Fahrenheit 451 Study Questions Essay

What is the significance of Montag seeing his reflection in Clarisse’s eyes? Montag sees himself in Clarisse’s eyes, indicating that there is a reflection of him in her. Although he does not really know what the similarities are between him and her, he is aware that there is a connection between them. What final question does Clarisse ask Montag on the night of their first encounter? Why is the question important to the plot? On the night of their first encounter Clarisse asks Montag the question â€Å"Are you happy?† Montag replies by saying yes. This question is important to the plot because it makes Montag question himself. Even though he said yes, he can feel that he is missing something in his life. Although he might not know what that is he is missing, he starts to question himself and what his life really is. He then attempts to figure out what is missing in his life and to fill the void. When Montag enters his home, he stares at the blank wall, but in memory sees Clarisse. What extended simile describes how he sees her? â€Å"She had a very thin face like the dial if a small clock seen faintly in a dark room in the middle of a night when you waken up to see the time and see the clock telling you the hour the minute, the second with a white silence and a glowing, all certainty and knowing what it had to tell of the night passing swiftly on toward further darknesses, but moving also toward a new sun.† This is the simile in which the book describes how Montag sees Clarisse. The simile is comparing Clarisse to a clock, and how she is all-knowing with a mixed personality. At this point of realization, what happens to the smile on Montag’s face, and what is his answer to Clarisse’s question? Once Montag enters the bedroom the smile on Montag’s face goes away. He sees his wife lying down on the bed motionless and he starts to feel sad. At first Montag answered Clarisse’s question by saying yes but after seeing his wife lying down motionless, he begins to question his happiness. Describe Clarisse’s personality Clarisse is very curious and also very nice. She questions and wonders about many things. In the story, she is one of the few people who went outside the box and tries to do new things like playing with and smelling leaves. What does Clarisse say people talk about? Find some examples of representative conversations throughout the book. Clarisse says that no one engages in an actual conversation. She says that people only talk about televisions, cars and clothing but not a meaningful conversation. What is significance of the refrain repeated by the woman whose house was burned? What did it mean? What is its effect on Montag? The significance of the refrain repeated by the woman whose house was burned is â€Å"Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.† She is willing to lose her life to stand up for what she believed in, which was for the freedom to read. Montag begins to question why books were so important to her and why she sacrificed her life. Montag starts to wonder if books had important or useful information in them. What does Montag think about the old woman and all the books he has destroyed? He felt guilty and depressed when he thinks about the old woman who burned with her books. He starts to understand that books are not easy to write, and that behind every book is a man who spends their lives dedicated into putting their ideas into books. He then realizes that he destroys something that someone spends their whole lives making in a couple of minutes. Summarize Beatty’s explanation of how the need for fireman arose? Captain Beatty explains to Montag that firemen used to put out fires instead of setting them. Since all houses and buildings are fireproof there is no need for firemen anymore. He then said that intellectual and talented people made others uncomfortable and how books always caused conflict. Then they hired men to burn all these books since they caused conflict and those men were known as firemen. Part 2: The Sieve and the Sand What is the meaning of the title of Part 2? The title â€Å"The Sieve and the Sand† refers to an incident during Montag’s childhood. When Montag was young, his cousin told him that if he filled the sieve with sand he would give Montag a dime. However when Montag tries to fill the sieve with sand, the sand just falls through the holes of the sieve no matter how hard he tries. Now history repeats itself. Montag tries to memorize parts of the Bible, specifically the Book of Ecclesiastes. However when he tries to memorize the Book of Ecclesiastes on the train, the jingle from the advertisement for Denham’s Dentrifice keeps playing. Therefore Montag cannot memorize the Book of Ecclesiastes no matter how hard he tries because the dentrifice commercial keeps distracting him. Montag cannot memorize the words in the books because he is not used to reading since books are banned in the novel. In other words his mind is like a sieve and the information or words from the Bible is the sand, and no matter how hard he tries his mind can never hold the words he is trying to memorize. What is the importance of the dentrifice commercial? In the novel, the dentrifice commercial distracts Montag from focusing on memorizing the Book of Ecclesiastes. It interferes with Montag’s effort to think. This is the authors way of saying that how humans can easily be distracted by something as simple as a 4jingle for a product. Why does Montag go to see Faber? Montag needed to go see Faber because he hid many books in his house and he needs someone to explain what the books mean to him. He remembers he had once met a person named Faber at the park. When they both started talking to each other Faber told Montag that he was an English professor before books were banned. Therefore Montag tried to find a way to contact and meet Faber to help him understand more about books. What does Faber tell Montag about books? Faber tells Montag that books are important and that a person should be free to decide whether they want to read books or not. He also said that people should not be limited to obtain useful and important information that comes from books. In other words Faber tells Montag that people should have the freedom to read books. What are the three things which Faber says are missing from society? The three things which Faber says are missing from society are the quality of information, the leisure to digest it, and the right to carry out actions based on what we learn from the interaction of the quality of information and the leisure to digest it. Describe the parlor women, their views, their conversational concerns? The parlor women were only concerned on what new television they were going to buy. Montag sees this and turns off the walls or television in the middle of their show. Then he asks one of the parlor women about the war. She replied by saying that her husband is being called up to help in the war. However she isn’t worried she says that even if he dies she would not be sad and that she would just find another husband. That’s what she and her husband agreed on. He then asks another question, this time about children. Montag finds out that one of them would not have children and the other does but does not even care for them. Mildred, Montag’s wife, starts talking about politics. The parlor women tell Montag and Mildred who they voted for in the recent election. They tell them that she voted for President Noble just because he was much better looking. Why does Montag read â€Å"Dover Beach† aloud to the ladies? â€Å"Dover Beach† is a poem about the instability of life. It speaks of loss of faith and trust. The poem is also symbolic of their society. It talks about how faith used to be full but is now â€Å"retreating, to the breath of the night wind† leaving only â€Å"naked shingles of the world† and how this life has â€Å"neither joy nor love nor light† anymore. It is a great representation on what human life used to be and how it has become. How do the women react? The women started crying after Montag read â€Å"Dover Beach†. Although they do not fully understand the meaning of the poem, they sense that it was a sad and depressing poem. The women are not used to this kind of emotion and do not know how to react. Therefore they start crying and left Montag’s house. Part 3: Burning Bright What is Mildred’s main concern as she runs out of the house? Mildred mumbles as she’s running out, â€Å"Poor family, poor family, oh everything gone, everything, everything gone now†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Family in this context means the television walls she was so attached to. When she said that everything is gone now, she means her TV family. The TV walls were Mildred’s main concern as she runs out of the house. What feelings does Montag have about the burning house? Montag has mixed feelings after being forced by Captain Beatty to burn his own house. In some ways he is happy. He is relieved that he burnt down all the television walls that his wife was so attached to, and he also enjoyed the feeling of burning something again. However he was sad that he burned all the books inside the house and he was not happy that his wife started to turn on him after he burned down all the walls of the house. While Montag was in flight from the scene of Beatty’s murder, what thought occurred to him about Beatty? After Montag kills Beatty, a thought occurred to Montag that Beatty might have wanted to die all along. When Montag used a flamethrower on Beatty, he showed no signs of defending himself as if he did not care if he died and might have possibly wanted to die all along. What is the explanation which Montag and Faber arrive at for how so very much could have happened within one week? After Montag kills Captain Beatty he rushes to Faber’s house. There he wonders to Faber on how he killed his old boss, burned his house, and lost his wife all within one week. Faber replies to Montag by saying that all of this was â€Å"coming for a long time†. Montag understands Faber and says that he used to think that things were wrong for a long time even though he continued with his everyday life. What are Montag’s impressions of the land across the river? Montag was in awe of the beauty of the land across the river. He loved the natural beauty of the countryside, how it seemed so much freer and more natural compared to the computerized world he lived in. When Montag complained about being unable to remember Mildred, what explanation did Granger give him? When Montag said that he was unable to remember his past wife Mildred, Granger tells him about a story of the loss of his grandfather and how when someone dies they must leave something to be remembered by. When Granger asked Montag what Mildred left him he replied with â€Å"nothingness†. What was Granger’s philosophy on life, taught to him by his grandfather, and handed on to Montag? Granger’s philosophy of life is live every second you can as though in just ten seconds you will fall to the ground and die. He also tells Montag to leave his house and enjoy what nature has to offer, and to live life to the fullest. Describe the effects of the war as Montag imagined them. Montag imagines total destruction. He imagines Faber on his bus heading out of town, but there was no use. Where ever Faber’s destination was Montag imagined that it would be meaningless. He also imagined Mildred, quietly watching her TV walls and how that the bombs would hit her. What is the promise at the end of the novel? At the end of the novel, it talks about how a new era is about to begin. The promise is about a better world in the future, a world with human rights and freedom. A world in which people can read if they choose to, and how people are allowed to think of new ideas. A world of creativity and freedom.

Bloodlines Chapter Twenty-Two

CLARENCE DIDN'T WANT to talk to us about what had happened. In fact, he adamantly denied anything was wrong, claiming he'd scratched his neck while shaving. â€Å"Mr. Donahue,† I said as gently as I could, â€Å"this was made by a surgical tool. And it didn't happen until Keith visited.† â€Å"No, no,† Clarence managed in a weak voice. â€Å"It has nothing to do with him.† Dorothy stuck her head in just then, carrying a glass of juice. We'd called for her shortly after my arrival tonight. For blood loss, the remedies were the same for Moroi and human alike: sugar and fluids. She offered the glass to him with a straw, her lined face filled with concern. I continued my pleas as he drank. â€Å"Tell us what your deal is,† I begged. â€Å"What's the arrangement? What's he giving you for your blood?† When Clarence remained silent, I tried another tactic. â€Å"People are being hurt. He's giving out your blood indiscriminately.† That got a reaction. â€Å"No,† said Clarence. â€Å"He's using my blood and saliva to heal people. To heal sick humans.† Saliva? I nearly groaned. Of course. The mysterious clear liquid. Now I knew what gave the celestial tattoos their addictive high. Gross. Adrian and I exchanged glances. Healing certainly was a use for vampire blood. The tattoo I wore was proof of that, and the Alchemists had worked long trying to duplicate some of the blood's properties for wider medicinal use. So far, there was no way to synthetically reproduce it, and using real blood simply wasn't practical. â€Å"He lied,† I replied. â€Å"He's selling it to rich teenagers to help them with sports. What did he promise you for it? A cut of the money?† Adrian glanced around the opulent room. â€Å"He doesn't need money. The only thing he needs is what the guardians wouldn't give him. Justice for Tamara, right?† Surprised, I turned back to Clarence and saw Adrian's words confirmed on the old Moroi's face. â€Å"He†¦ he's been investigating the vampire hunters for me,† he said slowly. â€Å"He says he's close. Close to finding them out.† I shook my head, wanting to kick myself for not having figured out sooner that Clarence was the blood source. It explained why Keith was always unexpectedly here – and why he got so upset when I showed up without warning. My â€Å"fraternizing with vampires† had had nothing to do with it. â€Å"Sir, I guarantee the only thing he's investigating is how to spend the money he's been making.† â€Å"No†¦ no†¦ he's going to help me find the hunters who killed Tamara†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I stood up. I couldn't stand to hear any more. â€Å"Get him some real food, and see what he'll eat,† I told Dorothy. â€Å"If he's only weak from blood loss, he just needs time.† I nodded for Adrian to follow me out. As we walked toward the living room, I remarked, â€Å"Well, there are good and bad sides to this. At least we can be confident Keith's got a fresh supply of blood for us to bust him with. I'm just sorry Clarence had to get hit so – â€Å" I froze as I entered the living room. I'd simply wanted to go there because it would be a familiar place to discuss our plans, one that was less creepy than Clarence's bedroom. Considering how my imagination often ran wild while I was in this old house, I'd found that few things came as a surprise. But never in my wildest dreams had I imagined the living room would be transformed into an art gallery. Easels and canvas were set up all around the room. Even the pool table was covered by a big roll of paper. The pictures varied wildly in their content. Some simply had splashes of color thrown on them. Some possessed astonishingly realistic depictions of objects and people. An assortment of watercolors and oil paints sat around amidst the art. For a moment, all thoughts of Clarence and Keith disappeared from my head. â€Å"What is this?† â€Å"Homework,† Adrian said. â€Å"Didn't you†¦ didn't you just start your classes? How could they have assigned this much?† He walked over to a canvas showing a swirling red line traced over a black cloud and lightly tested to see if the paint was dry. Studying it, I tried to decide if I really was seeing a cloud. There was almost something anthropomorphic about it. â€Å"Of course they didn't give us this much, Sage. But I had to make sure I nailed my first assignment. Takes a lot of tries before you hit perfection.† He paused to reconsider that. â€Å"Well, except for my parents. They got it on the first try.† I couldn't help a smile. After watching Adrian's moods oscillate so wildly in the last couple weeks, it was nice to see them on the upswing. â€Å"Well, this is kind of amazing,† I admitted. â€Å"What are they? I mean, I get that one.† I pointed to a painting of a woman's eye, brown and long-lashed, and then to another one of roses. â€Å"But the others are open to, um, slightly more creative interpretation.† â€Å"Are they?† asked Adrian, turning back to the smoky painting with the red streak. â€Å"I figured it was obvious. This one is Love. Don't you see it?† I shrugged. â€Å"Maybe I don't have an artistic enough mind.† â€Å"Maybe,† he agreed. â€Å"Once we bust your buddy Keith, we'll discuss my genius art all you want.† â€Å"Right,† I said, growing serious again. â€Å"We need to search his place for evidence. I figured the best way to do that is if I lure him out and you break in while he's gone. To get through the lock – â€Å" Adrian waved me off. â€Å"I can pick a lock. How do you think I got into my parents' liquor cabinet in middle school?† â€Å"Should've guessed,† I said dryly. â€Å"Make sure you look everywhere, not just in obvious places. He could have compartments hidden in the walls or in furniture. You want to find vials of blood or metallic liquid or even the tool that pierced Clarence.† â€Å"Got it.† We hashed out a few more details – including who he should call when he found something – and were about to leave when he asked, â€Å"Sage, why'd you pick me to be your partner in crime in this?† I thought about it. â€Å"Process of elimination, I guess. Jill's supposed to be kept out of trouble. Eddie'd be a good asset, but he needed to go back with her and Lee. Besides, I already knew you didn't have any moral qualms about breaking and entering.† â€Å"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me,† he declared with a grin. We headed out to Keith's after that. All the lights were on in the first floor of his building, dashing a last-minute hope I'd had that maybe I wouldn't have to lure him out. I would've actually liked to help with the search. I dropped Adrian off and then drove to a twenty-four-hour restaurant that was outside the opposite side of town. I figured it would be perfect for keeping Keith away from his home. The driving time alone would provide Adrian with extra searching time, though it meant Adrian had to wait outside for a while until Keith left. Once I finally arrived, I got a table, ordered coffee, and dialed Keith's number. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"Keith, it's me. I need to talk to you.† â€Å"So talk,† he said. He sounded smug and confident, no doubt happy at pulling off the last-minute tattoo sale. â€Å"Not on the phone. I need you to meet me.† â€Å"At Amberwood?† he asked in surprise. â€Å"Isn't it after hours?† It was indeed, but that was a problem for later. â€Å"I'm not at school. I'm at Margaret's Diner, that place out by the highway.† Long silence. Then: â€Å"Well, if you're already out past curfew, then just come here.† â€Å"No,† I said firmly. â€Å"You come to me.† â€Å"Why should I?† I hesitated only briefly before playing the card I knew would get him, the one thing that would make him drive out here and not raise suspicions about the tattoos. â€Å"It's about Carly.† â€Å"What about her?† he asked after a moment's pause. â€Å"You know exactly what.† After a second's pause, Keith relented and hung up. I noticed that I had a voice mail from earlier in the day that I hadn't heard come in. I called and listened. â€Å"Sydney, this is Wes Regan from Carlton College. Just wanted to go over a couple things with you. First, I'm afraid I have some bad news. It doesn't look like I'm going to be able to retroactively admit your brother from auditor status. I can enroll him next semester for sure if he stays in good standing, but the only way he can keep taking classes now is if he continues to do so as an auditor. He won't be able to get financial aid as a result, and in fact, you'll actually need to pay the auditing fee soon if he's going to stay in the classes. If he wants to drop altogether, we can do that too. Just call me and let me know what you'd like to do.† I stared at the phone in dismay when the message was over. There went our dreams of sliding Adrian into fully enrolled student status, not to mention his dreams of getting financial aid and moving out of Clarence's. The next semester probably started in January, so Adrian was facing four more months at Clarence's. Adrian would also be facing four more months of bus-riding and taking classes without college credit. But were the credits and financial aid really the most important things here? I thought back to how excited Adrian had been after only a couple classes, how he'd thrown himself into the art. His face had been radiant when he stood in his â€Å"gallery.† Jill's words also echoed through my mind, about how the art had given him something to channel his feelings into and made the bond easier for her to cope with. Those classes were good for both of them. How much was an auditing fee? I wasn't sure but knew it wasn't as much as tuition. It was also a onetime cost that I could probably slide into my expenses without raising the attention of the Alchemists. Adrian needed those classes, of that I was certain. If he knew financial aid wasn't an option this semester, there was a good chance he'd just drop them altogether. I couldn't allow that. He'd known there might be â€Å"a delay† while the financial aid came together. If I could keep him going to Carlton a little longer, then maybe he'd get invested enough in the art that he'd stay on, even when the truth came out. It was a sneaky thing to do, but it would benefit him – and Jill – in the end. I dialed back Wes Regan's office, knowing I'd get his voice mail. I left him a message saying that I'd drop off a check for the auditing fee and that Adrian would stay on until he could be enrolled next semester. I hung up, saying a silent prayer that it would take a while for Adrian to find out any of this. The waitress kept giving me the evil eye over just having coffee, so I finally ordered a piece of pie to go. She had just set the carton down on my table when an irritated Keith entered the restaurant. He stood in the doorway, looking around impatiently until he saw me. â€Å"Okay, what's going on?† he demanded, making a big show of sitting down. â€Å"What's so important that you felt the need to break school rules and drag me halfway across town?† For a moment, I froze up. Looking into Keith's eyes – real and artificial – triggered all the conflicting feelings I'd had about him this last year. Fear and anxiety over what I was trying to pull off warred with the deep hate I'd long carried. Baser instincts wanted me to make him suffer, to throw something at him. Like the pie. Or a chair. Or a baseball bat. â€Å"I – â€Å" Before I could say another word, my phone chimed. I looked down and read a text message from Adrian: GOT IT. CALL MADE. ONE HOUR. I slipped the phone into my purse and exhaled. It had taken Keith twenty minutes to get here, and during that time, Adrian had been dutifully searching the apartment. He'd apparently been successful. Now it was up to me to delay Keith until reinforcements showed up. One hour was actually a lot less time than I'd expected. I'd given Adrian Stanton's phone number, and she would've dispatched whatever Alchemists were closest. I'd figured that would mean Los Angeles, but it was hard to say with the scope of our jobs. If there were Alchemists on the east side of the city, they'd get here very quickly. It was also possible they could cut time by simply flying a private jet in. â€Å"What's that?† asked Keith irritably. â€Å"A text from one of your vampire friends?† â€Å"You can stop the act,† I said. â€Å"I know you don't really care about me ‘getting too close' to them.† I hadn't intended this to be the topic that distracted him, but I'd take it. â€Å"Of course I do. I worry about your soul.† â€Å"Is that why you called my dad?† I asked. â€Å"Is that the reason you wanted me out of Palm Springs?† â€Å"It's for your own good,† he said, putting on that holier-than-thou air. â€Å"Do you know how wrong it was that you even wanted this job in the first place? No Alchemist would. But you, you practically begged for it.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said, feeling my anger rise. â€Å"So Zoe wouldn't have to do it.† â€Å"Tell yourself that if you want. I know the truth. You like these creatures.† â€Å"Why does it have to be so cut-and-dried? In your view, I either have to hate them or be in league with them. There's a middle ground, you know. I can still be loyal to the Alchemists and on friendly terms with vampires and dhampirs.† Keith looked at me like I was ten years old. â€Å"Sydney, you're such an innocent. You don't understand the ways of the world like I do.† I knew all about his â€Å"ways of the world† and would've said as much if the waitress hadn't come by to take his drink order just then. When she was gone, Keith continued his spiel. â€Å"I mean, how do you even know you're feeling the way you do? Vampires can compel, you know. They use mind control. Spirit users like Adrian are really good at it. For all we know, he's been using his powers to endear himself to you.† I thought of all the times I'd wanted to shake some sense into Adrian. â€Å"He's not doing a very good job, then.† We bickered back and forth about this, and for once, I was glad of Keith's obstinacy and refusal to see reason. The longer he argued with me, the more time the Alchemists had to get to his apartment. If Stanton had told Adrian one hour, she probably meant it. Still, it was best to be safe. My breaking point came when Keith said, â€Å"You should be glad I'm looking out for you like this. This is about more than vampires, you know. I'm teaching you life lessons. You memorize books but don't understand people. You don't know how to connect to them. You're going to carry this same naive attitude with you into the real world, thinking everyone means well, and someone – some guy, probably – will just take advantage of you.† â€Å"Well,† I snapped, â€Å"you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?† Keith snorted. â€Å"I have no interest in you, rest easy.† â€Å"I'm not talking about me! I'm talking about Carly.† So. Here it was. The original purpose of our meeting. â€Å"What's she have to do with anything?† Keith kept his tone steady, but I saw it. The slightest flicker of anxiety in his eye. â€Å"I know what happened between you guys. I know what you did to her.† He became very interested in stirring ice around with his straw. â€Å"I didn't do anything to her. I have no idea what you're talking about.† â€Å"You know exactly what I'm talking about! She told me. She came to me afterward.† I leaned forward, feeling confident. â€Å"What do you think my dad would do if he found out? What would yours do?† Keith looked up sharply. â€Å"If you're so certain something terrible happened, then why doesn't your dad already know? Huh? Maybe because Carly knows there's nothing to tattle on. Anything we did, she wanted to, believe me.† â€Å"You are such a liar,† I hissed. â€Å"I know what you did. You raped her. And you will never suffer enough for it. You should've lost both of your eyes.† He stiffened at the reference to his eyes. â€Å"That's harsh. And has nothing to do with any of this. What the hell's happened to you, Sydney? How'd you turn into such a bitch? Maybe making you associate with vampires and dhampirs has caused more damage than we realized. First thing tomorrow, I'm going to call Stanton and ask that they pull you now. No waiting until the end of the week. You need to be away from this dark influence.† He shook his head and gave me a look both condescending and pitying. â€Å"No, you need to be re-educated, period. It should've happened a long time ago, as soon as they caught you busting out that murderer.† â€Å"Don't change the topic.† I spoke haughtily, though he'd again woken a sliver of fear in me. What if Adrian and I failed? What if the Alchemists listened to Keith and hauled me away? He'd never have to worry about me again in a re-education center. â€Å"This isn't about me. We were talking about Carly.† Keith rolled his eyes in annoyance. â€Å"I'm done talking about your slutty sister.† That was when my earlier impulse to throw something at him won out. Lucky for him, it was only my coffee and not a chair. Also lucky for him: the coffee had cooled considerably. There was still a lot of it left, and it managed to splash everywhere, drenching his unfortunate choice of a white shirt. He stared at me in astonishment, sputtering to get his words out. â€Å"You bitch!† he said, standing up. As he started moving toward the door, I realized that my temper might have just blown the plan. I hurried over and caught hold of his arm. â€Å"Wait, Keith. I-I'm sorry. Don't go.† He jerked his arm away and glared at me. â€Å"It's too late for you. You had your chance and blew it.† I grabbed him again. â€Å"No, no. Wait. There's still lots we have to talk about.† He opened his mouth with some snippy remark and then promptly shut it. He studied me for several seconds, his face growing serious. â€Å"Are you trying to keep me here? What's going on?† When I couldn't muster a response, he pulled away and stormed out the door. I quickly ran back to the table and tossed a twenty on it. I grabbed the pie and told the bewildered waitress to keep the change. The clock in my car told me I had twenty minutes until the Alchemists were supposed to show up at Keith's. That was also the time it would take to get back there. I drove right behind him, making no effort to hide my presence. It was no secret now that something was going on, something I'd lured him away from home for. I blessed every red light that stopped us, praying he wouldn't arrive too early. If he did, Adrian and I were going to have to delay him. It wouldn't be impossible, but it also wasn't something I wanted to do. We finally made it back. Keith pulled into his building's tiny lot, and I parked uncaringly in a fire zone out front. I was only steps behind him as he ran to the door, but he hardly seemed to notice. His attention was on the lit-up windows of his building and the dark silhouettes barely discernible beyond the heavy drapes. He burst in through the door, and I followed a moment later, nearly running into him as he came to a complete standstill. I didn't know the three suited men there with Adrian, but I knew they were Alchemists. They had that cold, polished feel that we all strove for, and their cheeks were emblazoned with gold lilies. One was going through Keith's kitchen cupboards. Another had a notepad and was talking to Adrian, who was leaning against the wall and smoking. He smiled when he saw me. The third Alchemist was kneeling on the floor in the living room near a small storage cupboard in the wall. A tacky painting of a shirtless woman's back lay nearby, which apparently had been used to hide the compartment. Its wooden door had clearly been forcibly opened, and various contents were strewn haphazardly around – with a few exceptions. The Alchemist was going to great pains to sort one pile of objects: metal tubes and needles used to drain blood, along with vials of blood and small packets of silvery powder. He looked up at our sudden entrance and fixed Keith with a cool smile. â€Å"Ah, so glad you're here, Mr. Darnell. We were hoping we could take you with us for some questioning.† Keith's face fell.

Fundamentals of Geography Essay

In geology, a rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of one or more minerals or mineraloids. For example, the common rock, granite, is a combination of the quartz, feldspar and biotite minerals. The Earth’s outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. Rocks have been used by mankind throughout history. From the Stone Age rocks have been used for tools. The minerals and metals we find in rocks have been essential to human civilization. [1] Three major groups of rocks are defined: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. The scientific study of rocks is called petrology, which is an essential component of geology. At a granular level, rocks are composed of grains of minerals, which, in turn, are homogeneous solids formed from a chemical compound that is arranged in an orderly manner. The aggregate minerals forming the rock are held together by chemical bonds. The types and abundance of minerals in a rock are determined by the manner in which the rock was formed. Many rocks contain silica (SiO2); a compound of silicon and oxygen that forms 74. 3% of the Earth’s crust. This material forms crystals with other compounds in the rock. The proportion of silica in rocks and minerals is a major factor in determining their name and properties. [2] Rocks are geologically classified according to characteristics such as mineral and chemical composition, permeability, the texture of the constituent particles, and particle size. These physical properties are the end result of the processes that formed the rocks. [3] Over the course of time, rocks can transform from one type into another, as described by the geological model called the rock cycle. These events produce three general classes of rock:igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. The three classes of rocks are subdivided into many groups. However, there are no hard and fast boundaries between allied rocks. By increase or decrease in the proportions of their constituent minerals they pass by every gradation into one another, the distinctive structures also of one kind of rock may often be traced gradually merging into those of another. Hence the definitions adopted in establishing rock nomenclature merely correspond to more or less arbitrary selected points in a continuously graduated series. 4] Igneous Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word igneus meaning of fire, from ignis meaning fire) forms through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. This magma can be derived from partial melts of pre-existing rocks in either a planet’s mantle or crust. Typically, the melting of rocks is caused by one or more of three processes: an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition. Igneous rocks are divided into two main categories: plutonic rock and volcanic. Plutonic or intrusive rocks result when magma cools and crystallizesslowly within the Earth’s crust. A common example of this type is granite. Volcanic or extrusive rocks result from magma reaching the surface either aslava or fragmental ejecta, forming minerals such as pumice or basalt. [3] The chemical abundance and the rate of cooling of magma typically forms a sequence known as Bowen’s reaction series, after the Canadian petrologist Norman L. Bowen. Most major igneous rocks are found along this scale. [2] About 64. 7% of the Earth’s crust by volume consists of igneous rocks; making it the most plentiful category. Of these, 66% are basalts and gabbros, 16% are granite, and 17% granodiorites and diorites. Only 0. 6% are syenites and 0. 3% peridotites and dunites. The oceanic crust is 99% basalt, which is an igneous rock of mafic composition. Granites and similar rocks, known as meta-granitoids, form much of the continental crust. [5] Over 700 types of igneous rocks have been described, most of them having formed beneath the surface of Earth’s crust. These have diverse properties, depending on their composition and how they were formed. Sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are formed by sedimentation of particles at or near the Earth’s surface and within bodies of water. This process causes clasticsediments or organic particles (detritus) to settle and accumulate, or for minerals to chemically precipitate (evaporite) from a solution. The particulate matter then undergoes compaction and cementation during diagenesis. Before being deposited, sediment was formed by weathering and erosion in a source area, and then transported to the place of deposition by water,wind, ice, mass movement or glaciers which are called agents of denudation. Mud rocks comprise 65% (mudstone, shale and siltstone); sandstones 20 to 25% and carbonate rocks 10 o 15% (limestone and dolostone). [3] About 7. 9% of the crust by volume is composed of sedimentary rocks, with 82% of those being shales, while the remainder consist of limestone (6%), sandstone and arkoses (12%). [5] Metamorphic Metamorphic rocks are formed by subjecting any rock type—sedimentary rock, igneous rock or another older metamorphic rock—to differenttemperature and pressure conditions than those in which the original rock was formed. This process is called metamorphism; meaning to â€Å"change in form†. The result is a profound change in physical properties and chemistry of the stone. The original rock, known as the protolith, transforms into other mineral types or else into other forms of the same minerals, such as by recrystallization. [3] The temperatures and pressures required for this process are always higher than those found at the Earth’s surface: temperatures greater than 150 to 200  °C and pressures of 1500 bars. [6] Metamorphic rocks compose 27. 4% of the crust by volume. [5] The three major classes of metamorphic rock are based upon the formation mechanism. An intrusion of magma that heats the surrounding rock causes contact metamorphism—a temperature-dominated transformation. Pressure metamorphism occurs when sediments are buried deep under the ground; pressure is dominant and temperature plays a smaller role. This is termed burial metamorphism, and it can result in rocks such as jade. Where both heat and pressure play a role, the mechanism is termed regional metamorphism. This is typically found in mountain-building regions. [2] Depending on the structure, metamorphic rocks are divided into two general categories. Those that possess a texture are referred to as foliated; the remainder are termed non-foliated. The name of the rock is then determined based on the types of minerals present. Schists are foliated rocks that are primarily composed of lamellar minerals such as micas. A gneiss has visible bands of differing lightness, with a common example being the granite gneiss. Other varieties of foliated rock include slates, phyllites, and mylonite. Familiar examples of non-foliated metamorphic rocks include marble,soapstone, and serpentine. This branch contains quartzite—a metamorphosed form of sandstone—and hornfels. [2] In geography maps are one of the most important tools researchers, cartographers, students and others can use to examine the entire Earth or a specific part of it. Simply defined maps are pictures of the Earth’s surface. They can be general reference and show landforms, political boundaries, water, the locations of cities, or in the case of thematic maps, show different but very specific topics such as the average rainfall distribution for an area or the distribution of a certain disease throughout a county. Today with the increased use of GIS, also known as Geographic Information Systems, thematic maps are growing in importance. There are however applications for different types of general reference maps when the different types are understood correctly. These maps do not just show a city’s location for example; instead the different map types can show a plethora of information about places around the world. The following is a list of each major map type used by geographers and a description of what they are and an example of each kind. †¢ Political Map: A political map does not show any topographic features. It instead focuses solely on the state and national boundaries of a place. They also include the locations of cities – both large and small, depending on the detail of the map. A common type of political map would be one showing the 50 U.  S. states and their borders along with the United States’ north and south international borders (map of the United States). †¢ Physical Map: A physical map is one that shows the physical landscape features of a place. They generally show things like mountains, rivers and lakes and water is always shown with blue. Mountains and elevation changes are usually shown with different colors and shades to show relief. Normally on physical maps green shows lower elevations while browns show high elevations. An example of a physical map is one showing the state of Hawaii (map of Hawaii). Low elevation coastal regions are shown in dark green, while the higher elevations transition from orange to dark brown. Rivers are shown in blue. †¢ Topographic Map: A topographic map is similar to a physical map in that it shows different physical landscape features. They are different however because they use contour lines instead of colors to show changes in the landscape. Contour lines on topographic maps are normally spaced at regular intervals to show elevation changes (e. g. each line represents a 100 foot (30 m) elevation change) and when lines are close together the terrain is steep. For example a topographic map showing the Big Island of Hawaii would have contour lines that are close together near the steep, high elevation mountains of Mauna Loa and Kilauea (map of the Big Island). By contrast, the low elevation, flat coastal areas show contour lines that are spread apart. †¢ Climate Map: A climate map shows information about the climate of an area. They can show things like the specific climatic zones of an area based on the temperature, the amount of snow an area receives or average number of cloudy days. These maps normally use colors to show different climatic areas. A climate map for Australia for example uses colors to show differences between the temperate area of Victoria and desert region in the center of the continent. †¢ Economic or Resource Map: An economic or resource map shows the specific type of economic activity or natural resources present in an area through the use of different symbols or colors depending on what is being shown on the map. For example an economic activity map for Brazil can use colors to show different agricultural products of given areas, letters for natural resources and symbols for different industries (image showing a map of Brazil). Road Map: A road map is one of the most widely used map types. These maps show major and minor highways and roads (depending on detail) as well as things like airports, city locations and points of interest like parks, campgrounds and monuments. Major highways on a road map are generally red and larger than other roads, while minor roads are a lighter color and a narrower line. A road map of San Francisco, California for example would show the major highways as a wide red line and other large roads as a lighter red with minor streets as gray (map of San Francisco). Thematic Map: A thematic map is a map that focuses on a particular theme or special topic and they are different from the six aforementioned general reference maps because they do not just show natural features like rivers, cities, political subdivisions, elevation and highways. If these items are on a thematic map, they are background information and are used as reference points to enhance the map’s theme. An example of a thematic map would be one showing the population change of Canada in specific locations from 1996 to 2001. The map shows the theme it is attempting to get across to its audience and uses a political map (e. g. one showing the provincial and territorial borders of Canada) to give it more of a reference. What Is the Difference Between Weather and Climate? It’s a sweltering midsummer day. â€Å"It must be global warming,† mutters someone. But is it the Earth’s changing climate that has made the day so warm? Or, is it just the weather that is so unbearable? Weather is the mix of events that happen each day in our atmosphere including temperature, rainfall and humidity. Weather is not the same everywhere. Perhaps it is hot, dry and sunny today where you live, but in other parts of the world it is cloudy, raining or even snowing. Everyday, weather events are recorded and predicted by meteorologists worldwide. Climate in your place on the globe controls the weather where you live. Climate is the average weather pattern in a place over many years. So, the climate of Antarctica is quite different than the climate of a tropical island. Hot summer days are quite typical of climates in many regions of the world, even without the effects of global warming. Climates are changing because our Earth is warming, according to the research of scientists. Does this contribute to a warm summer day? It may, however global climate change is actually much more complicated than that because a change in the temperature can cause changes in other weather elements such as clouds or precipitation. Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of air, and the means (together with the smaller ocean circulation) by whichthermal energy is distributed on the surface of the Earth. The large-scale structure of the atmospheric circulation varies from year to year, but the basic climatological structure remains fairly constant. Individual weather systems – mid-latitude depressions, or tropical convective cells – occur â€Å"randomly†, and it is accepted that weather cannot be predicted beyond a fairly short limit: perhaps a month in theory, or (currently) about ten days in practice (see Chaos theory and Butterfly effect). Nonetheless, as the climate is the average of these systems and patterns – where and when they tend to occur again and again – it is stable over longer periods of time. As a rule, the â€Å"cells† of Earth’s atmosphere shift polewards in warmer climates (e. g. nterglacials compared to glacials), but remain largely constant even due to continental drift; they are, fundamentally, a property of the Earth’s size, rotation rate, heating and atmospheric depth, all of which change little. Tectonic uplift can significantly alter major elements of it, however – for example the jet stream -, and plate tectonics shift ocean currents. In t he extremely hot climates of the Mesozoic, indications of a third desert belt at the Equator has been found; it was perhaps caused by convection. But even then, the overall latitudinal pattern of Earth’s climate was not much different from the one today. The wind belts girdling the planet are organised into three cells: the Hadley cell, the Ferrel cell, and the Polar cell. Contrary to the impression given in the simplified diagram, the vast bulk of the vertical motion occurs in the Hadley cell; the explanations of the other two cells are complex. Note that there is one discrete Hadley cell that may split, shift and merge in a complicated process over time[citation needed]. Low and high pressures on earth’s surface are balanced by opposite relative pressures in the upper troposphere.

Find out about Marks ans spencer and its competitors to write a review Essay

Find out about Marks ans spencer and its competitors to write a review of the company's environmental management - Essay Example The region is populated with an estimated 5.3 billion of populace based with 84% of them are located in urban centers (Index Mundi, 2013, p. 1). The presence of these diverse and multicultural consumers and its relative economic affluence compared to other emerging countries, are opportunities for business chain to undertake corporate operation. Mark and Spencer sell clothes, food, home needs, and other products, has it main center based in UK and has varied offshore operations including chains in advanced countries. The company relies on its core corporate values: quality, value, service, innovation and trust (M & S, 2012a, p. 2). Its subsidiary company at UK also contributed to the ? 9.9 bn group revenue in 2012, underlying group operating profit of ? 810.0 m. As a leading retailer, it sourced its products responsibly from 2,000 suppliers globally (M & S, 2012a, p. 2). Central to its business operation since 2007 is the drive to address ecological concerns and social inequities by upholding a healthier and sustainable lifestyle (M & S, 2012b, p. 1). The company prided of integrating sustainability in managing its business by providing such framework of governance that is focused on environmental management systems (M & S, 2012b, p. 1). What is environmental management system? The US Environmental Protection Agency (2013) defined Environmental Management System (EMS) as a quality control mechanism designed to enable an organization to practice set of rules and behaviors that will reduce and mitigate environmental destruction to scale up its operating efficiency (p. 1). Such framework encourages companies to attain environmental objectives by employing environmental plans, goals, and protectionism campaigns as part of its operational mandates in management, for customers, for human resources, including its suppliers (USEPA, 2013, p. 1). This extols the assumption that employing environmental management control will likewise gain social acceptance and hence impr ove the corporate financial sustainability of the organization (USEPA, 2013, p. 1). This is also presumed that the EMS is also aligned and is consistent to company’s goals and business practices (USEPA, 2013, p. 1). Experts likewise posit that this internal and external regulatory approach requires stringent compliance to reduce risks, hazards, and to ensure cost-efficient business operation (USEPA, 2013, p. 1). This is also to address the call of our times amid the devastating impact of climate change and the need to respond for ecological protection (USEPA, 2013, p. 1). It also provided remedies to unregulated issues like problems on energy conservation, quality operational control and the importance of corporate stewardship (USEPA, 2013, p. 1). Thus under this framework, the company develops its own environmental goals based on ecological and legal basis; form its own environmental objectives, increase employees competence. EPA encourages company to have an environmental p olicy as its foundational plan to attain targeted environmental performance and outcomes (USEPA, 2013, p. 1). These blue prints are implemented and became subject of an evaluation at the end of every cycle of to determine it has improve its corporate social relations, it is has positively impacted

Demonstrating Professional Skepticism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Demonstrating Professional Skepticism - Essay Example Boyle et al. (2015) observe that the failure on the part of the auditors to exercise professional skepticism when conducting the audit of financial statements imposes costs on the shareholders and other stakeholders. When fraud fails to be recognized, the shareholders are the net losers. The article points to the application of professional skepticism in audit engagements as being the solution to the increased number of audit failures and deficiencies. Professional skepticism has become a matter of critical importance to the profession of auditing given the increased complexity of the audit environment (Boyle et al. 5). The article explains that the exercise of professional skepticism by the auditors is in line with the requirements of the Statements on Auditing Standards 1 (SAS1) (Boyle et al. 5). The standard on auditing requires that the auditors must apply due care with an emphasis on the exercise of professional skepticism as part of the auditor responsibilities and functions. T he role of professional skepticism in the consideration of fraud in the audit of financial statements is analyzed with a proper discussion and relation of the elements of skepticism to the audit (Boyle et al. 6). Boyle et al. (2015) explain that professional skepticism is an attitude that involves a critical assessment and analysis of audit evidence and a questioning mind. It is this questioning mindset that enhances the possibilities of recognizing fraud with less attention to experience.

Virtual stock exchange presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Virtual stock exchange presentation - Essay Example The key to selling short in any way, shape, or form is to know when to buy into the market. In order to design and implement a strategy at the beginning of the semester, what will had to be taken into account was doing charting of what the market would look like in the semester ahead. Imagining we were able to tell the future, we could plot out when would be the best time to buy property based on the fact if the market was running high or low. If the market was running especially low, it would probably be a good time to buy in. One wants to buy in for a period of 18 months where it is mostly going to be seen as being low. This increases the chances that we, as the investor, would most likely be able to pick up a lot of properties using the $10,000,000-dollar cushion. It’s very possible that one will buy in at the right moment. After all, in this case the right moment has already practically been delineated for us. So, let us say that perhaps one buys in at the right moment. Th e next step is to amass as much property as possible while the values are still low. The same principle which holds true for selling stock on the stock market also holds true for real estate. Buy low, sell high. Now, the reason that companies not doing so well is good for other types of businesses is simple. When stock values are low, it is a good time to buy into those stocks because when stock prices rise, they will be worth more in value. Similarly, if one buys a lot of properties, but perhaps let us say that they are not particularly worth much at the time they are bought—it is untowardly possible, albeit untowardly, that the properties bought may escalate in value. When and if that happens, the investor seeks to make a profit. While values are low in stocks and in real estate, this is the investor’s dream. According to the article â€Å"Short Selling Stocks† (2010), â€Å"[One] can buy stocks and real estate relatively cheaply, since many people are in a b ad state of affairs financially, [and] will later reap the financial rewards of having taken advantage of the low prices. Investors will short stocks when [prices decline]† (pp. 1). One of the stocks which I should have made more money on was DreamWorks Animation. But, since I bought into the stock when it was at a high point, I made a mistake. According to Garcia (2011), â€Å"While the animated feature [â€Å"How To Train Your Dragon†] did capture the number one box office spot, ticket sales were below projections negatively impacting stock value†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦making [DreamWorks] lose about 9.2% of its stock value (pghs. 1, 4). Now, in the stock market, many times you may have heard buy low, sell high. So buying too high was my first mistake. Hopefully DWA stock will go up with the advent of the new Kung Fu Panda movie. I chose certain stocks for a reason at the beginning of the semester. My main four choices were DWA and NPSP (a pharmaceutical company), along with NF LX and HQP. I thought DreamWorks Animation would naturally do well because of its many hits at the movie box offices, and I thought the pharmaceutical company NPSP—NPS Pharmaceuticals—would do really well because of the fact that prescription drugs cost so much and are making these pharmaceutical companies millions. NFLX is Netflix, the company that has a mail-in DVD movie system, which I thought might be wildly popular due to the slow and timely death of Blockbuster. Health Quality Partners, or HQP, was a stock I thought would do well due to the

Justice System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Justice System - Essay Example In other words treating victims with the dignity they deserve while letting them continue to enjoy their fundamental human rights. The same applies to victims who are very vulnerable to vindication and are constantly in the risk of being treated harshly and with rejection due to the damages their crimes inflict on victims and to the society at large. There is a need for a balance between offenders' rights and victims' rights. The justice system has in some cases been accused of leaning too much on the side of the victims therefore denying the victim the right to be treated as not guilty until proven guilty before a fair and public trial in a court of law. Any justice system must be structured to meet the needs of both offenders and victims (Fowles, T 2006 P. 72). A right is a duty or responsibility entitled to an individual (Roberts, 2006 P. 115). Rights of victims enable them to get necessary support from the justice system. Usually the justice system is comprised of agencies such as the police, courts, probation officers, lawyers, prosecutors, and the government ministry concerned. Rights can be defined as responsibilities or duties of an offender or a victim (Fowles, 2006. P.57). It can be argued that victim's and offender's rights are related but in an inverse manner. According to (Samuel Walker 1980. P. 36,) the following are some of the theories put forward in relation to criminal justice and victim's/offender's rights. Restorative justice theory. Proponents of restorative theory argue that a victim can be restored to his/her former condition. It therefore suggests that the fact that victims have undergone crime experience does not mean that they will forever remain haunted by their experiences. This theory advocates for a justice system whereby victims can undergo restoration and therefore help them cope with the effects of the crime. It advocates for punishment of offenders though it opposes imprisonment. Restitution and community services are the commonest types of penalties advocated for by restorative theorists. It is aimed at re-socialising offenders. In view of striking a balance between offender's rights and victim's rights, restorative justice can be of much help for it seeks to up hold both the victim's and offender's rights while benefiting the society but there are those opposed to it terming it as too lenient. Retributive justice theory. Popularly known as the 'eye for an eye' method, it assumes that a victim has a right to 'hit back'. This justice system calls for punishments such as capital punishment, and in some parts of the world, amputation. In view of human rights advocates, a retributive justice system is considered unfair to the offender in that it does not accord a second chance for reforming. It can also cause emotional trauma to victims or their heirs and family especially in cases where they feel guilty and feel they caused the death of the offender. Transformative justice theory. A justice system founded on this theory will try to discourage animosity between the victim or the heirs and the

Fundamental Finance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fundamental Finance - Research Paper Example Significantly, its financial policy in the funding of its expansion in operational capacity is sound. It has a mix variety of funding sources: (a) from cash from operations, (b) long-term debt instruments, and (c) increase in paid up capital. The growth of revenues and consequently the net income is the result of the company's expansion on its investment on revenue producing assets which are the container vessels and dry-bulk carriers. With 20 vessels, including those under construction in 2006 it had grown to 33 vessels. The revenues increased by 37% in 2007 over 2006, and net income increase of 40% over the preceding year. Moneywise, the investment on property and equipment on vessels alone was $244,684 million in 2007 against $131,720 million in 2006, or an increase in investment totalling $112,974 million. The company had been financing from the same mix of sources. However, since it was listed in the London Stock Exchange it was able to raise larger amounts of funds. Table below is a summary of the funding source and the changes over the last two years: Prior to its listing the company had been funding its operations mostly from cash generated by operations and to a small extent long-term debt. However, in recent years Goldenport Holdings, Inc. has availed more on both the sale of its shares and much larger issuance of long-term debt instrument. ... However, in recent years Goldenport Holdings, Inc. has availed more on both the sale of its shares and much larger issuance of long-term debt instrument. Below is a table showing the relationship of debt and equity and the gearing ratio: (in US$) In US$ 2007 2006 Total debt 193,001,000 93,961,000 Total equity 181,442,000149,528,000 Debt/equity 1.06/1 0.63 /1 The company increased its debt in 2007 to further finance the acquisition/construction of vessels. In 2006 the company had a favourable debt to equity ratio of $.063 debt for every $ of equity. However, in 2007 as a result of additional borrowings the debt to equity ratio or gearing ratio has deteriorated to $1.06 debt to $1 of equity. In a sense, the company went into trading on the equity. The gearing ratio in 2006 was favourable to the firm because it was on that year that it was listed on the Exchange, and has raised funds on this IPO in the amount of $115,465,000. The company has a policy to declare dividends equivalent to 50% of net income during the year, and retained the balance for reinvestment on property and equipment, more particularly its marine fleet of containers and dry-bulk cargo. However, in 2007 the Board decided to declare dividends equivalent to 52% payout on the its net income for the year. This means a lesser retention of income for reinvestment. Dividends The company has a policy to declare dividends equivalent to 50% of net income for the year. However, for the year ended 2007 the company declared 52% of the net come, or an increase of 4% over the preceding year. This policy had twin objectives. It improved its dividend image with its current and potential

Should Animal Experimentation Be Permitted Essay

Should Animal Experimentation Be Permitted - Essay Example Experiments on the regeneration of spinal nerve endings were conducted at the University of Zurich. In test-tube testing, nerves dismembered from rats were left open to immunoglobulin that blocked regeneration. The nerves regenerated successfully though not fully. The rats were the animals of choice because there was no other suitable replacement. The use of animals in these studies is important as those involved cannot present a raw form of treatment directly to humans. Opposition of experiments conducted on animals is a threat to medical advances and the furtherance of human knowledge. In relation to medical research, since there are no suitable replacements for animals, animal experimentation should be allowed. On the hand, due to the emotions attached individuals to animals, activists call for a ban as this is a selfish act for humans. The claim also is that, â€Å"will humans keep experimenting and murdering animals for these selfish gains till they are endangered?† Moreo ver, still on medical advances, animal testing should not be permitted as the same animals do not have the complexity of the human body (Murnaghan, par 3). Thus, should the products tested on animals fail on humans; it will be a waste of animals such as rats and mice. As a replacement for animals, computer models and simulations can be used to predict the likely reactions from an experiment (Murnaghan, par 3). Animal experiments should not be permitted if at all they are carried out unnecessarily (Environment commission, p.1). This is, in cases, such as those carried out for aesthetic value where animals should not be allowed for use. Instead, they should test their products by looking for volunteers, as it is the humans to use the products. At the same time, it tests on animals should be allowed as the animals conditions are put into considerations during the tests. In this case, they are not to suffer according to the law. This is such that, when the animals acquire adverse condit ions and complications from the experiments or reach the â€Å"human endpoint† (serious respiratory problems, loss of weight and extreme tumor growth), the animal is euthanized if the case is severe (Vos, p. 1). This is to mean that as long the animals welfare is taken into account, testing should be allowed. In drug experiment, animal testing assists in ensuring the wellbeing of medication taken by human beings or stuffs that human being are uncovered to frequently. Animals are used to test the dangers of these substances on humans thus lowering the potential harm and saving lives. Animal experiments should not be allowed as there are alternatives. Despite not being the best alternatives to animals, they can be used to reduce the numbers of animals used as well as the level of their suffering during experimentation. Replacements could be; cell cultures, which reduce the, number of animals used, use of statistics, which uses comprehensive data to gauge the spread of disease, and finally the use of advanced scanning technology that allows for investigation of disease through human scans rather than performing animal testing(Paul, 7). The use of animals for experimenting increases the knowledge and understanding of the animal being used for the experiment. This means that the animal species being used is a beneficiary of the experiment in that researchers may come up with ways to help the animals survive. This is as in cases where

Case study on chronic illness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Case study on chronic illness - Essay Example Americans have medical cover and face little dangers of controlling the diseases because the insured go for the checkups which are sponsored by the insurers. Members of the countries with low socioeconomic power are rarely informed of medical cover. Low income in them also imposes great challenges in them taking the cover. From the chapter read on Rosalie’s health, she has no medical cover (Moroflubkin & Pamala 2012). The Healthy people 2020 have a plan to take medical cover to support Rosalie for the rest of her life. She has to also remain on treatment while the medical policy matures. They also have a plan on how to educate her. Rosalie’s aunt will also get a medical cover since her income is low and in future she might not be able to meet her medical needs should they occur. WHO cares for the underprivileged people’s health: providing them with medicines, education, food and shelter. This way, I will also plan to provide the same to Rosalie and her aunt Rita. This will help relieve her of the burden bagging her life. If I had to respond to the call, I would inform the health care professionals to have regular checks on the health of the aging population to avoid high costs of treatment. I would also advise them to take early control measures like immunization on children in order to prevent future problems to the victims when they age (Toombs, David & Ronald 1995). If I had power of control over the resource, I would introduce free and compulsory immunization to the needy and carry out medical researches on people’s health in order to identify how and when to issue treatment to the needy (Dubey

Winter the worst season of the year Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Winter the worst season of the year - Essay Example I imagine cold weather, blizzards, and total lack of pleasant outdoor activities. Winter in New York can be really challenging with snow storms and severe weather conditions. Not to mention that very often snow can block traffic, create havoc, and even cut communication utilities In this cases winter can be indeed the worse season of the year. For me, I can say that this is so, because I can not stay outdoors for a long time and do my regular activities due to the incredibly cold atmospheric conditions. Then I find it extremely depressing to see grey colors all around, occasionally some while spots of snow here and there. Finally, to add to the lower spirits is the extreme weather which makes me worry about family and friends, who might be stuck and in trouble in unreachable places.Scientists always recommend prolonged outdoor activities, in order to keep one's body and spirit in good shape. There are numberless winter sports practiced in the open air, however, for me exposing my bod y to harsh temperatures and having numb limbs is not the ideal situation. Going to the gym is also acceptable, but then you have to walk back home exposed to the cold wind, after you have taken a shower, so one can catch cold or flu. Winter can be very unexpected and bring unconditional weather, which can lock you at home for days. In such cases I become languid and my mood is down. I am not able to go outside and enjoy the terrific sunshine and fresh smell of grass. I once read an article about the effects of colors and how they can influence people's moods and emotions. Although, the white color - I may say the symbol of winter, speaks about purity, I associate it also with paleness and death. Besides the white, the predominant color of winter is grey. This leads to down spirits and lack to motivation either to work or to study. The greyness carries with it depression and uncomfortable emotions. That is why for me winter is the worst season. Finally, the extreme weather conditions that we witness in New York make me anxious about my family, relatives and friends, who in occasions might get stuck in snow-drifts and get into trouble. In such harsh weather communication systems are also cut down, and we can not connect with them at all. Consequently, people panic and think that the worst has happened. Winter is unpredictable with its severity and forces me to see that sometimes nature is bigger than human actions and activities and even though we have skyscrapers and telecommunications, austere weather conditions can ruin them. For me winter is the worst season of the year, because it shows how unpleasant nature can be. It can form blizzards and leave people in hazardous situations. They are unable to practice their outdoor activities and have all reasons to worry about their families in a cold winter day. The grey surrounding dominates the color nuance and establishes a deep feeling of helplessness and anxiety. That is why winter is the worst season for me. Winter is also the worst season, because it causes many car accidents. Commuters who use the public transport do not need to worry much. However, people who work in New York and drive from New Jersey can encounter dangerous, slippery roads during the winter. Although the government spends a lot of money to secure the proper highway maintenance during the winter, weather conditions can be so severe that they can impede all efforts done. Another reason why I think that winter is the worst season is because people are exposed to freezing. Applying moisturizing creams helps us a little when handling the cold, however, if the temperatures drop really below the freezing point, people can experience serious limbs infections

Problem of assessment and analysis Essay Example for Free

Problem of assessment and analysis Essay In many countries there are gender differences and inequality among boys and girls. High self-esteem and low self-esteem continue to prevail in schools, colleges, communities and societies. Most of the places that carry gender differences are employment offices wherein most educated, intelligent and dynamic young professionals high moral and self-esteem standards in gender differences. This has become a natural self-concept and is not taught in a school classroom or by the inclusion of a subject on gender differences in educational curriculum. The problem of assessment and analysis of various countries adolescents in terms of gender differences and nature of self-concept is compared from one country to another. Whether in this era of globalisation, the cultural and gender differences continue to persist among young people as in the past or is there going to be any change in the mindset of young boys and girls. Multinational companies, global operations and global culture and environment have facilitated many young professionals to work in a diversified environment in which there is no sign of gender differences except to the fact that female employees are considered for maternity leave and to seek assistance for nursery care. However, in many parts of the world, inspite of tremendous potential of technology development, the basic of gender differences continue to exist in terms of superiority of masculine over feminine and this is by and large is acceptable with the fact that, men are more powerful and hard working than women in any part of the world, whether it is in United States, Japan, Europe, UK or Asia. Researchers have made an indepth research on the concept of gender and on the concept of self. 2. Literature Review Josephs et al (1992) researched that men are more individualistic than women and carry high self-esteem in every aspect and in terms of gaining respect and dignity is also greater than women. This describes that the outlook of men towards society and life is much different from what women search for in life. Men are considered as more superior for all good purposes than men. Kashima et al (1995) in an article conducted a research on gender and self from the view of collectivism and individualism on 1000 psychology students from 5 cultures. 2 collectivists from Korea and Japan, 1 from Hawaii, and 2 individualists from Australia 2 from Mainland USA. All the participants concluded that gender differences and self-concept are basically dependent on the emotional level and dependence. Cultural differences are also due to the response from respondents and those acting as independent agents. There was also another research conducted on gender differences that may not be same in various countries and there were two investigations conducted on this aspect. The first investigation based on the self-concept of 609 middle class adults from Lithuania, Hong Kong, USA (Watkins Yau, et al.. 1997) It was found that within the country, self-components were much smaller than between-country effects. The second investigation was conducted on 1580 social science undergraduates from 8 countries represented by 4 individuals, 5 collectivist cultures (Watkins Adait, et al 1996) and it was found that collectivism and individualism is not sufficient for explaining cultural differences in self-concept. Exploration of self-concept has been performed by TST as a powerful tool for assessment of cultural differences in the nature of self-concept. The Adult Sources of Self-esteem Inventory (ASSEI; Elovson Fleming, 1989) was designed to meet this function and this instrument contains two sections with 20 identical items. The first section describes subjects to identify as to how important each item is for self-esteem and the second section is about rating of self-satisfaction in various aspects. Markins Kitayama 1991 has aruged that in a cross cultural setting self-esteem is more appropriately seen in items of self-satisfaction instead of self-enhancement. 3. Research Design Importance of self and self satisfaction with 20 possible sources of self-esteem was collected from countries which were both western and non-western. By conducting varimax factor analysis, the results of average male and female values of each country are obtained from factor scores. This is called as ecological factor analysis. These factors are further used to examine correlations with another country level data such as in economic indicators and cultural indices (Hofstede’s 1983) Further Hofstede 1990; Chinese cultural connection 1987 it was argud that cultural instead of individual analysis is the most preferred factor for examining the differences among cultures. The overall saitsfaction for Turkish students was coefficient alpha of . 97 with internal consistency with ASSEI measurement. Further for US sample, the median test-retest reliabilities over a 2 week period indicated . 69 and . 67 respectively (Davis-Zinner, 1990) With the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965) the ASSEI total satisfaction score in this research as . 37 and . 52. Social desirability was measured by the marlowe-crowne scale and had only minor influences on ASSEI satisfaction scores. The respective correlatios were . 28 and . 23. Cross cultural study validity evidence was performed on 139 Turkish undergraduate students (Inelman, 1996) and found that the coorelation was . 65 and . 55 between ASSEI unweight and unweighted satisfaction scores. General esteem as per Coopersmith self-esteem inventory from Swedish study (Watkins, Yau, Dahlin and Wondimu, 1997) which revealed a coorelation of . 45 with self-esteem as assessed by the TST. Factor scores were used in Individualism-Collectivitism by Gender Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and to correlate with culture level data such as Gross National Product (GNP) and Hofstede’s indices were available. 4. Realiability and Validity ASSEI is a 20 item inventory that requested each respondent to rate either on 1 for very low and 10 for very high rating scale for the importance on self on gender basis and gender satisfaction with different aspects of person’s self-concept in terms of physical, social, ethical, familial and intellectual. For the facility of non-western nation citzens, each item was translated into the local language by teams of bilingual social scientists by using the approved transation method (Brislin 1986) whereas for Nepal as the English was spoken language, reliability and rating was much easier. The total participants for the research study were 3604 in total and the participants were mostly undergraduate psychology and educational courses pursuing students. All the students were studying in reputed universities in urban areas including South Africa. The participants were from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, U. S. A, White South Africans, and 10 samples from China, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Phillippines, Zimbabwe, and Black Africans according to study of Hofstede 1983. Appendices and collected survey and data revealed that most of the males and females were leading satisfactory relationships with families, appropriate discharge and delegation of responsibilities and were honest in relationships whereas in terms of earning capacity there was less satisfaction and particularly, south African males and females were leading low satisfactory lives in terms of self-esteem. 5. Statistical analysis Table 1 explains about Ecological Factor Analysis of Standardized Country Means of ASSEI importance which is based on the 4 factor analysis (Cattell, 1966) The four factor solution is categorized into Factor 1 – Intellectual achievements which is rated as 23. 6%, Factor II – Family values and personal success which is rated as 19. 1%, Factor III – Intelligence vs Group morality which is rated as 12. 1% and Factor IV – Social relationships vs physical abilities which is rated as 10. 3%. Table 2 details about factor scores on 4 ASSEI importance factors for 15 country Groups by gender which is based on Individual Collectivism x Gender ANOVAs. Satisfaction levels in family relationships, morality levels, personal satisfaction, cultural, physical appearance social relationships and group living styles were some of the factors that were included in the table. Table 3 details about Means of culture, Means for combined Individualist and Collectivist. Culture by gender for importance and satisfaction factor scores. Table 4 is the summary statistics from Individualist/Collectivist x gender analysis of variance of importance and satisfaction factor scores. Table 5. correlates of importance and satisfaction factor scores with cultural dimensions and Gross National Product (GNP) 6. Conclusion The ecological research conducted on 3604 undergraduate students proved to be very useful for findings on gender differences and nature of self-concept. It was revealed at various levels through factors that there is an overall satisfaction in family relationships and society relationships apart from physical appearance and cultural life style. Females are more careful in family relationships than males. The research and findings of Bond (1994), Schwartz (1994), Joseph (1992), Watkins Adair, (1996), Trompenaars and Williams (1995) were proved to be very beneficial in this research. The critical study on gender differences along with nature of concept is a very crucial study of human relationships particularly when it is researched on 14 countries wherein different cultures and traditions, languages are involved, this study result is absolutely benefitting and also stands as an example for further analysis of Individualism and collectivism. References Judith A. Howard Gendered situations, gendered selves Accessed 7 April 2009 http://books. google. co. in/books? id=vn345QTs6t4Cpg=PA73lpg=PA73dq=gender+and+nature+of+self-conceptsource=blots=uZGIycRv8fsig=O1gfY3ivjR9o9aC93njWvZ9qjowhl=enei=O8TZSfKNLqjo6gPjieiECwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=4 Marieke K. de Mooij Global marketing and advertising Accessed 7 April 2009 http://books. google. co. in/books? id=SlRlGVYRBWcCpg=PA131lpg=PA131dq=gender+and+nature+of+self-concept+fourteen+countries+studysource=blots=xPKkCymhWBsig=DhVFdAO9fGvXrfXpX5ZOm3hSfqchl=enei=Y8TZSaDDE8mBkQXByZC9CQsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8 Susan S. Klein, Handbook for Achieving Gender Equity Through Education Accessed 7 April 2009 http://books. google. co. in/books? id=y0OCnSMf-foCpg=PA288lpg=PA288dq=gender+and+nature+of+self-concept+fourteen+countries+studysource=blots=RMQ2qSaVBxsig=RRJdn9sz-MEb09URNeHIEcwXp2Uhl=enei=Y8TZSaDDE8mBkQXByZC9CQsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=5

IKEA Competitor and SWOT Analysis

IKEA Competitor and SWOT Analysis Jump to: Market Analysis | Environmental Analysis | IKEA SWOT Analysis | Growth Strategy | Marketing Mix of IKEA IKEAs Vision â€Å"To create a better everyday life for the many people† IKEA Business Idea â€Å"We shall offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.† IKEA group is one of the top furniture retailers in the world. With its unique combination of form, function and affordability, IKEA distinguished itself from other furniture retailers. With its success in US, Europe, IKEA entered the Gulf market with the hope of continuing its success. Even if it was not very successful initially, it improved through its market research and advertisements. Nowadays, IKEA captured major market share in the Gulf market and also the reputation of being the fastest-growing furniture retailer in the Gulf. This report focuses on our competitor Home Centre how they are trying to make profits and gain market share and what IKEA Dubai is doing to conquer their space. Looking at different factors which have become issues to be resolved for IKEA. Some internal issues needs like POS terminals and security of money needs to be the aim to achieve. Competitor Analysis These analyses are basically done to understand your competition which gives you an edge. It helps you in giving you an indication of their past, present and future strategies. It helps you to clarify your own competitive advantage and it helps you develop strategies to outmaneuver them Identifying IKEAs competitors and understanding them would help IKEA a lot in their strategies. Home Centre is one of their competitors but looking at the past sales and profit figures IKEA has done better than Home Centre. Home Centre has been very brave in their marketing strategies. Their promotions and advertising has been one of their strengths but IKEA on the other hand has different activities going on in the store. For example last month they had Lighting Activity and this month they have Dining Activity which means they introduce new products in these lines and display them in the most best and strategic places where most customers can see and buy them. As per home centre they have been pushing customers towards them by their new promotion of giving out gift vouchers on a purchase of 200Dhs. This has been some kind of successful. IKEA has its eyes on them and monitor their each and every move and even them. IKEA has a big Marketing team which comes up with a lot of solutions and ideas but they still face completion from home centre. So what they did after home centres promotion they distributed 200,000 coupons all over Dubai for free for people to fill and come to IKEA Dubai or Abu Dhabi stores and drop it in raffle boxes. The prize is 5 winners will be winning 2000Dhs of IKEA products each of their choice. The draw is still due on April 18th 2010. Other competitor for IKEA is Pan Emirates and many other furniture retail stores in Dubai. Market Analysis Market analysis are basically done to determine the market and its attractiveness because its related to the firms strengths and weaknesses Market size can be evaluated with the present sales of the firm compared with the past sales or expansion of certain range of products. Market size and growth for IKEA has increased as compares to last year where IKEA Dubai was affected with recession and not much profit were made. But in as per now in March 2010 they have achieved what they had budgeted. Figures show that as per march 2010 there has been a growth in total sales by 7.3% making sales in the month of March to 42MillionDHS. It shows how much total sales were made by furniture items and market-hall items. The market has grown this year as the recession has gone down. The target customers are upper and middle class families. The sales has grown not just because of IKEAs furniture and market-hall items but because of their excellent customers restaurant and exit cafà © also. Distribution channels the products come shipped from Sweden to gulf region where they are received at the ports and then transferred to their warehouse in Rashidiya -Dubai. From there the products come to stock in IKEA and then they are sold directly to customers. Their aim is to reduce distribution costs, reduced manufacturing costs and selling costs. How can this be achieved, Through a rational product range development and by adapting product design to production conditions, Through a rational distribution idea in combination with a caring meeting with the many people and through a strict cost-consciousness in all areas. The IKEA concept aims to make the distance between the supplier and the customer as short as possible by combining the possibilities of the supplier with the needs of the customer. Key success factors and strategic strength for IKEA here are reducing distribution costs by producing products in flat packaging, cost effective distribution system, direct deliveries, and transit deliveries with minimum handling. Environmental Analysis Macro level At this level the environmental factors IKEA is facing is technological and product innovation. They need to come up with new ways of producing their furniture items which they say are at lesser price at the same time are not that strong. At customer service IKEA Dubai they receive a lot of returns of damaged goods or poor quality products which after some weeks break or get damaged very easily. The expensive products like mattresses and sofas they all have guarantees on them they get replaced but not these small items which get damaged so easily. They need to think of something new to improve their production of certain products like lack coffee tables and TV benches. The most important of them at present are the economic factor, employment and culture factors. They are meant to change a lot in coming years. Micro level IKEA already has Home Centre as their primary competitor and IKEA is doing better than them as IKEA has a greater market share. Threats of substitutes and new entrants are always there and there are many furniture shops and stores in Karama, Satwa, Deira that sell furniture and mattresses at lesser price. Homes R Us is also one substitute which has already entered the market many years ago. They sell all the products that one needs at home. IKEA has more than 7200 products which is a plus point. Customer Analysis Consumer behavior changes a lot with their life style and standard of living. Once their needs change they change their choices, buying behavior and buying power. An eye has to be kept on our customers to check what other options they have once their behavior is changes. Customers are divided into different segments like different demographics or geographical location. IKEA has customers from upper class and lower class but from all nationalities. Each has their own buying power and behavior. Internal Analysis Physical resources of IKEA like machines which are used to fill the stock in self serve and full serve areas are checked and charged daily. The machines, building and production capacity are all well maintained to survive in retail business. They need to improve on POS terminal at exchange and returns where there have been cases of money laundering. Employees have stolen money and caught after many days. So these things need to be taken care of from the management and finance department. This leads to decrease in profits. IKEA Dubai has more than 300 employees from different nationalities and regularly they are given training in their training centre. Expert professors and managers give them training to increase employee knowledge of products and increase skills at their work. SWOT Analysis (S)trengths IKEA has maintained a long-term partnerships with its suppliers. This ensures they have high quality products and materials at a reasonable price. IKEAs catalogue the 2nd most read book after The Holy Quran in the world. The best marketing strategy they have for many years. Home planning and contract sales services Their customer service at IKEA Dubai has been the best so far. Even people from Sweden came to visit IKEA Dubai and they were shocked to see our customer service on our peak days. Customer service includes Operators, Information Desk, Play rooms for kids, Exchange and Returns, Merchandise Pick-up and Home delivery services which also include assembly services. (W)eaknesses IKEA is a global company, so product standards may be difficult to maintain. Production faults decreases product quality. (O)pportunities IKEA can further capitalize on the green movement and IKEAs customers desire to have less of an impact on the environment. IKEAs new store in Abu Dhabi will be a great opportunity to cater a different segment of people. (T)hreats The regulatory environments across the globe vary and can affect how IKEA does business and their product costs, especially the use of natural resources. Competitors like Home Centre and Pan Emirates bring in a lot of promotions and sales in their stores; Whereas IKEA has store sales only in June and July. Key issues IKEA faces are internally like production fault or poor quality products. Need to reduce faulty products or totally stop selling them because of complain form customers. They need Improvements in the POS terminals, reducing accepting open packages and sales errors. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www.ikeadubai.com/ http://www.netmba.com/marketing/market/analysis/ http://www.homecentre.net/index.php?_a=corporate http://www.productmanagementtraining.com/product-management-training-day1.htm http://www.ehow.com/facts_5278469_ikea-swot-analysis.html CONTEMPORORY MARKETING STRATEGIES MARKETING PLAN PHASE 2 Executive Summary Aim of this report is to understand IKEAs concept more thoroughly and maintain /increase the current market share. It is one the objectives of this report to increase sales and quality of production of certain products in which they receive a lot of complain. Improve POS terminals by installing new software and making it much more secure. Making the most use of the June and July sales to increase sales to 10% compared to 7.3% in March. The methods and recommendations I have chosen to increase market share is to introduce IKEA Family here in Dubai as well. This will let us increase our customer base and target new segments. The sales will also increase and we will have new members who will benefit from our exclusive services and new products. IKEA family has its own products which will be brought in from Sweden for the members. Sales to be increased to 10% we will have to improve our services and products in June and July. The new range of products will be brought in from Sweden and this new IKEA family will be promoted all over IKEA stores in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and our websites. We can introduce this anytime in this year. Marketing Objectives To maintain the current market share To increase the current increase in sales from 7.3% to 10% by July 2010 To improve POS terminals and safety To improve quality of certain products if not discontinue them and bring in new products which are selling well in Sweden or in other stores of IKEA in the world. Targeting and Positioning IKEA has traditionally targeted homeowners but as the housing market weakens the IKEA is going after a new group of buyers to grow future sales: Small business owners and new families entering the gulf market In the past 12 months, IKEA has started creating interior designs and products for entrepreneurs and these families such as kitchen designs and contract sales for small business owners. In April the company is also expected to launch a new website, ikeabusiness.com, where small business owners can discover new ideas for designing their offices and share them with other entrepreneurs. Families can design their kitchens at IKEA Home planning service where once they design their kitchen they have to pay 500Dhs kitchen charges which is refundable once the customer buys the kitchen. It will be an interesting development to watch, because their targeting strategy is diversity in buyers preferences and they are meeting it by providing more than 7200 products with the best of customer services. Many small business owners are price conscious and would welcome IKEAs products as an economic alternative to other suppliers. In addition, despite not having a strong existing selection of business furniture and accessories, entrepreneurs are already going to the stores to buy chairs, tables, storage solutions, and other products. Wide range of products helps them improve sales Differentiated marketing is their strategy. They have different marketing mix plans for different segments. Now they should have a new target segment in this which is the disabled people. They do have this in IKEA UK and other stores in the world. They should start this in IKEA Dubai as well. Its called IKEA Family. You need to become a member of this family and then avail different benefits like discounts on certain IKEA Family products. Offers on their food products and free IKEA magazines. This will let them target a new segment and increase sales and customer flow in their store. It will build a emotional relationship with these special family members. Marketing positioning statement: â€Å"We do our part, you do yours. Together we save money. This line is originated from IKEA Sweden where it started first. Their flat packed products are easy to take home and assemble by the customers because they provide all the instructions and fittings inside the box. If there is any issue in assembly we can always do it for them by proving our assembly services. Quality services will always win customers for the store. Our exchange and refund policy of exchanging and refunding the money back to the customer within 30days is not followed anywhere. Not even In our competitors Home Centres store. We refund the money to customers because â€Å"Its ok to change your mind†. This is what it says at all the 22 check outs we go through and at the customer service department. Growth Strategies Generic strategies like priced based, IKEA has prices of their products which are affordable that is why they are making profits and has a good market chare. But out objective is to increase the sales percentage from 7.3 to 10% by July. This can only be done if they differentiate and highlight their services and products more than their competitors. Home Centre has recently opened a new store at Mirdiff City Centre which has not affected IKEA at all till now. IKEA can grow their sales if they bring in the service they provide in IKEA UK that is IKEA Familk and with it its new products. IKEA Family has its own products with fewer prices. Many of our upper class segment customers would love to avail these benefits because they are IKEAs regular customers. 70% of the shoppers are women and they would love to become a member of this Family. This would lead to alternative directions and IKEA will penetrate into a new market. Product development is another alternate for IKEA to grow and change perception of their certain consumers. Certain IKEA products are not reliable for long or get damaged very quickly. They need to look in to their production department in Sweden and produce products like Lack coffee tables and TV benches much stronger. They can either discontinues these items and bring in new stock from Sweden because not all the products are sold here in IKEA Dubai. Expedit Book shelves comes in flat pack boxes and they are shipped from Sweden and when customers buy them from here, once they open it some parts are either missing or damaged. So the quality of production has to improve form IKEA Sweden or they have to double check it once they reach in their Rashidiya warehouse in Dubai. Customers complain about the hassle of buying and then realizing its damaged or some parts or fittings are missing and coming back to replace at exchange and returns counters. Other alternatives for them to improve are to upgrade or have new POS terminals with much security. They need to improve the systems and traind the staff with the new changes made. There have been cases where co-workers have been stealing money from their tills. If we have a secure and improved system this wont happen again. Joint development IKEA in gulf is expanding and opening a new store in Abu Dhabi UAE. The present Ikea store in Marina Mall, which continues to serve thousands of our Abu Dhabi patrons, will be relocated to Yas Island where it will be transformed into a full-fledged concept store, he added. Under the agreement, Aldar will provide the structure for the Ikea store under a renewable, 10-year lease agreement with Al-Futtaim The Ikea store on Yas Island will have a total floor area of 32,000 square metres and a sales area of 19,150 square metres. It will have a restaurant of 2,100 square metres with a seating capacity of 550, as well as 1,500 parking places. Franicevic said the Yas Island store will provide a strong impetus for the Swedish furniture and Furnishings Company to push ahead with plans to expand in the region. We expect to serve nearly 1.3 million visitors in the first year of operations, said James McGowan, Ikea manager for Abu Dhabi. [Himendra Mohan Kumar, Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2009] Selection of Competitive Advantage IKEA has a competitive advantage over its competitors and has sustained it for a while. This advantage can mainly be attributed to its resources and capabilities namely human resources, brand and IKEA concept. Ingvar Kamprad the founder of IKEA though retired is still a cheerleader for the practices/concepts that define IKEA culture. Cutting prices is one of the competitive advantages IKEA has over its competitors and this is another message that comes across loud and clear among IKEA operations. IKEA aims to lower prices across its entire offering by an average of 2 percent to 3 percent each year. Targeting middle class customers who shares buying habits and providing similar shopping experience the world over has made IKEA a unique shopping experience. More than 7200 products ranging from kitchen cabinets to candles and textiles; making store visit more of an outing than a chore; seducing the customers with one touch after another within the shop; offering other services like restaurant, kids area and the like; flat-packed nearly all big items to save shipping cost and allow shoppers to haul their own stuff and many more, makes IKEA concept of its own kind and as a results boost its image (brand). These resources are valuable (enables the firm to respond to environmental threats and opportunities) but each on its own is not rare and hard to imitate. IKEAs ability to combine these resources in the way it has done (creating IKEA world), makes the whole experience rare and non-imitable. As a result IKEA enjoys and sustain a competitive advantage over its competitors. [Jay Barneys framework on Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage, 2006] Marketing Mix Programme Price IKEAs strategy is based on cost leadership. Across markets where it has current presence, products are sold at low prices. Prices are 20 to 30% lower than competing products. Price varies only in a result of fluctuations in exchange rates. This pricing enables IKEA to gain significant market share. Low prices are a result of large-quantity purchasing, low-cost logistics, store location in suburban areas and a Do it yourself approach to marketing. IKEA also benefits from economies of scale and healthy supplier-firm relationships. IKEA enters into long-term contracts, provides leased equipment and technical support in exchange for exclusive, low-cost manufacturing from suppliers. For new markets, IKEA should retain its price-image to maintain the brands positioning. Product IKEAs value chain is unique in that customers are also suppliers and suppliers are also customers. The transactions between the supplier and IKEA and on to the customer have a value adding step in each stage. Product differentiation exists in the value-added dimension. IKEAs consumers know the concept of IKEA of Do it yourself with most of its products requiring assembly after purchase. But although assistance in this aspect is limited, IKEA offers customer service and home delivery services which includes transporting and assembling furniture. While this is well accepted in areas where IKEA now operates, it may be a point of consideration when entering new markets. Should IKEA encounter a market where DIY is not favored, IKEA may include the cost of the service to the products price. It does encounter such market where they face customers in Dubai who dont like picking products from self serve area. They just give the list to sales person n tell them to bring the products which is not the concept of IKEA but still sometimes we have to do this for the customers to keepo them satisfied with the service we provide. Position/Place IKEA store is located in Dubai Shopping Festival. Which is a good location one of the Middle Easts largest mixed use real estate projects, that covers over 1,200 acres. Spread over 25,400 square meters This is a factor in the achievement of IKEAs low pricing. While it may appear as a disadvantage, this fits IKEAs target market of customers willing to transport their own purchases and requiring less assistance in assembly. Promotion IKEAs promotion is centered on the IKEA catalogue which they launch every September of the year. There catalogue of 2010 has been distributed all around the world in millions. This is their best marketing and promotional strategy. This catalogue is said to be the 2nd most read book after The Holy Quran. It includes all the different range of products but not all. Secondly advertising is done every month in newspapers like Gulf News and Al Arabia news papers whenever they have a new activity going on in the store for example they have dining activity currently going on so they have printed 2 different adds in these newspapers with different products and prices. They even advertise on radio 101.6 and one Arabic radio channel. Proposed strategic choices will improve sales and market share by bringing new products and introducing IKEA Family in Dubai. This will increase their market share in Dubai because study shows that IKEA customers want something more from IKEA and disabled people can benefit from IKEA Family with special discounts and services. Bibliography http://www.ikeadubai.com/ http://pathfinder01.blogspot.com/ [Understanding IKEA : How a Swedish Company Turned Into a Global Obsession (II), 2006] http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Ikea-Marketing-Mix-Analysis/167093 http://www.essayclub.com/term-papers/Ikea-Marketing-Plan/7406.html http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Aldar+and+Ikea+UAE+break+ground+for+Yas+Island+store.-a0218635945 [Himendra Mohan Kumar, Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2009, Aldar and Ikea UAE break ground for Yas Island store.]