Market Entry Timing Strategy Essay

Empirical study (Robinson and Fornell, 1985) shows that first mover 20%, early followers 17%, and late entrants 13% market share. Robinson (1988) believes that the order of entry alone explain 8.9% of the variation in market shares. It has been shown that the longer the elapsed time between entry of the first mover and that of later entrants, the more opportunities becomes available to the first mover to achieve cost and differentiation advantages. A longer response time provides the first mover to promote awareness and trial that contribute to category learning and for consumers to integrate into their memory additional information through media and WoM. Lieberman and Montgomery (1988) believe that first-mover advantages arise from three primary sources: Technological leadership, pre-emption of assets, and buyer switching costs. Technological leadership provides a learning curve, where unit production fall with cumulative output, which generates a sustainable cost advantage for the early entrant if learning can be kept proprietary and the firm can maintain leadership in market share. If the first-mover has superior information, it may be able to purchase assets at market prices below those that will prevail later in the evolution of the market, such as natural resources and retailing or manufacturing locations. Where there is room for only a limited number of profitable firms, the first-mover can often select the most attractive niches and may be able to take strategic actions that limit the amount of space available for subsequent entrants. With switching costs, late entrants must invest extra resources to attract customers away from the first-mover firm. Buyer may rationally stick with the first brand they encounter that performs the job satisfactorily. Brand loyalty of this sort may be particularly strong for low-cost convenience goods. Thus, late entrants must have a truly superior product, or else advertise more frequently or more creatively. Schnaars (1986) implies that the early bird normally catches and retains the worm. ‘Me-too’ products introduced by later entrants were much more likely to fail. Second entrants obtain on the average only about three-quarters of the market share of the pioneer, and later entrants are able to capture progressively smaller shares. Consumers tend to know and favour the pioneering product, they have no reason to experiment with subsequent entries. These cost advantages put later entrants at a competitive disadvantage, and pioneers may be able to erect entry barriers that lock out subsequent entrants. Late entrants can also find that the field is crowded and the market offers little opportunity. However, a well-conceived ‘second-but-better’ entry, backed by aggressive advertising, may be able to surpass the pioneer’s entry. Later entrants must be better in terms of performance or price, or both, if they are to have any chance of success. Many firms with str ong market orientation seem to embrace later entry. No one entry strategy proved best in all situations. Primary benefit for the pioneer is to build an unassailable position before later entrants recognize the promise of the market or are willing to take the risks of an early entry. It is most appropriate when image and reputation are important to the customer, experience effects are important and not easily copied, brand loyalty accrues to the pioneer, and cost advantages can be obtained by early commitment to suppliers and channels. It carriers many risks, because almost every aspect of an emerging market is unknown. Many pioneers end up pursuing false leads that later entrants are able to avoid. Thus it must be willing to commit a great deal of money – for R&D and educate customers’. The chances of a pioneer getting the product right for the first time are almost nil. One study found that it takes seven to eight years on the average before a firm that enters a new line of business actually turns a profit. Golder and Tellis (1993) state that for pioneers, consumer-based advantage relate to the benefits that can be delivered from the way consumers first choose and then repurchase the product. The pioneer may become the standard for the product category, and a pioneer can lock-in some customers in categories that have high switching costs. Seventy percent of market leaders are pioneers, and almost half of all pioneers are market leaders. Second firm to enter the market would obtain only 71% as much market share as the pioneer, and third firm to enter would obtain only 58% as much. On the other hand, they believe that if later entrants can leapfrog pioneers with superior technology, positioning, or brand names, firms could better off entering late. Evidence shows that the advantages of being first-in are almost equally balanced by the many pitfalls and disadvantages. Kerin, Vradarajan, and Peterson (1992) state that one can achieve first-mover status by producing a new product, use a new process, and/or enter a new market. They distinguish between two perspectives: the economic-analytical and the behavioural. The former indicates that the pioneer creates barriers to entry so it becomes costly for others to follow, this in turn lengthens the lead time, thus enabling the first mover to benefit initially from no competition, and being more experienced once new entrants emerge. From the behavioural view, the first mover communication is more effective and it obtains reputational advantage. Through purchase and trial, customers can become more reluctant to switch. Similarly, there are economic and behavioural views on market contingencies. From the former perspective, the uncertainty of product demands can lower resource commitments and reduce cost advantage due to scale, but small scale operations are more efficient. A first mover can influence how attributes are valued, define the ideal attribute combination, and ultimately influence consumer’s preferences to its benefit over later entrants. The industry relies heavily on advertising and marketing, thus early consumer exposures to advertising is even more beneficial. The technology changes quickly, so the legal protection and experience advantage decreases. From the behavioural perspective, products can be easily evaluated before purchase, so the purchase and trial benefits decrease. The cost of evaluating a product and making a purchase mistake is lower, hence switching costs decreases. But when consumers need to invest in special, related assets, the switching costs increase. However, following firms may benefit from the ability to free-ride on first-mover investments, resolution of technological and market uncertainty, technological discontinuities that provide ‘gate-ways’ for new entry, and various types of incumbent inertia. They can achieve a CA by influencing consumers’ preferences rather than responding to them, such by moving away from the pioneer and develop a more desirable position. Early entrants’ main benefit is to learn from the pioneer’s experience, and avoid many of the onerous costs, along with being able to assess the market’s reaction to the pioneer’s entry. Many early entrants have relied on some combination of marketing clout, product enhancement and low-cost production. Later entries can benefit from the passage of time. If the product form is changing rapidly and standardization has not been achieved, the later entrant may be able to leapfrog earlier entrants by introducing a superior product, backed by market clout. The later entrant can gain a sizable share of proven growth marketing by capitalizing on the low-cost production of me-too products. Many foreign companies pursue this strategy. Late entrant is risky when earlier entrants are able to erect entry barriers, or the market is already flooded with products that leave no room for enhancement. Level Brother’s Persil entered the tablet detergent market as a pioneer, whereby P&G’s Ariel entered as a follower. The former achieved satisfying customers that stuck to the brand, despite low switching costs. It built a brand image that indicated it was the best, it was innovative and technological advanced. It increased customer choice, which could lead to increased satisfaction and loyalty. Persil soon enjoyed large or monopoly market-share in the category, and had potentially highest share after followers enter. Moreover, entering early allowed it to learn from experiences, with more time for trial and error. By entering first, it could create barriers for entry in the retail through shelf-space, and have patent on technology. Persil also set rules for competition on features, benefits and added services. It could also set the price value based or cost based, thus deciding the market. Ariel, on the hand, had the opportunity to assess the market profitability upon entrance, and needed less knowledge to educate the market. It could learn from Persil’s mistakes in terms of pricing, and had less risk to brand equity. Ariel also enjoyed lower R&D costs and could free-ride on Persil’s effort, in addition to develop a better product. The saved time can be used for optimal positioning. The two competitors were competing heavily on the price per wash, higher and lowering accordingly to each other, starting at 22.0p and 28.0p respectively in 1999, both finishing at 20.0p in 2004, but Ariel did better in the end through learning. In conclusion, one can say that faster entry into the industry does not necessary guarantee absolute competitive advantage. The magnitude of first-mover advantage depends on the degree of fit between the environmental opportunity and the first-mover’s skills and resources. Market pioneering is not a strategy that is appropriate for all firms. In organizational reality, firms are more often a later entrant than a pioneer.

Individual Organizational Structure Paper

Individual Organizational Structure Paper MGT/230 July 23, 2012 Todd Lambertson Individual Organizational Structure Paper Facebook is a social-networking site that has a strong organization structure that is appropriate for their particular product; social media. Facebook seems like a simple site that does not require a structure to operate. Twitter works in the same way but is only set up for chatting through posts, or as it is called tweets. Tweets are text-based quotes of up to 140 characters and are posted on the user’s profile page (Shetty, 2010). Users can also send pictures and videos through Twitpics and other sources (O'leary, 2011).Millions of people use Facebook and organizations use them to advertise and to promote their services. Facebook is set up where users have friends who can see each other user’s posts. They also can tag pictures, providing information on who is in a particular picture (O'leary, 2011). Facebook launched in 2004, and is now the most po pular social-networking site. This strong organization structure has allowed Facebook to grow and continue to be strong in a competitive marketplace where the product is your personal life. Facebook has developed their organizational structure to become one of the most used social-networking sites in the world.This spot was previously held by MySpace. MySpace was used by individuals to chat with each other, create music playlists, and to post pictures and other personal information. Businesses never adapted to MySpace like they have with Facebook. Companies have found that it is more worthwhile to advertise with Facebook. Facebook realized that to stay in business and be profitable it would need high traffic on the site and many top advertisers. Once businesses could take advantage of this new web tool, they learned quickly how helpful it was to them. Users can befriend or follow organizations that they are interested in.The organizations can use this platform to promote a product, service, or even a cause. It is simple, easy to use, and effective. Facebook has developed games and applications to entertain a person while they are online. While a person is logged into Facebook a user can change their status, check on a friend’s status, post pictures or even post on their friend’s wall. Facebook is the most popular social-networking site that has developed a business structure that supports their organization. Facebook has many organizational functions that support the different responsibilities from within the organization.Facebook is set up for huge amounts of marketing through the use of advertising, and Twitter allows individual organizations to post tweets to keep followers interested in them. Through games, Facebook makes money by asking users to pay for different parts of the game. Anyone who has played Farmville or other games similar to it will say that these games are addicting. When playing these games users can purchase items in the mar ketplace with coins that they receive from playing that game whether it is from planting crops, harvesting them, crafting items, or harvesting their animals that they have placed on their farms.There are also items in the marketplace that takes cash to buy. In Farmville it is called farm cash, and in order to get farm cash the person has to either buy a card from a department store like Wal-Mart or Target, or they can charge the fees to their credit cards. The amount of farm cash you can buy is low as $10 and a high of $100. The $10 dollars buys that person $55 farm cash, and the $100 dollars buys $250 farm cash. Facebook has many ways to make money and maintain their financial stability; they can constantly try many different things.Because Facebook has a huge amount of daily traffic, organizations are willing to pay to advertise with them. Facebook uses a horizontal and functional organization. They are set up in a way that an employee on the organization chart has a particular se t of responsibilities and skills. These responsibilities and skills are unique to a specific task; they are specialized. A functional organization has specialized departments, and they are grouped according to their business functions or particular skills that each function requires (Bateman & Snell, 2011).Facebook is a strong organization, and it will remain that way for years to come. Companies and organizations from all over the world will continue to use them to promote their ideas, products, or anything else that they want to make known. Dell and Best Buy are focusing their primary efforts on the marketing and their service through social media (O'leary, 2011). There is an easy way to follow charts between each operation. This allows for less confusion and clear channels of authority. Without this, failure is inevitable. While one department is responsible for monitoring he IT (information technology), and another department is responsible for the web content. The same goes for marketing, human resources, and other similar aspects of the business. Every department is specialized and functions effectively this way. Without the proper structure, information can get confused and the responsibilities get unclear. This will create total chaos and in the end will cause the website to fail or collapse. For a business to be successful, it has to have an effective organizational structure. A basic organization structure gives any business direction which that allows it to function at its fullest potential.One of the first steps in starting up a business is to create a basic organization structure and to have it show all the departments, what their functions are, and who will be running it (Shetty, 2010). A functional organization is the proper structure for Facebook because of the different type of business they are. If responsibilities in the departments were not properly defined or organized, it can cause them to be less functional and less effective at social-n etworking. Social-networking sites are here to stay and Facebook is leading the way. They have learned from other social-networking sites like MySpace.That is what it takes to create huge traffic and attract many and different advertisers. By creating an effective organizational structure, they can remain successful and have little or limited internal issues. References Bateman, T. S. , ; Snell, S. A. (2011). Management: Leading ; collaborating in a competitive world (9th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. O’Leary, D. E. (2011). The use of social media in the supply chain: survey and extensions. , 18(2/3), p121-144. Shetty, N. (2010). Organizational structures. Retrieved from http://www. managementparadise. com/forums/human-resources-management-h-r/215152-organizational-structure. html

Causes of Homelessness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Causes of Homelessness - Essay Example Homelessness and poverty are inextricably related and thus is a major contributory factor as to why some people end up in the streets. People may also be homeless due to structural factors such high economy living standards, and thus the poor are unable to afford basic life needs such as housing hence ending up in the streets. Other factors may also include system failures such as those organizations responsible for management of refugees and immigrants. Combinations of these factors are the reasons why people end up in the streets .Homelessness is a major pointer of poor health and has for all time been manifested by mental problem and drug addiction issues. Despite the fact that mental illness has been identified as a major risk to homelessness, its relationship is reciprocal to homelessness. As much as mental illness contributes to homelessness, homelessness can also lead to mental illnesses such as depression and stress or intensify a mental illness that was already in existence. Substance addiction has also been associated with homelessness. Addiction and homelessness are seen as jointly reinforcing, interconnected, social troubles. Those who experience homelessness or addiction tends to share uniqueness and homelessness can be both an outcome of addiction and a catalyst for addiction.Addiction to alcohol and other drugs is the most common cause of chronic homelessness among most homeless people. Those who experience homelessness or addiction tends to share uniqueness.

De-Stalinization in the Soviet Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

De-Stalinization in the Soviet Union - Essay Example Massive purges and the disappearance of anyone who challenged Stalin were very regular occurrences. Stalin's reign of terror had widespread negative effects on the political system of the Soviet Union and still affects Russian and Eastern European politics today. After Stalin's death in 1953, the committee that was left in charge of the Soviet Union immediately set out to reform the government and limit the influence of Stalinist policies. Khrushchev and Gorbachev were two Soviet leaders who attempted to reform the Soviet System to end authoritarianism. The policies of both were somewhat successful, but neither were able to reform the system. The Soviet Union collapsed when Gorbachev was in power. This was followed by a period of government that was free and democratic but highly corrupt and economically disastrous. In 1998 the authoritarian Vladimir Putin was elected to be the president of Russia. In 1953 Joseph Stalin died. It has been suggested by many that he was assassinated with poison by his opponents but this has not been proven. After his death, there was some confusion as to who was in charge due to the fact that a purge that was done a short time before his death had eliminated many senior officials in the Communist Party. A committee that included the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party Nikita Khrushchev and a self appointed Premier of the Soviet Union Georgi Malenkov ended up as the leaders of the USSR. Lavrenity Beria was the First Deputy Prime minister and the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was merged with the MGB at the time. Beria appeared to be very liberal and instituted liberal policies after Stalin's death, but he was also an official in charge of Stalin's Great Purge, and his power base was the secret police. Stalin's policies were unpopular with most people and the members of the committee promised that many r eforms would be made. A large number of high-ranking officials in the Communist Party secretly opposed Stalin and his policies. There was conflict in the party ranks between those who supported Stalinist policies and the current reformist leadership. Between 1953 and 1955 Khrushchev and Malenkov ordered many liberal reforms. Prices for many goods were reduced, amnesty was given to some political prisoners in the gulag system, forced labor was abandoned and the level of restrictions on private plots was reduced. Beria was accused of being a British agent, given a show trial, and executed in 1953.Malenkov was forced to resign due to blackmail in 1955. After this, Khrushchev became the Premier of the Soviet Union in 1958 and the undisputed leader of the USSR Khrushchev was a major reformist. In 1956, Khrushchev gave a speech to the party leaders called "On the Personality Cult and its Consequences. In this speech he formally attacked the policies of Stalin and exposed his crimes. A policy of de-Stalinization was announced. His plans were to reform the Soviet Union so that it would become a more liberal state and to change the USSR into a pure communist nation that would be economically stronger that the United States over a period of twenty years. The democratic planning ideas of the soviet economist Evsei Lieberman were highly influential in the economic policies of

Teachers Strategy in a Class Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Teachers Strategy in a Class Management - Essay Example Remaining in control in the classroom is essential for a teacher. If one is not calm and firm then the students will get the signal that the teacher is not able to handle the pressure and they will always try to get away of it or enjoy the teacher’s weakness. When a stern look is sufficient one should avoid yelling. Students won’t get afraid instead will make fun at one’s back. A teacher can also follow the following guideline to manage the class. According to Leaman (2005), â€Å"positive encouragement and praise is the easiest and most powerful way to reward an individual: notice your students working quietly/being helpful/listening well/sitting still, as much as you notice them misbehaving. Draw attention to this and make them feel good about themselves.† (p. 17-18) The students will undergo a positive change and look forward to the teacher’s class to gain the opportunity to be praised in front of the entire class. Keeping the pupil in control do es not mean pin drop silence always. During any group activity, the pupil should be able to participate actively. If it’s not the case then the teacher should work upon this aspect too. It has been rightly pointed out in NASUWT website â€Å"class control is not an end in itself. It is the creation of a learning environment that is important. In different circumstances, the learning environment may be a totally silent classroom or the busy, bustling group activity session.†(para.3) During a lecture, it is often found that the backbenchers are busy exchanging glances or whispering to each other. This is quite disturbing for the teacher.

MULTINATIONAL CORP-EVOL & CUR ISSUE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

MULTINATIONAL CORP-EVOL & CUR ISSUE - Essay Example However, it is important that one understands the significance of this merger to the two companies, their shareholders, competitors, the industry and the consumer (Rumyantseva and Enkel, 2002). In any given industry â€Å"The Rule of Three† manifests itself in the manner in which companies move within the market. The Technology Sector is undoubtedly one of the most oligopolistic, yet monopolistic markets in the modern day. This makes it conform to the rule of three, a fact that may have influenced and possibly affected the manner in which the market is shaped. The rule of three suggests that every industry that is free of major entry barriers and regulatory constraints depicts two types of competitors; full time generalists and product/market specialists (Tu, 2014). Full line generalists are volume-driven and as their market share grows, so does their financial performance they own 10 to 40% of the market share. These full-line generalists usually depict very good financial performance as long as they maintain their control of the market (Sheth and Sisodia, 2002). Product or market specialists on the other hand control 1 to 5 % and have curved out a niche in the market in which they control considerably. Their financial performance is inversely proportional to its market share, i.e. as their market share grows, their financial performance diminishes. Any firm that owns more than 5% but less than 10% of the market is in the ditch. Such companies depict the worst financial performance and are either taken over by a full-line generalist to increase their market share or by a product/market specialist seeking to grow into a full-line generalist (Sheth and Sisodia, 2002). Every market usually has three full-line generalists. Even though at one time there would be more than three, the market usually shakes up to provide three full-line generalists. Consider the

Should people be afraid of government or the opposite Essay

Should people be afraid of government or the opposite - Essay Example It therefore will be contradictory that such delegates will then stop being answerable to the assigning authority and furthermore go ahead to intimidate the authority to an extent that the authority becomes afraid of them. It is simply absurd and violates the basic principles of democracy. This report will demonstrate that people have full authority over government because they elect government officials, they fund government activities and they can bring down any government which is in place and therefore it goes that people should not be afraid of the government. People should not be afraid of the government It was Thomas Jefferson who said â€Å"When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny† (Monticello 1). It is the people who put a government in place. The legitimacy of a government is derived from the process of being elected into office. Government officials therefore can be simply viewed as agents of the peopl e. These agents are empowered to run the nation on behalf of the people. It is worth clarifying that the nation that these agents run does not belong to them in any way – it belongs to the people. It further should be noted that these agents of the people should periodically report to the people on how they are progressing in running the property they are entrusted to run. From this perspective, it becomes absurd to think that these agents will grow so powerful to the extent of intimidating the people. It is simply absurd and there is no logical way of reconciling such a thought. It is not possible that a master will to become afraid of his servant. Further arguing on why it is the government that should be afraid of the people, the question of funding the activities of the government comes in. It is the people who fund all the activities of the government including salaries to government officials. The government cannot operate without the money that it collects from the peo ple in various ways. It is the people who fund what the government does and the government inherently depends on the people to run its affairs (Tax Policy Center 1). A point to note is that the people are not afraid to fund the government because the affairs that the government runs are on behalf of the people. The absurdity again comes in if the people are to be afraid of the government. The people sustain the government and therefore it will not be logical for the people to be afraid of the same government. It is the government that is at the mercy of the people and not the other way round. In the same manner that people delegate duties to the government, they can also strip away the government of the responsibility to run the nation. This can be done through elections or even through a people led coup. Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt are just examples of nations whose people took up arms against governments they felt were not doing what they were mandated to do. The people are supreme over the government and if they feel a government has overstepped its boundaries, they have the duty to oust such a government and appoint other officials who will run the nation in the expected manner (Carlton 1). This further strengthens the stand on why people should not be afraid of government. However, there are two factors which may make people to fear a government. These factors are pluralistic ignorance and bystander effect. These factors can be said to be due to uninformed citizenry. In a pluralistic ignorance situation, citizens may be reluctant to stand up to the government when it oversteps its boundaries. They may form the opinion that it is not a big deal and that being the government there is

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FINANCE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FINANCE - Essay Example A well reputed business will attract a vast pool of franchisees in the foreign land as brand recognition is one of the key advantages that every franchisee is keen to get from a franchise contract. Through franchising an organization can avoid many of the start up problems that it can face in a new country. By having a local person as a franchisee in order to sell its products the organization will be able to gain trust of the people of the new country and it will not feel alienated in a foreign land. Moreover the franchisee may guide the organization to gain recognition in its new market by applying specifically those marketing techniques that correspond to the taste of the general public. Additionally the organization will have a promising return in shape of royalty fees. But franchising also entails some drawbacks as an overseas expansion strategy. Firstly, the organization will face cultural barriers especially the language barrier (if the language of the home country and foreign country are different) while finding a suitable franchisee and then initiating its operations in a new territory. Secondly, the organization personals have to visit the foreign country, and most probably stay there for some time, in order to acquaint themselves with the ground realities and assist the initiation of operations. Thirdly, heavy capital investment will be needed in order to install machineries in new place. Lastly, the organization has to constantly inspect the franchisee operations in order to ensure quality consistency which is the essential characteristic of any franchise. 2. Licensing: licensing can be comparatively a safe mode of expanding overseas in which an organization (the licensor) permits the company (the licensee) in a target market to use its property which is usually intangible e.g. patents, trademarks and production techniques (Quick MBA n.d.). Licensing reduces risk as the licensor produces and markets the product while licensor receives the license fe e. Moreover licensor can get a higher ROI because of its minimum investment. Furthermore licensing is an effective tool to avoid the trade barriers and helps the organization to develop its brand name by familiarizing itself in the foreign country through licensing. But licensing is not without its drawbacks. The licensor does not get mega brand recognition in the new territory because it is not producing the producing but merely extending its name/label to the product. Even more there is a potential danger of knowledge spillovers and licensee may become a competitor in future once the license time period is over. 3. Joint Venture: joint ventures can be defined as "an enterprise in which two or more investors share ownership and control over property rights and operation" (Market Entry Strategies n.d.).While joint venture facilitates the sharing of technology and work load it also ensures financial strength. Joint venture entails medium level of control as both the organizations in it work at the same level and there is no one boss who can dictate the working of joint venture rather it is more about mutual cooperation. It is a very suitable way of entering in a foreign market when the organization wants to create a synergy by combining two teams that have distinct skills and when combined together can produce outstanding results. Joint venture can prove to be an inappropriate way of entering in a new market when the partners in a joint venture can be potential competitors and have same line of products. In these cases join venture

Case Study on the Feasibility of a new venture Essay

Case Study on the Feasibility of a new venture - Essay Example The initial success of the Cool Moose Creamery in Ontario should be studied for comparison purposes prior to the financial commitment of a franchise investment. Of considerable interest is the notion of whether the initial location of the first business contributed to its success? Moreover, what were the location factors that contributed to the success of the first business? A common refrain in real estate is location, location and location again. This maxim, of course, is not only limited to home prices. Consideration must be given to visibility and accessibility. Obviously, a highly visible location along an extremely busy thoroughfare where the eyes of all passer-bys will be drawn to your sign, thus, making business almost ideal. In a highly competitive business environment, start-ups may find these prime locations already long occupied by established players. There are still options for the establishment of a new business or franchise: buying out an unsuccessful business in an ot herwise useful location or appropriating a property as close as one can get to prime real estate, yet on the fringes. In this case a choice made here could prove to be influential with respect to every other subsequent factor. If a prime location for your franchise of Cool Moose Creamery can be determined, and is theoretically available then, as with most other material decisions, the cost/benefit analysis must come into play. It may be possible to purchase or lease a property in a highly visible location, but this cost must be weighed against future earnings. There must be a sense of the likely revenue within a particular time frame, as well as one should realize how high the benefits of visibility might be depending on a prime location. Even if the money does not come directly out of pocket, such as it is in the case with the $20,000 bank loan that must be sought, too much capital invested in the initial start up could lead to more debt, or more complex financing arrangements that could make the business more trouble than profit. These factors are never easy to predict, but the small business owner must do the best he can while examining – whenever possible examples of similar businesses, and the local operations in similar situations as guides for cost and profitability. Other factors that will influence the success of any franchise may be forces less visible and tangible than location or the initial equipment that must be purchased. Local zoning ordinances must also be taken into account, with respect to both above board and clandestine forces. Even if the zoning regulations and requirements are obeyed with precision, investigation is warranted concerning under-the-table problems or restrictions. Have other business owners complained about a particular individual in city government with control over regulatory decisions that might impede small businesses? Could there be zoning ordinances that have unusual sub-clauses or interpretations that are not obvious at cursory examination but which prove surprisingly problematic after an investment has begun? Question such as these can only be addressed through word-of-mouth, largely from anecdotal accounts, and of course – prior personal experience. This leads the small business owner into the complex question of a financial 'cushion'. One must consider whether it is possible, or feasible to determine minimum initial start up money, and then wait until it is possible to acquire extra funding held in reserve

Survay Research on Villians Essay Example for Free

Survay Research on Villians Essay Evolution of Evil Since television had become a household product in 1947 it has been used by parents to help educate their children in a certain manner to which they may understand depending on their age. In present day America television shows such as Sesame Street and Reading Rainbow usually start by teaching basic skills such as reading, writing, and spelling to infants by using different methods such as the alphabet song to make it easier for kids to comprehend. These shows and others alike also began to teach morality such as sharing, doing your part, and helping others less fortunate by using certain mascots such as a giant purple dinosaur to appeal to their childish behavior while teaching them lessons they will use all of their life. Once these lessons are fully comprehended by the kids villains, such as Scar from The Lion king and Plankton from SpongeBob, specifically geared toward children were introduced to expose children to character traits that opposed the very morals that were taught to them. These villains were usually inherently evil usually having no reason to oppose the hero other than simple emotions such as jealously or greed being their motivation to do actions that are deemed as bad such as lying, cheating, and stealing. As these kids grow up and deal with certain situations with real villains in their own life their perception of true evil changes as they experience more own their own and develop more complex in depth relationships with people. As these kids mature into teens and adults that can comprehend more complex emotions, the villains that are portrayed in the media obtain more human like features. I decided the best way to gain useful information would be to survey thirty college student that are in my age group so I could determine which villain that was created for children in the 1990’s is the most memorable and why. Then compare how they differ from the villains that are created for those same kids ten years later in present day society. I decided I would poll students in all my classes except those in my English class to ensure that I could obtain the surveyor’s honest answer to the questions I would ask. I asked those students in my class to answer my eight questions that included a ranking system that would allow them to rank cartoon villains from the 1990’s as the most or least memorable using the numbers 1 through 5 with 1 being the most memorable. I asked the same ranking question again, but with 5 famous villains portrayed in present day media while allowing space after ach question to explain why or why they weren’t scared of the villain they ranked as the most memorable during their childhood and present day. I targeted my survey toward a certain age group to try to find a pattern in the answer to which characters are the most memorable and why they are memorable. I knew when analyzing the information I received I would have to take account the hero the villain was opposing and what make s them so memorable as well. I asked thirty people how much television they watch during the week and twenty-one out of the thirty said they watch at least one hour a day. Out of the childhood focused questions the group of villains consisted of Hades from Hercules, Scar from The Lion King, Jafar from Aladdin, Mojo jo jo from the The Powder-puff Girls, and Plankton from SpongeBob Square Pants. Out of the five villains Scar from The Lion King average rank was 2. 33 which named him the most memorable character. Out of the seven survey takers that ranked Scar as the most memorable five out of the seven stated that they were not scared of Scar and that it was fairly easy to understand why he was the villain and why he did the mischievous things that he did. Of those five that were not scared of Scar explained that The Lion King was a light hearted cartoon movie about animals in the wild. The least memorable character was Mojo Jo Jo from The Powder-Puff Girls with an average ranking of 3. 81 out of 5 by the survey takers. Of the two participants that named Mojo Jo Jo the most memorable character one stated he was afraid of Mojo Jo because he saw a part of himself in Mojo Jo Jo. The other participant stated that Mojo Jo Jo was just misunderstood and was in fact not at all scary. Out of all five villains available 19 of the 21 surveyors who watched television as kids ranked the complexity of their most memorable characters as easy or fairly easy to understand. I then questioned the surveyors about five famous fictional villains displayed in today’s media. The list of villains included Jigsaw from the Saw, Joker from The Dark Knight, Green Goblin from Spiderman, Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter, and Darth Vader from Star Wars where the Joker received the highest average ranking of 2. 3 out of 5 of the most memorable villain of present day media. Four of the seven people that said Joker was their most memorable villain were scared of Joker and described his motives as questionable and his personality as a â€Å"bad Mother Fucker. † The three of seven that wasn’t scared of Joker described him as an interesting character, a great villain, and having memorable actions. The least memorable villain of these five modern day villains was Jigsaw fr om the movie Saw who had an average ranking of 3. 91 out of 5 between the thirty participants. Although Saw was the least he seemed to be the most confusing character as the three people who ranked him as the most memorable stated they were complete unsure of his motives and the reasons for his actions. On average when asked about the complexity and morale standings of these present day villains the results mirrored those of the cartoon characters with a 19 of 30 surveyors giving their most memorable villain a raking of 3 or higher. After analyzing the results to childhood questions, I believe The Lion King is the most relatable movie to kids. This movie more so than the others touches on basic principles that kids are learning during that age such as greed, jealously, and rebellion which is why it is no surprise that it is the most memorable. Simba, the love-able misunderstood tiger who seeks his rightful place as king, is opposed by Scar the symbol of evil that shows no moral empathy with the wrongful acts he commits toward his own nephew. Scar lacking of empathy allows viewers to clearly understand Scar’s motives leaving little room for confusion for the movies immature audience. On the other hand Joker seems to be completely non-relatable to most people of major society because of his questionable motives that drives the evil actions that he commits. Of the list of five present day villains only Jigsaw and Joker challenge the moral divisions of the hero they are opposing which in turn the allows the viewer to question their own moral standing about certain questions such as save the love of your life, or the city that your love. These type of interesting questions aren’t one people are likely to face in reality. Watching a character like Joker question the moral standing of Batman gives the viewers the chance to look inwardly where they usually would not. By watching the hero and understanding the reason why he made the choices he does gives the audience to analyze the choice they would make in the shoes of the hero which in turn makes the villain causing these choices to be so memorable. Surprisingly nine of the thirty participants said they didn’t watch television as they were growing although but were still familiar with the characters and able to rank them because of the conversations they had with their friends. Four out of the nine participants said that they were not allowed to watch television that wasn’t solely educational. Two of the nine participants said they did not own a television inside of their home and only saw movies every once in a while. Three out of the nine simply stated that had no time or interest for television and were wrapped up in other things such as travel sports and other time consuming hobbies as kids. However 5 out of 9 of those who did not watch television as a child ranked Joker with either a 1 or 2 as their most memorable character which shows the popularity of Joker to even those who may or may not having grown up watching Batman. The media of present day in comparison to the movies and shows of the 1990’s seemed to portray the most interesting villains are the ones that are complex and cause a question of morality of the hero which then in turn questions the audience. These questions of morality such as is it okay to kill someone whom harms others; can only be answered by each individual viewer by challenging the very believes that are molded into most kids as they are growing up. The most famous characters and villains of are childhood are those that visual show and teach life lessons that we use today, but the villains that challenge those very beliefs as adults leave a lasting impression of self-realization and moral standing in which each individual carries daily.

Gender Comparison of Sporting Athletes

Gender Comparison of Sporting Athletes Viraj Tamakuwala Emily McCullogh Awarding of unequal prize money to female athletes in sporting competitions compared to males A majorly debated topic in the sporting world is the unequal compensation of female athletes. The first and most given reasoning for the unfair compensation of female athletes to males is that their performance isnt at par with the males. That reasoning is often expanded to bring in the belief that sports are associated with masculinity and that men have been the ones to play sports since the old ages. Which leads to the debate of the athletes body remaining feminine while participating in sports and events. Another argument that the women sports dont generate enough revenues and interests. This essay will expand and provide studies and articles that support the claims and then provide solutions now in place to remove or minimize the gap as well as criticisms of the claims. The difference in performance of women athletes is debatable but there are researches that suggest, that there is a gap. A study done by Thibault, et al.(2010) on the performance levels of athletes from 1983 till 2010 suggests that women present lower record values than men and that it is influenced by the sex of the individual. The study further states that womens performances will remain inferior to mens till the both reach their physiological maximums. In addition, the study goes to use formulas to show and express the differences and the gap of the performances, it just concludes that its impossible for women to catch up to men as the gender gaps in sport performance has been stable and remain that way for the foreseeable future (Thibault, et al., 2010). Government of Ontario recognizes the sport performance gap, in its Game ON The Governments sport plan which states that the sport participation of women drops dramatically by age and the closing of the gap is the top priority of the plan. It recognizes that the gap is not only due to interest and abilities but rather social, economic, and cultural barriers (Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, 2016). That statement would make the possibility that potential female athletes are unable to participate in sports at that level of competition and in response hides the females that would be able to close or shorten the gender performance gap. This relates directly to the points made by Dr. Hernan Humana, in Kine1000 lectures on February 6 and 8 , 2016 where he argued of that the performance, structure and culture of gender causes socialization which directly affects the point of view of the males towards the females and their roles in sports and society, and giving the example of the girls soccer team having a pink uniform. The roles of females in sports and society is the main controlling factor for the unequal compensation. Women tend to be socially constructed to be weak or lazy as they dont tend to engage in physical activity, but then the females who are athletes are stuck between two worlds, the sports world which requires a strong and healthy body and the social world which requires them to have femininity to be accepted in society (Krane, Choi, Baird, Aimar, Kauer, 2004). The study on the topic states that they are living in a paradox of dual identity between the two world where the emphasis is keeping the hegemonic view of femininity while having the body or muscularity needed for the sport, many times this paradox is said to be causing an increased negative behaviours such as poor body image, eating disorders or stress and in some cases causing the athlete to quit the sport (Krane, Choi, Baird, Aimar, Kauer, 2004). This is no only limited to the field or sporting grounds but to the homes and society that they live in, It is made extremely clear that these female athletes mostly when professional are treated differently and their success comes at the price of their image as the book talks about personal experiences of these females as some them are lesbians (Lenskyj, 2003). While this bring on the discrimination based on sexuality, which is also being fought against by the government as it is stated that athletes from sexual minorities are very unlikely to participate in sports (Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, 2016). Furthermore, to support the female athletes as well women engaged as coaches and officials, Sport Canada has put of policies and plans to work towards an Equitable and Quality sport environment (Sports Canada, 2015). They are doing this by providing training and opportunities to both coaches and athletes to perform and present themselves at higher competitions than available before, for example government funding is only provided to sport organizati ons which state their commitment to women in sports (Sports Canada, 2015). The most logical argument for the unfair pay of female athletes is that they dont provide enough revenue and interest as compared to men. The cause is media, as women athletes have not been covered I may sports or events, most of the time we wouldnt even know that there was a female competitor for the competition or even a team for the sport as it would be covered in minimal amounts if any coverage at all (Messner, Duncan, Cooky, 2003). The media coverage is having a gradual increase in the coverage while seeing an relative increased effort to increase audience and heavy promoting of mens sports, furthermore the commentary is also male dominant to reinforce that sports with masculinity (Messner, Duncan, Cooky, 2003). This relates back the guest lecture by Paul Jones where he answered that media shows us what we want to see as they will cover it while telling us what we should be interested in, and that it works both ways as its more of a cycle which is hard to break (October 24, 20 16). It is found that men who watch sports are more to invested to it and engaged in it as its a way for them to unwind and become involved in the drama and excitement of the game or sport (Gantz Wenner, 1991). Meanwhile the females are likely to be found watching sports due to companionship from their male friends, family or counterparts, in addition it was found that the more it was covered the more both men and women watched it more (Gantz Wenner, 1991). That proves Paul Jones point which states that media covers what we want to see and the more they cover it the more people watch and that its a total cycle which works negatively for the female athletes. The solution for this is simple and it is that viewers should go to or start become interested in female sports and events, if there are viewers who are interested then media will cover it and then cycle shall start for the females and then revenue and interest both would increase. In conclusion, the unequal compensation of female athletes in sporting competitions is a critical and important problem and that government and organizations fully support the advancement of women in the sports industry. The largest barrier is the media, which is also the best method to get them equal and fair pay either through creating larger interest through covering female sports and events which in return will to reward them in the future or follow the interest of the crowd which could be changing as even the smaller coverages of the female sports is creating interest and awareness that they exist. The government has a large role in this fight towards equity and equality it is showing effect slowly but effectively. The day when the compensation will equal as well as the gap between the genders declining as opportunity is given. References Gantz, W., Wenner, L. A. (1991). Men, women, and sports: Audience experiences and effects. Journal of Brodcasting Electronic Media, 35(2), 233-243. doi:10.1080/08838159109364120 Krane, V., Choi, P. Y., Baird, S. M., Aimar, C. M., Kauer, K. J. (2004). Living the Paradox: Female Athletes Negotiate Femininity and Muscularity. Sex Roles, 50(5), 315-329. doi:10.1023/B:SERS.0000018888.48437.4f Lenskyj, H. (2003). Out on the field : gender, sport and sexualities. Toronto, ON: Womens Press. Messner, M. A., Duncan, M. C., Cooky, C. (2003). Silence, Sports Bras, And Wrestling Porn. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 27(1), 38-51. doi:10.1177/0193732502239583 Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. (2016). Game ON The Ontario Governments Sport Plan. Ottawa, ON: Queens Printer for Ontario. Sports Canada. (2015). Actively Engaged: A Policy on Sport for Women and Girls. Retrieved from Government Of Canada: http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1414511367652/1414602693839 Thibault, V., Guillaume, M., Berthelot, G., Helou, N. E., Schaal, K., Quinquis, L., . . . Toussaint, J.-F. (2010). Women and Men in Sport Performance: The Gender Gap has not Evolved since 1983. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 9(2), 214-223.

Salem witch trials Essay -- essays research papers

Salem Witch Trials: Casting a spell on the people Today, the idea of seeing a witch is almost inconsequential. Our Halloween holiday marks a celebration in which many will adorn themselves with pointy black hats and long stringy hair, and most will embrace them as comical and festive. Even the contemporary witchcraft religious groups forming are being accepted with less criticism. More recently, the Blair Witch movie craze has brought more fascination than fear to these dark and magical figures. So, it becomes no wonder that when our generations watch movies like the Crucible, a somewhat accurate depiction of the Salem Witch Trials, we are enraged and confused by the injustice and the mayhem that occurred in 1692. For most, our egocentric view of the past almost stops us from seeing what a dilemma was brewing in that Puritan lifestyle. At that time, witches were far more than a generic costume for a casual holiday celebration, or a tolerated religion, or a new form of Hollywood fasc ination, they were the work of an awful, vengeful, unseen power. In the seventeenth century, almost everyone, even those with the best of educations, where under the belief that witchcraft was evil and the control of the devil. Witchcraft had once, before the Middle Ages had been accepted as the powers of medicine and good deeds; however, the church of that time had proclaimed the craft as the work of the devil and the actions of heretics. From then on witches were greatly dreaded. They believed that they had special powers that allowed them to cause harm to those that they had quarrels with; they could read minds, tell the future, bring up ghosts of the dead and force the holy to perform unholy acts. There was only one way to save someone who sold their soul to the devil for the gifts of witchcraft, to kill them (Dickinson 4). People were branded witches for unrelated mishaps. If the farmer’s sheep all died from a virus in the water, then the neighbor who fought with him las t week must have cast a spell. In a world where people are certain of witchcraft, nothing is accidental. Consequentially, many people were unjustly condemned to death. In the beginning of the century the targets for witchcraft were â€Å"the poor, the elderly, the mentally ill, the rude and quarrelsome†, but as the century drew to an end those accused were chosen â€Å"more [democratically],† even those as young as fou... ...ent theories of what the girls were afflicted with. Several researchers postulated that they were suffering from ergot poisoning from spoiled rye grain. Others thought that girls were enjoying the attention that they would have never received otherwise being young females. Similarly, others thought that the cause of their symptoms are from a popular psychological disorder from the 1970’s called clinical hysteria or mass hysteria, referring to a condition experienced by a group of people who, through suggestion, observation, or other psychological processes, develop similar fears, delusions, abnormal behaviors, or physical symptoms. (Trask 1 and Plotnik 520) The Salem witchcraft delusion became the road to what is now known as the road to Enlightenment. Although the trials in New England did not end there, Salem marked the beginning of and end to the horrible injustice. Witch-hunting is still an epidemic that plagues today in other forms. People are made to suffer for their beliefs. Religious and political persecution has stained every century since then. Perhaps, the greatest thing gained from the trials was the understanding that the majority is not always the voice of justice.

Private Schools vs. Public Schools Essays -- Compare Contrast Comparin

Sending your child/children to school is a decision every parent/family has to make. Choosing where to send your child is a different story though. No matter where you live, there is always a public school in the area that your child can attend and you have no annual fee. Public schools are paid for with taxes that every citizen has to pay. Private schools on the other hand have an annual fee that can range up to around $20,000 per year. Paying for private schooling is almost like paying for college tuition. Some parents prefer public schools because of the children’s freedom while on the other hand some prefer private schooling because of the curriculum and religion learned. Sometimes parents change their mind about where they want their child to attend based on many different reasons. Switching from either Private to Public or vise versa is very common, especially when a parent feels there child can do better or needs to be challenged more. The switch can either be to benefit the child to learn at there best ability or to punish a child. The following is about how private school and how public schools have their pros and cons and also how the switches from either private to public or vise versa can either benefit a child or how it can destroy them. Public schooling is offered around the country and does not cost anything to go to school and just simply learn. The majority of schools are public schoolings because the majority of children in the United States attend public schooling for many different reasons. A public school will obtain a more diverse environment than let’s say a private school or even the thought of being home schooled. In private schools, most of the inferior groups such as African Americans are... ...I feel that the best thing for a child is to be at a school that they enjoy. I think that a child is better off staying in the schooling environment they started off at. In conclusion, I am neither for nor against either private schooling or public schooling. I think that both have their benefits and both have their downfalls. I do not think that private schools should cost so much because it takes away from the diversity in the school system. Without diversity in private schools, children will never learn about it or be aware of it until they are out of school. From what I have read, a lot of people have bias opinions on both topics and they are all wonderful points. Now you can read the facts and observe what is better, private or public schooling and the effect is has on children when you start them off with one system and switch them to another.

Character Analysis of Othello Essay examples -- Papers Shakespeare Ess

Character Analysis of Othello â€Å"Othello† is a tragedy and Othello is a tragic hero. Othello is a general in the service of Venice. He is good, courageous, brave and trustworthy. However he has some weaknesses such as insecurity; he is too open, naà ¯ve, and gullible, Iago plays on his weaknesses which brings about his downfall and he kills himself. This causes the suffering of innocent people like Desdemona, Emilia, Cassio and Roderigo. The audience also feel pity for Othello and this creates a sense of wastage at the end. Iago’s main aim is to bring about Othello’s downfall. He has many reasons for this, such as his anger as Othello rejected him for the post of lieutenant and he hates the fact that a black man has such a high position, who has the power to reject him. Iago’s plan to destroy Othello is mainly motivated by racism. He suspects that Othello slept with his wife. This play was written by Shakespeare in the 17th century. During that time, the attitude of the people towards the black people was negative. The black people were treated as lower class citizens. This play is initially set in Venice in the mid 15th century. The Venetians would also have treated them worse and differently. Shakespeare wanted to show the black character in a positive light and create sympathy for him representing him as a victim of racism to make a comment on his society. Shakespeare uses various dramatic devices in this play. This essay will explain to what extent racism contributes to Othello’s downfall. Act 3 scene 3 is important because this is the scene where the character of Othello changes. Before this scene, Shakespeare has already ena... ...on as a result of Othello’s insecurities, such as jealousy. It could also be argued that these insecurities are caused mainly by the racist society. Which at its heart it is racist and sees him as an outsider as this play is set on Venice. It is not just Iago who refers to him as a moor. â€Å"I am one sir†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ moor are now making the beast with to backs†. But Brabantio also says that â€Å"Look to her, moor, if thou†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ and may thee†. Othello also recognises this as a possible reason for Desdemona’s infidelity. â€Å"For haply I am black†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  However there is one other consideration to take into account Othello acts with reason, rather then emotion when he decides to kill Desdemona; He still loves her. But his need to be in control is stronger in the end. He feels that his duty is to kill her. Finally both the factors are to be blamed.

Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma Essay

One very debatable ethical dilemma in today’s society is euthanasia. Euthanasia, like any other medical treatment should be seen as a choice. As a society, there are obligations to the sick that should be up held, but morally and legally may not be supportable. There are many aspects that go with this choice besides the obligation. There are also stakeholders to consider as well as social values, morals and religious implications. Euthanasia is Greek for good death which translates into English as easy death or mercy killing. It was accepted by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Three Asian religious traditions accept euthanasia: Buddhism, Shintoism, and Confucianism. It was rejected by the 3 main monotheistic religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. It has its supporters and opponents in all countries. Two types of patients are involved in euthanasia: (a) a patient in a persistent vegetative state who is awake but is not aware of self or the environment. Such a patient has no higher brain functions and is kept alive on artificial life support (b) patient in terminal illness with a lot of pain, psychological suffering and loss of dignity. The patient may or may not be on life support. There are different types of euthanasia. Active euthanasia, an act of commission, is taking some action that leads to death like a fatal injection. Passive euthanasia, an act of omission, is letting a person die by taking no action to maintain life. Passive euthanasia can be withholding or withdrawing water, food, drugs, medical or surgical procedures, resuscitation like CPR, and life support such as the respirator. The patient is then left to die from the underlying disease. Sometimes a distinction is made between normal nutrition and hydration on one hand and medical nutritional support involving intravenous and naso-gastric feeding on the other hand. Euthanasia can be by the patient or by the health care giver. Euthanasia can be voluntary when the pat ient takes the decision, non-voluntary when the decision is made by another person for an unconscious patient and involuntary when the decision is made contrary to the patient’s wish. There are ethical implications of European and American arguments for and against euthanasia. Two arguments are made for active euthanasia: (a) mercy killing because of pain, psychological and physical suffering (b) the utilitarian argument is that euthanasia is desirable because it relieves the misery of the terminally ill. Two arguments are made against active  euthanasia: (a) killing is morally wrong and is forbidden by religion (b) unexpected cures or procedures may be discovered to reverse the terminal condition. Nurses are the gatekeepers of the healing facility, although they may have their own outlooks based on their own ethical, cultural, and religious views (LeBaron, 2010). There are always value conflicts when it comes to euthanasia, which can be demonstrated by examining utilitarianism and rights. The nursing practice should be to keep patients alive, do no harm, do everything possible to save the life, and do good to everyone by respecting the right or autonomy of the individual patient. Although most of Americans presently think that physician-assisted suicide should be legal and no existing federal laws prohibiting the practice of euthanasia in United States, voluntary/assisted euthanasia is yet considered illegal and killing in all of the States but in Oregon, Washington, and soon Montana (Webster, 2009). First, Oregon and recently Washington passed a Death with Dignity Act and are actually the only places where euthanasia in terminally ill patients is legally and openly authorized (Blizzard, 2012). In 2009’s Baxter v. Montana case, the Montana Supreme Court declared that no law in state constitution stops patients from practicing voluntary/assisted euthanasia (O’Reilley, 2010). Any time the legislature can act to join Oregon and Washington in the public arena. According to both States’ laws, an adult competent patient must address three witnessed solicitations, two verbally and one in writing, to his/her attending physician for a fatal medica tion. Then the patient administers the dose on her/ his own. Obviously, the Death with Dignity Act unambiguously bans assisted euthanasia that obliges another person than the patient to take part in administering the medication (Exit International Australia, 2012). As euthanasia is observed from a diversity of different perspective, the stake holders’ opinions are considered. In front comes the patient who wishes and requests to discontinue her/his life in respect to human right to select the time and manner of death when she/ he is terminal ill by stopping unwanted, burdensome and/or futile medical treatment. Other people entrusted with the euthanasia dilemma include physicians/healthcare professionals, the family, insurance companies, religious groups, and the government. The second stakeholder is families that have to admit and follow the desires of their loved one to die in nobility. The involvement in this kind of decision  may be an unbearable load for some families who would be would be either not ready to let their darling one go, which could generate a catch-22 mainly if they are bending patient’s wishes, or emotionally scarred by the death. Other stakeholders in this situation are physicians and other practitioners who might come across a real impasse because the euthanasia breaches the â€Å"do no harm† Hippocratic Oath. The insurance companies may drive the patient in opting for death to conserve the money on an individual who does not hope of staying alive. Some religious groups are against euthanasia and consider it a suicide. Lastly the government intervenes in the stake holder in this state of affairs in defensive position for citizen from illegal measures. Voluntary/assisted euthanasia is an ethical dilemma, and creates issues and disagreements amongst those involved (Gore, 2012). Netherland and Belgium are the two countries in the world to legalize euthanasia. In the US, Oregon and Washington also legalized euthanasia. The main barriers to legalize euthanasia are the government, religion, fear, education and the media. More religious people are against euthanasia. Education also plays a major role in euthanasia. The more education a person has he/she believes all individuals have the right to autonomy and therefore the person has the right to decide to end their life. Euthanasia has pros and cons. Pros include relief from pain, relief from low quality or vegetative state of life, relief from financial strain on health care system and the resources can be used for other people. The cons include family members can kill another family member if they don’t like them or reduce financial burden, loss of respect of human life and according to religious view God can only choose when to end life. In Euthanasia legalized countries, such as palliative care nurses in Belgium have important roles and responsibilities in working with euthanasia requested by patients and their families. The nurse involvement starts when the patient requests to euthanasia and ends by supporting family and loved ones. They are in key positions to provide valuable care to the patient and family. Nurses assist the health care team after the life threatening procedure. Pain management and comfort care are their main goals at that time. Nurses are open-minded and have unique relationships with the patient and family. â€Å"In the twentieth century, a number of social and technological changes made euthanasia a morally acceptable choice to growing numbers of people† (Wells, 2006). There are two  types of ethical theories that are going to be focused on. The first is utilitarianism, which is an action that is morally correct if its consequence is good for the greatest numbers. It generally focuses on the greatest good for the greatest number, and neglects the individual rights. The other theory is called deontology, which takes into consideration the way something is to be done and not just on the consequences of that action. One may tell a lie to the doctor, just to save a friend but doesnâ₠¬â„¢t think of the grave consequences they have to suffer later on. A person making a voluntary euthanasia uses the utilitarianism theory when making such a judgment. One might choose to voluntarily do euthanasia if the person has reached an all-time low and the only other option is to the act. The person has to have thoroughly thought about the consequences and make sure his or her judgment is not biased or is not taken personal. There are certain conditions that apply for one to request voluntary euthanasia. Conditions are an unlikelihood of recovering from a cure, suffering from a terminal illness, and most importantly, they must have a voluntary wish to die. As can be seen by the multiple views of the authors, euthanasia is not an easy topic to side on. Due to many religious beliefs, one may feel euthanasia is wrong. But as a nurse that sees suffering every day, this same person would support euthanasia if not condemned by his/her religion. With the support of the ‘do no harm’ belief, it can also be construed that assisting in euthan asia is not doing harm, but preventing harm for those with chronic severe pain. There is no nationwide movement for the majority of the states to legislate for euthanasia, but thankfully there are two, soon to be three compassionate states that have in-acted this law. References Blizzard, R. (2002). Right to die or dead to rights? Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/6265/Right-Die-Dead-Rights.aspx?version=print Euthanasia: The nurses role (2011). Issues in nursing. Retrieved on 10/3/12 from Nursing students 417.wordpress.com Exit International Australia (2012). Death with Dignity in Oregon (soon to be Montana. Retrieved from http://www.exitinternational.net/page/USA Gore, J. (2011) Stakeholders in Euthanasia. Retrieved from http://jacktgore.edublogs.org/2011/08/03/stakeholders-in-euthanasia/ LeBaron Jr, G. (2010). The ethics of euthanasia. Retrieved October 3, 2012, from http://www.quantonics.com/The_Ethics_of_Euthanasia_By_Garn_LeBaron.html Purtilo, R., & Doherty, R. (2011). Ethical dimensions in the health professions (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier. Task Force on the Nurse’s Role in End-of-Life Decisions, 2011. (2011). Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 8(1). Webster, B. (2009). Assisted Suicide/Voluntary Euthanasia. International debate education association. UK. Retrieved from http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/topic_print.php?topicID=55 Wells, K. R., Frey, R. (2006). The gale encyclopedia of nursing and allied health ed. In J. L. LONGE (Ed.), (2 ed., Vol. 2, pp. 993-996). DETROIT, GALE

Adrenalin Rush

The world was getting too crowded and so, Zues, created a war and that was the Trojan war†¦ Farwell between Hector and Andromache Iliad book VI Hector: (went in the house looking for Andromache) Andromache†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. (He looked everywhere but she’s not there) Be so good to tell me where your mistress has gone. To one of my sisters or to Athena’s temple where the women are making supplication? Housekeeper: No, sir, not to any of the family, nor to Athena’s where the women are all gone to offer their supplication. Housekeeper2: to tell the truth, sir. She has gone up on the walls, because she heard that our people were in danger and the enemy was getting the best of it. She just gone off in a great hurry like one distracted, with the nurse carrying the boy. (Hector went back by same way along the streets till he reached Scaian gates. ) (Andromache saw him and run towards him. The nurse followed her carrying the child. ) Andromache: My dearest, how can you do it? Your courage will be your death! Have you no pity for your baby, or your unhappy wife, who will soon be your widow! Soon the enemies will rush upon you and kill you! And I, if I lose you, it would be better for me to go down into my grave. There will be no comfort for me if you are killed, but only sorrow. (Hector put his arms on her shoulder) Hector: I won’t be killed promise. (Smiled) Andromache: I have no father and no mother now. My father was slain by Achilles; he lay waste my home. Thebe, with its lofty towers; he killed Eetion, my father. My seven brothers all went down to Hades in one day for that terrible Achilles killed them all amid their cattle and sheep. My mother, who was queen in that place, was brought away a prisoner. Cries) So you are my father and my mother, Hector; you are my brother; you are my loving husband! Then pity me and stay here behind the walls; do not make your boy an orphan and your wife a widow! But post your men by the fig tree, where the wall may be scaled most. Hector: I have not forgotten all that, my wife, but I could not show my face before the men or the women of Troy if I sulked like a coward out of the way. And I will not do it, for I have learned how to bear myself bravely in front of the battle and to win credit for my father and for myself. One thing I know indeed in my heart and soul-a day shall come when scared Troy shall perish, and Priam and the people of Priam; but my sorrow is not so much for what will happen to the people, or to my mother, or King Priam, or my brothers, when all those good and true men shall fall in the dust before the enemies-but for you, when armed men shall drive you away weeping and take from you the day of freedom. To think that you should live in a foreign land, ply the loom at the orders of another woman; that should carry water from strange fountains, crushed under stern necessity-a hateful task! That someone should see you shedding tears, and say ‘there is Hector’s wife, and he was the first and best brave Trojans when there was a war about Troy’-and he will make your pain ever fresh, while there is no such man to save you from the day of slavery. May I be dead and buried deep in the earth before I hear your cries and see you dragged away! (Hector tries to held hands to his son, but the child was afraid of him for he was wearing his armour. ) (Hector took off his helmet, grabs his son and raised him) Hector: o Zeus and all ye heavenly gods! Grant this, my son, may be as notable among our people as I am, and let him be as strong, and let him rule Troy in his strength! When he goes to war, let them say ‘This man is much better than his father! ’ May he kill his enemy and bring home the bloodstained spoils and give joy to his mother’s heart. (Hector kissed the forehead of his wife) *THE clashing!!!!! * Achilles: (shouting) Hector!!!!!!†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Hector!!!!†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Get out there!!!! Let’s fight!!!! (at the walls) Hector: my love, farewell. Don’t cry for I will be back bringing Achilles’ head to you. I should be going now†¦ Achilles!!!!! What air brought you here all alone! Are you out of your mind? Achilles: How dare you kill my friend Patroclos†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ you must DIE!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (they fought fiercely until only one man remained standing. ) Achilles: you people of Troy is no match to me!!!! (He tied a rope to Hector’s body and trolled it around the grounds of their battle field. ) (at the tower in Troy) Priam: How cruel are you! How can you do that to my son†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (cries) Queen: (holding the arm of his husband. Crying) oh.. my son†¦. Priam: (put his arms around the queen) Andromache: Hector!!!!!!!!!!! (Cried so hard) (Achilles brought Hector’s body to their camp) *Ransom of Hectors body* (Priam went to Achilles tent) (Automedon and Alcimos had just finished eating) Priam: Remember your own father, most noble Prince Achilles, an old man like me near the end of his days. It may be that he is distressed by those who lived around him, and there is no one to defend him from peril and death. But he indeed, so long as he hears that you still, is glad at heart and hopes every day that he will see his well-loved son return home from Troy. But I am all unhappy since I had the best sons in the broad land Troy and not one of them is left. All have fallen in the battle; and the only one who by himself was our safeguard-the one you have killed. I come now to your camp to redeem him from you, and I bring a rich ransom. O Achilles, fear God and pity me, remembering your own father but I am more pitied. I have endured to do what no other man in the world has ever done-to kiss the hand of the man who slew my sons. Achilles: ah! Poor man indeed your heart has borne many sorrows! How could you come to Achaian camp alone? How could you bear to look at the man who killed your noble sons, as I have done? Your heart must be made of steel. Come now, sit down upon a seat. We will let our sorrows lie deep in our hearts awhile, for there is no profit in freezing lamination. This is the way of the gods have spun their threads for poor mortals! Our life is all sorrow, but they are untroubled themselves. Priam: tell me not yet to be seated, gracious prince, while Hector lies here uncared for. I pray you set him free quickly, that I may look upon him; and accept the ransom that we bring, a great treasure. May you live to enjoy it and return to your own country, since you have spared me first? Achilles: i mean myself to set your Hector free. Zeus sent me a message by my mother, the daughter of the old man of the sea. And I understand quite well, sir that some god brought you into our camp. For no mere man would dare among us, let him be ever so young and strong. He could not escape the guards, and he could not easily lift the bolt of our doors. (Achilles returned the body of hector) Achilles: your son, sir has been set free as you asked, and he lies on his bier. At break of day you shall see him yourself, on your journey, but now let us think of supper. Venerable prince, let us two also think of something to eat. After that, you may weep for your son again when you have brought him back to Troy. Many tears he will cost you! (After eating, they look at each other admiring each one) (Priam brought Hector’s body back to Troy. And Cassandra was the first one to see them coming) Cassandra: (shouting) come, all you men and women of Troy! You shall see Hector. Come if ever you were glad while he lived to welcome his return from battle, for he was a great gladness to the city and all the nation. (Hector’s wife and his mother came running towards the wagon. ) Priam: let the mules pass. When I have brought him into our house you will have plenty of time to lament. Andromache: my husband, you perished out of life, still young, and left me a widow in the house! (Cries) the boy is only a baby, your son and my son, doomed father, doomed mother! And he think will never grow up to manhood; long before, our city will be utterly laid waste. For you have perished, you our watchman, you our only savoir, who kept safe our wives and little children! They will soon be carried off in ships, and I with them. And you, my child-you will go with me where degrading tasks will be found for you to do, driven by a merciless master; or some enemy will catch you by the arm, and throw you over the wall of painful death, in revenge perhaps for some brother that Hector killed, or father, or son maybe, since many man bit the dust under the hands of Hector. You father was not gentle in the field of battle! Hector!!!!! But for me most of all, cruel sorrow is my lot. For you did not stretch out to me your dying hands from your deathbed. You said no precious word to me, which I might always remember night and day with tears! Queen: Hector, best beloved of all my children, dearest to my heart! Living, the gods loved you well; therefore, they have cared for you even when death is your lot. Other sons of mine Achilles took, and he would sell them over the barren sea, one to Samos, one to Imbros, or to steaming Lamnos; but you-when he had torn out your soul ith his sharp blade, he dragged you again and again around the grave of his comrade you slew. But that did not bring him back from the grave! And now you lie in my house fresh as the morning dew, like one that Apollo has visited and slain with his gentle shafts! Helen: Hector, best beloved of all my good brothers, and dearest to my heart! Indeed my husband is Prince Alexandros, who brought me to Troy-but would that I had died first! Twenty years have passed since I left my country and came here, but I never heard from you one unkind or slighting word. If anyone else reproached me, a sister or brother of yours, or a brother’s wife, or your mother- for your father was always as kind as if he were mine-you would reprove them; you would check them with your gentle spirit and gentle words. Therefore I weep for you and with you for my unhappy self. For there is no else in the length and bread of Troy who is kind or friendly; they shall shudder at me. Priam: now, Trojans, fetch wood into the city, and have no fear of any ambush of our enemies. For Achilles in parting from me promised that he would do us no harm until the twelfth day shall dawn. (Funeral service)

Spirit Bound Chapter Ten

AND ONE OF THEM†¦ ONE OF THEM†¦ â€Å"No,† I breathed, even as I sprang toward the one closest to me–a woman. There appeared to be three Strigoi around us. Eddie was in motion too, and both of us were trying to shove the Moroi behind us. They didn't need much urging. At the sight of Strigoi, the Moroi had begun to back up–creating sort of a bottleneck. Between Eddie's instant reflexes and the Moroi panic, I was pretty sure no one had noticed what I already had spotted. Dimitri was among them. No, no, no, I said, this time to myself. He'd warned me. Over and over, he'd said in his letters that as soon as I was out of the safety of the wards, he would be coming for me. I'd believed him and yet†¦ seeing the reality of it was a totally different thing. It had been three months, but in that instant, a million memories ran through my mind in crystal clear sharpness. My captivity with Dimitri. The way his mouth–so, so warm, despite his cold skin–had kissed mine. The feel of his fangs pressing into my neck and the sweet bliss that followed†¦ He looked exactly the same too, with that chalky white pallor and red-ringed eyes that so conflicted with the soft, chin-length brown hair and otherwise gorgeous lines of his face. He even had a leather duster on. It had to be a new one, seeing as his previous coat had gotten pretty torn up in our last fight on the bridge. Where did he keep getting them? â€Å"Get out!† I yelled. My words were to the Moroi, even as my stake bit into the female Strigoi's heart. The momentary confusion with all of us in the hall had been more of a detriment to her than me. I got a good line of sight on her, and it was clear that she hadn't expected me to be so fast. I'd killed a lot of Strigoi because they'd underestimated me. Eddie didn't have my luck. He stumbled when Victor shoved past him, allowing the other Strigoi–a guy–near the front to backhand Eddie against the wall. Still, that was the kind of thing we faced all the time, and Eddie responded beautifully. He immediately came back from the hit, and with the Moroi out of the way now, Eddie was able to lunge toward the Strigoi and engage him fully. And me? My attention was on Dimitri. I stepped over the fallen Strigoi without even looking at her. Dimitri had hovered near the back, sending his minions into the front lines of battle. Maybe it was because I knew Dimitri so well, but I suspected he wasn't surprised that I'd take out the one so quickly and that Eddie was giving the other a tough time. I doubted Dimitri cared whether they lived or died. They were just distractions for him to get to me. â€Å"I told you,† said Dimitri, eyes both amused and sharp. He was watching my every move, each of us subconsciously mirroring the other as we waited for an opening to attack. â€Å"I told you I'd find you.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said, trying to ignore the grunts of Eddie and the other Strigoi. Eddie could take him. I knew he could. â€Å"I got the memos.† A ghost of a smile curled up Dimitri's lips, showing the fangs that somehow triggered a mix of both longing and loathing in me. Instantly, I shoved those feelings aside. I'd hesitated before with Dimitri and nearly died because of it. I'd refused to let it happen again, and the adrenaline pumping through my body served as a good reminder that this was a do-or-die situation. He made the first move, but I dodged it–almost having sensed it coming. That was the problem with us. We knew each other too well–knew each other's moves too well. Of course, that hardly meant we were an even match. Even in life, he'd had more experience than me, and his Strigoi abilities tipped the scale. â€Å"Yet here you are,† he said, still smiling. â€Å"Foolishly stepping outside when you should have stayed in the safety of Court. I couldn't believe it when my spies told me.† I said nothing, instead attempting a swipe with my stake. He saw that coming too and sidestepped it. His having spies didn't surprise me–even in the daytime. He controlled a network of Strigoi and humans alike, and I'd known he had eyes and ears observing Court. The question was: How the hell had he gotten into this hotel in the middle of the day? Even with human watchers at the airport or monitoring credit cards as Adrian had done, Dimitri and his Strigoi friends should have had to wait until nightfall to get here. No, not necessarily, I realized a moment later. Strigoi occasionally had work-arounds. Trucks and vans with dark, completely sealed cabins. Underground entrances. Moroi wanting to casino-jump from the Witching Hour knew about secret tunnels connecting certain buildings. Dimitri would have known about all this too. If he'd been waiting for me to come outside of wards, he would have done whatever it took to get to me. I knew better than anyone else how resourceful he was. I also knew he was trying to distract me with talking. â€Å"And strangest of all,† he continued, â€Å"you didn't come alone. You brought Moroi. You've always taken risks with your own life, but I didn't expect you to be so hasty with theirs.† Something occurred to me then. Aside from the faint hum of the casino on the other end of the hallway and the sounds of our fight, everything else was silent. We were missing an important noise. Say, like, the alarm from a fire door. â€Å"Lissa!† I yelled. â€Å"Get the hell out of here! Get them all out of here.† She should have known better. They all should have known better. That door led to the upper floors–and outdoors. The sun was still out. It didn't matter if the alarm brought hotel security down on us. Hell, that might scare the Strigoi off. What mattered was that the Moroi fled to safety. But a quick check of my bond told me the problem. Lissa was frozen. Stunned. She'd suddenly seen who I was fighting, and the shock of it was too much. Knowing Dimitri was a Strigoi was one thing. Seeing it–really, really seeing it–well, that was different. I knew from personal experience. Even after being prepared, his appearance still unnerved me. She was blindsided, unable to think or move. It only took me a heartbeat to assess her feelings, but in a fight with a Strigoi, a single second could be the difference between life and death. Dimitri's chatter had worked, and although I watched him and thought I had my guard up, he got through and shoved me against the wall, hands pinning my arms so painfully that I lost my grip on the stake. He put his face right up to mine, so close that our foreheads touched. â€Å"Roza†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he murmured. His breath was warm and sweet against my skin. It seemed like it should have smelled like death or decay, but it didn't. â€Å"Why? Why did you have to be so difficult? We could have spent eternity together†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My heart thundered in my chest. I was afraid, terrified of the death that I knew had to be seconds away. And at the same time, I was filled with sorrow over having lost him. Seeing the features of his face, hearing that same accented voice that even now wrapped around me like velvet†¦ I felt my heart breaking all over again. Why? Why had this happened to us? Why was the universe so cruel? I managed to flip the switch again, once more shutting out the fact that this was Dimitri. We were predator and prey–and I was in danger of being eaten. â€Å"Sorry,† I said through gritted teeth, shoving hard–and failing–to break his grip. â€Å"My eternity doesn't involve being part of the undead mafia.† â€Å"I know,† he said. I could have sworn there was sadness in his face but later convinced myself I must have imagined it. â€Å"Eternity will be lonely without you.† A piercing shriek suddenly rang in my ears. Both of us winced. Noises intended to startle humans were hell on sensitive hearing like we had. Yet I couldn't help but feel relief. The fire door. Finally, those idiots–and yes, I had no qualms about calling my friends idiots when they were acting that way–had left the building. I felt sunlight through the bond and took comfort in that as Dimitri's fangs neared the artery that would spill the life's blood from my neck. I hoped the alarm would distract him, but he was too good. I struggled once more, hoping I could use surprise on him, but it was to no avail. What did surprise him was Eddie's stake plunging into the side of his stomach. Dimitri snarled in pain and let go of me, turning on Eddie. Eddie's face was hard, unblinking. If seeing Dimitri fazed him, my friend didn't show it. For all I knew, Eddie wasn't even registering this as Dimitri. Probably all he saw was a Strigoi. It was the way we were trained. See monsters, not people. Dimitri's attention was off me for the moment. He wanted to draw out my death. Eddie was simply an annoyance he needed to rid us of so that he could continue the game. Eddie and Dimitri engaged in a dance similar to the one I'd been in with Dimitri earlier, except that Eddie didn't know Dimitri's moves like I did. So Eddie wasn't able to completely avoid Dimitri grabbing him by the shoulder and shoving him to the wall. The maneuver had been intended to crush Eddie's skull, but Eddie managed to shift enough so that it was his body that took the brunt of the impact. It still hurt, but he was alive. All of this took place in milliseconds. And in those fleeting moments, my perspective shifted. When Dimitri had been looming over me, about to bite me, I had managed to overcome that impulse to think of him as Dimitri, the person I'd once known and loved. Continually forced into a victim position, with my life about to end, I had kept kicking myself into fight-fight-fight mode. Now, watching someone else battle Dimitri†¦ seeing Eddie's stake snake out at him†¦ well, suddenly, I lost that cool objectivity. I remembered why I'd come here. I remembered what we'd just learned from Robert. Fragile. It was still all so fragile. I'd sworn to myself that if we reached a moment where Dimitri was about to kill me and I hadn't learned more about saving Strigoi, I would do it. I would kill him. And this was my chance. Between Eddie and me, we could take Dimitri down. We could end this evil state, just as he'd once wanted. Yet†¦ less than a half hour ago, I'd been given a small piece of hope that a Strigoi could be saved. True, that part about a spirit user doing it was absurd, but Victor had believed. And if someone like him had believed†¦ I couldn't do it. Dimitri couldn't die. Not yet. I shot out with my stake, a hard strike that raked the silver point against the back of Dimitri's head. He let out a roar of rage and managed to turn and push me off while still fending Eddie away. Dimitri was that good. But Eddie's stake was getting closer to Dimitri's heart, and my friend's gaze was unwavering, intent on his kill. Dimitri's attention flitted between the two of us, and in one small lapse–only half a breath long–I saw Eddie get his stake in the zone, ready to take a shot at Dimitri's heart. A shot that looked like it might succeed where mine had failed. And that was why, in one smooth motion, I struck out with my stake, swiping it across Dimitri's face and knocking Eddie's arm aside as I did. It was a beautiful face. I hated to mar it but knew Dimitri would heal. As I made that attack, I pushed past him, shoving into Eddie so that he and I stumbled toward the fire door that was still shrieking its warning. Eddie's stony face registered surprise, and for a moment we were deadlocked: me pushing him to the door and him pushing back toward Dimitri. I saw the hesitation, though. The positioning was off, and Eddie was on the verge of shoving me into a Strigoi, which his training wouldn't allow. Dimitri was already seizing the opportunity, though. His hand reached out and grabbed my shoulder, trying to jerk me back. Eddie caught hold of my arm and pulled me forward. I cried out in surprise and pain. It felt like they were going to rip me in two. Dimitri was by far the strongest, but even stuck in the middle, my weight played a role, and I lent my force to Eddie's, which helped us gain some ground. Still, it was slow going. Like walking in honey. For each step I managed forward, Dimitri dragged me back. But Eddie and I were making slow–and very, very painful–progress toward the wailing door. A few moments later, I heard the clatter of feet and voices. â€Å"Security,† grunted Eddie, giving me a tug. â€Å"Shit,† I said. â€Å"You can't win,† Dimitri hissed. He'd managed to get both hands on my shoulders now and was overpowering us. â€Å"Oh yeah? We're about to have the entire Luxor Attack Squad here.† â€Å"We're about to have a pile of bodies here. Humans,† he said dismissively. Those humans reached us. I'm not sure what their impressions were. Some guy attacking teenagers? They shouted about us all letting go and facing them, directions the three of us ignored in our epic tug-of-war match. Then they must have laid hands on Dimitri. He was still gripping me, but his hold slackened enough that one huge pull from Eddie and a near-leap on my part broke me free. Eddie and I didn't even look back, though the security guards were now shouting at us too. They weren't the only ones shouting. Just before I pushed open the door, I heard Dimitri calling to me. There was laughter in his voice. â€Å"It's not over, Roza. Do you really think there's anywhere you can go in this world where I can't find you?† The same warning, always the same warning. I did my best to ignore the fear those words inspired. Eddie and I burst into smoggy desert air, as well as sunshine that was still hanging in there, despite being early evening. We were in the Luxor's parking lot–which wasn't crowded enough for us to hide in. With no spoken communication, he and I tore off toward the busy Strip, knowing our physical abilities would surpass those of any human pursuers and let us get lost in the mobs of people. It worked. I never saw how many followed us. My guess was the security staff were devoting their attention to the tall guy killing people in their hotel. The voices shouting after us faded, and Eddie and I finally slowed to a stop in front of New York-New York, and again, without even talking, we immediately turned inside the hotel. It had a twisted layout and was more crowded than the Luxor, and we easily blended in until we could find an empty spot of wall on the far side of the hotel's casino. The run had been hard even for us, and it took us a moment to catch our breath as we stood there. I knew things were serious when Eddie finally turned on me, and anger lit his features. Eddie was always the picture of calm and control, ever since his first abduction by Strigoi last year. It had toughened him, made him more determined to face any challenge. But oh, was he mad at me now. â€Å"What the hell was that?† exclaimed Eddie. â€Å"You let him go!† I put on my best tough face, but he seemed to be outdoing me today. â€Å"What, did you miss the part where I was slashing him with my stake?† â€Å"I had his heart! I had a shot, and you stopped me!† â€Å"Security was coming. We didn't have time. We had to get out of there, and we couldn't let them see us do the killing.† â€Å"I don't think any of them are left to report seeing anything,† Eddie replied evenly. He seemed to be trying to regain his composure. â€Å"Dimitri left a pile of corpses there. You know it. People died because you wouldn't let me stake him.† I flinched, realizing Eddie was right. It should have ended there. I hadn't gotten a good look at the number of security guards. How many had died? It wasn't relevant. Only the fact that innocent people had died mattered. Even one was too many. And it was my fault. My silence caused Eddie to press his advantage. â€Å"How could you of all people forget that lesson? I know he used to be your instructor–used to be. But he's not the same. They drilled that into us over and over. Don't hesitate. Don't think of him as a real person.† â€Å"I love him,† I blurted out, without meaning to. Eddie hadn't known. Only a handful of people knew about my romantic relationship with Dimitri and what had happened in Siberia. â€Å"What?† Eddie exclaimed with a gasp. His outrage had transformed to shock. â€Å"Dimitri†¦ he's more than my instructor†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Eddie continued staring at me for several heavy seconds. â€Å"Was,† he said at last. â€Å"Huh?† â€Å"He was more than your instructor. You loved him.† Eddie's momentary confusion was gone. He was back to hard guardian now, no sympathy. â€Å"I'm sorry, but it's in the past, whatever was between you. You have to know that. The person you loved is gone. The guy we just saw? Not the same.† I slowly shook my head. â€Å"I†¦ I know. I know it's not him. I know he's a monster, but we can save him†¦ if we can do what Robert was telling us about†¦.† Eddie's eyes widened, and for a moment, he was dumbstruck. â€Å"That's what this is about? Rose, that's ridiculous! You can't believe that. Strigoi are dead. They're gone to us. Robert and Victor were feeding you a bunch of crap.† Now I grew surprised. â€Å"Then why are you even here? Why have you stuck with us?† He threw his hands up in exasperation. â€Å"Because you're my friend. I stayed with you through all of this†¦ breaking out Victor, listening to his crazy brother†¦ because I knew you needed me. You all did, to help keep you safe. I thought you had a real reason for getting Victor out–and that you were going to return him. Does it sound crazy? Yeah, but that's normal for you. You've always had good reasons for what you do.† He sighed. â€Å"But this†¦ this is crossing a line. Letting Strigoi go in order to chase some idea–some idea that couldn't possibly work–is ten times worse than what we did with Victor. A hundred times worse. Every day Dimitri walks the world is another day that people are going to die.† I collapsed against the wall and closed my eyes, feeling sick to my stomach. Eddie was right. I had screwed up. I'd promised myself that I would kill Dimitri if I faced him before we could pursue Robert's solution. It all should have ended today†¦ but I had choked up. Again. I opened my eyes and straightened up, needing to find a new purpose before I burst into tears in the middle of this casino. â€Å"We have to find the others. They're out there unprotected.† It was probably the only thing that could have stopped Eddie's scolding just then. Instinctual duty kicked in. Protect Moroi. â€Å"Can you tell where Lissa's at?† My bond had kept me connected to her during our escape, but I hadn't allowed myself any deeper probing than confirming she was alive and okay. I expanded the link a little further now. â€Å"Across the street. At MGM.† I'd seen the ginormous hotel when we ran into this one but hadn't realized Lissa was there. Now I could feel her, hiding out in a crowd like us, scared but not injured. I would have rather she and the others opted to hang out in the sun, but instinct had driven her to the shelter of walls. Eddie and I spoke no more about Dimitri as we headed out and crossed the busy road. The sky was turning peach, but I still felt secure out there. Far more secure than in the Luxor's hallway. With the bond, I could always find Lissa, and without any hesitation, I led Eddie through MGM's twists and turns–honestly, the layout of these places just got more and more confusing–until we saw Lissa and Adrian standing near a row of slot machines. He was smoking. She spotted me, sprinted over, and threw her arms around me. â€Å"Oh my God. I was so scared. I didn't know what had happened to you guys. I hate that one-way bond.† I forced a smile for her. â€Å"We're fine.† â€Å"In a bruised kind of way,† mused Adrian, strolling over. I didn't doubt it. In the adrenaline of a fight, it was easy to not notice injuries and pain. Later, when the battle lust faded, you started to realize just what you'd put your body through. I was so grateful to see Lissa okay that I missed what Eddie had already noticed. â€Å"You guys, where are Victor and Robert?† Lissa's happy face crumpled, and even Adrian looked grim. â€Å"Damn it,† I said, needing no explanation. Lissa nodded, eyes wide and distraught. â€Å"We lost them.†