one would perhaps ask, does international law provide an environment for settling business disputes? If yes, what are codes of its dimensions? However, the logics to this thesis statement would call for sublime academic research for a scholar who would not compromise the authenticity and valid support of a research work.[1]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The international businesses and trade operates within the international environment, business structures, parties into business contracts and legal and priority requirement into international business contracts. With the diversity into the activities found beyond the national business borders, then the foundations of these transactions is ratified by the activity of persons founded on diversity in racial backgrounds, ethnicity, domestic constitutions and commercial laws, above other fundamental human basics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, these differences should be brought together in a common understanding in the person’s within the contractual authorities of international definitions. Perhaps however, international law brings comfort to the international business family providing a support for general cohesion and exchange of activities across the national borders. Throughout its mission, the law provides tools of support for the activities and structures operating within the general framework of the international business. In a short hand, a rational being may purport this as the positive contribution of the international law in settling business disputes. However, the same law is deemed as a basic support for increased international chaos and disputes. On grounds of rationality, this is the negative impact of internal law in settling business disputes.[2] For impartiality in both of the phenomena, stakeholder into their detailed description should never be compromised. Advantages of international law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Summarily, one can say that international law does to business what Aristotle did for the school of philosophy. The domain of the international law contribution to business would perhaps open volumes of discussion if taken at a deep emphasis. However, a sub detailed analysis would still provide a support for the same.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Within the international business, an encapsulation of activities of intensified nature is the operational attire of the system. These activities are compounded by diversity in their attributes and volume of work. It involves transactions of broad nature brought forward by nationals of different human understanding. Due to the diversity in these activities and domestic legal authorities, parties into these activities often find themselves trapped in the pool of conflict between one another, structures and activities. For harmony into the business activities, international business comes to provide understanding and harmony into such business prospects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Firstly, the environment, within the international business activity ought to be taken care off. Various production, distribution and business transaction processes involve dimensions that are threat to the environment. The global environment has continued to suffer degradation due to various commercial activities such as factory exhaustions and productions, the maritime activities like oil spillage, over exploitation of resources by the investors, general product dumping above others. The global environment is the most fundamental factor which defines the rationality for livelihood within the globe. Its degradation fosters a threat to the broad image of humanity. However, international law comes in to provide refuge for the global environment through various environment laws such as, the international marine laws, aviation laws, and commercial laws above others.[3] The package of the national laws is inadequate and perhaps is radically inefficient to factor in the responsibility of international environmental attributes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Elsewhere, the international business involves various contractual relationship based on international foundations. Due to the generality of business environment, a breach into the contracts has been discretionary the fundamental daily concept. Such breaches would be impersonalized and irrational if promulgated under the imagery of the national business law. However, international business does coherent validation in breached contractual relationships of an international capacity. Through the codes and regulations of its various internal laws such as the international arbitration, such conflicts are brought down into formal spheres of logical formalities. It therefore seeks to invite legal modalities that govern the transactional portfolio of international contracts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Indeed, a broad package of instruments is waived in the international business activities. The validation of there transaction would be limited by the legal requirements of commercial activities at the national imagery. Various instruments are required in the due execution of international business activities. Generally, the diversity into the transactions also provides a task force for diversity into the negotiable and activity transfer between different parties. The rationality in the administration, creation, transfer and the use of international business instruments is provided by the formalities of the internation business law. This will radically help to provide pursuit of harmony to those involved in transfer of business process.[4]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At the international parameter, consumer sovereignty and protection is never compromised. The law has provided that, products and processes within the dimension of business law should articulate standards with which sovereignty and the general health and purchase price support to the consumers should remain a priority. Elsewhere, it has never compromised support in maintenance of high standards of products, services and processes that are not harmful for human consumptions. Indeed, the GATT law stands to provide refuge on commodity dumping and maintenance of high quality products.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The international business operates within organizational structures. These may include aviation (both air and marine), factory stands, resource depots, banks, the legal bodies, above others. The proficiency should be maintained which is adequately catered for by the international law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Broadly therefore, international law is compounded by various advantages with which the success and promotion of the international business is fostered Disadvantages of international law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Though coupled with various advantages, the same is not limited to a number of weaknesses. Conventionally, international business acts within the broad structures of the international business portfolio. However, this environment captures person’s of different nationalities with limited scales of common understanding. A collaboration between these persons in however hypocritical and only limited to the attributes with which the parties may be willing to understand one another.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consequently, international law has been the main source of global misunderstanding and the major pivot concept that provide a tool for interstate conflicts. Different parties and state into international business have echoed on various disputes and conflict whose raw synthesis is potentially rooted in the understanding of the international law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Domestically, the business activities are safeguarded by the domestic commercial laws. However, such laws are only limited to the economic structures found within the spectral national boundaries. With the diversity into the economic empowerment of the different global states, their national law stands to be different in an adaptation of the structures operating within them. The economic authorities of different state activities validate them to operate in within different state activities and within different commercial laws. Elsewhere, the general difference in the economic dignity of different states imposes chaotic relations when a balance of understanding is employed to resolve international business activities.[5] The rational beings have never been at ease to compel at in providing a solitary understanding between business conflicts born between parties or states of different economic orientations. Summarily therefore, international law has been a basic source of misunderstanding and chaotic asymmetries between different nationalities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conventionally, international law stands to be a basic source of various global conflicts. Many people have ascended to this law as being a chief source of benefits at the expense of the others. Either, the same has being seen as a source of success to the highly developed and economically potential nations. The less developed and poor nations have however been seen as objects of exploitation by these laws. This is the foundations into the state of global conflicts and misunderstanding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Broadly, different statues of the international laws have applied different in the domain of international business. Firstly, the labor laws provide a descent support on employment and personal protections at the workplace. These laws have been developing to provide material support that governs the rules and regulation for the international labor supply. The same has been developed via a coherent support with which the role of the workforce is to be given a support. Labor laws have been used to provide protection in terms of salary and wage payment so that workers are not exploited of the labor resource against wage package that does not provide for their sovereignty and high living standards. Either, it seeks to protect persons from effects of poor working conditions. Generally, international labor law is a package of administrative laws that provide adequacy in the working conditions of the people at their workplace. It also governs the international exchange of labor force. Consequently, it provides a support for equality in employment opportunities without discrimination into the grounds of  Ã‚   ethnicity, gender, nationality, race, religion and other parameter. It also encapsulates the avoidance of juveniles and young people from labor exploitations. Summarily, this law package provides a tool for a coordinated approach in the framework of labor within the international image.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Either, the sovereignty of holders of intellectual property rights and the role of internet has been of a great value indeed. The development of product and service has fundamentally been seen as an important factor if the state of international business is to be rationalized. Though the scope of intellectual property rights is too broad, a short hand summary of the concerned remains objective. The international law has however not overlooked the role played by the intellectual property ownership.[6] Indeed, various laws have been instituted which seek to govern the sovereignty in the rights of the intellectual property holders. Perhaps, the Blockbuster should never be down looked in defining the role played by the internet system in providing a support for sovereignty into the holders of these rights. The international law recognizes and appreciates the roles played by these holders towards the success of the global productions. The various laws instituted provide frontiers for continued support into the use and ownership of these rights to avoid the basic conflict which may arise thereon.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The general business administration is a key aspect that operates within the business framework. International business law seeks to authenticate and validate such administration through drafting legal processes and procedures that provide a continued support for a good organizational leadership. It has provided for a conventional structure of the corporate governance where the different structures into such corporations are provided for the adequacy through the development of the primary function of each. This has been done to persuade a global understanding between the corporate governance and stakeholders of the business. This promotes success and vigilance into the international business arena.[7]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Within the international business comprised of various contractual relationships, the aspect of liability, its defense and elsewhere its discharge are fundamental basics for every aspects that promote understanding in the international business. The same law has however never compromised in providing a legal framework that guides and promotes illegibility into acceptance of liabilities. Various ethical and legal standards have been formulated with which the acceptance, defense and discharge of liabilities in international business should be administered. Within the business process, liability acceptance costs the decency of its procession.[8] Otherwise, no solid business foundations would operate in the absence of regulations that instill confidence into every single business. The international law comes into sanction with various understandings in form of laws and regulations governing international business liabilities. It seek to provide dimensions which instill confidence in every business proceeding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Generally, the contractual relationship and transfer of activities follows the suit of various negotiable instruments. However, the legality of holding and transfer of negotiable instruments should follow a well modeled structure of activity with which transfer of ownership should be adequately defined and regulated by the law. Due to the diversity and intensity of activity within international business, the importance of negotiable instruments is important. However, international law has come to persuade for adequacy in all the transactions formulated within standards of holding and transfer of negotiable instruments. They seek to safeguard the interests of the parties into it. Otherwise, the international law is adequate in providing legal dimension that regulate the ethics in these instruments.[9]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Either, the international law recognizes and honors the personal rights in property ownership. Consequently, it anchors provision that help to provide for the rights in exercise of transactions and interest in every piece of personal property. Through the piece of codes and regulations on property ownership, all transaction rooted on transfers and interests of ownership in property right are safeguarded. Above the aspect of personal property, the aspect of the credit rights and interests in real property is provided for. The   recognition of parties under ownership of real property and estates are provided with affiliated provisions on parameters with which they can use their property for any security interest in due process of sourcing credit.   Different law statues have compounded the various transactions that may be available in every activity relating to international property/ estate ownership. With the broad recognition of the threshold consequences behind bankruptcy and its abuse to the consumer population, the consumer protection Act of 2005 is provided for the international law to safeguard the consumers from the acrid losses which may befall them in the due process of bankruptcy affecting business men. Consequently, any activities that mitigate the enjoyment of consumers of products at the international parameters are provided for.   Various legal authorities have been formulated to provide a descent support for issues of international business bankruptcy.   The law also recognizes the bank system and the transfers of checks as important components of business transactions.   Various banking, wire and checks writing at the international level have been provided for through a structure of various law sets.[10] Summarily therefore, international law does a comprehensive package of benefit in the adequate performance of the global business.   It seeks to formulate various laws which help to provide a coherent support into the overall factor of international business transaction. WORKS CITED Bederman, David J. International Law in Antiquity:   David J. Bederman. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Book on-line. Available from Questia, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=105008836. Internet. Accessed 16 November 2007. p. 57 Buchanan, Allen. Justice, Legitimacy, and Self-Determination:   Moral Foundations for International Law. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Book on-line. Available from Questia, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=110214133. Internet. Accessed 16 November 2007. p. 93 Finch, George A. The Sources of Modern International Law. Buffalo, NY: William S. Hein, 2000. Book on-line. Available from Questia, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=27948629. Internet. Accessed 16 November 2007. p. 66 Hathaway, Oona A. Two Cheers for International Law. The Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 2003, 50+. Database on-line. Available from Questia, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5002035454. Internet. Accessed 16 November 2007. p.1 Knop, Karen. Diversity and Self-Determination in International Law. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Book on-line. Available from Questia, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=105114608. Internet. Accessed 16 November 2007. p.73 Meron, Theodor. International Criminalization of Internal Atrocities. American Journal of International Law 89, no. 3 (1995): 554-577. Database on-line. Available from Questia, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=96649446. Internet. Accessed 16 November 2007.p.1 Ratner, Steven R. International Law: The Trials of Global Norms. Foreign Policy, Spring 1998, 65+. Database on-line. Available from Questia, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5001329988. Internet. Accessed 16 November 2007.p.1 Richardson, Henry J. The Gulf Crisis and African-American Interests Under International Law. American Journal of International Law 87, no. 1 (1993): 42-82. Database on-line. Available from Questia, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=95199148. Internet. Accessed 16 November 2007. p.1 Roth, Brad R. Governmental Illegitimacy in International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Book on-line. Available from Questia, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=30428687. Internet. Accessed 16 November 2007. p.56 Yee, Sienho and Wang Tieya, eds. International Law in the Post-Cold War World: Essays in Memory of Li Haopei. London: Routledge, 2001. Book on-line. Available from Questia, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=102757928. Internet. Accessed 16 November 2007. p.104 [1] Roth, Brad R. Governmental Illegitimacy in International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p.56 [2] Ratner, Steven R. International Law: The Trials of Global Norms. Foreign Policy, Spring 1998. p.1 [3] Bederman, David J. International Law in Antiquity:   David J. Bederman. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2001. p.57 [4] Meron, Theodor. International Criminalization of Internal Atrocities. American Journal of International Law 89, no. 3 (1995). P.1 [5] Finch, George A. The Sources of Modern International Law. Buffalo, NY: William S. Hein, 2000. p.66 [6] Buchanan, Allen. Justice, Legitimacy, and Self-Determination:   Moral Foundations for International Law. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. p.93 [7] Knop, Karen. Diversity and Self-Determination in International Law. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2002. p. 73 [8] Hathaway, Oona A. Two Cheers for International Law. The Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 2003. p.1 [9] Yee, Sienho and Wang Tieya, eds. International Law in the Post-Cold War World: Essays in Memory of Li Haopei. London: Routledge, 2001. p.104 [10] Richardson, Henry J. The Gulf Crisis and African-American Interests Under International Law. American Journal of International Law 87, no. 1 (1993) p.1

Thomas Hobbes †Leviathon Essay Example for Free

Thomas Hobbes – Leviathon Essay Introduction   Thomas Hobbes, a noteworthy political theorist and contemporary of John Locke, offers a concept of justice that is dependent upon the existence of a social structure which he calls the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth arises out of a state of war which he entitles the state of nature. In the state of nature, all men are equal, and thus, they have equal right to liberty. This equality of liberty is without external impediments insofar as how far one is able to extend his own liberty in the preservation of ones self. When men form societies under the social contract, a covenant which expresses their promise to curb their own ambitions and passions, their liberty, in order to work for the common good and to escape the violence that pervades the mere exercise of human nature, is also created. They then, and only then, are able to define justice, which is only realized in the adherence to covenants, and covenants can only be established and adhered to within the Commonwealth. Outside of society, there are no guarantees for protection. Overview In the State of Nature, all men are equal and are equally able to threaten one another. From this equality arises an equality of hope in attaining their ends. What nature has not bestowed upon one man in brute strength, time bestows upon him in experience. The Right of Nature, according to Hobbes, is the liberty each person has to use their own power for their own preservation. Liberty, in this regard, is identified as a lack of constraints upon a person in regards to his own behaviors. If two want the same thing, and they both cannot have it, they become enemies and endeavor to destroy one another (Hobbes chpt. 13). It is thus within the natural order for men to strive for self-preservation, especially when their own liberty is compromised by anothers practice of his liberty. There are three principal causes of quarrels between men in the state of nature. First, competition causes man to attack one another for personal gain, to make himself the stronger of the two and to take that which he seeks from the other. The second reason a man would invade another mans liberty is for the latters own personal safety, and the principal is thus known as diffidence. Finally, the principal of glory, which is the third cause of quarrel according to Hobbes, stems from the want of a reputation and the need to protect it from attacks on an ones personhood, verbal or otherwise. It is ones reputation which makes one powerful and feared in the state of nature, and thus more able to attain what he wants and needs. Because there exists no way for everyone to be assured their liberty will not be infringed by another, they must, therefore, live in a constant state of war. There is no assurance of peace and there are no boundaries dictating the extent to which one can and must go to preserve his own liberty, even if it means the domination of others. Nothing can be unjust. The notions of right and wrong, justice and injustice, have no place (Hobbes Chpt. 13). Therefore, there can be no concept of justice, because justice distinguishes the boundaries existing between one mans ability to protect his liberty in the face of another mans endeavor to destroy it. Force and fraud are the cardinal virtues (Hobbes Chpt. 13). Force ensures ones survival, and fraud ensures ones betterment. Without the fear of punishment, nothing stops men from using them and without justice; the term fraud would have no conceptualization as its negative denotation would not exist in a world with no concept of right and wrong.    Examination The First Law of Nature is to seek peace, which is rational. As the main goal of man under the state of nature is self-preservation, peace cannot be sought unilaterally and it is against the nature of man to seek it when in doing so, he concedes his own liberty. In the state of nature, unimpeded liberty exists, and mans security in his life and liberty is questionable. In such a time, there can not be commerce, agriculture, arts, or society, as there is no means by which to ensure their security. Man must live in constant fear of death and violence, and hence, such aspects of culture cannot subsist under that threat. One has no other refuge, than that which his own strength can furnish to him, hence the importance of the three principles of conflict, which lead to gains in strength, the protection of ones life and liberty, and the protection of ones reputation. Hobbes amalgamates and summarizes the first three laws of nature into what is commonly known as the golden rule. Treat others as you would like to be treated. This rule conceptualizes the birth of the Commonwealth and the social contract, wherein man gives away his right of liberty in order to protect himself from the unrestricted liberty of others who also agree to do the same. This is the birth of both the Commonwealth and justice, and the death of the State of Nature. In order to understand the meaning of justice, one must first understand how Hobbes defines justice. Justice, according to Hobbes, is the keeping of covenants. Therefore, where there are no covenants, there can be no justice. In the State of Nature, there can be contracts, just as within the commonwealth, but not covenants. The reasons are as follows: a contract is the mutual transferring of right in the Hobbsian sense and because it is mutual, it is obligatory on both sides and realized simultaneously, however, insofar as a covenant is a transference of right between men in which one promises to fulfill his obligation in the future, the early performer of his duties can not be assured that the other will perform his end of the covenant because there are no external bridles hinging him to it, containing his ambition. To lay down a mans right to anything is to divest himself of the liberty of hindering another of the benefit of his own right to the same (Hobbes Chpt. 13). Only fear can achieve adherence to the covenant; only coercion can bring about fear; and only the Commonwealth can subdue a mans passions through coercion. Therefore, a covenant in the state of nature is no more than a gift given to another as there can be no guarantee that the first to act will get his due, moreover, justice, according to Hobbes, originally exists within the commonwealth. Conclusion The keeping of Justice within the commonwealth can be explained in two parts; first, by clarification of the role of law, and, second, through Hobbes concept of authorship. Law, as defined by Hobbes, is distinguishable from right insofar as right is the liberty to do, whereas law binds ones liberty. Law, he says, is derived from reason, and reason tells man that he should strive for peace, which is both the grounds for the establishment of society, and the first law of nature. As all voluntary acts are geared towards gain, and laying down the natural right is a voluntary act, it is done so in order to promote the peace, which is both reasonable and beneficial for the all parties in that the peace is maintained. The law that binds man and takes away his ability to infringe on the liberties of others compel men equally to the performance of their covenants, by the terror of some punishment greater than the benefit they expect by the breach of their covenant (Hobbes Chpt. 15). Therefore, it is the established laws of the Commonwealth which place the fear punishment in men and guides them to the fulfillment of their covenants. Secondly, as the Commonwealth is the unification of men who have conferred their power to govern themselves upon either one man, or an assembly of men, called the sovereign, in order to establish the peace, it is in mans nature to strive individually and collectively for peace in order for self-preservation. The sovereign represents the will of the unified men. The sovereign is the sole legislator, and represents the common good. The laws oblige all citizens and if the citizens have quarrel with the laws, then they only have quarrel with themselves. As the common good is represented by the laws, and as the law of nature, under which the Commonwealth and the sovereign alike were created, and the civil laws contain each other and are reasonable, and as it is the citizens who author the laws in respect to the common good, therefore, neither the common good nor the laws can ever be unjust or against reason. References Hobbes, Thomas; Leviathan, ed. C. B. Macpherson (Harmondsworth: Pelican, 1975)

Study the nature of impulse buying

Study the nature of impulse buying Literature review Many researches have been carried out to study the nature of impulse buying and various factors that affect it. Impulse buying is influenced by a variety of economic, situational, personality, time, location and even cultural factors. Researches have also been conducted to understand the underlying motivational factors behind impulse buying. Similarly researches have been conducted to study factors that moderate impulse buying behavior. Consumers engage in impulse buying to satisfy hedonic desires for fun, novelty and variety; also impulsiveness is correlated with consumers desires to fulfill self-esteem and self-actualization needs. In the early stages research on impulse buying behavior was product-focused, as only products were held responsible for exciting people for unplanned purchases. The researchers directed their efforts and attention only to the type and characteristics of products and other factors associated with the availability display etc. of products in stores. But later on, from the last few decades, the researchers focused on customers rather then products as being the cause of impulse buying. The factors like personality characteristics, income level, need to fulfill self-esteem etc. are typically responsible for impulse buying behavior. The understanding of impulse purchasing was greatly improved through Sterns identification of four distinct classifications of impulse purchasing: planned, pure, reminder and suggestion impulse purchasing. The four categories are as follows: Pure impulse buying is a novelty or escape purchasing which breaks a normal buying pattern; Reminder impulse buying occurs when a shopper sees an item and remembers that the stock at home is exhausted or low or recalls an advertisement or other information about the item and a previous decision to buy; Suggestion impulse buying occurs when a shopper sees a product for the first time and visualizes a need for it, even though he has no previous knowledge of it; and Planned impulse buying occurs when a shopper enters the store with some specific purchases in mind, but with the expectation and intention to make purchases that depend on price specials, coupon offers, and the like. (Francis Piron (1991), â€Å"DEFINING IMPULSE PURCHASING†, in Advances in Consumer Research Volume 18, eds. Rebecca H. Holman and Michael R. Solomon, Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 509-514) There are some factors other then product and individual characteristics that also play an important role in generating impulse purchases. Gender Differences in Impulse buying Several previous researches on impulse buying have paid some attention to the role gender plays in determining this behavior. These researches show that men and womens shopping behavior differs on many levels. Kollat and Willet (1967) found that women tend to engage in more impulse buying as compared to men. It is also argued that women because of their propensity to shop more in general, make more impulsive purchases. Tariq Jalees (2009) also found that the level of impulsiveness in reference to buying is stronger in females as compared to males. Transaction Size affecting Impulse Buying Kollat and Willet (1967) used two measures of transaction size: number of different products purchased and the grocery bill. They found out that the increase in size of the grocery bill and number of purchases made resulted in an increase in unplanned impulse purchases. Shopping List and Impulse buying Studies conducted by Kollat and Willet (1967) indicated that one of the factors that affect impulse buying is the presence of a shopping list. This however only holds true if the transaction size is greater than 15. When more than 15 or 20 products are purchased, shoppers having a list make a smaller percentage of unplanned purchases. However, when less than 15 or 20 products are bought, the shopping list does not affect the percentage of unplanned purchases. Pre-decision stage and impulse buying The research study conducted by Muhammad Ali Tirmizi, Kashif-Ur-Rehman M. Iqbal Saif (2009) clearly indicate that there exits a weak association between consumer lifestyle, fashion involvement and post-decision stage of consumers purchasing behavior but Pre-decision stage of consumers purchasing behavior established strong association with the impulse buying behavior of the consumers. The pre-decision stage of the purchasing associate the buyers with unplanned or impulse buying because these days stores are full of variety of products and a buyer can easily get interested in purchasing a product which appeals him or her while shopping the planned list of products. (Muhammad Ali Tirmizi, Kashif-Ur-Rehman M. Iqbal Saif 2009) Group influence on impulse buying Most research in consumer psychology assumes that impulsive purchasing can be best explained by factors at the individual level, in contrast a research study conducted by Xueming Luo (2005), indicates that the presence of others influences this behavior. Presence of peers increases the urge to purchase, and the presence of family members decreases it. Visual merchandising and impulse buying Todays retail stores are almost universal in their reliance on self-service merchandising and a high rate of impulse buying. Self-service merchandising is facilitated by store design and careful attention to traffic flow, while impulse buying is enhanced by the use of special displays. Customers typically do not cruise the aisles aimlessly hoping to find something to buy. Most consumers are busy people and have a purpose to their shopping trip. Thus, impulse sales are created not by persuasive reasoning, but by striking an emotion that the customer can act upon quickly. There appear to be three mechanisms by which the impulse buying response can be triggered. First, the special display cues the customer to respond to an external advertising campaign. The display creates impulse sales by reminding customers about the extensive advertising to which they have (hopefully) been exposed. Second, the display can serve to break the consumers conditioned reflex to buy a particular product. If the consumer buys Brand A because it has become a habit, then it will be necessary for them to have a reason to break this conditioned purchase behavior. Special displays provide a way to accomplish this because the consumer is responding emotionally, not through a reasoned process. Finally, special displays create impulse sales for new or novel products by instigating the desire to â€Å"try something new!† The salient feature to remember about impulse sales is that they are a response to an emotional appeal. A successful appeal may take many forms, but those most universal and easiest to communicate are identified by simple phrases such as: â€Å"low price,† â€Å"new,† â€Å"free,† â€Å"extra,† etc. A special display is used to get the customers attention for each of these messages. A research study conducted by W.M.C.B. Wanninayake Pradeep Randiwela (2007), indicates that most of customers have given first and second priority to visual merchandising. Second and third largest amount of customers mentioned price of goods and location of the outlets. According to the literature and pilot study in Sri Lankan supermarkets, researchers recognized that lighting, design layout, product display and cleanliness are the main variables of visual merchandizing. Price discounts and impulse buying This factor is the most talked about when it comes to impulse buying. A lot of people say that they indulged in impulse buying just because something was on a discount. Deals and discounts contribute to impulse buying, and when we see something priced much lower than what we are used, that triggers a desire to get that thing and save money. A large part of all purchases are attributed to impulse buying, this is undoubtedly good for retailers, but its not as good for consumers, because a lot of impulse buys dont end up getting used at all, and one regret spending any money on them. Price promotions come in various forms, such as buy-one-get-one-free offers, coupons, and of course price discounts. Cash reward is a new popular promotional tool used at many famous department stores, apparel retailing chains, and grocery stores. Consumers can obtain a rebate when their purchase passes a threshold set by the company, as in, purchase over $100 to get a $10 cash reward. However, distinguished from other price promotions, cash rewards provide consumers freedom to choose any products within the store rather than a specific product. Cash rewards, like the conditional discount of coupons, give rebates only to consumers achieving the purchasing threshold. Facing free choice and the conditional-discount promotion, consumers may be attracted to buy merchandise in excesses their original shopping budget. Those consumers perceive gains from getting the cash reward if they reach the threshold and perceive losses from not taking advantage of the offer if they do not. Such perception generates an â€Å"artificial buying desire.† Price discounts and cash rewards do increase the possibility of occurrence of unplanned purchases, especially when a consumers shopping expenditure approaches the offers threshold. Hypotheses The hypotheses formulated after review of the literature are given below: H1: Visual merchandising has a strong influence on the impulse buying behavior of the consumers. H2: Price discounts have a strong influence on the impulse buying behavior of the consumers. The testing of the hypotheses is confined to the primary data collected from Karachi. References Kollat, D. T., Willett, R. P. (1967). Is impulse purchasing really a useful concept for marketing decisions? Journal of Marketing Research, 4, 21-31. International Review of Business Research Papers, Vol. 5 No. 6 November 2009, Pp.298-308, An Empirical Analysis Of Impulsive Buying Behavior In Pakistan Tariq Jalees* JOURNAL OF CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY, 15(4), 288-294, Copyright  © 2005, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. How Does Shopping With Others Influence Impulsive Purchasing? Xueming Luo University of Texas at Arlington An Empirical Study of Consumer Impulse Buying Behavior in Local Markets Muhammad Ali Tirmizi, Kashif-Ur-Rehman, M. Iqbal Saif, European Journal of Scientific Research, ISSN 1450-216X Vol.28 No.4 (2009), pp.522-532  © EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2009, http://www.eurojournals.com/ejsr.html W.M.C.B. Wanninayake, Pradeep Randiwela, 7th Global Conference on Business Economics, ISBN: 978-0-9742114-9-4 October 13-14, 2007, Rome, Italy

The World and Ideas of Karl Marx :: Expository Essays Research Papers

The World and Ideas of Karl Marx The latter part of the nineteenth century was teeming with evolved social and economical ideas. These views of the social structure of urban society came about through the development of ideals taken from past revolutions and the present clash of individuals and organized assemblies. As the Industrial Revolution steamed ahead paving the way for growing commerce, so did the widening gap between the class structure which so predominantly grasped the populace and their rights within the community. The development of a capitalist society was a very favorable goal in the eyes of the bourgeoisie. Using advancing methods of production within a system of free trade, the ruling middle class were strategically able to earn a substantial surplus of funds and maintain their present class of life. Thus, with the advancement of industry and the bourgeoisie's gain of wealth, a counter-action was undoubtably taking place. The resultant was the degradation of the working-class, of the proletarians wh om provided labour to a middle-class only to be exploited in doing so. Exploitation is a quarrel between social groups that has been around since the dawn of mankind itself. The persecution of one class by another has historically allowed the advancement of mankind to continue. These clashes, whether ending with positive or negative results, allow Man to evolve as a species, defining Himself within the social structure of nature. Man's rivalry amongst one another allows for this evolution! through the production of something which is different, not necessarily productive, but differing from the present norm and untried through previous epochs. At this time in history, mankind was moving forward very rapidly, but at the price of the working-class. Wages were given sparsely, and when capital gain improved, the money payed for labour did not reflect this prosperity. This, therefore, accelerated the downfall of the proletarians and progressed towards a justifiable revolt against the oppressive middle class. The conclusion of this revolt was envisioned to be a classless society, one in which its people benefit from and that benefits from its people. The overthrow of capitalism would create a socialist society eventually flourishing into communism. Karl Heinrich Marx (1818 - 1883) was the philosophical analysis who created communism and saw it as an achievable goal. Marx denounced religion and created what were thought to be radical ideas, which resulted in the banishment from his native land of Germany and then France, eventually ending up in England.

Electoral College :: essays research papers

Electoral College   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Electoral College is not important in choosing the president of the United States. I agree with this because it should matter what the voters say, this is a democracy and it should be the people’s final choice, and if the Electoral College changes the voters’ choice then they will be the ones to blame if our country goes haywire. The Electoral College has a final say in which president will be chosen. It’s not right because if the majority of the voters choose one president and the Electoral College chooses another then most of the voters will be upset. They chose that certain president for a reason and it would just be a waste of their time if the candidate they voted for didn’t get elected. There are some that feel that the Electoral College in its present form will cause a president to become elected who was not the winner by popular vote.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This country has a democratic government. If the whole country doesn’t have a say in who is president then it will be only ran by a small group of people which, by definition, is not a democracy. I myself would hope that my vote counts. It really doesn’t if a small group of people can overrule the choice my fellow voters and I make.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lastly, I don’t think that the Electoral College is a very good idea because each person in this country matters. If they chose a president, even if by popular vote, it was their choice and they will be the ones who have to live with whatever promises that president chooses to make or break to them. If they made a mistake on which president to choose it will be their own fault and they won’t have anyone else to blame but themselves.

Choice and Free Will Essay -- Psychology

â€Å"Free will† is the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate. Free will has long been debated by scholars, philosophers, and psychologists. It is a subject that has been argued, theorized, and predicted to the extent of human ability, but recent data has been brought up by two psychologists named Shirley Matile Ogletree and Crystal D. Oberle. These two psychologists assess surveys given to college level students to evaluate the â€Å"common† or â€Å"plain† perspective of free will. They also bring up the questions like â€Å"Is free will compatible with determinism?,† â€Å"What is meant by free will and determinism by the average person?,† and â€Å"Does it make a difference what attitudes people have regarding free will and determinism?† Free will and deterministic perspectives are exceedingly argumentative points of view with hard deterministic views describing free will as non existent, and libertarian views d escribing free will as freely chosen actions being done by an autonomic organism, which led me to believe that both agents are apart of everyday choices with the free will perspective being a more logical and acceptable way of assessing human behavior. Ogletree and Oberle describe hard determinism â€Å"as completely caused by a combination of genetics, past experiences, and current circumstance, also clearly supports the incompatibility of determinism and free will—free will simply doesn’t exist.† This perspective is the most extreme of all deterministic views. It is a view that the authors of my source perceive as the explanation of human behavior. Although, there are other deterministic views held by others that do not take this extreme position. Soft determinism can be explained as humans being exhibited to both det... ...etic base pair of the possible three billion differences, the one different nucleic acid, the one different protein, and all the way down to the non living particles of which we were created from. It is this difference in each one of us that stems choice. The presence of choice is considered, to me, as free will. When fate lends its hand out to us with another option, fate, itself, is offering us choice, but is the choice we make already chosen for us? Works Cited Oberle, Crystal and Ogletree, Shirley . â€Å"The Nature, Common Usage, And Implications Of Free Will And Determinism.† Behavior and Philosophy. 1 December 2008. 1 December 2010. Coon, Dennis and Mitterer, John. â€Å"Psychology: A Journey.† Printed in the United States. 2010

Spirit Bound Chapter Fifteen

IN MY PANICKED MIND RIGHT then, getting up and running on foot to Lehigh–despite it being miles and miles away–seemed like a totally solid plan. A heartbeat later, I knew this was out of my league. Way, way out of my league. As I shot up from my table and tore out of the room, I felt a sudden longing for Alberta. I'd seen her jump into action at St. Vladimir's and knew she could take charge of any situation. At this point in our relationship, she would respond to any threat I brought to her. The guardians at Court were still strangers to me. Who could I go to? Hans? The guy who hated me? He wouldn't believe me, not like Alberta or my mother would. Running down the quiet hallways, I dismissed all such worries. It didn't matter. I would make him believe. I would find anyone I could. Anyone who could get Lissa and Christian out of this. Only you can, a voice hissed in my head. You're the one Dimitri wants. I ignored that thought too, largely because in my distraction, I collided into someone rounding a corner. I gave a muffled cry that sounded like â€Å"Oomph† as my face slammed into someone's chest. I looked up. Mikhail. I would have been relieved, except I was too pumped full of adrenaline and worry. I grabbed his sleeve and began tugging him toward the stairs. â€Å"Come on! We have to get help!† Mikhail remained were he was, not budging against my pull. He frowned, face calm. â€Å"What are you talking about?† â€Å"Lissa! Lissa and Christian. They've been taken by Strigoi–by Dimitri. We can find them. I can find them. But we have to hurry.† Mikhail's confusion grew. â€Å"Rose†¦ how long have you been down here?† I didn't have time for this. Leaving him, I fled up the stairs to the main levels of the complex. A moment later I heard his footsteps behind me. When I reached the main office, I expected someone to chastise me for leaving my punishment, except†¦ no one seemed to even notice me. The office was in chaos. Guardians were running around, calls were being made, and voices rose to frantic levels. They knew, I realized. They already knew. â€Å"Hans!† I called, pushing my way through the crowd. He was on the other side of the room and had just hung up on a cell call. â€Å"Hans, I know where they are. Where the Strigoi took Lissa and Christian.† â€Å"Hathaway, I don't have time for your–† His scowl faltered. â€Å"You have that bond.† I stared in astonishment. I'd been ready for him to dismiss me as a nuisance. I'd been ready for a long fight to convince him. I gave him a hasty nod. â€Å"I saw it. I saw everything that happened.† Now I frowned. â€Å"How do you know already?† â€Å"Serena,† he said grimly. â€Å"Serena's dead†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shook his head. â€Å"No, not yet. Though she certainly sounded like it on the phone. Whatever happened, it took everything she had to make that call. We have Alchemists coming to get her, and†¦ clean up.† I replayed the events, remembering how Serena had been slammed against the asphalt. It had been a hard blow, and when she didn't move, I'd assumed the worst. Yet if she'd survived–and apparently she must have–I could just barely form a mental image of her dragging her cell phone out of her pocket with bloody hands†¦. Please, please let her be alive, I thought, not sure who I was praying to. â€Å"Come on,† said Hans. â€Å"We need you. There are teams already forming.† There was another surprise. I hadn't expected him to bring me on so quickly. A new respect for Hans settled over me. He might act like an asshole, but he was a leader. When he saw an asset, he used it. In one swift motion, he was hurrying out the door, several guardians following him. I struggled to keep up with their longer strides and saw Mikhail coming as well. â€Å"You're doing a rescue,† I told Hans. â€Å"That's†¦ rare.† I hesitated to even speak the words. I certainly didn't want to discourage this. But Moroi rescues weren't normal. When Strigoi took them, they were often regarded as dead. The rescue we'd done after the Academy attack had been an oddity, one that had taken a lot of persuasion. Hans gave me a wry look. â€Å"So is the Dragomir princess.† Lissa was precious to me, worth more than anything else in the world. And for the Moroi, I realized, she was precious too. Most Moroi captured by Strigoi might be regarded as dead, but she wasn't most Moroi. She was the last in her line, the last of one of twelve ancient families. Losing her wouldn't just be a hit to Moroi culture. It would be a sign, an omen that the Strigoi were truly defeating us. For her, the guardians would risk a rescue mission. In fact, it appeared they would risk a lot of things. As we arrived at the garages where the Court's vehicles were stored, I saw masses of other guardians arriving–along with Moroi. I recognized a few. Tasha Ozera was among them, and like her, the others were fire users. If we'd learned anything, it was how valuable they were in a fight. It appeared the controversy of Moroi going to battle was being ignored right now, and I was amazed at how quickly this group had been summoned. Tasha's eyes met mine, her face grave and drawn. She said nothing to me. She didn't need to. Hans was barking orders, splitting people into groups and vehicles. With every bit of self-control I could muster, I waited patiently near him. My restless nature made me want to jump in and start demanding to know what I could do. He would get to me, I assured myself. He had a role for me; I just had to wait. My self-control was also being tested with Lissa. After Dimitri had taken her and Christian away, I'd left her mind. I couldn't go back, not yet. I couldn't stand to see them–to see Dimitri. I knew I'd have to once I began directing the guardians, but for now, I held off. I knew Lissa was alive. That was all that mattered for the time being. Still, I was so wound up and filled with tension that when someone touched my arm, I nearly turned on them with my stake. â€Å"Adrian†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I breathed. â€Å"What are you doing here?† He stood there looking down at me, and his hand gently brushed my cheek. I had only ever seen such a serious, grim look on his face a couple of times. As usual, I didn't like it. Adrian was one of those people who should always be smiling. â€Å"As soon as I heard the news, I knew where you'd be.† I shook my head. â€Å"It happened like†¦ I don't know, ten minutes ago?† Time had blurred for me. â€Å"How could everyone know so soon?† â€Å"It was radioed across the Court as soon as they found out. They've got an instant alert system. In fact, the queen's kind of in lockdown.† â€Å"What? Why?† Somehow that annoyed me. Tatiana wasn't the one in danger. â€Å"Why waste resources on her?† A nearby guardian gave me a critical look over that. Adrian shrugged. â€Å"Strigoi attack relatively close by? They take it as a pretty serious security threat for us.† Relatively was the key word. Lehigh was about an hour and a half from Court. Guardians were always on alert, though with each passing second, I wished they'd move faster and be on alert. If Adrian hadn't shown up, I was pretty sure I would have lost my patience and told Hans to hurry. â€Å"It's Dimitri,† I said in a low voice. I hadn't been sure if I should tell anyone else that. â€Å"He's the one who took them. He's using them to lure me there.† Adrian's face grew darker. â€Å"Rose, you can't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He trailed off, but I knew his meaning. â€Å"What choice do I have?† I exclaimed. â€Å"I have to go. She's my best friend, and I'm the only one who can lead them to her.† â€Å"It's a trap.† â€Å"I know. And he knows I know.† â€Å"What will you do?† Again, I knew exactly what Adrian meant. I glanced down at the stake I'd unconsciously pulled out earlier. â€Å"What I have to. I have to†¦ I have to kill him.† â€Å"Good,† said Adrian, relief flooding his features. â€Å"I'm glad.† For some reason, that irritated me. â€Å"God,† I snapped. â€Å"Are you that eager to get rid of any competition?† Adrian's face stayed serious. â€Å"No. I just know that as long as he's still alive–or, well, kind of alive–then you're in danger. And I can't stand that. I can't stand knowing that your life is in the balance. And it is, Rose. You'll never be safe until he's gone. I want you safe. I need you to be safe. I can't†¦ I can't have anything happen to you.† My flare of anger vanished as quickly as it had come. â€Å"Oh, Adrian, I'm sorry†¦.† I let him draw me into his arms. Resting my head against his chest, I felt his heartbeat and the softness of his shirt, I allowed myself a brief and fleeting moment of comfort. I just wanted to sink into him then and there. I didn't want to be consumed by these feelings of fear: fear for Lissa and fear of Dimitri. I went cold all over as a sudden realization slipped over me. No matter what happened, I would lose one of them tonight. If we rescued Lissa, Dimitri would die. If he survived, she would die. There was no happy ending for this story, nothing that could save my heart from being crushed into pieces. Adrian brushed my forehead with his lips and then leaned down toward my mouth. â€Å"Be careful, Rose. No matter what happens, please, please be careful. I can't lose you.† I didn't know what to say to that, how to respond to all that emotion pouring from him. My own mind and heart were flooded with so many mixed feelings that I could barely form a coherent thought. Instead, I drew my lips to his and kissed him. In the midst of all the death tonight–the death that already had happened and that which was still to come–that kiss seemed more powerful than any he and I had ever shared. It was alive. I was alive, and I wanted to stay that way. I wanted to bring Lissa back, and I wanted to return to Adrian's arms again, return to his lips and all this life†¦. â€Å"Hathaway! Good God, do I need to hose you down?† I broke abruptly from Adrian and saw Hans glaring at me. Most of the SUVs were loaded up. Now it was my turn to act. I gave Adrian a look of farewell, and he forced a small smile that I think was supposed to be brave. â€Å"Be careful,† he repeated. â€Å"Bring them back–and bring yourself back too.† I gave him a quick nod and then followed an impatient Hans into one of the SUVs. The most bizarre sense of deja vu settled over me as I slid into the backseat. This was so like the time Victor had kidnapped Lissa that I nearly froze up. Then, too, I had ridden in a similar black SUV, directing guardians toward Lissa's location. Only it had been Dimitri sitting beside me–the wonderful, brave Dimitri I'd known so long ago. Yet those memories were so etched into my mind and heart that I could picture every detail: the way he'd tucked his hair behind his ears, the fierce look in his brown eyes as he'd stepped on the gas to get us to Lissa faster. He'd been so determined, so ready to do what was right. This Dimitri–Dimitri the Strigoi–was also determined. But in a very different way. â€Å"You gonna be able to do this?† asked Hans from the front seat. A hand gently squeezed my arm, and I was startled to see Tasha beside me. I hadn't even noticed she was riding with us. â€Å"We're counting on you.† I nodded, wanting to be worthy of his respect. In best guardian fashion, I kept my emotions off my face, trying not to feel that conflict between the two Dimitris. Trying not to remember that the night we'd gone after Lissa and Victor had been the same night Dimitri and I had fallen prey to the lust charm†¦. â€Å"Head toward Lehigh,† I said in a cool voice. I was a guardian now. â€Å"I'll direct you when we get closer.† We'd only been on the road for about twenty minutes when I sensed Lissa's group coming to a halt. Dimitri had apparently chosen a hideout not too far from the university, which would make it easier for us to find than if they'd kept moving. Of course, I had to remind myself that Dimitri wanted to be found. Knowing that the guardians with me wouldn't need my directions until we were closer to Lehigh, I steeled myself and jumped into Lissa's head to see what was going on. Lissa and Christian hadn't been harmed or attacked, aside from being pushed and dragged around. They sat in what looked like a storage room–a storage room that hadn't been used in a very long time. Dust coated everything in a heavy layer, so much that it was hard to make out some of the objects piled on the rickety shelves. Some tools, maybe. Paper here and there, as well as the occasional box. A bare lightbulb was the only light in the room, giving everything a harsh and dingy feel. Lissa and Christian sat in straight-backed wooden chairs, their hands bound behind their backs with rope. For a moment, deja vu hit again. I remembered last winter when I too, along with my friends, had been bound to chairs and held captive by Strigoi. They'd drunk from Eddie, and Mason had died†¦. No. Don't think like that, Rose. Lissa and Christian are alive. Nothing's happened to them yet. Nothing will happen to them. Lissa's mind was on the here and now, but a little probing let me see what the overall building had looked like when she'd been brought in. It had seemed to be a warehouse–an old, abandoned one–which made it a nice place for the Strigoi to hole up with their prisoners. There were four Strigoi in the room, but as far as Lissa was concerned, only one really mattered. Dimitri. I understood her reaction. Seeing him as a Strigoi had been hard for me. Surreal, even. I'd adapted somewhat, simply because of all the time I'd spent with him. Still, even I was caught by surprise sometimes at seeing him like that. Lissa hadn't been prepared at all and was in total shock. Dimitri's dark brown hair was worn loose around his chin today, a look I'd always loved on him, and he was pacing rapidly, causing his duster to swirl around him. A lot of the time, his back was to Lissa and Christian, which made it that much more troubling for her. Without seeing his face, she could almost believe it was the Dimitri she'd always known. He was arguing with the other three as he walked back and forth across the small space, agitation radiating off him in an almost palpable wave. â€Å"If the guardians really are coming,† snarled one Strigoi, â€Å"then we should be posted outside.† She was a tall, gangly redhead who appeared to have been Moroi when turned. Her tone implied that she did not think guardians were actually coming, though. â€Å"They're coming,† said Dimitri in a low voice, that lovely accent making my heart ache. â€Å"I know they are.† â€Å"Then let me get out there and be useful!† she snapped. â€Å"You don't need us to babysit these two.† Her tone was dismissive. Scornful, even. It was understandable. Everyone in the vampire world knew Moroi didn't fight back, and Lissa and Christian were firmly bound. â€Å"You don't know them,† said Dimitri. â€Å"They're dangerous. I'm not even sure this is enough protection.† â€Å"That's ridiculous!† In one smooth motion, Dimitri turned and backhanded her. The hit knocked her back a few feet, her eyes widening in fury and shock. He resumed his pacing as though nothing had happened. â€Å"You will stay here, and you will guard them as long as I tell you to, do you understand?† She glared back and gingerly touched her face but said nothing. Dimitri glanced at the others. â€Å"And you'll stay too. If the guardians actually make it this far inside, you'll be needed for more than just guard duty.† â€Å"How do you know?† demanded another Strigoi, a black-haired one who might have been human once. A rarity among Strigoi. â€Å"How do you know they'll come?† Strigoi had amazing hearing, but with their bickering, Lissa had a brief opportunity to speak undetected to Christian. â€Å"Can you burn my ropes?† she murmured in a nearly inaudible voice. â€Å"Like with Rose?† Christian frowned. When he and I had been captured, it was what he'd done to free me. It had hurt like hell and left blisters on my hands and wrists. â€Å"They'll notice,† he breathed back. The conversation went no further because Dimitri came to an abrupt halt and turned toward Lissa. She gasped at the sudden and unexpected movement. Swiftly approaching her, he knelt down before her and peered into her eyes. She trembled in spite of her best efforts. She had never been this close to a Strigoi, and the fact that it was Dimitri was that much worse. The red rings around his pupils seemed to burn into her. His fangs looked poised to attack. His hand snaked out and gripped her neck, tilting her face up so he could get an even better look into her eyes. His fingers dug into her skin, not enough to cut off her air but enough that she would have bruises later. If there was a later. â€Å"I know the guardians will come because Rose is watching,† said Dimitri. â€Å"Aren't you, Rose?† Loosening his hold a little, he ran his fingertips over the skin of Lissa's throat, so gently†¦ yet there was no question he had the power to snap her neck. It was like he was looking into my eyes at the moment. My soul. I even felt like he was stroking my neck. I knew it was impossible. The bond existed between Lissa and me. No one else could see it. Yet, just then, it was like no one else existed but him and me. It was like there was no Lissa between us. â€Å"You're in there, Rose.† A pitiless half smile played over his mouth. â€Å"And you won't abandon either of them. You also aren't foolish enough to come alone, are you? Maybe once you would have–but not anymore.† I jerked out of her head, unable to stare into those eyes–and see them staring back at me. Whether it was my own fear or a mirroring of Lissa's, I discovered my body was also trembling. I forced it to stop and tried to slow my racing heart. Swallowing, I glanced around to see if anyone had noticed, but they were all preoccupied with discussing strategy–except for Tasha. Her cool blue gaze studied me, her face drawn with concern. â€Å"What did you see?† I shook my head, unable to look at her either. â€Å"A nightmare,† I murmured. â€Å"My worst nightmare coming true.†