Ted.com Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ted.com - Essay Example This led Maskowitz to eventually determine that rather than developing a singular product, companies must develop a series of variations on this product to appeal to a broad range of people. The video goes into relay when Prego asked Maskowitz to help them develop a sounder product. Maskowitz responded by developing a multi-differentiated product line. Rather than attempting to determine the most popular spaghetti sauces among this group, Maskowitz worked to determine the groupings for form that would be the most popular. It was ultimately determined that extra-chunky was one of the popular types of spaghetti sauce that had not been developed yet had considerable public demand. Prego would release this brand and go on to net over $600 million dollars over the next decade. The main point Gladwell is making is that rather looking for universal answers, companies must consider human variability when designing products. Seth Godin on standing out As my major is finance and marketing, I c hose a video on marketing referred to as Seth Godin on standing out. Seth Godin is a recognized entrepreneur and blogger, and is greatly concerned with marketing in the digital age. This particular video considers ways that individuals can stand out in the contemporary marketing world.

A Risk Management Proposal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

A Risk Management Proposal - Assignment Example Risk evaluation is also extremely important in order to minimize the occurrence of risks. The two widely used methods of risk evaluation include subjective and objective methods. Many people from different departments are involved in the process of risk management who oversee different phases of the project risk management. If case of construction industry, people included in the process of risk management are project risk manager, risk management team, project risk custodians, risk profile owners, and team members of the project. Project risk manager provides the risk management strategy to the team in order to manage the risks associated with the project. The project management team collects necessary information required for the purpose of risk management. The risk profile owners allocate the responsibility of the risks to the concerned staff. The custodians of the risk oversee and consolidate the risks within a particular risk category. The project team members provide the necessary information regarding risks to the project profile owners and the risk management team. The phases of the risk management process include establishment of context for risk management, communication of risk management, risk identification, risk analysis, risk evaluation, risk treatment, and monitoring and reviewing of the risk. Emaar is a Public Joint Stock Company whose motive is to provide the people with high standard life styles. Emaar is a Dubai based Construction Company and has been working successfully since 1997. Emaar Construction Company competes in various areas related to construction industry. These areas include building beautiful homes, master planned communities, various construction projects, and providing the customers with full range of high life style requirements. The risk occurs when the client asks for a change in the design of the building at a later stage by commenting that the design document was not shown

A Comparison Between Pakistani And British Consumers On Buying Moblies Marketing Essay

A Comparison Between Pakistani And British Consumers On Buying Moblies Marketing Essay Mobile phone has become an important part of human life .With the invention of new technology, along with computers, this technology has ease the work of human being in communicating with each others. Before the invention of mobile phones, there were land line telephones which also help human being to communicate with each others but at a limited scale. To use land line, person should be at one place where that phone is installed. But mobile phones remove this barrier by allowing customers to communicate with each others from any place where it has signals. AS this system is connected with the satellite, person can communicate without any hurdle. This is the only technology on the globe which is sold at highest numbers than any other technology. Out of 6.8 billion people on the earth, 5 billion use mobile phones (international telecommunication union, 2010).Two countries Pakistan and UK have been chosen for this dissertation because these two countries are very much different in many prospective. Pakistan telecommunication authority (PTA, 2010) shows that mobile phone in Pakistan enjoy a tremendous annual growth of 119% during 2000 to 2007. It is also being observed that between fiscal year 2006-07, mobile phone penetration increased by 15.5%. Whereas between years 2007-08, it was 55.6% which is 34.9% higher than Indias for the same period. Pakistans telecommunications industry maintains its growth trend in the coming years as well with the penetration rate in 2009 was 61.8% and in September this penetration rate reaches to 70%.On the other hand UK mobile phone market is different than Pakistani market. According to report presented by Ofcom (2007), the mobile phone market in UK grew by 41.3% between 2003 to 2007.In 2010, the penetration rate in UK was 84% which stay same till 2011.Mobile phone market is very competitive these days as there are number of companies who are trying to compete in this market to become the best in the business. It is very essential for the companies to better understand the buying behaviour of the customers.It gives them an edge on the competitors in targeting the right segment and getting market share. The purchasing decisions of consumers are mostly affected by factors that have direct or indirect impact on how we live and what we consume. Culture is one of the factors that impact on buying behaviour of consumers. Culture represents the behaviour, beliefs and, in many cases, the way we act learned by interacting or observing other members of society. In this way much of what we do is shared behaviour, passed along from one member of society to another. Culture play an important role in breaking target market into different segments and then targets the right segment. Blackwell et al., (2001) demonstrated that culture has a profound influence on how and why consumers purchase a range of products and services. The selection of products by consumer affect by the culture and it can help companies to design their marketing plan. Culture shapes the lifestyle of the consumer which affect directly on the buying pattern of the consumer. The cultural comparison between Pakistan and UK about mobile phone purchasing behaviour will provide a complete picture which will help understand these two countries mobile phone market. Culture defines the lifestyle of the people so it is very important for the manager to understand this factor and design a marketing plan by considering culture as a back bone of marketing. Companies these days are operating globally, marketing manager should divide the targeting segment into small sub segments on the basis of culture to market their product efficiently. Pakistani culture represent the most part of Asias culture and British culture represent the most of European culture. This purpose of this study to find the cultural impact on consumer buying behaviour of these two countries so that marketers of telecommunication industry use it to generalise it for the whole Asia and Europe. Literature Review Culture is defined in many different ways that can be used here for the sake of this paper. Culture is defined as ways of life like language, arts science, thoughts, spirituality, social activity and interaction (Roshan).By Hofstede (1991, 2001), culture is an identity that is used to distinguish one group from another.Keegan and schlegemilch (2001) state that culture is formed by people those are living in a community for many years and has a life that pass on from one generation to another. This mean that culture has a starting point and finish point. So its all about the life style of a group of people whom code of life is represented by culture.Doney etal(1998) defined culture as a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living. So by Doney culture is the design of life. There are many different cultures exist and these cultures represents particular group of people who actually adapted that design. It also depend on the individuals whose life style effect on the culture.Doney Lowe (2008, 73) believe that culture is made up of three essentials components. Those are (1) Beliefs: refers to the mental and verbal processes that reflect peoples knowledge and assessments of things. (2) Values: used by people as guide for what is appropriate behaviour. (3) Customs: Overt modes of behaviour that constitute culturally approved or acceptable way of behaving in specific situations. To be very precise as far as this project is concerned, above definitions of culture are generalised. Actually theme of culture that is more suitable to this dissertation is that culture defined way of living, behaving, acting in a particular situation, dealing with others and organising oneself. That is way it is very important for the marketers who are dealing international business particularly should understand the importance of this phenomena. If they understand this concept and then target particularly segment on the basis of culture then it will be easy for them to launch the product in the right segment. So culture is the medium for communication for marketers that transmit these beliefs, values, behaviour and norms into shaping the attitude and behaviour of human. It help the members of such group in deciding what, why, where, how and when to do different things and how to act in a particular situation. So it means that culture is not a static concept. Its dynamic and it can change with the passage of time and influence ones own behaviour although they also contribute to the culture. Customer buying behaviour is another factor that affects consumer choices and trends. Recognizing consumer behaviours importance to business, marketers attempt to develop means on assessing or measuring how a customer behaves (Bailey and Schultz, 2000). Consumer buying behaviour is said to be different from one business to another in a way that consumer buying behaviour tends to have different attitudes about the needs and purpose of buying while the business-to-business approach is one which is more on supplier-company relationship. So consumer buying behaviour is the procedure which shows what, how, when and where people buy the product as they do. Thus this is an attempt to understand the decision making process in buying the products. The first thing is trying to understand the buying behaviour of the individual from the same group. Then generalise it to the whole group because all the individuals in the group have same characteristics. But decision making process is not easy. Th ere are different levels of decision making forms. Some are low-involvement decision making process , some are high involvement decision making process. So it all depends on the product itself as well. Mobile phones are not high involvement decisions making products. But these decisions are also depend on consumer perception, attitudes and understanding of the given product based on the educational background, societal background, financial situation and more importantly social and cultural environment. Culture here play an important role on the consumer buying pattern as individuals can not live alone. They are part on culture and the way they behave all depend on the cultural environment in which they live. So it is very important that to understand the cultural to study the buying behaviour of consumer and this dissertation is all about this. Pakistan and UK are two different cultures. Both these cultures have strong influence on the buying behaviour of its consumers. Hofstede (1991, 2001) divide culture into two different types. One is called individualistic and other one is collectivist. According to this dissertation UK is highly individualistic country in which people mostly decide individually about the buying of products. On the other hand, Pakistan scores highly as a collectivists country where family, friends or group influence the buying behaviour. Individualist and collectivist are two out of five cultural dimensions which Hofstede find out when he was trying to find an explanation for the motivation of IBM employees around the world. Hall (1960, 1981, 1990) presented culture as high and low context cultures. He explains that culture can be divided into two groups. One is called high context culture and other one is called low context culture. The theme of difference between these two cultures according to Hall is the individual relationship. He stated that high context culture is based on the close tie between individuals personals relationships such as family, friends and colleagues etc. and in this group information and knowledge is share exclusively. People in this group are social and they care each other, listen to each others, sometime depend each others and discuss information between each others. Hall (1960. 1981, 1990) stated that high context culture is more common in East. And as far as this project is concerned, it represents Pakistan. On the other hand, low context culture is belonging to outer group. In this culture, people live their individual life. They belong to their personal network. Family, f riends and colleagues are all separate to each others. All of them live their individual life. Things are share less exclusively. People are more independent and make their own decisions.UK is the one in this dissertation which represents low context culture. Here society in not social enough to influence the decisions of others. People live their own life and they rarely involve in the decisions making process of others. Industry Background Telecommunication industry is the fastest growing industry in the world. This is because of the fast growth in technology sector and increasingly becoming part of human lifestyle. With 73% of the world population is using mobile phones , the network covers the 90% of the world area (mob thinking, Oct2010).Mobile phone industry started way back in 1970s when first mobile phone launched in Japan.After that this industry never look back and continuously grow with different transition period. During the last 40 years it have undergone a transition from technology focused for professional business to a mass consumer market and become an integral part of lifestyle. With the passage of time, it is not only used as a communication tool but also it is helping consumers in other businesses like of internet , financial transaction , tracking device , video conferencing and many more. Pakistan and UK mobile phone market is very strong in the sense that Pakistani market is still growing and it need to know more about consumer buying behaviour.UK mobile phone market is also growing but more effort is needed to do business with the existing customers. Culture of an important role in consumer buying behaviour in both these market which is why this research is being done to let marketers understand the depth in the market. The comparison between these two segments will help marketers understand that how to target the existing segment and how to create new segments within the existing segment. Research Aim Literature Review

Essays --

That we here highly resolve "The battle's last, long thunders rolled; the witness-cloud to heaven was swept; and night, the ghostly seer and old, Around our blood-drenched borders crept: Upon our arms we slept. We slept: but night, that ancient seer conned o'er us his prophetic lore; And whispered low in many an ear, "Thou art, but thou shalt be no more, When next the cannons roar." (jones, 1862).The American civil war was an ugly depiction of reality; nationwide disagreements were met with, "Blood, toil, tears and sweat,"(Churchill, 1940). As the North (Union) fought for the reconsolidation of the country and the rights of the slaves, the South (Confederacy) fought for their rights to govern themselves and continue using slaves. The president Abraham Lincoln went through thick and thin to get the country through the civil war and return it to a single nation. Great personalities such as his, have carried the world through much turmoil, united the people under common causes and changed engraved perspectives and prejudices forever. This research paper will address Abraham Lincoln's early life, how he passed the 13th amendment, the reason it had to be finalized during the war, and the justifications of his covert schemes. Born February 12th 1809, Abraham Lincoln, the second child of Thomas and Nancy Lincoln, experienced a tragedy at the age of 10 when his mother died. He was mostly a self-learner and engaged himself in reading since adolescence. Lincoln was not fond of hard labor in his pre-teens, but as he grew older, he willingly accepted the responsibility of all his chores and agreed to the customary obligation of giving his father all his external-earnings until the age of 21. At the age of 22, Lincoln set off on his own to fin... ...at was normal since change is always opposed. The president's strong personality and perseverance steered the country from turmoil to peace even though his methods were deviant. What I like most about Abraham Lincoln was how knowledgeable he was. From his readings alone he managed to make himself a lawyer and eventually a president, which all goes to prove the saying that knowledge is power. His other trait that I'm exceptionally fond of, was how intact he was with his basic values which was a beacon of light during his grey days. Being unique and changing the world is not easy, the least you can do is have conviction and perception on your side. When all the dust has settled we can say that great people have great stories to delineate. It's what we take out of these stories that matters. The moral here is that, breaking the rules is incorrect except when it's not.

The Vampire Diaries: The Fury Chapter Ten

December 12, Thursday morning Dear Diary, So after a week of work, what have we accomplished? Well, between us we've managed to follow our three suspects just about continuously for the last six or seven days. Results: reports on Robert's movements for the last week, which he spent acting like any normal businessman. Reports on Alaric, who hasn't been doing anything unusual for a history teacher. Reports on Mrs. Flowers, who apparently spends most of her time in the basement. But we haven't really learned anything. Stefan says that Alaric met with the principal a couple times, but he couldn't get close enough to hear what they were talking about. Meredith and Bonnie spread the news about other pets besides dogs being dangerous. They didn't need to work very hard at it; it seems as if everybody in town is on the verge of hysteria already. Since then there've been several other animal attacks reported, but it's hard to know which ones to take seriously. Some kids were teasing a squirrel and it bit them. The Massases' pet rabbit scratched their littlest boy. Old Mrs. Coomber saw copperhead snakes in her yard, when all the snakes should be hibernating. The only one I'm sure about is the attack on the vet who was keeping the dogs in quarantine. A bunch of them bit him and most of them escaped from the holding pens. After that they just disappeared. People are saying good riddance and hoping they'll starve in the woods, but I wonder. And it's been snowing all the time. Not storming but not stopping, either. I've never seen so much snow. Stefan's worried about the dance tomorrow night. Which brings us back to: what have we learned so far? What do we know? None of our suspects were anywhere near the Massases' or Mrs. Coomber's or the vet's when the attacks happened. We're no closer to finding the Other Power than we were when we started. Marie's little get-together is tonight. Meredith thinks we should go to it. I don't know what else there is to do. Damon stretched out his long legs and spoke lazily, looking around the barn. â€Å"No, I don't think it's dangerous, particularly. But I don't see what you expect to accomplish.† â€Å"Neither do I, exactly,† Elena admitted. â€Å"But I don't have any better ideas. Do you?† â€Å"What, you mean about other ways to spend the time? Yes, I do. Do you want me to tell you about them?† Elena waved him to silence and he subsided. â€Å"In the basement,† chorused several voices. â€Å"And we're all just sitting here. Does anybody have a better idea?† Meredith broke the silence. â€Å"If you're worried about its being dangerous for me and Bonnie, why don't you all come? I don't mean you have to show yourselves. You could come and hide in the attic. Then if anything happened, we could scream for help and you would hear us.† â€Å"I don't see why anybody's going to be screaming,† said Bonnie. â€Å"Nothing's going to happen there.† â€Å"Well, maybe not, but it doesn't hurt to be safe,† Meredith said. â€Å"What do you think?† Elena nodded slowly. â€Å"It makes sense.† She looked around for objections, but Stefan just shrugged, and Damon murmured something that made Bonnie laugh. â€Å"All right, then, it's decided. Let's go.† The inevitable snow greeted them as they stepped outside the barn. â€Å"Bonnie and I can go in my car,† Meredith said. â€Å"And you three-â€Å" â€Å"Oh, we'll find our own way,† Damon said with his wolfish smile. Meredith nodded, not impressed. Funny, Elena thought as the other girls walked away; Meredith never was impressed with Damon. His charm seemed to have no effect on her. She was about to mention that she was hungry when Stefan turned to Damon. â€Å"Are you willing to stay with Elena the entire time you're over there? Every minute?† he said. â€Å"Try and stop me,† Damon said cheerfully. He dropped the smile. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because if you are, the two of you can go over alone, and I'll meet you later. I've got something to do, but it won't take long.† Elena felt a wave of warmth. He was trying to trust his brother. She smiled at Stefan in approval as he drew her aside. â€Å"What is it?† â€Å"I got a note from Caroline today. She asked if I would meet her at the school before Alaric's party. She said she wanted to apologize. Elena opened her mouth to make a sharp remark, and then shut it again. From what she'd heard, Caroline was a sorry sight these days. And maybe it would make Stefan feel better to talk to her. â€Å"Well, you don't have anything to apologize for,† she told him. â€Å"Everything that happened to her was her own fault. You don't think she's dangerous at all?† â€Å"Be careful,† Elena said as he started off into the snow. The attic was as she remembered it, dark and dusty and full of mysterious oilcloth-covered shapes. Damon, who had come in more conventionally through the front door, had had to take the shutters off to let her in through the window. After that they sat side by side on the old mattress and listened to the voices that came up through the ducts. â€Å"I could think of more romantic settings,† Damon murmured, fastidiously pulling a cobweb off his sleeve. â€Å"Are you sure you wouldn't rather-â€Å" â€Å"Yes,† said Elena. â€Å"Now hush.† It was like a game, listening to the bits and pieces of conversations and trying to put them together, trying to match each voice to a face. â€Å"And then I said, I don't care how long you've had the parakeet; get rid of it or I'm going to the Snow Dance with Mike Feldman. And he said-â€Å" â€Å"-rumor going around that Mr. Tanner's grave was dug up last night-â€Å" â€Å"-you hear that everybody but Caroline has dropped out of the snow queen competition? Don't you think-â€Å" â€Å"-dead, but I'm telling you I saw her. And no, I wasn't dreaming; she was wearing a sort of silvery dress and her hair was all golden and blowing-â€Å" Elena raised her eyebrows at Damon, then looked meaningfully down at her sensible black attire. He grinned. â€Å"Romanticism,† he said. â€Å"Myself, I like you in black.† â€Å"Well, you would, wouldn't you?† she murmured. It was strange how much more comfortable she felt with Damon these days. She sat quietly, letting the conversations drift around her, almost losing track of time. Then she caught a familiar voice, cross, and closer than the rest. â€Å"Okay, okay, I'm going. Okay.† Elena and Damon exchanged a glance and rose to their feet as the handle on the attic door turned. Bonnie peered around the edge. â€Å"Meredith told me to come up here. I don't know why. She's hogging Alaric and it's a rotten party. Achoo!† She sat down on the mattress, and after a few minutes Elena sat back down beside her. She was beginning to wish that Stefan would get here. By the time the door opened again and Meredith came in, she was sure of it. â€Å"Meredith, what's going on?† â€Å"Nothing, or at least nothing to worry about. Where's Stefan?† Meredith's cheeks were unusually flushed, and there was an odd look about her eyes, as if she were holding something tightly under control. â€Å"Nothing, or at least nothing to worry about. Where's Stefan?† Meredith's cheeks were unusually flushed, and there was an odd look about her eyes, as if she were holding something tightly under control. â€Å"Never mind where he is. Who's coming up the stairs?† â€Å"What do you mean, ‘who's coming up the stairs?' † said Bonnie, rising. â€Å"Everybody just stay calm,† Meredith said, taking up a position in front of the window as if guarding it. She didn't look overly calm herself, Elena thought. â€Å"All right,† she called, and the door opened and Alaric Saltzman came in. Damon's motion was so smooth that even Elena's eyes couldn't follow it; in one movement he caught Elena's wrist and pulled her behind him, at the same time moving to face Alaric directly. He ended in a predator's crouch, every muscle drawn taut and ready for the attack. â€Å"Oh, don't,† cried Bonnie wildly. She flung herself at Alaric, who had already begun to recoil a step from Damon. Alaric nearly lost his balance and groped behind himself for the door. His other hand was groping at his belt. â€Å"Stop it! Stop it!† Meredith said. Elena saw the shape beneath Alaric's jacket and realized it was a gun. Again, she couldn't quite follow what happened next. Damon let go of her wrist and took hold of Alaric's. And then Alaric was sitting on the floor, wearing a dazed expression, and Damon was emptying the gun of cartridges, one by one. â€Å"I told you that was stupid and you wouldn't need it,† Meredith said. Elena realized she was holding the dark-haired girl by the arms. She must have done it to keep Meredith from interfering with Damon, but she didn't remember. â€Å"These wood-tipped things are nasty; they might hurt somebody,† Damon said, mildly chiding. He replaced one of the cartridges and snapped the clip back in, aiming thoughtfully at Alaric. â€Å"Stop it,† said Meredith intensely. She turned to Elena. â€Å"Make him stop, Elena; he's only doing more harm. Alaric won't hurt you; I promise. I've spent all week convincing him that you won't hurt him.† â€Å"And now I think my wrist is broken,† Alaric said, rather calmly. His sandy hair was falling into his eyes in front. â€Å"You've got no one but yourself to blame.† Meredith returned bitterly. Bonnie, who had been clutching solicitously at Alaric's shoulders, looked up at the familiarity of Meredith's tone, and then backed away a few paces and sat down. â€Å"I can't wait to hear the explanation for this,† she said. â€Å"Please trust me,† Meredith said to Elena. Elena looked into the dark eyes. She did trust Meredith; she'd said so. And the words stirred another memory, her own voice asking for Stefan's trust. She nodded. â€Å"Damon?† she said. He flipped the gun away casually and then smiled around at all of them, making it abundantly clear that he didn't need any such artificial weapons. â€Å"Damon?† she said. He flipped the gun away casually and then smiled around at all of them, making it abundantly clear that he didn't need any such artificial weapons. â€Å"Oh, I'm sure,† Bonnie said. Elena walked toward Alaric Saltzman. She wasn't afraid of him, but by the way he looked only at her, slowly, starting from the feet and then continuing up, he was afraid of her. She stopped when she was a yard from where he sat on the ground and knelt there, looking into his face. â€Å"Hello,† she said. He was still holding his wrist. â€Å"Hello,† he said, and gulped. Elena glanced back at Meredith and then looked at Alaric again. Yes, he was scared. And with his hair in his eyes that way, he looked young. Maybe four years older than Elena, maybe five. No more than that. â€Å"We're not going to hurt you,† she said. â€Å"That's what I've been telling him,† Meredith said quietly. â€Å"I explained that whatever he's seen before, whatever stories he's heard, you're different. I told him what you told me about Stefan, how he's been fighting his nature all those years. I told him about what you've been going through, Elena, and how you never asked for this.† But why did you tell him so much? Elena thought. She said to Alaric, â€Å"All right, you know about us. But all we know about you is that you're not a history teacher.† â€Å"He's a hunter,† Damon said softly, menacingly. â€Å"A vampire hunter.† â€Å"No,† said Alaric. â€Å"Or at least, not in the sense that you mean it.† He seemed to come to some decision. â€Å"All right. From what I know of you three-† He broke off, looking around the dark room as if suddenly realizing something. â€Å"Where's Stefan?† â€Å"He's coming. In fact, he should be here by now. He was going to stop by the school and bring Caroline,† Elena said. She was unprepared for Alaric's reaction. â€Å"Caroline Forbes?† he said sharply, sitting up. His voice sounded the way it had when she'd overheard him talking with Dr. Fein' berg and the principal, hard-edged and decisive. â€Å"Yes. She sent him a note today, said she wanted to apologize or something. She wanted to meet him at school before the party.† â€Å"He can't go. You've got to stop him.† Alaric scrambled to his feet and repeated urgently, â€Å"You've got to stop him.† â€Å"He's gone already. Why? Why shouldn't he?† Elena demanded. â€Å"Because I hypnotized Caroline two days ago. I'd tried it earlier with Tyler, with no luck. But Caroline's a good subject, and she remembered a little of what happened in the Quonset hut. And she identified Stefan Salvatore as the attacker.† â€Å"Don't you understand? You're not just dealing with high school students anymore,† Alaric said. â€Å"It's gone too far. Caroline's father knows about it, and Tyler's father. They're concerned for the safety of the town-â€Å" â€Å"Hush! Be quiet!† Elena was casting about with her mind, trying to pick up some hint of Stefan's presence. He's let himself get weak, she thought, with the part of her that was icy calm amid the whirling fear and panic. At last she sensed something, just a trace, but she thought it was Stefan. And it was in distress. â€Å"Something's wrong,† Damon confirmed, and she realized he must have been searching, too, with a mind much more powerful than hers. â€Å"Let's go.† â€Å"Wait, let's talk first. Don't just go jumping into this.† But Alaric might as well have been talking to the wind, trying to rein in its destructive power with words. Damon was already at the window, and the next moment Elena let herself drop out, landing neatly by Damon in the snow. Alaric's voice followed them from above. â€Å"We're coming, too. Wait for us there. Let me talk to them first. I can take care of it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena scarcely heard him. Her mind was burning with one purpose, one thought. To hurt the people who wanted to hurt Stefan. It's gone too far, all right, she thought. And now I'm going to go as far as it takes. If they dare to touch him†¦ images flashed through her mind, too quickly to count, of what she would do to them. At another time, she might have been shocked at the rush of adrenaline, of excitement, that coursed up at the thoughts. She could sense Damon's mind beside her as they raced over the snow; it was like a blaze of red light and fury. The fierceness inside Elena welcomed it, glad to feel it so near. But then something else occurred to her. â€Å"I'm slowing you down,† she said. She was scarcely out of breath, even from running through unbroken snow, and they were making extraordinary time. But nothing on two legs, or even four, could match the speed of a bird's wings. â€Å"Go on,† she said. â€Å"Get there as fast as you can. I'll meet you.† She didn't stay to watch the blur and shudder of the air, or the swirling darkness that ended in the rush of beating wings. But she glanced up at the crow that soared up and she heard Damon's mental voice. Good hunting, it said, and the winged black shape arrowed toward the school. Good hunting, Elena thought after him, meaning it. She redoubled her speed, her mind fixed all the while on that glimmer of Stefan's presence. Stefan lay on his back, wishing his vision wasn't so blurred or that he had more than a tentative hold on consciousness. The blur was partly pain and partly snow, but there was also a trickle of blood from the three-inch wound in his scalp. If only he could collect his thoughts enough to call for help†¦ but the weakness that had allowed these men to overcome him so easily prevented that, too. He'd scarcely fed since the night he'd attacked Tyler. That was ironic, somehow. His own guilt was responsible for the mess he was in. I should never have tried to change my nature, he thought. Damon had it right after all. Everyone's the same-Alaric, Caroline, everyone. Everyone will betray you. I should have hunted them all and enjoyed it. He hoped Damon would take care of Elena. She'd be safe with him; Damon was strong and ruthless. Damon would teach her to survive. He was glad of that. But something inside him was crying. The crow's sharp eyes spotted the crossing shafts of headlight below and dropped. But Damon didn't need the confirmation of sight; he was homing in on the faint pulsation that was Stefan's life-force. Faint because Stefan was weak and because he'd all but given up. You never learn, do you, brother? Damon thought to him. I ought to just leave you where you are. But even as he skimmed the ground, he was changing, taking a shape that would do more damage than a crow. The black wolf leaped into the knot of men surrounding Stefan, aiming precisely for the one holding the sharpened cylinder of wood above Stefan's chest. The force of the blow knocked the man ten feet backward, and the stake went skittering across the grass. Damon restrained his impulse-all the stronger because it fit the instincts of the shape he was wearing-to lock his teeth in the man's throat. He twisted around and went back for the other men who were still standing. His second rush scattered them, but one of them reached the edge of the light and turned, lifting something to his shoulder. Rifle, thought Damon. And probably loaded with the same specially treated bullets as Alaric's handgun had been. There was no way to reach the man before he could get a shot off. The wolf growled and crouched for a leap anyway. The man's fleshy face creased in a smile. Quick as a striking snake, a white hand reached out of the darkness and knocked the rifle away. The man looked around frantically, bewildered, and the wolf let its jaws fall open in a grin. Elena had arrived.

Observing an Unknown Object Lab report

Observing an Unknown Object Lab report Materials List:1. metric ruler 5. graduated cylinder2. Triple Beam Balance 6. beaker3. unknown object 7. water4. stopwatch or clock 8. hot plateProblem: We were given an unknown object to observe and identify.Question: What is the unknown object?Hypothesis: I hypothesize that the unknown object is a red and white roll ofcheese.Procedure:1. We observed the unknown object with the wrapper on. We recorded our observations.2. We weighed the object with wrapper on. We recorded the mass.3. We found the length of the object with the wrapper on. We recorded our answer.4. We found the thickness of the object with the wrapper on. We recorded our answer5. We recorded any other observations6. We drew a picture of the object with the wrapper on.Concert Record 78 rpm License Label, Undated7. We took off the wrapper, observed the object and again recorded our observations.8. We found the weight of the object with the wrapper off. We recorded the mass.9. We found the length of the object without the wrapper. We recorded the answer.10. We found the thickness of the object without the wrapper. We recorded the mass.11. We multiplied the objects length by 3.14to find the circumference of the object.12. We recorded any additional observations.13. We drew a picture of the object without its wrapper.14. We used the water displacement method to find the object's volume.15. I put the object in my mouth and I recorded the time it took for the object to dissolve.16. I recorded many observations while the object was in my mouth.17. We put the object on the hot plate and we recorded the amount of time it was heated.18. We recorded many observations while the object...

Mayan Civilization essays

Mayan Civilization essays The ruins and artifacts of the ancient Mayan civilization are both remarkable and mysterious. The specialized mainly in architecture, it was their way of expressing themselves artistically. They built many great, enormous temples and extravagant buildings. The built their structures in an effort to copy the altitude of the highlands that surrounded them. Limestone structures faced with lime stucco are one of the famous styles of the Mayans because of the abundance of limestone and flint. It is also evident that all structures built were in honor of their gods. Plus, everything they ever built was done without the use of any kind of metal tools. Mayan art was exceptional compared to other ancient civilizations. Like most art, it reflected their culture and lifestyle. The art of the Maya has been called some of the richest of the New World because of the great complexity of patterns and the variety of media expressions. The Maya are also one of the few civilizations where the artists attached their name to their work. They also painted many great murals depicting great gods and other mythological features. Mayans used much of their artistic ability to write thousands of hieroglyphics. One of their greatest examples is the stairway at Copan. It is covered with a complex mixture of statues, figures, and ramps in addition to the central stairway that symbolizes Mayan society. The Mayans are considered peaceful compared to civilizations such as the Aztecs who were bloodthirsty and made tons of human sacrifices. Human sacrifices were not as important to the Mayans as they were to the Aztecs but blood sacrifice still played a major role. They offered up their blood but it usually did not mean their lives. They did this using many different sharp instruments and self-mutilation. The kings blood was considered the most sacred and was shed more often than others. The Mayans were also very warlike a...