The Twilight Saga 3: Eclipse Chapter 18. INSTRUCTION

â€Å"THAT HAD TO BE THE LONGEST PARTY IN THE HISTORY of the world,† I complained on the way home. Edward didn't seem to disagree. â€Å"It's over now,† he said, rubbing my arm soothingly. Because I was the only one who needed soothing. Edward was fine now – all the Cullens were fine. They'd all reassured me; Alice reaching up to pat my head as I left, eyeing Jasper meaningfully until a flood of peace swirled around me, Esme kissing my forehead and promising me everything was all right, Emmett laughing boisterously and asking why I was the only one who was allowed to fight with werewolves. . . . Jacob's solution had them all relaxed, almost euphoric after the long weeks of stress. Doubt had been replaced with confidence. The party had ended on a note of true celebration. Not for me. Bad enough – horrible – that the Cullens would fight for me. It was already too much that I would have to allow that. It already felt like more than I could bear. Not Jacob, too. Not his foolish, eager brothers – most of them even younger than I was. They were just oversized, over-muscled children, and they looked forward to this like it was picnic on the beach. I could not have them in danger, too. My nerves felt frayed and exposed. I didn't know how much longer I could restrain the urge to scream out loud. I whispered now, to keep my voice under control. â€Å"You're taking me with you tonight.† â€Å"Bella, you're worn out.† â€Å"You think I could sleep?† He frowned. â€Å"This is an experiment. I'm not sure if it will be possible for us all to . . . cooperate. I don't want you in the middle of that.† As if that didn't make me all the more anxious to go. â€Å"If you won't take me, then I'll call Jacob.† His eyes tightened. That was a low blow, and I knew it. But there was no way I was being left behind. He didn't answer; we were at Charlie's house now. The front light was on. â€Å"See you upstairs,† I muttered. I tiptoed in the front door. Charlie was asleep in the living room, overflowing the too-small sofa, and snoring so loudly I could have ripped a chainsaw to life and it wouldn't have wakened him. I shook his shoulder vigorously. â€Å"Dad! Charlie!† He grumbled, eyes still closed. â€Å"I'm home now – you're going to hurt your back sleeping like that. C'mon, time to move.† It took a few more shakes, and his eyes never did open all the way, but I managed to get himoff the couch. I helped him up to his bed, where he collapsed on top of the covers, fully dressed, and started snoring again. He wasn't going to be looking for me anytime soon. Edward waited in my room while I washed my face and changed into jeans and a flannel shirt. He watched me unhappily from the rocking chair as I hung the outfit Alice had given me in my closet. â€Å"Come here,† I said, taking his hand and pulling him to my bed. I pushed him down on the bed and then curled up against his chest. Maybe he was right and I was tired enough to sleep. I wasn't going to let him sneak off without me. He tucked my quilt in around me, and then held me close. â€Å"Please relax.† â€Å"Sure.† â€Å"This is going to work, Bella. I can feel it.† My teeth locked together. He was still radiating relief. Nobody but me cared if Jacob and his friends got hurt. Not even Jacob and his friends. Especially not them. He could tell I was about to lose it. â€Å"Listen to me, Bella. This is going to be easy. The newborns will be completely taken by surprise. They'll have no more idea that werewolves even exist than you did. I've seen how they act in a group, the way Jasper remembers. I truly believe that the wolves' hunting techniques will work flawlessly against them. And with them divided and confused, there won't be enough for the rest of us to do. Someone may have to sit out,† he teased. â€Å"Piece of cake,† I mumbled tonelessly against his chest. â€Å"Shhh,† he stroked my cheek. â€Å"You'll see. Don't worry now.† He started humming my lullaby, but, for once, it didn't calm me. People – well, vampires and werewolves really, but still – people I loved were going to get hurt. Hurt because of me. Again. I wished my bad luck would focus a little more carefully. I felt likeyelling up at the empty sky: It's me you want – over here! Just me! I tried to think of a way that I could do exactly that – force my bad luck to focus on me. It wouldn't be easy. I would have to wait, bide my time. . . . I did not fall asleep. The minutes passed quickly, to my surprise, and I was still alert and tense when Edward pulled us both up into a sitting position. â€Å"Are you sure you don't want to stay and sleep?† I gave him a sour look. He sighed, and scooped me up in his arms before he jumped from my window. He raced through the black, quiet forest with me on his back, and even in his run I could feel the elation. He ran the way he did when it was just us, just for enjoyment, just for the feel of the wind in his hair. It was the kind of thing that, during less anxious times, would have made me happy. When we got to the big open field, his family was there, talking casually, relaxed. Emmett's booming laugh echoed through the wide space now and then. Edward set me down and we walked hand in hand toward them. It took me a minute, because it was so dark with the moon hidden behind the clouds, but I realized that we were in the baseball clearing. It was the same place where, more than a year ago, that first lighthearted evening with the Cullens had been interrupted by James and his coven. It felt strange to be here again – as if this gathering wouldn't be complete until James and Laurent and Victoria joined us. But James and Laurent were never coming back. That pattern wouldn't be repeated. Maybe all the patterns were broken. Yes, someone had broken out of their pattern. Was it possible that the Volturi were the flexible ones in this equation? I doubted it. Victoria had always seemed like a force of nature to me – like a hurricane moving toward the coast in a straight line – unavoidable, implacable, but predictable. Maybe it was wrong to limit her that way. She had to be capable of adaptation. â€Å"You know what I think?† I asked Edward. He laughed. â€Å"No.† I almost smiled. â€Å"What do you think?† â€Å"I think it's all connected. Not just the two, but all three.† â€Å"You've lost me.† â€Å"Three bad things have happened since you came back.† I ticked them off on my fingers. â€Å"The newborns in Seattle. The stranger in my room. And – first of all – Victoria came to look for me.† His eyes narrowed as he thought about it. â€Å"Why do you think so?† â€Å"Because I agree with Jasper – the Volturi love their rules. They would probably do a better job anyway.† And I'd be dead if they wanted me dead, I added mentally. â€Å"Remember when you were tracking Victoria last year?† â€Å"Yes.† He frowned. â€Å"I wasn't very good at it.† â€Å"Alice said you were in Texas. Did you follow her there?† His eyebrows pulled together. â€Å"Yes. Hmm . . .† â€Å"See – she could have gotten the idea there. But she doesn't know what she's doing, so the newborns are all out of control.† He started shaking his head. â€Å"Only Aro knows exactly how Alice's visions work.† â€Å"Aro would know best, but wouldn't Tanya and Irina and the rest of your friends in Denali know enough? Laurent lived with them for so long. And if he was still friendly enough with Victoria to be doing favors for her, why wouldn't he also tell her everything he knew?† Edward frowned. â€Å"It wasn't Victoria in your room.† â€Å"She can't make new friends? Think about it, Edward. If it is Victoria doing this in Seattle, she's made a lot of new friends. She's created them.† He considered it, his forehead creased in concentration. â€Å"Hmm,† he finally said. â€Å"It's possible. I still think the Volturi are most likely . . . But your theory – there's something there. Victoria's personality. Your theory suits her personality perfectly. She's shown a remarkable gift for self-preservation from the start – maybe it's a talent of hers. In any case, this plot would put her in no danger at all from us, if she sits safely behind and lets the newborns wreak their havoc here. And maybe little danger from the Volturi, either. Perhaps she's counting on us to win, in the end, though certainly not without heavy casualties of our own. But no survivors from her little army to bear witness against her. In fact,† he continued, thinking it through, â€Å"if there were survivors, I'd bet she'd be planning to destroy them herself. . . . Hmm. Still, she'd have to have at least one friend who was a bit more mature. No fresh-made newborn left your father alive. . . .† He frowned into space for a long moment, and then suddenly smiled at me, coming back from his reverie. â€Å"Definitely possible. Regardless, we've got to be prepared for anything until we know for sure. You're very perceptive today,† he added. â€Å"It's impressive.† I sighed. â€Å"Maybe I'm just reacting to this place. It makes me feel like she's close by . . . like she sees me now.† His jaw muscles tensed at the idea. â€Å"She'll never touch you, Bella,† he said. In spite of his words, his eyes swept carefully across the dark trees. While he searched their shadows, the strangest expression crossed his face. His lips pulled back over his teeth and his eyes shone with an odd light – a wild, fierce kind of hope. â€Å"Yet, what I wouldn't give to have her that close,† he murmured. â€Å"Victoria, and anyone else who's ever thought of hurting you. To have the chance to end this myself. To finish it with my own hands this time.† I shuddered at the ferocious longing in his voice, and clenched his fingers more tightly with mine, wishing I was strong enough to lock our hands together permanently. We were almost to his family, and I noticed for the first time that Alice did not look as optimistic as the others. She stood a little aside, watching Jasper stretching his arms as if he were warming up to exercise, her lips pushed out in a pout. â€Å"Is something wrong with Alice?† I whispered. Edward chuckled, himself again. â€Å"The werewolves are on their way, so she can't see anything that will happen now. It makes her uncomfortable to be blind.† Alice, though the farthest from us, heard his low voice. She looked up and stuck her tongue out at him. He laughed again. â€Å"Hey, Edward,† Emmett greeted him. â€Å"Hey, Bella. Is he going to let you practice, too?† Edward groaned at his brother. â€Å"Please, Emmett, don't give her any ideas.† â€Å"When will our guests arrive?† Carlisle asked Edward. Edward concentrated for a moment, and then sighed. â€Å"A minute and a half. But I'm going to have to translate. They don't trust us enough to use their human forms.† Carlisle nodded. â€Å"This is hard for them. I'm grateful they're coming at all.† I stared at Edward, my eyes stretched wide. â€Å"They're coming as wolves?† He nodded, cautious of my reaction. I swallowed once, remembering the two times I'd seen Jacob in his wolf form – the first time in the meadow with Laurent, the second time on the forest lane where Paul had gotten angry at me. . . . They were both memories of terror. A strange gleam came into Edward's eyes, as though something had just occurred to him, something that was not altogether unpleasant. He turned away quickly, before I could see any more, back to Carlisle and the others. â€Å"Prepare yourselves – they've been holding out on us.† â€Å"What do you mean?† Alice demanded. â€Å"Shh,† he cautioned, and stared past her into the darkness. The Cullens' informal circle suddenly widened out into a loose line with Jasper and Emmett at the spear point. From the way Edward leaned forward next to me, I could tell that he wished he was standing beside them. I tightened my hand around his. I squinted toward the forest, seeing nothing. â€Å"Damn,† Emmett muttered under his breath. â€Å"Did you ever see anything like it?† Esme and Rosalie exchanged a wide-eyed glance. â€Å"What is it?† I whispered as quietly as I could. â€Å"I can't see.† â€Å"The pack has grown,† Edward murmured into my ear. Hadn't I told him that Quil had joined the pack? I strained to see the six wolves in the gloom. Finally, something glittered in the blackness – their eyes, higher up than they should be. I'd forgotten how very tall the wolves were. Like horses, only thick with muscle and fur – and teeth like knives, impossible to overlook. I could only see the eyes. And as I scanned, straining to see more, it occurred to me that there were more than six pairs facing us. One, two, three . . . I counted the pairs swiftly in my head. Twice. There were ten of them. â€Å"Fascinating,† Edward murmured almost silently. Carlisle took a slow, deliberate step forward. It was a careful movement, designed to reassure. â€Å"Welcome,† he greeted the invisible wolves. â€Å"Thank you,† Edward responded in a strange, flat tone, and I realized at once that the words came from Sam. I looked to the eyes shining in the center of the line, the highest up, the tallest of them all. It was impossible to separate the shape of the big black wolf from the darkness. Edward spoke again in the same detached voice, speaking Sam's words. â€Å"We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control.† â€Å"That is more than enough,† Carlisle answered. â€Å"My son Jasper† – he gestured to where Jasper stood, tensed and ready – â€Å"has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight, how they are to be defeated. I'm sure you can apply this to your own hunting style.† â€Å"They are different from you?† Edward asked for Sam. Carlisle nodded. â€Å"They are all very new – only months old to this life. Children, in a way. They will have no skill or strategy, only brute strength. Tonight their numbers stand at twenty. Ten for us, ten for you – it shouldn't be difficult. The numbers may go down. The new ones fight amongst themselves.† A rumble passed down the shadowy line of wolves, a low growling mutter that somehow managed to sound enthusiastic. â€Å"We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary,† Edward translated, his tone less indifferent now. Carlisle smiled. â€Å"We'll see how it plays out.† â€Å"Do you know when and how they'll arrive?† â€Å"They'll come across the mountains in four days, in the late morning. As they approach, Alice will help us intercept their path.† â€Å"Thank you for the information. We will watch.† With a sighing sound, the eyes sank closer to the ground one set at a time. It was silent for two heartbeats, and then Jasper took a step into the empty space between the vampires and the wolves. It wasn't hard for me to see him – his skin was as bright against the darkness as the wolves' eyes. Jasper threw a wary glance toward Edward, who nodded, and then Jasper turned his back to the werewolves. He sighed, clearly uncomfortable. â€Å"Carlisle's right.† Jasper spoke only to us; he seemed to be trying to ignore the audience behind him. â€Å"They'll fight like children. The two most important things you'll need to remember are, first, don't let them get their arms around you and, second, don't go for the obvious kill. That's all they'll be prepared for. As long as you come at them from the side and keep moving, they'll be too confused to respond effectively. Emmett?† Emmett stepped out of the line with a huge smile. Jasper backed toward the north end of the opening between the allied enemies. He waved Emmett forward. â€Å"Okay, Emmett first. He's the best example of a newborn attack.† Emmett's eyes narrowed. â€Å"I'll try not to break anything,† he muttered. Jasper grinned. â€Å"What I meant is that Emmett relies on his strength. He's very straightforward about the attack. The newborns won't be trying anything subtle, either. Just go for the easy kill, Emmett.† Jasper backed up a few more paces, his body tensing. â€Å"Okay, Emmett – try to catch me.† And I couldn't see Jasper anymore – he was a blur as Emmett charged him like a bear, grinning while he snarled. Emmett was impossibly quick, too, but not like Jasper. It looked like Jasper had no more substance than a ghost – any time it seemed Emmett's big hands had him for sure, Emmett's fingers clenched around nothing but the air. Beside me, Edward leaned forward intently, his eyes locked on the brawl. Then Emmett froze. Jasper had him from behind, his teeth an inch from his throat. Emmett cussed. There was a muttered rumble of appreciation from the watching wolves. â€Å"Again,† Emmett insisted, his smile gone. â€Å"It's my turn,† Edward protested. My fingers tensed around his. â€Å"In a minute.† Jasper grinned, stepping back. â€Å"I want to show Bella something first.† I watched with anxious eyes as he waved Alice forward. â€Å"I know you worry about her,† he explained to me as she danced blithely into the ring. â€Å"I want to show you why that's not necessary.† Though I knew that Jasper would never allow any harm to come to Alice, it was still hard to watch as he sank back into a crouch facing her. Alice stood motionlessly, looking tiny as a doll after Emmett, smiling to herself. Jasper shifted forward, then slinked to her left. Alice closed her eyes. My heart thumped unevenly as Jasper stalked toward where Alice stood. Jasper sprang, disappearing. Suddenly he was on the other side of Alice. She didn't appear to have moved. Jasper wheeled and launched himself at her again, only to land in a crouch behind her like the first time; all the while Alice stood smiling with her eyes closed. I watched Alice more carefully now. She was moving – I'd just been missing it, distracted by Jasper's attacks. She took a small step forward at the exact second that Jasper's body flew through the spot where she'd just been standing. She took another step, while Jasper's grasping hands whistled past where her waist had been. Jasper closed in, and Alice began to move faster. She was dancing – spiraling and twisting and curling in on herself. Jasper was her partner, lunging, reaching through her graceful patterns, never touching her, like every movement was choreographed. Finally, Alice laughed. Out of nowhere she was perched on Jasper's back, her lips at his neck. â€Å"Gotcha,† she said, and kissed his throat. Jasper chuckled, shaking his head. â€Å"You truly are one frightening little monster.† The wolves muttered again. This time the sound was wary. â€Å"It's good for them to learn some respect,† Edward murmured, amused. Then he spoke louder. â€Å"My turn.† He squeezed my hand before he let it go. Alice came to take his place beside me. â€Å"Cool, huh?† she asked me smugly. â€Å"Very,† I agreed, not looking away from Edward as he glided noiselessly toward Jasper, his movements lithe and watchful as a jungle cat. â€Å"I've got my eye on you, Bella,† she whispered suddenly, her voice pitched so low that I could barely hear, though her lips were at my ear. My gaze flickered to her face and then back to Edward. He was intent on Jasper, both of them feinting as he closed the distance. Alice's expression was full of reproach. â€Å"I'll warn him if your plans get any more defined,† she threatened in the same low murmur. â€Å"It doesn't help anything for you to put yourself in danger. Do you think either of them would give up if you died? They'd still fight, we all would. You can't change anything, so just be good, okay?† I grimaced, trying to ignore her. â€Å"I'm watching,† she repeated. Edward had closed on Jasper now, and this fight was more even than either of the others. Jasper had the century of experience to guide him, and he tried to go on instinct alone as much as he could, but his thoughts always gave him away a fraction of a second before he acted. Edward was slightly faster, but the moves Jasper used were unfamiliar to him. They came at each other again and again, neither one able to gain the advantage, instinctive snarls erupting constantly. It was hard to watch, but harder to look away. They moved too fast for me to really understand what they were doing. Now and then the sharp eyes of the wolves would catch my attention. I had a feeling the wolves were getting more out of this than I was – maybe more than they should. Eventually, Carlisle cleared his throat. Jasper laughed, and took a step back. Edward straightened up and grinned at him. â€Å"Back to work,† Jasper consented. â€Å"We'll call it a draw.† Everyone took turns, Carlisle, then Rosalie, Esme, and Emmett again. I squinted through my lashes, cringing as Jasper attacked Esme. That one was the hardest to watch. Then he slowed down, still not quite enough for me to understand his motions, and gave more instruction. â€Å"You see what I'm doing here?† he would ask. â€Å"Yes, just like that,† he encouraged. â€Å"Concentrate on the sides. Don't forget where their target will be. Keep moving.† Edward was always focused, watching and also listening to what others couldn't see. It got more difficult to follow as my eyes got heavier. I hadn't been sleeping well lately, anyway, and it was approaching a solid twenty-four hours since the last time I'd slept. I leaned against Edward's side, and let my eyelids droop. â€Å"We're about finished,† he whispered. Jasper confirmed that, turning toward the wolves for the first time, his expression uncomfortable again. â€Å"We'll be doing this tomorrow. Please feel welcome to observe again.† â€Å"Yes,† Edward answered in Sam's cool voice. â€Å"We'll be here.† Then Edward sighed, patted my arm, and stepped away from me. He turned to his family. â€Å"The pack thinks it would be helpful to be familiar with each of our scents – so they don't make mistakes later. If we could hold very still, it will make it easier for them.† â€Å"Certainly,† Carlisle said to Sam. â€Å"Whatever you need.† There was a gloomy, throaty grumble from the wolf pack as they all rose to their feet. My eyes were wide again, exhaustion forgotten. The deep black of the night was just beginning to fade – the sun brightening the clouds, though it hadn't cleared the horizon yet, far away on the other side of the mountains. As they approached, it was suddenly possible to make out shapes . . . colors. Sam was in the lead, of course. Unbelievably huge, black as midnight, a monster straight out of my nightmares – literally; after the first time I'd seen Sam and the others in the meadow, they'd starred in my bad dreams more than once. Now that I could see them all, match the vastness with each pair of eyes, it looked like more than ten. The pack was overwhelming. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Edward was watching me, carefully evaluating my reaction. Sam approached Carlisle where he stood in the front, the huge pack right on his tail. Jasper stiffened, but Emmett, on the other side of Carlisle, was grinning and relaxed. Sam sniffed at Carlisle, seeming to wince slightly as he did. Then he moved on to Jasper. My eyes ran down the wary brace of wolves. I was sure I could pick out a few of the new additions. There was a light gray wolf that was much smaller than the others, the hackles on the back of his neck raised in distaste. There was another, the color of desert sand, who seemed gangly and uncoordinated beside the rest. A low whine broke through the sandy wolf's control when Sam's advance left him isolated between Carlisle and Jasper. I stopped at the wolf just behind Sam. His fur was reddish-brown and longer than the others, shaggy in comparison. He was almost as tall as Sam, the second largest in the group. His stance was casual, somehow exuding nonchalance over what the rest obviously considered an ordeal. The enormous russet-colored wolf seemed to feel my gaze, and he looked up at me with familiar black eyes. I stared back at him, trying to believe what I already knew. I could feel the wonder and fascination on my face. The wolf's muzzle fell open, pulling back over his teeth. It would have been a frightening expression, except that his tongue lolled out the side in a wolfy grin. I giggled. Jacob's grin widened over his sharp teeth. He left his place in line, ignoring the eyes of his pack as they followed him. He trotted past Edward and Alice to stand not two feet away from me. He stopped there, his gaze flickering briefly toward Edward. Edward stood motionless, a statue, his eyes still assessing my reaction. Jacob crouched down on his front legs and dropped his head so that his face was no higher than mine, staring at me, measuring my response just as much as Edward was. â€Å"Jacob?† I breathed. The answering rumble deep in his chest sounded like a chuckle. I reached my hand out, my fingers trembling slightly, and touched the red-brown fur on the side of his face. The black eyes closed, and Jacob leaned his huge head into my hand. A thrumming hum resonated in this throat. The fur was both soft and rough, and warm against my skin. I ran my fingers through it curiously, learning the texture, stroking his neck where the color deepened. I hadn't realized how close I'd gotten; without warning, Jacob suddenly licked my face from chin to hairline. â€Å"Ew! Gross, Jake!† I complained, jumping back and smacking at him, just as I would have if he were human. He dodged out of the way, and the coughing bark that came through his teeth was obviously laughter. I wiped my face on the sleeve of my shirt, unable to keep from laughing with him. It was at that point that I realized that everyone was watching us, the Cullens and the werewolves – the Cullens with perplexed and somewhat disgusted expressions. It was hard to read the wolves' faces. I thought Sam looked unhappy. And then there was Edward, on edge and clearly disappointed. I realized he'd been hoping for a different reaction from me. Like screaming and running away in terror. Jacob made the laughing sound again. The other wolves were backing away now, not taking their eyes off the Cullens as they departed. Jacob stood by my side, watching them go. Soon, they disappeared into the murky forest. Only two hesitated by the trees, watching Jacob, their postures radiating anxiety. Edward sighed, and – ignoring Jacob – came to stand on my other side, taking my hand. â€Å"Ready to go?† he asked me. Before I could answer, he was staring over me at Jacob. â€Å"I've not quite figured out all the details yet,† he said, answering a question in Jacob's thoughts. The Jacob-wolf grumbled sullenly. â€Å"It's more complicated than that,† Edward said. â€Å"Don't concern yourself; I'll make sure it's safe.† â€Å"What are you talking about?† I demanded. â€Å"Just discussing strategy,† Edward said. Jacob's head swiveled back and forth, looking at our faces. Then, suddenly, he bolted for the forest. As he darted away, I noticed for the first time a square of folded black fabric secured to his back leg. â€Å"Wait,† I called, one hand stretching out automatically to reach after him. But he disappeared into the trees in seconds, the other two wolves following. â€Å"Why did he leave?† I asked, hurt. â€Å"He's coming back,† Edward said. He sighed. â€Å"He wants to be able to talk for himself.† I watched the edge of the forest where Jacob had vanished, leaning into Edward's side again. I was on the point of collapse, but I was fighting it. Jacob loped back into view, on two legs this time. His broad chest was bare, his hair tangled and shaggy. He wore only a pair of black sweat pants, his feet bare to the cold ground. He was alone now, but I suspected that his friends lingered in the trees, invisible. It didn't take him long to cross the field, though he gave a wide berth to the Cullens, who stood talking quietly in a loose circle. â€Å"Okay, bloodsucker,† Jacob said when he was a few feet from us, evidently continuing the conversation I'd missed. â€Å"What's so complicated about it?† â€Å"I have to consider every possibility,† Edward said, unruffled. â€Å"What if someone gets by you?† Jacob snorted at that idea. â€Å"Okay, so leave her on the reservation. We're making Collin and Brady stay behind anyway. She'll be safe there.† I scowled. â€Å"Are you talking about me?† â€Å"I just want to know what he plans to do with you during the fight,† Jacob explained. â€Å"Do with me?† â€Å"You can't stay in Forks, Bella.† Edward's voice was pacifying. â€Å"They know where to look for you there. What if someone slipped by us?† My stomach dropped and the blood drained from my face. â€Å"Charlie?† I gasped. â€Å"He'll be with Billy,† Jacob assured me quickly. â€Å"If my dad has to commit a murder to get him there, he'll do it. Probably it won't take that much. It's this Saturday, right? There's a game.† â€Å"This Saturday?† I asked, my head spinning. I was too lightheaded to control my wildly random thoughts. I frowned at Edward. â€Å"Well, crap! There goes your graduation present.† Edward laughed. â€Å"It's the thought that counts,† he reminded me. â€Å"You can give the tickets to someone else.† Inspiration came swiftly. â€Å"Angela and Ben,† I decided at once. â€Å"At least that will get them out of town.† He touched my cheek. â€Å"You can't evacuate everyone,† he said in a gentle voice. â€Å"Hiding you is just a precaution. I told you – we'll have no problem now. There won't be enough of them to keep us entertained.† â€Å"But what about keeping her in La Push?† Jacob interjected, impatient. â€Å"She's been back and forth too much,† Edward said. â€Å"She's left trails all over the place. Alice only sees very young vampires coming on the hunt, but obviously someone created them. There is someone more experienced behind this. Whoever he† – Edward paused to look at me – â€Å"or she is, this could all be a distraction. Alice will see if he decides to look himself, but we could be very busy at the time that decision is made. Maybe someone is counting on that. I can't leave her somewhere she's been frequently. She has to be hard to find, just in case. It's a very long shot, but I'm not taking chances.† I stared at Edward as he explained, my forehead creasing. He patted my arm. â€Å"Just being overcautious,† he promised. Jacob gestured to the deep forest east of us, to the vast expanse of the Olympic Mountains. â€Å"So hide her here,† he suggested. â€Å"There's a million possibilities – places either one of us could be in just a few minutes if there's a need.† Edward shook his head. â€Å"Her scent is too strong and, combined with mine, especially distinct. Even if I carried her, it would leave a trail. Our trace is all over the range, but in conjunction with Bella's scent, it would catch their attention. We're not sure exactly which path they'll take, because they don't know yet. If they crossed her scent before they found us . . .† Both of them grimaced at the same time, their eyebrows pulling together. â€Å"You see the difficulties.† â€Å"There has to be a way to make it work,† Jacob muttered. He glared toward the forest, pursing his lips. I swayed on my feet. Edward put his arm around my waist, pulling me closer and supporting my weight. â€Å"I need to get you home – you're exhausted. And Charlie will be waking up soon. . . .† â€Å"Wait a sec,† Jacob said, wheeling back to us, his eyes bright. â€Å"My scent disgusts you, right?† â€Å"Hmm, not bad.† Edward was two steps ahead. â€Å"It's possible.† He turned toward his family. â€Å"Jasper?† he called. Jasper looked up curiously. He walked over with Alice a half step behind. Her face was frustrated again. â€Å"Okay, Jacob.† Edward nodded at him. Jacob turned toward me with a strange mixture of emotion on his face. He was clearly excited by whatever this new plan of his was, but he was also still uneasy so close to his enemy allies. And then it was my turn to be wary as he held his arms out toward me. Edward took a deep breath. â€Å"We're going to see if I can confuse the scent enough to hide your trail,† Jacob explained. I stared at his open arms suspiciously. â€Å"You're going to have to let him carry you, Bella,† Edward told me. His voice was calm, but I could hear the subdued distaste. I frowned. Jacob rolled his eyes, impatient, and reached down to yank me up into his arms. â€Å"Don't be such a baby,† he muttered. But his eyes flickered to Edward, just like mine did. Edward's face was composed and smooth. He spoke to Jasper. â€Å"Bella's scent is so much more potent to me – I thought it would be a fairer test if someone else tried.† Jacob turned away from them and paced swiftly into the woods. I didn't say anything as the dark closed around us. I was pouting, uncomfortable in Jacob's arms. It felt too intimate to me – surely he didn't need to hold me quite so tightly – and I couldn't help but wonder what it felt like to him. It reminded me of my last afternoon in La Push, and I didn't want to think about that. I folded my arms, annoyed when the brace on my hand intensified the memory. We didn't go far; he made a wide arc and came back into the clearing from a different direction, maybe half a football field away from our original departure point. Edward was there alone and Jacob headed toward him. â€Å"You can put me down now.† â€Å"I don't want to take a chance of messing up the experiment.† His walk slowed and his arms tightened. â€Å"You are so annoying,† I muttered. â€Å"Thanks.† Out of nowhere, Jasper and Alice stood beside Edward. Jacob took one more step, and then set me down a half dozen feet from Edward. Without looking back at Jacob, I walked to Edward's side and took his hand. â€Å"Well?† I asked. â€Å"As long as you don't touch anything, Bella, I can't imagine someone sticking their nose close enough to that trail to catch your scent,† Jasper said, grimacing. â€Å"It was almost completely obscured.† â€Å"A definite success,† Alice agreed, wrinkling her nose. â€Å"And it gave me an idea.† â€Å"Which will work,† Alice added confidently. â€Å"Clever,† Edward agreed. â€Å"How do you stand that?† Jacob muttered to me. Edward ignored Jacob and looked at me while he explained. â€Å"We're – well, you're – going to leave a false trail to the clearing, Bella. The newborns are hunting, your scent will excite them, and they'll come exactly the way we want them to without being careful about it. Alice can already see that this will work. When they catch our scent, they'll split up and try to come at us from two sides. Half will go through the forest, where her vision suddenly disappears. . . .† â€Å"Yes!† Jacob hissed. Edward smiled at him, a smile of true comradeship. I felt sick. How could they be so eager for this? How could I stand having both of them in danger? I couldn't. I wouldn't. â€Å"Not a chance,† Edward said suddenly, his voice disgusted. It made me jump, worrying that he'd somehow heard my resolve, but his eyes were on Jasper. â€Å"I know, I know,† Jasper said quickly. â€Å"I didn't even consider it, not really.† Alice stepped on his foot. â€Å"If Bella was actually there in the clearing,† Jasper explained to her, â€Å"it would drive them insane. They wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything but her. It would make picking them off truly easy. . . .† Edward's glare had Jasper backtracking. â€Å"Of course it's too dangerous for her. It was just an errant thought,† he said quickly. But he looked at me from the corner of his eyes, and the look was wistful. â€Å"No,† Edward said. His voice rang with finality. â€Å"You're right,† Jasper said. He took Alice's hand and started back to the others. â€Å"Best two out of three?† I heard him ask her as they went to practice again. Jacob stared after him in disgust. â€Å"Jasper looks at things from a military perspective,† Edward quietly defended his brother. â€Å"He looks at all the options – it's thoroughness, not callousness.† Jacob snorted. He'd edged closer unconsciously, drawn by his absorption in the planning. He stood only three feet from Edward now, and, standing there between them, I could feel the physical tension in the air. It was like static, an uncomfortable charge. Edward got back to business. â€Å"I'll bring her here Friday afternoon to lay the false trail. You can meet us afterward, and carry her to a place I know. Completely out of the way, and easily defensible, not that it will come to that. I'll take another route there.† â€Å"And then what? Leave her with a cell phone?† Jacob asked critically. â€Å"You have a better idea?† Jacob was suddenly smug. â€Å"Actually, I do.† â€Å"Oh. . . . Again, dog, not bad at all.† Jacob turned to me quickly, as if determined to play the good guy by keeping me in the conversation. â€Å"We tried to talk Seth into staying behind with the younger two. He's still too young, but he's stubborn and he's resisting. So I thought of a new assignment for him – cell phone.† I tried to look like I got it. No one was fooled. â€Å"As long as Seth Clearwater is in his wolf form, he'll be connected to the pack,† Edward said. â€Å"Distance isn't a problem?† he added, turning to Jacob. â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"Three hundred miles?† Edward asked. â€Å"That's impressive.† Jacob was the good guy again. â€Å"That's the farthest we've ever gone to experiment,† he told me. â€Å"Still clear as a bell.† I nodded absently; I was reeling from the idea that little Seth Clearwater was already a werewolf, too, and that made it difficult to concentrate. I could see his bright smile, so much like a younger Jacob, in my head; he couldn't be more than fifteen, if he was that. His enthusiasm at the council meeting bonfire suddenly took on new meaning. . . . â€Å"It's a good idea.† Edward seemed reluctant to admit this. â€Å"I'll feel better with Seth there, even without the instantaneous communication. I don't know if I'd be able to leave Bella there alone. To think it's come to this, though! Trusting werewolves!† â€Å"Fightingwith vampires instead of against them!† Jacob mirrored Edward's tone of disgust. â€Å"Well, you still get to fight against some of them,† Edward said. Jacob smiled. â€Å"That's the reason we're here.†

Eurofood Case Analysis

EuroFood Case Analysis: History: EuroFood was created by French restaurateur, Mr Vigneau which specializes in the importing and distributing of food products from Europe to Hong Kong. EuroFood has faced a problem with inventory costs. The Olivier Company decided to buy EuroFood on the condition that inventory levels has to be reduced from its current level of 11 million Hong Kong Dollars to at least 4 million Hong Kong Dollars (assumption). In order to achieve the inventory reduction a plan of action has to proposed which details the solution to the current high levels of inventory. All the products brought to Hong Kong are shipped either by plane or through cargo boats (channels of distribution). The exclusively perishable products shipped through airplanes have no inventory records to be kept. The only inventory of Euro Foods is the products shipped via boats. The products shipped through boats are divided mainly into two types: 1. Complete Container: Contains products shipped from the same supplier. Complete container takes about 20 days to ship from Europe to Hong Kong and costs 0. Hong Kong Dollars per kilogram 2. Consolidated container: Contains products shipped from a group of suppliers using the same container as a rented facility. This shipping takes about 30 days to reach the customer and costs about 3 Hong Kong Dollars per kilogram. Main Problem: * The current level of inventory of Euro Foods is worth $11 million. This is too much compared to the Olivier Company which has the same volume of business as Euro Foods with a corresponding inventory level o f only $4 million. The order quantity is high due to wrong forecasting which leads to high inventory costs * Some products have higher inventory costs than its annual sales( Eg: The product Carton Peach has an inventory cost of $437,113 and an annual sale of $ 253,248 which led to profits of only $68,377) * Due to higher inventory levels of the products the annual profit from the respective products are significantly lower compared to products which has lower inventory level. There are too many product categories (around 200 different products) which has higher inventory levels and lower annual sales(Eg: The product Crozes Hermitage 1984 has $158 annual sales but the inventory level is $2045 and total profit is only $47) Solutions: * Cut down the products which has low profit and low annual sales but high inventory costs(Eg:Crozes Hermitage 1984 * Concentrate on top sale products like for example UHT Whipping cream 1 Liter, Portion Butter Unsalted etc. hose annual sales are high com pared to inventory costs * Make the forecasting of all products more accurate by using better forecasting techniques which can reduce the inventory level and ordering quantity more accurate * Top sale products like Whipping cream and Butter has to ordered more frequently based on the accurate forecast (using combined container) rather than storing it because these products can go bad easily. Combine the products from the same supplier to reduce the ordering quantity(Eg: Products from Supplier â€Å"Besnier† can be combined into the same container) * Negotiate with current suppliers to reduce the ordering cost * Seek third party distributors to get a lower shipping cost if negotiation with current suppliers does not work out. Assumption: * The holding costs and inventory costs affect the profit of the products * Time Frame in which the inventory reduction has to be achieved is irrelevant(Assumption)

Character and Symbolic Analysis of The Princess Bride

Story analysis: Princess Bride (Movie) Source: Princess Bride was created by William Goldman in 1973, and then made into a film in 1987. Story type: This book is written satirically. Because it is ridiculing many themes and literary ideas. The movie comes with a witty joke and an unforgettable quote. Main settings: The story starts with a beautiful and quiet farmhouse in Florin and everything is calm. It was here that Westley and Butter Cup were introduced, and they set the mood of the story for the feelings of each other. Princess Bride in the movie Princess Bride directed by Rob Liner began with a grandfather who told his story to his less enthusiastic grandchild. The story began in the country of Florin and the butter cup does not deal well with her farm boys. His name is Wesley, but she never called him. She loves him as a reward. She discovered later that he and his ship were killed by the fear of Roberts pirates. It is a princess. Ironic and fun twist. In the novel Princess Bri de, William Goldman sarizizes fairy tales and standard literary processes through his personality and behavior. The poor peasant Westley fell in love with the perfect girl butter cup, but he has to leave to find his wealth. A few years later, the butter cup thought that Westley gave her up and was forced to go out with a heartcart, cruel and computationally motivated person. Vizzini, Fezzik, and Inigo are three mysterious kidnappers who want to kidnap the princess and cause a war between Guilder and Florin. In the Enders game and the bride's princess, the character surprisingly became a hero. Wesley was chosen as a new fear pirate Roberts and saved the princess. Andel became army general and led them to victory. In each novel, characters are separated from their loved ones and they are not allowed to see them for a long time. They are not considered to be the best heroes, but they will not become great heroes in the play Romeo and Juliet Juliette deceived Romeo. Her affection for hi m was so wonderful that she asked Flair Lawrence to make a potion for her and made her appear to be dying. In this way, she avoids getting married to Paris and can see Romeo again after being expelled from town. This event is very confusing during the play. In fact, there should not be anything. Juliet died and awoke. Romeo had just committed suicide before waking up, so this time it was too late. After seeing Romeo's death, Juliet truly committed suicide.

Not Specified Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Not Specified - Essay Example On the other hand, when there is high capital resource then more investments could be made to set up the best production procedures and service provision systems, to enable them offer nothing but the best products to the consumer hence helping them build a strong customer base. It is however also important to notice that, the existence of these things such as capital and human resource which is seen as the basis of success and growth of a firm by many people would be useless when there are no consumers to consume the products or services been produced. In other words, it is the existence of consumers which determines whether or not the large human and capital resources possessed by a firm is needed or not. When firms are able to build a strong and established customer base, these customers help these firms to produce new and innovative products and services as a result of been able to identify some other needs of their customers and capitalizing on the trust built in them by their customers as a result of the long lasting relationship between the firm and its customers. Apart from these established customers leading or helping a firm to produce more innovative products, they can also help in improving already existing ones. From the article, you would realize that Hercules business as a result of supplying its military customers with explosives, gave them a good insight into the activities of their established customers, helped them in analyzing and figuring out some other needs or things their established customers need to be supplied with or use in their operation. This lead to the production of new companies such as the turpentine and pine oil and these products immediately after been introduced into the market had ready consumers for them since its production was motivated by the needs of some customers. This is

Learning Log of Tesco CSR and SB Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Learning Log of Tesco CSR and SB - Assignment Example management and is important for all business and it is incorporated into the operations of the organization through its culture, values, decision making, strategy and reporting mechanisms. As described by Wood, corporate social responsibility has the basic idea of linking the business with the society rather than describing the s distinct entities (Idowu and Filho, 2008, p.165).The corporate social responsibility started since 1950s. Archie Carroll’s theory forms the basis of corporate social responsibility. This pyramid of Carroll’s theory comprises of four responsibilities. The first is the economic responsibility to be profitable. The second comprises of the legal responsibilities that is to obey the law that is set forth by the society. The third part of the pyramid is linked with the second part and comprises of ethical responsibilities that the business should have, to do what is right even when the business is not compelled to do so by the law. The fourth is the philanthropic or the discretionary responsibility it is all about the resources contributed by the corporations towards the educational, social, recreational or cultural purposes. The Carroll’s theory helps the organizations to comprehend the necessary principles of social responsibility, set forth the practices to achieve each step of the pyramid with the ultimate goal of reaching the top. As per the Carroll’s theory, TESCO fulfills all its economic responsibilities by being the Ireland’s top retailer; it even fulfills its legal responsibilities by following the rules and regulations. It lays down practices of being ethical by serving healthy food and satisfying the customers well by serving them more of local products and being more cautious about their impact on the neighborhood and faces the environmental challenges. It practices its philanthropic responsibilities by serving a large number of communities throughout the country, it takes care about its responsibilities as business,

Great A&P Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Great A&P - Essay Example The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company was not the first chain retail store, nor did it invent the concept of the supermarket. A&P did not develop any new business strategies nor did they employ a single technique that hadn’t been used previously by others in some form or fashion. They were, however, able to find wild success in the transformation of the process and efficiency of food distribution in Depression-era America and afterwards. The changes A&P subsequently made to our food distribution system set the stage for it to become the largest retailer in the world between the years of 1915 and 1960. A&P recognized that the nation’s reliance on small, independent grocers was not effective since it was primarily based off high price margins and low volumes of stock. Consumers did indeed benefit from the changes A&P integrated into the modern shopping experience, but heated debate did ignite among small business owners and politicians the country over. It would seem t hat the Great A&P itself had undercut local, independent butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers in order to unite and profit from the retail conglomerate that it had envisioned. Although A&P didn’t actually cause these problems, it certainly took the heat for them, and Levinson does an ample job of illustrating how A&P’s triumphs put the organization center stage over the possibilities of corporate monopolization meant for the livelihood of small business owners nationwide. George Gilman, in the 1860s in New York City, differentiated his leather goods business into beverage and tea sales.

Methods of Quality Improvement Statistics Project

Methods of Quality Improvement - Statistics Project Example Furthermore, the R-chart shows no points outside the upper control limit or lower control limit. Therefore, the process is under statistical control and we can say that from the perspective of process variation, the process is in control. x-bar chart measures the central tendency (accuracy) of a process and indicate whether changes have occurred. R-chart measures the variability (dispersion) of a process. R-chart indicates that a gain or loss in uniformity has occurred. R-chart is independent from process mean. x-bar chart and R-chart are used together to monitor variables in process are in control (or not). R-chart is monitored before the x-bar chart. This is because the x-bar chart limits rely on the average range and if process variability is not stable and is affected by special causes, then is not a reliable estimate of variability, and thus the x-bar chart limits are less meaningful (Moore et. al., 2011). The R-chart indicates that the process variability is in control, as all the ranges for the subgroup are in-between upper and lower control limits and there is no unusual pattern, as we move from left to right on the R-chart. However, the x-bar chart indicates that the process accuracy is not in control, as not all the means for the subgroup are in-between upper and lower control limits. Rational sub-groupings are used in constructing control charts so that the individual observations within the subgroups have been measured under similar process conditions. The main idea behind rational sub grouping is that if the individual observations within the subgroups are as homogeneous as possible, then any special causes disrupting the process will be reflected by greater variability between the subgroups. When special causes are present in the process, rational sub-grouping attempts to maximize the likelihood that subgroup statistics will signal that the process is

Unemployment in black america Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Unemployment in black america - Research Paper Example Evidently, it is clear that the employment rates of minority groups are much lower as compared to the employment rate of the white people. Statistics show that black Americans have been particularly affected by this racial bias, as the unemployment rate of these minorities is higher than that of whites and other minorities groups such as American Indians. The consequence of this is that Black Americans continue to wail in poverty while there is notable economic development among the whites. Although educational differences may be the reason for this low employment rate of Black Americans, it is clear that discrimination and ignorance labour laws by organizations are the major reasons for this trend. The issue of unemployment for the Blacks in America has a long history that dates back to the last six decades. In the late 1950s, discrimination was at its highest peak and little had been established to alleviate this discrimination. Discrimination in the employment sector was depicted in various perspectives in the employment sector. First, it was quite hard for a Black American to acquire a job in this region of the world as compared to the whites. Secondly, the Africans were assigned only manual labour that saw them become more of slaves than employees. In terms of wages, they were paid much lower than the whites for similar job positions. For African women, it was rare for them to find a job and only handle domestic chores. The feeling that prevailed is that Black Americans were aliens who did not have equal rights to the whites who were the natives of America. As a result, this minority groups was isolated in the slums and most of them did not afford basic commodities such as food and housing (Nunnally and Niambi 431). The poverty level was very high in the slums where most of the African Americans lived. National statistics conducted in America during this time shows that the unemployment rate in America during this period was double

Deaf community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Deaf community - Essay Example They usually feel that they are primarily a linguistic minority and are not in any need of healing for their situations than are other minority groups such as Hispanics and Haitians. The Deaf community has got social values and norms specific to their society, which are passed down from one generation to another and recruits its members in an exclusive style. Generally, human culture within Deaf community is passed down from one family to another. Since 90% of all deaf children have got two hearing parents, it’s only a minority of Deaf community members that obtain their distinctive social skills and cultural identity at their homes. Most children who are deaf learn about deaf culture, mostly from other children, in schools for the Deaf, dormitory leaders and teachers. The Deaf community is very cohesive and nonetheless their cultural link is also very strong and usually a high percentage of the members, around 90% do marry within the group. Made up of individuals using the American Sign Language, as their basic way of communication, members of the Deaf community have over their history of 150 years expanded a wealthy folklore and social life. Through the ir very own individual efforts to cater for their own wants, Deaf individuals have been able to organize national wide and international networks of religious, social, athletic scholarly, literary and dramatic organizations catering for local, national and international memberships. For instance, every other four years, the World Games for Deaf, that is (the Deaf Olympics) do coalesce athletes who are deaf from several countries for competition of international awards. There are other Deaf Organizations through which the Deaf community has impacted the society; Gallaudet University-is the world’s leader in career development and liberal education for the deaf and other students hard of hearing. The university is

Introduction to Astronomy Essay Example for Free

Introduction to Astronomy Essay The life cycle of a star is a process that is not only beautiful but, fascinating to those fortunate ones who have the chance to study the subject. To the uneducated soul, gazing upon the night sky wondering what is out there is not a common thing. But being able to learn about what is really out there and how it became, that my friends, is truly an amazing task. One has to wonder just how we know what type of star we are looking at or at what point in the star’s life cycle the star dwells. Since the dawn of man, we have studied the stars, and until the last century, astronomers have found ways to measure four properties of stars: their luminosities, temperatures, radii, and masses. With this knowledge, they now have classified thousands of stars by plotting these stars on diagrams and charts characterized by any pair of these specific properties. A Star is Born Stellar Nursery – Nebula The proverbial birth of a star starts within a huge cloud of gas and dust known as a nebula. A nebula is approximately 21 light-years in width. When the gases and elements of the nebula start to contract due to the pull of its own gravity, it will create a protostar, which can startingly grow to roughly 60 million miles across. This is where the star begins to take shape. In order for a star to grow, it will need nuclear fusion to take place, and that requires tremendous amounts of pressure and heat. Main Sequence Stars The enormous pressure that is created compresses together elements to form more elements and to create energy. With hydrogen being the least dense and easiest to fuse, stars begin fusing hydrogen first. The side effect of this fusing of nuclei, or nuclear fusion, is the production of two positrons, two neutrinos, and the release of energy. Stars that are in the hydrogen burning process are known to be in the main sequence. Stars will spend the majority of their lifespan in the main sequence. Using the standardized classification system, astronomers find that about 90% of all stars cluster in thin bands on each the noted diagrams. Red Giant Eventually in the star’s life, the hydrogen supply in the core will begin to expire, when this happens, the sun’s core becomes unstable and will begin to contract. Consequently, the outer shell of the star, which consists mainly of hydrogen, will start to expand. During the expansion, it cools and will begin to glow red. The star now resides a red giant phase of its life cycle (Cain, 2009). Practically all stars will evolve identically up to the red giant phase, yet depending on the amount of mass a star, the next phase in the life cycle can be greatly different. Supergiants One possible evolution of extremely massive stars, although rare, is to become a supergiant. But what is a supergiant? When the radiation released by the fusion of helium into carbon it causes the red giant to expand even larger, perhaps into a star roughly 400 times the Sun’s size. The End of Days – Death of a Star White Dwarf A white dwarf, or a remnant of a star that has collapsed, are the destiny of stars like our sun. This phase in the life cycle is attained when the nuclear fuel supply is exhausted. Typically, a white dwarf can have the mass of about six-tenths the mass of our sun, but obtains size considerably smaller than that of the Earth. A white dwarf is formed when the shroud of a red giant is ejected as the core burns the last bits and pieces of its nuclear fuel. A white dwarf slowly fades into oblivion as it cools down. Supernova Possibly, exceedingly massive stars can continue to fuse heavy elements in order to produce more energy. Nevertheless, once iron is formed, it cannot be fused to make more energy. This is because iron has such a high binding energy and is thus very stable. Due to the immense gravity, the core will collapse and huge amounts of gas on the surface will blast out into space. This phase in the star’s life cycle has now become a supernova. Neutron Star Following a supernova explosion, the iron core of the star may be enormously massive, and may have an immense force of gravity. It has now become a neutron star, where the negative force, or pushing effect, between neutrons stops the contraction caused by gravity. Pulsar It is possible for a neutron star to spin rapidly following a supernova explosion. A result of this spinning, the neutron star may send out two beams of radio waves, light, and X-rays. These beams radiate in a circle as the star is spinning, and thus appears that the light from the star is pulsing intermittently. This is why it is called a Pulsar. Blackhole Yet some extremely massive supergiants, many with a mass more than four times that of our own Sun, may continue contracting until their nuclei are compacted into even more dense matter. The compacting matter forms a body so dense that it forms a black hole. A black hole is an extremely massive and dense, spectral body with a gravitational pull powerful enough to prevent the escape of light (Newman, 2002). Life as We Know It Astronomers believe Earth and all its living organisms are composed of elements formed in the interiors of stars, especially supergiants that exploded as supernovas. As astronomers across the globe scour planetary systems, both within and beyond our galaxy, in the quest to find life, they are centering their attention on each systems habitable zone. The habitable zone is where heat radiated from the star is just right to keep a planets water in liquid form (Williams Pollard, 2000), the sweet spot of the solar system.

The Benefits Of Robotic Assisted Surgery Information Technology Essay

The Benefits Of Robotic Assisted Surgery Information Technology Essay Approaches to prostatecetomy include traditional open surgery, conventional laparoscopic surgery or robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery. With traditional prostate cancer surgery, the incision is between eight to ten inches long and patients usually remain in the hospital up to five days after surgery. In addition, patients are catheterized for two to three weeks, and there is a risk of side effects. Minimally invasive, robotic-assisted prostate cancer surgery allows for small incisions, less blood loss and reduced recovery time. Preservation of the nerves necessary for erections can be an extremely important goal for patients. These nerves run alongside the prostate and are often damaged when removing the prostate. A nerve-sparing, robotic prostatectomy attempts to preserve these nerves so that the patient may be able to return to his prior erectile function. How does robotic prostatectomy work? The da Vinci Surgical System is a state-of-the-art surgical robot that gives surgeons more precise views of the prostate and surrounding tissue, as well as greater dexterity. The system uses miniature instruments to perform the procedure. A surgeon controls the robot from a remote console that precisely translates his hand, wrist and finger movements to the robotic arms inside the patient while providing a three-dimensional view of those movements. With the robot, the surgeon makes five keyhole openings rather than the single large incision made during a traditional open prostatectomy. These small openings result in less pain, and a shorter hospital stay. Patients who undergo robotic assisted surgery usually leave the hospital within two days, and some are able to return to normal activities within two weeks after the procedure. Using the robot, the surgeon removes the prostate and surrounding pelvic lymph nodes (if indicated) through the small openings. Patient benefits may include: Smaller surgical incisions of one inch or less Less intraoperative blood loss and need for blood transfusion Reduced postoperative pain and discomfort Shorter hospital stay (two days) Shorter catheter duration (seven to 10 days) Faster overall recovery Robots surgery advantages B: http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00760/Advantages%20of%20Robotic%20Surgery.htm Robots in the field of surgery have dramatically changed the procedures for the better. The most significant advantage to Robotic Surgery to the patient is the decrease in pain and scaring. By using cameras and enhanced visual effects, doctors can make the tinniest of incisions. The da Vinci and Zeus system each use arms to operate. In order for these arms to get inside the body and operate, they only need a few centimeters for an incision. In fact The San Matteo Hospital in Pavia, Italy performed a Cardiac Bypass surgery that included three incisions, each about one centimeter in length. Typically in that type of surgery the incision is about 30 centimeters in length. The smallness of the incisions also causes many other advantages that make Robotic Surgery worth the risk. Due to the small and precise cuttings, the patents hospital stay is greatly reduced. A person needs far less recovery time when they have 3-centimeter scars then when they have a scar almost 10 times as large. Also, the risk of infection or complications decreases as the incision size does. The patient mentioned earlier with the Closed Heart Bypass surgery is a terrific example. After his surgery, he was cleared by his surgeon Dr. Mauro Rinaldi and released from the hospital after only 12 hours of recovery. The next week he was actually able to join his family on a vacation.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Besides the obvious rewards to the patient, Robotic Surgery is also very advantageous to the surgeon and hospital. In the ZEUS Surgical System, an arm on the machine is dedicated to the Automated Endoscopic System for Optimal Positioning (AESOP). AESOP is a 3D camera used in robotic surgery. It can be zoomed in by either voice activation or pedals located at the surgeons foot. Doctors who have used this actually argue that AESOP gives a better image than in real life. This is particularly true with surgeons that have poor vision or in microscopic surgerys that deal with nerves. Also, by using the hand controls the surgeons can reach places in the body that are normally unreachable by the human hand. Finally, the clearest advantage to using robots in surgery is in long operations, particularly ones that deal with nerve or tissue reconstruction. Surgeons often tire easily after performing microscopic surgerys that last hours. However, by having the ability to be seated and have less strain on the eyes, doctors can control their natural flinching or nerves more efficiently. Robots surgery disadvantages C: http://biomed.brown.edu/Courses/BI108/BI108_2004_Groups/Group02/Group%2002%20Website/robodisadvan.htm Robotic surgery is a new technology, so its uses and efficacy have not been fully determined. Consequently, there are not many extensive long-term studies on the procedure to confirm or deny its effectiveness. There are, however, prominent disadvantages to robotics, including time, cost, efficiency, and compatibility with current systems. Time Robotic assisted heart surgery can take nearly twice the amount of time that a typical heart surgery takes, but this is variable depending on the surgeons expertise and practice with the equipment. In a longer surgery, the patient is under anesthesia for longer and it costs more to staff the procedure. Cost At this early stage in the technology, the robotic systems are very expensive. It is possible that with improvements in technology and more experience gained by surgeons the cost will fall. Others believe that with these improvements in technology the systems will become more complicated and the costs will rise. Another issue with costs is the problem with upgrading the systems as they improve. Only when these systems gain more widespread multidisciplinary use the costs will become more justified. Efficiency and Compatibility Another disadvantage is the large size of the system in an overcrowded-operating room. The robotic arms are awkward and bulky and there are many instruments needed in the small space. For robotic-assisted beating heart surgery, the space is even smaller because stabilizers are needed. For surgeons, this cramped area can interfere with their dexterity. There are two possible suggestions for improving this problem, however both are costly. Some suggest miniaturizing the robotic arms and instruments while others believe that larger operating rooms are needed. With either solution, robotics is an especially expensive new technology. Another disadvantage is that current operating room instruments and equipment are not necessarily compatible with the new robotic systems. Without the correct equipment, tableside assistance is needed to perform part of the surgery. There are also concerns about using a static model for beating heart surgery and concerns about technical glitches that might occur during the surgery. In Comparison to Standard Techniques Dr. Michael Argenziano at New York Presbyterian Hospital said that on average, the robotic-assisted heart surgeries costs $2,000 more per operation, but in the end, the costs come out even because the patients recover sooner with the robotic procedure. He also noted that money was saved on nursing care and pain medications. With time and improvements in technology, these disadvantages will hopefully be remedied. If not, then it is possible that the advantages of these systems will not justify their cost. D: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Videoconferencing Whats video conferencing? A videoconference or video conference (also known as a videoteleconference) is a set of interactive telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. It has also been called visual collaboration and is a type of groupware. Videoconferencing differs from videophone calls in that its designed to serve a conference rather than individuals. It is an intermediate form of video telephony, first deployed commercially by ATT during the early 1970s using their Picture phone technology. E: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website Whats a website? A website (also spelled Web site; officially styled website by the AP Stylebook) is a collection of related web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that are addressed relative to a common Uniform Resource Locator (URL), often consisting of only the domain name, or the IP address, and the root path (/) in an Internet Protocol-based network. A web site is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network. F: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Top-Advantages-Of-Video-Conferencingid=282728 Video conferencing advantages Videoconferencing is rapidly gaining in popularity, and its hardly surprising. Basically, videoconferencing allows people to communicate in real time, no matter where they are located. It can be as few as two people, or it can be thousands. The participants can hold a meeting or conference, compare charts and generally do everything they could do if they were all in the same room together. This is all done via audio and video transmission through the wonders of the internet. The list of advantages gained from using videoconferencing is long, but here are a few of the main advantages. The most obvious advantage is the enormous savings involved when people dont need to travel. An average business trip usually involves at least one night spent in another place, and costs incurred include flights, transport, meals, accommodation, entertainment, and the list goes on. If you need ten people at a meeting, and add together all the costs involved, the total is staggering. Remember, too, that not only is travel costly, it takes time. So those ten executives have to take two days out of their busy schedule, for example, to attend a half-day meeting at head office. With videoconferencing, they can allocate the half-day, and spend the other day and a half doing productive work in their office. Using videoconferencing provides big savings in both money and time. G: http://www.tkoworks.com/video-conferencing/outsourcing.html Video conferencing disadvantages Months may be required to enable video conferencing capability within a large organization; this is including time required for designing the network and installing video conferencing equipment. Initial cost of equipment is higher than if an outside service organization were used. Using conference rooms for video conferences makes sense from a facilities perspective but this can cause video systems to be underutilized. Normally, in an organization, most meetings and conference room use are for local business without a need to communicate with other facilities or locations. Therefore, video equipment investment can be stranded during every day normal use of conference rooms for local meetings. Many organizations assign a central staff to run a video conference network without considering the needs of each remote site. Video conferencing requires at least two locations, each with its own system, network, conference or meeting room and operating instructions. Each location, therefore, normally should have a skilled operator of video systems to assist users in getting a conference started and keeping it running. Few organizations are willing to expend the funds to ensure each endpoint is staffed with a skilled technician and so this skill deficit can cause conference failures in some locations, particularly those that turn systems off daily or reboot frequently. Industry manufacturers understand this common problem and are providing software tools and remote management capability with the latest video conference equipment to allow for remote management of systems. Therefore, a well-run network requires either skilled personnel at each endpoint or some form of remote management in order to ensure systems operate well. Some combination of both is usually required to attain high levels of video network up time. H: Whats internet? The Internet, sometimes called simply the Net, is a worldwide system of computer networks a network of networks in which users at any one computer can, if they have permission, get information from any other computer and sometimes talk directly to users at other computers. It was conceived by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the US government in 1969 and was first known as the ARPANET. AO2 USE RESOURCES: CHOSEN RESOURCES I chose NO RESOURCE REASON A The Benefits of Robotic Assisted Surgery I chose this information from the website because it explain clearly How does robotic prostatectomy work? B C Is technology good or bad? Introduction In this project Ill be talking about, whats technology and if technology is good or bad? The main question that I have chosen for my project is: Is technology good or bad? I will carry out my research using the three research method. I will explore internet, study different books and watch videos to discover more information on different peoples opinions on my questions. In this project Ill be concentrating on the good of using technology and the bad of using it. What is technology? Technology is a human innovation that has been developing from generation to generation, however technology is used to solve problems and make life easier to live such as computers, robots, airplanes, cars and phones etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. My objective in the end of this project is to understand and give a clear description of technology, why the people argue technology is good and the ethers argue technology is bad, what the good side of technology is and what the bad side of technology is. Is technology good? I think that technology is good and helps a lot in the daily life. Its used to discover and make life easier such as cars, airplanes, trains they help to travel from long distance and in short time, phones helps to communicate at any time and with the people around the world. Computers are used in education, creations, designing and also used in health sector all this technology helps to go forward in our life. Robots are used in the heath sector Whats robot surgery? Robot surgery is one of the advanced technologies available in this time been, it has been designed for operations. The (da Vinci) robotic system allows the precision, dexterity and control of traditional open surgery but requires only 1-2 cm incisions, decreased healing time, robots are used for hearts surgery with out opening patients chest. The benefits of this robot for patients are less complication, less pain, save time and faster recovery. The advantages of robots surgery Robots have change and helped a lot in the field of surgery. The most advantage of robots surgery for patients is pain, scaring and faster recovery by using cameras and enhanced visual effects, doctors can make the tinniest of incisions. The (da Vinci) and Zeus system each use three arms to operate. In order for these arms to get inside the body and operate, they only need a few centimetres for an incision. These robots have more advantages and benefits for users (doctors) and patients for example: Lower risk infection Shorter hospital stay Less blood loss and fewer transfusions Can zoom with camera and gives better image then in real life by using the hand controls the surgeons can reach places in the body that are normally unreachable by the human hand Faster recovery and return to normal daily activities Robots surgery disadvantages They are several disadvantages of these Robots surgeries such as cost; cost is one of the biggest disadvantages of these robots with the price of one million dollars. Some believe with the improvement in technology and as more experience is gained with robotic systems the price will fall. Another disadvantage of these robots systems is their size. Both systems have relatively large footprints and relatively cumbersome robotic arms. This is an important an important disadvantage because operating rooms are already crowded with the surgical team. It may be difficult for surgical and robots to fit in the operating room. And another disadvantage is the time. Robotic assisted heart surgery can take nearly twice the amount of time that a typical heart surgery takes, but this is variable depending on the surgeons expertise and practice with the equipment. How technology helps in business Technology is increasing and developing to make life easier to live it helped and still helping our daily life for example business. In business people used to travel to go for meetings and now most of businesses use video conferencing, in terms of airfares for staff. It saves time spent in travelling and money. Video conferencing Whats video conferencing? Video conferencing allows people to communicate in real time, no matter where they are located. It can be as few as two people, or it can be thousands. Its basically integrates users as if they were in the same room. Each user needs a web cam, computer, microphone, and internet broadband connection. Its usually used in businesses, healthcare, education ECT. Advantages of video conferencing Meet with people in remote locations without incurring travel expenses or other expenses associated with face to face communication Save time and money especially in business in terms of airfares for staff, night spent in another place, and costs incurred include flights, transport, meals, accommodation, entertainment ect.. Connect and see more than 11, 12 or even a thousand in the same time. Video conferencing disadvantages Takes time to design the network and install video conferencing equipment Expensive equipments Can cause video systems to be underutilized Skilled technician to keep video conferencing running. Turn the system daily can cause conference failures in some locations. Internet Whats internet? Internet is basically an electronic communication network that enables computers of all kinds to share information with permission and communicates directly. Internet advantages Studying ( make researches) Online banking Online shopping Publish information on your own website Have a conversations in chat rooms Send an email Apply for job Read a news papers Watch movies Make airplane reservation Get a direction and draw a map Socialising with the people around the world Internet disadvantages Personal information (your personal information such as your name, address, etc.) Pornography (especially for young children they are thousands of pornography websites that can be easily to get access into it) Internet addiction Hacking, get viruses Isolation from family and freinds

Ernets Hemingway Essay example -- essays research papers fc

Ernest Hemingway I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction to Ernest Hemingway II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Life and Times A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Early Life 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Birth 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Parents 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Influences 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Siblings 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hobbies B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Adulthood 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  War 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Influences 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marriage and Children 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tragedies/Illnesses 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Death III.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Literary Style A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unique B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Very Influential IV.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Famous Works A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Novels 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Three Stories and Ten Poems 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A Farewell to Arms 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Old Man and the Sea B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Short stories 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Men Without Women† 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Fifth Column and the First Forty-nine Stories† V.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Conclusion Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist and short-story writer, whose style was characterized by crisp, laconic dialogue, and emotional understatements. Hemingway’s writing and his personal life extended a profound influence on American writers of his time. Many of his works are regarded as classics of American literature and some have been made into motion pictures. Ernest Hemingway was born July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. His parents were Dr. Clarence Hemingway and Grace Hall Hemingway. Ernest was the second child of six. His father was an accomplished physician and his mother was enthusiastic musician. Ernest Hemingway loved to accompany his father on outdoor activities such as hunting or fishing, although his mother would have preferred her son to be more influenced by music. His love for the outdoors would later show up in his writing as an accomplished author. He loved to play with his brothers and sister although most of them were younger then him. He had four sisters and one brother. He played football and boxed on a regular basis. Hemingway’s interest in energetic activities carried on through his high ... ...In 1952 Ernest Hemingway published the book that is widely acknowledged as his masterpiece, The Old Man and the Sea, redeeming his literary reputation after the critical attacks which had greeted his first post-war novel. Hemingway also wrote renowned short stories. â€Å"Men Without Women† (1927) was Ernest Hemingway's second major collection of short stories. Most of which are somehow related to a war, World War I, to be exact. â€Å"The Fifth Column and the First Forty-nine Stories† (1938) collected all of the short stories Ernest Hemingway had published up to that date and his only full-length play, The Fifth Column. Ernest Hemingway was a magnificent author. He incorporated his life in his works. His life was full of tragedy but was also filled with glee. In my opinion he is one of the greatest authors in American Literature. Works Cited â€Å"Biography of Ernest Hemingway.† ClassicNotes: Ernest Hemingway. 2004. GradeSaver. 23 March 2004 â€Å"Ernest Hemingway.† The Language of Literature – American Literature. Dallas: McDougal Litell, 2000. â€Å"Ernest Hemingway.† Wikipedia. 2004. MediaWiki. 23 Mar 2004 â€Å"Hemingway, Ernest (Miller) 1899-1961.† 2000 A & E Television Networks. 23 March 2004. Ernets Hemingway Essay example -- essays research papers fc Ernest Hemingway I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction to Ernest Hemingway II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Life and Times A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Early Life 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Birth 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Parents 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Influences 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Siblings 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hobbies B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Adulthood 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  War 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Influences 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marriage and Children 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tragedies/Illnesses 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Death III.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Literary Style A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unique B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Very Influential IV.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Famous Works A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Novels 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Three Stories and Ten Poems 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A Farewell to Arms 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Old Man and the Sea B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Short stories 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Men Without Women† 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Fifth Column and the First Forty-nine Stories† V.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Conclusion Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist and short-story writer, whose style was characterized by crisp, laconic dialogue, and emotional understatements. Hemingway’s writing and his personal life extended a profound influence on American writers of his time. Many of his works are regarded as classics of American literature and some have been made into motion pictures. Ernest Hemingway was born July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. His parents were Dr. Clarence Hemingway and Grace Hall Hemingway. Ernest was the second child of six. His father was an accomplished physician and his mother was enthusiastic musician. Ernest Hemingway loved to accompany his father on outdoor activities such as hunting or fishing, although his mother would have preferred her son to be more influenced by music. His love for the outdoors would later show up in his writing as an accomplished author. He loved to play with his brothers and sister although most of them were younger then him. He had four sisters and one brother. He played football and boxed on a regular basis. Hemingway’s interest in energetic activities carried on through his high ... ...In 1952 Ernest Hemingway published the book that is widely acknowledged as his masterpiece, The Old Man and the Sea, redeeming his literary reputation after the critical attacks which had greeted his first post-war novel. Hemingway also wrote renowned short stories. â€Å"Men Without Women† (1927) was Ernest Hemingway's second major collection of short stories. Most of which are somehow related to a war, World War I, to be exact. â€Å"The Fifth Column and the First Forty-nine Stories† (1938) collected all of the short stories Ernest Hemingway had published up to that date and his only full-length play, The Fifth Column. Ernest Hemingway was a magnificent author. He incorporated his life in his works. His life was full of tragedy but was also filled with glee. In my opinion he is one of the greatest authors in American Literature. Works Cited â€Å"Biography of Ernest Hemingway.† ClassicNotes: Ernest Hemingway. 2004. GradeSaver. 23 March 2004 â€Å"Ernest Hemingway.† The Language of Literature – American Literature. Dallas: McDougal Litell, 2000. â€Å"Ernest Hemingway.† Wikipedia. 2004. MediaWiki. 23 Mar 2004 â€Å"Hemingway, Ernest (Miller) 1899-1961.† 2000 A & E Television Networks. 23 March 2004.

Terry Fox :: essays research papers

Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. As an active teenager involved in many sports, in 1977 Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with bone cancer and forced to have his right leg amputated six inches above the knee. The night before his operation, Terry read an article about an amputee who had competed in the New York Marathon. Indirectly that story, along with Terry's observations of the intense suffering of cancer patients, set the stage for what would ultimately become the most important decision of his young life. In 1980, Terry Fox inspired the nation by attempting to run across Canada with an artificial leg. He called this journey the Marathon of Hope. Its mission was to raise money and awareness for cancer research in Canada. With little to no attention, Terry started his journey in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980. Although it was difficult to get attention in the beginning, hype soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to rise. He ran 43 kilometers a day through Canada's Atlantic Provinces, Quebec and Ontario. September 1, 1980 -- it was a dull day in Northern Ontario when Terry Fox ran his last miles. After 18 miles he started coughing and felt a pain in his chest. Terry knew how to cope with pain. He'd despite it as he always had before, he'd simply keep going until the pain went away. For 3,339 miles, from St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada's eastern most city on the shore of the Atlantic, he'd run through six provinces and now was two-thirds of the way home. He'd run close to a marathon a day, for 144 days.

President Truman and his Policies Essay -- American Government, Polit

By the end of World War II, the United States seems as by far the world’s most ultimate power. The country has world’s most powerful navy and air force at that period of time. United States proves that it can lead the rest of the world to future in terms of international cooperation, expanding democracy, and ever-increasing living standards. New institutions such as United States and World Bank are just a few examples that promote this argument. However, the only power that could rival the United States was Soviet Union, whose armies now occupied most of Eastern Europe, including eastern part of Germany. However, at the end of World War II and beginning of the Cold War U.S as a world’s superior power has a great president named Harry S. Truman (1945-1953). An undistinguished senator from Missouri, who never expected to become president until Democratic Party leaders chose him to replace Henry Wallace as Roosevelt’s running mate in 1994. During his pre sidency, he took many challenges and stood out successfully in most of them. His strongest argument was for the defense of freedom; he did his best during his entire presidency to protect the civil rights of every citizen for his nation. He took his office at that time, when America was facing already 2 great wars; and all people are tired of wars. However, the Cold War took the place at the end of World War II, where all nations are scared to fights because of their own found deadly weapon. The president always wants peacetime and tries to deal his best with the help of his foreign policies. Though, he wants to stand his nation as the strongest and powerful compare to their rival Soviet Union. During his presidency, Truman as the President did what was necessary and best for thi... ...onomic reason; which was practiced against many of our minority groups (Doc. 153: 248). Truman also clarifies that minority groups were not only victims of economic excess; its impact was felt by entire population (Doc. 153: 248). Furthermore, we cannot escape the fact that our civil rights record had been an issue in world politics (Doc. 153: 248). Truman evoked that our foreign policy was designed to make our nation enormous, positive influence for peace and progress throughout the world (Doc. 153: 248). Moreover, we were believed that the free way of our life holds promise of hope for all people (Doc. 153: 248). President believes that it was our promise to keep that promise. For that reason, Truman’s focus on civil rights formed apart of strategy to win reelection in 1948 (Forner, Ch.23: 857).

Analysis of Sporstwear

Case I. COMPETITION HITS SPORTSWEAR GROUP’S PROFIT 1. Explain why the sportswear industry in JJB operates may be considered an example of monopolistic competition. Textile Intelligence Reports in 2007 indicate that the UK sportswear market was estimated to have a value of ? 3. 65 bn (US$6. 72 bn) in 2006. The reason behind is that, purchase levels are high. Sportswear items are purchased by almost 90% of people under 35 years of age, and by 76% of the population as a whole according to the research. UK sportswear industry can be considered a monopolistic competition in the sense that there are only about four leading sportswear retailers in the United Kingdom: JJB Sports, Blacks Leisure. John David Group and Sports World. The dominant player in the market is JJB sportswear given the number of outlets and stores it operates 450 stores, the closest is JDB by around 300 stores. Given the wide gap, JJB at some point has control of the control of the entire market sales and distribution and posed a barrier of entry. [pic] Illustration from: http://www. ized. co. uk/current/leisure/2004_5/111004_map. htm Given the above, characteristic of a monopolistic competition exist in this industry. The characteristic of monopolistic market is further expanded on Question 2. In this case of UK sportswear market structure is a pure monopoly. There are quite a number of sellers in the industry and therefore many close product substitutes in existence but nevertheless firms like JJB retain some mar ket power. 2. How does the monopolistic market structure exemplified in the article differ from perfect competition? Below are two comparable sets that differentiate monopolistic market from perfect competition: |Perfect competition |Monopolistic competition | |Many sellers – |Single seller – | |Each firm is relatively small compared to the overall size of the |Monopoly exists when a specific firm has sufficient market/industry | |market. This provides assurance that no single firm can gain control |control over a particular product or service and able to determine | |over price or quantity of the entire market or industry. If one firm |significantly the terms of quality and price by which all buyers will | |decides to increase its output or shut production, the market is |have access to [similar to JJB case] | |unaffected. The market price does not change and there is no distinct | | |change in the quantity purchased or exchanged in the industry. | |Identical / â€Å"homogeneous† products sold by all firms – |Unique product – | |Each firm in a perfectly competitive market sells an identical |For a monopoly to exits, there should be a unique product. Monopoly | |product, they are not perfectly the same but the buyers will not |lacks in providing a practicable substitute goods. | |distinguish any difference. Each competitive firm produces a good that| | |is a perfect substitute for the product of every other firm in the | | |same industry. | | |Price Taker – | | |As a result not one can control market price. If one tries to charge a| | |higher price, then buyers would immediately switch to other cheaper |Price Maker- | |competitor goods that are perfect substitutes. |Since there is no competition, prices are set to maximize profits. | | |However in order to increase sales, prices are reduced by the firm. |Low-Entry/Exit Barriers – |High Barriers of Entry/Exit – | |There are no restrictions, government regulations. Each can do a |There is an assurance of sufficient control and dominant presence due | |start-up cost according to their own resources as long as their output|to a number of assorted reasons for barriers to entry: (a) required | |can perfectly compete and match competitor’s quality and price. government license or franchise as monopoly is often times regulated | | |(b) existing patents and copyrights and (c) high start-up cost needed | |Perfect Information – |Specialized Information – | |As mentioned in point 2, one firm cannot sell its g ood at a higher |Commonly characterized by control of information. Monopolistic firm | |price than other firms. This follows that buyers are completely aware|held exclusively information like a secret recipe, formula or unique | |of sellers' prices. Each firm also has complete information about the |method or technology or production which is often protected by | |prices charged by other sellers. This means that it would be unlikely |patents, copyrights, or trademarks. This also creates legal barriers | |for them to charge less than the current market price. Perfect |to entry. | |knowledge also extends to technology. All perfectly competitive firms | | |have access to the same production techniques. There is a remote | | |possibility that a competitive firm can produce its output faster, | | |better, or cheaper because of special knowledge of information. | | |Nicholson, Walter (2005) | | [pic] Also, For a competitive firm, price equals marginal cost. P = MR = MC †¢ For a monopoly firm, price exceeds marginal cost. P ; MR = MC 3. In the long run, are firms better off operating in monopolistic competition or in perfectly competitive markets? Long-run effects of increasing competition in the monopolistically competitive industry: In the long run, a monopolistically competitive firm will make zero economic profit. However, due to influence in the market it can most of the time raises prices without losing customers but to deflect new entrants, it can lower its prices and leverage on customer loyalty. This means that a firm making profits in the short run will break even in the long run because demand will decrease and average total cost will increase. Also means that a monopolistic firm's demand curve is downward sloping, in contrast to perfect competition, which has a perfectly elastic demand schedule. See illustration in item #2. Long-run position of a firm in a perfectly competitive industry: In the long run positive profit can not be sustained as there is always arrival of new firms or expansion of existing competitive firms. This causes the demand curve of individual firm to shift downward and prices to go downward as well. This means that at the same time the average revenue and marginal revenue curve also points downward. Bottom line, in the long run similar to monopolistically competitive industry, the firms in perfect competition in the long run will also make a normal profit. The horizontal demand curve will touch its average total cost curve at its lowest point Conclusion: When the long-run average cost exceeds long-run marginal cost, JJB’s output is not at the minimum point on long-run average cost curve. JJB can sell sportswear at a lower price in the long run and by taking advantage of economies of scale, such as price discounts. Therefore is not much difference between monopolistically competitive firms vs. Long-run position of a firm in a perfectly competitive industry. The difference lies mainly on the product (homogenous vs. unique) and influence in the market. 4. JJB states that their â€Å"profit margins were hit by a vigorous promotional campaign launched in October and a Christmas/New Year sale†. Illustrate how the promotional campaign is likely to affect their profit margins. Before the promotional campaign: [pic] †¢ Similar to a competitive firm, a monopoly maximizes profit by producing the quantity at which marginal cost and marginal revenue are equal †¢ Above graph is the scenario of JJB prior to price promotional campaign to ward off growing competition. After the promotional price campaign: [pic] †¢ During the promotional campaign, the price maybe less than average cost causing the decline in JBB’s profit. †¢ This gives no incentive for JJB to reduce cost. References: McTaggart, Findlay and Parkin (2007), Economics (5th ed. ) Pearson Education Australia Publisher Nicholson, Walter (2005) Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions 9th edition, Ceneage Learning India Pvt Ltd Publisher PERFECT COMPETITION, CHARACTERISTICS, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, [Online], Available: http://www. AmosWEB. com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2009. [Accessed: September 12, 2009] MONOPOLY, CHARACTERISTICS, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, [Online], Available: http://www. AmosWEB. com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2009. Accessed: September 12, 2009] Antony Davies & Thomas Cline (2005). â€Å"A Consumer Behavior Approach to Modeling Monopolistic Competition†. Journal of Economic Psychology 26: 797–826 [pic] ———————– Average Total cost e d [pic] c Marginal Revenue Marginal cost Demand Revenue Costs and 0 QMAX Quantity Total cost Average Price Demand Price 0 Quantity of Output Price 0 Monopolist†™s Demand Curve’ Competitive Firm’s Demand Curve Demand Quantity of Output Average total cost Marginal cost Demand Price Loss 0 Quantity Price Promotion Total cost Average Profit