Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 14

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

Starbuck’s: Delivering Customer Service

Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service Christine Day, Starbuck’s senior vice president of administration in North America, believes recent market research indicates customers are not satisfied with Starbuck’s customer service. To address this concern, she is proposing to invest $40 million to increase store hours in order to reduce customer wait times. Day believes there is a direct correlation between customer wait times and their overall satisfaction with service. Starbucks has implemented a â€Å"secret shopper† program in order to spot check stores on their service, cleanliness, product quality and average wait times.The goal for average customer wait time is 3 minutes. The secret shopper scores for the past 5 quarters have shown a negative correlation between customer service and average wait time (exhibit 1). As average customer wait time decreases, the average secret shopper scores increase. In response, Day feels that adding an additional 20 hours to each of the 4500 North American Stores will reduce the customer’s wait time and in turn, increase their overall customer satisfaction scores. Day’s plan will have the largest impact on the following three major stakeholders: shareholders, employees/partners and customers.Starbuck’s shareholders are primarily interested in the plan’s impact on retained earnings and long term growth. Investing an additional $40 million dollars will reduce the shareholder’s short term earnings. Investors who were looking forward to larger dividend checks would be disappointed, but investors who were interested in the long term growth of their portfolio may support Day’s plan if she could show how this investment would positively impact customer’s loyalty and improve the company’s future profit potential. Assuming the partners were looking for additional hours, this plan would be viewed favorably by store baristas and employees.During peak periods of b usiness, they would have another employee to help share the workload and it could reduce the stress of â€Å"rush hour† on each individual partner. The popularity of this plan would be different depending on each store’s location, layout and manning. Stores with insufficient work flows could create or enlarge bottlenecks and the additional manpower may actually increase wait times. On the other hand, stores who have a hard time recruiting employees may not want to burden their existing overworked employees with an additional increase in hours.In some stores, partners would prefer to reduce the quantity and complexity of available drinks instead of increasing available hours. Starbucks is known for innovative and seasonal drinks and over the years, the knowledge requirement for baristas has dramatically increased. Baristas are constantly challenged to learn more complex drinks and still perform to the 3 minute metric. Reducing the number of drinks offered may be an appr opriate solution if there is evidence to show that there are a number of very unpopular drinks, but we do not have any current sales or market data to support those decisions.Additional research needs to be performed in order to assess this option. Customers visit Starbucks for a variety of reasons and those who value short wait times may approve of the new manning plan if indeed it results in shorter wait times. Customers who visit Starbucks for the quality of their coffee or the inviting environment may not increase the frequency of their visits because of a shorter wait time. Customers who value the intimacy and personal attention their local Starbucks provides may actually disapprove of the plan to increase manning if it interrupts their established relationship with their trusty barista.In 2002, Starbucks surveyed their customers to find out what store qualities they attribute to customer satisfaction. The top 6 of these responses referred to the actual store, relationship with the staff and product quality. Wait time was ranked 7th on the list (exhibit 2). This survey suggests that investing $40 million to decrease the wait time might not have the desired impact on customer satisfaction. There is an inherent issue with self reported customer surveys that may have influenced these findings. Customers may not realize what influences their opinions and what constitutes good customer service.What they think they value and what they actually use to make purchasing decisions may be different. In addition, each customer will have their own bias when rating customer service because they all value different experiences and relationships with their local Starbucks. If you look at the secret shopper findings and the self reported customer service surveys jointly, you could devise that customers may give higher cleanliness, service and product quality scores if their wait time is shorter regardless of the store’s actual level of cleanliness, service and produ ct quality.The shorter wait time may have influenced the customer’s opinion on the other store attributes. Another measure of customer service besides secret shoppers and customer surveys is the number of repeat customers. Customers vote with their feet and if they continue to patron Starbuck’s stores, they are voting that they are satisfied customers. In exhibit 8 of the Starbucks case, it is reported that in 2002, 73% of Starbucks customers have been visiting Starbucks for over a year. Only 23% of customers were new that year. This report suggests Starbucks has done a good job at reducing customer churn and they are already satisfying their customers.A common error when trying to measure and improve customer satisfaction is using quantitative metrics. Customer service is a qualitative experience that is very subjective for each individual. Trying to influence someone’s overall customer satisfaction by improving only one quantitative metric may not give you the intended impact to your overall customer satisfaction scores. Day needs to understand the limitations with her single metric plan and realize that she needs to address all aspects of customer service for an overall improvement.In order to understand the variety and complexity of the issues impacting their 4500 stores, Day needs to engage the store managers to fully understand what each store needs to improve customer service. Increasing available hours may help some stores while others may need new equipment or a re-designed work space. Day’s plan to uniformly increase labor hours over-simplifies the potential needs of the individual stores. Empowering the managers would encourage individual ownership and commitment. The manager’s guidance would ensure Day allocated the $40 million most ffectively to not only reduce customer wait times but to increase overall customer service. During this process, Day may find out managers are frustrated with Starbuck’s aggress ive growth. In metropolitan areas, growth has led to cannibalization of customers which undermines the manager’s efforts to increase customer loyalty. Quality customer service is an individual experience that requires a personal interaction between customers and employees. It is more difficult to create a lasting experience and relationship if customers are constantly changing from store to store.Manager’s will lose their motivation to encourage these relationships if they feel another Starbucks will open nearby and steal away the loyal customer base they have worked to create. Starbuck’s value proposition to their customers concentrate on three goals: quality coffee, excellent service and an inviting atmosphere. These three attributes are focused on building customer loyalty. Starbuck’s loyal customers (8 or more visits a month) account for 62% of their revenue. This group of established customers value high quality coffee and Starbuck’s meets thi s need through mass customization.Starbucks gives customers the ability to specialize their drinks to fit their individual tastes in order to create customer loyalty. This evidence suggests that Starbucks needs to continue to allow for individual drink customization in order to increase customer loyalty even though it may increase their average wait time above their three minute goal. Loyal customers are their largest source of revenue and if their perceived value is centered on quality coffee, they would not want to risk losing this source of steady revenue.Starbucks lacks a strategic marketing group who is responsible for managing their overall marketing plans, promotions and research. Marketing was internally viewed as the responsibility of all senior executives, but as their corporation continued to rapidly grow, the executives could not keep up with their primary responsibilities and effectively contribute to the strategic marketing plan. As a result, Day states â€Å"Weâ€⠄¢ve been operating with the assumption that we do customer service well. But the reality is we’ve started to lose sight of the consumer. In addition, Day admits â€Å"we tend to be great at measuring things, at collecting market data, but we are not very disciplined when it comes to using this data to drive decision making. † Both of these statements validate the concern that Starbucks needs to hire a senior executive who will make marketing their chief responsibility. They need a central department who will integrate their market research with top level decision making, and manage promotions, such as frequency programs, so they are using their resources in the most effective way to increase customer loyalty.The marketing department should not only collect data from their own customers, but they should consider hiring a marketing firm in order to ensure they are collecting unbiased information about themselves and their competitors. Using research on their competitors will allow Starbucks to have a more comprehensive view on their industry and growing trends or concerns from their available customer base. This will also give them the information they need in order to attract new customers from other competitors.Day’s preliminary research shows more resources need to be given to accurately capture their customer’s interests to ensure they are meeting high standards of customer service to create and keep loyal customers. Her original plan to invest $40 million to increase labor hours is not the most effective use of resources because each individual store’s needs are unknown. Quality customer service cannot be achieved by concentrating on a single quantitative metric. Customer service is a personal, qualitative experience only the individual store managers can gauge and deliver.Day needs to work with store managers and a marketing department to formulate a more comprehensive plan to measure and improve customer service. EXHIBI T 1 The AVG line is the average of the secret shopper scores for Service, Cleanliness and Product Quality. The compiled average increases as the average customer wait time decreases. EXHIBIT 2 These are the top 7 attributes grouped by category reported in Starbuck’s 2002 self-reported customer survey. Store Attributes, relationship with staff, product quality were all reported to have a higher impact on customer satisfaction than wait time.

Designing Reward Practices To Influence Employee Behavior Essay

Designing Reward Practices To Influence Employee Behavior - Essay Example The paper tells that managers have grown to understand that setting a strong management system is the main force that helps a company in the achievement of strategic goals. A strong management system is one, which includes such features and processes, which not only benefit the organization but also the employees. Reward practice is one of the most considerable features of a strong management system, which play a vital role in improving employee productivity and performance. Incentives are those benefits that a company offers to its employees as a reward for achieving some particular goals and objectives for the company. Incentive plans also plays a considerable role in achieving maximum sales employees’ productivity. Schwartz found that incentives plan is one of the most important planning activity related to the employees of a company. Ellis-Christensen states, â€Å"They could help encourage members of a company to achieve certain goals or they might jumpstart extra learni ng in a classroom†. The factors that managers should consider while developing an appropriate incentive plan for the employees include type of compensation plan, method of payment calculation, discretion to award, conditions for implementation of the plan, practicalities of the plan, and culture of the company. According to Colt and Perrin, all companies develop incentives schemes that support and communicate the cultural values of those companies. Managers should consider the organizational capabilities, managerial maturity, as well as the culture of the organization while designing a reward/incentive plan for the employees.... 15), all companies develop incentives schemes that support and communicate the cultural values of those companies. Managers should consider the organizational capabilities, managerial maturity, as well as the culture of the organization while designing a reward/incentive plan for the employees. Pay for performance acts as one of the most suitable motivational factors for the employees. It is very important to do a complete study of the organizational culture while designing a reward system in order to ensure alignment of reward system with the achievement of organizational goals. 3.2 Needs and Demands of Employees According to Beardwell (2010), understanding employees’ needs and demands is also very necessary to design an employee-oriented incentive plan. Managers should design an incentive plan by incorporating the basic needs and demands of the employees in the plan. When the employees of a company know that their company has implemented an incentive plan through which it re wards their job productivity and efficiency in terms of both cash rewards and non-cash rewards, they show more commitment to their work, which not only improves their productivity but also increases the overall productivity of the company. 3.3 Statement of Plan’s Objectives The most critical issue, which managers need to consider while developing an incentive plan, is development of a clear statement of the plan’s objectives. The statement includes purpose of the plan, eligibility criteria, and types of incentives. Goal setting and employees’ improved performance are two of the basic advantages of an incentive plan. 3.4 Link Performance to Organizational Goals Alignment of the employees’ performance with the organizational goals is the

Comparison and contrast of two photos Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparison and contrast of two photos - Essay Example As Susan Sontag put it, a photograph is both a pseudo-presence and taken by absence (Abbott 37). This just augments the fact that photographs serve a far greater role than the preservation of the authentic feel of the moment. This fact can sufficiently be highlighted through an analysis of two photos taken at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito, Ecuador. The first picture shows two boys sitting on the floor while resting their backs against the wall. It is undoubtedly daytime as shown by the relatively bright natural light coming in through the window. The first boy has his arms crossed, with a large hot-pink luggage bag between his legs. The other boy is hurdled up at the nearing corner, with a large black bag in front of him. He is resting his hand on the window stool, and slightly extending it to his chin. A reflection of his face can be seen next to the large glass window adjacent to him. A short distance in front of him there is another striped luggage bag, but this is slightly smaller than the first two. The boys are both looking in the same direction, most likely having spotted something of mutual interest to both of them. In this case, they were apparently looking at three uniformed ladies walking across the hall-way. Moreover, both of them are just wearing regular clothes. They are both wearing t-shirts, with denim pants. T heir regular choice of clothing and choice of seating shows that they are there casually, or in a casual mood. In addition, their choice of seating, the floor, can be taken to mean that they had waited for quite a long time and were tired, or there weren’t any seating spaces remaining. The second picture also shows a waiting area, with the prominent point of focus being a smiling gentleman and a dog. The gentleman is smiling heartily, supposedly as a result of the dog having accepted a piece of bread from him. The dog is a customs dog, with an identification vest across its back. As opposed to the

Analysis of Child Labor in Photographs Research Paper

Analysis of Child Labor in Photographs - Research Paper Example The first photo is that of a young boy working as a garbage picker. This was taken Mexico in the year 1996. The second photo is of two young girls pictured outside a brick factory, taken on 9thof February 2002. Pictures do not have the power to tell people how to think but they direct them on what to think about. This means that they have the power to make something the center of focus. Another important aspect of pictures is that they are able to achieve a high conviction of power. This is because they are able to appeal to the innermost part of a human being and cause them to demand that justice is granted to the oppressed. In order to achieve greater convincing power and emotional impact, Lewis Wickes Hine capitalizes on the facial expressions of his subjects as seen in the pictures of children fetching wood scraps to be used at the brick factory. The most striking detail in the Kabul picture is the faces of the children featured as they express emotional suffering and exhaustion. The innocent children without a doubt are tired of the kind of work they have to do to make ends meet. They are clearly unhappy at face. The work that they have to do is heavy and especially so considering that the location at which they are working looks desolate. The picture shows the child at the background having a face contorted possibly due to exhaustion and helplessness. A closer look reveals that the child is weeping; possibly wiping her tears. Both the children are dressed in a manner that clearly defines their state of poverty. The children walk with their heads focused on the ground. This shows how downcast they are. This is justified given the fact that other children of their ages are in school or at least playing together somewhere. Between the two girls, the younger is weary to an extent that she is not even able to keep up with the walking pace of her sister. The garbage picker’s face reveals a shade of sorrow even though his face is focused on the photograph er. He is clearly tired, possibly having worked a long time searching in the garbage. He works in a place where all around is garbage. His merchandise therefore comprises pieces of waste material. Both of his hands tightly hold whatever treasures he has retrieved from the garbage pit. The garbage picker carries a box on his back, an item that clearly is big for a person his size. He seems to be helpless and hopeless going by his facial expression. What is evident in both pictures is the depiction of children subjected to child labour and the effect this has on the emotional wellbeing of the victims.

The effectiveness of SMS,Internet and other advertising for business Essay

The effectiveness of SMS,Internet and other advertising for business incubators - Essay Example This is a relatively new form of advertising, yet one that has already generated a wide range of textual sub-types. (Hughes, 1998) For example, there are simple 'banners' pasted across WebPages advertising a particular service or product; there are whole sites run by specific companies, such as Coca-Cola or Benetton; and there are mailshots that arrive in people's email boxes, in the form of brochures, memos and letters. In addition to these more obvious forms of advertising, there are now, of course, Internet versions of some of the texts such as university prospectuses and church posters (for an example of the latter, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk and click on 'religion'.Although some concern has been expressed that the standard of advertising has been poor on the Internet and that this has damaged the chances of dot-com companies to turn a profit, there is no doubt that Internet texts can be very imaginative because of the resources available to them for interactivity. What follows i s a starting point for thinking about the ways WebPages offer a different kind of read from paper pages. Getting some idea about this will be important in order to assess how online advertising texts might work. (Judge, 1998) WebPages and SMS as Advertising Tools For incubators firms advertising, WebPages are organised very differently from their paper counterparts. In fact, the term 'page' when applied to an Internet text is a metaphor. Electronic texts are not formed of pages at all, but we are encouraged to think in this way because it makes electronic discourse seem familiar and approachable. Electronic texts are a bit like a set of Russian dolls: as you read a screenful of text and click a link, you are taken to a new set of information and new links. You can keep going until all the links run out which, in some cases, will take the reader a long way from their starting point (often called a 'homepage'). This process is sometime referred to as non-linearity: paper texts are described as linear because they are processed line-by-line, while electronic texts can be read in many different ways, with readers jumping between sections of text, between different pages, and between different Internet sites in a non-linear fashion. (Solomon, 1995 ) As will be inferred from reading the above, electronic texts are often seen as offering more opportunity for interactivity than paper texts. Readers can scroll pages in various directions, can click through to new information via links, can stop a page working altogether, and can, in many cases, save and archive a text in their own files. Interactivity works both ways, however: it isn't just about the reader being active, since the availability of certain kinds of electronic tools also allows a webpage to be in motion in the way a paper page can only dream about. Animated graphics allow language and images to dance and sing (provided the computer has a sound card, in the latter case); pictures can dissolve and re-form to show narrative progression of an idea; a question can be asked in the text, then disappear and form itself into an answer. Line drawings and logos can appear to come to life, and the only limits to colour, glitter and other appearances of physicality are

The Moon Landing Hoax Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Moon Landing Hoax - Research Paper Example The problem with so many conspiracy theories or claims of well-organized hoaxes, however, is that they can never agree on exactly who did what, when, and why. For those 9/11 truthers out there as many reasons for the conspiracy as there are grains of sand. Likewise for the moon landing hoax. It is a cottage industry without any professional credibility. A lot of it has to do with resentment and hatred of the government which some people believe is an all-powerful, malign force. Events like Watergate and the build-up to the Iraq War do not inspire much confidence in people, but most historians and political observers see these events as isolated incidents or even undirected actions. Conspiracy theorists, however, see a moving finger behind everything that happens in the world. Take for example this sample of moon hoax rhetoric: The Apollo record, as it currently stands, is not the sum of the whole but only the part that has been revealed to the public—until now. Irrespective of individual opinions as to the validity of the exploration of space, to dismiss the Apollo Space Project because it was too long ago, or unimportant, is to permit a history based on a false premise to stand unchallenged. In so doing we become the slaves of an elite who it seems will stop at nothing to achieve their aims—and the one firm objective they hold is the domination of this planet via the medium of space. (Bennett, 4).  It is always interesting to examine the reasons why people embrace such theories.  

Film Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Film Studies - Essay Example The film Amistad provides an accurate depiction of slavery in the North prior to the 1865 time line (Jones 14). Slavery in the US was a manner of slave labor that existed as a permissible custom since the early colonial period. Pursuant to the American Revolution between the year 1775 and 1783, northern states abolished slavery. Congress subsequently abolished slavery in the Northwest Territory. Slavery in North gained momentum after 1800 with the advent of the cotton industry before expanding to the Southwest. This resulted in the establishment of a slave and Free State system. In spite of this, the US law illegalized the international export and import of slaves in the year 1807. By the mid 19th century, the South vigorously defended slavery, as well as its expansion into other territories. In the North, however, a minute number of abolitionists condemned slavery as sinful, while a large number of anti-slavery movements denounced slavery as unfavorable to the rights of free individ uals. States attempted and failed to reach a compromise, and in the year 1861, eleven states disentangled to establish the Confederate States of America. In order to defeat the Confederacy, in 1862, the Union made abolition of slavery the main agenda, which the Union attained in 1865 (Jones 29). During this period, slave owners freed all slaves but did not receive any compensation. Through the system, chattel slavery became the dominant system in which ownership of slaves entailed the ownership of an individual and all of his or her descendants. The chattel system encompassed a racial element as slaves were predominantly blacks of African descent, while the owners were largely whites. Freedom from slavery was only possible by running away or being discharged by the owner. The film, Amistad depicts this phenomenon as slaves aboard the vessel sought to run away from their owners. Amistad is a historical drama film based on the true events of the 1839 uprising in which newly captured A frican slaves took over the La Amistad ship off the Cuban coast under the leadership of Joseph Cinque (Jones 21). Directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1997, the film paints a picture of the slavery menace that engulfed North America in the 18th and early 19th century. The film follows the story of Cinque’s life through his recurrent flashbacks. Of paramount importance is Cinque’s capture in Africa and journey to the Caribbean Islands through the infamous Middle Passage slave vessel called Tecora. Cinque shows the horrors engulfed in the Middle Passage like the drowning of fifty persons to save rations (Jones 37). Cinque recounts that, after their arrival at the Caribbean Islands, his unlawful sale to the owners of La Amistad ensued. Through Cinque’s flashbacks, the film accurately depicts the occurrences of the slave trade and slavery, showing how trade in Africans occurred like in commodity such as copper and crops. Through Cinque’s experiences, the audience appreciates the events of the slave trade and slavery and understands the pushing force for the establishment of US antislavery laws. The film goes further to describe the legal battle that ensued after the recapture of the African slaves on the La Amistad by a US revenue cutter. The legal battle entailed the group of African slaves charged with murder and mutiny and who received

Enterprise ebusiness strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Enterprise ebusiness strategy - Essay Example This will also ensure attendant benefits for the economy. The main impediment to the takeoff of B2B in the today's world is inadequate information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, as well as shortcomings in physical infrastructure, logistics and trade facilitation. A rapid growth in both e-commerce and Internet use is expected to continue. This applies especially in context to the developing world with low penetration rates. Internet use recorded a growth of 30% in 2001. It should be noted here that one third of all new users belong to the developing world. E-commerce is increasing in these countries at a very slow rate especially in the case of B2B comprising around 95% of all e-commerce. Source: PRESS RELEASE, 18 November 2002. TAD/INF/PR65. GOOD PROSPECTS FOR IT INDUSTRY IN 2003, PREDICTS UNCTAD; Developing world looks to e-business for growth. Asia Pacific Network Information Centre. Official website. Disintermediation is defined as the removal of intermediaries in a supply chain in terms of economics: "cutting out the middleman". companies may now deal with every customer directly like through the Internet instead of using traditional distribution channels having some type of intermediate like a distributor, wholesaler, broker, or agent. Drop in the cost of servicing customers directly is the most important feature. Disintermediation is the result of high market transparency where the buyers are aware of supply prices direct from the manufacturer. Buyers bypass all the middlemen like the wholesalers and retailers in order to buy directly from the manufacturer and thereby paying less money. Buyers can also select to purchase from wholesalers. A B2C intermediary functions as the bridge between buyer and manufacturer. A typical B2C supply chain is composed of four or five entities (in order): Supplier Manufacturer Wholesaler Retailer Buyer Source: wikipedia. Disintermediation. Review on an article on backend EC integration All enterprises are lining up into virtual alliances in order to remain competitive in the globalizing markets. Virtual enterprises constitute location-independent association of financial institutions, industrialist and many more aimed towards a shared goal. These networked organizations do integrate their value chain to enhance the customer-perceived added-value while sharing their resources in a more efficient way then ever. The paper by Ralf Reussner is entitled as Enhanced Component Interfaces to Support Dynamic Adaption and Extension. A new interface model for software components is presented in this paper that not only specifies static information but also semantic applicability information in order to ensure non-conflicting run-time behavior and to facilitate component adaptation. The paper by Niels Christian Jul compares two E-Commerce servers, IBM's NetCommerce and Microsoft's Site Server Commerce based on a B2B case study. It emphasizes on the integration of the servers

One Sample Hypothesis Test Essay Example for Free

One Sample Hypothesis Test Essay Earning potential and income of every person is severely different; many factors have a hand in determining the amount of money a person makes and how much his or her earning potential can increase. Some of the factors currently determining the earning potential of people around the United States are; education, marital status, age, union participation, race, age, years of experience, sex, the industry in which the individual works, and the position held by individual. This paper is going to show the correlation between marital status and income, the team has disregarded all other determinants to answer the research question clearly. The research question that the team has developed and the hypothesis was formed from goes as follows; does marital status affect earning potential? Every decade that passes, it seems as though people are waiting longer to get married. Waiting for job security, completion of college and social norms are just a few factors that influence this trend. This is a big change from 50 years ago, when most people would get married straight out of high school. The fact is being single has some advantages when deciding to start a career, it also affects ones earning potential. Being single allows more dedication to the job as well as the mobility to go wherever the job may take an individual. While being single may be good for starting a career, being married will actually increase a person’s earning potential in the long run. The mean salary for the single person is $24,864 per year. The mean income for married individuals is $33,303. This leads us to our null hypothesis (H0) that being married will not improve the earning potential of an individual. Our alternate hypothesis (H1) is that being married will help improve the earning potential of an individual. Numerically it is stated: H0: ÃŽ ¼1 ≠¤ ÃŽ ¼2 H1: ÃŽ ¼2 ÃŽ ¼2 The five-step hypothesis test starts with stating the null and alternative  hypothesis. The null is H0: ÃŽ ¼1≠¤ÃŽ ¼2 and the alternative hypothesis is H1: ÃŽ ¼1ÃŽ ¼2. The second step in find the decision rule. The decision rule is reject H0 if ÃŽ ¼1 ÃŽ ¼2 ÃŽ ¼1. Step 3 is to calculate the test statistics. It has come to the mean of the earning potential of those who are married and those who are unmarried. Married couples have a mean salary of $33,303.00 and unmarried individuals have a mean salary of $24,864.00. Step 4 is to compare the test statistics to the critical value. The test results in married couples have a greater income than the salaries of unmarried people. Step 5 is to state the results. In result, married couples have greater earning potential than that of their unmarried counterparts. Therefore, in this case the team has to reject their null hypothesis because they have discovered a greater earning potential for married couples over unmarried individuals. The team’s results provided support to the null hypothesis that a married individual has a higher earning potential than that of a single individual. As previously stated a single individual on average makes $25, 000 while married individuals make on average $34,000 a year. Our research also indicates more working individuals are married over single. Our sample only included 33 single and 67 married individuals. Our study also found non-married men have wages that range from $11,000 to only $27,000 while non-married females wages range from $15,000 to $83,000. Married men have wages that range from $28,000 to $84,000, married women however only have wages that range from $11,000 to $50,000. This shows independent women with one sole income on average make more than men. However, after marriage, the men tend to become the higher wage earner. Education does not appear to play a significant role it ranges from four to 18 years. A married man with 18 years of education can made up to $84,000 while a single man also with 18 years of education only made $27,000. That is in contrast with a single woman with 17 years of education who make $83,000 a year and a married woman with 17 years of education who made $34,000. The maximum wage for a married woman was $50,000 and this was with 12 years of education. We analyzed many different aspects of earning potential and the majority proves a married individual will make more than that of a single individual. With all of the numerical data analyzed, the research question answered, and the hypothesis being correct, the team has been able to state confidently that marital status drastically affects  earning potential. On average, those who are married make nearly $8,500 more than those who are unmarried. Several other factors determine the income potential differences, but without further analyses of data not provided in the data set, the team would just be throwing around assumptions on the matter. References David P. Doane, L. E. (2007). Applied Statistics in Business and Economics. New York: McGraw- Hill.

Harry Potter Movie Review

Harry Potter Movie Review The Harry Potter series has always been an attractive choice amongst a wide variety of viewers much with the book as with its film series. Each motion picture brings more adventure and excitement than the previous; audiences are eager to watch how Harry Potter and his friends grow up in each film. Harry Potter returns in his fifth episode of the series in Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix. The book is actually more complex and much longer than the movie. This film shows how all the young wizards are growing up and how forthcoming adulthood is coming fearfully fast, with some hurdles. Harry is expelled from Hogwarts for using magic outside of the school, although it was for self defense. Once again, the plot as well as the unique talents and personalities of each of its characters, along with a masterful production full of special visual effects, transport us to the magical world of Harry, fulfilling the expectations of a loyal audience of Harry Potters fans. The above combination makes each movie a must see to the viewer. Adaptation from Book to Movie The process of adapting the book into the movie was very complicated for the screenwriter Michael Goldenberg. Since the book is longer, provides many more details of the story so Michael had to shorten it to create a reasonable timeline for the length the movie. There are many differences between the structure of the story in the book and the structure in the movie. For example, in the actual book, Harry and his acquaintances create a group that becomes known as the Dumbledores Army. They need a secret place to gather so they can learn and practice defensive spells away from the intrusive eyes of Dolores Umbridge, so they go to Dobby for help. In the movie, Dobby is completely absent. There is also an alteration of the ending scene where Harry and his team fight the soul eaters and Voldemort himself inside the Ministry of Magic. In the book Harry and his friends have to pass through several magic rooms to finally get to Voldemort and in the movie the magic rooms are left out and take the characters straight to the point of the fight. If the storyline of the movie were to be produced identical as it is in the book, it would be too long and it would exceed any films budget. Special Visual Effects In Harry Potter and the order of Phoenix, supervisor Tim Burke made sure the film was done surpassing the previous ones with new creatures and environmental effects, for this he contracted the Movie Picture Company (MPC) and Double Negative which was largely responsible for creating the sets, building environments, and backgrounds for the movie. The Movie Picture Company was in charge of enhancing the magic effects in fight scenes of the movie. The lighting and creation of new magical creatures in the movie was done by Frame store CFC and Industrial Light Magic. One example where the blend of lighting and special effects editing are brought together in action is the scene where Dumbledore battles Lord Voldemort. In the scene both characters are shooting each other with flaming blasts from their wands, which is an example of a computer generated effect and the part where Voldemort screams and all the glass in the building shatters is a handmade effect by the people who constructed th e stage scene. The lighting in the scene is dark since the characters are in a building and it is a dark conflict scene. In all Harry Potter films, the conflict or fight scenes all are with dark lighting. The unique blend of special effects in the movie is what makes the movie very attractive to many of its viewers. Set Design/Filming The set designer for the first four Harry Potter films, Stuart Craig, comes forth to help with the fifth film set design. The overall inspiration of classical architecture of Hogwarts in the film comes from underground subway stations in London. The whole actual set and movie shots are done in the prime location which an old aircraft is manufacturing facility called Leavesden Film Studios located in England. One of the biggest set structures in the movie is the Ministry of Magic. It is a massive 220 foot long practical city within a city, Consisting of more than 30,000 individually placed tiles on multiple levels (Horn). There is a big part of the set that was built by hand and there are some portions that are digitally edited in. One prime example of a purely digital made structure would be the Hall of Prophecies room in the school. The final fight scene between Dumbledore and Voldemort takes place in the hall of prophecies. The part where the windows shatter to the ground when Vold emort surrenders is all digitally done, if that were part of a real set structure, it wouldve taken weeks to be re-built. The filming for the movie was done on and off set in various locations around England. The majority of the interior film shots were done in the studio and others such as the flight scenes and Harrys trial were done at outside locations. The flight scene where Harry and his friends fly to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, and the flight of Dumbledores Army to the Ministry of Magic were done at River Thames in southern England. The creativeness and dedication of the set crew and production really pays off in the end when audiences watch the final product in action. Casting Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix features a world class cast consisting of some original actors and characters along with new ones. The key characters play a crucial role in this movie as well as the previous ones because the overall plot focuses on Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger ( Emma Watson) with whom Harry grew up since his beginning at Hogwarts. Hagrid the gatekeeper (Robbie Coltrane) and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) the headmaster at Hogwarts are kept alive throughout the film because they have been helping and supporting Harry since the very beginning. There is a mix of new student characters such as Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) who plays the role of Harrys new best friend in this movie. The blending of new and original characters in this film is what brings a whole new adventure in the film. In general, Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix is a must watch film for all fantasy lovers. The combination of special effects, acting, and plot make the movie captivating and entertaining. The movie compared to some other sci-fi type films does not overwhelm the viewer with too many special visual effects; there is a brilliant balance between the fantasy and the special effects. The production design and cinematography in the movie is very astounding in their suitability and professionalism.

Hybrid Cars :: Gasoline Electric Hybrid Automobiles

Hybrid cars: Abstract: A hybrid car, also known as an HEV or hybrid electric vehicle, is an automobile that is powered by two sources; an internal combustion engine, and an electric motor. HEV’s need plugs, as they are amply charged by the movement of the wheels and storing the kinetic energy that is generated through a process called regenerative braking. Cars have been accepted as a solution to the current pollution problems that we face, as they offer lower emissions than gasoline automobiles. Some hybrid cars produces around 90% less pollutants than regular cars. With cars with this system, a hybrid car can cross longer distances than normal ones with less use of gasoline. They can get up to 55-60 mpg in city driving, while a typical SUV might travel just 15-20 mpg. Also there are 2 types of cars: the first type is the series, and the second type is called the parallels Hybrid electric vehicle A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a vehicle which combines a conventional propulsion system with an on-board rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) to achieve better fuel economy than a conventional vehicle without being hampered by range from a charging unit like a battery electric vehicle (BEV), which uses batteries charged by an external source.)The different propulsion power systems may have common subsystems or components. Regular HEVs most commonly use an internal combustion engine (ICE) in tandem with electric motors to power their propulsion system. Modern mass-produced HEVs prolong the charge on their batteries by capturing kinetic energy via regenerative braking, and some HEVs can use the combustion engine to generate electricity by spinning an electrical generator to either recharge the battery or directly feed power to an electric motor that drives the vehicle. Many HEVs reduce idle emissions by shutting down the ICE at idle and restarting it when needed. An HEV's engine is smaller and may be run at various speeds, providing more efficiency. HEVs became widely available to the public in the late 1990s. HEVs are viewed by some automakers as a core segment of the future automotive market. Technology The varieties of hybrid electric designs can be differentiated by the structure of the hybrid vehicle drivetrain, the fuel type, and the mode of operation. In 2007, several automobile manufacturers announced that future vehicles will use aspects of hybrid electric technology to reduce fuel consumption without the use of the hybrid drivetrain. Regenerative braking can be used to recapture energy and stored to power electrical accessories, such as air conditioning.

American Literature and Society :: essays research papers fc

Literature is a very powerful tool that is used to make a huge impact on society or in someone’s perspective. Literature comes in different forms and each literature form fits in a certain category or role to help understand the true meaning of it. From playwrights to short stories, each one has moral lesson, a message or a reflection of the author. I have witnessed the power of literature several times. Literature has moved teens to better being; it has motivated unfortunate people to fame, used as an educational process of teaching and most of all, entertainment. Back in the day, plays were on of the most famous forms of entertainment. Without television and radio present, plays served as a substitute to entertain certain groups of people like the royal family or just for the whole public. This was one way of making money by the actors and the authors that wrote the play. Also present during those times were the poem recitals. This is similar to a play but fewer people are present in the stage or sometimes solo performance. Today, Literature is still being used as a form of entertainment and educational intentions. Hollywood made a lot of money by revising the great masterpieces of famous authors such as â€Å"Rome and Juliet† by William Shakespeare. Also, they made movies out of hundreds of literary works for educational purposes and better understanding of the literature piece. Each form of literature has its own style. The style determines how it influences the audience to absorb the true meaning and moral of the story or poem. William Shakespeare and Benjamin Franklin were truly persuasive while Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe mixed mystery and adventure to their works. The style touches the readers which really makes a good relationship from the reader to the author’s literary masterpieces. Being a foreigner to this country, I have viewed American Society in a different way. There are a lot of factors that changed my perspective to the American society and of them is the literature I have studied during the process of having English as on of my major subjects. I can strongly say that American society is very much different than the environment I used to live. There may be similarities but there are few. American society tends to change a lot of times, its culture slowly evolves the American society to a whole different level.

Consumer Behaviour in the Unisex Shoe Store Category :: Marketing, argumentative, persuasive

This report analyzes the role personal, social, and situational factors in consumer behaviour in the unisex shoe store category. Observations were made at three different shoe retailers including Town Shoes, Payless Shoe Source, and The Shoe Company. These three stores offer very diverse retail environments targeted towards different demographics of people. This report also found that the retail setting, such as music, light, and organization, had an effect on the actions of the consumers in the store. The time of day also had an effect on consumer’s purchasing behaviour. Environmental analysis Town Shoes: The store had bright lights and loud pop culture music without lyrics which attracted a younger demographic of customers. There were â€Å"Buy one get one half off† signs displayed all around the store, which encourages consumers to buy more than one pair of shoes. The shoes are displayed without any form of organization; brand name shoes are mixed in with non-brand low quality ones, all stocked in piles on the floor. There are no specific try-on areas for shoppers to try on their shoes and the sales people were mostly unavailable to answer questions because of the high turnover rate of customers entering and exiting the store. The sale racks that post 50% have mixed shoes of different color, style, and size. Most of the shoes are for the current season (i.e. sandals, pumps) and the majorities are female sandals and heels. Payless: The sale discount signs and cheap price of shoes is the big attention grabber for this store. The medium lighting with soft background music provides consumers a relaxing environment to shop. The shoes are displayed in a warehouse style according to size and gender and accessories. There are also medium quality bags and accessories located near the cashier that satisfies consumer’s desire to take part in the summer fashion. The store layout implies that there is no other inventory since all the shoes are out on display. Most of the shoes only targets the current season. There are limited numbers of try-on areas at the end of the aisles near the back of the store, encouraging shoppers to test out shoes. The employees do not seem to approach customers to help them, but are available for questions. The Shoe Company: The recognizable designer shoes are on the display to attract consumers who seek for quality shoes or the desire to identify themselves as having a higher social status.

Classic Hollywood in Comedy Films

During Hollywood's classical period, the seamless style was particularly favored, it championed narrative economy. In other words, films were constructed so that the viewer was not aware of the construction. This practice of effacing a film's construction actually depends on a complex system of visual codes. Hollywood films, as opposed to art films or some types of foreign films, embrace a narrative that is highly efficient and that is determined by cause and effect. For example, The opening of a film typically plunges us_ _into an immediate understanding of an individual character. While natural causes, like floods and earthquakes, or societal causes, such as wars or strikes, might prod the character in a certain direction or serve as a backdrop, the narrative inevitably centers on the individual's choices. This swift movement toward resolution of the conflict has been made efficiently in what is often referred to as the three-act structure. As celebrated screenwriter Ernest Lehman put it more clearly, â€Å"In the first act, it's who are the people and what is the situation of this whole story. The second act is the progression of that situation to a high point of conflict. And the third act is how the conflicts and problems are resolved. † Though modern films frequently depart from the continuity style, this style remains a baseline standard of effective visual storytelling. During the classical Hollywood era, each studio was known for a certain genre of film or a particular roster of stars. Spencer Tracy, Bing Crosby, Charlie Chaplin were some of the well-known performers that emerged during this period. Comic films began to appear in significant numbers during the era of silent films in roughly 1895 to 1930. The visual humor of these silent films relied on slapstick. A very early comedy short was Watering the Gardener (1895) by the Lumiere brothers. In American film, the most prominent comic actors of the silent era were Charlie Chaplin. A popular trend during the 1920s and afterward was comedy in the form of animated cartoons with stars such as Betty Boo appearing. Toward the end of the 1920s, the introduction of sound into movies made possible dramatic new film styles and the use of verbal humor. Many film scholars will argue, film was never entirely â€Å"silent. † Most movies were accompanied by some kind of music and even, at times, live narration. During the 1930s the silent film comedy was replaced by dialogue from film comedians such as the W. C. Fields and the Marx Brothers. The comedian Charlie Chaplin was one of the last silent film hold-outs. 1930 and 1948 are generally considered bookends to Hollywood's Golden Age, the period when these eight companies secured 95 percent of all film rentals and close to 70 percent of all box-office receipts. In the United Kingdom, film adaptations of stage farces were popular in the early 1930s, while the music hall tradition strongly influenced film comedy into the 1940s. With the entry of the United States into World War II, Hollywood became focused on themes related to the conflict. Comedies portrayed military themes such as service, civil defense, boot-camp. The war-time restrictions on travel made this a boom time for Hollywood, and nearly a quarter of the money spent on attending movies. As TV became filled with family-oriented comedies, the 1950s saw a trend toward more adult social situations. Only the Walt Disney studios continued to steadily release family comedies. The release of comedy films also went into a decline during this decade. Toward the end of the 1950s, darker humor and more serious themes had begun to emerge, including satire and social commentary. Dr. Strangelove (1964) was a satirical comedy about Cold War paranoia. Among the leading lights in comedy films of the next decade were Woody Allen and Mel Brooks. Both wrote, directed and appeared in their movies. Brooks' style was generally slapstick and zany in nature, often parodying film styles and genres, including Universal horror films (Young Frankenstein), westerns (Blazing Saddles) and Hitchcock films (High Anxiety). Most British comedy films of the early 70s were spin-offs of television series, including Dad's Army and On the Buses. The greatest successes, however, came with the films of the Monty Python team, including _And Now For Something Completely Different_ (1971), One of the major developments of the 1990s was the re-emergence of the romantic comedy film, encouraged by the success of When Harry Met Sally†¦ n 1989 Another development was the increasing use of â€Å"gross-out humor† usually aimed at a younger audience, in films like _There's Something About_ Mary__, American Pie) and its sequels. In mid 2000s the trend of â€Å"gross-out† movies is continuing, with adult-oriented comedies picking up the box office. The screwball comedy is a subgenre of the co medy film genre. It has proven to be one of the most popular and enduring film genres. First gained prominence in 1934 with It Happened One Night and, although many film scholars would agree that its classic period ended ometime in the early 1940s, elements of the genre have persisted, or have been paid homage to, in contemporary film. Modern screwball comedies include: Burn After Reading (2008), d. Joel and Ethan Coen Pineapple Express) (2008) d. David Gordon Green The Hangover) (2009) d. Todd Phillips Many elements of the screwball genre can be traced back to such stage plays such as ‘__As You Like_ It_’and and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Like farce, screwball comedies often involve mistaken identities or other circumstances in which a character or characters try to keep some important fact a secret. Sometimes screwball comedies feature male characters cross-dressing, further contributing to the misunderstandings (Bringing Up Baby, I Was a Male War Bride, Some Like It Hot). They also involve a central romantic story, usually in which the couple seem mismatched and even hostile to each other at first, and â€Å"meet cute† in some way. Another common element is fast-talking, witty repartee (You Can't Take It With You), His Girl Friday). This stylistic device did not originate in the screwballs (although it may be argued to have reached its zenith there): it can also be found in many of the old Hollywood cycles including the gangster film, romantic comedies, and others. The philosopher Stanley Cavell has noted that many classic screwball comedies turn on an interlude in the state of Connecticut (Bringing Up Baby, The Lady Eve, The Awful Truth Some notable directors of screwball comedies include: Frank Capra George Cukor Howard Hawks

Hurdling

Event Paper: Hurdling In track and field, the three main types of event include: running, throwing and jumping. According to britannica. com, hurdling is defined as â€Å"A sport in athletics (track and field) in which a runner races over a series of obstacles called hurdles, which are set a fixed distance apart. † Throughout the race, runners are required to stay within their assigned lane. They are allowed to knock down hurdles while running, but a runner who trails a foot or leg alongside a hurdle or knocks it down with a hand is disqualified.Hurdling, which combines running and jumping, is fairly new in comparison to the other track and field events. However, hurdling contains an impressive and interesting history and continues to be one of the most popular events at the Olympics. It was not until the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 when hurdles were introduced to the world. The original Olympics began long before in Greece, however, Roman Emperor Theodosius I had banne d the Games 1,500 years earlier as an attempt to abolish what he thought were pagan practices.The modern Olympics arose in Athens and presented hurdling events, thanks to the French baron, Pierre de Coubertin, who than became the first International Olympic Committee president. The Games initially began with 110-meter hurdles and in 1900 introduced the 400-meter hurdles. When the sport was first introduced, hurdling was completed by simply jumping over the hurdles. American Alvin Kraenslein, however, changed this and introduced a new striding technique for overcoming the hurdles in 1900. This technique incorporated straightening the front leg while tucking the back leg underneath the body.After winning both the 110- and 200-meter hurdle events, Kraenzlein’s technique became the standard for hurdling and still is practiced today. After its introduction, hurdling was mainly recognized as an event for men only. In 1926, this changed with the introduction of the Olympic 80-meter hurdle events for women. With the success of women such as Babe Didrikson exceeding, the participation and recognition of women in hurdling increased. Furthermore, as of 2011, women compete in the same hurdling events as men, including the 400-meter hurdles.In hurdling events, there are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The most common sprint hurdles is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. As mentioned, the standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women. There are also other distances that are run indoors which are usually 60 meters or less for both men and women. In sum, there are different specific techniques for each hurdle race. While the high hurdles races are sprints, they are also technical events. The ultimate goal for all hurdlers is do as little hurdling, and as much as running, as possible.This means participants must sprint, clear the hurdles, then proceed sprinting as quickly as possible. The key is to preserve momentum while clearing al l ten hurdles, maintaining one’s center of gravity as close to standard sprinting position as possible. As with the other sprint races, high hurdles participants being in starting blocks. However, unlike a straight spring, sprint hurdlers most transfer into an upright position rather quickly. Sprint hurdlers retain their speed leading up to each hurdle, but they also shorten the last step before their lead leg rises to clear the hurdle.This provokes the plant foot under the hips and allows the hurdler to shift their upper body weight forward. It is also vital to remember appropriate arm technique. The arm on the opposite side of the lead leg pushes forward and literally directs the runner toward the hurdle. As the lead leg’s knee drives to the hurdle, the lower leg extends forward until the foot approaches the hurdle’s height. As the body leans forward, the lead knee continues slight bent as the hurdler proceeds forward. As soon as the lead leg’s heel cle ars the hurdle, it is important immediately bring that foot down.Than the contestant must pull his or her trail leg over the hurdle quickly and prepare to resume sprinting. Senior-level hurdlers usually take three strides between hurdles but it can vary. In sum, it is important to never slow down and to utilize the arms, which will help the hurdler to maintain good balance. Both men and women have set astonishing records in completing the event of hurdling. The 110-meter hurdles for men, 12. 8 seconds is the fastest that has ever been ran and Aries Merritt from the USA holds that record. However, one other significant hurdler is Liu Xiang who was the first person to run under 12. seconds. Also, Allen Johnson from USA is the only four-time world champion. The fastest time ran for the women’s 100-meter hurdles is 12. 21 by Yordanka Donkova in 1988. Two other successful athletes that are the only 100 meters hurdlers to have become both Olympic Champion and World Champion are Sal ly Pearson from Austria and Ludmila Narozhilenko-Engquist from Sweden. As the Olympic Games continue, team USA remains to dominate the men’s 110-meter hurdles however, for the women’s 100-meter hurdles, athletes from Bulgaria and Germany dominate the event.The 400 meters hurdles is also an Olympic event in track and field. Runners stay in their lanes the entire way after starting out of the blocks and must clear ten hurdles that are evenly spaced around the track. The 400 meters hurdle race requires speed, endurance, and hurdling technique along with distinctive awareness and particular concentration throughout the race. The current men's and women's world record holders are Kevin Young with 46. 78 seconds and Yuliya Pechonkina with 52. 34 seconds. There are common physical characteristics and traits among hurdlers.Many hurdlers are considered strong and have a good amount of muscle. This is important in having a good, solid landing as well as having an aggressive star t. Also good flexibility and coordination (i. e. hip mobility) is vital. During the hurdling process one of your legs does extend to the side in which this trait comes to play. Furthermore, a hurdler must run the 100 meters well since the ultimate objective of hurdling is to sprint the event as much as possible. Finally having a tall stature can be an advantage due to having shorter strides and achieving greater horizontal distance over the hurdle.All in all, a successful hurdler contains most or all of these physical characteristics. Hurdling can now been seen at almost all levels, beginning with middle school student track and field teams, and continuing through high school and college to the Olympics. It is important to understand that hurdling involves persistent training and with that strong work ethic. As Kevin Young said, â€Å"The key thing in the hurdles is that it’s a development event. You might not do a damn thing one year, and then things just click. You really can’t discount athletes who may not stand out immediately.It may take two or three years for an athlete to develop. † References Hurdling. (2012). In Encyclop? dia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/277252/hurdling Rosenbaum, Mike. (2010). Sprint hurdles technique. Retrieved Dec. 18, 2012, from About. com database. Sherwod, Chris. (2011, Jul 14). History of hurdling. Retrieved Dec. 18, 2012, from Livestrong. com database. Slingo, Mark. (2008). History of hurdling. Retrieved Dec. 18, 2012, from ehow. com database. Sports Coach, BrianMac. (2012, Oct 17). Spring hurdles. Retrieved Dec. 18, 2012 from Brianmac. co database.

How would you direct act one scene one of A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Essay

Act one scene one of â€Å"A Midsummer Night’s Dream† opens by portraying to us the situation between the four lovers. Shakespeare creates the subtle impression that they are perplexed group of people with no balance between them. This provides both comedy and tension throughout the play. The basic complexities between the parties are laid out during this opening scene. A major influence to the direction of this scene is the audience’s perception of the different relationships. Shakespeare more than likely intended this scene to cause confusion as to who loves who, which in turn invites the audience formulate their own ideas. Naturally, the audience will want the four to form two couples instead of one confusing mess. To effectively portray this onstage, the four lovers should be proximate to the one that they love. This will cause a visual divide between the characters because not all of the lovers are happy with those who are in love with them. For example, if Demetrius went about following Hermia, she would continually walk away from him because she does not love him. To further emphasise the divide between the lovers that forms the basis of the first scene, I would direct Hermia’s father Egeus to be very angry with Lysander. He would show this through body language such as thrusting his fists into the air, and tone of voice, which would be loud and harsh. This creates a tense atmosphere onstage and furthermore reinforces the confusion and disapproving dispositions of the characters onstage. The opening section of the first scene gives us the impression that there is confusion between who loves who, and this is obvious to the audience. Shakespeare also tells us that Demetrius once loved Helena, and this hints to the audience that it may happen again – thus solving the ever tangled â€Å"love quartet†. To show this to the audience, when Demetrius talks to Helena, they would often come close as if the rapport between them is very strong, then back away. The general body language of the two would show that there is still a chance of a reunion. By the time that Helena tells Demetrius of Lysander and Hermia’s planned elopement, the audience are aware that if Demetrius did happen to fall in love with Helena again, all would be well. This makes the audience want them to get back together. In order to bring out the comedy in this scene, I would direct the lovers to be very serious: overly deep and preoccupied with their own feelings. The inflated characters taking the ludicrous situation seriously would be comical. The fact that they are selfish and are only concerned with their own feelings in this scene also adds to the comic value. They are funny, however, singularly – they don’t involve relationships with any other character in order to be comical. Act one scene one is used to present the four lovers to us and describe their situation. Each of the four is presented in a different way, and depending on their direction is how the audience would perceive them. Shakespeare presents Helena as completely hung up about her looks. In order to show this, I would have Helena with too much make up on, possibly carrying a mirror and checking herself all the time. Her stage presence would show her as very flamboyant and very melodramatic in her movement, over exaggerating gestures in order to show her self-assured ‘importance’. We know that she is anxious about her looks because of her nervous reaction when Lysander calls her â€Å"fair†. Later on in the scene, Hermia becomes self-conscious about her height. It is her reaction to this that is comical. Firstly, she takes the jests very seriously. I would direct her to show this through facial expression, relaying to the audience her devastation. Secondly, she reacts by mocking Helena – â€Å"Thou painted maypole†. These lines are intrinsically humorous, so using obvious angry facial expressions and perhaps grabbing each other as if to fight would bring out the comic value of the segment. Demetrius is willing to see Hermia executed to prevent her from marrying another man, and Lysander appears to think of himself as a hero in a love story: he is egotistical and pretentious. It is ironic that eh thinks of himself as heroic because he is in fact, the opposite. In order to show Lysander’s naivety and contrast to Demetrius, I would direct him to appear less intelligent than the others. My dramatic intentions in this scene would be to present to the audience the confusion between the four lovers onstage in act one scene one. The main method I would use to do this would be to ensure a contrast between those that do not love each other, which would be shown through negative body language and stage positioning that portrays they do not want to be near each other.

Anti-Aging Compare

Women's Anti-Aging Products The flirts ant-aging product for women that I researched was LOLA Total Effects 7-Len-l Anta-Slang Moisturizer Mature Skin Therapy. The product weights 1. 07 oz and can be purchased at C.V. for $18. 99. The target audience of this product is a woman who is currently undergoing menopause because, according to the package, during this process skin ages twice its normal rate. Hence its name, the product offers 7 services; line minimization, intense moisture, skin tone enhancement, exfoliation, pore refinement, free radical defense and subtle lifting. This product is part of Lay's Total Effects system.Of course for the best results they want you to purchase their other matching products such as their Total Effects cleanser. According to www. Wisped. Org, the Lola brand has an annual net sale of over 1 billion dollars and belong to parent company Proctor and Gamble. The second female anti-aging product that I researched was AVENUE Active Naturals Positively Rad iant Ann-wrinkle Cream which retails for $15. 99 for 1. 7 oz at C.V.. According to its packaging, this formula has been clinically proven to soften fine lines and wrinkles as well as Improve skin texture by using natural Ingredients such as soy.The target audience of his product could not be specifically located. Much Like Lola, Avenue recommends pairing this product with other Avenue active natural products. Avenue belongs to parent company Johnson and Johnson. The last anti-aging product for women that I researched is Burst's Bees Radiance Night Creme which retails for 14. 99 for jazz at C.V.. This product claims to use powerful ingredients found in nature, such as Royal Jelly, which will stimulate cellular renewal In skin and also diminish fine lines. Royal Jelly Is what worker bees feed their queen and consists of several essential amino acids and vitamins such as A, C and E.There was no target audience listed within the product description so I went to www. Burgesses. Com to in vestigate more. I did not find a specific audience there either but I did read testimonials for women who praised the product for not being harsh on their skin like other anti-aging products. The product follows the Beret's Bee tradition of not being tested on animals and is also 99. 02% natural. The Beret's Bees Incorporation was bought by the Color Company In 2007. Men's Anti-Slang Products The first men's anti;aging product that I researched was Men's Expert Vita Lift Anti- Wrinkle and Firming Moisturizer by L'Oreal.This product retails at $10. 49 for 1. 6 oz. This product targets male consumers who wish to combat tired skin and wrinkles associated with aging who are in their ass. The two key ingredients to the product are Pro-Retinal and Par-Lastly. According to the package, the products full results can be seen after 4 weeks of dally use. Much like some of the women's products I researched, this product Is part of a system that Includes other Items such as a face wash. This pro duct is made by L'Oreal Paris which is owned by the L'Oreal Group which is the largest cosmetics business in the world.The second men's anti-aging reduce that I researched was Naive for men Revitalization Lotion QUO which retails for $8. 99 at C.V.. Although is product is an anti-aging product, the word wrinkle never appears in It's packaging but replaced with words Like tired or stressed skin. The product utilizes anta-slang component commence QUIZ wince Is naturally Tuna In ten skin. No specific audience was outright targeted in the labeling. Naive is owned by Beresford, a company based out of Germany. The last men's anti-aging product for men that I researched was Nitrogen Men Triple Protect Face Lotion which retails for $7. 09 at drugstore. Mom. C.V. was limited to its men's anti-aging products so I had to look to other sources. This product had the most simplistic information packaging, even for a men's product. The product states it will â€Å"defend† skin by reducing t he appearance of lines and rough texture for healthier skin. The product does not specifically list how the product works. Nitrogen is owned by the Johnson and Johnson Company. Women's Anti-Aging Procedures Bottom injection is an anti-aging procedure which the doctor performs right in his/her office. Bottom works by paralyzing facial muscles which, if left to contract, would cause wrinkles.The age of the typical Bottom patient is a person between the ages of 35 to 60. The full results of the treatment can be seen in a week and lasts approximately three to five months. In the year 2007 there were more than 1. 6 million Bottom injections. The cost of the procedure can vary in price due to reasons such as severity of wrinkles , region and doctor but a patient can expect to pay anywhere from $125 to $400 for treatment. Although this procedure can be done on both men and women, I choose to select it for the women's category due to the simple fact that the website where I found my informa tion for the procedure, unrealistically. Mom, had an image of a woman on the Bottom page. The next procedure for women which I researched was the chemical peel. Chemical peels are used to remedy conditions such as fine lines, wrinkles and age spots on the hands, neck and face. The ideal peel candidate has fair skin and suffers from the previous conditions commonly associated with sun damage and aging. A chemical peel is not a solution for a person trying to rid themselves of deep wrinkles. The actual procedure involves putting a chemical, such as glycol or salicylic acid, to wound the skin in order for fresh younger' skin to grow in its place.The cost of a peel coincides with the severity of the desired results. The most popular is a ‘mild' one which costs approximately $150 – $300. â€Å"Deep† chemical peels can cost as much as $6000. According to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, in 2003 facial peels generated a gross of $578,118,755 Just in th e US. Radiometry is the last procedure for women which I researched. Radiometry, or the facilitate as it is more commonly known, is a procedure used to surgically remove wrinkles minored for the patient to look years younger.The average facilitate patient is between 40-50 years old but the reoccurred can be performed on a patient as old as 70. There are a variety of facilitate procedures but the most common is appropriately called the traditional facilitate. During the procedure the surgeon makes an incision along the hairline by the ear. The process can involve redistributing fat and removing excess skin. The trademark of the traditional facilitate is the tightening of the facial skin by pulling it back behind the ears. The average facilitate will set a patient back approximately $7000 with the majority of that money going to the surgeon for his/her fee.Men's Anti-Aging Procedures. Hair transplantation is a procedure for men in which hair follicles from the back and side of the hea d, which are resistant to balding, are removed and relocated to a tangling spot. I en Ideal conflate Tort anal transplantation Is a man won NAS tangling hair. The procedure itself involves a series of grafts. The session can be a onetime event or require a series of visits. The number of grafts required ranger from an average 1500-4000 with a rate of approximately $5 each. Thus the total cost of the procedure can run anywhere from $6000-14000, depending on the severity of baldness and the rate of the doctor.Men can expect to go back to work with a few days after the procedure. Women are not the only sex that can benefit from a facilitate. Men go under the knife for this procedure hoping for the same results. While a face free of wrinkles can be obtained I did find a very interesting and humorous piece of information on the male facilitate. One of the consequences of the male face lift is that during the morning ritual of shaving, one might have to shave areas they didn't before. Ski n with hair follicles is pulled behind the ears. Simply put, you can grow a beard behind your ears if you don't shave.In Dry. George Leftovers' Manhattan office, a facilitate will set back the patient $9000-$12500 and they can expect to be back at work within 1-2 weeks. According to an article about men and plastic surgery on WebMD. Com, the most popular cosmetic procedure for men is boilerplate's, better known as eyelid surgery. The procedure corrects sagging, puffiness and excess skin around the eyes which are commonly caused by aging. The WebMD article also states that businessmen are most likely to undergo the operation to increase their confidence and to keep up with younger male competitors. In Dry.George Leftovers' Manhattan office, an eyelid procedure will set the patient back anywhere between $3500-$7000 dollars and they can expect to be back at work in approximately one week. Anti-Aging Products outside the US market in the Western World The first anti-aging product that I reached which had to be absent from the US market was Grainier Lift Anti-Wrinkle Firming Night Cream. The product can be bought in Canada and has the suggested retail price of 14,99$. According to the Canadian Grainier website this product will help improves skins elasticity due to natural extracts such as cherry and lubberly.I stumbled across this product after going to the Grainier website, clicking on the Canada site and taking an online quiz posing as Barbara, a 45 year old smoker who lives in the country. The quiz matched me with the product so I am going to assume that the target consumer would be in her ass. The only Grainier skin care line Nutritionists is available in the US. Grainier is a division of the L'Oreal Group. The second anti-aging product that I reached which had to be absent from the US market was also a Grainier Lift product. I investigated the Grainier Ultraist Reinforced LiftingProgram by accessing Granger's I-J website. As mentioned before, the only Grainie r skincare product available in the US is Nutritionists. The Grainier Ultraist Reinforced Lifting program has two parts. The first part of the program involves applying a peeling solution to the face with cotton wool for five minutes. The website states that you are not to rinse the product. The next part of the program is to apply an anti- wrinkle cream with an SSP of 15. The website also gives the consumer a warning that although the product is designed to leave the skin feeling firm it does not actually rim or lift the skin.As mentioned before Grainier is a division of L'Oreal. The last anti-aging product that I discovered outside the US market was another Grainier product . Grainier Re-De TTY Night cream retails at SSL /. Y at Australian online drugstore pharmacy. Com. AU. The only other valuable information on the website is that the product contains ml. According to Granger's Australian website the product is geared towards mature skin with deep wrinkles. The most interesting claim is that this product will help plump up thin skin. Again, Grainier is a division of L'Oreal.Anti-aging products not available to the US market found in Asia This part of the research was definitely the most straining. In the beginning of this project I was trying to process too much information and now I find myself trying to process not enough. At the Chinese website for Grainier I discovered one solitary line for anti- aging called Aqua Defense. I cannot read Chinese characters but it would appear that this product helps erase and prevent age spots. Next I went to the Japanese L'Oreal Paris website and discovered an anti-aging product called Revivalist White.I an read Japanese as well as I can read Chinese so I put the product through a search engine and found the product for sale on eBay in Malaysia. This product is exclusive to Asia and has two functions, to whiten the skin and to increase firmness. The last product that I researched was also a L'Oreal brand called UP Perf ect. Once again due to the language barrier and lack of information posted on the web in English I cannot go into great detail about this product but I can say that it's a top selling product in Taiwan due to the large â€Å"#1† next to the product on the weapon and that it has an SSP of 50!