Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Marketing - Assignment Example A steward is usually concerned with the three disciplines of mapping, building and aligning a channel value system. Channel value system can be improved and converted from an assembly of certain elements to a highly integrated and efficient system with a deliberate strategy. Mapping is all about coming up with a strategy on how the goods or products will reach the consumer from the producer. It means detailing ones go to market world. It involves coming up with an overview of the system and what drives it. Understanding customer needs and their demand is also important in mapping for channel stewards. It also involves coming up with diagrams showing flow of products and services through the channel value chain, Gauging outside forces shaping the market, Catalog channel member division and cost of labor and calculating a case for channel stewardship investing. Building involves assembling a new and improved overall system and putting it into aligned practice. This basically means creating the stewardship plan. It also deals with targeting value chain value properties of key customer segments, Identifying levels of operation up and down the chain based on perspectives shared with stewardship groups by respected people from each channel partner and prioritizing and demarcating roles and investments is the final step in the building task. Aligning is all about harmonizing the channel value chain. It includes; Engendering the 3 T’s truth, transparency and trust, resolving channel discrepancies and reconciling differences between competing channels, and sustain senior executive engagement from all players. Internet shopping has brought a lot of changes in the marketing sector since almost all goods and services nowadays are being marketed and transacted online wise. Incorporating the internet into a channel strategy and overcoming common obstacles that prevent transformation has been

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Essay Example for Free

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Essay SARS is a highly contagious ailment, whose indications closely resemble those of influenza. Some of the symptoms of SARS are chills, headaches, muscle pains, sore throat and high fever. As the disease continues, there is an onset of pneumonia, which can prove to be fatal. In this context, the World Health Organization had estimated that fifteen percent of the cases of SARS infection proved to be fatal. This disease has defied all attempts at a cure; moreover, there is no vaccine for this disease. The SARS virus underwent a mutation, which enabled to cross the species barrier from animals to people. SARS is a respiratory illness and the symptoms of this illness are fever when the virus infects the human body. Normally the temperature of the human body of an infected person would be in excess of 100. 40F. The infected person develops chills and symptoms like headache, discomfort and body pains. In addition, there could be mild symptoms of respiratory distress in the beginning. Within two to seven days the patient develops a dry and nonproductive cough. The nonproductive cough would result in insufficient supply of oxygen to the blood. Some patients could even require the administering of clinical ventilation. SARS is a contagious disease and it spreads through the droplets that issue forth from a person who is coughing or sneezing into the air, if that person has been infected by the SARS virus. The primary manner of transmission of the virus is through the air or from objects that are contaminated with the virus (TARGET SARS Target II SARS/CoV 3CL-PRO). In 2003, an outbreak occurred of a previously unrecognized illness – termed SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. It was caused by infection with a newly identified coronavirus, SARS-COV. Infection produced an illness with Pneumonia as the main disease; however, some patients developed other complications like the loss of appetite, diarrhea and bleeding in the abdomen or stomach. Many of those who developed this disease were health-care workers and the infection rate among them was very high (SARS. Blacks Medical Dictionary, 41st Edition. CredoReference ). Extraordinary and exceptional isolation procedures had to be necessarily adopted because the Epidemic threatened to spread all over the world from its origin in Hong Kong. Some of the measures adopted, in order to reduce the risk of the spread of this infection was the concentration of patients in individual hospitals, which were converted into isolation units. Visitors were not allowed into such hospitals. Staff and other patients who had been exposed to persons suffering from this disease were segregated in such special units. Further, routine care for in patients in the hospital was discontinued and screening of likely contacts was conducted. In addition, a number of restrictions were imposed on travel. Due to this strategy, which had been performed in coordination with the World Health Organization, the SARS pandemic was finally controlled (SARS. Blacks Medical Dictionary, 41st Edition. CredoReference ). The virus genome on careful analysis revealed that this virus was a recombinant of virus relating to bird bronchitis and a virus relating to mouse hepatitis. It takes between two to ten days for the symptoms caused by the SARS virus to become noticeable after the infection takes place. With the increasing age of the patients there is a corresponding increase in mortality rate and proves to be fatal in approximately half of the patients whose age is above sixty years of age (SARS. The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas CredoReference). In the month of November 2002, the first incidence of SARS infection was discovered. This was in a place that was close to Foshan in the Guangdong province of southern China. However, this disease caught the attention of the people in the month of February 2003, when it spread globally due to air travel by infected persons. In the month of February 2003, Carlo Urbani, who worked for the World Health Organization in Bangkok, was asked to go to Hanoi in Vietnam, in order to treat an industrialist, from the US, who showed symptoms of an unknown disease. In this manner, Carlo Urbani became the first person to identify this disease as a new disease (SARS. The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas CredoReference). Several scientists, especially those from Canada, were successful in establishing that this new SARS virus belonged to the family of the coronavirus. This disease spreads to other persons, if the victim is located very close to an infected person who spreads this disease by coughing. Further, this disease spreads to people who enter a place in which infected people have deposited exhaled droplets of phlegm or other fluids in their body. Moreover, infection with this disease occurs if contact is made with door handles and similar objects that have contaminated droplets on their surface. Furthermore, it is possible to get infected with this disease if a person enters an enclosed place like a lift in which contaminated droplets are present. Eight thousand victims of SARS were identified by the end of is outbreak in the year 2003. Out of these SARS victims, seven hundred lost their life. The maximum damage due to this virus took place in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In Toronto, Canada there were one hundred and forty cases of such infection and twenty five of such infected persons died. In Singapore, there were around three hundred instances of this infection and out of these thirty persons lost their life (SARS. The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas CredoReference). In the year 2003 scientists were successful in discovering the gene that made the human body prone to infection by the SARS virus. While studying the human leukocyte antigen or HLA proteins, they realized that the variation in a gene that produces the HLA-B*4601 protein was common in the South China population. This was the area of origin of the SARS virus and people with this gene variation displayed a reaction to the SARS virus that was greater in severity in comparison to those who did not have this particular gene variation. Moreover, SARS infections are very rare in people who do not possess this HLA-B*4601 gene variation. Most of the people who belong to Taiwan and Europe do not have this gene variation (SARS. The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas CredoReference). At the time of the rapid spread of SARS, the World Health Organization sent out a global alert in which it asked the people to mask their face in public places, to avoid air travel, to thoroughly check airplane passengers for increase in body temperature and to quarantine infected persons. A number of scientists are engaged in developing a vaccine for this disease. However, this disease was controlled by the beginning of the year 2005 and does not exist anywhere in the world, except in the laboratories (SARS. The Crystal Reference Encyclopedia CredoReference). SARS has defied all attempts at a cure and there is no specific vaccine for it. This has restricted the treatment to reducing the severity of the symptoms shown by the patient and treating any side effects of this infection (SARS in full severe acute respiratory syndrome. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia CredoReference ). It is now common knowledge that in the year 2003, in Guangdong province of China, the first occurrence of this severe atypical pneumonia was observed. The epidemic was suspected to be associated with a new virus and subsequently, researchers isolated an avian influenza A (H5N1) virus from a patient in Hong Kong. Researchers focused on members of the Paramyxoviridae family since some particles were detected by the process of electron microscopy of respiratory samples from patients in Hong Kong and Frankfurt (Peiris, Chu and Cheng). Subsequent investigations revealed that the human metapneumovirus or hMPV existed in SARS patients. Researchers in China had detected the Chlamydia organism in patients who had died due to atypical pneumonia during the outbreak of SARS in Guangdong. However, these organisms were not present in patients outside China. In the month of March 2003, researchers in the United States, Hong Kong and Germany found traces of a previously unknown coronavirus in SARS patients. This discovery was in different ways and some of these methods included isolation on cell culture, demonstration by electron microscopy, demonstration of specific genomic sequence by polymerase chain reaction or PSR and by the use of microarray techniques and the indirect immunofluorescent antibody tests (Peiris, Chu and Cheng). In this context, the World Health Organization announced on the 16th of April, 2003, that the coronavirus had not been discovered in humans and animals till that date and that it was a new virus, which was the cause of SARS. Before announcing the discovery of this new virus, thirteen laboratories in ten countries tested this new coronavirus in accordance with the postulates of Koch, which is essential to prove that this new virus causes SARS. This virus causes interstitial pneumonia that shows symptoms that are similar to SARS, and the virus was isolated from the nose and throat of infected monkeys. The corona viruses belong to the family of Coronaviridae. This family consists of very large, positive – sense single – stranded RNA viruses, which replicate themselves in the cytoplasm of the animal host cells (Siddell, Wege and Meulen). The gene factors of corona viruses range in length from 27 to 32 kb, and are the largest of the RNA viruses. The diameter of the virions ranges vary from 100 to 140 nanometers. Most of the viral particles bear the distinct appearance of surface projections and these spikes extend to twenty nanometers from their base. In animals, corona viruses cause extremely virulent respiratory, enteric and neurological diseases. They also cause hepatitis, respiratory diseases that are temporarily prevalent and widespread in animals and gastroenteritis having short incubation periods between two to seven days. The symptoms revealed in SARS are the same (Holmes). Corona viruses are species – specific and when they attack immunocompetent hosts, their infection extracts neutralizing antibodies and cell – mediated immune responses, which in turn kill the infected cells (Holmes). Most of the corona viruses cause terminal diseases in animals such as feline infectious peritonitis virus or FIPV, hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis or HEV of swine and some strains of avian infectious bronchitis virus or IBV and mouse hepatitis virus or MHV. They replicate themselves in the liver, lungs, kidneys, gut, spleen, brain, spinal cord and other tissues (Holmes). Human corona viruses HCoVs were found to cause minor diseases. They are found in group 1 known as HCoV – 229E and group 2 known as HCoV – O43, and they cause minor respiratory problems (Makela). Sometimes they cause severe infections of the lower respiratory tract in children and adults and a condition termed as necrotizing enterocolitis in newborn babies. They can survive on normal environmental surfaces for three hours and they are transmitted among humans by droplets, hand contamination, fomites and small particle aerosols (Ijaz). The Coronaviruses produce Coronavirus Main Protease protein or 3CL – PRO. This protein helps the virus to replicate itself and thereby spread the infection. In order to stop the infection, it is essential to bring about a disabling of the protein from working and this would consequently, contain the virus production and the attendant infection. Therefore, researchers had concentrated on producing a drug that would hinder the functioning of the 3CL PRO protein. With the achievement of this breakthrough, pharmaceutical companies started to prepare drugs that would hinder the functions of the 3CL – PRO protein, which is responsible for the multiplication of the virus and the resultant SARS infection. Ritonavir and Indinavir are the major ingredients of the anti – HIV drugs. The Coronavirus Main Proteinase is the principal drug that is used in the treatment of SARS (TARGET SARS Target II SARS/CoV 3CL-PRO). The HIV virus and other viruses that cause influenza on infecting people have been described as wily because of their characteristic of mutating rapidly. This trait helps them to obtain immunity from antiviral drugs or from the human immune system. However, the SARS virus has not been undergoing mutation. Clinical examinations of the genome sequences of fourteen isolates from patients in Singapore, Toronto, China and Hong Kong did not establish any mutations of the original sequence and it can be concluded that the SARS virus is invariant. However, this notion that SARS virus does not mutate or fails to mutate cannot be taken for granted since the virus did not face significant resistance from human hosts (Knight). Coronaviruses are not so active in the replication of their genetic material and as a result they make one error for every ten thousand nucleotides that they replicate. This is similar to what the HIV virus does. Coronaviruses have a significant characteristic that helps them to reject mutations as and when they occur. These viruses have an enzyme that enables them to replicate their genetic material and spreads among several copies of the viral genome instead of being restricted to a single template of the genome. The result of this is that each genome is copied from multiple templates. This procedure reduces the chances of mutations in the populations of the coronavirus (Knight). The enzyme that brings about the copying of the virus functions in such a manner that instead of using just one template genome it accesses several such templates and this results in a drastic reduction in the possibility that any particular mutation will dominate in a viral population. Moreover, such haphazard template access can entail an inaccurate access by the enzyme (Knight). The consequence of such access by the enzyme would be the deletion of some portion of an essential gene, which could produce results that would be drastic, particularly, if the mutation affects the protein spikes that are bound to the surface of the viruses’ cellular victims. In 1984, there was an outbreak of a new ailment on European farms that were rearing pigs. It was determined to be a mutant of the coronavirus, in which the altered spike protein had effected changes in respect of the type of cells that could be invaded by the virus. Although, this mutant did not prove to be fatal, all the same it has spread globally and made the diagnosis of gut disease more difficult (Knight). It is assumed that genetic deletion was responsible for the SARS virus to find a new target, namely, the human body, from its previous animal hosts. In that case the mutation could be of a totally different type due to the fact that the spike protein has remained unaltered. While comparing with the viral strains present in the animals sold in the Chinese markets, it became evident that the SARS virus does not have twenty nine nucleotides in the gene for a protein whose function could not be determined. This protein was found to be appended to the inside of the protective layer of the virus (Knight). The WHO spearheaded the battle against SARS and was extremely successful in uniting the global community in combating this menace. Dr Carlo Urbani became a martyr in the battle against SARS. This disease demonstrated that there are several dangers that could surface when least expected to do with terrifying results (SARS: how a global epidemic was stopped). Within a short period of seven months, around eight thousand people were infected by this disease in twenty nine countries. 1755 persons were infected in Hong Kong and of these 299 succumbed to the disease. This disease had a serious psychological effect on its victims and it was established that such effects persisted for long periods after the disease had been cured. Several studies conducted a month after patients had been discharged revealed that thirteen to thirty two percent of them were suffering from moderate to severe anxiety and that eighteen to twenty six percent had moderate to severe depression. Another four percent were found to be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD (Lee). The spread of SARS had a number of economic, political and sociological ramifications, due to extreme demands made on the countries, in which this disease was prevalent, by the WHO. Some of these demands were related to a curtailment if not the rescission of economic activities like trade, tourism, and investment. Despite SARS occurring mainly in Asia, its effects were experienced in almost every major market across the world. This epidemic brought about a tremendous increase in medical expenditure and travel. In addition consumer confidence and investment reached their nadir (Political Influences on the Response to SARS and Economic Impacts of the Disease).

Emptiness in The Hollow Men Essay -- Hollow Men Essays

Emptiness in The Hollow Men  Ã‚     Ã‚   After Eliot had published The Waste Land, he felt as though he had not been able to fully convey the sense of desperation and emptiness in that work. Beginning with "Doris’s Dream Songs" and "Eyes I Last Saw in Tears," he explored these themes, eventually uniting all such poems in The Hollow Men. The end product is a work that, unlike The Waste Land and its ultimate chance for redemption, has only the indelible emptiness of the hollow men as its conclusion. The hollow men are those who, in life, did not act on their beliefs; they resisted any action at all, and as a result stagnate eternally in "the Shadow," a land in between heaven and hell, completely isolated from both. Eliot’s allusions give a familiar literary and popular basis to the setting, while the symbols and lyrical progression convey the futility and spiritual "brokenness" of the men. The poem’s initial epigraph, "Mistah Kurtz-- He dead" is the first of many allusions to Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness. Eliot uses the references to draw the reader’s attention to the moral situation of Kurtz and the others "who have crossed/ With direct eyes, to death’s other Kingdom." These men and Kurtz defined themselves through their actions, whether or not they were good. In Baudelaire’s words, "So far as we are human, what we do must be either evil or good; so far as we do evil or good, we are human; and it is better, in a paradoxical way, to do evil than to do nothing: at least, we exist" (Drew 94). An accurate description of the condition of the hollow men, this quote has also been used in criticism of Heart of Darkness. Thus the (spiritual) stagnation of the "tumid river" and those who wait beside it is contrasted with the dynamici... ...ubmission to a world that ends "not with a bang but a whimper."    Works Cited Brady, Ann Patrick. Lyricism in the Poetry of T.S. Eliot. London: Kennikat Press, 1978. Drew, Elizabeth. T.S. Eliot: The Design of His Poetry. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1949. Headings, Philip R.. T.S. Eliot, Revised Edition. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1982. Moody, A. David. The Cambridge Companion to T.S. Eliot. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press, 1994. Moody, A. David. T.S. Eliot, Poet. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press, 1994. Raine, Craig. "The Awful Daring of T.S. Eliot". The Guardian. 21. August 19, 1988. Roessel, David. "Guy Fawkes Day and the Versailles Peace in ‘The Hollow Men’". English Language Notes, Sept. 1990. 52-58. Vol. 28. Williamson, George. A Reader’s Guide to T.S. Eliot. New York: Octagon Books, 1974.      

Lucent Technologies

Case analysis on Lucent Technologies: Global Supply Chain Management By, ROOPANVI DANDU Lucent Technologies: Global Supply Chain Management Lucent technologies are a manufacturing company that was a part of American Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (AT&T) until 1996. Lucent’s main product was the 5ESS switch. The switch was worlds most reliable and widely used switching system. Prior to 1996 the Asian supply chain has not been a high priority.The demand for Asian joint ventures was easily met by the manufacturing unit in United States. The high volume of production in Oklahoma City led to low production costs. Also AT&T’s large cash flow from the phone bills had insulated its manufacturing wing from the consequences of inefficient assent management and long time delivery times. Lucent’s independence made them loose the deep pockets of AT&T.At the same time many other factors like the booming Asian marketplace, significant price erosion for telecomm unications equipment, original part resourcing and manufacturing capabilities forced then to redesign the Asian supply chain. After the redesign the results were dramatic. 82 percent of parts were sourced with Asia, which led the factory to be three times as productive, inventory days of sales fell by more than half, time difference and long distance that had inhibited responsiveness were eliminated.Also due to its intimate knowledge of product cost, the factory was able to steer many bids towards configurations in which the switch had great cost advantage leading to competitive advantage needed to win the bid. They were many factors that led to revisit the Asia supply chain strategy. Due to unprecedented growth in cellular and Internet sectors, components demand outstripped supply, and huge material shortage developed. Leading edge procurement arrangements were sorely tested and in some cases broke down.The main five problematic areas were sole –sourced component lead times more than doubled, inventories increased by about 25 percent as assemblies could not be completed, the Taiwan factory had to commit to early parts delivery to ensure availability, product shipment to costumers were jeopardized and orders were at risk due to an inability to ship on time, premium prices were required in order to obtain expedited shipments of missing parts. Also the contract manufacturers were starting to get more involved in sophisticated telecommunication electronics.The switch was reaching the mature part of its life cycle. All these external and internal factors forced to rethink about the strategy. I would recommend reevaluation of supply chain to reduce the competition. To reduce material shortage I would suggest to design new technology that uses general products, forecast the demand, use contract manufacturers where their own manufacturing assets are not so profitable, order the parts beforehand so that premium prices can be avoided for missing parts.The main l esson learned form this case study would be to reevaluate your supply chain strategy every few years to be successful and ahead of the competitors. In order to effectively balance risk and opportunity, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers need to periodically rethink their strategies. . To improve the Supply Chain network Enhanced Collaboration should be implemented. It would dramatically minimize the delays and also reduces the costs. Work with suppliers to create contingency plans. Also to make supply chain more flexible increase product component standardization.

Night World : Daughters of Darkness Chapter 17

Well, she wasn't telling humans anything-but she did defy the authority of the Night World,† Ash said in his most lazy, careless voice. Quinn said succinctly, â€Å"How?† It was late Monday afternoon and the sun was streaming through the western windows of the Burdock farmhouse. Ash was wearing a brand-new shirt bought at the Briar Creek general store, a turtleneckwith long sleeves that covered the almost-healedscars on his throat and arms. His jeans werebleached white, his hair was combed over the scabon the back of his head, and he was playing the scene of his life. â€Å"She knew about a rogue werewolf and didn't tell.anybody about him.† â€Å"So she was a traitor. And what did you do?† Ash shrugged. â€Å"Staked her.† Quinn laughed out loud. â€Å"No, really,† Ash said earnestly, looking intoQuinn's face with what he knew were wide, guileless eyes-probably blue. â€Å"See?† Without taking his eyes from Quinn's he whipped a pink-and-green country quilt off the bundle on the couch. Quinn's eyebrows flew upward. He stared for a moment at Aunt Opal, who had been cleaned so that you'd never know she'd ever been buried, and who had the picket stake carefully replaced in her chest. Quinn actually swallowed. It was the first time Ash had ever seen him falter. â€Å"You really did it,† he said. There was reluctant respect in his voice-and definite shock. You know, Quinn, I don't think you're quite as tough as you pretend. After all, no matter how you try to act like an Elder, you're only eighteen. And you'll always be eighteen, and next year maybe I'll be older. â€Å"Well,† Quinn said, blinking rapidly. â€Å"Well. Well___ I have to hand it to you.† â€Å"Yeah, I just decided the best thing to do was cleanup the whole situation. She was getting on, you know.† Quinn's dark eyes widened fractionally. â€Å"I have toadmit -I didn't think you were that ruthless.† â€Å"You've gotta do what you've gotta do. For the family honor, of course.† Quinn cleared his throat. â€Å"So-what about thewerewolf?† â€Å"Oh, I took care of that, too.† Ash meandered over and whipped a brown-and-white quilt off Exhibit B. The wolf was a charred and contorted corpse. It had given Mary-Lynnette hysterics when Ash insisted on pulling it out of the car, and Quinn's nostrils quivered when he looked at it. â€Å"Sorry, it does smell like burnt hair, doesn't it? Igot a little sooty myself, keeping him in the fire†¦.† â€Å"You burned himalive?† â€Å"Well, it is one of the traditional methods†¦.†Ã¢â‚¬ Just put the blanket back, all right?† Ash put the blanket back. â€Å"So, you see, everything's taken care of. No humans involved, no extermination necessary.† â€Å"Yes, all right †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Quinn's eyes were still on the quilt. Ash decided the moment was right. â€Å"And by the way, it turns out the girls had aperfectly legitimate reason for coming. They just wanted to learn to hunt. Nothing illegal about that,is there?† â€Å"What? Oh. No.† Quinn glanced at Aunt Opal, then finally looked back at Ash. â€Å"So they're coming back now that they've learned it.† â€Å"Well, eventually. They haven't quite learned it yet†¦ so they're staying.† â€Å"They'restaying?† †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†Right. Look, I'm the head of the familyon the West Coast, aren't I? And I say they're staying.† â€Å"Ash†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. â€Å" â€Å"It's about time there was a Night World outpost in this area, don't you think? You see what's happened without one. You get families of outlaw werewolves wandering around. Somebody's got to stay here and hold down the fort.† â€Å"Ash †¦ you couldn't payNight People to strand themselves out here. Nothing but animals to feed on, nobody but humans to associate with †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yeah, it's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.Besides, wasn't it you who said it's not good living your whole life isolated on an island?† Quinn stared at him, then said, â€Å"Well, I don't thinkthis is much better.† â€Å"Then it serves my sisters right. Maybe in a few years they'll appreciate the island more. Then theycan hand the job over to someone else.† â€Å"Ash †¦ no one else is going to comehere.† â€Å"Well.† With the battle won, and Quinn simplylooking dazed and as if he wanted to get back to LosAngeles as fast as possible, Ash allowed himself a small measure of truth. â€Å"I might come visit them someday,† he said. â€Å"He did a beautiful job,† Rowan said that evening. â€Å"We heard it all from the kitchen. You would have loved it.† Mary-Lynnette smiled. â€Å"Quinn can't wait to get away,† Jade said, in tertwining her fingers with Mark's. Kestrel said to Ash, â€Å"I'd just like to be around when you explain all this to Dad.† â€Å"That's funny,† Ash said. â€Å"I feel just the opposite.† Everyone laughed-except Mary-Lynnette. The big farm kitchen was warm and bright, but the windowswere darkening. She couldn't see anything in the gathering darkness-in the last two days the effects of her blood exchange had faded. Her senses were ordinary human senses again. â€Å"You're sure you won't get in trouble?† sheasked Ash. â€Å"No. I'll tell our dad the truth-mostly. That anoutlaw werewolf killed Aunt Opal and that I killed the werewolf. And that the girls are better off here,hunting quietly and watching out for other rogues. There's sure to be some record of the Lovett fam ily†¦. Dad can check out the history all he wants.† â€Å"A whole family of outlaw werewolves,† Kestrel said musingly. â€Å"Ofcrazy werewolves,† Ash said. â€Å"They were as dangerous to the Night World as any vampire hunters could be. God knows how long they've beenhere-long enough for their land to get named Mad Dog Creek.† â€Å"And for people to mistake them for Sasquatch,† Mark said. Rowan's brown eyes were troubled. â€Å"And it wasmy fault that you didn't know,† she said to MaryLynnette. â€Å"I told you-he couldn't be the killer. I'm sorry.† Mary-Lynnette captured her gaze and held it. â€Å"Rowan, you arenotgoing to feel guilty for this. You couldn't have realized. He wasn't killing for food like a normal werewolf. He was killing to protect his territory-and to scare us.† â€Å"And it might have worked,† Mark said. â€Å"Exceptthat you guys didn't have anywhere else to go.† Ash looked at Mark, then at his sisters. â€Å"I have a question. Is the territory around here going to be enough foryou?† â€Å"Of course,† Rowan said, with gentle surprise. â€Å"We don't always need tokill the animals,† Jade said. â€Å"We're getting it down pat now. We can take a little here and a little there. Heck, we can even trythe goat. â€Å" â€Å"I'd rather try Tiggy,† Kestrel said, and for a moment her golden eyes glimmered. Mary-Lynnette didn't say it, but she wondered sometimes about Kestrel. If maybe, someday, Kestrel might need a bigger territory of her own. She was a lot like Jeremy in some ways. Beautiful, ruthless, single-minded. A true Night Person. â€Å"And what about you?† Ash said, looking at mark. â€Å"Me? Uh†¦ Well, when you get down to it, I'm kind of a hamburger guy†¦.† â€Å"I tried to take him hunting last night,† Jade interpreted. â€Å"You know, just to show him. But he threw up.† â€Å"I didn't actually-â€Å" â€Å"Yes, you did,† Jade said calmly and cheerfully. Mark looked away. Mary-Lynnette noticed they didn't stop holding hands. â€Å"So I take it you're not going to become a vampire,† Ash said to Mark. â€Å"Uh, let's just say not any time soon.† Ash turned to Mary-Lynnette. â€Å"And what about the human end of things? Do we have that taken care of?† â€Å"Well, I know everything that's going on intown-by which I mean that I talked with BunnyMarten this morning. I'm so glad she's not a vampire, incidentally Mark said, â€Å"I always knew it† â€Å"Anyway, here's the quick version.† MaryLynnette held up a finger. â€Å"One, everybody knowsthat Jeremy is gone-his boss at the gas stationmissed him yesterday and went up to check the trailer. They found a lot of weird stuff there. But all they know is that he's disappeared.† â€Å"Good,† Rowan said. Mary-Lynnette held up another finger. â€Å"Two,Dad is sorry but not surprised that the stationwagon blew up. Claudine has been predicting itwould for a year.† Another finger. â€Å"Three, Mr. Kimble doesn't have any ideawhatkilled his horse-but now he thinks it was an animal instead of a person. Vic Kimble thinks it was maybe Sasquatch. He and Todd are very spooked and want to get out of Briar Creek forgood â€Å"And let's have a moment of silence to show howwe'll miss them,† Mark said solemnly, and blew a raspberry. â€Å"Four,† Mary-Lynnette said, holding up a fourthfinger, â€Å"you girls are eventually going to have to mention that your aunt hasn't come back from her ‘vacation.' But I thinkyou can wait awhile. Nobody comes out here so nobody will notice she's gone. And I think we can bury her and Jeremy safely. Even if somebody finds them, what have they got? A mummy that looks about a thousand years old and a wolf. They won't be able to connect them to the missing people.† â€Å"Poor old Aunt Opal,† Jade said, still cheerful.†But she helped us in the end, didn't she?† Mary-Lynnette looked at her. Yes, there it is, shethought. The silver in the eyes when you laugh about death. Jade is a true Night Person, too. â€Å"She did help. And I'm going to miss her,† she said out loud. Kestrel said, â€Å"So everything is taken care of.† â€Å"Seems like it.† Ash hesitated. â€Å"And Quinn is waiting down the road. I_ told him it would only takea couple hours to finish making arrangements and say goodbye.† There was a silence. â€Å"I'll see you off,† Mary-Lynnette said at last. They went together to the front door. When theywere outside in the twilight Ash shut the door be hind them. â€Å"You still can come with me, you know.† â€Å"With you and Quinn?† â€Å"I'll send him away. Or I'll go and come back tomorrow and get you. Or I'll come back and stay†¦.† â€Å"You need to go tell your father about this. Make everything right with him, so it's safe for your sisters. You knowthat.† â€Å"Well, I'll come back afterthat,†Ash said, with an edge of desperation to his voice. Mary-Lynnette looked away. The sun was gone. Looking east, the sky was already the darkest purple imaginable. Almost black. Even as she watched, a starcame out. Or-not a star. Jupiter. â€Å"I'm not ready yet. I wish I were.† â€Å"No, you don't,† Ash said, and he was right, of course. She'd known ever since she sat there by theroad, crying while her car burned. And althoughshe'd thought and thought about it since then, sitting in her darkened room, there was nothing she coulddo to change her own mind. She would never be a vampire. She just wasn't cutout for it. She couldn't do the things vampires hadto do-and stay sane. She wasn't like Jade or Kestrelor even Rowan with her pale sinewy feet and her instinctive love of the hunt. She'd looked into the heart of the Night World . . .and she couldn't join it. â€Å"I don't want you to be like that,† Ash said. â€Å"Iwant you to be likeyou. â€Å" Without looking at him, Mary-Lynnette said, â€Å"Butwe're not kids. We can't be like Jade and Mark, and just hold hands and giggle and never think about the future.† â€Å"No, we're only soulmates, that's all. We're onlydestined to be together forever†¦.† â€Å"If we've got forever, then you can give me time,† Mary-Lynnette said. â€Å"Go back and' wander a little. Take a look at the Night World and make sure youwant to give it up â€Å"I know that already.† â€Å"Take a look at humans and make sure you wantto be tied to one of them.† â€Å"And think about the things I've done to humans, maybe?† Mary-Lynnette looked at him directly. â€Å"Yes.† He looked away. â€Å"All right. I admit it. I've got a lot to make up for†¦.† Mary-Lynnette knew it. He'd thought of humansas vermin-and food. The things she'd seen in hismind made her not want to picture more. â€Å"Then make up for what you can,† she said, although she didn't dare really hope that he would. â€Å"Take time to do that. And giveme time to finish growing up. I'm still in high school, Ash.† â€Å"You'll be out in a year. I'll come back then.† â€Å"It may be too soon.† â€Å"I know. I'll come back anyway.† He smiled ironically. â€Å"And in the meantime I'll fight dragons, just like any knight for his lady. I'll prove myself. You'll be proud of me.† Mary-Lynnette's throat hurt. Ash's smile disappeared. They just stood looking at each other. It was the obvious time for a kiss. Instead, they just stood staring like hurt kids, and then one ofthem moved and they were holding on to each other. Mary-Lynnette held on tighter and tighter, her face buried in Ash's shoulder. Ash, who seemed to have lost it altogether, was raining kisses on the back of her neck, saying, â€Å"I wish I were a human. I wishI were.† â€Å"No, you don't,† Mary-Lynnette said, seriously unsteady because of the kisses. â€Å"I do. I do.† But it wouldn't help, and Mary-Lynnette knew he knew it. The problem wasn't simply what he was, it was what he'd done-and what he was going to do. He'd seen too much of the dark side of life to be a normal person. His nature was already formed, and she wasn't sure he could fight it. â€Å"Believe in me,† he said, as if he could hear her. Mary-Lynnette couldn't say yes or no. So she did the only thing she could do-she lifted her head. Hislips were in the right place to meet hers. The electric sparks weren't painful anymore, she discovered? and the pink haze could be quite wonderful. For a time everything was warm and sweet and strangelypeaceful. And then, behind them, somebody knocked on thedoor. Mary-Lynnette and Ash jumped and separated.They looked at each other, startled, emotions still tooraw, and then Mary-Lynnette realized where she was. She laughed and so did Ash. â€Å"Come out,† they said simultaneously. Mark and Jade came out. Rowan and Kestrel werebehind them. They all stood on the porch-avoiding the hole. They all smiled at Ash and Mary-Lynnette in a way that made Mary-Lynnette blush. â€Å"Goodbye,† she said firmly to Ash. He looked at her for a long moment, then looked at the road behind him. Then he turned to go. Mary-Lynnette watched him, blinking away tears.She still couldn't let herself believe in him. But there was no harm in hoping, was there? In wishing. Evenif wishes almost never came true†¦. Jade gasped. â€Å"Look!† They all saw it, and Mary-Lynnette felt her heartjump violently. A bolt of light was streaking acrossthe darkness in the northeast. Not a little wimpyshooting star-a brilliant green meteor that crossedhalf the sky, showering sparks. It was right above Ash's path, as if lighting his way. A late Perseid. The last of the summer meteors. But it seemed like a blessing. â€Å"Quick, quick, wish,† Mark was telling Jade eagerly. â€Å"A wish on that star you gotta get.† Mary-Lynnette glanced at his excited face, at theway his eyes shone with excitement. Beside him, Jade was clapping, her own eyes wide with delight. I'm so glad you're happy, Mary-Lynnette thought. My wish for you came true. So now maybe I can wish for myself. I wish †¦ I wish †¦ Ash turned around and smiled at her. â€Å"See you next year,† he said. â€Å"With slain dragons!† He started down the weed-strewn path to the road. For a moment, in the deep violet twilight, he didlook to Mary-Lynnette like a knight walking off ona quest. A knight-errant with shining blond hair and no weapons, going off into a very dark and dangerous wilderness. Then he turned around and walked backward, waving, which ruined the effect. Everyone shouted goodbyes. Mary-Lynnette could feel them around her, her brother and her three blood-sisters, all radiating warmth and support. Playful Jade. Fierce Kestrel. Wise and gentle Rowan. And Mark, who wasn't sullen and solitary anymore. Tiggy wound himselfaround her ankles, purring amiably. â€Å"Even when we're apart, we'll be looking at the same sky!† Ash yelled. â€Å"What a line,† Mary-Lynnette called back. But hewas right. The sky would be there for both of them.She'd alwaysknow hewas out there somewhere,looking up at it in wonder. Just knowing that was important. And she was clear on who she was at last. Shewas Mary-Lynnette, and someday she'd discover a supernova or a comet or a black hole, but she'd doit as a human. And Ash would come back next year. And she would always love the night. [The End]

The Apology essays

The Apology essays In Platos Five Dialogues, Socrates makes some pretty strong comments pertaining to the authority of the state government and its laws. These comments show up in both the Apology and the Crito. However, the fundamental claims Socrates makes in the Crito, are apparently contradictory with the ones made previously in the Apology. Although there exists some tension between Socrates statements in the two dialogues, the important claims about the rights of the state in the Crito can be interpreted in a way as to be consistently tied together with the Apology. In the Apology, Socrates seems willing to defy the state laws, and in this case the jury. However, in the Crito Socrates argues for the laws of the state and how nobody should disobey them, or any legally constituted body of government. This becomes confusing because they are contradictory statements, yet Socrates speaks of them almost as fundamental truths. Most would argue that it is impossible for these two statements to be consistently tied together, and convey similar opinions. But Socrates words, specifically in the Crito, can be interpreted as to allow for someone to do what is morally right. One prominent claim Socrates makes about the authority of state occurs in the Crito at 51b. Speaking as the actual laws, Socrates states, ...your country is to be honored more than your mother, your father... [And] you must worship it, yield to it (51). Socrates argues that, because of the states role as a provider of benefits such as security, the citizens of the state are like its children and must offer complete loyalty to it. He deduces that citizens are so subordinate to the state, that if they see any fault, they must either try to persuade it or obey its orders (51b). This is evident within the Apology, in which Socrates had tried to persuade the jury that he was not guilty of the false accusations presented upon him, and ...

THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF ECONOM essays

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