The Clemson Bikini Murder Case

On May 26, 2006, Clemson University student Tiffany Marie Souers was found dead in her off-campus apartment by a former roommate. She was wearing only a bra and had a bikini top wrapped around her neck. There was no sign of forced entry into her apartment. Police released surveillance photos of someone using Tiffanys debit card, shortly after she died, in hopes of finding her killer. Latest Developments Bikini Killer Appeals Death Sentence Previous Developments Bikini Killer Sentenced to Death Mistrial Sought in Bikini Killers Penalty HearingApril 20, 2009Attorneys for Jerry Buck Inman who entered a guilty plea for the murder of a Clemson college student have asked for a mistrial in the death penalty hearing in the Bikini Murder Case. Lawyers said prosecutors harassed and intimidated a defense witness hired to discuss Inmans troubled youth. Bikini Murder Sentencing DelayedSept. 11, 2008Sentencing for the man who pleaded guilty to the murder of Clemson University student Tiffany Marie Souers was delayed this week after an expert witness for the defense refused to testify even after being granted immunity. Jerry Buck Inman Pleads Guilty to Bikini MurderAug. 19, 2008Convicted sex offender Jerry Buck Inman has pleaded guilty to robbery, kidnapping, rape, and murder in connection with the death of a Clemson University student in May 2006. Inman admitted in court that he strangled the 20-year-old Tiffany Marie Souers with her bikini top. Change of Venue Denied in Bikini Murder CaseMay 8, 2008A South Carolina judge has turned down a motion by attorneys for Jerry Buck Inman to move his trial in the Clemson University bikini murder case to a different location. Judge Edward Miller ruled that the trial for the murder of Tiffany Marie Souers will take place in Pickens County in September as scheduled. Third Attorney Appointed in Bikini MurderApril 17, 2005A South Carolina judge has appointed a third attorney to help defend a convicted sex offender who is charged with the murder of a 20-year-old Clemson University student. Judge Demands Bikini Murder Suspects DNAJan. 8, 2007A South Carolina judge ordered convicted sex offender Jerry Buck Inman to give fingerprints and DNA samples to investigators. Death Penalty Sought in Clemson Bikini MurderAug. 23, 2006South Carolina prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Jerry (Buck) Inman in the murder of Tiffany Maria Souers. A gag order has been issued in the case. Suspect Captured in Clemson Murder CaseJune 7, 2006A registered sex offender suspected in the killing of a Clemson University student who was strangled with a bikini top was captured early in Jefferson County, Tennessee. Evidence Developing in Clemson Students DeathJune 1, 2006Authorities say they are fast developing evidence and expect a resolution in the case of a 20-year-old Clemson University student whose partially nude body was found in her off-campus apartment strangled with a bikini top.

The Structure Of A Building - 1307 Words

Nowadays anything can be considered workmanship. The structure of a building, the human body, music on the radio, love, Versaci s new line of winter, and beautiful transvestites strolling down the road are only a couple of countless cases. That sort of craftsmanship is misrepresented. The greater part of these exist as a result of society. As individuals develop and change so does the qualities and customs that they are acclimated to. Genuine workmanship holds tight the dividers of historical centers everywhere throughout the world. Works of art by Monet, Da Vinci, and Picasso speak to all that can be made lovely by a man s touch. The word tattoo originates from the Tahitian word tattau, which signifies to tap, and can be followed back through a piece of history. The specialty of tattoos has been apparent since antiquated Egypt and over 1,500 years prior the Japanese checked hoodlums as an image of disgrace for their discipline (Britannica, 2000). In the nineteenth century tattoos were seen as horrible and abnormal, yet as the twentieth century moved by innovation offered route to the pattern. The electric needle made a feeling of accuracy and control. This is the means by which the different plans created and tattooing turned out to be more about expression, as opposed to marking. It is an insurance that tattoo and penetrating craftsmen can be found by the thousands in a metropolitan city. Their type of workmanship may be less difficult to a degree, however it hasShow MoreRelatedThe Structure Of A Building856 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction In several aspects, the structure of a building is vulnerable to failure during the construction phase. Since buildings are made by humans, using their knowledge, failures are always probable to happen. These failures may be caused by a single error or a combination of errors. However, the probability of failure should be predicted and solved by an Engineer of Record during the design of this building. Any fail during the construction phase may not involve a construction error. It mayRead MoreBuilding A Structure Of An Earthquake1627 Words   |  7 Pages 1. When building a structure to withstand an earthquake, there are many ideas and strategies necessary to consider in order to create a successful building. In order to conserve resources and manage the limited building time effectively, I had to consider the most important areas to reinforce my tower. 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Some features of a sophisticated tunnel are that it reach as deep as seventy feet underground and tall and wide enough for an adult to walk through or for a mine cart to be pushed through. When building these sophisticated tunnels, first the earth is chipped away by handheld electric spades and the workers are filling sandbagsRead MoreBuilding Structure And Envelope Of An Advanced Engineering Building At Uq1483 Words   |  6 Pagesanalyses the building structure and envelope of an advanced engineering building at UQ. The report will examine the construction documentation, building configuration building element design and building loading and load transfer to the foundation. From another perspective, the r eport will also illustrate the project’s sites structure which includes site conditions, material used, interfaces with pre-existing structure/infrastructure. 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Wall Street Free Essays

string(43) " promotes dishonesty in business dealings\." How far will you go to be successful? How far will you go to win? Nothing can illustrate the lengths that a person is willing to take just to profit than in the cutthroat world of stocks. And no place in the world is more ruthless than Wall Street. Wall Street (Stone, 1987) takes its viewers to a behind-the-scenes look at this place in the world where people live and feed on stocks. We will write a custom essay sample on Wall Street or any similar topic only for you Order Now The entirety of the film tackles a lot of moral conflicts that are involved in the business dealings done within the movie. This is Oliver Stone’s criticism of the mentality of the people who utilized illegal means just to get the biggest profit in the quickest time. Stone criticism not only targeted the corporate raiders whose practices were being exposed in the insider trading scandal in the 1980s, but it was a critique on the quick-buck culture that was prevalent then and even at this time. THE PLOT The plot is traditional and formulaic. A young hotshot, wanting to be successful, gets the opportunity when his persistence pays off as he is hired by a famous veteran. The rookie takes on the job albeit the discovery of the illegalities of the methods. He gets the perks and the movie shows its audience the grandiose rewards he gets. When a conflict of interest arises, he goes against the veteran. He loses everything yet he gets his payback. This has been a formula for a number of movies, and Wall Street is no exception. The young, idealistic hotshot here is Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen. He is a stockbroker for a lesser-known Wall Street firm. The hotshot is a dreamer. In one scene in the movie where he just lost a lot of money because of a client, he utters that he dreams of being on the other side of the call sometimes. In subsequent scenes too, it can be observed that Bud does not dream of being a stockbroker forever. To achieve that dream, he constantly calls the office of his hero for a chance of getting an audience and ultimately, impressing him to gain employment under his hero’s wing. The veteran, excessively rich and wealthy, and the movie protagonist’s hero is Gordon Gekko. This role led Michael Douglas to garnering an Academy Award of Lead Performance by an Actor. He is indeed truly worthy of the award as he portrayed the cold and vicious yet in some way appealing Gekko to the hilt. Gekko represents the ultimate corporate raider, the Wall Street shark who buys and closes down companies under their noses for his profit. Yet his methods, though disagreeable, are effective and masterfully justified as evidenced by his Greed is good speech in the movie (to be discussed later). On Gekko’s birthday, Bud shows up in Gekko’s office with a box of Davidoff cigars as a present and a bribe to finally get the opportunity he has been waiting for. Desperate to impress Gekko, Bud blurts out insider information that his father Carl (played by Martin Sheen, Charlie’s real-life father) revealed to him about BlueStar airlines. Carl works for BlueStar and also serves as a union leader there. When Gekko profits out of Bud’s tip, he saw something in the kid that he liked. He saw the killer instinct, the will and determination to do whatever it takes to succeed. He saw a bit of himself in Bud, as he revealed later on in the movie. He then employs Bud to work for him but not as an ordinary broker. He asks Bud to spy on his competition and other illegal acts. At first, Bud hesitates but he eventually agrees. He is rewarded with his works, and not without extravagance. Bud enjoys the luxurious life that his work with Gekko provided for him. The main conflict of the film arises when Bud decides to make BlueStar competitive. Bud enthusiastically pushes forward his proposals to Gekko. Gekko, on the other hand, agrees with the proposals armed with contrasting intentions compared to that of Bud’s. When Gekko and Bud present their plan to BlueStar representatives, including Carl, Carl voices out his opposition as he sees behind the guise that Gekko puts on. Yet, Bud remains to be sold by Gekko’s deception. It did not take much time before Bud realizes what Gekko’s plan really is. When Bud learns that Gekko plans to sell the hangars and planes, he confronts Gekko. When asked why he was wrecking BlueStar, Gekko answers, â€Å"Because it’s wreckable.† From there, Bud sets off a plan to save BlueStar. Eventually they do but not without consequences. Bud is arrested for illegal insider trading by the SEC. Still, he manages to get payback as he lures Gekko into a trap and thus managing to record Gekko’s confession of guilt on tape. The film ends with Bud walking on the steps of a courthouse on his way to his sentencing. ISSUES The Quick-Buck mentality vs. Hard Work and Fair Play Wall Street can be likened to a battle of two fathers over the moral consciousness of a son. This is not the only movie where Stone used this concept. His Vietnam War movie Platoon also shares this conflict (where Charlie Sheen also portrays the role of the â€Å"son† torn between two fathers, one good and another evil). In Wall Street, Carl Fox and Gordon Gekko represent the two opposing sides in the contest over the moral beliefs of Bud Fox, the â€Å"son†. Gekko represents the cutthroat businessman who resorts to all means to gain the biggest profit in the easiest way. He does so through illegal means but not without justification. The list of his reasons is not uncommon and yet is still popularly used even up to these times to justify wrongdoings. These include excuses like â€Å"Everybody does it†, â€Å"There’s something in this for everybody†, â€Å"Nobody gets hurt†, â€Å"As long as we don’t get caught†, etc. This promotes dishonesty in business dealings. You read "Wall Street" in category "Essay examples" But as shown by Gekko, it is this type of people who get to be on top of the hill. The ruthless, the cunning, or the relentless are the ones who succeed and eat up those who strive to compete in the merciless world of business. The implication of the justifications Gekko provides for his actions can be summed up in the common adage, saying that â€Å"if you can’t beat them, join them†. Surely, there are other people in the real world that are similar in nature to Gekko, people who become extremely successful using unethical methods. Competing with these people is one Herculean task to surmount. Thus, there are those who give up on competing with such sharks on ethical grounds and are consequently influenced to follow their lead. In today’s world, it is not surprising to find people like Gekko and the quick-buck mentality that they adhere to, where they prioritize profit over anything else including morals and services to their clients. On the other hand, Carl Fox represents the people who advocate hard work and honesty in business dealings. Carl Fox is not the only character in the film that adheres to such philosophy. One superior of Bud in the Wall Street firm stated, in one of the earlier scenes, that â€Å"good things sometimes take time.† He cites IBM and Hilton as examples. This is a direct contrast to Gekko’s impatient and short-term approach towards business. Success, via the ethical way, takes time. But eventually it will come to those who work hard and remain ethical in their ways. This kind of thinking seems to be overshadowed by the prevalent success of the Gekko-like businessmen. Despite that, there are those who remain stern to keeping their methods unstained by illegalities. They preach that hard work will reap its benefits but it takes time. Gekko scoffs at this conception citing his father as an example of a hardworking man who worked all his life and died of mediocrity. In the present day, there are those who steadfastly hold on to this principle despite all the satirical points made against their cause. Bud Fox in the movie represents the â€Å"son† torn between two fathers, namely Gekko and Carl. He is the student confused on which school of thought to pursue, the quick-buck or fair play. This is actually a mirror of today’s world. Stone intended this movie to reflect the rugged financial wheeling and dealing that is actually happening, especially at the time when the movie was made. The playing field is so dominated by players who have regard profit, wealth and winning above any other consideration. What Bud Fox represents is the individual player who is given a choice on which side to choose, the cunning majority or the blue-collar minority. Stone’s message is a dark warning for those who follow Gekko’s way. As one of Bud’s bosses says it, â€Å"Enjoy it while it lasts, because it never does.† The film ends with both Fox and Gekko getting prosecuted. They may enjoy the riches brought about by their illegal actions but time will come when their misdoings will collect their due. Meanwhile, those who do not heed the call of the â€Å"easy money† are bound to have no worries of retribution. Greed is good? The highlight of the film, what significantly won Michael Douglas his Oscar for Acting, is the scene where he delivers the Greed is Good speech. Such conception was the popular mindset (and alibi) for the profit-obsessed culture in the 1980s market that Stone was criticizing. By this scene, Stone shows his viewers the kind of eloquence and guts that people like Gekko have in defending the actions they do. This scene masterfully and powerfully provides that illustration. Gekko’s claims, amazingly delivered by Douglas, provide a chill to the spine of viewers as it shows just how ruthless and yet appealingly logical Gekko is. He delivers the speech with such composure and bravado that merits cheers and jubilation among his audience and silences his detractors despite the obvious disreputability of his catchphrase. The setting here is that Gekko is trying to take over a company, Teldar Paper. In a shareholders meeting of such company, company management oppose such planned take over by Gekko mainly because of Gekko’s reputation as a company raider. Gekko, on the other hand, rebuffs this voiced out opposition with this grand speech, provided here in part: The point is, ladies and gentlemen: Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right; greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge – has marked the upward surge of mankind and greed, you mark my words – will save not only Teldar Paper but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. At first look, he may have a point. As evidenced by the acceptance of his audience, it seems as though Gekko has indeed made a very convincing statement. All development can be traced to man’s insatiable hunger for life, money, love, knowledge, etc. as noted by Gekko. It is seemingly logical to think that greed is the driving force behind every single successful venture of man. If that is so, then it is just right to teach people to be greedy. Right? If this was the case, then the movie should have ended with a decisive statement that Gekko never gets caught. But Stone had a different view. Stone included this speech in the movie to showcase up to what absurd lengths people like Gekko go to in order to twist the facts and values long-cherished by society just to justify their cause and actions. Greed is wanting in excess of something that is never meant to be one’s own. It is an excessive desire to possess more than one needs or deserves. Anything in excess is wrong and can never be good, as declared in Nicomachean ethics. This just proves how twisted Gekko and his kind are. They turn something innately bad to something good just to satisfy their inner selves that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing. They are blinded by their greed on what is truly wrong and write. Greed overcomes them. The desire for winning the deal is more dominant than observing ethics. Even the rewards of money and luxurious living are never enough if one is overrun by greed. In the movie, Gekko and Bud are enjoying the luxurious life yet the audience never gets to examine the splendor of their riches as these are only shown in passing. Such is the life dedicated to greed. It doesn’t give room to gloat in the rewards because it constantly seeks more. The concept of enough eludes them. When Bud confronts Gekko of how much is enough, Gekko struggles to answer. Greed does that to a person. Greed corrupts. Too much of anything corrupts to a point where the boundaries between right and wrong are breached just to temporarily satisfy and insatiable appetite for winning the deal. Greed twists the morality of a person. It changes the priorities of a person involved, in a deal; greed is self-serving instead of serving what the deal embodies, which is the people that will benefit from it. It is this moral corruption that Stone exposes through this movie, the moral corruption brought about by wealth and greed. The legal corruption is only set as a backdrop amidst the crisis in morality that the protagonist of the film is going through. CONCLUSION Oliver Stone’s main message in this film is that the ways of the wicked will ultimately fail. He concludes the movie by Gekko getting caught on tape with a confession of his illegal acts after he falls for a trap set by Bud and the SEC. Bud is also indicted for the things he did while employed by Gekko. The last scene shows him walking towards his sentencing. This ending can be classified as a traditional one. It gives the viewers the old impression that â€Å"good† ultimately triumphs over â€Å"evil†. If the movie happened in reality though, there would have been a very different ending. There is one observable major flaw in the movie. One can only speculate on the reasons why such flaw can be bypassed by Stone (either corporate pressure to leave a good ending or it’s a pun to the romanticism of movies). If Gekko is such a cold, calculating and cunning man, it is highly doubtful whether he would let himself be trapped by such methods. It is more doubtful if he would allow himself to be seen with Bud after Bud was unceremoniously arrested. It is also unlikely that Gekko would not anticipate a wire on Bud when they met near the end of the movie. In summation, the ending is highly doubtful. The relevance of such obvious flaw is that it leaves its viewers (at least, those who recognized such flaw) with no hope of romanticist ideals that such a conflict can be resolved easily. In today’s world, there are a number of Gekko’s around. The flaw of the movie makes viewers realize that a number of Gekko’s out there do exist and are left unscathed and undetected (maybe even untouchable). It is then left to the viewer what to do with such fact of life. Surrounded by sharks and unethical financial players, the present financial manager is faced with a choice, the Gekko-way or the hard way. The movie ends with an easy resolution promoting an ideal situation where the â€Å"bad† guys fail. In the real world, that may not always be the case. It is up to the person whether to abide by ethics and laws in financial dealings or bend such laws and ethical rules because there are those who get away with it and they are the ones on top. The movie provides two ways towards success, the hard and long way or the easy way where rules are only part of the show. Reference: 1. Stone, O.   (1987). Wall Street. California: 20th Century Fox.    How to cite Wall Street, Essay examples

Humans Screwed Up Essay Example For Students

Humans Screwed Up Essay PEOPLE ARE THE MOST DISGUSTING CREATURES ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. YET WE ARE CLASSIFIED AS ANIMALS. ANIMALS, IN THE SENSE THAT WE TEND TO THINK OF THEM IN, AS NON-HUMAN ANIMALS, ARE BEAUTIFUL WHERE WE COULD NEVER BE. HUMANS ARE THE ONLY ANIMALS THAT TRULY ALTER THEIR ENVIRONMENT AND MAKE THEMSELVES A COMPLETELY ARTIFICIAL LIVING SPACE. WE PAVE OVER OUR FIELDS AND PLOW DOWN OUT FORESTS. WE PILLAGE THE WORLD THAT WE MUST LIVE IN AND ESSENTIALLY TURN IT INTO A CEMENT AND TAR WASTELAND. PEOPLE KILL FOR NO REASON AND COMMIT MURDER, EVEN UNTO THEIR OWN KIND. ANIMALS ON THE OTHER HAND SIMPLY LIVE. THEY CONSUME ONLY WHAT THEY MUST TO SURVIVE AND THEY LEAVE THE REST ALONE. A LION THAT ISN’T HUNGRY, FOR EXAMPLE, WON’T KILL. ANIMALS MAY BUILD HOMES, BUT THEY ARE BIODEGRADABLE HOMES THAT DON’T CLUTTER AND DESTROY THE LANDSCAPE. ANIMALS LIVE IN PEACE AND HARMONY AND THEY NATURALLY BALANCE EACH OTHER OUT. THERE IS A CIRCLE OF LIFE THAT WOULD BE MUCH MORE CIRCULAR IF HUMANS WEREN’T THERE TO STRETCH IT AND MOLD IT TO SUIT OUR FANCY. THE HUMAN IS BLOODTHIRSTY, IT DESTROYS ITS SURROUNDINGS AND EVENTUALLY ITSELF, AND YET WE CLAIM TO BE THE INTELLIGENT LIFE FORMS OF THE PLANET. THE GIFT O F A LARGER BRAIN CAPACITY HAS TURNED OUT TO BE A PANDORA’S BOX, WE USE IT BECAUSE WE CAN’T HELP IT, AND IT CAUSES NO GOOD. MAYBE IT IS THAT THE CAPACITY TO THINK HASN’T BEEN USED ENOUGH. OR PERHAPS IT IS THAT PEOPLE CAN’T THINK ANYMORE WHEN THEY LIVE IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT THINKS FOR THEM. IT SEEMS THAT THE GIFTS GIVEN TO US HAVE CAUSED US TO BE CORRUPT DESTROYERS OF ALL LIFE. HUMANS COULD TURN AROUND AND BE THE FORCE THAT SAVES LIFE IF WE COULD CARE JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE AND THINK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE CREATE AND WHAT EFFECT IT WILL HAVE. IF WE COULD CONSIDER THE LYNX THAT PATROLS THE WOODS AND RELIES ON THE SMALLER LIFE THEN MAYBE WE WOULD NOT BUILD A ROAD THERE WHERE POLLUTANTS AND TRAFFIC CAN KILL ALL OF THE WILDLIFE. PERHAPS FOR EVERY THING THAT WE TAKE FROM NATURE WE CAN GIVE SOMETHING BACK. FOR EVERY ACRE OF LAND WE PAVE OVER WE SHOULD REPLANT A FOREST ON ANOTHER ACRE OF LAND THAT WE PREVIOUSLY TOOK. IT IS FAIRLY IMPROBABLE THAT ANY OF THAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE THOUGH, NEAR OR FAR. HUMANS ARE STUBBORN AND STUCK IN THEIR WAYS. ANIMALS EVOLVE WHERE WE DON’T. IF THEY HAVE TO CHANGE IN ORDER TO SURVIVE THEN THEY DO OR ELSE THEY DIE. DARWIN’S NATURAL SELECTION REMOVES THE SPECIES THAT AREN’T FIT FOR THIS WORLD AND MAYBE THAT MEANS HUMANS WILL BE REMOVED SOON. ONE CAN ONLY HOPE SO, FOR THE SAKE OF THE REST OF THE PLANET. WOULDN’T IT BE FUNNY TO SEE THE ANIMALS TAKE OVER ALL THE PLACES THAT HUMANS ONCE CALLED HOME? WE COULD LOOK DOWN FROM ABOVE AND SEE PIGS SLEEPING IN OUR BEDS, AND IT WOULD SET US IN OUR PLACE- NOT HERE, AS WE EXIST NOW.

If Martians Paid A Little Visit Essays - Mars In Fiction

If Martians Paid A Little Visit IF MARTIANS PAID A LITTLE VISIT People believe that Martians have come to planet earth. And indeed many people have video taped many sights of little objects flying in the air, ones with different types of ordered movements, and others with no movements at all. But what would happen if one day these little unknown creatures decide they are going to actually park their little flying mobiles and show their faces? What would they say to us? What would they want from us? Why are they here in the first place? Many circumstances would occur not only for the Martians, but also for many people here on earth. Many families would probably want to move from their home to another country where the Martians would not appear. Others would probably want war, because they probably think that they are trying to take over the world. And others would probably weaken in their curiosity and would want to find out what they want and maybe come to an agreement so that they dont do anything to us. seeing how they have a much more advanced technology than we do, they probably would have something way more accurate than the do when it comes to weapons or simply just their mind and the way they think. If they do ever come to earth, there is no doubt that they are beings way more intelligent than we humans are. I believe that we have a good group of army men who would be willing to fight not only for our country, but for our planet as well if something comes to happen. But in my own opinion, there have been already so many clips of objects flying in the air, that I would dare to think that they are ready to come visit us any time soon, and when they do, I dont believe that they would come as enemies, but as Martians who are willing to get to know us as we are, and our many different countries and cultures. And them as well would be willing to show us how they live, and the different types of Martians that there are, just as here on earth there are many different races. Social Issues

Sometimes sadness

Sometimes sadness is feeling blue where someone just needs a caring friend or family member who can offer encouragement. Sometimes sadness is much more. Severe sadness can cause frequent crying spells, sleeping too much, or eating too much or too little. Women may resort to drugs or alcohol to make the pain lesson. What starts this kind or severe sadness? It can begin with a painful experience such as divorce, the death of a loved one, a lost relationship, or a troubled marriage. It can also begin with an event from childhood, such as, physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Some women have Chemical Imbalances which cause them to be severely sad, and complicates them being able to solve everyday problems. Severe sadness is a type of illness called depression, and can be treated. Twenty-five percent of women are expected to experience depression at some point in their lives. Depression effects many women in today's society, and many of them do not understand what i! t is. Women also do not know how to identify the signs, or symptoms of depression. No one is immune from depression, and it affects everyone, from personal experience to depression in a family member. Depression is defined as the act of being sad, the state of being depressed, or low in spirits. Depression interferes with normal functioning, and can cause problems with work, family, and friends. Serious depression can destroy a family life as well as their own life. Melissa's life was going very well for her. She was recently married, and starting her new life. Melissa's life starting falling apart as she got news about her mother. Her mother had cancer, and wasn't going to make it. Soon her mother passed away, and she was left feeling abandoned, and alone. She felt as if a part of her was gone, and that she wouldn't be able to go on. Melissa and her mother were very close. They shared everything together, and were viewed as best friends. ...

Organisational Behaviour of Nestle Company Essay

Organisational Behaviour of Nestle Company - Essay Example The management of day-to-day activities is handled by executive board members. This report aims at giving a detailed analysis and discussion of how the organization is managed and specifically, to how it manages teams and how it makes decisions. This is to evaluate whether the company management practices are in line with management theory as pertains to teamwork and decision making. As such, the report will discuss theory on effective teams and decision making in organizations, examine how the company actually conducts those practices, establish the gap between theory and practice and finally, make recommendations on best practice. I have not worked for the company before but I have researched and obtained enough information to guide the analysis from the company website and other sources such as former employees. BUILDING AND MANAGING EFFECTIVE TEAMS IN THE WORKPLACE EXPECTED Rosenhauer (2005 p. 36) defines a team as â€Å"people who work together in close proximity with each othe r and who interact with other teams in the workplace.† A team is formed to carry out a specific goal. A team can be functional or cross-functional depending on the organization structure and also on the management principles. A functional team comprises of members of same department or who carry out similar functions while cross-functional teams are formed by employees from different functions. Whatever the type of the team, its effectiveness is very crucial in ensuring organizational success. An effective team has various defining characteristics. First, it must have clear purpose or expectations (Heathfield, 2012). While building the team, management should explain to the team what is... This essay aims at giving a detailed analysis and discussion of how the organization is managed and specifically, to how it manages teams and how it makes decisions. This is to evaluate whether the company management practices are in line with management theory as pertains to teamwork and decision making. As such, the essay also aims to discuss theory on effective teams and decision making in organizations, examine how the company actually conducts those practices, establish the gap between theory and practice and finally, make recommendations on best practice. The researcher have not worked for the company before, but he has researched and obtained enough information to guide the analysis from the company website and other sources such as former employees. At Nestle Company, most of the tasks are performed by various departments such as research and development, management, human resources and production. As such, each department works as a team in order to achieve the overall objec tive of the organization. Effective teamwork and sound decision making are key to organization success. Nestle has been successful in various areas but still more needs to be done if it needs to be recognized as a world leader in Nutrition, Health and Wellness and be trusted by all its stakeholders. Nestle has a culture of shared values which guides all its actions but sometimes it may hinder success. Nestle needs to engage employees by involving them in decision making and also train the management on team management and decision making skills.

Human Sexuality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Sexuality - Essay Example Whether it would be positive or negative, the power of research and its importance, are undeniable and relevant. For any researcher(s), it becomes the question first and foremost, as to what any long term impact the individual(s) work, would have had on the ability for greater understanding. Articles and research papers are often times written by those who seek to research issues and then wish to deliver what they find to the rest of the world. Others may also wish to produce articles themselves, only this time, on assessing the impact of the work of others, such as the case would be with John Bancroft. In his work 'Alfred C. Kinsey and the Politics of Sex Research', Bancroft looks to the work done by Kinsey and the response of others to the research itself. With that being said, in regards to Kinsey, "It was evident from his own research, and has been confirmed in various ways since, that major changes in sexual behavior had been underway through much of the first half of the 20th century," (Bancroft, p.2). This statement in itself, would give credence to the validity of Kinsey's work and show the need for greater study and debate. The article discusses the attention paid towards contraception and how the debate would consider, for instance, the use of contraception and its ability to control the size of average families. From a social standpoint, there would be those that felt it was important to have the opportunity to be aware of such issues and others would think that an issue like sexuality, should be kept in the confides of the home and in the bedroom between a man and woman. While it would have been easy to single out Kinsey for his research, it is important to note that, "He was not the first to report results of sex surveys in the US," (Bancroft, p.3). With that in mind, it would be fair to classify Kinsey as one of many, who would have put together studies on the matter at hand. Author Bancroft asserts, regards to assessing Kinsey's impact, "But one clear part of Kinsey's legacy is that sex became less mysterious," (Bancroft, p.4). When certain things have not been discussed in any great detail before, they can often times seem to some, as being unknown and dangerous even. Kinsey's work would take away the disguise and uncertainty about regular human sexual activity and reveal it to be nothing more, than typical behavior that would occur among healthy human beings. His greatest desire would be to reveal the distinct natures of male and female human beings and how each one would approach sexual intercourse. Sometimes, after research has been performed, the results lead to the production of revised guidelines. This would be true as a result of Kinsey's work. Based on his findings, "The American Law Institute, after much debate, published its revised Model Penal Code in 1995. This was clearly influenced by Kinsey's findings," (Bancroft, p.4). The author further goes on to detail that, as a result of Kinsey's work, the revised Model Penal Code would make it so that such things as being a homosexual, living together when you were not married, as well as the sexual activity of two people who were willing participants, were no longer seen as crimes. With such a revision taking place, it would lead many to consider the influence of Kinsey in the area of sexual activity, to be considerable and not to be

CDA analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CDA analysis - Essay Example Thus, the selected element is a discourse, and its analysis has three dimension: as a text, sentence-by-sentence, and the words and phrases evaluation. Firstly, the text as a whole is close to the genre of political speech, since its content is mostly based on the speech made by Michelle Obama. In this context, it has her direct quotations both in the text and in the video. However, the content and the comments on the speech make this discourse resemble the slice of life genre with casual style of writing, which means that the Guardian presented the speech itself with its subjective reflection on it. On the frames, the exact concepts that unite text are two main identities – on the one hand, it discusses â€Å"ethnicity,† â€Å"black race,† and â€Å"African Americans† (it refers to both the speaker and to Tuskegee University students); on another hand, the family values appear in the text as â€Å"my husband’s chances,† â€Å"my girls,† and â€Å"kids and families.† Moreover, these two identities are in different position in terms of foregrounding and backgrounding, because i n the end of the text there appears the conclusion that â€Å"folks like you and me† (meaning the race) must believe in their potential (meaning realization in family life). On the cases of omission within the text, it does not mention any justification of first lady’s words with the facts from her biography; in other words, readers have nothing but to fall under emotional impression in what is given in the text. In addition, the voice of white public is neglected by this discourse, as the African American first lady speaks to the â€Å"mainly black graduates.† Although, the text includes horizontal intertextuality, as it has two direct quotations from other famous people on the same topic. Even though they have opposite opinions, the article does not reveal any support to them and provides only brief information on their

Logistics in Event Planning and Management

Logistics in Event Planning and Management 1. Introduction Nowadays, events are very popular and occasionally happen very often around us as the people emphasize on the leisure activities, public events, celebration, education and entertainment and also marketing strategy and business purpose such as trade fair, produce lounge and promotion. The community groups and individuals are interested by the events for their own interest and business. Event can be defined as participation of the group of people to enjoy or attend for corporate goals or individual benefits. 2. Event Planning Event planning focus on the planning process of a specific event such as conference, Christmas function, fashion show, wedding or antique fair, to achieve it targeted objective and goal. The tasks of the event planner include choosing a venue and destination for the event, creating event design and layout, researches, arranging the food and beverage, decoration, and also entertainment. Coordination with the event personal and supervising the whole project are also the part of the role of the planner. The elements of the planning process include objectives, planning, organization, implement and divestment. Event planning deals with a lot of organization and community and the event managers who can handle the pressure and work hard have to communicate with them for the effective planning. Actually event planning is time consuming and a lot of works. Event management is made up of a number of management areas including planning, leading, marketing design, control and budgeting, risk man agement, logistics, staging and evaluation (Bowdin, Allen, OToole, Harris, McDonnell, 2008).The project management is very vital to an event as it is the purpose of creating the unique event. It is not only about how to develop the event but also the impacts of the event have to be recognized for recent issue and future. The impacts of/ to event have to be take into account. Social, cultural, political, economic, and logistic and environmental issues are the part of the impacts. An event focus on a specific purpose and it has own mission, objectives, policies, and structure to achieve effectiveness and success. A special event such as wedding or other significant occasion held once in a life time and it should be perfect for the best memory. In every event a clear statement of purpose, vision and mission should be provided. The organizing and planning of the event should be control by quality management such as procedure and system. Creativity, innovative and challenge should be summed, so that the reputation and image of the event planning of the company would be positively effect and in the future, the more opportunity will come over. 2.1 Analysis of events planning The experiences of the event are very important to guests, hosts and even to the public. After developing the idea how to create the concept of the event, analysis of the event planning should be take place to understand how this event meant to the people and how to get the positive perception from them. Now the guests experiences and every single detail have to be considered because those single pieces impact the event positively or negatively. First of all operation should strongly focus on the service which is very important to the people. 3. Operational Management The main target of every event project approach to be qualified operated within the targeted budget, handling the product to the organizer or hostess and at the same time getting the customer satisfaction and getting good reputation. Once the event is start, if any mistake which can harm to the companys business, wont have a chance to redo it. The stages of event operational management include analysis stage, detailed planning, implementation and delivery and performance evaluation (Tum, Norton and Wright, 2006). The review analysis from the previous event and performance evaluation help the internal and external analysis according to set the mission statement, so that the operational manager can perform the planning process. In the context of an event involves decision making concerning with the type of event, destination, location, venue, timing and programs that will make the unique or special event. An organizational structure will be created after following the decision to proce ed, through the delivering event. The structure can be varied according to the different event life cycle progresses and supported elements to the organizational structure are staffs, workforce, culture and ethical issues. Financial management is also the part of the operation and it includes budgeting, costing, pricing, accounting and also the cash flow management. Information management- information acquisition, distribution and control, Time management- activity architecture, schedule development and schedule control. Stake holder managementt: client and constituency relations, 3.1 Space Management 3.2 Logistic Management Logistic is part of the process of event planning and it involve the detail organizing of goods, equipments and people and deliver the output to the customer which meet the customer perception and satisfaction. It can simply say the involvement of communication, flow and supply (Bowdin, Allen, OToole, Harris, McDonnell, 2008). Timing is very vital to the event as it has the specific plan and program during the event, so that the operation of the staff should be under control by the banquet manager. For example the staffs need to know when to present the food and when to clean up. The operational manager should take the responsibility to make sure that the timing of clean up and tear down should be done in timely manner. The cooperation of banquet manager and event planner should work together for effectiveness of timing. There are some points that should consider setting an event staffs schedule. For example, staff scheduling is not only assigning the staffs the work to be done, but also increasing the efficiency at lower human resource cost. The usage of staff and time slot also has to be balanced, so that the manpower will not be waste and it manages cost effective. 4. Risk Management The issues of the risk management is very priority to a event and the event manager have to be aware of nature of risk and risk factors that can affect to a specific event prior to make the many decisions. To be managed a unique event; the manager should have the knowledge and understanding of risks very first moment of event organizing. For example, when brainstorming the event design, risk is very considerable to avoid the potential negative outcome and image of the hotel or company. Actually the risk management is under process when the project is start, design and organized. Risk can be the positive or negative outcomes that may associate with people, property, finances, systems, environments and image. Risk management is the purposeful recognition of and reaction to uncertainties with the explicit objective to minimize liabilities and maximizing opportunities using a structured approach and common sense rather than avoiding the issue. The goal of risk management include the protection of assets, to minimize legal and financial liabilities, to control potential loss property manage growth and to operate responsibly. The focus area of risk management includes legal and ethical responsibilities, health and safety loss prevention, emergency preparedness and good decision making. Eg. risk Injury or death Property loss or damage Reduced revenue, capacity or capability Resource availability Increased demand Loss of goodwill or reputation The company conference is the assembly of people of the purpose of exchanging information debate or discussion, consensus or decision. The risk factors of company conference might include the people property, or propriety information that must be protected. Proper contracting with hotels and other suppliers to achieve an acceptable balance of protection and risk for both the hosting organization and the service provider. Antique fair theft o the products on display and the display equipment. Christmas function Social and life style event such as wedding reception the most common risk are related to the inexperience of the organizer, often unaware of the scope of responsibilities associated with event management and or under pressure from a client with unrealistic demands. Fashion show un lunerable to financial instability and non- professional management. The emphasis on getting consumer attention can sometimes lead to potentially dangerous activities or tactics. Nature of risk and risk actors are varied event to event and there is no risk free event. It has to be manage in order to achieve the ibjective of the event and the goal of the risk management. (Silvers, 2008) 5. Health and Safety Management Event operation staffs should be well train to perform perfectly and follow the SOP of the hotel with safety awareness. Some staffs can work very first to set up the table and room but they sometime ignore the things which can occur the hazards. For example a staff drops a glass and breaks are not clean effectively clean, it can harm to the guest or the staffs which is bad image to the event. But to prevent this, observation to the set up before the event start is very essential to create the safety hazards.

The Nature of Disease Causing Organisms :: essays research papers

The nature of DISEASE CAUSING ORGANISMS and the mechanisms employed by man to combat these organisms. What is disease? A disease is a disturbance in the normal structure or function of an organism, group of organisms or the entire body. Diseases affect different organisms in different ways, they may be temporary, they may be chronic, or they may be terminal. They may even be localized or widespread through an entire body. Many diseases have been eradicated, but, some have no cure. Humans and other vertebrates have a system of specific immunity to combat disease. Some disease causing organisms invade body tissues and then destroy them, while others setup a symbiotic relationship with the cells. Most communicable diseases are caused by microorganisms or larger parasites that are commonly called germs, most scientists call them pathogens. What kinds of disease are there, that are caused by organisms? -Infectious disease- caused by living organisms, can be passed by contact. -Viral disease- caused by viruses, difficult to treat because viruses are non-living -Fungal disease- usually cause mild infections, difficult to treat -Protozoan disease- the "tropical diseases" caused by protozoa -Worm infections- mostly in the tropics, worms inside body causing damage -Diseases can be caused by a wide variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoans, and parasitic worms. Some sferre some disease causing organisms, and how do they affect plants? Plant diseases can be caused by microorganisms, parasitic flowering plants, nematodes, viruses, or adverse environmental conditions. Bacterial diseases are marked by symptoms such as soft rot, leaf spot, wilt of leaves and roots, cankers, leaf and twig blight, and gall formation. Most plant diseases are caused by fungi. Fungal diseases have been documented on since biblical times. Fungal diseases are characterized by leaf spots, ulcerous lesions, blights, powdery mildew, cankers, root rots, wilts, and club root. Viral diseases are infectious and spread largely by insects. All economic plants suffer from one or more viral diseases. Symptoms include mosaic patterns, yellowing of foliage, vein clearing, ring spots, stunting and premature death, malformations and overgrowth. Nematodes, or roundworms, are a large cause of disease in plants. They live in and cause damage to the roots, stems, leaves, and bulbs of plants.

English-language films Essay

1. How are the pictures helpful in understanding the selection? 2. Why did the noise of the sonar speed up? 3. Why did the Titanic sink? 4. How were Frederick’s Fleet and Minnie Coutts alike? 5. If you wanted to prove the fact that over 1,500 people died out of the more than 2,300 people on board, what would you use to prove this? 6. What is the most likely reason the author wrote this selection? 7. The author uses figurative language, including comparing the ship to a â€Å"ghost from the ancient past,† saying the ship is â€Å"weeping great tears of rust,† and saying he felt as if he â€Å"had walked into a dream.† Why does he do this? 8. Tell how the author felt about seeing the Titanic. 9. Imagine that the author kept a journal. Write one or two sentences to tell what he might write after he came up from his first trip to the Titanic 1. How are the pictures helpful in understanding the selection? 2. Why did the noise of the sonar speed up? 3. Why did the Titanic sink? 4. How were Frederick’s Fleet and Minnie Coutts alike? 5. If you wanted to prove the fact that over 1,500 people died out of the more than 2,300 people on board, what would you use to prove this? 6. What is the most likely reason the author wrote this selection? 7. The author uses figurative language, including comparing the ship to a â€Å"ghost from the ancient past,† saying the ship is â€Å"weeping great tears of rust,† and saying he felt as if he â€Å"had walked into a dream.† Why does he do this? 8. Tell how the author felt about seeing the Titanic. 9. Imagine that the author kept a journal. Write one or two sentences to tell what he might write after he came up from his first trip to the Titanic

The Indigo Spell Chapter Twenty-Five

ONCE MARCUS FINALLY ACCEPTED that I wasn't going, he wished me well, though he still wore that stunned expression. He'd planned on abandoning the car at the station but handed the keys over to me as a parting gift. I watched him walk away and wondered if I'd made a mistake. Then I thought of green, green eyes and all the work Adrian and I had to do together. This was the right choice . . . I just hoped I wasn't too late. He still wasn't answering my calls. Did he hate me? Or was he holed up somewhere, depressed and drinking away his sorrows? I fished his note out of my purse, wondering what I'd find. Knowing Adrian, I'd expected some long, flowery expression of love. Instead, all I found was a long series of numbers. The numbers meant nothing to me. I studied them for a while in the car, applying a few common codes I knew. No answer appeared, though I wasn't entirely surprised. Codes and complex mathematics weren't exactly Adrian's style. But then, why had he left the note? Obviously, he assumed I could decipher it. I held the note far away from me, hoping something visual would reveal itself. It did. As I looked at the numbers again, I saw a natural break in the middle of them, in a format that looked familiar. I entered the two sets of numbers into the latitude and longitude screen of my GPS. A moment later, it turned up an address in Malibu. Southern California. Was that a coincidence? Without even thinking twice, I pulled out of the train station's parking lot and headed toward the coast. It was entirely possible I was about to waste two and a half hours (five, if you counted the round trip), but I didn't think so. There are no coincidences. It felt like the longest drive of my life. My hands tightly clenched the wheel the entire time. I was eager yet terrified. When I was only a few miles from the address, I began to see signs for the Getty Villa. For a few seconds, I was confused. The Getty Center was a very famous museum, but it was closer to Los Angeles. I didn't understand the connection or why I had ended up in Malibu. Nonetheless, I dutifully followed the directions and ended up in the Villa's guest parking lot. When I reached the entrance, I received my answers. The Villa was a sister museum to the Getty Center, one that specialized in ancient Greek and Roman art. In fact, a good part of the Getty Villa was set up like some ancient temple, complete with pillars surrounding courtyards filled with gardens, fountains, and statues. Admission was free but required a reservation. Things were slow today, and I quickly rectified the problem by making an online reservation on my phone. When I stepped inside, I nearly forgot why I was there – but only for a heartbeat. The museum was a dream come true for a lover of classics like me. Room after room focusing on the ancient world. Jewelry statues, clothes . . . it was as if I'd entered a time machine. The scholar in me longed to study and read about each exhibit in detail. The rest of me, with a racing heart and barely contained excitement, only briefly stopped in each room, just long enough to search and move on. After looking in almost all the interior areas, I stepped into the outer peristyle. My breath caught. It was a huge outdoor garden built around a pool that had to be at least two hundred feet long. Statues and fountains dotted the pool's surface, and the whole space was surrounded in gorgeously manicured trees and other plants. The sun, warm despite the December day, shone down on everything, and the air hummed with birdsong, splashing water, and soft conversation. Tourists milled around, stopping to admire the sights or take pictures. None of them mattered, though – not when I finally found the person I was looking for. He sat at the opposite end of the garden from where I'd entered, on the pool's far edge. His back was to me, but I would have known him anywhere. I approached with trepidation, still churning with that odd mix of fear and eagerness. The closer I got, the more detailed his features became. The tall, lean body. The chestnut glints that the sun brought out in his dark hair. When I finally reached the pool's end, I came to a stop just behind him, not daring to go farther. â€Å"Sage,† he said, without looking up. â€Å"Figured you'd be south of the border by now.† â€Å"No, you didn't,† I said. â€Å"You never would've given me the note or come all the way out here. You knew I wouldn't leave.† He looked up at me at last, squinting in the bright sun. â€Å"I was pretty sure you wouldn't leave. I hoped you wouldn't leave. Jill and I debated it forever. What'd you think of my sweet use of latitude and longitude? Pretty brilliant, huh?† â€Å"Genius,† I said, trying to hold back my smile. Some of my fear faded. We were back in familiar, easy territory again. Just Adrian and me. â€Å"You took a risk I'd know what those numbers meant. You could've been sitting out here all day.† â€Å"Nah.† Adrian stood up and took a step toward me. â€Å"You're a smart girl. I knew you'd figure it out.† â€Å"Not that smart.† The closer he came, the more my heart began to race again. â€Å"It took me a long time to figure some things out.† I gestured around us. â€Å"And how is it possible that you knew this place existed, but I didn't?† His fingertips traced the edge of my cheek, and suddenly, the warmth of the sunshine felt like nothing compared to the heat of that touch. â€Å"It was easy,† he said, holding me in his gaze. â€Å"I had to start my search somewhere, so I typed ‘ancient Rome' and ‘California' into my phone. This was like the first hit.† â€Å"What search?† I asked. He smiled. â€Å"The search for some place more romantic than Pies and Stuff.† Adrian tipped my face up toward his and kissed me. Like always, the world around me stopped moving. No, the world became Adrian, only Adrian. Kissing him was as mind-blowing as ever, full of that same passion and need I had never believed I'd feel. But today, there was even more to it. I no longer had any doubt about whether this was wrong or right. It was a culmination of a long journey . . . or maybe the beginning of one. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. I didn't care that we were out in public. I didn't care that he was Moroi. All that mattered was that he was Adrian, my Adrian. My match. My partner in crime, in the long battle I'd just signed on for to right the wrongs in the Alchemist and Moroi worlds. Maybe Marcus was right that I'd also signed myself up for disaster, but I didn't care. In that moment, it seemed that as long as Adrian and I were together, there was no challenge too great for us. I don't know how long we stood there kissing. Like I said, the world around me was gone. Time had stopped. I was awash in the feel of Adrian's body against mine, in his scent, and in the taste of his lips. That was all that mattered right now, and I found myself thinking of our unfinished business in the dream. When we finally broke the kiss – much too soon, as far as I was concerned – we still stayed locked in an embrace. The sound of giggling caused me to glance to the side, where two small children were laughing and pointing at us. Seeing me watching them, they scurried away. I turned back to Adrian, wanting to melt away with happiness as I looked up into his eyes. â€Å"This is a lot better than loving from afar,† I told him. He brushed some hair from my face and gazed into my eyes. â€Å"What changed your mind? I mean, I knew you'd never be able to stay away from me, but I won't lie . . . you had me scared there for a little while.† I leaned against his chest. â€Å"It was a combination of things, really. Some surprisingly good advice from Jill. One of Wolfe's charming anecdotes – I have to tell you about his kitchen, by the way. Plus, I kept thinking about when we were on the table.† Adrian shifted just enough so that we could look at each other again. It was one of those rare moments where he was completely floored. â€Å"Let me get this straight. The future of our relationship hinged on advice from a fifteen-year-old girl, a probably untrue story from a one-eyed Chihuahua trainer, and me unromantically – yet skillfully – kissing you on top of silverware and china?† â€Å"Yup,† I said after a few moments of thought. â€Å"That's all it took, huh? And here I thought winning you over was going to be hard.† He grew serious again and pressed a light kiss to my forehead. â€Å"What happens now?† â€Å"Now we check out this awesome museum you've lured me to. You're going to love Etruscan art.† That roguish smile I adored returned. â€Å"I'm sure I will. But what about the future? What are we going to do about us – about this?† I caught hold of his hands, still keeping him close. â€Å"Since when are you worried about consequences or the future?† â€Å"Me? Never.† He considered. â€Å"Well, that is, as long as you're with me, I'm not worried. But I know you like to worry about those kinds of things.† â€Å"I wouldn't say I like' to,† I corrected. A soft breeze ruffled his hair, and I resisted the urge to brush it back into place. If I did, I was pretty sure we'd start kissing again, and I supposed I should first be responsible and answer his questions. â€Å"Are we going to run off to the Keepers?† he suggested. â€Å"Of course not,† I scoffed. â€Å"That'd be cowardly and immature. And you'd never survive without hair gel – though you might like their moonshine.† â€Å"Then what are we going to do?† â€Å"We're going to keep all of this secret.† He chuckled. â€Å"That's not cowardly?† â€Å"It's exciting and daring,† I said. â€Å"Manly and brave, even. I figured you'd be into that.† â€Å"Sage.† He laughed. â€Å"I'm into anything, so long as you're with me. But is it going to be enough? I'm not completely oblivious to consequences, you know. I get how dangerous this is for you, especially if you keep questioning the Alchemists. And I also know you're still worried about Jill watching us.† Right. Jill. Jill, who was probably witnessing all of this right now, whether she wanted to or not. Was she happy for his happiness? Was she filled with the joy of our love? Or was this excruciatingly uncomfortable for her? â€Å"The three of us will find a way to cope,† I said at last. I couldn't think much more about it right now or I probably would start freaking out. â€Å"And as for the Alchemists . . . we'll just have to be careful. They don't follow me everywhere, and like you said, I'm with you half the time anyway.† I just hoped that was enough. It had to be. And then the kissing started again. There was no avoiding it, not when we were together like this, far away from the real world of our normal lives. The setting was too perfect. He was too perfect, despite being one of the most imperfect people I knew. And honestly, we'd wasted far too much time with doubts and games. The one thing you learn from constantly having your life in danger is that you'd better not waste it. Even Marcus had admitted that in the arcade. Adrian and I spent the rest of the day at the Villa, most of it kissing in the gardens, though I did convince him to check out some of the artifacts inside. Maybe I was in love, but I was still me, after all. When things finally closed down for the evening, we had dinner at a beachside fondue restaurant and lingered there for a long time afterward, keeping close to each other and watching the waxing moon shine on the ocean. I was caught up in watching the crashing waves when I felt Adrian's lips brush my cheek. â€Å"Whatever happened to the dragon?† I mustered my primmest tone. â€Å"He has a name, you know.† Adrian pulled back and gave me a curious look. â€Å"I didn't know, actually. What'd you decide on?† â€Å"Hopper.† When Adrian laughed, I added, â€Å"Best rabbit ever. He'd be proud to know his name is being passed on.† â€Å"Yes, I'm sure he would. Did you name the Mustang too?† â€Å"I think you mean the Ivashkinator.† He stared at me in wonder. â€Å"I told you I loved you, right?† â€Å"Yes,† I assured him. â€Å"Many times.† â€Å"Good.† Adrian pulled me closer. â€Å"Just making sure, Miss ‘I'm a Quick Study'† I groaned. â€Å"I'm never going to live that down, am I?† â€Å"Live it down? Hell, I'm going to hold you to it.† I suspected Marcus's car was stolen, so we left it in Malibu. Adrian drove me back to the dorm and kissed me goodbye, promising to call me first thing in the morning. It was hard to let him go, even though I knew I was being silly to think I couldn't go without him for twelve hours. I walked into my dorm like I was dancing on air, my lips still burning from his kisses. It was crazy, I knew, attempting to have a relationship with him. Scratch that. It was going to be perilous – enough so that some of my euphoria dimmed as that realization hit me. I'd talked a good game with him, trying to ease his fears, but I knew the truth. Trying to figure out secrets within the Alchemists was going to be difficult enough, and my tattoo still wasn't secure. What I had going on with Adrian had raised the stakes exponentially, but that was one of those risks I gladly accepted. â€Å"Miss Melrose.† Mrs. Weathers's cool voice snapped me back to reality with a jolt. I came to a halt in the middle of the dorm's lobby and looked over at her. She stood up from her desk and strolled over. â€Å"Yes, ma'am?† â€Å"It's midnight.† I looked at a clock, surprised to see she was right. â€Å"Yes, ma'am.† â€Å"Even though winter break is here, you're still registered in the dorm until tomorrow, which means you're still subject to the rules. It's after curfew.† The only thing I could manage was stating the obvious. â€Å"Yes, it is, ma'am.† Mrs. Weathers waited, as though she were hoping I'd say more. â€Å"Were you . . . doing another assignment for Ms. Terwilliger?† There was an almost comically desperate look on her face. â€Å"I didn't receive notification, but surely she can retroactively fix things.† I realized then that Mrs. Weathers didn't want me to be in trouble. She was hoping I had some reason for breaking the rules, some reason that I could avoid punishment. I knew I could've lied and said I'd been helping Ms. Terwilliger. I knew Ms. Terwilliger would even back me up. But I couldn't do it. It seemed wrong to taint my day with Adrian with a lie. And really, I had broken the rules. â€Å"No,† I told Mrs. Weathers. â€Å"I wasn't with her. I was just . . . out.† Mrs. Weathers waited a few moments more and then bit her lip with resignation. â€Å"Very well then. You know the rules. You'll have to serve a detention – once classes start again.† I nodded solemnly. â€Å"Yes, ma'am. I understand.† She looked as though she was still hoping I'd correct the situation. I had nothing to offer her and turned to walk away. â€Å"Oh, I nearly forgot!† she called. â€Å"I was too astonished by this . . . transgression.† She turned back into the efficient dorm matron I knew. â€Å"Please let me know if your cousin will be staying with you in your room or if she needs her own.† I blinked in confusion. â€Å"Why would Angeline be staying with me?† â€Å"Not her. Your other cousin.† I started to say I didn't have another cousin, but some warning voice inside me told me to neither deny nor confirm her words. I had no idea what was going on, but all my alarms were saying that something was definitely about to happen. Whatever it was, I needed to keep my options open. â€Å"She had all the appropriate paperwork,† explained Mrs. Weathers. â€Å"So I just let her into your room since it's only for the night.† I swallowed. â€Å"I see. Can I, um, let you know after break?† â€Å"Certainly.† After a moment's hesitation, she added, â€Å"And we'll discuss your detention then too.† â€Å"Yes, ma'am,† I said. I went upstairs, a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. Who was waiting in my room? Who in the world was part of my imaginary family now? As it turned out, it was someone from my real family. When I unlocked the door, I found Zoe sitting on my bed. Her face lit up when she saw me, and she sprang forward to grab me in a fierce embrace. â€Å"Sydney!† she exclaimed. â€Å"I was so worried you weren't coming back tonight.† â€Å"Of course I was,† I said stiffly. I was so shocked that I could barely return her hug. â€Å"What are you doing here?† She pulled back and looked up at me with a big grin. There was no anger in her, not even the wariness she'd had in St. Louis. She was full of joy, truly happy to see me. I didn't know why she was here, but hope began to blossom within me that we'd finally get our reconciliation. Until she spoke. â€Å"They gave me a field position! I'm assigned here.† She turned her face, showing me a golden lily tattoo on her cheek. My heart nearly stopped. â€Å"I'm officially an Alchemist now. Well, a junior one. I've got a lot to learn, so they thought it'd be best if I was with you.† â€Å"I see,† I said. The room was spinning. Zoe. Zoe was here – and she was an Alchemist, one who would be staying with me. Her exuberant expression became a little perplexed. â€Å"And I guess you were telling Stanton something about needing Alchemist backup? That it was really hard being around so many Moroi by yourself?† I tried to smile but couldn't. â€Å"Something like that.† I'd urged Stanton to take action, and she had. It just wasn't the kind I'd expected. Zoe's enthusiasm returned. â€Å"Well, you aren't alone now. I'm here for you, not that you probably even need me. You don't ever get into any trouble.† No, I just had a romance going on with a vampire, was on the verge of joining a coven, and was investigating secrets no one wanted me to know about. No trouble at all. How in the world was I going to hide all that from her? Zoe hugged me again. â€Å"Oh, Sydney! This is going to be great,† she exclaimed. â€Å"We're going to be together all the time!†

Characterisation of Holden Caulfield in the Catcher Essays

Characterisation of Holden Caulfield in the Catcher Essays Characterisation of Holden Caulfield in the Catcher Paper Characterisation of Holden Caulfield in the Catcher Paper Slinger uses effective characterization to explore how Holder finds growing up painful and difficult. Holder is frightened of maturing because he has convinced himself that the adult world is corrupt, and that all the adults are phony, hypocritical and false. He has made this generalization to detach himself from adults, to resist entry to the society that they belong to. Holders actions contradict what he believes as he is a compulsive liar; l have this tiny tumor on the brain. Holder is not shy to lie to people around him. He lies to Mrs. Morrow the woman he meets on the rain after leaving school -because he does not like interacting with new people or opening up to them, in case they are phony. Holder cannot reach full maturity because he ignores advice of his elders, like Mrs. Morrow, as he does not want guidance in his Journey to adulthood he does not want to become what society wants him to become, so he remains a child. Holders own physique is telling him to change and to mature into adulthood despite what he believes, Im six-foot-etc:and- a-half and I have grey hair. His body appears to be maturing, but his mind lacks this placement and remains child-like. Slinger uses this contrast of his emotions with his physical appearance to imply that his body is telling him to grow up, but his mind is resisting, in order to stay innocent and pure for as long as possible. Slinger even uses his name to show his youthfulness , Holder Coalfield can be broken up Into Hold-on as if he is not ready to grow up, and that it is too difficult for him to handle. And Call is apart of the amnion, which protects the babys head during birth, this relates to Holder as he Is metaphorically protected by this and does not mature as a result.

Position paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Position paper - Essay Example According to the Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) and National Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Supportive Care (Great Britain) (2006), the venues with the highest probability of violence in hospitals include the emergency departments, facilities of psychiatry, home offices, private outpatient offices, forensic settings, mental health community, outpatients clinics, and general hospitals. Patients’ violence to the nurses takes many forms. According to Conroy and Murrie, (2007), they include physical harassment, threats, stalking, frivolous lawsuits, scurrilous and false accusations, complaints to licensure medical boards, vandalism, excessive or abusive letters and phone calls, obscene or threatening mails, loitering, trespassing, home visits and drive-by, and display of knowing of the personal life of the nurse. Many cases are being reported on violent crimes such as rape, assaults and homicides, especially in the emergency departments and the psychiatry facilitie s with nurses as the main targets (Tardiff, 1999). Statistical research Patients’ violence against nurses has been a thorny issue in the health sector. Eichelman and Hartwig (1995) give an overview of the issue when they document the survey done by the American Nurses Association. From the survey, the numbers of registered nurses who have reported cases of assault by the patients were 34%. This represented a rise in assault from 25 % in the year 2001. Results that are more shocking indicate that from the government statistics, eight nurses were reported killed in the work place from the year 2003 to the year 2009. In addition to that, 2050 more incidences were reported by the nurses and involved violent assault and harassment (Eichelman & Hartwig, 1995). Similarly, the report of Bureau of Labor Statistics of 2006 indicates that 60% of the assaults in work place took place in the healthcare, and most of them were because of the patient’s violence towards nurses (Crichto n, 1995). Moreover, the healthcare support occupations had a 20.4% injury rate due to assaults while healthcare practitioners had a 6.1% rate. These are just the results from the reported cases, and this figure could be larger if underreporting from the nurses, probably due to the perception that assaults forms part of work in the nursing profession, could be minimized (Babich, 1981). My argument from these statistics is that nurses and healthcare practitioners in the health profession face an acute problem which is underrated but affects their performance in their bid to deliver services to the patients. Richter and Whittington (2006) further validate the issue of the patient violence when they point out that nurses in the hospital emergency departments experience the highest rate of physical assault. Furthermore, Richter and Whittington (2006) observe that 28% of nurses working in the emergency departments reported that they have been victims of physical assault for the past one y ear. Violence in Emergency Departments In the hospital set up, patient violence to the nurses is a great issue that needs to be discussed soberly. Eichelman and Hartwig (1995) point out that the studies conducted by many bodies indicate that the nurses and other healthcare professional assigned in the emergency departments experience the highest level of violence from patients. This is because evaluation and treatment of the violent high-risk patients are initially

Microeconomics Principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Microeconomics Principles - Essay Example Moreover, this paper will present real events in order to present the ideas in a way that is easy to understand. Gains from trade In a decision to get a haircut, Gains from trade can be understood through determination of the decision made by a consumer depending on the other services available. Therefore, a decision to have a haircut can result to consumers having their lives than they would if there was no trade. In this case, there is need to explore the simple example concerning a situation involving two service that are traded (Broadstock, 3). For instance, considering a situation where there are two service providers such as a barber and a tailor that are located in different location. Gain from trade can be effectively illustrated in a situation when each service provider can only offer one service only. In this case, the barber can only offer haircutting services, while the tailor can only offer dressmaking services. The gains from trade occur in a situation where the barber realizes that he or she needs some clothes and that would call for services from the tailor (Eicher, Mutti and Turnovsky, 1). On the other hand, the tailor can realize he needs a haircut and this would call for services from a barber. In fact, this is in a situation where the barber and tailor are able to gain from trading with each other (Broadstock, 4). On the other hand, there are situation where each of these service providers can offer both services; in this case, the tailor and barber have the skills to of hair cutting and dressmaking. Approaching this matter with another perspective, these service providers can collaborate and work together, thereby consuming similar amount of services without occurrence of trade. Opportunity cost This can be discussed in reflecting on same example used in the previous discussion. In this case, the barber and tailor had absolute advantage in the process of offering haircutting and dressmaking services to customers. However, the absolute advan tage forms a basis of understanding the opportunity cost, whereby this can assist in determining occurrence of the trade. Therefore, opportunity cost is regarded as the cost of forgoing a particular service or good in order to obtain something else (Broadstock, 6). For instance, the when a barber has the ability to offer dressmaking services, he can decide to forgo this making his own dress at a lower opportunity cost he can decide to seek services from a tailor. In fact, the concept of opportunity cost is significant in determination of the amount of benefits derived from trade existing between two service providers. In this case, this is an indication that situation where two service providers are facing similar opportunity cost, there are increased chances of gains from trade occurring. Opportunity costs increases in situations where the services or goods involved increases in terms of production (Merrewijk, 30). This is presented through a PPF (production possibility frontier), where an increase in the opportunity cost leads to bowing out of the PPF, thereby forming a circle shape. In situation where the opportunity cost are constant despite the services or goods produced, the PPF remains constant, thereby taking a straight line that is triangular. Decreasing opportunity cost is presented in a PPF by a subsequent decrease in the production of goods or services; in fact, this is depicted as PPF takes a bowed shape that resembles a crescent moon (Merrewijk, 30). Price elasticity of demand Understanding of price elasticity of demand can assist in evaluating the responsiveness of demand in terms of changes in prices for a given commodity, however, it is indispensable to recognize that in situation where

Movie assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Movie assignment - Essay Example Mendez seeks for an alternative, and he came up with an idea. Together with his supervisor, they contact a Hollywood make-up artist. They jointly set up a fake film studio, make their plans public, and they fruitfully establish the deception of developing a science fantasy called ‘Argo’. Posing as a producer for Argo, Mendez manages to enter Iraq and link up with the six escapees. He gives them Canadian passports and phony identities to enable them get past the airport security. Through a series of events and intrigues, Mendez manages to save the six hostages. I choose to analyze Tony Mendez. Tony Mendez-The values that I choose to explore about Tony Mendez include; Values, Commitment, Goals and Potentiality. Goals; Goals are the elements in a movie that give meaning to the general story that unfold momentarily in scene. In every movie plot, all main characters have at least one goal in the story that is long-term, and one minor goal or even more in every scene. The long term goal usually sets up the frontward movement of the story. This is the front story which is referred to as the Dramatic plot action. Short term goals on the other hand are objectives, actions or tasks a character needs to achieve within a speculated period of time so as to achieve his goals which are long-term. Incase the long-term identify the Dramatic Action Plot, and then the short-term goals will help identify the character development plot. My take on Tony Mendez’s Goals are as follows; one of the goals that Mendez had was to prove right his disapprovals of the US State Department’s options for saving the hostages from Iran. He had to help the hostages pretend that they knew everything about Canada; otherwise they would have been caught and killed. Another short-term goal that Mendez had, was to set up a fake film studio, manage to make public their plans, and productively set up the deception of developing Argo. While in Iran, he had a goal of providing the six hostages with Canadian passports and phony identities. That was to assist him achieve his minor goal which was to organize the hostages and help them get through the tight airport security. The long-term goal of Tony Mendez is to rescue the hostages from Iran successfully and safely. This long-term goal clearly sets up the frontward movement of the movie. These goals that Mendez had were meant to enable him save the hostages from their captivity in Iran without any casualties. All the short-term goals mentioned above were to make the rescue operation successful. If any of those short-term goals was not well handled, then chances of them not having a successful mission would be close to zero. The function of the long-term goal that Mendez had was to set the motion of the movie in a fluent manner from the first stage to the last stage. These goals have been further changed over the movie’s course by the intrigues that momentarily take place in the movie. The long-term goal was cemented by the fact that security at the airport was tight, and just as they were departing the airport, the security tried in vain to stop them. These goals are brilliant at creating and sustaining suspense all through the movie. Values; These are valuable and durable ideas or beliefs shared by a character of a movie about what is bad or good and undesirable and desirable. These are the regards that a character is held to deserve. They are the importance

Oil ; gas Essay Example for Free

Oil ; gas Essay The economy is affected by many factors that determine if it is strong or weak. These factors have to do with buyers consuming goods and services and at what rate they do this. Do the goods and services that are consumed by people created wealth, jobs and a better overall economy for a country. Throughout history some economies have evolved faster and stronger than others. Policies that the government places on industry, technology and the environment can all affect the prosperity of an economy. Of the factors that affect economic growth the industry of Oil and gas is one that holds a stronghold in the worlds and Americas economy today. When evaluating the economic growth factor of economy and specifically oil and gas on must consider the following questions:  ¨ What relationship does the factor have with the whole economy?  ¨ How does this factor affect economic growth  ¨ Is the factor a cause or effect of economic growth?  ¨ what would the economy be like if there were significant problems with this factor?  ¨ What relation does a central bank have to this factor? I will answer each of these questions in respect to how economy is affected by oil and gas. The economy in the United States today is greatly affected by oil and gas. When there are large reserves and an increase of active drills in respect to oil, the economy seems to receive a boost. This is because prices for such things like gas and oil fall and people are able to consume more gas at a lower price. There is more supply and prices fall, therefore people save money on gas and can consume other items in the economy. People working in these industries have more job openings and more jobs filled, therefore creating a lower unemployment rate and a higher national per capita income. The need for substitutes are not there so, consumers will consume oil and gas at a growing rate. Since, people use oil and gas for so many different things like heating there homes, driving their cars, and a variety of other sources, the overall GNP for the consumer will rise. Economic growth is affected through significant fluctuations in inflation of oil and gas. If you look throughout history when there have been fluctuations in gas and oil prices you have vast fluctuations in the economy of our country. The instability of this factor has cause government regulation to come into play in times of crisis. For example during the mid-seventies we had the oil and  gas shortage due to the Middle East cutting off supply to Importers of their oil. By doing this, they caused a shortage in a lot of countries creating rising oil prices and high demand. Consumers could not rely on the oil prices to be stable, therefore they consumed less of other products due to the inflation of gas prices and more of their dollar began to be spent on gas. Americans particularly started to come up with more efficient means of using and consuming gas over the past 25 years. Oil and gas is a resource that can be used up if not conserved properly. That is why OPEC was formed, as well as organizations such as NAFTA to help regulate trade of these commodities and bring organization to a disorganized status. In addition, governments like the United States impose taxes on gas to regulated the prices in order to ward off against supplies of oil affecting the nations economy. This only works to an extent, in the early to mid-eighties one states economy lived and died by the supply of oil. That state was Texas. When Texass oil rigs began to dry up, their economy went into a recession. Their reliance on the oil supply as their main revenue producer caused a lot of people to lose their jobs and demand and consumption for other products fell as well. This caused a spiraling effect which caused people from all industries to lose their jobs. Texass economy suffered and so did parts of the American economy with High inflation and high debt which caused the economy to suffer. Increased regulation and diversification of a countrys resources can stop this from being the case. Countries representing OPEC all live and die by the constant production of oil. While this factor is used to stimulate their countries economic growth, it should be used to stimulate the building of a countrys infrastructure. Oil-rich countries should use the positive affect oil has had on their countries to build strong governments and consumer demand for other goods. This powerful infrastructure that could be built will give the economy stability and allow for a countrys GNP to grow in a slow, steady, and positive way. The building of a strong middle-class will allow for countrys to prosper for many years to come. Instead what has happened is that economies of these countries are in a state of flux. What I mean by this is that their economies are very unpredictable and unstable and their reliance on oil has made the disparity between the rich and the poor a gap that becomes too large to overcome. One prime example of this is Brazil, Brazil has large  reserves of oil in a very large country. Brazil is a developing nation and is very unstable when it comes to central governments. In the 70s and 80s Brazil made large amounts of oil from its reserves. Instead of investing the money made (from exporting oil) into their countries future, the leaders of that country used the money to make themselves rich and left the country in political and economic disarray. The middle class of Brazil became almost non-existent and their seem to be but two classes in that country. Those classes were the extremely rich and the extremely poor. The lack of infrastructure and consumer confidence in the economy due to the mishandling of oil profits lead to many political assassinations and increased crime rates throughout the country. It has taken and will continue to take Brazil years and years to recover from these economic crisiss , which all could have been avoided had Brazils government invested in its future. It is definitely true that an economy of a country can be vastly affected by the demand, consumption, and supply of oil. The affect that good supplies of oil has on a countrys economy is one that can only be measured in the sense that it is inevitable that they will be affected. As long as we drive cars that are fueled by gas and we use heat in the winter time, oil will always be a strong factor in determining the growth of a countries economy. In the United States, we have the strong infrastructure to adapt to problems that the instability of both the supply and demand of oil will cause. Countries need to look within themselves for managed growth in order to steady their economies if oil is what sparks their economy. A strong central bank and government will allow for funds to be invested in supporting the economy, the oil business, and consumerism. Once the infrastructure is set the shear reliance on oil will not be a factor, because the countrys economy will be able to handle the affect. When the day comes that oil wells ran dry and substitutes are needed the countries that will survive will be the ones that have braced themselves for the effect that this will have on their economy. Then these countries will adapt and overcome. Oil and gas should be used as helper of a countrys economy and not the passion by which it is run. The production of great income for a country and a higher GNP that oil production is something that should be able to benefit them for many years to come. If you look at the United States as a model you will see a country that handles oil with precision. When the oil industry is in a downturn, the  government can step in and regulate taxes and stimulate investment by having the central bank pump in funds that would not otherwise be used. When the oil industry is doing fine, the government can sit back and reap the prosperity of increases in employment and a rise in demand for oil. The prices will be lower for gas and oil, which means consumption will be up and the economy will be up too. Countries around the world can learn how to handle oil to the extent that it creates an agenda that the benefits far outweigh the costs. We know that oil and gas affects the economy and that it easily regulated by strong central government and bank. The infrastructure must be built up to manage growth. The leaders of the country should be committed to the development of the oil industry. Finally the consumers should be aware of how their role in the consumption of oil will affect the economy as a whole. When all parties are aware and committed to the prosperity of their country and to the industry then the consumption, supply, demand, profits, losses, and investment towards oil will be a mutually beneficial one for the country and its people.

The effect of location decision on a business success

The effect of location decision on a business success 2.1 Introduction Todays competitive market demands companies to deliver their products and services as effectively and efficiently as possible. The distribution strategy is the key to the success. One of the key components of a distribution network is warehouse location. Location decision is considered as a long-term business strategic decision. The correct location decision can resulted in significant improvement in business processes and performance, and bring competitive advantages (i.e. cost saving, service quality, etc.) over its competitors. On the other hand, if a poor location decision was made, it could equally cost the company time, money and opportunity. The location decisions environment is dynamic and normally described as a multi-criteria decision. Furthermore, the globalisation and the rapid evolution of information technology have changed the characteristics of location problems. There are two major trends in facility location selection accordingly to Yang and Lee (1997). First, there has been an increased interest to gain potential competitive edge in the global marketplace. Second, small to medium-sizes communities has become more attractive to many businesses as new facility location. These two trends are influenced by the more advanced communication technology, better transportation infrastructure system, liberalised trade between countries, and so on. This allows company to select their facilities where they think has the most advantages (i.e. in land cost, labour cost, skilled labour availability, etc.). This chapter will start by identifying why a company needs to improve its logistics system, then defining the linkage between the organisations strategy and the logistics strategy, followed by the general roles of warehouse in distribution strategy. Then it will present the influencing location factors companies normally consider when they make location decisions. And finally in the latter section of this chapter, it will present literature reviews of decision aid techniques and model used in location decisions. 2.2 Logistics system and the changing business environment Why do we need to change our logistics operations and strategy? The main reason why we need to change is because the environment we live in is constantly and rapidly changing. In order to survive in this unforgiving environment businesses are forced need to change. There are many factors given by Rushton, et al. (2006) including increasing customer demand, reducing product life cycle, changing technologies, increasing pressures from competitors, and so on. The pressures for change given by Rushton, et al. (2006) are illustrated by the figure 1. Figure 1 Pressure influencing logistics systems 2.3 Logistics strategy Logistics strategy should aim to establish the most appropriate blend of storage and transport at a given customer service level. Efficient logistics and distribution strategies should reduce the total logistics costs and must take into account the interactions of various the various replenishment activities in the distribution chain (Rushton, et al., 2006; Teo Shu, 2004). Chopra and Meindl (2004) suggest there are four drivers to a successful distribution system: (1) Facilities location, capacity, operations methodology, and warehousing methodology; (2) Inventory cycle inventory, safety inventory, seasonal inventory, and sourcing; (3) Transportation mode of transportation, route and network design, and in-house or outsource decision; and (4) Information push or pull, coordination and information sharing, forecasting and aggregate planning, and enabling technologies. Bowersox and Closs (1996) suggest similar points but they also add another driver which is network design. They also claim that classical economics often neglected the importance of facility location and overall network design. Similarly but in more details, Alling and Tyndall (1994) identify ten principles that make logistics operations successful. They are: (1) to link logistics to corporate strategy; (2) to organise logistics comprehensively; (3) to use the power of information tech nology; (4) to emphasize human resources recognising the importance of quality human resources; (5) to form strategic alliances; (6) to focus on financial performance; (7) to target optimum service levels; (8) to manage the details pay attention to details as it can be significant savings; (9) to leveraging logistics volume through consolidating shipment volumes, inventories and the like; and (10) to measure and react to performance. Furthermore, when considering a distribution strategy, warehousing strategy is an important part and typically the decision makers or logistics planners has to answer these questions (1) should warehousing facilities be owned, leased or rented, (2) what is the optimal size and number of warehouses, (3) what are the optimal locations for warehouses, (4) what product line should be stocked at each warehouse location, and what market areas should be serviced from each warehouse location. (Stock Lambert, 2001; Bowersox Closs, 1996; Simchi-Levi, et al., 2003; Bowersox Closs, 1996; Geoffrion Powers, 1995; Bender, 1994; Stock Lambert, 2001; Greasley, 2009) Matching logistics strategy to business strategy The important key to achieving the strategic fit is the ability of the company to find a balance between responsiveness and efficiency that best matches the business strategy. Whatever strategies chose to implement by the company, there will be impacts. And the impact of the selected logistics and distribution strategy has to be assessed against the business strategy. Often these may involve undertaking some qualitative analysis where it is impossible to derive good quantitative measures. The main areas of where this will impact, they are (Rushton, et al., 2006): a) Capital costs this is the costs of new facilities, new equipments, and so on. In certain situations capital constraints can exclude otherwise attractive options; b) Operating costs the minimum operating cost is often the main criterion for selection between options. In some cases increased operating costs can be accepted in the light of future flexibility; c) Customer service Although options should have been developed against customer service targets, the selected short list must be examined for the customer service level achieved. The balance of the mix might have changed in an effort to reduce costs. Stock held close to the customer might need to be increased to improve service reliability. 2.5 Obstacles to achieving strategic Fit As many as there are many factors and influences to achieving the strategic fit in the supply chain, there are also many obstacles to achieving the same goal as Chopra and Meindl (2004) and few other writers mention. Few examples of the obstacles to strategic fit are: a) the variety of products the increasing variety of products tends to raise uncertainty and uncertainty tends to raise costs and reduce responsiveness within the system; b) the product lifecycles the decreasing product lifecycles also tends to raise uncertainty and reduce the window of opportunity to achieving strategic fit; c) the increasingly demanding customer customers demand for faster fulfilment, better quality, and better value for money for the product they buy, companies must be able to provide these just to maintain their businesses; d) the fragmentation of supply chain ownership less vertically integrated structure can result in difficult coordination to achieving strategic fit; e) the effect of globaliz ation difficulties raised by the invasion of foreign players. It is noticed that these factors are the same factors which drives the need to improve logistics system as determined in section 2.2. 2.6 The logistics and distribution planning framework Many authors agree on the first and the most important step, when planning the logistics and distribution, which is to identify the objective and strategies of the organization. Then it follows by the second step which is to gain a detailed understanding of the present position of the system. The rests of the procedures are identifying the options, analysing the options, comparing and evaluating the results, and developing a planning and implementation. A diagram illustrating the approach to distribution planning by Rushton, et al. (2006) is shown in the figure 3 below. Figure 2: An approach to logistics and distribution planning (Rushton, et al., 2006) 2.7 Optimal number of warehouses The optimal number of warehouses can be found by using a costing model, a model which takes into account of variable costs, particularly the transport and operating costs. Few facilities give low cost for inward transport, but high cost for outward transport, as they are, on average, further away from customers. On the other hand, more number of facilities can give higher cost for inward transport, but the cost for outward transport is lower, as they are, on average, closer to customers. Another cost that varies with the number of facility is the operating costs. Higher number of facilities means the company has to bear more expensive cost to operating these facilities. Operating costs also vary with facility size. Generally, larger facilities give the economies of scale; however, this is not always the case. Higher cost from operating larger facilities may come from the cost of supervision, communication, inefficiency and so on (Attwood Attwood, 1992; Bowersox Closs, 1996; Waters, 2003; Chopra Meindl, 2004; Rushton, et al., 2006). Figure 4 graphically illustrates the relationships between number of facilities and costs incurred. Figure 3 Relationship between costs and numbers of facilities. The need to hold inventories Prior to planning and designing logistics and distribution system, it is very important to be aware of the reason why a company need to hold stock. The most common objective of a supply chain is to efficiently balancing demand and supply. As most people understand that it is impossible to precisely synchronise or balance the requirements of demand with the fluctuations of supply. Therefore stocks are there to provide buffer between supply and demand. Rushton, et al. (2006) reviews the important reasons to stock, as follows: a) to keep down production costs keeping production to run as long as possible, as the costs of setting up machine is often expensive; b) to accommodate variation in demand to avoid stock-outs by holding some level of safety stock; c) to take account of variable supply (lead) times to cover any delays of supplies from producers and suppliers; d) to reduce buying costs often there are administrative cost of placing an order, holding additional inventory can red uce these costs; e) to take advantage of quantity discounts often goods are offered at a cheaper cost per unit if they are ordered in large quantity; f) to account for seasonal fluctuations certain products are popular in a certain time of the year, retailer normally pile-up inventory during low demand season to cater the demand in high season; g) to allow for price fluctuations/speculation the price of certain products, steel for instance, fluctuate due to variety of reasons. Some companies buy in large quantity to cater this; h) to help the production and distribution operations run more smoothly stock is held to decouple two different activities; i) to provide customers with immediate service stocks enables companies to provide goods and service as soon as they are required to maximise the sales opportunity. This is essential in highly competitive markets; j) to minimise production delays caused by lack of spare parts Breakdowns of machineries required to produce goods or s ervices can be very costly to business. Having spare parts to fix the machineries as soon as it breakdowns is an advantage; k) to facilitate the production process by providing semi-finished stocks between different processes (Work-in-Progress). 2.9 Roles of warehouse Why businesses need warehouse? There are many reasons why business needs warehouses. Warehouse has many roles apart from providing storage and supplying the materials or finished goods to producers or retailers as reviewed in the previous section. In fact warehouse has many other roles and functionalities which can be classified on the basis of economics and service accordingly to Bowersox and Closs (1996). On the basis of economics, a warehouse is economically justified when the total logistical costs are reduced by providing the facility. On the basis of service, a warehouse is justified when the overall logistical system can provide a better service, in terms of time and place capability. Here are some common roles of a warehouse (Bowersox Closs, 1996; Higginson Bookbinder, 2005; Rushton, et al., 2006): Role as a make-bulk/break-bulk consolidation centre making bulk and breaking bulk are traditional functions of a warehouse/DC. In a break-bulk facility, large incoming loads are aggregated, often for product mixing and to create consolidated out- bound shipments. A make-bulk facility, or consolidation centre, com- bines small quantities of several products in fewer, larger assortments. Role as a cross-docking station Cross-docking is a process where the product is received, occasionally combined with different products going out to the same destination, and then shipped at their earliest opportunity without being stored. Cross-docking has many benefits, including: faster product flow, no inventory pile-up, reduced product handling, and reduce cost due to elimination of those activities. Role as a transhipment facility transhipment refers to a process of taking a shipment out of one vehicle and loading it onto another. It only occurs when there is a good reason to change transportation modes or vehicle types. Role as an assembly facility Hewlett Packards distribution centre is a good example of the role as an assemble facility. It also benefits from the idea of postponement which allows product differentiation until later stages. Products are designed to use generic parts and assemble at the warehouse. Role as a product-fulfilment centre the major function is to find the products that are ordered and directly deliver them to the final customer. Amazon.com warehouse is a good example. Role as depot for returned goods the major functions are to inspect and separate the returned good into those that can be repaired, repackaged, resale, or recycled. 2.10 Transportation Accordingly to Chopra and Meindl (2004), the target level of service the company sets determines the role of transportation in a company competitive strategy. If the company is targeting customers whose main criterion is price, then the company can use transportation to lower the cost of the product at the expense of reponsiveness. But more often companies tries to achieve the right balance between efficiency and responsiveness using both inventory and transportation. Often in logistics plannings, decision to make to make any changes based on the costs of transportation. Accordingly to Rushton, et al. (2006), the transportation costs can be broken into three main types. The first one is the fixed costs these costs must be borne whether the vehicles run for 10 or 100 kilometres and might include the depreciations of the vehicles, the licence fees, the insurance, etc. And these may vary from one vehicle to another depending on various reasons. The second type is the variable costs these costs vary in relation to the activity of the vehicles, i.e. how far the vehicle travelled. The most obvious example of a variable of cost is the fuel cost. And the last type is the overhead costs these costs are indirect costs that are borne by the whole fleet of vehicles. They may be the usual business overheads that are required to run the vehicles, i.e. staff salaries, telephone, internet, and other administrative expenses. 2.11 Location decision objectives Warehouse site selection is a complex process involving multiple, both qualitative and quantitative, criteria. And often location decisions have more than one objective depending on the organisations objectives and strategies. Current, et al., (1990) classified the objectives for facility location problems into four general categories namely: (1) Cost minimisation; (2) Demand Oriented; (3) Profit maximisation; (4) Environment concern, and often these objectives are found to overlap each other. For retailing business, cost minimisation and profit maximisation are often the main objectives. 2.12 The influences of warehouse site location selection It is important to effectively identify potential locations for the new warehouses. Typically, these locations must satisfy a variety of conditions and the potential locations should meet all the requirements. The potential locations should take into account the future demand and that the decision should have an impact on the firm for at least the next three to five years (Simchi-Levi, et al., 2003). Many authors (Chase, et al., 2004; Barnes, 2008) suggested that the choice of facilities location is influenced by two principles. The first one is the need to locate close to customer due to time-based competition, trade agreement, and transportation cost. And the second one is the need to locate close to the access to resources such as labour, raw material, and specialist skills and capabilities. Often the two principles are taken into account when an organization makes a decision on the choice of location. The characteristics of operations of business (i.e. Manufacturer or service provider) will govern the weight of factors should be taken into account. Barnes (2008) looked at the location decision on the international perspective where the influential facility location factors are more in numbers and level of complexity. However, these factors can be adapted and used for domestic facility location. Here is the list of major factors which in themselves comprises of several sub-factors given by Barnes (2008): Costs; Labour characteristics; Infrastructure; Proximity to suppliers; Proximity to market/customers; Proximity to parent company facilities; Proximity to competition; Quality of life; Legal and regulatory framework; Economic factors; Government and political factors; Social and cultural factors; and Characteristic of a specific location. Bowersox and Closs (1996) concentrated on the warehouse location analysis in the context of logistical network strategy. He discusses about three warehouse location patterns namely Market-Positioned Warehouse, Manufacturing-Positional Warehouse, and Intermediately Positioned Warehouse. They imply the similar idea of the two principles suggested by Chase, et al. (2004) and Barnes (2008). They also discussed the warehouse location from the viewpoint of transportation economies and from the viewpoint of inventory economies. Furthermore they incorporate the concept of Least-Total-Cost system where the sum of total inventory cost and transportation cost is minimal to design the warehouse network. The conditions or attributes of potential warehouse locations reviewed from many literatures are summarised as follows: Site-related factors Regional factors Land cost/size/soil characteristics/ drainage Proximity to market Construction costs/leasing cost/renting costs Proximity to suppliers Transportation facilities/cost Proximity to competitors Zoning restrictions Proximity to industry Community factors Geographical characteristics Quality of life/cost of living weather characteristics Public facility accessibility Labour cost/availability/skill Taxes Energy availability/cost Environment regulation Telecommunication facility Local government support/incentives Political matters and regulation Sustainability Transportation infrastructure 2.13 Methods and techniques in facility location problems In this section, we will review the methods, techniques, and approaches found in a number of literatures. Bowersox and Closs (1996) claim that a sophisticated modelling and analysis techniques are required in location decision because the location analysis is very complex and data-intense. The complexity is created because of the number of locations multiplied by the alternative location sites multiplied by the stocking strategies for each location. Meanwhile, the data intensity is caused by the requirement of detailed demand and transportation information. Furthermore, the facility site selection process is complicated by the impact of environment legislation and related political issues (Bowersox Closs, 1996). Thai and Grewal (2005) suggest the conceptual framework of location selection for distribution centre that consists of three main stages. The first stage is a general geographical area for distribution centre is identified based on the Centre-of-Gravity principle. The second stage is the identification of location alternatives of distribution centre and associate gateway airports/seaports. At this stage a qualitative approach should be applied. The third and final stage concentrates on the specific site selection based on the quantitative approach, i.e. The distribution centre should be place where the integration of volumes transported and distance involved is minimum and also the total distribution cost is minimum. 2.13.1 Decision-aid Techniques and Models Several operations management books (Stevenson, 2007; Barnes, 2008; Greasley, 2009) have their sections on facility location selection techniques and some common influencing factors as reviewed in the previous section. Accordingly to works of Simchi-Levi, et al. (2003), Rushton, et al. (2006), and Bowersox and Closs (1996), there are three categories for tools used to support location analysis. The first type is the analytic techniques. The second type techniques are the mathematical optimisation techniques which can be subdivided into two types: the exact algorithms that find least-cost solution; and the heuristics algorithms that find good solution. And the third type of techniques is simulation models that provide a mechanism to evaluate specific design alternatives created by designer. The simulation models will not, however, be included in the discussion. Accordingly to Randhawa and West (1995), the facility location problem can be approached by considering the location search space as continuous or discrete. Continuous space allows facilities to be located anywhere in the two-dimensional space; it normally assumes that the transportation costs are proportional to some distance measure between the facilities. Though easy to solve, the continuous approach may yield impractical results. The discrete space approach limits the number of possible locations to a finite set of predetermined sites, and the transportation costs are not necessarily function of distances. Four common types of techniques found on these books namely: (1) the Centre of Gravity Method i.e. finding a location that minimises the distribution costs; (2) the Locational Cost-Volume analysis i.e. comparing the total costs between location alternatives by graph plotting; (3) the Factor Scoring i.e. finding the location alternative with highest composite score; and (4) the Transportation model i.e. a linear programming model that shows location alternative with the most optimal solution (the lowest costs). 2.13.2 The Centre of Gravity Method The Centre of Gravity Method (CoG) is a method for locating a distribution centre that minimises the distribution costs. The main assumption of this method is the distribution cost is a linear function of the distance and the quantity transported, and that the quantity transported is fixed for the duration of the journey (Stevenson, 2007 Greasley, 2009). The locations of destinations are presented on the map with coordinate X and Y in an accurate scale. The location of the distribution point should be located at the centre of gravity of the coordination calculated by these following equations: Where = Quantity to be transported to destination i = x coordination of destination i = y coordination of destination i = x coordinate of centre of gravity = y coordinate of centre of gravity This technique is commonly used to solve location problems at a macro level. The method is applied to solve location problems in many fields other than location of a distribution centre such as school, fire centres, community centres, and such, taking into consideration location of hospitals, population density, highways, airports, and businesses (Stevenson, 2007). Bender (1994) argues that the CoG approach had became obsolete because of the replacement of other computerised approach including linear programming. He also discusses the limitation of the approach which ignores all constraints, such as capacity, financial, operational, legal, and all cost other than transportation. It is also assume that all the transportation costs are directly proportional to distance, and independent of the direction of traffic. 2.13.3 Locational Cost-Volume Analysis This method is an economic comparison of location alternatives which involves determining the fixed and variable costs for each location alternative. The method indicates which location is suitable for a particular volume level by analysing the mix of fixed and variable costs. The fixed cost plus variable costs line is plotted for each location alternative on the graph and the location with the lowest total cost line at the expected volume level is chosen. A total revenue line can also be plotted on the same graph to compare which location alternative has the earliest breakeven point if the objective is to consider the quickest breakeven location (Stevenson, 2007). The equation for expressing the cost is: Where TC = Total distribution cost VC = Variable cost per unit X = Number of units produced FC = Fixed costs This type of economic analysis is very common tool to compare which options have the highest rate of return and is not only limited to location problems. However, Stevenson (2007) suggests that, in most situations, it is very important that other factors other than costs must also be considered. The Locational cost-volume analysis alone is not sufficient to make decision. 2.13.4 Factor Rating Method The Factor Scoring method is sometimes known as weighted scoring or point rating, which attempts to take a range of considerations into account when choosing a location. Then technique starts by indentifying the relevant factors, then assign a weight to each factor that indicate the importance compared with other factors, given that all the weight sum up to one. Scores then have to be given by decision makers to each factor for all location alternatives. The total weighted scores for each location alternative are then calculated by multiplying the factor weight by the score for each factor, and sum the results for each location alternative. The alternative with highest score is chosen unless it fails to meet the minimum threshold, if there is one (Stevenson, 2007). The drawback of this method is identifying and determining the appropriate factors and weighting for each factor. Factors like quality of living and labour attitude are intangible factors and hard to quantify. Greasley (2009) suggested an approach to compare the tangible and intangible factors by conducting an intangible factors only assessment by the method, and then determine if the difference between the intangible scores is worth the cost of the difference in tangible costs between the location alternatives. Data collection, statistical estimates, optimization and simulation models, and economic analysis are some of the methods used to assess quantitative attributes. Qualitative attributes represent subjective factors for which it is generally difficult to define a natural measurement scale. Descriptive classes or interval scales (for example, 0 to 10) can be established to enable a numerical value to be assigned to represent how a site scores with respect to a particular attribute (Randhawa West, 1995). Linear Programming and location problems Linear Programming is one of the most widely used strategic and tactical logistics planning tools. The transportation model helps decision maker to decide the facility location based on the transportation costs. The model is very useful as it can compare the resulting total costs for each location alternative. Other costs like production costs can also be included in the model by determining the cost on a per-unit basis for each location. There are three major pieces of information needed to use the model as following (Stevenson, 2007; Balakrishman, et al., 2007): a) list of origins and each ones supply quantity per period; b) list of the destinations and each ones demand per period; and c) the unit cost of transporting items from each origin to each destination. The method can be used to solve for optimal or near-optimal locations. Even though the optimisation models are designed to provide an optimal solution, they can be used to analyze a problem under different scenarios (differe nt combinations of constraints and cost parameters). The result would be a set of location alternatives that are the preferred choices under different operating conditions. Furthermore, examination of a solution will generally result in the identification of more than one specific site. Such sites may then be further analyzed and compared using a multi-criteria model (Randhawa West, 1995). There are many types of mathematical programming models and they can be classified accordingly a variety of conditions. Aikens (1985) classified distribution location models accordingly to: a) whether the underlying distribution network (arcs and/or modes) is capacitated or incapacitated; b) the number of warehouse echelons, or levels (zero, single, or multiple); c) the number of commodities (single or multiple); d) the underlying cost structure for arcs and/or nodes (linear or nonlinear); e) whether planning horizon is static or dynamic; f) the patterns of demand (e.g. deterministic or stochastic, influence of location, etc.); g) The ability to accommodate side constraints (e.g. single-sourcing, choice of only one from candidate subset, etc.). Aiken (1985) gives some examples of types of distribution location mathematical programming models: a) Simple incapacitated facility location model; b) Simple incapacitated multi-echelon facility location model; c) Multi-commodity incapacitated facility location model; d) Dynamic incapacitated facility location model; e) Capacitated facility location models; f) Generalised capacitated facility location model; g) Stochastic capacitated facility location model; and h) Multi-commodity capacitated single-echelon facility location model. Diabat, et al. (2009) also show that the techniques can be applied to solve location-inventory problems which finds the number of warehouses to establish , their locations, the customers that are assigned to each warehouse, and the size and time of orders for each warehouse so as to minimise the sum of inventory. Melo, et al. (2009) review many literatures related to facility location problem that show that linear prog