Succubus Revealed Chapter 16

The next week was one of the longest in my life. Every moment that passed was a moment without Seth and another reminder that I'd lost my one great love. Even if I hadn't quit as Santa's helper, that job would've been done now anyway, so my days were made even longer by their emptiness. Hugh was over a lot that week, and sometimes he and Roman tried to cheer me up or at least distract me. Mostly, they were holed up together, working on my appeal to Hell. They occasionally consulted me on it, but Hugh had most of the info he needed and simply had to put it all together in the appropriate manner. The two of them discussed other things too, mostly having to do with Hell's legal system in general. I didn't entirely understand why, but Roman was very adamant about learning every detail of it. It was like he was trying to pass the bar exam or something. I tried to preoccupy myself with packing for Las Vegas. Even with my appeal, I couldn't count on anything changing with my current Hellish status. So, I had to go forward with life as though Vegas were definitely in my future. Packing was mindless enough, however, that it didn't distract me so much as just provide more time for me to ruminate and agonize over being apart from Seth. Packing also had its own pitfalls because I kept running into things that reminded me of him. The worst was when I unearthed a box of keepsakes collected from over the centuries. The most recent addition was a ring Seth had given me last Christmas, just before we broke up. It was a modern twist on a Byzantine wedding ring, decorated with dolphins and sapphires. Even when we'd gotten back together, I'd left it in the box. Little did he know that I also had – in the same box – my actual wedding ring from the fifth century. It was worn with age but hadn't entirely lost its gleam. Looking at them both gave me a weird moment of disorientation as I tried to grasp the idea that they'd technically been given to me by the same person. During that week, I also received a fair amount of e-mail from the Las Vegas crew. Phoebe, Bastien, Luis, and even Matthias had stayed in touch since my visit, and all seemed to have increased their excitement over my pending move. Messages I would have found so witty and touching a week ago now left a bad taste in my mouth, now that I knew the truth about the transfer. Luis was simply helping to orchestrate Hell's grand plan to keep me and Seth apart, and I didn't trust a single word he said. Still, he was a demon, and one could expect a certain amount of insincerity from him. Phoebe and especially Bastien hurt more because they were operating under the pretense of friendship. I didn't doubt Bastien was still my friend, but everything he sent me seemed forced, since it was coming from the orders of those above him. Matthias was kind of a mystery. I didn't know what role he played here, if he was just a convenient mortal they'd found to take me on or if he was in league with Hell. Many humans knowingly were, in the hopes of grandiose rewards someday. For all I knew, he could be an innocent in all this, just an ordinary guy who thought he'd lucked out in finding a dancer. Without being able to say for sure, I took no joy in his e-mails either. Notably missing from the Las Vegas gang's correspondence was Jamie. I'd received no friendly â€Å"Can't wait to see you!† messages at all from him, something I suspected was also a direct result of Hell's orders. They wouldn't want to risk the topic of Milton again. When I mentioned this to Roman and Hugh, they told me it would be surprising if Jamie was even still in Las Vegas. If Hell saw him as a liability that might inadvertently expose the double-contract snafu, Hugh felt the odds were good they'd simply removed him to prevent me from finding him. If so, I hoped it was simply a matter of a transfer and that the imp hadn't been punished for drunkenly revealing information he didn't realize was dangerous. On New Year's Eve, Hugh and Roman told me my petition was finished. They presented it to me, a staggeringly huge stack of paper filled with legalese, and showed me where to sign. There was an air of both gravity and pride around them, like they'd just created a painstakingly crafted work of art. Considering how rare this type of event was, perhaps that wasn't such a bad assessment. I gave the ream back to Hugh, once I'd signed it about fifteen times. â€Å"Now what?† I asked. â€Å"Now I take it to Mei and say you gave it to me to submit to Hell. I also claim ignorance about what this is in regard to, but the fact that it went through me tips her off that there's a witness to it all. Not that she'd probably ‘lose it' or anything, but . . . well, with demons, it's best to be cautious.† â€Å"Are they really going to believe you're a hapless messenger ?† I asked. Hugh crooked me a smile and gestured to the paperwork. â€Å"Well, they certainly aren't going to believe you did this on your own. But there's no real way to prove my involvement, and anyway, I haven't technically done anything wrong. I'm an imp. I conduct business for Hell. That's what this is.† Too many days of pent-up emotion took hold of me, and I flung my arms around Hugh. â€Å"Thank you,† I said. â€Å"Thank you so much.† It was all kind of awkward since he was trying to juggle the papers, but he still managed to pat me on the back. â€Å"It's nothing, sweetie,† he said, seeming a bit flustered. â€Å"I just hope it actually accomplishes something.† I stepped back and attempted to get myself under control. â€Å"How will we know if it does?† â€Å"When you're summoned to Hell,† he said. â€Å"Oh.† My heart lurched with fear. â€Å"I actually . . . actually have to go there?† Roman leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. â€Å"How else do you think this is going to get resolved?† â€Å"I'd kind of just hoped they'd send me a letter,† I said. â€Å"You know, like a college acceptance.† Hugh snorted. â€Å"Afraid not. If they respond to it, they'll summon you to Hell and hold a hearing to examine the contract, your complaints, and whatever evidence either side can muster.† I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to picture what that hearing would be like. â€Å"I've never been to Hell. Have either of you?† They shook their heads, which wasn't a surprise. Lesser immortals were recruited on Earth, where they then served. We had no reason to visit the realm of our employers, not even an imp like Hugh. Roman, as a nephilim, was on Heaven and Hell's hit list. Walking into Hell would be like showing up in a lion's den and presenting yourself on a platter. â€Å"I always kind of pictured Hell as a cross between waiting in line at the DMV and watching a marathon of Perfect Strangers,† remarked Hugh. Roman shot him a sharp look. â€Å"What's wrong with that show?† Overcome, I hugged Hugh again and then Roman. â€Å"Thanks, you guys. I mean it. I owe you . . . more than I can ever pay back.† â€Å"Just win,† said Roman fiercely. â€Å"That's all the payback I need.† Hugh put the papers into his briefcase and slipped on his coat. â€Å"I'm going to get these over to Mei now, then head off to a party and drink away the memories of wading through all that legalese.† â€Å"You're going to Peter's?† I asked. Unsurprisingly, our vampire friend was holding a shindig to ring in the New Year. â€Å"Nah,† said Hugh. â€Å"Not much chance of getting laid there. I'm going to a party one of my nurses is hosting.† We wished him a happy new year and bid him farewell. As soon as he was gone, Roman turned to me. â€Å"What about you?† he asked. â€Å"Are you going to Peter's?† I knew Peter was counting on it, but it was hard to make myself feel like celebrating. â€Å"No. I'm not in the mood. Besides, I'm not sure I want to risk running into Jerome since I'm sure Mei's going to tell him about the appeal. I'll just keep packing.† â€Å"Come on,† Roman said. â€Å"You can't just sit around tonight. It's a new year . . . new opportunities. Maybe even the chance to break free of Hell.† I nodded, though it was still hard for me to imagine what â€Å"breaking free† would even look like. It was something we kept talking about, but I really couldn't feel it yet. And even though I'd talked a good talk to Seth about how the integrity of the soul and eternity were so much more important than any earthly concerns, it all seemed lackluster without him in my life. â€Å"I know,† I told Roman. â€Å"But any celebrating I do is going to be forced. If I'm going to be unhappy, I'd rather do it in a place where I feel comfortable.† He glanced at the clock. â€Å"Let's at least go out to dinner. Dress up and get a good meal. Then we'll come back and watch all the New Year's shows.† I didn't have much of an appetite but suspected if I said no, Roman would consign himself to the same self-imprisonment as me. I didn't want his night ruined because of me, especially after everything he'd done this week. One problem presented itself. â€Å"It's almost five,† I said. â€Å"We'll never get in anywhere on such short notice. Unless we want to dress up for Taco Bell. Which I'm actually not averse to.† Roman was already reaching for his cell phone. â€Å"I know someone who's a chef at this Italian place in Green Lake. We'll get a table.† Sure enough. One mysterious phone call, and we were on our way an hour later. I hadn't been up for elaborate styling and simply shape-shifted myself into New Year's finery, with an off-the-shoulder satin dress and my hair cascading in perfect waves. Roman had warned me â€Å"no black,† so the dress was dark purple, which still seemed appropriate for my mood. I paired it with a glittering necklace of white gold and amethysts that had been my Secret Santa gift to myself. I had great taste. â€Å"Have you made any moves to put your condo on the market?† asked Roman as he drove us through the city. â€Å"Contacted a real estate agent?† I gazed out at the bright lights of the downtown skyline. This time of year, darkness came early. â€Å"No. I need to. Unless . . .† I glanced over at him. â€Å"Do you want to keep staying there? I'll keep it and rent if you want.† He shook his head, a wry smile playing over his lips. â€Å"No. It wouldn't be the same without you and those furballs. I'll get another place. Sell it or rent it to someone else.† â€Å"Easier to sell,† I mused. â€Å"Well, in theory. But I'm not concerned with profit, and it saves the hassle of screening and dealing with – † I stopped as a startling thought suddenly came to me. â€Å"Hey. Do we have time for a, oh, fifteen-minute stop? Will your friend get rid of our table?† â€Å"Not if I call. Where do you need to go?† â€Å"The U District. Seth's place. Don't worry,† I added, seeing his look of alarm. â€Å"I'm not going to do anything crazy or lovestruck. I'm not even going to see Seth. Please? Just a quick stop?† Roman concurred, though his expression said this was against his better judgment. I almost told him his fears were unfounded because I was only going to actually stop if Margaret was home and Seth wasn't. The odds against that possibility seemed slim, particularly with the way my luck tended to run. The universe apparently owed me a favor because when we reached Seth's condo, I saw her car there but not his. A light inside gave me hope that they hadn't just all carpooled off together. â€Å"Do you need me to come in?† asked Roman, as he pulled into my parking spot. â€Å"No, but thanks. I'll be right back.† I left the car and walked up to the door, hoping some wacky happenstance wouldn't actually put me face to face with Seth. Not that I wouldn't have loved to see him. God, I missed him so, so much. But I knew no good could come of an encounter between us. I rang the bell and waited anxiously. A few moments later, Margaret answered. â€Å"Georgina,† she said, clearly surprised. â€Å"What are you doing here?† She took in my appearance. â€Å"Are you supposed to meet Seth?† â€Å"No . . . can I come in for a minute? I'll be fast, I promise.† She had on a coat, making me think she'd been about to leave. Either that or she was trying to save Seth money on his heating bills. She gestured me inside and shut the door. â€Å"I was about to go to Terry's. Seth's already there.† I didn't bother asking where Ian was. He probably celebrated New Year's on January third or something, just to be contrary. â€Å"You haven't been around in a while.† I wondered what Seth had told his family about us, if he'd even told them anything at all. Maybe he was just going to say nothing until one of them noticed my absence. â€Å"Ah, well,† I said. â€Å"Seth and I are having a disagreement.† She clucked her tongue disapprovingly. â€Å"You two need to sit down and fix it then.† How I wished it was that easy. I forced a neutral smile. â€Å"We'll see,† I said. â€Å"But the thing is . . . I may be moving. No, I am moving. I have a new job . . . and I was wondering if you'd like to stay in my condo when I leave. I remember you saying you didn't want to impose on Seth's space but that you wished you could stick around more to help. Well, now you can. You can have your own place. Mine.† â€Å"I can't afford to keep my place in Chicago and pay rent somewhere here, though,† she said sadly. â€Å"That's been the problem.† â€Å"You don't have to pay rent,† I said. â€Å"You can stay there for free.† She eyed me curiously. â€Å"How will you afford your mortgage?† Yes, how indeed would a poor retail-bound girl like me be able to swing that? â€Å"The condo's paid off,† I explained. Let her think it was passed down through the family or something. â€Å"And my new job pays well. Look, I really don't mind you staying. It'd be worth it to me to know that the girls have you close by to help. I mean, they're going to need a strong woman around, right?† Margaret took a few moments to answer. â€Å"Right. I just thought you'd be that woman.† â€Å"Fate has other plans,† I said. Wasn't that the damned truth. â€Å"Is that why you and Seth aren't getting along? Because you're moving? I'm surprised he doesn't just go with you. . . .† â€Å"No, no, it's not that at all,† I assured her. â€Å"It's . . . complicated. If it was as simple as moving, he would when he was able to . . . you know, when Andrea's better.† I hesitated, afraid of the answer to the next question, but it was one I had to know. With no contact from Seth, the status of the Mortensens had been a mystery. â€Å"How is Andrea? Is she still doing well?† â€Å"Yes, she's doing great. We won't know the details for sure until she sees the doctor in a couple weeks, but on the outside, things look wonderful. We're all praying.† I found myself smiling, unable to help my joy and relief. Andrea had looked good at Christmas, but I'd worried ever since then that whatever demon had made her sick before would return one of these days. Again, a doctor would have the ultimate answer, but I took Margaret's own observation as a good sign. â€Å"Thank you,† I said. â€Å"You have no idea how much that makes my night. I've needed some good news.† â€Å"Well, thank you for the housing offer. Can I let you know my answer later?† â€Å"Of course,† I said. I wished her a happy new year and told her good night. Then, I hurried off before I cracked and asked her to deliver some sentimental message to Seth. I liked Roman's company, but I still couldn't shake the wrongness of being out with him instead of Seth tonight. After last year's miserable New Year's Eve, I'd hoped this one would be better. â€Å"That was nice of you,† Roman said, when I explained what I discussed with Margaret. â€Å"It's an easy thing for me to do that can help a lot of people,† I said. â€Å"No reason not to.† He shook his head, incredulous. â€Å"You shouldn't even need a technicality to escape Hell's reach. They should fire you out of principle.† The restaurant was tiny but elegant – and packed. I seriously doubted any connections Roman had would get us in, but through some magic, the hostess beckoned us through the crowd and led us back to a cozy candlelit corner. In it was a table covered with an old-fashioned lace cloth, as well as crystal and china place settings – for three. I looked at her in surprise. â€Å"But there's only – â€Å" â€Å"Hey, hope I'm not late.† Carter suddenly emerged from the crowd, wearing his usual grunge wear. The hostess didn't even blink an eye. Seeing us about to sit down, he smiled. â€Å"I guess not.† â€Å"What are you doing here?† I asked. I looked to Roman, who appeared just as perplexed as I was. â€Å"I didn't tell him any details. He called while you were inside Seth's to see if we were going to Peter's, and I told him we were going to dinner instead. That's it.† Carter waved it off. â€Å"That's as good as a homing beacon. I love this place. You're getting wine, right?† It wasn't that I was unhappy to see Carter. It was just that when Carter appeared, there was usually a reason. â€Å"So you heard?† I said, once we'd placed our orders and dispensed with small talk. Carter swirled the wine in his glass. We'd ordered a nice vintage that would probably be wasted on him at the rate he drank. â€Å"That you're skipping Peter's party? Yeah, I did. Man, he's going to be pissed.† I rolled my eyes. â€Å"That's not what I mean. Are you here about the appeal we filed?† â€Å"I'm here to have dinner with friends,† said Carter demurely. â€Å"But now that you mention it . . .† â€Å"Word gets around fast, huh?† I asked. It had been a couple hours since we'd seen Hugh, more than enough time for him to deliver the paperwork to Mei and enough for her to have told Jerome. â€Å"Oh, I found out from him,† said Carter, nodding toward Roman. â€Å"He asked when he called me earlier,† explained Roman. â€Å"He knew we'd been working on it.† â€Å"How?† I asked, startled. â€Å"Hugh and I have had to consult him on a couple of things this week,† said Roman. â€Å"Nothing that breaks any rules, of course.† Carter gave him a mock toast to that. â€Å"But enough to clarify a couple points about Hell's fucked-up legal system.† I wondered what they had needed to consult Carter on but doubted they'd tell me. I was also kind of amazed that I'd been so out of it this week that I hadn't even known my legal team had been in touch with the angel. No, on second thought, I wasn't that surprised. My misery had been pretty all-consuming. â€Å"So what do you think our odds are?† I asked. Carter shook his head. â€Å"I can't answer that.† â€Å"Because it breaks a rule?† â€Å"Because it's too tempting for me to answer with a joke about a snowball's chance in Hell.† I sighed. â€Å"That's not very comforting.† â€Å"You're awfully grim about this,† said Carter. â€Å"I figured there'd be a little more excitement from someone trying to win back their soul.† â€Å"It doesn't mean much without Seth,† I said. â€Å"Oh, for God's sake,† said Roman. He reached for the wine bottle. â€Å"You're on the verge of getting your soul and your life back . . . and he's still what determines your happiness ? You don't need a relationship to be happy, Georgina.† â€Å"No,† I agreed. â€Å"But Seth's not just any relationship. He's tied to my soul. He found me in the world of dreams. We've come together, life after life. I'm not just some girl who needs a guy around. Seth and I are connected. We both have done terrible things to each other . . . but also made great sacrifices for each other. It just seems like only half a victory to get my soul back but not be with the person who's affected it so much.† Roman surprised me by acknowledging the point. â€Å"Okay. I can see where you're coming from there.† â€Å"And,† added Carter gently, â€Å"you need to replay your own words there. You and Seth have come back together, life after life. What makes you think you won't again?† â€Å"Well, his recent actions for one,† I remarked bitterly. â€Å"That and . . . I don't know. Just the look in his eyes.† â€Å"Seth had a lot thrown at him all at once. Whose idea was the hypnosis anyway?† â€Å"Mine,† said Roman. â€Å"And get that accusing tone out of your voice. It was the fastest and easiest way we had to get the information we needed.† â€Å"Perhaps,† said Carter. â€Å"But there's a reason reborn mortals forget their past lives. It's a lot to process, and that kind of regression brings on too much, too fast.† â€Å"Hugh kind of said something like that too,† I said. Carter nodded, gray eyes kind. â€Å"Don't give up on Seth yet. I think he might surprise you once he's settled down. He loved you enough to always come back to you. He loved you enough to remember you, even when Hell tried to erase you from his mind. That's powerful stuff, Daughter of Lilith.† It was, and I suddenly questioned how fairly I'd been approaching this situation. My old fears had held me back from truly fighting for Seth. I also hadn't really tried to imagine what it must be like for him to have ten people in one mind. â€Å"It could take a while,† I said, unable to meet Carter's eyes. â€Å"For him to come around, I mean. And it could take a while for Hell to respond to my appeal too, right?† Both men nodded. â€Å"What do I do then? What do I do with all that time?† â€Å"You live,† said Carter. â€Å"You go on with the life you have, with the opportunities you have. You want your soul. You want Seth. If it's within your power to achieve those things, do it. If it's not, accept it and figure out what else you want.† I muddled over his words. â€Å"Part of my immediate life is dictated for me. I have to go to Las Vegas.† â€Å"What do you want to do there?† prompted Carter. â€Å"Be happy . . . if it's possible.† I knew I was being melodramatic but couldn't help it. â€Å"If I have to be there, I'd like some sort of chance at a happy life that I created. Not a fake one Hell fashioned for me.† I thought about it some more. â€Å"I'd like to find out if Bastien is my friend first and Hell's servant second.† â€Å"There you go,† said Carter. â€Å"Start there. Focus on what you can control.† â€Å"I'd like to help Seth's family too,† I added, kind of on a roll now. â€Å"I'm already trying to do something for his mom, but before I leave them, I want to do whatever I can. Even if Hell leaves Andrea alone, we don't know how things will turn out. Even if Seth decides he never wants to see me again, I still care about them. And there are still things they need.† â€Å"Indeed. That pony collection isn't nearly complete,† Carter mused. When I dared a look back at him, I saw that the angel was smiling at me. â€Å"You see? You aren't lost. No matter what happens to you, you have a plan. There's still hope.† â€Å"You told me that once . . . that no matter what happens, there's always hope. Do you really still believe that?† I asked. Carter topped off all of our wineglasses. â€Å"I'm an angel, Georgina. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't.† â€Å"And even though you're counseling contingency plans, you still think I can pull it all off, don't you?† I pushed. â€Å"What do you know that I don't?† â€Å"At this point?† he admitted. â€Å"Nothing more than you do. The only difference is that I think I have more faith in you than you do.† â€Å"You're an angel,† I pointed out, throwing his words back at him. â€Å"Don't you have to have faith in everyone?† â€Å"You'd be surprised.† He chuckled. â€Å"I have faith in some more than others. And you? I've always been one of your biggest fans. If you believe nothing else, believe that.† â€Å"Here, here,† said Roman, raising his glass. â€Å"To faith and a new year.† I clinked glasses with them and caught Carter's eye. He winked. Was it enough? His faith? I'd noted before that having him pull for the Mortensens was a powerful thing. Having an angel say he believed in you was equally monumental. But I wasn't fighting an ordinary adversary. I was fighting Hell, the only force that could stand against Heaven. I've always been one of your biggest fans. I would find out soon if it was enough. For now, I drank up and tried to have hope.

Evaluating the Research Process Essay

* The most important steps in a research project or study is accomplishing a literature review. A literature review is the process of gathering information from other sources and documenting it. This is not a report or a statement verbatim according to Creative Research Systems (2010). A literature review is a significant and a detailed evaluation of earlier research. It is a summation and abstract of a particular aspect of research, allowing the individuals evaluating the paper to understand why one is tracking a particular research study. It is not an assortment of quotes and rephrase from additional sources. A good literature review should have selected evaluations of the quality of the study, and conclusions of the research study. While reviewing Commendador, 2010, Parental influences on adolescent decision- making and contraceptive use. Published in the Pediatric Nursing May-June 2010, The study hypothesis stated in the article according to Commendador, 2010 â€Å"the United States and the health care industry are researching various ways to lower the adolescent pregnancy rate, thus identifying paternal communication, specifically maternal communication with their adolescent is showing to be a major factor of adolescent delay in sexual intercourse, and a major factor of contraceptive decision making. However, the study also revealed the effects of paternal communication was not readily available, therefore the research statistics are not equalized, and supporting the determination of furthering the research of this subject. * Ethical considerations for data collection * Ethical issues are present in any kind of research. Research procedures may produce some * apprehension between the purpose of research to make generalized statements for the benefit * of others, and the rights of the research subjects in preserving privacy. Ethics, in research * relates to doing what is morally correct and evading any harm. The damage or harm can be * alleviated or decreased through the use of appropriate ethical principles. Thus, the * security of human subject matter or contributors in any research study is essential. Qualitative * research studies center the research on investigating, probing, and describing individuals and * their ordinary surroundings. Fixed in the qualitative research studies are the perception of * associations between researchers and the research participants. The study subject’s * anticipation to partake in a research study solely rests upon a research subjects compliance to * share his or her encounters. Nurse researchers are obligated to sustain equilibrium research * ethics in addition to the security of the research subjects. Qualitative research is * attentive of the events of individuals in relation to the subject which is studied. Still nurse * researchers may discover that their position as researchers may perhaps be in conflict. * Qualitative studies are normally performed in surroundings relating to the involvement of * ndividuals in their daily setting. As a result, any research that consist of individuals commands * an understanding of the ethical concerns that may be resulting from the exchange of * communications. Ethics in research includes the relevance of the research purpose, and the * procedural strategy, in addition to the manner in which information is reported. * The nurse researcher conducting the study relies mainly on previous research studies conducted by several other research entities, which demonstrates ethical collection and reporting. The research study’s primary focus is on adolescent sexual behavior. This subject dealing with under-age children has to be handled with the utmost of confidentiality. The researcher as well as the data reported does not identify the individual minor participant, nor are family member participants indentified in any way. The integrity of the participants and the research study, in the observers opinion was without biasness and completely anonymous. * * What data tells us in terms of statistical analysis Largely, the definitive objective of every research study is to find the relationship between the unpredictable, according to Statsoft Electronic Statistics Textbook (2012). The viewpoint of research states† that there is no other way of representing meaning except in terms of relations between some quantities or qualities† both ways involve a relationship between changeable matter. The statistics gathered and reported in this study in the reviewers opinion, is statistically significant. Statistic significance is defined in research as probable, probably true not due to chance according to Creative Research Systems (2010). However, the statistics reported are focused on the maternal communication with adolescents and does not represent the paternal communication with the adolescent due to the lack of research subject interviews with the fathers. In addition, the interviews conducted did not include those adolescents that had sexual contact and were actively pregnant. The researcher, to better understand the decisions regarding sexual contact and the lack of using birth control methods, should have interviewed this group of adolescents as this group could have communicated more information based on the decisions that were made which resulted in a pregnancy. Also interviewing the parents of this group of adolescents could have also given more insight on the maternal communication. Conclusion Although the statistics possibly could have been more precise and reported in more detail had the research subject sample size been larger, if the fathers had been surveyed, and if the group of adolescents that were presently pregnant had been surveyed. Even though the statistics were not balanced, the conclusion matched the results of the research study. The research question asked in this study, does the parental communication with the adolescent influence the contraceptive decisions that are made by the adolescent? The research study states that the maternal communication with the adolescent daughter increases positive decision making on behalf of the adolescent regarding contraceptive decisions. The positive effects that maternal interaction is influencing is associated with lowering the teenage pregnancy rate and has increased the use of contraceptives. The conclusion drawn answers the research question posed in this study. The conclusion states the results of this text review indicate an connection between parent communication and parenting style, and adolescent sexual interest and making birth control decision. The parental exchange of ideas with the adolescent is as significant now as it was 25 years ago. Maternal communication and contact has an abundance of potential as an intercession to enhance optimistic adolescent decision making and regarding contraception and premature sexual contact. Maternal interaction is possibly influential in lowering adolescent pregnancy and is successful in promoting sexually active teenage girls to make use of birth control methods. The conclusions are appropriate according to the information collected. Again, one must consider the differences in the outcome of this study had the omitted groups been surveyed . According to the conclusion of this study â€Å"More research is needed in the area of parenting style, maternal influence, and adolescent contraceptive behavior. The potential relevance for practice is that mother-daughter dyads should be included in any health promotion around female adolescent sexuality, (Commendador, 2010), the author of this paper decided the study is somewhat effective. The statistics supported the objectives that were measured, however there were other aspects that the researcher should have surveyed which would have made this study much more relevant. The purpose of research is to either generate or test a hypothesis. Research is the device used to investigate to discover if a hypothesis is acceptable or not. It is the process by that data is collected to create an assumption or to test an assumption. Therefore, based on what research is defined as, the researcher attained and supported the purpose of the research study. While the researcher’s theory was supported with the information compiled from the study, the data also supported the necessity and importance of continuing further research regarding adolescent sexual behavior and contraceptive decision making. The nurse researcher also recommends various options to address this very serious issue that plagues the United States. Suggested discussions of sexuality and the process of making choices regarding contraceptive methods would be beneficial if included in the educational curriculum of the school system, as well as be an aspect of the pediatric providers’ educational routine in pediatric health centers providing care to older children. Discussions among nurse practitioners, mothers, and daughters might promote conversation about sexuality, such as teen maturity, the changing body, the processes of decision making regarding sexual activity, and contraception. The researcher thoroughly covered the research topic in an effective manner, and through the analysis of the data collected made relevant recommendations, showing research evoking action plans.

Geo Mapping and Small Industries Essay

1. Identify the key software applications used by The Tea Collection. The Tea Collection used information technologies very successfully to create their business and to make it one of the fastest growing private companies in the US. They do not only use software to design their clothes, they also use applications to sell their products. The executives use geographic data- mapping software to target new selling areas, where are not that many stores for children’s clothing but good demographic circumstances. The Tea Collection has also created a tool bag-in-tool for their retailers to make it easier for them to order new products over the internet. 2. How does the geo-mapping software help the company grow? Explain how sales reps use the results of the geo-mapping system. Tea Collection uses software to be able to sell their clothing line across the country. The executive of Tea Collection uses the software â€Å"geo-mapping† to find territories in the United States where there is not a lot of children’s clothing sold and they can expect to build up their company there because the area is not oversaturated with children’s clothing. It is a geographic data-mapping software, which he uses to find the best place to build up a new Tea Collection store. With the software he can find out the ZIP code of the area without many children’s clothe stores and see the area from closer to make out the landscape where they think a Tea Collection store would fit in best. A yellow dot in a green area shows the highest prospect and sales reps use this system to sell their line there.The geo-mapping software is insofar relevant to the material learned in the 3rd lecture, because it is an information system. In the Tea Collection it especially plays a role for ensuring their survival and to promote competitive advantage. The customer service is as well improved. Tea Collection invests one percent of the income into information systems to develop new services they can use in their company. 3. What is the main technology challenge identified in the video? How would you suggest this challenge should be addressed? The main technology challenge identified in this video is the integration of the different computer systems, according to Rawdon, one of the founders of this business †the biggest challenge is the technology’s integration† The Tea Collection uses â€Å"multiple computer systems which don`t integrate automatically† (Rawdon) and therefore the task of integrating those systems are accomplished by people. Firstly, I would suggest to address this challenge by investing money in in-house training of the people working on integrating these systems. So that everyone in the company has the same knowledge consequently it will be easier to work together Moreover, on communication specialized employees whose task is the communication between the people working with those computer systems could enhance the working atmosphere as well as lower the time needed. Finally, Rawdon also states that the Tea Collection couldn’t survive without technologies. In spite of this the company only invests one percent of sales in IT. It could be suggested to invest more money in technologies and also in research to figure out a better integration of the computer systems. This would result in less dependency on people and therefore in less time and less mistakes. 4. Do you believe this company can continue to grow rapidly with the existing software and hardware they have demonstrated in this video? Why or why not? According to the information provided and considering the development of information technologies, the smaller companies like The Tea Collection could expand and grow rapidly. Their business would not be realizable and successful without technology, because business owners know that time is money – and no business can afford to be days behind the competition. We do believe that with the software and the hardware demonstrated, the company will continue the steady growth shown in the past 10 years and spending only 1% of the sales on IT, seems to be the best investment in their flourishing business.

Excellent Communicator Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Excellent Communicator - Assignment Example They are able to strategically and competently relate to the individual and adapt the conversation to better convey the message they are attempting to impart. Great communicators are often charismatic and funny – interesting people to listen to. Effective communicators are also effective listeners, as it’s impossible to communicate without verifying that the message is being received as you intended. I believe ineffective communication begins by the person attempting to communicate not having a thorough enough understanding of the situation, or simply not allowing for a dialogue to occur that facilitates communication. During my first week as a teacher, I had an Assistant Principal who called me into her office to discuss observations made during one of my classes. She had an issue with the way a particular lesson was organized and proceeded to discuss its faults. While elements of her criticism were effective, a great deal of it was misdirected as it was founded on erroneous assumptions. It fell short in that it didn’t leave room for a dialogue to occur that could create a constructive solution. Instead, the observations were relayed in a way that spoke to the necessarily limited perspective of one individual. For work place communication to be effective, open communication among workers within the organization must be promoted. Without this collaborative environment, th e workplace becomes dry and monotonous and the creativity necessary for beneficial improvements is

The positive and negative effects of globalisation Essay

The positive and negative effects of globalisation - Essay Example It involves a rescaling of social relations, from the economic sphere, beyond the national to the transnational, transcontinental and transworld.† (Held and McGrew, 2007 p 24). According to Held and McGrew, globalization allows local people to have international experiences right from where they are. The process of globalization is not only concerned with the mixing of people from different geographical areas, it also involves the integration of cultures, ideas as well as values (Goldberg and Pavcnik, 2007). Globalization has a long history. However, its effects started becoming apparent during the fifteenth century. Globalization is what led to colonialism in the Americas, Africa and Asia. The nations that had the resources at the time sought to affirm their authority and create economic opportunities by getting colonies. Modern Globalization started after the Second World War. The cold war can be said to be an accelerating factor for globalization as world powers fought silent wars for world domination (Williamson, 1996). Modern globalization is characterized by increased international trade, enhanced communication and better transport systems. There are many factors that have contributed to modern globalization as we know it. Technological advancement in various fields is the greatest contributor to enhanced globalization. Policy changes have also contributed to faster, deeper and cheaper globalization (Goldberg and Pavcnik, 2007). The concept of globalization has elicited many debates about its positive and negative effects. Globalization cannot be said to be a good thing or a bad thing. It is true that there are some shortcomings that are associated with globalization, but there are also many good things that can come out of it. As the world becomes one big global village, there are some things that are worth celebrating

Answer the following questions#2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Answer the following questions#2 - Essay Example The model gives exact video guidelines that can be easier to understand for students, since they can see organs that are not seen during actual conversations, as these organs move inside the mouth. The model also provides examples of words for practice pronunciation, where learners can feel how these organs work together in providing a specific sound(s) for a specific letter. Phonetics_Focus/. It has many applications that help students learn the English language, such as the Phonemic Reader. It shows the actual sounds of the consonants and vowels. It can guide students in seeing each letter, not just physically, but also audio-visually, in a phonemic way. The application also offers several games, such as the Phonemic Pelmanism. It asks students to match the phonetic spelling with the real spelling. The game helps readers practice what they know about phonemics already. There are also plenty of mobile applications that help children learn sounds and letters. These applications test learning too, which provides automatic feedback and positive reinforcement once kids learn them. I can use them to help students reinforce learning in class by doing tasks that they can do at home at their own pace and time. Information gap tasks are done orally by asking learners to determine differences between pictures, ordering sentences in stories, and restoring missing portions of maps and charts. I can use this game to help learners think about the uses of words in context. The advantages of the task are contextual learning of language and interactive learning. The disadvantages are possible lack of writing reinforcement and some students with poor vocabulary will struggle with the tasks. An example of the task is making an appointment game. I can use this game to help young learners understand the concept of time and time management. The advantages of the task are helping students understand the meaning of words in actual settings and

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Leadership - Essay Example There are also positive indications that organizations that are rated highly on diversity are also rated high on other measures of organizational success. (Winston, 2001). Once the diversity and its related issues are identified and acknowledged, the organization can move on to develop systems to co-ordinate and turn diversity into its competitive advantage. One such system, that is perhaps the most crucial one for the entire process to work, is of leadership. There are however, two fold links between leadership and diversity that must be given due consideration. The first arises (as we’ll see in the following paragraphs), due to the fact that it is extremely relevant that leaders and managers acknowledge diversity of the workforce and also, and that they are trained in their approach to direct a diverse people. The second link is due the growing need to encourage more leaders from among those who come with a diverse background. The first issue is pertinent as many of the leadership theories postulate that the leaders’ social skills, intelligence, attitudes, and traits like decisiveness and self-confidence, play a crucial role in his ability to motivate and lead. (Stogdill,1974). Other theories, like the contingency theories, also put forward the ability of the leaders to adjust to the situation and to adapt a flexible approach – an approach that is perhaps the most required one for leading a diverse workforce.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This is especially true in the light that people working together in teams, are required to share healthy working relationships, and to complement each other’s skills. The link between diversity and leadership can be identified by the fact that a leader’s task becomes important in a diversity environment, as he is required to keep heterogeneous teams motivated to work together and to stimulate synergistic outputs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Secondly, a point to note here is that there is a need to encourage leaders from diverse

Fashion Design and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Fashion Design and Development - Essay Example The essay "Fashion Design and Development" analyzes Fashion Development and design. The word can be used to depict a wide variety of items ranging from shoes, furniture, clothes, and hair style. Better yet fashion goes far beyond to also depict tattoos, earrings, rings and any form of piercing that might be done on an individual. The majority of relevant cultures in the world, which in this case means the Chinese people, Japanese, notably Indians, Europeans and Americans all of them have different types of senses of fashion. A visitor in these countries would not only notice the diversity and difference in cultures but a visitor would also notice the difference in the mode in which the different people dress and apply ornaments of beauty. In 2005 a writer by the name Bennett wrote about fashion and said that fashion is one of the only major ways in which a person can be uniquely described and articulated. Those are the powerful words that he used to describe fashion and human identit ies together. It is thanks to that statement that this essay will devour enough material to understand what he meant and what he had in mind when he so intelligently personalized fashion to identities. Bennett had taken note of the power of images. What is seen lasts longer in the memory than any material we might read or any data we might hear. Hence when we keep looking at a person, sooner enough we start noticing a trend. It barely takes a couple of days for an individual to notice a trend in dressing.

Reflection Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Reflection Paper - Essay Example The role of management and leadership has now more than ever before become increasingly essential in the innate objectives of organizations and enterprises of profitability and survival within the domestic, regional and international markets. Most fundamental in this dawning is the distribution, management and role of human resource. As industries emerge elsewhere within the developing and less developed economies, there is a shift in top quality managerial and skilled labor to such regions creating shortages particularly in the already developed economies in America and Europe. This is especially because, during this transition, there has been a disproportionate increase in the number of excellent managers, workers and leaders with the number of enterprises and companies in need of these human resource skills. In this light, talent management which concerns the identification-and thereafter-deliberate steps towards empowering human resources within the organization so as to increase their capacity and competencies to meet current and future organizational growth focus and profitability concerns (Berger & Berger, 2010). James Autry talks about the need for leadership in business to be different from a mere managerial function. He argues that effective management is one that begins with self-awareness. Having been employed for thirty years and thereafter retiring to pursue his passion in writing and poetry, he has successfully within a decade transformed a print business that is worth in excess of five hundred million dollars. He is very critical of how most American companies have turned their backs on their employees in the be-guided pursuit of cost cutting measures or efficiencies. He is an example of how passion for work can intimate a career shift and which eventually leads to profitability. In his assessment of the work place, Autry is in stark contrast of the principle of separation of the work and home which is often than not a norm in most current busin ess organizations and institutions. He argues that the two items are inextricably connected; such that one influences and is affected by the other. However, I find resonance with his proposition that, leadership within organizations and, therefore, managers should be sensitive to the emotional needs of employees as identified by Abraham Maslow as a level within his hierarchy of human needs. The emotional state of the employee whether it relates to issues at work or home affects the performance of the given individual in both areas. That being the case, I find a point of departure where he attempts to erase the concept work-home balance; the two should be essentially same given that, the underlying concern is paying attention to values and living them. I find that the geographic and situational connotation creates a psychographic differentiation between home and the office such that it subsequently dictates norms, behaviors and actions suitable. I have also had the experience of work ing from home and regardless of how convenient it felt, certain aspects had to change when time to work arose and vice versa. For instance, I could not work within the comfort of the bedroom. The power of words is truly at its height in today’s society, especially, where legal solutions can be sought after for apparent misdeeds against other members within society. In organizations, the need for managers to exercise reasonable care in action or word is exceedingly critical in this regard. The mystery that surrounds

Complete standardisation in International Marketing strategy is an Essay

Complete standardisation in International Marketing strategy is an impossible goal to achieve, and pursuing it will inevitably d - Essay Example Market conditions in one country may be very different from the conditions in another country. Policies, laws, culture, and other regulations, which determine the nature of the business environment, may cause the difference. The laws of operations from one company to another are usually different. Standards are usually derived from a certain cultural environment. They encompass some values that are necessarily designed to serve the interests of particular market situations. As such, their applications are suited to respond to certain needs and situations as dictated by the range of possibilities within a cultural milieu. Many companies regulate their operations in ways that respond to the kind of markets and situations. This regulation is aimed towards the actualization of certain conditions that apply within the specifics of the market. According to analysts, the variation of markets is shown in a range of factors that distinguish between one market and another (Parker, 2005, p. 51) . For instance, the levels of income, the nature of infrastructural development, the regulatory policies, and laws may apply differently from one region to another. This implies that the application of certain standards within the different regions would have significantly varied impacts. Therefore, the standards are usually designed in ways that provide synergies to one market while denying the same to another market situation. Advertising and marketing strategies are designed in ways that respond to certain standards and expectations. For instance, the message in the advertisement of a certain product may vary significantly in accordance with factors of culture, target clientele, levels of disposable income, and a range of other variables. These factors determine the kind of preference of one product to another. For instance, it is usually the norm that certain products deserve the application of strict standards as compared to others. Studies have shown that companies that operat e with some level of flexibility are more likely to yield positive results than those that are governed by some strict application of the standards. On this score, it becomes difficult to determine the kind of method that could apply equally across different operating environments. The field of operation in the United States may vary significantly from the one in Saudi Arabia. Products, goods, services, and processes in the two countries will ultimately be influenced by the nature of business environment between the two companies. For instance, the sale of mobile telephone services would be tailored on the specific cultural features that apply within one kind of market. The marketing strategy in Saudi Arabia would involve the appropriation of some kind of conservatism that is consistent with the nature of the market and the culture of the people. On the other hand, marketing and advertisement in the United States would entail some specific elements of the American culture of consume rism. This would entail an active search of products that fit into the scheme and preferences of the target clientele. The standards of the language used in the advertisement would necessarily involve the application of methods and strategies that suit the aspirations and preferences of the dominant population. It would be impossible for any success to attend to the specific needs of the society. It would be important to determine the

Romantic Love and Marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Romantic Love and Marriage - Essay Example Recent statistics suggests that romantic love is not the only principle of long-lasting and happy marriage. Today, the main reasons of divorces include early marriages, different opinions about their responsibilities in a family, and getting marriages without mutual feelings. One third of all families in the USA are divorced in spite of the fact that they have romantic love and true feelings when they married (Chalmers 2006). In contrast, those families and partners who did not have true romantic feelings when married are more stable unions and only 10% of such families are divorced. Thesis Romantic love is not the only principles of happy and stable marriage. The partners in a successful marriage are those who have learned how to function after the music stops, after romance and its heart-tripping frenzy has cooled. Everyone's heard that love can't last forever, and this is true simply because you don't live forever. But love does often last a lifetime, although its nature changes over the years. Margaret Reedy of the University of Southern California has studied this idea of loving happily ever after and the age differences in satisfying love relationships. She chose 102 married couples for her study. They were people who had been judged by others who knew them well to be very much in love (Sternberg and Barnes 22). They were divided into three groups: young adults, married an average of five years; middle-aged adults, married an average of twenty-one years; and older adults, married an average of thirty-seven years. Each of the satisfied lovers was asked to complete a list of statements, rating each in terms of how well it described hi s or her current love relationship. These statements reflected a wide variety of possible experiences people might have in love relationships, and in turn reflected the six components of love we mentioned earlier (emotional security, referring to feelings of trust, caring, concern and warmth; respect, which means being able to be tolerant, understanding and patient; the ability to spend time together, working as well as playing; communication, being able to be honest and self-revealing, and being a good listener; loyalty, or a sense of investment and commitment; sexual intimacy). Statistical results suggest that "The divorce rate in 2005 (per 1,000 people) was 3.6 -- the lowest rate since 1970, and down from 4.2 in 2000 and from 4.7 in 1990" (Divorce statistics 2008). There was, first of all, a clear indication that the nature of love in satisfying relationships is different at different ages. For example, the couples who assessed their current love alliance supported the common ide a that passion and sexual intimacy are relatively more important in early adulthood, whereas tender feelings of affection and loyalty are more important in the love relationships of later life. The findings also supported the notion that, over time, love associations are less likely to be based on intense companionship and communication, and more likely to be base

Sports Drinks Essay Example for Free

Sports Drinks Essay Energy drinks, sports drinks, recovery drinks†¦call them what you will, their names still suggest that theyre designed for hard-working athletes. These days, however, it seems that everyone is tipping them back. But who really needs them? I recommend sports drinks for intense exercise that lasts for more than an hour, says Suzanne Farrell, R. D. , a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. For anything under an hour, water is fine. Thats because you dont need a 200-calorie burst of refreshment for a brief stint on the treadmill (remember, taking in more calories than you burn will eventually lead to weight gain), and your body isnt depleted of the electrolytes these drinks are designed to quickly replace. If your routine frequently falls into the intense exercise for more than an hour category, and youre shopping for a sports drink, be sure to read the nutrition label. Make sure your sports drink contains potassium and sodium—the electrolytes your body sweats out. And you can skip the vitamin-enriched drinks. According to Farrell, you should be getting your vitamins and nutrients from food; sports drinks make a poor substitute. And, finally, study your choices. Sports drinks are trendy and, as a result, lots of options—and imposters—have popped up. Make sure youre consuming a drink designed to fit your workout level—without excessive calories. And beware of energy drinks filled with nothing but sugar and caffeine—Red Bull, Full Throttle, Mountain Dew AMP and the like shouldnt be confused with sports drinks.

Evaluation of Vodafones Strategic Capabilities

Evaluation of Vodafones Strategic Capabilities Vodafone is a well-known mobile network operator headquartered in Newbury, England. It is recognized as the largest telecommunications network company all over the world on the basis of its turnover. Currently, the company has equity interests in twenty-five countries and Partner Networks in another forty-one countries (Vodafone 2011). It is the second largest mobile telecom group throughout globe after China Mobile. The firms success is due to its strategic capabilities and their link with significant external and internal factors. Nowadays for surviving in an intense competition, it is essential that firms must be innovative but it is also essential to identify what makes a firm innovative. As well, it is also vital to identify that what are the resources that make a substantial contribution in a firms innovation capabilities. In regard to business these innovation capabilities are also known as a firms strategic capabilities. The success of a firms strategic capabilities depends on its ability to link it with its internal and external factors that influence the setting of its business objectives and policies. In the light of resource based theory, the strategic capabilities of Vodafone can be assessed by identifying its current resources and capabilities as a successful player in telecommunication network industry (Ordanini Rubera 2008). Subsequently, the effects of its key resources on its strategic capabilities need to be identified in relation to its link with external and internal factors. Throughout company long history and success its resources are classified in two categories that are: Tangible resources: The company tangible resources can be classified into four categories that are financial, physical, organisational structure and technological resources. Intangible resources: Intangible resources can be classified into people-dependent and people-independent resources (Bakar Ahmad 2010). All these resources are not having same importance to company strategy as financial, structure, technological are highly important whereas physical resources is having ordinary importance to it. On the other hand, people dependent and people-independent resources like human and innovation resources and reputation and organisational culture all are having high importance to Vodafone strategy. In regard to these resources, the company is significantly able in developing several strategic capabilities that can be analyzed with the help of its value chain activities that are primary activities and support activities (Bakar Ahmad 2010). Activities or organisational functions direct its employees towards the development of capabilities so it is essential to identify capabilities in regard to companys primary and support activities. One of the substantial strategic capabilities developed by Vodafone in regard to its operations is providing telecommunication services at low cost with guaranteed quality. In regard to technological development, the company have become able to exploit technological opportunity and developing and applying technologies (Donaldson OToole 2007). For handling human resource management, it has developed its capabilities in concern of recruiting and training competent personnel for technological innovation and motivating compensating all employees for more and more technological innovation (Dodourova 2003). In regard to its infrastructure related activities, it has developed capabilities like recognizing and promoting the aspect of innovation, financing and planning for technological innovation, integrating all functional departments, evaluating technological innovation, legal support to it, and attaining essential government support to finance and protect its technological innovation (Dodourova 2003). The discussion of company strategic capabilities and resources depict that almost all its strategic capabilities are grounded on technological innovation that are highly supported by its innovation-friendly tangible and intangible resources. Due to this extreme association between resources and capabilities, the company have become able to handle its external and internal environment that can be understood with subsequent tools like PEST and SWOT analysis: PEST analysis Political factors: Several political factors related to regulations, infrastructure, and health issues affect Vodafone business objectives and policies but with its strategic capability of recognizing, financing, planning, integrating, assessing, and legal and government support it become able to effectively deal with these external issues and develop effective business strategy as per the industry trends and environment (Donaldson OToole 2007). Economic factors: Economic factors like high cost of licences, the bidding war for 3G and constant price wars between providers also critically affect company and its business plans but with its strategic capabilities of technological innovation Vodafone has become able to serve its customers with more surprising and advanced services (Dodourova 2003). Its technological development operations related capabilities are significantly assisting it in resolving economical issues from its external environment. Social-cultural factors: Socio-cultural factors like health issues, demographics and social trends also affects company operations that it critically handled with the help of technological innovation in regard to its human resources and technology development (Lynch 2006). Technologies offered by Vodafone are assured and approved that assist it in handling health related issues and its employees are highly dedicated and committed for technological innovation that assist in handling changing demographics and social trends. Technological factors: Technology related issues that affect company operations and business plans are excessive technological change in mobile phone industry, the introduction of 3G and several other advanced aspects (Dodourova 2003). All these external environment related issues are handled by Vodafone with its technological innovation capability that has been developed by exploiting technological opportunity and developing and applying technologies. SWOT analysis: Another contribution of Vodafone strategic capabilities is in concern to the management of its internal environment that is highly essential to link it up with external environment. With the help of its strategic capabilities, the company has become able to maximize its strength and existing opportunities like global experience, establish itself across several countries, exploring new technologies related to telecommunication and mobile, and increase its size of the market and as well as its market share (Bakar Ahmad 2010). As well, due to its technological innovation capability it has also become able to establish itself at a good global platform, standardized customer relationship management and attaining high operations margin (Dodourova 2003). In addition to this, the company has also become able to minimize its weaknesses and threats to external environment like high capital expenditure, huge RD and infrastructural costs, legal issues, selection of appropriate technologies, political and social regulations, and increasing competitors (McLoughlin Aaker 2010). It has all become possible due to its strategic capabilities developed throughout its different primary and support activities and continuous support from its tangible and intangible resources. All the above identified strategic capabilities assist firm in handling its external as well as internal factors that in turn assist it in the development of appropriate business objective and plans for present and future success of the company. Critical Appraisal of Vodafones Business Performance since 2008 Vodafone is one of the worlds largest mobile communications companies on the basis of revenue. From, its inception it is operating with a vision to become communication leader in a significantly connected world (Capon 2008). In its initial year, it confronted substantial difficulties throughout its business performance but in last some years it has attained immense success due to its several distinct strategic initiatives (Sandbach 2009). Since 2008, the company is doing quite well but still it confronted several failures related to intense competition, emergence of advances communication technologies, and continuous changes in customer preferences (Lynch 2006). For handling failures related to competition the company adopted three generic strategies for competitive advantage. For handling excessive competition and market pressure, the company made use of cost leadership strategy and differentiation in spite of focus strategy. In regard to its problem of competition, the company cost leadership strategy was highly helpful. One critical success attained by the company in this period was to become a firm with truly international customer base (Sandbach 2009). It become possible for Vodafone due to its appropriate strategies like differentiation and cost leadership strategy. In present also, this strategy is highly helpful for the company in dealing with the issues that may arise with number portability. Number portability means customers can switch to anyone who provides a reliable and cheapest service (Vodafone Annual Report 2010 2011). By competing on its cost leadership, Vodafone can direct itself towards higher unit profits that in turn will help it in attaining competitive advantage through decreasing costs. Another imperative success that company has attained in last 3 years is a good global platform which integrates its existing future network systems and heightens its ability to launch products with a concentration on both market speed and the ability to deliver it throughout all group network (Lynch 2006). It is done with a strategic initiative of differentiation. The differentiation along with marketing strategy and effective marketing mix helped Vodafone in serving its customers with added value through their wide range product features and quality that is significantly different from its competitors (Curwen Whalley 2010). The company strategic initiatives and their success and failures can also be understood effectively with the help of BCG matrix that depicts the companys market share and growth rate: Relative Market Share (Cash Generation) High Low Stars Multimedia messaging Question Marks 3G Vodafone Live Cash Cow SMS Dogs Analogue services High Market growth rate (Cash Usage) Low Vodafone BCG Matrix The BCG matrix depicts Vodafones portfolio that in turn demonstrates its products stand. Boston matrix represents the companys portfolio according to where the products and services stand in regard to market share and growth (Johnson 2008). This matrix shows that the company is operating by attaining a balance. Although, it has also confronted troubles in some last years in regard to 3G and Vodafone live that can also be depicted as a problem child or question marks. For effective future success in regard to the existing problems, the company should decrease its investments into its analogue services and in its place it should make use of money from cash cow SMS to reconstitute the problem child and maintain the star multimedia messaging in the high market share/high market growth area (Lynch 2006). In addition to these strategy models, the company performance since 2008 can also be understood with the help of different tools of financial analysis. By analysing subsequent financial ratios in terms of liquidity profitability, efficiency and return to investors it will become easy to identify that how well company managed its performance: Liquidity Ratios Current Ratio: The current ratio for Vodafone decreased from 5.40 to 5.00 in 2009 and 4.99 in 2010. It depicts that in terms of liquidity this period was not as good as throughout these years the company capability to pay its liabilities has decreased (Vodafone Annual Report 2010 2011). Quick Ratio: Vodafones quick ration fall from 5.38 in 2008 to 4.98 in 2009. This in turn also decreased slightly with 4.97 in 2010. This decrease shows that since 2008, the company ability to pay current liabilities without depending on the sale of inventory has also not attained any improvement (Luetjen Maatwk 2011). Profitability Ratios Gross Profit Margin: Vodafones gross profit margin over the three years has fallen slightly from 38.30% in 2008 to 37.00% in 2006 to a further 33.80%. It is the result of uninterrupted rise in the cost of sales. Although company margins are falling but its ratios are much better than its competitors that demonstrate that industry is at its matured stage and regularly the company is making use of new marketing strategies to bring down its cost. Operating Profit Margin: The company operating profit margin has fallen from 28.32% in 2008 to 14.28% in 2009 that in turn again rose to 21.32% in 2010. This was due to company approach towards market trends and existing competitors moves (Luetjen Maatwk 2011). Net Profit Margin: The company net profit margin has fallen initially from 19.4% in 2008 to 7.51% in 2009 and afterwards it improved to 19.38% in 2010 that was due to companys use of appropriate generic strategies and marketing strategy (Vodafone Annual Report 2010 2011). Return on Equity: The return to equity was also fallen from 8.83% in 2008 to 3.63% in 2009 but again with appropriate strategies it was increased to 9.49% in 2010. Efficiency Ratios Stock Turnover: The company stock turnover has increased continuously in the three years from 85.08 in 2008 to 99.56 in 2009 and 102.71 in 2010. This shows that throughout this three years period the company has effectively converted its stocks into revenue and as well it also made an effective use of its working capital that is critical for attaining success in present intense competitive environment (Luetjen Maatwk 2011). Debtor Turnover: The debtor turnover of the company has fallen slightly from 5.42 in 2008 to 5.35 in 2009 and 5.06 in 2010. It depicts that Vodafone is having high efficiency in regard to credit management. Asset Turnover: The asset turnover of the company is almost similar in three years as it was 0.28 in 2008, 0.27 in 2009 and again 0.28 in 2010. This ratio of company depicts its performance in generating sales from the assets at its disposition. Investment Ratios The Company earning per share has confronted both the increase and decrease from 2008 as in 2008 it was 12.56. In 2009 it reached at 5.84 and in 2010 it reached at 16.44. In addition to this, its price earning ration also confronted increase and decline. In 2008, it was 2.52 that increased to 3.14 in 2009 and again decreased to 1.35 in 2010 (Vodafone Annual Report 2010 2011). The companys use of appropriate strategies in comparison to its competitors assisted it in attaining this position. With the analysis of different financial ratios of the company, it can be said that the company performance since 2008 was a mix of success and failures. In this period the company did not confronted any severe failure in spite of just some minor business and competition related troubles (Wilson Gilligan 2005). Also, the company efforts made throughout this period were highly effective as due to this only it become able to make an effective use of its working capital. Development of a Potential Future Strategy for Vodafone With detailed discussion of company strategic capabilities and performance since 2008, it becomes apparent that company is doing very well but several times it is also troubled with intense competition and several other factors like increasing costs, emergence of advance communication technologies and changing preferences of customers (Dibb Simkin 2010). Till now, the company made use of cost leadership and competitive strategy that significantly helped it in attaining its specific business goals and objectives but it also need to be updated continuously. In regard to grow its position in international and global markets it is vital that the company operate with a potential future strategy that can be developed effectively with the help of Porters Diamond that in regard to Vodafone is as follows: Porters five forces Subsequent five forces make a direct effect on Vodafones strategic competitiveness that in turn will assist in determining a potential future strategy for the company: Competitive rivalry: In telecommunication market in which Vodafone operates competition is quite high and basically it comes from its competitors O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Virgin. In this market rivalry is high and there is no brand loyalty that exhibits that there exist little differentiation in spite of price (Dibb Simkin 2004). For handling this rivalry and growing in international markets the company should expand its operations in more and more developing nations. Buying power: In the market Vodafone is operating buying power is quite high and it could be understood with the measures of number of customers that disconnect throughout a year. This also depicts that rivalry in industry is high. Customers have several choices and new packages in regard to new tariffs and new phones (Hitt, Ireland Hoskisson 2009). For surviving in this kind of market it is vital to have continuous upgrade and expansion in developing countries for maintaining company position at global level. Power of suppliers: In addition to high buyer power, the telecommunication market also operates with strong suppliers power. In this regard, as Vodafone is a cost leader, it operates with margins higher than their competitors. This assist it to attract price increases from its suppliers more comfortably than its competitors (Dibb Simkin 2010). Being an extensive, leading competitors of the mobile telephone industry, Vodafone is able to hold its supplier cost down and attain profit but this situation would not remain in long-term if company is not able to main its position in global and international markets. For this it is vital to enter different developing countries. Threat of substitutes The company threat of product substitutes is low and it is due to its focussed cost leadership strategy. This strategy makes it difficult for others to produce similar products and services at a lower rate with same economies of scale (Fransman 2002). Threat of entry Although the threat of new entrants in industry is low but this situation need to be maintained by Vodafone by reducing its cost below of its competitors. This could be done by maintaining eminent level of efficiency and extending its place and position in different international and global markets (KÄÂ ±mÄÂ ±loÄÅ ¸lu, HNasÄÂ ±r NasÄÂ ±r 2010). With the help of this porters diamond analysis, it becomes evident that the most potential future strategy that can be adopted by Vodafone is expanding or concentrating more on developing countries. This analysis assists in identifying the suitability of selected potential future strategy. With this analysis it becomes evident that in present, Vodafone is able to maintain its position and attain significant competitive advantage with the help of focussed cost leadership strategy but the situation will not remain same in future. In future competition will get more intense and in that environment a firm that have strong international level presence will be able to operate. So, it is quite helpful for Vodafone to operate with a strategy of concentrating more on developing countries (KÄÂ ±mÄÂ ±loÄÅ ¸lu, HNasÄÂ ±r NasÄÂ ±r 2010). This strategy will also assist the company in increasing its profitability and cost-benefit that is related to the acceptability of a strategic option. Until or unless a strategic option s not acceptable it is not beneficial to use it. With this future strategy, the company will become able to reduce its costs and increase its benefits and shareholder value (Hitt, Ireland Hoskisson 2009). In addition to the suitability and acceptability of this future strategy, adoption of this strategy is also feasible. As in present also company is operating in several global locations so it is not so difficult for it to concentrate more on developing nations (Dibb Simkin 2004). It serves its customers with low prices that would also be beneficial for it to expand in developing nations. In this way, it can be concluded that concentrating more on developing markets is a quite effective potential future strategy for Vodafone and for its assured future success.

Evolution of Storage Media Technology Within the Data Centre

Evolution of Storage Media Technology Within the Data Centre AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EVOLUTION OF STORAGE MEDIA TECHNOLOGY WITHIN THE DATA CENTRE TO SUPPORT THE I/O REQUIREMENTS OF MODERN APPLICATIONS. Chandan Chandapura Ramesh (x14111306) Abstract Technology has always played a tremendous role in evolution of data storage media from the very starting punch cards to the present flash drives and from kilobytes to terabytes. The evolution of storage included from the standardization of storage devices i.e from large trunks of kilobytes storage media to very small microchip having the great storage capacity of gigabytes. However, in this paper we will look into evolution of storage devices from magnetic tape, magnetic drum, DRAM, FLOPPYs , CDs, DAT, DDS, MOD, , Micro drive, Multimedia Card SD card, Cloud backup solutions. Finally, in this article about evolution about storage devices, we will look into an assessment providing solutions for tiered storage solutions and its development with reference oracle, netapp tiered storage solutions and storage based on present storage trends. INRODUCTION As the time passed by, along with the time technology too has evolved in every step of life from basic needs to the advanced mode of humanity. Concurrently, the evolution in technology of computers has played a prominent role for humankind. Therefore, as the storage medium has also played a major role in computer architecture. Zetta. (2015) say as the computers evolved the storage mediums too had evolved, it all started from punch cards to present storage mediums like those that flash drives to SSD, companies have started to be relied on cloud backup solutions supported by data centers. As per the need of todays Business strategies the requirement for data storage has increased tremendously compared to past five years and to mitigate the costs over storage of data, it has been segregated and designed as structured, semi-structured and unstructured data and they have been stored. As the data is considered officially as corporate assets, there has always been attacks that are more vulnerable. Therefore, data hardening has been a big challenge but still many third party companies have been working towards its excellence. Few measures which have been considered under the improvisation level are SAN, Fiber channel over Ethernet (Fcoe), Internet protocol, Converged Network Adapter (CNA) etc. The storage network technology in the datacenters has been developed into many different configurations, which are DAS (direct attached storage), NAS (Network attached storage), SAT (Storage area networks). In further section we will look this structures with much more details. BACKGROUND: After looking into all the prospective over the storage media briefly will have a detailed discussion over each storage model and it evolution. Magnetic tape: PCMag digital group. (2015) say it was the first few recording mediums used to record music. The data recorded was actually in sequential format. It was manufactured by a ferromagnetic material the disadvantage of these tapes was they would be contaminated if they were not rolled and packed tightly. The tracks on storage device were running parallel to each other, which is called as parallel recording. In computing magnetic tapes are used to store auxiliary type of information. An excellent example for the computer system, which used magnetic tape, was UNIVAC. It had the capacity to handle 128 characters per inch so they were widely used in computers in earlier days. Magnetic drum: Webopedia. (2015) it was direct access storage device, which was metallic cylinder, which was coated by a material called magnetic-iron-oxide. The tracks recorded on the cylindrical device were stored in channels and it was capable of holding 200 tracks were the drum used to rotate at 3000rpm. But still it had a drawback which is that they were not able to store too much of data. DRAM (dynamic random access memory): it is a medium that is been used store the memory temporarily and it is been used widely in todays computer systems. It is made up of small capacitor and transistors. Dram has many cells and each cell is equal to a Bit. The elements on Dram are organized in rows and columns. Todays computers use these cells in megabyte modules. FLOPPYs: Riaz, Rashid et al (2015) say it is portable computer storage disks were data could be handled easily. They are more fragile, low at cost. It was highly dispensable for the people working on their personnel laptops and other processors. It poses a capacity of 250kb to 1.6 mb so it varies on the size of the disk. CDs, DAT, DDS, MOD, Multimedia Card, Micro drive, SD card were the next generation storage medias. CD-ROM was highly used to save and retrieve the data immensely on the systems. DAT was the digital recording table, which was actually released by the Sony in 1987. The main advantage is the data is recorded digitally rather that in analog style. But when compared to CD the performance of DAT is higher and advanced. Micro drives or so called flash drives are portable storage drives used to transfer small amount data very fast and efficiently and so on still the storage media has always been improvising till the present holographic storage formats and still going on giving out the services. Evolution of technologies in Data center storage services: Until now, we had brief discussion of different storage technologies in common IT infrastructures. SIEMON. (2015) say as the time has passed by evolution of DATA center has taken place in parallel. However, it was much more advanced as the data stored in the data center is considered as the corporate assets. so to store data securely different storage models have been introduced they are SAN, Fiber channel over Ethernet (Fcoe) , internet protocol, converged network adapter (CNA) under doff rent configurations like DAS (direct attached storage), NAS (Network attached storage), Further, in this paper will briefly look into every step of these evolution strategies. SAN (storage area network): [6] it is a high-speed network for the storage devices, which would be connected to the servers. The main advantage of SAN is it provides great assistance in backing up the data and disaster recovery. SAN uses fiber optic cable so that the data transfer rate from one location to different location will be high. Fiber channel over Ethernet (Fcoe): [6] it provides a great solution for the organizations possessing parallel network infrastructure issues. Fiber channel gives a high-speed data transfer protocol serially and standards for enterprise grade storage solutions, the transfer rates can be up to 10gbs. Fiber channels operate at great speeds like 4,16, 32 gb/s , but generally in IEEE 802.3ae standards the distance supported for 10GB Ethernet is 10km. so it is highly privileged in datacenters. Internet protocol:[6] it is group or singular drive which are combined together but they are not part of storage network but considered to be more over the internal storage media on personnel laptops. NAS (network-attached storage): [6] offers high-level storage solutions in file sharing services because the architecture is directly connected to LAN. However, because of these characters in NAS it synchronizes hardware storage resources into network, so it can be used to develop multiple networked services and by doing this storage utilization is very efficient. So based on the above technologies the storage solutions have been improvised but still there many technological labs still working on improvement on the performance, reliability and so on. Storage Media Solutions: In this paper will further discuss and present an assessment on tiered storage media solution on any top two companys depended on any context of the data at any particular time. We will be taking Netapp tiered storage solutions and Oracle tiered storage solutions. Tiered storage solutions: TechTarget (2005) the storage solutions are to segregation of data based on the company-defined policies to reduce the cost effectiveness of the data. The segregation may include different categories like performance, usage, security and so on. [6] Tiered storage consists few different tiers like tier 1, 2 and 3 data. Tier 1 includes highly sensitive data so data isolation is main aspect hence they are stored in expensive media solutions. Tier 2 data will consist of type two classified files so the storage media expense is reduced. In Tier 3 it consists of unclassified data the expenses are very less as the data is stored in in less expensive media. Oracle Tired Storage Solution Service: Oracle optimized solutions (2015) the main aim of oracle tiered solution is to provide highly efficient scalability and flexibility for the data. An always-new data storage trend was needed for better storage efficiency. As the data grows there was an opportunity arising for new wave lengths, Based on this aspects oracle offered optimized tiered solution to protect data as well, lower cost for storage and massive scalability. [3] providing Oracles disk and tape storage systems for better performance than many other storage media Introducing Oracle Storage tek modular tape gives a high throughput at lower cost and Oracle e Hierarchical Storage Manager provides configurable file system view and policy based management and data protection. They predicted that reduced deployment provides additional savings. Reduced data risk due to pretesting, ensured access and data integrity. They provide higher quality of the data availability and integrity. Oracle applies all the tiers for the data s torage solutions based on the client requirements. Oracle’s StorageTek T10000D offers outstanding bit error rate. it predicts that it offers 12.6 times better TCO than EMC isilonn soln. Netapp Tired Storage Solution Service: NetApp (2012) has great views towards the optimizing storage efficiency and performance. The main solution they give is, the right data at the right time at the right cost. Netapp provides a very different and unique way of solution for storing the data with an automated way of approach. The virtual tier provides a real time response to most of the demanding applications, ability to consolidate the data others tiers whenever required, conducting data cloning and SSD technologies. Basically provides reduced power -cooling storage. The developed flash technology in the [2] storage tiers of Netapp has helped in increasing the efficiency of the storage solutions. The key advantage of Netapp services provided for storage infrastructure will be the self-managing data-driven service layer. It helps mitigating the costs based on the performance for the classification of the data. The major feature to help the performance of the workloads would be the Netapp Flash Cache PCI-e-based modules. The workloads are like the file service workloads and OLTP workload etc†¦ Conclusion: In this paper, we initially discussed about the evolution of the storage media as the time it was integrated including the storage architecture. We even took a brief review about two companies’ providing storage services which are oracle tier storage solutions and netapp tier storage solutions. we actually had a view how both the companies mitigate the storage structure difficulties and provide a wide range of solutions for the clients which is a good prospective towards the development. The tiered storage solutions of each different vendors are competitive which indirectly supporting the development of the storage technologies. The tiered storage solutions describes the different levels of the storage entities set-up with different clients based on the value of the data. So we conclude telling that the development of storage solutions has to be much more improvised based on the requirement and developments. Bibliography: 1) Memory information. [Online] Available from: http://www.memoryinformation.com/dram.htm [Time accessed 2:38 am, date 4/6/2015] 2) NetApp (2012) â€Å"NetApp Virtual Storage Tier† [Online] 2012 Available from: http://www.netapp.com/us/technology/virtual-storage-tier/ [Time accessed 12:32 am, date 7/4/2015] 3) Oracle optimized solutions (2015) â€Å"Maximize Storage Efficiencies for Sharing Data Oracle Optimized Solution for Tiered Storage Infrastructure† [online] January 2015 Available from: http://www.oracle.com/us/solutions/oos/tiered-storage-infrastructure/tiered-storage-infra- bus-wp- 1911879.pdf [Time accessed 12:39 am, date 7/4/2015] 4) PCMag digital group. (2015) â€Å"ENCYCLOPEDIA† [online] 2015 Available from: http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/46499/magnetic-tape [Time accessed 2.08 am, date 4/6/2015] 5) Riaz, Rashid. Floppy Disk.How Products Are Made. 1994.Encyclopedia.com.10 Apr. 2015 Available from: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Floppy_Disk.aspx [Time accessed 2.48pm, date 4/6/2015] 6) SIEMON. (2015) â€Å"Data Center Storage Evolution†. [Online] 2015. Available from: http://www.siemon.com/us/white_papers/14-07-29-data-center-storage-evolution.asp [Time accessed 1:18 am, date 4/6/2015] 7) TechTarget (2005) â€Å"Tiered storage† [online] September 2005 Available from: http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/tiered-storage [Time accessed 8:45pm, date 10/4/2015] 8) Webopedia. (2015) â€Å"magnetic drum† [online] 2015 Available from: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/magnetic_drum.html [Time accessed 2.18 am, date 4/6/2015] 9) Webopedia. (2015) â€Å"SAN-storage area network† [online] 2015 Available from: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/SAN.html [Time accessed 8:27 pm, date 6/4/2015] 10) Wikipedia (2015) â€Å"Digital Audio Tape†. [Online] March 2015. Available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Tape#References [Accessed: 8:10 pm, date10/4/2015] 11) Zetta. (2015) â€Å"The History of Computer Storage†. [Online] February 2015. Available from: http://www.zetta.net/history-of-computer-storage/ [Time accessed 4/5/2015, 11:35 pm] 12) Goda, K.; Kitsuregawa, M., The History of Storage Systems,Proceedings of the IEEE, vol.100, no.Special Centennial Issue, pp.1433,1440, May 13 2012 doi: 10.1109/JPROC.2012.2189787 URL:http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=arnumber=6182574isnumber=6259910 13) Knowles, Mike, Survey of the storage evolution,User Group Conference, 2003. Proceedings, vol., no., pp.362,367, 9-13 June 2003 doi: 10.1109/DODUGC.2003.1253418 URL:http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=arnumber=1253418isnumber=28042 1

Pretentious Mothers in Williams’ The Glass Menagerie and Amy Tans’ Two

In the play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and the short story â€Å"Two Kinds† by Amy Tan, a theme of embattled control is established through the association with their children. William’s long-winded Amanda is an overpowering, delusional Southern belle mother. Dead set on finding her slightly handicapped daughter Laura a suitable husband, and dictating how her creative, yet bored, son Tom should conduct himself in life. Amanda, through her nagging and domineering instructions over everything each of her children do, from how they eat, to how they should live out their lives, pushes them into mental seclusion. The subsequent overbearing behavior by Amanda in due course drives Tom away leaving Laura in complete solitude with her mother. In a likewise manner, Tan depicts her character Suyuan as a very ambitious overconfident Chinese mother with visions of grandeur for her daughter Jing-Mei. Suyuan after being influenced by a television show decides th at Jing-Mei is to become a child prodigy. Through strict educational instructions, she drives Jing-Mei to a point of contentious revolt. The consequences of Suyuan’s authoritarian treatment to make Jing-Mei a star result in an outburst, after a talent show, causing a deep rift of silence between the two that lasts for twenty years. The parental domineering nature of Amanda in The Glass Menagerie and Suyuan in â€Å"Two Kinds† ultimately fail to force any lasting influential direction on their children, compelling them to follow entirely contradictory paths than the ones preferred by their mothers, forcing their children into rebellion. Nonetheless both mothers wield strong authority over their children, and the motives behind their dictatorial control are directly rela... ...ious physical and mental control over her daughter to become a child prodigy results in a belligerent resistance by Jing-mei. The confrontation between Suyuan and her daughter ultimately drives a rift between the two that lasts for many years. In summary Amanda and Laura would appear to have yielded similar disappointing results by their endeavors to control the destinies of the children. Works Cited Tan, Amy. "Two Kinds." Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Compact Seventh Edition. Ed. Karen Mauk. 7th. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Michael Rosenberg, 2009. 694-702. Williams, Tennessee. "The Glass Menagerie." Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Compact Seventh Edition. Ed. Karen Mauk. 7th. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Michael Rosenberg, 2009. 1628-1677. Pretentious Mothers in Williams’ The Glass Menagerie and Amy Tans’ Two In the play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and the short story â€Å"Two Kinds† by Amy Tan, a theme of embattled control is established through the association with their children. William’s long-winded Amanda is an overpowering, delusional Southern belle mother. Dead set on finding her slightly handicapped daughter Laura a suitable husband, and dictating how her creative, yet bored, son Tom should conduct himself in life. Amanda, through her nagging and domineering instructions over everything each of her children do, from how they eat, to how they should live out their lives, pushes them into mental seclusion. The subsequent overbearing behavior by Amanda in due course drives Tom away leaving Laura in complete solitude with her mother. In a likewise manner, Tan depicts her character Suyuan as a very ambitious overconfident Chinese mother with visions of grandeur for her daughter Jing-Mei. Suyuan after being influenced by a television show decides th at Jing-Mei is to become a child prodigy. Through strict educational instructions, she drives Jing-Mei to a point of contentious revolt. The consequences of Suyuan’s authoritarian treatment to make Jing-Mei a star result in an outburst, after a talent show, causing a deep rift of silence between the two that lasts for twenty years. The parental domineering nature of Amanda in The Glass Menagerie and Suyuan in â€Å"Two Kinds† ultimately fail to force any lasting influential direction on their children, compelling them to follow entirely contradictory paths than the ones preferred by their mothers, forcing their children into rebellion. Nonetheless both mothers wield strong authority over their children, and the motives behind their dictatorial control are directly rela... ...ious physical and mental control over her daughter to become a child prodigy results in a belligerent resistance by Jing-mei. The confrontation between Suyuan and her daughter ultimately drives a rift between the two that lasts for many years. In summary Amanda and Laura would appear to have yielded similar disappointing results by their endeavors to control the destinies of the children. Works Cited Tan, Amy. "Two Kinds." Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Compact Seventh Edition. Ed. Karen Mauk. 7th. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Michael Rosenberg, 2009. 694-702. Williams, Tennessee. "The Glass Menagerie." Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Compact Seventh Edition. Ed. Karen Mauk. 7th. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Michael Rosenberg, 2009. 1628-1677.