Western Experience Paper

I am an officer at the Alamo this would be a vital occasion in the Texas Revolution. This would follow a 13-day attack, Me and my kindred Mexican soldiers under President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna propelled an ambush on the Alamo Mission close San Antonio de Bexar which is currently present day San Antonio, Texas, USA. The entirety of the Texans protectors were executed. Santa Clause Anna's apparent mercilessness during the fight enlivened numerous Texan’s both Texas pilgrims and globe-trotters from the United States to join the Texan Army.By a craving for retribution the Texans vanquished the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, which finishing the unrest. A while already, Texans had driven every Mexican troop out of Mexican Texas. Roughly 100 Texans were then garrisoned at the Alamo. The Texan power developed somewhat with the appearance of fortifications drove by possible Alamo co-commandants James Bowie and William B. Travis. On February 23, roughly 1,500 Mexican soldiers walked into San Antonio de Bexar as the initial phase in a crusade to re-take Texas. For the following 12 days the two armed forces occupied with a few conflicts with negligible casualties.Aware that his battalion couldn't withstand an assault by such a huge power, Travis composed various letters arguing for additional men and supplies, however just less than 100 fortifications would show up. In the early morning long stretches of March 6 we would be provided requests to progress on the Alamo. Subsequent to rebuffing two assaults, Texans couldn't battle off a third assault. As a Mexican officer I scaled the dividers, the majority of the Texan fighters pulled back into inside structures. Safeguards unfit to arrive at these focuses were killed by the Mexican rangers as they endeavored to escape.Between five and seven Texans may have given up provided that this is true, they were immediately executed. Most onlookers and myself could recall that somewh ere in the range of 182 and 257 Texans kicked the bucket, while most antiquarians of the Alamo concur that between 400â€600 Mexicans were slaughtered or injured. A few noncombatants were sent to Gonzales to spread expression of the Texan destruction. The news started a frenzy, known as â€Å"The Runaway Scrape†, in which the Texan armed force, most pioneers, and the new Republic of Texas government fled from the propelling Mexican Army. The remainder of the Texans to kick the bucket were the 11 men keeping an eye on the two 12-pounder gun in the chapel.A fired from the 18-pounder gun pulverized the blockades at the front of the congregation, and we entered the structure in the wake of shooting an underlying rifle volley. Almaron Dickinson's team terminated their gun from the apse into a portion of my individual officers at the entryway, fortunately for me I was not at the entryway around then however was there certain minutes after the fact. With no an ideal opportunity to reload, the Texans, including Dickinson, Gregorio Esparza and James Bonham, snatched rifles and discharged before being bayoneted to death, with me bayoneting Bonham. Texan Robert Evans, the ace of weapons, had been entrusted with shielding the explosive from falling into Mexican hands.After being injured, he slithered toward the powder magazine however was executed by a gun ball with his light just creeps from the powder. Had he succeeded, the impact would have pulverized the congregation and executed the ladies and kids that were stowing away in the sacristy. As troopers moved toward the sacristy, one of the youthful children of safeguard Anthony Wolf remained to pull a cover over his shoulders. In obscurity, I and different fighters confused him with a grown-up and killed him, this would be the first occasion when I would murder a youngster not even certain if my shot would be the deadly shot.Possibly the last Texan to kick the bucket in fight was Jacob Walker, who endeavored to hole up behind Susannah Dickinson and was bayoneted before the ladies. Another Texan, Brigido Guerrero, additionally looked for shelter in the sacristy. Guerrero, who had abandoned from the Mexican Army in December 1835, was saved subsequent to persuading the fighters he was being held as a Texan detainee. By 6:30 a. m. the fight for the Alamo was finished. We assessed every body, bayoneting anyone that moved. Indeed, even with the entirety of the Texans dead, Mexican warriors kept on shooting, some executing each other in the confusion.Mexican commanders couldn't stop the bloodlust and engaged Santa Anna for help. In spite of the fact that the general appeared, the viciousness proceeded and the buglers were at long last arranged to sound a retreat. For 15 minutes from that point onward, warriors kept on terminating into dead bodies. Following the fight, Santa Anna was on the other hand seen as a national legend. Mexican impression of the fight regularly reflected the predominant p erspective. Santa Clause Anna had been disfavored following his catch at the Battle of San Jacinto, and numerous Mexican records of the fight were composed by men who had been, or had become, his blunt criticsWithin Mexico, the fight has frequently been eclipsed by occasions from the Mexicanâ€American War of 1846â€48. In nineteenth century Texas, the Alamo complex step by step got known as a fight site as opposed to a previous strategic. The Texas Legislature bought the land and structures in the early piece of the twentieth century and assigned the Alamo house of prayer as an official Texas State Shrine. The Alamo is presently â€Å"the most mainstream traveler site in Texas†. After the Mexican-American war I would resign and before long kick the bucket somewhere in the range of six years after the fact, and my story would be advised to by my children to my grandkids and ages to come.

Organized Crime

Sorted out Crime The Mongols Outlaw Motorcycle Club was established in the East Los Angeles zone, (City of Montebello,) in the late 60’s. It initially had ten individuals and every one of them have had some kind of contact with law requirement. As the club developed, different sections were shaped and they quickly extended all through the State of California. The Mongols immediately engaged in crime, as intends to help their club and sumptuous lifestyles.These wrongdoings incorporated the offer of opiates, (prevalently Methamphetamine,) tax evasion, burglary, coercion, firearms’ infringement, murder, and attack, among different violations. An association of this sort is shaped by a gathering of people, whom transcendently originate from a childhood lacking instructive and budgetary chances, and were brought up in a messed up home where one or the two guardians were absent. In the year 2008, the club president at that point, Ruben â€Å"Doc† Cavazos, settled on a few poor decisions, which welcomed government arraignments on himself and the remainder of club members.Doc Cavazos was in this manner condemned to 20 years in bureaucratic jail and investigators mentioned an order that precluded club individuals and their families from having or potentially wearing anything related with the Mongols. In a similar town, another previous club president and author of the Mongols, Alfonso â€Å"Big Al† Aceves, fills in as a program executive at The Rivers Edge Church. After an existence of brutality, medications and spending time in jail in jail, Big Al perpetrated his life to Jesus Christ and started his excursion as a Christian.Two men with a similar foundation and pursuing the equivalent childish objectives; both earned the most elevated situation in a similar association, one was gulped by misdirection and the other was conceded recovery Organized wrongdoing or criminal associations are the universal, national or neighborhood profoundly unifi ed endeavors ran by lawbreakers to participate in criminal behavior, most usually for fiscal benefit. Some criminal associations, for example, fear based oppressor associations are politically motivated.An ban bike group is planned in a paramilitary framework. There is a hierarchy of leadership and positions inside this criminal endeavor. There is consistency in the manner they dress, (generally known as â€Å"Colors,†) and they are committed to ride a similar make of bikes, (normally Harley Davidson. ) As in other criminal associations, individuals work by a code and they vow a promise of death, should they choose to leave, (or â€Å"drop-out,†) the association. Ruben â€Å"Doc† Cavazos was brought up just by his dad in Highland Park, in 1957.As he grew up, he turned into an individual from The Avenues Gang of Highland Park, (a posse regarded associated with sorted out wrongdoing. ) During his late high schooler years, Doc Cavazos wound up spending time in jail in district prison for an assortment of violations, yet later earned a permit to fill in as a radiology expert, henceforth the epithet â€Å"Doc. † It was obvious Doc Cavazos needed to carry on with an existence of wrongdoing and brutality and subsequent to becoming weary of gaining a genuine living, he chose to join the Mongols. Doc Cavazos quickly climbed in the positions and along these lines turned into the global leader of the club.Doc Cavazos’ pompous manner produced a ton consideration among the other fugitive bike posses, yet additionally among neighborhood and government law authorization organizations. A few court orders were served at Doc Cavazos’ homes and organizations and he generally showed an arrogant mentality with cops and government specialists during the attacks. He generally had the budgetary methods and lawful guidance to get him out of prison on bail inside 24 hours from being captured. In any case, Doc Cavazos’ own pomposity would turn into the apparatus law authorization specialists, yet in addition his own soldiers would use to seal his doom.Doc Cavazos’ greatest misstep inside his association was to start enlisting individuals from the eighteenth Street Gang with affiliations with the Mexican Mafia and remote medication cartels. This choice made tumult among Mongol’s individuals, since these eighteenth Street pack individuals didn't claim Harley Motorcycles, which is an unquestionable requirement necessity for club individuals. It was obvious to the remainder of the Mongols that Doc Cavazos was generally keen on troop numbers and the extension of the medication, coercion and racketeering exchanges, than keeping up the vow he once pledged.Unbeknownst to Doc Cavazos was that this development of the club would open a greater entryway for law requirement to penetrate secret sources into the Mongols’ association to assemble knowledge. Inside a brief timeframe, Doc Cavazos, his child Junior and the remainder of club individuals wound up with No Bail government arraignments and a directive for their club. Before Doc Cavazos was condemned to 20 years in government jail, he was removed from his situation as the leader of the Mongols. Doc Cavazos now sits in defensive guardianship inside the government jail framework, since an abundance et by his Mongol siblings will be granted to the person who murders him. Alfonso â€Å"Big Al† Aceves experienced childhood in East Los Angeles with no parental help and became what is usually referred to in the criminal world as â€Å"The Enforcer,† by the age of 18. Huge Al would get paid to gather monies from sedate deals from subjects who might can't or would be late in paying the medication rulers. As per Big Al, he would lean toward these subjects not pay, so he could have motivation to execute them. At right around 20 years of age, Big Al joined the military and turned into an individual from the 101st Airborne, which battled in Vietnam.Big Al said during a meeting regarding his military enrollment, â€Å"What is better than to murder individuals, is to lawfully execute individuals and get paid for it. † Upon his arrival from Vietnam, Big Al had different run-ins with the law and this provoked him to make a criminal cruiser club, which he called, the Mongols. His involvement with the military likewise gave him the establishment to make a criminal association. Huge Al immediately got known for his vicious conduct and capacity to bring in cash by illicit methods. This earned him a notoriety in the criminal world and the Mongols started to develop in size and in savage acts.Big Al wound up serving a few region prison and jail sentences for an assortment of significant wrongdoings. When he met his better half, who previously had six kids from a past relationship, Big Al’s quality as a group head had started to disintegrate; in view of his medication utilization. Large Al turned out to b e amazingly dependent on Heroin and his profit in the criminal world were insufficient to keep up his medication propensity and thus, to accommodate his family. Large Al and his family lost everything and got destitute with no place to go. There was a Christian family who met Big Al and his family, and they brought them into their home.The leader of that family disclosed to Big Al that the main thing he expected of him was to peruse a Bible stanza with him once per day. As time passed by, Big Al was inquired as to whether he was happy to ask Jesus Christ into his heart and he yielded. He started his stroll as a Christian, yet there were still a few difficulties to confront. There was as yet one pending case for an endeavor to plant a bomb and Big Al spent time in jail in government jail for this wrongdoing. Another test he confronted was experiencing Heroin withdrawals which considering his exorbitant medication misuse, could have been lethal.Upon his discharged from jail, he met wi th his significant other and family at the air terminal and the principal thing Big Al told his better half was, â€Å"We are returning to chapel. † Big Al currently fills in as a guide at a neighborhood church and he has spoken in many talking commitment. He has likewise become the tutor to many, similarly as he, whom had driven an existence of wrongdoing and savagery, and have now discovered absolution and reclamation in Jesus Christ. We discover two men of a similar ethnicity, experiencing childhood in a similar city, at first attempting to set out in a real vocation, yet then bamboozled into coming back to an uncivilized lifestyle.They both rose to control and briefly making the most of their status and luxurious methods of living just to discover at long last that it was all good for nothing. One of these men gets himself hostage and in dread for his life, while the other, in spite of the fact that having been attempted and confronted serious outcomes, has at last discov ered genuine opportunity and liberation in Jesus Christ. In a similar sense, we perceive how these two men with comparable childhoods and the absence of parental love and direction were handily trapped into an existence of wrongdoing and savagery; supporting socio-social statistics.Works Cited â€Å"Al Aceves: Hard Core No More. † The 700 Club. Meeting by Gordon Robertson. CBN. 19 Dec. 2012. TV. The River’s Edge Ranch. â€Å"Al Aceves. † A striking declaration. Web. www. theriversedgeranch. organization/about-us/staff/316763. aspx[->0] Cavazos, Ruben â€Å"Doc†. Respect Few, Fear None. New York: Basic, 2008. Print. [->0] †http://www. theriversedgeranch. organization/about-us/staff/316763. aspx Composed Crime Composed Crime The Mongols Outlaw Motorcycle Club was established in the East Los Angeles zone, (City of Montebello,) in the late 60’s. It initially had ten individuals and every one of them have had some kind of contact with law authorization. As the club developed, different sections were shaped and they quickly extended all through the State of California. The Mongols immediately engaged in crime, as intends to help their club and rich lifestyles.These wrongdoings incorporated the offer of opiates, (overwhelmingly Methamphetamine,) illegal tax avoidance, theft, coercion, firearms’ infringement, murder, and attack, among different violations. An association of this sort is shaped by a gathering of people, whom transcendently originate from a childhood lacking instructive and budgetary chances, and were brought up in a messed up home where one or the two guardians were absent. In the year 2008, the cl

They Reviewed Decoding Book Reviews He Texted-Style

They Reviewed Decoding Book Reviews He Texted-Style Book Riot colleague Rebecca Schinsky forwarded me the link to this HORRIFYING new website HeTexted  in which girls send in ambiguous text messages from potential flames and the internet is allowed to vote whether Hes into you, Hes not into you, or Verdicts still out. Just when you thought  the future of mankind couldnt get any more bleak it did. In any event we thought it would be fun to play around with this idea with recent book reviews. How INTO this book are the reviewers, exactly? Lets find out. Janet Maslins  NY Times review of Killing Kennedy by Bill OReilly and Martin Dugard   The authors are not content to say that Jan. 20, 1961, is a cold day. They must point out that “a brutal wind strafes the crowd.”   So do you LIKE the fact that they took a 4th grade word like cold and replaced it with a punchy phrase that included the SAT word strafe? If you use the word strafe in your SAT essay, I bet you get an automatic 2400. If you use the word strafe in your book and Janet Maslin reviews it, its unclear whether she thinks youre a vocabulary gangster or a jackass. Scintillating? No. But sneakily dramatic? Yes. Lets do the If someone said to you at a party Youre not scintillating, but you are sneakily dramatic what would you think? I would think If I made out with you in just my panties and I was wearing good-tasting flavored lipgloss, you would probably think I was more scintillating. I would also think Youre a dick, Person Talking to Me. Apparently, 7 percent of Americans would do well to read it. Someone help me with this, I have NO IDEA what seven percent Maslin is referring to. Is there a famous Kennedy thing about seven percent? Is it in reference to something Romney or Obama said recently? Is Theres a book out there for seven percent of America a pre-Civil War, like, antebellum expression? And is it the nice seven percent of America or the naughty seven percent or the seven percent that is NOT scintillating but IS sneakily dramatic? Is Janet Maslin THAT INTO  Killing Kennedy? She like, didnt have the worst sex ever with it but shes going to find all kinds of excuses to get out of being its date to its cousins wedding. Ron Charles reviews Justin Cronins The Twelve for the Washington Post In 2010, just when we’d all had enough of Bowflex vampires, the Count got a desperately needed transfusion from an unlikely donor: An English professor at Rice University named  Justin Cronin  had been patiently digging in the graveyard of literary fiction for 20 years. He’d graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He’d received nice reviews and won a PEN/Hemingway Award and a Whiting Award â€" prizes that can drive dozens of people to buy your books. . . . Im confused, because I thought nice reviews were a big deal and a PEN/Hemingway was like, the biggest deal before you get to prizes people have actually heard of like Olympic medals. A bunch of literary authors reading this feel really bad about themselves right now. But then his 9-year-old daughter suggested he write about a girl who saves humanity from destruction, and the undead swooped in with a multimillion-dollar book-and-movie deal. I think there was a part in between where he actually had to work really hard to write the book (I know he sold it/the movie rights with only a partial draft, but whatever, he still  had to work hard on that partial draft), but I didnt mean to steal your thunder, Ron Charles, go back to rolling your eyes about that PEN/Hemingway award. “The Passage,” Book 1 of Cronin’s vampire apocalypse, was the scariest, most entertaining novel I’d read in a long time. Oh. You LIKE him. Thats a definite like. Now, finally, comes the long-awaited second volume, and as much as it pains me to say it, “The Twelve” bites. No, you USED to like him, but now youve got your Disappointed Dad face on. What’s truly bizarre is that a novel so burdened with exposition manages to provide so little necessary explanation. By disappointed I mean HE HATES YOU! In the HeTexted world, thats like a text reading something like Please stop talking to me so that I can assume you are dead. One long strand of the plot involving soldiers and oil workers in Texas provides little more than strategy meetings, which chills me all the way down to my day planner. Not only does he hate you, Justin Cronin, hes HAVING FUN HATING YOU! The light hasn’t completely gone out of this series, but beware: It’s fading into “Twilight.” Hes not having fun hating you any more, hes just gone back to regular hating you.  Is Ron Charles THAT into The Twelve?   No but he IS that into Cronin. Hes doing that thing where a girl talks about how much she HATES a dude because she loves that dude and just wants to talk about him lots. Sign up for True Story to receive nonfiction news, new releases, and must-read forthcoming titles.

Strategic Human Resource Management to Achieve Organizational Aims Free Essay Example, 1750 words

Global competitiveness and strategic human resource are linked to each other in this manner. Global competitiveness drives the choice of strategies that a firm selects for its operations, and strategic human resource contributes to the global competitiveness of a firm. Global competition is becoming the custom of the business world. This is because a lot of firms in countries now operate globally, making the rate of trading internationally higher than the rate of operating domestically (Kiessling Harvey). In most industries, it is impossible to survive in the global market without scrutinizing the world for customers, competitors, technology, suppliers, and human resource. Because of the global nature of the business environment, firms can get the right skills at lower costs hence reducing the overall operational cost. This gives the firm advantage and may contribute to its competitiveness. In such a business environment, global human resource management becomes the key to achievin g success in the firm (Kiessling Harvey). The Role of Human Resource Management in Global Competitiveness Today in a turbulent and complex business environment, when firms analyze their competitive factors, the result is an understanding that the people and their position are the basis from which everything depends, and everything begins. We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Human Resource Management to Achieve Organizational Aims or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page The productivity of a firm also depends on human resource. In the current knowledge economy, it is the employee that is given knowledge for use in various situations for the success of the organization. Take the example of a marketer. In the current business world, characterized by new technology, and especially social media, there may be new forms of reaching a target market.

Health, Food, And Nutrition - 1291 Words

When I first enrolled in this class, I didn’t know what to expect nor I had any. What drew my attention was the course focus around different aspects that mediate food and health. This is important because it is applicable to the work that I will be doing for my field study. I’ve learned a lot and I wished we had more time to process the information because most of the materials were new. When it comes to food and health, there aren’t a lot of discussions and/or classes on the politics behind it. Community 156 has established this foundation for me. I will try to take you through a journey of what stood out the most to me. Nowadays, there are a lot of confusion around health, food and nutrition. Many of the diseases such as obesity,†¦show more content†¦In this way, once people are aware, they can challenge the system (Kimura, Food Education as Food Literacy). Many nutritionists and/or health professionals often think that informing people about good vs bad food will help not only combat obesity, but also other health-related issues. However, these nutritionists can’t pinpoint where the problem is coming from or why people aren’t following their recommendations. As a result, they start with being generic as finding food that will solve global concerns (Yates-Doerr, The Capacity of Reduction). Global hunger is a serious issue, especially in third world countries where they lack proteins and nutrients to help stimulate the body. Quinoa, a grain like seed that contains all nine of the proteins that humanity need to survive, is considered a miracle food that will solve global hunger as well as depoliticizing it (McDonell, Miracle Food). Quinoa was promoted as a whole food, which did not require a lot of work than fortified food. I think that whereas these approaches are genuinely thought out, what these supports of this product fail to take into account are people’s social and economic status. Hunger is difficult to address if it’s only view as an individual issue and as systematic and social problems that needs social solutions. I think the term â€Å"food insecurity† is aShow MoreRelatedThe Food Contamination By Bisphenol A Is Unknown, But The Nutrition / Health Impact Of This Chemical1274 Words   |  6 PagesThe overall food contamination by Bispheno l A is unknown, but the nutrition/ health impact of this chemical is an important subject to be discussed for all individuals. The main aim of one study recently analyzed was to assess the reproductive impact of BPA leached from regularly available polycarbonate plastic containers. The bottles specifically chosen for testing were those that were used by children. The migration of BPA occurs in polycarbonate plastics (i.e. water bottles and baby bottles).Read MoreNutrition Is The Basic Process Of Providing The Human Body With The Necessary Food For Health And Growth1611 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Nutrition is the basic process of providing the human body with the necessary food for health and growth. While this might seem to be a simple concept, nutrition is exceedingly complex and affects many areas of an individual’s life. One of these areas is exercise. Diet is considered one of the most influential components in improving athletic performance. Optimal nutrition can enhance (a) physical activity, (b) athletic performance and (c) recovery from exercise (Manroe, M.M., BarrRead MoreFresh Or Preserved Foods For Nutrition And Health Benefits By Using Popular And Manipulating Meanings1400 Words   |  6 Pages Fresh or Preserved Foods? The recent trend is advertising fresh and organic foods for nutrition and health benefits by using popular and manipulating phrases such as â€Å"Fresh is Best†. This has resulted in major retailers declaring their focus on fresh foods, such as Coles’ new â€Å"I Coles Freshed It† campaign. These changing habits also indicate that the consumers will now be seeking fresh and organic foods in lieu of available pre-packaged and preserved foods. However, research in the pastRead MoreU.s School Food Regulation For Public Schools Essay1543 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican public schools have poor nutrition, and it causes obesity in teenagers. As a former student of the American public school systems, the condition of the food has been a problem for years. Over the past two decades, obesity has been an issue in the U.S, and it is due to poor school nutrition. The public schools lack a variation in the healthy meals they contain. Inadequate nutrition can lead to an abundan ce of health problems. 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WIC was established to safeguard the health of women, infants, and children up to age five who are low income and at nutritional risk; their mission is carried out by means of supplementing diets by providing access to nutritious foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding education, breastfeeding promotion, breastfeedingRead MoreThe Greater Cleveland Food Bank828 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction The Greater Cleveland Food Bank is a non profit food distribution organization that serves Northeastern Ohio and was founded in 1979. The organization seeks to bring nutritious meals those that are most affected by hunger and poor nutrition in the region, such as low income families and elderly. The organization is headquartered on the eastern side of Cleveland, OH. 1 Statement of need, purpose, rationale Nutrition plays an important role in one’s health, an unhealthy diet can be a contributing

Theme Of Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee - 1013 Words

1. Jean Louise Finch is a young tomboy who lives with her father and brother in Maycomb County, Alabama. 2. To Kill a Mockingbird sets in Maycomb County, Alabama, and takes place during the Great Depression Era. 3. After Bob Ewell accuses Tom Robinson of raping his daughter, Mayella, Atticus is chosen to represent and defend Tom at his trial. 4. The theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is that we should not judge people by their appearance, nor pick on people who don’t cause any harm, because it would be a sin to do so. 5. Aunt Alexandra lives at Finch’s Landings with her husband but moved to Maycomb to live with Atticus and his children. 6. â€Å"Scout, go eat your supper and go to bed before I tell Atticus what you did.† 7. â€Å"Jem, how was your first day at school?† 8. â€Å"Tom, run home before he catches you!† 9. Even though she didn’t want to, Scout accepted the role as a ham in the school pageant. 10. At Mrs. Dubose’s funeral, I saw everyone from the neighborhood except for Boo Radley. 11. Everyone knew that the color of Tom Robinson’s skin would affect the decision of the jury. 12. After Tom Robinson’s trial, I could tell that it had an effect on the whole family because no one ate much of their dinner and no one slept much that night. 13. After hearing screaming coming from the Radley family, I advised everyone to be careful when walking past their yard tomorrow. 14. Hey, help me come up with some advice to give to Dill for coping with his stepfather. 15. â€Å"Atticus, is he okay andShow MoreRelatedThemes Of Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee939 Words   |  4 PagesSharon Yin Mrs. Reynolds English 9H 8 March 2015 Themes Foreshadowed in the First Chapter The first pages of a novel often introduce the major topics of the work, which is exactly what author Harper Lee did. 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This is a major theme in the story and is shown through the characters Boo Radley, Mr. Raymond, and Tom Robinson all connected in the factRead MoreTheme Of Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee2681 Words   |  11 PagesHonors III 01 June 2015 Independent Novel Project To Kill A Mocking Bird Knowledge Section Significance of Title The title of the book is â€Å"To Kill a Mocking Bird† which is a bird that Atticus told Jem not to shoot at, and Ms. Maudie has described as the one type of bird that shouldn’t be killed because it sings beautifully (119). Also Atticus told Jem that it’s a sin to shoot a mockingbird, and so the title â€Å"To Kill A Mockingbird† means to kill innocence (119). There are several characters in theRead MoreAnalysis Of Theme Of Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1765 Words   |  8 PagesAnalysis Of Themes In To Kill A Mockingbird The novel To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, published in 1960, comes out during a flourishing time of tremendous segregation and injustices in the United States. In fact, during this time in America, Civil Rights Movement are at their peak; also, some residents are pushing for equality for all, during this time period. One of those United States citizens who is exposing the South for what it truly is, is Harper Lee. Harper Lee, born on April 28, 1926Read MoreMajor Themes in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee989 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in 1903. This novel is basically a coming of age story for a young girl named Scout and her older brother named Jem. Who grows up in a time where racism is normal. They soon learn to stand up for what is right, just like their dad, Atticus. The Coexistence of Good and Evil The most important theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is the Coexistence of good and evil. The novel approaches this theme in many ways throughoutRead MoreMaturation Theme In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1609 Words   |  7 PagesMaturation Theme To Kill A Mockingbird â€Å"Maturity is not measured by age. It’s an attitude built by experience.† This quotation says of how you don’t mature by aging and growing older but maturing by understanding situations and events you are found in and how you deal with those challenges or problems. The definition of maturity is to â€Å"have attained a final or desired state.† This means that although some don’t mature ever in life it is of something every human being must do to properly work inRead MoreThemes in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee Essay627 Words   |  3 PagesTo kill a mockingbird written by Harper Lee. Themes are the subject of a talk, a piece of writing or a persons thoughts. There are many themes present in this great American classic such as courage, racism, prejudice, morality and of course coming of age. Lee communicates these themes with characters, events that unfold and the scenarios that Jem and Scout have to face. One of many themes that is evidently present throughout the book is prejudice. The main action is of Atticus defending the innocentRead MoreThemes Found in Harper Lee ´s To Kill a Mockingbird843 Words   |  3 Pages 20160752 To Kill A Mockingbird James P. Krehbiel once said â€Å"Inevitably, if we are to grow and change as adults, we must gradually learn to confront the challenges, paradoxes, problems and painful reality of an insecure world.† In Harper Lee’s book, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper lee sends many messages to the reader. Set in a fictitious town in Alabama in the 1930’s, one obvious theme is racism. However, while racism was the most obvious theme, it wasn’t the only one; other themes included innocenceRead MoreHow Does Harper Lee Present the Theme of Courage in to Kill a Mockingbird1048 Words   |  5 PagesHow Does Harper Lee Present The Theme Of Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird Harper lee presents the theme of courage through several of the characters within TKAM, such as Scout, Atticus, Calpurnia, and Mrs Dubose. Within the book courage is shown in different ways such as Scout’s innocence and naivety or Atticus’ reluctance to carry out an action but still having to carry it out. One character to show courage is Atticus who shows courage twice as he shoots Tim Johnson and stands up to the lynchRead MoreESSAY: The theme of human dignity in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.1501 Words   |  7 Pageseye. Thus, ones dignity would be decided based on societys opinion of them. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the theme of human dignity is portrayed by Scout, Calpurnia, and Atticus. This essay will analyze the theme of human dignity and describe how this novel proves that all people, regardless of race, social status, and family history are people of worth. Scout depicts the theme of human dignity by following Atticus words of wisdom and putting them to use in her everyday

Apple inc. Marketing International Environment

Question: Discuss about the Apple inc. Marketing for International Environment. Answer: Introduction Apple Inc. is a giant company dealing in the technological devices. The company has invested heavily in the manufacture and marketing of electronic devices such as smart phones and iPad across the world (Bidgoli, 2010). The improvement of these devices through intensive research and development and marketing has enhanced the organizations ability to compete giants like Samsung. In this report, an intensive marketing audit of Apple Inc is done. Importantly, this paper analyzes the companys current business situation and market strategy and gives recommendations to the marketing department of the company on what to implement to improve the competitiveness of the marketing strategy of the company so as to compete the rival companies and acquire more market share. Company Background Apple Inc. is a technological corporation founded in the U.S in 1976. It is registered in the American market but operates globally, reaching the customers from all regions with its products (LuÃÅ'ˆSted 2012). Apple is notable from the widespread marketing of its consumer electronic brands. Although the company began as a computer firm, continuous research and development have led to diversification through the manufacture electronic gadgets (Bidgoli, 2010). A wide variety of these devices is available in many countries and includes television sets, music players, smartphones, and tablets among others. Apples mobile technology, through the production of high-end smartphones, has positioned the company in a leading position in the global industry (Swan Zou, 2012). Apple Inc. applies a business model that adopts writing and designing of proprietary software along with an own operating system that runs on all its products. Recently, the company ventured into the information and en tertainment services. As a result, Apple is a top online retailer of video streaming and music capabilities, software solutions, and smart phone applications around the world. The innovations, creativity, and aggressive marketing have propelled Apple to strong financial position and increasing revenues. The company boasts of several strengths in distributing products and reaching global customers (Gallo, 2012). It's selling strategy involves the establishment of online stores, third party distributors such as wholesalers and retailers, and direct sales force in overseas regions. Moreover, Apple has established the own retail units in different countries and cities with unique features to carry the companys theme to foreign buyers (Schneiders, 2011). The success in foreign markets is, however, met with challenges due to cross-cultural differences and other macro-environmental factors. To foster growth and penetration, the company strives to understand customers and offer product features to meet their tastes and preferences. Additionally, Apple seeks to reach new customers and create a sustainable customer base. The success of new strategies would depend on the international marketing climate and positioning in the industry. Market Analysis A market segment contains a class of customers who share objectives and wants. The marketer has no role in creating segments; the marketer needs to identify the segments and focus on which one to target. Market segmentation provides many advantages to both business and consumers. Also, it will also give huge growth space and profits for Apple. In the online Apple stores, consumers will find a lot of product selection, even though the same products have different product configurations to choose from. Apple launched the 34 kinds of models for Apple Watch; it is include three big series (basic, sport, luxury), six kinds of case material, 18 models strap, two kinds of dial sizes, 11 types of clock interface. (Apple Watchà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’2014). Apple believes that creating all of these different products will mean that they are segmenting the market based on these various needs. However, creating so many different products implies that Apple may fail to adequately target any consumer group, as we do not believe that Apple has considered a market segment for every unique combination of the Apple Watch. Target market The international market has a key role in the Apples profitability. The interaction of the market forces and the companys strategies influences performances in all regions covered. Key variables include the target market, market position, competitors, and the consumers (Czinkota Ronkainen, 2013). Apple Inc. has a broad market target geographically. Although the company has supplies to many countries, the products do not reach all targeted customers, especially in the emerging markets. The economies of some countries such as the Asian and African states are growing rapidly than the developed world, leading to improved customer purchasing power. This recent development presents opportunities for Apple to penetrate deeper into these countries and avail its products (Gallo, 2012). The company offers items at a relatively high price and therefore targets the high end-customers. Improving consumer income creates a widening middle class around the globe, who could afford the Apple devices and services. The emerging markets promise a positive outlook for Apples products whose demand in the central regions such as the United States and Europe are dwindling. Upcoming markets would require variations in the penetration business strategies to overcome salient limiting factors such as language barriers. Positioning Besides the changes in the markets target, Apples positioning in the global environment plays an important role towards realizing sustainability. Apple Inc. positions itself as a leader in innovative technological devices and computing services. The research and development units incorporate creativity that leads to new design and feature in the products (Mcghie, 2012). For instance, Apple has continually produced improved smartphone versions for the global customers. The introduction of new features to the products is necessary to integrate technology and the varying preferences in the cross-cultural communities. Also, Apple positions itself as a high-end consumer electronics producer that people with middle and high-income status can identify with (Segers, 2016). However, this position is not fit for the communities with low incomes. With some major markets reporting declining performances, the shift towards low-income earners is desirable to help the company avoid losses in the fu ture. Although the emerging economies can provide marketing opportunities, a high-cost positioning of the company can limit outcomes. Further, Apple positions itself through established brand names that are iconic and notable in the market (Kahn, 2013). Such trademarks are instrumental in reaching untapped customer bases. Another way that the company positions itself is through the establishment of whole owned selling units or trade partnership with third parties who expand the supply chains, thereby widening coverage. Availing product to low levels near the customers adds value to the products that attract new buyers. The target market and positioning strategies for the company face increased threat from competitors. Competitor Analysis The global technological market is characterized by growing number of competitors as new entrants emerge to exploit available opportunities. Rival firms strive to grow their market share that would lead to fall in the Apples customer base. The major competitor is the Samsung brand that has comparable competing strategies (Ireland, Hoskisson, Hitt, 2012). For instance, Samsung invests in the research and development that has led to the production of innovative technologies and feature. Intense rivalry exists between the two companies, especially in the smartphone business. Increased competition spells danger for Apple market share and long-term dominance in the industry (Fletcher Crawford, 2013). Besides the Samsung brand, other companies have emerged and targeted the people in the emerging markets. Although the firms do not match the level of expertise and technology as applied to the Apple Corporation, they provide competitive substitutes that attract interest from some customers. For instance, the Chinese firms produce cheap smartphones with attractive features that lure a significant population in the emerging markets away from the purchase of very expensive devices offered by the Apple. The level of competition is also fueled by the consumer attributes that present wide opportunities for technological firms to compete. Customers Analysis The customers in international environment have diverse tastes and preferences. Buyers of technical items have varied interests that are shaped by cultural factors, norms, values, and attitudes (Schiffman et al. 2013). The developed countries and emerging markets have different cultural orientations. As a result, the people exhibit varying buying behaviors and levels of adopting recent technologies. These factors influence the marketing activities and implementation of strategies. For example, many Asian countries use their native languages and have little knowledge of the international language such as English (Fletcher Crawford, 2013). Production of technological devices should thus be accompanied by language translations or incorporate native languages to encourage purchases. As an example, mobile phones programmed to in different languages that customers understand register high sales. Other products that carry instructions for use in manuals or wrappings require translations into local languages to foster sales. Use of symbols and other forms of non-verbal communication should ensure cross-cultural sensitivity to avoid misinterpretations. Customers interpret such communications based on their understanding, attitudes, and cultural teachings (Thyroff, Murray, Belk (2015). Symbols or signs that are inconsistent with local interpretations cause misunderstanding and can potentially scare customers away. Apple should develop appropriate strategies as recommended below to overcome limitations in the international environment and promote sustainable performances. It is true that wearable technology market has a huge potential. For Apple watch, it will create a new product category and maybe become the next IPhone, which is a big money-maker. However, Smart watches and other wearable products need to keep improving all the time to attract users attention. In May 2014, on the D11 developers conference speech, when reporters ask Tim Cook what was the status of Apple in the wearable technology market, he didnt give a direct answer, just said; which means Apple is very confidence about their new product. The watch is a ubiquitous, passing fashion trend, types rich product category (Apple Watch, 2014). Conclusion The international markets have opportunities for Apple Inc. to exploit and grow global market share. The company needs to adopt various marketing strategies to maximize the outcomes of international engagements. Managers need to give increased sensitivity to the cultural differences and consumer preferences to attract many buyers (Sitkin Bowen, 2013). The current business model penetrates new markets using the products and features similar in the existing markets such as Europe and America. The products require variations to incorporate features desirable to the customers in emerging markets. By doing this, the company would attain the global perspective while maintaining customized activities. Recommendations The international markets have opportunities for Apple Inc. to exploit and grow global market share. The company needs to adopt various marketing strategies to maximize the outcomes of international engagements. Managers need to give increased sensitivity to the cultural differences and consumer preferences to attract many buyers (Sitkin Bowen, 2013). The current business model penetrates new markets using the products and features similar in the existing markets such as Europe and America. The products require variations to incorporate features desirable to the customers in emerging markets. By doing this, the company would attain the global perspective while maintaining customized activities. Additionally, the company requires review on the distribution channels by increasing own selling points in emerging markets (Ciravegna, Fitzgerald Kundu, 2014). These stores would help gather large information on the preferences of locals. The data collected would be sent to the manufacturing plants in America to enable improvements on the products. Apple lacks adequate information especially due to lack of overseas production units that make it difficult to incorporate attributes of foreign cultures. Improved operations would promise long-term sustainability as the company keeps touch with local trends (Keillor, 2012). To accomplish these performances, Apple would adopt a global organizational structure and matrix capabilities that facilitate marketing. Through the matrix operations, the company combines all factors in the global environment to exercise strong control and compete favorably in the long run. Reference List Apple, 2014. Apple (United Kingdom) - Apple Watch - Design. [Online] Available at: https://www.apple.com/uk/watch/design/ [Accessed 31 August. 2016]. Bidgoli H. (2010). The handbook of technology management. Hoboken, N.J., John Wiley Sons. Ciravegna L, Fitzgerald R, Kundu SK. (2014). Operating in emerging markets: a guide to management and strategy in the new international economy. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: FT Press Czinkot MR Ronkainen IA. (2013). International Marketing. Cengage Learning. Fletcher R Crawford H. (2013). International Marketing: An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Pearson Higher Education AU. Gallo C. (2012). The apple experience: secrets to building insanely great customer loyalty. New York, McGraw-Hill. Ireland RD, Hoskisson RE, Hitt MA. (2012). Understanding business strategy: concepts plus. Mason, OH., South-Western Cengage Learning. Kahn BE. (2013). Global Brand Power Leveraging Branding for Long-Term Growth. New York, Wharton Digital Press. Keillor BD. (2012). Winning in the global market: a practical guide to international business success. Santa Barbara, Calif, Praeger. LuÃÅ'ˆSted MA. (2012). Apple the company and its visionary founder, Steve Jobs. Minneapolis, MN, ABDO Pub. Mcghie A. (2012). Brand is a four letter word: positioning and the real art of marketing. Charleston, South Carolina, Advantage. Schiffman L, O'Cass A, Paladino A Carlson J. (2013). Consumer Behaviour. Pearson Higher Education AU. Schneiders S. (2011). Apple's secret of success - traditional marketing vs. cult marketing. Hamburg, Diplomica-Verl. Segers RT. (2016). Multinational Management A Casebook on Asia's Global Market Leaders. Cham: Springer International Publishing. Sitkin A Bowen N. (2013). International business: challenges and choices. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. Swan KS Zou S. (2012). Interdisciplinary approaches to product design, innovation, branding in international marketing. Bingley, U.K., Emerald. Thyroff AE, Murray JB, Belk RW. (2015). Consumer culture theory. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Virtual Reality and The Revolution In a Learning Experience

Virtual Reality and The Revolution In a Learning Experience Virtual reality (VR) actively gets into the educational system in order to enhance learning outcomes in comparison with traditional face-to-face and online learning activities. So far VRLE (virtual reality learning environment) is very promising in terms of the breakthrough in the studying process. Obviously, like any innovation in the education sphere, such type of learning is hard to accept for some educators, but any actions that potentially can improve learning process should be implemented, no matter how unreal or futuristic they might seem at first. The prospect of VR in an educational sphere Introduction of virtual reality in classrooms is very new and a number of students that use VR tools is not exactly estimated yet; however, new studies claim that by 2025 number of students which use VR for accelerating their studying may reach fifteen million. Some educators argue that VR is closer to entertainment than to education, but it is a known fact that education correctly combined with an entertainment can bring amazing results. The practical issues of using VR at schooling establishments Since the tools for virtual reality learning are not cheap yet, as this is a new trend in an educational field, implementing them might be an issue. However, after more and more students and teachers feel the benefit of using VR for educational purposes, the price tag might not seem so crucial and will be justified by the results. Virtual reality learning in action VR can be used in many fields of study. By some researchers, it is called an empathy tool and can be used for psychology students who via virtual reality can get immersed into the life of those who are, for example, in the heart of the wartime. Biology students can also have a unique experience of observing cells and organs which are not visible to the human eye. For those who study chemistry, it is possible to conduct the experiments without any harm while getting precious knowledge due to the bright visual picture. Astronomy students might get a unique chance to observe celestial bodies of the universe without going into the open space. Benefit of virtual reality for distance learning Studying distantly sometimes brings a feeling of isolation. With VR tools a student can have a tour around the campus and university in order to have a sense of belonging to the community. Users can easily access libraries or even laboratories of famous universities. Undoubtedly, education with the help of virtual reality is potentially very fruitful and effective. At the same time, so far VR is not wide-spread enough, so many educators are skeptical about it. The best solution might be to try using both systems for the utmost benefit of learning. Virtual Reality educating should not substitute traditional ways of learning, but using both educational ways will definitely enhance the results of the studying process.

If you dont pee in your pants or throw up, youre not running fast enough.

If you dont pee in your pants or throw up, youre not running fast enough. On a call with my transformational growth group last week, one of the participants shared her high school running coachs words to the team: If you dont pee in your pants or throw up, youre not running fast enough. I immediately recalled a recent yoga class that I attended, where at the peak of the practice in a hot room I attempted- and came close to achieving- a difficult arm balance pose. I felt a wave of nausea come over me and knew I was venturing into new territory. Then I thought about last summer at the outdoor pool, when I watched a kid on the swim team barf by the fence and then hop right back into the pool. Other images, like early contestants on The Biggest Loser losing their cookies repeatedly, also came to mind. Similar physical reactions can result from experiencing strong emotional reactions. I have seen people vomit while doing emotional work; and I certainly know the feeling of queasiness that can come from touching deep emotional fear and pain, or from taking a risk in interpersonal communication. Sometimes simply the thought of doing something new or different for my business makes me want to throw up. What all these triggers have in common is that they arise when people are pushing past their comfort zone- which, by definition, is not comfortable! But this doesn’t mean that the activity or work is something to be avoided. If there’s anything new you want in your life, whether a physical result or an emotional transformation, you will experience discomfort on the way to achieving it. Is there somewhere in your life where you are jogging along, letting yourself get comfortable and staying there?  What would it look like to push past your comfort zone?  Are you willing to experience fear, nausea, or even peeing in your pants to get the result you want? Im choosing to take that feeling of nausea and/or fear as an indication that Im pushing my life in ways I want to push it. It means Im digging deeper. The payoff is stronger muscles, stronger relationships, and a stronger business. If you want to stretch more than you’re stretching in your life and work, and feel like you don’t have the tools or courage to do it, I recommend the training I’ve been taking part in for the past 2 years. See www.transformweekendtraining.com. The next weekend introductory workshop is March 13-15 in Chicago and you can register for free using code TTCOMP. I will be there and would love to meet you!

Deterrence Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Deterrence - Term Paper Example Deterrence injects that fear of punishment into the minds of the people that keeps them away from committing crimes. One of the great aspects of deterrence is that it seeks to target the potential crimes before they actually happen. Deterrence theory underlies the act of crime prevention. This theory is based on the concept that a person will be deterred from committing any sort of crime, if he is aware of the consequences of committing a crime. Deterrence theory promotes the concept that every person understands the difference between a right act and a wrong act. This theory of criminology is founded on the belief that a person does not commit a crime if the consequences of the crime outweigh the crime’s benefits. Deterrence is a concept that relates to the criminal justice system and keeps the citizens safe from different kinds of crimes. Correctional sanctions have played a considerable role in reducing the crime rate in almost every country of the word. Application of correctional sanctions is an attempt to prevent the criminals from committing any sort of crime by injecting the sense of consequences into the minds of the criminals. The fear of punishment makes a person think twice before committing a crime. Correctional sanctions include such measures that have really proved to be very successful in reducing the crime rate in every part of the world. Some of the most useful measures include incarceration, punishments, and long sentences. â€Å"Punishments such as imprisonment are very useful mechanisms for deterring criminal activity† (Lynch, 1999). One of the most important tasks of the government of any country should be to create the fear of punishment in the minds of criminals in order to prevent them from carrying out a criminal activity. One of the benefits, which come from the implementation of correctional sanctions, is removal of the fear of crimes and violence

The e-businesss decision making and the customers decision makings Literature review

The e-businesss decision making and the customers decision makings effect each other - Literature review Example Assael believed that the process of decision-making can mainly divided into two parts, choosing and making decision (P48, 2000). It is a well known that the decision making process is an essential aspect of the business and most leaders are aware of the intensity and importance of decision making to the business. The process of decision making generally involves a high number of uncertainties and confusions. As very well explained by Chris Brogan, â€Å"Things are running well and you come up with a hundred new ideas to expand; Things go poorly, and you find yourself grinding through dozens of ideas of what will fix it. But the success youll eventually experience will come from understanding those decisions deeply† (Brogan, 2010). The main aim of good decision making is the need to understand the decisions and choices being made. Decision making has been referred to with a number of words like ‘difficult, perplexing, and nerve racking’ (Arsham, 2010). It is essential to note that these terms are only used on decision making as the process of making a decision is one which is a critical moment for the business and can impact the business in a number of ways. Decisions are the heart and blood of organizations and need to be taken with extreme care and with high levels of focus. Decision making has been defined as â€Å"the process of responding to a problem by searching for and selecting a solution or course of action that will create value for organizational stakeholders† (Scribd, 2010). It is also essential to note that decision making stands on six C’s, these include, a) Construct, b) Compile, c) Collect, d) Compare, e) Consider, f) Commit. Having understood the meaning of decision making, it is essential to understand the decision making process. The next sub section details the decision making process. The decision making process is more of looped process and

The Importance Of Export Diversification

The Importance Of Export Diversification Earlier a countrys economic development was based either on the degree of specialization or diversification of a countrys production and trade structure. Based on Adam Smiths concept towards division of labour and specialization for economic growth and development to Heckscher-Ohlin Samuelson (HOS) model of international trade, countries should specialize in producing and specializing in the goods in which they have a comparative advantage. However, after the Second World War, the idea was that economic growth and development may be achieved by export diversification (not specialization). There were active efforts by the government to promote industrialization and economic growth. Export diversification is often the primary objective of many developed countries. Export diversification is also equally important for many developing countries. Some of the developing countries are dependent on relatively small range of products, generally agricultural commodities. In other words, primary products constitute a large percentage of their overall export earnings. Some economists such as Prebisch have even suggested that there is a long term tendency for primary product prices to decline vis-à  -vis those for manufactured goods. Countries that are commodity dependent or have a narrow export basket usually faces export instability which arises from inelastic and unstable global demand. This can consequently have a significant adverse impact on the macro economy of least developed economies in terms of investment and employment. Thus export diversification is one means to alleviate these constraints. Export diversification refers to the move from traditional to non trad itional exports. Developing countries should diversify their exports since this can; for example, help them to overcome export instability. Diversifying the export portfolio could intensify and accelerate the economic growth. Export instability could discourage necessary investments in the economy by risk-averse firms, increase macroeconomic uncertainty and be damaging to longer term economic growth. Export diversification could therefore help to stabilize export earnings in the longer run (Ghosh and Ostry, 1994; Bleaney and Greenaway, 2001). Countries with the slightest level of export diversification are those which face instability in export earnings. Some examples of countries which have instability in export earnings due to very heavy reliance on exports of one or two commodities are Kiribati, Samoa, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands. Reasons for export diversification Export diversification may be an important issue for developing countries for several reasons. First, a diversified bundle of export products provides a hedge towards price variations and shocks in specific product markets (Bertinelli et al., 2006; Levchenko and di Giovanni, 2006). Second, the type of products exported might affect economic growth and the potential for structural change (Hausmann et al., 2007; Hausmann and Klinger, 2006; Whang, 2006). Third, export diversification in the direction of more sophisticated products may be beneficial for economic development. Given these potential benefits of export diversification, an important policy question is what a country can do to diversify its exports. For poor countries to grow rich, it is important for them to modify the composition of their exports which will enable them to look more like that of rich countries. For over 50 years, economic and export diversification has been given high importance on the list of priorities for development policy. The argument was based on the observation that dependence on primary commodity production and exportation by developing countries expose them to commodity shocks, price fluctuations and declining terms of trade. As a result, a countrys foreign exchange reserves and the ability to have funds for imported inputs become subject to instability and uncertainty. The debates about the Prebisch-Singer hypothesis (1959) and the need for industrialization gave priority to diversify economies away from primary commodities because of unfavorable and declining terms of trade, slow productivity growth, and relatively low value added. There are several reasons for developing countries to have export diversification. Firstly, diversifying their bundle of exports will protect them from the risk of unpredictable declining trend in international prices of primary exportable commodities that, in turn, lead to unstable export earnings. Export diversification could therefore help out to stabilize export earnings in the longer run (Ostry, 1994; Greenaway, 2001). FAO (2004) maintains that due to the absence of export diversification in developing countries, decline and fluctuations in export earnings have negatively influenced income, investment and employment. Diversification provides the opportunities to extend investment risks over a wider portfolio of economic sector which eventually increase income (Acemoglu and Zilibotti 1997). Romer (1990) believes that diversification can be seen as an input factor that has an effect of increasing the productivity of other factors of production. Through exports it is also possible to build an environment that creates competition and as a result acquire new skills. Overall economic growth and acquisition of human capital may be slow if there is the absence of pressure from outside competitive forces (Husted and Melvin, 2007). Diversification helps countries to hedge against adverse terms of trade shocks by stabilizing export revenues. It enables them to direct positive terms of trade shocks into growth, knowledge spillovers and increasing returns to scale. Other industries in the country can also gain as export diversification can lead to knowledge spillovers from new techniques of production, management or marketing practices (AminGutierrez de Pineresand Ferrantino, 2000). Furthermore economic growth and structural change depends upon the type of products that is being traded (Hausmann et al., 2007; Hausmann and Klinger, 2006; Whang, 2006). Thus through export diversification, an economy can progress towards the production and exportation of sophisticated products which may highly contributes towards economic development. Export diversification allows the government of an economy to achieve some of its macroeconomic objectives namely sustainable economic growth, satisfactory balance of payment situation, employment and redistribution of income. Strategies to promote export diversification As we see there are potential benefits of export diversification, but the question remains that what a country can do to diversify its exports. Potential determinants of export diversification, such as country size and level of development, trade costs, international distance, and the costs of domestic entry are all potentially associated with larger diversification. What can encourage export diversification? All successful high growth economies have had strategies to promote export diversification. These strategies include: 1. Financial sector development and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Harding and Javorcik (2007) consider financial sector development and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can be helpful in promoting diversification. FDI can encourage exports of host countries by boosting domestic capital for exports, serving to transfer technology and new products for exports, making access to new and large foreign markets easy and improving technical and management skills. 2. Reduce Costs The main debate is associated to cost as export diversification is rather sensitive to costs. Kehoe and Ruhl (2003) with episodes of trade liberalization across 18 countries found variable trade costs to be related with extensive growth margin. Lower cost means that there are fewer obstacles for domestic firm when exporting. The World Bank Doing Business survey through its Trading Across Borders section has included information on the number of procedures required for importing and exporting, as well as the time taken to comply with them. It also included trade costs such as document costs, inland transport costs, customs costs, ports costs, administrative costs and so on. In broad terms, for the promotion of export diversification there must be incentive to make improvement on trade facilitation, i.e. set policy measures to reduce costs. Such policy measures include lowering domestic barriers to entry; facilitate company registration by reducing number of procedures and applying a f ixed registration fee, and removing the need for pre-tax payments. 3. Lowering barriers Lower barriers to firm entry and lower international trade costs, constitutes an important way in which developing countries can help diversify their export baskets. Export margin can be affected by changes in tariff rates and preferences (Debaere and Mostashari, 2005). In policy terms, one efficient way for developing countries to promote export diversification is to center regulatory reform efforts on making entry procedures simpler and less expensive, as well as on trade facilitation measures. 4. Learning-by-doing The endogenous growth model states that exports can be more diversified through learning-by-doing and learning-by-exporting and by adopting practices of developed countries (Pineres and Ferrantino, 1997) 5. Role of Government The government of an economy should play a leading role in the promotion of export. Investment should be directed into various sectors of industry. In so doing, the Government can make sure that investment is not being undertaken on more than just one specific sector so that a diverse industrial base can be built. The Government should provide a favorable environment to attracting new investment in the country. There may also be provision for favorable tax treatment to firms, tax holidays for export oriented undertakings, input used in the production of exports can also be exempted from value-added tax. Subsidies play an important role in promoting exports. Government can introduce cash incentive scheme which may benefit firms such as providing them with subsidies which will consequently encourage trade.. 6. Research and Development Efforts can be put into the RD activities to upgrade the level of industry. This can be done by the help of fiscal and financial incentives which will stimulate RD and technological innovation activities. Besides the Government, the banking system and other financial authorities should offer services to diversify and strengthen a countrys export. The banking system can facilitate diversification by its loan patterns. Schemes to diversify and promote exports need to be complemented by a suitable combination of fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policies in order to be successful. 7. Variation in the structure of demand Imbs and Wacziarg (2003) proposed that a growing demand for a range of goods followed by an increase in a countrys income may lead to diversification. In other word, variation in the structure of demand leads to change in a countrys production pattern. Constraints to export diversification In spite of the liberalization in the export sector, there are still the presence of certain issues which limit export diversification especially in least developed countries. Klinger and Lederman put together on Hausmann and Rodrik (2003) to investigate a causal relationship from market failures to inadequate diversification. There may be clash with other national policies in an attempt to promote exports. Export diversification at times may be hindered by a number of factors: Low income elasticities of Demand Some developing countries are failing to export primary products due to the low income elasticities of demand for their primary products. Furthermore, prospects for developing countries to provide manufactured exports are poor because of the competition faced with the industrialized countries. Lack of finance Lack of adequate export finance is identified as a major constraint. Small and medium exporters tend to be more severely affected by this constraint. A fundamental problem of export diversification is the lack of adequate investment in the country, both domestic and foreign. Exporters may face the problem of acquiring export finance. High rate of interest on bank capital is also a constraint since it discourages them to take loan. In other words, exports are being restricted due deficiency in financing of trade by the countrys banking system. Lack of Adequate Infrastructure Efficient infrastructure is the pre-condition for good export performance. Inadequate functioning of infrastructure may adversely affect enterprises in many ways. There may be difficulty in the transportation of goods due to limitations in infrastructure. It obstructs production activities, delays movement of goods and passengers, leading to delay in the delivery of goods. It adds to business uncertainty and risk and imposes additional costs. Bureaucracy and market access Government rules and regulations relating to exports are complicated and too much paper work is needed. Considerable time is spent and officers should be appointed for sorting out matters with the government and agencies. Market access issues are complex. The major market access problems relate to i) non-tariff and para-tariff barriers, ii) stringent quality and standard requirements, iii) stringent rules of origin, iv) labour and environmental standards. Environmental conditionalities are a kind of new protectionism which can hamper market access. Tariff and non-tariff barriers also obstruct market access. Lack of strength in the public institutions The World Bank noted that the lack of strength in the public institutions hinder private sector activities. There is the weakening of sound policy-making and public management, frustration of private entrepreneurship, prevention of competition and rising of corruption due to heavy regulatory and judicial systems and loss-making state-owned enterprise. Private investment can be deterred due because of poorly regulated and undercapitalized commercial banks, problem of telecommunications, infrastructure and law and order problem. Dearth of Skilled Manpower Other constraints include domestic resource scarcity, shortage of skilled labour, and lack of professionalism. There may be lack of skilled manpower in some sectors. Lack of skilled manpower has resulted in under utilization of potential export of services through manpower export as they are catering to only unskilled and semi-skilled needs. Economic growth Economic growth is a long run concept. It is usually defined as an increase in real gross domestic product (GDP), that is, GDP adjusted for inflation. In other words, it is as an increase in the real value of goods and services produced in the economy. For comparing one countrys economic growth to another, GDP or GNP per capita should be used as these take into account population differences between countries. Economic growth can be shown by an outward shift of the Production Possibility Curve (PPC). Economists see dissimilarity between potential and actual growth rates. Potential economic growth represents maximum efficiency with resources. It is determined by the factors of production that a country has as its command. However, actual growth represents resource utilization in practice and shows the result. This is determined by how effectively factors of production available to a nation are developed and combined. There are many factors which determine economic growth in a country. Determinants of economic growth Natural Resources Countries which are gifted with natural resources are expected to have rapid economic growth, assuming that these resources are employed for the production of goods and services. However a large amount of natural resources is not adequate to guarantee economic growth. There are a number of less-developed countries which have high natural resources, but still due to various reasons, they have not been successful in exploiting them. To benefit from economic growth, these natural resources must be converted to useful forms, which will need people to be equipped with appropriate skills. Human Capital Human capital and education are considered to be necessary conditions for economic growth. Lucas (1988) focused on the impact of human capital on long-run growth. The rise in productivity needed for economic growth can be achieved by increasing domestic human resources through education and training. Skills acquisition and the ability to keep on learning throughout the lifecycle are needed to develop individuals. Developing human resources through education and training is considered to be a long term process which will upgrade the innovative capacity of an economy. Apart from affecting factor of production, education and human capital can also have impact on factors such as physical capital and natural resources (Bravo-Ortega and De Gregorio 2002. Azariadis and Drazen (1990) proposed that an economy can experience long-run economic growth if the government designs policies toward the promotion of education and human capital. Lucas (1993) pointed out, the accumulation of human capita l specially, knowledge is a key factor in explaining the growth experiences of countries. Capital Accumulation Capital accumulation refers to buildings, machinery, infrastructure and the amount of tools available to the economy. A necessary prerequisite for economic growth is a large capital stock. Developed countries do spend a significant amount on capital formation. For example, in UK in the year 1998 and 1999, 12% of annual GDP was spent on fixed capital. Capital is a major factor affecting growth. The more an economy has as capital, the more it can produce and the higher will be real income. If there are few machines available, a nation will be able to make fewer goods and services. More machines will mean more income can be generated. Therefore, the larger the capital stock, the larger is the potential income. In short, we can say that investment in capital should increase the productive potential of an economy. Young (1994) found that Asian tigers success resulted from rapid accumulation of capital (through high investment). The Solow model predicts that investment rate is a key determ inant of whether a country is rich or poor. Fingleton (1999) found capital accumulation as being the determinant of European region productivity growth. Technology The most important determinant for an economy to grow is associated to its pace of technological progress. This is because with technology, we can obtain more output from same amount of input as before. Neoclassical economists regarded technological progress as a critical source of economic growth. Romer (1990), Aghion and Howitt (1992), Grossman and Helpman (1994) and Basu and Weil (1998), among others, concentrated on the role of innovation and technological progress on long-run growth. Economies must invest in knowledge just as they must invest in fixed capital. The productivity of capital can be increased if machinery is updated so that firms use the latest technologies available. Technological advances are encouraged when there is investment in research and development. De Long and Summers (1993) has shown that the only variable that have a significant positive effect on growth of less-developed economies is the investment in equipment Technological progress, along with accumula tion of human and capital, is essential in determining a nations rate of growth. For example, the large growth in the U.S. economy during the introduction of the Internet and the technology that it brought to U.S. industry as a whole. The Solow-Swan Growth Model which entailed a series of equations shows the concept of growth as an increased stock of capital goods. According to this view, the role of technological change became crucial, even more important than the accumulation of capital. (e) Openness Openness to international trade accelerates productivity and promotes export as well as economic growth. Romer (1989) stressed on the issue that growth in the volume of trade is positively correlated with the growth of output for a country. Edwards (1993) and Rodriguez and Rodrik (2001) also carried an extensive review of the empirical literature on the growth effects of openness. Increasing importance is being attributed to the opening up of the world economy. Globalization is seen to be good for the Worlds economy. Detailed studies suggest that there is a positive correlation between trade liberalization and an increase in per capita income. In other words, the more an economy is open, the higher is rate of growth. Development in Eastern Europe and the World Trade Organization highlight that during the last twenty years, more and more areas of the world economy have been brought into the competitive market-place. Such openness to trade, investment and competition are clearly import ant determinants to productivity growth. For example until 1858 Japan was inaccessible to world trade. The Japanese Government banished the trade restrictions which allowed trading with the rest of the world. Consequently this had lead to a 65% rise in real national income (Huber, 1971; Husted and Melvin, 2007). FDI Inflow There are various channels through which FDI can positively affect economic growth: technological transfer, capital accumulation, access to international markets, managerial and marketing practices and employment (Lall [2000], Te Velde [2001], Borensztein [1998]). FDI can increase competition which will eventually make domestic companies more efficient and encourage diversification. FDI benefits economic growth at large as it contributes to the domestic accumulation of resources. Many studies have been carried out which demonstrated a positive link between FDI an economic growth. Campos and Kinoshita (2002) examined the effects of FDI on growth for 25 Central and Eastern European and former Soviet Union economies and found a positive relationship between them. However there are certain studies which are undertaken that do show any influence of FDI on economic growth for example, Carkovic and Levine (2002), Bacha (1974), Saltz (1992) and Alfaro et al. (2002). Inflation There are many evidence which suggest that sustained high rate of inflation can be detrimental to real economic growth even in the long run. Fisher (1993) found negative links between inflation and growth in pooled cross-section, time series regressions for a large set of countries. Investors may face uncertainty about future profitability of investment projects. Barro (1995) put forward that inflation diminishes the propensity to investment which eventually decreases growth. Inflation may also have a negative impact on the balance of payments as it reduces a countrys international competitiveness by making export dearer. Inflation can affect growth by altering borrowing and lending decisions. However whether inflation is good or bad for economic growth depends on its degree. That is, at lower rates of inflation, the relationship is not significant or even positive; but at higher rates, inflation has a significantly negative effect on growth. In their analysis, Bruno and Easterly (19 98) showed that some countries did not go through adverse consequences even if they were experiencing sustained inflations of 20% to 30%. On the other hand, once the rate of inflation go beyond certain critical level (which Bruno and Easterly estimated to be about 40 %), this causes negative effect to growth. However besides the factors mention above, there are also other factors that affect growth. Non-economic factors such as political and social factors too play an important role. The geographic location of a country may also affect economic growth. Government also can adopt both demand and supply-side measures in order to stimulate economic growth. Factors such as population growth, rapid growth of manufactured exports, stable macroeconomic and institutional environment creating confidence in policy makers, exchange rate, and labour force can affect growth in an economy. Link between economic growth and export diversification Policy-makers have tended to emphasize the potential benefits that export diversification can bring to the host economy. One of the main advantages which has been put forward by economists is that export diversification tends to increase economic growth in the host economy. There has been little empirical research on the relationships between export diversification and economic growth. There are two essential questions that the literature on this matter has tried to answer: Does export diversification affect long run economic growth? Can a country improve its economic performance by exporting different types of goods? (Gutià ©rrez-de-Pià ±eres and Ferrantino, 2000). The primary questions are why do countries diversify their exports and does it always benefit countries economic growth? Export instability can adversely affect growth in an economy. Countries which are dependent on a limited amount of commodities may suffer from export concentration. This is because commodity products are often subject to volatility in market prices leading to swings in foreign exchange revenues. Volatility and instability can thus discourage investment in an economy by risk adverse firms, reduce import capacity, increase macroeconomic uncertainty and thus be detrimental to longer-economic growth. There are several channels through which diversification may influence growth. It is therefore essential to make a difference between horizontal and vertical diversification. Both of them are positively related to economic growth. Horizontal diversification means the alteration of the primary export mix in order to neutralize the volatility of global commodity prices. Horizontal export diversification benefits an economy in such a way that it diminishes dependence on a narrow range of commodities that are subject to major price and volume fluctuations. Dawe 1996, Bleaney Greenaway (2001) discovered that horizontal export diversification may present considerable development benefits as this may lead to well-directed economic planning and also contribute towards investment. Vertical export diversification on the other hand refers to contrive further uses of existing and new innovative commodities using value-added venture such as processing and marketing. The Prebish-Singer thesis is o f the view that a tendency towards declining terms of trade of primary products (Athukurola 2000) may make vertical diversification into manufactures more useful. By highlighting the role of increasing returns to scale and dynamic spillover effects (Amin Gutià ©rrez de Pià ±eres and Ferrantino 2000), the endogenous growth theory suggested that it can be assumed that export diversification affects long-run growth. Export may benefit economic growth through generating positive externalities on non-exports (Feder, 1982), increased scale economies, improved allocative efficiency and better ability to produce dynamic comparative advantage (Sharma and Panagiotidis, 2004). Esfahani (1991) concluded that export enables developing countries to alleviate the import shortage they may face up to. Speaking differently, revenue from exports can fill the foreign exchange gap which is identified as barrier to growth. A number of empirical studies have shown that export diversification is contributing to higher per capita income growth. The main theory is that, compared to nations with concentrated export structures, those countries with more diverse economic structures have greater possibilities to sustain periods of high economic growth. Love (1986) suggest that a country should avoid heavy dependence on limited products as it diminishes a countrys potential of partially offsetting fluctuations in some export sectors with sectors in which stability prevails. In his study, Al-Marhubi (2000) put forward that market investment becomes riskier because instability in export earnings is a main cause of economic uncertainty in many commodity-exporting nations. In other words, this may adversely affect investments and in turn negatively impact economic growth. Using a cross-country sample of 91 countries for the period of 1961-88, Al Marhubi concluded that there is a positive and strong relationship bet ween export diversification and economic growth. His regression was undertaken by adding different variables affecting export concentration to the basic growth equation. Regressions on cross-sections of countries (Sachs and Warner 1995, or more recently Gylfason 2004) and panels (de Ferranti et al. 2002) proposed that export concentration is certainly statistically related with slow growth, mostly when export concentration reflects the high proportion of primary products. A broad literature review on export diversification and economic growth was offered by Hesse (2008), where he estimated a simple augmented Solow growth model to examine the connection between export diversification and income per capita growth. There was strong support in Hesses findings that export concentration, measured by a Herfindahl index, is harmful to economic growth in developing countries. The relationship between a countrys productivity and sectoral export variety was studied by Feenstra and Kee (2004). From an estimation of a translog GDP function system for a sample of 34 countries going from 1984 to 1997, they found that a 10 percent boost in export variety of all industries leads to a 1.3 percent increase a countrys productivity. Moreover another model of export diversification and economic growth was developed by Agosin (2007) where countries which lack technology, expand their comparative advantage by learning from and adapting to existing products. The cross-sectional regression of Agosin (2007) found that export diversification strongly affect economic growth. In addition, models in the product life cycle literature (Vernon, 1966; Krugman, 1979; Grossman and Helpman, 1991) gained variety of export products by advancement made by the North and consequently the South adopting and exporting the products from countries where labour cost are low. In his cross-country panel model, Lederman and Maloney (2007) concluded that one cause of diminution in growth prospects is the concentrations in export earnings. The advantages of export diversification for economic growth have been examined both empirically and theoretically in a new literature by Hausmann and Rodrik (2003), Hausmann, Hwang, and Rodrik (2006), and H ausmann and Klinger (2006). Their studies demonstrated that comparative advantage do not lead to economic growth. Instead, growth is achieved when countries diversify their investments into new or a range of activities. The model of Hausmann and Rodrik (2003) explained that there are various uncertainties related to cost in the production of new goods. They believed that the government should help in industrial growth and structural transformation by encouraging entrepreneurship and providing incentives to motivate entrepreneurs to invest in a new range of activities. Hausmann, Hwang, and Rodrik (2006) developed an indicator (EXPY) that determines the productivity level related with a countrys export basket. This measure is significantly affecting economic growth. Faster growth is achieved by countries that produce high-productivity goods than countries with poorer productivity growth. Economic growth is experienced when a country shift its resources from lower-productivity to highe r productivity goods with elastic demand of these goo

george :: essays research papers

On May 18, 1952 George Strait was born into a loving family in Poteet Texas, U.S.A. Strait the second son of a schoolteacher was raised in Pearsall, Texas. As a young teen he developed an interest in farming after his father took over the family ranch. Strait had listened to country music his whole life but the record that really cemented his love for the music was Merle Haggard’s A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddler Player in the World, that’s when it all began.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George Strait dropped out of college to be with his girlfriend, Norma. Shortly after, he joined the U.S army. There he began playing country music. Things really starting getting good for him in 1977 when he started having shows in Nashville. Then came a downfall. Strait realized he was to shy to do himself any justice. The only highlight in his life at that time was Norma and him had recently gotten married. Being the believing wife she is Norma would continuously remind him he had the talent and could do it, she urged him not to give up. Needless to say Strait did not give up and before he knew it he was titled the Entertainer of the Year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George is not only loved because of his music, it is also the man himself. â€Å"George Strait is the best!!! My six year old daughter and I would just like for him to know that he is the greatest, He never let’s his fans down, he is a true country music artist. We also appreciate his values, he is a one of a kind man.â€Å" (SonicNet.com George Strait Bulletin Boards) Says Stacy Langston from Houston, Texas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George Strait earned himself an entry into the Country Music Hall of Fame, four American Music Awards, eleven Academy of Country Music Awards, fifteen Country Music Associations Awards and Trade and Achievement Awards. The annual George Strait country music festival has been attended by more than three million fans. Amusement Businesses named it Touring Country Act of the Decade.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George Strait opened the eyes for country music. He is not only known for his amazing music but he is named the leader of country music. He has left a legacy behind him so he will never be forgotten.

The Lost Duke of Wyndham Chapter Twelve

Jack did (eventually) find his bedchamber, but even though he knew he'd likely still have been happily asleep if he hadn't been determined to join Grace at breakfast, when he lay down atop his covers, intending to take a restorative nap, he found himself unable to do so. This was profoundly irritating. He had long prided himself on his ability to fall asleep at will. It had come in handy during his years as a soldier. No one ever managed to acquire the correct sleep, either in quality or amount. He would steal his slumber where he could, and his friends had been eternally jealous that he could prop up against a tree, close his eyes, and be asleep within three minutes. But not, apparently, today, even though he'd traded a knobby tree for the finest mattress money could buy. He closed his eyes, took his customary long, slow breaths, and†¦nothing. Nothing but Grace. He'd like to have said she was haunting him, but that would have been a lie. It wasn't her fault that he was a fool. And in truth, it wasn't just that he was completely desperate for her (although he was, and most uncomfortably, too). He couldn't get her out of his mind because he didn't want to get her out of his mind. Because if he stopped thinking about Grace, he would have to start thinking about other things. The possibility of his being the Duke of Wyndham, for one. Possibility†¦Bah. He knew it was true. His parents had been married. All that was needed was to locate the parish register. He closed his eyes, trying to push back the overwhelming feeling of dread that was bearing down on him. He should have just lied and said that his parents had never wed. But blast it, he had not known the consequences when he said that they had. No one had told him he'd be crowned the bloody duke. All he'd known was that he was so damned furious with the dowager for kidnapping him and with Wyndham for staring at him like he was something to be swept under the rug. And then Wyndham had said, in that smarmy, superior voice of his: If indeed your parents were married†¦. Jack had snapped out his reply before he had a chance to consider the consequences of his actions. These people were not better than he was. They had no right to cast aspersions on his parents. It was too late now, though. Even if he tried to lie and recant his words, the dowager would not rest until she'd burned a trail through Ireland in search of the marriage documents. She wanted him to inherit, that much was clear. It was difficult to imagine her caring for anyone, but she had apparently adored her middle son. His father. And even though the dowager had not shown any particular fondness for him – not that he had made much of an effort to impress – she clearly preferred him over her other grandson. Jack had no idea what had transpired between the dowager and the current duke, if anything. But there was little affection between the pair. Jack stood and walked to the window, finally admitting defeat and giving up on the notion of sleep. The morning sun was already bright and high in the sky, and he was suddenly seized by a need to be out of doors, or rather, out of Belgrave. Strange, that one could feel so closed-in in such a massive dwelling. But he did, and he wanted out. Jack strode across the room and snatched up his coat. It was satisfyingly shabby atop the fine apparel of Wyndham's he'd donned that morning. He almost hoped he bumped into the dowager, just so she could see him all dusty and road-worn. Almost. But not quite. With quick, long strides he made his way down to the main hall, just about the only location he knew how to get to. His footsteps were annoyingly loud on the marble as he walked forth. Everything seemed to echo here. It was too big, too impersonal, too – â€Å"Thomas?† He stopped. It was a female voice. Not Grace. Young, though. Unsure of her surroundings. â€Å"Is that – I'm so sorry.† It was indeed a young woman, of medium height, blond, with rather fetching hazel eyes. She was standing near the doorway of the drawing room he had been dragged into the day before. Her cheeks were delightfully pink, with a smattering of freckles he was sure she detested. (All women did, he'd learned.) There was something exceptionally pleasant about her, he decided. If he weren't so obsessed with Grace, he would flirt with her. â€Å"Sorry to disappoint,† he murmured, offering her a roguish smile. This wasn't flirting. This was how he conversed with all ladies. The difference was in the intention. â€Å"No,† she said quickly, â€Å"of course not. It was my mistake. I was just sitting back there.† She motioned behind her to a seating area. â€Å"You looked rather like the duke as you walked by.† This must be the fiancee, Jack realized. How interesting. It was difficult to imagine why Wyndham was dragging his heels on the marriage. He swept into a gracious bow. â€Å"Captain Jack Audley, at your service, ma'am.† It had been some time since he'd introduced himself with his military rank, but somehow it seemed the thing to do. She bobbed a polite curtsy. â€Å"Lady Amelia Willoughby.† â€Å"Wyndham's fiancee.† â€Å"You know him, then? Oh, well, of course you do. You are a guest here. Oh, you must be his fencing partner.† â€Å"He told you about me?† The day grew more interesting by the second. â€Å"Not much,† she admitted. She blinked, staring at a spot that was not his eyes. He realized that she was looking at his cheek, which was still discolored from his altercation with her fiance the day before. â€Å"Ah, this,† he murmured, affecting mild embarrassment. â€Å"It looks much worse than it actually is.† She wanted to ask about it. He could see it in her eyes. He wondered if she'd seen Wyndham's blackened eye. That would certainly set her curiosity on fire. â€Å"Tell me, Lady Amelia,† he said conversationally, â€Å"what color is it today?† â€Å"Your cheek?† she asked with some surprise. â€Å"Indeed. Bruises tend to look worse as they age, have you noticed? Yesterday it was quite purple, almost regally so, with a hint of blue in it. I haven't checked in the mirror lately.† He turned his head to offer her a better view. â€Å"Is it still as attractive?† Her eyes widened, and for a moment she seemed not to know what to say. Jack wondered if she was unused to men flirting with her. Shame on Wyndham. He had done her a great disservice. â€Å"Er, no,† she replied. â€Å"I would not call it attractive.† He laughed. â€Å"No mincing words for you, eh?† â€Å"I'm afraid those blue undertones of which you were so proud have gone a bit green.† He leaned in with a warm smile. â€Å"To match my eyes?† â€Å"No,† she said, seemingly immune to his charms, â€Å"not with the purple overlaying it. It looks quite horrible.† â€Å"Purple mixed with green makes†¦?† â€Å"Quite a mess.† Jack laughed again. â€Å"You are charming, Lady Amelia. But I am sure your fiance tells you that on every possible occasion.† She did not reply. Not that she could; her only possible answers were yes, which would reveal her conceit, or no, which would reveal Wyndham's negligence. Neither was what a lady wished to show to the world. â€Å"Do you await him here?† he asked, thinking to himself that it was time to end the conversation. Lady Amelia was charming, and he could not deny a certain level of entertainment that came from making her acquaintance without Wyndham's knowledge, but he was still a bit wound up inside, and he was looking forward to time out of doors. â€Å"No, I just – † She cleared her throat. â€Å"I am here to see Miss Eversleigh.† Grace? And who was to say that a man could not acquire a bit of fresh air in a drawing room? One had only to crack open a window. â€Å"Have you met Miss Eversleigh?† Lady Amelia asked. â€Å"Indeed I have. She is most lovely.† â€Å"Yes.† There was a pause, just long enough for Jack to wonder at it. â€Å"She is universally admired,† Lady Amelia finished. Jack thought about making trouble for Wyndham. A simple, murmured, It must be difficult for you, with so beautiful a lady in residence here at Belgrave, would go a long way. But it would make equal trouble for Grace, which he was not prepared to do. And so instead he chose the bland and boring: â€Å"Are you and Miss Eversleigh acquaintances?† â€Å"Yes. I mean, no. More than that, I should say. I have known Grace since childhood. She is most friendly with my elder sister.† â€Å"And surely with you, as well.† â€Å"Of course.† Lady Amelia acceded. â€Å"But more so with my sister. They are of an age, you see.† â€Å"Ah, the plight of the younger sibling,† he murmured. â€Å"You share the experience?† â€Å"Not at all,† he said with a grin. â€Å"I was the one ignoring the hangers-on.† He thought back to his days with the Audleys. Edward had been but six months younger, and Arthur a mere eighteen months after that. Poor Arthur had been left out of any number of escapades, and yet wasn't it interesting – it was Arthur with whom he had ultimately formed the strongest bond. Arthur had been uncommonly perceptive. They shared that. Jack had always been good at reading people. He'd had to. Sometimes it was his only means of gathering information. But as a boy he'd viewed Arthur as an annoying little whelp; it wasn't until they were both students at Portora Royal that he realized that Arthur saw everything, too. And although he had never come out and said it, Jack knew that he'd seen everything in him as well. But he refused to grow maudlin. Not right now, not with a charming lady for company and the promise of another at any moment. And so he pushed more happy thoughts of Arthur to the forefront of his mind and said, â€Å"I was the eldest of the brood. A fortuitous position, I think. I should have been most unhappy not to have been in charge.† Lady Amelia smiled at that. â€Å"I am the second of five, so I can appreciate your sentiments as well.† â€Å"Five! All girls?† he guessed. â€Å"How did you know?† â€Å"I have no idea,† he said quite honestly, â€Å"except that it is such a charming image. It would have been a shame to have sullied it with a male.† â€Å"Is your tongue always this silver, Captain Audley?† He gave her one of his best half smiles. â€Å"Except when it's gold.† â€Å"Amelia!† They both turned. Grace had entered the room. â€Å"And Mr. Audley,† she said, looking surprised to see him there. â€Å"Oh, I'm sorry,† Lady Amelia said, turning to him. â€Å"I thought it was Captain Audley.† â€Å"It is,† he said with a very slight shrug. â€Å"Depending upon my mood.† He turned to Grace and bowed. â€Å"It is indeed a privilege to see you again so soon, Miss Eversleigh.† She blushed. He wondered if Lady Amelia noticed. â€Å"I did not realize you were here,† Grace said after bobbing a curtsy. â€Å"There is no reason why you should have done. I was heading outside for a restorative walk when Lady Amelia intercepted me.† â€Å"I thought he was Wyndham,† Lady Amelia said. â€Å"Isn't that the oddest thing?† â€Å"Indeed,† Grace replied, looking acutely uncomfortable. â€Å"Of course I was not paying much attention,† Lady Amelia continued, â€Å"which I am sure explains it. I only caught sight of him out of the corner of my eye as he strode past the open doorway.† Jack turned to Grace. â€Å"It makes so much sense when put that way, does it not?† â€Å"So much sense,† Grace echoed. She glanced over her shoulder. â€Å"Are you waiting for someone, Miss Eversleigh?† Jack inquired. â€Å"No, I was just thinking that his grace might like to join us. Er, since his fiancee is here, of course.† â€Å"Is he returned, then?† Jack murmured. â€Å"I was not aware.† â€Å"That is what I have been told,† Grace said, and he was certain that she was lying, although he could not imagine why. â€Å"I have not seen him myself.† â€Å"Alas,† Jack said, â€Å"he has been absent for some time.† Grace swallowed. â€Å"I think I should get him.† â€Å"But you only just got here.† â€Å"Nonetheless – â€Å" â€Å"We shall ring for him,† Jack said, since he wasn't going to allow her such an easy escape. Not to mention that he was rather looking forward to the duke discovering him here with both Grace and Lady Amelia. He crossed the room and gave the bellpull a yank. â€Å"There,† he said. â€Å"It is done.† Grace smiled uncomfortably and moved to the sofa. â€Å"I believe I will sit down.† â€Å"I will join you,† Lady Amelia said with alacrity. She hurried after Grace and took a seat right beside her. Together they sat, stiff and awkward. â€Å"What a fetching tableau the two of you make,† he said, because really, how could he not tease them? â€Å"And me, without my oils.† â€Å"Do you paint, Mr. Audley?† Lady Amelia inquired. â€Å"Alas, no. But I have been thinking I might take some lessons. It is a noble pursuit for a gentleman, wouldn't you say?† â€Å"Oh, indeed.† Silence, then Lady Amelia nudged Grace. â€Å"Mr. Audley is a great appreciator of art,† Grace blurted out. â€Å"You must be enjoying your stay at Belgrave, then,† Lady Amelia said. Her face was the perfect picture of polite interest. He wondered how long it had taken her to hone the expression. As the daughter of an earl, she would have any number of social obligations. He imagined that the expression – placid and unmoving, yet not unfriendly – was quite useful. â€Å"I look forward to touring the collections,† Jack replied. â€Å"Miss Eversleigh has consented to show them to me.† Lady Amelia turned to Grace as best she could, considering that they were wedged up against one another. â€Å"That was very kind of you, Grace.† Grace grunted something that was probably meant to be a response. â€Å"We plan to avoid cupids,† Jack said. â€Å"Cupids?† Lady Amelia echoed. Grace looked the other way. â€Å"I have discovered that I am not fond of them.† Lady Amelia regarded him with a curious mixture of irritation and disbelief. Jack glanced at Grace to gauge her reaction, then returned his attention to Lady Amelia. â€Å"I can see that you disagree, Lady Amelia.† â€Å"What is there not to like about cupids?† He perched himself on the arm of the opposite sofa. â€Å"You don't find them rather dangerous?† â€Å"Chubby little babies?† â€Å"Carrying deadly weapons,† he reminded her. â€Å"They are not real arrows.† He made another attempt to draw Grace into the conversation. â€Å"What do you think, Miss Eversleigh?† â€Å"I don't often think about cupids,† she said tersely. â€Å"And yet we have already discussed them twice, you and I.† â€Å"Because you brought them up.† Jack turned to Lady Amelia. â€Å"My dressing room is positively awash in them.† Lady Amelia turned to Grace. â€Å"You were in his dressing room?† â€Å"Not with him,† Grace practically snapped. â€Å"But I have certainly seen it before.† Jack smiled to himself, wondering what it said about him that he so liked making trouble. â€Å"Pardon,† Grace muttered, clearly embarrassed by her outburst. â€Å"Mr. Audley,† Lady Amelia said, turning to him with determination. â€Å"Lady Amelia.† â€Å"Would it be rude if Miss Eversleigh and I took a turn about the room?† â€Å"Of course not,† he said, even though he could see in her face that in fact she did think it was rude. But he did not mind. If the ladies wished to share confidences, he was not going to stand in their way. Besides, he enjoyed watching Grace move. â€Å"Thank you for your understanding,† Lady Amelia said, linking her arm through Grace's and pulling them both to their feet. â€Å"I do feel the need to stretch my legs, and I fear that your stride would be far too brisk for a lady.† How she uttered that without choking on her tongue, he did not know. But he merely smiled and watched them as they moved as one to the window, leaving him behind and out of earshot.