Wikileaks A Non Profit International Organization Essay

WikiLeaks, is a non-profit international organization. The objective of this organization is to publish private information and new to the public and also categorize the information from anonymous origin. It has been over a decade now that the website WikiLeaks has published online a huge number of classified documents and other materials and that have uncovered the internal information of the major country agencies like National Security Agency, the U.S. military and State Department and even the Democratic National Committee. We all know that their founder, Julian Assange WikiLeaks has possessed the capacity to keep posting classified material from U.S. and also the other countries diplomats and authorities regardless of various cyber assaults against the Websites and the abandonment of key service providers is a touch of Internet cunning ordinarily conveyed by legitimate and criminal online organizations to shield themselves from activity spikes and from being closed down. Such i s the steadiness of information in the Internet Age. 1. How does the First Amendment protect WikiLeaks from prosecution? With over 250,000 classified documents of U.S diplomatic published on their site. Especially, diplomats used to gather individual data, for example, account number, email, charge card number and it additionally publish lot of U.S armed force secrets. The U.S government attempted to indict WikiLeaks to stop news leak in future. But, the first amendment law of United States isShow MoreRelatedWikileaks : A Project Of The Sunshine Press1742 Words   |  7 Pages2009 and early 2010, a not for profit website called WikiLeaks posted classified US military documents showing all of the mistakes made by the US military and its soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. WikiLeaks does so much more than just release classified documents about the US military; they are no different from the New York Times in that â€Å"WikiLeaks is a project of the Sunshine Press† (Assange). WikiLeaks is an international online, non-profit, journalistic organization that publishes leaks (documentsRead MoreWhistleb lowing Case1640 Words   |  7 Pagescase is the case of WikiLeaks.2 WikiLeaks is an international non-profit organization which aims to publish online submissions of classified information, news leaks 3 from anonymous news sources and whistleblowers.4 It unleashed the wrath of the U.S. government and a wave of recrimination and reprisals against WikiLeaks and its key figures. Twitter was the only Internet Company to support WikiLeaks while others cut off essential resources to WikiLeaks’ survival. 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If you have a problem with me, piss off’ (Julian Assange, 2010, as cited in Poulsen Zetter, 2010) Introduction In his article, The Mediatisation of Society Theory, Hjarvard (2008) deduces that media simultaneously become an integrated part of society, not to mention the existence of new media like the Internet. In fact, this integration of InternetRead MoreWikileaks : A Not For Profit Media Organization3513 Words   |  15 Pages â€Æ' INTRODUCTION WikiLeaks established in 2006 is a not-for-profit media organization. As per their website, their goal is â€Å"to bring important news and information to the public. We provide an innovative, secure and anonymous way for sources to leak information to our journalists. WikiLeaks has worked to report on and publish important information. We also develop and adapt technologies to support these activities. The broader principles on which our work is based are the defense of freedom of speechRead MoreThis Report Purpose Is To Provide A Point Of View About1352 Words   |  6 Pagesprovides a clear explanation about the criminal charges against Edward Snowden, a former CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) employee, a former contractor for the United States government, he copied and leaked classified information from the NSA organization without permissions in 2013. Snowden was charged with three different felonies on June 2013, as he stole a governmental property unauthorized communication of national defense information. The following number of lines could provide a detailedRead MoreCyber Ethics: Principles to Combat Hacking Essay2206 Words   |  9 Pagesnetwork. They may motivated by different kinds of reason such as profit, to protest, to challenge a system, to grab information, etc. There are 3 types of hacker which can be classified into white hat, black hat, and grey hat. White hat hacker breaks the computer security for non-malicious reasons where they are actually to test their own security system. Black hat hacker violates the computer ethics and hacks system for their personal profit. Grey hacker hacks the computer system with the purpose of notifyingRead MoreMass Electronic Surveillance is an Invasion of Privacy Essay2474 Words   |  10 Pagesfirst gives a brief overview of the history of surveillance. Followed by reaction of state and common people to mass surveillance, later it discuss about the use of laws and media as a tool to further state intere st over the public. Work of non profit organization is studied in last section along with a conclusion which gives suggestion on what should be done. Mass surveillance has a long history of religious extremism followed by the Nazi government spying on everyone to Soviet bloc using it duringRead MoreThe European Union And The Refugee Crisis1895 Words   |  8 Pagessettle down in the country they arrive in or where directed by the government. Unfortunately, refugees seldom remain where they land as they are searching for a better life in States such as Germany, France, the UK and since internal border controls are non-existent, it is very easy for refugees to travel anywhere in the Schengen Area. The obvious argument for Schengen is that EU Movement rights should apply to legally settled refugees. However, the mass movement of people, many of whom are not properlyRead MoreThe Church Of Scientology : An Opportunistic Organization1879 Words   |  8 PagesThe Church Of Scientology claims to offer a path of self-betterment and spiritual enlightenment through a precise protocol that heals the body and spirit. In reality, Scientology is an opportunistic organization that methodically targets, recruits, and exploits people, particularly highly vulnerable individuals. The Church of Scientology reaches out to these potential members through a robust collection of programs designed to help the general population. Though these programs have been defended

My Life in the Light of the Rule of Benedict Free Essays

We live in a time impatiently dashing towards the next. Ours is a society plagued by the need to move on without resolving issues of the here and now. We readily throw objects for the latest, and within the same breath complain that things are not the way they used to be. We will write a custom essay sample on My Life in the Light of the Rule of Benedict or any similar topic only for you Order Now We so willingly burn bridges, and under the same lifetime demand for meaningful and lasting connections. Our lives are imbalanced and devoid of meaning because we are so caught up in the demands that society imposes upon us. And at the end of each day we feel so empty and restless, longing for something more. The good news is that meaning and purpose can be found for those who truly want it in their lives and are willing to do what it takes to find it and keep it. The book of St. Benedict was written some 15 centuries ago. But it finds place even in modern times. The precepts that it gives are enduring for those who want to find a semblance of spiritual peace in our chaotic and often uncertain world. The book is mainly about how man can strike a balance between his work and his spiritual life of prayer and meditation. This work of St. Benedict, which was written in the Middle Ages, became the foundations of the monastic life, where men of God were men of the world as well, doing menial jobs even as they tend to their spiritual lives. St. Benedict’s philosophy revolved around three main concepts: peace, pray and work. That in spite of the daily grind and drudgeries of our existence, we can all strive to find peace in our lives through finding time to pray and sanctify all our daily activities. He believes that the men of God should never turn their backs to the world and their responsibilities to their communities because a life of prayer without the actual good work that benefits other people is useless. Our duty as Christian is two-fold, the daily worship of God and the daily service to mankind. In every aspect of living, there is a way to find balance and address these two things at the same time. The wonderful thing about The Book of Benedict is that while it deals with profound issue of faith and grace, it also has practical advices on how to observe them in the real world. Balance and moderation is the key to a peaceful and content life. We must never be tempted to excesses and overindulgence. In food, two of a kind is sufficient so that if a person does not eat one, then there is always a second option. In my life I make it a point to enjoy my food, the key to feeling food is to savor every bite and celebrate the blessings that it represents. There are some cases when celebrating through food is well-deserved, but still, it should be taken in moderation. As St. Benedict said, â€Å"For nothing is so contrary to Christians as excess, as our Lord saith: ‘See that your hearts be not overcharged with surfeiting’ (Lk 21:34).† I have realized that food, to be truly enjoyed need not be taken in excessive amounts. The secret is in learning how to delight in and appreciate each small bite of food. In terms of clothing and other possessions, the same principle of moderation and appropriateness should apply. The clothing that we buy should be suitable to its use and to the climate of the place that we live in. Circumstances and not wants should dictate our choice of the clothes to buy. Of course every article of clothing should be tasteful in design, never ostentatious and ornamental, but tasteful and practical. And for those who have too much should give them away to the less privileged so that other people can find use for them. Looking at St. Benedict’s philosophies of moderation and appropriateness, I have realized that the tendency to hoard and acquire more material belongings is at the very heart of the loneliness that afflicts most of us. We are never happy with what we have, always wanting more in an effort to cover up the emptiness that we feel. The sad truth is that most of us look outside ourselves for answers, when all that we could ever need has been laid out in front of us. All that is needed is that we spend the time to look at all the blessings that we have and give thanks for them. My life is dictated by duties and responsibilities. But I know the value of prayers in my life. I make the time to attend to matters of my soul, even as I try to fulfill my duties to my family and my community. I have realized that I have everything I need to have a happy and full life. It is just a matter of changing how we look at our lives. If we continue to define our lives by what we do not have, then we shall never be content even while we are drowning in material possessions. The grace to have a grateful heart can only be achieved through constant prayer, and while my day is filled with things to do, I make it a point to make prayer a necessary habit. Indeed the secret to a happy life is no longer a secret. St. Benedict has long given us the power to define our own lives. Our lives may be filled with the realities of work and responsibilities, but in prayer we find a safe haven where we can find peace and the strength to carry on with what needs to be done for the day. How to cite My Life in the Light of the Rule of Benedict, Essay examples

Conserve and Preserve free essay sample

With today’s growing population, resource consumption is becoming a huge concern. It is important that humans realize what is best for both our present and future generation, and what is best for our planet. We must preserve certain areas from being destroyed to keep their natural beauty. We should also conserve resources, so they can continue to flourish, but also so we can continue to live our lives without depleting these resources. Every individual unit of the environment works together to maintain a balance that supports the cycle of life. Humans must co-exist in a positive way with these units. We should live in a way that does not exploit any part of nature. We should not only respect and sustain the environment for our own benefit and for future generations, but also because nature itself is good on its own. When looking at preservation and conservation, there is not one that is better the other. Like many other rules and sets of standards, there are exceptions. Preservation is the action of protecting a certain thing or area completely. Conservation is a form of preservation, where we can use a particular resource or portion of land, in this case, but it is used sparingly and sustainably. There are certain situations where preserving something is beneficial. Then there are other situations where conserving something would be better for a larger number of living things. It would be ideal to say that we should strive to preserve nature in all scenarios but that is not a practical approach because there are certain needs that we as human beings have to fulfill that we can only get from nature. Certain medicines that keep people alive can be found in nature. If for instance a plant has the ability to save someone’s life, then it would be acceptable to cut that plant down to help heal the patient. There are some exceptions to this of course. It would be wrong to cut down the plant if it was unable to be replaced. The plant should be plentiful and able to thrive as a species before we use it to help our own species. For the most part, humans are put on a higher scale than some other species. This is not to say that we should disregard those species or over-use them, but if it came down to a life or death situation for a person, using the plant would be ethical. There are other scenarios in which preservation would be a better approach. An example of this is mountaintop removal. It does not seem ethical to be destroying such a beautiful object that forms naturally just so that we can have access to coal seams. The coal extracted from the mountain is only beneficial for a certain amount of time but the negative consequences from the whole process will be felt a lot longer (Copeland). Even though the mountain itself since it is not a living, breathing organism, it is important to respect the natural beauty of the mountain. The animals and plants that may reside on the mountain are also affected by this, and that should be taken into consideration. Another example of a time when it is best to preserve is in the case of an endangered organism. Say for instance that a certain tree is being cut down at an alarming rate to make paper. The tree will cease to exist if we continue at the rate that we are going. Then we should stop all chopping down of that particular tree. We should preserve it and allow it to continue to live, not just so that in the future we still have that tree around to produce more paper, but because it is a living thing that has value on its own. Our population is growing, and we have to figure out the best way to use our resources. Garrett Hardin also recognizes this as a problem in his essay â€Å"Lifeboat Ethics†, but takes the stance that if we help the poor people; we are hurting them in the long run. He believes that the biggest factor for overpopulation is the fact that poor countries multiply and increase their population at a much faster rate than countries that are predominately rich. Because of this, the problems associated with too many people in one area will continue to grow larger. This is because rich countries have the resources to support their people more so than the poorer countries that cannot even begin to help their people (Hardin). Getting food is a major concern of many people who think that overpopulation is becoming a problem. Hardin also recognizes this as a problem, but takes the stance that if we help the poor people; we are hurting them in the long run. Conservation becomes important when taking the population into consideration. Overpopulation will have a large impact on the environment because there will obviously be more of a need for basic elements such as water, food, and shelter. With more people demanding food, more livestock will need to be bred; more fruits and vegetables will need to be grown. With more people demanding shelter, more land will need to be plowed in order to build houses. With more people on the earth demanding water, more freshwater sources will be dried up. Not only are the necessities factored into the problem but with more people, all the luxuries and small things will add up also. There will be a higher demand of medicines, paper, and other goods that we can get from nature. The increase of human life will create a huge blow for the environment. It is important that we prevent our world from becoming a commons open to everyone, where people use their resources foolishly and greedily. Since people are part of the whole equation that makes up the environment, we should care and respect others. However, in feeding the poor, they do not realize their problems and continue to reproduce, thus putting them and the country in a deeper hole. This too has an effect on the environment because in the search for food, people do things that do not support a sustainable cycle. An example of this is the fact that since there are more people and getting meat to them is a long process, factory farms have taken the place of actual farms. Animals are now bred to grow faster and jacked up with hormones in an attempt to get them to the slaughterhouse faster so that the demands of consumers can be met. Also in order to keep up with more people, that means that there must be more animals to begin with. Livestock are crowded into small cages where they are unable to turn around, they are not able to live with their young, they pick up diseases and many other problems arise from this. This affects the life of the livestock obviously, but also affects the life of the consumer who then eats the meat. It is understandable that individuals want to eat meat because they say it tastes good, it is high in protein, and it’s convenient as well. However, the way that humans do it is immoral and wrong. We do not give the animals any chance of survival or even a chance at life to begin with. It would be more justifiable for people to go out and hunt their meat like people used to do. Then the animals would be able to live a normal life up until they were killed. This would also cut down on the air pollution that comes from factory farms, reduce the amount of water that is needed to produce meat, reduce the amount of crop space that is needed to feed the livestock, and reduce the amount of drugs that the consumer also eats after the animals are fed them. This brings the argument back around to the fact that the population is growing and that there are starving people all around the world. If reduced their consumption meat, then there would not be as big of a need for livestock. Thus the crops that are grown to feed the cows could be fed to the people who need it. We could also stop cutting down trees and destroying forests that is normally needed in order to make room for all that food that needs to be produced. Around the world 756 million tons of grain is fed to livestock and almost half of the 225 million tons of soy that is produced yearly also goes to feed the animals that we eat (USDA). These crops could be used to feed people in starving countries. It could affect the lives of people right here in America. Our population is growing very quickly and resources are becoming scarcer every day. We should want to preserve and conserve the natural world around us. Whether a person believes that another living thing has rights or not, they should still treat it with respect and care. One person or a small group of people should not make the ultimate decisions on what is considered worthy of life or unworthy. If people took the time to consider the feelings and consideration of the living things in nature, the world would be a better place not just for us now, but for future generations.

Residual welfare model in Hong Kong Essay Example

Residual welfare model in Hong Kong Paper Residual position of societal public assistance Social public assistance is a important issue in a society. The societal issues allow us cognize which public assistance should supply and to what extent the public assistance can be provided. In fact, the ways to supply societal public assistance may change between different societies. The societal public assistance system in Hong Kong is following the residuary public assistance theoretical account. Hong Kong has followed the large market, little authorities political orientation for many old ages. It is based on the thought of the residuary public assistance theoretical account that there is no demand for the authorities to prosecute in the distribution procedure of societal public assistance. This is because people can decide the jobs themselves. The needy can happen support through the market mechanism, household or the non-profit-making organisations. The authorities will merely supply support to people when the needy truly can’t solve the jobs themselves. Therefore, harmonizing to the large market, little authorities rule, the authorities holds the belief that people have the ability to acquire rid of the troubles. The authorities is the last and impermanent resort of the needy. The authorities can supply the immediate support to the needy. However, in the long term, the needy have to happen ways to assist themselves. We will write a custom essay sample on Residual welfare model in Hong Kong specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Residual welfare model in Hong Kong specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Residual welfare model in Hong Kong specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Due to the residuary public assistance theoretical account, the policies in Hong Kong are non cosmopolitan. The societal aids in Hong Kong normally have the agencies trial because the authorities merely will assist people who are under a really hapless fiscal or populating status. I will utilize the instruction and lodging facets in order to demo that the policies in Hong Kong demonstrate the political orientation of residuary public assistance theoretical account. For instruction, the authorities provides support in the signifier of loans and grants for pupils who live in the low income household. The pupils might acquire full grants of their tuition fee but they should undergo the agencies test foremost. Besides, in order to protect people’s basic life demand, the authorities launches the public lodging strategy. The authorities provides low-cost lodging for low-income occupants. If people want to use for the public house, they should go through the agencies trial in the public lodging strategy. From the policies of instruction and public lodging, we can cognize that Hong Kong is under the residuary public assistance theoretical account because every policies are non cosmopolitan and they will put some demands for people to achieve which this is fit t he beliefs of residuary public assistance theoretical account. Therefore, the individualistic manner and ‘positive non- interventionism’ are regarded as two chief characteristics of Hong Kong’s policy. Despite the instruction and lodging policies, the retirement protection system besides demonstrate the thoughts of residuary public assistance theoretical account. The aging population job is going more serious in Hong Kong. The aging population of aged 65 and above is acquiring increasing from 12 % to 17 % in 2002 to 2012 ( Census and Statistics Department, 2013 ) . Hong Kong is sing the aging jobs over the past decennary. In my undermentioned portion, I will concentrate on the retirement protection policy within the aged public assistance system. Three-pillar retirement protection attack In order to cover with the aging jobs, the World Bank implements the multi-pillar-model. There will be three pillar attacks toward the retirement protection system when the World Bank first times to establish the strategy. The Pillar I is a public retributive and defined-benefit system. It is so called the ‘pay as you go’ attack. Besides, the Pillar II is a private, funded and defined part system. Besides, the Pillar III is a private, voluntary and auxiliary defined part system ( Roller, 2012 ) . The two more pillars were added in the theoretical accounts subsequently which are the Zero Pillar and Pillar IV. The Zero pillar purposes to protect people’s basic demand. It holds the belief that everything should undergo the procedure of agencies trial. It is besides related to the Pillar I because both of them are wishing to relieve poorness. Both of them believe that all citizens should prosecute in the public assistance procedure ( Castells, 2010 ) . Furthermore, Pi llar IV is speaking about some support from household which might non be related to the money ( Chou, 2009 ) . Even though the theoretical account of the World Bank has five pillars today, Hong Kong is still following a three-pillar attack toward the retirement protection policy. First, the Zero pillar exists in Hong Kong which aims to supply the basic demand to the aged. In Hong Kong, when the aged meet the age demand, they can have the CSSA and Old Age Allowance ( OAA ) . The CSSA and OAA can move as trim money for the aged to carry through their day-to-day life. Second, Hong Kong has the Pillar II which the illustration is the MPF. If you get a occupation, there is no uncertainty that every employee has to prosecute in the MPF. Third, Hong Kong has the Pillar III which is related to the voluntary private nest eggs ( e†ºÃ‚ ·e?Zei2011 ) . In order to hold a better life as a retired individual, they might utilize their ain nest eggs to back up their day-to-day life. For the retirement protection policy, we can cognize that the authorities is obeying the regulation of ‘big market, little authorities ’ . It means that the authorities and the other establishments besides have the duty toward the retirement protection policy. The Means trials are the primary method for finding eligibility when using the CSSA and Old Age Allowance. Selective hard currency aids are reserved for people defined within the context of the policy as in demand. Means testing is used to place people with limited resources. This selective procedure determines the eligibility for public assistance benefits or services so it shows the thoughts of residuary public assistance theoretical account. The authorities uses the three pillars approach in order to supply the basic demand to the aged. However, it is non job free with the three pillars approach. Hong Kong Council of Social Service finished a statistic about aging population last twelvemonth. There are a 3rd of people aged 65 and over are populating under poorness ( e†ºÃ‚ ·e?Zei2011 ) . They are regarded as really hapless people among the universe. Therefore, people argue that if the CSSA and Old Age Allowance which the aged rely on can truly supply the basic necessities for them. Besides, people besides argue that the MPF covers merely working people. Housewifes and others who are non employed are non covered by the MPF. There is small trouble in understanding that people will experience uncertainty that how the retirement protection of the homemakers is. Obviously, the bing retirement protection policy is seeking to undertake the fiscal jobs of the aged. When the aged truly necessitate aid, the authorities can supply them with the basic demand. The study from the Census and Statistics Department shows that the aging population will be increasing rapidly in the coming old ages. The aged aged 65 and above will increase from the 1.0 million last twelvemonth to 2.6 million in 2041. This statistic suggests that by 2041, around one in three individuals will be seniors ( Census and Statistics Department, 2013 ) . Therefore, due to the restrictions in the retirement protection policy I mentioned, there is no uncertainty that the authorities should do betterment toward the retirement protection policy. Experiences from Taiwan Taiwan is the same as Hong Kong that it besides has the aging population and with the similar geographic background as Hong Kong. As the retirement protection policy in Taiwan is rather good developed, it can be Hong Kong’s mention when bettering the retirement protection policy. Taiwan follows the five-pillar attacks when covering with the aged policy. I will concentrate on speaking about the National Pension Program in Taiwan because the other retirement protection policies in Taiwan are about the same as other states. The National Pension Program purposes to supply the aged with the basic demands in their day-to-day life. For the seniors who want to use for the National Pension Program, they ought to undergo the procedure of agencies trial and there is a residence demand that they have to go through. In order to keep the sustainability of the National Pension Program, the authorities should non pay the money to the seniors in one clip. They should pay the money measure by measure, such as monthly ( Roller, 2012 ) . Urge for a cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy Hong Kong and Taiwan have the similarities in the reform procedure. However, their pension reform is really different. Taiwan implements the National Pension Program successfully whereas Hong Kong merely focuses on the CSSA and Old Age Allowance. With mention in Taiwan, some people suggest that Hong Kong ought to spread out its retirement protection policy which is to present a retirement protection strategy which is for all citizens. This strategy is subsequently explained by Professor Nelson Chow Wing-sun. He proposed to put up a cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy in Hong Kong. In the strategy, HK $ 3,000 monthly pension will be given to people aged 65 and above ( a‘ °- °i2013 i?†° . In order to keep the stableness of the strategy, the employers and employees need to lend and the authorities would be responsible for some of the fund. This new strategy eliminates means trials and other administrative processs because age standards are the lone eligibility to make up ones mind if you can acquire the pension or non. I think that the retirement protection strategy proposed by Professor Nelson Chow has the same significance as the National Pension Program in Taiwan because both of them concentrate on the people who are non in the labour market. They all want to protect these people from being hapless. For the bing three pillar attack, I feel uncertainty of their effectivity in run intoing the demands of the aged. With the low rates of return, the MPF can’t support people’s day-to-day life. Therefore, if the senior merely rely on the MPF system, it is non rational for them. Due to the defect of the three pillar attack, I have a pursuit for a cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy as what Professor Nelson Chow proposed. However, based on Professor Chow’s proposal on cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy, I think there should add the means trial into the strategy. The purpose of the cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy is to relieve aged poorness. Therefore, the hapless people serve foremost. We should aim on those with a echt demand and some signifier of agencies proving is necessary. There is no uncertainty that the aged deserve a decent and better retirement. If we have the means-tested in the cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy, some people can’t have the public pension due to their income degree. Therefore, people might reason that it is non a retirement protection for all citizens so it is unjust. However, if there is no means trial and everyone aged 65 or above can have the pension, it might damage the economic development of Hong Kong and increase load on employers. Furthermore, any retirement protection strategy without agencies trial is sing as ‘welfarism’ . This might do the financially impracticable for the authorities to shoulder the load of a cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy over clip. Therefore, in order to do a good usage of the cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy, I suggest that there should include a means trial in Professor Nelson Chow’s proposal which is the same as the Taiwan’s National Pension Program. There is non a new thing when speaking about the ripening job. Hong Kong and Taiwan have many similar features toward the aged policy. However, Taiwan developed its retirement protection policies at a faster gait. Therefore, Hong Kong should larn from the Taiwan’s National Pension Program that to implement the agencies trial in the cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy. The advantage of the strategy is that it provides the protection to the non-employees. For the bing retirement policy, such as the MPF system, it excludes the protection of the homemakers. Thu, a cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy can complement this job. Besides, for some people, they argue that the fiscal force per unit area will be mounted on working people under the cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy because they have to bear the cost of the strategy. Therefore, in order to do a good usage of the fund, the cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy should include the means trial. Furthermore, the agencies test can move as a resource distribution. This is because the destitute seniors can be found and they can acquire aid from the authorities. Improvement of the three pillar attack Many people hold the belief that it is a immense concern for the population development that one in three people will be aged 65 old ages old and above in the coming old ages. This phenomenon threatens the economic growing because there will be more people but less that are working. Therefore, fewer people will lend to the economic system. If we have more aged people in Hong Kong, it is a must to reexamine the retirement protection policy. For our hereafter planning of retirement protection system, Professor Nelson Chow’s cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy can be one of the steps. We can’t happen a theoretical account reply to state us how to put up a good retirement protection policy due to the diverseness of different states. Despite Professor Nelson Chow’s proposal, there is indispensable for the authorities to do alterations on the three attack theoretical account toward the retirement protection policy. For the Zero pillar, CSSA and OAA act as a safety cyberspace for the destitute aged. However, there might hold some jobs toward the CSSA. When using the CSSA, the elderly’s household members, such as her boy or girl, have to subscribe the declaration that they won’t provide fiscal support for the aged. Therefore, if the aged is in bad relationship with her household members, here boy or girl might non able to subscribe the declaration for her. Therefore, the senior can’t get the CSSA. Besides, the money in the CSSA might non be able to supply basic demands for aged because of the rising prices. Due to the rising prices, we have to pay more money when purchasing things. In order to assist the aged during rising prices, the authorities should set the money in CSSA more often. In add-on, we should better the MPF system in the Pillar II. The employees should experience free to take their MPF plan due to the different sets of demands. There should be no barriers for employees when taking the MPF plan. Furthermore, the authorities ought to offer inducements to promote voluntary nest eggs in Pillar III. The pillar III is related to the voluntary parts to the MPF system. In order to promote personal nest eggs, the authorities needs to supply the revenue enhancement incentives for people. For the three pillars approach, the authorities needs to measure the fiscal sustainability on a regular basis. As suggestion before, the bing three pillars policies should be reinforced and enhanced. Future planning of the retirement protection policy Everyone agree that the cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy is non implemented in Hong Kong for the aged at this minute. The authorities merely focuses on the Zero pillar. The authorities set some regulations for the aged to run into. If they can go through the demands set by the authorities, they can acquire aid. When be aftering the hereafter policy for retired people, the strategy proposed by Professor Chow could be the manner out. We should see the construct of ‘responsibility’ when be aftering the future retirement protection policy. Hong Kong is under the residuary public assistance theoretical account that people solve the jobs through the household and market. The authorities is the last manner to assist people. Therefore, for the retirement protection policy, it is related to the construct of ‘who is responsible? ’ . Some people think that the old age life protection should be the duty of persons and their household and non be laid on others nor should it be entirely financed by the authorities. Therefore, the function played by the authorities in retirement protection policy can be different from assorted parties. In the position of limited fiscal resources, the authorities should merely supply for the financially destitute ageds and non for all senior citizens. On the contrary, with the degree of Hong Kong’s economic development and the immense fiscal modesty, some people proposed that the authorities have the capacity and means to supply for basic support protection for all senior citizens. The perceptual experience toward retirement protection policy will act upon the function of the authorities. If people link the retirement protection policy with the income, it causes heavy load on public finance and may hold influence on the economic system. On the other manus, people who universal retirement protection strategy points to a sort of benefit for all senior citizens, unrelated to their past work history or wage. They hoped for the puting up of some sort of cosmopolitan support protection grant. There is obvious that Hong Kong uses the three attacks toward the retirement protection policy. Many elderly received the hard currency aids from the authorities. They still live under poorness. This might people reason that if the CSSA or other hard currency transportation plans are feasible or non. Presents, people have a higher outlook on the public assistance support. They have the pursuits for cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy. The strategy supposed to supply better protection for retired people. However, how the strategy should be implemented is still under a dialogue procedure. There are many things we have to make up ones mind when implementing the strategy, such as to undergo the means trial or non. The cosmopolitan retirement protection in Taiwan implement in a really successful manner. Even some people claim that Hong Kong is better developed than Taiwan, we still should larn from Taiwan’s experience and make up ones mind how to originate a cosmopolitan retirement protection strategy. We should establish the strategy harmonizing to the specific characteristics of Hong Kong. In fact, some people claim that the political environment affect the implement of the retirement protection strategy. This is related to people‘s conservativeness toward a policy. Therefore, we should be cognizant of the political issues when planing the retirement protection policy. The retirement protection policy is a really complicated topic which affects all HongKonger and has far-reaching impact on the financial sustainability in Hong Kong. In order to happen a suited manner of the development toward retirement protection policy, people should clear up the construct which is related to ‘responsibility’ . Mentions e†ºÃ‚ ·e?Zei?saˆSc‚?a »Ã‹â€ eaˆ?a†¦Ã‚ °Ã¢â‚¬Ëœeˆˆa?‘aes?a? ¶a? ¦aˆ?aaei?Y aˆâ€ ¹iaˆSaa  ±ec ¶Ã¢â‚¬Å"?- °e?zaˆâ€ ¹i2011 a4 4 ?-? . a‘ °- ° : aˆSc ¤Ã¢â‚¬ ?c ­-cs„e §Ã‹â€ a? µa’?a? ¶a? ¦aˆâ€ ¹i2013 i?†°ia? ­e†º?a ±Ã‹â€  Castells, M. ( 2010 ) ,The Shek Kip Mei Syndrome: EconomicDevelopment and Public Housing Development in Hong Kong and Singapore, UK. Pion Ltd. Census and Statistics Department ( 2013 ) , Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chou, L.K. ( 2009 ) .â€Å"Retirement Income Protection in Hong Kong† . Ageing in East Asia Challenges and Policies for the Twenty-first century( pp. 105-137 ) . London: Routledge. Roller, E. ( 2012 ) .The public assistance province: the equality dimension. The range of authorities, New York: Oxford University Press. 1

Cost of Pharmaceutical Needs Equals the Quality of Life †Business Research Paper (600 Level Course)

Cost of Pharmaceutical Needs Equals the Quality of Life – Business Research Paper (600 Level Course) Free Online Research Papers Cost of Pharmaceutical Needs Equals the Quality of Life Business Research Paper(600 Level Course) According to research done at Purdue University, the more expensive a person’s pharmaceutical, the better quality of life the patient had. This happened no matter what the person’s ailment. Retail sales of prescription drugs totaled $154.5 billion in 2001; the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimate that, by the year 2010, the nation will be spending $404.5 billion annually for this purpose. Medicaid spending on prescription drugs tripled during the 1990s from $4.8 billion in 1990 to $17 billion in 1999. Pharmaceuticals have risen 7.4% more than inflation annually. According to the latest statistics available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, wholesale prices of prescription pharmaceuticals have risen over 250 percent since 1982 (in comparison to the producer price index for all commodities, which has risen 40 percent over the same time period). US consumers pay more for their pharmaceuticals because in many other developed countries, the government bargains with ‘Big Pharma’ to achieve the best prices available. Because of this, Americans are left to make up the difference. It is no surprise that many of the biggest firms in terms of net profit are pharmaceutical and bio-engineering firms. The issues involved with allowing Americans to import their drugs from Canada are that the major pharmaceutical corporations have donated extraordinary large amounts of cash to both political parties. This has allowed big pharma to turn the potential tide of mass importation. However, states with the always hungry Medicaid beast, have decided to import their drugs for government employees from Canada. The response from the Federal Government has been to substantially increase its powers that have been Constitutionally left to the states. These include, the Terry Shaivo law, the increase in federal corporate laws, the re-chartering of large banks to federal rather than state Research Papers on Cost of Pharmaceutical Needs Equals the Quality of Life - Business Research Paper (600 Level Course)Definition of Export QuotasThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceTwilight of the UAWMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesQuebec and CanadaArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)The Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaPETSTEL analysis of India

Fount of Wisdom

Fount of Wisdom Fount of Wisdom Fount of Wisdom By Maeve Maddox Kathryn Doyle writes: Ive heard or read this expression and its taken up residence in my subconscious. But Im not finding it in Websters. Where did it come from? Is it font or fount or do I need to exorcize it? Ex. Font of wisdomor Font of information. My immediate response was fount, of course! Fount is a poetic form of fountain. The expression fount of wisdom immediately makes me think of this quotation from Alexander Pope: A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: Pope was writing for readers who knew their classics. Pieria is a district of the Greek region of Macedonia just north of Mount Olympus, regarded as the home of the Muses in Greek and Roman mythology. Hence: of or relating to the Muses, or (by extension) poetry and learning; poetic. Pierian spring n. the fountain or source of poetic inspiration (usu. in figurative context). OED So, fount of wisdom is the only correct spelling for me, but the answer to Kathryns question is not so simple, as can be seen in these definitions: fount: [fount] 1. a. A spring or source of water issuing from the earth and collecting in a basin, natural or artificial; also, the head-spring or source of a stream or river. Now arch. or poet. exc. fig. font: font   [fÃ… nt] 1. basin, O.E. font, from L. fons (gen. fontis) fountain (see fountain), especially in M.L. fons baptismalis baptismal font. 2. typeface, 1683, from M.Fr. fonte, fem. pp. of fondre melt (see found (2)). So called because all the letters were cast at the same time. (In England usually fount.) Since even a font of type can be spelled as a fount of type in England, I dont think that any hard and fast rule can apply. Image and pronunciation can probably be allowed to prevail. Do you see the figurative source of wisdom or information as a welling spring of water, or as a filled basin? Are you saying the word with the /ow/ sound of fount or the short o of font? Ill stick with fount, but Id hesitate to fault the speaker/writer who goes with font. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Use â€Å"That,† â€Å"Which,† and â€Å"Who†Telling a Good Poem from a Bad OneWood vs. Wooden

Margaret Thatcher Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Margaret Thatcher - Essay Example Five years later, she strongly supported Keith Joseph in his mission to become Conservative Party leader but unfortunately he couldn't remain in the election. After gaining great experience she became the leader of the Conservative party in 1975. Thatcher entered the contest herself and became leader of the Conservative Party. It was 1979 when Margaret Thatcher became England's first female Prime Minister. (Thatcher, 1993, pp-27) In the Conservative manifesto of 1979, she had written about the feeling of helplessness that a nation which was once called a great nation has fallen behind with time. Thatcher entered ten determined to reverse the national decline of the country, which was characterized by a combination of high unemployment, high inflation and stagnant growth. The political philosophy and the economic policies of Thatcher emphasized on the financial sector, selling off of state owned companies and flexible labor markets. (Thatcher, 1993, pp-32) Because of high unemployment and recession her popularity amongst people decreased, with the help of economic recovery and the success of Falklands War which brought a great support for her and in the election of 1983 she was elected again. During her leadership she been through very hard times for example, Brighton hotel bombing which was the attempt to assassinate her, but she survived. Margaret also took a hard line against all the trade unions. Because of her hard words and tough talking she was also know as the Iron Lady. In 1987 she was again elected for the third term. The same year was not good for her and it proved difficult as the Poll tax plan became unpopular and her views about the European Community were also not shared in the Cabinet. (Thatcher, 1997, pp-17) In the November of 1990 she resigned as the Prime Minister. Her period as Prime minister proved longest after the record of Lord Salisbury and she also had a record of spending continuous longest period after Lord Liverpool. She also became the first lady to lead a political party in the England. Thatcher is also the first of only five women to have the four great offices of a state. She also has a peerage as Baroness Thatcher, in the County of Lincolnshire; this made her eligible to sit in the House of Lords. (Thatcher, 1997, pp-34) Thatcher's economic and political philosophy focused on entrepreneurialism and free market. She tried her best to end what she thought was excessive government interference in the economic policies, and therefore she decided to privatized many nationally owned companies and made a policy of selling public housing to tenants at reduced prices. Thatcher was deeply influenced by monetarist thinking as exposed by Milton Friedman, Thatcher started her economic reforms by focusing on increasing interest rates to try lower inflation. Thatcher also ordered to place limits on the printing of money and she thought that legal restrictions on trade unions should be there, in her battle to handle inflation and settle the disputes among trade union she found it very difficult. UK's economy was not good during the whole 1970s. In pursuit of her anti interventionist views Thatcher introduced the system of cash limits on public spending, and tried to reduce expenditures on social services such as edu cation and housing un till 1988. In the same period

Reflective Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Reflective Leadership - Essay Example dents enabling them to understand the ways in which particular theories can be applied and put into practice as well as to identify the practices which are in complete alignment with theories and concepts (The higher education academy, 2009). The reflective learning process has been of great help to me over the 10 week sessions. The reflective log helped me to identify my own self in the best possible way. I was able to have a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses that I possessed. The self reflections allowed me to realize as well as question my underlying beliefs and values. In addition, the learning process enabled me to acknowledge and argue probable assumptions as well as theories over which my feelings, ideas and actions were based. Most importantly, I was able to recognize the key areas of improvement that needs to be brought about in me. The sessions that I attended made me concur to the ideas on leadership set forth by empirical researchers. Leadership according to me is a key determinant of the success of any entity be it a business organization or a sports team. Being a project lead of the company that I currently work for has made me understand about various aspects and dimensions of leadership. Although my experience was relatively lesser than my cohorts who were present along with me in the session but my lob position was unbelievably unique among all the job mentioned job positions mentioned by various holders who attended the session. This enabled me to provide as well as gain a different perspective of leadership.

The Role of free Will Essay Example for Free

The Role of free Will Essay Fate is by definition the occurrence of inevitable events that are predestined to happen in a mans life. In literature, fate has a strong connection with the concept of free will because both can guide a character to a certain destiny. In Oedipus the King, written by the Sophocles, Oedipuss ominous fate of parricide and incest is prophesized by the Oracle at Delphi. However, it is not fate that led to Oedipuss destruction, but his overwhelming curiosity, impetuous actions, and irrational judgments. Oedipuss voracious curiosity forces him to discover the horrible truth of his crimes and ancestry. His curiosity often sets him unsatisfied, and provokes him to investigate many gratuitous details. In Corinth, a drunkard bawled out that Oedipus was not [his] fathers son (44)1. Overwhelmed with frustration, Oedipus questions his parents about his identity. Although he got the desired response, he still feels that the thing had hatched a scruple in [his] mind (44). His superfluous curiosity encourages him to steal away from home to Delphi, to the oracle (44), where he then learns of the horrible prophecy. This curiosity leads him to depart his safe homeland into a foreign land where he eventually meets his grievous end. Oedipuss copious curiosity is also presented when he stubbornly pursues his self-identity search. Jocasta warns Oedipus to terminate his investigation for [his] own lifes sake (59). However, spurring from his curiosity, Oedipus still chooses not to consider her warnings thoughtfully. Not only do Oedipuss curiosities contribute to his downfall, Oedipuss hasty actions are also essential. Oedipuss impulsiveness acts as a guide that pushes him to meet his own disastrous destiny. When Oedipus left Corinth, he was [forced] off the road (44) by men who seemed to be urging on. Without serious considerations of the mens possible identities and intentions, Oedipus in fury landed [one man] a blow (44). Eventually Oedipus kills all the men, including his real father, Laius. This preventable issue is set as a foundation to Oedipuss future tragedy. As a leader, his actions also play a pivotal role in his future outcome. When Creon comes back with information from Apollo, he asks Oedipus if he wants to discuss the matter privately. Without a second thought, Oedipus demands him to speak out to all (8). Oedipus frenetically eliminates the necessity of this pivotal piece of information to be interpreted thoughtfully first. His feral personality is shown again through his conversation with Jocasta. When she tries to prevent Oedipus from knowing the repugnant truth, Oedipus blindly accuses her of bridling at [his] paltry origin (60) with all a womans pride (60). These officious words will become a part of ignorance and guilt he eventually has to bear. Although Oedipuss fierce actions play a major role in his future, his vague judgment also plays a crucial part. Oedipuss way of analyzing problems creates flaws that direct him to meet his destiny. As the King of Thebes, Oedipus does not fulfill the requirement of being a successful leader. He leads Thebes to follow fifteen years (3) of a sham prosperity cloaking corruption (3). It was not until Thebe is struck by plague (3) that Oedipus finally picked up the responsibility and asks for advice from the God. When Creon returns with advice from Apollo, Oedipus does not calmly interpret the Gods message. Instead, he openly requests for the killer of Laius. When this method fails, unsurprisingly, Oedipus reacts with rage. He curses the killer, whether slipping off alone or with a band of men (15) to be [called] down a life to fit a life dragged out in degradation (15). As Oedipus hastily searches for the murderer, he also makes the discovery of his own crimes more inevitable. This way of solving the issue leads Oedipus fervently to seek for a solution. Oedipus was encouraged by Creon to find Tiresias, the blind man with great insight. Oedipus pleads Tiresias to stir himself to help where help he can (18) and describes him honorably as the intuitive, didactic master of the finite and the infinite (17). However, when Tiresias claims the murderer of the man whose murder [Oedipus] pursues is [him] (22), Oedipus responds by calling Tiresias a purblind man, in ears and mind and vision (22). It can be seen that Oedipuss trust for Tiresias is not genuine. The infuriated Oedipus loses his judgments, and does not consider the reliability of Tiresiass words or to examine the case privately. Instead, he carries on his mistake by accusing Creon of plotting with Tiresias to overthrow and snatch (22). Creon tries to explain to Oedipus that he could not covet kingship for itself when [he] can be a king by other means (33), and he asks Oedipus to take [him], kill [him] (34) if he is found unfaithful. However, Oedipus neglects Creons fifteen years of loyalty and still claims to want [him] dead (34). By not giving Tiresiass prophecy a second thought and blindly accusing Creon, Oedipus extends his own dreadful deeds. His hatred towards Creon leads him to hear from Jocasta that Laius was murdered at a spot where the road from Delphi meets the road from Daulia (41). This incident strikes Oedipus as he recalls that he had killed some men at the same spot. From this point on, the truth began to unravel as Oedipus is urged to find the surviving herdsman of Laius. These anticipating events resulting from Oedipuss own problematic judgments cause him to meet his acrimonious destiny. Oedipus the King presents the inevitable fate of the main character, Oedipus, of incest and parricide. However, it is not the predetermined force of fate that drives Oedipus inescapably to his destiny. Free will and Oedipuss own choice are the main sources that destroyed his life. Oedipus, with his immense curiosities, rash actions, and inconsiderate judgments, led him to meet his own doom.

Stereotypical Views Held About Women by Elizabethan Men in William Shak

Stereotypical Views Held About Women by Elizabethan Men in William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing Introduction ============ Much Ado About Nothing exemplifies a kind of deliberately puzzling title that seems to have been popular in the late 1590s. Indeed, the play is about nothing; it merely follows the relationships of Claudio and Hero, and in the end, the play culminates in the two other main characters falling in love, which, because it was an event that was quite predictable, proves to be much ado about nothing The pronunciation of the word "nothing" would, in the late 16th Century, have been "noting," and so the title also apparently suggests a pun on the word, "noting," and on the use of the word "note" as an expression of music. In II.3, Balthasar is encouraged to sing, but declines, saying, "note this before my notes; there's not a note of mine that's worth the noting." However, Don Pedro retorts, "à ¢? ¦Note notes, forsooth, and nothing," playing on Balthasar's words, and also demanding that he pay attention to his music and nothing else. In addition, much of the play is dedicated to people "noting" (or observing) the actions of others (such as the trick played on Beatrice and Benedick by Leonato, Hero and Claudio). They often observe and overhear one another, and consequently make a great deal out of very little. Furthermore, women were very oppressed and maltreated during the time, and their status in society was very low. Their names were tarnished with classes, such as "Goddess," "Adulterer," "whore/wife" and "Shrew", and each woman was classed under those headings. They were classed as "nothing" and ... ... in Britain has been exploding over the last 50 years. Majority of the top jobs are performed by men, even though the percentage is slowly sliding downwards, as more women demand equal rights. ===================================================================== Another Hierarchy is that of social class - people were split up into the top class, people like the king and people who were rich, the middle-class, people who were not rich, but not poor. Then, there was the poor class, who could not afford too much, and were very poor. In this play, not many people tell the truth. One of the only one's in the play who speaks the truth is Dogsberry - one of the poorest people in the play. He is adamant that the truth should prevail. This shows that even though he is a "commoner", he is still better than the upper-class.

Starbucks CSAs and FSAs

Their lifestyle, fashion nd actress activity would be preference for people who are really fanatic with their culture. Besides that, their military equipment and technology always make other nation worried and respect to this country. Lastly, coffee addicted among American people and society. Starbucks firm specific (FSAs) advantages are location of their coffee house. Most of Starbucks coffee house are located in strategic area like urban area. This location has high traffic that can be easily reach and access by customer.Then, Starbucks offer high quality of facility and convenience to their customer. The mbience in the coffee house can make people relax and enjoy having a meeting and doing their work. Furthermore, the brand name of Starbucks itself is their FSA. When enter in the coffee house, we feel like in American style and perception that people that drink Starbucks coffee are wealth people. The chain's success of Starbucks for those advantages is because of the strong cultur e of drink coffee for American and Italian people.This culture gives an opportunity for Starbucks to increase their chain success. Then, convenience that they offer to their customer. Starbucks usually would e destination point for doing a meeting and doing homework. The ambience inside the coffee house really comfortable and encourage people to visit their shop. Besides that, location of the Starbucks coffee house really strategic that place in high traffic area. This area can be easily reach and access by customer. As a result, Starbucks increase their chain success in the U.S. market. Question 2 How internationally mobile is the Starbucks concept? Any barrier to entry? Starbucks Corporation is an American global coffee company and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world. The first Starbucks opened in Seattle, Washington, on March 30, 1971 by three partners that met while students at the University of San Francisco: English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegl, and writer Gordon Bowker.The three were inspired to sell high-quality coffee beans and equipment by coffee roasting entrepreneur Alfred Peet after he taught them his style of roasting beans. Originally the company was to be called Pequod, after a whaling ship from Moby-Dick, but this name was rejected by some of the co-founders. The company was instead named after the chief mate on the Pequod, Starbuck. From 1971-1976, the first Starbucks was at 2000 Western Avenue. It then moved to 1912 Pike Place Market; it then was sell.During their first year of operation, they purchased green coffee beans from Peet's, then began buying directly from growers. The first Starbucks location outside North America opened in Tokyo, Japan, in 1996. Starbucks entered the U. K. market in 1998 with the $83 million acquisition of the then 65-outlet, UK-based Seattle Coffee Company, re-branding all the stores as Starbucks. In September 2002, Starbuc ks opened its first store in Latin America, at Mexico City. In 1999, Starbucks experimented with eateries in the San Francisco Bay area through a restaurant chain called Circadia.These restaurants were soon â€Å"outed† as Starbucks establishments and converted to Starbucks cafes. In October 2002, Starbucks established a coffee trading company in Lausanne, Switzerland to handle purchases of green coffee. All other coffee-related business continued to be managed from Seattle. In April 2003, Starbucks completed the purchase of Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia from AFC Enterprises for $72m. The deal only gained 150 stores for Starbucks, but according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer the wholesale business was more significant.In September 2006, rival Diedrich Coffee announced that it would sell most of its company-owned retail stores to Starbucks. This sale includes the company-owned locations of the Oregon-based Coffee People chain. Starbucks converted the Diedric h Coffee and Coffee People locations to Starbucks, although the Portland airport Coffee People locations were excluded from the sale. In August 2003, Starbucks opened its first store in South America in Lima, Peru. In 2007, the company pened its first store in Russia, ten years after first registering a trademark there.In March 2008 they purchased the manufacturer of the Clover Brewing System. They began testing the â€Å"fresh-pressed† coffee system at several Starbucks locations in Seattle, California, New York and Boston. In early 2008, Starbucks started a community website, My Starbucks Idea, designed to collect suggestions and feedback from customers. Other users comment and vote on suggestions. Journalist Jack Schofield noted that â€Å"My Starbucks seems to be all sweetness and light at the moment, which I dont think is possible without quite a lot of censorship†. The website is powered by the Salesforce software.In May 2008, a loyalty program was introduced for registered users of the Starbucks Card (previously simply a gift card) offering perks such as free Wi-Fi Internet access, no charge for soy milk ; flavored syrups, and free refills on brewed drip coffee or tea. A store in Seattle known for its use of the corporation's new ideas reopened in the fall 2010 with a modified interior design in which the espresso machines were placed in the middle of the store. On November 14, 2012, Starbucks announced it will purchase Teavana for $620 million ollars in cash and the deal was formally closed on December 31, 2012.Question 3 Franchising would seem a natural entry mode for Starbucks, but the chain sometimes arrangement where one party (the franchiser) grants another party (the franchisee) the right to use its trademark or trade-name as well as certain business systems and processes, to produce and market a good or service according to certain specifications. The advantage of franchising that Starbucks would receive is easy to control. Starbuc ks can reduce their difficulty to control their coffee house at around the world by franchising method. Then, can standardize their product or service to all franchise.This will help to maintain and standardize their high quality of product and service that will increase customer loyalty. Besides that, rapid expansion for Starbucks company to increase their market. In todays marketplace, the window of opportunity for a new or unique business concept closes very quickly. Franchising permits multiple units to be opened simultaneously, gaining a foothold over would-be competitors. The disadvantage of franchising is the cost of maintaining and developing company owned units is very expensive and often difficult to obtain. There are also many potential problems associated with the franchising system.The franchisor will lose freedom of operation unless they establish a franchise system. The franchise agreement or contract will become a legal document binding the franchisor and the franchi see to specific business codes and conducts. The franchisor will also be faced with recruitment in signing of good franchisees. One of the most difficult situations a franchisor will also face is how to deal with disgruntled franchisees. Then, a problem associated with franchising is simply the communication which must exist between a franchisor and franchisee. Question 4 Do Illy and Starbucks compete or not?How likely are they to compete in the future? No, Illy and Starbucks not compete with each other. It is because both are in different business mode although both sell coffee. For Illycaffe, they enter the U. S market mainly through 82B. Most of their products are sell to hotel, cafes, restaurant and coffee house. They are focusing on b2b business that is different with Starbucks. So, for customer that really want to purchase and taste the true coffee from Illycaffe product they need to purchase it either from hotel, restaurant or cafes that cooperate with Illycaffe brand. For th e other side, Starbucks entered U. S. arket mainly through retail market and dominates the market. Starbucks product can be directly purchase by customer from their coffee house because of their focusing on B2C business. Starbucks sell their product directly to end user that is different from Illycaffe. As a result, both company are not directly compete in the market although sell almost same product. In the future, Starbucks and Illycaffe are going to compete about their product for example new innovation in coffee taste. Then, service offering would be the element that they compete in the future. Besides that, loyalty from the ustomer will differentiate between both companies.If you were Andrea Illy, what strategic plan would you develop? The strategic plan that should be considered must be perform internal and external analysis of the company. The company would be affected by political, economic, social and technological changes. The strategic plan should be concern about all of those factors. In order for the company to maintain their competitive edge, it has to remain the innovative skills and continue offering new differentiated products. Besides that, investing in its partners and its ethical values towards the environment would be a ood plan.Furthermore, Illycaffe also need to strengthen their distribution channel to access and reach all potential customers. Then, Illycaffe also should involved and compete in the retail market. This retail market has a large opportunity to expend their business and territory area. Understand and adapt their product with local culture and taste of their market needs. Then, making the export coffee more suitable for the market region to ensure their product can be accepted by local people. Lastly, increase their service offering and high quality of convenience to attract customer enter their coffee house.

Research in Rizals Life

An event occurs in the 19th century in Europe where it had a tremendous contribution in molding the Philippines catalyst of nationalism no less than Dry. Jose Racial. The period of 19th century, was really a well-designed era of the term nationalism. This is the time where drastic change took place placing the endeavor to equalize all men and free them from the tyranny and slavery. We see how during that time sprang from the midst of all consciousness the need liberate themselves and take a rehab from the old and messy mentality of the past that bound them.Many had taken their role in drama of transitioning the world. These thus influences to a lot of similarly idealist throughout the world. And Dry. Jose Racial is been excuse to these cause. With all the circumstances and the things He had learned and valued from Europe, had been able to formulate the formula of a lethal weapon that would conceived in the hearts and minds of his countrymen and would give birth to Nationalism thus co nsequently the doom and destruction of Spain's colonialism.Racial did make a great change in molding the nationalism of the country, not only that Racial made all the changes but also with the help of all the Filipino who take part in the revolution make changes in making this country a whole new era. Racial leaves Inspiration to many peoples, men, women and children realizes that education can also be as deadly as a bolo, Racial has become the constant model that inspires man and woman across the land to dream and work for its realization no matter the cost is brings for the sake of nationhood ND promoting the liberty for the people.He also proven education is the answer to our struggle nation. Not only Racial inspires many people but a lot of the Filipino heroes like Andrea Boniface and many others. Racal's ideas and achievement was known by all of the people in the Philippines with his great ideas and being a nationalist. Racial inspired Filipinos and shaped the importance of our national identity to nation-building. Racial, anywhere in the world, represents an intellectual and proud Filipino.Racial as Philippines' foremost national hero and the most documented Filipino hero who dedicated his life to the ideas and ideals of freedom and nationalism. Racial is worthy of emulation for his education to ideals and studies, standards of morality, actions, behavior, thinking, aims, ethics, respect for law, parent's, other people, country, and to use lives more productively. Racial had shown greatness, his greatness was manifested in many ways not only in his own country but in many foreign countries as well. Racial taught the Filipino the value of hardwood.

Business Contract and Goods Essay

Business Contract and Goods Essay Business: Contract and Goods Essay P1 13.1 Dear Ann, The Sale of Goods Act 1979 provides four main protections for buyers: 1. The seller must have the right to sell the goods 2. Goods sold by description must correspond to the description 3. Goods must be of satisfactory quality 4. Goods sold by sample, the goods must correspond to the sample in quality In contracts for the sale of goods and supply of services certain basic provisions are implied by statute in order to provide protection to purchasers. The main provisions derive from the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. The Sale of Goods Act protects purchasers where the seller does not have the right to sell the goods. Where the goods are sold by description there is an implied term that the goods will correspond to that description. Businesses must ensure that the goods they sell are of satisfactory quality and fit for their purpose. Where the goods are sold by sample there is an implied term that the goods will correspond to the sample in quality. Where the goods are supplied along with a service then the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 applies. This implies the identical provisions as the Sale of Goods Act in relation to the goods supplied. In addition there are implied terms that the service must be carried out with reasonable care and skill, that the service will be carried out within a reasonable time and where no price is agreed a reasonable price will be paid. In this case the

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Great Eastern Tourism Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Great Eastern Tourism Essay Great Treasure Wonder – is a vibrant bequest plan that is supreme for soaring achieving individuals. It comes with an amazing rewards and a regular payment. Apart from that, it also has partial sum terms, assured flow of cash all through policy term, rising fortification with extra amount guaranteed and finally cash bonuses. Great Cash Wonder – an endowment plan especially intended for individuals who would like to witness their investments develop in the extensive term not including the obligation of an extended best imbursement term. Great Income Plus – is a long-term monetary security and safeguard with restricted payment stage. Great EduPlanner – is an education fund especially for children. It also offers the additional benefit of protection adjacent to life’s suspicions to ensure your child enjoys a more protected tomorrow. Great Cash gain – offers a substitute technique to lay aside for your coming days and also gives you the benefit of protection against life’s uncertainties. Elite Builder – guaranteed survival benefit even for a long term which is for the future. SmartInvest Growth – Asset-linked assurance outline planned to do just with the purpose of by enhancing your protection and delicate safety net. SmartInvest Premier – a plan that gives importance on investing money through higher portion rates and Loyalty Incentives. (Great Eastern Life is Great, Product, 2012) Life Protection There are 2 types of Life protection at Great Eastern:- Great Prime Protect – a term insurance plan premeditated particularly to provide you with reasonable life insurance coverage. Great MaxiProtector – it’s an affordable entire life insurance plan that helps take care of future finances. (Great Eastern Life is Great, Product, 2012) Health Protection There are 4 types of health protection:- Smart Medic Enhancer – facilitates an individual to be better prepared in medical e mergencies. Smart Medic – the inclusive medical rider for investment-linked assurance policy. Smart Early Payout CriticalCare – investment-linked insurance rider, which pays upon premature analysis of a serious illness enclosed under this plan. Great MediCare 2 – an Overall Annual Limit that look after you adjacent to obnoxious bombshells. (Great Eastern Life is Great, Product, 2012) Life + Health Protection There are 4 types of Life + Health Protection:- Great Ideal Living – inclusive guardianship arrangement that accommodates guarantee. Great Compare Care – proffer you living, vital infirmity and mishap protection for a supple coverage period. Smart Educate Planner – so that your child may have enhanced edification chance. SmartPortect Essential – Investment-linked assurance plan with the aim of adapting to your standard of living. Supplementary Riders To improve profit on your investment-linked plan, entire life plan, tenure plan o r bequest plan. Advantages and Disadvantages of Great Eastern Mostly all the companies or organization has its advantages and disadvantages and Great Eastern is not excluded. There are many advantages that Great Eastern Company provides and it categorize in three different areas. Below are the three areas. Advantages 1-Individual 2- Group 3-Bancassurance 1-Individual Through individual, there are 3 different groups that provide advantages for the Great Eastern customers. Which is:- > Savings > Life Protection > Health Protection -Savings Ultimately, a savings plan that will astonish you with its limited premium payment terms and possibly enormous total payouts. At this moment you can knowingly upsize your savings to reach better goals in life, have a regular income stream and get better protection for you and your loved ones. The commitment is of 5 years or 10 years. (Great Eastern Life is Great, Product, 2012)

Presentation Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Presentation Skills - Essay Example Communication is the purpose of a presentation, especially the reception of the audience. The presenter must be able to transmit the required information in a manner that is understandable and interesting to the audience, whether it be one person or an entire nation. When preparing a presentation it is essential to know your audience. By having familiarity with the audience's concerns and probable opinions concerning what you are going to say, one can be more relaxed during the actual presentation and not be sidelined by unexpected questions or responses. A presentation looks easy enough to do; and it should, it indicates that the presenter is an expert communicator well versed in the subject or material at hand. This ease comes from rigorous preparation before the presentation. Next comes the planning stage; a list is made regarding information and audio/visual aids to be used. A rough draft of the presentation is made and examined; it is critical to write the draft in order to organise one's thoughts and be able to strike out any superfluous or unnecessary information (University Of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1999). At this stage, any irrelevancies will be extracted and the logical sequence of the information can be constructed. In cases of doubt concerning content, good planning will propel the presenter to either find the answers or leave the information in question unsaid. The next stage of planning is deciding which aids to use and how many. This is where equipment in good working order is critical; an overhead projector, a laptop computer with projector, slides, video and recording equipment can fail during a presentation and this can spell disaster to the untrained or unprepared presenter. It is a good idea to have a backup plan in case of an equipment failure, such as printed poster boards and an easel. Knowing that there is a 'Plan B' will put the presenter at ease and relaxation is imperative to a good presenter. Next comes rehearsal. Some might think that rehearsing in front of a mirror is silly, but it is important to take note objectively of your own presentation skills. Can you listen to yourself well Even better is to rehearse in front of a video camera and play back the presentation, taking note of hesitancies or tendencies to exhibit nervous behaviour such as adjusting the necktie or twisting the ring. These behaviours detract from the presentation significantly. In assessing yourself prior to the presentation it is essential to be objective in critiquing your own skills. There is always room for improvement, no matter how seasoned the presenter. If you rehearse in front of colleagues, listen to their feedback and make the necessary changes well before the presentation date in order for your changes to be more natural to you. One item of interest to keep in mind is the fact that most people will only remember three things from your presentation (presentationhelper.co.uk, online, 09 October 2005). It is important to know what three points you want your audience to remember in advance and plan the presentation around those. One example of this interesting phenomenon is Winston Churchill's famous 'blood,

Employee Empowerment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Employee Empowerment - Essay Example (Kotelnikov, 2008) In relation to the importance of employee empowerment within a flat organization, several strategic ways that will effectively prepare employees to become empowered and self-efficient as an individual employee and in group decision-making process will be thoroughly discussed. Employee empowerment is about enabling employees to make important decision-making without having the need to go through several management layers for approval. For employees to be able to make quick and effective decisions, employered employees are expected to have the following characteritstics: (1) innovativeness; (2) creativeness; and (3) resourcefulness (Chaturvedi, 2008). knowledge and skills development which can be acquired by making each employee undergo proper training programs, it is important for managers and organizational leaders to be able to develop and implement an effective organizational learning culture. Organizational learning is actually referring to the ability of employees to acknowledge the importance of learning and eventually develop a continuously learning habit to enable them to transform into a more competitive individual. (Columbia University, 2008) As a result of having an effective organizational learning culture, competitive and empowered employees are expected to be able to continuously learn new skills and be able to easily adopt with the changing market environments. The transformation of organization practice from a traditional high bureaucratic organizational structure into a flat organizational structure can result to a lot of organizational conflict because of the possibility that some of the existing employees may have resistance to major organizational change. For this reason, managers should have a good leadership and communication skills to enable the leaders to easily control and convert internal organizational pressures into positive employee behavior and acceptance to

Impact of customer loyalty programme on customer perception and Research Proposal

Impact of customer loyalty programme on customer perception and attitude towards hospitality brands - Research Proposal Example This study all about the positive aspects of the loyalty programs in today’s hospitality industry. The legendary question in the history of the business management is how to satisfy the customers. It is very obvious to understand that customer is the king in any business as the customers are the vital factor in the business that generates the revenue for the company. There are many kinds of customers for various kinds of industry but, for any industry it is very important to satisfy the customers mainly for the hospitality industry where the customer speaks the ultimate words. It is very important for the hospitality industry to think from the customers prospective. The customer’s perception and attitude towards the services provided by the hospitality industry are the vital factors. The customer loyalty programs are very much vital for this industry mainly for the hotels, in most of the hotels the loyalty programs run as these hotels want their customer to be happy and the lingering effect of the loyalty programs will get back the customers in the hotel in the near future . Through out the history of the customer relationship management it has been seen that, the business people have applied many ways to satisfy their customer. The customer loyalty programs have proven to be the most successful methods of satisfying the customers. The needs and wants of the customers are always changing as the time passing by. The main aim of the loyalty programs are to retain and win back the customers. The retention of a customer saves lots of money cost. There are several costs which can be saved and profits can be generated and they are 1: Acquisition cost: the cost of acquiring new customer, 2: Base profit: that is the difference between the price the customer pays and the company’s cost. 3: Revenue growth: a long term loyal customer gives long term revenue for the company. 4: Cost saving: A matured

Starbucks Target Market

Starbucks Target Market Starbucks open its first coffee store in Seattle, Washington and at the end of 1990 Starbucks expand its headquarters in Seattle and also build a new roasting plant. In 1990s Starbucks opens 60 retails shops in United Kingdom. At the end of 2000s Starbucks total branches was 3500. Coffee is one of the rapidly growing industry in this world. According to national coffee association, USA 49% of American age 18 and more drink coffee beverage every day. Coffee industry was in peak of its success at the end of 1990s. Starbucks purchases and roasts high-quality whole bean coffees and sold them along with fresh brewed coffees, Italian style espresso beverages, gold blended beverages, a various complementary food items, coffee related accessories and equipment. TARGETED MARKET AT THE TIME OF LAUNCHING At the time of Starbucks launching the target market was upper income class. But during 1990s Starbucks realise that the growth of Starbucks depends on the middle or lower class incomes because these two classes are more motivated and go to the discounted products. Starbucks also focus on consumer habits and share its speciality of coffee with the buyers. In the end of 20th century there are many changes in market that helped Starbucks getting successful. The most important change of the last twenty, thirty years is the changes of economic policies over the world. Starbucks target market was 18 years to 24 years young professional because they are not yet been loyal with coffee industry. Starbucks strategy comprises to locate its stores at picky places such as the first floor of blocks of offices, underground main entrance and urban areas. An addition to sales through its company-operated retail stores and licensed retail operations, Starbucks sells coffee and tea products through ot her channels like distribution targeting restaurants, hotels, colleges and universities and other work places. Starbucks stated goal is to become the leading retailer and brand of coffee in each of its target markets and it aims to achieve this goal through continued aggressive expansion of Company operated retail locations. STARBUCKS STRATEGY Starbucks adopt different type of strategy to build its branding in the market. Starbucks has numbers of capabilities likes market leadership and its outlets as customers means its locations which means it is the place where customers can relax from work or home and its supply chain management. To try to keep the coffee taste in the stores clean, Starbucks banned smoking and asked employees to refresh from draining perfumes. Prepared foods were kept covered so consumer would smell coffee only instead of other food. Starbucks is culture oriented company who introduce new techniques like commuter mugs and T shirts in different regions of USA that was in keeping with each citys culture(like peach shape coffee mugs for Atlanta State, Paul Revere picture for Boston State and the Statue of Liberty for New York city). To make sure that Starbucks stores reach the maximum standards, the company used mystery shoppers who posed as customers and rated each location on à Ã‚ ° number à Ã‚ ¾f criteria. Starbucks internal operations can be divided into two parts: Retail and Specialty. The Retail division is governed directly by Starbucks Corporation. The Specialty division includes foodservice, licensing agreements to overseas outlets and revenue from foreign joint ventures. STARBUCKS AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Starbucks main objective was to launch itself as the most renowned and respected brand in the world. The company main objective was to the expansion of its branches all over the world, to broad its retail business, develop new techniques, product and introduce new distribution channels in order to achieve its goals. The company another aims was establish its brand as a leading brand in coffee market by selling high quality products, providing better services and build relationship between customers and the Starbucks. SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS OF STARBUCKS Starbucks is good at taking advantage of opportunities. Starbucks is internationally recognized and has a global presence Starbucks has strong ethical values. WEAKNESSES Reliable on beverage innovation Starbucks 50% business is in USA from last three decades. Starbucks need to spread its business all over the world to spread its business risk. Starbucks is dependent on a main competitive advantage, the retail of coffee. It could make them slow to diversify into other sectors should the need arise. OPPORTUNITIES Company has the opportunity to expand its business around the globe In 2004 the company created a CD burning service in their Santa Monica (California USA) cafe with Hewlett Packard, where customers create their own music CD. THREATS Starbucks are increasing the cost of coffee and dairy products Consumer taste might be change in future. Consumer can replace coffee with other cold beverage or leisure activity. CONCLUSION Starbucks is a leading company around the globe. Starbucks used  a very simple strategy, connecting links between treating employees with dignity and respect and producing à Ã‚ ° good product and services. That was the major factors that differentiate Starbucks from others and bring the successful to Starbucks.

pride and prejudice :: essays research papers

A Fight For A dance† It’s the nineteen century, and I am a poor old colored man that doesn’t even have the mind to write this letter because I don’t know how to write well by the lack of my education, and I don’t even want to remember, let me explained this to you in this way so you get it quickly, 90 years ago I was reading this two poems named â€Å"Slavery, a poem† and â€Å"To the Ladies† that I found on one of the books of Ms. Lady Spears (R.I.P), the ex-Madam of the house in which I worked, before her abruptly death caused by her husband. Here they explained that colored people and women in this two poems are compared equally too each other and placed as a race in which men have to control over them and treat them how he wants too. Women during the eighteenth century no matter if she was independent and wealthy, if she wanted to divorce from her husband it was not permitted. Meanwhile slaves no matter how intelligent or respectful and friendly they were, ne ver would be able to be free from their owners. Telling this too you hearts me so much because I am realizing that I was a total coward in permitting Mr. Timberlake treat Ms. Spears how he did it. Ms. Spears was a lovely young talented girl, who always had the desire to dance because it was her inner passion that kept her alive, she always invited me, meanwhile her husband was not in the house, to go and watch her move. We kept doing it during 3 entirely months until one dreadful night Mr. Timberlake catch us. He hitted her so hardly that she was claiming for mercy. I was so shocked by the terrible scene that I didn’t knew what to do. Then with all my strength I stood and Hit him so hard until he became unconscious. Ms. Spears began to say this lines from the poem that filled her with pride and glory to fight for her right and that it was going to be the phrase that was going to inspire many other young girls and slaves too: â€Å"Value yourself, and man despise: You must be proud, if you’ll be wise.† And began to hit him so hard that I thought she was going to kill him. Suddenly the policeman entered the room and stopped her.

Behavior Changes Essay

Behavioral changes and strategies can be taken in consideration in order to control obesity. Monitoring of food/calorie intake and changes in general eating habits may help control obesity (CDC, 2007). Change in physical activities like decreased television time and more time spent outside, engagement in sports activity to enhance and promote weight loss (Wolf et al, 1985). It can also be noted that parent participation is essential in order for any program for children to work as it was noted by Epstein et al (1987) that behaviorally based therapies that include parents are essentially more effective. Graves, Meyers, and Clark (1988) in their studies used problem-solving drills in a parent-child behavioral program and established that children who are in the problem-solving group, but not those in the behavioral treatment-only group, considerably reduced percentage of overweight and continued reduced weight for at least six months. Problem-solving training involved identifying possible weight-control problems and, as a group, discussing solutions. †¢ Diet Management Extreme weight loss solutions like fasting or heightened calorie reduction is not advisable for children in the sense that such moves might hinder the normal progression of growth in the child in question (CDC, 2007). It can also be mentally stressful for the child to be deprived of the normal eating habits and may hinder growth. A good knowledge of nutrition maybe a good thing to possess and consultations with a dietitian maybe considered in order to accurately know the right way to go in dieting and reducing weight especially if a child is involved. †¢ Increased Physical Activity Increase physical activities like engaging in sports or simply adapting a more active lifestyle may be a good predictor in reducing and ultimately avoiding obesity (CDC, 2007). A good exercise program if followed routinely is known to be a good way to eliminate fat and increase energy not only in children but in adults as well. One may opt to start more slowly; little changes can be done in order to increase activity, to increase outdoor playing time and activities with their guardians or parents to encourage them. And adapt a fun and enjoyable outdoor activity that can encourage the child to doing more of it rather than sit idly in front of the television or play video/computer games for hours on end. Extreme Obesity For extreme cases of obesity several pharmacological treatments and intervention are available. Pharmacotherapy is suggested for individuals with a BMI equal or greater than 30 kg/m2 or with a BMI equal or greater than 27 kg/m2 but with two or more weight related illnesses like coronary artery disease or diabetes or sleep apnea and who is not able to lose weight satisfactorily with the more conservative approaches (NHLBI, 1998). There are two drugs of choice either sibutramine (Meridia) or orlistat (Xenical), these are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the induction and maintenance of weight loss (Yanovsky & Yanovsky, 2002)

Succubus Revealed Chapter 15

It was easier said than done, and once Hugh and Roman gave me some space, the full impact of what had taken place really and truly hit me. Seth was Kyriakos. Kyriakos was Seth. Even after witnessing what I had with my own eyes, I don't think I would have believed it if something inside me . . . some gut instinct . . . hadn't told me it was all true. Not that I'd ever suspected it. Not that I'd ever dreamed it. The draw that I'd felt to Seth had been strong, no question, just as the draw to his other incarnations had been. I'd always felt there was something special about Seth in particular, though, and wondered now what might have set this life apart from the rest. Did some part of me – or some part of him? – recognize that this was the last chance for us to be together? Was that where the urgency was coming from? Or was it more about the passage of time and whom I had become? Recent years had made me more jaded about life as a succubus, and I wondered if perhaps that was what made him and our love so precious to me at this point in time. Our love, which had just blown up before my eyes. I called in sick to work the next day, something that didn't really go over all that well. It was Christmas Eve, one of the busiest days for Santa and his mall team, but I didn't care. There was no way I could face that chaos, not after what had happened with Seth. I was told curtly that if I didn't come into work, then I shouldn't expect to be rehired next year. I almost laughed and only barely managed to cling to some shred of professionalism, as I gravely informed my manager that I'd take that risk. Next Christmas, I'd most likely be in Las Vegas. Even if I wasn't, I was pretty sure I could manage to get by without minimum wage and my foil dress. Finding Seth proved trickier. He didn't answer my phone calls, and when I went to his condo, no one answered. Neither his nor Margaret's car was parked out front, leading me to believe they were either doing last-minute Christmas shopping or visiting Terry and Andrea. If it was the former, I had no way of locating Seth easily. If it was the latter, I certainly wasn't going to barge into Terry's house and demand Seth speak to me. The situation might be dire, but I still had my boundaries. It would've been so easy to use these obstacles as the means to dodge talking to Seth altogether. Despite my assurances to Hugh and Roman, I really didn't want to see Seth. Well, the part of me that was in love with him did. That part was in agony every moment we weren't together. But the rest of me didn't want to face that expression again, that terrible hurt on his face. I didn't want to confront the reality of what I was. Despite agreeing to see Seth, I really hadn't been able to truly convey to Roman and Hugh just how agonizing the thought of facing up to my sins was. I hadn't been able to handle the wrongness of what I'd done then; I could barely do it now. I'd sold my soul, blighted away the memories of all those I'd loved . . . all because I didn't want to accept the responsibility of what a terrible thing I'd done. You'd think after almost a millennium and a half, that fear and self-preservation would have changed. I guess it hadn't. Or maybe it had. The fact that I was trying to find Seth now was proof that I had changed a little, enough to attempt another conversation after his adamant rejection of me. â€Å"Kincaid?† I glanced behind me. I was standing in line at a coffee shop Seth occasionally patronized to sit and write. Coming here had been a long shot, and I hadn't been all that surprised to see he wasn't around. Last I knew, he hadn't been here in ages, especially with everything going on in his family. Apparently, this place had other patrons I hadn't known about. â€Å"Doug,† I said in surprise. I quickly placed my order for a white chocolate mocha and then waved as Doug strolled over to me. He'd just come in, and fine drops of water covered his black hair. â€Å"What are you having?† I gestured to the barista. Doug looked a little surprised but only hesitated a moment before ordering an inhumanly sized cup of drip. â€Å"Thanks,† he told me, when I handed it over to him. â€Å"You want to sit a minute?† I asked. My original intention had been to grab the mocha and go. I didn't know what Doug's plan was, but some perverse urge made me want to try to get a moment with him. â€Å"Sure,† he said, looking a little uncertain. â€Å"But just for a minute. I've got to be at work in an hour.† â€Å"We don't want you to be late for that,† I agreed, settling down at a small table that gave us a fine view of the sleet outside. Seattle wasn't really known for white Christmases. â€Å"All those last-minute shoppers trying to get their boxed sets.† The ghost of a smile crossed his face. â€Å"You know it. I'm surprised you aren't at work. Is it true? I heard you were, uh, working elf duty at a mall on the Eastside.† I grimaced. â€Å"Painfully true. But I quit today.† His eyebrows rose. â€Å"On Christmas Eve? That's cold, Kincaid. Think of the children.† â€Å"I know. But, well, something came up. . . .† I glanced away, unable to meet his eyes as all my troubled feelings threatened to surface. â€Å"Yeah, I can tell,† he said. I dared a look back. â€Å"What do you mean?† Doug shrugged. â€Å"I don't know. Just this vibe I always got off of you when you were feeling blue. You put on a good face for most of the world, but when something hurts you, your energy changes. Christ.† He took a big drink of coffee. â€Å"Now I'm sounding all New Agey and shit.† â€Å"Well, whatever it is, your instincts are right.† I reconsidered. â€Å"Though ‘blue' is kind of an understatement. More like navy. Or even black.† â€Å"Mortensen?† he guessed. I shook my head and glanced away again. â€Å"You don't want to hear about that.† Although, perhaps some part of him would be glad to know Seth and I were through. It'd be vindication after what we did to Maddie. â€Å"Try me,† said Doug. When I didn't answer, he sighed. â€Å"Kincaid, I don't hate you. I'm not happy about what went down, but in some weird, twisted way, I do still care about you. If something's wrong, you can tell me. Did Mortensen hurt you?† â€Å"No,† I said. Then: â€Å"Well, yes, but not without cause. I hurt him first.† â€Å"Ah.† I dragged my gaze back to Doug. His eyes were dark and serious, no trace of enjoyment in my suffering. â€Å"I've been trying to find him today . . . trying to get a hold of him. But I think he's avoiding me. No, I know he's avoiding me.† â€Å"You'll patch it up,† said Doug. â€Å"I don't know. I don't think we can this time.† † ‘This time,' † he scoffed. â€Å"Kincaid, the first moment I saw you and Mortensen together, there was something there. I don't know how to describe it. I was always surprised you guys never went out. I was surprised when he started going out with Maddie, though they seemed happy enough until . . . well, you know. Until he figured out he should be going out with you.† He paused, thinking. â€Å"Anyway, I talk a good talk about love in my songs but really don't know shit about it in real life. From what I do know, though, I feel like it's going to take more than whatever argument this is to keep you guys apart.† â€Å"Thanks,† I said. â€Å"That's nice of you . . . but you don't know. What I did was pretty terrible.† â€Å"What you guys did to Maddie was pretty terrible,† said Doug. â€Å"But I've forgiven you.† â€Å"You have?† I asked, startled. â€Å"Yeah.† He seemed a little surprised by the admission. â€Å"I mean, it helps that this neurosurgeon asked her out last week. I can forgive a lot if it means having a doctor brother-in-law. But in all seriousness? I know you guys didn't mean to hurt her, just like you didn't mean to hurt Mortensen here. What you did do is screw up majorly in the forthcomingness department.† â€Å"Forthcomingness?† I repeated. He waved me off. â€Å"Whatever. It's a word. If you guys had been honest with yourselves and with her, you could've saved everyone a world of hurt. Keep that in mind now.† â€Å"You're a regular relationship guru,† I said, earning me another scoff. Yet, as wise as his words sounded, I still didn't think there was any way to fix this thousand-year-old hurt. Before I could muster another comment, my phone rang. I looked down at the display in surprise. â€Å"It's Seth.† â€Å"You better answer it, then,† said Doug. With a gulp, I did. â€Å"Hello? Yeah. Uh-huh . . . sure. Okay . . . I understand. Okay. Bye.† I disconnected and Doug gave me a questioning look. â€Å"That didn't sound all that warm and fuzzy.† â€Å"Seth wants me to come to Christmas dinner tomorrow,† I said disbelievingly. â€Å"Well, that's a good sign,† said Doug. I shook my head. â€Å"I don't think it is. He said he doesn't want to create more upset in the girls' lives and just wants me there for appearances, to make them happy. He made it clear that nothing's changed, nor does he expect it to.† â€Å"I guess it's more of a lukewarm sign, then,† said Doug. I sighed, and Doug gently chucked my chin. â€Å"Cheer up, Kincaid. You wanted to talk to him. Here's your chance, no matter what he said. Don't waste it.† I mustered a smile. â€Å"How'd you get so wise, Doug?† He finished his coffee in a gulp. â€Å"Fuck if I know.† Doug's words were the kind that you hear in movies and books, the kind that power the against-all-odds comeback we love to see. It was my one chance, my chance to break through Seth's walls and surmount the insurmountable problems between us. But Seth made sure I never had the chance. I arrived on my own, laden with presents, and was immediately directed to entertain the girls. Seth made the request, since he and most of the other adults (except Ian, who only marginally counted as an adult anyway) were dug in inside the kitchen, and it seemed very reasonable. Normally, I wouldn't have minded either, except I had the gut feeling Seth was purposely keeping us far apart and constantly surrounded by people. So, I played with the girls, only half-listening as they excitedly told me about what they'd gotten for Christmas. The only time my brooding thoughts shifted from Seth was when Brandy remarked about how more presents had shown up under their tree this morning than could be accounted for. â€Å"No one will own up to having gotten some of the presents. Mom and Dad think Uncle Seth did it. He thinks Grandma did it,† Brandy said in a soft voice, so the littler ones wouldn't overhear her. â€Å"What kind of presents?† I asked. She shrugged. â€Å"Just toys . . . but lots of them. Like, Mom and Dad got Morgan some Princess Ponies. But this morning ? There were some Power Prism Ponies there too.† I vaguely remembered Carter and Morgan discussing those very ponies. â€Å"Maybe Santa came by,† I said. Brandy rolled her eyes, looking skeptical. â€Å"Maybe.† When dinner came, there was no avoiding being near Seth. Everyone expected us to sit together, and he could hardly ask to move somewhere else. But again, with so many people around, it didn't matter. I wasn't going to bring up any dangerous topics in the middle of Christmas dinner, and Seth knew that. Both of us were silent, simply listening as the others talked excitedly about the day and how happy they were that Andrea was feeling better. When dinner ended, Seth was the first one up and made a big deal about how all the guys should do dishes tonight while the ladies of the household retired to the living room. Everyone was pleased with this idea, except for Ian and me. â€Å"What is it with you guys and Christmas?† asked Andrea conspiratorially. I was sitting with her on the loveseat watching as Kendall directed Morgan's ponies into an epic battle to the death. â€Å"Huh?† I asked, glancing away from the battlefield. â€Å"You and Seth,† said Andrea. â€Å"I remember last Christmas, you guys were the same. Isn't this supposed to be the happiest day of the year?† I repressed a grimace. Last Christmas, I'd found out that Seth had slept with Maddie in an effort to â€Å"protect me† from a relationship with him. Yeah. That hadn't been a great holiday either. â€Å"We've got nothing against Christmas,† I said bleakly. â€Å"Just . . . some issues to sort out.† She frowned. â€Å"Is it about his tour? I figured you'd be for that.† â€Å"What tour?† â€Å"His publisher wants him to go traveling right after New Year's. Seth had originally refused because of . . . well, me. But I've felt so good lately, I told him he shouldn't waste the chance.† I hadn't known about that. I wondered if it was something that had just come up in the last day or if Seth simply hadn't told me beforehand. The tour would fall before my Las Vegas transfer, and I wouldn't have put it past Seth to decline it in order to maximize his time with me. Well, at least before things went bad. â€Å"That's not it,† I said after several seconds, when I realized she was expecting an answer from me. â€Å"It's . . . complicated.† â€Å"It always is,† she said wisely. I looked past her, toward the kitchen, where I could just barely see the Mortensen men moving around with the dishes. â€Å"For now, I'd just settle for a few moments alone.† She made no comment about that, but later, when the guys returned to the living room, she said very casually, â€Å"Seth, would you mind going upstairs to get my red cardigan? I left it on the foot of the bed.† Seth was about to sit down – far away from me, of course – but sprang up instantly at the request. As soon as he'd disappeared up the stairs, Andrea nudged me with her elbow. I turned to her, startled, and she jerked her head toward the stairs. Go, she mouthed. I glanced around, saw no one was paying much attention to me, and hurried after Seth. I found him in the bedroom, staring around curiously for the sweater that most likely didn't even exist. When he saw me in the doorway, he sighed heavily, realizing he'd been tricked. â€Å"I don't have time for this,† he said, attempting to move past me. I put out my arm to block the door. â€Å"Seth, please. Just listen to me. Just for a few minutes.† He stood there, only a few inches away, and then backed up. Since he apparently didn't want to push past and risk touching me, he must have decided distance was better, even at the risk of being trapped in the room. â€Å"Georgina, there is nothing you can say. Nothing that can change what happened between us.† â€Å"I know that,† I said. â€Å"I'm not going to try.† He eyed me suspiciously. â€Å"You aren't?† I swallowed, all words and thoughts fading from me as I stared into his eyes. There it was – that look. That same look of hurt and utter devastation that Kyriakos had worn so many centuries ago. It was looking out at me through Seth's eyes. I nodded. â€Å"We need to know about your contract. We just want to know some details.† â€Å"To help you?† he asked. â€Å"To help both of us. From what we've gathered, Hell violated my contract when it wrote yours. And that makes the conditions of yours contradictory. We might be able to get them both invalidated . . . but we need to understand yours better.† Seth leaned against the wall, eyes staring vacantly ahead as his thoughts turned inward. â€Å"I don't even understand the details of my contract. I barely remember it. . . . I mean, I do and don't. What went down . . . with the hypnosis . . . it's real and it's not.† I started to take a step forward, wanting badly to touch him and comfort him since he was clearly distraught. Caution held me back. â€Å"You have to try. Right now, if you don't, then you're going to go to Hell when you die. Doesn't matter if you become a saint before then. That contract brands your soul . . . unless, well . . . we're not sure if there was some condition that if you and I got back together, then you'd be free. That's what we need to know.† â€Å"Does it matter?† he asked. â€Å"Seeing as that doesn't look like it's going to happen – doesn't look like it was ever going to happen, if all those lives were any indication.† â€Å"Well, I mean, yeah . . . it matters in that the more information we have, the better our case.† â€Å"Can't you just have Hugh look it up?† I shook my head. â€Å"Not without raising attention. It'd be better if we can get the details from you.† â€Å"Well, sorry, then. I don't remember anything more than what I told you. And honestly? I don't care.† â€Å"How can you not care?† I asked incredulously. â€Å"It's your soul we're talking about!† â€Å"I'll take my chances,† he said. A spark of anger permeated the sorrow that had clung to me these last couple days. â€Å"There are no ‘chances.' It's a done deal. Your soul belongs to Hell. Nothing's going to change it.† â€Å"Does it really matter? You gave your soul to Hell.† â€Å"For you!† I cried. â€Å"I did it for you. To save you. I would do it a hundred times over if I had to.† Seth scoffed. â€Å"Why didn't you just not cheat on me one time?† â€Å"I was young, and I was stupid,† I said, amazed at how levelly I could acknowledge that. â€Å"I was scared, and I felt like you were so far away from me. Like I wasn't part of your priorities anymore. It was all about work and music for you.† â€Å"And you never thought about talking to me about any of that first? You know you can always bring anything up to me.† I sighed. â€Å"To you, maybe. Not to Kyriakos. He . . . you . . . may have meant well but wasn't always so easy to get through to.† â€Å"But I am him,† argued Seth, though he sound a little unsure. â€Å"Er, was.† â€Å"Yes and no,† I said. â€Å"Look, I'm no expert on reincarnation, but from what I know, even though the soul and some parts of the character are constant, there's still, like . . . evolving taking place. You grow and change. That's the point of reincarnation. You're the same person, but you aren't. You weren't perfect back then. Hell, you aren't now. Maybe you – Seth – can handle talking about this . . . maybe after ten lives, you've developed enough relationship maturity. Back then? I'm not so sure. I obviously didn't have it either.† â€Å"Obviously,† he repeated. His gaze held me for a long time, and this time, I couldn't tell what he was feeling. At least there was no overt hate or anything. Either that, or he'd simply learned to conceal it. Finally, he said, â€Å"I meant it. I don't remember the contract details. . . . Just that I would be allowed to keep finding you.† â€Å"That's it?† I said. â€Å"Nothing else? If there's anything more . . . I mean, the stakes here are huge, Seth. I know you said you'd take your chances, but remember when we're talking about your soul, we're looking beyond the scope of one human life. We're looking at eternity.† â€Å"There you go again,† he said, with a small, rueful smile. â€Å"Making an argument for the sanctity of the soul, a soul you threw away.† â€Å"And I told you before, I'd do it again.† â€Å"So you wouldn't have to face me and look me in the eye after what you'd done.† â€Å"In part,† I said. â€Å"But also to save your life. To give you a chance at happiness. Because at that moment . . . that was more important than my eternity.† Seth took a long time to answer, and I again wished I knew what was happening behind those brown eyes. Whose thoughts were stirring in there? His or Kyriakos's? Or any of the other men I'd had turbulent romances with? â€Å"You didn't want to face me then,† he said at last. â€Å"But here you are. Why? To save your own soul?† â€Å"To save both our souls,† I said. Seth straightened up from his slouch against the wall and moved toward the door. â€Å"I can't help you. I mean it – I don't remember anything else. Now. If you'd please make some polite excuse to the others and leave, I'd really appreciate it.† He came to stand in front of me in the doorway, and for a half a second, time stood still as we studied each other, only a few inches apart. A thousand feelings warred within me, powered by a thousand years' worth of lifetimes. With a slow nod, I yielded and let him walk past me. He didn't look back.