Classification of Friends Essay

EEAnyone who has spent time with friends will notice that each one has a special personality all of their own. Friends, have different traits that make up their personalities. A sense of humor, great advice, and honesty are all things that come to mind when you think about a friend. Friends are important to have because they are a backbone when things get tough in life and are always there to love and support. However, anyone who has spent time with friends will notice that each one has a special personality with respect to their honesty, loyalty, and care. There are three major types of friends, which are acquaintances, social friends, and best friends. The first type of friend is simply an acquaintance. This means that you basically only know their name. Not even remembering what they look like. You usually meet these type of friends in school, at work, on the bus, in the gym, or anywhere else you might be. You normally would not mind having a cup of coffee with them, but if anything else came up, you would have no problem parting company. We see many people in the work. Sometimes we speak them compulsorily and we don’t remember even their face. While we are on the bus, we come across some people who get on the bus regulars like us. Therefore we call them as an acquaintance. Someone you know socially or through the business world would be called an acquaintance if you don’t know them well personally. An acquaintance can remain a personal or business contact for you or can become a friend at some point. It depends on the relationship and the people involved. You may have some acquaintances you see over and over throughout your life that you never really get to know. However, they are still good people to know because they can connect you to potential friends. This group includes people who one talks to out of awkward obligation. Observed in their natural habitats of classrooms, bus seats, and the general public acquaintances are random encounters. A person often speaks to this species out of necessity, loneliness, or boredom. For instance, when a person is alone in the bus station with nothing to do, they see a person reading a magazine and decide to make conversation about that magazine. This is not done to bother the other person, and usually both people don’t care but it’s a tool to make a person feel less alone. This  sect of friends does not evolve past a rand om encounter or conversation. Acquaintances include people who one exploits for their own personal gain. The second category of friends is a social partner. One you often meet at social occasions, or one who may accompany you to social gatherings, but with whom you don’t have a personal relationship. This is because they are closer than acquaintances, but nowhere near as close as a true friend. Social partners are usually acquaintances who evolve into â€Å"guest friends† through increased extracurricular activities. You know their name, a little of what they like or dislike, a little of their family history, and usually have several things in common. As the saying goes, â€Å"Birds of a feather flock together,† so too the social partners have to have several things in common with you. No one is going to want to spend any more time than necessary with somebody completely opposite and aggravating to him. Social friends are closer than acquaintances, but nowhere near as close as a true friend. You know much more about each other than you would as mere acquaintances, but much less than if you were personal friends. The last type of friend is the â€Å"best friend.† Normally, you know them the longest and you probably grew up together as children. He or she knows everything about you. Likewise, you know everything about him or her. They are basically like family. You would have no problem if they spent the night at your house. You know each other’s habits and can always tell when there is something wrong. You would not hesitate to share your deepest feelings or thoughts with them. A best friend has no problem correcting you when you are wrong, or being stern with you when you are out of line. They will see you through when others see that you are through. He/she will always be there for you. They are not perfect, but at least they will always look out for you and never do anything intentionally to hurt you. They are there to find national solutions to the many unexpected problems that life presents for us. â€Å"Best friends† are very important to us, because we share with them something which are secrets things that have not be known by anybody. They are very generous people. For example, when we have not enough money, they lend us. When we fall into bad condition, they cheer us up. They support us. In conclusion; we always meet people and classify them in terms of their personalities. There are three types of friends. The first type of friends is simply an acquaintance. The second is the social friend. Finally the best friends. We will always encounter those types of friends in our lives. Every friend has a different type of character. Some friends are helpful while some friends are caring. No matter what traits they have as long as we interest and comfort each other. Friends caneither make or break us.

Character Sketch of Patrick Jane in The Mentalist

Character Sketch – Patrick Jane, The Mentalist Patrick Jane is the primary character on The Mentalist, a dramatic series that uses the homicide team of the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to showcase Jane’s talents. He has a reputation for his observation skills, which are highly useful when questioning suspects and witnesses, even though he can appear unfeeling when interacting with the recently bereaved. He frequently challenges his superiors, and does it in a mocking manner.Jane’s career prior to the CBI gig was as a charlatan, actually. He was the kind of entertainer that people in need actually believe in – they think he can speak to their dead relative and deliver messages. He was really just reading the audience members’ body language, and filling in the blanks from his imagination. In his interactions with his co-workers and suspects he comes off as quirky, but is quite often spot-on. Otherwise the series wouldn’t have lasted four years (so far).His has a great sense of humor, and is mischievous, even though he is still in mourning for his wife and child, who were murder victims. This creates a high degree of tension and may act as Jane’s motivation in his quest to find the murderer in each episode. Jane is a very attractive white male in his thirties. He’s of average height, with a slim build. His curly, light-brown hair is a little too long to be considered professional. While he always wears a jacket and usually wears a vest, he never wears a tie.Jane’s unconventional attire matches his apparent need to flaunt authority by baiting his superiors. When Jane is trying to work out a problem, he lies on the couch in the the detectives’ area, shuts his eyes, and lets the pieces fall into place. Quite often he sits on that same couch to have a cup of tea. We never see him drinking anything else. Jane is a round character, as we see his struggle to deal with his loss, to develop h is relationships with co-workers, particularly Lisbet. She may be, at some point, a love interest.There are flashbacks to illustrate (showing us) the horror he encountered when he discovered his family’s bodies, and we see that he’s getting emotionally healthier, though he still struggles. His character is dynamic in that regard, yet consistent in his appeal, his cockiness and his mockery of those who take themselves too seriously (telling us his personality traits). He is plausible to the degree that it is possible there’s a person like this – he isn’t superhuman, or anything. He’s just so charming, and so sympathetic, that it’s unlikely that any of us will meet anyone like this. It does work, though.

Lessons from Enron for British Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Lessons from Enron for British Business - Essay Example Another accounting gap, which was discovered from the Enron's balance sheet, was the recording of the note receivable as an asset. These were the promises to pay the equity claim in the limited partnerships, which Enron recorded as assets even though GAAP requires subscribed equity to be reported as a contra-stockholders' equity account, rather than as a note receivable. Once it was accused of GAAP violations, Enron announced it would restate the previous 4 As years of financial statements by recording a $1.2 billion reduction in stockholders' equity, adjusting its income statements and balance sheets for the unconsolidated SPEs, and making prior-period proposed audit adjustments and reclassifications that had originally been considered as immaterial. Enron's restatement reduced previously reported net income by $569 million and reduced shareholders' equity by $1.2 billion. Shortly after these announcements, several rating agencies lowered Enron's long-term debt to below-investment grade, and Dynegy terminated its proposed merger agreement with Enron. In December 2001, Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Charles Mulford, co-author of The Financial Numbers Game, says, "the accounting model isn't broken, financial reporting just needs some tweaks." The Enron used the most common off balance sheet financing technique. ... Enron's restatement reduced previously reported net income by $569 million and reduced shareholders' equity by $1.2 billion. Shortly after these announcements, several rating agencies lowered Enron's long-term debt to below-investment grade, and Dynegy terminated its proposed merger agreement with Enron. In December 2001, Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Off Balance Sheet Financing: 2nd aspect: Charles Mulford, co-author of The Financial Numbers Game, says, "the accounting model isn't broken, financial reporting just needs some tweaks." The Enron used the most common off balance sheet financing technique. Enron conducted much of its business in these entities that they controlled. They transacted with themselves. That kind of self-dealing allowed them to report profits when they weren't traditionally making a profit." (Cited in Kelcher, 2002) Definition: Off balance sheet usually means an asset or debt or financing activity not on the company's balance sheet. It could involve a lease or a separate subsidiary or a contingent liability such as a letter of credit. (Wikipedia, 2005) Can be explained as the different methods of acquiring capital by a company, which is not stated, on the financial statement of the company. The most commonly used methods of raising money which does not appear on the balance sheet is in the shape of the research and development partnerships, different kinds of lease, and Joint ventures etc. are the common methods used. Most of the companies obtain funds by using their product idea on intelligence and knowledge about any specific field and acquiring the capital from the partner. Since the partner who is providing

Poem Similarities and differences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Poem Similarities and differences - Essay Example he first similarity which comes to the reader is the genre of literature since they are both part of the rich African American heritage that has been given to us. While the poems may be separated by time, they are certainly not separated in terms of the cultural background which is seen in the poems. For example, the role of the father as the supporter of the house despite his anger or frustration at the difficult situation he is placed in and the idea of having little but making do with what you have is obvious in both poems. A further similarity is the idea of love between family members even if that love is not expressed or experienced as it should be in ideal circumstances. However, that becomes another similarity of the poems since neither of the writers is presenting ideal circumstances and in fact, the circumstances are quite hard for the narrators in both poems. Hayden’s narrator has to deal with not understanding the love his father had for him while Giovanni’s narrator has difficulties in understanding why her family fights a lot. The last similarity is that both poems are written from the viewpoint of an adult looking back at childhood but strangely enough, they present a perfectly realistic view of their childhoods without sugar coating the facts. Instead of the idealized image of childhood as being a carefree and happy time, they recognize that they had little to go on and perhaps were not as good to their parents or to their family as they should have been. This also leads us to the differences between the poems as one is more forthright than the other. Giovanni’s poem not only describes a difficult childhood, the poem also describes how others in the future can take a distorted look at her early life. She notes that others coming after her to study her life may say that she had a poor childhood but she herself notes that her childhood was not as bad as future historians may think it to be. On the other hand, Hayden is more concerned about

Sustainability for BMW in the year 2054 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sustainability for BMW in the year 2054 - Essay Example In fact, in the year 1999, four of the world’s ten largest companies belonged to the automotive sector (Clifton 2000, pg 34). In the year 2008, even when America argued about renewable energy and saw it as a fantasy, Germany at the time generated around 14.2% of their electrical power from renewable sources. The country has often been quoted as a leading player in clean technology, and the mix of environmentally friendly technologies. Germany seems to be at the epicenter of the world’s next big industrial revolution, which is the triumph of cheap, clean and sustainable electricity. Therefore, major companies such as BMW and Mercedes have been able to follow suit in the country’s footsteps in Green energy. BMW has been on the leader board of Group Dow Jones sustainability index for the 8th consecutive year. This, therefore, confirms that since the year 2005, BMW has been the world’s most sustainable premium automobile manufacturer. This is intended to continue into the year 2054 because of the fact that the company is an innovative and sustainability is one of its key especially when it comes to innovation. The influence of the country’s policies will also go a long way in ensuring that BMW remains environmentally friendly and sustainable. The future of BMW is bright; the company has been using words such as autonomous as well as electric to describe the characteristic of its cars in the future. The automobile in the year 2050 will automatically be self-driving; BMW has been working on a concept of allowing drivers to cruise along the highways without driver interference. This will be one of the key that will be seen on the roads in the year 2054. Cars will probably need that drivers observe that the motor vehicle does not toggle from one mode to the other, and this can be changed from main road driving to metropolis

Research psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research psychology - Essay Example The feared situations can vary from interpersonal social interactions in small groups to talking to strangers. Performance fears, such as speaking in public, also are common. People with social anxiety disorder either avoid feared situations or experience them with extreme anxiety. Most individuals with the disorder have the more severe, "generalized" type, in which the person has other social fears in addition to the common fear of public speaking. Many researchers have conducted research in the area with varying recommendations. Much has been researched on social anxiety and how it affects peoples’ lives. Usually many researches have looked at the causes of social anxiety and how it could be treated. SARA W.holds that one–fifth of patients with social anxiety disorder also suffers from an alcohol use disorder (AUDs). They have argued that one of the theories that can be attributed to this is the tension reduction theory, which proposes that people with social anxiety use alcohol to alleviate their fears. This expectation that alcohol reduces anxiety may motivate alcohol consumption even if pharmacological studies do not support that assumption. She holds that social anxiety disorder is treatable with both pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Some researchers have also attributed social anxiety disorders to environmental risk factors such as parenting (Ollendick & Hirshfeld-Becker, 2002). Although the role of parenting has emerged as a small but significant risk factor, less research has focused on parent psychopathology. This lack of attention may be due, in part, to the difficulty in separating out genetic contributions from environmental impact. Despite this, there is some evidence that parents with specific disorders contribute significantly to an increased rate of many childhood and adolescence disorders, potentially even within a particular developmental pathway (Stranger 1999; Burstein

Surprise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Surprise - Essay Example This demonstrates Mrs. Louise Mallard damsel in distress constitution of having a weak physical as well emotional state of Mrs. Louise Mallard due to her heart condition. 2. Mrs. Louise Mallard is also an archetype of an opportunist gold digger. She first felt bad when the news of her husband’s death was gently announced to her. She cried and sobbed in her room alone to pretend that the world was about to end. Then her gold digging attitude overcame her – that her husband’s death could bring her freedom and with it money (his estate). At first, she was shy about the idea and realizes that it is inappropriate to think that way. But she just liked the idea of freedom from her husband too much. She was overjoyed with the idea that without her husband, she could now do anything that she wanted and also enjoy the inheritance from her husband. She now would become a truly independent woman. She even whispered to herself â€Å" â€Å"Free, free, free!†Ã‚   She however does not want people to see that she is celebrating with the death of her husband so she feigned her weeping during the wake of her husband just like any gold digg ers would do. 3. Mrs. Louise Mallard’s archetype of a witch that was hit by karma. Witches can look physically beautiful just like Mrs. Louise Mallard but deep inside they are ugly. At first they will prevail just like Mrs. Louise Mallard who have successfully duped people that she was grieving with her husband’s death but in fact she was not. In the end however, karma took over just like witches who are being punished for their bad deeds. The karma happened in an unexpected manner. Mr. Brently Mallard after all did not die from the train crash and was in fact alive. He was mistaken as somebody else and his identity was reported as dead which was reported to this wife. Richard, a friend of Brently Mallard would like to prevent Mrs.

Organizational Change Final Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Organizational Change Final - Assignment Example Apart from the increase in salaries, workers are motivated by various factors such as increased commission, training, freedom to join trade unions, training, gifts, holidays, promotion and increased responsibilities among other factors. On their part, the management team should ensure that employees are involved in the decision making process and that a proper management style is adopted. For example, employees should be provided with a chance to provide feedback on the various issues affecting their organization. In this way, they feel as part and parcel of the entity thus taking every measure to safeguard the image of the company. One of the notable global companies that have been successful in meeting the needs of its consumers at the local and international market is Walmart Stores Incorporation. Walmart Incorporation, a US based firm with over two million employees has not only maintained a strong brand but also it has created a stiff competition in the retail industry. This pap er discusses the strategies that Walmart Company needs to emulate in order to bring change and bring about a transformation in the organization. Company Overview With its headquarters based in Bentonville US, Walmart Company was established in 1962 by Sam Walton. The company started to trade its shares in the New York Stock Exchange in 1972 thus making it to generate significant amount of capital that it used in its expansion strategies. Based on the effective leadership of Robson Walton and Doug McMillon, the chairman and the president respectively, the company has established more than 8,500 stores in 15 countries thus making it to effectively face off it competitors including Tesco and Target Companies. Due to its strong brand image and strong promotional and advertisement strategies, Walmart has continued to enjoy high sales and sustainable profitability. For example, in 2013, it generated total revenue of US$ 469.162 billion while its total net income stood at US$ 16.999Â  bil lion. Similarly, the company total assets in 2013 stood at US$ 203.105Â  billion while the operating income was US$ 27.801Â  billion. Walmart Stores US, the biggest division makes a significant contribution on the company sales. This is based on the establishment of wide range of products that meets high demand as the result of the US high population as well as quality brands that meets the needs of its customers. The three notable outlets that make up Walmart Stores US include Supercentres, Walmart market and Discount Stores (Lichtenstein, 2009). One of the key strategies that have made Walmart to attain a competitive position in the market is its focus of attracting large number of customers from various regions by introducing brands that matches with their cultural background. For example, in its effort to attract the Hispanic communities, the company established the Supermercado de Walmart in 2009 that offers wide range of food products among other brands that are highly deman ded by the community. As a result, the company has maintained a strong positive relationship with the consumers an aspect that has made it to continue enjoying high sales and profits (Sandra and Scott, 1997). Other operating divisions for the company include Vudu, Walmart international, Sam’

Competitor Analysis Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Competitor Analysis - Coursework Example Extended presence through local branch offices present in 350 locations across US, Canada, Japan, UK, Australia and Hong Kong. Availability through phone 24/7, email alerts and information from schwab.com. Products: Includes brokerage accounts (one brokerage account, one organization account), bank checking and brokerage, individual retirement plans (traditional, roth, rollover, custodial, inherited), annuities, business retirement plans, Schwab personal choice retirement account (PCRA), estate planning (one trust account, one estate account, charitable gift account), college (college savings plan, educational savings account, custodial account) and Charles Schwab bank. Employees and programs used: 13,400 full time employees and growth rate of 11.4%. Has an open corporate culture, various work/life and career advancement programs, employee surveys, rewarding work environment, employee stock plans, open door policy and inclusive corporate culture. Employee programs include Schwab university (in house learning resource), formal mentoring program, Women's Interactive Network (WINS, an employee resource group on women's issues), and VisionQuest (to bring together new hires of Schwab as part of employee orientation). IT platforms for CRM: In Fall of 2007, the company adapted the CRM software of Junxure. This software has been built by financial advisors for financial advisors. The system automates critical processes, thus providing a high level of client service and enhancing profitability and productivity. Issues: In 2003 there were certain instances of late mutual fund trading. The issue was fixed by upgrading systems and processes. Gartmore Company background: This independent fund management company has 30 years of experience and works with a strong focus on asset management. Its offices are located in Tokyo, Boston, Madrid and Frankfurt. During 2006 to 2007, the organization received over 40 awards and also the Gold standard award for fund management. The organization operates through investment specialists who work in small teams. Clients and client relationship: Services both retail and institutional clients. Customers are classified and serviced on the basis of their locations in UK, Europe and Japan. In these regions they are further classified as private customers, professional advisors and institutional customers. Products: Offers an array of products and services like the Gartmore Cautious managed fund for pension savers, cash fund, corporate bond fund, China opportunities fund. Emerging markets opportunities fund, European growth fund, European focus fund, global focus fund and a range of MultiManager funds. Its products are classified in distinct categories like Gartmore OEICs (Open Ended Investment companies), Gartmore SICAV (Luxemborg based fund range) and Gartmore Investment trusts (includes a generalist worldwide trust, fledgling trust, European specialist trust and a range of trusts concentrating on smaller firms). Employees: Committed to long term success of employees, such that many of their senior employees are now company owners. IT platform for CRM: The organization has licensed Financial fusion Server SWIFT libraries. This platform provides solutions to retail and e-financial service companies. The Financial Fusion's message broker technology and SWIFT libraries will also translate internal messaging to SWIFT format messaging. This will facilitate Gartmore for application integration and

Arguments for and against GM crops Essay Example for Free

Arguments for and against GM crops Essay GM crops are genetically modified crops that have been genetically enhanced using modern biotechnology to carry one or more beneficial new traits. 1. What is the difference between GM and conventional plant breeding? Conventional plant breeding involves changing the genes of a plant so that a new and better variety is developed. New varieties of plants are bred to suit different climate conditions, improve taste or nutritional value, cope with disease or pests better, or to use water or nutrients more efficiently for example. Breeding using genetic modification (GM) also involves changing the genes of a plant so that a new and better variety is developed. It is done for the same reasons as conventional breeding. The key difference is that instead of randomly mixing genes, which occurs as a result of a sexual cross, a specific gene, which is associated with a desirable trait, is selected and inserted directly into the new plant variety. 1. What is a Pharma crops? Pharma crops are genetically engineered to produce pharmaceutical drugs. Rather than manufacturing such substances by chemical methods, the idea is to turn farmed plants into mini-factories that can mass produce medicines and other chemicals cheaply and much more efficiently. Trials of this technology have used conventional farm plants, such as maize or soya. 1. The GM supporters argue that GM crops: -Help to feed the developing world and this is a social/ economic/ political effect. This is because GM crops help increase the yield of crops for the farmers and thus benefit food distribution and benefit the country’s economy. -Are cost effective and this is social/ economic/ political effects. This is because they become more commercially available and there is wider availability. The seeds also have a resistance to disease and therefore farmers also save on insect resistance. GM crops also lower the costs of production by reducing inputs of machinery, fuel, and chemical pesticides. In addition, due to more effective pest control, crop yields are often higher. -Could benefit human health and this is related to health. This is because GM crops eradicate disease so it therefore does not create human health issues as they can repel viruses and fungi and are less toxic. -Could reduce pesticide and herbicide use and this is environmental, health, social/ economic/ political effects. This is because they have improved traits and therefore are resistant to viruses and fungi. They also increase the yield of crops and thus, do not require herbicides and so reduce costs. -Could help preserve natural habitats is environmental. This is because the efficiency gains from GM crops will place less pressure on wild or natural habitats and thereby help preserves biodiversity. In addition, Eutrophication is prevented as less fertiliser is used. The people against GM claim that: -There will not be enough to feed the world which is health and social/economic/political effects. This is because GM seeds are much more expensive than conventional seeds and therefore means the poor cannot afford them, and thus they cannot be fed. In addition the soybeans, corn, and cotton crops that are mainly produced are not crops that will help feed most of the world. -It could damage organic farmers which are social/ economical/ political effects. This is because organic farmers still spray the bt toxin on the plants whereas GM already have the bt gene encoded in the plant and therefore does not require the toxin. Therefore less people buy the organic produce and buy more of the GM produce. -It could increase herbicide and pesticide use which is environmental, health, social/ economic/ political effects. This is because even though GM plants do use fewer chemicals in the first few years, afterwards they use considerably more chemicals, as was reported in the U. S. In addition with bt corn, it required more pesticide as most pesticides are directed at other corn pests. -It could reduce biodiversity which is environmental. It can do this because it is resistant to viruses, fungi and contains toxins which therefore mean the natural environment affected as the insects and bacterium lose their food source which results in a lesser population and thus, affects the consumers like birds and so on. -It mainly benefits big biotech companies which are social/economical/ political effects. This is because they claim most of the profit for the GM seeds and these companies are also concentrating their efforts in high-volume crops, such as soybeans, corn, and cotton, and not in crops that might help feed the billions of people who live in poor countries. -It raises ethical conflicts over the control of food production which is social/ economical/ political effects. Examples of these are; 1. The possible monopolisation of the world food market by large multinational companies that control the distribution of GM seeds. 2. Using genes from animals in plant foods may pose ethical, philosophical or religious problems. For example, eating traces of genetic material from pork could be a problem for certain religious or cultural groups. 3. Animal welfare could be adversely affected. For example, cows given more potent GM growth hormones could suffer from health problems related to growth or metabolism. 4. New GM organisms could be patented so that life itself could become commercial property through patenting. Show preview only The above preview is un.

Local, National, Private and Global Brand Differences

Local, National, Private and Global Brand Differences Brand has becomes a familiar things toward the consumer, having a brands also help consumers in many ways and anything that was unbranded will going hardly in the market. The brands also could create value on the product. For example, Nike product that a product that could create value among the consumer. Besides that brand also assist the product into numerous ways and also as a legal protection. The product that has a brand will difficult to the other product to copy the product. In addition, brand also could makes sense to understand that branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem. The brand can be variety types. Each of its will have their own style of branding and using their own strategy. The local brand, private brand, national brand, and global brand were the main brand that the manufacturers in all over the world use it. So, it better for the manufacturer to know each of this kind of brand that been use nowadays. Besides that, the strategies that being used of these four brands also will be different. Brand strategy is aimed on influencing people perception about the brand such as they were persuaded to act in a certain manner, for example buying and using the products and services offered by the brand and purchase at a higher price. In addition, most brand strategies aim to persuade people to buy and use by offering them some form of experience. Branding is typically an activity that was undertaken in a competitive environment that aims to persuade people for the brand. Firstly is the national brand. This kind of brand is a brand that circulated throughout the country. The product is only being nationally distributed and marketed. Moreover the national brands are owned and advertised by a manufacturer. National brand also can differ from the local brand or regional brand. In marketing side, this type of brand is more difficult than the local brand. In order to market their product they have to know their consumer very well but it may took a long period of time. The cost also was big. This is because in order to market the national brand they have to know their customer widely. Moreover, this kind of brand will use to market their brand is other country by radio, print and television advertising. The advertisement also can be customized for local and national brands so that the public could get familiar with the brands. Companies which sell national brands count on the reputation of their brands to get the market share. The national brands may appeal the consumer by their brands name. Consumer often looks the brands which are familiar and easy to identify. National brands may play on distrust of regional or private label brands to get consumer to buy them. Its also have to encourage people to ask question, for example the quality of generic or store branded products. Most national brands started with small regional brands then will slowly grew over time. New companies products are constantly being established and some of the company will go on to capture of the market and expand it to a wider area and lastly will become national brands. The example of the product in Malaysia which is from the regional brand and eventually become a national brand is Padini brands This type of brands has to create their own brands strategy in order to make their products being achieved in the market. This national brand has to focus on the brand equity strategy. They have to create a loyal customer and the customer who aware about their brand. Some of the retailer will use the packaging strategy. They will design the unique packaging so that consumer will remembered the brand directly. For example, an Avon product is gaining preferred shelf positions by partnering with retailers and using packaging and displays as part of a marketing. In the new scenario, the national brands equity is often used to endorse a store brand. That could raise the stature of the company brand. Secondly, the local brand. This type of brand is a brand that sold their product or marketed their brands product in a small or restricted geographical area. This type of brand only can found in the one country or region. It may also be a brand that is developed for a specific national market, however the amazing things is the local brand is more often being done by the consumers than by the producers. The local brand is very easily in marketing their products. It was not hard to know their customer because of the area that they have to study about their customer is not wide. The local brand may used many strategy in order to makes their brand is being aware by the consumer. The local brands were a brand that easy to develop. For example of the brand that only famous in the Philippines could survive in the Philippines market. They have used brand strategy by knowing their customer need and want and the relevant brand name according to their culture. The local brand has to create a modified branding if the product that they sell were similar with the other products. The uniqueness of the brand name or sign may attract the consumer attention. The other type of brand product is the private brand. This is the brand where the retailer or the member buys from a manufacturer in bulk and puts its own name on the product. This mare give more advantages on the retailer, such as will give more freedom and flexibility in pricing. Other than that is more control over product attributes and quality, lower selling price and eliminates much of the manufacturers promotional costs. The private brand also gives a benefit to the manufacturer. The private brands provide another outlet for distributing their products or services. By producing the same goods as for their national brand distribution and labelling them with private brands for varies clients, the volume of production is often higher than it would be otherwise. For example of the private brand was Macys. It was recognized as a retail industry leader in developing private brand merchandise that differentiates the assortments in their stores and delivers exceptional value to the customer. Merchandise for each private brand available only at Macys, is developed to appeal to a certain customer lifestyle. The marketing programs also have been supported by creating a precisely defined image. Macys also develops private label goods to meet specific customer needs and fill gaps in the assortment. The strategy that this private brand should use is, firstly the unit of package. This is the strategy that could be developing on this brand. Nowadays it difficult to assign a private label character even though the product have enhance the customer loyalty because of any reason. This kind of product will not qualify as the private brand label. In addition, using the relabeling strategy also can be used. The unit of pack must bear only the brand name of the particular store or any other party the store may choose for its private label programme. Private labels will enhance the profitability by increasing the negotiation power of the retailer and better value that been creates may get the customer loyalty. Global brand can be defined as a brand which perceived to reflect the same set of values around the world. The global brands were more focusing on enduring relationship with consumers across countries and cultures. Nowadays there were many of the global brands was sold in international markets. For example of the global brand are Facebook, Apple, Coca cola, McDonalds and Sony. These brands are selling the similar product in the multiple markets and it also can be considered as successful global brands. These kind of brand also can be easily recognize by the cross cultural of consumer. In addition, there were many advantage of the global brand. Firstly the marketing costs will be lower and then the brand imagery was consistency and being maintained. Furthermore the global brand also have to be variable, it may be differ from country to country. The elements that have to be differ from one place to other place are the corporate slogan, product and services, products names, product feat ures, positioning of the products and the marketing mix also have to be change. The change will may depend on the differences of the language, style of communication, cultural differences, brand development, and consumption patterns. The global brand can use many strategies, for example the broad strategy areas that can be used are the brand domain. These brand domains are experts in one or more of the aspects. In order to used this kind of strategy the person must have an intimate knowledge, not only about the technologies shaping but also the pertinent consumer behaviour and needs. Brand recognition also one of the branding strategies. This kind of strategy was specialists distinguish themselves from competition by raising their profiles among the consumers. It can be use as to convince consumer to showed their brands is different than the other competitor. However brand strategy is not a given and needs to be constantly be reassessed. The brand managers must decide what the best course of action for their brands is in particular markets, based on an analysis of the relevant internal and external influences on the brands. In conclusion there were many differences among the local, private, national and global brand. The people who use any one of the brands have to understand clearly about the brands, so that they can implement many kinds of strategy. Understanding this four types of brand will make the person can decide which one he or she want to used. Any types of brand that being choose must have their own advantages and disadvantages, it depends on the individual to used it and manage the disadvantage that they may face.

Critical Thinking and Business Decisions Essay -- GCSE Business Market

Critical Thinking and Business Decisions Our basic concept of critical thinking is, at root, simple. We could define it as the art of taking charge of your own mind. Its value is also at root simple: "if we can take charge of our own minds, we can take charge of our lives; we can improve them, bringing them under our "self-command" and direction (McCall and Kaplan, 1990)." Of course, this requires that we learn self-discipline and the art of self-examination. This involves becoming interested in how our minds work, how we can monitor, fine tune, and modify their operations for the better. It involves getting into the habit of reflectively examining our impulsive and accustomed ways of thinking and acting in every dimension of our lives and business. Many various "Forms of Thinking" affect the way we rationalize problems and situations. We could approach a problem by utilizing the forms such as in "a logical, scientific, persuasive, or creative fashion (University of Phoenix, 2000)." The way we approach a problem or situation can be and is very important. In addition, all that we do, we do based on some motivations or reasons that are forces which influence our ways of thinking. However, we rarely examine our motivations to see if they make sense. We rarely scrutinize our reasons critically to see if they are rationally justified. "Some of the forces that influence are thinking can be gender, culture, ethnicity, religion, race, economic status, ethics, etc (University of Phoenix, 2000)." As consumers, for example, we sometimes buy things impulsively and uncritically, without stopping to determine whether we really need what we are inclined to buy, whether we can afford it, whether its good for our health, or whether the price is competitive. As parents, we often respond to our children impulsively and uncritically, without stopping to determine whether our actions are consistent with how we want to act as parents, whether we are contributing to their self-esteem, whether we are discouraging them from thinking, or from taking responsibility for their own behavior. The two examples above, illustrate how we could have used a "scientific form of thinking" to come to a conclusion but the "force", whatever it may have been, that influenced that way of thinking, was very strong. The same remains true in business as it pertains to our manageria... ...en seriously, it can transform every dimension of work life: how we formulate rules, how we relate to our employees, how we encourage them to relate to each other, how we cultivate their speaking and listening skills, as well as their decision making skills. Of course, we are likely to make "Critical Thinking" a basic value in work only insofar as we make it a basic value in our lives. "Therefore, to become adept at contemplating critical thinking, we must become committed to thinking critically and reflectively about our own lives and the lives of those around us (Shermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn, 2000)." We must become active, daily, practitioners of critical thought. We must regularly model for our employees what it is to reflectively examine, critically assess, and effectively improve the way we live and think. References Morgan W. McCall Jr. and Robert E. Kaplan, (1990). "Whatever It Takes, Realities of Managerial Decision Making," (New Jersey: Prentice Hall) Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn. (2000). Organizational Behavior. 7th Ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. University of Phoenix, (2000). Critical Thinking: Strategies in Decision Making. (Module) MGT 350.

Malaysia Essay examples -- Knowledge Management

A. INTRODUCTION Malaysia has developed Knowledge Management program since 1957 after Independence Day. In early stage 1970’s development a growth was concentrated in the agriculture and natural resources sectors. The official of Knowledge Economy started a few years ago by Former Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad emphasised the knowledge can growth productivity in Knowledge rich economies. In their speech mentioned skill and speed comes from the depth of knowledge that one has of the different elements and technology capacity can be made to work yield desired result. One of the most important to ensure successful KM an organization needs to encourage individuals in the organization to share not only their explicit knowledge but also the tacit knowledge that they have. Smith (2001) was argued if the management does make clear statement employees are likely to share only explicit knowledge because it is easier to encourage the knowledge. Implementing a KM system can be complex and dynamic, no matter how well planned and developed as it involves people and other organizational factors (Bixler, 2002). B. WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT? Many large, medium and small organizations are now engaging in KM in order to gain a competitive advantage in the market place. KM has a significant influence on the success or failure of organizations. According to Call (2005), many different definitions exist for KM and it is often defined as anything someone or organization wants it to be in order to understand the basis of KM at least a broad definition of knowledge. It is a common belief that by leveraging knowledge, an organization can stay competitive in the more globally oriented market of today. Gartner Group Inc. (1996)... ...iatives have centered on nation building, enhancement of the marketplace, promotion of the workplace, customer care, education, community support and environmental conservation to achieve multiple objectives such as community development, human capital development and environmental conservation. As a long-term business strategy, they will continue to invest in staff development to enhance staff core competencies to sustain superior performance and prepare them for career progression. 3. Overview activity based Knowledge Management approach The focus of the Public Bank’s KM initiatives during 2004 shifted from infrastructure development to the more challenging task of embedding knowledge processes within the Bank’s business process operations. Latest KM initiatives activity was launched in order to make KM a natural part of all employees daily activities.

The Western Formula Essay -- essays research papers

A seemingly traditional approach towards the Western frontier is the reason for John Cawelti's assessment from The Six-Gun Mystique. His description of the Western formula being 'far easier to define than that of the detective story'; may clearly be a paradigm for many authors, but not particularly for Stephen Crane. The standards Cawelti has set forth for a successful Western is quite minimal by thought, but at the same time relevant. Crane signifies a different perspective to these standards. Crane's thoughts for the use of the Western formula are just approaches towards the west, from the introductory setting to the coarse grin one cowboy would make towards another. These do not in fact relate to Cawelti's Western formula. Crane's deviation from the formula western signifies his deeper approach towards issues such as human existence and morality—the ethical code that we follow for success. Crane perhaps does this because he personally finds more significance in the inner mea ning of an issue rather than its surfacing argument. Cawelti's Western formula holds a strong assumption that men are assertive and women are insignificant. He is standardizing the black and white of the West. There is an unequivocal struggle between good and evil—and guns and violence can only solve that. Jane Tompkins standpoint on a Western seems to be a middle ground between Cawelti and Crane. She recognizes that violence is a central theme to a Western, but as well explains how we think of violence. In this day of age, we as a society have prohibited violence as a means of solving problems—Crane does not directly follow this in his stories, but definitely questions it. Cawelti on the other hand marks violence as the only answer—another black and white circumstance. 'This radical discrepancy between the sense of eroding masculinity and the view of America as a great history of men against the wilderness has created the need for a means of symbolic expression of masculine potency in an unmistakable way. This means is the gun, particularly the six-gun'; (Crane 299). Tompkins makes us aware that a stereotypical Western will hold two men as the key factors and a struggle between them. Where Crane tries describing macho cowboys in 'The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky,'; he directs more of the theme towards the role of a woman and how it plays agains... ...r, no struggle between evil and good contradicts the formula western. This was not a black and white, hero and villain situation, rather an annoyance. The entire story had complete irrelevance to a stereotypical Western except for the fact that there were three daughters of the hotel owner, Scully, and they made food. That could be the only potential relation to Cawelti's feel on womens' insignificance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It seems that Tompkins is the interpreter between Crane and Cawelti. Cawelti defines the standards and Crane seems to contradict them. Tompkins jumps in and explains what Crane has done and why it is not done like Cawelti. Now she does not directly acknowledge either writer, but clearly works for both. 'So instead of offering you a moral, I call your attention to a moment of righteous ecstasy, the moment when you know you have the moral advantage of your adversary, the moment of murderousness. It's a moment when there's still time top stop. There's still time to reflect, there's still time to recall what happened in High Noon, there's still time to say: 'I don't care who's right or who's wrong. There has to be some better way to live'; (Tompkins 239).

Case Study of Architect Abdul Harris Othman

THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISMIntroductionAbdul Harris Othman was born in Pokok Sena, Kedah on 4th April 1957. He grew up in Jitra, Kedah and started to prosecute his survey in Australia in 1975 after he won the Colombo Plan Scholarship. He returned to Malaysia after 10 old ages to function the state. He has designated as Principal designer of KLCC and the designer of record for Petronas Twin towers in the twelvemonth of 1992. Armed with these experiences, he established his ain architectural pattern with the aim to supply first architectural and urban design services. Designed by Abdul Harris Othman, the Serendah House is located at the Serendah territory, Rawang in Malaysia. The house attempts to make a new genre for residential architecture that meets the modern modern-day demands of client but at the same clip presents the state heritage and individuality. This house has nominated for several awards globally such as the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for 2005-2007 rhythm and the ARCASIA Gold Medal Award 2003 This paper attempts to convey an apprehension of the architect’s architectural theory through the observation and analysis of Serendah Houe. Using this architecture as primary text, this undertaking is to analyse and analyze the Serendah House in relation to its relevant architectural theories, societal, cultural and rational context.AnalysisClimateThe Serendah House is located at the border of a golf class, next to a wood modesty. Situating in the thick of a wood hill, the design has a great potency in incorporating the climatic factors into its spacial and massing planning. First and first, the major infinites in the house such as the chief deck, life and dining country and the maestro sleeping room are designed confronting to west to capture the green position and the beauty of the Sun set. We have known that the long facade of a edifice facing to east and west will increase the heat addition of the house. However, the west side of the selected site is surrounded by abundant of trees. The designer used the advantage of the site to orientate most of the major infinites confronting west to border a romantic position to the house. Due to the ideal geographical contour, the trees surrounded besides act as the shading devices for infinites like maestro sleeping room, gallery and the chief deck. For the facade confronting east which is non covered by trees, the designer has minimized the gaps to cut down heat addition into the house. Despite the assistance of the bing trees, the design of the roof construction with deep roof eaves, wickets, louvres and operable folding door at the facade besides provide shade over Sun yet let indirect natural visible radiation to perforate the interior infinites. The living country, dining country, chief deck, gallery and maestro sleeping rooms are besides designed to be unfastened or with big gaps to catch the prevailing air current, therefore the house gets first-class airing. The house was designed around the natural contour and bing trees. Assortment of gaps, Windowss timber wickets, roof spreads and louvres that positioned to be confronting the prevailing zephyr provide maximal transverse airing while the hot air will be drawn upwards, to be dispelled through the air current tower. The suites in the house are stacked up non merely for the intent of stack consequence airing but besides to cut down the impact to the wood. Sometimes, the house will acquire excessively blowy at the hillside during dark clip as the chief infinites are confronting the optimal air current way. The encircled trees are happened to be the natural parka at this point. Besides, the designer has intelligently integrated the benefit of the site contour in be aftering the drainage of the house. The broad overhang eaves aid to cast the rain H2O and the deep angle roof directs the rain H2O to the margin without the usage of troughs into the wood, reduced the impact of building to the environing wood. The designer has designed a roof garden extension with a studio infinite below it for the house. The green roof is non merely a great chilling device for the studio below ; it is besides an attack in returning the green land to the nature.ClientThe client of the Serendah house influenced the design of the house physically and spiritually. The client, Nor Aliza Abu Bakar is an creative person with strong sensitiveness to her Malays tradition and Muslim roots, a modern yet dynamic concern adult female. To do this architecture more interesting is that the client besides happened to be the married woman of the designer. Both of them shared a batch of similarities that influenced the design of the house. The purpose of the design purpose is to make a separation between the â€Å"real universe † and the â€Å"illusion† . Harmonizing to the perceptual experience of the client, her ‘real world’ is her private universe and female parent nature whereby the ‘ill usion’ is mentioning to the mundane, public, work, pandemonium and day-to-day swot. In accomplishing the construct of the client, the entryway door, tower and walls at the signifier a symbolic and physical boundary between the two universes. The heavy mass entryway tower contrasts with the visible radiation and aired atmosphere inside, supplying a feeling of come ining the private kingdom for the client. The openness interior infinites that exposed to the beauty of the nature blurred the boundaries between interior and outside, so the client can be in touch with the nature peacefully, reminding her fugitive presence in this planet. In order to heighten the major infinites quality, the private infinites that ruling the private activities of the client such as maestro sleeping room and studio for the client are exposed to the juicy verdure positions. As the client is an creative person, she is able to work in her studio that surrounded by verdure position, as a manner to acquire inspiration. The privateness of the client is concerned while be aftering the layout of the house. Due to the topography contour which is at the border of a hill side confronting the jungle, the client can bask different beds of forest position while standing in different place in the house. The upper portion of the house offers a dramatic distant wood position and it is continuously cooled by the prevailing zephyr, picturing a restful atmosphere while the private infinites such as the maestro sleeping room and studio are positioned at the lower land exposed to the nearest wood positions, offering the closest existent nature image to the client. Therefore, the noise from the exterior, public and semi-private country of the house at the upper land floor degree ( entrance degree ) can be minimize to the lower limit through the well-designed spatial layout, meanwhile it meets the construct of ‘real world’ and ‘illusion’ by the separation of difficult and soft landscape, pub lic and private country. To complement the individuality of the client, the designer borrowed the infinites such as ‘serambi’ the gallery, ‘pangkin’ the raised platform and ‘para’ ventilated kitchen shelves from the traditional slang campong house into the Serendah House. The ground of making that is because the designer and client both have a common apprehension towards their civilization and background. Hence the design of the house must be relevant to their Malayans civilization yet run into their modern life style and needs as to supply the sense of belonging.TheoriesBased onThe Phenomenon of Place by Christian Noberg-Schulz, architecture should hold the ability to do the environment meaningful through the creative activity of specific topographic points. ( Norberg-Schulz, 1995 ) The Serendah House can be defined as a meaningful topographic point for the client as it is her escape path for her day-to-day hustle modus operandi. The designer has designed harmonizing t o the human experience alternatively of barely functional agreement of infinites. The client’s needs, her backgrounds and her thought have been taken into consideration in making a piece of architecture that belongs to her but non merely a conventional house. The ‘genius loci’ of the Serendah House introduced the spirit of a Malayan house that situated at the hill side exposed to the forest positions. The designer to the full utilized the advantage of site in making the religious topographic point for the client by unfastened up the position to the tropical alcoholic verdure, bring in the female parent nature into the house. One of the maestro jury fromGold Medal, ARCASIA Award 2003has explained that: â€Å"This house has a strong physical presence. But at the same clip it has blended harmoniously with the cragged nature of the site and surroundings†¦the sensitiveness towards different spacial elements are all manifested into a fantastic expression† The Serendah House enhances the spirit of nature scene, denotes a life to the hilly side by infixing the client’s experience into it. In order to make sense of topographic point for the client, the designer has meticulously positioning every infinites in the house based on the clime, societal and cultural context. The distant hills and verdure provide ocular pleasance while the zephyr gives alleviation from the energy salvaging run downing humidness of the metropolis. The silence of the wood is a great assistance for relaxation. The designer has successfully gives the infinite a specific character. When the client lives indoors, she will be able to orientate herself, and has individuality herself with the environment. The client is able to orientate herself, has individuality about how she is in the topographic point. As an creative person, the house is designed in such manner that allowed her to prosecute her ain ‘private’ universe closest to the Mother Nature. T he client herself stated that the house has a harmonious balance and trade with paradoxes. It is cosmopolitan yet personal, non intrusive and non overpowering. She is satisfied as the house met her demands both spiritually and functionally. Based on the Prospects for a Critical Regionalism by Kenneth Frampton, intercrossed universe civilization will merely came into being through a cross fertilisation between frozen civilization on the one manus and cosmopolitan civilisation on the other. ( Frampton, 1995 ) Therefore, in denoting a new genre of Malayan lodging architecture, Harris has blended the state heritage individuality into the design while accommodating the modern-day societal demands of a house. He believes that a good piece of architecture in this epoch should be able to talk a local yet cosmopolitan linguistic communication. For Serendah House, it deals with the paradoxes. From the transmutation of the stiff concreteness at the entryway tower to the interior dynamic infinites with openness program reveal the combination of the attacks of the designer in uniting the slang and modern architecture together. The usage of concrete construction for the tower and chief construction reveals the cosmopolitan linguistic communication for modern-day architectural stuffs while the lumber construction represents the tropical civilization scene of the house in Malaysia. Critical regionalism suggests the usage of local stuffs and craftmanship, and reactivity to visible radiation and and clime. In this instance, the designer has extensively used the local stuffs such as chengal lumber, ,resak lumber, belian lumber herpes zosters wood, and sand rock slate floors to showcase the presence of the house in response to the tropical scene. He has the designer has intelligently integrated the local stuffs with modern lodging architecture that response to climatic factors. The incursion of natural visible radiation and cross airing through the lumber wickets, lourves and turn uping door show the integrating of basic cardinal elements rule of the peculiar site in farther enhancing that the design is a site-specific architecture. The house is non intended to simply denote the slang ; it does combined interaction of clime, civilization and trade that express the critical regional individuality.Discussion and DecisionSerendah House has no uncertainty in stand fori ng its designing designer, Abdul Harris Othman. Overviewing from his childhood background, educational exposure and working experiences, the award winning Serendah House shows his architectural perceptual experience and theories towards architecture today. From the analysis of the external contributing above, the attacks of the designer in planing the Serendah House have been implemented exhaustively from climatic facet, the demands of clients, contextual and senses facets. It is decidedly a state house that represents the Malaysia context architecture yet non abandoning the cognition that he learned from the West about the modern architecture theory. The house might hold paradoxes in uniting the modern and common architecture. At the first glimpse, one might experience it looks excessively traditional or symbolical to Malay’s common architecture while most lodging these yearss have taken the modern modern-day subject to their place redevelopment design and the traditional elements of the state are hardly seeable except in the types of ornaments used within the place itself in Malaysia. The signifier of the roof of the Serendah house is chiefly influenced by the architect’s background that exposed to a batch of transverse civilization tradition such as Bidayuh and Thai. Through his extensively travel experience, he besides aware the transmutation of modern architecture and the importance of cultural individuality of a state. His sensitiveness towards cultural context inspires him to come across with a design that fulfills the modern and cultural heritage individuality. Our ain state tends to pretermit the ain unique individuality by seting the postmodern design construct without sing whether it is contextually suited or non. In fact, architecture in Malaysia or in tropical regional context should be incorporating the modern functional design yet uniting with the local context individuality. The hybridisation of the functional modern design standards and the spirit of the contextual siteshould be farther heightening in the lodging architecture in Malaysia. The signifier of the Serendah House might be non every bit appealing as other lodging design, but its meaning evokes the liquors of the tropical alcoholic forest Malaysia context that able to remind one’s presence in the planet when you been to the house. Harris has taken a great enterprise in conveying a new coevals of Malaysia residential architecture which can be identified globally as a great piece of Malaysia Architecture but non simply a great piece of architecture. The construct ofmastermind venueis exellently adapted. MentionsAndo, T. ( 1995 ) . Toward New Horizons In Architecture. In K. Nesbitt,Speculating A New Agenda For Architecture: An Anthology of Architectural Theory 1965-1995( pp. 458-461 ) . New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Chan, E. J. ( 2013, June 28 ) .Architechnique Theme for DaATUM: KL 2013. Retrieved from The Edge Malaysia: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.theedgemalaysia.com/property/243348-architechnique-theme-for-datum-kl-2013.html Davies, C. ( 2011 ) . Chapter4: Space. In C. Davies,Thinking About Architecture: An Introduction to Architectural Theory( pp. 62-81 ) . London: Laurence King Publishinhg. Frampton, K. ( 1995 ) . Propects For A Critical Regionalism. In K. Nesbitt,Speculating A New Agenda For Architecture: An Anthology of Architecture Theory 1965-1995( pp. 470-481 ) . New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Norberg-Schulz, C. ( 1995 ) . The Phenomenon of Place. In K. Nesbitt,Speculating A New Agenda For Architecture: An Anthology of Architectural Theory 1965-1995( pp. 414-425 ) . New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Powell, R. ( 2008 ) . Serendah House. In R. Powell,The New Malaysian House( pp. 206-215 ) . Hong Kong: Periplus Editions ( HK ) Ltd. Group, R. H. ( 2013 ) .RDA Harris Architects+Urban Designers. Kuala Lumpur: RDA Harris International. Serendah House, Serendah, Malaysia. ( n.d. ) . Retrieved from RDA Harris Design Group: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.rdaharrisdesign.com/r7.html Traditional Home Design Gets A Modern Twist by RDA Harris International. ( n.d. ) . Retrieved from Habitat: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.habitat-my.com/index.php/design-stories-page/12-article-type/bungalow/170-traditional-home-design-gets-a-modern-twist-by-rda-harris-international? xpert=off

Donald Duk Essay

Donald Duk is the story of a young man coming to terms of his identity as an American with Chinese descent and heritage. Donald felt that most Americans are prejudiced against Chinese so if he were to become American, he should reject his Chinese identity. Yet, at home, his parents also detest American culture. He began to be interested of his Chinese heritage because of the Central Pacific Railroad, which is a part of the Transcontinental Road built mostly by the Chinese immigrants. Upon reading Donald Duk, the interesting points of research include the immigration of Chinese to the United States, the reaction of Americans to immigration as well as the existence of racism and the way in which new generations of Chinese-Americans deal with issues of culture and identity. Outline for the Paper I. Reactions and thoughts on â€Å"Donald Duk† A. Responses to â€Å"Donald Duk† B. Literary Value of â€Å"Donald Duk† II. Issues Dealt with by â€Å"Donald Duk† A. Identity Crisis B. Chinese Immigration C. Racism in the United States Conclusion: How young Chinese-Americans in the United States Deal with identity and cultural issues. Annotated Bibliography Chao, R. K. (2003). Extending Research on the Consequences of Parenting Style for Chinese Americans and European Americans. Child Development, 72 (6), 1832-1843. Chinese parents do not know how to deal with the pressures and identity problems that beset their children. This journal article explores the issue and provides helpful recommendation for Chinese-American families. Chin, K. (1999). Smuggled Chinese: Clandestine Immigration to the United States. New York: Temple University Press. This book chronicles the history of Chinese immigration to the United States. What the immigrants did in the US and how they were brought there. This book can help provide background information about Chinese immigration. Chinese American Citizens Alliance. (2008). 65th Anniversary of Repeal of Chinese Exclusion Act. Retrieved 9 February 2009 from http://www. cacanational. org/. The Chinese Americans Citizens Alliance is a good source of facts and data concerning the experiences of Chinese Americans in contemporary United States. In addition to this, they may also have historical background and further information, which may serve as primary data for research. Rothstein, E. (2008). Museum Review: Seattle Asian Museum Moves Around the Corner and Into Its Identity. The New York Times, May 31, 2008. Retrieved 8 Feb 2009 http://www. nytimes. com/2008/05/31/arts/design/31muse. html? scp=2&sq=chinese%20american%20identity&st=cse. This museum review presents some information about Chinese and their role in the development of Seattle. The museum and the article, too, helps one understand the accomplishments of Chinese and Asians in the United States.

The Indigo Spell Chapter Twenty-One

SOME PART OF ME BEGGED FOR there to be a mistake. I watched the footage three more times, tossing crazy theories around in my head. Maybe Master Jameson had a twin who wasn't a fanatic who hated vampires. No. The video didn't lie. Only the Alchemists did. I couldn't ignore this. I couldn't wait. I needed to resolve this immediately. If not sooner. I sent Marcus a text as soon as my plane was on the ground: We meet tonight. No games. No runaround. TONIGHT. There was no response from him by the time I got back to my dorm. What was he doing? Reading Catcher in the Rye again? If I'd known what dive he was holed up in, I would've marched over there right then. There was nothing I could do but wait, so I called Ms. Terwilliger both as a distraction and to buy some freedom. â€Å"Nothing to report,† she told me when she answered. â€Å"We're still just watching and waiting – although, your extra charm is almost complete.† â€Å"That's not why I'm calling,† I said. â€Å"I need you to get me a curfew extension tonight.† I felt bad using her for something totally unrelated, but I had to do this. â€Å"Oh? Are you paying me an unexpected visit?† â€Å"Er – no. This is for something else.† She clearly thought that was funny. â€Å"Now you use my assistance for personal matters?† â€Å"Don't you think I've earned it?† I countered. She laughed, something I hadn't heard from her in a while. She agreed to my request and promised to call the dorm's front desk right away. As soon as we hung up, my phone chimed with the expected message from Marcus. All the text contained was an address that was a half hour away. Assuming he was ready for me now, I grabbed my messenger bag and got on the road. In light of my past meetings with Marcus, I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd led me to a department store or karaoke bar. Instead, I arrived at a vintage music shop, the kind that sold vinyl records. A large CLOSED sign hung on the door, emphasized by dark windows and an empty parking lot. I got out of my car and double-checked the address, wondering if my GPS had led me astray. My earlier zeal gave way to nervousness. How careless was this? One of Wolfe's first lessons was to avoid sketchy situations, yet here I was, exposing myself. Then, from the shadows, I heard my name whispered. I turned toward the sound and saw Sabrina materialize out of the darkness, carrying a gun as usual. Maybe if I showed her the one in my glove compartment, we could have a bonding moment. â€Å"Go around back,† she said. â€Å"Knock on the door.† Without another word, she returned to the shadows. The back of the building looked like the kind of place that screamed mugging, and I wondered if Sabrina would come to my aid if needed. I knocked on the door, half expecting some kind of speakeasy situation where I'd be asked for a password like â€Å"rusted iguana.† Instead, Marcus opened the door, ready with one of those smiles he kept hoping would win me over. Strangely, tonight it put me at ease. â€Å"Hey, gorgeous, come on in.† I stepped past him and found we were in the store's back room, which was filled with tables, shelves, and boxes of records and cassette tapes. Wade and Amelia stood against a wall in mirrored stances, their arms crossed over their chests. Marcus shut the door behind me and locked it. â€Å"Glad to see you back in one piece. Judging from your text – and your face – you found something.† All the rage I'd been holding in since my discovery came bursting out. I retrieved my laptop from my bag and had to resist the urge to slam it against a table. â€Å"Yes! I can't believe it. You were right. Your insane, far-fetched theory was right. The Alchemists have been lying! Or, well, some of them. I don't know. Half of them don't know what the other half's doing.† I expected some smug remark from Marcus or at least an â€Å"I told you so.† But that handsome face was drawn and sad, reminding me of the picture I'd seen of him and Clarence. â€Å"Damn,† he said softly. â€Å"I was kind of hoping you'd come back with a bunch of boring video. Amelia, go swap with Sabrina. I want her to see this.† Amelia looked disappointed to be sent away, but she didn't hesitate to obey his order. By the time Sabrina came back in, I had the video cued up to the correct time. They gathered around me. â€Å"Ready?† I asked. They nodded, and I could see a mix of emotions in all of them. Here it was, the conspiracy theory they'd all been waiting to prove. At the same time, the implications were staggering, and the three of them were well aware of how dangerous what they were about to see could be. I played the video. It was only a few seconds long, but they were powerful ones as that bearded figure appeared on the screen. I heard an intake of breath from Sabrina. â€Å"It's him. Master Jameson.† She looked between all our faces. â€Å"That's really the Alchemist place? He's really there?† â€Å"Yes,† said Wade. â€Å"And that's Dale Hawthorne with him, one of the directors.† That triggered a memory. â€Å"I know that name. He's one of Stanton's peers, right?† â€Å"Pretty much.† â€Å"Is it possible she wouldn't know about a visit like this?† I asked. â€Å"Even at her level?† It was Marcus who answered. â€Å"Maybe. Although, walking him right in there – even to the secure level – is pretty ballsy. Even if she doesn't know about the meeting, it's a safe bet others do. If it were completely shady, Hawthorne would've met him off-site. Of course, the secure list means this wasn't out in the open either.† So, it was possible Stanton hadn't lied to me – well, at least not about the Alchemists being in contact with the Warriors. She'd certainly lied about the Alchemists knowing about Marcus since he'd said he was a notorious figure to most higher-ups. Even if she was ignorant about Master Jameson, it didn't change the fact that other Alchemists – important ones – were keeping some dangerous company. Maybe I didn't always like their procedures, but I'd desperately wanted to believe they were doing good in the world. Maybe they were. Maybe they weren't. I just didn't know anymore. When I dragged my eyes from the frozen frame of Master Jameson, I found Marcus watching me. â€Å"Are you ready?† he asked. â€Å"Ready for what?† He walked over to another table and returned with a small case. When he opened it, I saw a small vial of silver liquid and a syringe. â€Å"What is – oh.† Realization hit me. â€Å"That's the blood that'll break the tattoo.† He nodded. â€Å"Pulling the elements out creates a reaction that turns it silver. It takes a few years, but eventually, the gold in your skin will fade to silver too.† All of them were looking at me expectantly, and I took a step back. â€Å"I don't know if I'm ready for this.† â€Å"Why wait?† asked Marcus. He pointed at the laptop. â€Å"You've seen this. You know what they're capable of. Can you keep lying to yourself? Don't you want to go forward with your eyes open?† â€Å"Well . . . yes, but I don't know if I'm ready to have some strange substance injected into me.† Marcus filled the syringe with the silver liquid. â€Å"I can demonstrate on my tattoo if it'll make you feel better. It won't hurt me, and you can see that there aren't any dire side effects.† â€Å"We don't know for sure that they've done anything to me,† I protested. He had a logical argument, but I was still terrified of taking this step. I could feel my hands shaking. â€Å"This could be a waste. There may be no group loyalty compulsion in me.† â€Å"But you also don't know for sure,† he countered. â€Å"And there's always a little loyalty put in the initial tattoo. I mean, not enough to make you some slave robot, but still. Wouldn't you feel better knowing everything's gone?† I couldn't take my eyes off the needle. â€Å"Will I feel any different?† â€Å"No. Although you could walk up to someone on the street and start telling them about vampires.† I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. â€Å"Then you'd just get thrown into a psych ward.† Was I ready for this? Was I really going to take the next step into becoming part of Marcus's Merry Men? I'd passed his test – which he'd been right about. Clearly, this group wasn't useless. They had eyes on the Alchemists and the Warriors. They also seemingly had the Moroi's best interests at heart. The Moroi – or, more specifically, Jill. I hadn't forgotten Sabrina's offhand remark about the Warriors being interested in a missing girl. Who else could it be but Jill? And did this Hawthorne guy have access to her location? Had he passed it on to Master Jameson? And would this information put those around her at risk, like Adrian? They were questions I didn't have the answers to, but I had to uncover them. â€Å"Okay,† I said. â€Å"Do it.† Marcus didn't waste any time. I think he was afraid I'd change my mind – which, perhaps, was not an unfounded fear. I sat down in one of the chairs and tipped my head to the side so that he'd have access to my cheek. Wade gently held my head with his hands. â€Å"Just to make sure you stay still,† he told me apologetically Before Marcus started, I asked, â€Å"Where'd you learn to do this?† His face had been solemn with the task ahead, but my question made him smile again. â€Å"I'm not technically tattooing you, if that's what you're worried about,† he said. I was actually worried about a lot of things. â€Å"These are just some small injections, just like being re-inked.† â€Å"What about the process itself? How'd you find out about it?† It was probably a question I should have asked before I sat down in this chair. But I hadn't expected to be doing this so soon – or suddenly. â€Å"A Moroi friend of mine theorized about it. I volunteered to be a guinea pig, and it worked.† He switched to business mode again and held up the needle. â€Å"Ready?† I took a deep breath, feeling like I was standing on the edge of a precipice. Time to jump. â€Å"Go ahead.† It hurt about as much as re-inking did, just a number of small pricks on my skin. Uncomfortable, but not really painful. In truth, it wasn't a long process, but it felt like it took forever. All the while, I kept asking myself, What are you doing? What are you doing? At last, Marcus stepped back and regarded me with shining eyes. Sabrina and Wade smiled too. â€Å"There you go,† Marcus said. â€Å"Welcome to the ranks, Sydney.† I took my compact out of my purse to check the tattoo. My skin was pink from the needle's piercing, but if this process continued to be like re-inking, that irritation would fade soon. Otherwise, the lily looked unchanged. I also didn't feel that changed on the inside. I didn't want to storm the Alchemist facility and demand justice or anything like that. Taking him up on his dare to tell an outsider about vampires was probably my best bet to see if my tattoo had been altered, but I didn't really feel like doing that either. â€Å"That's it?† I asked. â€Å"That's it,† Marcus said. â€Å"Once we get it sealed, you won't have to worry about – â€Å" â€Å"I'm not getting it sealed.† All those smiles vanished. Marcus looked confused, as though he might have misheard. â€Å"You have to. We're going to Mexico next weekend. Once that's done, the Alchemists won't ever be able to get to you again.† â€Å"I'm not getting it sealed,† I repeated. â€Å"And I'm not going to Mexico.† I gestured toward my laptop. â€Å"Look what I was able to pull off! If I stay where I'm at, I can keep finding out more. I can find out what else the Alchemists and Warriors are doing together.† I can find out if Jill is in danger. â€Å"Getting permanently marked and becoming an outcast kills all those opportunities for me. There's no going back after that.† I think Marcus almost always got his way, and this new development totally threw him off. Wade took up the argument. â€Å"There's no going back now. You're leaving a trail of bread crumbs. Look at what you've done. You already made inquiries about Marcus. Even if you haven't gotten super-friendly with the Moroi, the Alchemists still know you spend a lot of time with them. And one day, someone may realize you were there when the data was stolen.† â€Å"No one knows it was stolen,† I said promptly. â€Å"You hope they don't,† corrected Wade. â€Å"These little things are enough to raise red flags. Keep doing more, and you'll make it worse. They'll finally notice you, and that's when it'll be over.† Marcus had recovered from his initial shock. â€Å"Exactly. Look, if you want to stay where you're at until we go to Mexico, that's fine. Make your peace with it or whatever. After that, you need to escape. We'll keep working from the outside.† â€Å"You can do whatever you want.† I began packing up my laptop. â€Å"I'm going to work from the inside.† Marcus caught hold of my arm. â€Å"You're setting yourself up for a fall, Sydney!† he said sternly. â€Å"You're going to get caught.† I pulled away from him. â€Å"I'll be careful.† â€Å"Everyone makes mistakes,† said Sabrina, speaking up for the first time in a while. â€Å"I'll take that risk.† I slung my bag over my shoulder. â€Å"Unless you guys are going to forcibly stop me?† None of them answered. â€Å"Then I'm going. I'm not afraid of the Alchemists. Thank you for everything you've done. I really do appreciate it.† â€Å"Thank you,† said Marcus at last. He shook his head at Wade, who looked like he wanted to protest. â€Å"For getting the data. I honestly didn't think you'd be able to pull it off. I figured you'd return empty-handed, though I still would've broken the tattoo for you. A for effort, you know. Instead, you just proved what I'd thought before: you're remarkable. We could really use you.† â€Å"Well, you know how to get in touch with me.† â€Å"And you know how to get in touch with us,† he said. â€Å"We'll be here all week if you change your mind.† I opened the door. â€Å"I won't. I'm not running away.† Amelia called goodbye to me when I got into my car, oblivious to the fact that I'd just defied her beloved leader. As I drove back to Amberwood, I was amazed at how free I felt – and it had nothing to do with the tattoo. It was the knowledge that I had defied everyone – the Alchemists, the Warriors, the Merry Men. I didn't answer to anyone, no matter the cause. I was my own person, able to take my own actions. It wasn't something I had a lot of experience with. And I was about to do something drastic. I hadn't told Marcus and the gang because I'd been afraid they really would stop me. When I got back to Amberwood, I went straight to my room and dialed Stanton. She answered on the first ring, which I took as a divine sign that I was doing the right thing. â€Å"Miss Sage, this is unexpected. Did you enjoy the services?† â€Å"Yes,† I said. â€Å"They were very enlightening. But that's not why I'm calling. We have a situation. The Warriors of Light are looking for Jill.† I wasn't going to waste any time. â€Å"Why on earth would they do that?† She sounded legitimately surprised, but if there was one thing in all of this that I believed wholeheartedly, it was that the Alchemists were exceptional liars. â€Å"Because they know if Jill's whereabouts got out, it could throw the Moroi into chaos. Their focus is still on the Strigoi, but they wouldn't mind seeing thing go bad for the Moroi.† â€Å"I see.† I always wondered if she paused to gather her thoughts or if it was simply for effect. â€Å"And how exactly did you learn this?† â€Å"That guy I know who used to be with the Warriors. We're still friendly, and he's been having doubts about them. He mentioned hearing them talk about finding a missing girl that could cause all sorts of trouble.† Maybe it was wrong to drag Trey into this lie, but I seriously doubted Stanton would interrogate him anytime soon. â€Å"And you assume this is Miss Dragomir?† â€Å"Come on,† I exclaimed. â€Å"Who else would it be? Do you know any other Moroi girls? Of course it's her!† â€Å"Calm down, Miss Sage.† Her voice was flat and untroubled. â€Å"There's no need for theatrics.† â€Å"There's a need for action! If they might be on to her, then we need to get out of Palm Springs immediately.† â€Å"That,† she said crisply, â€Å"is not an option. A lot of planning went into getting her to her current location.† I didn't believe that argument for a second. Half our job was doing damage control and adapting to rapidly changing situations. â€Å"Yeah? Well, did you also plan on those psycho vampire hunters finding her?† Stanton ignored the jab. â€Å"Do you have any evidence at all that the Warriors actually have concrete data about her? Did your friend supply you with details?† â€Å"No,† I admitted. â€Å"But we still need to do something.† â€Å"There's no ‘we' here.† Her voice had gone from flat to icy. â€Å"You do not decide what we do.† I nearly protested and then caught myself. Horror set in. What had I just done? My initial intent had been to either get Stanton to take legitimate action or else find out if she might accidentally reveal knowledge of a Warrior connection. I'd thought mentioning Trey would give me valid backup since I could hardly tell her the real reason I feared for Jill. Yet, somehow, I'd gone from a request to a demand. I'd practically yelled an order at her. That wasn't typical Sydney behavior. That wasn't typical Alchemist behavior. What had Wade said? You're leaving a trail of bread crumbs. Was this because I'd broken the tattoo? This was no crumb. This was a full loaf. I was on the verge of insubordination, and my mind could suddenly imagine that list Marcus kept warning about, the one that kept track of every suspicious thing I did. Was Stanton already updating that list right now? I had to fix this, but how? How on earth did I take this back? My mind was racing frantically, and it took several moments for me to calm down and start thinking logically. The mission. Focus on the mission. Stanton would understand that. â€Å"I'm sorry, ma'am,† I said at last. Be calm. Be deferential. â€Å"I'm just . . . I'm just so worried about this mission. I saw my dad at the services, you know.† That would be a fact she could check on. â€Å"You had to have seen how it was that night I left. How bad things are between us. I . . . I have to make him proud. If things fall apart here, he'll never forgive me.† She didn't respond, so I prayed that meant she was listening intently . . . and believing me. â€Å"I want to do a good job here. I want to fulfill our goals and keep Jill hidden. But there have already been so many complications no one predicted – first Keith and then the Warriors. I just never feel like she's fully safe now, even with Eddie and Angeline. It eats at me. And – † I was no actress who could muster tears, but I did my best to make my voice crack. â€Å"And I never feel safe. I told you, when I asked to go to the services, how overwhelming it is with the Moroi. They're everywhere – and the dhampirs too. I eat with them. I'm in class with them. Being with other Alchemists this last weekend was a lifesaver. I mean, I'm not trying to dodge my duties, ma'am. I understand we have to make sacrifices. And I've gotten better around them, but sometimes the stress is just unbearable – and then when I heard this thing about the Warriors, I cracked. All I could think about was that I might fail. I'm sorry, ma'am. I shouldn't have flipped o ut on you. I was out of control, and it was unacceptable.† I cut off my rant and tensed as I waited for her response. Hopefully I'd given her enough to dismiss any thoughts of me being a dissident. Of course, I might have just come off as a totally weak and unstable Alchemist who needed to be pulled from this mission. If that happened . . . well, maybe I'd have to take Marcus up on Mexico. Her characteristic pause was especially painful this time. â€Å"I see,† she said. â€Å"Well, I'll take this all into consideration. This mission is of the utmost importance, believe me. My earlier questioning of your information was not some weakening of our resolve. Your concerns have been heard, and I will decide the best course of action.† It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but hopefully she would be true to her word. I really, really wanted to believe she was on the up-and-up. â€Å"Thank you, ma'am.† â€Å"Is there anything else, Miss Sage?† â€Å"No, ma'am. And . . . and I'm sorry ma'am.† â€Å"Your apology is noted.† Click. I'd paced while I'd talked and now stood staring at the phone. A gut instinct told me I really had driven Stanton to take some sort of action. The mystery was whether that action would prove beneficial or catastrophic for me. Falling asleep was difficult after that, and it had nothing to do with Veronica for a change. I was too keyed up, too anxious about what had happened with Marcus and Stanton. I tried to seize that feeling of freedom again, using it to strengthen me. It was only a spark this time, flickering with my new uncertainties, but it was better than nothing. I fell asleep sometime around three. I had a vague sense of a couple hours passing before I was swept into one of Adrian's dreams, back in the reception hall. â€Å"Finally,† he said. â€Å"I almost gave up checking in. I thought you were going to pull an all-nighter.† He'd stopped wearing his suit in these dreams, probably because I always showed up in jeans. Tonight he wore jeans also, along with a plain black T-shirt. â€Å"Me too.† I wrung my hands and began pacing here as well. The nervous energy from my waking self had carried over into the dream. â€Å"A lot of stuff's kind of happened tonight.† The dream felt real, solid. Adrian was sober. â€Å"Didn't you just get back? How much could've happened?† When I told him, he shook his head in amazement. â€Å"Man, Sage. It's all or nothing with you. Never a dull moment.† I came to a halt in front of him and leaned against a table. â€Å"I know, I know. Do you think I just made a huge mistake? God, maybe Marcus was right, and there was some compulsion forcing me to be loyal in the tattoo. I'm free for one hour and completely go over the edge with my superior.† â€Å"It sounds like you covered your tracks,† he said, though a small frown appeared on his face. â€Å"But I would be disappointed if they sent you somewhere less stressful. That seems like it might be the worst-case scenario from everything you said.† I started laughing, but it was the hysterical kind. â€Å"What in the world's happened to me? I was doing crazy stuff way before Marcus broke the tattoo tonight. Meeting with rebels, chasing evil sorceresses, even buying that dress! Yelling at Stanton is just one more thing on a long list of insanity. It's just like I said at Pies and Stuff: I don't know who I am anymore.† Adrian smiled and clasped my hands, taking a few steps toward me. â€Å"Well, first off, I'm the expert in insanity, and this is nothing. And as for who you are, you're the same beautiful, brave, and ridiculously smart caffeinated fighter you've been since the day I met you.† Finally, he put â€Å"beautiful† at the top of his list of adjectives. Not that I should have cared. â€Å"Sweet talker,† I scoffed. â€Å"You didn't know anything about me the first time we met.† â€Å"I knew you were beautiful,† he said. â€Å"I just hoped for the rest.† He always got this glint in his eyes when he complimented my looks, like he was seeing so much more than just my actual appearance. It was disorienting and heady . . . but I didn't mind. And that wasn't the only thing I suddenly found overwhelming. How had he gotten so close to me without me even realizing it? It was like he had secret stealth abilities. His hands were warm on mine, our fingers locked together. I still had remnants of that earlier joy within me, and being connected to him amplified those feelings. The green of his eyes was as lovely as usual, and I wondered if mine had the same effect on him. There was a little amber mixed with the brown that he had once said looked like gold. He's the only one who never tells me to do anything, I realized. Oh, sure, he asked me to do lots of things, often with cajoling and fast talking. But he made no demands on me, not like the Alchemists or Marcus. Even Jill and Angeline tended to preface their requests with, â€Å"You have to . . .† â€Å"Speaking of that dress,† he added, â€Å"I still haven't seen it.† I laughed softly. â€Å"You couldn't handle it.† He raised an eyebrow at that. â€Å"Is that a challenge, Sage? I can handle a lot.† â€Å"Not if our history is any indication. Each time I wear some moderately attractive dress, you lose it.† â€Å"That's not exactly true,† he said. â€Å"I lose it no matter what you're wearing. And that red dress was not ‘moderately attractive.' It was like a piece of heaven here on earth. A red, silky piece of heaven.† I should've rolled my eyes. I should've told him I wasn't here for his personal entertainment. But there was something in the way he was looking at me and something in the way I felt tonight that made me want to see his reaction. Breaking the tattoo hadn't affected anything between us, but it – and the deeds I'd done this weekend – had left me feeling bold. For the first time, I wanted to take a risk with him, despite my usual set of logical arguments. Besides, there was nothing dangerous in letting him look. I manipulated the dream the way he'd taught me. A few moments later, the lacy minidress replaced my jeans and blouse. I even summoned the heels, which bumped my height up. I was still nowhere near as tall as him, but the small boost brought our faces closer together. His eyes widened. Still holding my hands, he took a step back so that he could take in the whole look. There was almost something tangible to the way his gaze swept my body. I could practically feel every place it touched. By the time his eyes reached mine again, my breathing was heavy, and I was acutely aware that there really wasn't that much clothing between the two of us. Maybe there was something dangerous in letting him look after all. â€Å"A piece of heaven?† I managed to ask. He slowly shook his head. â€Å"No. The other place. The one I'm going to burn in for thinking what I'm thinking.† He'd moved toward me again. His hands released mine and moved to my waist, and I noticed I wasn't the only one breathing heavily. He pulled me to him, bringing our bodies together. The world was all heat and electricity, thick with tension that was only one spark away from exploding around us. I was balancing on another precipice, which wasn't easy to do in heels. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and this time I was the one who drew him closer. â€Å"Damn,† he murmured. â€Å"What?† I asked, never taking my eyes off his. He ran his hands over my hips. â€Å"I'm not supposed to kiss you.† â€Å"It's okay.† â€Å"What is?† â€Å"It's okay if I kiss you.† Adrian Ivashkov wasn't easy to surprise, but I surprised him then when I brought his mouth toward mine. I kissed him, and for a moment, he was too stunned to respond. That lasted for, oh, about a second. Then the intensity I'd come to know so well in him returned. He pushed me backward, lifting me so that I sat on the table. The tablecloth bunched up, knocking over some of the glasses. I heard what sounded like a china plate crash against the floor. Whatever logic and reason I normally possessed had melted away. There was nothing but flesh and fire left, and I wasn't going to lie to myself – at least not tonight. I wanted him. I arched my back, fully aware of how vulnerable that made me and that I was giving him an invitation. He accepted it and laid me back against the table, bringing his body down on top of mine. That crushing kiss of his moved from my mouth to the nape of my neck. He pushed down the edge of my dress and the bra strap underneath, exposing my shoulder and giving his lips more skin to conquer. A glass rolled off and smashed, soon followed by another. Adrian broke off his kissing, and I opened my eyes. He had an exasperated look on his face. â€Å"A table,† he said. â€Å"A goddamned table.† A few moments later, the table was gone. I was in his apartment, on his bed, and was glad that I no longer had silverware underneath me. With the venue change complete, his lips found mine again. The urgency in the way I responded surprised even me. I never would've thought myself capable of a feeling so primal, so removed from the reason that usually governed my actions. My nails dug into his back, and he trailed his lips down the edge of my chin, down the center of my neck. He kept going until he reached the bottom of the dress's V-neck. I let out a small gasp, and he kissed all around the neckline, just enough to tease. â€Å"Don't worry,† he murmured. â€Å"The dress stays on.† â€Å"Oh? Is that your decision to make?† â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"You're not losing your virginity in a dream. If that's even possible. I don't want to deal with the philosophical side of it. And besides, there's no need to rush anyway. Sometimes it's worth lingering on the journey for a while before getting to the destination.† Metaphors. This was the cost of making out with an artist. I nearly said as much. Then his hand slid up my bare leg, and I was lost again. Maybe the dress was staying on, but he didn't mind taking liberties with it. That hand slipped under my dress, running along the side of my leg and up to my hip. I burned where he touched me, and everything within me became focused on that hand. It was moving far too slowly, and I grabbed it, ready to urge it on. Adrian chuckled and caught hold of my wrist, pulling my hand away and pinning it down against the covers. â€Å"Never thought I'd be the one slowing you down.† I opened my eyes and met his. â€Å"I'm a quick study.† All that burning and animal need within me must have shone through because he caught his breath and lost the smile. He released my wrist and cupped my face in his hands, bringing his face down only a whisper away from mine. â€Å"Good God, Sydney. You are – † The passion in his eyes turned to surprise, and he suddenly looked up. â€Å"What's wrong?† I asked, wondering if this was some weird part of â€Å"the journey.† He grimaced and began to fade away before my eyes. â€Å"You're being woken up.†