Case Study Discuss the pathpyysiology of Myelofibrosis Essay - 1

Case Study Discuss the pathpyysiology of Myelofibrosis - Essay Example They are therefore heterogeneous diseases which occur within the bone marrow within the hematopoietic stem cell. These cells produce large numbers of cells which mature fairly normally, but later result in rapid destruction of mature blood cells in the circulating bloodstream, primarily in the spleen (Vainchenker, 2005) Myelofibrosis can be associated with malignant diseases, such as leukemias, polycythemia, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and cancer with marrow metastases. It is also associated with reactions to infections (TB, osteomyelitis) and toxins, including X- or Y-Radiation and benzene (Advani, 2008). Recent research results in molecular biology have pointed to some causes of myelofibrosis. An exciting discovery was the identification of the JAK2 V617F mutation in patients with myeloproliferative disorders (Villeval, 2006). It has been demonstrated that this factor is present in many patients with myeloproliferative disorders, including 90% of polycythemia vera (PV) and about 50% of thrombocythemia and idiopathic myelofibrosis patients. This finding of an underlying genetic mutation for many myelofibrotic patients suggests that future therapies may be developed which are more targeted to the basic underlying causes of the disease. The diagnosis of myelofibrosis starts with a peripheral blood film. Because myelofibrosis can result in a large number of circulating blood fragments, it is advisable to support automated hematology analyzers’ CBC results with a manual film. In most cases, myelofibrosis is diagnosed in the earlier stages with splenomegaly, or an enlarged spleen. It can cause an infarction of the spleen, anemia (which is most probably related to spleen function) or increases in LDH which are not linked with other causes. As the spleen is an important part of blood cell production and destruction, a blood cell morphological study can help to rule in or rule out myelofibrosis as the causative factor for

World Wide Web and Business Community Essay Example for Free

World Wide Web and Business Community Essay The World Wide Web (abbreviated as WWW or W3, commonly known as the Web), is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With a web browser, one can view web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia, and navigate between them via hyperlinks. Using concepts from his earlier hypertext systems like ENQUIRE, British engineer, computer scientist and at that time employee of CERN, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, now Director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), wrote a proposal in March 1989 for what would eventually become the World Wide Web. At CERN, a European research organisation near Geneva situated on Swiss and French soil, Berners-Lee and Belgian computer scientist Robert Cailliau proposed in 1990 to use hypertext to link and access information of various kinds as a web of nodes in which the user can browse at will, and they publicly introduced the project in December of the same year. The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used in everyday speech without much distinction. However, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not one and the same. The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks. In contrast, the Web is one of the services that run on the Internet. It is a collection of text documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs, usually accessed by web browsers from web servers. In short, the Web can be thought of as an application running on the Internet. The internet not only is a perfect medium for communication between people across the globe but also is fast becoming a preferred medium of business transactions. E-commerce is thus the tool to which big business giants of the globe are resorting to conduct their business. This does not mean that the smaller businesses are at a disadvantage. They too make full utility of it. It does not difficult to imagine the potential of the web to identify the vast market potential available. The Internet and, more particularly, the WWW are attracting businesses in their thousands, with the following appearing to be the main application areas: Publicity, Marketing and Advertising The WWW appears to be an ideal medium for businesses attempting to promote themselves and their wares. Setting up a site on the WWW, and thus gaining instant access to millions of people all over the globe, can be achieved at  a small fraction of the cost using more conventional methods (Watson, 1994). Direct On-line Selling It is already possible to visit ‘virtual malls’ full of ‘virtual shops’, browse through catalogues and examine various products in vast detail, all courtesy of the Web. This has all been made possible by the multi-media capabilities that the Web provides (Minio, 1994). Research and Development Companies, especially those involved in research and development can use the Internet as an additional resource for collecting information. Tetzeli (1994) explains how it is possible to post a query on a bulletin board or join a discussion group and receive advice on how to solve the problem. Alternatively, there are millions of Web pages, some of which contain access to searchable databases of information relating to particular subjects. Communication The use of low-cost electronic mail (e-mail) is the Internet service used most extensively by businesses (Rosen, 1994). Kehoe (1994) illustrates the strength of e-mail with the example of ‘Digital Equipment’ which has over 31,000 computers linked up to the Internet and exchanges about 1.7 million e-mail messages each month with people external to the company. INTERNET The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite (often called TCP/IP, although not all applications use TCP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries an extensive range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support email. Internet protocol suite (often called TCP/IP, although not all applications use TCP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government  networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries an extensive range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support email. EXPLORING CYBERWORLD INTERNET WORKING CONCEPTS Computers, which are connected with internet, can communicate because of protocols. There are two protocols for working with the internet. These are: * Internet Protocol (IP) * Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) Each and every computer system has an internet address to connect with internet. The computers are linked with a centralized storage medium, which is called server. This server stores all software programs and data. The computers linked with this server are called clients. When a client sends data / message over the internet, this is broken into small pieces using the TCP protocol. These small pieces are called packets. Each packet contains the information (address) of the destination and sender, this address is called IP address. These various packets are sent to the destination by the fastest possible path using devices called routers. The destination TCP software assembles all the packets to form a complete message. Hardware/Software Requirement for Internet connection The following hardware and software requirements should be met with for an internet connection. * Pentium computer with 128 MB, 256 MB or 512 MB RAM. Higher the RAM, faster is the connectivity. * Modem with 56 KBP data transmission speed * Windows interface like windows98, windows2000, windows XP etc. * CD ROM drive. * High storage hard disk 80 GB or more. * Telephone connection * TCP/IP internet account from internet service provider * Antivirus program to scan the viruses, which may come into your computer while downloading software or data from internet. Baud Baud is the unit of measuring speed of data transmission. It is measured in bits per second the higher the baud rates the more data the device can transmit per second. The amount of data that can be transferred in a single pulse/symbol will depend on the type of data transmission system being used. Bandwidth Bandwidth is the information carrying capacity of a communication channel. The channel may be analog or digital. In electronic communication, bandwidth is the width of the range of frequencies that an electronic signal uses on a given transmission medium. In this usage, bandwidth is expressed in terms of the difference between the highest frequency signal component and the lowest frequency signal component. Since the frequency of a signal is measured in hertz, a given bandwidth is the difference in hertz between the highest frequencies the signal uses lowest frequency it uses. A typical voice signal has a bandwidth of approximately three kilohertz; an analog television broadcast video signal has a bandwidth of six megahertz – some 2,000 times as wide as the voice signal. Data Transfer Rate The data transfer rate is commonly used to measure how fast data is transferred from one location to another it is the amount of digital data that is moved from one place to another in a given time. The data transfer rate can be viewed as the speed of travel of a given amount of data from one place to another. In general, the greater the bandwidth of a given path, the higher the data transfer rate. In telecommunication, data transfers in bit are usually measured per second. Measuring data transfer rate Bits are typically used in data transfer rates and bytes are used to indicate storage space. A lowercase b is used to signify bits and uppercase B is used to represent bytes. Data transfer rates on computer networks are measured in bits per second or bytes per second, with a byte equalling 8 bits. Megabits per second is written as Mbps and gigabytes per second is denoted as GBps. An Ethernet local area network (LAN) can feature data transfer rates of 10 Mbps, while some internet server boast data transfer rates measuring in GBps. Bits and Bytes Bits and bytes are the units of measure for data transfer rate and storage capacity. We generally use bits for measuring the speed of data transfer. All standard devices show the speed in bits per second. Wireless Network Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is not connected by cables of any kind. It is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and enterprise (business) installations avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment locations. Wireless telecommunications networks are generally implemented and administered using radio communication. This implementation takes place at the physical level (layer) of the OSI model network structure. Wireless internet is the easy way to access internet without the need for a landline. It allows you to stay in touch whilst being on the move. Just plug your USB modem into your computer for an instant internet connection to take with you on the move. Mobile IP The Mobile IP protocol allows location-independent routing of IP datagram on the Internet. Each mobile node is identified by its home address disregarding its current location in the Internet. While away from its home network, a mobile node is associated with a care-of address which identifies its current location and its home address is associated with the local endpoint of a tunnel to its home agent. Mobile IP specifies how a mobile node registers with its home agent and how the home agent routes datagrams to the mobile node through the tunnel. Mobile TCP Mobile TCP is software for forwarding SMTP server connections to the correct server, made for people travelling with a laptop, connecting to different networks. This program features the ability to check either external IP number or internal and forwarding SMTP connections to the correct SMTP server. With this program it is easy to copy your current IP numbers to the clipboard and the status window shows witch networks you have been connected to and when you sent e-mail. GPRS General packet radio service (GPRS) is a packet oriented mobile data  service on the 2G and 3G cellular communication systems global system for mobile communications (GSM). GPRS was originally standardized by European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in response to the earlier CDPD and i-mode packet-switched cellular technologies. It is now maintained by the3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). GPRS usage is typically charged based on volume of data transferred, contrasting with circuit switched data, which is usually billed per minute of connection time. GPRS data may be sold either as part of a bundle (e.g., up to 5 GB per month for a fixed fee) or on a pay-as-you-use basis. Usage above the bundle cap is either charged per megabyte or disallowed. GPRS is a best-effort service, implying variable throughput and latency that depend on the number of other users sharing the service concurrently, as opposed to circuit switching, where a certain quality of service (QoS) is guaranteed during the connection. In 2G systems, GPRS provides data rates of 56–114 Kbit/second. 2G cellular technology combined with GPRS is sometimes described as 2.5G, that is, a technology between the second (2G) and third (3G) generations of mobile telephony. It provides moderate-speed data transfer, by using unused time division multiple access (TDMA) channels in, for example, the GSM system. Web Service A Web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices over the World Wide Web. A Web service is a software function provided at a network address over the web or the cloud, it is a service that is always on as in the concept of utility computing. The W3C defines a Web service as a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network. It has an interface described in a machine-process able format (specifically Web Services Description Language, known by the acronym WSDL). Other systems interact with the Web service in a manner prescribed by its description using SOAP messages, typically conveyed using HTTP with an XML serialization in conjunction with other Web-related standards. The W3C also states, We can identify two major classes of Web services, REST-compliant Web services, in which the primary purpose of the service is to manipulate XML representations of Web resources using a  uniform set of stateless operations; and arbitrary Web services, in which the service may expose an arbitrary set of operations. Search Engines A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. The search results are generally presented in a line of results often referred to as search engine results pages (SERPs). The information may be a specialist in web pages, images, information and other types of files. Some search engines also mine data available in databases or open directories. Unlike web directories, which are maintained only by human editors, search engines also maintain real-time information by running an algorithm on a web crawler. Examples on Search Engines 1. www.google.com 2. www.yahoo.com 3. www.altavista.com 4. www.excite.com 5. www.search.com 6. www.dogpile.com Keyword Searching A Keyword search looks for words anywhere in the record. Keyword searches are a good substitute for a subject search when you do not know the authorized subject heading form. Keyword may also be used as a substitute for a title or author search when you have incomplete title or author information. You may also use the Guided Keyword search option to combine search elements, group terms, or select indexes or fields to be searched. Concept based Searching Unlike keyword search systems, concept based search systems try to determine what you mean, not just what you say. In the best circumstances, a concept based search returns hits on documents that are â€Å"about† the subject you’re exploring, even if the words in the document don’t precisely match the word you enter into the query. Excite is currently the best known general purpose search engine site on the web that relies on concept based search. This is known as clustering which is essentially means that words are examined in  relation to other words found nearby. There are various methods of building clustering systems, some of which are highly complex, relaying on sophisticated linguistic and artificial intelligence theory that we won’t even attempt to go into here. Excite sticks to a numerical approach. Excites software determines meaning by calculating the frequency with which certain important words appear. When several words or phrases that are tagged to signal a particular concept appear close to each other in a text, the search engine concludes, by statistical analysis that the piece is â€Å"about† a certain subject. Refining Your Search Most sites offer two different types of searches – â€Å"basic† and â€Å"advanced†. In a â€Å"basic† search, you just enter a keyword without sifting through any pull down menus of additional options. Depending on the engine, though, â€Å"basic† searches can be quite complex. Advanced search refining options differ from one search engine to another, but some of the possibilities includes the ability to search on more than one word, to give more weight to one search term than you give to another and to exclude words that might be likely to muddy the results. You might also be able to search on proper names, on phrases and on words that are found within a certain proximity to other search terms. Many search engines now automatically recognize company names and can direct a searcher to a corporate website when such a name is entered as a query. Phrase recognition is also becoming more common; i.e. , you might expect to get relevant hits for the term cold war if you enter it without the quotation markets that typically denotes a phrases. Downloading These are tools that keep track of many web sites around the world and let you search for particular items whenever you want. The result of search is a custom list of links, pointing to whatever items the search engine found that met your criteria.

Essay --

Anna Sampson Mr. Sharbatz Sophomore English B 3 March 2014 Friendship What is true friendship? â€Å"It is putting someone else first. It is being strictly honest, loyal, and chaste in every action. Perhaps it is the word commitment that unlocks the real meaning of friendship.† (Dalton). That is the essence of a true friend, someone that is always there for you. Though friendship is not easy, it can fall apart a lot easier. Good friendships can be affected from betrayal, distance, and differences in class. Betrayal some may say is â€Å"the most devastating loss a person can experience† (Frank). Especially when it comes from someone who is special like a friend and someone who trust is embedded within.The novel The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini has numerous examples of friendship issues within it. In The Kite Runner Baba and Ali are friends, but once Baba betrays Ali by sleeping with his wife their friendship suffers greatly and never quite recovers (Hosseini 222). Betrayal is something that cannot easily be recovered from, something that changes two people’s relationship forever. Ano...

The Tet Offensive Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Tet Offensive was unquestionably the biggest occurrence of the Vietnam War. While the military success of the Viet Cong in mounting a sustained revolt in cities across South Vietnam was virtually non-existent, the psychological impact it had on the American public was quite simply phenomenal. This effect was partially due to the reporting of the war by the media. To completely understand the impacts of Tet, we must first understand the goals of Tet. The execution of Tet was a failure on the battlefield; however, it proved to be an astounding success on college campuses across America.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main objectives of the Tet Offensive of 1968 were to mount numerous uprisings in cities that were supposedly secure. The cities focused on in Tet were Saigon, Hue, and Danang. The idea originally came about around 1966. The reason being was that General Westmoreland’s continuous pressure constantly harried the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong (Ford 33). The US armed forces were depriving their Vietnamese aggressors of what they needed most, time to plan. Around this time General Nguyen Chi Thanh was being reprimanded for his failures in using large-scale unit operations against the devastating firepower of US forces. Basically, if Thanh continued the war under these circumstances he would have no army to continue the revolution. The decision from Hanoi was that their only hope was to use a Protracted War Strategy and outlast the Americans (Ford 33). In 1967 Thanh died and was replaced by General Giap. This gave the decision makers in Hanoi a solu tion to their problem of adopting a sound strategy. It wasn’t hard to make a decision, they decided on fighting a long and drawn out guerilla war. Hanoi also expanded the debate to consider the views of others (Ford 34). Psychology was a factor in this war, the leaders in North Vietnam made sure of it. They realized that Vietnam was a political war for America. In fact, it was not uncommon for the North Vietnamese leaders to tune in to American broadcasts to see how the media handled the war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On January 30th, 1968 the Tet Offensive came into being. Nineteen Vietnamese sappers blew a hole in the eight-foot wall surrounding the US embassy in Saigon. Initially the dozen military police and Marine Corps guards were taken by surprise, by dawn the wall was secure and ... ...r the Viet Cong it was a great psychological victory over the American public. The decline of events in 1968 was enough to keep President Johnson from seeking re-election.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It isn’t difficult to understand why the Tet Offensive of 1968 changed many American’s opinion of the war. The offensive took the US by surprise. There were signs that it was coming but these signs were not given the proper attention that they required. The media in Vietnam was in disarray when the offensive first broke out and when they finally came back into their normal functions the damage had been done by misreporting and the chaos and confusion that swept the country. List Of Works Cited Braestrup, Peter. Big Story. New Haven: Westview Press, Inc., 1977. Ford, Ronnie E. TET 1968: Understanding the Surprise. London: Frank Cass & Co. LTD, 1995 Gilbert, Marc Jason and William Head. The Tet Offensive. Westport: Praeger, 1996. Omicinski, John. Tet Offensive – A Turning Point.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vets With A Mission. 4 Feb. 2003   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  . Wirtz, James J. The Tet Offensive: Intelligence Failure In War. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991.

Succubus Blues CHAPTER 6

I woke up the next day, determined to go see Erik and get the truth about vampire hunters. Then, as I was brushing my teeth, I remembered yesterday's other crisis. Seth Mortensen. Swearing, I finished up in the bathroom, earning a disapproving look from Aubrey for my profanity. There was no telling how long this tour thing with him might take. I might have to wait until tomorrow to see Erik, and by then, this vampire hunter or whatever could have struck again. I set out for Emerald City, wearing the most nonattractive outfit I could muster: jeans and a turtleneck, with my hair pulled severely back. Paige, all smiles, approached me as I waited for Seth in the cafe. â€Å"You should show him Foster's and Puget Sound Books while you're out,† she told me conspiratorially. Still waking up, I took a sip of the mocha Bruce had just made me and tried to reason out her logic. Foster's and Puget Sound Books were competitors of ours, though not major ones. â€Å"Those places are dives.† â€Å"Exactly.† She grinned at me with her even white teeth. â€Å"Show him those, and he'll be convinced we're the best place for him to do his writing at.† I studied her, feeling seriously out of the loop. Or maybe I was just distracted still about the Duane thing. It wasn't every day one had his immortality revoked. â€Å"Why†¦ would he do his writing here?† â€Å"Because he likes to take his laptop and write in coffee shops.† â€Å"Yeah, but he lives in Chicago.† Paige shook her head. â€Å"Not anymore. Where were you last night? He's moving here to be closer to his family.† I recalled Seth mentioning his brother, but I had been too caught up in my own mortification to pay much attention. â€Å"When?† â€Å"Now, as far as I know. That's why this was his last stop on the tour. He's staying with his brother but plans on finding his own place soon.† She leaned close to me, eyes gleaming predatorily. â€Å"Georgina, if we have a famous author hanging out here regularly, it'll be good for our image.† Honestly, my immediate concern wasn't where Seth would be writing. What freaked me out was that he would not be departing for a different time zone anytime soon, a time zone where he could then forget about me and let us both get on with our lives. I could run into him every day now. Literally, if Paige's wish was realized. â€Å"Won't that be distracting to his writing if his presence is widely known? Annoying fans and whatnot?† â€Å"We won't let it become a problem. We'll make the most of this and respect his privacy. Careful now, here he comes.† I drank more of my mocha, still marveling at the way Paige's mind worked. She could think of promotional ideas that never would have entered my head. Warren might have been the one to invest capital in this place, but it had been her marketing genius that made it a success. â€Å"Good morning,† Seth told us, walking up to the table. He wore jeans, a Def Leppard T-shirt, and a brown corduroy jacket. The lay of his hair did not convince me he'd brushed it this morning. Paige looked at me pointedly, and I sighed. â€Å"Let's go.† Seth silently followed me outside, that awkward tension building between us like a solid barrier. He did not look at me; I did not look at him. It was only when we stood outside on Queen Anne Avenue and I realized I had no plan for today that conversation had to occur. â€Å"Where to start? Seattle, unlike Gaul, is not divided into just three parts.† I made the joke more to myself, but Seth suddenly laughed. â€Å"Seattle peninsula est,† he observed, playing off my observation. â€Å"Not exactly. Besides, that's Bede, not Caesar.† â€Å"I know. But I don't know very much Latin.† He gave me that quirky, bemused smile that seemed to be his trademark expression. â€Å"Do you?† â€Å"Enough.† I wondered how he would react if I mentioned my fluency in Latin dialects from various stages of the Roman Empire. My vague answer must have been interpreted as lack of interest because he looked away, and more silence fell. â€Å"Is there anything special you wanted to see?† â€Å"Not really.† Not really. Okay. Well. The sooner we got this started, the sooner it would end and I could see Erik. â€Å"Follow me.† As we drove off, I sort of hoped we might naturally flow into meaningful conversation, in spite of our bad start yesterday. Yet, as we traveled, it seemed clear Seth had no intention of carrying on any discourse. I recalled his nervousness in front of the crowd yesterday and even with some of the bookstore staff. This guy had serious social phobias, I realized, though he had made a valiant effort in shedding them during our initial flirtations. Then, I had gone and turned on the back-off vibes, undoubtedly scarring him for life and undoing whatever progress he had made. Way to go, Georgina. Maybe if I could broach some compelling topics, he would muster his earlier confidence and bring back our rapport – in a platonic way, of course. I attempted to recall my profound questions from last night. And once again, they eluded me, so I switched to mundane ones. â€Å"So your brother lives around here?† â€Å"Yup.† â€Å"What part?† â€Å"Lake Forest Park.† â€Å"That's a nice area. Are you going to look for a place up there?† â€Å"Probably not.† â€Å"Do you have another place in mind then?† â€Å"Not really.† Okay, this wasn't getting us anywhere. Annoyed at how this master of the written word could be so short on spoken ones, I finally decided to cut him out of the conversation altogether. Having him involved was too much work. Instead, I chatted on amiably without him, pointing out the popular spots: Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market, the Fremont Troll. I even showed him the shoddier representatives of our competition, per Paige's instructions. I neglected anything closer to the Space Needle than a brief nod, however. No doubt he'd seen it from Emerald City's windows and could pay the exorbitant fees to visit it up close if he really needed the tourist experience. We went to the U District for lunch. He followed without protest or comment to my favorite Vietnamese restaurant. Our meal progressed quietly as I took a break from talking, both of us eating noodles and staring out the nearby window to watch the bustle of students and cars. â€Å"This is nice.† It was the most Seth had spoken in a while, and I nearly jumped at the sound of his voice. â€Å"Yeah. This place doesn't look like much, but they make a mean pho.† â€Å"No, I meant out there. This area.† I followed his gesture back to University Way, at first seeing nothing more than disgruntled students hauling backpacks around. Then, expanding my search, I became aware of the other small specialty restaurants, the coffee shops, and the used bookstores. It was an eclectic mix, somewhat tattered around the edges, but it had a lot to offer quirky, intellectual types – even famous, introverted writers. I looked at Seth, who looked back at me expectantly. It was our first direct eye contact all day. â€Å"Are there places to live around here?† â€Å"Sure. If you want to share a house with a bunch of eighteen-year-olds.† I paused, thinking that option might not be so unappealing for a guy. â€Å"If you want something more substantial in this area, it'll cost you. I guess Cady and O'Neill ensure that's not really an issue, huh? We can drive around and look, if you want.† â€Å"Maybe. I'd honestly rather go there first.† He pointed across the street, to one of the used bookstores. His eyes flicked back to me uncertainly. â€Å"If that's okay with you.† â€Å"Let's go.† I loved used bookstores but always felt a little guilty walking into them. Like I was cheating. After all, I worked around bright, crisp books all the time. I could obtain a reprint of almost anything I wanted, brand new. It seemed wrong to take such visceral pleasure from being around old books, from the smell of aged paper, mildew, and dust. Such collections of knowledge, some quite old, always reminded me of times long past and places I'd seen, triggering a tidal wave of nostalgia. These emotions made me feel both old and young. The books aged while I did not. A gray tabby cat stretched and blinked at us from her spot on the counter as we entered. I stroked her back and said hello to the old man near her. He glanced up briefly from the books he sorted, smiled at us, and returned to his work. Seth stared around at the towering shelves before us, an expression of bliss on his face, and promptly disappeared into them. I wandered over to nonfiction, wanting to peruse the cookbooks. I had grown up preparing food without microwaves and food processors and decided it was high time to let my culinary knowledge expand into this century. Finally settling on a Greek cookbook with lots of colored pictures, I dragged myself away a half hour later and looked for Seth. I found him in the children's section, kneeling next to a stack of books, completely absorbed. I crouched down beside him. â€Å"What are you looking at?† He flinched slightly, startled by my proximity, and tore his gaze away from his find to look at me. This close, I could see that his eyes were actually more of a golden-amber brown, his lashes long enough to make any girl jealous. â€Å"Andrew Lang's fairy books.† He held a paperback entitled The Blue Fairy Book. On top of the stack near him sat another called The Orange Fairy Book, and I could only assume the rest followed color-coded suit. Seth glowed with literary rapture, forgetting his reticence around me. â€Å"The 1960s reprints. Not as valuable as, say, editions from the 1800s, but these are the ones my dad had, the ones he used to read to us from. He only had a couple, though; this is the whole set. I'm going to get them and read them to my nieces.† Flipping through the pages of The Red Fairy Book, I recognized the titles of many familiar stories, some I hadn't even known were still around. I turned the book over and looked inside the cover but found no price. â€Å"How much are they?† Seth pointed to a small sign near the shelf he'd obtained them from. â€Å"Is that reasonable for these?† I asked. â€Å"It's a little high, but it's worth it to me to get them all in one go.† â€Å"No way.† I gathered up part of the books, rising. â€Å"We'll talk him down.† â€Å"Talk him down how?† My lips turned up in a smile. â€Å"With words.† Seth seemed dubious, but the clerk proved an easy target. Most men would eventually cave before an attractive, charismatic woman – let alone a succubus who still sported a residual life force glow. Besides, I had learned bartering at my mother's knee. The guy behind the counter didn't stand a chance. By the time I finished with him, he had happily lowered the price by 25 percent and thrown in my cookbook for free. Walking back to my car, arms laden with books, Seth kept glancing at me wonderingly. â€Å"How did you do that? I've never seen anything like it.† â€Å"Lots of practice.† A vague answer worthy of one of his. â€Å"Thanks. I wish I could repay the favor.† â€Å"Don't worry – hey, you can actually. Would you mind running an errand with me? It's to a bookstore, but it's a scary bookstore.† â€Å"Scary how?† Five minutes later, we were on our way to see my old friend Erik Lancaster. Erik had been ensconced in the Seattle area long before me, and he was a well-known figure to almost every immortal entity around. Versed in mythology and supernatural lore, he regularly proved to be an excellent resource for all things paranormal. If he had noticed that some of his best patrons never aged, he wisely refrained from pointing that out. The only annoying thing about seeing Erik was that it required a visit to Krystal Starz – a stunning example of New Age spirituality gone wrong. I didn't doubt the place might have had good intentions back when it opened in the 1980s, but the bookstore now touted a barrage of colorful, highly commercial merchandise more weighted in price than any sort of mystical value. Erik, by my estimation, was the only employee with legitimate concern and knowledge of esoteric matters. The best of his coworkers were simply apathetic; the worst were zealots and scam artists. Pulling up into the store's parking lot, I immediately felt surprise at the number of cars there. This many people at Emerald City would have constituted a signing, but that sort of event seemed odd in the middle of the workday. A heavy wave of incense poured over us as we entered, and Seth appeared just as surprised as me by all the people and stimuli. â€Å"I might be a minute,† I told him. â€Å"Feel free to look around. Not that there's much here worth seeing.† He melted away, and I turned my attention to a bright-eyed young man standing near the door and directing the crowd around. â€Å"Are you here for the Gathering?† â€Å"Urn, no,† I told him. â€Å"I'm looking for Erik.† â€Å"Erik who?† â€Å"Lancaster? Older guy? African-American? He works here.† The young lackey shook his head. â€Å"There's no Erik here. Not as long as I've been working here.† He spoke like he'd founded the store. â€Å"How long has that been?† â€Å"Two months.† I rolled my eyes. A veritable veteran. â€Å"Is there a manager around here I can talk to?† â€Å"Well, Helena's here, but she's going to be – ah, there she is.† He gestured to the far side of the store where the woman in question appeared as though summoned. Ah yes, Helena. She and I had tangled before. Pale-haired, her neck bestrewn with crystals and other arcane symbols, she stood in a doorway marked meeting room. A teal shawl covered her slim shoulders, and like always, I wondered how old she was. She looked to be in her lower to mid-thirties, but something about her demeanor always made me think she was older. Maybe she'd had a lot of plastic surgery. It would be fitting, really, considering the rest of her trumped-up, artificial persona. â€Å"Everyone? Everyone?† She spoke in this obviously faked, high-pitched voice, meant to sound like a whisper, albeit one that could reach loud volumes. So mostly it came out raspy, like she had a cold. â€Å"It's time to start.† The masses – thirty or so, I'd say – moved toward the meeting room, and I followed, blending into the crowd. Some of the people around me looked like Helena: theme-dressed, in either all-black or too-vibrant shades, with a plethora of pentagrams, crystals, and ohms in attendance. Others looked like average people, dressed much like me in my work clothes, trailing along in excited curiosity. With a frozen, fake smile plastered across her face, Helena beckoned us into the room murmuring, â€Å"Welcome, welcome. Feel the energy.† When I passed by her, the smile faltered. â€Å"I know you.† â€Å"Yes.† The smile diminished further. â€Å"You're that woman who works at that big bookstore – that big, commercial bookstore.† A few people stopped and listened to our exchange, no doubt the reason she refrained from pointing out the last time I was in here, I had called her a hypocrite pushing marked-up crap merchandise. Compared to certain national chains, I hardly considered Emerald City commercial. Still, I shrugged in acknowledgment. â€Å"Yeah, what can I say, we're part of the problem in corporate America. However, we do sell all the books and tarot cards that you do, often at a discount if you're a member of Emerald City's Frequent Readers Program.† I mentioned this last part loudly. Extra advertising never hurt. Helena's weakening smile disappeared altogether, as did some of her raspy voice. â€Å"Is there something I can help you with?† â€Å"I'm looking for Erik.† â€Å"Erik doesn't work here anymore.† â€Å"Where'd he go?† â€Å"I'm not at liberty to discuss that.† â€Å"Why? Are you afraid I'll take my business elsewhere? Believe me, you were never in danger of having it.† She raised delicate fingers to her forehead and studied me seriously, eyes nearly going crossed. â€Å"I sense a lot of darkness in your aura. Black and red.† Her voice rose, drawing in the attention of her acolytes. â€Å"You would benefit greatly from some clearing work. A smoky or rutilated quartz might also help. We have excellent specimens of both for sale here. Either would lighten up your aura.† I couldn't resist a smirk. I believed in auras, knew they were perfectly real. I also knew, however, that my aura looked nothing at all like a mortal one, nor would someone like Helena even be able to see it. Indeed, a true human adept, capable of perceiving such things, would notice that in standing with a group of humans, I would be the only person without a discernible aura. It would be invisible to all, save someone like Jerome or Carter, though some particularly skilled mortal might be able to feel its strength and be understandably cautious. Erik was one such mortal, which was why he always treated me with so much respect. Helena was not. â€Å"Wow,† I crooned. â€Å"I can't believe you were able to deduce all that without your aura camera.† Krystal Starz proudly touted a camera that would photograph your aura for $9.95. â€Å"Do I owe you something now?† She sniffed. â€Å"I don't need a camera to see others' auras. I am a Master. Besides, the spirits who have assembled for this Gathering tell me plenty about you.† My smile increased. â€Å"What do they say?† I'd had little dealings with spirits or other ethereal beings in my long life, but I would know if any were present. She closed her eyes, hands to her forehead again, lines of thought creasing her face. The onlookers watched in wonder. â€Å"They tell me that much troubles you. That the indecision and monotony in your life force you to lash out, and so long as you choose the path of darkness and distrust, you will never find peace or light.† Her blue eyes opened, caught up in her own otherworldly ecstasy. â€Å"They want you to join us. Sit in our circle, feel their healing energy. The spirits will help you to a better life.† â€Å"Like they helped you out of the porn industry?† She froze, paling, and I almost felt bad for a moment. Adepts like Erik weren't the only ones with reputations in the immortal community. A crackpot like Helena was well known too. Someone who had apparently been a fan of hers back in the day had recognized her from a movie and passed on this bit of dirt to the rest of us. â€Å"I don't know what you mean,† she finally said, face struggling for control in front of her minions. â€Å"My mistake. You reminded me of someone called Moana Licka. You sort of rub crystals the way she used to rub†¦ well, you get the idea.† â€Å"You are mistaken,† Helena said, voice on the verge of cracking. â€Å"Erik no longer works here. Please leave.† Another retort rose to my lips, but then, beyond her, I caught sight of Seth. He had wandered up to the edge of the crowd, observing the spectacle with the others. Seeing him, I suddenly felt foolish, the thrill of humiliating Helena turning cheap and shallow. Embarrassed, I still managed to hold my head high as I withheld my remarks and walked away from her. Seth fell into step beside me. â€Å"Let me guess,† I said dryly. â€Å"Some people write the stories, and some people live them.† â€Å"I think you can't help but make a sensation wherever you go.† I assumed he was being sarcastic. Then, I glanced over and saw his frank expression, neither censuring nor snide. His earnestness was so unexpected that I stumbled slightly, paying more attention to him than where I was going. Having a much-deserved reputation for gracefulness, I recovered almost immediately. Seth, however, instinctually held out a hand to catch me. As he did, I suddenly had a flash of†¦ of something. Like that moment of connection back in the map aisle. Or the surge of fulfillment I got when I read his books. It was brief, fleeting, like maybe it hadn't happened at all. He seemed as surprised as I felt and released my arm tentatively, almost hesitantly. A moment later, a voice behind me broke the spell entirely. â€Å"Excuse me?† Turning, I saw a slim teenage girl with cropped red hair and piercings up and down her ears. â€Å"You were looking for Erik, right?† â€Å"Yeah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I can tell you where he's at. He left about five months ago to start his own store. It's in Lake City†¦ I forget the name. There's a light there, with a grocery store and a big Mexican restaurant†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I nodded. â€Å"I know that area. I'll find it. Thanks.† I eyed her curiously. â€Å"Do you work here?† â€Å"Yeah. Erik was always pretty cool to me, so I'd rather see him get business than this place. I'd have gone with him, but he doesn't really need any other help, so I'm stuck with Nutso in there.† She jerked her thumb back in Helena's direction. The girl had a serious, practical demeanor different from most of this place's employees. I recalled now that I'd seen her helping customers when I'd come in. â€Å"Why do you work here if you don't like it?† â€Å"I don't know. I like books, and I need money.† I dug through my purse, searching for one of my rarely used business cards. â€Å"Here. You want a new job, come talk to me sometime.† She took the card and read it, surprise filling her features. â€Å"Thanks†¦ I think.† â€Å"Thanks for the info about Erik.† Pausing, I considered further, and dug out another card. â€Å"If you've got a friend – anyone else who works here and is like you – give this to them too.† â€Å"Is that legal?† asked Seth later. † Dunno. But we're short-staffed at Emerald City.† I figured a specialty store like Erik's must be closed by now, so instead I turned toward Lake Forest Park to return Seth to his brother's house. I confess, relief flooded me. Being with one's hero was tiring, not to mention every interaction between us swung between wildly opposing poles. I'd probably be safer limiting our relationship to me simply reading his books. I dropped him off at a cute, suburban home, its front yard littered with children's playthings. I saw no sign of the children themselves, much to my disappointment. Seth gathered up his haul of books, gave me another scattered smile as he voiced his thanks, and disappeared into the house. I was almost back to Queen Anne when I realized I'd forgotten to ask him for my copy of The Glasgow Pact. Annoyed, I entered my building and immediately heard the front desk attendant solicit me. â€Å"Miss Kincaid?† I walked over to him, and he handed me a vase of flowers teeming with shades of purple and dark pink. â€Å"These came for you today.† I accepted the vase with delight, inhaling the mingled scents of roses, irises, and stargazer lilies. They had no card. Typical. â€Å"Who brought them?† He gestured beyond me. â€Å"That man over there.†

Crafting and Executing a Strategic Plan Essays

Crafting and Executing a Strategic Plan Essays Crafting and Executing a Strategic Plan Essay Crafting and Executing a Strategic Plan Essay Business Brief Competitive Strategy: Frame By Frame has evaluated the market closely analyzing the entry-level and multi-featured segments. Employing the low cost strategy in the entry-level market was established to do exactly what is intended with this approach: ? Gain a broad cross-section of the market ? Lower overall costs than the competitors ? A good basis camera ? Continuous search for ways to reduce costs ? Highlight the features that lead to low cost The keys to sustaining the low cost strategy for the entry-level segment will be a vigorous approach to finding an economical ration between prices and camera value. Paramount to sustaining the strategy will be to manage costs down every year in all areas of business (Thompson, Strickland, Gamble 2010 p. 161). Appendix A Frame by Frame will generate market share in all regions with a clear understanding that profit margin will be low. The low price leader with continued market share expansion will pay dividends in the high end multi-feature segment. Frame by Frame will complement the low price entry level camera with a well differentiated multi-featured camera. Appendix B. Profit margins over market share will allow this segment of the company to continue to thrive. A selective market which Frame by Frame intends to service will prove beneficial to the bottom line. With strong marketing and advertizing plans market share will grow in years to come leading to even stronger market share and profits. The differentiation strategy for the multi-featured camera will ? ind a narrow market niche where buyers needs and preferences are distinctively different. ? develop features, attributes and custom made products that match the tastes and requirements of niche members ? communicate how product offering does the best job of meeting the niche buyer’s expectations It will be crucial for Frame to Frame to stay committed to serving the niche better than rivals. The firm must not blur the strategic image by entering other market segmen ts or adding other products to widen market appeal (Thompson, Strickland, Gamble 2010 p. 161). Supplemental Strategies: Frame by Frame has taken a serious look at expanding the product line in the entry-level camera segment. Additional new models and styles will help to appeal to an even wider group of buyers. It will be crucial for the company to identify ways to continue to hold down costs so the offering of additional products will continue to be appealing to buyers at the entry level camera segment. Providing the options to buy the same phone in different colors or color combinations can have a significant impact on the number of potential buyers. For instance, the cell phone industry has catapulted sales of identical phones by making the phone and/or covers that favor specific sports teams, or charitable causes. This supplemental strategy may produce similar results. A second supplemental strategy incorporates the entry level camera into the phone to generate a strategic alliance between two companies that seem inseparable in today’s world of technology. Finding a new phone without a camera is nearly impossible and finding any human without a cell phone is just as unlikely. Strategic alliances take a great deal of planning to minimize the risk for both parties. Thompson, Strickland, Gamble (2009) state that the extent to which the companies benefit from entering into alliances seems to be a function of six factors: ? Picking a good partner ? Being sensitive to cultural differences ? Recognizing that the alliance must benefit both sides ? Ensuring that both parties live up to their commitments ? Structuring decision making to be swift if needed ? Managing learning and adjusting the alliance agreement to fit new circumstances. Frame by Frame must keep an open mind to the market and rival forces to remain competitive. In the business world the competitive climate drives companies to be innovative. Staying on the cutting edge of your business strategies and keeping your business head on a swivel so as to watch the competition will be the combination that will pay dividends for years to come. Foreign Markets Strategies: Frame by Frame have developed strategies that are mirror images of each other for each of the four global regions. The cost, marketing, production, pricing plans are nearly the same in all areas. Frame by Frame has found this strategy successful but may generate even higher profits and market share by varying the company’s strategic approach from country to country in response to differing local market, culture, competitive conditions, and differing buyer tastes and preferences (Thompson, Strickland, Gamble 2010 p. 215). Altering the strategy from region to region would be more beneficial in the multi-featured segment in which variations from production to marketing would be more tolerant of variations. The entry-level segment which operates on a very low margin must utilize standardized methods to manage costs and hold onto market share. Addendum: The global economy allows for a company to utilize creativity and ingenuity to craft a dynamic strategic plan that can be customized to any market or region of the world. The development of a successful plan will take a team that is focused on the market environment and the various influences to be encountered. The successful company will be able to navigate the factors and make the changes needed to meet the company goals.

The Wright Brothers Famous Quotes

The Wright Brothers Famous Quotes On December 17, 1903,  Orville Wright  and  Wilbur Wright  successfully tested a flying machine that took off with its own power, flew at even speeds, then landed safely without damage and started the era of human flight. The year before, the brothers tested out a number of aircraft, wing designs, gliders, and propellers in order to understand the complexities of aerodynamics and hopefully create a powered craft capable of prolonged flight. Throughout this process, Orville and Wilbur recorded many of their greatest quotes in the notebooks they kept and interviews they made at the time. From Orvilles thoughts on hope and living to both brothers interpretations of what they discovered during their experiments, the following quotes encapsulate the thrill the Wright brothers felt when creating, then flying, the first self-propelled airplane. Orville Wright on Dreams, Hope, and Life The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our  ancestors  who, in their grueling travels across trackless lands in prehistoric times, looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through. The  airplane stays up  because it doesnt have the time to fall. No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris†¦[because] no known motor can run at the requisite speed for four days without stopping. If birds can glide for long periods of time, then†¦ why cant I? If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance. We were lucky enough to grow up in an environment where there was always much encouragement to children to pursue intellectual interests; to investigate whatever aroused curiosity. Orville Wright on Their Flight Experiments In our gliding experiments, we had had a number of experiences in which we had landed upon one wing, but the crushing of the wing had absorbed the shock so that we were not uneasy about the motor in case of a landing of that kind. With all the knowledge and skill acquired in thousands of flights in the last ten years, I would hardly think today of making my first flight on a strange machine in a 27-mile wind, even if I knew that the machine had already been flown and was safe. Isnt it astonishing that all these secrets have been preserved for so many years just so we could discover them! The course of the flight up and down was exceedingly erratic, partly due to the irregularity of the air, and partly to lack of experience in handling this machine. The control of the front rudder was difficult on account of its being balanced too near the center. When the machine had been fastened with a wire to the  track so that it could not start until released by the operator, and the motor had been run to make sure that it was in condition, we tossed a coin to decide who should have the first trial. Wilbur won. With 12 horsepower  at our command, we considered that we could permit the weight of the machine with  an operator  to rise to 750 or 800 pounds, and still have as much surplus power as we had originally allowed for in the first estimate of 550 pounds. Wilbur Wright on Their Flying Experiments There is no sport equal to that which aviators enjoy while being carried through the air on great white wings. More than anything else the sensation is one of perfect peace mingled with an excitement that strains every nerve to the utmost if you can conceive of such a combination. I am an enthusiast, but not a crank in the sense that I have some pet theories as to the proper construction of a flying machine. I wish to avail myself of all that is already known and then, if possible, add my mite to help on the future worker who will attain final success. We could hardly wait to get up in the morning. I confess that in 1901, I said to my brother Orville that man would not fly for 50 years. The fact that the great scientist believed in flying machines was the one thing that encouraged us to begin our studies. It is possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill. The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who...looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space...on the infinite highway of the air. Men become wise just as they become rich, more by what they save than by what they receive.