Paniqui Water Essay

Dried water lily stalks woven into fine handicrafts became the livelihood of women, housewives, out-of-school youths, and senior citizens of Paniqui, Tarlac, Philippines. A wide range of products like shoes, sandals, slippers, bags, baskets, wallets, pouches, belts, trays, placemats, boxes, tissue holders and many others can be crafted by Paniqui folks using stalks of dried water hyacinths. The ample visibility and fast growth of this plant caused a problem of obstructing the flow of water as the region is traversed with many rivers, swamps, and creeks, causing flooding during heavy rains. The local government started this project with 25 weavers which increased to 50 within 12 months as demand from local and foreign tourists poured out. The BusinessOver a wide variety of handicrafts can be made from dried water hyacinths. It’s light yet strong fiber property can be woven to different products according to the clients’ preferences. Because it is organic, it can be used for packaging of goods which will substitute plastics that are non-biodegradable. The abundant yield of high quality dried water lily straws with the hard-working weaving skills mean that the plant harvesters and weavers of Paniqui have very good potential to enter the market of producing high quality hand-made water lily handicrafts in different designs and products. Furthermore, the same raw materials and weaving techniques can be applied to develop a range of good quality and attractive water lily fashion ware like slippers and handbags. The production of the water lily baskets and boxes would be undertaken by the Paniqui Women Association and the PAGASA Youth Association both recognized and supported by the local government. High quality fabric materials for fastenings, linings, gloss, water-proofing, and highlights were sourced from the locality. Production of water lily mats, trays and other handicrafts would enhance the quality and value of products produced by the local groups and should give in a major income increase for their own households. The target market for water lily handicrafts would be predominately the local market of wealthier Filipinos, overseas Filipino workers, expats and foreigners. The local government unit of Paniqui plans to engage on supplying water lily handicrafts for wholesale to a number of domestic distributors and retail networks. The aim of water lily boxes, baskets, and handbags will primarily be environment conscious consumers who do not use plastic bags or plastic containers. These consumers and other unaware consumers will be targeted through direct marketing and direct and indirect advertising campaigns backed up by the local government unit of Paniqui, the Provincial Government of Tarlac, and the Department of Trade and Industry. There are three main market targets for the water lily handicrafts. The target for the water lily fashion items (mostly handbags, slippers, wallet, etc.) will be established domestic handicraft wholesalers and retailers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, as well as exporters for the United States, Japan, and European markets. It is anticipated that domestic sales to cater to the large tourism market all over the Philippine islands will make up the majority of water lily fashion item sales. The target market for water lily handicrafts (mostly lampshade, decorative household products, placemats, etc.) will initially be the Filipino community living abroad. This embodies a significant market, as there are many Filipinos working around the world-over 860,000 not mentioning Filipino immigrants, so the overall potential market size is large. The main potential competitors would be other communities all over the country who also started this water lily weaving project, as this is promoted by the Department of Trade and Industry to local government units with trouble with the pesky water plant. Another is handicrafts made of other indigenous materials. Water lily products could compete well on the basis of price with other indigenous materials as the raw materials are freely harvested. The distinctive promotion about the water lily products is that they are well crafted by hand utilizing indigenous materials and the designs are decorative emphasizing the Filipino heritage. Also, the use of the product is very helpful to the environment as it substitutes the use of plastic materials and at the same time ceases the clogging of flow of water on rivers and creeks. However, the selling price of the handicrafts is very reasonable. The handicrafts could also be made to order. The Entrepreneur & Management The water lily project started as a livelihood program for the Paniqui women, out-of-school youths, and senior citizens organized by the Local Government Unit of Paniqui. Management is directed by the Municipal Mayor with the help of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office. The Program is in coordination with the Provincial Government of Tarlac which also gives the needed promotional and advertising campaign with the national agency, the Department of Trade and Industry who assist the weavers for needed training and development. Development It started from 12 housewives to 25 women and youths and then to 50 within a year. Handcrafting eventually became a constructive activity for people who were once dawdling outside their homes playing cards and getting drunk the every day. Some weavers take their work at home with the whole family joining the making of the water lily handicrafts. While others chooses to work at the Paniqui Livelihood Center were materials are readily available. A household would earn roughly around three hundred pesos (Php 300) weekly during slack season and about six hundred pesos (Php 600) weekly during peak season. Before it became a livelihood program last August 2008, the conceptions for these water lilies are pests to the community as it hampers the flow of water in rivers and creeks during heavy rains causing flooding in the area. It is projected that by the fourth year of operation the total income for the workers from handcrafting activities could increase roughly 3 times by the year 2012.| Starting out as a backyard industry nearly a decade ago, the water lily handicraft business especially in Las Pià ±as City is booming as more people take notice of the wide range of products that can be made out of the plant that grow in abundance even in urban waterways. Some of these products were put on display at the 7th Water Lily Festival held on Thursday at Carnival Court, BF Resort Village, Las Pià ±as City, a brainchild of former Rep. Cynthia Villar that promotes water lily-based livelihood projects. These included baskets, trays, chests, bags, traditional bags (bayongs), hampers, cabinets, lamp shades of different shapes and sizes—and even a dining table complete with chairs. The smaller items range from coasters to slippers. But as an added demonstration of the plant’s artistic and commercial uses, the festival also featured a beauty pageant wherein contestants donned gowns fashioned completely from dried water lily stalks and leaves. â€Å"This goes to show that with creativity, you can do a lot with water lilies,† Villar said at the sidelines of the event. Villar noted that aside from providing livelihood for hundreds of families in Las Pià ±as, the water lily business has also cleaned up the city’s waterways. â€Å"The industry has become so successful our Zapote River is now free of water lilies and fish have begun breeding here again. We are now getting our water lilies from the Laguna de Bay, and I hope the lake will also be cleared of water lilies because of this business,† she said. Holiday season demand Sales go up during the holiday season when orders for popular Christmas gifts like baskets, trays, and ornamental pots shoot up. To cope with demand, the foundation hires about 100 more workers, in addition to the 50 who work during off-peak seasons. â€Å"It’s a very profitable business, especially since you really don’t need a big capital to start this up. You just need to harvest water lilies, dry them, and start working on them. So many workers become interested in this livelihood,† Torres said. How it works The recycling process is straightforward. Once harvested, the plants are dried under the sun and then cured in an oven. Then they cut, and bent around a wire frame and dyed before they are woven into craft articles. Step 1 Water Lily Stalk Harvesting Step 2 Sun drying Step 3 Oven drying Step 4 Wire cutting Step 5 Wire bending Step 6 Wire frame welding Step 7 Weaving Step 8 Trimming Step 9 Blow torching Step 10 Glue application Step 11 Varnishing Step 12 Finished product The finished items are tissue holders, baskets, hampers, and other products. Each item is sold per piece and the amount of money one takes home depends on one’s diligence. Because output is directly rewarded, workers are motivated to be more productive. Cynthia Villar highlighted the importance of water lily in improving the lives of Las Pià ±as residents by declaring the 27th of July as the day of the Water Lily Festival.

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove Chapter 30~31

Thirty Theo â€Å"Listen,† Theo said, cocking his ear toward the cave mouth. â€Å"Vehicles. The SWAT team is here.† Molly glanced to the back of the cave. From the light of the colors Steve was flashing she could see that the pilgrims had surrounded the Sea Beast and were stroking his scales. She turned back to Theo. â€Å"You've got to stop the helicopters. Call them and stop it.† â€Å"Molly, it's not the news helicopters that will hurt him, or us. It's those guys who just pulled up.† Theo peeked out the mouth of the cave and saw two four-wheel-drives parking down on the marine terrace, about a hun-dred yards from the cave mouth. Of course, he thought, they still think they need cover. Molly brandished her broadsword, holding it only inches from Theo's stomach. â€Å"If he's hurt, I'll never forgive you, Theo Crowe. I'll track you down to the ends of the earth and kill you like the radioactive scum that you are.† â€Å"That Kendra or Molly talking?† â€Å"I mean it,† she screamed, almost hysterical now. Steve roared from the back of the cave. â€Å"Don't go nuts on me, Molly. I'm doing my best. But the only thing your pal seems likely to do is eat me. He doesn't seemed real motivated by anything else.† Molly slumped to her knees and hung her head as if someone had sucked the energy out of her through a valve in her boot. Theo fought the urge to comfort her, afraid that if he even touched her shoulder the Sea Beast might attack him. Then it hit him. He flipped open his cell phone and dialed the Head of the Slug. Mavis Mavis Sand had spent a lifetime making mistakes and learning from them, and that perspective made her feel as if she knew what was good for people better than they knew themselves. Consequently, Mavis was a meddler. Most of the time she was content to use information as her tool of choice and rumor as her means of delivery. What someone knew – and when they knew it – controlled what they did. (The Spider, pulling digital strings from his basement web, had exactly the same philosophy.) Today she'd had a heap of problems dumped on her, none of them directly hers, and she had been pondering them all morning without much luck in coming up with a way to manipulate the information to solve them. Then the call came from Theo, and it all clicked: Theo was right, they could use the monster's instincts to get them out of the cave, but if she played the mix right, she could solve a couple of other problems as well. She put down the phone and Catfish said, â€Å"Who that?† â€Å"It was Theo.† â€Å"That ol' dragon ain't et him yet? Boy must be livin a charmed life.† Mavis leaned over the bar, close to Catfish, took his hand in hers, and began squeezing. â€Å"Sweetie, put on your friendly persuasion hat. I need you to run down to the pharmacy and pick up something for me.† â€Å"Yes, ma'am,† Catfish said, wincing as the bones in his fingers compressed under her grip. When the Bluesman was gone, Mavis made a quick phone call, then went to the back room and dug through boxes and filling cabinets until she came up with what she was looking for: a small black box attached to a long cord with a cigarette lighter plug on the end. â€Å"Don't worry, Theo,† she said to herself. â€Å"I put my life in the hands of machinery a long time ago, and I'm doing just fine.† She giggled and it came out sounding like the starter cranking on a fuel dry Ford. Catfish A Bluesman hates to be told what to do. Authority rankles him, inspires his rebellion, and plays to his need to self-destruct. A Bluesman doesn't take to having a boss unless he's on a chain gang (for the chain gang boss ranks below only a mean old woman and a sweet young thing in the hier-archy of the Blues Muse, followed closely by bad liquor, a dead dog, and the Man). Catfish had a boss who was a mean old woman: a distinct and disconcerting turn of the Blues screw that might have driven a lesser Bluesman to shoot hisself, get shot, get hold of some bad liquor, or bust up his guitar and take a job down to the mill. But Catfish hadn't taken nigh unto eighty trips around that cruel, cruel sun without gaining some per-spective, so he would go to the pharmacy as he was told. He would talk to the fish-fucking white boy with the combed-over hair that waved in the air like the sprung lid on a bean can. And when he was done, he would pick up his pay from the mean old woman who was holding it hostage and he would get his wrinkly Black ass out of this town and go nurse his heartbreak on the moving trap that was, is, and always shall be the road. So Catfish strolled a rolling Delta moonwalk of a stroll (redolent of sas-safras and jive) into Pine Cove Drug and Gift, and the four blue-haired chicken women behind the counter nearly tumbled over each other trying to get to the back room. Imagine it: a person of the Dark persuasion in their midst. What if he should ask for a vial of Afro-Sheen or some other ethnic-ally oriented product with which they were totally unfamiliar? Why, the smoke alarms would melt, screaming like dying witches, when their col-lective minds steamed to a stop. Do we look like thrill-seekers? Wasn't it enough that we had to put up that sign reading NO HABLA ESPANOL and acknowledge the existence of thirty percent of the population, even in the negative? No, we shall err on the side of safety, thank you, and in lieu of sand in which to bury our heads, we shall head into the back room. Winston Krauss, who was counting fake Zolofts behind his glass wall, looked up and saw Catfish coming down the aisle toward the counter and immediately regretted that he hadn't installed bulletproof glass. Still, Winston was a man of the world, and you don't indulge the fantasy of molesting dolphins without becoming familiar with the ways of people of color, for that is who dolphins prefer to hang out with, when they aren't hanging out with the Cousteaus, or so it appeared on the Discovery Channel. He stepped out of his booth and met Catfish as he reached the counter. â€Å"Good day, me brother-mon, ye,† Winston said in his best island dialect. â€Å"What can I be gettin for ye?† And there was that welcoming smile, only a dreadlock and a white sand beach short of a travel poster. Catfish squinted, removed his fedora, ran a hand over his shining scalp, stepped back, turned his head to the side and studied the pharmacist for a moment, then said, â€Å"I will slap the shit out of you. You know that?† â€Å"Sorry,† Winston said, coughing somewhat, as if trying to dislodge the errant Jamaican from his throat. â€Å"What can I do for you, sir?† â€Å"Mavis down to the Slug sent me up to ax you somethin.† â€Å"I'm familiar with her medical records,† Winston said, â€Å"You can have her call me if she has a question.† â€Å"Yeah, she don't want to call you. She want you to come down to see her.† Winston adjusted his bolo tie. â€Å"I'm sorry, but you'll have to have her call me. I can't leave the store.† Catfish nodded. â€Å"That what she thought you'd say. She say to ax you if she can have a big jar of them sugar pills you selling instead medicine.† Winston glanced at the back room where his staff was huddled like Anne Frank and family, peering out through the crack in the door. â€Å"Tell her I'll be right over,† Winston said. â€Å"She said to wait and come with you.† Winston was visibly sweating now; oily beads rose on his scalp. â€Å"Let me tell the staff where I'll be.† â€Å"Hurry up, Flipper. I ain't got all day,† Catfish said. Winston Krauss shuddered, hitched up his double knits, and waddled around the counter. â€Å"Ladies, I'll be back in few minutes,† he called over his shoulder. Catfish leaned over the counter to where he could see the row of eyes peering out of the crack and said, â€Å"I be back in a few minutes my own self, ladies. I needs some medicine what can help me with this huge black dick I have to carry around. The weight of it like to break my back.† There was a collective intake of breath so abrupt that the drop in pressure sprung the barometer on the wall and made Catfish's ears pop. Winston Krauss turned and scowled at Catfish. â€Å"Was that really necessary?† â€Å"Man's got to look after his reputation,† Catfish said. The Sheriff Burton had them cover him while he moved down through the rocks and across the marine terrace to the Blazers. He found Sheridan crouched behind the fender, his M-16 trained on the cave entrance. â€Å"Rough morning, Sheriff?† Sheridan said, showing a hint of a smile at Burton's disheveled suit. Burton looked around at the other team members, who were all staring through rifle scopes at the cave entrance. â€Å"So we only have five?† â€Å"Morales is coaching Pee-Wee Football today. The others are on regular duty. We couldn't pull them off.† Burton scowled. â€Å"As far as I know, they only have the one weapon, but it's a fully automatic AK. I want two men on either side of the cave mouth, one down in that crevice where I was pinned down can deliver the gas, followed by concussion grenades. I'll stay here with a sniper rifle to take out anyone who gets past the entry crew. Shoot anything that moves. Let's go, five minutes. On my mark.† â€Å"No gas,† Sheridan said. â€Å"What?† â€Å"No gas and no concussion. You wanted us here without checking in. That stuff is kept in the locker at County Justice. We just have the body armor and our own personal weapons.† Burton looked around at the other men again. â€Å"You guys all have your own personal M-16s, but no grenades?† â€Å"Yes, sir.† â€Å"So I have a standoff? I had a standoff before, Sheridan. A standoff doesn't do me any good. Come with me.† He pushed a fresh clip into his 9 mm. and turned to the others. â€Å"Cover us.† Burton led the SWAT commander to a spot in the rocks just below the cave mouth. â€Å"Crowe?† Burton called. â€Å"You've had enough time to consider my offer!† â€Å"Offer?† Sheridan asked. Burton shushed him. â€Å"I haven't decided yet!† Theo shouted. â€Å"We've got thirty people in here to discuss it with and they're not being cooperative.† Sheridan looked at Burton. â€Å"Thirty people? We can't shoot thirty people. I'm not shooting any thirty people.† â€Å"Five minutes, Crowe,† Burton said. â€Å"Then you have no more options.† â€Å"What's the offer?† Sheridan whispered to the sheriff. â€Å"Don't worry about it. I'm just trying to get the subject separated from the hostages so we can take him out.† â€Å"Then we'd better have a description of the suspect, don't you think?† â€Å"He's the one in handcuffs,† Burton said. â€Å"Well, aren't you the fucking hero?† Sheridan shot back. Skinner Skinner watched from the front seat of the Mercedes as the Food Guy was loaded into the back of the Suburban with the cage in it. The Bad Guys hadn't even left the windows cracked. How would the Food Guy breathe? He wouldn't be able to sit in the front seat and put his head out the window either. Skinner was sad for the Food Guy. He crawled in the backseat of the Mercedes and lay down to nap away his anxiety. The Head of the Slug The first thing Catfish saw when he came through the doors of the Head of the Slug was Estelle standing at the bar, and he could feel the crust peeling off his heart like old paint. Her hair was down. Brushed out, it hung to her waist. She was wearing a pair of pink overalls that had been splattered with paint over a man's white T-shirt – his T-shirt, he realized. She looked to him like what he always thought home was supposed to look like, but as a Bluesman, he was bound by tradition to be cool. â€Å"Hey, girl, what you doin' here?† â€Å"I called her,† Mavis said. â€Å"This is your driver.† â€Å"What I need a driver for?† â€Å"I'll tell you.† Estelle took his hand and led him to a booth in the corner. Winston Krauss came through the door a second later and Mavis waved him over to the bar. â€Å"Son, I'm about to make you the happiest man in the whole world.† â€Å"You are? Why?† â€Å"Because I like to see people get what they want. And I have what you want.† â€Å"You do?† Mavis stepped up to the bar and in low, conspiratorial tones, began telling Winston Krauss the most titillating, outrageously erotic tale that she had ever told, trying the whole time to remember that the man she was talking to wanted to have sex with marine animals. Over in the corner booth, Catfish's modicum of cool had melted. Estelle was smiling, even as tears welled up in her eyes. â€Å"I wouldn't ask you to do it if I thought it would put you in danger. Really.† â€Å"I know that,† Catfish said, a gentleness in his voice that he usually reserved for kittens and traffic cops. â€Å"It just that I been runnin from this my whole life.† â€Å"I don't think so,† Estelle said. â€Å"I think you've been running to this.† Catfish grinned. â€Å"You gonna take them old Blues off me for good, ain't you?† â€Å"You know it.† â€Å"Then let's go.† Catfish stood up and turned to where Mavis and Winston stood. â€Å"We ready? Y'all ready?† He noticed that the front of Winston's trousers had become overly tight. â€Å"Yeah, you ready. You sick, but you ready.† Mavis nodded, a slight mechanical ratcheting noise coming from her neck, â€Å"Take the second turn out, not the first,† Mavis said to Estelle. â€Å"From there it hugs the coast, so there's no hills.† â€Å"I have to go get my mask and fins,† wailed Winston. Thirty-one Molly â€Å"Has it been five minutes yet?† Molly was sitting cross-legged, her sword held across her knees. Theo jumped as if he'd been poked with an ice pick, then checked his watch. He crouched by the cave mouth, listening for the sound of either salvation or death. â€Å"About a minute left. Where the hell are they? Molly, maybe you should find some cover.† â€Å"What cover?† She looked around the cave. It was an open chamber; the only cover would be the darkness in the back of the chamber. â€Å"Get behind Steve.† â€Å"No,† Molly said. â€Å"I won't do that.† She heard a voice come from the back of her mind. â€Å"Get to cover, you daffy broad. What, do you have a death wish?† â€Å"I have abandonment issues. I'm not going to turn around and abandon someone else,† Molly said. â€Å"What?† Theo said. â€Å"I wasn't talking to you.† â€Å"Fine, die. What do I care?† said the narrator. â€Å"Bastard,† Molly said. â€Å"What?† said Theo. â€Å"Not you!† â€Å"Molly, how did you get those guys to come out and drag me into the cave before?† â€Å"I just told them to.† â€Å"Well, take their clothes back to them and tell them to get dressed.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Just do it. And tell them to hang on to Steve's sides and not let go, no matter what he does.† â€Å"Now who's nuts?† â€Å"Molly, please, I'm trying to save him.† The Sheriff Burton checked his watch. â€Å"That's it. Get into position. We're going in.† Sergeant Sheridan wasn't so sure. â€Å"They have thirty hostages and we don't have any recon of their positions and we don't have a full team. You want to take this guy out with thirty witnesses?† â€Å"Goddamn it, Sheridan, get your men in position. We go on my signal.† â€Å"Sheriff Burton.† Theo's voice from the cave. â€Å"What?† â€Å"I'll take your offer,† Theo said. â€Å"Give me five more minutes and I'll come out. We can all leave together. The others will come out after you're gone.† â€Å"You just want him anyway, right?† Sheridan said. â€Å"He's the only one that can hurt the operation.† Burton turned it over in his mind. He'd been determined to take out the constable and the woman, but now he had to rethink things. If he could get Crowe away from the others, he could dispose of him with no witnesses. Burton's cell phone rang. He flipped it open. â€Å"Burton,† he said. â€Å"You shouldn't have made disparaging comments about my weight, Sheriff,† the Spider said. â€Å"Nailsworth, you piece of sh – † The line went dead. Suddenly the sound of a wailing Blues guitar came screaming over the marine terrace. Burton and the SWAT team turned to see an old white station wagon driving along the edge of the terrace, next to where it dropped to the beach. An inhuman roar rose up out of the cave, and when Burton looked back to the cave all he saw was a huge reptilian face coming at him. Winston Krauss Winston sat in the back of the station wagon, steadying the Marshall amplifier that was screaming out the notes from Catfish's Stratocaster. The amp was plugged into Mavis's black box and a cord ran over the seats into the cigarette lighter, next to where Catfish was playing. After the first few notes, Winston's hearing had shut down due to temporary deafness, but he didn't care. He could hardly believe his luck. Mavis had promised him the biggest sexual thrill of his life, and he had doubted her. But now he saw it. It was the most gorgeous creature he'd ever seen. Steve The feelings of self-pity, jealousy, and heartbreak were new to him, but the response that welled up in him when he heard the sound of his enemy was more deeply imprinted on his lizard brain and it displaced all the newer feelings with rage and the imperative to attack. He stormed out of the cave with pilgrims hanging on his back by the ridge of armored plates that ran down his spine. Two layers of protective covering slid over his eyes, shortening his vision, but it was the sound that guided him anyway, the sound that carried the strongest association with the enemy. He flashed bright crimson and yellow as he charged over the rocks, kicking aside the vehicles and shedding pilgrims as he made his way to his enemy at the shore. Theo Molly stood in the cave entrance, screaming for Steve to stop. Theo grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away just as the Sea Beast, dangling pilgrims, charged past them. She elbowed Theo in the forehead, stunning him for a second, and she made for the cave entrance. Theo caught her outside on the rocks and held her. â€Å"No!† Theo wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms to her side, and lifted her off the ground, then held her kicking as he braced for gunfire. But none came. Burton was climbing to his feet just below them, focused on the Sea Beast as it passed. â€Å"Shoot that thing! Shoot it! Shoot it!† The SWAT commander had rolled out of the way and come up with his weapon ready, but with people hanging all over the beast, he didn't know where to shoot, so instead let his weapon fall to his side as he stared in amazement. Burton drew a pistol and began running after the Sea Beast. Below, two of the SWAT team had already broken into a run from behind the Blazers just as the Sea Beast bowled them over. The other two were pinned underneath one of the crushed vehicles. As they fell, each pil grim jumped to his feet and ran after the Sea Beast, who was making a beeline across the grassy terrace toward the white station wagon. Theo watched as the car stopped, Blues slide notes still screaming out of the back, and Estelle Boyet crawled out of the driver's seat and ran around to the back. The guitar playing stopped for a second as the passenger side opened, and out stepped Catfish Jefferson, holding a Fender Stratocaster. â€Å"Let me go!† Molly screamed. â€Å"I've got to save him! I've got to save him!† Theo yanked her back toward the cave. When he was able to look again, someone he didn't immediately recognize had crawled out of the station wagon, and Catfish handed him the guitar. Sheriff Burton was running after the Sea Beast, waving his weapon around, trying to get an angle to shoot without hitting one of the pilgrims. He stopped, dropped to one knee, steadied his aim, and fired. The Sea Beast roared and whipped around, throwing the last of the pilgrims into a tumble in the grass. Molly whipped her head back into Theo's chin at the same time she drove a heel into his knee. Theo let go of her and she rushed over the rocks and down toward the monster. Catfish Estelle had brought the car right to the edge of the drop-off to the rocky beach. Catfish looked at the surf beating on the rocks below, then at his guitar cords coiled in the front seat, then at the rocks again. They just might be long enough. But the dragon was going to get to them before he could find out. â€Å"Hurry!† Estelle shouted. Catfish stood mesmerized by the charging monster, not a hundred yards away. â€Å"Go,† he said weakly, â€Å"get yourself out of here.† â€Å"No!† said Winston Krauss. â€Å"You promised.† There was a gunshot and the Sea Beast whipped around in his tracks, bringing Catfish to his senses. â€Å"Let's go,† he said to Winston. Then he looked at Estelle over the top of the car and winked. â€Å"You go on. This ain't your time.† Catfish played a few notes on the Stratocaster and then ambled after Winston to the surf. The pharmacist ran into the water up to his knees, then turned around. Catfish was having trouble climbing over the rocks to the water while keeping the guitar cord from catching. â€Å"That's far enough,† Catfish said. He walked into the surf and stood next to Winston, keeping the guitar high to keep any spray off of it. â€Å"Give it,† Winston demanded. â€Å"You ain't got a lick a sense, do you?† â€Å"Give it,† Winston repeated. Catfish played four bars of â€Å"Green Onions† on the Strat, the notes still blaring out of the amp in the station wagon, then draped the strap around Winston's neck and handed him a guitar pick. â€Å"Have fun,† Catfish said. â€Å"Oh, I will,† Winston said, a lascivious grin crossing his face. â€Å"You know I will.† â€Å"Play!† Catfish said as he turned and ran up the beach. He saw Estelle already making her way away down the shore away from the commotion. Behind him, the sour, rattling notes began to emanate from the amp in the station wagon as gunshots filled the air. Molly The sheriff fired three more times as he backed away from the Sea Beast, missing not only the monster but the entire North American continent. Molly threw herself sideways from a full run into the back of Burton's knees and cut his legs out from under him. She came up in a crouch, putting herself between Burton and the Sea Beast. The sheriff thought he heard the song â€Å"Green Onions† and shook his head to clear a hallucination. The Sea Beast roared again and the sheriff vaulted into a crouch, ready to fire, but instead of a sea monster in front of him, he saw a woman in a leather bikini. He looked over his shoulder and watched the Sea Beast snap up the white station wagon in its jaws and toss it aside. The guitar sounds stopped and the Sea Beast slid over the bluff to the beach. Seeing that the danger was gone, he trained his sights on the woman. People were streaming by him on either side after the monster, wailing like a crowd of banshees. Molly looked over her shoulder and saw Steve going into the water, then turned back to Burton. â€Å"Go ahead, you prick. I don't care.† â€Å"You got it,† Burton said. Winston Krauss He was just beating on the guitar strings now, but it didn't matter. The amplifier wasn't working anymore and this beautiful creature was coming to him. Winston was so turned on he thought he'd explode. She was coming to him, his dream lover, and he yanked the guitar from around his neck, ready to receive her. â€Å"Oh, come on, baby. Come to papa,† he said. The Sea Beast charged into the water, throwing spray fifty feet in the air, then snapped his jaws over Winston, severing the pharmacist's body into two sleazy pieces. The Sea Beast swallowed Winston's legs and roared, then snapped up the remaining piece and dove under the sea. The Sheriff â€Å"I don't think so, Sheriff,† Sheridan said. Burton looked over his shoulder without taking the gun off Molly. Sheridan had his M-16 trained on the sheriff's back. â€Å"Don't fuck with me, Sheridan. You're in this with me.† â€Å"I'm not in this. Lower your weapon, sir.† Burton lowered the pistol and turned toward Sheridan. Molly started to leap forward and the SWAT commander pointed the M-16 at her. â€Å"Right there,† he said. She stopped. The pilgrims were all standing at the shore now, wailing as they looked out. Molly gestured in that direction and Sheridan nodded. She ran toward the shoreline. â€Å"What now?† Burton asked. â€Å"I don't know,† said Sheridan, â€Å"but no one has been shot here, and I have a feeling that there's going to be a lot of attention around this event, so no one is going to get shot.† â€Å"You wimp.† â€Å"Whatever,† Sheridan said. â€Å"Hey, Burton!† Theo Crowe was running down the hill toward them. â€Å"You hear that?† When they looked up, Theo ducked behind one of the wrecked Blazers and pointed toward the southern sky. â€Å"Film at eleven.† Burton could hear them now: helicopters. He looked to the south and saw the two dots coming over the horizon. Two of the SWAT team members were topping the next hill. They had started running when the monster first came out of the cave. The other two were still pinned under one of the overturned Blazers. He turned back to Sheridan. The big cop was watching the approaching helicopters. â€Å"Game over,† Sheridan said. â€Å"Guess it's time to start thinking about my deal with the D.A.† Burton shot him in the face, then broke for the far side of the rocks to his Eldorado before the others had time to figure out what had happened. Theo Theo came up behind Molly and touched her lightly on the shoulder. When she turned, he could see tears streaming down her cheeks. Then she re-turned to staring out to sea with the others. She said, â€Å"All I ever wanted is to feel special. To feel like something set me apart.† Theo put his arm around her. â€Å"Everyone wants that.† â€Å"But I had it, Theo. More by having Steve in my life than when I was making movies. These people felt it, but not like me.† The two helicopters were coming in close now and Theo had to speak right into her ear to be heard over the thumping blades. â€Å"No one's like you.† There was a stirring in the water just past the surf line, and something was rising in the kelp bed. Theo could see the purple gill trees standing out on the Sea Beast's neck. He was heading toward shore. Theo tried to pull Molly closer, but she broke loose from him, jumped off the bluff, and ran into the surf, scooping up two baseball-sized rocks as she went. Theo went after her and was halfway across the beach when she turned and looked at him with eyes filled with such pleading and desperation that it stopped him in his tracks. The helicopters were hovering only a hundred feet over the beach now. The wash from the blades kicked up sand in the faces of the onlookers. As the Sea Beast approached shore, only his eyes and gills above the water, Molly threw one of the stones. â€Å"No, go away! Go!† The second stone hit the Sea Beast's eye, and he stopped. â€Å"Don't come back!† Molly screamed. Slowly the Sea Beast sank below the surface. The Sheriff The speedometer on the Eldorado was approaching sixty when Burton topped the last hill before the cattle guard. He had to get to the airport and use the open ticket in his briefcase to join his money in the Caymans before anyone could figure out where he had gone. He'd planned for this all along, knowing he might have to make a run for it at some point, but what he hadn't planned was that there would be two Suburbans and a Mercedes parked just over the top of the hill. Before he could stop himself, he hit the brakes and wrenched the wheel to the left. The tires dug into the pasture and sent the Eldorado up on two wheels, then over. There was none of the slowing of time or compression of events that often happens in accidents. He saw light and dark, felt his body being beaten around the Caddy, and then the crash of smashing metal and breaking glass. Then there was a pause. He lay on the ceiling of the overturned Eldorado, peppered with pieces of safety glass, trying to feel if any of his limbs were broken. He seemed okay, he could feel his feet, and it didn't hurt when he breathed. But he smelled gas. It was enough to remind him to move. He grabbed the briefcase with his escape kit and slithered out the broken back window to find the Eldorado half-perched, half-smashed over the front of a white Suburban. He climbed to his feet and ran to the truck. It was locked. Sheridan, you prick, you would lock your truck, he thought. He didn't notice the people handcuffed inside the K-9 cage in the back. The Mercedes was his last chance. He ran around it and yanked opened the driver's side door. The keys were in the ignition. He climbed in and took a deep breath. He had to calm down now. No more mistakes, he told himself. He started the Mercedes and was turning to back it down the hill when the dog hit him.

The Effects of Alcohol Abuse on a Diagnostic Imaging Department Dissertation

The Effects of Alcohol Abuse on a Diagnostic Imaging Department - Dissertation Example 15 3.2 Data Analysis 16 3.3 Sampling 17 3.4 Ethical Considerations 17 3.4.1 Informed Consent 17 3.4.2 Ethical Application 17 3.5 Time Frame and Cost 18 3.5.1 Time Frame 18 3.5.2 Associated Costs 19 4.0 Possible Projected Outcomes 21 Reference List 22 1.0 Literature Review 1.1 Introduction In itself, alcohol use is not something that generally leads to heath problems or visits to the hospital. However, alcohol abuse is linked to many health problems, both immediate and cumulative. Alcohol abuse can take many forms from drinking significant amounts of alcohol on a regular basis, to drinking large quantities occasionally (binge drinking). Both forms of alcohol abuse have direct and indirect health consequences. Globally, alcohol is responsible for approximately 1.8 million deaths per year . From 2005 to 2006 in the United Kingdom, more than quarter of a million people were admitted to hospitals for diagnoses related to alcohol. This includes direct effects of alcohol, such as alcohol ov erdose, and indirect effects, such as injuries as the result of driving while intoxicated. The number of alcohol-related admissions has been growing since around 1997, and roughly doubled in the years between 1997 and 2006 . Alcohol consumption is also increasing as a result of values changing and alcohol becoming inexpensive and readily available. The consumption of alcohol has become socially acceptable in many circumstances, and is often encouraged . For example, among young adults and in University settings, there is a strong alcohol drinking culture. These factors make it likely that alcohol consumption will continue to increase, and place pressure on many parts of the healthcare industry. This includes hospital departments who often have to work with people being admitted who are... The essay discusses that in itself, alcohol use is not something that generally leads to heath problems or visits to the hospital. However, alcohol abuse is linked to many health problems, both immediate and cumulative. Alcohol abuse can take many forms from drinking significant amounts of alcohol on a regular basis, to drinking large quantities occasionally (binge drinking). Both forms of alcohol abuse have direct and indirect health consequences. Globally, alcohol is responsible for approximately 1.8 million deaths per year. From 2005 to 2006 in the United Kingdom, more than quarter of a million people were admitted to hospitals for diagnoses related to alcohol. This includes direct effects of alcohol, such as alcohol overdose, and indirect effects, such as injuries as the result of driving while intoxicated. The number of alcohol-related admissions has been growing since around 1997, and roughly doubled in the years between 1997 and 2006. Alcohol consumption is also increasing as a result of values changing and alcohol becoming inexpensive and readily available. The consumption of alcohol has become socially acceptable in many circumstances, and is often encouraged. For example, among young adults and in University settings, there is a strong alcohol drinking culture. These factors make it likely that alcohol consumption will continue to increase, and place pressure on many parts of the healthcare industry. This includes hospital departments who often have to work with people being admitted who are still intoxicated, and who must manage many alcohol-related injuries.

Alternative Fashion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Alternative Fashion - Research Paper Example A person who spots alternative fashion styles usually does so, to stick or conform to the subculture that has a unique way of conducting itself outside the mainstream lifestyles. Subcultures, in this case, refer to cultures that consume a majority of a person’s time and are different from predefined social norms. This way, alternative lifestyles are used to show conformity and a sense of identity with the group that one belongs to and its significance. For example, nudism as an alternative lifestyle advocate for people to stay naked or expose their bodies in any manner that makes them feel comfortable. In this case, the alternative fashion is that which helps them identify and portray the values that their lifestyle stands for. However, on alternative lifestyles, people are sometimes classified according to various stereotypes found in the society and not according to their lifestyle. For example, for people who like to live a gothic lifestyle from the dark ages, are usually labeled as Satanists despite having no affiliations with such groups or practices (English Republic). Since this is just but a stereotype, the real value of their lives lies in their outlook of the world around them. In this case, their outlook on life is usually dark, and their thought focus is usually on death. The need to sport alternative fashion in the form of torturous materials and disturbing images adorned on their clothes comes from this outlook. Moreover, on lifestyle, alternative fashions are adorned by members of certain groups and stick to them as their identifying factor in the lives they lead. The groups do not necessarily have written codes but an understanding of how they behave and conduct their activities is known. This is in people such as hippies who are known to be friendly, open-minded and tend to love everyone they meet.

Critically evaluate how the Resource based view approach to HRM can Essay

Critically evaluate how the Resource based view approach to HRM can help or fail to produce the performance outcomes an organisation requires - Essay Example isting resources within an organisation and in a new way instead of acquiring new skills for each new opportunity that presents itself in the business environment is ideal to improving organisational performance. Where organisations focus on RBV approach, resources are ideal in enabling the organisation to achieve better performance. In applying RBV approach, two types of resources are available for organisation to use to exploit opportunities in the business environment; this includes the tangible and intangible resources. However, tangible resources can be accessed easily in the market and as such; they bring little advantage for organisations when considered in the long-term basis since competitors can acquire the same resources. On the other hand, intangible resources denote resources that are not physical and those that are at the disposal of the organisation to use in improving performance. For instance, an organisation can use brand name or trademark to create uniqueness over competitors (Wright, Dunford & Snell, p.711). In essence, it is impossible for competitors to buy brand reputation of other firms in an attempt to improve their competitive nature in the business environment. Conversely, while RBV aid in improving an organisation’s competitive edge, it has to be noted that for such goal to be realised, the approach has to consider two critical assumptions that include heterogeneity and immobility (Colbert 2004, p.351). This paper examines how RBV approach to human resource management can help or fail to produce the performance outcomes that an organisation requires. RBV approach to human resource management proposes the view that various resources within an organisation are the key to realising positive outcomes and this includes human capital or resources. These internal resources are also viewed as important in providing an organisation the required competitive advantage in the business environment. This is because when resources within an

Latin America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Latin America - Essay Example Last but not the least; deforestation is discussed which is being forecast as pending disaster in Amazonia, Brazil. Some important points are highlighted in this report including the reasons of upcoming disaster and its consequences on the overall economy. Answer 1: Diagnostic characteristics involve the regional, economic, social and cultural differences between Mainland and Rimland cultural areas of Middle America. A well known geographer, John Augelli has highlighted these characteristics and identified Euro- Amerindian as Mainland culture and Euro- African as Rimland culture. It is important to note here that Middle America has great cultural diversity and these groups are considered a main reason of this diversity. Robert B, Kent (2006) has explained that in the areas of Middle America, the RIMLAND population and culture reflect a blend of Euro- African influences. This cultural group covers the areas of West Indies as well as the areas running along east part of Central America. Moreover, RIMLAND cultures are also linked with northern nations of Europe including Great Britain, France and Netherlands. Different European colonies have also emerged that are composed of this cultural group. Rimland cultural group is largely associated with agriculture and plantation economy. Commercial trend of agriculture is also common in this group. Moreover, they are also serving as efficient workers in labor market and various factories. The Euro- Amerindian population of Middle America is associated with Mainland culture. In the beginning, this cultural group prefers to live in Spanish colonies due to the cultural orientations. Nowadays, Mainland cultural group enjoys high estates in Central America. They are self sufficient people associated with agriculture and industry. Answer 3: Most often it is widely claimed that Mexico is the most populated and too crowded country. Among Central American countries, Mexico has the highest population

Mercy killer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Mercy killer - Essay Example The cases were recorded in Zurich, information was obtained by the medical facilities and letters by the dead patients were analyzed to find out and understand the cause which led them to take such decisions (Fischer 334). While conducting this study, the researchers were able to find out and analyze the causes given both by the physicians and the patients who were supposedly in severe pain due to the disease and hence they took the decision of performing and undergoing euthanasia. Also, some of the reasons were long-term disability of the patients due to some neurologic disorder or accidents that caused the patients to require long-term care i.e. for years or even permanent disability leading them to a life that is relied completely on others. Other reasons include a mutual decision taken both by the patients and their physicians in whom the patients had the right to control their death, they thought they have lost the right to live, some patients think that they cannot live further or perform their daily chores and are now relying on others and that is affecting their dignity as well as living a life of no reason, they chose to end their lives (Fischer 336). During the research, the researchers were able to identify physical, social and psychological reason as the main ones behind opting for euthanasia. It was further concluded that physicians who perform euthanasia are supposed to report cases which are medical in nature because the law of Zurich demands a medical professional to report a case undergoing euthanasia due some medical reasons that led a patient to opt for it. Also, demographic factors were identified between patients who opted to undergo euthanasia. Gender was another factor identified behind the reasons for opting euthanasia. It was observed that male population did not report pain but loss of control

Evidence-Based Practice Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evidence-Based Practice - Dissertation Example 1. PICOT Question: Does the obese African American (black) sixteen-year-old girl patient undergoing mastectomy and weight loss after surgery have a better chance of losing it that would result to the cancer not spreading to other parts after mastectomy if doctors assist her in losing weight compared if they do not intervene? 2. Intervention Question: In obese African American (black) teenage patients with breast cancer (P), how effective is weight loss after mastectomy compared to mastectomy without any weight loss (C) in minimizing the chances of the cancer spreading to other body parts after treatment (O) during and after the recovery and weight loss period? 3. Therapy Question: How long does it take a patient to lose weight (O) when the patient is an obese African American (black) teenage girl with breast cancer (P) whose doctor assists her in losing weight (I) as opposed to the patient whose doctor does not assist her in losing weight (C) after the six weeks recovery period (T)? 4. Etiology Question: Are obese African American (black) teenage girls (P) whose doctors assist in weight loss (I) lose weight faster and reduce chances of the cancer spreading to other body parts (O) compared with obese African American (black) teenage girls (P) whose doctors do not assist in weight loss (C) after the six weeks recovery period (T)? 5. Diagnostic Question: Is doctors assisting their patients lose weight after mastectomy (I), for obese African American (black) teenage girls (P) a better way of avoiding the cancer from spreading to other body parts (O) compared with doctors who do not help their patients lose weight (C)? 6. Prevention Question: In obese African American (black) teenage girls with breast cancer (P) what is the probability of the cancer spreading to other body parts after the mastectomy (O) when the doctor assists in the weight loss (I) and when the doctors do not assist in the weight loss (C) after the recovery period (T)?

Globalisation, Terrorism and Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Globalisation, Terrorism and Security - Essay Example Terrorism always stems up in the weakest of classes within a society. (THACKRAH, 2004) Its infancy is thus bred and nourished in the lowest of classes within the culture. This weak class in a third world nation is in reality the masses. What people think about the form of government is really given an air of indifferent experiences when terrorism starts to crop up all of a sudden. This creates a feeling of hatred for the governmental institutions as well as the people at the helm of affairs, i.e., the ones who are generating the policies and are running the government. (OOTS, 1986) It is a fact that terrorism demands of people to change their way of looking and expecting something, if they do for that matter, from the government. It has been the case for many years that whenever government within a certain country is in a position of economic and defense power, terrorism creeps up out of the blue and mesmerizes its democratic institutions beyond repair and restoration. The need of the hour on these countries’ part is to fight against the terrorist activities with a stern hand but in a more disciplined and ethical fashion. If the same is not done, hatred is the most common of reactions that have been seen for time immemorial for these countries. Terrorism has changed the face of the world. The people of this world have started to feel unsafe whenever they are within a horde and thus different assumptions have started to come about as concerns to the basis of different congregations, events, concerts and so on and so forth. This has really presented a ver y grim picture of the peace aspect related with this world. It has to be changed and there needs to be thinking mindset shift within the global populace to start with. People need to understand their respective responsibilities and then echo the same in the light of the

They Raped My Mother Essay Example for Free

They Raped My Mother Essay There is nothing wrong in seeing industrial progress, advancing developments, urbanization, progressive changes on massive structural constructions that mark the sign of a developing society. These rapid changes in our natural landscapes into industrial sites hinted a great leap and obvious progressive revolution that may replace natural landscapes with artificial and machine generated edifices. Forebodingly, the trouble is yet to come. The once fresh, cool and relaxing air was despicably substituted with polluted and poisonous gases that comes from car smoke emissions, manufacturing plant discharges and other causes that is extremely harmful to human’s health. In fact, we don’t have to expansively look far to find the culprits and serve justice at their faces. They are all around us and at one time we may find ourselves dreadfully shamefaced when we tolerate the obvious destruction of our beloved nature. Some third world countries around Asia like Philippines itself, Taiwan, Thailand, Beijing China, Singapore, HongKong, Tokyo Japan, Vietnam, and Brunei has the same problem on all sorts of pollution. Some of these countries like Hong Kong has been fighting back on how to save and recycle used water into usable, safe drinking water again. It is grievously distressing to know that in the cities there is no longer clean air to breathe. Of course, air pollution is the awful by-product in all urban settlements. Our once clear and blue sky now darkens with dusty smog and heavy dirt-loaded fog that proved to be unhealthy to the city’s inhabitants. There are millions of ways to easily pollute the air yet there has been no solution on how to stop this enormously destructive equivalent of progress. Who’s going to pay in this peculiar and yet highly repulsive crime? Who is suffering most from this deceptive brand of freely exercised air destruction? One of the obvious examples of materials that greatly contribute to air pollution were those manufacturing plants that burn plastics. Those simple plastics from refreshment cups, sando bags, transparent water bottles and Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) or better known as styropor causes too much chaos in the nature’s already unbalanced cycle. Reckless burning of these plastics in open dumpsites or on backyards emits harmful gas into the atmosphere that when accumulated for a long time would result into a greenhouse effect. Look what had become to the once fresh and clean waters in the rivers, lakes, brooks, bays, and shores. They are now filled with filthy muck and polluted household cesspools and gross open drainage that flow into the rivers. Whenever there is rain, garbage floats on street ducts and clog the drainage that resulted into flood. Floodwaters frantically inconvenience everybody adding to the gloom of the world that calamities may occur any moment that would endanger people’s lives. Is this the reward we wanted in exchange for industrial revolution? Now what can we do to lessen these drastic environmental changes? We, of all the earth’s species would be most affected by these conditions. Nowadays, climatic changes has been evidently felt with those alarming fall of snow on deserts, those cold northeast monsoon wind blows to tropical regions, those ravaging tsunamis and unexpected eruptions on the earth’s surface, the incessant flooding and landslides all over the regions even with just moderate rainfalls has greatly proven that such changes in nature has warned us that the natural balance has been tipped to an alarming degree. When do we start to care? When do we begin to take notice that our only world is dying because of our grave mistreatment and rabid negligence. Over the century, human lifespan has greatly declined and incurable diseases break the surface with a frightening reality that nothing can be done to treat this curse-like human infirmities. The world has been cloaked with different illness and myriad diseases that causes high mortality rate to humankind. Cancer, tuberculosis, hepatitis, AIDS, E-bola virus, boils, SARS, H1N1 and God knows what are the next worst plagues that could devastate humankind with dirty mutation caused by these extreme imbalances in nature. Are we going to let this special planet die? Are we not going to try to save mother Earth from absolute destruction and preserve mankind? I love this wonderful planet so much and I will start my campaign in saving this world at this very moment. May those who are concerned about our world would start caring by doing simple things like taking care of household garbage, by minimizing the use of electricity to lessen too much release of heat energy, by thinking twice on dumping dirt on rivers, oceans and beaches, by tightening the laws in deforestation, and by urging each and everyone to start caring for our world, for our own lives and for the promise to the next generation that they will still inherit a peaceful and wonderful world when their turn to see the beauty of this planet comes.

Why I Am Learning English Myself English Language Essay

Why I Am Learning English Myself English Language Essay Im learning English because I want to get the information by myself which have not been interpreted yet. In the world many information havent been interpreted. I like American movies, comedies and TV dramas. So when I want to get a lot of information about those, it is better to be able to understand English, which is a common language of the world, than to be not able to. If I could get much information, I can be more enjoyable those entertainments and share the information about those things with people all over the world who have same interests. The second reason of learning English is to survive in other countries. I like a trip abroad. In other countries I often have many troubles. For example, imagine that you go shopping in other country. If you cant speak English, you may be not able to buy things which you need because you cant tell a clerk what you want to buy. Being able to listen to and speak English is the one of the best way to solve those troubles. And by learning Engl ish, I can have many chances to feel other cultures and histories because English is the only common language of the world. I may be able to bring up and discover new myself by knowing other cultures and histories. So, learning English is important thing for understanding many cultures and histories. This is the last reason. So I am learning English. The skill of English I would like to strengthen most is listening and speaking. When I was a high school student, I stayed an Australian familys house for a month. I was full of confidence with my English skill. However, I couldnt listen to what they were saying. And even when I could do, I couldnt speak because I didnt know the right grammar and was afraid of making a lot of mistakes. Now Im so regretting because I didnt take advantage of the chance to polish my English skill. So I think that listening to and speaking English are the most important things for me. There are two ways of improving my listening skill. One way is listening to American music with understanding words and means. And another way is watching American movies with focusing on sound of speaking. I dont like studying, so I want to enjoy studying. These ways of improving listening skill are the best for me. And for improving speaking skill, I speak with myself, the wall or the mirror about what happened at the day or what I think. This way of practicing speaking skill may be strange, but I think that this way is very effective to polish speaking skill. I was taught this practice way by my English teacher, who I respected. Thanks to him, I had a great interest in studying languages and other countries cultures and came to like English. And thanks to him, I could pass the exam of Osaka University, where I wanted to enter for a long time. So I believe the way of studying which he taught to me. Now I am interested in Korean idol singers and Korean dramas. At first, I wondered why Japanese people were absorbed in the culture. However, the more I get to know about it, the more I come to like it. Korean idol singers not only are handsome but also sing and dance very well. And most of them can speak their mother tongue and many foreign languages. They are hard to study everything. Therefore they are more fascinating than Japanese idol singers. Korean dramas are different from Japanese one. Most Japanese dramas are ordinary love dramas, but construction of story of Korean drama is interesting because themes take various forms. We can learn difference of the culture between Japan and Korea from dramas. I think that when I study the culture and the custom about a country, the best way to know about them is to live in the country, but it is difficult. So, seeing a drama is a good way because we can find a life style of people who live in the country. And by being interested in Kore an idol singers and dramas, I get to want to know about the country, Korea, and learn about the Korean language. Therefore, Im learning about Korean history and the Korean language by oneself. Learning other culture is very fun. So, Im interested in Korean idol singers and Korean dramas.

How Professional Advertising Agencies Contribute to the Success of a Ma

How Professional Advertising Agencies Contribute to the Success of a Marketing Campaign Professional advertising agencies can contribute to the success of a marketing campaign in many ways. If a new company is just starting out and wish to make the most of their money for advertising, then it is probably best for them to hire someone from an advertising agency to help them along the way, as they know they are doing, and know how to use their money to their advantage. Professional advertising agencies know what they are doing. It is their job to help companies to have a successful marketing campaign. The agencies can guide the company in the right direction to help them advertise to the best of their abilities. They can give expert advice to the company and guide them in the right direction, so that at the end of it they can have a successful campaign. They are able to help the business by creating the catchy slogan, one which people will remember, and remember the company that had it. Businesses using professional advertising agencies would probably result in a more successful campaign. Businesses which have been around for a while, and have already made a name for themselves, who know what there doing and who there target audience is etc, then they might try to design the advertisements themselves, which would save them a bit of money, but they may not be making the most of their budget. It is not just new companies who may decide to use an advertising agent. Businesses already established could hire an advertising agent who could design their promotional campaign which may not save them money, but it would also save them time if they were under pressure. By hiring an advertising agent, the business can concentrate on things more focal to the business itself, and think about how to improve it. Advertising agents can offer a business all their knowledge and advice to help the company get a successful campaign. Agents can carry out market research for the business to get more insight into the campaign. They have specialist skills, they know about the public and what the public want to see in advertisements. The advertising agents can do the account management for the company, such as looking after the advertising budget, because they know how far they can stretch it to have at the end of it, the most successful campaign. Overall professional advertis... ...that amount of money to spend on promotional campaigns. Part of this could be an advantage, as although they are costing a lot of money, they could attract a lot more customers, than if they designed the promotional campaign themselves. Might not turn out how expected There is always a risk involved in getting someone else to design a promotional campaign for you, and it might not turn out how you wanted it to. Might not get a full understanding of what goes on inside the business as they are external to the business. You might not get what you want out of the promotional campaign. The advertising agents could change something to the way they want, but it turns out wrong, so the company do not get what they ask for, and the agents messed up. EXPLAIN! Might provide the same service to competitors The agency might give two companies the same information and this would result in two competitive companies having very similar advertisements, which would not help with competition, as the public would not know what was going on with the promotions. Vital information may be given away The advertising agent might accidentally give away important information to a competitive company.

Media: Source of Todays Violence? Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive E

Media: Source of Today's Violence? In recent years, intense scrutiny has come upon the entertainment industry with critics claiming that it has great influence on the minds of today’s youth. But, what exactly are the effects of such an influence? Certain people have exaggerated the effects that it plays on children. Many people, including government officials, have singled out television, video games, and movies as itthe cause of some types of violence simply because it is an easy target for laying the blame. The truth is that these three media sources are nowhere near the actual causes for acts of violence and other crimes. Studies on the issue are, at best, inconclusive on the issue. Many people believe that television, movies, and video games are the cause of crime because they don’t know the facts on the issue. They single them out because they have violent images and suggestive themes and therefore believe that these will create violence in real life. When a violent crime is committed by a youth, the crime is often blamed on the television or the movies that the youth watched or the video game they just played. Many people will start thinking this is true, based on the fact it seems like a plausible explanation. People will start trying to censor violent images and possibly even ban them. But, by censoring the images it will just make people want to see them more. Humans are inherently attracted to violence and if they can’t see it on television or in movies, they will go elsewhere to get it. Violent television, movies and especially video games offer a way to relieve stress without actually committing any crimes or hurting anyone. Before humans could see or engage in virtual violence, we... ...rnment continues legislation on Capitol Hill on the V-Chip. This the government’s answer to controlling what kids can watch. It’s a device that’s implemented into the television set prohibiting certain shows from being viewed. The parents of the household decide what shows to block. This is not the answer. If a kid wants to watch a certain show or movie on television, then they will simply go to a friends house that doesn’t have the V-Chip. My solution to the problem rests on the shoulders of the parents. They parents must be knowledgeable about their child’s maturity level and whether or not they can handle such programming. By educating the parents on the content of certain shows, movies, and video games, I believe the amount of blame toward the entertainment industry for violence will be alleviated. After all, children are a reflection of their parents.

Attribution Theory

Discuss the types of attribution someone makes when they appraise a person’s behaviour. How may bias occur in their reasoning particularly if they have a very different background to the person they observe? Attribution theory focuses on ways in which we gather and process information in order to come up with judgements and explanations for people’s behaviours and personalities or as explained by Fiske & Taylor (1991) â€Å"how the social perceiver uses information to arrive at casual explanations for events.It examines what information is gathered and how it’s combined to form casual judgements†. There have been many studies aimed at explaining the main errors people make when making inferences about people’s behaviour and whether culture has an effect on how we make attributions. There are two types of attributions, internal attributions, also known as dispositional attributions, are when we attribute behaviour to person’s disposition (ment al state, personality, emotions, characteristics, etc. ).External attributions (also known as situational attributions) can be explained as attributing behaviour to the situation or the environment in which the behaviour took place. Correspondent inference (Jones & Davis, 1965) can be explained as when the observer infers that the actor’s behaviour corresponds with their motives (an internal attribution). A correspondence bias is when the observer over-attributes the cause of behaviour to dispositional factors at the expense of situational antecedents.This can also be explained as the fundamental attribution error (Lee Ross, 1977). Another believed to be error in attribution is suppressing dispositional inferences during social judgement, which leads to the dispositional rebound (Geeraert & Yzerbyt, 2007), meaning relying on dispositional inferences in subsequent judgements. It is believed that a judgement begins with a dispositional bias and situational information is to cor rect the initial judgement (Quattrone, 1992), this is called situational correction.Geeraert & Yzerbyt state that the observer must suppress dispositional judgements during the correctional stage and deal with the dispositional rebound in subsequent stages. Furthermore, a cause of the FAE (fundamental attribution error) could potentially be the fact that the observer may not see much to gain in making the effort to analyse the situational causes of a certain behaviour and too cognitively demanding (Andrews, 2001).However, due to the fact that they have greater incentives to predict and influence behaviour, people who tend to depend on others are less likely to make erroneous attributions, which explains why people from more interdependent cultures (such as East Asians) tend to avoid the FAE (Choi et al, 1999) in contrast with people from more independent cultures (such as Europeans or Americans).To further elaborate on this point, numerous psychologists believe that culture may have a determining effect on whether the observer is prone to excessively relying on dispositional judgements. This is shown in Choi & Nisbett’s 1998 study, which was in line with Snyder & Jones’ 1974 study, where a group of Korean and American participants were given the task of writing an essay with a designated position.They were then asked to judge a forced writer (a writer which wrote a piece as a forced task, whether or not what they were writing reflected their own beliefs). In contrast with the previous study, the Americans’ judgements were not affected, however, the Koreans no longer displayed correspondence bias when the situational forces were made salient. Kitayama and Miyamoto carries out a similar study, including Japanese and American students and as predicted, the Americans displayed correspondence bias, while the Japanese students did not.Moreover, with the aim of discovering whether the dispositional rebound occurs amongst people of East Asian back ground and using the dispositional rebound as a tool to study the process of attribution, a study was carried out which participants consisting of 105 students from Hogeschool Gent, Belgium and 128 students from Kasestart University in Bangkok, Thailand, were given the task of judging a free or forced writer in the attitude attribution paradigm. The diagnosticity of the essays were manipulated in order to have participants also judge the essays based on whether they were diagnostic or not.Thai students were more sensitive to the manipulation of the diagnosticity of the essays, whilst the Belgian participants showed no sensitivity at all. Both ethnic groups displayed symptoms of the dispositional rebound when judging a diagnostic forced essay, however, Belgian participants were the only ones to display the dispositional rebound when judging a non-diagnostic essay. Subsequently, participants were asked to judge a series of pictorially represented behaviours. Both Belgian and Thai part icipants displayed the dispositional rebound when the situational information was hidden.However, Thai participants no longer displayed the dispositional rebound when the situational information was made salient (also discovered by Choir & Nisbett in their 1998 study and Miyanoto & Kitayama in their 2002 study). A further explanation of the dispositional rebound could be that it is the ironic consequence of suppression and correction of an initial dispositional judgment as a result of cognitive fatigue due to the fact that the judgment of a constrained target demands a larger amount of cognitive effort which due to the reduction of cognitive resources, leaves some observers to rely on less demanding abstract language.Furthermore, several other studies which have directly focused on the universality of the correspondence bias (Choi & Nisbett, 1998; Kashima, Siegal, Tanaka, & Kashima, 1992; Krull et al. , 1999; Van Boven, Kamada, & Gilovich, 1999) have shown that people from interdepe ndent cultures aren’t immune to erroneous attributions .In these studies, both East Asians and Americans were given the task of judging a constrained target in the context of the attitude attribution paradigm (this requires participants to read an essay which either favours or opposes a particular issue under the conditions that participants are told whether or not the writer had a choice in selecting the viewpoint which the essay reflects), the perceiver induced constraint paradigm (this requires participants to ask a target to read out a pre-written attitudinal statement, then comply observe the target and then try to figure out the target’s true attitude) and the quiz paradigm.The results showed that regardless of culture, all participants displayed correspondence bias. These findings may suggest that culture may not determine whether an observer is prone to erroneous attributions. In conclusion, it seems that the most erroneous method in our ways of making social j udgments is our tendency to rely excessively on dispositional information when doing so and ironically suppressing our dispositional inferences which instinct seems to enforce the occurrence of, seems to cause a rebound effect in subsequent social judgments.But, it also seems that being raised in a society where it is the norm to be dependent on one another, tends to make one naturally more sensitive to informational information when it is there to be sensed and therefore more able to make accurate inferences about behaviour and mental states.

Talent Code

In The Talent Code, the process of building talent is described in depth. In order to create a talented basketball team I will use principles from this book. Talent is not entirely dependent on genes and you are not a finished product (talent wise) when you are first born. Growing talent in players requires three aspects that are described in the book. First, Deep practice is required to learn the skills necessary to become a skillful player. Deep practice is not about the amount of time spent practicing, but the concentration and effort given in the time while practicing.Second, Ignition is required in order to have the energy and passion required to practice and develop into a good basketball player. Ignition is the responsibility of the coach, because he/she must call on primal cues in order to ignite the players. Thirdly, master coaching is required in order to get the most out of each individual player. It is the responsibility of the coach to read each player and decide what st yle of coaching is most suited to inspire and teach that player. Deep practice is perhaps the most important aspect in developing talent.Deep Practice is the best way to produce myelin. Skill and talent is a result of nerve fibers firing fast and smoothly and myelin helps to make these firings happen faster and smoother the more times they are fired. Deep practice in basketball can be done in multitude of ways. The main idea of this practice should be targeted learning. What is the target? The target is to improve in every aspect of the fundamentals of basketball dribbling, shooting, and passing. Deep practice requires the player to be challenged enough to make mistakes, correct those mistakes, and keep improving.This is the most efficient way to create myelin and improve overall skill and talent. Practice should be held not with the idea to practice for as long and hard as possible, but with the idea to practice efficiently. Drills should be broken up into chunks in order to learn each specific movement . This will target each specific nerve firing required for the action. Secondly an idea would be to practice each drill in slow motion. This will help to make sure the movements are being done correctly so that the myelin is being used efficiently.Players should be one hundred percent focused on their drill. Deep practice requires a lot of energy that comes from ignition. Ignition is the motivation that comes from primal cues that players are largely unaware of. These primal cues mostly come from our distinctly human personality trait that gears us toward future belonging. It is our desire to be a part of groups of people who are accomplishing something worthwhile. In order to get ignition from a basketball team they must be inspired to want to be like a certain player or team. Videos should be shown of those teams and players.The challenge should be set forth that in order to be like those teams and players a lot of hard work will be required. This should ign ite the players into wanting to belong to that same exclusive group of players or teams. The coach has the most responsibility to inspire players into deep practice and ignition through Master Coaching. It is the coach’s responsibility to build myelin circuits for each player based on their individual personalities. The coach must tell the player how to practice in order to develop the skill circuit to fire the right way.The coach must know how to coach and interpret each players learning style. Each player may require a different style of coaching in order to ignite them and get them to fire the correct way. Once a skill is taught the coach should increase the level of difficulty quickly in order to shock the player. This is the fastest way to grow skill and challenge the player into deep practice. Coach should point out errors honestly and correct them in order for continuous improvement and in order to make sure myelin is being applied correctly to the nerve circuits.Good coaching should help support which circuit should be fired at the correct time. In short, myelin is the key to growing talent. The only way to grow myelin is deep practice that comes from ignition from primal cues. Talent is not a fixed thing for human beings and it can be learned. There is a lot of improving that can occur no matter what the starting skill level of the player is. Talent is more about commitment and concentration on the task being practiced. This is the best way to fire nerves quickly and grow myelin so that they keep firing that way.

Best Day Essay

Have you ever felt the emotion when you are going to see your favorite band or singer alive in a concert. This happened to me when I went to Sofia last year to see one of my favorite singers Enrique Iglesias. It was fantastic experience that I will never forget. The day was near, it was ten days befor the concert, and every day I asked my father for permission and money. One day he finally said â€Å"yes†, and he gave me the money. He told me that it was the gift for my birthday. I was so happy and immediately called my friend to tell her about the news. The next day we bought our tickets and we were waiting for the big day.We couldn’t believe that we would be in the most waited concert on September 29th , we never thought that in few hours, we would sing all the song of our favorite singer. When we arrived,we sat in the chairs, and we were waiting for Enrique. The lights turned off and all the auditory screamed like they were crazy. The orchestra began to play one of my favorite songs. The best singer appeared in the scene. That moment was so awesome and exciting for me, and everyone was all of the songs. In conclusion, I will tell tha, the concert was a big experience for me and I was so happy. At the end, we bought some souvenirs from the concert, like a shirt, some posters and a cup. The concert finished at 12 p.m. and we came back to our town with an experience that I will never forget. I will remember this moment as if it had been yesterday.

Ken Research Essay

India Nuclear Medicine Imaging Market India Nuclear Medicine Imaging Market Size by Revenue, 2008-2012 Market Share of Major Players in Indian Nuclear Medicine Equipment Market, India Nuclear Medicine Imaging Market Future Outlook and Projections, 2013- 2. 5. 1. 2. 5. 2. 2012 2. 5. 3. 2017 3. India Medical Imaging Market Trends and Developments Refurbished Medical Imaging Equipment Shift Towards Digital X-ray Increasing Affordable Medical Imaging Equipments 4. 5. India Diagnostic Imaging Services Competitive Landscape, 2012 Growth Drivers Ageing Population Increasing Chronic Diseases Easy Finance Availability Increasing Health Expenditure . Restraints Large Capital Inflows Depreciating Value of Currency 7. India Medical Imaging Market Future Outlook and Projections, 2013-2017 7. 1. Cause and Effect Relationship between Dependent and Independent Variables in the India Medical Imaging Market 8. India Medical Imaging Market Macroeconomic Indicators, 2008-2017 8. 1. 8. 2. India Total Pop ulation, 2008-2017 India Ageing Population, 2008-2017 3  © This is a licensed product of Ken Research and should not be copied 8. 3. 8. 4. 8. 5. 9. India Healthcare Expenditure, 2008-2017 India Health Insurance Premium, 2008-2017 India Personal Disposable Income, 2008-2017 Company Profiles of the Major Players in Indian Medical Imaging Market 9. 1. GE Healthcare Company Overview Business Strategies Financial Performance 9. 2. Phillips Healthcare Company Overview Business Strategies Financial Performance 9. 3. Siemens Healthcare Company Overview Business Strategies Financial Performance 9. 4. Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation Company Overview Business Strategies Financial Performance 9. 5. Shimadzu Corporation Company Overview Business Strategies Financial Performance 9. 6. Mindray Medical International Ltd Company Overview Business Strategies Financial Performance 10. Appendix 4  © This is a licensed product of Ken Research and should not be copied 10. 1. 10. 2. 10. 3. Market Definitions Abbreviations Research Methodology Data Collection Methods Approach Variables (Dependent and Independent) Multi Factor Based Sensitivity Model Final Conclusion 10. 4. Disclaimer 5  © This is a licensed product of Ken Research and should not be copied LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: India’s Medical Imaging Equipment Market on the basis of Domestic Sales in USD Million, 2008-2012 Figure 2: India’s Medical Imaging Market Segmentation by Equipment Type on the Basis of Revenue, 2008-2012 Figure 3: India X-Ray Market Size on the Basis of Domestic Sales Revenue in USD Million, 2008-2012 Figure 4: Market Share of Major Players in the India X-Ray Medical Equipment Market, 2012 Figure 5: India X-Ray Market Size on the Basis of Domestic Sales in USD Million, 2013-2017 Figure 6: India MRI Market Size on the Basis of Domestic Sales in USD Million, 2008-2012 Figure 7: Market Share of Major Players in the India MRI Medical Equipment Market, 2012 Figure 8: India MRI Future Market Size on the Basis of Domestic Sales in USD Million, 20132017 Figure 9: India CT Market Size on the Basis of Domestic Sales in USD Million, 2008-2012 Figure 10: India CT Equipment Market Value Breakup by Equipment Type, 2011 Figure 11: Market Share of Major Players in the India CT Medical Equipment Market, 2012 Figure 12: India CT Market Size on the Basis of Domestic Sales in USD Million, 2013-2017 Figure 13: India Ultrasound Market on the Basis of Domestic Sales in USD Million, 2008-2012 Figure 14: Market Share of Major Players in the India Ultrasound Medical Equipment Market, 2012 Figure 15: India Ultrasound Market Size on the Basis of Domestic Sales in USD Million, 20132017 Figure 16: India Nuclear Medicine Imaging Market Size on the Basis of Domestic Sales in USD Million, 2008-2012 Figure 17: Market Share of Major Players in the India Ultrasound Medical Equipment Market, 2012 Figure 18: India Nuclear Medicine Imaging Market Size on the Basis of Domestic Sales in USD Million, 2013-2017 6  © This is a licensed product of Ken Research and should not be copied Figure 19: India Medical Imaging Market Size on the Basis of Domestic Sales in USD Million, 2013-2017 Figure 20: India Total Population in Million, 2008-2017 Figure 21: India Ageing Population Size in Million, 2008-2017 Figure 22: India Healthcare Expenditure in USD Million, 2008-2017 Figure 23: India Health Insurance Premium in USD Million, 2008-2017 Figure 24: India Personal Disposable Income in USD Million, 2008-2017 7  © This is a licensed product of Ken Research and should not be copied LIST OF TABLES Table 1: India X-ray Equipment Market by Value in INR Crores, 2011 Table 2: India X-ray Equipment Market by Sales in Units, 2011 Table 3: India X-ray Equipment Imports in USD Million, 2008-2012 Table 4: India X-ray Equipment Exports in USD Million, 2008-2012 Table 5: India MRI Equipment Market by Value in INR Crores, 2011 Table 6: India MRI Equipment Market by Volume in Units, 2011 Table 7: India MRI Equipment Imports in USD Million, 2008-2012 Table 8: India CT Equipment Imports in USD Million, 2008-2012 Table 9: India CT Equipment Exports in USD Million, 2008-2012 Table 10: India Ultrasound Market by Value in INR Crores, 2011 Table 11: India Ultrasound Market by Volume in Units, 2011 Table 12: India Ultrasound Equipment Imports in USD Million, 2008-2012 Table 13: India Ultrasound Equipment Exports in USD Million, 2008-2012 Table 14: India Nuclear Medicine Market by Value in INR Crores, 2010 and 2011 Table 15: India Nuclear Medicine Market by Sales in Units, 2010 and 2011 Table 16: I ndia Diagnostic Imaging Services Competitive Landscape, 2012 Table 17: Cause and Effect Relationship Analysis between Industry Factors and Expected Medical Imaging Industry Prospects Table 18: Correlation Matrix for India Medical Imaging Market Table 19: Regression Coefficients Output 8  © This is a licensed product of Ken Research and should not be copied INDIA MEDICAL IMAGING MARKET INDIA MEDICAL IMAGING MARKET INTRODUCTION AND MARKET SIZE, 2008-2012 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. medical imaging market grew at a CAGR of ~% from USD ~ million in 2008 to USD ~ million in 2012. This growth was primarily due to the increasing establishments of healthcare units including hospitals and diagnostic centers. A lot of venture capital firms are actively participating in the growth scenario by providing the optimal financial support †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Figure: India’s Medical Imaging Equipment Market on the basis of Domestic Sales in USD Million, 2008-2012 600. 0 500. 0 400. 0 300. 0 200. 0 100. 0 0. 0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012E 329. 5 INDIA MRI MARKET SIZE BY REVENUE, 2008-2012 India’s MRI market is the largest medical imaging equipment market in the country. The market has showcased healthy growth during the last four years and has grown at a CAGR of around ~% from USD 89. 3 million in 2008 to USD ~ million in 2012. MRI is important equipment which is used for detection of internal bleeding and swelling in soft tissues of the human body such as brain, heart and others. The equipment also provides †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9  © This is a licensed product of Ken Research and should not be copied Figure: India MRI Market Size on the Basis of Domestic Sales in USD Million, 2008-2012 140. 0 120. 0 100. 0 USD Million 80. 0 60. 0 40. 0 20. 0 0. 0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012E 89. 3 Table 1: India MRI Equipment Market by Volume in Units, 2011 Type of MRI Equipment 3 Tesla 1. 5 Tesla, Economy 1. 5 Tesla MRI (Mid and High end) 0. 2 to 0. 5 Tesla Refurbished Total MRI Equipment Market by Sales in Units, 2011 INDIA COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY MARKET COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE MARKET SHARE OF MAJOR PLAYERS IN INDIAN CT EQUIPMENT MARKET 10  © This is a licensed product of Ken Research and should not be copied Siemens healthcare is a market leader in the CT medical imaging equipment market with ~% during 2012. The major reason behind is efficient and price competitive products coupled with adequate networking and marketing executives to support the sales. Its SOMATOM is the top selling product in the market. Following the second largest player is Phillips healthcare with ~% market share with its†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Figure: Market Share of Major Players in the India CT Medical Equipment Market, 2012 Siemens Philips GE Healthcare Others INDIA ULTRASOUND IMPORTS AND EXPORTS IMPORTS India’s import market for the ultrasound equipment have been on the rise from the past few years and witnessed a CAGR of around ~% during 2008-2012 where it grew from USD ~ million in 2008 to USD ~ million in 2012. The consistent growth in the demand for ultrasound equipments in India during 2008-2012 has primarily been responsible for †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Table: India Ultrasound Equipment Imports in USD Million, 2008-2012 Year Imports (USD million) 2008 2009 72. 1 2010 2011 2012E 11  © This is a licensed product of Ken Research and should not be copied EXPORTS India’s Ultrasound exports has grown at a CAGR of around ~% during 2008-2012 from USD 19. million in 2008 to USD ~ million in 2012. The major players such as GE, Siemens and others have been the major exporters †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Table: India Ultrasound Equipment Exports in USD Million, 2008-2012 Year Exports (USD million) 2008 19. 2 2009 2010 2011 2012E INDIA NUC LEAR MEDICINE IMAGING MARKET FUTURE OUTLOOK AND PROJECTIONS, 2013-2017 The nuclear medicine imaging equipment market of India is expected to continue to grow strongly with a double digit year-on-year growth until 2017. The market is expected to reach to USD ~ million in 2017 from USD ~ million in 2012 at a CAGR of ~% during 2012-2017. Moreover, in 2013 the market is estimated to grow by †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Figure: India Nuclear Medicine Imaging Market Size on the Basis of Domestic Sales in USD Million, 2013-2017 160. 0 140. 0 120. 0 USD Million 100. 0 80. 0 60. 0 40. 0 20. 0 0. 0 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 142. 0 12  © This is a licensed product of Ken Research and should not be copied DISCLAIMER The research reports provided by Ken Research are for the personal information of the authorized recipient and is not for public distribution and should not be reproduced or redistributed without prior permission. You are permitted to print or download extracts from this material for your personal use only. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. The information provided in the research documents is from publicly available data and other sources, which are reliable. Efforts are made to try and ensure accuracy of data. 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How effectively do the functional areas in Lex Transfleet work together Essay

Marketing and sales function Purpose of the marketing function: the marketing function makes sure that they are getting the right product to the right people at the right price. Crucial to the success of Lex Transfleet or any business. One of the objectives of Lex Transfleet is to To carry out research to improve its products and services. Lex Transfleet should make sure of the following: Product – finding out and producing what the customer’s wants, for example what van or truck rental services the customers need. Lex Transfleet will carry out research to find out what the customers want and what demand there is for that service and they will try to fulfil that so that they have more customers who are interested in their services. Price – Fixing the price at which the customers will buy the product so that when the customers are interested in the products and different services they will want to know how much money they will be giving for this product or service and it will be easier for Lex Transfleet as they will know the price for this because they have already set it. Promotion – Deciding how they are going to promote their product using advertising, publicity and special offers and when Lex Transfleet does this they will attract more customers and their company will get more famous. Place – This is where the sales function comes in, the sales function will help Lex Transfleet decide on where and how they are going to sell the product; whether it is locally, nationally, over the phone or the internet. I think they work quiet affectively together because they share an improvement which means they get each others opinions on how to change things to make them better. Sales is the last part of the marketing strategy which means to sell the product after the prices, promoting, places and products are all don’t and updated so the customers will be satisfied knowing that Lex Transfleet is giving them a good secure and safe product it is important that these things are accurate because they are the main reason the business is up and running without them there is no business. Products and the Customers Lex Transfleet will need to get to know their customer and what the customer wants for example a customer will want to hire out a truck but for that Lex Transfleet will need to know what kind of a truck or van that is an check if they do them type of trucks. A customer – a customer is a person who buys a product for e.g. someone comes to Lex Transfleet and hires out a truck the person who hires it is the customer. A consumer – Is the person that uses the product for example if a truck is hired out for someone else to drive it he/she is then known as the consumer. Consumer types: The market is made up of different types of consumers as it has different segments trying to sell the product to everyone will not work for example selling expensive products to poor people. Consumers can be classified by: Age Gender Wealth and income Geographical area Lifestyle (fashion and taste) Lex Transfleet carries out a research into people, businesses and the governments to find out what type of vans, trucks and services they require. They link this with the finance function to get finance to carry out the research and advertising. They also link this with the Human resources to get the employees as they recruit and select people and researchers to carry out the research and get HR to train them for example induction training. The wages are paid by the finance function to pay for researchers and this means it is then auditable because it is recorded and so all the functional areas can work together to meet the aims and objectives effectively. Market research involves field (primary) and desk (secondary) research: Primary research – this involves communicating directly with the consumer to find out what they exactly it is that they need. Lex Transfleet carry out questionnaires and they invite customers to their business to interview them and this is what helps them with their research to meet there customers needs better. Lex Transfleet can also give loyalty cards which records every item bought by the customer. Secondary Research: Involves publish material for example reference books, statistics and marketing reports by specialist companies. This allows the marketing and sales department to find out information about consumers income and expenditure. Government publications also have information about spending, population changes, household information and family income. Pricing The price of the truck rental service needs to be fixed in Lex Transfleet and the reason for this is because Lex Transfleet wants to: Make profit – Lex Transfleet wants to cover the cost of it trucks so it does not make a loss in the business. Beating competition – Lex Transfleet will want other businesses to rent the trucks from them instead of competitors by keeping prices low and maximising sales which will attract more customers to come and buy trucks and other services from them. Providing a quality product or service – Lex Transfleet will need to make sure it is not undercharging for its services and products because customer will pay high prices for better products so this also means they will not have any loss in the profit. Lex Transfleet has also changed its name to RAC plc as it is branded and it will attract more customers. Promoting the product The Promotion Process involves the following which Lex Transfleet does: Advertising – informing the public or other businesses about Lex Transfleets products and services, e.g. they use the internet, newspapers. Branding – Lex Transfleet makes sure they create an image of the product or service in an attractive way Lex Transfleet has changed it name recently to ‘RAC’. Having a logo to and image to persuade customers to use them. Packaging – Lex Transfleet presents the product in an attractive way so the trucks have M.O.T and are safe and practical to use. Publicity – in the media which mean special promotions and sponsor which Lex Transfleet have on their website. Lex Transfleet have had good publicity in the news paper and press so get positive image. Give special offers to big companies who rent lots of trucks and for longer. They do have a website which they are on http://www.lvl.co.uk/vans/van_info/lex_transfleet.php giving promotion to subscribe to a van and light truck magazine. Place Involves selling the product for example selling the vans and truck rental services all over the U.K and they have a website which can attract customers. Lex Transfleet sell truck rental services directly to the customer which is safe. Lex Transfleet will give customers a quote through their internet using online bookings or emailing them and over the phone. Lex Transfleet uses telesales for selling to the customer over the phone so they will need call centre staff. Direct mail which Lex Transfleet uses to send their brochures out the businesses. E-commerce Lex Transfleet sell their services over the internet through their website you have to email them first to get a quote Lex Transfleet uses ICT in the marketing and sales function for: advertising and website, keeping customer’s profiles on the system, online marketing and also finding out research on their competitors by looking at the internet and other websites. Human Resources Function Purpose of the human resources function: Deals with hiring, firing and well being of the staff and all other functions for example sales and marketing, administration and finance ect. So it can run effectively. In Lex Transfleet they will need to deal with: Recruitment of staff which means that Lex Transfleet will need to be advertising vacancies liaise with finance for costs and payment, how many people to recruit. Disciplining and dismissing staff in other functions to run smoothly and to reduce costs. Training and development and promoting of staff which will liaise with finance for cost of training and other functional areas to check who needs training for example in Lex Transfleet induction and health and safety or other courses are taken place for this and if someone is in the sales and marketing function they will need training to do the job properly. Maintaining good working conditions of the staff and Health and safety in Lex Transfleet. Looking after employee and the business relationship and liaising with other functional areas like sales and marketing to find out how well the staff in Lex Transfleet are doing and rewarding staff by giving pay rises and liaise with finance about budget to give pay rises. Dealing with employee organisation for example the trade unions. The employees and the business have rights and responsibilities and Human Resources have to deal with this and make sure staff is aware of this in Lex Transfleet. Interest of employees protected by the trade union and by staff associations and also the rights of the employees protected by the employment laws liaise functional areas to make sure there is a safe working environment in Lex Transfleet. Everything is recorded so the employee will know if they have made any mistakes and need to improve or they have met their needs. Operations and management function Purpose of the management function: This function transforms the business resources into products and services for example operations which is the production of a goods or service. Land machinery – Lex Transfleet needs to find land, offices, call centres, machinery or equipment required and need to get information from other functions to get the right amount. Machinery equipment – Lex Transfleet has software, computers, photocopiers which the business needs. People who work there and for the business – call centre staff, mangers, supervisors, operator’s consultants, accountants, specialists, solicitors. Materials and stock used by the business – trucks that are brought, truck parts, stationary, computers, software. Factors of production Land – the offices , buildings Labour- the people who work there Capital –the money invested into the business Enterprise –the input of the entrepreneur The resources used by Lex Transfleet will have to be paid for. This results on costs for the business for example wages, rent, rates, materials, stock, electricity, phone bills all of these have to be dealt with the finance department. When operations in Lex Transfleet are trying to produce a product or service it will have to look at its costs to manufacture that item or service and it will have to make sure that the sales department will cover the day to day costs and the greater the added value the greater the possible profit. So the more money they get from sales and they take away that from the running cost they get profit. Efficiency and productivity Efficiency means – making the most for the resources for example good productivity by the staff and also the number of sales made by staff in Lex Transfleet or the number of calls taken by the employee. Some employees paid a bonus for selling more services and also to motivate them to make more sales for Lex Transfleet. Quality assurance – quality assurance is very important as it means more returns to the businesses. Quality control of a service or product is very important for feedback to the marketing department. Operation check with sales as they monitor the calls and make sure the quality of service is very good. Sales liaise with Human Resources to give training to customers in Lex Transfleet. Operations liaise with Human resources to give training operation staff. Operations also monitor number of complaint and reasons for complaint to minimise this and improve services better by liaising with sales team to find out what their customer views are as they are in the front line and dealing with customers on a regular basis. Operations liaise with marketing to get information about customer demand, competitor information and lots more. Operations also check with sales function to check which items/services are selling more to make decision about producing more or less of these goods or services and then contacting the marketing function to either advertise more or less. Operations will liaise with finance to buy more or less to expand and liaise with Hr to get more staff. Finance Function Purpose of the finance function: To control inflow and outflow of money in the business and is also closely involved in the production of goods or services and links in with other functions of the business and senior management. Finance department Other functional areas Sales of products have to be recorded Sales Cost relating to the production have to be recorded Money has to be raised for producing the services and products (sales staff, trucks, offices) Operations/production Bills have to be paid Administration Wages have to paid Human resources Accounts have to be kept to calculate profit and loss All departments above Financial planning reports have to prepared Senior management In Lex Transfleet the finance department looks like this the table below shows this as the finance director. Finance director Financial accounting Costing and budgeting Managing finance Payroll Recording transactions Keeping accounts Preparing reports for the senior management Working out the cost of the product and services. Interpreting past costs and income Setting targets for cost and income Working out what resources are needed Raising capital and loan to finance the resources Rescoring hours worked by employees Calculating pay and deducting tax Financial accounting All transactions have to be recorded. Sales of the products and services from the sales department so they are auditable as they are recorded. Purchases made for stock or material from the operations department again so it’s recorded. Each type of expense for example electricity, bill rent, and wages are from the administration department. Wages is the information collected from the Human resources function so employees are paid on time and correct. Debtors are people who owe the business money for example the customers who have brought a product and still haven’t given the money for it. Creditors are people whom the business owes money for example if Lex Transfleet has brought something from somewhere e.g. a truck then they owe the money to the suppliers if they haven’t yet paid for it. Accounting ICT used to records all the transaction and special accounting software used to records wages. Financial statement is produced for management and this shows profit and loss and also, helps management monitor the main aims and objectives of the business the information on financial statements are on computer databases and so computers prepare the accounts automatically Finance produce 2 main accounts: Profit and loss shows sales figures form the sales functions, expenses from all functions and then can calculate the profit. The balance sheet shows how much the business owns and owes. Costing and budgeting this is how the function works together: Operations tell the finance of the cost of raw material purchased, for example trucks, tyres, equipment purchased by Lex Transfleet. The cost of paying the wages for the employees working for Lex Transfleet which the human resources function will let them know about. Other expenses such as: Bills which are the costs from administrations function. Electricity, water, rates, stationary are also in the administrations function. Advertising , promoting the business – sales and marketing function and they communicate with administration function so the suppliers are paid on time. The Finance function has to liaise with other functional areas to calculate the costs for making the product and service to ensure that there is a sufficient finance to cover the costs and also the business is making the most of efficient use of its resources. Budgeting Finance has to set budgets there are two kinds of budgets, a sales budget I used to forecast the income of the business from sales, and a production budget which is used to plan for the cost for producing the service for example cost for buying trucks and hiring people. Both Budgets will monitor the actual figures with forecasted and if the figures do not match for examples sales figures then they will liaise sales function to change their forecast or with marketing to advertise and promote the services better. Raising finance are the Long term finance needs which are used for investing in premises, trucks, machinery, computers and lots more, and theirs short term needs which is like buying stock for example trucks, paying bills, and paying wages. Finance has to raise money for the other functions such as marketing, sales, operation and administration to finance their expenditure so that the activities can takes place to meet Lex Transfleets aims and objectives. Payroll Works out pay and deduction of tax and national insurance of its employees and it gets it information from the Human Resources function and it is done by computers in Lex Transfleet as it is a large Plc and also uses computer payroll programmes as they are faster and very accurate., so the employees are happy as they will be being paid properly and accurately. Administration Function Purpose of the administration function: Administration is making sure that the right resources are in the right place at the right time. The administration function makes the business run smoothly and makes sure that: Paper in the photocopiers Paper in the loo Premises are safe Telephone messages are passed on Administration and communication: Information and messages such as enquiries, orders, complaints from external sources. Callers with or without appointment will call in and different functions will communicate with each their for the day to day running of the business these methods include paper, documents, telephone, fact, internal email and meeting. If finance needs to meet with operation function to make decisions the administration function will arrange it for example if a customer wants a meeting with the sales team the administration function will arrange it. The marketing function is done by: Sales so that they get records of customers, finance so they get to process accounts and payroll. Opening and distributing post when it arrives to all other functions and collecting and stamping the post going out at the end if the day from all other functions. Operating and telephone switchboard which means transferring these calls to the relevant people in other functions. Dealing with callers to premises and directing them to the relevant functions. Designing and printing forms for all the different functions and also filling and database maintenance and making sure the premises are clean and secure: Cleaning can be outsourced in Lex Transfleet which means using external companies which come and carry this out so the place is clean and safe for employees and visitors.