Is Human Security Better Than State Centric Security?

Is Human Security Better Than State Centric Security? Along with the end of the Cold War, the spread of globalisation, and the fast development, the world is facing new challenges and threats endangering states as well as people all over the world. Those new problems require effective counteractions. Two approaches can be distinguished, which are particularly meaningful in a context of global security, Human Security, and state-centric approaches, such as realism, neo-realism, or Strategic Studies. They differ not only because of the subject of their focus, and hence the manner of protection, but also because definition of security they draw and methods of achievement of that security. New threats endanger people globally, therefore Human Security, which is focused on the providing the security of people, not states in the first line, seems to offer better way of dealing with these non-traditional problems. However, is the Human Security sufficient? Both approaches, like any other theories, comprise positive and negative aspects. In ord er to estimate which of these two approaches offer a better way of dealing with non-traditional new global security problems, first the definition of security will be explained, in context of both theories, to assess an impact of diverse conceptions of security on the specifying threats and methods of dealing with them. Next, and there will be assessed an importance of non-traditional new global security problems, in the scope of states and human security, and threats and difficulties associated with them will be clarified as well. Furthermore, both conceptions will be characterised, including examination of manner they offer to challenge the new threats, and to provide security, additionally effectiveness of their models will be estimated. Finally, two perceptions will be compared, emphasising the most colliding issues between them, and all arguments will be put together and summarised in ending statement. Diverse dimension of security Primary issue, whilst discussing the different perception of the global security problems, appears to be understanding of the security concept. Recognition of threats and methods we use to challenge them depend on the way we define security. We can distinguish two potential objects of security, states and human beings. The former conception is strictly associated with realism, which favour protection of state as the highest authority, according to King and The traditional view of security has focused on using the military to ensure the territorial integrity of sovereign states.  [1]  Realists argue that the main goal of states is assurance of their survival, regardless of citizens well-being. Military potential is according to realism a guarantor of states existence, and consequently, therefore realists claim that the best method to obtain the highest level of security is maximization of states unilateral military capabilities.  [2]  However, there is also other side of this idea, because such states struggle to the maximization of military power and international hegemonic position, as Richard Ullman argues in the long run can only increase a global insecurity,  [3]  therefore realist definition of security seems to have positive as well as negative aspects. Such model on the one hand offers a way to protect states, but on the other hand put it in danger. The latter concept, Human Security theory, draws a view that the individuals are of primary importance. For that reason they turn their attention towards the international rather than national security. Subsequently, because of its wider and more global character, it establishes different risks, not only military, but also environmental, social, and economic, proposing different methods of protection. However, there is also another interesting aspect, even though people are aware of the different kinds of threats and their crucial impact on their lives they value defence from violence more than from any other risks. The outcome of the enquiry conducted in 2005 in Afghanistan justifies that fact. Accordingly, 37% of questioned said that violence is the biggest danger facing their country, whilst 29% sustained that they are economic problems, such as poverty or unemployment.  [4]  Subsequently, people appreciate their physical safety more than a good condition of a country, and bel ieve that violation of human rights is the major threat resulting in many others difficulties. To sum up, the essential aspect in counter measuring of a particular threat is first its recognition, because in order to deal with something we need to be aware that it is a threat to our security. The effectiveness is determined by the extent that particular threat endangers our security. Here arises the question, how those distinct perceptions of threat and security affect attitude of both approaches to non-traditional threats? Non-traditional new global security problems We cannot decide of the predominance of one theory over another without explaining types and meaning of non-traditional security problems. New threats are of diverse nature, for example environmental threats, spreading of diseases, grooving population, poverty, intercontinental crime, threats associated with new technology, or acts of terrorism, and for that reason there are so hard to be challenged. What makes them even more problematic is their interconnectedness, usually one issue is correlated with another one or even causes another problems. They, therefore, need collective response, which obviously in anarchical model of self-interested states created by realists is difficult to obtain. Non-traditional threats often cause as many harms as traditionally defined dangers, such as war. This assumption is illustrated by the following example: AIDS is a direct threat to human security because it kills an estimated three million people every year.  [5]  Health issues concern not only developing countries, as it is generally believed. Stefan Elbe claims that because of the number of military operations all over the world, and highly developed tourist industry, the diseases spread very fast all over the world. Furthermore, there are also economic consequences, necessity of replacement of infected stationed soldiers equals additional costs, and likewise those soldiers create a risk for the population of their national states. Such situation took place in Sierra Leone, during peacekeeping operation number of people infected by HIV/AIDS increased in that region.  [6]   Another worth noting issue is environmental threat. Thomas Homer-Dixon argues that environmental scarcities are already contributing to violent conflicts in many parts of the world.  [7]  There is strict correlation between water and land exploitation and ethnic and national conflicts. Scarcity of resources resulting from devastating environmental occurrences such as global warming, acid rains, or deforestation, in result constrains people to migration, fighting for other sources of resources, or worsens states economic and social situation. Some of non-traditional threats are of greater military context, such as terrorism, arm trade, or militarization of children, other are less, such as poverty, health insecurity, or violation of human rights. What is certain, however, all of these threats are of the significant importance in terms of global security, both of people and states. Notwithstanding, difficulties in confronting those non-traditional threats derive from interrelation and global dimension of those issues. Non-traditional threats can very fast, if ignored, transformed into traditional ones. Which of the given approaches then offer a better way of dealing with new threats to global security? State-centric security approaches in an era of new threats First, there will be discussed the case of state-centric approaches, which at the first sight sacrifice very little attention to non-traditional threats. According to main theory in that scope, realism, major actor on the political arena is a state, and it is a state that should be protected and secured. Subsequently, the primary, if not only, danger for state is military invasion of other state; therefore the chief area of state-centric considerations is war and peace. Correspondingly to that conception, the only provider of security is state, and as long as the external security of state is achieved, the state is in stable and safe position. Accordingly, protecting the state from military threats has the effect of protecting its people,  [8]  what indicates that state-centric approaches do not completely ignore the safety of people, although they believe that safety can only be attained through military actions. Realism and other state-centric approaches offer some useful ways though with dealing with non-traditional threats, even though some argue that they do not even recognise domestic insecurity as a threat.  [9]  Realism focuses on the national security. War, as Amitav Acharya argues, frequently endangers people by causing physical violence, but also undermines interior situation of the state, triggers malnutrition, migration of refugees, maximises the probability of pandemic, and negatively affects economic and industrial development of a certain state,  [10]  to name only few destructive features of military conflicts. For that reason, preventing wars consequently provides, to some extent, security against non-traditional threats which would result from a military conflict. Moreover, considering national security as a primary value affects the seriousness in deliberation any threats that somehow put that national security at risk. Nevertheless, not every arising problem might be resolved militarily. Furthermore, state-centric approaches apparently omit a lot of serious aspects of global security, we may even say that they are very monothematic in a context of security. One of the major omissions is a role of a state as the threat for its own citizens, not always protector. Enquiry held by Amnesty International greatly exemplifies such argument: In 1993 annual report of Amnesty International spoke of human rights violations on a terrifying scale, recording violations in 161 states.  [11]  States interest are, in a context of that particular theory, various of the interest and well-being of its inhabitants, Alan Collins even claims that a state exists somewhat apart from society,  [12]  as a result it is unsafe to sustain that state should be the highest and only provider of law and security, and ought to have unconditional sovereignty. Another weakness of state-centric approach is its static character. It ignores possibility of collective actions in order to increase states and human security, as it does not recognise non-traditional threats as a serious danger. Richard Ullman claims that such manner, staying focusing only on the one aspect of a threat, reduces their total security.  [13]   Overall, state-centric approaches, although they established some valuable techniques of providing security, tend fail to provide reasonable method of dealing with non-traditional threats, as most of these threats are concerned with human, not state, security. Human Security in a struggle to assure global security The most beneficial factor of Human Security approach in dealing with non-traditional threats is its area of focus. It places human beings in the centre of considerations. Therefore, scholars of that particular theory very broadly define security and distinguish numerous variants of security violation. The Report of the Commission on Human Security defines Human Security as: to protect the vital core of all human freedoms and human fulfilment.  [14]  Human Development Report classified seven areas of human security: economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community and political security.  [15]  Why then Human Security seems to offer a better way of dealing with non-traditional threats? First of all, because it admits that those threats are of significant importance. Most of new threats are of a global not state dimension. Therefore, while attempting to assure of security of all the individuals around the world it is aware of necessity of involvement multiple actors in challenging those dangers, such as NGOs, civil society, intergovernmental organisations, international institutions, single individuals, and many others.  [16]  Furthermore, it offers numerous methods of dealing and preventing threats. To these methods we can include, for instance, world supporting programs, such as Millennium Development Goals, sanctions in case of any violations, humanitarian interventions, peacekeeping operations, implementation of international rules and laws, and setting up institutions that enforce abidance of those laws, because respecting human rights are at the core of protecting human security.  [17]  Human Security approach values more the prevention of conflict, en suring economic, social and political stability, than the military actions when the military dispute already begins. It comprehends the crucial meaning of development, innovations, and personal well-being. Additionally Human Security is seriously judged by states, for instance Japan and Canada included human security principles in their foreign affairs programs. Human Security is also the leading policy of the UN programs, and had its contribution in the establishment of Geneva Convention, Responsibility to Protect Report, the Ottawa Treaty.  [18]   However, although Human Security approach appears to offer very successful way of dealing with new global threats it has also some defects. One of its failures is that it ignores external military threats,  [19]  because it provides the security of people not states, it does not pay much attention to the relations between states. Next, it is difficult to find any effective method of dealing with non-traditional threats whilst we grant everything an importance, as Yuen Khong claims making everything a priority renders nothing a priority,  [20]  therefore we have already plurality of non-traditional threats, and it would be hard to challenge them if we grant everything an equal status. For that reason, some scholars argue that Human Security define concept of security extremely broadly and that makes it implausible. Consequently, Human Security is very often divided into two sectors freedom from fear, and freedom from want.  [21]   Notwithstanding, in a context of globalism and global dimension of contemporary threats, Humanitarian Security offers a better way of dealing with non-traditional threats. Mostly because majority of those threats endangers directly human security first and usually affects large regions at the same time, consequently collective response is inevitable, which is rather problematic to obtain in state-centric approaches. Comparison of both conceptions Which of those two approaches better adapts to contemporary standards, and offer a better way of dealing with modern threats? When we take under considerations Alan Collins argument, that conflict since the mid-1990s overwhelmingly takes place within the borders of developing states, not between states,  [22]  we would certainly assume that the state-centric approaches since the end of the Cold War are no longer adequate to current global situation. Nevertheless, there is also other aspect of a dispute between those two theories, namely humanitarian intervention. Realists strongly believe in the right to unconditional sovereignty and that in some cases, intervention may exacerbate conflict, rather than mitigate it. Furthermore, interventions of different kinds are sometimes regarded as the hegemonic interference and an attempt to gain control. This in effect might cause hostility, as the threat to ones sovereignty is a threat to a security. Consequently how can we deal with new t hreats, which include also protection of fundamental rights, without supplying more harm than benefit? Human Security theorists believe, on the other hand, that sovereignty is conditional, as long as a state is responsible for well-being and protection of its citizens, any violation of that should require response of international community. It is strictly combined with the idea of sovereignty as responsibility.  [23]   Conclusion To summarise, both theories in contrary way try to challenge new global security threats. Nevertheless, state-centric approaches together with the end of the Cold War seem to lost their effectiveness and plausibility. Human Security, because of its alternative attitude and flexibility in dealing with arising problems, also due to its widely defined concept of security offer methods which appear to be more adequate and have a potential of success. Nature of non-traditional threats is diverse, interlinked and primarily global, therefore to deal with such threats, collective response is essential, but also of multilateral character, i.e. confronting diverse problems at the same time. The most threatened in a context of new global problems is human being, and from both of these theories, only Human Security offers a direct protection of people, and offers a resolution of global dimension, which is necessary taking under consideration global problems.

Changing Roles of Human Resource Management Essay -- Human Resource Ma

Human Resource profession has faced numerous challenges in the past, which has forced HR managers to try and implement various strategies in the work environment all in the aim of survival and prosperity of the business. The National Institute of Personnel Management (NIPM) in India recently organized the 37th annual conference of HRs to discuss the various challenges in the work place and ways of mitigating them. It was unanimously concluded that HR managers needed to revise its roles and create new roles for organizations. The new roles would help in repairing the structural foundation of a company by being proactive and innovative instead of following monotonous routine schedules. Despite the challenges and solutions to the problems that have been suggested, the question still remains, who shall take care of HR managers if they themselves are caretakers and contribute to strengthening the backbone of a company? Culcuttta et al, 2007, suggests that strategies to be implemented should be in tandem with the current trends in globalization, technology, diversity, e-business, and ethics. Furthermore, the need to take care of HR managers goes hand in hand with the saying that â€Å"No company is sick, nor the commodity, but the performing and non performing managers are the ones who matter the most in carrying forward a business successfully.† In the last twenty years there has been a gradual transition in style and substance from personnel management to HR management, and more recently to international HR management. Briscoe et al, (2008, p. 22) believe that the personnel management role lacked strategic relevance because it was mainly an administrative type role whereas the modern concept of HR is much more strategic in scope. Globali... ...alcutta IIM, Sridha, R., Pathak DD., Ganguly S. (Feb. 21, 2007). The statesman. A newspaper published on New Delhi. Retrieved on January 20th 2011 from: http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/pqdweb?did=1219601621&Fmt=3&clientId=13118&RQT=309&VName=PQD Holbenche L. (2009). Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy (2nd ed.). Elsevier Limited. Burlington. Pp. 165-195 Soupata L. (November, 2004). Executive excellence: a case study of UPS. A Journal on Human Resource Management. United States. Vol. 21, Iss. 11; pg. 15, 2 pgs. Retrieved on January 19th, 2011 from: http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/pqdweb?did=750794951&Fmt=4&clientId=13118&RQT=309&VName=PQD Tsui P.Y. and Lai K.T. (2009). Professional Practices of Human Resource Management in Hong Kong: Linking HRM to organizational success. Hong Kong University Press. Pp. 85-89

Up-hill and Looking Back and Afterwards Essay -- Christina Rossetti Th

Up-hill and Looking Back and Afterwards The poems I am going to analyse and compare are 'Remember', 'Up-hill' and 'Looking Back' by Christina Rossetti and 'Afterwards' by Thomas Hardy. These poems reflect on the theme of loss and how it affects the poets when they reflect on it. The poems also show the poets' preoccupation of death. In these poems, the poets approach the theme of death using various different techniques and linguistic devices. Christina Rossetti is a passionate and powerful poet; the majority of her poetry has contained the themes of either love or death, and in many cases both. Even in the poems which she wrote for children, these themes are prominent. Hardy too was very close to nature. In his poem there are vivid descriptions of objects and the element of nature is almost always present. The titles of these poems all give a hint about what the poem is about. 'Remember' tells us that the poet wants to be remembered for something. Often one is remembered after her death because the pain of loss keeps bringing back her memories. In the poem Rossetti does ask her lover to remember her and demands that he should "Only remember me". 'Up-hill' tells us that that the poet is probably going on a journey. This journey is the journey of life, which Rossetti is inquiring about in her poem. 'Looking back' shows us that the poet is reflecting on something. Again, one always 'looks back' on life when he is near his death to see what he has done and evaluate his life. 'Afterwards' is also a title which could refer to the theme of death. Hardy wants to know what will happen 'afterwards' when he is dead. He wants to be remembered not for his fame but for his closeness to nature and for the person ... ...ill' on the other hand shows how heaven will be - a place of comfort after a journey which "take the whole long day". 'Looking Back' is meant to convey that death is a time of evaluation of one's life. One should look back "along life's trodden way" and meditate on the mistakes and hardships of life. In 'Afterwards' Hardy says that death is a time of evaluation from others and that you should be remembered for what you are and not because you are famous or have achieved something. He also hopes that he will be remembered for his familiarity with nature and how he "could do little" for it even though he tried. I feel that all the poems effectively convey the theme of loss. All poems have a different approach but the basic idea is clear: death is inevitable. However, the poets have different views on death and its effect on them and those close to them.

Ray-Ban Promotion Strategies

Ray-Ban in the 20th century has been able to prove its ability to maintain parallelism between its products and the century’s style determined by the American Culture. A decade breakdown will prove this parallelism successful. In the 1930’s to the 1940’s the Aviator style was introduced, perfectly complementing the number of social phenomenon pertaining to this decade. There was a dramatic increase in interest for aviation and all the machines and technological advances that came with it. One of the most influential publicity acts the brand experienced for men, was when General Douglas McArthur[1] landed his military plane at the World War II base in the Philippines sporting a newly released pair of Aviator sunglasses. The famous picture of the General wearing his general’s hat, smoking a tobacco pipe and the Ray-Ban Aviator Sunglasses really pushed Aviator’s, as well as Ray-Ban, over the top. These sunglasses became part of the highly respected pilots’ equipment. The men confided in the Aviator’s fine quality and protection against optical harm. Women were also added into this look group when one of times most famous female aviator, Amelia Earhart, was also spotted with a pair of Ray-Ban’s Aviators. During the next decades, the world was bouncing back from the terrible times of war. The population had seen and experienced enough suffering allowing only growth and happiness to take place. The economy was progressing to a point where people were forgetting their sorrows and only concentrating on all the heroes which were coming home. Women were also gaining from this growth by increasing their rights. They could finally work. This time had become filled with enjoyment, glamour, color, and rock’n’roll[2]. With this change in era, Ray-Ban needed to keep on top of their game and follow the present trends. Ray-Ban began offering a vast range of colorful frames to go along with the clothing style of the time. This caused the new dark lens sunglasses to become an iconic accessory while still having top of the line sun damage protection. This time and environment was the perfect situation for Ray-Ban to release their new line of sunglasses, the Wayfarer. They were the first sunglasses to have plastic frames yet considered to be of high quality. Every aspect about these new sunglasses were attractive to the public. The new endless shape of the frame and fun advertising strategies immediately transformed the Wayfarers into the times, and presently, most sold model in history. In the 1960’s the United States took a technological turn for the best of mankind. President John F. Kennedy raises America’s hopes and dreams by announcing the plan of a man making a trip to the moon. With such amazing and quick advances in technology, Ray-Ban learned to do the same. Throughout this time Ray-Ban found they had the capacity to create sunglasses that were mounted in unbreakable frames. They put on the market these sunglasses never even dreamed of before and were able to greatly increase the price of their sunglasses by 70%. This price increase was done to prove the quality of such a product and maintain a popular image of class. With this increase in popularity even more artists, musicians, movie stars, and television stars were publicly spotted wearing Ray-Ban sunglasses. Ray-Ban even began to make appearances in Hollywood movies as part of the everyday outfit of many characters[3]. The next decade brought on a whole mix of social compromises, as well as the desire to escape reality. This led to the beginning of an interest in science fiction and its role in television and music. Consequently, the changing societal trends influenced the company’s new design and the use of more advanced technology. The new Ski and Sports Collection is introduced, with the two new styles called the Vagabond and the Stateside. At this point, Ray-Ban was making specialized sun glasses for mountain climbers with mirrored lenses, side protectors made out of leather, and nylon[4] mountings which would cover the ears inhibiting these glasses from falling. This new line was creative but very limited in market segmentation. The segment was so small that advertising had to be real specific to the interest of the intended market. This was done by publishing in certain ski, outside skills and sports magazines as well as selling the sunglasses in sporting goods stores. Ray-Ban was also realizing its â€Å"Naturals† collection, created with the intention of being a more casual line. This collection went hand-in-hand with the new age of Disco music and glamorous Rock. The sunglasses consisted of larger frames with a larger variety of softer more matte colors with outlines in metals such as silver and gold. The lenses were degraded to a point where the sunglasses were perfect for day and night use. Due to the fact that this new line went hand in hand with the social trends of the moment, advertising was a breeze. Ray-Ban introduced advertisements which simply informed the population about their product. By just informing the population was interested in what they saw and took a liking to the new style. During this time there was also the release of the Ambermatice sunglasses. These consisted of adjustable lenses meaning, they would change different colors in order to adjust to the conditions of the sun and more efficiently protect the eyes from the rays. On sunny days the lenses would become darker allowing more protection, while on a cloudy day the lenses were lighter giving off an amber color. These sun glasses were intended for those athletes who were constantly exposed to the sunlight but the style took flight and became a quick trend. Big athletes such as David Beckham, were used as the advertising strategy for this new line. By showing different athletes sporting this new athletic collection, Ray-Ban was luring in a whole different market segment. Ads were all about sports and being manly which allowed men to feel comfortable buying themselves a pair of sunglasses. The world was then introduced to Wings by Ray-Ban. A unisex style of sunglasses defined as being â€Å"aerodynamic and revolutionary†, and were thought to be the predecessors to the sunglasses with the opened up lenses (these were the lenses which were held in place only by half of the mounting, generally in their upper area), which appeared solely 20 years after the introduction of the â€Å"Wayfarers†. These appealed to the public’s new interest of gender equality. Ray-Ban advertised this as the idea behind the look creating a who new meaning for these sunglasses. This reached out to the public greatly making â€Å"Wings† a very successfully marketed collection. Ray-Ban’s popularity kept expanding not only due to the great success in publicity and their relationship with fashion, but because of their constant appearances in Hollywood. The Blues Brothers, Risky Business and Miami Vice are all examples of popular movies which increased Ray-Ban’s popularity. But, it was definitely Tom Cruise and Kelly McGills award winning film Top-Gun that pushed Ray-Bans sales through the ruff. It was during this increase in success that Ray-Ban was awarded two very prestigious recognitions. In 1985 , the same year Top-Gun was released, the company was recognized as â€Å"The Best Sunglasses in the World† by the Council of Fashion Designers of America[5]. Due to this recognition, Ray-Ban’s owner Luxottica, is able to become a corporate affiliate of the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America)[6]. Four years later, Ray-Ban receives another recognition and is awarded the Woolmark Prize in 1989, for their ability to influence the look of a North American male. In the 90s, Ray-Ban continued to be featured in films and TV shows in which various of the protagonists were displayed sporting mostly Wayfarers. Reservoir Dogs, for example, has the opening scene in which a few of the film’s characters are shown actually putting the sunglasses on. Recurrent placement is what made Ray-Ban sunglasses famous â€Å"Ray-Ban now places its glasses in 160 films and TV shows each year†[7] This decade also brought about the development and patenting process of â€Å"DiamondHard Scratch-Protection†. This was a covering put on the lenses of the sunglasses that would make them ten times more resistant that the usual anti-rupture lenses. This lead to a boom of the Orbs style, which was dark framed classes sometimes having strange designs that consisted of a very thin mounting. This and the Predator style both represent a great part of the success of the brand in recent years and their growing popularity within the male population. This was done by making more market specific commercials and displaying the men and women wearing these as fashionable and attractive. Once we reach the 21st century, the fashion industry seemed to be on a designer block. The new fashion was simply old styles with new qualities. [8] For Ray-Ban, this was great news. Once again Ray-Ban was able to put on store shelves their classic Aviator and Wayfarer styles simply renewed and with better quality. Their advertisements for these classic retros were the same as when they were first introduced. The public seemed to love the look of old commercials and ads. Ray-Ban took a few steps backwards and a huge leap forward. In the year 2003 though, apart from traditional collection of sunglasses, there is the introduction of optical glasses using lenses created to fit in with the Ray-Ban designs. There is also the introduction of the Junior collection which is comprised of various models of the known styles simply designed to fit the visage of a child. At this point, Ray-Ban began to recognize how important children were to the market. Fashion was becoming bigger even for children but Ray-Ban did not advertise to the children. Ray-Ban came up with ways to market this Junior collection to adults, parents. Ray-Ban showed matching â€Å"mommy and baby† sunglasses as the new fashion icon. Ever since Luxottica acquired the rights to the brand, previously owned by Bausch and Lomb[9], Ray-Ban has been constantly coming up with new slogans such as â€Å"Change your view†, and the most recent being â€Å"Never Hide†. These new publicity slogans are taking the interests of the coming generations and making it their objective. Still using the classic styles but adding a great variety of color and design, these new slogans are telling the population to be themselves and not be afraid. To complete the introduction of these, in December 2008, the company had a concert called â€Å"Ray-Ban Remasters† which brought together numerous bands, celebrities, and artists. Instead of having many small advertisements Ray-Ban came out with a single big bang. A new strategy which until today seems to have worked, Ray-Ban is more than a brand of sunglasses. Over time Ray-Ban grew into a fashion icon. Countless have said or say that they add a touch of retro and avant-garde style. Many would say they define your personality. When you choose a Ray-Ban you are often choosing an image shaped by history and strong personalities. If we take a look at the history of Ray-Ban’s sunglasses production, it was a company which sunglasses went through many ups and downs throughout most all of the products and styles. Due to the great struggle in the world’s economy, if any other company experienced the same path in which this one did, they would have definitely given up and carried on. Ray-Ban, on the other hand, with their constant push to be up in the market and to be present in fashion, has sincerely proven to be victorious in their market strategy. Ray-Ban’s classic Wayfarers, was the brand which most struggle but ended up being the most sold sunglass brand to date. As discussed before, the Ray Ban Wayfarer was introduced in the early 1950’s. Their production began when Ray Ban decided to stray away from the common metal framed sunglasses and take a risky change. They used colorful plastic frames, an idea which took flight in the fashion world immediately. Wayfarers are sometimes cited as the best-selling design of sunglasses in history, and have been called a classic of modern design and one of the most enduring fashion icons of the 20th century. †[10] The Wayfarers though, did not start off this way. These sunglasses started off with a strong stable position in the industry when they were introduced in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The new product was like a shiny new toy for all of America’s fashion industry. Once the fad quickly passed, Ray Ban’s sales quickly dropped. Despite Ray Ban’s efforts to get artists, such as the Blues Brothers, to be human advertisements, by the 1980’s these sunglasses were no longer a success. Ray Ban had to change their promotion strategy and fast if there was going to be any chance of the Wayfarer surviving. In 1982 Ray Ban came to terms with their issue and took a large financial leap to correct this problem. A $50,000 yearly contract was signed with Unique Product Placement to have Ray Ban’s sunglasses on screen and in front of consumer eyes. The sunglasses would be appearing in movies and television shows. Throughout this period Ray Bans were displayed in more than 50 shows and big screen movies per year[11]. Some of the most famous on screen phenomenon in which these appeared were â€Å"Risky Business†, â€Å"The Breakfast Club†, â€Å"Miami Vice†. Just four years prior, Ray-Ban had been considering discontinuing their Wayfarer product. Due to their new product placement contract, the Wayfarer Sunglass peaked at $1. 5 million in sales in 1986 alone. This popularity did not stop with just films and television shows though. Ray-Ban made sure their incredible come back kept them on top. â€Å"Wayfarers were the decade’s sunglasses of choice. †[12] As the 90s rolled around, once again the Wayfarers lost their great popularity. The great success they found in the 80’s just did not seem to stick. Ray-Bay though, being the true innovators that they are, learned how to deal with this issue quickly. In 2001, Ray-Ban had the Wayfarer undergo a dramatic redesign which included smaller frames which were also less pointed. They also changed from acetate, a cellulite compound used for binding, and changed it to a lighter plastic based chemical. The reasoning behind this redesign was to make the sunglasses more wearable and to have their physique be different and more appealing. Wayfarers stuck it through and stayed in the limelight well into the late 2000s when celebrities decided to change their sunglass style to much larger vintage frames. The company’s designers quickly caught on to the new trend and realized how high the vintage Wayfarers were selling for on varies online bargaining sites. â€Å"Ray-Ban’s marketing strategy was threefold: a return to the sunglasses’ original, rebellious design, an ‘edgy’ advertising campaign and ‘high-profile PR events’, and the use of new media like MySpace to connect with consumers† Brunelli, Richard. â€Å"Ray-Ban Wayfarers: Made in the Shade†[13]. As of October 2007, the Ray-Ban Wayfarer became Luxottica’s third best selling style later increasing sales over 40%. Despite their past fails, Ray-Ban learned and put to practice great promotional strategies which lead them to success. One of the main reasons this company stayed solid and in business is because Ray Ban has always stayed true to having a clear and successful promotion mix. Not to be confused with marketing mix, promotion mix consists of: advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, corporate image, direct marketing, and exhibitions. When it comes to advertising, Ray-Ban can be considered experts. A great portion of the company’s success in being one of the most popular styles in the fashion world can definitely be awarded to Hollywood, TV, movie stars, and musicians, but it was mostly through the advertising strategies that Ray-Ban was able to expand and make themselves known. Ray-Ban’s constant evolving marketing campaigns is what truly set them apart from the rest. Wanting to keep up with the fast pace of the fashion industry Ray-Ban had to constantly come up with new ideas and products to adapt to new technologies. Ray-Ban started off simply having picture ads, now Ray-Ban uses the internet, television, pictures, and even big screen advertising in the center of New York City. An example of an extremely successful advertisement campaign has been the â€Å"Never Hide† campaign, in which celebrities and regular Ray-Ban customers send in pictures of themselves sporting a Ray-Ban style to the company’s site. Many of these pictures are displayed in New York City’s big screens for everyone to see. Not only does this create demand but shows the company’s respect and love of everyone’s interest and creativity. This doing can also be considered a sales promotion, marketing communication with the purpose of increasing consumer demand and stimulating market demand. Another promotion mix element is public relations which consist of stimulation of supply for a product by planting significant news about it or the producer in a well known favorable media source. Ray-Ban can pride themselves on the fact that the way they marketed their products through well known and highly respected sources, increased their products quality belief and promotes the company’s image positively. The image of an organization is an extremely important part of marketing. In order to have consumer’s trust and their willingness to buy a product from a company, the company’s reputation must be a good one. Ray-Ban has no doubt, a very good image. This reputation has come from the stability it has maintained regardless of the constant roller coaster in the economy and market. Ray-Ban’s image also positively changed when the bigger, more respected company Luxottica bought out the brand. So in conclusion, Ray-Ban Sunglass company, has simply had the key to success from start to present, and that is marketing.

Logic in the East and the West

The article written by Nisbett in Chapter 7 of the book (please indicate the title of the whole book here) presents a clear idea of how logic exists differently in the East and the West. The discussion of the author presented various studies and various terms that have been used to support and weave together the different ideas. The author’s terms are worth defining for these will clarify some portions of the study. First, there are French words included in the title and one should translate this into English terms to get a better picture of the article. Ce n’est pas logique translated to English would be â€Å"it is not logical.† Weaving it back to the title, it would then be â€Å"’It is not logical’ or ‘You’ve got a point there’?† It is quite unsaid as to why the author used the language of French for the title. Second, the Latin phrase modus ponens also deserves some attention. In English, the term modes ponens is the method of affirming (â€Å"modus ponens and modus tollens†). Third, the word atypical would also be encountered and this is defined as â€Å"not conforming to the usual type or expected pattern† (â€Å"atypical†). It means the opposite of the typical argument. Going back to the topic of logic in the east and the west, the author posed several studies conducted before to support the current hypothesis that there is a difference in the existence of logic in the two regions. A study that was cited by the author was that of Ara Norenzayan, Edward E. Smith, Beom Jun Kim, and Nisbett, the author himself, showed that the insignificant interest for the study of logic in the East may be attributed to the â€Å"distrust of decontextualization†¦as well as a distaste for making inferences on the basis of underlying abstract propositions alone† (Nisbett 168). This was not proven by only one study made by the same authors but actually two studies they did. To further support the results of the study, the authors administered survey methods to respondents who are Korean, European American, and Asian American.   In addition to this, Ara Norenzayan and Beom Jun Kim made a presumption â€Å"that East Asians would be less likely to have their beliefs moved in an unpleasant direction by pondering information that implied some desired outcomes† (Nisbett 172). To do this, they administered questionnaires to Korean and American respondents containing propositions. The result was that the Americans continued towards the negative ones and the Koreans avoided this (Nisbett 173). The author used propositions and discussed it according to the logic that may be applied to it. For example, the deductive arguments â€Å"All birds have ulnar arteries, therefore all eagles have ulnar arteries† and â€Å"All birds have ulnar arteries, therefore all penguins have ulnar arteries† which the author used to show the persuasiveness of typical and atypical arguments for the different respondents (Nisbett 168-9). It was stated by the author that there is a difference on how convinced the Koreans are to typical arguments than atypical arguments compared to the European American and Asian American. The atypical argument for the previous deductive argument is the latter for penguins are not typically seen as birds. Works Cited â€Å"atypical.† Encarta Dictionaries. DVD. Redmond, WA: Microsoft, 2006. â€Å"modus ponens and modus tollens.† Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Online. 23 Mar. 2008   . Nisbett, Richard. The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently†¦and Why. New York: The Free Press, 2003.

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove Chapter 22~23

Twenty-two Theo The walls of Molly's trailer were plastered with movie posters. He stood in the middle of the living room among the scattered videotapes, magazines, and junk mail and slowly turned. It was her, Molly. She hadn't been lying all this time. Most of the posters were in foreign languages, but every one featured a younger Molly in various states of undress, holding weapons or fighting off bad guys, her hair flying in the wind, a nuked-out city or a desert littered with human skulls and burned-out cars in the background. The adolescent male part of Theo, the part that every man tries to bury but carries to his grave, reared up. She was a movie star. A hot movie star! And he knew her, had in fact put handcuffs on her. If there was only a locker room, a street corner, or a second-period study hall where he could brag about it to his friends. But he didn't really have any friends, except for Gabe maybe, and Gabe was a grown-up. The prurient moment passed and Theo felt guilty about the way he had treated Molly: patronizing her and condescending to her; the way many people treated him when he tried to be something besides a pothead and puppet. He kneeled down to a bookshelf filled with videotapes, found one labeled KENDRA: WARRIOR BABE OF THE OUT LAND (ENGLISH), and slipped it into the VCR and turned on the television. Then he turned off the lights, laid his guns on the coffee table, and lay down on Molly's couch to wait. He watched as the Crazy Lady of Pine Cove battled mutants and Sand Pirates for half an hour before he drifted off to sleep. His mind needed a deeper escape from his problems than the movie could provide. â€Å"Hi, Theo.† He came awake startled. The movie was still casting a flickering light over the room, so he couldn't have been sleeping that long. She stood in the doorway, half in shadow, looking very much like the woman on the television screen. She held an assault rifle at her side. â€Å"Molly, I've been waiting for you.† â€Å"How'd you like it?† She nodded toward the television. â€Å"Loved it. I never realized. I was just so tired†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Molly nodded. â€Å"I won't be long, I just came to get some clean clothes. You're welcome to stay here.† Theo didn't know what to do. It didn't seem like the time to grab one of the pistols off the table. He felt more embarrassed than threatened. â€Å"Thanks,† he said. â€Å"He's the last one, Theo. After him there aren't any more of his kind. His time has passed. I think that's what we have in common. You don't know what it is to be a has-been, do you?† â€Å"I think I'm what they call a never-was.† â€Å"That's easier. At least you're always looking up the ladder, not down. Coming down is scarier.† â€Å"How? Why? What is he?† â€Å"I'm not sure, a dragon maybe. Who knows?† She leaned back against the doorway and sighed. â€Å"But I can kinda tell what he's thinking. I guess it's because I'm nuts. Who would have thought that would come in handy, huh?† â€Å"Don't say that about yourself. You're saner than I am.† Molly laughed, and Theo could see her movie-star teeth shine in the light of the television. â€Å"You're a neurotic, Theo. A neurotic is someone who thinks something is wrong with him, but everyone else thinks he is normal; a psychotic thinks something's wrong with her. Take a poll of the locals, I think I'd come out in the latter category, don't you?† â€Å"Molly, this is really dangerous stuff you're messing with.† â€Å"He won't hurt me.† â€Å"It's not just that. You could go to jail just for having that machine gun, Molly. People are getting killed, aren't they?† â€Å"In a manner of speaking.† â€Å"That's what happened to Joseph Leander, and the guys working the drug lab, right? Your pal ate them?† â€Å"They were going to hurt you, and Steve was hungry. Seemed like great timing to me.† â€Å"Molly, that's murder!† â€Å"Theo! I'm nuts. What are they going to do to me?† Theo shrugged his shoulders and sat back on the couch. â€Å"I don't know what to do.† â€Å"You're not in a position to do anything right now. Get some rest.† Theo cradled his head in his hands. His cell phone, still in the pocket of his flannel shirt, began ringing. â€Å"I could sure use a hit right now.† â€Å"There's some Smurfs of Sanity in the cupboard over the sink – neuroleptics Dr. Val gave me, antipsychotics – they've done wonders for me.† â€Å"Obviously.† â€Å"Your phone is ringing.† Theo pulled out the phone, flipped it open, hit the answer button and watched as the incoming number ap peared on the display. It was Sheriff Burton's cell phone number. Theo hit disconnect. â€Å"I'm fucked,† Theo said. Molly picked up Theo's .357 Magnum from the table, held it on Theo, then picked up Joseph Leander's automatic. â€Å"I'll give these back before I go. I'm going to get some clean clothes and some girlie things out of my bedroom. You be okay here?† â€Å"Yeah, sure.† His head was still hung. He spoke into his lap. â€Å"You're bumming me out, Theo.† â€Å"Sorry.† Molly was gone from the room for only five minutes, in which time Theo tried to get a handle on what had happened. Molly returned with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder. She was wearing the Kendra costume, com-plete with thigh-high boots. Even in the dim light from the television, Theo could see a ragged scar over her breast. She caught him looking. â€Å"Ended my career,† she said. â€Å"I suppose now they could fix it, but it's a little late.† â€Å"I'm sorry,† Theo said. â€Å"I think you look beautiful.† She smiled and shifted both of the pistols to one hand. She'd left the assault rifle by the door and Theo hadn't even noticed. â€Å"You ever feel special, Theo?† â€Å"Special?† â€Å"Not like you're better than everyone else, just that you're different in a good way, like it makes a difference that you're on the planet? You ever feel that way?† â€Å"I don't know. No, not really.† â€Å"I had that for a while. Even though they were cheesy B movies and even though I had to do some humiliating things to get into them, I felt special, Theo. Then it went away. Well, now I feel that way again. That's why.† â€Å"Why what?† â€Å"You asked me why before. That's why I'm going back to Steve.† â€Å"Steve? You call him Steve?† â€Å"He looked like a Steve,† Molly said. â€Å"I have to go. I'll leave your guns in the bed of that red truck you stole. Don't try to follow, okay?† Theo nodded. â€Å"Molly, don't let it kill anybody else. Promise me that.† â€Å"Promise to leave us alone?† â€Å"I can't do that.† â€Å"Okay. Take care of yourself.† She grabbed the assault rifle, kicked open the door, and stepped out. Theo heard her go down the steps, pause, then come back up. She popped her head in the door. â€Å"I'm sorry you never felt special, Theo,† she said. Theo forced a smile. â€Å"Thanks, Molly.† Gabe Gabe stood in the foyer of Valerie Riordan's home, looking at his hiking boots, then the white carpet, then his boots again. Val had gone into the kitchen to get some wine. Skinner was wandering around outside. Gabe sat down on the marble floor, unlaced his boots, then slipped them off. He'd once been into a level-nine clean room at a biotech facility in San Jose, a place where the air was scrubbed and filtered down to the micron and you had to wear a plastic bunny suit with its own air umbilical to avoid contaminating the specimens. Strangely, he'd had a similar feeling to the one he was feeling now, which was: I am the harbinger of filth. Thank God Theo had made him shower and change before his date. Val came into the sunken living room carrying a tray with a bottle of wine and two glasses. She looked up at Gabe, who was standing at the edge of the stairs as if ready to wade into molten lava. â€Å"Well, come on in and have a seat,† Val said. Gabe took a tentative step. â€Å"Nice place,† he said. â€Å"Thanks, I still have a lot to do on it. I suppose I should just hire a decorator and have done with it, but I like finding pieces myself.† â€Å"Right,† Gabe said, taking another step. You could play handball in this room if you didn't mind destroying a lot of antiques. â€Å"It's a cabernet from Wild Horse Vineyard over the hill. I hope you like it.† Val poured the wine into stemmed bubble glasses. She took hers and sat down on the velvet couch, then raised her eyebrows as if to say, â€Å"Well?† Gabe joined her at the other end of the couch, then took a tentative sip of the wine. â€Å"It's nice.† â€Å"For a local cheapie,† Val said. An awkward silence passed between them. Val made a show of tasting the wine again, then said, â€Å"You don't really believe this stuff about a sea monster, do you, Gabe?† Gabe was relieved. She wanted to talk about work. He'd been afraid that she would want to talk about something else – anything else – and he didn't really know how. â€Å"Well, there are the tracks, which look very authentic, so if they are fake, whoever did them studied fossil tracks and replicated them perfectly. Then there's the timing of the rat migration, plus Theo and your patient. Estelle, was it?† Val set down her wine. â€Å"Gabe, I know you're a scientist, and a discovery like this could make you rich and famous, but I just don't believe there's a dinosaur in town.† â€Å"Rich and famous? I hadn't thought about it. I guess there would be some recognition, wouldn't there?† â€Å"Look, Gabe, you deal in hard facts, but every day I deal with the delusions and constructions of people's minds. They are just tracks on the ground, probably like that Bigfoot hoax in Washington a few years ago. Theo is a chronic drug user, and Estelle and her boyfriend Catfish are artist types. They all have overactive imaginations.† Gabe was put off by her judgment of Theo and the others. He thought for a second, then said, â€Å"As a biologist, I have a theory about imagination. I think it's pretty obvious that fear – fear of loud noises, fear of heights, the capacity to learn fear – is something that we've adapted over the years as a survival mechanism, and so is imagination. Everyone thinks that it was the big strong caveman who got the girl, and for the most part, that may have been true, but physical strength doesn't explain how our species cre-ated civilization. I think there was always some scrawny dreamer sitting at the edge of the firelight, who had the ability to imagine dangers, to look into the future in his imagination and see possibilities, and therefore sur-vived to pass his genes on to the next generation. When the big ape men ended up running off the cliff or getting killed while trying to beat a mas-todon into submission with a stick, the dreamer was standing back thinking, †˜Hey, that might work, but you need to run the mastodon off the cliff.' And, then he'd mate with the women left over after the go-getters got killed.† â€Å"So nerds rule,† Val said with a smile. â€Å"But if fear and imagination make you more highly evolved, then someone with paranoid delusions would be ruling the world.† Val was getting into the theory of it now. How strange to talk to a man who talked about ideas, not property and personal agendas. Val liked it. A lot. Gabe said, â€Å"Well, we didn't miss that by far with Hitler, did we? Evolution takes some missteps sometimes. Big teeth worked pretty well for a while, then they got too big. Mastodons' tusks got so large they would snap the animal's neck. And you've probably noticed that there are no saber-toothed cats around anymore.† â€Å"Okay, I'll buy that imagination is an evolutionary leap. But what about depression?† Talking about mental conditions, she couldn't help thinking about what she'd done to her patients. Her crimes circled in her mind, trying to get out. â€Å"Psychiatry is looking more and more at mental conditions from a physical point of view, so that fits. That's why we're treating depres-sion with drugs like Prozac. But what evolutionary purpose is there for depression?† â€Å"I've been thinking about that since you mentioned it at dinner,† Gabe said. He drained his wineglass and moved closer to her on the couch, as if by being closer, she would share in his excitement. He was in his element now. â€Å"A lot of animals besides humans get depressed. Higher mammals like dolphins and whales can die from it, but even rats seem to get the Blues. I can't figure out what purpose it serves. But in humans it might be like nearsightedness: civilization has protected a biological weakness that would have been weeded out by natural dangers or predators.† â€Å"Predators? How?† â€Å"I don't know. Depression might slow the prey down, make it react less quickly to danger. Who knows?† â€Å"So a predator might actually evolve that preyed on depressed animals?† Right and it's me, Val thought. If I haven't been preying on depressed people, what have I been doing? She suddenly felt ashamed of her home, of the pure materialism of it. Here was an incredibly bright man who was concerned with the pure pursuit of knowledge, and she had sold her integrity for some antiques and a Mercedes. Gabe poured himself another glass of wine and sat back now, thinking as he spoke. â€Å"Interesting idea. I suppose there could be some sort of chemical or behavioral stimulus that would trigger preying on the depressed. Low serotonin levels tend to raise libido, right? At least temporarily?† â€Å"Yes,† Val said. That's why the entire town has turned into horndogs, she thought. â€Å"Therefore,† Gabe continued, â€Å"you'd have more animals mating and passing on the depression gene. Nature tends to evolve mechanisms to remain in balance. A predator or a disease would naturally evolve to keep the depressed population down. Interesting, I've been feeling especially horny lately, I wonder if I'm depressed.† Gabe's eyes snapped open wide and he looked at Val with the full-blown terror of what he had just said. He gulped his wine, then said, â€Å"I'm sorry, I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Val couldn't stand it anymore. Gabe's faux pas opened the gate, and she stepped through it. â€Å"Gabe, we have to talk.† â€Å"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She grabbed his arm to stop him. â€Å"No, I have to tell you something.† Gabe braced himself for the worst. He'd fallen out of the lofty world of theory into the awkward, gritty world of first dates, and she was going to drop the â€Å"Don't get the wrong idea† bomb on him. She gripped his arm and her nails dug into his bicep hard enough to make him wince. She said, â€Å"A little over a month ago, I took almost a third of the people in Pine Cove off antidepressants.† â€Å"Huh?† That wasn't at all what he'd expected. â€Å"My God, why?† â€Å"Because of Bess Leander's suicide. Or what I thought was her suicide. I was just going through the motions in my practice. Writing prescriptions and collecting fees.† She explained about her arrangement with Winston Krauss and how the pharmacist had refused to put everyone back on the drugs. When she finished, to wait for his judgment, there were tears welling up in her eyes. He put his arms around her tentatively, hoping it was the right thing to do. â€Å"Why tell me this?† She melted against his chest. â€Å"Because I trust you and because I have to tell someone and because I need to figure out what to do. I don't want to go to jail, Gabe. Maybe all my patients didn't need to be on antidepressants, but a lot of them did.† She sobbed on his shoulder and he began to stroke her hair, then pushed up her chin and kissed her tears. â€Å"It'll be okay. It will.† She looked up into his eyes, as if looking for a hint of disdain, then not finding it, she kissed him hard and pulled him on top of her on the couch. A Higher Power And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? – Revelation 13:4 Twenty-three Steve What horrors can a dragon dream? A creature who has, in his own way, ruled the planet for millions of years, a creature for whom the mingy man mammals have built temples, a creature who has known no predator but time – what could he possibly dream that would frighten him? Call it the knowing? Under a stand of oak trees, sexually satisfied and with a bellyful of drug dealers, the dragon dreamed a vision of time past. The eternal now that he had always known suddenly had history. In the dream he saw himself as a larva, tucked into the protective pouch under his mother's tongue until it was safe to venture out under her watchful eye. He saw the hunting and the mating, the forms he had learned to mimic as his mercurial DNA evolved not through generations, but through regeneration of cells. He saw the mates he had eaten, the three young he had borne as a female, the last killed by a warmblood who sang the Blues. He remembered the chan-ging, not so long ago, from female to male, and he remembered all of it in pictures, not in mere instinctual patterns and conditioned responses. He saw these pictures in the dream, brought on by the strange mating with the warmblood, and he wondered why. For the first time in his five thousand years, he asked, Why? And the dream answered with a picture of all the oceans and swamps, the rivers and bogs and trenches and mountains beneath the sea, and they were all empty of his kind. As sure as if he were floating through the cold black at the end of the universe, where light gives up hope and time chases its tail until it dies from exhaustion, he was alone. Sex does that to some guys. Val â€Å"Oh my God, the rat brains!† Gabe shouted. It was a different response to lovemaking. Val wasn't sure that she might not be hurt, feeling vulnerable as she was, with her knees in the vicinity of her ears, a biologist on top of her, and her panty hose waving off one foot like a tattered battle flag. Gabe collapsed into her arms and she looked over his shoulder to the coffee table to check that they hadn't kicked the wineglasses off onto the carpet. â€Å"Are you okay?† she asked, a little breathless. â€Å"I'm sorry, but I just realized what's going on with this creature.† â€Å"That's what you were thinking about?† Yes, her feelings were definitely hurt. â€Å"No, not during. It came to me in a flash right after. Somehow the creature can attract mammals with lower than normal serotonin levels. And you've got, what, a third of the population running around in antidepressant withdrawal?† She was pissed now, not hurt. She dumped him off her onto the floor, stood up, pulled her skirt down, and stepped away. He scrambled into his pants and looked around for his shirt, which lay in shreds behind the couch. He had a tan that ended at the neckline and just below the shoulders; the rest of him was milk white. He looked up at her from the gap between the couch and the coffee table with a pleading in his eyes, as if he were looking up from a coffin in which he was about to be buried alive. â€Å"Sorry,† he said. He wasn't looking her in the eye, and Val suddenly realized that he was talking to her exposed breasts. She pulled her blouse closed, and a battery of insults rose in her mind, ready to be fired, but all of them were mean-spirited and would serve to do nothing but make them both feel ashamed. He was who he was, and he was honest and real, and she knew that he hadn't meant to hurt her. So she cried. Thinking, Great, crying is what got me into this in the first place. She plopped down on the couch with her face in her hands. Gabe moved to her side and put his arm around her. â€Å"I'm really sorry. I'm not very good at this sort of thing.† â€Å"You're fine. It's just too much.† â€Å"I should go.† He started to stand. She caught his arm in a death grip. â€Å"You go and I'll hunt you down and kill you like a rabid dog.† â€Å"I'll stay.† â€Å"No go,† she said. â€Å"I understand.† â€Å"Okay, I'll go.† â€Å"Don't you dare.† She threw her arms around him and kissed him hard, pulling him back down onto the couch, and within seconds they were all over each other again. That's it, she thought, no more crying. It's the crying that does it. This guy is aroused by my pain. But soon they lay in a panting sweaty pile on the floor and the idea of crying was light-years away. And this time Gabe said, â€Å"That was wonderful.† Val noticed a wineglass overturned by her head, a cabernet stain bleeding over the carpet. â€Å"Is it salt or club soda?† Gabe pulled away far enough to look into her eyes and saw that she was looking at the stained carpet. â€Å"Salt and cold water, I think. Or is that blood?† A drop of sweat dripped off his forehead onto her lips. She looked at him. â€Å"You weren't thinking about that creature that doesn't exist, were you?† â€Å"Just you.† She smiled. â€Å"Really?† â€Å"And a weed-whacker, for some reason.† â€Å"You're kidding.† â€Å"Uh, yes, I'm kidding. I was only thinking of you.† â€Å"So you don't think I'm a horrible person for what I've done?† â€Å"You were trying to do what you thought was right. How could that be horrible?† â€Å"I feel horrible.† â€Å"It's been a long time. I'm out of practice.† â€Å"No, not about this. About my patients. You really think something could be preying on them?† â€Å"It's just a theory. There may not even be a creature.† â€Å"But what if there is? Shouldn't we call the National Guard or something?† â€Å"I was thinking of calling Theo.† â€Å"Theo isn't even a real cop.† â€Å"He deserves to know.† They lay there in silence for a few minutes, staring at the spreading stain on the carpet, feeling the sweat run down their ribs, and listening to the beat of each other's hearts. â€Å"Gabe?† Val whispered. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Maybe we should go to couples' counseling.† â€Å"Should we get dressed first?† â€Å"You were serious about the weed-whacker, weren't you?† â€Å"I don't know where that image came from.† â€Å"There's supposed to be a good couples' guy in San Junipero, unless you'd rather go to a woman counselor.† â€Å"I thought we were going to call the National Guard.† â€Å"Only if it comes to that,† Val said. Thinking, When we tell the shrink about this, I'm leaving out the part about the wine spilling. Theo Is there anything more irritating than people who have just been laid? Especially when you have not. Not for a long time. Oh, it was obvious as soon as they came through Molly's front door, waking Theo for the second time that night: Gabe's grin looking like the oversized grill on an old Chrysler, Val Riordan wearing jeans and almost no makeup; the both of them giddy and giggling and blushing like children. Theo wanted to puke. He was happy for them, but he wanted to puke. â€Å"What?† Theo said. Gabe was obviously amped and trying not to show it. He put his hands in his pockets to keep from waving them around. â€Å"I† – he looked at Val and smiled – â€Å"we think that this creature, if it exists, may be attracted to prey with low serum serotonin levels.† Gabe bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited for his statement to sink in. Theo sat there, staring at him, with no discernible change in expres-sion from the weariness he'd worn since they came through the door. He guessed that he was supposed to say something now. â€Å"Molly was here,† Theo said. â€Å"The creature exists. It ate Mikey Plotznik, and Joseph Leander, and who knows who else? She said it's a dragon.† Gabe's grin dropped. â€Å"That's great. I mean, that's horrible, but it's great from a scientific point of view. I have another theory about this species. I think it has some specialized mechanism to affect its prey. Have you been horny lately?† â€Å"There's no need to be arrogant, Gabe. I'm glad you two had a good time, but there's no need to rub it in.† â€Å"No no, you don't get it.† Gabe went on to explain about Val Riordan's decision to take her patients off antidepressants and how the lowering of serotonin levels could lead to increased libido. â€Å"So Pine Cove has been full of horny people.† â€Å"Right,† Theo said. â€Å"And I still can't get a date.† Val Riordan laughed and Theo glared at her. Gabe said, â€Å"The rats I found alive near this trailer, where we think the creature might have been, were mating when I found them. There are some species of carnivorous plants that give off a sex pheromone that attracts their prey. In some species, the behavior of the male – a display, a dance, a scent – will stimulate the ovaries in the female of the species without any physical contact. I think that's what's happened to us.† â€Å"Our ovaries are being stimulated?† Theo rubbed sleep from his eyes. â€Å"I gotta be honest with you, Gabe. I'm not feeling it.† Val turned to Gabe. â€Å"That's not very romantic.† â€Å"It's incredibly exciting. This may be the most elegant predator that the world has ever seen.† Theo shook his head. â€Å"I have no home, no job, no car, there's probably a warrant out for my arrest, and you want me to be excited over the fact that we have a monster in town that makes you horny so he can eat you? Sorry, Gabe, I'm missing the positive side of this.† Val chimed in, â€Å"It may be the reason that you've been able to quit smoking pot so easily.† â€Å"Pardon me? Easily?† Theo wanted to jump off the couch and bitch-slap them both. â€Å"Were you ever able to go this long before?† â€Å"She could be right, Theo,† Gabe said. â€Å"If this thing affects serotonin, it could affect other neurotransmitters.† â€Å"Oh good,† Theo said. â€Å"Let's open a detox clinic. We'll feed half of the patients to the monster and the other half will recover. I can't wait.† â€Å"There's no need to be sarcastic,† Gabe said. â€Å"We're just trying to help.† â€Å"Help? Help with what? Bar fight? I can handle it. Skateboard theft? I'm on it. But my law enforcement experience hasn't prepared me for dealing with this.† â€Å"That's true, Gabe,† Val said. â€Å"Theo's little more than a rent-a-cop. Maybe we should call the sheriff or the FBI or the National Guard.† â€Å"And tell them what?† Theo asked. Rent-a-cop? I'm not even that now, he thought. â€Å"He has a point.† Gabe said. â€Å"We haven't seen anything.† â€Å"That old Blues singer has,† Val said. Theo nodded. â€Å"We need to find him. Maybe he'll†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He's living with Estelle Boyet,† Val said. â€Å"I have her address in my office.†

Motivation techniques

Entrepreneurs who start and build new businesses are more celebrated than studied. They embody, in the popular imagination and in the eyes of some scholars, the virtues of â€Å"boldness, ingenuity, leadership, persistence and determination but policy makers see them as crucial source of employment and productivity growth; our systematic knowledge of how entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses is limited, since the activity does not occupy a prominent place in the study of business and economics because laments about the ineffable nature of entrepreneurship dominate the discourse about new and fledging businesses.Most new business lack any ideas or assets that differentiate them from their competitors, they don’t really earn profit; they merely provide a wage to their proprietors that is set by a competitive market for the proprietor’s labor, and for many individuals this wage turns out to be lower than what they could make working for someone else, and therefore , they have a powerful incentive to shut down. Most entrepreneurs agree that their businesses generates a positive cash flow within months of launch and the profitability of their businesses is difficult to estimate; small firms often keep inaccurate financial records and commingle company and personal expenditures.The capacities of the incorporated companies finance their high rates of growth through internal generated funds suggesting that their profit margins are significantly positive. The belief that many entrepreneurs are special has widespread appeal, but we cannot easily specify their exact distinctive traits and skills but folklore attributes some of the many qualities of the entrepreneur as; great energy, vision, leadership skills, and lastly a never-say-die spirit, to name just a few. In addition formal research on entrepreneurs, also assumes as individuals with distinctive traits and skills, but contrastingly empirical studies provide weak support, in â€Å"profiling th e entrepreneur’s personality† (Adler, 1999).Although, the studies have suffered from basic methodological problems, for instance, many researchers have tried to identify a universal entrepreneurial personality where they have implicitly assumed that owners of the car dealerships, self-employed accountants and the founders of software companies share common traits that distinguish them from the population at large, but this seems unlikely, given the wide variety of problems and tasks that these individuals face; a related problem also is derived from the arbitrary selection of traits, and   consequently researchers have studied whether entrepreneurs have ‘Type A’ personalities or a high speed for achievement, without specifying why these qualities matter.In business theories and models studies, most businesses mature gradually and only exceptional business start with talent, capital and strategies that will rapidly propel them into the ranks of large well established companies. Fledging businesses turn into long-lived companies through a protracted, multistage process rather than through a one-short transformation. It requires decades of sustained investment to develop the necessary systems of coordinated assets, since, developing the assets that will sustain a long-lived firm requires much more investment than does when starting a promising business. This therefore implies that entrepreneurs have to undertake initiatives that require considerable out of-pocket outlays or opportunity costs to develop brand names, technologies, broad product lines, and distribution channels.Fore knowledgeEntrepreneurs cannot easily envision the design of an effective system of complementary assets in advance. For example the distinctive features of the Wal-mart discount chain is its focus on underserved rural areas, low prices,   purchasing skills, investments in information technology, employee culture and the greater store entrances; all these hav e an impressive logic and coherence. The Wal-Mart system evolved over more than a decade, after much trial and error and some failed initiatives, rather than through the execution of a master plan (Ballard, & Langrehr, 1993).Learning by doingSome critical assets like the know-how technique and reputations can only be developed through repeated action. Firms build relationship with customers by consistently providing high-quality service and products. They develop valuable brand names and distribution capabilities after decades of effort and investment. Therefore, the evolution of coordination mechanism follows the gradual development of assets.The   mainstream economic theories has little to tell us about how and why some firms survive and grow and others do not; since in the standard microeconomic theory where it focuses on perfect competition among many identical competitors, the question of survival does not arise. Although variations in the size and longevity of firms have no influence on outcomes, and the evolution of a specific firm is irrelevant; it makes little difference in this theory whether changes in characteristics are treated as altering the existing firm or were able to implement early were rewarded with growth in output and value; the others joined a mass exodus (Bielski, 2007).In the life-cycle models; or ‘stages of growth’ or life cycle models often predictions on how firms develop as well as advice to entrepreneurs on nurturing their new ventures. The models recognize that businesses evolve in a gradual way; The Ford Motor Company and General Motors, which came to dominate the US automobile industry, evolved in markedly different ways. Ford’s evolution reflects founder Henry Ford’s engineering and manufacturing interests.It was produced on a moving assembly line, with machines specialized for minute tasks and extreme division of labor. The system of mass production of a single standardized productivity yielded c ost savings, which allowed for low prices, which in turn helped expand consumer demand. Ford Motor Company grew by replicating this system in even larger and more vertically integrated facilities.The survival of such businesses depends more on effective adaptation to unexpected problems and opportunities than on the entrepreneur’s ability to formulate and implement a strategy. This therefore means long-term strategies do play an important role in the management of large corporations. Entrepreneurs who build long-lived firms establish audacious goals for their companies. For the founders of promising businesses may have a far-reaching vision, but it is not necessary for starting their ventures.These goals help entrepreneurs build large and long-lived firms contrary to the case where fledgling businesses do not automatically undertake the initiatives and investments needed to build a system of coordinated assets according to the satisfaction principle, audacious goals must stim ulate the search for these initiatives and investments.Employees’ motivationThe diversity of activities in these corporations requires the boards and top executives to delegate their control and management responsibilities to employees with the appropriate specific knowledge. The top executives do not initiate or implement many concrete proposals, but rather influence the initiatives undertaken by subordinates by formulating an overall corporate strategy and the processes for evaluating new initiative, not specific investment decisions. Instead of monitoring the implementation of every project, the board evaluated aggregate performance and the control system. For example, the board may evaluate whether the auditing function has sufficient independence from the operating managers.There is separation of ‘management’ and ‘control by the broad policy which leads to a corresponding separation of roles for specific decisions, and this is done by instituting monit oring devices and policies boards whereby top executives can give decision making rights to subordinates whom they cannot directly supervise while protecting shareholders from abuse of these rights. For instance, a sales person or executive or brand manager who has direct knowledge of customer needs and competitive offerings may initiate proposals for a new product (BhidÉ, 2003).It cannot be denied that, chance events often provide the spark for starting a promising business, entrepreneurs often encounter their opportunities by accident. In connection two factors also predispose some individuals to look for and take advantage of chance events; human capital and family backgrounds, and tolerance for ambiguity. In general, the transition of a fledging business into a large, well-established corporation requires a fundamental transformation rather than a simple scaling up, because of some basic differences in their attributes, since the profits of fledging businesses are derived fr om a few factors. Given the appropriate predisposition, what traits and skills determine an individual’s capacity to adapt to new circumstances and to secure resources on the converse the qualities do not have a material bearing on an individual’s willingness and capacity to start a promising business.ConclusionThe transformation from fledging to mature firm requires protracted, purposive investment. The firms acquire a system of coordinated assets gradually, because capital constraints limit the size of individual investments and since it takes time to build customer relationship, know-how, and other such intangible assets. This process is not predestined, such as the normal development of an infant into an adult; entrepreneurs must consciously abandon the pursuit of short-term cash flow in favor of long-term investment. And although the sequent and pattern of investments are not predetermined, they are not random or opportunistic either, thus building long-lived firm s involves the coordination of investments and efforts across functions and time. In specific, entrepreneurs have to adopt and articulate audacious goals and formulate a set of general rule (Bielski, 2007).ReferencesAdler, P. S. (1999). â€Å"Hybridization of Human Resource Management at Two Toyota   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Transplants,† In J. Liker, M. Fruin, and P. S. Adler, eds., Remade in America:   Ã‚   Transplanting and Transforming Japanese Management Systems. New York:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Oxford University Press.Ballard, M., & Langrehr, F. W. (1993). What CPAs Can Learn from Wal-Mart. Journal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Accountancy, 176(5), retrieved November 21, 2007, from Questia  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   database:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.questia.comBhidÉ, A. V. (2003). The Origin and Evolution of New Businesses. New York: Oxford University Press. Ret rieved November 21, 2007, from Questia database:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.questia.comBielski, L. (2007). Texas Growth plus Wal-Mart Locations: Wood forest National Bank   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ABA Banking Journal, 99(6), 42. Retrieved November 21, 2007, from Questia  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   database: www.questia.com