Tsar Nicholas II essays

Tsar Nicholas II essays The Tsar of Russia was a position that required leadership skills, good decision-making ability and an aptitude for hard work. Although Nicholas II possessed some skills that would be advantages to this position overall he was not suitable to be the Tsar of Russia. Nicholas II ascended the throne on 11th of October 1894, after the death of his father Alexander III he was the last of the Romanov Tsars a dynasty that reigned for over 300 years before it came to a violent end with the 1917 revolution. Nicholas certainly was charming and fluent in many languages. However he lacked intelligence, good decision making skills and was mentally weak and his eventual overthrow was the inevitable result of all these factors. Nicholas did have some skills that would have been useful to rule Russia. He was charismatic and he was fluent in English, French and German. He was also very religious. Knowing many languages would have been advantageous as it will be of assistance in meeting foreign Heads of State and diplomats. We know that he had knowledge of other languages by  ¡Ã‚ °Although Nicholas ¡Ã‚ ¯s English, French and German were excellent ¡Ã‚ ¡ (SOURCE 11B) Religion was important to the future if the Russian throne. Nicholas II was a very religious man. Nicholas was a very charming and very charismatic. Not many people could bear a grudge against him. This is very helpful as a Tsar as you need to interact with many people and talk with many people. Nicholas did have a determination  ¡Ã‚ °I shall preserver the principle of autocracy just as firmly ¡ as my late unforgettable father preserved it ¡ (SOURCE H) Nicholas was heavily influenced by Tsarina. This was a hindrance to be a Tsar. This also lead to being influenced by Rasputin because of Alexandra. Nichoas did not listen to the people that were capable of making Russia a better country. He listened to Alexandra who knew nothing of how to run Russia. Alexandra was very ...

SAT High School Codes and Test Center Codes

SAT High School Codes and Test Center Codes SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips When you register for your SAT, you have to submit codes for your high school and test center, the location where you are going to take your SAT. The codes make it easier for the College Board to keep track of the high school and test center of everyone who takes the SAT. You want to make sure you submit the right codes, since making a mistake can result in your having to take the SAT at a random high school that's far away from where you live or sending your scores to the wrong college. In this article, I will let you know how to look up SAT high school and test center codes and advise you how to use them properly. How To Enter Codes During Online Registration High School Codes It's very easy to submit your high school code during the online registration process. All you have to do is begin typing the name of your high school and your high school should appear in a dropdown menu. Just click on the name of your school and your high school code will be automatically entered. If the name of your school doesn't appear, you can search for your school by its zip code. Then, the name of your school will be automatically entered. If you click "change your school," you can search for your high school by its code, name, city, state, or zip code. Just select your school from the search results and your high school code will be entered. Test Center Codes Near the end of the online registration process, you can select your test center location. You can search for test centers in your area, and then you'll be given a list of options. Just select where you want to take the test, and the test center code will be entered. How To Look Up SAT Codes You can alsosearch for high school and test center codesbefore, during, or after the online registration process. High School Codes To find your high school code, you can search by country, city, state, and zip code. After you enter the search criteria and click search, on the left, you'll be given the school name, and on the right, you'll be given the corresponding high school code. Test Centers To find your test center code, you can search by your test date, country, state, and city. When you search for test center codes, you'll be given the test center name, address, and code. Special Situations Homeschooled If you're homeschooled, your high school code is 970000. If Your High School Code Is Not Listed If you go to high school in the US or in a US territory and your school code is not listed, enter 000003. If You Go to High School Outside of the US If you go to high school in a country outside of the US, enter 000004. Advice for Ensuring Your Codes Are Correct If you select your high school and test center while registering,make sure the codes on your admission ticket are correct. You can double-check the codes by looking them up on the SAT website. If you do manually enter your codes during registration, make sure you've entered the right codes and that the codes you've entered correspond with your high school and test center. What's Next? For anyone studying for the SAT, I highly recommend that you check out the ultimate SAT study guide. You'll learn extremely important information like how to beat procrastination in your SAT prep and how to get a perfect score. If you want more information about SAT logistics, read our articles about SAT admission tickets and SAT fees and registration. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Relying on Consumer Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Relying on Consumer Behavior - Essay Example Penny and Kahle (1996) points out that consumers, when interviewed, would state what they think they want but would behave in a different manner in 'real life'. This is especially true with the application of 'operant conditioning'. The term 'operant conditioning' as applied in marketing refers to the methods used by marketers to influence consumers to purchase or consume a product and make it look rewarding to the consumer. Coupons, repeated advertisements, free samples and other promotional gimmicks can and do influence consumer preference. Marketers can also employ different kind of appeals to endeavor a product to a consumer. Appeals include fear appeals, comparative appeals, emotional appeals, value expressive and utilitarian appeals all of which perform to make the customer want the product or service offered. The point is that there are many factors which can change what the consumer would want. Another risk in relying on what the consumers say they want is that it can change over time and the time span can be radical or sporadic. For example, Greenwald (2003) conducted a study on the behavioral shift of UK consumers belonging to the 16-24 age bracket and found that some preference or attitudes change as fast as 3 days or as long as 5 years. Relying on what c

Achieving Effective Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Achieving Effective Communication - Essay Example I have a 53% score for judging, which translates to a high preference for judging to perceiving. I prefer careful planning activities to the belief of improving on a situation or going by the feelings that are current. The urge for adventure is an outstanding factor evident from my profile. I prefer finding a solution to problems through new and innovative approaches to applying familiar means. When making considerations in any situation, I deliberate on the possibilities of the sequence of events rather than on apparent circumstances. I prefer to explore a variety of options, through which the course of events may assume to following the normality in the development of events. In making judgment, I am interested in the details leading to the realization of ideas, contrary to basing them on mere generalization of thoughts. I give room for the avoidance of strict observance of set regulations to come up with independent and rational results. In taking actions, as a response to occurre nces, I speculate about a number of options that can bring the best outcome, instead of acting instantly. I put trust in reason and independence of thought as compared to actions taken based on feelings. I admit no ambiguity when acting on situations and any step geared towards success should be unequivocal, in my opinion and beliefs. I undertake clearly defined plans, with explicit instructions, well formulated for the best possible outcome. My profile can be helpful in amicable conflict management at the workplace. The belief in the exploration of a number of options to find the best possible solution is a massive boost to nurturing conflict management skills. My profile also allows me to take instructions with utmost intensity and devotion towards them. Tolerance to a number of personality traits is a key factor that my profile allows me to integrate. This enables me to have dedicated interest and cooperation in team works, at the work place. Perfected negotiation skills, given t he high tolerance to diversity of personality traits, are a boost towards desirable relations with colleagues at the work place. My preference for clearly defined plans to undertake activities helps in improving the quality of outcomes at the workplace. I, therefore, would prefer working with high potential and trained personnel to colleagues who tend to be unprincipled at executing their roles. Intolerance to ambiguity and vagueness in the execution of duty at the work place is a compliment to desirable supervisory traits. I, therefore, can effectively undertake supervisory roles at the work place. Innovativeness to finding solutions to problems, as opposed to normal solutions, makes an impressive and enormous contribution towards having a desirable peer-to-peer relationship at the work place. I am able to conduct an employee assessment and personality improvement at the workplace, given my deep instinct in making rational, informed and sane judgments. In the overall sense, my prof ile enables me to have an enviable behavior at the work place given the close relations with colleagues and senior personnel. A complete contrast to my profile would be the introverted sensing feeling perceiving. Contrary to my profile, such a person is quick to make decisions based on premises that are not well thought-out. These premises lead to irrational conclusions that cannot serve the purpose for their formulation to the fullness of satisfaction.

The East African Slave Trade Routes Essay Example for Free

The East African Slave Trade Routes Essay Slavery is a systematic exploitation of labor in human. It involved trading of human or capturing of human as a source of free or cheap labor aimed at working in military, in plantations, mines and as domestic servants. Slave trade was mainly in Africa. Africans were traded to other continents to work in large scale enterprises, mines, in the fleets and in the drainage of marshes. Slaves were treated like non humans and were seen as property. Therefore they didn’t enjoy equal rights like their masters. In East Africa, slave trade was dominated by Arab and Africa traders. It was mainly in the coastal cities of East Africa such as Mombasa, Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam. Captured or purchased African men were taken to the Middle East where they were enslaved. They faced brutal treatment along the way and in their place of work. They were overworked, abused sexually and insulted physically. They were exported annually into Mecca and Medina via the Indian Ocean giving the trade the name Indian Ocean Slave Trade. The Portuguese were also involved . Generally, it took the slaves a long time before reaching to their destination which was mainly the Arab countries, India and Middle East. The ships were too slow and overloaded thus could not move fast enough. The journey was thousand of miles between the coast of East Africa and Southern Arabia the Persian Gulf. They were traded along with gold, ivory, perfumes and exotic woods. African tribes’ men and women along the coastal line were brutally captured in their habitats. The prisoners of war were not lucky too as they were sold off by there own chiefs in exchange for money. Pawning was common in this trade and the slaves were used as such. It was traumatizing for the slaves moment as it usually involved physical abuse. They were beaten especially if they resisted capture. Their families could mourn as they knew that their captured members would never return. This separation by itself was traumatizing. The selection was inhuman. They were undressed publicly to check for any disability in front of there wives and children. The healthy and strong ones were picked living back the weak, sick and the old. They were chained and were forced to carry heavy merchandise such as the tusks of elephants on there way to the cells and dungeons where they awaited their sale. The cells were overcrowded. Men, women and children were kept in tiny cells with small windows. Some did not survive this far and died of suffocation and body weakness. There were no toilets and the place was filthy. They were whipped in front of their buyers as a show to how strong they were so that they could cost higher . For the purchased, immediately after they were bought they became the property of their masters. They were transported in overcrowded ship. They were chained together and packed into the cargo hold below dock. They were denied the freedom to move and were only allowed up on the dock sometimes in good weathers. The women and children enjoyed limited movement freedom. The food they ate was rotten if not bad and the water was foul. There were typically two meals a day. Their diet depended on what was the cheapest in the market at the particular time. The ship crews sometimes whipped the slaves for no reason at all. They were generally brutal. Sexual abuse was common especially among the female and child slaves. Severe punishment like death was common especially if there was disobedience. Their bodies would be thrown into the sea and sometimes they were thrown alive and left to die. All this time of sexual and physical abuse, starvation and sickness, some slave became traumatized and committed suicide by leaping overboard while others fell in state of shock. As a result of overcrowding, the condition in the ship was filth and diseases were common. They were the major cause of death. There were literally no toilets and the only available wooden buckets were meant to serve all the slaves on board. Dangerous diseases like small pox, dysentery, measles, malaria and scurvy plagued these ships. They affected even the ship crews. There were no drugs and much of the infected slaves were thrown into the sea to avoid transmission to the healthy. In cases of interception by war ships in search of illegal slave smugglers, the captain would throw the slaves in the ocean aimed at destroying the evidence. This was to avoid being poisoned or hanged if found guilty . After they reached to their destination, they were marketed where they now were possessed by new masters. They were assigned responsibilities but brutality still continued. The women worked as domestic servants and junior house wives while the men worked in the fields. The whip was the major impetus to work in the fields. It was the major fuel to make them work more. They were allowed little time to rest. They were merely viewed as a unit of production in the fields and mines rather than contributors. It was characterized by strong racism which dominated even there share in the society. African slaves were viewed as less human and were treated like property. Killing with impunity was common especially in cases of disobedience and sickness. They were given less attention on their humanitarian’s rights. The master or the slave owner had the powers to discipline to the point of death of all the members of the households. These included the children, kinsmen, housewives. Most of them were castrated to avoid reproduction. They were never taken back to their mother land. Therefore, as time went by they died and reduced in numbers. They had no right to own property whatsoever. Though some became leaders of the larger groups in the field, they were denied rights and would never be equal to their owners . In general, the slave trade was characterized by inhuman and brutal treatment of the slaves. The purchasing, transportation and deportation had very minimal humanitarian standards. Many continued to suffer the loss of their loved one who would never return back and who died on the hand of other human beings. Afterwards, there was abolishment of this trade though much of the African salves didn’t survive. The lucky ones went to extinction as reproduction was not possible as many males had been castrated. This trade was succeeded by legitimate trade which involved export of raw materials rather than labor. In recent years, slavery has been a world crisis with some evolutions like the American evolution putting strict measures on it but even in the modern world there still remains some traces of slave trade especially for the women and children. References Clarence-Smith, G. W. (1989) Slavery and abolition.The Economics of the Indian Ocean Slave Trade in the Nineteenth Century: Routledge, Patterson, O. (1982) a Comparative Study Slavery and Social Death: Harvard University Press. Watkins, R. R. (2001) Slavery: Bondage throughout History. HMCo Childrens Books, Collins, R. O and Burns, M. J. (2007)A History of Sub-Saharan Africa: Cambridge University Press. Total travel (2007) helping my friends teach my children about the word. Retrieved from http://www. tototravels. com/2006/10/chapter_20_zanz. html on Wednesday, October 08, 2008

A Farewell To Arms Essay -- essays research papers

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway is based largely on Hemingway's own personal experiences. The main character of the book, Frederic Henry experiences many of the same situations that Hemingway experienced. Some of these experiences are exactly the same, while some are less similar, and some events have a completely different outcome. A Farewell to Arms is the book of Frederic Henry, an American driving an ambulance for the Italian Army during World War I. The book takes us through Frederic's experiences in war and his love affair with Catherine Barkley, an American nurse in Italy. The book starts in the northern mountains of Italy at the beginning of World War I. Rinaldi, Frederic's roommate, takes him to visit a nurse he has taken a liking to. Catherine Barkley, the nurse Rinaldi speaks of, is instantly attracted to Frederic and likewise. At the front, Frederic is wounded in the legs and taken to an aid station and then to an army hospital. He is then transferred to an American hospital in Milan where he meets up with Catherine again. Their love flourishes. They spend their nights together in Frederic's hospital bed and their days going to restaurants, horse races and taking carriage rides. Frederic returns to the war after his recovery. The war is going badly in Italy. The German troops forced a full-scale retreat. Soon after Frederic's return, he deserts the war in a daring escape. Frederic leaves and meets a pregnant Catherine in Stresa. The two go over to Switzerland where they spend an peaceful time waiting for the birth of their baby. Catherine has a long and difficult labor. Their baby is delivered dead. Catherine dies soon after from "one hemorrhage after another." After Catherine dies, Frederic leaves and walks back to his hotel. A Farewell to Arms is a story of love and pain and of loyalty and desertion set in the tragic time of war. There are many similarities in the experiences of Ernest Hemingway and his character Frederic Henry in A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway and Henry were both involved in World War I, in a medical capacity, but neither of them were regular army personnel. Like Hemingway, Henry was shot in his right knee during a battle. Both men were Americans but were ambulan... ...ed, social responsibility, and social concern." Henry, like Hemingway, leads a private life as a detached, isolated individual. He socializes with the officers, talks with the priest and visits the officer's brothel, but maintains only superficial relationships. The only relationship that means anything to him is Catherine, which is Hemingway's Agnes, both of which are isolated relationships. Johnson says about Hemingway, "He will solve the problem of dealing with the world by taking refuge in individualism and isolated personal relationships and sensations" (Gellens 112-113). Happiness comes for Hemingway and Henry only when they are in these relationships, away from the pressures of society and their lives. Ernest Hemingway once gave some advice to his fellow writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. If something in life hurts you, you should use it in your writing. In writing a Farewell to Arms, Hemingway followed his own advice. In many ways, Frederic Henry was a psychological parallel to Hemingway. The painful experiences of his own life, which were consciously and unconsciously placed in this novel, helped make it a major literary achievement.

My Ambition Is To Become a Collector

MY AMBITION IN  LIFE Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one-step of success to another forming new ambitions and seeking them gratified. – Samuel Johnson In the life of mankind one has his own dreams and wishes. The dreams transform in to vibrant thoughts concerning about his career and future. No one can exactly predict what role he has to play in the society as the World is a play stage and all people are just performers in that center-stage. Ambition doesn’t need to be made of sterner stuff. It is an exaggeration of your dream and thoughts of how you want to be in your life. My ambition is to become an IAS officer. Though I know that the magnitude of civil services exam is tough but still I feel it is a challenge to relish upon. IAS – Indian Administrative Service sounds and preludes a sense of pride in the minds of the selected candidates. To lead a district/bunch of villages is not a simple joke and every time you need to be on your toes, manage crisis and you need to be a decision maker as well as an efficient leader. The very wish of me becoming an IAS officer is infused by the social evils that prevail in the society. The sufferings faced by poor and the destitute ignite the spirit in one’s self and instigate the proceedings. Every one should at least have access to basic amenities like food, shelter, clothing etc. Nothing can be changed in a day’s time, but it is possible only by the cumulative efforts of all people. If India is to become a super-power, she needs to get out of the webs of poverty, unemployment, social inequality and communal riots. So why IAS I don’t want to myself lie between the cobwebs of matrimony and job. Indeed I want to contribute something for the nation for her progress and development. India is in urgent need of youths who are determined for the sake of the nation. IAS officer to some extent can spur a change in the lives of people under his control. The task doesn’t end here and one needs to devote his soul to the nation building politics. The infusion of young blood in politics will surely have a great impact in the development of our nation. Ambition affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege than the raising of the next generation. India is one of the most corrupt countries and this evil pegs her at the developing nations list. My ambition constitutes the dream of living and dying in a   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Developed India – 2020†. The positions in the IAS service vary from the powerful Cabinet Secretary to the District Collector. My ambition doesn’t and shouldn’t aim and hitch my vision for the highest cadre. Instead I feel fortunate and proud to be an IAS officer to serve the needy and the deprived in the modern â€Å"Information Era† based society. Education for all, abolition of castes, creed and religion, Prevention of social exploitation, abolition of social evils, weeding out corruption, improving infrastructure and basic facilities and these things stand for prior action. It is definitely a challenge for a young man to lead in such circumstances. Life is all about taking up challenges and at the end of the day/outset it is all about how well we fared at that moment/instant. My ambition is the vision of developed India -2020 dreamt by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and to transform his dreams into reality. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the whole world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. Since then midnights have passed, but we are still asleep. Now the time has come to redeem our pledge. A country with glorious history and uncertain future. The certainty depends on the young Turks†¦Dream of becoming a super-power will remain a dream if we fail to wake up from slumber. An ambitious dream of a Developed India be envisioned by our dreamzz†¦

Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 8

When the Jetta turned into the parking lot of a7-Eleven, James smiled. There was a nice isolatedarea behind the store, and it was getting dark. He drove his own car around back, then got out to watch the store entrance. When Phil came outwith a bag, he sprang on him from behind. Phil yelled and fought, dropping the bag. It didn'tmatter. The sun had gone down and James's powerwas at full strength. He dragged Phil to the back of the store and put him facing the wall beside a Dumpster. The classicpolice frisking position. â€Å"I'm going to let go now,† he said. â€Å"Don't try torun away. That would be a mistake.† Phil went tense and motionless at the sound of hisvoice. â€Å"I don'twantto run away. I want to smash your face in, Rasmussen.† â€Å"Go ahead and try.† James was going to add,Makemy night, but he reconsidered. He let go of Phil, who turned around and regarded him with utter loathing. â€Å"What's the matter? Run out of girls to jump?† hesaid, breathing hard. James gritted his teeth. Trading insults wasn't going to do any good, but he could already tell it was going to be hard to keep his temper. Phil had that effect on him. â€Å"I didn't bring you out here to fight.I brought you to ask you something. Do you care about Poppy?† Phil said, â€Å"I'll take stupid questions for five hundred, Alex,† and loosened his shoulder as if gettingready for a punch. â€Å"Because if you do, you'll get her to talk to me.You were the one who convinced her not to see me,and now you've got to convince her that shehastosee me.† Phil looked around the parking lot, as if calling for somebody to witness this insanity. James spoke slowly and dearly, enunciating eachword. â€Å"There is something I can do to help her.† â€Å"Because you're Don Juan, right? You're gonna heal her with your love.† The words were flippant,but Phil's voice was shaky with sheer hatred. Not just hatred for James, but for a universe that would givePoppy cancer. â€Å"No. You've got it completely wrong. Look, youthink I was making out with her, or trifling with her affections or whatever. That's not what was going onat all. I let you think that because I was tired ofgetting the third degree from you-and because Ididn't want you to know what we weredoing.† â€Å"Sure, sure,† Phil said in a voice filled with equal measures of sarcasm and contempt. â€Å"So whatwereyou doing? Drugs?† James had learned something from his first encounter with Poppy in the hospital. Show and tellshould be done in that order. This time he didn't sayanything; he just grabbed Phil by the hair and jerked his head back. There was only a single light behind the store, butit was enough togive Phil a good view of the baredfangs looming over him. And it was more thanenough for James, with his night vision, to see Phillip's green eyesdilate as he stared. Phillip yelled, then went limp. Not with fear, James knew. He wasn't a coward.With the shock of disbelief turning to belief. Phillip swore. â€Å"You'rea †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Right.† James let him go. Phil almost lost his balance. He grabbed at theDumpster for support. â€Å"I don't believe it.† â€Å"Yes, you do,† James said. He hadn't retracted hisfangs, and he knew that hiseyes were shining silver.Philhadto believe it with James standing right infront of him. Phil apparently had the same idea. He was staringat James as if he wanted to look away, but couldn't.The color had drained out of his face, and he keptswallowing as if he were going to be sick. â€Å"God,† he said finally. â€Å"I knew there was something wrong with you. Weird wrong. I could neverfigure out why you gave me the creeps. So this is it.† I disgust him, James realized. It's not just hatred anymore. He thinks I'm less than human. It didn't augur well for the rest of James's plan. â€Å"Now do you understand how I can help Poppy?† Phil shook his head slowly. He was leaning againstthe wall, one hand still on the Dumpster. James felt impatience rise in his chest. â€Å"Poppy hasa disease. Vampires don't get diseases. Do you needa road map?† Phillip's expression said he did. â€Å"If,†James said through his teeth, â€Å"I exchangeenough blood with Poppy to turn her into a vampire,she won't have cancer anymore. Every cell in herbody will change and she'll end up a perfect specimen: flawless, disease-free. She'll have powers thathumans don't even dream of. And, incidentally,she'll be immortal.† There was a long, long silence as James watchedthis sink in with Phillip. Phil's thoughts were toojumbled and kaleidoscopic for James to make anything of them, but Phil's eyes got wider and his facemore ashen. At last Phil said, â€Å"You can't do that to her.† It was thewayhe said it. Not as if he were protesting an idea because it was too radical, too new.Not the knee-jerk overreaction that Poppy had had. He said it with absolute conviction and utmost horror. As if James were threatening to steal Poppy'ssoul. â€Å"It's the only way to save herlife,†James said. Phil shook his head slowly again, eyes huge andtrancelike. â€Å"No. No. She wouldn't want it. Not atthat cost.† â€Å"What cost?† James was more than impatientnow, he was defensive and exasperated. If he'd realized that this was going to turn into a philosophical debate, he would have picked somewhere less public.As it was, he had to keep all his senses on the alertfor possible intruders. Phil let go of the Dumpster and stood on his owntwo feet. There was fear mixed with the horror in his eyes, but he faced James squarely. â€Å"It's just-there are some things that humansthink are more important than just staying alive,† hesaid. â€Å"You'll find that out.† I don't believe this, James thought. He sounds likea junior space captain talking to the alien invadersin a B movie.You won'tfind Earth peoplequitethe easymark you imagine. Aloud, he said, â€Å"Are you nuts? Look, Phil, I wasborn in San Francisco. I'm not some bug-eyed monster from Alpha Centauri. I eat Wheaties forbreakfast.† â€Å"And what do you eat for a midnight snack?† Phil asked, his green eyes somber and almost childlike. â€Å"Or are the fangs just for decoration?† Walked right into that one, James's brain told him.He looked away. â€Å"Okay. Touch?. There are somedifferences. I never said I was a human. But I'm notsome kind of-â€Å" â€Å"If you're not a monster, then I don't knowwhat is.† Don't kill him, James counseled himself frantically.You have toconvincehim. â€Å"Phil, we're not like what you see at the movies. We're not all-powerful. We can't dematerialize through walls or travel through time, and we don't need to kill to feed. We're not evil, at least not all of us. We're not damned.† â€Å"You're unnatural,† Phillip said softly, and James could feel that he meant it from his heart. â€Å"You'rewrong. Youshouldn't exist.† â€Å"Because we're higher up on the food chain thanyou?† â€Å"Because people weren't meant to †¦feed †¦ on other people.† James didn't say that his people didn't think ofPhillip's people as people. He said, â€Å"We only do whatwe have to do to survive. And Poppy's already agreed.† Phillip froze. â€Å"No. She wouldn't want to becomelike you.† â€Å"She wants to stay a!ive—or at least, she did, before she got mad at me. Now she's just irrationalbecause she hasn't got enough of my blood in her tofinish changing her. Thanks to you.† He paused, then said deliberately, â€Å"Have you ever seen a three-weekold corpse, Phil? Because that'swhat she's going to become if I don't get to her.† Phil's face twisted. He whirled around and slammed a fist into the metal side of the Dumpster.†Don't you think I know that?I've been living withthat since Monday night.† James stood still, heart pounding. Feeling the anguish Phil was giving off and the pain of Phil's injured hand. It was several seconds before he was ableto saycalmly,†And you think that's better than whatI can give her?† â€Å"It's lousy. It stinks. But, yes, it's better than turning into something that hunts people. Thatusespeo ple. That's why all the girlfriends, isn't it?† Once again, James couldn't answer right away.Phil's problem, he was realizing, was that Phil wasfar too smart for his own good. He thought too much.†Yeah. That's why all the girlfriends,† he said at last,tiredly. Trying not to see this from Phil's point of view. â€Å"Just tell me one thing, Rasmussen.†Phillip straightened and looked him dead in the eye. â€Å"Didyou†-he stopped and swallowed-â€Å"feed on Poppybefore she got sick?† â€Å"No.† Phil let out his breath. â€Å"That's good. Because if you had,I'd have killed you.† James believed him. He was much stronger than Phil, much faster, and he'd never been afraid of ahuman before. But just at that moment he had nodoubt that Phil would somehow have found a way to do it. â€Å"Look, there's something you don't understand,†he said. â€Å"Poppy did want this, and it's something we've already started. She's only just beginning tochange; if she dies now, she won't become a vampire.But she might not die all thee way, either. She couldend up a walking corpse. A zombie, you know?Mindless. Body rotting, but immortal.† Phil's mouth quivered with revulsion. â€Å"You're justsaying that to scare me.† James looked away. â€Å"I've seen it happen.† â€Å"I don't believe you.† â€Å"I've seen it firsthand!†Dimly James realized hewas yelling and that he'd grabbed Phil by the shirtfront. He was out of control-and he didn't care.†I've seen it happen to somebodyIcared about, allright?† And then, because Phil was still shaking his head:†I was only four years old and I had a nanny. Allthe rich kids in San Francisco have nannies. Shewas human.† â€Å"Let go,† Phil muttered, pulling at James's wrist.He was breathing hard-he didn't want to hear this. â€Å"I was crazy about her. She gave me everythingmy mom didn't. Love, attention-she was never too busy. I called her Miss Emma.† â€Å"Let go.† â€Å"But my parents thought I was too attached to her.So they took me on a little vacation-and they didn'tlet me feed. Not for three days. By the time they brought me back, I was starving. Then they sent MissEmma up to put me to bed.† Phil had stopped fighting now. He stood with hishead bowed and turned to one side so he wouldn'thave to look at James. James threw his words at theaverted face. â€Å"I was only four. I couldn't stop myself. And the thing is, I wanted to. If you'd asked me who I'd rather have die, me or Miss Emma, I'd've said me. But when you're starving, you lose control. So I fed on her, and all the time I was crying and trying to stop. And when I finally could stop, I knew it wastoo late.† There was a pause. James suddenly realized that his fingers were locked in anagonizingcramp. He letgo of Phil's shirt slowly. Phil said nothing. â€Å"She was just lying there on the floor. I thought,wait, if I give her my own blood she'll be a vampire, and everything will be okay.† He wasn't yelling anymore. He wasn't even really speaking to Phillip, butstaring out into the dark parking lot. â€Å"So I cut myselfand let the blood run into her mouth. She swallowedsome of it before my parents came up and stoppedme. But not enough.† A longer pause-and James remembered why hewas telling the story. He looked at Phillip. â€Å"She died that night but not all the way. The twodifferent kinds of blood were fighting inside her. Soby morning she was walking around again-but shewasn't Miss Emma anymore. She drooled and her skin was gray and her eyes were flat like a corpse's.And when she started to-rot-my dad took her out to Inverness and buried her. He killed her first.† Bilerose in James's throat and he added almost in a whisper, â€Å"I hope he killed her first.† Phil slowly turned around to look at him. For thefirst time that evening, there was something otherthan horror and fear in his face. Something like pity, James thought. James took a deep breath. After thirteen years of silence he'd finally told the storyto Phillip North,of all people. But it was no good wondering aboutthe absurdity. He had a point to drive home. â€Å"So take my advice. If you don't convince Poppyto see me, make sure they don't do an autopsy onher. You don't want her walking around without herinternal organs. And have a wooden stake ready forthe time when you can't stand to look at heranymore.† The pity was gone from Phil's eyes. His mouth wasa hard, trembling line. â€Å"We won't let her turn into†¦ some kind of halfalive abomination,† he said. â€Å"Or a vampire, either. I'm sorry about what happened to your Miss Emma,but it doesn't change anything.† â€Å"Poppyshould be the one to decide-â€Å" But Phillip had reached his limit, and now he was simply shaking his head. â€Å"Just keep away from my sister,† he said. â€Å"That's all I want. If you do, I'll leaveyou alone. And if you don't-â€Å" â€Å"What?† â€Å"I'm going to tell everybody in El Camino what you are. I'm going to call the police and the mayorand I'm going to stand in the middle of the streetand yell it.† James felt his hands go icy cold. What Phil didn't realize was that he'd just made it James's duty to killhim. It wasn't just that any human who stumbled onNight World secrets had to die, but that one activelythreatening to tellabout the Night World had to die immediately, no questions asked, no mercy given. Suddenly James was so tired he couldn't seestraight. â€Å"Get out of here, Phil,† he said in a voice drainedof emotion and vitality both. â€Å"Now. And if you reallywant to protect Poppy, you won't tell anybody anything. Because they'll trace it back and find out thatPoppy knows the secrets, too. And then they'll killher-after bringing her in for questioning. It won'tbe fun.† â€Å"Who're ‘they'? Your parents?† â€Å"The Night People. We're all around you, Phil.Anybody you know could be one-including themayor. So keep your mouth shut.† Phillip looked at him through narrowed eyes. Thenhe turned and walked to the front of the store. James couldn't remember when he'd felt so empty. Everything he'd done had turned out wrong. Poppywas now in more kinds of danger than he couldcount. And Phillip North thought he was unnatural andevil. What Phil didn't know was that most of thetime James thought the same thing. Phillip got halfway home before he rememberedthat he'd dropped the bag with Poppy's cranberryjuice and wild cherry Popsicles. Poppy had hardly eaten in the last two days, and when she did get hungry, it was for something weird. No-somethingred,he realized as he paid for a second time at the 7-Eleven. He felt a sick lurch in his stomach. Everything she wanted lately was redand at least semiliquid. Did Poppy realize that herself? He studied her when he went into her bedroom togive her a Popsicle. Poppy spent most of the time inbed now. And she was so pale and still.. Her green eyes werethe only alive thing about her. They dominated herface, glittering with an almost savage awareness. Cliff and Phil's mother were talking about gettinground-the-clock nurses to be with her. â€Å"Don't like the Popsicle?† Phil asked, dragging achair to sit beside her bed. Poppy was eyeing the thing with distaste. She tooka tiny lick and grimaced. Phillip watched her. Another lick. Then she put the Popsicle into anempty plastic cup on her nightstand. â€Å"I don't know †¦ I just don't feel hungry,† she said, leaning backagainst the pillows. â€Å"Sorry you had to go out fornothing.† â€Å"No problem.† God, she looks sick, Phil thought.†Is there anything else I can do for you?† Eyes shut, Poppy shook her head. A very smallmotion. â€Å"You're a good brother,† she said distantly. She used to be so alive, Phil thought. Dad calledher Kilowatt or Eveready. She used to radiateenergy. Without in the least meaning to, he found himself saying, â€Å"I saw James Rasmussen today.† Poppy stiffened. Her hands on the bedspreadformed not fists, but claws. â€Å"He'd better keep awayfrom here!† There was something subtly wrong about her reaction. Something not-Poppy. Poppy could get fierce,sure, but Phil had never heard that animal tone inher voice before. A picture flashed through Phil's mind. A creaturefromNight of the Living Dead,walking even though its intestines were spilling out. A living corpse likeJames's Miss Emma. Was that really what would happen if Poppy diedright now? Was she that much changed already? â€Å"I'll scratch his eyes out if he comes around here,†Poppy said, her fingers working on the spread like acat kneading. â€Å"Poppy-he told me the truth about what hereally is.† Strangely, Poppy had no reaction. â€Å"He's scum,†she said. â€Å"He's a reptile.† Something about her voice made Phillip's fleshcreep. â€Å"And I told him you would never want to become something like that.† â€Å"I wouldn't,† Poppy said shortly. â€Å"Not if it meanthanging around withhimfor eternity. I don't want to see him ever again.† Phil stared at her for a long moment. Then heleaned back and shut his eyes, one thumb jammedagainst his temple where the ache was worst. Not just subtly wrong. He didn't want to believe it, but Poppy wasstrange.Irrational. And now thathe thought about it, she'd been getting stranger everyhour since James had been thrown out. So maybe she was in some eerie in-between state. Not a human and not a vampire. And not able tothink dearly. Just as James had said. Poppy should be the one to decide. There was something he had to ask her. â€Å"Poppy?† He waited until she looked at him, her green eyes large and unblinking. â€Å"When we talked,James said that you'd agreed to let him-change you.Before you got mad at him. Is that right?† Poppy's eyebrows lifted. â€Å"I'm mad at him,† sheconfirmed, as if this was the only part of the questionshe'd processed. â€Å"And you know why I like you?Because you've always hated him. Now we bothhate him.† Phil thought for a moment, then spoke carefully. â€Å"Okay. But when youweren'tmad at him, back then,did you want to turn into-what he is?† Suddenly a gleam of rationality showed in Poppy's eyes. â€Å"I just didn't want to die, â€Å"she said. â€Å"I was so scared-and I wanted to live. If the doctors could doanything for me, I'd try that. But they can't.† Shewas sitting up now, staring into space as if she saw something terrible there. â€Å"You don't know what itfeels like to know you're going to die,† shewhispered. Waves of chills washed over Phillip. No, he didn'tknow that, but he did know-he could suddenly picture vividly-what it was going to be like forhimafter Poppy died. How empty the world was going tobe without her. For a long time they both sat in silence. Then Poppy fell back onto the pillows again. Phillipcould see pastel blue smudges under her eyes, as ifthe conversation had exhausted her. â€Å"I don'tthinkitmatters,† she said in a faint but frighteningly cheerfulvoice. â€Å"I'm not going to die anyway. Doctors don't know everything.† So that's how she's dealing with it,Phillipthought.Total denial. He had all the information he needed, though. He had a clear view of the situation. And he knew whathe had to do now. â€Å"I'll leave so you can get some rest,† he said to Poppy, and patted her hand. It felt very cool andfragile, full of tiny bones like a bird's wing. â€Å"Seeyou later.† He slipped out of the house without telling anyone where he was going. Once on the road, he drovevery fast. It only took ten minutes to reach the apart ment building. He'd never been to James's apartment before. James answered the door with a cold, â€Å"What areyou doing here?† â€Å"Can I come in? I've got something to say.† James stood back expressionlessly to let him in. The â€Å"place was roomy and bare. There was a singlechairbeside a very cluttered table, an equally clut tered desk, and a square unbeautiful couch. Cardboard boxes full of books and CDs were stacked inthe corners. A door led to a spartan bedroom. â€Å"What do you want?† â€Å"First of all, I have to explain something. I knowyou can't help being what you are-but I can't helphow I feel about it, either. You can't change, andneither can I. I need you to understand that from the beginning.† James crossed his arms over his chest, wary anddefiant. â€Å"You can skip the lecture.† â€Å"I just need to make sure you understand, okay?†Ã¢â‚¬ What do youwant,Phil?† Phil swallowed. It took two or three tries before he could get the words out past the blockage of hispride. â€Å"I want you to help my sister.†

Pochteca - Elite Long Distance Traders of Mesoamerica

Pochteca - Elite Long Distance Traders of Mesoamerica The Pochteca (pronounced pohsh-TAY-kah) were long-distance, professional Aztec merchants and traders who provided the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan and other major Aztec city-states with luxury and exotic items from faraway lands. The pochteca also worked as information agents for the Aztec empire, keeping tabs on their far-flung client states and uneasy neighbors such as Tlaxcallan. Long Distance Trade in Mesoamerica The Aztec pochteca were not the only merchants in Mesoamerica: there were many regional-based commercial actors who distributed fish, maize, chile and cotton; their activities provided the backbone of the economic society in the regions. The pochteca were a special guild of these merchants, based in the valley of Mexico, who traded in exotic goods throughout Mesoamerica and acted as a social and economic connection between the various regions. They interacted with the regional merchants, who in turn acted as middlemen for the pochtecas wider networks. Pochteca is sometimes used as a generic word for all Mesoamerican long-distance traders; but the word is a Nahua (Aztec) word, and we know much more about the Aztec pochteca because we have written recordsthe codexessupporting their history. Long distance trade began in Mesoamerica at least as long ago as the Formative period (2500-900 BC), in societies such as the Olmec; and the classic period Maya. Long distance traders in Maya communities were called ppolom; compared to the Aztec pochteca, the ppolom were loosely confederated and did not join guilds. Pochteca Social Organization The pochteca held a special status in Aztec society. They were not nobles, but their position was higher than any other non-noble person. They were organized into guilds and lived in their own neighborhoods in the capital cities. The guilds were restricted, highly controlled and hereditary. They kept their trade secrets about routes, exotic goods sources and connections across the region restricted to the guild membership. Only a few cities in the Aztec empire could claim to have a leader of a pochteca guild in residence. The pochteca had special ceremonies, laws and their own god, Yacatecuhtli (pronounced ya-ka-tay-coo-tli), who was the patron of commerce. Even if their position provided them with wealth and prestige, the Pochteca were not allowed to show it in public, in order not to offend the nobles. However, they could invest their wealth in the ceremonies for their patron god, organizing rich feasts and carrying out sophisticated rituals. Evidence of the effects of long distance trade by pochteca is found at Paquime (Casas Grandes) in Northern Mexico, where trade in exotic birds such as scarlet macaws  and quetzal birds, marine shell and polychrome pottery was based, and extended into societies of New Mexico and Arizona. Scholars such as Jacob van Etten have suggested the pochteca traders are responsible for the diversity of precolumbian maize, transporting seeds throughout the region. The Pochteca and the Aztec Empire The pochteca had the freedom to travel all over the empire even in lands not subjected to the Mexica emperor. That put them in a terrific position to work as spies or informants for the Aztec state. This also meant that political elites deeply mistrusted the pochteca, who wielded their economic prowess to establish and guard their trade routes and secrets. In order to obtain precious and exotic items such as jaguar pelts, jade, quetzal plumes, cocoa, and metals, pochteca had special permission to travel across foreign lands and were often escorted by armies along with servants and carriers. They were also trained as warriors since they often suffered attacks from the population who saw in the Pochteca another aspect of the yoke of the Aztec empire. Sources This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to the Aztec Civilization and the Dictionary of Archaeology. Berdan FF. 1980. Aztec Merchants and Markets: Local-Level Economic Activity in a Non-Industrial Empire. Mexicon 2(3):37-41. Drennan RD. 1984. Long-distance movement of goods in the Mesoamerican formative and classic. American Antiquity 49(1):27-43. Grimstead DN, Pailes MC, Dungan KA, Dettman DL, Tagà ¼eà ±a NM, and Clark AE. 2013. Identifying the origin of southwestern shell: a geochemical application to Mogollon Rim archaeomolluscs. American Antiquity 78(4):640-661. Malville NJ. 2001. Long distance transport of bulk goods in the pre-hispanic American southwest. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 20(2):230-443. Oka R, and Kusimba CM. 2008. The Archaeology of Trading Systems, Part 1: Towards a New Trade Synthesis. Journal of Archaeological Research 16(4):339-395. Somerville AD, Nelson BA, and Knudson KJ. 2010. Isotopic investigation of pre-Hispanic macaw breeding in Northwest Mexico. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 29(1):125-135. van Etten J. 2006. Molding maize: the shaping of a crop diversity landscape in the western highlands of Guatemala. Journal of Historical Geography 32(4):689-711. Whalen M. 2013. Wealth, Status, Ritual, and Marine Shell at Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico. American Antiquity 78(4):624-639. Whalen ME, and Minnis PE. 2003. The Local and the Distant in the Origin of Casas Grandes, Chichuahua, Mexico. American Antiquity 68(2):314-332. White NM, and Weinstein RA. 2008. The Mexican Connection and the Far West of the U.S. Southeast. American Antiquity 73(2):227-278. Updated by K. Kris Hirst

Tibetan Silver

Tibetan Silver Tibetan Silver is the name given to the metal used in some jewelry available online, such as on eBay or via Amazon. These items typically ship from China. Have you ever wondered how much silver is in Tibetan Silver or about the chemical composition of Tibetan Silver? Would you be surprised to learn that this metal can be dangerous? Tibetan Silver is a silver-colored alloy consisting of copper with tin or nickel. Some items described as Tibetan Silver are cast iron that has been plated with the silver-colored metal. Most Tibetan Silver is copper with tin rather than copper with nickel because nickel causes skin reactions in many people. Health Hazards Ironically, the metal often contains other elements that are much more toxic than nickel. It is inadvisable for pregnant women or children to wear items made with Tibetan Silver because some of the items contain high levels of dangerous metals, including lead and arsenic. eBay issued a buyer warning so that bidders would be aware of the metallurgical testing conducted on Tibetan Silver items and the possible toxicity of these items. In six of seven items that were analyzed using x-ray fluorescence, the primary metals in the Tibetan Silver were actually nickel, copper, and zinc. One item contained 1.3% arsenic and extremely high lead content of 54%. A separate sampling of items revealed comparable compositions, with trace amounts of chromium, aluminum, tin, gold, and lead, although in that study, all of the samples contained acceptable levels of lead. Note that not all items contain toxic levels of heavy metals. The warning for pregnant women and children is intended to prevent accidental poisonings. Other Names Sometimes comparable metallurgical compositions have been called Nepalese silver, white metal, pewter, lead-free pewter, base metal, or simply tin alloy. In the past, there was an alloy called Tibetan Silver that actually did contain the element silver. Some vintage Tibetan silver is sterling silver, which is 92.5% silver. The remaining percent could be any combination of other metals, although usually, it is copper or tin.

SWOT Analysis of High-End Consignment Clothing Store Essay

SWOT Analysis of High-End Consignment Clothing Store - Essay Example Consignment stores are managed in a way that both the consignee and the consignor are in the queue to make some money. As per the rule book a consignor has the right to scrap the partnership if it feels the business is moving at a tortoise pace and can take its goods back from the consignee as the deal is for a limited period of time between the two (Andre, 2004, p. 218-219). When consignment stores become part of any discussion then USA is surely to be highlighted as the country which has some popular high-end consignment stores which over the years have been a prime destination for many abstemious shoppers. Some of these big names are Her Friend’s Closet, Frugal Boutique, The closet, Clothes Circuit: Dallas Upscale Retail, etc. These stores offer brand with style at affordable price and are a big hit amongst consumers (Downtownbend.org, 2012). Consignment stores are popular hangout for a large segment of people and these stores are no less attractive than the branded stores down the street and have a friendly ambience for the customers who love to shop in these stores. To analyze such stores what better than to take a popular store as an example. Clothes Circuit: Dallas Upscale Retail is one such high-end consignment store for women and who are into this business for nearly 30 years. It would be interesting to know why this store is popular amongst women. What makes the store a strong competitor? What are its strengths and weaknesses? To analyze these queries a SWOT analysis can be a handy tool and provide a gist of Clothes Circuits business plan (Clothes Circuit, 2012) SWOT Analysis of Clothes Circuit: a) Strength: The biggest strength of the store lies in its low price for branded clothing range though used but in great shape to even confuse customers for first-hand product. b) Weakness: Weakness can be many but the major being that it doesn’t create hype through large section of the population which may affect the business. c) Opportunity: Th e weakness of the store can be turned into favorable opportunity by targeting a particular segment of customers through various promotional activities to create a better communication plan using promotional mix to its best use. d) Threat: The biggest threat for the store is limited deal between the consignee & consignor. Secondly if the clothes are not in proper shape then selling them becomes a problem. Also proper fitting becomes a problem with limited availability. But threat can be converted into opportunity if the store can provide a tailor for cloth fitting as per customers body shape & size and make sure that clothes available are in good condition (Dingell, 2009). Apart from SWOT analysis there are other factors also which plays a significant role in analyzing the credibility of Clothes Circuit store. The elements of analysis to get a picture perfect view of the business strategies implemented by the store can be divided into internal & external factors. Internal factors: i) Strategy: A proper strategy to attain higher market share in consignment clothing store