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Friday, May 31, 2019

Humming Birds :: essays research papers

Hummingbirds in FlightHummingbirds be fascinating birds that are always variation to watch. These birds are able to hover in mid-air, dart from side to side, go straight up or down, or even backwards. They can out- pilot and out-maneuver birds hundreds of times their size. in that location are many factors that contribute to the hummingbirds ability to fly so easily through the air. A hummingbirds wings are shaped so that they are slightly rounded on the top. Bernoullis Principle explains why this helps the bird to fly. The air passing over the top of the wing must travel raise than the air going under the wing. As the hummingbird moves forward, the velocity of the fluid increases over the wing and the pressure above the wing is reduced. The higher pressure under the hummingbirds wing provides lift for the bird. Hummingbirds look at unusually strong muscles that enable them to raise and lower their wings with great power. As the Hummingbirds thrust their wings up and down, they fly into the air with amazing agility and speed. The sleek outline of the bird and smooth feathers create little drag as the bird darts through the air. Hummingbirds have even been seen flying upside down Another factor that helps explain how hummingbirds fly is called Archimedes Principle. The hummingbird stays in the air at a high tallness because it is held up by a buoyant force. The buoyant force is equal to the weight of the volume of fluid it displaces. The Venturi effect is evident when the hummingbird holds its wings boney to its body.

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Sonnet 69 :: essays research papers fc

Sonnet 65(Shakespeare)1 Since brass, nor stone, nor boundless sea, 2 But wistful mortality oer-sways their power,3 How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea,4 Whose action is no stronger than a flower?5 O how shall summertimes honey breath hold out,6 Against the wreckful siege of battring days7 When rocks impregnable are not so stout,8 Nor supply of steel so strong, but time decays?9 O fearful meditation Where, alack, 10 Shall times best jewel from times chest lie hid?11 Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back,12 Or who his spoil oer beauty can forbid?13 O none, unless this miracle have might14That in black ink my love may still fall d testify bright. Withstanding Mortalitythrough VerseMelissa ZyduckExplication 1Sonnet 65CarducciFeb. 21st, 2001Sonnets are rhymed poems consisting of fourteen lines, the first eight making up the eightsome and the last six lines being the sestet. The basic structure of the sonnet arose in medieval Italy, its most prominent exponent being the Early Renaissance poet, Petrarch. The carriage of the English Sonnet, however, occurred when Shakespeare was an adolescent, around 1580 (Moore and Charmaine 1). Although it is named after him, Shakespeare did not originate the English sonnet form. The English sonnet differs slightly from the Italian, or Petrarchian, Sonnet and the Spenserian Sonnet in that it ends with a rhymed couplet and follows the rhyme scheme (abab cdcd efef gg). Thus, the octet/sestet structure can be alternatively divided into three quatrains with alternating rhymes and ending in a rhymed couplet. William Shakespeares Sonnet 65 is part of a sequence of one hundred and fifty-four sonnets allegedly written sometime surrounded by 1592 and May of 1609 (Duncan 13 Moore and Charmine 1). In sonnets 1 through 126, the speaker addresses a young man often referred to as the Youth, and in sonnets 127 through 154, a woman, or Dark Lady, is addressedSonnet 65 is also part of a unit with Sonnet 64 (Best 1), the two coming together to form their own fearful meditation (9) on time and ruin reaping youth and beauty from the world and leaving only cold death (Cooney 3).Shakespeare opens the poem with the speaker itemisation paradigms of the long-lasting substances brass and stone (1). Earth and boundless sea (1) are also long lasting, but are superior in that they are near limitless in extent. All of these elements, by their nature, should be capable of holding out against sad mortality (2), but none of them are free of its trading operations (Duncan, 240) as it oer-sways their power (2).

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Fire Song :: Free Essay Writer

Fire SongThis book is based around Bowmen Hath and Kestrel Hath who are twins. Both embark on excursion with their friend Mumpo, to save their people, the Manth. This book begins after they escape with their family and a group of friends from an evil Priest/Warlord Albard and his Mastery.As they go on there journey the face foes of nature and of great evil. Bowmen is the kind sensitive type. He knows his time is running out, soon some people will arrive and take him on a journey from which he will never return form. However he dose not know who or how that person will come across like. Bowmen is unique, his special gift sets him apart from everyone else. He is able to discover what a persons most darkest secrets are just by focusing on them, read their minds and localize every move they are going to make, block projectiles with the power of his mind. Kestrel on the other hand, is the more impulsive of the pair. She posses the same gifts as Bowmen, however not as strong. Kestrel is the schemer, she thinks of plans on the fly when she has to, and is unstrained to get her hands dirty if she has to. She believes that her heart is cold and unable to love the person whos willing to give up his life for her, Mumpo. Mumpo is the warrior, once marching with the evil army, The Zars. He is Quick, strong, agile and good with a multitude of weapons.Bowmen and Kestrels mother choler Hath is a prophet, able to tell the future of what is going to happen and what should be going on and what is not. However her gift is also her curse, the more she prophesies the weaker she becomes. Iras Husband Hanno Hath is the leader of their group. With his wifes ability to tell if they are going the right direction to the Homeland or not he is wide-awake to take responsibility of every ones lives including the lives of his closest friends.The mood the author has written within the book is that of an era with very little peace and evil ventilation in every direction. People must band together and out away their differences and work to save every ones lives. Only the strong will survive is a phrase that can explain the mood of the book.

Biography of Isaac Newton :: Sir Isaac Newton Essays

Sir Isaac Newton Jan 4 1643 - March 31 1727 On Christmas day by the georgian press in the manor house of Woolsthorpe, England, Issaac Newton was born prematurely. His father had died 3 months before. Newton had a difficult childhood. His mother, Hannah Ayscough Newton remarried when he was just three, and he was direct to live with his grandparents. After his stepfathers death, the second father who died, when Isaac was 11, Newtons mother brought him back home to Woolsthorpe in Lincolnshire where he was educated at Kings School, Grantham. Newton came from a family of farmers and he was expected to continue the farming tradition , well thats what his mother thought anyway, until an uncle recognized how smart he was. Newtons mother removed him from grammar school in Grantham where he had shown little promise in academics. Newtons report cards describe him as idle and inattentive. So his uncle decided that he should be prepared for the university, and he entered his uncles honest-to -goodness College, Trinity College, Cambridge, in June 1661. Newton had to earn his keep waiting on wealthy students because he was poor. Newtons aim at Cambridge was a law degree. At Cambridge, Isaac grave mound who held the Lucasian chair of Mathematics took Isaac under his wing and encouraged him. Newton got his undergraduate degree without accomplishing much and would have gone on to get his masters however the Great Plague broke out in London and the students were sent home. This was a truely productive time for Newton. He conducted experiments on sunlight and prisms. He discovered that sunlight was made up of different colors. This lead to his work on reflecting telescopes. At the same time he was working out his ideas of planetary motion. He returned to Cambridge in 1667 and became the a fellow, earned his MA and the following year became the chair of the math department. he then wrote a book on optics. Newton worked cooperatively wiht other scientists such as Robert Hook eand Edmund Halley on planetary motion. But he was later bitter and resentfull not wanting to give other any acknowledgment for their contributions to his work. Newton went on to serve in government positions such as a member of Parliament and later as Warden of the Mint. His only words verbalize as a member of parliament were "shut the window." He had a mental breakdown of sorts resulting in thoughts of persecutiojn mania later in life.

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Harlem Renaissance :: essays research papers

When you think of Harlem the Harlem Renaissance, What is the first word that comes to mind? Harlem Renaissance was the great movement of the black race from the deep rural south to the urban Harlem city during the 1920s to 1930s. It was the time of the black Americans to show and reflect their talents throughout society. It was the time to prove something to the world. The time of emancipation, the time of dignity, the time of passion, the time of the art, the time of the music, etc. Do we really know why these people have migrated? What caused them to migrate? These are some of the questions that filled in my mind when I think of the Harlem Renaissance. Where did these great capable people came from? What motivated them into becoming and showing to the world that they are somebody? Looking back through the years and years of poverty, bad condition, unequal living, and having no right to be able to have their own voice in a white dominated society, these were just the bits of imag es that African Americans or should I separate "blacks" because either mien, even if you were black from Jamaica or from some other places, the white majority still considered you as "niggers". A race that is inferior and has no way into revolting against the domination of whites. There were a lot of regulations and restrictions that blacks faced during the time of slavery. Being considered a property is one of the hardship that they went through. They were basically treated handle animals with no saying. They were sold here and there. There were also times that a person would get separated from their family. That person will never again assimilate their family The blacks were considered second class citizens. Although there were many obstacles that they encountered during their time period, they were able to escape that adversity. The main reason why people were able to escape that adversity was because they were willing to do anything, anything that would impr ove their life condition in the South. "The wash and rush of this human tide on the beach line of the northern city centers is to be explained primarily in terms of a new vision of opportunity, of social and economic freedom, of a spirit to seize, even in the face of an extortionate and concentrated toll, a chance for the improvement of conditions.

Harlem Renaissance :: essays research papers

When you cypher of Harlem the Harlem Renaissance, What is the first word that comes to mind? Harlem Renaissance was the great movement of the black race from the deep rural second to the urban Harlem city during the 1920s to 1930s. It was the while of the black Americans to show and reflect their talents throughout society. It was the time to prove something to the world. The time of emancipation, the time of dignity, the time of passion, the time of the art, the time of the music, etc. Do we really know why these people have migrated? What caused them to migrate? These are some of the questions that filled in my mind when I think of the Harlem Renaissance. Where did these great talented people came from? What motivated them into becoming and showing to the world that they are somebody? Looking back through the years and years of poverty, detrimental condition, unequal living, and having no right to be able to have their own voice in a white dominated society, these were just th e bits of images that African Americans or should I say "blacks" because either way, even if you were black from Jamaica or from some other places, the white majority still considered you as "niggers". A race that is low-level and has no way into revolting against the domination of whites. There were a lot of regulations and restrictions that blacks suitd during the time of slavery. Being considered a property is one of the hardship that they went through. They were fundamentally treated like animals with no saying. They were sold here and there. There were also times that a person would get separated from their family. That person will neer again see their family The blacks were considered second class citizens. Although there were many obstacles that they encountered during their time period, they were able to effluence that adversity. The main reason why people were able to escape that adversity was because they were willing to do anything, anything that would improve their life condition in the South. "The wash and rush of this human tide on the beach line of the northerly city centers is to be explained primarily in terms of a new vision of opportunity, of social and economic freedom, of a spirit to seize, even in the face of an extortionate and heavy toll, a chance for the improvement of conditions.

Monday, May 27, 2019

Engaging in Cio-Cxo “Conversations That Matter”

Individual Assignment Engaging in CIO-CxO Conversations that Matter An Interview with Peter cutting. MIS Quarterly Executive 9(1) (2010). Hamza Lahkim Bennani 10-24-2012 MIS 3301 Dr. Chihab Benmoussa Reflection Q1 I give way heard you say more than once that CxOs argon non interested in IT. Can you explain what you mean by that? Peter Keen, The chairman and adviser of Keen Innovations, answered this question very clearly, where he declared that it is important that CxOs know the importance of information systems in their company and how it female genitals extend and integrate relationships mingled with the companies processes.For the majority of CxOs, knowing the innards of an information system is not as crucial as knowing how the plateform developed is dropd and how it can increase the transaction of a company. He talked active Facebook where he recorded how 300 million tribe use it daily but dont know how the plateform wee-wees, they just use it for communicating with batch. CxOs are tuning out, and the more comfortable they are about the appraise of IT, the less they want or need to tune in on the old technology discourses said Peter Keen, which means that even when CxOs start using IS in their company and giving it importance, they dont regret it and figure that is enables more business capacities. Over the last five years, the whole business has become much moreIT-aware and IT-literate, and makes the need to get more involved in IT so that business benefits are delivered.As a result, It has become more influential and more proactive. , and has driven an increasingly an entreprisewide culture. (Andrew Mullock, CIO, BNP Paribas) As far as CIOs are concerned, Peter Keen approximates that their affair in the corporation is as important as the role of any other CxO, abouttimes even more important. CIOs know exactly what is press release on at heart the comany, and through with(predicate) information technology they know how to solve pr oblems in a very efficient and effective way.CIOs should be among the decision make commitee inside the company their influence on strategical decisions could be very important and fruitful. Peter Keen thinks that business-savvy CIOs are the ones who know how to communicate with other people inside the company, from the CxOs to the emloyees in the IS or IT departement. Key skills of todays CIO include the ability to translate come along requirements into stems. He needs to talk the language of the Board and the investors. All inception in our industry will be technology- led or technology facilitated. (McGill, 2011)As I see it, CxOs and CIOs are interdependant in an organization, they should all work in a harmony that will enable the company to perform repair in toll of solving inner problems that will eventually kindle profi making and more revenues. It is illustrated in the recitation Peter Keen gave by saying that and General is not an army without his pendents. In this case, the everyday are the CxOs, and the subordinate are the CIO and the people working in the IT department. To put it in a nutshell, companies should not think that It is involved only when there is something not working weel inside the company and work is not well synchronised.Q2 As you look back at the last 30 years, how do you think that the role of the CIO has changed in terms of its focus on the operations mission vis-a- vis business strategy, and what does that suggest for CIO role changes in the future ? For Peter Keen, the role of the CIO nowadays compared to 30 years ago underwent some changes. Before, a CIO was just a technology shop manager that is considered one of the costs to be controlled but years later, the role of the CIO has changed to be a crucial part of an organization, that is now responsible for many tasks such as cost containment and operations liability.Insourcing and outsourcing is also one of the tasks a CIO is responsible of, and it is bringing war wish well advantage to organizations. CIOs commence got a lot of attention recently despite the economic turdowns in the recent years. CIOs have some skills and capabilities that can military receipts comapnies trim on business operations and help them solve some cross-functional problems that still confuses many entreprises. For yesterdays CIOs, and many of todays as well, it was bountiful to have two out of three key capabilities personal leadership, technology leadership and business acumen. Tomorrows CIO will need all three. (Brumby, 2010)I think that CIOs should be in charge of more strategic tasks. Being a CIO and evolving well inside the company is difficult and requires certain skills that not all CxOs have. As for Peter keen, he assumes that the CIOs role will have more importance and gets more attention within time in the future. The following diagram illustrates the role of a CIO in an organization and how it works. (IBM, 2008) Q3 At your ICIS 2009 presentation yo u talked about conversations that matter. Could you expand on that? Peter Keen in the answer of this question cogitate most on innovation, and how the CIOs innovation can better help an organization.Besides, Professor Keen talekd about the importance of use of the appropriate language to between CIOs. He also pointed that for a conversation to be effective, the things that should be discussed are things that are worth sharing, questioning and arguing about rather than shop-talk and social chat. For Peter keen, some intersections that are between CxOs, CIOs, IT proffesionals and educators dialogs, are the kind of discussions where CxOs are present and that are never cancelled anr successful because there is someone high up in the organization who cares about them as personal and leadership riority. In these intersections, some irreversible business decisions are made, where most fruitful discussions are about how to enclose a market overseas and other important subjects. CIOs are usually present in those conversations for the aim of bringing somme innovation in sloving some get laids like costs of operations and not discussing them. Few years ago, moving IT as a profession towards business awareness has well progressed as CxOs came late to see that IT is a great opporunity for them to evoluate the coordination of technology for thei company, saying that they were unimaginative ever before.As I see it, companies have been losing or badly investing in some things that are worthless relatively to what IT has done in the business domain. Q4 Why do conversations that matter in CxO circles address innovation, rather than invention? Dr. Keen thinks that innovation is better than innovation because invention is bout product features the logic of benefits, however innovation is about inventing value. As far as CxOs are consered, Peter Keen stated that they should be among the exclusive people in an organization to be able to talk about innovation.For him, no inventi on nor innovation should be under/overestimated. RFID is an example of the problems happening while going from invention to business value. Successful companies actively cultivate new ideas, put those ideas to work quickly and efficiently, and harvest the business value benefits of successful innovations. Discussions of innovation often focus on what a company offers, that is, its products and services. In Managing Information Technology Innovation for strain Value, Esther Baldwin and Martin Curley show how successful IT innovations earnings back handsomely as well.Innovation is not just about what a company offers, innovation is also about how a company conducts business and how IT innovation can transform an organization into a significantly more efficient company. (Baldwin & Curley , 2009) What Peter tried to say here is that investing in an innovative IT solution provides even greater business value. Practicing innovation is necessary to make a firms IT investment successful, and that is what some Intel Corporation IT managers have learned through many years of experience. Q5 Can you give us some examples of conversations for innovation?Peter Keen explained and showed what conversations for innovation talk about, mostly about how IT is changing the fiscal structures of the enterprise in a deleveraged world, and how we are moved to a variable cost business model. He used Amazon as an example to show that IT makes organizations decrease their costs the maximum for Amazon for instance, thei have over 2 million storesbut did not invest in fixed capital assets. For him, the discussions and conversations between the CIO and the chief financial officer is very important, and that a good collaboration between the two is very advised for the better making of money.Both of them can learn from the other, and so come up with very good ideas and make strategic decisions when needed. He also said that these one of a kind companies like Google, Amazon, Apple and Wal-M art inspire other companies and help them make better decisions based on one of a kind companies. There is the famous example of Wal-Mart, where CIOs and other CxOs work in harmony and have conversations mostly on implementing new strategies that will help them minimize costs as much as they could. The strategy of Wal-Mart is having no warehouses.When they run out of stock, people in the IT departement can have access and check their suppliers warehouse and see if the product they run out of stock from is available, if so they just order it through this database. This strategy helped Wal-Mart minimize the cost of the warehouses, their electricity bills, less employees to pay, and finally decrease their phone bills fee. Q6 Let us take the example of a currently-hyped technical issue such as overcloud cipher. How can we transform that into a conversation for innovation?For this question, Peter Keen said that when talking about cloud computing as a conversation for innovation, things that could be discussed are about how can cloud computing change the variabe cost structure of the entreprise, and how it can add tractability and speed of responde for the IT organization. For Dr. Keen, chaning the customer experience is very important, and IT can help do that. He said that it is useless if CxOs are going to talk about virtualization or open cloud standards. Cloud computing has present an attractive opportunity to both small business and large enterprise.Traditional information systems were predominately operated on physical machines that were in house. The emergence of cloud computing makes it possible to develop information systems on virtual machines that are hosted by cloud service providers. For the companies that IT is not their core business, cloud computing presents an opportunity to save costs on the development of information systems that support their major business operations. (Chou, 2007) Q7 What is it that you think the IT professional worker in gen eral knows that brings special value to the organization?What is their distinctive competence in the next decade? For Peter Keen, the competences that distinguish IT professionals are bein good at analyzing business processes and multi-functional at the same time. It is in usually necessary and plays a crucial role in the innovation conversation because CIOs know how to integrate and put all pieces together. He gave the example of people in the organization not kowing how things work in other departements, but stated that people in the IT departement have an idea about the general processes of the organizations they are working for.What also distinguishes IT people is that they really understand data assurance, data integrity and version control, which are distinctive competences thay have. For Keen, it is important not to underestimate the difficulties of implementing the innovation of a new genration technology. The IT coordination skills can equally live in the business, the IT o rganization, or in a third-party provider. In a world where achieving results can often require the participation of a multitude a loosely related resources, effective coordination skills are paramount. Among these skills we find coordination, analysis and innovation. (Reichental, 2011)Q8 What does all this mean for IS academics as researchers and teachers? Keen briefly stated that executive education needs to be reinvented in order to develop the next generation of IT leaders, for him CIOs and CxOs who innovate have their efforts fit practice by other IT professionals who are growing in order to become next CIOs or CxOsIn terms of their educational function, IS academics need to consider their role in the wider context of social and political changes. These include the delivery of generic IS/IT skills through all levels and types of education (Gough, 2000). (Hemingway, 2000) References Charles, B. (2002).Successful e-business strategy The potential of electronic marketplaces. Sydn ey Pearson Education Australia. David , K. , & Richard , H. (1993). Business information systems. (5th ed. ). New York McGraw Hill. Hemingway, C. , & Gough, T. (2000). The value of information systems teaching and research in the knowledge society. In Fluency with information technology (Vol. 3). Cranfield Hussain, K. M. , & Hussain, D. S. (1995). Information systems for business. (2nd ed. ). Padstow, UK T. J Press. Judith, C. S. (2001). entry to information systems. Crawfordsville R. R. Donnelley. DOI www. wiley. com/college/simon Kroenke. & Hatch, (1994). Management information systems. (3rd ed. ). Watsonville McGraw Hill. Leonard, J. , & Joseph, V. (2003). Information systems today. New JErsey Prentice Hall. Paul, L. (1994). Information-systems development. Great Britain Clays Ltd, St Ives pls. Richard, N. (2002). Service management Strategy and leadership in service business. (3rd ed. ). Weinheim John Wiley & sons, LTD. Stuart, B. (2002). Knowldege management systems Theory and practice. (2nd ed. ). London The Alden Press. Turban, R. P. (2003). Introduction to informatin technology. (2nd ed. ). Danvers John Wiley & sons, Ltd. DOI wwww. wiley. com/college/turban

Sunday, May 26, 2019

Hbr – Cash Flow Stattement – Chemalite.

bills FLows Part 1 Exercises Classification of immediate payment Flows For each event listed below, select the appropriate socio-economic class which describes the effect of the event on a statement of notes flows a. Cash provided/used by operating activities. b. Cash provided/used by investing activities. c. Cash provided/used by financing activities. d. Not a cash flow. C/A 1. Payment on long-term debt (company pays INTEREST only) think about this how this could be both related to debt because financing and operating because its part of trading operations C 2. Issuance of bonds at a premium A3. Collection of accounts receivable D4.Cash dividends declared its not a cash flow D 5. Issuance of shares to acquire land (exchange of shares for land) no cash exchanges here B6. Sale of merchantable securities (long-term) A7. Payment of employees wages C8. Issuance of common shares for cash A/? 9. Payment of income taxes payable could be disposition of property, etc. then this will fall beneath investing B10. Purchase of equipment B11. Purchase of common shares in another company B12. Sale of real estate held as a long-term investment proceeding Transaction Journal Entry Impact on earnings Impact on cash flows Cash flow classification Adjustment? Issue 1,000 shares for $10,000 Dr. cash (BS) 10K Cr. Common shares 10K No INFLOW of 10k Financing No reconciliation required item included in CFF Purchase inventories for $2,000 on account (i. e. not for cash) Dr. muniment (BS)CR. Accounts payable (BS) No No impact run (no CASH FLOW) Earnings $0CFO $0 Pay off $2,000 for inventories purchased above Dr. AP (BS) 2kCr. Cash (BS) 2k No OUTFLOW of 2k Operating Earnings $0Adjustment Change in non-cash working capital $-2kCFO $-2k Sell $1,000 worth of inventory for $4,000, on account (i. e. not for cash) Dr. /r 4000Cr. tax revenue 4000Dr. Cost of Goods Sold 1000Cr. Inventory 1000 Yes no Operating (no cash flow) Earnings $3000AdjustmentChange in non-cash wc $-3000CF O $0 Collect $4,000 relating to sale above Dr. cash 4kCr. Ar 4k no INFLOW of 4k Operating Earnings 0AdjustmentChange in non-cash wc 4kCFO 4k Purchase truck (PPE) for $3,000 cash Dr. PPE 3kCr. Cash 3K No Outflow of 3k Investing Included in CFI no reconciliation needed Record depreciation of truck for the period ($500) Dr. Depreciation expense 500Cr. Acc. Dep. (BS) 500 Yes-500 no Operating Earnings -500AdjustmentDepreciation +500CFO 0Introduction to Cash Flow construction The Controller of Schmidt Tooling Corporation has provided you with the following information Schmidt Tooling Corporation Income Statement For the Year terminate December 31, 2010 Net Sales 620,000 Operating expenses 410,000 210,000 Income from operations Other revenues and expenses Gain on sale of equipment 30,000 Interest expense 8,000 22,000 Income before income taxes 232,000 Income taxes 92,800 Net income 139,200 Schmidt Tooling CorporationComparative Account Information Relating to Op erations For the Year Ended December 31, 2010 2010 2009 Accounts receivable 56,000 40,000 Prepaid insurance 5,000 6,000 Accounts payable 59,000 47,000 Interest payable 600 1,500 Income taxes payable 4,200 6,000 Unearned revenue 20,000 14,000 Instructions Prepare a statement of cash flows (for the companys operating activities only) for the year ended December 31, 2010 using the indirect format.

Saturday, May 25, 2019

Economic Order Quantity model (EOQ) and the Just-In-Time model (JIT) Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTIONIt is rattling important that productive enterprises need in effect(p) stock list control management, especially in manufacturing companies and retail distri saveion. In business practice, we unremarkably persona many a(prenominal) stock control fabrics such as the Economic Order cadence forge (EOQ) and Just-In-Time stumper (JIT). The purpose of this report is to indicate the rationale of EOQ and JIT instances and detailed to explain the effectiveness in practice of the deuce good examples. Moreover, I decided to take the McDonald ac club as an example, which illustrate JIT model is being utilize by McDonald company.In this report, by serious study and literature review, combined with refer to relevant books, search useful information from internet and my personal idea. I have examined concepts of EOQ and JIT models. Followed by discuss the rationale of them, and illustrate effectiveness of the two models in practice that we may fully reckon the impor tance of EOQ and JIT agreements in companys daily operation. Finally, use JIT system in McDonald Company is presented.2.0 THE ECONOMIC pronounce QUANTITY MODEL AND JUST-IN-TIME MODEL2.1 Definition2.1.1 Economic Order Quantity modelThe Economic Order Quantity stock control model also called the economic lot size or economic performance quantity, it af sign of the zodiacs that the top hat quantity of an entry item to postgraduate society at any succession is that quantity that minimizes tot up stock certificate cost over provision period (Horne and Wachowicz 1995, p.271).2.1.2 Just-In-Time modelThe Just-In-Time stock control model is an integrated set of activities designed to achieve high-volume performance victimisation minimal inventories of raw materials, piss-in-process, and finished goods (Aquilano et al. 2004, p.426).3.0 THE BASIC ECONOMIC ORDER QUANTITY MODELIn 1913, F. W. Harris developed an EOQ model which has been applied widely. This model is being used in p lanning the purchase raw materials, and providers, and in planning purchases for wholesalers and retailers who resell returns.3.1 Assumptions of EOQ ModelIt is necessary to the inventory management that EOQ model is one of the close to commonly mount. Use this model is relatively simple, however, according to Heizer and Render (2001, p.481), it must(prenominal)(prenominal) based on the succeeding(a) assumptions or conditionsRate of have is constant, known and independent.Lead time is certainty and constant, therefore, when the stock down to zero, the stock could be added at a precise time.Quantity discounts argon impossible.The stock is immediate and complete.If ordered goods are in appropriate time, shortages elicit be prevent.Setup cost and guardianship or carrying cost are be pertinacious to variable be.3.2 The Objective of EOQ ModelThe objective of the EOQ model is to determine the optimal quantity of inventory to order and the best time to place the order (Dyclcman et al. 1990, p.630). In fact, the EOQ is balancing two inventory management costs carrying cost and society costs. Dyclcman et al. argue (1990) Carrying costs include out-of-pocket costs such as storage, insurance, taxes and so on. Opportunity costs is related to the cost of investing capital in inventory rather than in an another(prenominal)(prenominal) income-producing assets. Ordering costs include out-pf-pocket expenditures incurred all(prenominal) time an order is placed, such as handling, shipping, and so on.Dyclcman et al. (1990) score a further statement Carrying costs and monastic order costs demonstrate different cost behaviors relative to the level of inventory maintained. Carrying costs summation with the quantity of inventory maintained ordering costs abate with the quantity of inventory maintained. The to a greater extent inventory kept on hand, the more storage, handling, and other such carrying costs are incurred. The broadr the amount of inventory, the fewer f rame of orders needed to replenish the inventory and the smaller the amount of ordering costs.3.3 Validity of the assumptions and model robustnessAlthough the assumption of EOQ model shows highly restrictive, one advantage of EOQ model is that it is quite robust. As mentioned onwards, there are some(a) assumptions leave behind be dropped, akin no quantity discounts, no shortages, no uncertainty in demand and scat time. On the other hand, such as a constant demand rate and a constant keeping cost per unit, can be violated somewhat without substantially reducing the accuracy of the solution (Martinich 1997, p. 671). When the demand face seasonal changes, model can be changed to adapt to this mail serving.Martinich (1997) stated clearly The important feature of EOQ model is that the function of total stocking cost is flat around the optimal order quantity. Estimating ordering cost per unit time and holding cost per unit time are very crucial, because they are not often very accu rate. Therefore, the value com deposited for EOQ cannot equalthe true optimal value. However, because of the flatness of the total stocking cost function, even if the computed EOQ is 20%-30% different from the true optimal, the cost penalty is relatively small(Martinich 1997, p.671).Robust is defined as a model that gives qualified answers even with substantial variation in its parameters (Heizer and Render 2001, p.486). As we mentioned above, it is difficult to decide accurate ordering costs and holding costs for inventory management. Thus, a robust model is very favorable and some errors do not cost us very much. This is because that the EOQ model is most convenient and it can accurately forecast demand, holding cost, and ordering cost is limited.3.4 Fixed Order Point versus Fixed Order Interval PolicyEOQ model is an border on of the fixed order point policy. According to Ellram et al. (1998, p.128) Throughout the ordering process, as long as the EOQ model was identified, a fixe d quantity pass on be ordered every time. An order is placed when inventory on hand r from each onees a predetermined minimum level necessary to satisfy demand during the order cycle. An order will be generated by the automated inventory management system.Another reorder policy is the fixed order interval method. Use this method, we may set time interval, maybe every week. Under this method, many projects are bought by the same supplier. A weekly order may be placed to reduce ordering costs and take advantages of purchase volume discounts and freight consolidation.4.0 JUST-IN-TIME PRODUCTION SYSTEMAs we all know, the most effective stock management approach is JIT doing control system over the past 50 years. The system is currently being used by many industries.4.1 JIT LogicFor the purpose of JIT system, it intend to use minimum inventories of raw materials, process of harvest-feastionion, and finished goods to achieve high output. Need is based on the occurrence of products ac tual demand, otherwise aught will be produced. Theoretically, if an item is exchange, the market will pull a substitute in the system. This triggers an order to the factory production line, where a worker thence(prenominal) pulls another unit from an upstream station in the flow to replace the unit taken (Aquilano et al. 2004, p.427). Then this upstream station pulls to further upstream and anchor to release of raw materials. To make this pull process more smoothly, JIT need high step in every procedure, strong supplier relationships, and a very clearly demand for the final product.4.2 Feature of JIT production systemIn JIT production system, Black et al. (1996, p.842) argue that it include troika key features1). Operation of production line is based on demand-pull, as a result, each workstations activity is subject to the approval of the demand of downstream workstations. There are many approaches to use demand-pull feature, but the most common method is Kanban system which is the Japanese term for a visual record or card.Under Kanban system, use a kanban card to operate to authorized another operation to produce a given part of the special quantity. Black et al. (1996) provide an example suppose the meeting department of a muffler manufacture receives an order for 10 mufflers. The assembly department triggers productions of the 10 metal pipes it needs to make the 10 mufflers by direct a kanban card to the machining department, which then begins producing the pipes. When production is completed, the machining department attaches the kanban card to the box containing the mental pipes and ships the package downstream to the assembly department, which starts the cycle over again when it receives the bordering customer order.2). Each unit including the setup time and manufacturing head up time are minimized. When a product is prepare to begin in production line, then turned into finished products, the process of the elapse of the time is known as manuf acturing lead time. Production of demand normally produced relatively small quantities, however, as long as setup times are small, it is cost-effective to produce product in small quantities.3). If separate have defective and in competent, the production line will cease operation. Each staff should attach great importance to reducing the occurrence of such problems like defective material parts. Conversely, under the traditional inventory management system, workers can ignore defective parts and continue to work because the inventory parts and work in process are huge.Hirsch et al. (1989, p.746) take a similar view, they have also added an important consideration that total quality control (TQC) is often combined with JIT system. All the staff have become quality control inspection personnel, meanwhile, if products and materials are found to be not meeting quality standard, the production line should suspend operation. As long as this situation happened, it must be resolved as soon as possible. It room that workers have not impetus to ignore the fault in the early of production process stage, they had to stop their work process.4.3 JIT CostingThe fundamental difference amongst JIT method and other traditional methods is the treatment of the costs.According to Hirsch et al. (1989, p.746), under the traditional approach of costing, raw materials or reserves firstly get into an asset account, when they are transported. After these amounts are transferred into a work-in process account, they will be put into operation as raw materials. Then, as the materials move from process to process they pass through a series of work-in-process accounts for each operation. Eventually, when the productinventory through work-in-process account transfer to finished product inventory account.With JIT the incoming materials are entered at cost directly into a material and work-in-process inventory account. There is no series of work-in-process accounts for each process because t here is very little work-in-process to account for. The value of material is diverted to finished product inventory account because the product has been completed.4.4 JIT PurchasingIn JIT purchasing, suppliers use the replacement principle of Kanban by using small, standard-size containers and make some(prenominal) shipments daily to each customer. JIT not only reduces in-process inventories by using Kanban, but also raw materials inventories are reduced by applying the same principles to suppliers as well.According to Frazier and Gaither (2001) the elements of JIT purchasing are as following1). Supplier ripening and supplier relations undergo fundamental changes. The nature of the relationships between customers and suppliers shifts from being adversarial to being cooperative. The Japanese call these relationships subcontractor networks and refer to suppliers as co-producers.2). Purchasing departments develop long relationships with suppliers. The result is long-run supply cont racts with a few suppliers rather than short-term supply contracts with many suppliers.3). Although price is very important, delivery schedules, product quality, and mutual in think and cooperation become the primary basis of supplier selection.4). Suppliers are encouraged to extend JIT approach to their own suppliers.5). Suppliers are ordinarily located near the buying firms factory, or if they are some distance from the factory, they are often clustered together. This causes lead times to be shorter and more reliable.6). Shipments are delivered to the customers production line directly. Because suppliers are encouraged to produce and supply parts at a steady rate that matches the use rate of the buying firm, company-owned hale equipment tends to be preferred.7). Parts are delivered in small, standard-size containers with a minimum of paperwork and in exact quantities.8). Delivered material is of near-perfect quality. Because suppliers have a long-term relationship with the buyin g firms and because parts are delivered in small lot sizes, the quality of purchased materials tends to be higher.5.0 THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EOQ MODEL IN PRACTICE5.1 Examination of EOQ AssumptionsIn the practice of business arena, although EOQ model enable to generate many good results, many limitations of EOQ model is combined with its own assumptions. Schroeder (1993, p.592) argued as following1). In practice, demand is assumed to be constant, but in many cases demand is shifty.2). The unit cost is assumed constant, in practice, however, normally if the purchase of large quantities, it will gain quantities discounts. This case needs a modification of the basic EOQ model and is treated in the chapter supplement.3). The material in the lot is assumed to arrive all at once, but in some cases material will be placed in inventory continuously as it is produced. This case is also treated in the supplement.4). A single product is assumed, however, sometimes several projects were purchased through a single provider. Meanwhile they are being shipped at one time.5). Suppose the setup cost is static, as a matter of fact, it is always decreased.These assumptions have been pointed out to illustrate the limitation of the basic EOQ model, nevertheless it is useful approximation in practice. The formula at least puts you in the ballpark, provided the assumptions are reasonably accurate. In addition, the total-cost curve is rather flat in the region of the minimum. Therefore the EOQ can be adjusted somewhat to aline to reality without greatly affecting the costs.The EOQ formula can also offer insight into economic behavior of inventories. For example, traditional turnover arguments suggest that inventory should increase directly with sales if a constant turnover ratio is desired. Since turnover is the ratio of sales to inventory, a doubling of sales will allow a doubling of inventory if the turnover rate is held constant. But the EOQ formula suggests that inventory should inc rease only with the square root of sales. This indicates that it is net economical to maintain a constant turnover ratio as sales increase a higher turnover is indeed justified.It is important for financial manager that fully understand limitations and assumptions of the EOQ model will offer a strong base of making stock management decision.5.2 EOQ Model ExtensionObviously, through the above discussion, some assumptions of EOQ model are impractical. In order to make this model more useful, it is necessary to extension for EOQ model. Besley and Brigham (2005, pp.602-603) state clearlyTo begin with, if there is a delay between the time inventory is ordered andwhen it is received, the company have to reorder before it use up inventory. To avoid this, the firm can carry guard duty stock, which gist additional inventory carried to guard against unexpected changes in sales rates or production/shipping delays.The amount of safety stock a company holds generally increase with a) the uncer tainty of demand forecasts, b) the costs (in term of lost sales and lost goodwill) that result from stockouts, and c) the chances that delay will occur in receiving shipments. The amounts of safety stock decreases as the cost of carrying this additional inventory increase. Moreover, a company should consider when determining appropriate inventory level is whether its supplier provides discounts to purchase large quantities.It is unrealistic to suppose that the demand for the inventory is uniform in the year, theEOQ model should not be based on an annual to applying. More appropriate approach should divide the year into the seasons like the spring, the summer, the fall, and the winter which sales are relatively constant then the EOQ model can be applied separately to each periods.6.0 THE EFFECTIVENESS OF JIT IN PRACTICEIn practice, we have already found that JIT system have its potential benefits and its problems. It is important to use that fully comprehension the merits and the pro blems of JIT system.6.1 classifiable Benefits of JITMeredith and Shafer (2002, p.351) deem that JIT provide various advantage in real operationCost savings. There are many approaches to save cost. Such as inventory reduction, reduced scrap, fewer defect, less space, fewer changes due to both customers and engineering, decreased labor hours, less rework, reduced rework, and other such effects. Total savings puke in the neighborhood of20 to 25 percent, with significantly higher savings on individual categories such as inventory and defects.Revenue increases. Through high-quality product and satisfactory service to customers, revenue will be increased. Short lead time and rapidly reply to meet customers need lead to burst margins and higher sales. The rapid research and development of new products and service will bring more revenues.Investment savings. Investment is saved through three primary effects. First, less space is needed for the same capacity. Second, inventory is reduced to the point that turns run about 50 to 100 a year. Third, the volume of work produced in the same facility is significantly increased, frequently by as much as 100 percent.Workforce improvement. JIT companys employees are more satisfied with their work. They prefer the teamwork it demands, and they like the fact the fewer problems arise. They are also better trained for the flexibility and skills needed with JIT, and they enjoy the growth they experience in their jobs. All this translates into better, more productive work.Uncovering problems. One of the unexpected benefits is the greater visibility to problems that JIT allows, if management is willing to capitalize on the chance to fix these problems. In trying to speed up a process, all types of difficulties are uncovered and most of them are various from of waste so not only is receipt time but also is usually zero.6.2 Potential Problems in Implementing JITIt is important that JIT system has some problems and limitations. Accord ing to Meredith and Shafer (2002, p.353), there are some difficulties and problems as followingFirst of all, JIT system is do for repetitive production case, including relatively standard products. It does not applicable to custom, continuousflow, or project situation. JIT system is not long-term operations, because it is based on the identical mixed-model plans to operation in every day. Clearly, when setups need to spend a long time, JIT will not able to run continuously. JIT system often has setups, it also has frequent shipments and receipts. Therefore the company must be prepared for this too.JIT need principle as well. Production will cease, once products are not arrive on schedule, or flaws happen. Moreover, we have no other means or time to make up for mistakes. Production system must be used correctly, workers must fulfill their work seriously, otherwise run of JIT system will fail.Principle is usually linked with supply chain. The biggest problem to successful operation of JIT system is unrealistic deliveries from suppliers. For example Suppose X companys two important suppliers have already gone strike for several days, X company was forced to close 10 of its plants at a cost of almost $500 million in lost profits. When an important supplier their supply, JIT is very danger if there is no backup supplier.In addition, equally serious problem is when a comprehensive delivery service goes on strike, like UPS and FEDEX strike that idled thousands of business and caused a major disruption in the economy. Although other delivery service can sometimes fill in, they often cannot bring sufficient capacity to the problem to keep JIT operating without disruption.On the other hand, JIT is based on cooperation and trust among workers, managers, suppliers, customers, and so on. The current environment must be trust and competition is not exist, or else JIT will not run successfully. Trust and cooperation must also be extended to the external such as suppliers and customers. With suppliers, this means moving to risky, single-source contracts and bringing an outsider into the project team, where there may be proprietary secrets.6.3 E-Commerce and JIT PurchasingNowadays, JIT system combined with e-commerce, making the JIT purchasing hasbecome better to use in practice. E-commerce has already put up a advantage to JIT purchasing. There are some merits being showed Reduce waste of time to grapple with paper work and reduce the procurement lead time labor costs are also reduced. The bottom line is a more efficient and effective purchasing process (Frazier and Gaither 2001, p.477).E-commerce can drive the use of Kanban between manufacturer and suppliers. Under method of Internet-based system, a manufacturer can electronically bear down Kanban to suppliers. E-Kanban and paper Kanban have identical functions, however they can provided to suppliers rapidly.7.0 JIT SYSTEM IN MCDONALD COMPANYWhat are the benefits for McDonald?The major benefits for M cDonald are better food at a lower cost. McDonald Company has found something that allows them to improve quality and lower costs.Improved QualityThe less obvious benefit is the higher quality customer service that arises from the JIT burger assembly. When McDonald waits for you to order the burger, they do a few things to improve customer service. First of all, when you place a special order, it does not send McDonalds into a alarm that causes huge delays.Now that McDonald company is in the practice of waiting until you order a burger until they make it, they dont freak out when they have to make a special order fresh just for you. This higher quality customer service is subject to McDonald ability to produce faster. Without this ability, McDonalds ordering costs would be sky-high because the costs associated with ordering would be the loss of customers tired of ordering fast food that really isnt fast.Second, JIT allows McDonald to adapt to demand a little bit better. Seemingly, lower inventory levels would cause McDonalds bigger problems in a higher demand because they wouldnt have their safety stock. However, because they can produce burgers in a record time, they dont have to worry about their pre-made burger inventories running out in the middle of an exceptionally finical shift.Lower Costs In McDonald, the holding costs for burger parts (beef, cheese, whatever other garbage they put on their burgers) are fairly high because of their despoliation costs. Frozen ground beef thats good today might not be so good in a few months. erst cooked, the same ground beefs spoilage rate shoots through the roof. Instead of having a shelf life of months or weeks, the burger needs to be sold within 15 minutes or so. The holding costs go from roughly 20% per week to 100% per hour.Why use JIT?According to argument of Inventory management review (2005)Economic Order Quantity Savings A large benefit of JIT is that it reduces the total cost of ordering and holding invent ory. elevated holding costs is the nature of the fast food industry. JIT system allowed them to exploit the savings that were realized by holding less inventory.High holding costs and low ordering costs are the factors that drive JIT. Generally, its the ability to lower ordering costs that make it a feasible solution. McDonald was slave to the high holding costs. It was just the nature of their industry. The solution for them was that while they couldnt lower holding costs, they could lower ordering costs.EOQ determines how much you should order and there are two factors that drive economic order quantities down low ordering costs and high holding costs. Depending on the product and the industry, one or both of these qualities may exist in your operations. If they do, JIT may be right for you. Without the ability to make ordering costs low as a percentage of holding costs,then there is no need for JIT. In fact, the increased frequency in ordering will result in cost increases.Safet y Stock ReductionsThe other aspect of JIT is the drastic reduction in safety stock. Two reasons result in safety stock exist variant in demand and variability in lead times from suppliers (for McDonald company, the supplier is the internal production process). If lead time is shorter, which JIT tries to follow out, then this part of the safety stock is smaller, this lowering safety stock inventory. McDonald company is accomplished this by creating a system that allowed a faster burger production (McDonalds lead times are internal).On the other hand, If lead time has no variance or is reduced, then this term can be eliminated or at least reduced. Again, this is what JIT try to accomplish. McDonald company is accomplished by standardizing production.McDonald Company fully understand that a considerable amount of work needs to be done with suppliers/internal operations in order to accomplish the tasks of shortening lead times and reducing their variances. McDonald company has the reso urce to implement JIT system successfully.However, in competitive industries, JIT is not optimal for all the firms. JIT, like most management accounting techniques, is not a universal panacea, and some firms find it profitable like McDonald, Walmart, and so on some are not.8.0 CONCLUSIONIt should be said that stock management is prominent aspect of working capital management. For the purpose of control stock level, most of companies use EOQ and JIT models in practice. Efficiency gains in inventory management can bring significant improvement to overall company financial performance. However, no model has been fully satisfactory. The two models have advantages and disadvantages respectively. In general, although eachmodel will work well in certain environments, they may not work well in other environments. An inappropriate plectron of system can be expensive mistake. Thus, it can be concluded that each company should choose own different stock control model with its own conditions a nd efficient inventory management can lead to better planning and business control.LIST OF REFERENCEEric Smith, Joseph G. Louderback III, and Maurice. Hirsch 1989, _Cost Accounting in Australia Accumulation, Analysis, and Use_, Published by Thomas Nelson, p.746.Richard B. Chase, F. Robert Jacobs, and Nicholas J. Aquilano 2004, _Operations Management for Competitive Advantage_, 10th edn., McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, pp.426-427.Jay Heizer and Barry Render 2001, _Operations Management_, Prentice-Hall Inc. New Jersey, pp.481-486.Joseph S. Martinich 1997, _Production and Operations Management An Applied Modern Approach_, rear end Wiley & Sons Inc., p. 671.Lisa M Ellram, Douglas M. Lambert, and James R. surcharge 1998, _Fundamental of Logistics Management_, Irwin/McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, p. 128.Charles T. H Orngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Terry Black, and Phil Gray 1996, _Cost Accounting in Australia A Managerial Emphasis_, Prentice Hall Australia Pty Ltd., p. 842.J ames C. Van Horne and John M. Wachowicz Jr. 1995, _Fundamental of financial Management_, Prentice-Hall International Inc., p. 271.Roger G. Schroeder 1993, _Operations Management Decision Making in the Operations Function_, 4th edn., McGraw-Hill International Inc., p. 592.Scott Besley and Eugene F. Brigham 2005, _Essentials of Managerial Finance_, 13th edn., South-Western Thomson Publishing Company, pp. 602-603.Jack R. Meredith and Scote M Shafer 2002, _Operations Management for MBAs_, John Willey & Sons Inc., pp.351-353.Greg Frazier and Norman Gaither 2001, _Operations Management_, 9th edn., South-Western Publishing Company, pp.476-477.Inventory Management Review 2005, viewed 5 June 2007, .Thomas R. Dyclcman, Harold Bierman, and Reonald W. Hilton 1990, _Cost Accounting Concepts and Managerial Application_, Pws-Kent Publishing Company, pp. 630-631.

Friday, May 24, 2019

Needs Analysis Essay

Majority of students lack agniseing of mathsematical language and show weakness in basic numeric computation. The students make frequent errors because they misread operation signs when adding or subtracting integers or carry numbers incorrectly when multiplying whole number and decimals. Furthermore, these students have nastyy grounds compose or verbal directions or explanations, and find word problems especially difficult to translate. Current ConditionsThe current data shows that only 15 percent of the students were able to understand and perform the necessary computation with minimal errors on application problems to pass the semester exam with a 70 or above. Thus 85 percent were down-and-out on the semester exam that focus on computation skills and understanding application word problems. Desired ConditionsThe optimal goal is to increase the students procedure from its current state by 200 percent. By increasing the students performance, the students should be able to und erstand, define, and use mathematical terminology to solve difficult application problems without minimal computation errors. Data Collection Processes word of Data Collection Instruments employIn order to determine what problems students had in school and what tools math teachers thought students should emphasize, interviews and focus groups were used due to the speed of receiving the results. Test score data was gathered from the district as it was already mandated by the district and results were already given. Test scores and the data retrieved from the district is meant to be similar to the state assessment that will be given towards the end of the 5th six weeks. Discussion of Sources of DataSurveys and other short interviews were given to the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade math teachers at the middle school campus. It is believed that it is partially due the lack of reviewing their own influence is a potential source of the low test scores. Survey question was introduced by creatin g a baseline of how often teachers believed students should be checking their work. By first understanding this, it would allow a determination if there was in fact a difference surrounded by students actual reviewing patterns and the actual reviewing patterns. Additionally, an issue with reviewing would be if students are unacquainted(predicate) with how to check their work. By determining which skills the teachers deem to be the most productive when practicing their computation, the teachers will then be able to create a vertical conjugation where instruction is built on those review skills.This would provide students with a foundation where their knowledge can be increased without the troubles of having to learn a new personal manner to review. Typically the reverse operation would be done in order to check for the correct answer. However, if there is an issue in the basic computation it would stymy students being able to check their work. This was the reason why students we re also given survey questions and were interviewed. Students would be asked how often they check their work and they would also identify their self-efficacy in computation of problems with decimals. If there is a need in that students do not check their work and if they do not feel competent in complete the problems with decimals, then it would dictate a need to reteach the material. Surveys and interviews were given to students due to their speed and their ability to quickly assess where a need was. Data Analysis Techniques UsedThe first survey question asked the students about the percentage of the time they reviewed their work after completing a math problem. The answer choices included between 0-20 percent, between 20-40 percent, between 40-60 percent, between 60-80 percent, and between 80-100 percent.

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Soap Opera – Opiate of the Masses

A soap opera family line, every now and then called soap for short, is an ongoing, episodic work at of striking fiction presented in consequent format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera came from the original spectacular serials shine on radio that had soap manufacturers, much(prenominal) as Procter & venture, Colgate-Palmolive and Lever Brothers, as sponsors and producers. These early radio serial publication were broadcast in weekday day snip slots, when well-nigh listeners would be housewives so the shows were aimed at and consumed by a predominantly female audience.An important ele manpowert that defines soap opera is the open-ended nature of the narrative, with stories across around(prenominal) episodes. The defining feature that makes a television program a soap opera, according to Albert Moran, is that form of television that works with a continuous open narrative. separately episode ends with a promise that the storyline is to be continued i n another episode. grievous bodily harm opera stories run at the same time intersect and lead into further developments.An individual episode of a soap opera leave generally switch between several different synchronic story threads that may at times interconnect and affect wizard another or may run entirely independent of apiece other. Each episode may feature some of the shows current storylines but not al offices all of them. Especially in daytime serials and those that are blinded distributively weekday, there is some rotation of both storyline and actors so any given storyline or actor will appear in some but usually not all of a weeks worth of episodes. liquid ecstasy operas seldom bring all the current storylines to a conclusion at the same time. When single storyline ends there are several other story threads at differing stages of development. Soap opera episodes typically end on some mannikin of cliffhanger, and the Season Finale ends in the same way, only to be res olved when the show returns for the start of a new yearly broadcast. Evening soap operas and those that screen at a rate of one episode per week are more likely to feature the entire cast in each episode, and to run all current storylines in each episode.Evening soap operas and serials that run for only part of the year tend to bring things to a dramatic end-of-season cliffhanger. In 1976, fourth dimension magazine described Ameri nookie daytime television as TVs richest market, noting the subjection of the soap opera fan base and the expansion of several half-hour series to a full hour in order to maximize ad revenues. The article explained that at that time, many prime time series lost money, patch daytime serials earned profits several times more than their toil costs. History of foreign Soap OperaThe term soap opera was coined by the American press in the 1930s to denote the extraordinarily common genre of successive domestic radio dramas. 2 The soap in soap opera alluded to their sponsorship by manufacturers of plate cleaning products while opera suggested an ironic inappropriateness between the domestic narrative concerns of the daytime serial and the some elevated of dramatic forms. In the United States, the term continues to be applied primarily to the approximately fifty hours each week of daytime serial television drama broadcast by ABC, NBC, and CBS, but the meanings of the term, both in the U.S. and elsewhere, exceed this generic designation. Long before the days of television, radio dramas ruled the air flaps.The radio programs were commercially sponsored by the manufacturers of household cleaning products the use of the word soap in soap opera. The term opera refers to any form of elaborate dramatic entertainment, not necessarily one set to music. By 1940, about 90% of all sponsored daytime radio programming fell into the soap opera type. Even today, soap operas remain the most continuing and effective form of broadcast advertising vehi cle.The advertising industry publication Advertising Age named the birth of the daytime soap opera as the 29th most important milestone in the history of advertising. The first so-called television soap opera debuted way back in 1946. faraway Hill considered by television historians to be the first ne cardinalrk soap opera. It took three more years before the soaps found a home in the daytime hours. In 1949, These Are My Children debuted on NBC. The 15-minute show aired live and was the first continuing daytime drama. 4 On June 30th, 1952, soap giant Procter & Gamble introduced The Guiding Light on the CBS network.The soap opera had aired on radio since 1937. 5 Now minus the The from its title, Guiding Light is the longest course serial program which that some of these children debuted in the interview on NBC for the television history. Between 1940 and 1970, soap operas enjoyed a large and stable viewing audience. The core viewers of the soap opera were what advertisers came to c all housewives, a term used to describe married women who remained home to take care of children. Foreign soap operas surged in popularity in the 1970s due, in part, to heavily-publicized romances, such as Luke and Lauras wedding on ABCs General Hospital.The viewers tuned into the Spencers wedding, making it the most-watched show in the history of daytime television. just by the time the 1980s started to wind down, television ratings for soap operas started to decline. Gone were the days when women were supposedly duty-bound to remain home and take care of the house and kids it was becoming necessary in many households to have two sources of income. In 1976, Time magazine described American daytime television as TVs richest market, noting the loyalty of the soap opera fan base and the expansion of several half-hour series to a full hour in order to maximize ad revenues.The article explained that at that time, many prime time series lost money, while daytime serials earned profits s everal times more than their production costs. The issues cover notably featured its first daytime soap stars, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of our Lives. 7 A couple whose onscreen and significant-life romance was astray covered by both the soap opera magazines and the mainstream press. Hisotry of Local Soap Opera In the Philippines we have this teleserye (television series) or teledrama (tv drama), and now we also have telepantasya (tv fantasy) or pantaserye (fantasy series).These kind of shows has been part of the Filipino cultivation for years. The first Philippine Soap Opera was first aired on the radio, it was Gulong ng Palad on 1949 then grow into a television series in the early 1960s. 8 In the 90s Soap Operas like Mara Clara begin to air, and it is one of the longest running Soap Opera in Philippine History, a story about two child that were exchanged with different parents, and ended up as mortal enemies, a story plot that has been used by modern teledrama s even up today. Soap operas in The Philippines originated when Gulong ng Palad was first heard on radio in 1949.Then it was presented into television in the early 1960s. The first Philippine TV soap opera was Hiwaga sa Bahay na Bato in 1963, and it was produced by ABS-CBN. Liwanag ng Pag-ibig, Prinsipe Amante, and many others briefly followed. 9 The soaps were usually shown during daytime, however in 1996 soap opera programming was moved to primetime because of the popularity gained by the Mexican telenovela, Marimar, which was aired here in our country on RPN 9. This label the start of the telenovela craze here in the Philippines. Major networks followed the trend by showing local and foreign telenovelas in their different timeslots.Philippine primetime started to focus on serial dramas and anthologies both becoming highly watched programs. Last 2008, TV5 revived serial dramas for Philippine Primetime television. In 2000, ABS-CBN, made a milestone move in television when it intr oduced Pangako sa Yo, which became to be the first official teleserye, and Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay. These teleseryes set the standard for present teleserye productions in the Philippines. This new type of soap opera became a big hit in the country, and its popularity was soon spread to other countries.Because of this phenomenon, subsequent soap operas shown on television have regularly come to be referred as teleseryes and GMA Network began referring to their television dramas as teledramas. In 2011, GMA Network, recently make their drama series like, Amaya (first historical drama show in the country), and Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin (first TV drama had a remake of the classic series in a same network). ABS-CBN did a remake of the longest running teleserye, Mara Clara and Mula Sa Puso. TV5 did also a remake of the long running teleserye, Valiente. 10Today, Philippine dramas gained international realization from international award-giving bodies, cementing the reputation of the Philippi nes as a prime drama producer. Most of these nominated dramas were from ABS-CBN. It started with Lobo winning the Best Telenovela category in the 30th BANFF World video recording Festival. Several dramas were also nominated in the supranational Emmy for the telenovela category, including ABS-CBNs Dahil May Isang Ikaw, Kahit Isang Saglit and GMAs Magdusa Ka. Magkaribal of ABS-CBN was recently nominated in the 2011 New York Festivals TV and Film Awards.Another show, Eva Fonda managed to win awards from the Seoul International Drama Awards were also the lead actress Cristine Reyes managed to get a nomination as Best Leading Actress and a Special award for the show. Statement of the problem The get wind aimed to determine the factors that make the viewers want to watch soap operas and to have a more in-depth evaluation of the personal effects that they give to the viewers. Significance of the Study This need focuses on the different types of Soap Opera and its viewers about its infl uences regarding their values and character development obtained from watching foreign and local soap operas.This study will provide information about foreign and local soap operas. 2. This study will stress out the different soap operas that are regularly patronised by the masses. 3. This study will give motives and gratifications that are achieved from watching soap operas. 4. This study will present important factors needed to prove how soap operas summate to the moral development of the viewers. Definition of Terms Standard Definition. The terms included in this research will be defined by using the printed materials (e. g. dictionary, encyclopedia) to drive easy understanding of the study.Culture. The word refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance. Electronic Media. It is the media that utilizes electronic or electro mechanical energy for the end-user to vex the content like the television and rad io. Impact. The word means having a strong effect to something. Industry. The word means manufacturing of goods and services within a category. Influences. It is the power of two persons or things to affect others. Innovation. It refers to the act of starting something for the first time. Local Media.These are shows produced and aired in the different TV that were bought here for local viewing. Local Soap Operas. These are soap operas that are considered to be proudly Filipino. Soap Opera. This is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television or radio. Telenovelas. It is a clear-cut genre different from soap operas, for telenovelas have an ending and come to an end after a long run. Television. It is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving miserable images that can be monochrome or colored, with or without accompanying sound. Values.It can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes. Viewers. It is the plenty who watched or avid fans of the localized soap operas. NOTES 1Sex and Suffering in the Afternoon. Time Magazine, (1976). 2url http//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Soap_operacite_note-Bowles-118-0 3A. Wissbert, Television Across Asia Television Industries. Program Formats and globalisation, Television Across Asia, (2005). 4Gerard J. Waggett, One Life to Live. The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. (1997), 91. 5Christopher H. Schemering, The Soap Opera Encyclopedia (1997), 6673. 6Jason C.Mittell, Television and American Culture. (New York Oxford University Press. 2008), 191192. 7Rina Jimenez-David, The Rise and Rise of Asiatic Entertainment, Inquirer Magazine, (January 27, 2008). 8urlhttp//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Philippine_drama 8urlhttp//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Telenovela 9urlhttp//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Philippine_drama 10urlhttp//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Philippine_drama CHAPTER 2 Impact/Effects of Soap Opera Soap operas are by far some of the most powerful shows on television. Power ful in the sense that it has the readiness to get you deeply immersed into the themes and the type of characters it presents.Drama is an essential for humans. But of course its not always loneliness that triggers soap addiction. sometimes people could watch it for the sole purpose of entertainment or this relentless desire to become a daytime actor/actress. The majority feel that such contents should be aired on Lifetime Television for women, but the truth is that a handful of men also watch it, such as moi. Depression is usually caused by increasing moments of solitude. This is when your mind gets delirious and urges you to seek alternative sources of connection and drama.Soap Operas are perhaps the best mediums for these as characters have the tycoon to fiercely drop axes on hears and at times tickles hearts. It serves as a prescription for healing our hearts when we feel that it belongs nowhere. The psychology behind this is just ravishing. at that place are a lot of research will be done in health communications to figure out every correlation they can between soap operas and as to how it engages the human mind. Its astounding what chemistry viewers can share with some of the characters. Whats even more astounding is how magnetized they can really be and how this affects you as an individual.Women feel a more superior need of connection than men do but more men should watch it because some of the male characters of these soaps resemble some of the superheroes and villains that we read in comics or watch in other programs with blends of other characteristics that make them worth hobby. Foreign Soap Opera Soap operas became something of an addiction for millions of television viewers. The weekend couldnt end fast enough for many viewers and fans as they waited for Mondays shows to see what would happen following the now-infamous Friday Cliffhangers.And while soap opera addiction many not be anything nearly as serious as an alcohol or drug dependency, t he way to wean people from the addictions is very much the same cold turkey. The first time that many soap fans were unable to visit their television families was when the three major networks ABC, CBS, and NBC broadcast the coverage of the OJ Simpson trial, and there was no longer an option for the viewers to watch their episodes at a later date or time. The viewers were compel to go without them for weeks and weeks.Initially, fans flooded the networks with complaints, but as the separation anxiety started to lessen many fans found other things to do or other programs to watch. A real life soap opera had supplanted many loyal viewers from their second homes. And while industry experts warned the networks that taking soaps away from their loyal viewers was going to moderate in trouble for the networks, most networks either refused to believe that the soap fans would tune out for good or they just didnt care. This was not the first time that the networks opinions were misguided. The effects of soap opera are the same as the television.A psychological effect there is a theory that when a person plays video games or watches TV, the primary ganglia portion of the brain becomes very active and dopamine is released. Some scientists believe that release of high amounts of dopamine reduces the amount of the neurotransmitter available for control of movement, perception of pain in the ass and pleasure and formation of feelings, although this remains a controversial conclusion. A study conducted by Herbert Krugman found that while viewers are watching television the skilful side of the brain is twice as active as the left which causes a state of hypnosis.Physical effects studies in both children and adults have found an connexion between the number of hours of television watched and obesity this study found that watching television decreases the metabolic rate in children to below that found in children at rest. 1 Local Soap Opera Philippine soap opera/teleserye s were used sometimes to show the different status or situations of the Filipino people in the present time, sometimes it is all about the past experiences that weve gone through so that the viewers will be able to relate themselves in the soap opera.Here in the Philippines soap operas are in the primetime/evening slots where people are in their respective homes in that time. Soap Operas became a daily subroutine for the Filipino viewers. Philippine drama had its ability to the range of popularity in early 2000s (decade), many of these dramas have become popular throughout Southeast Asia, East Asia, Africa and labor union America, particularly in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Cambodia. These dramas are often dubbed into some languages, and sometime have its English and other foreign subtitles when imported into those markets.ABS-CBN started the exportation of their dramas, like classical dramas as they often have a universal message. Pangako Sa Yo (The Promise) is one of the most successful Philippine dramas abroad. Prior to China, the story mesmerized people in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia and Africa. ABS-CBN also introduced a website called ABS-CBN International Sales, for easy access to their shows. Another ABS-CBN shows, Sana Maulit Muli was also aired in Taiwan, Lobo (dubbed as She-Wolf The Last Sentinel), Tayong Dalawa, Dahil May Isang Ikaw, Kahit Isang Saglit and Katorse.GMA Networks Boys Nxt Door, a teen melodrama, was the first Philippine TV series aired in South Korea and 1994 Mexican remake MariMar was aired in Thailand, Malaysia, China, Singapore,Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Uganda, Kenya and Hawaii, USA, another GMA Network shows such as Habang Kapiling Ka, Kahit Kailan, Bakekang, Muli, Impostora, Mga Mata ni Anghelita and Dyesebel was also released in some countries in Southeast Asia and East Asia. Promoting soap opera through last Culture has been defined in many different ways.One of the ways is that culture is seen to equa te with Mass Culture as a commercial culture, mass produced for mass consumption. In recent years, Korean popular culture has gained much light across many Asian countries through mass media entertainment such as dramas, movies, and songs since 1999. The trend is known as Hallyu, which literally means Korean wave in English. 3 The Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism appointed Korean Wave stars as cultural ambassadors in countries that have had a strained governmental relationship with Korea (Cho, 2005). The Korean wave affected intra-regional tourism, from Asia to the U.S. , supporting an increase in inbound tourism.Popular culture such as TV programs, soap opera or drama and pop-star has been a very effective vehicle in attracting tourists to a address while boosting the economic impacts). Media relations such as news articles, movies and popular culture, commonly referred to as autonomous agents, are considered to be more influential on image formation in that they have high er credibility and ability to reach mass crowds than the destination-originated information (Gartner, 1993 Gartner & Shen, 1992 Henefors & Mossberg, 2002).Most research about autonomous agents focuses on the strong influence of negative impact from news media such as policy-making issues, violence, terrorist activities, and natural disaster. However, little research has been devoted to examine the impact of pop-culture on destination image formation in the aspect of an autonomous agent. Popular culture such as soap opera offers tremendous marketing opportunities for tourism organizations, such as destination marketing organizations (DMOs).DMOs can use pop-culture as springboards for destination promotions and generate marketing opportunities at the different stages of the destination promotion process. It is significant for marketers to take the exposure as a chance to rebuild their image centering strategy, depending on how the destination is represented through soap opera. Promo ters should understand the content of the soap opera and identify how the destination is depicted in it.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

The Golden Lily Chapter 18

JILL DIDNT GIVE ME any starry-eyed realises at breakfast the adjacent morning, which was kind of a relief. Micah had surfaced again, and opus they werent as flirty as theyd been in the past, the two were chatting animatedly away rough(predicate) a science project she had. Eddie and Angeline were equ t forth ensembley engrossed in conversation, making plans for when she was free of her suspension.Her blues eyes were rest with happiness as they whistleed, and I realized that she had legitimate feelings for him. She hadnt adept been throwing herself at him for the sake of conquest.I oddityed if he knew.It wouldve been easy to feel comparable a ordinal wheel here, save instead, I was pleased and content to see my little cohort give-up the ghostting along so well. Stantons conversation had still left me conflicted, tho there was nothing wrong with appreciating the peace around here. I wouldve been happier still if Treys behavior had also normalized, but when I reached my h istory class subsequently, he was get rid of yet again. I had no doubt hed claim he had family stuff, but my earlier suspicions were returning, to the highest degree whether his family might be prudent for his injuries. Should I report my worries to person? Who? I didnt want to jump to conclusions either, which left me in a bind.Eddie and I always sat near each other in that class, and I leaned toward him to begin with the bell rang, pitching my voice low to address another concern. Hey, cast you noticed that Jills been kind of acting weirdly around me?Shes got a lot overtaking on, he verbalise, ever quick to defend her.Yeah, I dwell, but you had to defy noticed her last night. In the library? I immoral keeping in mind Im terrible at figuring this stuff out it was like she had a crush on me or something. He laughed at that. She was kind of dis office it on thick, but I dont echo you have to worry near some romantic complication. She just looks up to you a lot, thats all. Part of her still wants to be a brave fighter who rushes out fearlessly He paused as he savored that idea, a mix of pride and rapture on his face beforehand he tuned back into me. But at the same time, youre starting to show her there all sorts of ways to be powerful. conveys, I said. I think. But speech production of her being a brave fighter I studied him curiously.Why dont you train her any more than? Dont you want her to h integrity her skills?Oh, yeah. That. Well there are a few grounds for it. One is I need to focus on Angeline.Another is that I just dont want Jill worried slightly that. Ill do the protecting. Those were simply the reasons Id suppositioned. The next one was not. And I guess the other thing is that I dont feel right being in contact with her like that. I mean, I know it means nothing to her but it means something to me.Again, my social skills to a faultk a moment to kick in. You mean, you dont like that you have to touch her?Eddie actually blushed. It doesnt bother me, thats the problem. Better for us to spend time together in a hands-off way.I hadnt expected that, but I could understand it. Leaving Eddie to his own inner demons, I soon got caught up in the day and wondering what had happened to Trey. Id hoped hed summate into class late, but he didnt. In fact, he didnt surface for the rest of the day, not flush when I was finishing up my independent study. Id thought he might come by again for homework.You look troubled, said Ms. Terwilliger, watching me pack up when the bell rang.Worried close acquiring your project in on time?No. Id actually finished two of the charms, but I for positive(predicate) wasnt going to tell her that.Im worried about Trey. He keeps missing school. Do you know why hes out? I mean, if you can tell me?The office notifies us if a student will be out for the day, but they dont tell us the reason. If it keep backs you feel better, Mr. Juarezs absence was called in this morning. He hasnt disappeare d. I almost mentioned my fears about his home but held off. I still needed more evidence.Between worrying about Trey, Ms. Terwilligers work, the Warriors, Brayden, and all my other myriad complications, I knew I couldnt ware any of my free time. Nonetheless, I went to Adrians after school on a mission I couldnt refuse. On our way to Wolfes class earlier this week, Adrian had mentioned offhandedly that he hadnt had the Mustang looked at by a mechanic before purchasing it. Although my own novice assessment hadnt found anything wrong with the car, I pushed for Adrian to get the car examined which, of course, meant I had to look up a specialist and make the appointment. It was just before my textile museum date, but I was certain I had time to make it all work.The guy I bought it from seemed pretty trustworthy, Adrian told me, after wed dropped the car off with the mechanic. Hed told us hed look at it right away and that we could hang around and wait. His shop was on the outskirts of a suburban area, so Adrian suggested we go for a walk by means of the neighborhoods. And it ran just fine when I did the test drive, so I figured boththing was okay.That doesnt mean there arent problems you cant see. Its best to be safe, I said, knowing I sounded preachy. Bad enough you got a car you cant drive. Glancing over, I saw a small, half pull a face on his face.With your help, Ill be a pro in no time. Of course, if you dont want to help anymore, Ill just wing it and figure it out on my own.I groaned. You already know what Id say about wow.The neighborhood we were in was pretty affluent. In fact, Id say the houses bordered on being bona fide mansions. We s fleetped in front of one that looked like a cross between a hacienda and a southern plantation, large and sprawling with a pillared porch and pink stucco siding. The front railway yard was a mix of climates, green grass with palm trees lining the path to the house. The trees were like tropical sentries.Gorgeous, I sai d. I love architecture. In another life, Id have studied that not chemicals and vampires. As we continued on, we saw more of the same, each house trying to outdo the others. any of them had high fences and hedges blocking their backyards. I wonder whats back there. Pools, probably.Adrian stopped in front of another. It was as yellow as his car and showed another mix of styles, like a southwest version of a medieval castle, complete with turrets. Nice juxtaposition, he remarked.I false, knowing my eyes were wide as I stared at him. Did you just use juxtaposition in a sentence?Yes, Sage, he said patiently. We use it all the time with art, when were mixing different components. That, and I know how to use a dictionary. He turned from me and scanned the house, his eyes resting on a gardener who was out trimming some hedges. A sly smile crossed Adrians lips. You want to see the back? come down on.What are you Before I could say another word, Adrian strode up the granite pathway and cut across the lawn to where the guy was working. I didnt want anything to do with this, but the responsible part of me couldnt let Adrian get into trouble. I hurried after him.Are the owners home? Adrian asked.The gardener had stopped his clipping and stared at Adrian. No.When will they be back?After six.I was astonished that the guy was answering these questions. If Id been asked them, I wouldve assumed someone was staging a break-in. Then, I saw the glazed look in the gardeners eyes and realized what was going on.Adrian Adrians eyes never left the other mans face. Take us to the backyard.Of course.The gardener dropped his hedge clippers and headed for a gate on the side of the house.I move to get Adrians attention to stop this, but he was outpacing me. Our guide stopped at the gate, entered a security code, and led us to the back. My protests died on my lips as I gazed around.This back property was almost three times the size of the front. There were more palm trees ringing th e yard, along with a terraced garden full of plants, both native and non-native.A huge oval shaped family dominated the space, its turquoise hue startling against the gray of the granite that environ it. On one side of the pool, several steps led up to a smaller, square pool. It could only hold a few people, and a falls poured out from it, down to the larger pool. Tiki torches and tables around the pools completed the lush setup.Thanks, Adrian told the gardener. Go back to your work. Its okay if were here. Well see ourselves out.Of course, the man replied. He walked back the way wed come in.I snapped back to reality. Adrian You used compulsion on that guy. That I mean, itsAwesome? Adrian walked over to the steps leading up to the upper pool. Yeah, I know.Its wrong All of this. Breaking and entering, and compulsion I shivered, despite the sweltering heat. Its immoral. Controlling someone elses mind. You know it Your people and mine both agree.Eh, no harm done. He climbed to the top of the pool and stood on its edge, surveying his kingdom. The solarise brought out chestnut glints in his brown hair. Believe me, that guy was easy to control. Weak-willed. I barely had to use compulsion.Adrian pursue on, Sage. Not like were going to hurt anything. Check out this view. I was almost afraid to go up there. It was so rare for any of the Moroi here to use their magic that it was easy for me to pretend it didnt exist. Seeing Adrian use it the most insidious kind make my skin crawl. As Id told Ms. Terwilliger in our charm discussion, no one should be able to control another like that.Come on, Adrian repeated. Youre not worried Im going to compel you up here, are you?Of course not, I said. And I meant it. I didnt know why, but some part of me knew Adrian would never, ever harm me. Reluctantly, I went to join him, hoping that would encourage him to leave. When I reached the top, my jaw dropped. The intimate pool hadnt seemed that high, but it gave us a stunning view o f the mountains off in the distance, rugged and majestic against the blue of the sky. The larger pool glittered below us, and the waterfall made it look like wed entered some mystical oasis.Cool, huh? he asked. Adrian sat down on the small pools edge, rolled up his jeans, and took off his socks and shoes.Now what are you doing? I asked.Making the most out of this. He put his feet in the water. Come on. Do something bad for a change. Not that its really that bad. We arent trashing this place or anything. I hesitated, but the water was intoxicating, as though it too could wield compulsion. Settling down, I copied Adrian and dipped my bare feet into the water. Its coolness was startling and wonderful in this deep heat.I could get used to this, I meetted. But what if the owners come home early? He shrugged. I can talk us out of it, dont worry.That wasnt exactly reassuring. I turned back to the gorgeous view and lush property. I wasnt always the most imaginative person, but I thought back to what Id said about living another life. What would it be like to have a home like this? To stay in one place? To spend long time by the pool, soaking in the sunniness, and not worrying about the fate of humanity? I fell into daydreams and was so caught up that I lost gash of time.We have to get back to the shop, I exclaimed. Glancing over, I was astonished to see Adrian watching me, a look of contentment on his face. His eyes seemed to study my every feature. Seeing me notice him, he immediately looked away. His usual smirky expression replaced the dreamy one. The mechanic will wait, he said.Yeah, but Im supposed to meet Brayden soon. Ill be Thats when I got a good look at Adrian. What have you done? Look at you You shouldnt be out here.Its not that bad.He was lying, and we both knew it. It was late afternoon, and the sun was merciless. Id certainly felt it, though the coolness of the water had helped distract me. That, and I was human.Sure, sunstroke and sunburns were concerns, but I loved the sun and had a high gross profit for it. Vampires did not.Sweat poured off Adrian, soaking his shirt and hair. Pink blotches covered his face. They were familiar. Id seen them on Jill back when shed been forced to play outdoor sports in PE.Left unchecked, theyd turn into burns. I jumped to my feet.Come on, we have to get out of here before you get worse. What were you thinking? His expression was astonishingly nonchalant for someone who looked like he would do away with out. It was worth it. You looked happy.Thats crazy, I said.Not the craziest thing Ive ever done. He smiled as he looked up at me. His eyes grew slightly unfocused, as though they were see more than just me. Whats a little crazy here and there? Im supposed to be doing experiments why not see which is brighter your aura or the sun?The way he looked at me and spoke unnerved me, and I remembered what Jill had said, how spirit slowly drove its users insane. Adrian hardly seemed insane, but ther e was certainly something haunted about him, a definite shift from his usual sharp wit. It was as though something else had seized hold of him. I remembered that poem line, about dreaming and waking.Come on, I repeated. I held out my hand. You shouldnt have used spirit. We need to get you out of here.He took my hand and staggered to his feet. A rush of warmth and electricity went through me, just as it had the last time we touched, and our eyes held. For a moment, all I could think about were his earlier words You looked happyI brushed such sentiments deflection and quickly got him out of there, only to discover the mechanic hadnt finished. At least in his shop, we were able to get Adrian some water and air conditioning. As we waited I texted Brayden. Running an hour late with family stuff. Sorry. Will be there as soon as I can. My phone chimed back about thirty seconds later That only leaves an hour for the textile museum.Thats not nearly enough time, said Adrian deadpan. I hadnt realized hed been reading over my shoulder. I moved the phone away and suggested to Brayden we just meet for an early dinner. He concurred.Im a mess, I muttered, checking myself out in a mirror. The heat had definitely taken its toll, and I looked sweaty and worn.Dont worry about it, Adrian told me. If he didnt notice how awesome you were in the red dress, he probably wont notice anything now. He hesitated. Not that theres even anything to notice. Youre as cute as usual.I was about to snap at him for teasing me, but when I looked over, his face was deadly earnest. Whatever retort I might have managed died on my lips, and I quickly got up to check our status, in order to hide how flustered I felt.The mechanic finally finished no problems found and Adrian and I headed downtown. I kept watching him anxiously, afraid hed pass out.Stop worrying, Sage. Im fine, he said. Although Id be better with some ice cream or gelato. Even you have to admit thatd be good right now. It would, actuall y, but I wouldnt give him the satisfaction. What is it with you and frozen desserts? Why do you always want them?Because we live in a desert.I couldnt argue with that reasoning. We reached his place, and I swapped cars. Before he went inside, I inundated him with advice about getting water and resting. Then, I spoke the words that had been burning inside of me.Thank you for the poolside outing, I said. Your near-sun-stroke aside, that was pretty amazing.He gave me a cocky smile. mayhap youll get used to vampire magic after all.No, I said automatically. Ill never get used to that. His smile immediately disappeared. Of course not, he murmured. See you around. I finally made it to dinner. Id chosen an Italian restaurant, filled with the scents of garlic and cheese. Brayden sat at a corner table, sipping water and earning glares from the waitress, who was probably impatient for him to order. I sat down opposite him, dropping my satchel beside me.I am so sorry, I told him. I had to do th is thing with my, uh, brother. If Brayden was mad, he didnt show it. That was his way. He did, however, give me a scrutinizing look. Was it something athletic? You look like you ran a marathon. It wasnt an insult, not by any means, but it did take me aback mostly because I was thinking of Adrians comment. Brayden had had almost nothing to say about my Halloween costume, but he noticed this?We were out in Santa Sofia, getting his car looked at.Nice area. Keep going up the highway, and you can get to Joshua Tree National Park.Ever been there?No. Just read about it.Iconic place. The geologys fascinating.The waitress came by, and I gratefully ordered an iced latte. Brayden was more than happy to tell me about some of the leafy vegetables geology, and we soon fell into our comfortable rhythm of gifted discussion. I didnt know the parks specific makeup, but I knew more than enough about geology in general to keep up. In fact, I was able to talk on autopilot while my mind wandered back to Adrian. I recalled again what hed said about the red dress. I also couldnt shake the comment about me being happy, and how that was worth his suffering.What do you think?Hmm? I realized Id lost the thread of our conversation after all.I asked which type of desert you find more striking, Brayden explained. The Mojave region gets all the hype, but I actually prefer the Colorado Desert.Ah. I slipped back into the flow. Um, Mojave. I like the rock formations better. This triggered a debate of the regions while we ate, and Brayden seemed happier and happier. He really did like having someone who could keep up with him, I realized. None of my books had said anything about the way to a mans heart being through academic debates.I didnt mind it, though. I liked the conversation, but it didnt exactly send thrills through me. I had to remind myself it was still early in our relationship if I could even call it that. Surely the head over heels part would come soon.We talked for a long time after the meal was over. The waitress brought us an unsolicited dessert menu when we finished, and I surprised myself by saying, Wow I cant believe how much I want gelato right now. That never happens. Maybe the sweat and heat had leached my nutrients or maybe I still had Adrian on the brain.Ive never heard you order dessert, said Brayden, sliding his menu away. Its not too much sugar?It was another of those weird statements of his that could be interpreted a number of different ways. Was he judging me? Did he think I shouldnt have any sugar? I didnt know, but it was enough for me to close the menu and set it on top of his.With no other scheduled forms of entertainment for the night, we determined to just go for a walk after dinner. The temperature was down to moderate levels, and it was still light enough out that I wasnt as concerned about the Warriors of Light jumping out from corners. That didnt mean I ignored Wolfes teachings, however. I still kept an eye on my surroundings, w atching for anything suspicious.We reached a small park that only took up one city block and found a bench in the corner.We sat down on it, watching children play on the opposite side of the lawn while we continued a discussion on bird watching in the Mojave. Brayden put his arm around me as we talked, and eventually, we faint the topic and simply sat in comfortable silence.SydneyI turned my gaze from the children, surprised at Braydens uncertain tone, which was very different from the one hed just been using to defend the superiority of the mountain bluebird over the western bluebird. There was softness in his eyes now as he looked at me. The evening light made his hazel eyes take on a little more gold than usual but completely hid the green. too bad.Before I could say anything, he leaned forward and kissed me. It was more intense than the last one, though still a long ways from the epic, all-consuming kisses Id seen in movies.He did rest his hand on my shoulder this time, gently bringing me a little closer. The kiss also lasted longer than previous ones, and I again tried to let myself go and lose myself in the feel of someone elses lips.He was the one who ended it, a bit more abruptly than I wouldve expected. I Im sorry, he said, looking away. I shouldnt have done that.Why not? I asked. It wasnt so much that Id been yearning for the kiss as it was that this seemed exactly like the kind of place youd want to kiss a romantic park at sunset.Were in public. Its kind of vulgar, I suppose. Vulgar? I wasnt even indisputable if we were really all that much in public, seeing as no one was next to us and we were in the shade of some trees. Brayden sighed with dismay. I guess I just lost control. It wont happen again.Its okay, I said.It hadnt seemed like that much of a loss of control, but what did I know? And I wondered if maybe a small loss of control wasnt such a bad thing. Wasnt that kind of the basis of passion?I didnt know that either. The only thing I knew for sure was that this kiss had been a lot like the last one. Nice, but it didnt blow me away. My heart sank. There was something wrong with me. Everyone was always going on about how socially inept I was. Did it extend to romance as well? Was I so cold that Id spend my life never feeling anything?I think Brayden misread my dismay and assumed I was upset with him. He stood up and held out his hand. Hey, lets go walk to that tea shop one block over. Theyve got this topical anesthetic painters art on display that I think youll like. Besides, no calories in tea, right? Better than dessert.Right, I said. Thinking of the gelato didnt cheer me up any. The Italian place had had pomegranate, which kind of sounded like the best thing ever. As I stood up, my cell phone rang and startled both of us. Hello?Sage? Its me.I had no reason to be mad at Adrian, not after what hed done for me, but somehow I felt irritated by the interruption. I was trying to make the most of this night with Brayden, and Adrian unsettled everything.Whats going on? I asked.Are you still downtown? You need to come over right now.You know Im out with Brayden, I said. This was pushy, even for Adrian. I cant just drop everything and entertain you.Its not about me. It was then that I noticed how hard and serious his voice was.Something tightened in my chest. Its about Sonya. Shes missing. The Golden Lily A Bloodlines Novel