Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 14

â€Å"YOU see,I like James,† Ash said. â€Å"I think he'sa little soft on vermin, but I don't want to seehim in trouble. I certainly don't want to see him dead.† Poppy felt the way she had last night when herbody was starving for air. She was frozen, too stillto breathe. â€Å"I mean, do youwant him dead?† Ash asked, as ifit were the most reasonable question in the world.Poppy shook her head. â€Å"Well, then,† Ash said. Poppy got a breath at last. â€Å"What are you saying?†Then, without waiting for him to answer, she said, â€Å"You're saying that they're going to kill him if theyfind out about me. But they don't haveto find out about me. Unless you tell them.† Ash glanced at his fingernails thoughtfully.. Hemade a face to show that this was as painful for himas it was for her. â€Å"Let's go over the facts,† he said. â€Å"You are, in fact,a former human.† â€Å"Oh, yeah, I was a vermin, all right.† He gave her a droll look. â€Å"Don't take that so seriously. It's what you are now that counts. But Jamesdid, in fact, change you without clearing it with anybody.Right? And he did, in fact, break cover and tellyou about the Night World before you werechanged. Right?† â€Å"How do you know? Maybe he just changed mewithout telling me a thing.† He shook a finger. â€Å"Ah, but James wouldn't dothat. He's got these radical permissive ideas abouthumans having free will.† â€Å"If you know all about it, why ask me?† Poppysaid tensely. â€Å"And if you've got a point-â€Å" â€Å"The point is that he's committed at least two capital offenses. Three, I bet.† He flashed the wild, handsome smile again. â€Å"He must have been in love withyou to have done the rest.† Something swelled in Poppy like a bird trapped inher rib cage and trying to get out. She blurted, â€Å"I don't see how you people can make laws about not falling in love! It's insane.† â€Å"But don't you see why? You're the perfect example. Because of love, James told you and then hechanged you. If he'd had the sense to squash hisfeelings for you in the beginning, the whole thingwould have been nipped in the bud.† â€Å"But what if you can'tsquash it? You can't forcepeople to stop feeling.† â€Å"Of course not,† Ash said, and Poppy stoppeddead. She stared at him. His lips curved and he beckoned to her. â€Å"I'll tellyou a secret. The Elders know they can't really legis late how you feel. What they can do is terrorize youso that you don't dare show your feelings-ideally, so you can't even admit them to yourself.† Poppy settled back. She'd seldom felt so at a loss.Talking to Ash made her head whirl, made her feel as if she were too young and stupid to. be sure of anything. She made a forlorn and helpless gesture. â€Å"Butwhat do I do now? I can't change thepast†¦.† â€Å"No, but you can act in the present.† He jumpedto his feet in a lovely, graceful motion and beganpacing. â€Å"Now. We have to think fast. Presumably everyone here thinks you're dead.† â€Å"Yes, but-â€Å" â€Å"So the answer is simple. You have to get out of jthe area and stay out. Go someplace where youwon't be recognized, where nobody will care ifyou're new or illegal. Witches. That's it! I've got some cross-cousins in Las Vegas that will put you up. Themain thing is to leave now.† Poppy's head wasn't just whirling, it was reeling.She felt dizzy and physically sick, as if she'd juststepped off Space Mountain at Disneyland. â€Å"What? Idon't even understand what you're talking about,†she said feebly. â€Å"‘I'll explain on the way. Come on, hurry! Do youhave some clothes you want to take?† poppy planted her feet solidly on the floor. Sheshook her head to try and dear it. â€Å"Look, I don'tknow what you're saying, but I can't go anywhereright now. I have to wait for James.† â€Å"But don't you see?† Ash stopped his whirlwindpacing and rounded on her. His eyes were green andhypnotically brilliant. â€Å"That's just what you can't do. James can't even know where you're going.† , what?† â€Å"Don't you see?†Ash said again. He spread hishands and spoke almost pityingly. â€Å"You'rethe only thing putting James in danger. As long as you're here, anybody can look at you and put the piecestogether. You're circumstantial evidence that he's committed a crime.† Poppy understood that. â€Å"But I can just wait and James can go away with me. He would wantthat.† â€Å"But it wouldn't work,† Ash said softly. â€Å"It doesn'tmatter where you go; whenever you're together,you're a danger to him. One look at you and anydecent vampire can sense the truth.† Poppy's knees felt weak. Ash spoke soberly. â€Å"I'm not saying that you'll bemuch safer yourself if you leave. You bring your owndanger with you, because of what you are. But aslong as you're away from James, nobody can connect you with him. It's the only way to keep him safe. Do you see?† â€Å"Yes. Yes, I see that now.† The ground seemed tohave disappeared beneath Poppy. She wasfalling,not into music, but into an icy dark void. There wasnothing to hold on to. â€Å"But, of course, it's a lot to expect, to ask you togive him up. You may not want to make that kindof sacrifice-â€Å" Poppy's chin came up. She was blind and empty and giddy, but she spoke to Ash with utter contempt,spitting out the words. â€Å"After everything he sacrificedfor me? What do you think I am?† Ash bowed his head. â€Å"You're a brave one, littledreamer. I can't believe you were ever human.† Then he looked up and spoke briskly. â€Å"So do youwant to pack?† â€Å"I don't have much,† Poppy said, slowly, becausemoving and speaking hurt her. She walked towardthe bedroom as if the floor was covered with broken glass. â€Å"Hardly anything. But I have to write a notefor James.† â€Å"No, no,† Ash said. â€Å"That's the last thing you wantto do. Well, after all,† he added as she swiveledslowly to look at him, â€Å"James being so noble andlovestruck and everything-if you let him knowwhere you're going, he'll come right after you. Andthen where will you be?† Poppy shook her head. â€Å"I†¦ okay.† Still shakingher head, she stumbled into the bedroom.She wasn't going to argue with him anymore, but she wasn't going to take his advice, either. She shut the bedroom door and tried as hard as she could toshield her mind. She visualized a stone wall around her thoughts. Stuffing her sweat pants and T-shirt and whitedress into the duffel bag took thirty seconds. Thenshe found a book under the nightstand and a felt-tippen in the drawer. She tore the flyleaf out of thebook and scribbled rapidly. Dear James, I'm so sorry, but if I stay to explain this to you, I know you'll try to stop me. Ash has made me understand the truth-that as long as I stick around I'mputting your life in danger. And I just can't do that.If something happened to you because of me, I woulddie. I really would. I'm going away now. Ash is taking me somewherefar away where you won't findme. Where they won'tcare what I am. I'll be safe there. You'll be safe here.And even if we're not together, we'll never really beapart. I love you. I'll love you forever. But I have to dothis. Please tell Phil goodbye. Your soulmate, Poppy. She was dripping tears onto the paper as shesigned it.She put the flyleaf on the pillow and went outto Ash. â€Å"Oh, there, there,† he said. â€Å"Don't cry. You'redoing the right thing.† He put an arm around hershoulders. Poppy was too miserable to shrug it off. She looked at him. â€Å"One thing. Won't I be putting youin danger if I go with you? I mean, somebodymight think youwere the one who made me an ille gal vampire.† He looked at her with wide, earnest eyes. They happened to be blue-violet at the moment. â€Å"I'm willing to take that risk,† he said. â€Å"I have alot of respect for you.† James took the stairs two at a time, sending probing thoughts ahead of him and then refusing to believe what his own senses told him. She had to be there. She hadto be†¦. He pounded on the door at the same time as hewas thrusting the key into' the lock. At the same timeas he was shouting mentally. Poppy! Poppy, answer me! Poppy! And then, even with the door flung open and hisown thoughts ricocheting off the emptiness in theapartment, he stilldidn't want to believe. He ran around, looking in every room, his heart thudding louder and louder in his chest. Her duffel bag was gone. Her clothes were gone. She was gone. He ended up leaning against the glass of the livingroom window. He could see the street below, andthere was no sign of Poppy. No sign of Ash, either. It was James's fault. He'd been following his mother's trail all afternoon, from decorating job to decorating job, trying to catch up with her. Only to find,once he did catch up, that Ash was already in Elcamino, and had, in fact, been sent over to James'sapartment hours ago. With a key. putting him alone with Poppy. James had called the apartment immediately. Noanswer. He'd broken all speed limits getting backhere. But he was too late. Ash, you snake, he thought. If you hurt her, if youput one finger on her †¦ He found himself roving over the apartment again,looking for clues as to what had happened. Then, in the bedroom, he noticed something pale against the light brown of the pillowcase. A note. He snatched it up and read it. And gotcolder and colder with every line. By the time he reached the end, he was made of ice and ready tokill. There were little round splashes where the felt-tippen had run. Tears. He was going to break one of Ash's bones for each one. He folded the note carefully and put it in hispocket. Then he took a few things from his closetand made a call on his cellular phone as he was walking down the stairs of the apartment building. â€Å"Mom, it's me,† he said at the beep of an answering machine. â€Å"I'm going to be gone for a few days. Something's come up. If you see Ash, leave me amessage. I want to talk with him.† He didn't say please. He knew his voice was clippedand sharp. And he didn't care. He hoped his tone would scare her. Just at the moment he felt ready to take on hismother and father and all the vampire Elders in theNight World. One stake for all of them. He wasn't a child anymore. In the last week he'dbeen through the crucible. He'd faced death andfound love. He was an adult. And filled with a quiet fury that would destroyeverything in its path. Everything necessary to getto Poppy. He made other phone calls as he guided the Integraswiftly and expertly through the streets of El Camino.He called the Black Iris and made sure that Ashhadn't turned up there. He called several other blackflower dubs, even though he didn't expect to find anything. Poppy had said Ash was going to take her far away. But where? Damn you, Ash, he thought. Where? Phil was staring at the TV without really seeing it.How could he be interested in talk shows or infomercialswhen all he couldthinkabout was his sister?His sister who was maybe watching the same showsand maybe out biting people? He heard the car screech to a stop outside and wason his feet before he knew it. Weird how he wasabsolutely certain of who it was. He must have cometo recognize the Integra's engine. He opened the door as James reached the porch.†What's up?† â€Å"Come on.† James was already heading for the car.There wasa deadly energy in his movements, abarely controlled power, that Phil had never seen before. White-hot fury, leashed but straining. â€Å"What's wrong?† James turned at the driver's side door. â€Å"Poppy'smissing!† Phil threw a wild glance around. There was nobodyon the street, but the door to the house was open.And James was shouting as if he didn't care whoheard. Then the words sank in. â€Å"What do you mean,she's-† Phil broke off and jerked the door to thehouse shut. Then he went to the Integra. James already had the passenger door open. â€Å"What do you mean, she's missing?† Phil said assoon as he was in the car. James gunned the engine. â€Å"My cousin Ash has taken her someplace.† â€Å"Who's Ash?† â€Å"He's dead,† James said, and somehow Phillip knew he didn't mean Ash was one of the walkingdead. He meant Ash was going to bedead, completelydead, at some point very soon. â€Å"Well, where's he taken her?† â€Å"I don't know,† James said through his teeth. â€Å"Ihave no idea.† Phil stared a moment, then said, â€Å"Okay. Okay.† He didn't understand what was going on, but hecould see one thing. James was too angry and toointent on revenge to think logically. He might seem rational, but it was stupid to drive around at fifty five miles an hour through a residential zone with no idea of where to go. It was strange that Phil felt comparatively calmit seemed as if he'd spent the last week being wacko while James played the cool part. But having someone else be hysterical always made Phil golevelheaded. â€Å"Okay, look,† he said. â€Å"Let's take this one step ata time. Slow down, okay? We might be going in exactly the wrong direction.† At that, James eased up on the gas pedal slightly. â€Å"Okay, now tell me about Ash. Why's he taking Poppy somewhere? Did he kidnap her?† â€Å"No. He talked her into it. He convinced her thatit was dangerous for me if she stuck around here. Itwas the one thing guaranteed to make her go withhim.† One hand on the wheel, James fished in his pocket and handed a folded piece of paper to Phil. It was a page torn out of a book. Phillip read thenote and swallowed. He glanced at James, who wasstaring straight ahead at the road. Phil shifted, embarrassed at having intruded on private territory, embarrassed at the sting in his eyes. Your soulmate, Poppy?Well. Well. â€Å"She loves you a lot,† he said finally, awkwardly.†And I'm glad she said goodbye to me.† He folded the note carefully and tucked it under the emergency brake handle. James picked it up and put it in hispocket again. â€Å"Ash used her feelings to get her away. Nobodycan push buttons and pull strings like he can.† â€Å"But why would he want to?† â€Å"First because he likes girls. He's a realDon Juan.†James glanced at Phil caustically. â€Å"And now he's gother alone. And second because he likes to play withthings. Like a cat with a mouse. He'll fool around with her for a while, and then when he gets tired ofher, he'll hand her over.† Phillip went still. â€Å"Who to?† â€Å"The Elders. Somebody in charge somewherewho'll realize she's a renegade vampire.† â€Å"And then what?† â€Å"And then they kill her.† Phil grabbed the dashboard. â€Å"Wait a minute.You're telling me that a cousin of yours is going tohand Poppy over to be killed?† â€Å"It's the law. Any good vampire would do thesame. My own mother would do it, without a second thought.† His voice was bitter. â€Å"And he's a vampire. Ash,† Phil said stupidly. James gave him a look. â€Å"Allmy cousins are vampires,† he said with a short laugh. Then his expression changed, and he took his foot off the gas. â€Å"What's the-hey, that was a stop sign!† Philyelped. James slammed on the brakes and swung into aU-turn in the middle of the street. He ran over somebody's lawn. â€Å"What is it?† Phil said tightly, still braced againstthe dashboard. James was looking almost dreamy. â€Å"I've just realized where they've gone. Where he'd take her. Hetold her someplace safe, where people wouldn't carewhat she was. But vampires wouldcare.† â€Å"So they're with humans?† â€Å"No. Ash hates humans. He'd want to take hersomeplace in the Night World, someplace where he'sa big man. And the nearest city that's controlled bythe Night World is Las Vegas.† Phil felt his jaw drop. Las Vegas? Controlled by theNight World? He had the sudden impulse to laugh. Sure, of course it would be. â€Å"And I always thoughtit was the Mafia,† he said. â€Å"It is,† James said seriously, swerving onto a freeway on-ramp. â€Å"Just a different mafia.† â€Å"But, look, wait. Las Vegas is a big city.† â€Å"It's not, actually. But it doesn't matter anyway. Iknow where they are. Because all my cousins aren'tvampires. Some of them are witches.† Phil's forehead puckered. â€Å"Oh, yeah? And how didyou arrange that?† â€Å"I didn't. My great-grandparents did, about fourhundred years ago. They did a blood-tie ceremonywith a witchfamily. The witches aren't my realcous ins; they're not related. They're cross-cousins.Adopted family. It probably won't even occur tothem that Poppy might not be legal. And that'swhere Ash would go.† â€Å"They're cross-kin,† Ash told Poppy. They weredriving in the Rasmussen's gold Mercedes, which Ashinsisted his aunt Maddy would want him to take.†They won't be suspicious of you. And witches don'tknow the signs of being a new vampire the way vampires do.† Poppy just stared at the far horizon. It was evening now, and a lowering red sun was setting behind them. All around them was a weird alien landscape: not as brown as Poppy would have expected a desertto be. More gray-green, with clumps of green-gray. The Joshua trees were strangely beautiful, but alsothe closest thing to a plant made up of tentacles as she'd ever seen. Most everything growing had spikes. It was oddly fitting as a place to go into exile. Poppy felt as if she were leaving behind not only herold life, but everything she'd ever foundfamiliarabout the earth. â€Å"I'll take care of you,† Ash said caressingly. Poppy didn't even blink. Phillip first saw Nevada as a line of lights in thedarkness ahead. As they got closer to the state line,the lights resolved into signs with blinking, swarming, flashing neon messages. Whiskey Pete's, they an nounced. Buffalo Bill's. The Prima Donna. Some guy with a reputation for being a Don Juanwas taking Poppy in thisdirection? â€Å"Go faster,† he told James as they left the lightsbehind and entered a dark and featureless desert.†Come on. This car can do ninety.† â€Å"Here we are. Las Vegas,† Ash said as if makingPoppy a present of the whole city. But Poppy didn'tsee a city, only a light in the clouds ahead like the rising moon. Then, as the freeway curved, she sawthat it wasn't the moon, it was the reflection of city lights. Las Vegas was a glittering pool in a flat basinbetween the mountains. Something stirred in Poppy despite herself. She'dalways wanted to see the world. Faraway places. Ex otic lands. And this would have been perfect-if onlyJames had been with her. Up close, though, the city wasn't quite the gem itlooked from a distance. Ash got off the freeway, and Poppy was thrown into a world of color and lightand movement-and of tawdry cheapness. â€Å"The Strip,† Ash announced. â€Å"You know, whereall the casinos are. There's no place like it.† â€Å"I bet,† Poppy said, staring. On one side of her wasa towering black pyramid hotel with a huge sphinxin front. Lasers were flashing out of the sphinx'seyes. On the other side was a sleazy motor inn with a sign saying â€Å"Rooms $18.† â€Å"So this is the Night World,† she said, with a twingeof cynical amusement that made her feel very adult. â€Å"Nah, this is for the tourists,† Ash said. â€Å"But it'sgood business and you can do some fairly seriouspartying. I'll show you the real Night World, though.First, I want to check in with my cousins.† Poppy considered telling him that she didn't reallycare to have himshow her the Night World.Something about Ash's manner was beginning to bother her. He was acting more as if they were out on adate than as if he were escorting her into exile. But he's the only person I know here, she realizedwith a dismayed sinking in her stomach. And it's notas if I have any money or anything–not even eighteen dollars for that crummy motel. There was something worse. She'd been hungry for some time now, and now she was starting to feel breathless. But she wasn't the dazed, unthinking animal she'd been last night. She didn't want to attacksome human on the street. â€Å"This is the place,† Ash said. It was a side street,dark and not crowded like the Strip. He pulled intoan alley. â€Å"Okay, just let me see if they're in.† On either side of them were high buildings withcinder-block walls. Above, tiers of power lines obscuredthe sky. Ash knocked at a door set in the cinder blocka door with no knob on the outside. There was no signon the door, either, just some crudely spray-paintedgraffiti. It was a picture of a black dahlia. Poppy stared at a Dumpster and tried to controlher breathing. In, out. Slow and deep. It's okay,there's air. It may not feel like it, but there's air. The door opened and Ash beckoned to her. â€Å"This is Poppy,† Ash said, putting an arm aroundher as Poppy stumbled inside. The place looked likea shop–a shop with herbs and candles and crystals. And lots of other weird things that Poppy didn't recognize. Witchy-looking supplies. â€Å"And these are my cousins. That's Blaise, andthat's Thea.† Blaise was a striking girl with masses ofdark hair and lots of curves. Thea was slimmer and blond. They both kept going out of focus as Poppy's vision blurred. â€Å"Hi,†she said, the longest greeting she couldmanage. â€Å"Ash, what's wrong with you? She's sick. What have you been doing to her?† Thea was looking atPoppy with sympathetic brown eyes. â€Å"Huh? Nothing,† Ash said, looking surprised, as ifnoticing Poppy's state for the first time. Poppyguessed he wasn't the type to worry about other peo ple's discomfort. â€Å"She's hungry, I guess. We'll haveto run out and feed-â€Å" â€Å"Oh, no, you don't. Not around here. Besides,she's not going to make it,† Thea said. â€Å"Come on,Poppy, I'll be a donor this once.† She took Poppy by the arm and led her through abead curtain into another room. Poppy let herself betowed. She couldn't think anymore-and her wholeupper jaw was aching. Even the word feedsharpenedher teeth. I need†¦I have to †¦ But she didn't know how. She had. a vision of her own face in the mirror, silvery eyes and savage canines. She didn't wantto be an animal again ,and jump on Thea andripher throat. And she couldn'task how-that would give her away as a new vampire for sure. She stood, trembling, unable to move.

Micromax Owners Profile

Corporate Profile: Micromax Mobiles is one of the leading mobile companies in the World today. According to Strategy Analytics’ Global Handset vendor market share report, it is the 12th largest mobile brand in the World with a global market share of 1% and close to 8% market share in India. With an in-depth understanding of rapidly changing consumer preferences coupled with the use of advanced technologies, Micromax has been able to differentiate itself from the competitors through innovation and design.The brand took on the leaders in the category with specific products that addressed different customer needs. The company has focused their efforts towards creating life-enhancing mobile phone solutions and wireless technologies that cater to the increasingly evolving needs of mobile users in India. Micromax aims to be a billion dollar company with a significant double digit market share by 2014. Driving the next phase of growth, the company is expanding aggressively in India a nd globally.Journey of a homegrown brand: Micromax started as an IT software company in the year 2000 working on embedded platforms. By 2008, it entered mobile handset business and by 2010 became the largest Indian domestic mobile handsets company. This transformation was steered by four friends who divided responsibilities on functional lines, which haven’t changed since: Rajesh Agarwal, 47, Managing Director, Rahul Sharma, 37, Executive Director, Vikas Jain, 37, Business Director, and Sumeet Arora, 37, Chief Technology Officer.Through its emphasis on adapting to the changing market dynamics, introducing feature-rich phones and smartphones that are innovative and unique, Micromax has today become a brand to reckon with. Today, Micromax has presence across India and global presence in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri-Lanka, Maldives, UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Afghanistan and Brazil. Micromax sells around 1. 3 million mobiles handsets every month, with a presenc e in more than 500 districts through 100,000 retail outlets in India.Product Innovations: Micromax product portfolio embraces more than 60 models today, ranging from feature rich, dual-SIM phones to QWERTY, touch-enabled smart-feature phones and 3G Android smartphones designed for younger consumers in suburban and urban markets. Marketing: Driven by growing aspirations of the Indian mobile users, Micromax has geared up to bring about a paradigm shift in the way cell phones are used by introducing groundbreaking mobile solutions technology. When Micromax entered the segment, it followed a simple strategy of bringing innovative products for the consumers and coupled it with smart marketing.The company’s success could be attributed to the ‘Out of the Box’ thinking and thus providing Innovative & insightful products to the masses. At Micromax, the target audience is youth who want innovative, stylish phones that are affordable. Today the mobile phone category is driv en by youth, with about 60% of the users under the age group of 20-40 yrs and Micromax utilizes every opportunity to connect with the youth. Micromax understands that building connect is all about being involved with the customers and also giving them the value for money.Through their products and innovative campaigns, they aim to provide value additions to the Micromax users and have him or her involved by creating unique brand proposition. Distribution Network: Micromax has a 3 tier distribution network in India, which extends across 65 super distributers, 1500 micro distributors and over 100,000 retailers. To enhance brand cognizance and retail strength, Micromax has a chain of exclusive retail outlets, owned by third party Vikas Jain, Business Director, Micromax Informatics LimitedVikas Jain is the Business Director and one of the Promoters of Micromax Informatics Limited. With over 14 years of experience in international business & planning and the information technology sector , Vikas has played a crucial role in garnering and accelerating the business dynamics of Micromax. With his unique set of expertise in the 3G business dynamics, coupled with a great sense of innovative worldscale business ideas, Vikas has successfully contributed in taking the company to newer markets and helping in global expansion.Vikas upholds diligence and perceptiveness in all his endeavors and has reiterated these principles in Micromax’s Vikas understands the fact that Micromax being a homegrown market has an edge over the rest when itcomes to its international counterparts, as it understands the utility needs of the Indian consumers better. Micromax launched its first mobile phone whose key selling point was a battery that lasted 30days. In a country that suffers from chronic power deficiency, this was an invaluable proposition,according to Vikas.He believes that the thrill of newness and the idea of innovative technology is wherea brand scores more. Keeping this cent ral, Vikas presently looks after the business interests of thecompany in the ‘Operators Vertical’ with his skillful ability to identify and understand the needs of the varied set of consumers. Closely working with the operators enables Vikas to comprehend the technological advancements further empowering him to put a commercial angle to the company’s products. Under Vikas’s supervision and knowledge, the company has recently forayed into the internationalbusiness arm of exports.With establishments in Nepal and Dubai, Micromax is predominantly focusingon SAARC regions, Africa, Middle East (UAE, Qatar, Pakistan) and Latin America (Brazil). Vikas strategizesto focus on SAARC regions primarily because of its geographical alignment with India; Africa, as It encompasses territorial similarity with India in terms of tele-density and growth potential; Middle East, since it is an aspiring market and Brazil because it is technologically advanced than India and a not ch Vikas espouse the fact that life is purely about passion and more about enjoyment.Anything that sets the adrenaline rushing excites Vikas. An ardent sports lover and an adventure person, Vikas loves badminton, cricket and snooker and activities such as parasailing, scuba diving and ocean walks. He is also passionate about fast cars. An avid traveler, Vikas has a fetish for Lebanese and Chinese cuisines. During his leisure time he loves listening to music and watching movies. Vikas is an alumnus of Jamia Millia University from where he completed his engineering degree Rahul Sharma, Executive DirectorMicromax Informatics Limited, is the driving force behind Micromax’s commendable position in the Indian mobile handset market. Leading the Product and Sales strategies in Micromax, Rahul encompasses an enriching work experience of 13 years. The phenomenal growth of Micromax can be attributed to the dynamic leadership of Mr. Sharma. An unparalleled increase in revenue inflow furt her substantiates the midas touch that Rahul has brought to the company and an equally impressive growth of the company highlights the consistency of his leadership.Rahul upholds the philosophy that we must create our own roadmaps rather than following others by imbibing innovative models tailor-made for our needs and expectations, and hence along with his peers – Rajesh Agarwal, Vikas Jain and Sumeet Arora, he scripted the success story of Micromax since its inception. It was Rahul’s abetted efforts to convince his peers after nine years of selling computers, software courses and â€Å"fixed wireless† public phones (PCOs), to venture into the mobile handset industry in 2008, thus leading to the inception the fascinating feat in Micromax.Considering Micromax to be his brainchild, Rahul drew his greatest inspiration for the company to enter the mobile phone manufacturing business over a compelling incident of a chance encounter with a payphone operator. Everythin g started with a truck battery in the year 2007. In the powerless village of Behrampur in West Bengal, Mr. Sharma saw an Airtel PCO being powered by a truck battery. Every night, the PCO owner would lug the battery 12 km to an adjoining village on his cycle, charge it there overnight, and lug it back to Behrampur in the morning.Rahul was fascinated by the nature of innovative adaptation to suit the difficult conditions which the payphone operator had employed and his interest only grew when he found out that to everyone’s surprise, the operator was also able to earn a tidy sum of money. Based on this phenomenal experience of innovation arising from constraint, Micromax soon launched its first phone which had a battery back-up of one whole month. And from there started the grand journey. This compelling story reflects Rahul’s firm belief in the ideology, â€Å"Success comes to those who dare to dream. Keeping this central to all his endeavors at Micromax, Rahul made si gnificant progress and went on to launch a whole gamut of phones, all designed to suit the ever-changing needs of the dynamic Indian market. Rahul takes great pride in investing all his energy and deep commitment to quality in improving the business performances of his organization. Passionate about being a catalyst for change in the lives of the people, Rahul is rare combination business acumen and a creative mind and is adept at leveraging his knowledge, skills and expertise to maximize people’s potential.His leadership was instrumental in Micromax winning accolades and awards at prominent business forums. Micromax was the ‘Emerging Company of the Year 2011’ as per India’s leading telecom magazine- Voice & Data. It also bagged the FIEO Telecom Technology Awards and Power Brands 360 Award, recently. In recognition of his achievements, Rahul was adjudged one of the Forbes Person of the Year 2010. For the successful person he is today, Rahul considers his f ather to be his true inspiration in life, his real hero. It was his father who instilled in Rahul a strong work ethic, honesty, sincerity and humility.Besides being an entrepreneur, Rahul is a sports enthusiast with a passion for fast cars and Formula 1 racing. He spends his free time reading autobiographies of successful leaders Rahul is a mechanical engineer by profession. Rajesh Agarwal, Managing Director, . With an enriching experience of 22 years, Rajesh has orchestrated strategic accomplishments that, together with ground-up development, allowed Micromax to assemble a portfolio amongst the top-tier handset manufacturers that serve consumers across the globe.Rajesh has been instrumental in advocating innovative product strategies, business restructuring and channel management as the building blocks to create a strong base for the organization over the past three years. Today, Micromax is the third largest mobile brand in India with a market share of 6. 9% for the FY 2011. It ju mped into the industry in the year 2000 as a software company when 3 of his friends- Sumit Arora, Rahul Sharma and Vikas Jain ventured together to script the success story of Micromax which then evolved as a mobile brand in the telecom space.Under Rajesh’s able guidance Micromax has achieved an envious position in the category, making it the 12th largest mobile brand in the World, according to Strategy Analytics’ Global Handset vendor market share report. Rajesh has also been instrumental in getting a lead investment of RS 400 crores (approximately US $83 million) from TA associates, Sequoia Capital and Sandstone Capital, which has brought the company international experience and exposure. For all the accomplishments that he knitted in his entrepreneurial journey,Rajesh upholds the Success Mantra: â€Å"Team work divides responsibilities and multiplies growth. † Keeping this central to all his endeavors, Rajesh believes in striving towards the unreachable. His l eadership was instrumental in Micromax winning accolades and awards at prominent business forums. Micromax was the ‘Emerging Company of the Year 2011’ as per India’s leading telecom magazine- Voice & Data. It also bagged the FIEO Telecom Technology Awards and Power Brands 360 Award, recently. In recognition of his achievements, Rajesh was amongst the finalist of E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year 2010.Inspired by Warren Buffett, Rajesh an electrical engineer encompasses from him the rich virtues of will strength, determination and risk-taking ability and applies them across all diversification and growth to emerge as a victor. An ardent outdoor sports lover, Rajesh shows keen interest in volley ball, cricket and table tennis. He is fond of travelling to new places and exploring different cultures. In his leisure he reads about successful leaders and draws inspiration through their ideologies.

Curleys Wife of Mice and Men Essay

To begin with, in the novel Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife is a disadvantaged character who relates to the themes dreams and loneliness. She is important in the novel because she portrays the stereotypical 1930’s women in America and she is the only women in the novel. Steinbeck presents her negatively but by the end of the novel the reader feels sympathetic towards her. Curley’s wife is first introduced in section two; ‘both men glanced up, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off. A girl was standing there looking in’. Sunshine relates to hopes, happiness and freedom, which most of the ranch workers seek. Steinbeck foreshadows she will ruin this by using ‘cut off’ which shows she will be the reason why the ranch workers dreams will be ruined, which she is. She seduces Lennie resulting in her death, which means the characters Lennie George and candy cannot fulfil their dream because everybody wants to kill Lennie. This shows the reader she is a troublesome character. She is described as a girl rather than a lady due to the fact she is playful and flirty like a girl. Steinbeck shows she is looking in because she is searching for something. Attention. This also shows she is an outsider because she’s not involved, just merely lonely on the outside, desperately wanting to be involved. Steinbeck describes Curley’s wife as a tart by using ‘she had full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up’. The phrase ‘rouged lips’ shows she has intentionally made her lips bold so the other ranch workers will notice this. The colour relates to danger which foreshadows that she is a dangerous character because Lennie got into trouble because of a girl in weed with a red dress and Curley’s wife eventually gets Lennie killed. Red is a seductive colour and she seduces Lennie. Steinbeck uses ‘heavily made up’ to show she has made an effort to be noticed which automatically makes the reader sense she is a sexually seductive character. Steinbeck shows she is out of place because a stereotypical woman on a ranch would be messy but Curley’s wife tries to be perfect. It also shows she has made herself pretty to impress someone. Furthermore, Steinbeck refers to her as ‘she’ because she has not got a name. Steinbeck has done this to show her status in society was not important enough in 1930’s America to be called by her name. No-one knows it and no-one cares what it is either. In 1930’s America, women were looked down on and did not have the same rights as men did, although they had more rights than black people. Steinbeck uses ‘curley’s wife’ to show she is the property of Curley; the apostrophe shows she is the possession of Curley. This makes the reader feel negative feelings towards her due to the fact she has a husband yet flirts with the other men. The next time Curley’s wife is introduced is in section four; she is looking for attention. ‘They swung their heads towards the door. Looking in was Curley’s wife’. Steinbeck portrays the theme loneliness because once again, she is on the outside ‘looking in’. She is desperate to talk to someone. Curley is at the cathouse which gives her the chance to get out of the house because Curley makes her stay in the house all day. When she does escape from the house to find someone to talk to, her familiar excuse is she’s looking for Curley. The other workers aren’t fooled and try avoiding her; they misinterpret her loneliness for being troublesome and flirty. At this point the reader still feels negatively towards her. Curley’s wife appears in Crook’s room although candy and crook’s resent her unwanted presence. This makes her feel intimidated after she is told by a black man to get out. ‘I can get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny’.

Legionella Pneumophila Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legionella Pneumophila - Essay Example On the basis of similarities Legionella pneumophila is classified under Kingdom Procaryotae (Bacteria), Phylum Proteobacteria, Genus Legionella, and Species Pneumophila (Engelkirk and Burton, 2007). Legionella pneumophila consisting of 32 identified species are globally found in natural water sources like lagoons, rivers, and streams, and in artificial habitats like air-conditioning systems, chilling structures, evaporating compressors, whirlpools in spas, hot tubs, shower heads, humidifiers, tap water, distillation systems, decorative fountains, misting devices, dust, people, and soil. The microorganisms may be transmitted by direct contact with the infected person, inhalation of dust where the spores are, or direct contact to the identified reservoirs (Engelkirk and Burton, 2007). The pathogenicity of the species was confirmed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States of America in 1977 after a year of having infected a host of victims temporarily living in Philadelphia Hotel in 1976. The pathogens were confirmed to have come from the vent of the hotel's airconditioning system (hydrosense(R), 2009). Legionnaire's disease was the name given to the infection caused by the bacteria Legionella pneumophila.

City Budget Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

City Budget - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that in making a budget a number of considerations are factored into the decision-making process which is a prerequisite in budgeting. A budget which is a financial plan aids in ensuring that funds are not misappropriated and only identified stuff is dealt with as per the plan. It shows estimate expenditures and income or revenue sources to finance the expenses. This may be in form of the different types of loans and grants, taxes, bills and the expenses include payments of human resources, initiation of new development plans, repayment of previously taken loans amongst others. Â  According to the Scott, a budget preparation requires a study and evaluation of previously made budgets to understand the trend and the constants that are independent of time. Generally, the average of the first seven years is considered because it gives a true representation of the previous budgets. It is important to note that there are years of economic depres sion and inflation in a budget. It should be prepared on time and the prior year’s actual financial activity should form the basis of your start. The revenue sources are analyzed and conservative amounts are given, no overestimates are included in a budget forecast. A combination of recurrent and fixed/investment of year’s expenditure is added to find the general expenditure of the current year and a liberal approach is applied to indicate expenditure; in expenses, it is better to overestimate than to underestimate.

Lowe's vs Home Depot Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lowe's vs Home Depot - Essay Example As a result, each brand wants to draw the customers more towards their own products and away from their competitor. In the past Lowe’s has concentrated on providing a better range of products for customers, and on improving customer service so that shopping is a pleasant experience. This matches the preferences of women and the do-it-yourself customers who want to have some choice in their purchases and who take their time to review all the products. The larger stores that Lowe’s tends to have are expensive to run, however, and so their latest plans include a drive to increase efficiency in those stores, so that there is a better return on this investment in space. Home Depot, on the other hand, caters more for serious professionals and so it has concentrated on providing a large number of stores in convenient locations. This is geared to contractors who want reliable availability of known products in the immediate vicinity. Home Depot has paid less attention in the past to the shopping experience and there has been a tendency to cram a lot of products into crowded spaces. This may be changing as competition gets tougher. Each company appears therefore to be analyzing the strengths of the other, and aiming to catch up in these specific areas with their major competitor. It is difficult to judge which company has the better competitive image. In terms of customer preference, it appears that Lowe’s has the better image, because 53% of customers stated a preference for Lowe’s against only 46% for Home Depot. Given that Lowe’s has considerably fewer stores than Home Depot, this is an indicator that they have done a better job in making their brand known to the public and attracting customers to come into their stores. On the other hand, customers spend less at Lowe’s on each shopping trip that they make. Home Depot achieves higher sales figures, which proves in concrete terms that customers rate them highly. On balance, then, it appears that

TRAINING MANUAL Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

TRAINING MANUAL - Coursework Example This training manual indicates some important aspects that our organization should emulate in order to improve its performance. As indicated by the CEO, the workforce in her organization is under strife. One of the causes of this conflict is lack of diversity. As she notes, the front-line supervisors are white males. This implies that there is diversification since the organization does not allow introduction of new ideas from other races. Another notable issue is age discrimination. The age of stream-line managers makes innovation difficult. This is based on the fact that young employees are productive in nature and have the ability to come up with new ways of doing things. By hiring managers and supervisors from one religion background, it is an indication that the organization is discriminative on the ground of religion Currently, the US population stands at approximately 319 million people. Being the third most populous country in the world, US population is made up of various races which includes white, Hispanic, black and Asians. The white race forms the major part of the population standing at 224 million people which is equivalent to 73% of the whole population. Latino and Hispanic Americans takes 48% of the population. Asian Americans take approximately 5.3% of the population while multiracial Americans are approximately 2.6%. The current trend indicates that the US population will increase at a very high rate based not only in the increase on food production but also due to quality health services that have reduced the rate of child mortality. Notably, the US Asian population has indicated an increasing trend as compared to Asians. For example, in 2013, US Hispanic stood at 54 million people a 2.1% increment from 2012. Despite the reduction in the number of immigrants between 2007 and 2009, the number of foreigners arriving

Leadership in Clinical Nursing Education Research Proposal

Leadership in Clinical Nursing Education - Research Proposal Example nces where he observed the significant role of nurses in extraordinary circumstances (it will be better if you add one example that you have experienced), such as that in emergency departments, intensive care units, etc. However, during such experiences, it was an observation that these experiences were nothing like that is usually mentioned in nurses’ theoretical framework in Oman, and there is an urgent need of efficient in-service clinical nursing education. In other words, it is an understanding that the role of nursing as a profession, as well as their status and character needs alteration in the context of Omani healthcare environments that will be possible by the availability of high-quality in-service clinical nursing education. In this regard, findings and outcomes of the proposed research will act as foundation of such premise that will be beneficial for the new generation of nurses in the country in terms of new opportunities for the acquisition of capabilities and skills required. In addition, it will be advantageous for the government, as it will have the opening to redefine the notion of nursing in the country. PRELIMINARY LITERATURE REVIEW Brief review of the literature (Marquis & Huston, 2008) has indicated that nursing enjoys massive popularity in developed parts of the globe due to its significant role of caring in human lives. However, in developing nations, it still lacks importance, and most importantly, there seems a gap between realistic circumstances and theoretical frameworks existing in clinical nursing education. The basic disparity is that all nurses receive the same nature of education during their learning process; however, it is an observation (Miller, 2008) that when confront realistic healthcare settings, nurses feel disparity between... This paper approves that researcher completely understands the significance of ethical consideration in the research, and thus, while carrying out primary research methodology, the researcher will put extra efforts to ensure confidentiality and privacy of participants for the fulfillment of ethical guidelines. For this purpose, the researcher will endeavor to acquire written permission from the ethics committee of the universities, as well as from the hospitals. At the same time, researcher will inform participants about objectives of the proposed study before beginning of the data collection process that will be a way of encouraging truthful answers from the participants and ensuring data integrity. In addition, during the interview, the researcher will ensure that name of the participant remain anonymous in order to avoid any unwilling response during the study. This paper makes a conclusion that in particular, the proposal indicates intention of the researcher to bring a change, particularly, in the regulatory organization for nurses in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of the status of nursing as a profession. In addition, the researcher anticipates an alteration in the form of a new framework of in-service education that will be beneficial for the healthcare industry, as well as for education sector of the country. Briefly, the researcher expects that after approval of the research, findings of the proposed study will be an efficient contribution to the world of academia in the form of a published report, and believes that recommendations of the proposed study will play a noteworthy role in enhancing the role of nurses and nursing in the future.

Essay06 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Essay06 - Essay Example inty differ in that in risk, the outcome is unknown but the distribution of the outcome is not known however in uncertainty, both the outcome and the distribution of the outcome are not known (Samuelson and Stephen, 501). Probability of an outcome is the odds that the outcome will occur (Samuelson and Stephen, 501). The three types of probability discussed in the book are relative frequency, subjective probability, and theoretical probability. The difference in these methods in generating probability is that the theoretical probability assigns equal likelihood to all possible outcomes of an experiment, therefore, the chances of an event occurring is 1/n for each possible outcome. Relative frequency probability type gives the probability of an event through finding the ratio of the times the event occurs and the number of trials undertaken. Subjective probability determines the probability of an outcome â€Å"represents the decision maker’s degree o belief that the outcome will occur† (Samuelson and Stephen, 501). Statistical inference involves the use of statistical techniques for generating conclusions from a set amount of data through observation or sampling. Statistical inference using historical data involves the generation of conclusions from data that was collected a long time ago. Statistical bias using historical data creates bias in rapidly changing markets because of a change in the conditions of the market when the information was collected and the current market situation. The basis of the data collected could have changed and the current conditions reflect a difference; hence, the conclusions made reflect on the past and not the market situation currently as there are frequent changes in the market conditions resulting in statistical bias. The other reason for the bias in statistical inference of historical data is that statistical inference is affected by the random variation of the data over time and this variation results in the change of the

Analyzing the uses of scheduling methods in IT project management Coursework

Analyzing the uses of scheduling methods in IT project management - Coursework Example The data that I will use in this research will be collected from notes and documentation of projects that has been done before. I will particularly make use of planning processes of various projects so that I get to know what is required of a project. I preferred internet databases that would exploit electronic links like; Springer Link, Emerald Management Extra, Sweets Wise Online content and Ulrich. These databases provided a lot of information on applied sciences access to abstracts, full-text versions of articles that have been published in electronic books and project management journals. I found these sources quite intriguing as they enabled wide access of full text reviews, case studies and publications to a greater extent. To obtain information, I logged on the four links mentioned above and absolutely found variety of details on project management. I aimed at reviewing the importance of scheduling in any project undertaking but most exciting was not the relationship between scheduling with traditional engineering and manufacturing projects but relating scheduling concept to the recent IT projects in this instance cloud computing. I therefore found a broad relationship between scheduling and cloud computing, inferring that scheduling is the most preferred mode of ensuring all projects have successful implementation and completion. In a nutshell, the entire search exercise was informative and exciting upon discovering that numerous studies have been made and documented in systematic and logical order in the tune of employing project management tools as Critical Path and Gantt charts. This ordering method enabled me to mark and continue reading the files in phases. My study entailed... This study looks into scheduling is a critical aspect of IT project management in implementation of all level projects. Indeed, the articles and journals highlighted above methods that have been discovered and practically used to achieve and attain project goals. The importance of scheduling is synchronous to the anticipation of IT project managers in effectiveness of information technology. Critically speaking, scheduling and efficiency of IT projects is an practical element in information age. The whole safety boundary that was previously created in to each project is given identity the critical chain optimizing. The total project time period is always reduced when the safety margin is there in every individual activity. But in case of any withdrawal and only one critical activity go beyond the estimated length, the finishing date for the whole project not met. There exist important evidences in this studies that many IT project managers use scheduling and a method to effectively i mplement projects and enable them to run into completion. In a research project done by Dayal, Zachariah & Rajpal the findings indicates that scheduling through network diagrams requires creating a line of balance in development of project plan in which various techniques can be used to implement the planning and control technique for manufacturing and processing that were improvised. This technique is unique in that it identifies and notes the resources needed for each phase and hence the succeeding phase is not affected therefore the goal outcome is attained.

The proposal argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The proposal argument - Essay Example The age of 18 earns one the badge of adulthood that makes him or her subject to trials in adult courts for any violation or crime committed, if any. Furthermore, several statistical data from NHTSA show the many inconsistencies regarding the supposed link of alcohol consumption to vehicular accidents and fatalities due to drunk driving. There are nations with more leniency in alcohol consumption that do not have the same vehicular accident concerns as the U.S. Unless the risks of alcohol consumption are lessened by maintaining the legal age for alcohol consumption at 21, the legal age for drinking alcohol should be lowered to 18. While there are many people and organizations who oppose the current MLDA, its advocates maintain that lowering the legal age for alcohol consumption would bring more risks than benefits. For one, it is said that consuming alcohol at an earlier age increases the possibilities of alcoholism in adulthood. Some say that brain development continues until age 20, and consuming alcohol prior to full brain growth can inhibit some of the brain’s development and potential. ... HTSA) statistics on â€Å"Alcohol Impaired Driving,† the decrease in the fatalities due to drunk driving did not decrease in accordance with the MLDA (NHTSA â€Å"Alcohol Impaired Driving† & Voas, Tippetts, and Fell 581). Furthermore, the MLDA proves to be counterproductive and hinders the more effective strategy of teaching responsible consumption of alcohol (Gulliver and Begg 774). It is a fact that cannot be denied that almost all of the political-, social-, personal-, and business-related activities can be done at 18 years of age (Ferreira and Willoughby 15). Everyone knows that a person aged 18 can, and is allowed to vote for the leaders of the land. It is ridiculous that a person can be trusted to choose the political leaders for his or her country yet be untrusted in terms of alcohol consumption. Everyone knows too that getting married at 18 is legal. It is ridiculous that a person can be trusted to be another person’s life partner yet be untrusted in term s of alcoholic drinks. Voting and marriage are both greater and heavier responsibilities when compared to alcohol consumption. Another interesting fact here is the legality of being a foster parent at 18. A person who is 18 years is deemed adult enough to be entrusted with the care and well-being of a minor, yet is deemed too young to drink alcohol. These adults are even allowed to enter into legally binding contracts at 18. Furthermore, it seems awkward and illogical to prohibit newly married 20-year old couples from sipping champagne at their own weddings. 18 earns an individual the rights and privileges of adults, including the fact that the adult will be subject to trials in adult courts for any violation or crime committed, if any (Subbaraman and Kerr 293). When one is considered a minor, the individual is

Global City-Regions Essay Example for Free

Global City-Regions Essay Regional geography usually concerns the evident similarities and differences of the various regions of the world (Martin and Thompson 2006). One of the concerns of such field of geography is the ever-changing geographical urbanization throughout the globe. Urbanization can come in different forms, thus, in the article by Scott, urbanization in the form of expanding globalization that beset different regions is discussed together with the many effects and challenges that comes with it (2001). In the article, the author tries to indicate that rather than obliterate the concept of geographical divisions, globalization enhances the regional entities currently existing in society to the point that certain global city-regions are created and are faced with the challenges of coping with the mentioned globalization trend (Scott 2001). Article Summary One of the many fruits of globalization is the creation of wider political-economic regional units called â€Å"global city-regions† (Scott 2001, p. 813). In the so-called city-regions, new political and economic structures arise. Due to the many transformations and modifications that have happened during the centuries, a new system has emerged via globalization. Such condition of society creates four aspects that should be addressed by the new civilization. These four aspects namely are: (1) the increasing large quantities of economic activity can now occur in the form of long-distance as well as inter-border relationships between regional units, (2) the number of established multinational organizations is ever-increasing to answer such economic pressures, (3) previous regulatory functions of the national administrations are now being performed by regional units, and (4) the revival of past economic and political regions have sprouted creating new geographical boundaries (Scott 2001). The fourth aspect discussed by Scott was then further elaborated to give emphasis to its importance and significant consequences. It is in this elaboration of the fourth aspect that the concept of city-regions is introduced. The institution of globalization is therefore the initiator of the necessity of implicitly founding city-regions. Upon verifying the fact that global city-regions exist, the author now tries to analyze the political and economic structures that could possibly be established to answer the needs of the new city-regions. Two budding political principles thus appear; the first is a neo-liberal political view. In this view, government interference is at a minimum while economic activity is maximized through market organization (Scott 2001). This view is remarked as a risky one and thus should not be the structure that could be applied to developing city-regions. The second political principle which the author recommends is that of renascent social democracy which is also called the social market approach (Scott 2001). Such approach is appropriate for economic efficiency and at the same time can selectively commence intervention whenever necessary (Scott 2001). Furthermore, democracy will be an effective means of addressing the social and political tensions of a diverse population which is apparent in city-regions where most people try to earn a living, mainly due to its reputation as a site for capitalism and globalization (Scott 2001). As a conclusion of the article, the author tries to propose a new definition for citizen and citizenship. Since the new geographical partitions throughout the globe will be like those of the city-regions, new concepts on citizenship thus surface. Citizens will no longer be bound by birthright to a particular geographical location but rather becoming a citizen will be based on the functional contributions an individual possesses. Furthermore, citizenship will take on a whole new level. Individuals in the ever-increasing mobile world can freely obtain the title of citizenship as many as possible depending on the movements of each person as one travels through different city-regions situated in the vast world (Scott 2001). In the end, the author shares his afterthoughts regarding the subject matter. Similar to the varying consequences of globalization, the emergence of city-regions in society also has diverse outcomes. Summarily, though the emergence of such global city-regions revives the geographical entities and the need for distinctiveness, its materialization also poses new and fresh political and economic problems and challenges (Scott 2001). Throughout the article, the author tries to back-up his arguments and deductions as well as his predictions by citing different outside references. His use of examples such as naming international organizations and cities considered city-regions in the world strengthens the thesis of his article. Information cited from other authors also imparts the well-researched foundation of the author’s arguments. Organizational Analysis The organization and structure of the article is quite impressive. The author uses deductive as well as inductive reasoning in presenting and defending his thesis statement and arguments. The style of writing is also well-organized. This is evident on the flow of the whole article. At the opening of the article, the author communicates what he believes is going on in the society. He incorporates new ideas to explain what has come to pass, thus the use of the term â€Å"global city-regions†. Following his conceptual presentation, he proves the certainty of his inferences. To give significance to his article, he then recommends solutions and steps that can be taken to resolve the issues at hand. Furthermore, he offers the readers explanations to the current situation. In the end, he lays down his conclusions and deductions only after weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the solutions to the issues. His effort to refer back to the effects of globalization in geography is a very competent way of leaving a lasting thought to the readers. Thus, by doing so, he creates an appealing atmosphere whose effect is persuading and convincing. Furthermore, the urgency in his article is apparent by his use of situational events. It makes the reader feel the need to address the matter at hand. Personal Analysis Although the article is exceedingly academic and formal, the ideas presented by the author are quite revolutionary, thus making them interesting. It is enjoyable in a sense that it offers innovative concepts and principles not just in regional geography and globalization, but also on economics and politics. The principle of city-regions is a noteworthy contribution to the field of geography. Furthermore, his defense of the existence and importance of the study of geography brought new light to the study. This is the most striking effort the author has produced. By addressing the argument that geography is becoming obsolete, he established geography’s status in the academe and the sciences. Moreover, by his struggle to affirm the relevance of geography, he constructed a new concept in geography. In summary, he renewed the necessity to study geography, particularly in relation to that of the current worldwide condition of society. Relevance and Conclusion In connection to urban political geography, the article is actually all about it. The focus of the article is that of globalization which is a form of urbanization. The author thus tries to give a glimpse of the concerns of urban political geography. This is achieved by the by discussion of political principles that are appropriate for the newly-discovered global city-regions. By generating an image of regional geography, the author imparts an understanding of the subject. The article however has not yet been tackled in classroom discussions since it will be talked about in later topics in the course of the class. Scott reveals new conceptual geography that not only deals with regional and physical geography but also with political geography in the midst of globalization. Through conversing about the matter, the author revitalized the significance of studying geography and the varying concerns it deals with. References Martin, G. J. Thompson, J. H. (2006). Geography. Microsoft Encarta 2007 [CD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation. Scott, A. J. (2001). Globalization and the Rise of City-Regions. European Planning Studies 9 (7): 813-826.

Defining Racism In America

Defining Racism In America Race and race relations have been aspects of American society since the colonial era. With the exception of a handful of countries, no other nation has dealt with the struggles of a multiracial society and has had to overcome the problems created in its nations past. As a result, race in America is a complex issue with many facets and race relations have become increasingly difficult to define. Richard Thompson Ford, in examining the current race situation in America in his book The Race Card, defines the period as post-racism. Focusing on Fords ideas, as presented in his book, as well as an investigation into the Jena Six story, which is a contemporary example of racism, a more defined picture of current race relations in America can be uncovered. Fords The Race Card provides a critique on the current race situation in America. In his book, while Ford presents the idea that America is post-racism, he asserts that post-racism is not defined in the traditional way one might assume. To Ford, post-racism is a late stage of racism in which its contradictions and excesses both cancel out and amplify its original function (2008:25). To Ford, the era of post-racism allows people to have internal feelings of racism, as long as their overt actions and behaviors are not racist. Racial stereotypes may still exist, but no longer are those stereotypes defined by White Only establishments. With the elimination of the stereotypical racism, racism may now be harder to eliminate because overt racists will remain unidentified. Prior to the Civil Rights Movement, segregation laws and blatant bigotry provided easy markers to define racism and identify racists. Today there are laws preventing outward expressions of racism, making the process of defining the current state of race relations far more difficult. According to Charles Hirschman, racism is the belief that people can be divided into categories based on certain features that define a particular look (2004). While characteristics that define a person as part of a particular race are biological, race is a socially constructed concept in which people place meaning on the biological features. The seeds of racism in America were planted out of the need for a cheap and renewable labor force. When indentured servitude was no longer profitable to this countrys landowners, it prompted a needed change. Dark-skinned Africans, brought to this country as slaves, looked different from the white land owners. Based on that difference of appearance, along with the historical lack of a formal schooling, American society regarded them as inferior. This view by society eventually lead to the social construct of race, with whites seen as superior and blacks as inferior. While slavery was abolished following the Civil War, the overt concept of racial inferiority continued until the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s (Pinkney 1999). Up until the Civil Rights Act was passed, Jim Crow laws and other discrimination laws continued to segregate the races and reinforced the societal view of the inferiority of African Americans. Following the passage of the Civil Rights legislation, overt racism no longer was socially acceptable. Racism is no longer is defined by superiority and inferiority, but rather is defined as an acknowledged difference between cultures, with one no better than the other (Miles and Brown 2003). Because of the years of segregation, there are inherent differences between the black and white cultures. While segregation and discrimination no longer are a common practice, there still are differences between the groups and implicit discrimination remains. The faces of racism have changed, but racism has yet to disappear from society. Today, those who are identified as racists, under the old definition, are labeled as bigots and outsiders by society. Although there still are those who are viewed as racists under the traditional definition, there is a new form of racism present and it is much harder to define. As defined by Ford, the current state of racial affairs revolves around playing the race card. In playing the race card, people must presume that discrimination remains and it is based on ones race. More often than not, todays discrimination is a based on the many years of inferior treatment. In other words, people today claim racism because, at one point in history, it could be considered a result of racism (2008:31). There are four instances of playing the race card that are outlined in Fords book, including racism without racists, racism-by-analogy, unclear definitions of what is racism, and unclear goals for the current movement. People use the racism without racists definition because it is the easiest conclusion to use when explaining the motivations of others. There may be extenuating circumstances as to why people act a certain way, but people cry racism because it is an easy answer; they fail to see the situation from the other persons point of view. In racism-by-analogy, other groups claim that their struggles and discrimination are equal to those fought for in the Civil Rights Movement, even though they are not the same. As an example, people that are overweight or not pretty enough may make the claim that their legal rights are being violated, even though overweight is not a protected class under the legislation. Having unclear definitions of racism causes people to overuse the claim. There are many factors that motivate peoples actions, and it is not always based on race. With no clear-cut definition of present-day racism, the resulting lines are blurred as to what actually constitutes racism in todays society. Without an accepted definition of racism and no clear goals for the improvement of race relations, it is difficult to determine when playing the race card may be beneficial or detrimental to a movement. This unknown result causes internal conflict within the movement itself, preventing it from moving forward. Overall, Fords argument is correct in its assertions. The face of racism today has changed and a new era of race relations has begun. No longer are there overt forms of racism and discrimination, but rather there are more subtle situations affecting race relations in todays society. However, Fords argument is not as simple as post-racism and the race card; there still are societal and structural boundaries and obstacles that African Americans cannot seem to overcome. While legally discrimination and segregation are no longer present, there are still examples of it today. As author Shawn Utsey, et al., argues, there are three forms of racism that still exist today: individual, institutional and cultural racism (2000). Examples of individual racism include racial profiling and the lingering sentiments of the overt racism seen during the Civil Rights Movement. Residential segregation and other societal restrictions constitute institutional racism. Cultural racism refers to the lack of African American influence in mainstream American culture and history. These new forms of discrimination and segregation define the current race relations in contemporary American culture. A contemporary example to which Fords ideas of post-racism and the race card can be applied is the Jena Six incident. There are many incidents which occurred in Jenna, Louisiana, between September to December 2006, which contributed to the belief that racism and discrimination were involved in the Jena events (Newman 2007). The first incident occurred in September, involving nooses hung from a tree at the local high school. As is common at most high schools, certain social groups congregate in specific areas, though not necessarily based on race. At Jena High School, a racially diverse school, a specific tree commonly was known as the white tree. A black freshman asked the principal if he could sit under the tree and the principal assured him that he could sit wherever he wanted. The next day, two nooses were hung from the tree, though the motivations behind the hanging of the nooses were unclear. The students responsible for hanging the nooses were identified and suspended. When the suspensions were announced, the black community of Jena was enraged, insisting that the nooses were a symbol of a threat against the black students of the high school. There were two altercations between white and black students, which some claimed were a result of the events that occurred in September. At a party, five black students attempted to enter a party, but were denied entrance because they did not receive an invitation. An altercation ensued, resulting in a white student being charged with battery. The next day, another altercation occurred outside a convenience store between a white male and three black males, one of which had been involved in the previous altercation at the party the night before. One of the black students was charged with disturbing the peace, second degree robbery and the theft of a firearm. The final event, which ultimately is what led to the national publicity, was an altercation between six black students and one white student, Justin Barker. Barker was badly beaten, but was released from the hospital after three hours in the emergency room. Five of the six black students were charged with attempted second-degree murder, though the charges later were reduced to battery. Mychal Bell originally was charged with aggravated second-degree battery and tried as an adult, but his conviction later was overturned. The five who originally were charged later were convicted of simple battery (Associated Press 2007). Due to the events leading up to the attack on Justin Barker, many consider this to be a result of racial tensions in the town. This was reinforced by the filing of the charge of attempted murder to the Jena Six at the beginning of the trail proceedings, a charge many considered to be racially driven and not fitting to the crime. Many also believe that the all-white jury, which delivered the original guilty verdict against Bell, levied an unfair sentence. While on the surface these events seem to be motivated by racism, the events involving the Jena Six are more of a case of Fords racism without racists. Because the events which occurred in Jena involved both whites and blacks, people assume racism was a determining factor. However, most of the events leading up to the Barker incident were unrelated. Even when considered separately, racism is not the only motivation for the actions which occurred. The tree that was claimed as the white tree by the student body has since been refuted by the faculty and staff at Jena High School. According to later testimonies, students of all races sat under the tree at one point or another. There also was a conflict over the number of nooses which were hung from the tree on the following day, and further investigations revealed that only two were hung, not three, which is believed to be a symbol of the Ku Klux Klan. The nooses, it later was found, were a prank aimed at the rodeo team, not hung as racist symbols. As it later was learned, school administrators cut down the nooses before classes started because students were playing with them in inappropriate manners, not because of some underlying racial context. Following the Jena incident, the United States Justice Department conducted an investigation to determine if the act was in fact a racially-motivated hate crime. It was determined that the hanging of the nooses was an isolated event without lasting racial tensions at the school. As such, there is no direct connection between the events occurring in September and the Barker attack. Each event was separate and unique, yet collectively were made to seem as a cause and effect relationship by the media. Finally, the allegations accusing the all-white jury of delivering a racially-motivated verdict fails to take into account underlying causes. Due to the makeup of the town, there are only a small number of African Americans to select for jury duty. Of those summoned for jury duty, some were African American but failed to report on the day of the trial (Mangu-Ward 2007). The events that occurred in Jena led to one of the largest race riots in recent history. Sensationalized by the medias influence, the case seemed to be a series of events indicating the continued racial tensions of the South. When looking deeper into the facts, a different picture is seen. Instead, each event is isolated and unconnected. The coincidences surrounding the events seem to point to a plot against African Americans, yet the motivations had no racial underpinnings. Throughout American history, racism has played a major role in race relations. Although overt racism has become a lesser focus, examples of racial discrimination and segregation still exist in todays society. The era of post-racism has a new set of issues effecting society and the race relations within it. Until these issues are resolved, true racial equality cannot be attained.

Ocado Is An Independent And Distinctive Online Grocery Marketing Essay

Ocado Is An Independent And Distinctive Online Grocery Marketing Essay Ocado is an independent and distinctive online grocery store that focuses entirely on delivering premium food, drink and household goods right at its customers door step. Ocado claims that they are different from the traditional grocery stores in the market for they provide customers with easy, quick, convenient, precise and enjoyable shopping with just a click of the mouse. In order for Ocado to accomplish its mission, the company has four goals to live by; great value, great service, great choice, and green way to shop. By employing advanced technology to continue sharpening its efficient delivery model, Ocado enables to lower its prices and at the same time guarantee excellent value for money. Ocado offers great service through prompt delivery of superior groceries and by caring and showing sincerity to their customers. Ocado also offers a wide variety of choice and they show concern towards our environment by providing a greener way to shop. On the contrary, Tesco is considered o ne of the biggest retailers in the world. According to Tesco, their success depends on their customers and their employees. The companys main purpose is to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty (Tesco website, 2010a). In order to make this happen, Tesco is adapting the following values; No-one tries harder for customers and Treat people as we like to be treated. Tesco is giving importance to understanding and meeting their customers needs, doing something good for the community, working as a team, trusting and respecting each other, listening and supporting team members, and sharing knowledge and experiences with them. Both companies are putting their customers first by providing quality products and superior customer service. Analysis and Conclusion Ocados strategy for increasing revenues is well thought of. Ocado attempts to increase turnover by providing customers with primary commodities at the lowest price possible; by offering delivery of grocery products that are taken from a high-tech and computerized warehouse; and by selling a variety of products, most of which are supplied by Waitrose. Ocado has also raised its gross sales at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 31 per cent between FYE 2007 and FYE 2009 (Ocado website, 2010a). And its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) are also growing. Ocado is planning to go on with the strategy that is focusing on increasing revenue, improving EBITDA margins, and exploring supplementary growth opportunities by constantly improving consumer products through maintaining and improving the customer experience; increasing its core product range; and continuing to offer value to customers (Ocado website, 2010a). Another means of increasing revenue is impr oving cost efficiency and expanding CFC capacity and the Spoke network (Ocado website, 2010a). Searching for more growth opportunities by adding non-grocery products and including the prospect of reproducing the same business model abroad is also another way of growing Ocados revenues. On the other hand, Tescos strategy is centered on growth. Widening of the business reach is one of the underlying principles of Tescos strategy. Providing customers with growing markets at home and expanding markets overseas such as countries in Central Europe, Asia and United States, would allow Tesco to have a continuous existence and growth. Diversification is one of the main goals of Tescos strategy and this has been the basis and reason for the companys success in the past years. As a highlight of Tescos diversification, it has established and developed new businesses and these businesses are becoming competitive and profitable and are also growing in size. Tescos strategy has five objectives and these are as follows: (1) To be a successful international retailer, (2) To grow the core UK business, (3) To be as strong in non-food as in food, (4) To develop retailing services such as Tesco Personal Finance, Telecoms and Tesco.com, (5) To put community at the heart of what we do ( Tesco website, 2010b). These objectives reflect the companys four well-known areas of focus and their continuing commitment on community and environment. These objectives have also permitted the company to keep on growing and sustaining even during times of economic recession. Tescos core Uk business is the most important business of the company for it employs more than 285,000 employees and has more than 2,200 stores. The UK business contributes to approximately 70% of the total sales and profits of Tesco. New space, expansion of existing stores and a multi-format approach are the main reasons for the growth of the UK business. The UK business has four different store formats, namely Express (up to 3,000 sq ft), Metro (approx. 7,000-15,000 sq ft), Superstore (approx. 20,000-50,000 sq ft) and Extra (approx. 60,000 sq ft and above) that are each tailored to their customers needs. Aside from providing a wide range of formats, the UK business guarantees an extensive appeal by constantl y giving customers innovative and new kinds of products and merchandise, thus costumers have a variety of choices. The store also has an assortment of own brands that allows customers to purchase products that fits their way of life. Last year, they also launched about 500 new products as part of their Discount Brands at Tesco initiative. These products are priced low and are very affordable so that customers can buy products without compromising quality and choice. With regards to understanding its customers, Tesco created Tesco Clubcard. This loyalty card provides Tesco with information that they will need in understanding their customers better. The card also provides customers with offerings that are suited to their needs and lifestyle. Tesco is not only trying to understand customers but they are also looking after their employees by offering package of pay and different benefits that are appropriate for their workers. In contrast, Ocado aspires to have a market leading customer proposition. In fact, they garnered different awards like Online Retailer of the Year for 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010 Grocer Gold Awards (Ocado website, 2010b). They strive to have the best customer service by providing high accuracy and availability of products; convenient and on-time delivery service; and user friendly interfaces or websites. Another means of providing a market leading proposition is through an emporium of quality of food; they now offer about 20, 000 versions or stock keeping units (skus) and is planning to add more or less 3,000 skus in 2010. High quality and fresh products are also made available in their online store. They also introduced their own branded products and priced these products at a lower cost to counterpart Tescos discounted products. Some delivery slots are offered for free by Ocado and is also offering delivery pass to facilitate limitless free deliveries for a fixed amount. When it comes to corporate responsibility, Ocado and Tesco are both going green. Ocado was nominated Green Retailer of the Year 2009 in The Grocer Gold Awards, Large Retailer of the Year 2008 in the Online Green Awards and was awarded as Ethical/Green Practice 2009 at the IMRG E-Commerce Awards for Excellence (Ocado website, 2010c). Ocado delivers its commodities directly from the CFC to the customers door step, reducing and getting rid of the carbon emissions usually produced by the conventional supermarkets and their stores. The amount of vehicles on the road is also minimized. To reduce its carbon usage and its environmental impact, Ocado have also implemented the following actions: closed-loop grocery bag recycling, whereby when making a delivery, drivers offer to collect used bags from customers which are recycled within the UK to make new Ocado grocery bags; wasting significantly less food as a percentage of gross sales than any of its competitors; and signing up to the Climate Change Agreement (with the Carbon Trust), which places certain obligations on management to monitor and lower carbon usage (Ocado website, 2010c). Meanwhile, Tesco plays an important role in minimizing climate change. In doing so, the company committed to becoming a zero-carbon business by 2050; reducing the emissions of the products they sell by 30% by 2020; helping their customers to reduce their carbon footprint by 50% by 2020; halve emissions from their 2006/7 baseline portfolio of buildings by 2020; new stores built between 2007 and 2020 to emit half the CO2 of a 2006 new store; and reduce emissions per case delivered by 50% by 2012 (Tesco website, 2010c). With regards to the financial aspect, Tescos website provided a more organized investor centre section wherein more information such as financial highlights, annual reviews, financial calendar, etc. can be gathered and access directly by the customers and investors. In their website (Tesco website, 2010d), they stated that in 2009 to February 2010 their group sales is 6.8% and their group profit before tax is 10.4%, indicating that the companys growth is increasing amidst the economic downturn. Their Group sales ( £m) (including VAT) and Group trading profit ( £m) from February 2009 to 2010 amounted to 62,537 and 3,412 respectively. Whereas, Ocados gross sales increased 29.5% to  £126.5m for the 12 weeks to 8 August 2010 (2009:  £97.7m), its average orders per week for the 12 weeks to 8 August 2010: 92,834 (70,968 in equivalent period in 2009) and at 8 August the Group had cash and cash equivalents, including monies on deposit, of  £205.9m, borrowings of  £119.9m and undr awn available facilities of  £110.0m (Ocado website, 2010d). From the above comparison and analysis, we can say that both groceries stores have excellent strategies. Ocados strategy for increasing revenues is being realized through the provision and delivery of new and various products at lower prices while Tescos plan for diversification is also being materialized by adding additional businesses to their existing business model. Both companies are also giving customers high quality offerings but when it comes to a variation of products Tesco has more products to offer than Ocado. Tesco is selling electronic gadgets like personal computers (PC), mobiles phones, games and gaming accessories. They also have furniture, appliances, car accessories, sports and leisure products that are yet unavailable to Ocado. This wide range of products that Tesco have can be attributed to their existence of more than 90 years in the business whereas Ocado has just been in the market for 10 years. In caring for the environment, I can say that Ocados efforts in go ing green are more successful than Tesco and this is evident in the awards that they recently received. And when it comes to gross sales, Ocado has higher revenues than Tesco and their strong sales drive as confirmed in the first half of the year is continuing to increase since then. In August 8, 2010, sales for the previous 36 weeks reached  £372.2m, having a 29.8% increase. Ocado is already planning to diversify by adding non-grocery products to their line and by doing so they are trying to counter Tescos existing products. So if I were to recommend what company to invest in, I would say it has to be Ocado.

Cultural Communication Essay -- essays research papers

Culture can be defined as, â€Å"learned behaviors that are communicated from one generation to another to promote individual and social structure† (Communication; Making Connections, 44). In other words, information and behavior that is appropriate to where we live, where we have come from, and the traditions of those places are handed down along generations to insure that they continue. These behaviors help us identify who we are and who our ancestors were. American culture is an eclectic combination of many races from all over the world coming together to create a culture unlike those found anywhere else. A very different culture can be found in Eastern Europe, specifically the culture found in France. Considering the events that lead up to the United State’s War on Terror, and France’s refusal to help, it is important for Americans to understand this different culture and many of the communication barriers that have lead to the hostility between the two nati ons. These communication barriers can be overcome through patience, understanding, respect for the other culture, and by seeking similarities between the two to create a common ground of understanding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The social structure in most countries is most often created through war and political change. The American colonists overthrew their tyrannical government during the American Revolution. This drastic change allowed for the colonies to create their own sense of individuality. People of different ethnicities began to merge as they settled the same areas, yet still maintained many aspects of their homelands. America is now foreseen as a great ‘melting pot’ of diversity. For over hundreds of years, people from all over the world have come to America looking for the freedoms they are often denied in their native lands. As the Statue of Liberty states, â€Å"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,† (msn.Encarta.com). The United States prides itself on being considered a safe haven for all who seek it. France also went under a drastic change after its own revolution, but with very different results. Up until 1789, the beginning of the war, less than half of the population actually spoke French. After the Revolution, the new French government tried to create a un... ...t† (Communications; Making Connections, 46). In other words, a cultural relativist is willing to put themselves in the place of another from a different culture in order to identify with them without making judgments. It is important to note that understanding is not the same as accepting cultural difference or condoning them. Using these concepts, one can begin the process of effective communication across a variety of cultures. Though divided by the Atlantic Ocean, language, politics and social structure, the United States and France have much in common. Both countries revolted against their corrupt governments to establish better ways of life. Both countries believe that their stands on issues are for the benefit of the rest of the world. Coincidentally, French architect, Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, designed both the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty, each symbols of their respective nations. The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States by France to commemorate the alliance the two countries during the American Revolution. If we use our similarities to build bridges instead of differences to build walls, communication between cultures can be effective and beneficial.

A Home on the Range :: Personal Narrative West Papers

A Home on the Range I swear that I spent my entire childhood waiting for Ray and Mary-Beth Garson. I would rock back and forth on the plush golden chair to the right of my Grandpa's and look out towards the golden Wyoming hills and the hay stack, waiting for their trailer to come bouncing down into the yard of the Dodds Family Gatecreek Ranch. Once they were in sight, I would dash outside and pretend to be busying myself with the saddles or sprucing up the area around the barn. It was never clear how many horses they would bring, but they always brought April and that was all that mattered. She was my horse. When my mother would tell Ray how much I loved April, he would just look down at his feet, smile and say, "She's a good horse." This time, however, I was not waiting for Ray and Mary-Beth by the window. I actually was busy in the yard, preparing a barbeque on our new grill from Kmart. In summers long past, we would have gone up to the picnic grounds to have dinner, but this time because it was just my mother and I we decided to stay at the house. There were no cousins, aunts, uncles, or siblings milling about, making trips to and from the house with the food and friends. There were no horses in the now terribly overgrown and rundown corral and there were no cows in the meadow behind the house. An elaborate meal was not on deck; it was just burgers, salad, and a Dominos pizza that Mary-Beth brought from town. I had not been to the Ranch since the death of my grandmother, four years earlier. She died on the eve of the millennium, perhaps not wanting to embark into the 21st century, after living through three open-heart surgeries, and the loss of a child and two husbands. Her one true source of joy came from Roger, my mother's half brother, the product of her first marriage which ended when her husband's plane was shot down during World War II. Roger was her prince and she showered him with more love than my grandfather, Thomas Dodds, would ever experience. Tensions had always run high between Roger and the rest of the family, but they came to a climax after my grandmother's death.

Organic foods

Organic foods are defined as foods without pesticides, antibiotics,or gefetically altered organisms. Organic farming began in the late 1940’s in the united states, and in recents years it has grown into a multi-billion dollaer industry. Sales for organis foods in the past decade have increased annually by 20%. Its 20% growth is ten times as much as non-organic food’s growth. Organic food makes up only a fraction of the food market even though there are over ten million consumers. The sales of organic foods are expected to climb to over 6 billion dollars within the upcoming years. Soil is also a crucial component of the organic process. Soil is said to be organic when it has been deemed ‘clean’ for three years. Making a commitment to healthy eating is a great start towards a healthier life. Beyond eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and good fats, however, there is the question of food safety, nutrition, and sustainability. How foods are grown or raised can impact both your health and the environment. This brings up the questions: What is the difference between organic foods and conventionally grown foods? Is â€Å"organic† always best? What about locally grown foods? Organic food, natural cleaners, green businesses, even organic clothing; natural and organic products continue to be the centre of attention for those seeking a healthier lifestyle, but just what is organic food, is this organic trend long-lasting, and what organic food facts provide compelling reasons to grow, shop, cook and eat organic food. Today, organic food accounts for 2% of global food sales and is growing at an average rate of 20% each year. Today, you can have your organic food delivered, buy it online, at your local grocery store, grow it yourself and order organic food at many restaurants. This continuing rise in demand creates a need for regulations to protect both consumers and farmers. Organic food is not the same thing as natural food. Natural refers to the way a food is processed rather than the ingredients. A food that is free of additives and preservatives, but contains commercially-produced ingredients, is considered natural. Organic food contains primarily organic ingredients, while natural foods may be made with items grown with the aid of chemicals as well as genetically modified ingredient and it is not just apples and bananas. Nearly every food available also has an organic version in today’s market. Organic milk, chicken, and even pasta can be found right on the shelves of your neighbourhood supermarket. Many leading food manufacturers are creating organic food in convenience packaging to fit into modern lifestyles. Canned organic tomatoes and frozen organic peas are among many options. Organic food is not bland and tasteless. In fact, most people claim organic ingredients are fresher and more flavourful than conventionally grown foods. Chemical residues, added ingredients, and hurried, mass production detract from the natural juices within fruits and vegetables. Organic food is free of chemicals, leaving nothing but pure, fresh flavour. Regulations and procedures for organic certification are still relatively new but organic farming and cultivation are not. Farmers were using natural, chemical-free methods of growing long before pesticides and fertilizers were available. As more research continues to reveal the dangers of these chemicals to both humans and the planet, consumers continue to explore the benefits of organic food. The advantages of arganic food are that you can choose to grow and/or buy food that is healthier for you, and the environment; cooking and eating organically also often offers more flavor and better tasting foods. Use organic farming methods and organic gardening tactics such as organic garden fertilizer and compost to grow your food; the organic food advantages and organic food benefits are significant for you, your family and the planet. Organic food benefits have been a hot topic for more than a decade now but it wasn't until relatively recently that these advantages were supported by more than just hearsay. Extensive research conducted over a number of years has proven that organic food not only tastes better than commercial foods, but it is also better for us and our children, as well as our animals, wildlife, and the environment as a whole. Care and maintenance of soil, and preventive farming methods like crop rotation create fruits and vegetables that contain up to 50% more vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients than intensively farmed foods. Encouraging natural and organic farming methods and gardening practices, will allow organic soil to rebuild and contribute healthy vitamins and minerals to feed the crops, and you. Organic foods have higher levels of many disease-fighting antioxidants and essential vitamins, including Vitamin C. Industrial pesticides and fertilizers used in intensive farming contain synthetic, toxic chemicals, residues of which remain in the food they are involved in producing. Organic farming uses natural, synthetic-chemical-free methods that produce foods much safer for the humans, as well as the animals, that consume them. And if you grow your own fruits and vegetables, using organic garden fertilizer, natural pesticide methods, and organic soil Such chemicals are responsible for a number of common allergies and have also been linked to serious diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. An organic diet significantly lowers these risks. Organic foods Organic foods are defined as foods without pesticides, antibiotics,or gefetically altered organisms. Organic farming began in the late 1940’s in the united states, and in recents years it has grown into a multi-billion dollaer industry. Sales for organis foods in the past decade have increased annually by 20%. Its 20% growth is ten times as much as non-organic food’s growth. Organic food makes up only a fraction of the food market even though there are over ten million consumers. The sales of organic foods are expected to climb to over 6 billion dollars within the upcoming years. Soil is also a crucial component of the organic process. Soil is said to be organic when it has been deemed ‘clean’ for three years. Making a commitment to healthy eating is a great start towards a healthier life. Beyond eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and good fats, however, there is the question of food safety, nutrition, and sustainability. How foods are grown or raised can impact both your health and the environment. This brings up the questions: What is the difference between organic foods and conventionally grown foods? Is â€Å"organic† always best? What about locally grown foods? Organic food, natural cleaners, green businesses, even organic clothing; natural and organic products continue to be the centre of attention for those seeking a healthier lifestyle, but just what is organic food, is this organic trend long-lasting, and what organic food facts provide compelling reasons to grow, shop, cook and eat organic food. Today, organic food accounts for 2% of global food sales and is growing at an average rate of 20% each year. Today, you can have your organic food delivered, buy it online, at your local grocery store, grow it yourself and order organic food at many restaurants. This continuing rise in demand creates a need for regulations to protect both consumers and farmers. Organic food is not the same thing as natural food. Natural refers to the way a food is processed rather than the ingredients. A food that is free of additives and preservatives, but contains commercially-produced ingredients, is considered natural. Organic food contains primarily organic ingredients, while natural foods may be made with items grown with the aid of chemicals as well as genetically modified ingredient and it is not just apples and bananas. Nearly every food available also has an organic version in today’s market. Organic milk, chicken, and even pasta can be found right on the shelves of your neighbourhood supermarket. Many leading food manufacturers are creating organic food in convenience packaging to fit into modern lifestyles. Canned organic tomatoes and frozen organic peas are among many options. Organic food is not bland and tasteless. In fact, most people claim organic ingredients are fresher and more flavourful than conventionally grown foods. Chemical residues, added ingredients, and hurried, mass production detract from the natural juices within fruits and vegetables. Organic food is free of chemicals, leaving nothing but pure, fresh flavour. Regulations and procedures for organic certification are still relatively new but organic farming and cultivation are not. Farmers were using natural, chemical-free methods of growing long before pesticides and fertilizers were available. As more research continues to reveal the dangers of these chemicals to both humans and the planet, consumers continue to explore the benefits of organic food. The advantages of arganic food are that you can choose to grow and/or buy food that is healthier for you, and the environment; cooking and eating organically also often offers more flavor and better tasting foods. Use organic farming methods and organic gardening tactics such as organic garden fertilizer and compost to grow your food; the organic food advantages and organic food benefits are significant for you, your family and the planet. Organic food benefits have been a hot topic for more than a decade now but it wasn't until relatively recently that these advantages were supported by more than just hearsay. Extensive research conducted over a number of years has proven that organic food not only tastes better than commercial foods, but it is also better for us and our children, as well as our animals, wildlife, and the environment as a whole. Care and maintenance of soil, and preventive farming methods like crop rotation create fruits and vegetables that contain up to 50% more vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients than intensively farmed foods. Encouraging natural and organic farming methods and gardening practices, will allow organic soil to rebuild and contribute healthy vitamins and minerals to feed the crops, and you. Organic foods have higher levels of many disease-fighting antioxidants and essential vitamins, including Vitamin C. Industrial pesticides and fertilizers used in intensive farming contain synthetic, toxic chemicals, residues of which remain in the food they are involved in producing. Organic farming uses natural, synthetic-chemical-free methods that produce foods much safer for the humans, as well as the animals, that consume them. And if you grow your own fruits and vegetables, using organic garden fertilizer, natural pesticide methods, and organic soil Such chemicals are responsible for a number of common allergies and have also been linked to serious diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. An organic diet significantly lowers these risks.