Personal development and ethics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Personal development and ethics - Assignment Example One develops these over time and many factors influence how they’re crafted. However good and bad or right and wrong are very broad terms and differ from society to society and within different cultures, races and peoples. There are a whole lot of grey areas and overlapping nuances between the rigidity of good and bad or right and wrong. Perhaps the meaning of these terms may even vary depending on our own experiences. For example we have all been taught that taking another person’s life is wrong. When a murderer who is convicted of mass murder is brought to book many of us may think that he deserves the death penalty, yet somewhere in our hearts we may find the compassion to allow him the option of a life sentence that would possibly allow him to repent and do some good. Consider however that the victim is a loved one, would you then feel any compassion for the murderer? Here then is the difference in each one’s ethics. So, we may define them as a personal code of conduct or those principles by which one makes choices in life regarding what is right or wrong, good or bad. The process of personal development begins long before we even understand the meaning of the term in its entirety. A baby needs love and care and deprived of these the baby may suffer ill effects that can irreparably warp his/her personal development and lead to personality problems in later life. A young child’s personal development begins, in the home and he/she usually has a role model in whose image the child would like to transform him/her. This image changes as one grows and is usually different at different times in one’s life. A child’s earliest role model is a parent – a picture of a young boy comes to mind proudly proclaiming his father’s physical strength or his prowess in sport or his intellectual abilities and vowing to grow up to be just like him. However as the child is exposed to powerful influences

Creative Writing Essay Example for Free

Creative Writing Essay Specific poetic forms have been developed by many cultures. In more developed, closed or received poetic forms, the rhyming scheme, meter and other elements of a poem are based on sets of rules, ranging from the relatively loose rules that govern the construction of an elegy to the highly formalized structure of the ghazal or villanelle. Described below are some common forms of poetry widely used across a number of languages. Additional forms of poetry may be found in the discussions of poetry of particular cultures or periods and in the glossary. Sonnet Among the most common forms of poetry through the ages is the sonnet, which by the 13th century was a poem of fourteen lines following a set rhyme scheme and logical structure. By the 14th century, the form further crystallized under the pen of Petrarch, whose sonnets were later translated in the 16th century by Sir Thomas Wyatt, who is credited with introducing the sonnet form into English literature. A sonnets first four lines typically introduce the topic. A sonnet usually follows an a-b-a-b rhyme pattern. The sonnets conventions have changed over its history, and so there are several different sonnet forms. Traditionally, in sonnets English poets use iambic pentameter, the Spenserian and Shakespearean sonnets being especially notable. In the Romance languages, the hendecasyllable and Alexandrine are the most widely used meters, though the Petrarchan sonnet has been used in Italy since the 14th century. Sonnets are particularly associated with love poetry, and often use a poetic diction heavily based on vivid imagery, but the twists and turns associated with the move from octave to sestet and to final couplet make them a useful and dynamic form for many subjects.] Shakespeares sonnets are among the most famous in English poetry, with 20 being included in the Oxford Book of English Verse. Shi (poetry) Shi (traditional Chinese: è © ©; simplified Chinese: è ¯â€"; pinyin: shÄ «; Wade-Giles: shih) Is the main type of Classical Chinese poetry.Within this form of poetry the most important variations are folk song styled verse (yuefu), old style verse (gushi), modern style verse (jintishi). In all cases, rhyming is obligatory. The Yuefu is a folk ballad or a poem written in the folk ballad style, and the number of lines and the length of the lines could be irregular. For the other variations of shi poetry, generally either a four line (quatrain, or jueju) or else an eight line poem is normal; either way with the even numbered lines rhyming. The line length is scanned by according number of characters (according to the convention that one character equals one syllable), and are predominantly either five or seven characters long, with a caesura before the final three syllables. The lines are generally end-stopped, considered as a series of couplets, and exhibit verbal parallelism as a key poetic device. ]The old style verse (gushi) is less formally strict than the jintishi, or regulated verse, which, despite the name new style verse actually had its theoretical basis laid as far back to Shen Yue, in the 5th or 6th century, although not considered to have reached its full development until the time of Chen Ziang (661-702) A good example of a poet known for his gushi poems is Li Bai. Among its other rules, the jintishi rules regulate the tonal variations within a poem, including the use of set patterns of the four tones of Middle Chinese The basic form of jintishi (lushi) has eight lines in four couplets, with parallelism between the lines in the second and third couplets. The couplets with parallel lines contain contrasting content but an identical grammatical relationship between words. Jintishi often have a rich poetic diction, full of allusion, and can have a wide range of subject, including history and politics. One of the masters of the form was Du Fu, who wrote during the Tang Dynasty (8th century). Villanelle The villanelle is a nineteen-line poem made up of five triplets with a closing quatrain; the poem is characterized by having two refrains, initially used in the first and third lines of the first stanza, and then alternately used at the close of each subsequent stanza until the final quatrain, which is concluded by the two refrains. The remaining lines of the poem have an a-b alternating rhyme.The villanelle has been used regularly in the English language since the late 19th century by such poets as Dylan Thomas, W. H. Auden,and Elizabeth Bishop. Tanka Tanka is a form of unrhymed Japanese poetry, with five sections totalling 31 onji (phonological units identical to morae), structured in a 5-7-5 7–7 pattern.There is generally a shift in tone and subject matter between the upper 5-7-5 phrase and the lower 7-7 phrase. Tanka were written as early as the Nara period by such poets as Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, at a time when Japan was emerging from a period where much of its poetry followed Chinese form. Tanka was originally the shorter form of Japanese formal poetry, and was used more heavily to explore personal rather than public themes. By the 13th century, tanka had become the dominant form of Japanese poetry, and it is still widely written today. Haiku Haiku is a popular form of unrhymed Japanese poetry, which evolved in the 17th century from the hokku, or opening verse of a renku. Generally written in a single vertical line, the haiku contains three sections totalling 17 onji, structured in a 5-7-5 pattern. Traditionally, haiku contain a kireji, or cutting word, usually placed at the end of one of the poems three sections, and a kigo, or season-word. The most famous exponent of the haiku was Matsuo BashÃ…  (1644–1694). An example of his writing: Ã¥ ¯Å'Ã¥ £ «Ã£  ®Ã© ¢ ¨Ã£â€šâ€žÃ¦â€°â€¡Ã£  «Ã£  ®Ã£ â€ºÃ£  ¦Ã¦ ±Å¸Ã¦Ë† ¸Ã¥Å"Ÿç” £ fuji no kaze ya oogi ni nosete Edo miyage the wind of Mt. Fuji Ive brought on my fan! a gift from Edo Ode Odes were first developed by poets writing in ancient Greek, such as Pindar, and Latin, such as Horace. Forms of odes appear in many of the cultures that were influenced by the Greeks and Latins.The ode generally has three parts: a strophe, an antistrophe, and an epode. The antistrophes of the ode possess similar metrical structures and, depending on the tradition, similar rhyme structures. In contrast, the epode is written with a different scheme and structure. Odes have a formal poetic diction, and generally deal with a serious subject. The strophe and antistrophe look at the subject from different, often conflicting, perspectives, with the epode moving to a higher level to either view or resolve the underlying issues. Odes are often intended to be recited or sung by two choruses (or individuals), with the first reciting the strophe, the second the antistrophe, and both together the epode.Over time, differing forms for odes have developed with considerable variations in form and structure, but generally showing the original influence of the Pindaric or Horatian ode. One non-Western form which resembles the ode is the qasida in Persian poetry. Ghazal The ghazal (also ghazel, gazel, gazal, or gozol) is a form of poetry common in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Urdu and Bengali poetry. In classic form, the ghazal has from five to fifteen rhyming couplets that share a refrain at the end of the second line. This refrain may be of one or several syllables, and is preceded by a rhyme. Each line has an identical meter. The ghazal often reflects on a theme of unattainable love or divinity. As with other forms with a long history in many languages, many variations have been developed, including forms with a quasi-musical poetic diction in Urdu. Ghazals have a classical affinity with Sufism, and a number of major Sufi religious works are written in ghazal form. The relatively steady meter and the use of the refrain produce an incantatory effect, which complements Sufi mystical themes well. Among the masters of the form is Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet who lived in Konya, in present-day Turkey. Genres In addition to specific forms of poems, poetry is often thought of in terms of different genres and subgenres. A poetic genre is generally a tradition or classification of poetry based on the subject matter, style, or other broader literary characteristics. Some commentators view genres as natural forms of literature. Others view the study of genres as the study of how different works relate and refer to other works. Narrative poetry Narrative poetry is a genre of poetry that tells a story. Broadly it subsumes epic poetry, but the term narrative poetry is often reserved for smaller works, generally with more appeal to human interest. Narrative poetry may be the oldest type of poetry. Many scholars of Homer have concluded that his Iliad and Odyssey were composed from compilations of shorter narrative poems that related individual episodes. Much narrative poetry—such as Scottish and English ballads, and Baltic and Slavic heroic poems—is performance poetry with roots in a preliterate oral tradition. It has been speculated that some features that distinguish poetry from prose, such as meter, alliteration and kennings, once served as memory aids for bards who recited traditional tales. Notable narrative poets have included Ovid, Dante, Juan Ruiz, Chaucer, William Langland, Luà ­s de Camà µes, Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, Robert Burns, Fernando de Rojas, Adam Mickiewicz, Alexander Pushkin, Edgar Allan P oe and Alfred Tennyson. Epic poetry Epic poetry is a genre of poetry, and a major form of narrative literature. This genre is often defined as lengthy poems concerning events of a heroic or important nature to the culture of the time. It recounts, in a continuous narrative, the life and works of a heroic or mythological person or group of persons.] Examples of epic poems are Homers Iliad and Odyssey, Virgils Aeneid, the Nibelungenlied, Luà ­s de Camà µes Os Lusà ­adas, the Cantar de Mio Cid, the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Mahabharata, Valmikis Ramayana, Ferdowsis Shahnama, Nizami (or Nezami)s Khamse (Five Books), and the Epic of King Gesar. While the composition of epic poetry, and of long poems generally, became less common in the west after the early 20th century, some notable epics have continued to be written. Derek Walcott won a Nobel prize to a great extent on the basis of his epic, Omeros. Verse drama and dramatic verse, Theatre of ancient Greece, Sanskrit drama, Chinese Opera, and Noh Dramatic poetry is drama written in verse to be spoken or sung, and appears in varying, sometimes related forms in many cultures. Greek tragedy in verse dates to the 6th century B.C., and may have been an influence on the development of Sanskrit drama, just as Indian drama in turn appears to have influenced the development of the bianwen verse dramas in China, forerunners of Chinese Opera.East Asian verse dramas also include Japanese Noh. Examples of dramatic poetry in Persian literature include Nizamis two famous dramatic works, Layla and Majnun and Khosrow and Shirin, Ferdowsis tragedies such as Rostam and Sohrab, Rumis Masnavi, Gorganis tragedy of Vis and Ramin, and Vahshis tragedy of Farhad. Satirical Poetry Poetry can be a powerful vehicle for satire. The Romans had a strong tradition of satirical poetry, often written for political purposes. A notable example is the Roman poet Juvenals satires.[128] The same is true of the English satirical tradition. John Dryden (a Tory), the first Poet Laureate, produced in 1682 Mac Flecknoe, subtitled A Satire on the True Blue Protestant Poet, T.S. (a reference to Thomas Shadwell).Another master of 17th-century English satirical poetry was John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester.Satirical poets outside England include Polands Ignacy Krasicki, Azerbaijans Sabir and Portugals Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage. Lyric poetry Lyric poetry is a genre that, unlike epic and dramatic poetry, does not attempt to tell a story but instead is of a more personal nature. Poems in this genre tend to be shorter, melodic, and contemplative. Rather than depicting characters and actions, it portrays the poets own feelings, states of mind, and perceptions.Notable poets in this genre include John Donne, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Antonio Machado. Elegy An elegy is a mournful, melancholy or plaintive poem, especially a lament for the dead or a funeral song. The term elegy, which originally denoted a type of poetic meter (elegiac meter), commonly describes a poem of mourning. An elegy may also reflect something that seems to the author to be strange or mysterious. The elegy, as a reflection on a death, on a sorrow more generally, or on something mysterious, may be classified as a form of lyric poetry. Notable practitioners of elegiac poetry have included Propertius, Jorge Manrique, Jan Kochanowski, Chidiock Tichborne, Edmund Spenser, Ben Jonson, John Milton, Thomas Gray, Charlotte Turner Smith, William Cullen Bryant, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Evgeny Baratynsky, Alfred Tennyson, Walt Whitman, Louis Gallet, Antonio Machado, Juan Ramà ³n Jimà ©nez, William Butler Yeats, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Virginia Woolf. Fable The fable is an ancient literary genre, often (though not invariably) set in verse. It is a succinct story that features anthropomorphized animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that illustrate a moral lesson (a moral). Verse fables have used a variety of meter and rhyme patterns. Notable verse fabulists have included Aesop, Vishnu Sarma, Phaedrus, Marie de France, Robert Henryson, Biernat of Lublin, Jean de La Fontaine, Ignacy Krasicki, Fà ©lix Marà ­a de Samaniego, Tomà ¡s de Iriarte, Ivan Krylov and Ambrose Bierce. Prose poetry Prose poetry is a hybrid genre that shows attributes of both prose and poetry. It may be indistinguishable from the micro-story (a.k.a. the short short story, flash fiction). While some examples of earlier prose strike modern readers as poetic, prose poetry is commonly regarded as having originated in 19th-century France, where its practitioners included Aloysius Bertrand, Charles Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud and Stà ©phane Mallarmà ©.Since the late 1980s especially, prose poetry has gained increasing popularity, with entire journals, such as The Prose Poem: An International Journal,Contemporary Haibun Onlinedevoted to that genre. Speculative poetry Speculative poetry, also known as fantastic poetry, (of which weird or macabre poetry is a major subclassification), is a poetic genre which deals thematically with subjects which are beyond reality, whether via extrapolation as in science fiction or via weird and horrific themes as in horror fiction. Such poetry appears regularly in modern science fiction and horror fiction magazines. Edgar Allan Poe is sometimes seen as the father of speculative poetry.

Star Trek :: Science Fiction Media Television Essays

Star Trek When most people hear William Shatner split the infamous infinitive: â€Å"to boldly go†¦,† they conjure a mental image of middle-aged men, donning tight Starfleet uniforms, perusing immense Trekkie conventions; they picture these fans buying things like hand-phaser television remotes and costumes for their pets and discussing the recent Klingon translation of Hamlet. Few people, however, take the time to investigate the phenomenon that could spawn such fandom. The truth: for 30 years Star Trek has delighted audiences around the world with over 600 television episodes, hundreds of books, ten full length movies (to date), dozens of games and computer software applications, and an assortment of merchandise. The television franchise, winner of several Emmy Awards, has at times been the highest rated show on television. It is no surprise that among the thousands inspired by show, the International Astronomical Union and those responsible for the first space shuttle stand apart; the Union named a star â€Å"Roddenberry† after the show’s creator and the shuttle bore the designation of its legendary star ship: Enterprise. Truly, Star Trek has captured the hearts and imaginations of the people, yet most people dismiss the franchise as another cheesy science fiction melodrama. Aside from the shows’ obvious allures--the exciting, suspenseful, and complex plots and beautifully rendered characters—the weekly interstellar adventures provide a unique forum for literary exploration. Through the creation of one possible future, Gene Roddenberry forwards the most noble quality of his secular humanist philosophy: its notion of the inherent capacity of humanity to mold its future as one as glorious as Roddenberry’s fictional one. The shows’ investigation of gender and race relations, intricate metaphysical themes, and skillful literary allusions, Roddenberry nurtured his show into the ongoing masterpiece it is now. As its significance has evolved from literary to cultural, Star Trek has come to embody the best parts of its creator and his philosophy: the embrace of all forms of di versity and its implications, the necessity for philosophical inquiry in all parts of life, and the beauty of humanity and the art which represents it. Star Trek, when it aired in the 1960's, presented the public with a revolutionary conception of science fiction; for the first time, science fiction forwarded a positive message. Replacing the scenes of science gone awry found in Shelley’s Frankenstein or the terrifying imagery of alien conquest in Wells’ War of the Worlds were scenes of peace and comfort.

The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Twelve

Stefan heard a voice whisper, soft with pain, â€Å"Oh, no.† A voice that he'd never thought to hear again, that he would never forget. Ripples of chills poured over his skin, and he could feel a shaking start inside him. He turned toward the voice, his attention fixing instantly, his mind almost shutting down because it couldn't cope with so many sudden driving emotions at once. His eyes were blurred and could only discern a wash of radiance like a thousand candles. But it didn't matter. He could feel her there. The same presence he had sensed the very first day he'd come to Fell's Church, a golden white light that shone into his consciousness. Full of cool beauty and searing passion and vibrant life. Demanding that he move toward it, that he forget everything else. Elena. It was really Elena. Her presence pervaded him, filling him to his fingertips. All his hungry senses were fixed on that wash of luminance, searching for her. Needing her. Then she stepped out. She moved slowly, hesitantly. As if she could barely make herself do it. Stefan was caught in the same paralysis. Elena. He saw her every feature as if for the first time. The pale gold hair floating about her face and shoulders like a halo. The fair, flawless skin. The slender, supple body just now canted away from him, one hand raised in protest. â€Å"Stefan,† the whisper came, and it was her voice. Her voice saying his name. But there was such pain in it that he wanted to run to her, hold her, promise her that everything would be all right. â€Å"Stefan, please†¦ I can't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He could see her eyes now. The dark blue of lapis lazuli, flecked in this light with gold. Wide with pain and wet with unshed tears. It shredded his guts. â€Å"You don't want to see me?† His voice was dry as dust. â€Å"I don't want you to see me. Oh, Stefan, he can make anything happen. And he'll find us. He'll come here†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Relief and aching joy flooded through Stefan. He could scarcely concentrate on her words, and it didn't matter. The way she said his name was enough. That â€Å"Oh, Stefan† told him everything he cared about. He moved toward her quietly, his own hand coming up to reach for hers. He saw the protesting shake of her head, saw that her lips were parted with her quickening breath. Up close, her skin had an inner glow, like a flame shining through translucent candle wax. Droplets of wetness were caught on her eyelashes like diamonds. Although she kept shaking her head, kept protesting, she did not move her hand away. Not even when his outspread fingers touched it, pressing against her cool fingertips as if they were on opposite sides of a pane of glass. He couldn't think. His heart was threatening to come through his chest. Nothing mattered except that she was here, that they were here together. He didn't notice the strange surroundings, didn't care who might be watching. Slowly, so slowly, he closed his hand around hers, intertwining their fingers, the way they were meant to be. His other hand lifted to her face. Her eyes closed at the touch, her cheek leaning into it. He felt the moisture on his fingers and a laugh caught in his throat. Dream tears. But they were real, she was real. Elena. Sweetness pierced him. A pleasure so sharp it was a pain, just to stroke the tears away from her face with his thumb. All the frustrated tenderness of the last six months, all the emotion he'd kept locked in his heart that long, came cascading out, submerging him. Drowning both of them. It took such a little movement and then he was holding her. An angel in his arms, cool and thrilling with life and beauty. A being of flame and air. She shivered in his embrace; then, eyes still shut, put up her lips. There was nothing cool about the kiss. It struck sparks from Stefan's nerves, melting and dissolving everything around it. He felt his control unraveling, the control he'd worked so hard to preserve since he'd lost her. Everything inside him was being jarred loose, all knots untied, all floodgates opened. He could feel his own tears as he held her to him, trying to fuse them into one flesh, one body. So that nothing could ever separate them again. They were both crying without breaking the kiss. Elena's slender arms were around his neck now, every inch of her fitting to him as if she had never belonged anywhere else. He could taste the salt of her tears on his lips and it drenched him with sweetness. He knew, vaguely, that there was something else he should be thinking about. But the first electric touch of her cool skin had driven reason from his mind. They were in the center of a whirlwind of fire; the universe could explode or crumble or burn to ashes for all he cared, as long as he could keep her safe. But Elena was trembling. Not just from emotion, from the intensity that was making him dizzy and drunk with pleasure. From fear. He could feel it in her mind and he wanted to protect her, to shield her and to cherish her and to kill anything that dared frighten her. With something like a snarl he raised his face to look around. â€Å"What is it?† he said, hearing the predator's rasp in his own voice. â€Å"Anything that tries to hurt you-â€Å" â€Å"Ask me anything else and I'll do it,† Stefan said. The killer would have to shred him nerve from nerve, muscle from muscle, cell from cell to make him leave her. â€Å"Stefan, it's only a dream,† Elena said desperately, new tears falling. â€Å"We can't really touch, we can't be together. It's not allowed.† Stefan didn't care. It didn't seem like a dream. It felt real. And even in a dream he was not going to give up Elena, not for anyone. No force in heaven or hell could make him†¦ â€Å"Wrong, sport. Surprise!† said a new voice, a voice Stefan had never heard. He recognized it instinctively, though, as the voice of a killer. A hunter among hunters. And when he turned, he remembered what Vickie, poor Vickie, had said. He looks like the devil. If the devil was handsome and blond. He wore a threadbare raincoat, as Vickie had described. Dirty and tattered. He looked like any street person from any big city, except that he was so tall and his eyes were so clear and penetrating. Electric blue, like razor-frosted sky. His hair was almost white, standing straight up as if blown by a blast of chilly wind. His wide smile made Stefan feel sick. â€Å"Salvatore, I presume,† he said, scraping a bow. â€Å"And of course the beautiful Elena. The beautiful dead Elena. Come to join her, Stefan? You two were just meant to be together.† He looked young, older than Stefan, but still young. He wasn't. â€Å"Stefan, leave now,† Elena whispered. â€Å"He can't hurt me, but you're different. He can make something happen that will follow you out of the dream.† Stefan's arm stayed locked around her. â€Å"Bravo!† the man in the raincoat applauded, looking around as if to encourage an invisible audience. He staggered slightly, and if he'd been human, Stefan would have thought he was drunk. â€Å"Stefan, please,† Elena whispered. â€Å"It would be rude to leave before we've even been properly introduced,† the blond man said. Hands in coat pockets, he strode a step or two closer. â€Å"Don't you want to know who I am?† Elena shook her head, not in negation but in defeat, and dropped it to Stefan's shoulder. He cupped a hand around her hair, wanting to shield every part of her from this madman. â€Å"I want to know,† he said, looking at the blond man over her head. â€Å"How long?† said Stefan, unimpressed. â€Å"A long time†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The blond man's gaze turned dreamy, as if looking back over the years. â€Å"I was tearing pretty white throats when your ancestors were building the Colosseum. I killed with Alexander's army. I fought in the Trojan War. I'm old, Salvatore. I'm one of the Originals. In my earliest memories I carried a bronze ax.† Slowly, Stefan nodded. He'd heard of the Old Ones. They were whispered about among vampires, but no one Stefan had ever known had actually met one. Every vampire was made by another vampire, changed by the exchange of blood. But somewhere, back in time, had been the Originals, the ones who hadn't been made. They were where the line of continuity stopped. No one knew how they'd gotten to be vampires themselves. But their Powers were legendary. â€Å"I helped bring the Roman Empire down,† the blond man continued dreamily. â€Å"They called us barbarians-they just didn't understand! War, Salvatore! There's nothing like it. Europe was exciting then. I decided to stick around the countryside and enjoy myself. Strange, you know, people never really seemed comfortable around me. They used to run or hold up crosses.† He shook his head. â€Å"But one woman came and asked my help. She was a maid in a baron's household, and her little mistress was sick. Dying, she said. She wanted me to do something about it. And so†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The smile returned and broadened, getting wider and impossibly wider, â€Å"I did. She was a pretty little thing.† Stefan had turned his body to hold Elena away from the blond man, and now, for a moment, he turned his head away too. He should have known, should have guessed. And so it all came back to him. Vickie's death, and Sue's, were ultimately to be laid at his door. He had started the chain of events that ended here. â€Å"Katherine,† he said, lifting his head to look at the man. â€Å"You're the vampire who changed Katherine.† â€Å"To save her life,† the blond man said, as if Stefan were stupid at learning a lesson. â€Å"Which your little sweetheart here took.† A name. Stefan was searching for a name in his mind, knowing that Katherine had told it to him, just as she must have described this man to him once. He could hear Katherine's words in his mind: I woke in the middle of the night and I saw the man that Gudren, my maid, had brought. I was frightened. His name was Klaus and I'd heard the people in the village say he was evil †¦ â€Å"Klaus,† the blond man said mildly, as if agreeing with something. â€Å"That was what she called me, anyway. She came back to me after two little Italian boys jilted her. She'd done everything for them, changed them into vampires, given them eternal life, but they were ungrateful and threw her out. Very strange.† â€Å"What was even stranger was that she never got over you, Salvatore. You especially. She was always drawing unflattering comparisons between us. I tried to beat some sense into her, but it never really worked. Maybe I should have just killed her myself, I don't know. But by then I'd gotten used to having her around. She never was the brightest. But she was good to look at, and she knew how to have fun. I showed her that, how to enjoy the killing. Eventually her brain turned a little, but so what? It wasn't her brains I was keeping her for.† There was no longer any vestige of love for Katherine in Stefan's heart, but he found he could still hate the man who had made her what she was in the end. â€Å"Me? Me, sport?† Klaus pointed to his own chest in unbelief. â€Å"You made Katherine into what she is right now, or rather your little girlfriend did. Right now, she's dust. Worm's meat. But your sweetie is just slightly beyond my reach at present. Vibrating on a higher plane, isn't that what the mystics say, Elena? Why don't you vibrate down here with the rest of us?† â€Å"If only I could,† whispered Elena, lifting her head and looking at him with hatred. â€Å"Oh, well. Meanwhile I've got your friends. Sue was such a sweet girl, I hear.† He licked his lips. â€Å"And Vickie was delectable. Delicate but full bodied, with a nice bouquet. More like a nineteen-year-old than seventeen.† Stefan lunged one step forward, but Elena caught him. â€Å"Stefan, don't! This is his territory, and his mental powers are stronger than ours. He controls it.† â€Å"Precisely. This is my territory. Unreality.† Klaus grinned his staring psychotic grin again. â€Å"Where your wildest nightmares come true, free of charge. For instance,† he said, looking at Stefan, â€Å"how'd you like to see what your sweetheart really looks like right now? Without her makeup?† Elena made a soft sound, almost a moan. Stefan held her tighter. â€Å"It's been how long since she died? About six months? Do you know what happens to a body once it's been in the ground six months?† Klaus licked his lips again, like a dog. Now Stefan understood. Elena shivered, head bent, and tried to move away from him, but he locked his arms around her. â€Å"It's all right,† he said to her softly. And to Klaus: â€Å"You're forgetting yourself. I'm not a human who jumps at shadows and the sight of blood. I know about death, Klaus. It doesn't frighten me.† â€Å"No, but does it thrill you?† Klaus's voice dropped, low, intoxicating. â€Å"Isn't it exciting, the stench, the rot, the fluids of decomposing flesh? Isn't it a kick?† â€Å"Stefan, let me go. Please.† Elena was shaking, pushing at him with her hands, all the time keeping her head twisted away so he couldn't see her face. Her voice sounded close to tears. â€Å"Please.† â€Å"The only Power you have here is the power of illusion,† Stefan said to Klaus. He held Elena to him, cheek pressed to her hair. He could feel the changes in the body he embraced. The hair under his cheek seemed to coarsen and Elena's form to shrink on itself. â€Å"Stefan, I don't want you to look at me-â€Å" Eyes on Klaus, Stefan gently pushed the coarsened white hair away and stroked the side of Elena's face, ignoring the roughness against his fingertips. â€Å"But of course most of the time it just decomposes. What a way to go. You lose everything, skin, flesh, muscles, internal organs-all back into the ground†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The body in Stefan's arms was dwindling. He shut his eyes and held tighter, hatred for Klaus burning inside him. An illusion, it was all an illusion†¦ â€Å"Stefan†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It was a dry whisper, faint as the scratch of paper blown down a sidewalk. It hung on the air a minute and then vanished, and Stefan found himself holding a pile of bones. â€Å"And finally it ends up like that, in over two hundred separate, easy-to-assemble pieces. Comes with its own handy-dandy carrying case†¦Ã¢â‚¬  On the far side of the circle of light there was a creaking sound. The white coffin there was opening by itself, the lid lifting. â€Å"Why don't you do the honors, Salvatore? Go put Elena where she belongs.† Stefan had dropped to his knees, shaking, looking at the slender white bones in his hands. It was all an illusion-Klaus was merely controlling Bonnie's trance and showing Stefan what he wanted Stefan to see. He hadn't really hurt Elena, but the hot, protective fury inside Stefan wouldn't recognize that. Carefully, Stefan laid the fragile bones on the ground and touched them once, gently. Then he looked up at Klaus, lips curled with contempt. â€Å"That is not Elena,† he said. â€Å"Of course it is. I'd recognize her anywhere.† Klaus spread his hands and declaimed, † ‘I knew a woman, lovely in her bones†¦' â€Å" â€Å"No.† Sweat was beading on Stefan's forehead. He shut out Klaus's voice and concentrated, fists clenched, muscles cracking with effort. It was like pushing a boulder uphill, fighting Klaus's influence. But where they lay, the delicate bones began trembling, and a faint golden light shone around them. â€Å"‘A rag and a bone and a hank of hair†¦ the fool he called them his lady fair†¦ ‘ â€Å" The light was shimmering, dancing, linking the bones together. Warm and golden it folded about them, clothing them as they rose in the air. What stood there now was a featureless form of soft radiance. Sweat ran into Stefan's eyes and he felt as if his lungs would burst. † ‘Clay lies still, but blood's a rover†¦' â€Å" † ‘And the crack in the teacup opens a lane to the land of the dead . . .' â€Å" â€Å"No.† Dizziness swept over Stefan as he felt the last surge of Power sigh out of him. A breath lifted the figure's breast, and eyes blue as lapis lazuli opened. Elena smiled, and he felt the blaze of her love arc to meet him. â€Å"Stefan.† Her head was high, proud as any queen's. Stefan turned to Klaus, who had stopped speaking and was glaring mutely. â€Å"This,† Stefan said distinctly, â€Å"is Elena. Not whatever empty shell she's left behind in the ground. This is Elena, and nothing you do can ever touch her.† He held out his hand, and Elena took it and stepped to him. When they touched, he felt a jolt, and then felt her Powers flowing into him, sustaining him. They stood together, side by side, facing the blond man. Stefan had never felt as fiercely victorious in his life, or as strong. Klaus stared at them for perhaps twenty seconds and then went berserk. His face twisted in loathing. Stefan could feel waves of malignant Power battering against him and Elena, and he used all his strength to resist it. The maelstrom of dark fury was trying to tear them apart, howling through the room, destroying everything in its path. Candles snuffed out and flew into the air as if caught in a tornado. The dream was breaking up around them, shattering. Stefan clung to Elena's other hand. The wind blew her hair, whipping it around her face. â€Å"Stefan!† She was shouting, trying to make herself heard. Then he heard her voice in his mind. â€Å"Stefan, listen to me! There is one thing you can do to stop him. You need a victim, Stefan-find one of his victims. Only a victim will know-â€Å" The noise level was unbearable, as if the very fabric of space and time was tearing. Stefan felt Elena's hands ripped from his. With a cry of desperation, he reached out for her again, but he could feel nothing. He was already drained by the effort of fighting Klaus, and he couldn't hold on to consciousness. The darkness took him spinning down with it. Bonnie had seen everything. It was strange, but once she stepped aside to let Stefan go to Elena, she seemed to lose physical presence in the dream. It was as if she were no longer a player but the stage the action was being played upon. She could watch, but she couldn't do anything else. In the end, she'd been afraid. She wasn't strong enough to hold the dream together, and the whole thing finally exploded, throwing her out of the trance, back into Stefan's room. â€Å"Stefan? Are you okay?† He looked wildly around the room as if trying to find something. â€Å"Elena!† he said, and then he stopped, memory clearly returning. His face twisted. For one dreadful instant Bonnie thought he was going to cry, but he only shut his eyes and dropped his head into his hands. â€Å"Stefan?† â€Å"I lost her. I couldn't hold on.† â€Å"I know.† Bonnie watched him a moment, then, gathering her courage, knelt in front of him, touching his shoulders. â€Å"I'm sorry.† His head lifted abruptly, his green eyes dry but so dilated they looked black. His nostrils were flared, his lips drawn back from his teeth. â€Å"Klaus!† He spat the name as if it were a curse. â€Å"Did you see him?† â€Å"Yes,† Bonnie said, pulling back. She gulped, her stomach churning. â€Å"He's crazy, isn't he, Stefan?† â€Å"Yes.† Stefan got up. â€Å"And he must be stopped.† â€Å"But how?† Since seeing Klaus, Bonnie was more frightened than ever, more frightened and less confident. â€Å"What could stop him, Stefan? I've never felt anything like that Power.† â€Å"But didn't you-?† Stefan turned to her quickly. â€Å"Bonnie, didn't you hear what Elena said at the end?† â€Å"No. What do you mean? I couldn't hear anything; there was a slight hurricane going on at the time.† â€Å"Bonnie†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Stefan's eyes went distant with speculation and he spoke as if to himself. â€Å"That means that he probably didn't hear it either. So he doesn't know, and he won't try to stop us.† â€Å"From what? Stefan, what are you talking about?† â€Å"From finding a victim. Listen, Bonnie, Elena told me that if we can find a surviving victim of Klaus's, we can find a way to stop him.† Bonnie was in completely over her head. â€Å"But†¦ why?† â€Å"Because vampires and their donors-their prey-share minds briefly while the blood is being exchanged. Sometimes the donor can learn things about the vampire that way. Not always, but occasionally. That's what must have happened, and Elena knows it.† She expected Stefan to be deflated, but he wasn't. â€Å"A vampire,† he said simply. â€Å"A human Klaus made into a vampire would qualify as a victim. As long as they've exchanged blood, they've touched minds.† â€Å"Oh. Oh. So†¦ if we can find a vampire he's made†¦ but where?† â€Å"Maybe in Europe.† Stefan began to pace around the room, his eyes narrowed. â€Å"Klaus has a long history, and some of his vampires are bound to be there. I may have to go and look for one.† Bonnie was utterly dismayed. â€Å"But Stefan, you can't leave us. You can't!† Stefan stopped where he was, across the room, and stood very still. Then at last, he turned to face her. â€Å"I don't want to,† he said quietly. â€Å"And we'll try to think of another solution first-maybe we can get hold of Tyler again. I'll wait a week, until next Saturday. But I may have to leave, Bonnie. You know that as well as I do.† There was a long, long silence between them. Bonnie fought the heat in her eyes, determined to be grown up and mature. She wasn't a baby and she would prove that now, once and for all. She caught Stefan's gaze and slowly nodded.

The Development Of Foreign Direct Investment Economics Essay

One of the most important consequences of globalisation in the universe economic system is the development of foreign direct investing among states. Foreign direct investing steering rule plays a critical function in the growing of economic, socio-cultural alterations and development in states around the universe. International trade and foreign direct investing are comparative constructs fundamentally which enables the free motion of labour and capital across the universe or between states without much monitory minutess. This proposes for an indirect association between international trade and exchange production factors between two or more states. The greater advantages of international trade and foreign direct investing is cost advantage in footings of production and concern facilitation, which means the a state bring forthing a peculiar good and handiness of natural stuffs are relatively less so in such state of affairs they would take advantages of other states resorts and facto rs of production become economical ( Euro Journals, 2012 ) FDI plays a critical function in growing of economic system because they tend to be more productive than the investing of local houses. It caused to convey alterations in the production method and it has led to important positive spread out effects on the labour productiveness of domestic houses. Socio-economic and political factors are matters a batch in the influx of foreign direct investing in a state, because the investing has some basic things to be satisfy like the stableness in policy, steady authorities, legal facets as such. So to pull foreign direct investing influx with broad constabularies Hs hence becomes a cardinal combat zone in the emerging markets. The foreign direct investing itself create a wider scope for attract other investors to put and to be invest. The vision of new growing chances and bulky net incomes promote big investing flow across a scope of industry and chance types. When the foreign direct investing take topographic point a concern which has already e xist in the market of state, the per centum of competition would increase quickly merely to last in the market. And this led has led to competition among states in explicating flexible policies that and supplying encouragement to private investors to put more. Basically t a state would accept the policies and processs based on the resorts ( Borensztein, E, 1998 ) In 21st century Brazil, Russia, India and China have obtained important function in the universe economic system as manufacturer of goods and services and the approaching universe super powers. Now a twenty-four hours ‘s universe looking into BRIC states due to the high potency clients and big population fundamentally it pull immense sum of capital. By 2050 BRIC states will go dominant economic system in the universe because it has high economic potency. BRIC nations found a greater place in emerging markets and these states have the fastest turning economic systems. The BRIC states are listed as emerging economic systems but these states as a whole bash non hold any trade or incorporate economic brotherhood. Now a twenty-four hours ‘s a good per centums of foreign direct investing bend to Brazil, Russia, India and China, chiefly Goldman Sachs investing bank to stand for BRIC states as an Economic Block. Global competition for FDI had given the bargaining power to Multi- National Corporation and their Alliess ( Boros Torstila, 1990 ) . Due to the influx of foreign direct investing states started to liberalise their policies fundamentally on decrease in entry revenue enhancements, ordinances, environmental clearances and demand on working conditions for pulling FDIs. Gold adult male Sachs the representative of BRIC states predicted that China and India are likely to emerge as dominant planetary providers of manufactured goods and services while Brazil and Russia to dominant in supply of Raw stuffs ( Journal of Business Science, 2010 ) . The importance of ‘Developing state ‘ is increasing twenty-four hours by twenty-four hours. Africa and Latin American states are the chief competition for BRIC states. The potency of Africa particularly South Africa, the largest economic system in the part is besides plays a critical function in Global economic growing and development and it is challenge for BRIC state ‘s development. If the right policy take topographic point South Africa, they would obtain five per centum of growing in following decennary, study show in the survey of Goldman Sachs. Now the projected figure depicts that South Africa achieved the similar growing as BRIC states have obtained. The important function of FDI in the development of economic system and living experience of BRIC economic systems paid attendings of remainder of the universe. Therefore the universe market and investings are looking into it. On other manus this sort of FDI investing caused to make an unofficial relation betwee n such and such states. The of import potency of this states are in human resources and possible clients, who can afford the slandered of life. The chief and for most of import ground behind the growing of BRIC states is the salvaging outlook of people, when the save resources for future it leads to maintain a good modesty for state. Once the militias has got excess which means the state has possible to put and high capital ratio. In the recent yearss BRIC states exhibited economical strength in the face of the US recognition convulsion and growing diminution. BRIC states differentiate a cyclical constituent of strong domestic demand growing. The economic growing of a state is reference with the consequence of several factors like alterations in labour and capital inputs, entire factor productiveness as such. The entire productiveness captures technological advancement and efficiency additions and residuary remain unexplained due to alterations in labour and capital inputs. However the BRIC states are differ in footings of their growing chances ( Vijayakumar, Sridharan, Rao, 2010 ) The important factors which favorable for Brazil, Russia, India and China is the demographic tendencies, labour supply kineticss and urbanization ratios. Basically BRIC states are good sounded in population. The constructs such urbanisation, industrialisation, mercerization and Internationals helps China from a poorness afflicted state to largest economic system in the universe. A low urbanisation ratio of 40 per cent in China may assist to antagonize the jutting diminution in the on the job age of the urbanisation by leting the transportation of labour from the countryside into the more productive urban economic system. But the instance of Brazil is such different from the remainder of squad because urbanisations have already done in Brazil in a greater scope. It is good structured developed state in the universe. The figures are demoing that 20 per cent addition in population of working age between the twelvemonth 2005 and 2025. Due to the influence of urbanisation Russia gets smal l aid will come from excess rural labour. From the South Asiatic demographic point of position, India confronting most promising economic place with solid growing of population and lower grade of urbanisation. Initial phase India was confronting the rivals of urban development and substructure. But the recent tendency of capital accretion favour to China and India. Assuming the investing ratio does non alter dramatically over the following old ages, China and India face much brighter chance than Brazil, Russia. Currency domestic investing ratios are around 40 per cent and 30 per cent of GDP in China and India severally, were as an investing ratio of Brazil, Russia history to 20 per cent of GDP. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences, 2012, Foreign Direct Investment in BRIC Countries: A Panel Data Analysis of the Trends and Determinations of FDI, [ online ] , Accessed on January 2013 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.eurojournals.com/EJEFAS.htm Borensztein, E, 1998, Hoe does foreign investing affect growing? Journal of International Economics, Volume 45 Boros – Torstila, J, 1999, The Determinants of foreign Direct Investment operation of Finnish MNCs in passage economic systems, Helsinki: ETLA, The Research Institute of Finnish Economy. Journal of Business Science and Applied Management, 2010, Determinants of FDI in BRICs Countries: A panel analysis, Volume 5, Issue 3, [ online ] , Accessed on Nararyanamurthy Vijayakumar, Perumal Sridharan, Kode CHangra Sekhrar Rao, 2010, Determinants of FDI in BRIC Countries: A panel analysis, [ Online ] , Accessed on February 2013. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.business-and-management.org/download.php? file=2010/5_3 — 1 — 13-Vijayakumar, Sridharan, Rao.pdf

Bell-South HR benefits essays

Bell-South HR benefits essays Looking for a challenging career and a great place to grow? BellSouth can provide you both. As a leader in the fast-changing telecommunications industry, BellSouth offers you a range of career and growth possibilities. Here's what makes BellSouth a great place to work: A dynamic professional environment where you can put your creativity, enthusiasm and team spirit into action. A nationally recognized benefits program Training/education opportunities for your future A diverse culture based on integrity If this sounds like what your looking for, take a look at the links below to learn more about BellSouth and your opportunities for career growth. Professional Growths and Development BellSouth provides professional growth and development opportunities that few companies can match. Whether you're interested in developing the skills of your craft, learning new technology or honing your leadership style, our BellSouth University team will take you there. We have four learning institutes designed to meet the needs of employees in customer care, sales and marketing, network services and leadership roles. If you join BellSouth, you have our commitment that we will equip you with the training you need for your first day on the job, as well as for your future, if you choose to pursue an exciting career with our company. Chances are that you won't stay with one company for your whole career. But, BellSouth wants you to know - you could - and not be bored. Promotions from within, and the variety of job tracks we have, make opportunities limitless. It's a great place to build a career. BellSouth has a Tuition Aid Plan that's right for you. Whether you're considering going back to school for a technical degree, bachelor's or master's degree, or even a doctorate, BellSouth can get you there. Our Customers: We are driven by the needs of our customers. We understand our customers' needs and ...

How and why has Windsor Castle developed since 1080 Essays

How and why has Windsor Castle developed since 1080 Essays How and why has Windsor Castle developed since 1080 Paper How and why has Windsor Castle developed since 1080 Paper A social change is a change that happened to do with society / people and example of this is the reason why William built the castle in the first place; to stop them revolting, Windsor was also changed because Charles I was beheaded there, this still effects the castle today as there are many kings queens buried there, adding to the things that people come to see. Finally some examples of technological changes are Windsor being changed to stone (as well as a political change) as it went from being wooden to stone, Henry VIII added murder holes to the Norman gateway, George IV added the cone shaped roof and the rectangular tower being changed to what it now. Windsor castle has undergone many changes over the nearly 1000 years since its construction, from a Motte Bailey, to a stone keep from a prison to a fairytale castle as now a partial royal residency and world famous tourist attraction.

The Black Panther Party

The Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party was established in 1966 by Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale and David Hilliard in Oakland, Ca. The three college students created the organization to provide protection to African-Americans against police brutality.   Within its first few years, the group gained national and international prominence for actions that were considered radical by critics and lauded by supporters.   As a result, of its revolutionary tactics several members of the  Ã‚  Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)  joined the Black Panther Party to create the Black Power Movement.   1966   October:   Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale and David Hilliard establish the Black Panther Party of Self-Defense in Oakland, Ca. December: Bobby Hutton, a 16-year-old, is the first male recruit of the Black Panther Party. 1967 January: The Black Panther Party establishes its first headquarters- a storefront on Grove Street in Oakland, Ca.Members Kenny Freeman and Roy Ballard establish the Black Panther Party of Northern California in San Francisco. February: Writer Eldridge Cleaver joins the Party.Members of the Black Panther Party are attacked by law enforcement outside the office of Ramparts magazine while escorting Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X.    April:   BPP publishes the first issue of Black Panther Party: Black Community News Service. This publication will become the organizations official news publication. May: H. Rap Brown becomes national chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Stokely Carmichael preceded Brown in this role.An estimated 26 armed BPP members are arrested in Sacramento after invading the state legislature hearing on gun-control laws. 1968 January: The Southern California branch of the BPP is established by Alprentice â€Å"Bunchy† Carter. Carter was also named Deputy Minister of Defense by Newton.A rally is held for the â€Å"Oakland Seven,† an anti-war protest group who were arrested in October of 1967 during the â€Å"Stop the Draft Week† protest.   February: A coalition between the BPP and SNCC is established at a rally honoring Newton. March: Cleaver’s Soul on Ice is published. It is a collection of essays written by Cleaver when he was incarcerated.Arthur Carter is killed by government officials. Carter becomes the first member of the BPP to be murdered. April: The BPP opens an office in New York City. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis.Bobby Hutton, the BPP’s first recruit as well as the organization’s national treasurer is murdered by Oakland law enforcement officials. June:   The alliance formed between SNCC and the BPP ends. As a result, Carmichael is forced to leave SNCC and joins the BPP. August: From August 25 to August 29, the BPP participates in anti-War rioting in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention. September: Newton is found guilty of voluntary manslaughter of an Oakland, police officer. He is sentenced to two to fifteen years in prison. David Hilliard assumes control of the BPP in Newton’s absence. Newton’s conviction is later appealed and reversed. November: The BPP develops several initiatives such as a free breakfast program for low-income children. 1969 January: BPP rolls out its free breakfast program for children at St. Augustine’s Church in Oakland. Other programs follow in areas throughout California as well as New York City. March: Following a speech delivered by Kathleen Cleaver, students at Mills College takeover Robert J. Werk’s office. The college’s president is held prisoner for several hours as students demand minority involvement in student affairs.Bobby Seale is indicted and charged with organizing the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. April: Carmichael relocates to Guinea with his wife, Mariam Makeba. June: J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI declares â€Å"†¦the Black Panther Party, without question, represents the greatest threat to internal security of the country. He pledges that 1969 would be the last year of the Partys existence.Carmichael leaves the BPP citing political differences with other prominent members. August: Newton wins an appeal, and he is released from prison.Seale is arrested in Berkeley. He is charged with organizing the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots as well as the murder of a BPP member named Alex Rackley. December: BPP leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark are found dead in a Chicago apartment following a police raid. 1970 March: Seale’s book, Seize the Time: The Story of the BPP and Huey Newton is published. October: Charges against Seale and other members of the Chicago 8 are dropped. 1971 February: Citing differing points of view on how the BPP should be run, Cleaver expels Newton and Hilliard. 1972 A collection of essays and speeches, To Die for the People, by Huey P. Newton is published. Newton declares that the BPP is â€Å"putting down the gun† and working within the law to help the African-American community progress. Newton also tries to persuade all African-Americans, poor people, and progressive Americans to support Representative Shirley Chisolm for the presidential nomination. 1973 March: Newton publishes his autobiography, Revolutionary Suicide. April: Elaine Brown  runs for the Oakland City Council while Bobby Seale runs for mayor of Oakland. 1974 August: Attempting to avoid jail time, Newton flees to Cuba following two assault charges.Elaine Brown assumes administrative roles of BPP. 1989 August: Newton is killed in West Oakland.

International Business Promotion Research Paper

International Business Promotion - Research Paper Example Reliance on websites for health information has grown steadily given the increase in international trade. Different hospitals have employed different strategies when developing their websites to meet the needs of their clients. Texas hospital website has two distinct sections, patients and families section and a section for the health professional (Texas Children’s Hospital, 2012). The website carries popup messages where the purpose of the hospital is described as ‘to heal the child’. Moreover, the pop up messages advertise the services offered by the hospital and describe its commitment to superior services ‘now delivering miracles’. The websites give a guarantee to the clients that its specialists are always advancing their pediatric care daily to ensure their services are up-to-date to emerging medical concerns. On Texas Children Hospital website, patients can find a specific doctor, view their professional qualifications and book an appointment ( Texas Children’s Hospital, 2012). Moreover, customers can view all the departments or services offered and the time one can assess such services. Additionally, the specific location of such services well described and the professionals working in that department. This gives assurance to the customers that they receive quality services from accredited care givers. Given that previous health record is important for future visits to Texas Children Hospital or another hospital. Texas Children’s Hospital has an account for parents to access the health record of the children. Stanford Hospitals and Clinics have developed a website to serve its international customers. Under the international medical services section, Stanford Hospital describes that it offers superior services to its customers pointing out that patients from different parts of the world travel to the hospital annually (Stanford Hospitals and Clinics, 2012). This is a strategy to give confidence to a patient in a dilemma either to go treatment at Stanford or seek treatment in their local country where the hospital assures them that it is worthwhile to make a trip to Stanford Hospital. The hospital promises its international visitors individualized care that is able to meet the needs of the patients and their families before and after treatment. The hospital has a personal patient coordinator who in addition to arranging for a patient’s visit to the hospital organizes for their stay at in San Francisco Bay Area (Stanford Hospitals and Clinics, 2012). This demonstrates a commitment to customer service. The hospital website outlines the services offered by hospital including identifying a specific doctor to meet the medical needs of the patients and interpretation of languages which is a strategy to ensure that some patients do not feel left out. To ensure that patients prepare themselves for the visit, they are given an estimate of their medical bills. Patients can book for appoint ments online thereby reducing time wastage when travelling for treatment. At Phuket International Hospital, offering services to patients from diverse backgrounds has led the hospital employ international staff. At this hospital, the management recognized importance of effective diagnosis and, therefore, language barrier is dealt with by ensuring that the employees speaking a variety of languages. The hospital helps its patients make insurance claims and liaises with the embassy,

Using theories and research from the psychology and work module, and Essay

Using theories and research from the psychology and work module, and with reference to your placement year, critically examine the importance of individual differences and organisational behaviour at work - Essay Example In this paper I will attempt to elaborate on how individual differences and organizational behaviour influence the work process. To better deliver and communicate my point I decided to focus on two topics – leadership and approaches to work motivation. The organization that I choose as placement is in the customer service industry, so the priority for the company is to keep the customers satisfied, creating company loyalty policies. Drenth (1998) outlines briefly that the history of work psychology dates back from hundred years ago, when scholars, researchers and psychologists started to analyze the circumstances of the industrialization on the overall work processes. The specificities around that workload, and the labour market in the industrial era posed significant questions about the sickness absences, child labour, occupational stress, welfare differences and training and development devices. All these led to the creation of organization psychologists who provided care for the workers (Drenth, 1998). Even though technology become all too important, human factor enriches the work process to an irreplaceable degree. Therefore, studying human factor determines the main tendencies in work psychology. People at work are constantly interacting with each other, they exchange skills, obtain new knowledge through training, though still each employee besides the particular work role that he is performing remains individual, with his unique behavioural characteristics, personal attitude, reactions and style. The topic of leadership is significant not only for the organization and psychology at work, but also for the whole social science field. Furnham (2005) notes that authors from various disciplines from literatures, economics, and management are trying to determine the factors that make â€Å"good† leaders and what are their strengths and personal

Learning about Hinduism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Learning about Hinduism - Essay Example It aims to deliver the thought that every living being in itself is the manifestation of the Divine Unity and thus is God omnipresent. (What is Vedanta?). Being a part of both Islamic and Christian background I am more acquainted with monotheism and had little opportunity to understand the basis of a religion based on multiple Gods and Goddesses, such as Hinduism. To divulge more into this matter and to enhance the understanding of the religion in a better manner that the paper takes into accord an interview conducted upon a person who is a spiritual aspirant in this direction. The interview in this direction is taken online through chat with a person who is an engineer by profession and is aged around 47 years. He resides in Bangalore and is a staunch believer of Advaita Vedanta Philosophy. This person agreed to share his own personal views about the practices and rituals of Vedanta Religion on being contacted through the online sphere. Questions that were asked to him concerned mai nly on understanding the religious framework of Vedanta religion along with the doctrines and practices ingrained in such. The Religion of Vedanta The first question that was asked to the interviewee was concerned in understanding and identifying the philosophy of Vedanta as a religious philosophy practiced in India. Focus of the question was directly placed to know that whether Vedanta is truly a religion or just a set of dogmas and preset ideologies. To this end, the interviewee acclaimed that Vedanta is a scientific and intellectual religion. The interviewee stated that Vedanta as a religion renders focus on a universal God which the Vedantists or the followers of such religion regard as the Omnipresent Power of Supreme or Absolute Consciousness. He stated that the religion of Vedanta goes farther in understanding the realms of sublime consciousness ingrained in the physical system, which is regarded as the Universal Truth. The interviewee also stated that the religion of Vedanta is a more refined understanding of the Hindu philosophy or religion. He stated that Vedanta acts as a backbone to the Hindu religion. The Vedanta religion according to him stands on three main pillars viz. Existence, Knowledge and Supreme Bliss, which is also maintained in the Hindu religion as Sat, Chit and Ananda respectively. The interviewee also acclaimed that through Vedanta one can easily approach higher states of consciousness which transcends the body and mind to a Supreme and Unified state thus bringing peace and enlightenment. (Vedanta). Ritualistic Practices of Vedanta The second question that was asked to the interviewee mainly focused on understanding the ritualistic practices of the Vedanta religion. The question tried to divulge on understanding the ritualistic principles in use by the people following the Vedanta religion. The interviewee stated in regards to this question that the Vedanta philosophy being a refined state of the Hindu philosophy believes in the Unit y of the Divine Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva as the Supreme Self that resides within the body and is beyond mind and intellect. Vedanta Religion operates based on three religious doctrines or practices, which have been in use in Hindu religious systems from time immemorial. These three paths practiced by Vedanta religion are considered as highly sacred and are observed to grant liberation to the Self. The interviewee stated that the three paths viz. the road based on devotion, on knowledge and on performances and action all lead to the Supreme Being. The interviewee started that a Hindu person based on these Vedic principles can move forward to earn the salvation from all worldly misery and troubles concerning life and death.

Principles of Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Principles of Finance - Essay Example The company should be more interested in incremental cash flows in comparison to the total cash flows because incremental cash flows would reflect the increase in the cash flows from the project whereas the company could still be showing positive total profits even if the project is having a loss. Therefore it is more important to use the incremental cash flows as by using this method, the company would be able to analyze the marginal benefits that the project would give to the company and if the incremental cash flows are positive then the project should be accepted. The company should not use the incremental profits because it would also reflect the increase in the accounting profits from the project rather than showing the cash flows. Also the total profits or incremental cash flows should not be used to take capital budgeting decision because a firm can still be in positive total profits or positive incremental profits even if it is suffering from negative cash flows. Therefore, using the incremental cash flows would be the best technique for the firm. ... As depreciation is an expense, and therefore the higher the value of the depreciation expense, the lower would be the accounting profits of the company and therefore the lower amount of tax the company has to pay therefore depreciation would influence the cash flows in this manner. Part C: Sunk Costs and its Affect On Cash Flows When capital budgeting techniques are used to evaluate the feasibility of the project, sunk costs are ignored. The main focus in on the incremental cash flows particularly the incremental cash flows after deduction of taxes as they mainly reflect the cash flows at the end the company would receive. No matter what the decision has been made on the acceptance or rejection of the project, the sunk costs would still occur (Khan, 1993) and this would mean that sunk costs are not to be considered as incremental cash flows. Therefore incorporating the sunk cost in the capital budgeting technique would be irrelevant. Part D: Initial Project Outlay Initial project out lay is the amount of investment that would be required for the project. The initial outlay for this would be: Initial Project Outlay = All costs related to the Plant and equipment including shipping and installation costs + increment in the working capital because of the project Here, the installation and shipping cost is $100,000 Plant and equipment cost is $7,900,000 Increment in working capital is $100,000 So, Initial Project Outlay = $8,100,000 Part E: Differential Cash Flows Over The Project's Life Operating Cash Flow: Â  1 Â  2 Â  3 Â  4 Â  5 Revenue 21,000,000 36,000,000 42000000 24000000 15600000 Variable Cost 12600000 21600000 25200000 14400000 10800000 Â   8,400,000 14,400,000 16,800,000 9,600,000 4,800,000 Depreciation expense $1,600,000 $1,600,000 $1,600,000

Charlie Chaplin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Charlie Chaplin - Essay Example This discussion of the Gold Rush will look at the different ways in which Chaplin uses the cinematic elements to affect the audience’s perception, and some of the acting tools used by one or more of the actors in this film. The well-loved Chaplin classic stars Charlie as â€Å"The Lonely Prospector†. The 35mm print of this film features Chaplin in his familiar character as the little tramp. This film features the legendary Dance of the Dinner Rolls as Charlie manages to triumph over extreme elements, starvation and unrequited love. In this film, Chaplin falls in love and tries to woo a gorgeous saloon performer acted by Georgia Hale. To begin with, the sequence perfectly showcases Chaplin’s skills a silent performer. Because of the given circumstances, actors express rhythmical movements, gestures and facial mannerisms. For example, when Chaplin and Big Jim were facing starvation, piano tempo was fast displaying frustration (12:26; 21:02). This film contains iconic images; these include: fighting a cabin teetering on a cliff edge over the snowy pass (6:26), to the lone prospector trying to make a meal out of his boiled shoe (17:23), and eating it (18:22). Expressively Chaplin performs the Rolls dance; by sticking forks in two buns and having them dance around on the tabletop (1:01:42). Chaplin’s dance of the Dinner Rolls shows him being serious, yet enjoying the dance. He goes through a planet of know-how’s with each passing moment, and yet all along, those modest rolls are dancing it up at his command. This brings about the aspect of performance within a performance. The diversity of emotion that Chaplin gets into this scene is what is still so fascinating about the film. Act one also contains special effects; for instance when big Jim hallucinated dinner (21:28; 22:40). The unique effects helped the gag work. Depth of field and building frame provided â€Å"picture frame† to highlight the little fellow’s isolation (35:07). Silhouette and solarization effects highlight the â€Å"Little Fellow’s† sense of betrayal. Music and actions in the movie creates various emotions, for instance, when Charlie and Georgia kiss (1:34:28), the music changes to a romantic tone. Another instance is when the rope that Charlie tied around his waist (40:25) is pulled by the dog linked to it; making Charlie fall (41:10). This brings about comical emotions. The re-edited 1943 issue contained music score, sound, removed minutes, and narration. This version appears with a voice over narration added by Chaplin himself in a subsequent release. An acting tool used in this issue by the actors was choreography. This was to keep the audience entertained. The musical score is also extensively employed to establish various moods. Consequently, it is fundamental to the appreciation of the narrative, and emotional engagement with the characters within it. In doing so we may begin to see how his employment of sound could be seen as somewhat pragmatic, turning the new possibilities to his advantage without allowing them to compromise his basic methodology. In particular, attention will be paid to the role of music in the film and to the u se of sound effects and functions that they perform. At various other times in the film, Chaplin uses music to emphasize aspects of the visuals and to signpost changes in the narrative. At several points, for instance, we hear a short, sharp fanfare as the narrative shifts to a new location, or when new characters first enter a scene. This form of musical introduction is used the first

Principles of Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Principles of Finance - Essay Example The company should be more interested in incremental cash flows in comparison to the total cash flows because incremental cash flows would reflect the increase in the cash flows from the project whereas the company could still be showing positive total profits even if the project is having a loss. Therefore it is more important to use the incremental cash flows as by using this method, the company would be able to analyze the marginal benefits that the project would give to the company and if the incremental cash flows are positive then the project should be accepted. The company should not use the incremental profits because it would also reflect the increase in the accounting profits from the project rather than showing the cash flows. Also the total profits or incremental cash flows should not be used to take capital budgeting decision because a firm can still be in positive total profits or positive incremental profits even if it is suffering from negative cash flows. Therefore, using the incremental cash flows would be the best technique for the firm. ... As depreciation is an expense, and therefore the higher the value of the depreciation expense, the lower would be the accounting profits of the company and therefore the lower amount of tax the company has to pay therefore depreciation would influence the cash flows in this manner. Part C: Sunk Costs and its Affect On Cash Flows When capital budgeting techniques are used to evaluate the feasibility of the project, sunk costs are ignored. The main focus in on the incremental cash flows particularly the incremental cash flows after deduction of taxes as they mainly reflect the cash flows at the end the company would receive. No matter what the decision has been made on the acceptance or rejection of the project, the sunk costs would still occur (Khan, 1993) and this would mean that sunk costs are not to be considered as incremental cash flows. Therefore incorporating the sunk cost in the capital budgeting technique would be irrelevant. Part D: Initial Project Outlay Initial project out lay is the amount of investment that would be required for the project. The initial outlay for this would be: Initial Project Outlay = All costs related to the Plant and equipment including shipping and installation costs + increment in the working capital because of the project Here, the installation and shipping cost is $100,000 Plant and equipment cost is $7,900,000 Increment in working capital is $100,000 So, Initial Project Outlay = $8,100,000 Part E: Differential Cash Flows Over The Project's Life Operating Cash Flow: Â  1 Â  2 Â  3 Â  4 Â  5 Revenue 21,000,000 36,000,000 42000000 24000000 15600000 Variable Cost 12600000 21600000 25200000 14400000 10800000 Â   8,400,000 14,400,000 16,800,000 9,600,000 4,800,000 Depreciation expense $1,600,000 $1,600,000 $1,600,000

Feedback after reading loss of the creature written by Walker Percy Essay

Feedback after reading loss of the creature written by Walker Percy - Essay Example In the education sector, the teachers created the intentions they intend on the students based on the kind of impression they create during the classroom learning. In essence, the value of any object is lost due to the subjectivity that people imparts on the creature. To start with, Percy (1) discusses the image of the Grand Canyon and the way people under different circumstances see it. He considers two different people and the way they perceive the Grand Canyon under the circumstances they see it; while the discoverer puts a lot of value on the feature, a sightseer today will have very little value for this Canyon. For the discoverer, the Canyon is a new image and a new encounter and this is the ground in which he makes judgment of the object. He has the privilege to make personal judgment on the Canyon and deduce the value of the object at that moment. However, the sightseer is a person who knows about the object and some preformed expectations of the object. Likely, people who paid the feature a visit influence the sightseer and hence they create some predefined expectations of the image. Therefore, they will go with this image and will expect the image to conform to this image. When a sightseer goes with very high expectations, they may judg e the feature harshly and find it rather below their expectation. The point that passes here is that the image created by people about something influence the way people see that thing. Percy idea on the beauty of a creature is comparable to the day-to-day experiences, and the definition of beauty in the society. Beauty is subjective and the way people will describe a person will influence how others see that person. For instance, if before the encounter of someone has the image that that person is ugly, they will have such an attitude and it is this image that they will use to judge the person during their initial encounter. Likely, the person

E-Dfs Scheme Essay Example for Free

E-Dfs Scheme Essay India inks with SBI for Vehicle FinancingGeneral Motors India and State bank of India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide auto financing to all General Motors India vehicles both at wholesale and retail levels. The agreement was signed between Mr. Ankush Arora, Vice President, Sales, Marketing After Sales, General Motors India and Mr. P. Nandakumaran and Mr. B. S. Bhasin, Chief General Managers for retail and whole- sale financing respectively for State Bank of India. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ankush Arora said â€Å"We are extremely pleased to partner with State Bank of India being the largest public sector bank in the country. Its extensive reach across India will help our customers to avail of loan facilities to buy our most sought after products. Low interest rates in addition to low processing charges are some of the many benefits which our customers can enjoy while availing of loan facilities of from State Bank of India for financing of our vehicles, he added. As per the MoU, State Bank of India will now provide retail and wholesale financing to customers for purchase of GM India vehicles across the country. GM India in collaboration with State Bank of India will promote schemes to offer easy finance options to their customers by leveraging the pan India presence of State Bank of India. With a network of over 12150 branches across the country, State Bank of India is the largest in India and has been growing rapidly since its inception. Recently, it has been ranked as one of the top ranking banks of international repute. After the successful launch of retail financing scheme for vehicles, SBI is now focusing on Wholesale financing of vehicles in the form of Dealer Financing through its newly launched Electronic Dealer Financing Scheme (e-DFS), which runs on a fully web based portal and ensures automated payments and settlements. Maruti Suzuki ties up with IDBI Bank for car loan financingIDBI Banl Ltd (IDBI) and Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) today entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for providing Auto Finanace to propective customers of MSIL. The MoU was signed by Shri C. S. Jain, Head- Personal Banking Group, IDBI Bank Ltd and Shri R. S. Kalsi, Chief General Manager of MSIL. As per the scheme modalities, MSIL and its Dealer network will collaborate with IDBI Bank Ltd for the purpose of â€Å"Retail/ Wholesale Activation† in order to facilitate vehicle business. The MOU will facilitate prospective customers of MSIL with vehicle finance at attractive terms. The loan facility for MSIL prospective customer is xtended up to 7 years with maximum funding on on road price and faster processing. The Bank would extend financing facilities to eligible customers for MSIL cars and multi-utility vehicles. The tie-up will benefit both, IDBI Bank in further strengthening its position in retail loan space and MSIL in leveraging the retail financing strength and reach of the Bank. IDBI Bank launched Auto Loans in July 2009. The Auto Loan product is very competitive and the Bank is taking various initiatives to be a leading player i n the segment. The product offers finance for new vehicles at maximum funding at attractive rate of interest. Passenger car-maker, Honda Siel Cars, today said it has tied-up with Axis Bank to offer finance to dealers and customers for its vehicles at competitive rates. Honda SielHonda Siel and Axis Bank will pool their resources together to make accessible organised finance at competitive rates to our dealers and customers across the country for the purchase of Honda cars, Honda Siel Cars, Director (India), Marketing, T Natsume, said in a press release. Under the agreement, Axis Bank has approved a line of credit for financing the dealers of Honda Siel for inventory funding and retail financing of auto loans, the release said. Huyndai MotorsHyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), the second largest car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Indian Bank, one of the oldest banks in India. Commenting on the financing tie-up, Mr Arvind Saxena, Director- Marketing Sales, HMIL said, â€Å"We warmly welcome Indian Bank to the Hyundai family. With this tie-up we can now give our customer more options when it comes to car loans. Indian Bank is trusted by millions of people and we believe in what people trust the most. The year 2009 has been challenging for the auto industry, but at HMIL we have always welcomed the challenges in a positive manner. We are happy to start the year 2010 with such a great partnership. †Hyundai Motor India today said it has tied up with public sector lender UCO Bank for providing retail financing facilities to its customers. We are pleased to announce this partnership with UCO Bank as our customers will greatly benefit with competitive rates and convenient locations that UCO Bank provides its customers, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) Director (Marketing and Sales) Arvind Saxena said. This tie-up will give us a platform from where different products of our bank can be marketed to the prospective buyers of Hyundai Motor India products throughout the country. Thus, the banks retail portfolio a s well as customer base can be increased, UCO Bank Chairman and Managing Director S K Goel said.

How The Economic Downturn Affected Uk Hotel Industry Economics Essay

How The Economic Downturn Affected Uk Hotel Industry Economics Essay Prior to the credit crunch which commenced in August 2007 when the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve put  £45bn into the financial markets (Elliott 2008 [online]), Europe, the USA and the UK were enjoying an economic boom with rising house prices and high consumer confidence (Budworth 2008 [online]). Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose to  £381,565 Million in 2007, and household disposable income per capita to  £14,321 in the same year (Key Note 2008, p. 18). During these boom years, lending was high and borrowers able to raise large sums of money due to relaxed lending restrictions by banks. Individuals whose circumstances would have at one time barred them from borrowing were allowed to access many times their salary (Budworth 2008 [online]). Debts secured upon property were sold on to investors. Property prices thus became vastly inflated creating a bubble which burst when borrowers started to default on their loans and the value of the investments therefore fel l heavily. The huge losses by the banks leading to the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the US and the near collapse of Northern Rock in the UK meant that lending became much more difficult and banks stricter about who they lend money to. (Budworth 2008 [online]). The resulting shortage of funds due to fears about lending and lack of loans has led to a downturn in the economy, falling house prices and increasing unemployment with many firms going out of business altogether and many more making drastic savings (Budworth 2008 [online]). Further consequences include a vast increase in public spending which is predicted to take years to pay off, a predicted rise in unemployment (by the British Chamber of Commerce) to 3.2 million, wage freezes or cuts and massive job losses (The Economy News 2009 [online]). The collapse in available credit started in the USA but in these days of global trading the implications were soon felt around the world with the UK quickly facing problems. Germany, Fr ance and Italy the three largest economies in the Eurozone were officially in recession by late 2008, and others rapidly followed suit. Both Spain and Ireland have witnessed a housing bubble burst and contraction in wider economic activity (Foresight 2008, p. 7). 2.2 The Pound Against the Euro and Dollar One factor that complicates the situation somewhat is the pounds weak status against the Euro and Dollar. Sterling has lost value rapidly over the last year or so. In July 2008, one pound would still buy $2, but by November 2008 it was worth only $1.48, the lowest point for 6 years. Similarly at one point  £1 was almost equal in value to 1 Euro. While this is bad news for people buying goods or traveling outside the UK, it also means that UK goods and services become more attractively priced from the point of view of Eurozone or USA travellers (OGrady 2008 [Online]). Specifically, hotels in the UK will appear relatively cheaper since this fall in the value of sterling, and hence more attractive to inbound travellers and tourists. At the same time, it means it is less attractive for the UK holidaymaker to travel to the Eurzone or USA, and more attractive to stay at home. 3. Hotel Industry Background 3.1 Introduction The Growth Years to 2007 Hotel operators in the UK cater both to the corporate sector and consumer sector. Both are significant parts of their operations and both includes not just accommodation but also facilities such as meeting and conference rooms in the case of the corporate sector and add-on services like food and beverages for both sectors. The UK has been historically an important business destination with the growing importance of the London stock market and financial sector (Key Note 2008, p. 11). In the consumer sector most activity is accounted for by holidays and short breaks with a significant minority for wedding or party venues. The UK hotel market grew in 2008 to a value of  £11.5 billion, which is an increase of nearly 20% since 2002. This growth took place against the backdrop of a healthy worldwide economy with the global travel market recovering after the 2001 terrorist attacks (BMRC 2009, p.1). Factors influencing this growth were varied and included an increase in the number of tourists coming in to the UK in the years since 2002 and a diversification in the hotel market with increases in the budget sector as well as luxury brands. There was an increased call for upmarket brands as London in particular saw an increase in the ultra wealthy market sector for which money was no object (BMRC 2009, p.1). Other factors driving growth include the growth in internationalisation and global business, rises in disposable income, and the development of tourism from emerging economies such as former East Europe and India. The growth of the internet and online booking also paid a part as well as increased marketi ng by hoteliers (Key Note 2008 pp. 19-21). During 2008 this boom came to an end. The hotel industry was hit relatively late by the depression, and even during 2008 industry experts were proclaiming that the previous 12 months had been a time of overall growth (Cater Hotelkeeper 2009, p. 6). Occupancy rates were static in the first part of 2008, but then hotel transactions started to decline and during September 2008 occupancy fell steeply as did revenue per room (Cater Hotelkeeper 2009, p. 6). Further, developments for new hotels and improvements were cancelled and budgets reduced. 3.2 Strengths and Weaknesses of the UK Hotel Market A Key Note report identifies aspects of the UK hotel market influencing the vulnerablity or resilience to recession. On a positive note, the UK hotel market is a strong and sophisticated one with a wide range of different options to appeal to a range of different types of customer and including internationally recognised brands as well as smaller individual operators. Developments in technology and the increase of internet use over the last 10 years mean selecting and booking a trip is easier than ever before. The fact that most UK residents do not use hotels further offers an opportunity for growth, as does the potential for further increase in internet use. Restaurants attached to hotels and other such add on services provide further expansion potential. Finally, the UK is experiencing a growth in its older population, who have more time to travel. On the negative side, the hotel market is particularly vulnerable to an economic downturn as travel and trips are often seen as an area in which spending can be cut back. (Key Note 2008, pp. 48-50). Research also suggests that despite the apparently rosy outlook of the years immediately prior to 2008, the market had other issues to contend with even without recession. The long-stay leisure market (defined as those travellers staying away for five nights or more) has been in decline since 2004: the number of long-stay hotel rooms booked in 2008 was half that in 2006, at 11 million (BMRC 2009, p. 1). 4 The Impact of the Recession on the Hotel Industry in the UK: Specific Factors 4.1 Introduction This section looks at some of the factors which impact upon the Hotel industry, and why they are important. The messages are mixed. Some of the factors are detrimental to the industry while others have more positive impact. 4.1 Air Travel in Decline Although long-term growth in demand for air transport is projected, growth rates in the short to medium-term are likely to be affected by the general slowdown in the economy and by the rising cost of air travel. A market-wide study indicates that although long-term growth in demand for travel by air is expected, short to medium term projections are for negative growth in 2009 with the beginnings of recovery in 2010 (Key Note 2009, p. 10). This will have an impact upon the UK hotel market as there will be fewer travellers into the country. However, it should be bourne in mind that fewer UK holiday makers will want to holiday abroad due to financial considerations, thus boosting demand for hotels. 4.2 Collapse of the Property Market One of the hardest-hit sectors of the economy in the recession has been building as house prices have crashed and loans to finance building projects have dried up together with the market for the finished product. The UK enjoyed some of the highest periods of growth of house and other building prices, and the construction industry has been particularly badly hit by the latest recession. Developers are unable to access credit to fund large scale building schemes, so many hotel projects have been stalled (Blitz 2009 [online]). Aside from new developments, hotel owners who are unable to access further credit are also finding things more difficult. While larger operators and branded chains are able to look to the medium and long-term, over which a boom for hotel and travel are predicted due to emerging markets, smaller operators have less access to the resources which will see them through the next couple of years (Blitz 2009 [online]). 4.3 The Falling Value of the Pound The pound fell against foreign currencies until at one point in late 2008 it was worth very nearly 1 Euro. This should mean that UK services, including UK hotels and UK tourist attractions, become more attractive to visitors from overseas as they get more for their Euro or dollar. The deterioration of the global economy has certainly had an impact in reducing inbound tourism, but at the same time the pound became more attractive against the Euro: for the average visitor the cost of purchasing goods and services is approximately 10-12% cheaper than at the same time the year before (Foresight 2008, pp.1-2). Foresight predicted at the end of 2008 that while inbound tourism to the UK would fall slightly with a growth of -0.7, spend would increase by 2.4%. It should also be considered that a falling pound makes it less attractive for the UK holidaymaker to leave the country as prices across Europe will become more expensive (Foresight 2008, pp. 1-2). VisitBritain, the body which aims to promote UK tourism, has launched a  £6.5 million advertising campaign outside the UK to promote the affordability of Britain as a destination. However its calls for this investment to be matched by the UK government have not so far been successful (Mintel Market Reforecasts, 2009 [online]) 4.4 Oil prices A further factor is the price of oil, as this dictates the cost of air fares. Increased oil prices lead to raised surcharges on airfares and hence to higher flight costs. The cost to the airline is also considerable if the price of oil is high they cannot simply pass it all on to the customer. A Key Note market report noted that when prices were over $120 a barrel BA said it would find it hard to break even, easyJet commented that a rise of $1 adds  £2.5m to its operating costs, and Ryanair predicted extra costs of Euro 400m (Key Note, 2009, p. 11) Higher prices lead to a decrease in inbound flights, but equally to an increase in the number of UK residents holidaying abroad who might then consider staying within the UK. The price of oil fell from a high of nearly $150 a barrel in June 2008 to under $55 in November 2008. Oil price falls, however, can be bad news if the fall in price is due simply to a stagnant market (Foresight 2008, p. 6). 5. How the Recession has hit Specific Areas of the Hotel Market 5.1 Overview 2008 has certainly seen a fall in the market, and predictions for the next few years to 2012 are gloomy. Early 2008 showed positive trading in UK hotels, but the second half of the year had a significant deterioration with what Robert Milburn, of Www.cater.com, called fragile and volatile conditions in the trade. Numbers of overseas visitors dropped by 5% between April and June 2008, and lead-in times became shorter, with 1-2 weeks being the norm rather than 4-6 weeks. A fall of 1.8% was predicted for 2008, but the recovery in 2009 which was also predicted now seems unlikely (Key Note 2009, pp. 62-63). With rising unemployment and fears about job security, there is not simply less money to spend on luxuries such as holidays and hotels, but also an increasing perception amongst consumers that they should make do and mend; the spendthrift attitude which characterised the 1990s and years to 2008 has been replaced by a notion that one should save rather than splurge. Even by the end of 2008, predictions were being made that 2009 will see less tourism overseas than in 2008, a situation which has occurred only twice in the last 40 years (Foresight 2008, p.3). Mintel predict a significant drop in the hotel market which will take some time to recover from, based on figures from the International Passenger Survey and trade sources. Their figures for revenue raised per available room also indicate that the hotel sector is struggling in both London and the regions (Mintel Market Reforecasts 2009, [online]) In the hotel industry worldwide, occupancy rates are declining and revenue per room are also dropping (FT.com 2009 [online]). Average room rates in the UK have dropped to around  £100 per night and demand is low (Blitz 2009 [online]). It would seem at first glance that the industry faces a challenging time during 2009 and into 2010 at least, however there is also some positives; holidays are seen by the consumer as very important, and the UK is perceived by holidaymakers around the world as an excellent destination (it is the 6th most visited country world wide and is ranked forth in the Anholt-GfK Nations Brand Index in terms of Tourism (Foresight 2008 p. 8)). Mintel predict that while holidays will be reduced by consumers they will not be cut out altogether and the average family will continue to take one main holiday per year as this type of break has become ingrained in the consumer mindset as more of a right than a privilege (Mintel Market Reforecasts 2009 [online]). Whereas t he overseas holiday market will fall slightly in 2009 and 2010, the UK market will simply stagnate (Mintel Market Reforecasts 2009 [online]). The following sections examine events in and predictions for particular sub-sections of the hotel market in the UK. 5.2 Business Travel As the global recession deepens, business travel will suffer. Companies who remain in business will seek to cut their expenses by reducing spend on business travel, cutting trips to the absolute minimum and using cheaper hotels (Foresight 2008, p. 7). The 2009 Key Note report notes that domestic business travel within the UK, which also impacts upon hotel usage, will also decline. The market is expected to increase very slightly from 2011, but will remain generally static over the 2008 to 2012 period. Inflation will lead to a marginal increase in expenditure, but as inflation affects all sectors, should be discounted. See Table 1: Forecast UK Market, Domestic Business Travel, 2008-2012 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Trips (000) 18,500 18,300 18,000 18,200 18,500 Percent change year on year -3.1 -1.1 -1.6 1.1 1.6 Expenditure ( £M) 4550 4590 4600 4670 4800 Percent Change year on year 0.4 0.9 0.2 1.5 2.8 Table 1: domestic business travel in the UK excluding those trips which do not require an overnight stay (adapted from Key Note 2009, p. 29) The same report shows that the forecast for inbound business travel people travelling from overseas to carry out business in the UK is also poor. The rate of growth in 2008-2009 slowed as the world economy slumps. While the rate does not actually go into decline, it slows to near 0. (Key Note, 2009, pp. 29-31). 5.2 Consumer (Non-Business) Travel The domestic travel area offers some possible positives for the industry as a whole. It is arguably the case that tourism and the hotel industry in the UK are better placed to withstand the results of a recession than either other industries or other holiday destinations. The reputation of the UK as a whole is very strong as a destination, as is that of England in particular.A 2008 survey by Visit Britain of 614 respondents based in the UK who regularly take short breaks reported that 9 out of 10 people consider England when choosing a short break. The branding of England has improved over the course of this tracker study, 58% of respondents say it is their favourite holiday destination considered. It is considered easy to get around and seen as having beautiful scenery (Visit Britain 2008, p.2). Short breaks account for almost 2/3 of breaks taken in the UK, so these findings are significant for the industry as a whole. (Bainbridge 2009, p. 1). Another consideration is the rising concern with being green and the impact of frequent air travel on the environment (Bainbridge 2009, p. 1). Consumers who want to reduce their carbon footprint and impact upon the environment are increasingly opting to stay within the UK (Bainbridge 2009, p. 1). What Bainbridge does not highlight, however, is that the new concern for green issues is not completely beneficial. Tourists from overseas will be equally concerned to cut their travel abroad, so this could also reduce inbound tourism into the UK. Research is conflicting with some showing that interest in saving the environment is fairly low priority for the majority of consumers and other studies confirming the idea that green issues will become increasingly important (Key Note 2009, p. 49). Hoseasons, the self-catering leader, also take this view, claiming that more people are choosing to holiday in the UK because of a demand for a green and alternative to flying abroad. Similarly, the fer ry lines entered 2008 assuming that demand would increase for their services as a greener alternative (Key Note 2009, p. 49). 5.3 Short Breaks A 2009 report confirms that although the market for UK short breaks taken by UK residents is not forecast to grow much over the next year or so, nor is it expected to fall. Key Note predict the following (Table 2): 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Volume of trips (in Millions) 55.0 57.0 60.0 60.0 62.0 Value ( £M) 8,000 8,700 9,300 9,500 9,900 Table 2: Forecast UK Short-Break Holiday Market Key Note also point out the conflicting factors at work in the non-business UK short break holiday market. It has been mentioned that holidays are very important to the UK public, moreover a short break can be taken where a long one might be rejected. However, research also suggests that while the main holiday is sacrosanct, short breaks are easier to do without, but this might relate to overseas breaks rather than UK ones. To further complicate the issue, as people are increasingly slow to sell their properties they might be expected to treat themselves to more short holidays rather than suffer the cost of moving house. The poor sterling rates also encourage people to stay within the UK for these breaks. On the other hand, family finances are being squeezed by job losses and the psychologies of a recession, and could deter people from spending on any kind of holidays. Overall there is no way of knowing whether an economic downturn is good or bad news (Key Note, 2009, p. 49) 5.4 Budget Hotels and Holidays 5.4.1 Overview The UK has the most expensive rates for hotels in Europe, and average prices rose by 12% in 2007 to an average of just over  £100 per night. Londons exceptionally expensive rates influence this figure (Key Note 2009, p. 50). Against this background, and bearing in mind the recession, a move towards increasing the number of budget hotels seems inevitable. Previous expansion in the hotel industry has concentrated on the luxury end of the market with the growth of boutique hotels and the interest in catering to the super-rich. While this seems unfortunate given the recession, it is not obviously a bad strategy as historically the luxury market has been shown to reflect the economy more slowly than the rest of the market. (Key Note 2009, p. 92) In October 2007, Marriott estimated the growth in revenue per available room at between 5% and 7% in 2008; however, by May 2008, this had been revised to between 3% and 5%. As clients reduce their spending, it is likely that over-supply will be seen in the market and this will lead to some brand rationalisation (Key Note 2009, p. 92). One predicable result of the recession is to increase interest in budget holidays and cheaper hotels. The Visit Britain survey of UK residents who take short breaks reported in March 2008 that price had now overtaken other factors in choosing where to stay (Visit Britain 2008, p.2). This is likely to increase as the UK moves deeper into recession. The budget hotel market was under development even before the recession set in. Established brands such as Travelodge and Premier Inn expanded their operations, and they were joined by the Purple Hotels from the Real Hotel Group. Hilton also developed plans for a budget hotel chain, and CitizenM, a design-led brand, was developed. Other brands include Nitenite and Yotel, built at low cost using prefabrication techniques. The growth in the market has led to further segmentation in the sector with introduction of upmarket tiers to the budget range (for example Holiday Inns Express brand (Key Note 2008, p. 16) A Key Note report written at the beginning of the recession predicted that the mid-range hotels would be the main casualty of shrinking demand. The problems with the economy were exacerbated in the hotel industry by the recent increase in energy and food costs ( Key Note 2008, p. 11) 5.4.2 Business Budget Hotels As Bainbridge points out, budget hotels have benefited by both business and holiday customers downgrading in the recession. Some budget hotels have increased the range of facilities they offer to includes free wi-fi, breakfast and similar to accommodate a new business clientele. Whitbreads budget chain, Premier Inn, for example (the UKs biggest hotel brand) is upgrading its rooms with flat screen TV, air-conditioning and Freeview, and has seen sales for its business account scheme increase 36% over the previous year to February 2008. (Bainbridge, 2009, p. 1). This increase in the number of business travellers using budget hotels since the start of the recession in 2008 is corroborated by research by BDRC in 2009. They report that budget brands are consciously aiming to compete with mid-market brands by strategies such as the ones mentioned above. This drive has been rewarded by better standing in business advertising awareness for the budget hotel brands. (BDRC 2009 [online]) Key Note also report that mid-market business hotels are likely to suffer as they are positioned between the value and luxury hotel options, and what they call tiering, or introducing of levels in to the budget range, will also affect the mid-market brands (Key Note 2009, p. 92). 5.4.3 Consumer Budget Hotels For the non-business traveller, accommodation quality is very important in UK breaks. While travellers abroad endure less than perfect accommodation because costs are low and the weather good, within the UK they demand better quality. One issue is that bed-and-breakfasts and guest houses are notoriously prone to poorly-run individual establishments, leading to calls for the market to be tightened. However the budget hotel sector has grown and has mopped up some of the non-business market as well. The fact that there are many chains available in this sector means travellers can be reassured regarding expectations and quality as they are buying into a brand name. This is particularly true in London a popular choice for consumer short breaks where hotels are notoriously expensive (Key Note 2009, p. 50). 5.5 Staff and Recruitment Impact The recession has had a severe impact on the hotel recruitment market, and it is unlikely to recover before 2010. Job cuts look set to reach 600,000 as businesses and consumers cut spending. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development warned of the toughest year in more than 2 decades, and their predictions were backed up by a survey of 150+ senior management in the hotel industry carried out by the recruitment specialists Admiral Group which revealed that over 2/3rds of those surveyed were going to delay recruitment decisions, and put fast-track graduate programmes had on hold (Sharkey 2009, p. 7). These findings are reiterated by the results of a study by Deloitte in 2008 which predicted that the downturn could cut new jobs in the sector by 100,000 with a corresponding dramatic shrink in the UK tourism industry. A recession could see a  £11b reduction in the economic input by visitors to the UK, currently worth  £114b or 8.2% of the UKs GDP. The British Hospitality Ass ociation also criticised the lack of help from the Government (Thomas 2008, p. 9) One less gloomy prediction is that the recession will have less impact as the hospitality market in general and the hotel market in particular is more diverse than in the past, with some opportunities actually being created particularly in the casual and budget dining and contract catering sectors. This is reinforced by a survey carried out by the British Hospitality Association which shows that the contract catering sector has grown and will continue to do so in the recession (Druce 2009, p. 7) 5.6 Room Occupancy and Prices Room occupancy rates the percentage of nights that hotel rooms are in active use have been increasing since 2005. This is good for hotel operators as it allows them to repay investments and reap more return for their money. In 2007 there was a 1% point rise in domestic occupancy (61% in 2006, with the 2003 rate being 59%). This pre-dated the recession and was a result of the strength of sterling at this time (Key Note 2008, p. 14) Returns in terms of paid accommodation in the UK show a surprising result. Gains were still made in 2008, and a report by Deloitte showed that in the early part of the year revenue per room grew strongly (Caterer Hotelkeeper 2009, p. 6), which is unusual as the recession started to set in during this year for most parts of the UK economy. However, this seems to be a function of gains made at either end of the booking season. Early bookings would have been made before worries about the economy set in, and late bookings made might have been as a result of last-minute demand and hence prices paid were higher (Key Note 2008, p. 15) 5.7. Smaller and Specialist Sectors The result of the recession can also be traced in the smaller and specialist areas of the UK hotel market. For hotel operators, boom areas in these sectors are not necessarily a good thing, as will be shown. 5.7.1 Activity Holidays Activity holidays overseas were enjoying a boom in recent years, however for the next few years the market is predicted to grow less rapidly, whereas activity holidays in the UK are predicted to rise. In 2010 for example the total no of activity holidays in Millions taken by UK residents was predicted before the recession at 11.5; this was revised to 10.8, with 2011, originally predicted to total 12 million was revised to 11.4. By contrast, predictions about UK activity holidays have been revised upwards: the 2011 level was predicted at 5.0 million, and this was revised to 5.3 million. (Mintel Market Reforecasts 2009 [online]). The impact for hoteliers is mixed. If the holiday involves hotel stay, then the news is good; however if the accommodation is self-catering the hotel operator will lose out. 5.7.2 All-Inclusive Holidays All inclusive holidays, a sector which has been in decline in recent years due apparently to the increasing ease of online booking and ease of finding information, are now predicted to rise over the short-term as they allow all holiday costs to be known in advance and paid for up front. Both Thomas Cook and TUI are aiming to increase their all-inclusive capacity (Mintel Market Reforecasts 2009 [online]) 5.7.3 Camping and Caravaning Holidays This sector enjoyed a boom in the 1960s and early 1970s but with the advent of cheap overseas package holidays has been in decline. However, Mintel predict that these holidays are an attractive option for the budget conscious consumer, and will benefit from the increase of families who elect to stay in the UK in 2009 and 2010 for financial reasons. They point out that the Camping and Caravanning club had their best ever year for recruitment of new members in 2008 (Mintel Market Reforecast, 2009 [online]). Domestic camping holidays are predicted to do rather better over the next couple of years before the long-term trend towards decline reinstates itself. The growth in this area is not good news for the hotelier, as by definition a stay in a hotel is ruled out for this holiday type. 5.7.4 Others Other sectors, for example boating holidays, have also been affected. Even where the market remains buoyant boating and luxury holidays growth prediction has been downgraded and is expected to occur at a slower rate than predicted (Mintel Market Reforecasts 2009 [online]). Sectors of the UK market which are predicted to do well include coach holidays within the UK which are seen as a budget option and so are fairly resilient to an economic downturn, and heritage tourism as well as holiday centres like Centre Parcs. Mintel see the latter as particularly resilient as they are both percieved as a budget option and are attractive to the UK consumer as they offer pay in advance all-in-one packages. An increase in coach holidays is also good to some extent for the hotelier, although the bulk of coach holiday operators chose low-cost hotels where price margins are cut very low, as the coach holiday is seen as a price-conscious alternative to the consumer. 6. Lessons Learned from Previous Economic Downturns The last time a recession occurred in the hotel industry was in the wake of the 2001 September 11th terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York. The Sept 11th attacks and anthrax scare which followed caused uncertainty about the short and medium-term economic futures and had an impact upon travel and tourism plans leading to a reduction in hotel use and travel. In the US these areas, along with airlines were significantly affected in the aftermath of the terrorist attack. (Mintel Market Reforecasts, 2009 [online]). In the recession of the early years of the 21st century, the response to the challenge was to discount room rates heavily, however this strategy was of questionable use. The heavy discounting was intended to boost occupancy level, however this necessarily led to less profitability and income; it took years to recover from this as consumers became used to the lower prices. As Bloss (2009) points out, the tactic is also very easy to copy by competitors and hence a risky one. 7. Conclusion. The UK hotel market has certainly been affected by the economic downturn. The above looked at the background to the recession and how it has affected the corporate and consumer sector. While the sector has certainly been impacted with job cuts, slower, stagnating or declining predictions and less building projects, there are some positives for the UK market as holiday makers elect to stay at home rather than travel abroad.