Americans should have more holidays and longer vacations Essay

Americans ought to have more occasions and longer get-aways - Essay Example Americans merit a larger number of occasions and longer excursions than are being given to them as of now. Americans ought to have more occasions and longer get-aways The Americans merit more breaks and longer excursions. It is on the grounds that they try sincerely and in this way need time to fulfill themselves also. Americans truly have faith in the decree of giving themselves more occasions and longer get-aways on the grounds that they need to return easily towards their work spaces and give their best focus towards work ethos and domains. More occasions are required on the grounds that the Americans buckle down and commit their own selves entire heartedly towards their work ethos (Author Unknown, 2011). It is of vital significance to realize that they will require more regarding excursions since they need to invigorate themselves. Americans merit more as far as their fun and skip related exercises as they help them to appreciate with their loved ones on various areas inside America just as the remainder of the world (Monroe, 2010).

Human Resource Management Issues in International Market Sample

Question: Recognize and Discuss the Human Resource Management Issues that a HR Manager in Melbourne would need to Consider when Relocating a Manager from Australia to Manage a Subsidiary part of an Australian Multinational Organization that is Located in London in the United Kingdom. Answer: Presentation In present time, the associations are turning out to be globalized. It is extremely basic now for the associations to utilize ostracizes for the business activities in the worldwide market. The worldwide organizations are utilizing exiles for extension of the business as well as to create universal administration capabilities in the global market. It is seen that human asset the board faces numerous issues in the worldwide market as the global condition is increasingly mind boggling (CaligiuriTarique, 2012). There are numerous confirmations which propose that worldwide human asset the board is the significant part to decide the achievement or disappointment of the organizations in the global market. There can be numerous purposes behind disappointment, for example, inadequacy of imparting and planning the exercises in the global business by the organizations. The point of this article is to distinguish the human asset issues in London which can be looked by an Australian organization while growing its business in London showcase. There can be numerous issues for the chiefs while situating in new nation for business point of view (Briscoe, Schuler Claus, 2011). Global human asset the executives There are different written works concentrating on the global human asset issues for the HR administrators. At the smaller scale level of HRM, HR directors are worried about the worldwide coordination of HR strategies and systems to accomplish the business objectives. In the hour of globalization, organizations are centered around the extension of the business in the worldwide market. Organizations are extending their business in the different nations to make development and progress. The organization which will enter in the London showcase must mull over the difficulties and issues to evade the odds of disappointment (John, Lynette Tony, 2004). The human asset the executives isn't restricted to arranging, enrolling, staffing, work connection, execution the board and remuneration inside the association. The idea of human asset the executives has now transformed into universal human asset the board. In light of the improvement worldwide human asset the board in the associations, the w ork activities of the HR administrators are turning out to be increasingly unpredictable having numerous capacities, for example, administrative administrations, worldwide migration, training and advising the representatives in the worldwide condition, universal tax assessment, and between government relations and so on (Hutchings, Fenwick Cieri, 2007). Along these lines, worldwide human asset the executives is not quite the same as the residential HRM because of numerous complexities. The director from the Australian organization may confront numerous issues and provokes identified with the way of life and different elements while working in the London branch. The way of life and condition in the London is contrasting from the Australia and it might make different difficulties for the director in London showcase (Khalid Rehman, 2010). Difficulties in London It is seen that human asset the board is the fundamental base of upper hand for each organization. At the end of the day, human asset the executives influences the introduction of the chiefs with the key administration. Fundamentally, International human asset the board is the blend of various procedures, techniques, and jobs which are acknowledged to pull in, keep up and build up the clients in the organizations. It is anything but difficult to find the organization in the universal market yet it isn't easy to work the business in the worldwide commercial center. The chief, who goes in the worldwide market for working business, can confront numerous issues identified with nature and culture (Stankiewicz, 2015). A portion of the primary difficulties and issues are as per the following: Social assorted variety- No any earlier data of nearby culture of target nation can be a major test for the director. Basic strategic policies in the London are not legitimate while dealing with the staff. Chief can experience the ill effects of the loss of spirit in the new nation. This is the quiet issue in the universal market which can affect the presentation of the administrator. The way of life of Australia is very contrasting from the way of life of London. It won't be simpler for an individual to alter in the London without earlier preparing. In spite of the fact that there are a few similitudes in both of the way of life however the livings of the Australians and English individuals are unique (Taylor, 2015). The business and work culture of both the nations are additionally unique. In Australia, reliability is should in the conferences and individuals in the gathering keeps short and to the point. On the other and, the work culture of London is unique in relation to the Australian culture. In the c onferences, individuals are progressively held in the gatherings when contrasted with Australians. This can be the test for the director of Australian nation (Katie, 2016). Cash issue- To work business over the neighborhood limits isn't a simple errand. Chiefs need to manage the remote monetary forms while working the business in the deliberate market. Administrators need to comprehend the transformation rates and the cash trade paces of London to finish the cash exchanges viably. Erroneous figuring and any sort of misstep in the can increment lawful confusions in the business and can influence the main concern of the business. HR Manager in the London showcase needs to create broad approach to teach that director about bookkeeping rehearses in London advertise (Okpara Pamela 2008). Law and guidelines The matter of Australian nation won't get achievement and development if the chief disregards legalities and the guidelines of London. Expense laws, government controls, and wellbeing and security gauges are diverse in London from Australia. It can make the issue for that director who will migrate in the part of London. Along these lines, there is the need to give data about the laws of London by the HR administrators which can affect the business and the life of that director (Darby Williamson, 2012). It is the activity of HR supervisor to look into and convey about guidelines and guidelines of London. Administrator ought to recall that things can be changed rapidly in specific zones because of the difference in economy and political force. To keep away from the entanglements, chief ought to know about laws and guidelines in London advertise (Tessema Soeters, 2006). Human asset the executives and business relations issues influencing work life Appropriate HRM practices and business relations are the most significant capacities for the achievement of association in the global market. There are some HRM and workers connection gives that can affect the presentation of oversee in London. Those issues are as per the following: Absence of preparing and training Chief needs to confront numerous issues while dealing with the business in London. Without appropriate preparing and instruction of universal market, it is basic for figure out how to change in the London advertise. Preparing and improvement are seen as the significant exercises to get great business results. HR administrators need to give appropriate preparing of culturally diverse market with the goal that the chief in London branch can have the option to deal with the business viably. Without legitimate preparing, the presentation of the trough can diminish (Gurbuz, 2009). Absence of progression arranging With no progression plan, administrator in the remote nation will be demotivated. No any earlier progression arranging, it will affect the inspiration of that supervisor. Supervisor won't have the option to perform and deliver wanted outcome as he will realize that there will be no any prize in like manner. The absence of progression arranging will be the reason for undesirable workplace issues (Hansson, 2007). Uncertain set of working responsibilities Defective set of working responsibilities can likewise influence the presentation of chief in London showcase. This will lead the director who doesn't think about his activity job and obligation. It will likewise make numerous intricacies in accomplishing the hierarchical objectives (Abbott, 2006). This will make disappointment and strain in his activity and reduction the exhibition of the administrator. Director will be miserable as he will be not able to use his aptitudes capacities and information dependent on his specialization. Because of equivocal set of working responsibilities and detail, administrator will feel demotivated in his activity job. The human asset supervisor is answerable for giving right employment job to the correct individual n the association (Green et al, 2006). Along these lines, these are some human asset the board and representatives connection issues which can influence the presentation of the supervisor in the London branch. End This paper talks about the universal HRM and the issues looked by the chief of an Australian organization who is moved in the part of London. From the above examination, it is seen that entering in the worldwide market isn't a simple activity. The HR administrators need to encounter different issues and difficulties, for example, HR rules and activities, and activities and disposition of the clients. It is likewise seen that universal human asset the board is an unpredictable procedure. In this way, plainly chief of the Australian organization needs to confront numerous difficulties in the London showcase while working business there. Further, there are a few issues, for example, extraordinary business culture, Currency issue, and distinctive Law and guidelines which can be looked by the supervisor in London showcase. The business and work culture of both the nations are additionally unique. Aside from this, HRM practices and work relations can likewise affect the presentation of ove rsee in London. Because of Lack of preparing and educationthe execution of the trough can diminish. Absence of progression arranging and Ambiguous expected set of responsibilities can make disappointment and pressure in his

Custom College Papers For Sale

Custom College Papers For SaleWhether you're shopping for new college papers for the first time or need some ideas for college papers for the annual reprint, finding custom college papers for sale is an excellent way to begin your search. Many online colleges offer online college papers and many of them also sell these types of papers. Whether you're looking for high quality, affordable, and custom college papers for sale, online is the place to go.You may have noticed that most traditional businesses are advertising their business by using TV commercials, radio commercials, billboards, newspapers, and magazines. What's going on here? The reason is very simple.Online businesses know that people go online more than any other medium of reaching the public and hence reach them first with their products or services before they even see a commercial. Online businesses are also aware that they need to make their advertisements as attention grabbing as possible to get your attention and hop efully convince you to buy their product or service. However, most businesses simply don't have the time to write and submit a full commercial which is why they turn to the people who do and ask them to write the advertisement for them.However, many businesses are turning to professional paper buyers who can give them the best deal available on top quality custom college papers for sale. This way they can concentrate on other things while they work with the professional paper buyers to create their website. Then the company, which is already established, makes the advertisement to be published online so that potential customers can have access to it. There are various ways of making a website to be available online, but there is no reason why the people who want to have a website for the business cannot pay for a professionally written advertisement to be put up in the classified section of the internet.It is important to remember that these online colleges which sell these kinds of papers often times will have large advertising budgets for them, as they have a lot of people visiting their websites every day. For these students, they can usually find some sort of promotion or sale going on. They can even ask for donations to support their cause so that they can continue to offer these custom college papers for sale.The variety of custom college papers for sale online is something to look forward to. There are actually pages devoted to specific kinds of custom college papers for sale. For example, there is a page which offers paper-oriented designs for children, office papers, and even sports publications. These college papers for sale are often printed on archival paper stock, thus they are almost as long lasting as your standard paper but are not as fragile.Printed paper on the other hand are thicker and more flexible than standard paper. This makes them much more durable and almost as long lasting as archival paper. Archival paper is also acid free, which ma kes it better for printing on the web. It is also a fairly good paper for coloring or drawing on.The reason why many of the websites selling custom college papers for sale do not use archival paper is because of the cost associated with it. In most cases, if the purchase does not need to be made immediately, the customer will likely be given a smaller quantity and the cost will be much lower than that of other options.

Essay On School Uniforms - 1388 Words

Madyson Stevens Miss. Windish English II 16 October 2017 Dress for Success Many schools have decided that having school uniforms is the best for their students. Other schools don’t want to limit the student’s freedom of speech. Schools can’t decide which is the best - have uniforms or not. School uniforms should be mandatory for all students considering the cost, right to freedom and academic success. One reason why school uniforms should be mandatory is the cost. It is more economical for people because it will be cheaper to buy uniforms rather than to have a new outfit for every day. The students will not have to go out shopping every year for new clothes to wear. This can save families money for other activities. The may able to†¦show more content†¦Uniforms provide a bully free environment for the students (â€Å"Reasons Why Schools Should Have Uniforms†). Even though many kids dont like wearing uniforms they still make it fun. They wear jewelry and do their hair how they like. They are able to pick out shoes them shoes that helps to individualize their uniforms. Students like that they can still show off their personality through jewelry they wear, shoes or how they do there hair. The students are still able to go shopping and buy new clothes for when they are not in school. These are just a few examples of how the students can still make their uniforms about them (â€Å"Reasons why schools should have uniforms†). Schools that require school uniforms look a little more formal and well put together because all students look the same and they are all wearing appropriate clothing. Schools that dont require school uniforms have kids wearing inappropriate clothing such as clothes that dont follow the dress code. Uniforms also help students focus more on school rather than what they are wearing. There are also kids that dont really care what they look like, so they wear sloppy or dirty clothing. It gives the school a bad representation if students are wearing those types of clothes (â€Å"Reasons why schools should have uniforms†). When kids wear uniforms, it improves their attendance at school. Kids are moreShow MoreRelatedEssay on School Uniforms1047 Words   |  5 PagesSchool Uniforms The issue of whether or not school uniforms are a necessity in today’s society has been a long standing debate. However, it did not come onto the national scene until 1996 when then President Bill Clinton spoke of the matter in his annual State of the Union Address. Citing the Long Beach city school district in California, Clinton spoke of the positive effects of uniform implementation, including: decreased drug cases, sex offenses, violent crimes and fights. Jessica PortnerRead MoreEssay on Implementation of School Uniforms635 Words   |  3 PagesImplementation of School Uniforms The topic of school uniforms has been highly debated for many years. Many would think it would be the teachers versus the pupils in this debate but they would be wrong, this argument has members from both sides fighting for and against it. In this essay I will look at the topic from both sides and be un-objective in my writing. Many of the arguments made in favour of school uniforms have something to do with the safety of the school communityRead More Uniforms in Schools Essay541 Words   |  3 PagesUniforms in Schools School uniforms in public schools are becoming increasingly popular across the nation. The public school system would benefit greatly if this policy were to be adopted. Opposition is always a factor when trying to make changes. Taking all things into consideration, the positive effects would be far greater than the negative effects. School uniforms should be required in public schools because their use would lead to higher education, less violence, and lower cost to parentsRead MorePersuasive Essay On School Uniforms1671 Words   |  7 Pages Hari Mainali South University School Uniform â€Æ' Abstract Freedom of dress is violated by restricting on school uniform. A school and university have their own dress code which does not require a particular dress. Some researcher and scholar suggest misbehavior in the student are the result of banning uniform. But misbehavior is what they acquired in their life. Banning uniform, student can exercise their right to express themselves freely. Student will be able to focus on education and saveRead MoreSchool Uniforms Essay867 Words   |  4 PagesHigh schools that require students to wear school uniforms can be found around the world and have even been proven to function better than some schools that don’t require their students to wear uniforms. If Smackover High School required their student body to wear uniforms, it would come with quite a few benefits for the students, teachers, and parents. My view is that SHS should issue school uniforms. One perk to uniforms is that the cost of school uniforms would be less than if parents had toRead MoreSchool Uniforms Essay686 Words   |  3 PagesSchool uniforms should definitely be used in school systems. Uniforms are both good for schools as well as for the students. Wearing uniforms will help build a sense of unity within the school. Instead of everyone as a separate team, everyone will be in the same team. Wearing uniforms will help free students of the stress of what to wear in the morning. Wearing school uniforms will help improve student individuality and improve their self-esteem. First, wearing matching uniforms can make studentsRead More School Uniforms Essays684 Words   |  3 Pages nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Schools today arent in the best condition. There is teasing, violence, discrimination, cliques, and poverty. There is much to say about how having mandatory school uniforms will help these problems. My question is, will uniforms help these problems enough to dismiss the hurt that they would cause? I say the uniforms do little to help. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Having uniforms would stop the teasing and discrimination about clothing, but there is more to teaseRead MoreSchool Uniform Essay774 Words   |  4 PagesUniforms should be essential to all schools around the world. Uniforms will provide a more organized school unit. Our public school systems are in a dispirited and discouraged state. Violence, poor attendance, disruptive behavior and disheartening attitudes stand in the way of a child’s education today. Certain changes are needed to return our educational standards to a worldwide competitive level. Our schools should once again become the safe havens and community centers for the education and theRead MoreSchool Uniforms Essays475 Words   |  2 PagesSchool Uniforms Until President Clinton called attention to the issue in his State of the Union address, mandatory public school uniform policies were sporadic local occurences. A few school districts had been quietly experimenting with uniforms for years, but the issue caught President Clintons eye after the Long Beach, California school district released some numbers suggesting that after only one year, its mandatory uniform policy had not only brought about significant decreases in vandalismRead More School Uniforms Essay2067 Words   |  9 PagesSchools should have uniforms for students so they can be distinguished between grade levels and to have all students dress the same way and offer some protection. Students might be against it because they want to wear regular clothes to impress other students. School uniform should be allowed in private as well in public schools because it will help faculty distinguish students, people and prevent inappropriate dressing. â€Å"Having a uniform helps students and parents resist peer pressure. In schools

Data Mining In Banking Sector Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2746 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Data mining defines the nontrivial extraction of hidden, previously unknown, and theoretically useful information from data. It is the facts of extracting valuable information from large databases. Banks have several and vast databases. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Data Mining In Banking Sector Finance Essay" essay for you Create order The important business information can be extracted from these data stores. The main application areas of data mining in banking are Customer Relationship Management, Marketing, Risk Management, Data cleansing, Fraud Detection, Software Support, and Present Industry Status. Data mining tools are used by leading banks for customer segmentation and profitability, forecasting payment default, credit scoring and approval, detecting fraudulent transactions, etc. The study of private and public banks has been done to appraise the feasibility of implementation of techniques of data mining. The fundamental aim of this paper is to check the feasibility of implementation of the techniques in banking sector in India. It highlights the perspective applications of data mining to increase the performance of some of the core business processes in banking sector. INTRODUCTION: Data Mining is the process of extracting knowledge hidden from large volumes of raw data. The knowledge must be new, not clear, and one must be able to use it. Data mining has been defined as the nontrivial extraction of implicit, previously unknown, and possibly useful information from data. It is the knowledge of extracting useful information from large databases. Data mining is one of the tasks in the process of knowledge discovery from the database. Data mining applications has two primary components namely Data manager and Data mining tools/algorithms. Data mining techniques can be classified as artificial neural networks, genetic algorithms, nearest neighbour method, decision trees and rule induction. Data Mining In Banking Sector: The computerization of financial operations connectivity through World Wide Web and the support of computerized softwares has completely changed the basic concept of business and the way the business operations are being carried out. The banking sector is not exclusion to it. It has also observed a tremendous change in the way the banking operations are carried out. Since 1990s the entire model of banking has been moved to online transactions, centralized databases, online transactions and ATMs all over the world, which has accomplish banking system technically robust and more customer oriented. In the present day environment, the large amount of electronic data is being preserved by banks around the globe. The enormous size of these data bases makes it impossible for the organizations to analyse these data bases and to retrieve useful information as per the need of the decision makers. [4] Banks have to adjust to the changing requirements of the societies, where people not only repute a bank account as a right rather than a privilege, but are also appraised of the fact that their business is valuable to the bank, and if the bank does not aspect after them, they can take their business elsewhere. Technology in banking is not just the computerization of process, but it is much more than this. The amount of data collected by banks has grown rapidly in recent years. Current statistical data analysis techniques find it difficult to manage with the large volumes of data now available. This volatile growth has leads to the need for new data analysis techniques and tools in order to find the information unknown in this data. Banking is an area where massive amounts of data are collected. This data can be produced from bank account transactions, loan repayments, loan applications, credit card repayments, etc. It is expected that valuable information on the financial profile of customers is hidden within these enormous operational databases and this information can be used to improve the performance of the bank. [7] The banks in India and abroad have started using the techniques of data mining. Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, Fleet Bank Boston, ICICI, IDBI, Citi bank, HDFC and PNB in India are using data mining to analyse customer profiles to use them for their benefits. The banking industry across the world has undergone tremendous changes in the way the business is conducted. With the recent implementation greater acceptance and usage of electronic banking, the capturing of transactional data has become easier and simultaneously, the volume of such data has grown considerably. It is beyond human capability to analyses this huge amount of raw data and to effectively transform the data into useful knowledge for the organization [2]. The banking industry is widely recognizing the importance of the information it has about its customers. Undoubtedly, it has among the richest and largest pool of customer information, covering customer demographics, transactional data, credit cards usage pattern, and so on. As banking is in the service industry, the task of maintaining a strong and effective CRM is a critical issue. To do this, banks need to invest their resources to better understand their existing and prospective customers. By using suitable data mining tools, banks can subsequently offer ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚ ¾tailor-madeÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚ ¸ products and services to those customers [2]. There are numerous areas in which data mining can be used in the banking industry, which include customer segmentation and profitability, credit scoring and approval, predicting payment default, marketing, detecting fraudulent transactions, cash management and forecasting operations, optimizing stock portfolios, and ranking investments. In addition, banks may use data mining to identify their most profitable credit card customers or high-risk loan applicants. To help bank to retain credit card customers, data mining is used. By analysing the past data, data mining can help banks to predict customers that likely to change their credit card affiliation so they can plan and launch different special offers to retain those customers. Credit card spending by customer groups can be identified by using data mining. Following are some examples of how the banking industry has been effectively utilizing data mining in these areas. HISTORY OF DATA MINING IN BANKING: Keeping the requirement of use of information technology in the banking sector, the Reserve Bank of India constituted a committee on technology up gradation in the banking sector, the committee emphasized the usage of management information systems by the banks and recommended that by the use of data mining techniques data available at several computer systems can be accessed and by a combination of techniques like classification, clustering, segmentation, sequencing, association rules, decision tree various ALM reports such as Statement of Structural Liquidity, Statement of Interest Rate Sensitivity etc. or accounting information like Balance Sheet and Profit Loss Account can be generated instantaneously for any desired period/date. Trends can be examined and predicted with the availability of historical data and the data warehouse assures that everyone is using the same data at the same level of extraction, which removes conflicting analytical results and arguments over the source and quality of data used for analysis. In Indian Express Newspapers highlights the Citibank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank have taken the lead in using data mining along with leading mobile telephony service providers. The data mining techniques can be of enormous help to the banks and financial institutions in this arena for better targeting and acquiring new customers, fraud detection in real time, accommodate segment based products for better targeting the customers, search of the customers obtaining patterns over time for better retention and relationship, detection of developing trends to take proactive approach in a highly competitive market adding a lot more value to existing products and services and launching of new product and service bundles. The leading banks are using data mining tools for credit scoring and approval, customer segmentation and profitability, detecting fraudulent transactions, predicting payment default, marketing, etc. [7] APPLICATION OF DATA MINING IN BANKING SECTOR: As banking competition becomes more and more global and powerful, banks have to fight more creatively and proactively to gain or even maintain market shares. Banks which still trust on reactive customer service techniques and conventional mass marketing are doomed to failure or degenerate. The banks of the future will use one asset, information and not financial resources, as their control for survival and excellence. Most of this knowledge are currently in the banking system and generated by daily transactions and operations. This valuable information need not be collected by intrusive customer surveys or expensive market research programs. Marketing: One of the most widely used areas of data mining for the banking industry is marketing. The banks marketing department can use data mining to analyse customer databases and develop statistically complete profiles of individual customer preferences for products and services. By offering only those products and services that customers really want, banks can save substantial money on promotions and offerings that would otherwise be unprofitable. Bank marketers, therefore, need to focus on their customers by learning more about them. Bank of America, for instance, uses database marketing to improve customer service and increase profits. By consolidating five years of customer history records, the bank was able to market and sell targeted services to customers. Uses of Data mining in the area of Marketing: Customer Acquisition Marketers use data mining methods to discover attributes that can predict customer responses to offers and communications programs. Then the attributes of customers that are found to be most likely to respond are matched to corresponding attributes appended to rented lists of noncustomers. The objective is to select only noncustomer households most likely to respond to a new offer. Customer Retention Data mining helps to identify customers who contribute to the companys bottom line but who may be likely to leave and go to a competitor. The company can than target these customers for special offers and other inducements. Customer Abandonment Customers who cost more than they contribute should be encouraged to take their business elsewhere a customer has a negative impact on the companys bottom line. Market basket analysis Retailers and direct marketers can spot product affinities and develop focused promotion strategies by identifying the associations between product purchases in point-of-sale transactions. Risk Management: Risk management covers not only risks involving insurance, but also business risks from competitive threat, poor product quality, and customer attrition. Customer attrition, the loss of customers, is used in finance, retail, and telecommunications industries to help predict the possible losses of customers. Losing customers to competitors is a major concern for industries today, with the increasing amount of competition businesses are facing. Therefore, methods must be found to determine the number of customers who are likely to be lost to competitors so that a business can be used is to build a model of customers who are likely to leave and go to a competitive company. An analysis of customers who have recently left can often show non-nutritive patterns, such as after a customer has a change of address or a recent protracted exchange with one of the agents of the company. Data mining is broadly used for risk management in the banking industry. Bank executives necessity to know whether the customers they are dealing with are reliable or not. Providing new customers credit cards, prolonging existing customers lines of credit, and approving loans can be unsafe decisions for banks if they do not know anything about their customers. Data mining can be used to reduce the risk of banks that issue credit cards by determining those customers who are likely to default on their accounts. Credit and market risk present the central challenge, one can observe a major change in the area of how to measure and deal with them, based on the advent of advanced database and data mining technology. Today, integrated measurement of different kinds of risk (i.e., market and credit risk) is moving into focus. These all are based on models representing single financial instruments or risk factors, their behaviour, and their interaction with overall market, making this field highly important topic of research. Financial Market Risk Credit Risk Fraud Detection: Another popular area where data mining can be used in the banking industry is in fraud detection. Being able to detect fraudulent actions is an increasing concern for many businesses; and with the help of data mining more fraudulent actions are being detected and reported. Two different approaches have been developed by financial institutions to detect fraud patterns. In the first approach, a bank taps the data warehouse of a third party and use data mining programs to identify fraud patterns. The bank can then cross-reference those patterns with its own database for signs of internal trouble. In the second approach, fraud pattern identification is based strictly on the banks own internal information. Most of the banks are using a hybridÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚ ¸ approach [2]. One system that has been successful in detecting fraud is Falcons, fraud assessment systemÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚ ¸. It is used by nine of the top ten credit card issuing banks. The data mining techniques will help the organization to focus on the ways and means of analysing the customer data in order to identify the patterns that can lead to frauds [10]. The bank mines customer demographics and account data along different product lines to determine which customers may be likely to invest in a mutual fund, and this information is used to target those customers. Bank of Americas West Coast customer service call centre has its representatives ready with customer profiles gathered from data mining to pitch new products and services that are the most relevant to each individual caller. [1] Portfolio Management: Portfolio management refers to the selection of securities and their continuous shifting in the portfolio to optimize returns to suit the objectives of an investor. Portfolio management package is one of the merchant banking activities recognized by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The service can be extracted either by merchant bankers or portfolio managers or discretionary portfolio manager. There are three major activities involved in an efficient portfolio management which are as follows: Identification of assets or securities, allocation of investment and also defining the classes of assets for the purpose of investment, They have to decide the major weights, percentage of different assets in the portfolio by taking in to consideration the related risk factors, To end, they select the security within the asset classes as identify. Risk measurement approaches on an aggregated portfolio level quantify the risk of a set of instrument or customer including diversification effects. On the other hand, forecasting models give an induction of the expected return or price of a financial instrument. Both make it possible to manage firm wide portfolio actively in a risk/return efficient manner. The application of modern risk theory is therefore within portfolio theory, an important part of portfolio management. With the data mining and optimization techniques investors are able to allocate capital across trading activities to maximise profit or minimise risk. This feature supports the ability to generate trade recommendations and portfolio structuring from user supplied profit and risk requirement. With data mining techniques it is possible to provide extensive scenario analysis capabilities concerning expected asset pricesor returns and the risk involved. With this functionality, what if simulations of varying market conditions e.g. interest rate and exchange rate changes) cab be run to assess impact on the value and/or risk associated with portfolio, business unit counterparty, or trading desk. Various scenario results can be regarded by considering actual market conditions. Profit and loss analyses allow users to access an asset class, region, counterparty, or custom sub portfolio can be benchmarked against common international benchmarks. Customer Relationship Management: In the era of cut throat competition the customer is considered as the king and its the customer only who is ruling the whole show. The concept of selling a product to the customer is outdated and obsolete, now the objective is to reach to the heart of the customer and hence to develop a sense of belongingness for the organization. The huge data bases of various organizations are storing billions of data items about the customers. Data mining can be useful in all the three phases of a customer relationship cycle: Customer Acquisition, Increasing value of the customer and Customer retention [5]. Data mining technique can be used to create customer profiling to group the like-minded customers in to one group and hence they can be dealt accordingly [8]. The information collected can be used for different purposes like making new marketing initiatives, market segmentation, risk analysis and revising company customer policies according to the need of the customers [9]. The profiling is usually done on the basis of demographic characteristics, life style and previous transactional behaviour of a particular customer. Customer profiling is to characterize features of special customer groups [10].

The Civil Rights Movement Essay - 2043 Words

Johnson: Savior of the Civil Rights Movement? The Civil Rights Movement and President Johnson are closely linked in history. Though there were many other faces to the Civil Rights Movement, Johnson’s was one of the most publicly viewed and instrumental in its passing. It was Johnson who carried the weight and responsibilities of the issue after the assassination of JFK, and it was he who would sign it. Lyndon B Johnson was the most influential forces in establishing the movement that would ensure civil rights for black americans. Johnson was a constant and unwavering supporter of civil rights. Without his supreme efforts in establishing civil rights for all, equality would never have come to pass. Lyndon B Johnson was elected†¦show more content†¦Lynching and hate crimes were commonplace, especially down south. America reeked of hatred and fear. Something needed to be done, intolerance had to be abolished, and people needed to learn acceptance. LBJ fully felt the extent of the disfiguration of black americans done by racism. He told his audience that â€Å" Ability is stretched or stunted by the family that you live with, and the neighborhood you live in--by the school you go to and the poverty or the richness of your surroundings†(LBJ, speech at HU) meaning that he understood there were people destroyed by racism and people in need of help in order to return to function in society. Johnson acknowledged the hardships of African American people in American society. He let it be understood that what many of them had to put up with was extremely unjust. 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New Kind of Dreaming free essay sample

A New Kind Of dreaming Anthony Eaton A New Kind Of Dreaming by Anthony Eaton is a story about a town’s haunted past and a boy’s troubled present. When Jamie Riley was sent to Port Barren, he did not realize that he would be drawn into the town’s shadowy past and into a web of secrets. As soon as Jamie stepped off the bus he felt â€Å"a sense of uneasiness and foreboding† [P. 31]. Port Barren is described as a town â€Å"full of menace and shadows† [P. 42]. Jamie’s social worker, Lorraine, warns him against â€Å"digging around in the past†¦Let people have their secrets. However, Jamie ignores Lorraine’s advice and so uncovers a number of terrible secrets. Seventeen-year-old Jamie has been sent to the desert town of Port Barren to serve a two-year sentence for car theft. His brother was sent to Jail for stealing the car. We will write a custom essay sample on New Kind of Dreaming or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His mother died when he was young and his father is a drunk that never sees him, Jamie and his brother have had a few foster parents and they always hate them but Archie was different to Jamie he had no curfew or rules and they didn’t talk much. The novel begins with a prelude set six years earlier. It provides the context for the most disturbing secrets of Port Barren, those of the town’s police officer, Sergeant Butcher. He is responsible for the deaths of two Indonesian refugees. First they saw this old wooden boat that smelled really bad, McPherson the youngest one said they should ring the coastguard but Butcher said they should go for a look. McPherson got talked into going onto the boat, when they got onto the boat they found lots of dead bodies so McPherson was going to throw up so he ran out onto the deck, when he was throwing up old man come up behind him and was going to hit him with a machete but Butcher hit the old man first, Butcher hit him so hard that he killed the man, so Butcher said to McPherson that that will be there little secret but little that they know there was a little girl on the boat watching them. So they took the boat back to Port Barren and then they found the girl in boat but before the air doctor Butcher killed her so he wouldn’t get in trouble. Sergeant Butcher carries other dark secrets, namely the murder at Flahertey’s Curse of a youth offender sent to Port Barren, and the murder of Constable McPhearson, who knew too much. Butcher killed him because he told Jamie about the murder of the man and the girl so Butcher made it look like he suicided but really butcher killed him Jamie’s social orker, Lorraine also has her own humiliating secret, known only to Sergeant Butcher who holds it over Lorraine’s head, so when ever see was going to say something he would say that he would tell everyone The stories of the wanderers – Aborigines and Stolen generation By uncovering all these secrets, Jamie is able to gain peace for the murdered refugee girl, make Sergeant Butcher accountable for his crimes and restore balance. At the same time, he was able to gain confidence and self-esteem. Fortunately, Jamie ignored Lorraine’s request to leave the secrets of port Barren untouched because he brought justice and closure to many murky secrets.

1.5 Formal Writing Essay Animal Farm Essays - British Films

1.5 Formal Writing Essay Animal Farm Essays - British Films 1.5 Formal Writing Essay Animal Farm The novel, Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, is a satire of the Russian Revolution in 1917. This novel takes place in England, on a farm called Manor Farm. The animals on this farm go on a rebellion against Mr Jones, bringing the farm to which the animals renamed it as Animal Farm. However, years later, the farm evolves back to its original name, Manor Farm. Many characters are shown throughout the novel. However, one major character who changed in the novel is Napoleon. Changes in Napoleon help us understand that if an individual is given too much power, they will abuse that power and become greedy and self-centered. At the very start of the novel, we can see Napoleon as a fair and equal member of the farm, who believed in animalism but soon changes into a selfish and lazy character. This can be shown through Napoleon stealing the milk, chasing Snowball away and killing Boxer. The first change we see in Napoleon is when he steals the milk. This is when the animals go out to work in the fields without Napoleon. Before the animals leave, they worry about the milk they have just collected. Napoleon tells the animals to not worry about the milk so the animals leave. However, When they came back in the evening it was noticed that the milk had disappeared. This implies that Napoleon has drunk the milk. This shows a change as we can see Napoleon is not working and does not share the milk equally with the farm animals. This change helps us understand the character Napoleon, as he is starting to become greedy and betray the spirits of animalism for his own personal gains. George Orwell uses this example to show how humans can be greedy and betray other people for their own personal gains too. This emphasises that, in the society we live in today, equality can never work out. This is an allusion to the 1917 Russian Revolution, where Stalin, who believed in communism craved for power and became dictator of Russia. Therefore, by stealing the milk we can understand Napoleon slowly changing from the good to bad. The second change we see in Napoleon is when he chases Snowball away from the farm. This happens when Snowball holds a meeting deciding whether they should start building the windmill or not. Napoleon disagrees and says it is nonsense. However, Snowball explains that life can be much easier with the windmill when, nine enormous dogs came bounding into the barndashing straight for Snowball. From here, we know that Napoleon is trying to get rid of Snowball. This shows a change as we can see Napoleon, who was equal and fair, suddenly gets rid of Snowball. This change in Napoleon helps us understand that Napoleon does not allow any opposition and that he is willing to betray others to maintain his control, which soon leads to dictatorship happening in the farm. George Orwell uses this example to show how humans can change, betray and get rid of others in order to gain power, by using force. This is an allusion of Stalin sending Trotsky into exile in 1929, because he had a large amount of supporters, including the Bolsheviks. Therefore by Napoleon using force against his opposition, we can understand that Napoleon is changing. The final change we see in Napoleon is when he chooses to kill Boxer. Animals on the farm are required to retire when they reach the age of about 12, so they can die naturally. Boxer, who is a hard-working horse, soon falls ill and reaches to the point where he cannot work anymore. However, instead of dying naturally, Napoleon and Squealer arrange plans to send Boxer over to the slaughterhouse. We can see that Napoleon is mistreating the animals to satisfy his own personal gains. This is shown when the animals say, from somewhere or other the pigs had acquired the money to buy themselves another case of whiskey. From here, we can tell that Napoleon had sent Boxer away for money. This shows a change, as Napoleon who was a fair and equal believer in animalism to a selfish and greedy animal soon

A Decade of Uneasy Peace essays

A Decade of Uneasy Peace essays World War II was the worst war that was fought in the 20th Century, and perhaps the worst war in the history of man. The loss of lives in World War II was a staggering 50-60 million dead (Mitchner, Tuffs Global Forces of the 20th Century 130). World War II also ushered in the era of nuclear weapons. How did this war come about, and could it have been prevented? War was inevitable in 1939 due to the resentment of the German people towards the Versailles Treaty, poverty resulting from the great depression, the policy of appeasement, and Axis aggression in the 1930s. The Treaty of Versailles was the major treaty ending military actions against Germany in World War I. The treaty was signed at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, on June 28, 1919, and went into effect on January 10, 1920, following ratification by Germany and four of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan (Mitchner, Tuffs Global Forces of the 20th Century 22). It was not ratified by the United States, which made a separate treaty of peace with Germany in 1921 incorporating much of the Treaty of Versailles by reference (Mitchner, Tuffs Global Forces of the 20th Century 42). The lesser Allied powers, except China, were also parties. Separate treaties of peace were made with Germanys allied, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey (Mitchner, Tuffs Global Forces of the 20th Century 30). Instead of creating peace however, the Treaty of Versailles caused frustration and hatred (Elson 29). France felt that victory was not achieved, and deci ded to create more military alliances to seal off Germany. Italy felt cheated, because the spoils of war promised to her when Italy left the Triple Alliance to joined the Triple Entente in 1915 was not received. Germany felt the most betrayed, as all the wrongs in the war was pinned on her. This frustration would eventually lead to the popular support of Hitler (Elson 31). One of the poin...

Beethoven Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Beethoven - Essay Example On Beethoven, Neefee asserted that "If he continues like this he will be, without doubt, the new Mozart"(Davies, 108). At the age of 14, he was appointed by the Court of Maximilian Franz, which allowed him to meet several individuals, who continued to love and support him throughout his life. His friends included â€Å"The Ries family, the von Breuning family and the charming Eleonore, Karl Amenda, the violinist, Franz Gerhard Wegeler, a doctor, and a dear friend who also went to Vienna, etc† (Davies, 129). In the year 1787, Beethoven went to Vienna, where he met Mozart. He went to Vienna to enhance his music skills. However, he had to return because of his dying mother; his best friend. In 1792, Beethoven went to Vienna for the second time to learn music. In 1800, he had â€Å"organized a new concert at Vienna including, notably, the presentation of his first symphony† (Davies, 211). From then onwards, he was successful in composing several symphonies including Coriolan Overture and Pastoral. â€Å"May 7th 1824 was the date of the first playing of the ninth symphony and despite musical difficulties, and problems in the sung parts, it was a success† (Davies, 255). In the year 1827, he passed away. Beethoven is considered to be one of the most influential composers and musicians of his times. He had been successful in changing the structure of Western music and his works, continue to influence young musicians and composers of our

How has Islamic religion influenced American culture Essay

How has Islamic religion influenced American culture - Essay Example re are many points that should be taken into account as well as there are traces that should be identified as those that are largely affected by Islam. That is why exploring the issue in question may be particularly beneficial since it sheds light on the true nature of both parties. This paper will analyze how Islamic religion has influenced American culture. In order to do so, it may be necessary to examine some of the earliest encounters between the religion in question and the United States. Afterwards, the concept of religion in general will be explored, namely how Islam is able to be included into the Christian dominated social environment. The next important aspect is education: Islam is known to have a considerable impact on the educational process and this largely shapes the latter. The issue of Muslim identity should also be carefully examined since it is able to highlight the major aspects of each of the side involved. The paper will also focus on the negative impact that i s often attributed to Muslims and how it defines the modern culture. It is rather obvious that some people might argue that the history of interaction of Islam and the United States started relatively not so long ago. However, these people tend to forget that Muslims did not only appear in America at the time of its created, but also contributes towards its emergence. By far, the Civil War is one of the major historical events in the history of the United State. So, if one carefully analyzes the demographics of the soldiers who fought for the North, one will be able to see that there was a considerable number of Muslims. With this is mind, it is obvious that people who belong to this faith greatly contributed towards the very appearance of this culture. Indeed, the aftermath of the Civil War resulted in an â€Å"increased ethnic and racial diversity and the heterogeneity of religious life in America †¦ called for the rethinking of the essential character of America† (GhaneaBassiri,

McDonalds and Tesco Promotional Mix

McDonalds and Tesco Promotional Mix 1A. Mc DONALDS: COMPANY OVERVIEW Dick and Mac McDonald founded the very first drive-in and self service restaurant in California, US in 1940. Today McDonalds is one of the leading fast-food retailer having more than 32,000 local restaurants [1] across the globe. With a mass penetration and exhilarating brand image, McDonalds is serving more thanÂÂ  60 million people in approximately 117 countries of the world [1]. To establish its market presence and differentiate from its competitors, McDonalds has created a number of logos and road signs depending upon its operations as for example dine-in facility drive-through etc. Following are few examples illustrating different logos: [2] Different Logos of McDonalds 1.1 THE PROMOTIONAL MIX STRATEGY McDonalds has employed an effective promotional mix strategy for the marketing of its products and services. For the organisation to penetrate within a specific market, it is essential to gain maximum knowledge about the culture, taste, climate, consumer needs etc. to design a correct set of promotional mix for marketing its marketing campaign. The right choice of the promotional mix helps the organisation to communicate the benefits of its products and services to the consumers (OShaughnessy 2003, p. 110). McDonalds core consumer base is built upon children, business personnel and fast-food lovers. Followed by which the promotional mix strategy used by McDonalds is advertising and sales promotion. [1] http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mcd_history.html [2] http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/media_center/image_gallery/logos.html OShaughnessy, J., 2003. The marketing power of emotions, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. 1.2 ADVERTISING The promotional mix strategy followed by media advertising is always favourable as it reinforces the existence of the organization and also helps in persuading the consumers to buy. The advertising tools include print media, electronic media, billboards etc. for promotion. McDonalds too employs certain effective promotional techniques with the help of advertising tools. Print Media, TV Commercials McDonalds utilises aggressive media advertising as a tool to promote its products. With the help of television commercials, newspapers and magazines, the organisation has successfully managed to create a positive image of its brand. The scrumptious representation of its food products on the hoardings not only attracts its consumers but also helps to keep them well informed about the new arrivals. [3] Images of Burger and Fries Social Networking Today social networking websites have become extremely popular and since most of the traffic on these websites is followed by the younger generation therefore, it becomes essential for the organisations like Mc Donalds to demonstrate their market presence. To keep itself connected with its core consumer base, McDonalds has created pages [4] on the most popular social networking websites that includes: Facebook http://www.facebook.com/aboutmcdonalds Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/aboutmcdonalds Twitter http://twitter.com/mcdonaldscorp These pages confer all the related information about the latest news and upcoming events about McDonalds and also updates about new deals and offers. [3] http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/media_center/image_gallery/products.html [4] http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/media_center PUBLIC RELATIONS Public relations play an integral role in todays marketing world. The multinational organisations having vast operational framework take part in certain international affairs like exhibitions, charitable work, rallies and sports events. McDonalds has also been involved in such large scale events which not only execute a positive message but also facilitate in the advertising of its brand image. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games The 2010 Olympic Winter Games were held in the beautiful city of Vancouver located in the host country of Canada. Since the brand image of McDonalds represents youth and therefore, it continues to participate in sports events. McDonalds has formally announced its involvement as the Official Restaurant for the eighth consecutive games [5]. The company is all set to feed more than 10,000 of the worlds best athletes, coaches and the Olympic officials. It is yet another component of McDonalds smart promotional strategy as millions of people across the globe will acknowledge the presence of McDonalds as a worldwide partner of this Olympic movement. 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa FIFA World Cup is an event that is anxiously awaited by diverse range of age groups everywhere across the world. Mc Donalds always seek for such events that create an extravaganza to target a mass audience. The organisation is an official sponsor and the official restaurant of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. With more than 32,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries, McDonalds will bring the FIFA World Cup to life for millions of customers and employees around the world. [5] Logo for the 2010 FIFA World Cup [5] http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/media_center/press_kits.html SALES PROMOTION The sales promotions are usually short-termed or time specific strategies that are designed to attract the new customers or to replenish the relationships with the existing ones. The sales promotional campaigns offer attractive deals, work on pricing and put forward new products. The buy-one-get-one deals, gifts and prize schemes are few examples of such sales promotions. Toys, Scratch Cards Lucky Draws Children are the target consumer base of McDonalds and hence it becomes inevitable for the organisation to develop such promotional strategies that may create enthusiasm in children. Happy Meals are offered with small toys which excites children. McDonalds also introduces lucky draws, numerous schemes for winning prices and child competitions from time to time as for example, Happy Meal toys, Big Mac Hockey Contest, card games etc. The promotional tactic of scratch cards is also utilised for marketing which comes with combo meals. Adding to this, Mc Donalds also offers econo-meals and value meals. [6] Toys offered by McDonalds Meals Designed for Healthy Eating The consumer world of today is getting more cautious about organic food and healthy eating and realising this McDonalds has come up with a plan of preserving its existing clientele along with attracting new customers. The company has designed Happy Meals with intent to promote healthy eating in children. The organisation has teamed up with DreamWorks Animation to put forward a series of toys including Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots to endorse fruit, vegetables, and low-fat dairy and fruit juices.ÂÂ  By promoting the healthy eating McDonalds has tried to penetrate within the consumer base that intentionally avoid the fast food products as they consider it to be fattening and un-healthy. This is a smart promotional campaign that will benefit the organisation by pulling in the new segment of consumer base to the existing database of the company. [7] Shrek Themed Happy Meal [6] http://www.kathysfastfoodtoys.com/McDonalds2.html [7]http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/media_center/press_kits/McDonald_s_Shrek_Forever_After_Global_Happy_Meal.html 1B: TESCO: COMPANY OVERVIEW Tesco is the leading retail super market in UK having a mass penetration of approximately 90% with an annual turnover of more than 1 billion. Tesco is an internationally recognised brand name which is not only restricted to food and grocery items but is also extended its operation to the non-food products. [8] Official Logo of Tesco 1.1 PRODUCT RANGE Food Ranges: Milk, eggs, butter and all grocery items Non-food Ranges: Books, DVDs and Electronic products Others: Dieting clubs, flights and holidays, music downloads electricity etc. 1.2 CORE COMPETITORS The list below indicates the core competitors of Tesco in UK. All of the listed below companies are the leading supermarkets in UK and operates almost in same range of products and categories. The competition for Tesco is extremely fierce in UK as the quality of products and services offered by these supermarkets are relatively same hence it becomes difficult for anyone to send out. However, Tesco with its comparatively huge operational network has got a leading position since it has got smaller or bigger outlets in almost every other corner. The promotional techniques offered by these supermarkets is more or less the same but Tesco ensures its distinct identity by introducing smart marketing mix followed by carefully designed promotional mix. Tesco Asda Sainsbury Waitrose Morrisons 1.3 THE PROMOTIONAL MIX STRATEGY Tesco has designed an intelligent promotional mix strategy that reflects a prudent thought process behind its campaigning. Tesco has successfully managed to achieve a vital role in the routine life of every household and its progress lies in the success of its creatively devised promotional strategy. The core constituents of Tescos promotional mix are as follows: 1.3.1 DIRECT MARKETING In combination with a number of meaningful promotional tactics, Tesco is successfully following a direct marketing strategy. Once a customer is registered on their main website -and starts shopping, the company keeps on interacting with that customer via phone, emails and text messages from time to time. Emails Messages The comprehensively designed website stores the contact information of the customer and the efficient direct marketing team of the organisation keeps a track record of customers buying behaviours. Tesco sends promotional offers, necessary information, new products and special deals via personalised email addresses to the customers. Moreover, Tesco also sends out feedback forms and surveys via emails to keep updated with the continuously evolving customers needs and choices. Text Messaging This is yet another way of close interaction with the customers. Tesco keeps on sending useful information about the new offers and products via text messaging. The company ensures that the customer never misses out anything offered by them and by doing so the company also develops a certain place in the customers everyday life. 1.3.2 MEDIA CAMPAIGNING Like its core competitors, Tesco too needs to make heavy investments on media campaigning even though its market presence is humungous. The competitive environment of today doesnt allow anyone to fall short when it comes to media campaigning. Media is one of the most powerful and decisive element of the overall promotional strategy. TV Commercials To differentiate from others it is essential to highlight the key features of the organisation in the TV commercials. Tesco primarily focuses on its accessibility as its network is comparatively broader. The commercials also highlight its healthy eating and organic products. Moreover, the TV commercials are designed to offer a little extra eye-catching moments to ensure that the commercials stay in the customers minds for a longer period of time. Interactive Websites In addition to its main comprehensive website, Tesco has launched a number of other web pages including Tesco Apps, Tesco Diet, and Talking Tesco etc. The links to these web pages are also made available on the main website and the link to the main website has been kept prominent on all other web pages. 1.3.3 SALES PROMOTION Tesco is facing a cut throat market competition and therefore, it has to keep on designing innovative promotional strategies to address the consumer needs and offer them a pleasurable shopping experience at the same time. Keeping in view of the rising level of inflation and recession period, Tesco has come up with ground-breaking promotional tactics as rewarding their customers. Club Card Points By introducing the Club Card rewards point, Tesco has made shopping a lot more fun and exhilarating experience for the consumers. The reward points can be collected by shopping via the online website which can be accessed by going to its website [8]. This promotional technique attracts the customers looking for discounts and saving options. [8] Image of Tesco Club card [8] http://www.tesco.com/ Tesco Apps Tesco has launched a direct mobile website which enables its consumers to shop for groceries from absolutely anywhere on their mobile by downloading the Tesco application from the website [9]. The online shop also allows the customer to add or delete an item from the online shop accessed via the mobile. The mobile application also enables the customer to access the favourite list which makes the process much easier. This application is an innovative promotional technique which attracts the consumer base that has an extremely busy life. [9] Image of Tesco Apps 1.3.4 PUBLIC RELATIONS With its mass penetration in the consumer market, Tesco completely comprehends with the idea of consumer satisfaction which can be achieved by listening to them. It has been established that the customer sentiments drastically changes about a certain product depending upon the positive or negative image they build by experiencing the offered level of services. Believing the same, Tesco maintains close connections with its customers with the help of numerous methods. Talking Tesco The company has introduced a distinctive website named as Talking Tesco so that its customers know that their say matters and is always encouraged. The web page [10] is designed to collect the feedback from its customers along with any issues or grievances and it has been ensured that the relevant team members respond to the complaint or enquiry as soon as possible. The web page also displays a personalised email address i.e. [emailprotected] to directly contact the team and get a quick response. [9] http://www.tesco.com/apps/ [10] http://www.tesco.com/talkingtesco/ Tesco Diets Tesco believes in maintaining strong bond with its customers so that their loyalty can also be preserved. Tesco has introduced an interactive website which offers a personalised fitness programme that is designed to encourage people for healthy eating, maintaining a balanced diet and follow an exercise regime that may help in reducing weight. By registering on the website an individual can receive personalised daily workout programme and log the progress. Moreover, scrumptious recipes, tips, diet plans and interactive tools are also available on the website for free. These kinds of interactive and informative websites help the consumers to develop a positive image about the brand and thereby, develop a relationship of trust between the retailer and the consumer which eventually benefits the organisation. [11] Image of Tesco Diets [11] http://www.tescodiets.com/why-join/90078 2. Explain the role of promotion within the marketing mix for a successful promotional campaign. PROMOTION Promotion is the fourth marketing-mix element which is crucially important for a successful marketing campaign. There are a number of tactics involved in the promotional activities in order to communicate the message to the consumer base. Depending upon the nature and size of the campaign the target market is selected which could be a focus group; a particular market segment based on culture, tastes, and religious believes etc. and promotional materials are designed to influence these customers. 2.1 PROMOTIONAL TOOLS THEIR ROLES There are a number of tools which are helpful in the promotion of the products. These tools include: Advertising Advertising is a method of communicating with the end-customers and passing on a message about a particular products or services. There are several ways of advertising including print media such as press releases, newspapers, magazines, broacher, hoardings and leaflets or it could be electronic media such as radio, television or internet. The advertisements are external mass-mediated messages which do not necessarily influence the individual consumers as desired because these messages are filtered through interpersonal communication channels and the perceptual systems of the consumer before acquiring any implications however, they do influence the consumers buying behaviour (Schiffman and Kanuk 2000, pp. 129-35). The advertisements are typically designed to penetrate a larger segment of the consumers. Since the advertisements represent pictures and the information about the product therefore, it is expected to develop a certain image in the consumers minds. The TV commercials or radi o advertisements are also meant to connect with the target market. The repeated telecast of commercials and the entrance of print media in the sitting areas of every household have developed a different paradigm of marketing. With the help of advertisements the manufacturer attempts to send a clear message to its consumer. OGuinn, Allen, and Semenik define that the meaning of the advertisement is determined through a Schiffman, L. G., and Leslie L. K., 2000. Consumer Behaviour (VII ed.), Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. subtle but powerful process of meaning construction by consumers (OGuinn, Allen, and Semenik 2003, p. 202). Sales Promotion The advertisements are intended to instigate a desire amongst the target market about a particular product as a result of which the consumer develops a need to purchase it. However, the competition is fierce today and almost every other competitor more or less uses the same tactics to attract the customers. Here comes the need for exploiting different promotional tools. The sales promotion is an effective way to manipulate the pricing strategy and gain advantage over the competitors. The cost of a product plays a vital role when it comes to the consumers decision making process. There is segment of consumers which do not necessarily look for designs, colours and quality instead they always look for discount deals. Depending upon the market density the sales promotion strategy may do wonders with a product. The markets that are rich in similar brands may not get competitive advantage but may boost sales for a limited period and on the other hands, where the markets where the positioning of brands are dissimilar, the sales promotion may aid in establishing the roots of a new brand or may even help in penetrating deep in the market. The main objective is to utilise this tool in an effective manner. The smartly designed sales promotion campaigns can help the retailers to get rid of the old or unsold stocks and make ways for new arrivals. It is important to note that the sales promotion technique might give quick results or might take a little longer to benefit however, the overall performance of the sales promotion strategy can be monitored and measured over the time. The main role of the sales promotion campaign is to attract new customers because the benefits associated with this technique are short termed and hence it is difficult to break the loyal customers. It has been estimated that the tremendous rise in the number of brands and a decrease in the efficiency of traditional advertising due to increasingly fractionated consumer markets has lead to augment the need for developing sales promotion strategies (Brierley 2002, p. 132). Public Relations The main objective of the public relations technique is to exploit the consumers sentiments in the benefit of the organization. The public relations tactics primarily involves the people OGuinn, T., Chris A. and Richard S., 2000. Advertising (II ed.), USA: Southwestern Publishing. Brierley, S., 2002. The advertising handbook, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. having potential impact on a companys operations to achieve its goals and objectives, which include both retailers and the customers. The idea is to maintain healthy and positive relationships with the individuals and groups of mutual interests working together for the benefit of the organization. This could be charitable event, a cultural show which is not directly related to the interests of the company but definitely portrays the social responsibilities of the organization towards the society in general. This may in return have a great impact on public sentiments which will lead to maximise sales. The organizations sponsoring the shows ensure that appropriate coverage has been given to such public events and activities thereby, highlighting the positive image of the organization through news and information media. The press conferences, contests, meetings, and other social events are all part of public relations which is intended to draw the attention of general consumers towards their products and services. It is the responsibility of the advertising agencies and the public relation specialists to foresee the possibilities of evolving goodness out of the brand image (Arvidsson 2006, p. 88). On the other hand, several irrelevant issues are also touched by the multinational organizations by supporting certain causes which eventually impacts the organizational objectives in achieving its goals. It has been observed that many corporate companies do not necessarily seek profitability out of public relations tactics however; the brand imaging culture of today evidences that public sentiments plays a vital role in the success and failure of products and services. The multinational organizations and corporate companies acknowledge the importance of public sentiments and therefore, it has been established that marketing public relations departments are essential to directly support corporate and product promotion and image management (Arvidsson 2006, p. 96). Direct Marketing It is a time consuming process which requires the collection of data about the target consumer market. The direct marketing technique is based on an in-house data base which provides sufficient information about the targeted consumers to facilitate the direct marketing teams to offer the best services possible which may suit the clients needs. A number of multinational organisations and corporate companies conduct extensive researches, polls and public surveys to collect the consumers views about certain products. The responses obtained are thus incorporated into the database and are updated from time to time. The process could be very time consuming and therefore, a number of organisations buy the mailing lists and Arvidsson, A. (2006) Brands: meaning and value in media culture, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. contact information of potential customers that is tailored to a precise specification. It is an effective promotional tactics which involves a number of different techniques to execute a well-designed marketing plan. Direct marketing may involve the use of emails, letters, phone calls etc to reach the targeted consumers. This method is useful in targeting a specific group of customers and sends them personalised messages which may have a distinct impact as compared to the TV commercials or regular promotional tactics. It has been observed that a segment of consumers prefers to be personally addressed as it gives them some extra importance (Levy 2003, p. 108). This technique is welcomed by a consumer base that is psychologically inclined towards introvert lifestyle. The main role of direct marketing technique is to get realistic results as the promotions are designed to target the listed customers and therefore, the response level obtained from them can give an idea of how well the c ampaign is working. Today, the competition is getting tough and the organisations seek for improved results therefore, direct marketing techniques are adopted to measure the effectiveness of the promotional campaigns and make necessary alterations where required. Personal Selling Personal selling is another tool used to devise an effective promotional campaign. It involves the employment of sales representatives in order to carry out the day to day sales activities. The personal selling technique is not very well complimented by the fast paced environment of today as the consumers are much more inclined towards the electronic sales option i.e. via internet. The personal selling option can be termed as the most expensive means of promotion, as human involvement requires certain expenses, and supplementary benefits however, a number of companies still maintain their sales force and encourage door to door selling. Personal selling is effective with the consumer base that is not very fond of following the commercials and is not capable of using internet. These customers have got the psyche of believing what they see in real. They may prefer trying a product before their final decision making process. The sales personnel are highly trained to deal with such custom ers and also taught to utilise personalised elements and techniques to convince the customers. The door-to-door selling techniques are quiet time consuming and might not get instant results for the organisations however, they seem to be effective in unapproachable client base to get the competitive advantage. Salespeople are trained to make presentations, answer objections, Levy, S., 2003. Roots of marketing and consumer research at the University of Chicago, Consumption, Markets and Culture, 6(2): 99-110. gain commitments to purchase, and manage account growth (McFall 2004, p. 63). The main goal of a sales person is to convince the customer on the spot and achieve the companys target by maximising sales activities which can also be achieved by the word of mouth if the customer is happy with the way the sales person has presented the product. The technique is all about maintaining a good reputation with the end customer where the sales person serves as a face of the company. Therefore, the sales force must be well acquainted with the product knowledge in order to satisfy the consumers enquiries related to the product. The personal selling strategy is considered to be out of fashion due to growing e-technology and web based marketing strategies however, the effect of personal interaction with the consumer can never be ignored. Combined with a correct set of promotional mix a successful marketing campaign can be designed. McFall, L., 2004. Advertising: a cultural economy, London: Sage. Explain the role of advertising agencies in the development of a successful promotional campaign the evidence that you have to produce is a fact sheet. 3. ROLE OF ADVERTISING AGENCIES IN PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS The ever-increasing range and diversity of market products has given rise to plethora of brand consciousness as a result of which the significance of information, persuasion and convincing the customer has become a key feature within the consumer market. Advertising is a vital tool that provides an opportunity for the companies to connect with their target market and to escalate the marketing process, advertising agencies has been pioneered that serves as a bridge between the company and its consumer base. FACT SHEET The advertising agencies facilitates in the development of positive consumer culture. They serve as an effective mediator in between the market products and their consumers. For a successful promotional campaign, an advertising agency aims to benefit its client by maximising sales opportunities. The advertising agencies externalise marketing as a management function and create a body of specialised knowledge about markets and consumers (Wilson and Thomson (2006, p. 112). They comprehend with the clients objectives, product knowledge and the target consumer base. The advertising agencies conceptualise the overall promotional activities. The products are well understood and the process begins by constructing the image and identity of the brand. A team of professionals are involved in the process of brainstorming innovative ideas to achieve the set targets. Extensive research is conducted to study the market trends and consumer needs are identified. Depending upon the size of the budget, an advertising agency creates effective Wilson, J. and A. Thomson (2006) The making of modern management: British management in historical perspective, Oxford: Oxford University Press. promotional campaigns. Advertising agencies makes a strong effort to create and maintain the goodwill of the brands. The agencies are involved in the process of managing a trade marks augmentation to a key symbolic element of marketing strategy (Brierley 2002, p. 97). The agencies devise a marketing communication strategy for mass promotion with the aim of selling The aim is to create a direct link in between the manufacturer and end-consumer by reducing the efforts of sales activities of wholesaler and retailers (Levy 2003, p. 103). Developing a brand image that creates desire for the advertised products. Follow competitor-based approaches to market segmentation and product positioning (Cano 2003). Study the behavioural and psychic dispositions of the consumers which are heavily influenced by the brand imaging. Strategically manipulate the socially-shared symbols in order to facilitate the market penetration. They offer meaning and symbolic connotations to the marketed product which helps the consumers in decision-making process. The advertising agencies plan and design the promotional campaign in such a way that the desired information about a product shall be presented to consumers in a presentable manner (Arvidsson 2006, p. 56) Review the progress of promotional campaigning and improvise necessary alterations where required. Maintain and replenish the bond between manufacturer and the consumers. Brierley, S., 2002. The advertising handbook, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Levy, S., 2003. Roots of marketing and consumer research at the University of Chicago, Consumption, Markets and Culture, 6(2): 99-110. Cano, C., 2003. The recent evolution of market segmentation concepts and thoughts primarily by marketing academics, in E. Shaw (ed.) The romance of marketing history: proceedings of the 11th Conference on Historical Analysis and Research in Marketing (CHARM). Boca Ranton, FL: AHRIM, 2003. Arvidsson, A., 2006. Brands: meaning and value in media culture, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. In a report explain the reasons behind the choice of media in a successful promotional campaign. 4. INTRODUCTION With the passage of time the competition in the corporate world has become increasingly fierce that has enabled the marketing sector to grow. Marketing can be done by a number of ways depending upon several associated factors however; the role of media in every form is an essential element of the marketing world. The rising trend of e-connectivity and social networking practices has made it obligatory for the organisations to incorporate media as a tool for a successful promotional campaign. It has been greatly observed that the adoption and implementation of media within the promotional campaigning of a product gives better results as TV, radio, internet connectivity, e-commerce practices and social networking technologies offer a great potential for creating new markets. The incorporation of media within a promotional campaign gives a new meaning to the continuously evolving market trends and consumer behaviour a

The Birds :: essays research papers fc

Satire defined is 'A composition in verse or prose holding up a vice or folly to ridicule or lampooning individuals… The use of ridicule, irony, sarcasm, etc, in speech or writing for the ostensible purpose of exposing and discourage vice or folly'; (Johnston, 5). In other words, satire is the use of humor to expose moral behavior of man. In the Aristophanes' play The Birds, satire is used to mock the common Greek's dream of ruling the gods that they worship. It mocks the power that they seek to become the supreme ruler of the world. To understand Aristophanes use of satire, one must first understand the role satire plays in sending out its message.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the basis of satire is a sense of moral outrage. This outrage is wrong and needs to be exposed. The goal of a satire is to correct this misconduct of man in a humorous way that makes the audience relate to the problem and try to correct it. Satire 'seeks to use laughter, not just to remind us of our common often ridiculous humanity, but rather to expose those moral excesses, those correctable sorts of behavior which transgress what the writer sees as the limits of acceptable moral behavior'; (Johnston, 5). In exposing these foibles, one could discover not to behave in such a manner by realizing his or her mistakes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When setting up a satire, one must do so in a few steps. The first step is setting up a target which will symbolize the conduct that the satirist wishes to attack. In The Birds, the target is the average Athenian citizen, seeking power Pisthetaerus or in Greek translation, 'companion persuader'; (Luce, 300). Pisthetaerus is upset with his current living conditions and sets out to seek a new place, far better than his existing residence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Adding exaggeration and distortion to the target, the satirist then emphasizes the characteristic he wishes to attack. 'The target must be close enough to the real thing for us to recognize what is going on, but sufficiently distorted to be funny, an exaggeration, often a grotesque departure from normality'; (Johnston, 17). After deciding to create a city strategically located between heaven and earth, so the birds can rule god and man, Pisthetaerus eats a magical root that has the powers to give birth to wings. Although it is evident that humans growing wings is not imaginably possible, the birth of wings does give birth to the power that Pisthetaerus craves more of.

Carrie Chapter Two

‘I'm sure she'll be all right,' she said. ‘Carrie only has to go over to Carlin Street. The fresh air will do her good.' Morton gave the girl the yellow slip. ‘You can go now, Cassie,' he said magnanimously. ‘That's not my name!' she screamed suddenly. Morton recoiled, and Miss Desjardin jumped as if struck from behind. The heavy ceramic ashtray on Morton's desk (it was Rodin's Thinker with his head turned into a receptacle for cigarette butts) suddenly toppled to the rug, as if to take cover from the force of her scream. Butts and flakes of Morton's pipe tobacco scattered on the pale-green nylon rug. ‘Now, listen,' Morton said, trying to muster sternness, ‘I know you're upset, but that doesn't mean I'll stand for-‘ ‘Please,' Miss Desjardin said quietly. Morton blinked at her and then nodded curtly. He tried to project the image of a lovable John Wayne figure while performing the disciplinary functions that were his main job as Assistant Principal, but did not succeed very well. The administration (usually represented at Jay Cee suppers, P.T.A. functions, and American Legion award ceremonies by Principal Henry Grayle) usually termed him ‘lovable Mort.' The student body was more apt to term him ‘that crazy ass-jabber from the office.' But, as few students such as Billy deLois and Henry Trennant spoke at P.T.A. functions or town meetings, the administration's view tended to carry the day. Now lovable Mort, still secretly nursing his jammed thumb, smiled at Carrie and said, ‘Go along then if you like, Miss Wright. Or would you like to sit a spell and just collect yourself?' ‘I'll go,' she muttered, and swiped at her hair. She got up, then looked around at Miss Desjardin. Her eyes were wide open and dark with knowledge. ‘They laughed at me. Threw things. They've always laughed,' Desjardin could only look at her helplessly. Carrie left. For a moment there was silence; Morton and Desjardin watched her go. Then, with an awkward throat-clearing sound, Mr Morton hunkered down carefully and began to sweep together the debris from the fallen ashtray. ‘What was that all about?' She sighed and looked at the drying maroon hand-print on her shorts with distaste. ‘She got her period. Her first period. In the shower.' Morton cleared his throat again and his cheeks went pink. The sheet of paper he was sweeping with moved even faster. ‘Isn't she a bit, uh-‘ ‘Old for her first? Yes. That's what made it so traumatic for her. Although I can't understand why her mother†¦' The thought trailed off, forgotten for the moment. ‘I don't think I handled it very well, Morty, but I didn't understand what was going on. She thought she was bleeding to death.' He stared up sharply. ‘I don't believe she knew there was such a thing as menstruation until half an hour ago.' ‘Hand me that little brush there, Miss Desjardin. Yes, that's it.' She handed him a little brush with the legend Chamberlain Hardware and Lumber Company NEVER Brushes You Off written up the handle. He began to brush his pile of ashes on to the paper. ‘There's still going to be some for the vacuum cleaner, I guess. This deep pile is miserable. I thought I set that ashtray back on the desk further. Funny how things fall over.' He bumped his head on the desk and sat up abruptly. ‘It's hard for me to believe that a girl in this or any other high school could get through three years and still be alien to the fact of menstruation, Miss Desjardin.' ‘It's even more difficult for me, she said. ‘But it's all I can think of to explain her reaction. And she's always been a group scapegoat.' ‘Urn.' He funnelled the ashes and butts into the wastebasket and dusted his hands. ‘I've placed her, I think. White. Margaret White's daughter. Must be. That makes it a little easier to believe.' He sat down behind his desk and smiled apologetically. ‘There's so many of them. After five years or so, they all start to merge into one group face. You call boys by their brother's names, that type of thing. It's hard.' ‘Of course it is.' ‘Wait 'til you've been in the game twenty years, like me,' he said morosely, looking down at his blood blister. ‘You get kids that look familiar and find out you had their daddy the year you started teaching. Margaret White was before my time, for which I am profoundly grateful. She told Mrs Bicente, God rest her, that the Lord was reserving a special burning seat in hell for her because she gave the kids an outline of Mr Darwin's beliefs on evolution. She was suspended twice while she was here – once for beating a classmate with her purse. Legend has it that Margaret saw the classmate smoking a cigarette. Peculiar religious views. Very peculiar.' His John Wayne expression suddenly snapped down. ‘The other girls. Did they really laugh at her?' ‘Worse. They were yelling and throwing sanitary napkins at her when I walked in. Throwing them like.. like peanuts.' ‘Oh. Oh, dear.' John Wayne disappeared. Mr Morton went scarlet. ‘You have names?' ‘Yes. Not all of them, although some of them may rat on the rest. Christine Hargensen appeared to be the ringleader †¦ as usual.' ‘Chris and her Mortimer Snurds,' Morton murmured. ‘Yes. Tina Blake, Rachel Spies, Helen Shyres, Donna Thibodeau and her sister Fern, Lila Grace, Jessica Upshaw. And Sue Snell.' She frowned. ‘You wouldn't expect a trick like that from Sue. She's never seemed the type for this kind of a – stunt.' ‘Did you talk to the girls involved?' Miss Desjardin chuckled unhappily. ‘I got them the hell out of there. I was too flustered. And Carrie was having hysterics.' ‘Um.' He steepled his fingers. ‘Do you plan to talk to them?' ‘Yes.' But she sounded reluctant. ‘Do I detect a note of-‘ ‘You probably do,' she said glumly. ‘I'm living in a glass house, see. I understand how those girls felt. The whole thing just made me want to take the girl and shake her. Maybe-there's some kind of instinct about menstruation that makes women want to snarl. I don't know. I keep seeing Sue Snell and the way she looked.' ‘Um,' Mr Morton repeated wisely. He did not understand women and had no urge at all to discuss menstruation. ‘I'll talk to them tomorrow,' she promised, rising. ‘Rip them down one side and up the other.' ‘Good. Make the punishment suit the crime. And if you feel you have to send any of them to, ah, to me, feel free-‘ ‘I will,' she said kindly. ‘By the way, a light blew out while I was trying to calm her down. It added the final touch.' ‘I'll send a janitor right down,' he promised. ‘And thanks for doing your best, Miss Desjardin. Will you have Miss Fish send in Billy and Henry?' ‘Certainly.' She left. He leaned back and let the whole business slide out of his mind. When Billy deLois and Henry Trennant, classcutters extraordinaire, slunk in, he glared at them happily and prepared to talk tough. As he often told Hank Grayle, he ate class-cutters for lunch. Graffiti scratched on a desk in Chamberlain Junior High School: Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, but Carrie While eats shit. She walked down Ewin Avenue and crosssed over to Carlin at the stoplight on the corner. Her head was down and she was trying to think of nothing. Cramps came and went in great, gripping waves, making her slow down and speed up like a car with carburettor trouble. She stared at the sidewalk. Quartz glittering in the cement. Hop-scotch grids scratched in ghostly, rain-faded chalk. Wads of gum stamped flat. Pieces of tinfoil and penny-candy wrappers. They all hate and they never stop. They never get tired of it. A penny lodged in a crack. She kicked it. Imagine Chris Hargensen all bloody and screaming for mercy. With rats crawling all over her face. Good. Good. That would be good. A dog turd with a foot-track in the middle of it. A roll of blackened caps that some kid had banged with a stone. Cigarette butts. Crash in her head with a rock, with a boulder. Crash in all their hearts. Good. Good. (saviour Jesus meek and mild) That was good for Momma, all right for her. She didn't have to go among the wolves every day of every year, out into a carnival of laughers, joke-tellers, pointers, snickerers. And didn't Momma say there would be a Day of Judgment. (the name of that star shall be wormwood and they shall be scourged with scorpions) and an angel with a sword? If only it would be today and Jesus coming not with a lamb and a shepherd's crook, but with a boulder on each hand to crush the laughters and the snickerers, to root out the evil and destroy it screaming – a terrible Jesus of blood and righteousness. And if only she could be His sword and His arm. She had tried to fit. She had defied Momma in a hundred little ways, had tried to erase the red-plague circle that had been drawn around her from the first day she had left the controlled environment of the small house on Carlin Street and had walked up to the Baker Street Grammar School with her Bible under her arm. She could still remember that day, the stares, and the sudden, awful silence when she had gotten down on her knees before lunch in the school cafeteria-the laughter had begun on that day and had echoed up through the years. The red-plague circle was like blood itself-you could scrub and scrub and scrub and still it would be there, not erased, not clean. She had never gotten on her knees in a public place again, although she had not told Momma that. Still, the original memory remained, with her and with them. She had fought Momma tooth and nail over the Christian Church Camp, and had earned the money to go herself by taking in sewing. Momma told her darkly that it was Sin, that it was Methodists and Baptists and Congregationalists and that it was Sin and Backsliding. She forbade Carrie to swim at the camp. Yet although she had swum and had laughed when they ducked her (until she couldn't get her breath any more and they kept doing it and she got panicky and began to scream) and had tried to take part in the camp's activities, a thousand practical jokes had been played on ol' prayin' Carrie and she had come home on the bus a week early, her eyes red and socketed from weeping, to be picked up by Momma at t he station, and Momma had told her grimly that she should treasure the memory of her scourging as proof that Momma knew, that Momma was right, that the only hope of safety and salvation was inside the red circle. ‘For straight is the gate,' Momma said grimly in the taxi, and at home she had sent Carrie to the closet for six hours. Momma had, of course, forbade her to shower with the other girls; Carrie had hidden her shower things in her school locker and had showered anyway, taking part in a naked ritual that was shameful and embarrassing to her in hopes that the circle around her might fade a little, just a little- (but today o today) Tommy Erbter, age five, was biking up the other side of the street. He was a small, intense-looking boy on a twenty-inch Schwinn with bright-red training wheels. He was humming ‘Scoobie Doo, where are you?' under his breath. He saw Carrie, brightened, and stuck out his tongue. ‘Hey, ol' fart-face! Ol' prayin' Carrie!' Carrie glared at him with sudden smoking rage. The bike wobbled on its training wheels and suddenly fell over. Tommy screamed. The bike was on top of him. Carrie smiled and walked on. The sound of Tommy's wails was sweet, jangling music in her ears. If only she could make something like that happen whenever she liked. (just did) She stopped dead seven houses up from her own, staring blankly at nothing. Behind her, Tommy was climbing tearfully back on to his bike, nursing a scraped knee. He yelled something at her, but she ignored it. She had been yelled at by experts. She had been thinking: (fall off that bike kid push you off that bike and split your rotten head) And something had happened Her mind had †¦ had †¦ she groped for a word. Had flexed. That was not just right, but it was very close. There had been a curious mental bending, almost like an elbow curling a dumbbell. That wasn't exactly right either, but it was all she could think of. An elbow with no strength. A weak baby muscle. Flex. She suddenly stared fiercely at Mrs Yorraty's big picture window. She thought: (stupid frumpty old bitch break that window) Nothing. Mrs Yorraty's picture window glittered serenely in the fresh nine o'clock glow of morning. Another cramp gripped Carrie's belly and she walked on. But †¦ The light. And the ashtray; don't forget the ashtray. She looked back (old bitch hates my momma) over her shoulder. Again it seemed that something flexed †¦ but very weakly. The flow of her thoughts shuddered as if there had been a sudden bubbling from a wellspring deeper inside. The picture window seemed to ripple. Nothing more. It could have been her eyes. Could have been. Her head began to feel tired and fuzzy, and it throbbed with the beginning of a headache. Her eyes were hot, as if she had just sat down and read the Book of Revelations straight through. She continued to walk down the street toward the small white house with the blue shutters. The familiar hate-love-dread feeling was churning inside her. Ivy had crawled up the west side of the bungalow (they always called it the bungalow because the White house sounded like a political joke and Momma said all politicians were crooks and sinners and would eventually give the country over to the Godless Reds who would put all the believers of Jesus – even the Catholics – up against the wall), and the ivy was picturesque, she knew it was, but sometimes she hated it. Sometimes, like now, the ivy looked like a grotesque giant hand ridged with great veins which had sprung up out of the ground to grip the building. She approached it with dragging feet. Of course, there had been the stones. She stopped again, blinking vapidly at the day. The stones. Momma never talked about that; Carrie didn't even know if her momma still remembered the day of the stones. It was surprising that she herself still remembered it. She had been a very little girl then. How old? Three? Four? There had been the girl in the white bathing suit, and then the stones came. And things had flown in the house. Here the memory was, suddenly bright and clear. As if it had been here all along, just below the surface, waiting for a kind of mental puberty. Waiting, maybe, for today. From Carrie: The Black Dawn of T.K. (Esquire Magazine, September 12, 1980) by Jack Gaver: Estelle Horan had lived in the neat San Diego suburb of Parrish for twelve years, and outwardly she is typical Mrs California: She wears bright print shifts and smoked amber sunglasses; her hair is black-streaked blonde; she drives a neat maroon Volkswagen Formula Vee with a smile decal on the petrol cap and a green-flag ecology sticker on the back window. Her husband is an executive at the Parrish branch of the Bank of America; her son and daughter are certified members of the Southern California Sun ‘n Fun Crowd, burnished-brown beach creatures. There is a hibachi in the small, beautifully kept back yard, and the door chimes play a tinkly phrase from the refrain of ‘Hey, Jude.' But Mrs Horan still carries the thin, difficult soil of New England somewhere inside her, and when she talks of Carrie White her face takes on an odd, pinched look that is more like Lovecraft out of Arkham than Kerouac out of Southern Cat. ‘Of course she was strange,' Estelle Horan tells me. lighting a second Virginia Slim a moment after stubbing out her first. ‘The whole family was strange. Ralph was a construction worker, and people on the street said he carried a Bible and a .38 revolver to work with him every day. The Bible was for his coffee break and lunch. The .38 was in case he met Antichrist on the job, I can remember the Bible myself. The revolver †¦ who knows? He was a big olive-skinned man with his hair always shaved into a flattop crewcut. He always looked mean. And you didn't meet his eyes, not ever. They were so intense they actually seemed to glow. When you saw him coming you crossed the street and you never stuck out your tongue at his back, not ever. That's how spooky he was.' She pauses, puffing clouds of cigarette smoke toward the pseudo-redwood beams that cross the ceiling. Stella Horan lived on Carlin Street until she was twenty, commuting to day classes at Lewin Business College in Motton. But she remembers the incidents of the stones very clearly. ‘There are times,' she says, ‘when I wonder if I might have caused it. Their back yard was next to ours, and Mrs White had put in a hedge but it hadn't grown out yet. She'd called my mother dozens of times about â€Å"the show† I was putting on in my back yard. Well, my bathing suit was perfectly decent – prudish by today's standards – nothing but a plain old one-piece Jantzen. Mrs White used to go on and on about what a scandal it was for â€Å"her baby.† My mother..-. well, she tries to be polite, but her temper is so quick. I don't know what Margaret White did to finally push her over the edge – called me the Whore of Babylon, I suppose – but my mother told her our yard was our yard and I'd go out and dance the hootchie-kootchie buck naked if that was her pleasure and mine. She also told her that she was a dirty old woman with a can of worms for a mind. There was a lot more shouting, but that was the upshot of it. ‘I wanted to stop sunbathing right then. I hate trouble. It upsets my stomach. But Mom-when she gets a case, she's a terror. She came home from Jordan Marsh with a little white bikini. Told me I might as well get all the sun I could. â€Å"After all,† she said, â€Å"the privacy of our own back yard and all.† Stella Horan smiles a little at the memory and crushes out her cigarette. ‘I tried to argue with her, tell her I didn't want any more trouble, didn't want to be a pawn in their back-fence war. Didn't do a bit of good. Trying to stop my mum when she' gets a bee in her hat is like trying to stop a Mack truck going downhill with no brakes. Actually, there was more to it. I was scared of the Whites. Real religious nuts are nothing to fool with. Sure, Ralph White was dead, but what if Margaret still had that .38 around? ‘But there I was on Saturday afternoon, spread out ‘ on a blanket in the back yard, covered with suntan lotion and listening to Top Forty on the radio. Mom hated that stuff and usually she'd yell out at least twice for me to turn it down before she went nuts. But that day she turned it up twice herself. I started to feel like the Whore of Babylon myself ‘But nobody came out of the Whites' place. Not even the old lady to hang her wash. That's something else – she never hung any undies on the back line. Not even Carrie's, and she was only three back then. Always in the house. ‘I started to relax. I guess I was thinking Margaret must have taken Carrie to the park to worship God in the raw or something. Anyway, after a little while I rolled on my back, put one arm over my eyes, and dozed off. ‘When I woke up, Carrie was standing next to me and looking down at my body.' She breaks off, frowning into space. Outside, the cars are whizzzing by endlessly. I can hear the steady little whine my tape recorder makes. But it all seems a little too brittle, too glossy, just a cheap patina over a darker world – a real world where nightmares happen. ‘She was such a pretty girl,' Stella Horan resumes, fighting another cigarette. ‘I've seen some high school pictures of her, and that horrible fuzzy black-and-white photo on the cover of Newsweek. I look at them and all I can think is, Dear God, where did she go? What did that woman do to her? Then I feel sick and sorry. She was so pretty, with pink cheeks and bright brown eyes, and her hair the shade of blonde you know will darken and get mousy. Sweet is the only word that fits. Sweet and bright and innocent. Her mother's sickness hadn't touched her very deeply, not then. ‘I kind of started up awake and tried to smile. It was hard to think what to do. I was logy from the sun and my mind felt sticky and slow. I said â€Å"Hi.† She was wearing a little yellow dress, sort of cute but awfully long for a little girl in the summer. It came down to her shins. ‘She didn't smile back. She just pointed and said, â€Å"What are those?† ‘I looked down and saw that my top had slipped while I was asleep. So I fixed it and said, â€Å"Those are my breasts, Carrie,† ‘Then she said-very solemnly: â€Å"I wish I had some.† ‘I said: â€Å"You have to wait, Carrie. You won't start to get them for another †¦ oh. eight or nine years.†