Global expansion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Global expansion - Essay Example Political and social climate of foreign countries. Local taxes and regulatory systems. Currency risk and Foreign exchange management. Transfer pricing and supply chain management. Local workforce. Diversified cultures of international markets Cultural differences substantially impact the way companies do businesses. It is important to be aware of the disparities that will be at your disposal in the target market. When expanding into international market, the accustomed norms, values and behavior of the local citizens mustn’t be ignored. A bottle of American whisky can be an offense in middle-east countries. Political and social climate of foreign countries A stable political and social system can be beneficial for the company which intends to expand whereas; unrest and destabilized political system can create new issues for it. Local taxes and regulatory systems It is crucial to determine whether the tax regime for international businesses is friendly or competitive. Corporate tax rate with low headline is always appealing for the companies. Currency risk and foreign exchange management Companies must determine whether the local currency is stable or volatile. It should also stumble if currency hedging can be obtained at a reasonable cost. Transfer pricing and supply chain management Development of effective supply chain helps to generate the company’s cash flow more quickly. Brief information should also be gathered regarding the transfer pricing policies of the foreign countries. Local workforce Effective communication of the local workforce has the ability to make or break the progress of business. It is the foundation of success for every business. Right people at the right location that is, financers, staff, suppliers, regulators, quality of customers can provide a competitive edge to the business. 2. Explain what cultural barriers and diversity issues are commonly encountered by international/multinational (MNC) and global organizations.   Cultural Barriers and Diversity Issues MNCs usually promote consumerist culture by producing standard commodities for diversified cultures. Yet, culture often become barrier and creates distances. The following are the primary reason of diversified cultures all over the world. Communication and Language Barrier- Different languages are spoken in different countries which become a hindrance for MNCs. It is an essential means of communicating with customers, retailers, suppliers etc. therefore, language often becomes a barrier in diversified cultures. Religion- Religious backgrounds usually have substantial impact on the individuals. People do not psychologically and emotionally accept something which is not aligned with their religious values. This often becomes hindrance for MNCs while tapping into diversified nations and cultures. Accustomed/diversified Culture- Socio-cultural differences, norms, beliefs, values, attitudes, perceptions congregate to form a certain cultural backgro und of a country. These aspects vary from country to country and therefore construct a diversified nature of the world. 3. Why has diversity become such an important topic in the international arena? Importance of Cultural Diversity Cultural diversity plays a vital role for a company. The criteria diversifies customer groups on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, age, educational background, beliefs, lifestyles, language,

Is the Death penalty effective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Is the Death penalty effective - Essay Example An example from the history tells us that in 1975, two African American men in Florida named Freddie Pitts and Wilber Lee were granted commutation after twelve long years awaiting death-penalty for the murder of two white men. Their conviction was as a result of constrained confessions, spurious testament and an adduced bystander. After a long time of nine-years of battle in the courts, a white confessed his guilt and Pitts and Wilber were granted absolution by the governor. Had their death-penalty not been delayed due to the court-battles, they would have naively executed. The history of death penalty can be traced back to the eighteenth century (B.C) when the laws for it were established. As years passed these penalties were used all over the world to kill the guilty people. After the World War II the United States protected pregnant women, elders and children from these death penalties but did not abolish it completely. Over these years many countries have abolished it but the Uni ted States still follows it to a certain extent (Death Penalty Information Center). The proponents of the death-penalty justify it by biblical quotations to use death penalty as the ultimate punishment for murders and equivalent crimes. The bible says that the murders must be vindicated: life for life is what the bible says about murders. But the justifications presented cannot be applied in the modern world because of the ethics that apply these days. The bible’s quotation about life for life was for that time when the unjust and violent people were killing innocent and exemplary people. According to most of the people, the death-penalty should be abolished from the U.S and that the criminals must be given a chance to change themselves. Death row inmates can spend their time in the law library and interact with each other and somehow get the wind of the crime of what they have done and accept to change from the bottom of their hearts. The process of death qualification was c onstitutionally challenged in Lockhart v. McCrea on the basis that it produces unrepresentative and doctrine procumbent juries. The United States Supreme Court rejected such challenges by questioning the truthiness of the relevant social science research. But according to me, the challenges made were completely just and the government should have had taken suitable steps in order to eradicate this barbaric act from the society (Guernsey 39-42) The moral disengagement is also an aspect worth discussing in this regard. According to a study by Osofsky, Bandura and Zimbardo in 2005, they took direct words from the executioner. The executioner said that the ECG monitors are in front of him when he carries out the process. His duty is to push the syringe in the veins of the guilty and lower the heart beat of the guilty until it becomes flattened. The harder he pushes, the more flattened is the graph and once he empties the last injection, the pulse rate reaches zero indicating that the gu ilty is now dead. He adds further that it is distraught to see someone die in front of him and leaves a great impact on him even after some days. This research helps to conclude that the executioner has vivid thoughts about the incident too as it is a harsh process to be carried out (Osofsky et al 373-380). The opponents believe that death-penalty should be abolished because it is a barbaric act of murder which involves the death of an individual in a similar

Labelling Theory for Understanding Youth Crime

Labelling Theory for Understanding Youth Crime Outline labelling theory and consider its usefulness in understanding youth crime and anti-social behaviour in Britain today. Labelling theory claims that deviance and conformity results not so much from what people do but from how others respond to those actions, it highlights social responses to crime and deviance Macionis and Plummer, (2005).Deviant behaviour is therefore socially constructed. This essay will describe in full the labelling theory and comment on the importance of the theory to the deviant behaviour of the youth and the anti-social behaviour of the youth in Britain today. The labelling theory becomes dominant in the early 1960s and the late 1970s when it was used as a sociological theory of crime influential in challenging orthodox positivity criminology. The key people to this theory were Becker and Lement.The foundations of this view of deviance are said to have been first established by Lement, (1951) and were subsequently developed by Becker, (1963).As a matter of fact the labelling theory has subsequently become a dominant paradigm in the explanation of devience.The symbolic interaction perspective was extremely active in the early foundations of the labelling theory. The labelling theory is constituted by the assumption that deviant behaviour is to be seen not simply as the violation of a norm but as any behaviour which is successfully defined or labelled as deviant. Deviance is not the act itself but the response others give to that act which means deviance is in the eyes of the beholder. Actually the labelling theory was built on Becker, (1963 :9) statement that Social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitute deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders-deviance is not a quality of the act of a person commits, but rather a consequences of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an offender The deviant is one to whom that label has successfully been applied. Deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so label. The way out is a refusal to dramatize the evil. The labelling theory connects to great sociological ideas of Dukheim the symbolic interactionism and the conflict theory. The theory also draws from the idea of Thomas (1928) that when people define situations as real they become real in their consequences. Lement ,(1951-1972) distinguishes deviance into primary and secondary deviance in which he described primary deviance as those little reactions from others which have little effect on a persons self concept and secondary deviance as when people push a deviant person out of their social circles which leads the person to be embittered and seek the company of the people who condone his behaviour.Lement further argued that rather than seeing a crime as leading to control it may be more fruitful to see the process as one in which control agencies structured and even generated crime. Secondary deviance leads to what Goffman (1963) deviant career. This will subsequently leads to stigma which is a powerful negative social label that radically changes a persons self concept and social identity. A criminal prosecution is one way that an individual is labelled in a negative rather than in a positive way. Stigmatising people often leads to retrospective labelling which is the interpretation of s omeones past consistent with the present deviance Seheff; (1984).Retrospective labelling distorts a persons biography in a prejudicial way guided by stigma than any attempt to be fair. No social class stands apart from others as being either criminal or free from criminality. However according to various sociologists people with less stake in society and their own future typically exhibit less resistance to some kinds of devience.Labelling theory asks what happens to criminals after they have been labelled and suggests that crime may be highlighted by criminal sanctions thus sending one to prison may help to criminalise an individual further. Stigmatising young offenders may actually lead them into a criminal career. Howard S.Becker , (1963) one of the earlier interaction theorists claimed that social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitute deviance and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders. Furthermore the labelling theoretical approach to deviance concentrates on the social reaction to deviance committed by individuals as well as the interaction processes leading up to the labelling. The theory therefore suggests that criminology has been given too much attention to criminals as types of people and insufficient attention to the collection of social control responses. That therefore means the law, the police, the media and the public publications helps to give crime its shape. This is supported by the conflict theory which demonstrates how deviance reflects inequalities and power .This approach holds that the causes of crime may be linked to inequalities of class, race and gender and that who or what is labelled as deviant depends on the relative power of categories of people.Cicourels study on Juvenile justice in California, (1972) pointed out that police stereotypes result in black, white class youth being labelled criminal. The conflict theory links deviance to power in the form of the norms and the laws of most societies which bolster the interests of the rich and powerful. The labelling theory links deviance not to action but to the reaction of others .The concept of stigma, secondary deviance and deviant career demonstrates how people can incorporate the label of deviance into a lasting self-concept. Political leaders recognises that labelling was a political act for it made them aware on which rules to enforce, what behaviour is to regarded as deviant and which people labelled as outsiders may require political assistance Becker,(1963-7).Political leaders went on to produce a series of empirical studies concerning the origins of deviancy definitions through political actions in areas such as drugs legislation, temperance legislation ,delinquency definitions,homosexuality,prostitution and pornography. Becker, (1963) examines the possible effects upon an individual after being publicly labelled as deviant. A label is not neutral; it contains an evaluation of the person to whom it is applied. It will become a master label in the sense that it colours all the other statuses possessed by an individual. If one is labelled as a paedophile, criminal or homosexual it is difficult to reject such labels for those labels largely overrides their original status as parents, worker, neighbour and friend. Others view that person and respond to him or her in terms of the label and tend to assume that individual has the negative characteristics normally associated with such labels. Since an individuals self concept is largely derived from the responses of others they will tend to see themselves in terms of that label. This may produce a self fulfilling prophecy whereby the deviant identification becomes the controlling one. This links to the interactionist approach which emphasizes the importance of the meanings the various actors bring to and develops within the interaction situation. However the labelling theory has its weaknesses which includes Liazos,(1972) who noted that although the labelling theorists aims to humanise the deviant individual and show that he or she is no different than other individuals except perhaps in terms of opportunity. It however by the very emphasis on the deviant and his identity problems and subculture the opposite effect may have been achieved. He further suggested that while considering the more usual everyday types of deviance such as homosexuality, prostitution and juvenile delinquency the labelling theorists have totally ignored a more dangerous and malevolent types of deviance which he termed covert institutional violence. He pointed out that this type of violence leads to such things as poverty and exploitation for example the war in Vietnam, unjust tax laws, racism and sexism. It is questionable whether labelling theorists should even attempt to discuss forms of deviance such as this in the same way as more commonplace indiv idual crimes or whether the two should be kept totally separate being so different in subject matter. Akers, (1994) also criticized the labelling theory by pointing out that it fails to explain why people break the law while the majority conform explaining that people go about minding their own business and then wham-bad society comes along and stops them with a stigmatised label. The theory fails to explain why the moral entrepreneurs react in the manner described but rather blames society and portrays criminals as innocent victims which is not always the case. To counter for the negative effects of punitive measures to youth crime and anti-social behaviour the British government introduced the ASBO and ABC which means anti social behaviour orders and acceptable behaviours respectively.ASBO and ABC are recent developments in Britain which were designed to put a stop to anti-social behaviour by the individual on whom they are imposed.ASBO is a statutory creation and it carries legal force where as an ABC is an informal procedure though not without legal significance. Both types of interventions are aimed at stopping the problem behaviour rather than punishing the offender which may lead an individual into a deviant career. The ABC proved most effective as a means of encouraging young adults, children and parents to take responsibility for unacceptable behaviour. These measures are being used to improve the quality of life for local people by tackling behaviour such as harassment, graffiti, criminal damage and verbal abuse without criminalisi ng the offender. The crime and disorder act (1998) contains the key elements of labours new youth justice system which saw the establishment of the youth justice and the restructuring of the non custodial penalties available to the youth court. The government believed that preventing offending promotes the welfare of the individual young offender and protects the public. The youth justice board oversees the youth offending teams which has a number of roles including assessing the risk and protective factors in a young persons life that relate to their offending behaviour to enable effective interventions to be implemented, providing support to young people who have been released from the custody into the community and early intervention and preventative work both in criminality and anti-social behaviour. To further reduce the effects of labelling the British government is tackling anti-social behaviour and its causes by tackling family problems, poor education attainment, unemployment, alcohol and drug misuse. The most successful interventions to be implemented where noted to be those that engage the individual in changing their own behaviour. This is being done ensuring that an individual understands the impact of their behaviour to the community whilst offering the necessary support to conform. Rather than labelling and criminalising an individual the British government came up with effective advice, councelling and support that enable people who behave anti-Socially to change their behaviour. Perpetrators young and adults have issues in their lives that require the help and support of professional, statutory or voluntary organisations. Issues like money management and debt, communication difficulties with the family, young people struggling within the educational or employment because of offending behaviour and victims of domestic violence can all benefit from available services in Britain today. This essay therefore concludes that labelling theory is enormously influential in directing attention towards the relative and somewhat arbitrary nature of dominant definitions of crime and criminality in Britain. It also critizes the criminal justice and the agencies of social control for it reflects on the consequences of our social reaction and advocates for changes in public policy on juvenile justice, restorative justice,de-institutionalisation and communitarian approaches. The powerful insights of the labelling theory made the British authorities to rethink again on the tough on crime stance hence the introduction of new restorative measures which does not label or criminalise young offenders. The labelling theory is therefore quite useful in understanding that the rise in the yob culture, gang culture and hoody culture in Britain was a result of criminalising young offenders rather than addressing issues leading the young into crime and anti-social behaviour. References Berker and Howard, S (1963) Outsiders: Studies in the sociology of deviance, New York: free press Goffman, E (1963) Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity, Prentice-hall Hall, S (1978) Policing the crisis, The Macmillan press LTD Haralambos, M and Holborn (1991) Sociology themes and perspectives, Collins education. Macionis, J and Plummer, K (2005) Sociology a global introduction, Pearson education limited. Taylor et al, (1973) the new criminology for a social theory of devience, Routledge

An Investigation into the Housing Market Essay -- Housing Economics Es

An Investigation into the Housing Market Economics Describe and analyse the changes of housing in the local area over the last 5 years The housing market is one of the most talked about topics in the news. I assume this is due to the high influential potential it holds to the rest of the economy. In this essay I will focus on the causes in house prices. I will investigate how prices have changed nationally and locally. I interviewed an Inter counties estate agent to help my investigation and get his views on the situation. The price of housing fluctuates enormously. Not only does it vary from region to region, but also it is also very volatile within these regions. There are many causes for these unstable prices. According to a spokes person form the Inner county estate agents says there are many factors, which influence the housing market. He believes one of the main factors, which have been influencing the local housing market in the southeast, is the large amount of people coming to work in Cambridge recently. The supply curve appeared to be vertically vertical in the short run. However, the high demand resulted in predictable high prices. Many building companies have also respond to the increases in demand, however this response will not be immediate. Another reason why we saw the price of houses rise was due to the low interest rates. This means the borrowing of money to buy a house is significantly cheaper, which is therefore retaliated with via the increase in the actual cost of a house. London being so close is another major pull factor for people wanting to live as near as possible to where work is more likely to be found. Commuting times and facilities like trains and motorways play a major role in opening up areas as 'commuter land'. People often put up with long commuting distances in order to escape from city living as a family, or to find more affordable housing at greater distance from where they work. This is why Saffron Walden has become so posh, since people have realised the benefits of life in a town of this size in a manageable distance to London. Hypothesis: If interest rates are going down, will increase demand for housing which will then in turn increase house prices. When one buys a house, one is paying for the actual house price, a mortgage, and the interest rates on the ... ...eople willing to pay the higher amounts. Schooling facilities have also got an influence in the area, which is another pull factor for people moving within the southeast. There are also relatively low borrowing costs for mortgages, which will encourage people to buy and sell their houses. According to 'The Hometrack' Property Company, house prices in England and Wales fell in May for the second month in a row. The percentage change in prices over the last year in each region can be seen in the chart. In conclusion prices for housing are high in the southeast due to a number of factors: * The demand for housing in an area, * The supply of houses, * Reputation for the area, * General interest rates influence the house-shopping behaviour, * Low interest rates enables people to buy better or bigger houses, * Facilities in the area, * Local employment chances. Region Higher prices are less desirable, and this may mean many families do not have the economic ability to live in the area. The demand refers to the quantity of houses that purchasers are willing and able to buy at a certain price. Houses are scarce in relation to demand.

European society Essay

The eighteenth century saw a revolution sweeping Western philosophy and a simultaneous upheaval and transformation in Western social life. In this period, the west, particularly the European society and state seemed cold and heartless. The dislocations of industrialization and urbanization exposed the weaknesses of the old system and stimulated a need for more innovative political institutions adaptable to the new socio-economic conditions. This desire for change was accompanied by strong nationalist sentiments. Initial Western nationalism was lauded as a liberal form of mass political engagement and allegiance to the secular power of emerging states, consistent with popular rule. Accordingly, its birth was announced with the representation, rights, and toleration of England’s constitutional monarchy and its banner the â€Å"liberty, equality and fraternity† of the French Revolution against absolutism. Many scholars estimate the birth of the American nation from 1750-1775 (see for example, Weeks, 1994). In the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, social, political, and economic turmoil and instability transformed many Western countries into the world’s most chaotic amphitheater of disruption. People who thought that their cultural and political borders were violated waged a series of insurrections and rebellions. This strong feeling and desire to fight violations of inalienable natural rights came to be known as nationalism. Nationalist feelings became a decisive power in the Romantic Era. In nationalism, the individual is â€Å"the very center, the arbiter, the sovereign of the universe† (Kedourie, 1993, p.17). The political implication of this was that self-determination constituted the supreme good. Later political philosophers building upon Kantian ideas proposed that: humanity is naturally divided into nations; each nation has its peculiar character; the source of all political power is the nation; for freedom and self-realization, people must identify with a nation; loyalty to the nation-states overrides other loyalties; and the primary condition of global freedom and harmony is the strengthening of the nation-state (Smith, 1983). In the early years of the twentieth century, the striking similarity displayed by the nationalist movements throughout Southeast Asia derived from their common inspiration in Western ideology and their largely identical economic bases – the former guiding the intellectuals who lead the movements in their respective countries; the latter supplying the driving power from the masses. However, it must be pointed out that nationalist movements in this region did not have the support of more than a very small fraction of the native peoples, who for the most part are not aware that the question of autonomy even exists, and whose major concern is simply survival (Emmerson, Mills, and Thompson, 1942). In Southeast Asia, native nationalism has been the forced growth of a transplanted Western seed. In spite of the centrifugal forces of a plural society artificially bound together solely by the profit motive, nationalism has taken root among the indigenous peoples. It has penetrated most deeply among the native peoples who are united by a common language, pride of race and glorious historical traditions (Emmerson, Mills, and Thompson, 1942). Thus, â€Å"Within each group, nationalism has proved to be a cohesive force, welding people who were until its advent hardly conscious of the existence of compatriots beyond their own village, absorbing disparate religious and regional loyalties, and nationalizing such international influences as they experienced. However, from the perspectives of Southeast Asian countries as individual units, nationalism has proved a disruptive force. It has made each racial group more self-conscious, more prone to assert itself at the expense of other groups, and either tends toward a disastrous break-up of the present mosaic by some vigilant outsider playing upon this grave weakness in the body politic and social, or leads toward the forced assimilation of the weaker minorities by the most powerfully placed group. † (Emmerson, Mills, and Thompson, 1942, p. 144) The establishment of national unity through was essential ingredient in the emergence of democracy. According to Marx (2003), nationalism is an essential prerequisite to democracy, since â€Å"it establishes the boundaries of the community to which citizenship and rights are then accorded, without which democracy is impossible† (p. 31). And the birth of nationalism was related to the political baptism of the lower classes whose empowerment helped bring democracy, with both nationalism and democracy thereby relatively and impressively inclusive (Marx, 2003). While many have witnessed nationalism and democracy going together, for the past few years, nationalism has been largely considered a disruptive force on the prospects for democratization. For one, national unity gives rise to the question of the state and its boundaries, which is believed to be more fundamental than that of regime type and that can disrupt debate about appropriate political forms. Nationalism in this sense is a disruptive force because it gives rise to issues regarding religious beliefs, language, and customs. Moreover, nationalism is largely seen as being potentially disruptive to achieving democratic outcomes since it stimulates mass mobilization which frightens authoritarian rulers, causing them to suppress activities that may stop the progress of the whole process of political change. The argument that nationalism is a disruptive force is validated by the experiences of southern Europe and Latin America. The disintegration of all of the federal Communist states along republican lines adds force to this argument; however, it is not as clear-cut as this in the post-Soviet experience. According to McFaul (2002), ten years after the collapse of communism, only Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are democracies, while the other republics are under regimes that are either facade democracies or nondemocratic. Nationalism was also seen as a disruptive force on the eve of the First World War. It played an important role in the rivalries between superpowers: Germany vs. France (revenge for 1871), Russia, vs. Austria-Hungary (expansion into Balkans), and Germany vs. Great Britain (control of seas, arms race). Nationalism was also a disruptive force regarding the emergence of unsatisfied nationalities: Poles, Irish, Serbs, Czechs, and many others In Poland, following the 1830 uprising, conservatives began to drift away from nationalism. By the 1850s, only few on the right were interested in talking about nationalism, which came to be seen as a dangerous term signifying disruption, disorder, and even revolution (Porter, 2000). Within Poland itself many nobles may have shared the hopes of the Czartoryski circle, but since they could do little to further such a cause, they retreated to apolitical lives (Porter, 2000). Not only were the conservatives uncomfortable with the politics of the patriotic activists, but they found it difficult to speak the language of national romanticism. â€Å"They might appreciate some of the poetry of Mickiewicz or Slowacki, but they soon discovered the disruptive force of the progressive historiosophies to which the concept of the nation had been so firmly linked. † (Porter, 2000, p. 31) References Emerson, R. , Mills, L. A. , and Thompson, V. (1942). Government and Nationalism in Southeast Asia. New York: Institute of Pacific Relations. Kedourie, E. (1993). Nationalism, 4th expanded ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Marx, A. W. (2003). Faith in Nation: Exclusionary Origins of Nationalism. New York: Oxford University Press. McFaul, M. (2002). The Fourth Wave of Democracy and Dictatorship: Noncooperative Transitions in the Postcommunist World. World Politics 54(1), 212-44. Porter, B. (2000). When Nationalism Began to Hate: Imagining Modern Politics in Nineteenth Century Poland. New York: Oxford University Press. Weeks, W. E. (1994). American Nationalism, American Imperialism: An Interpretation of United States Political Economy, 1789-1861. Journal of the Early Republic, 14, 485-495.

Sleep Deprivation

In today s busy lifestyle, the days are just not long enough to get everything done. Getting the correct amount of sleep is important to not only be healthy, but also to live safely, as may Americans may not know the severity of sleep deprivation. The human body requires sleep to regenerate, and a lack their of causes it to function abnormally. High school and college students generally need more sleep than adults, but on average sleep less than the 9 hours recommended. Time schedules and hectic life styles cause sleep deficiencies. What people may not know is how dangerous it can be to not get enough sleep. If you find yourself taping your eyelids open, and yawning all day, you may need to reschedule your time to get more sleep! The exact cause of sleep is still unknown to scientists, however many theories on how and why we sleep are in circulation. For example, sleep could be away to sort thoughts and memories or to give our immune system a chance to catch up. In addition sleep could be a way to prevent the brain from overheating, build neurons and our body to manufacture proteins. Further more, scientists believe that sleep is a way to restock depleted glucose levels that the brain needs to function. Most everyone has been caught a few times with bags under their eyes, but over time Americans have continued to push deprivation to the extreme. For example, students have more pressure on them to do well in school, as competition continues to rise for degrees ext. Staying up late to finish homework and study is common these days. In addition, hobbies and sports deprive young people the sleep they might need to become fully rested. Scholarships may be the only hope for some people to get an education past high school, and this demands early morning or late night practices and studying. Furthermore, social lives force most young adults to stay out late on weekends, and then sleep in Saturdays and Sunday mornings, throwing their sleeping patters off even more. Whether you are aware of it or not, sleep deprivation is dangerous. In a survey across America, 62% of the population admitted to driving drowsy, and 27 % further admitted to falling asleep behind the wheel at least once in the past year. As it only takes a split second to cause an accident, being a victim to a sleepy driver would not be an enjoyable experience. Not to mention that sleep deprived people are moody, filled with malaise, have poor concentration, and are susceptible to illnesses. Research has also shown that a sleep deficiency not only has a negative impact on work output, but also takes away from peoples will to perform the task hand. In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that approximately 100,000 police-reported crashes annually (about 1. % of all crashes) involve drowsiness or fatigue as a principal factor in the accident. It s unfortunate to loose 1,500 people in the U. S. alone to a situation that can be easily avoided with such a simple function as sleep (4% of all traffic crash fatalities are sleep related). At least 71,000 people are injured in fall-asleep crashes each year. The NHTSA estimates these crashes represent $12. 5 billion each year. Furthermore, laws are being placed to prevent sleepy drivers from getting on the road. This is because deprivations mimics drunkenness, and slows down drivers reaction time to nothing in many cases. Although being ticketed for driving under an *exosted* state of mind would be a hassle and inconvenience, it would help to save lives. Good sleeping patterns not only promote a good health, but also prevent accidents from occurring. Sleeping properly and regularly, allows your brain to perform at maximum capacity. If at all possible scheduling time to get the most out of every day, including 8 to 9 hours of sleep is very important. If not for yourself, sleep properly to prevent the distress on others that may occur from an accident. You may not notice your mistake, but a death certificate leaves an erasable mark on families. Sleep Deprivation In today s busy lifestyle, the days are just not long enough to get everything done. Getting the correct amount of sleep is important to not only be healthy, but also to live safely, as may Americans may not know the severity of sleep deprivation. The human body requires sleep to regenerate, and a lack their of causes it to function abnormally. High school and college students generally need more sleep than adults, but on average sleep less than the 9 hours recommended. Time schedules and hectic life styles cause sleep deficiencies. What people may not know is how dangerous it can be to not get enough sleep. If you find yourself taping your eyelids open, and yawning all day, you may need to reschedule your time to get more sleep! The exact cause of sleep is still unknown to scientists, however many theories on how and why we sleep are in circulation. For example, sleep could be away to sort thoughts and memories or to give our immune system a chance to catch up. In addition sleep could be a way to prevent the brain from overheating, build neurons and our body to manufacture proteins. Further more, scientists believe that sleep is a way to restock depleted glucose levels that the brain needs to function. Most everyone has been caught a few times with bags under their eyes, but over time Americans have continued to push deprivation to the extreme. For example, students have more pressure on them to do well in school, as competition continues to rise for degrees ext. Staying up late to finish homework and study is common these days. In addition, hobbies and sports deprive young people the sleep they might need to become fully rested. Scholarships may be the only hope for some people to get an education past high school, and this demands early morning or late night practices and studying. Furthermore, social lives force most young adults to stay out late on weekends, and then sleep in Saturdays and Sunday mornings, throwing their sleeping patters off even more. Whether you are aware of it or not, sleep deprivation is dangerous. In a survey across America, 62% of the population admitted to driving drowsy, and 27 % further admitted to falling asleep behind the wheel at least once in the past year. As it only takes a split second to cause an accident, being a victim to a sleepy driver would not be an enjoyable experience. Not to mention that sleep deprived people are moody, filled with malaise, have poor concentration, and are susceptible to illnesses. Research has also shown that a sleep deficiency not only has a negative impact on work output, but also takes away from peoples will to perform the task hand. In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that approximately 100,000 police-reported crashes annually (about 1. % of all crashes) involve drowsiness or fatigue as a principal factor in the accident. It s unfortunate to loose 1,500 people in the U. S. alone to a situation that can be easily avoided with such a simple function as sleep (4% of all traffic crash fatalities are sleep related). At least 71,000 people are injured in fall-asleep crashes each year. The NHTSA estimates these crashes represent $12. 5 billion each year. Furthermore, laws are being placed to prevent sleepy drivers from getting on the road. This is because deprivations mimics drunkenness, and slows down drivers reaction time to nothing in many cases. Although being ticketed for driving under an *exosted* state of mind would be a hassle and inconvenience, it would help to save lives. Good sleeping patterns not only promote a good health, but also prevent accidents from occurring. Sleeping properly and regularly, allows your brain to perform at maximum capacity. If at all possible scheduling time to get the most out of every day, including 8 to 9 hours of sleep is very important. If not for yourself, sleep properly to prevent the distress on others that may occur from an accident. You may not notice your mistake, but a death certificate leaves an erasable mark on families.

America and the Problem of Obesity Essays

America and the Problem of Obesity Essays America and the Problem of Obesity Essay America and the Problem of Obesity Essay Poor eating habits have become a daily part of the lifestyle of several Americans. These habits do not just come in the form of the lack of intake of food on a regular basis. Oftentimes, the excessive intake of food can almost certainly lead to a heavier weight than normal. Moreover, the excessive intake of fatty food is almost an assurance that a person will be gaining weight from fat which is especially true for those who rarely exercise. Regular intake of junk food high in cholesterol and fat in high quantities coupled with a sedentary lifestyle extends a person’s risk of becoming overweight. Worse comes to worst, an individual can become obese.Obesity is health condition where a person has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 30. A person’s BMI can be computed by dividing the person’s body weight with the square of the person’s height. At present, there is an estimated 12.5 million children in America who are overweight and are at a higher risk of becoming obese (â€Å"Childhood Overweight and Obesity Prevention Initiative: Healthy Youth for a Healthy Future†). If left unattended, America might soon become home to millions of obese adults whose health conditions are facing serious risks of medical complications from diabetes mellitus to heart ailments.There is an urgent need to reassess the eating habits of American children these days and to reintegrate good nutrition in their lifestyle. Despite the fact that most children remain highly active due to their age and to their constant socialization with peers, poor eating habits can stand in their way of obtaining a healthy body. According to an earlier testimony from the Surgeon General, close to two out of three Americans are either overweight or obese and one out of eight deaths in the U.S. is attributed to obesity or overweight (Carmona). These disturbing observations from the Office of the Surgeon General only indicate that today’s obese c hildren may soon face the same fate. It is imperative to make a collective action to prevent obesity from taking its toll on children who are on the verge of becoming overweight.There is also a wide agreement in the academic field that obesity causes young people to develop â€Å"serious psychosocial burdens† as a result of â€Å"social stigmatization associated with obesity† (â€Å"Focus on Childhood Obesity†). Overweight children usually become an easy target for children of the same age to tease and call â€Å"names†. Common labels such as â€Å"fat† and â€Å"pig† can hurt the emotions of overweight children which can lead to low self-esteem. Sometimes, children given with such labels tend to shy away from their peers and find comfort from solitude. These children eventually tend to avoid socializing with others as much as possible due to the fear of rejection.There are a number of simple steps that can be done in order to prevent childh ood obesity from spreading throughout America. According to a health report from the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, there is a simple concept that can be adopted in order to lose weight the natural way: eat one less while doing more (â€Å"Obesity†). In the concept, people are encouraged to consume less amount of food than what they usually take while doing more physical activities than normal. Everyday physical activities such as walking, running and climbing up and down the stairs can be effective ways to decrease body weight when done on a regular basis. Eating a few servings less than normal consumption of food can also help decrease a person’s body mass index. A nutritional food guide is also a beneficial tool in keeping track of a person’s eating habits and health progress.Since most children are still under the watchful guidance of their parents, they can more readily adapt to the concept. Parents can encourage their children to become physica lly active not only in terms of playing but also in ordinary daily routines such as walking and jogging. In order to instill in their children’s minds the benefits of healthy eating in controlled amounts, parents are also prompted to eat together with their children. Doing so can assure parents that their children are eating appropriately while teaching their children proper diet or the right eating habits appropriate for their age.In cases where children are already experiencing obesity, parents should seek professional medical assistance the soonest time possible in order to determine the necessary health measures needed to get their children back to having a healthy body condition. It may involve certain medications and regular visits to the doctor. In some extreme childhood obesity cases, surgical procedures may be required in order to alleviate the worsening health condition of the child. It is therefore important to attend to the health needs of children as soon as poss ible so that complicated health medications and procedures will not become a future option.Apart from seeking medical aid, parents should also try not to put down the feelings of the child due to weight problems. Parents should not coerce their children to eat less and become more active because these things can only stiffen the attitude of their children. Rather, parents should promote their children’s self-esteem despite their health condition. Parents should let their children act and feel as how a normal child would do so that they will not feel â€Å"different† from the rest of their peers. Doing so can help children attain a positive outlook, thereby making them feel that all is not lost yet and that something can still be done to reverse obesity.

Tobaco Indusrty Influence essays

Tobaco Indusrty Influence essays Over the last five years, researchers have calculated that the teenage smoking rates have climbed tremendously. Graph number one shows a steady increase in the number of teenagers who smoke heavily. Graph number two shows how teenage smoking has made a comeback, and how the number of teen-agers smoke occasionally and who develop heavier habits has increased sharply in recent years. The tobacco industry and the critics have very different ideas why this rapid increase of teenage smoking is developing. The tobacco industry says the increase of teenage smoking is due to a broad range of social forces. The tobacco industry also notes that not only the use of cigarettes have increased, but also the use of marijuana and other drugs. The industry also states that teenagers tend to rebel to the increasing efforts to stop them from smoking. Tobacco industries say that the critics over exaggerate the effects of their marketing. They also point out that teenage smoking is also increasing in countries where most forms of advertising have been banned. The critics of the tobacco industry agree with the industry that rebelliousness and other forces are a contributing factor, but say it is not the prime reason of the increase in teen smoking. The critics say the industry is the most important factor to the upraise. The industrys spending on domestic advertising and promotions have soared form $361 million in 1970, to $4.83 billion in 1994. That is a 250 percent increase. A big part of the reason for the surge in teenage smoking was an expansion by both Reynolds and Philip Morris in giveaways. Items like T-shirts were given out in return for coupons accumulated by buying their cigarettes. Some critics say it is Hollywoods long love affair with smoking that seems to be heating up. Cigars, they say, symbolize success as portrayed in movies like The Associate. In conclusion whether the increase of teenage smoking is...

A Game of Thrones Chapter Fiftyone

Jeyne Poole had been confined with her, but Jeyne was useless. Her face was puffy from all her crying, and she could not seem to stop sobbing about her father. â€Å"I’m certain your father is well,† Sansa told her when she had finally gotten the dress buttoned right. â€Å"I’ll ask the queen to let you see him.† She thought that kindness might lift Jeyne’s spirits, but the other girl just looked at her with red, swollen eyes and began to cry all the harder. She was such a child. Sansa had wept too, the first day. Even within the stout walls of Maegor’s Holdfast, with her door closed and barred, it was hard not to be terrified when the killing began. She had grown up to the sound of steel in the yard, and scarcely a day of her life had passed without hearing the clash of sword on sword, yet somehow knowing that the fighting was real made all the difference in the world. She heard it as she had never heard it before, and there were other sounds as well, grunts of pain, angry curses, shouts for help, and the moans of wounded and dying men. In the songs, the knights never screamed nor begged for mercy. So she wept, pleading through her door for them to tell her what was happening, calling for her father, for Septa Mordane, for the king, for her gallant prince. If the men guarding her heard her pleas, they gave no answer. The only time the door opened was late that night, when they thrust Jeyne Poole inside, bruised and shaking. â€Å"They’re killing everyone,† the steward’s daughter had shrieked at her. She went on and on. The Hound had broken down her door with a warhammer, she said. There were bodies on the stair of the Tower of the Hand, and the steps were slick with blood. Sansa dried her own tears as she struggled to comfort her friend. They went to sleep in the same bed, cradled in each other’s arms like sisters. The second day was even worse. The room where Sansa had been confined was at the top of the highest tower of Maegor’s Holdfast. From its window, she could see that the heavy iron portcullis in the gatehouse was down, and the drawbridge drawn up over the deep dry moat that separated the keep-within-a-keep from the larger castle that surrounded it. Lannister guardsmen prowled the walls with spears and crossbows to hand. The fighting was over, and the silence of the grave had settled over the Red Keep. The only sounds were Jeyne Poole’s endless whimpers and sobs. They were fed—hard cheese and fresh-baked bread and milk to break their fast, roast chicken and greens at midday, and a late supper of beef and barley stew—but the servants who brought the meals would not answer Sansa’s questions. That evening, some women brought her clothes from the Tower of the Hand, and some of Jeyne’s things as well, but they seemed nearly as frightened as Jeyne, and when she tried to talk to them, they fled from her as if she had the grey plague. The guards outside the door still refused to let them leave the room. â€Å"Please, I need to speak to the queen again,† Sansa told them, as she told everyone she saw that day. â€Å"She’ll want to talk to me, I know she will. Tell her I want to see her, please. If not the queen, then Prince Joffrey, if you’d be so kind. We’re to marry when we’re older.† At sunset on the second day, a great bell began to ring. Its voice was deep and sonorous, and the long slow clanging filled Sansa with a sense of dread. The ringing went on and on, and after a while they heard other bells answering from the Great Sept of Baelor on Visenya’s Hill. The sound rumbled across the city like thunder, warning of the storm to come. â€Å"What is it?† Jeyne asked, covering her ears. â€Å"Why are they ringing the bells?† â€Å"The king is dead.† Sansa could not say how she knew it, yet she did. The slow, endless clanging filled their room, as mournful as a dirge. Had some enemy stormed the castle and murdered King Robert? Was that the meaning of the fighting they had heard? She went to sleep wondering, restless, and fearful. Was her beautiful Joffrey the king now? Or had they killed him too? She was afraid for him, and for her father. If only they would tell her what was happening . . . That night Sansa dreamt of Joffrey on the throne, with herself seated beside him in a gown of woven gold. She had a crown on her head, and everyone she had ever known came before her, to bend the knee and say their courtesies. The next morning, the morning of the third day, Ser Boros Blount of the Kingsguard came to escort her to the queen. Ser Boros was an ugly man with a broad chest and short, bandy legs. His nose was flat, his cheeks baggy with jowls, his hair grey and brittle. Today he wore white velvet, and his snowy cloak was fastened with a lion brooch. The beast had the soft sheen of gold, and his eyes were tiny rubies. â€Å"You look very handsome and splendid this morning, Ser Boros,† Sansa told him. A lady remembered her courtesies, and she was resolved to be a lady no matter what. â€Å"And you, my lady,† Ser Boros said in a flat voice. â€Å"Her Grace awaits. Come with me.† There were guards outside her door, Lannister men-at-arms in crimson cloaks and lion-crested helms. Sansa made herself smile at them pleasantly and bid them a good morning as she passed. It was the first time she had been allowed outside the chamber since Ser Arys Oakheart had led her there two mornings past. â€Å"To keep you safe, my sweet one,† Queen Cersei had told her. â€Å"Joffrey would never forgive me if anything happened to his precious.† Sansa had expected that Ser Boros would escort her to the royal apartments, but instead he led her out of Maegor’s Holdfast. The bridge was down again. Some workmen were lowering a man on ropes into the depths of the dry moat. When Sansa peered down, she saw a body impaled on the huge iron spikes below. She averted her eyes quickly, afraid to ask, afraid to look too long, afraid he might be someone she knew. They found Queen Cersei in the council chambers, seated at the head of a long table littered with papers, candles, and blocks of sealing wax. The room was as splendid as any that Sansa had ever seen. She stared in awe at the carved wooden screen and the twin sphinxes that sat beside the door. â€Å"Your Grace,† Ser Boros said when they were ushered inside by another of the Kingsguard, Ser Mandon of the curiously dead face, â€Å"I’ve brought the girl.† Sansa had hoped Joffrey might be with her. Her prince was not there, but three of the king’s councillors were. Lord Petyr Baelish sat on the queen’s left hand, Grand Maester Pycelle at the end of the table, while Lord Varys hovered over them, smelling flowery. All of them were clad in black, she realized with a feeling of dread. Mourning clothes . . . The queen wore a high-collared black silk gown, with a hundred dark red rubies sewn into her bodice, covering her from neck to bosom. They were cut in the shape of teardrops, as if the queen were weeping blood. Cersei smiled to see her, and Sansa thought it was the sweetest and saddest smile she had ever seen. â€Å"Sansa, my sweet child,† she said, â€Å"I know you’ve been asking for me. I’m sorry that I could not send for you sooner. Matters have been very unsettled, and I have not had a moment. I trust my people have been taking good care of you?† â€Å"Everyone has been very sweet and pleasant, Your Grace, thank you ever so much for asking,† Sansa said politely. â€Å"Only, well, no one will talk to us or tell us what’s happened . . . â€Å" â€Å"Us?† Cersei seemed puzzled. â€Å"We put the steward’s girl in with her,† Ser Boros said. â€Å"We did not know what else to do with her.† The queen frowned. â€Å"Next time, you will ask,† she said, her voice sharp. â€Å"The gods only know what sort of tales she’s been filling Sansa’s head with.† â€Å"Jeyne’s scared,† Sansa said. â€Å"She won’t stop crying. I promised her I’d ask if she could see her father.† Old Grand Maester Pycelle lowered his eyes. â€Å"Her father is well, isn’t he?† Sansa said anxiously. She knew there had been fighting, but surely no one would harm a steward. Vayon Poole did not even wear a sword. Queen Cersei looked at each of the councillors in turn. â€Å"I won’t have Sansa fretting needlessly. What shall we do with this little friend of hers, my lords?† Lord Petyr leaned forward. â€Å"I’ll find a place for her.† â€Å"Not in the city,† said the queen. â€Å"Do you take me for a fool?† The queen ignored that. â€Å"Ser Boros, escort this girl to Lord Petyr’s apartments and instruct his people to keep her there until he comes for her. Tell her that Littlefinger will be taking her to see her father, that ought to calm her down. I want her gone before Sansa returns to her chamber.† â€Å"As you command, Your Grace,† Ser Boros said. He bowed deeply, spun on his heel, and took his leave, his long white cloak stirring the air behind him. Sansa was confused. â€Å"I don’t understand,† she said. â€Å"Where is Jeyne’s father? Why can’t Ser Boros take her to him instead of Lord Petyr having to do it?† She had promised herself she would be a lady, gentle as the queen and as strong as her mother, the Lady Catelyn, but all of a sudden she was scared again. For a second she thought she might cry. â€Å"Where are you sending her? She hasn’t done anything wrong, she’s a good girl.† â€Å"She’s upset you,† the queen said gently. â€Å"We can’t be having that. Not another word, now. Lord Baelish will see that Jeyne’s well taken care of, I promise you.† She patted the chair beside her. â€Å"Sit down, Sansa. I want to talk to you.† Sansa seated herself beside the queen. Cersei smiled again, but that did not make her feel any less anxious. Varys was wringing his soft hands together, Grand Maester Pycelle kept his sleepy eyes on the papers in front of him, but she could feel Littlefinger staring. Something about the way the small man looked at her made Sansa feel as though she had no clothes on. Goose bumps pimpled her skin. â€Å"Sweet Sansa,† Queen Cersei said, laying a soft hand on her wrist. â€Å"Such a beautiful child. I do hope you know how much Joffrey and I love you.† â€Å"You do?† Sansa said, breathless. Littlefinger was forgotten. Her prince loved her. Nothing else mattered. The queen smiled. â€Å"I think of you almost as my own daughter. And I know the love you bear for Joffrey.† She gave a weary shake of her head. â€Å"I am afraid we have some grave news about your lord father. You must be brave, child.† Her quiet words gave Sansa a chill. â€Å"What is it?† â€Å"Your father is a traitor, dear,† Lord Varys said. Grand Maester Pycelle lifted his ancient head. â€Å"With my own ears, I heard Lord Eddard swear to our beloved King Robert that he would protect the young princes as if they were his own sons. And yet the moment the king was dead, he called the small council together to steal Prince Joffrey’s rightful throne.† â€Å"No,† Sansa blurted. â€Å"He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t!† The queen picked up a letter. The paper was torn and stiff with dried blood, but the broken seal was her father’s, the direwolf stamped in pale wax. â€Å"We found this on the captain of your household guard, Sansa. It is a letter to my late husband’s brother Stannis, inviting him to take the crown.† â€Å"Please, Your Grace, there’s been a mistake.† Sudden panic made her dizzy and faint. â€Å"Please, send for my father, he’ll tell you, he would never write such a letter, the king was his friend.† â€Å"Robert thought so,† said the queen. â€Å"This betrayal would have broken his heart. The gods are kind, that he did not live to see it.† She sighed. â€Å"Sansa, sweetling, you must see what a dreadful position this has left us in. You are innocent of any wrong, we all know that, and yet you are the daughter of a traitor. How can I allow you to marry my son?† â€Å"But I love him,† Sansa wailed, confused and frightened. What did they mean to do to her? What had they done to her father? It was not supposed to happen this way. She had to wed Joffrey, they were betrothed, he was promised to her, she had even dreamed about it. It wasn’t fair to take him away from her on account of whatever her father might have done. â€Å"How well I know that, child,† Cersei said, her voice so kind and sweet. â€Å"Why else should you have come to me and told me of your father’s plan to send you away from us, if not for love?† â€Å"It was for love,† Sansa said in a rush. â€Å"Father wouldn’t even give me leave to say farewell.† She was the good girl, the obedient girl, but she had felt as wicked as Arya that morning, sneaking away from Septa Mordane, defying her lord father. She had never done anything so willful before, and she would never have done it then if she hadn’t loved Joffrey as much as she did. â€Å"He was going to take me back to Winterfell and marry me to some hedge knight, even though it was Joff I wanted. I told him, but he wouldn’t listen.† The king had been her last hope. The king could command Father to let her stay in King’s Landing and marry Prince Joffrey, Sansa knew he could, but the king had always frightened her. He was loud and rough-voiced and drunk as often as not, and he would probably have just sent her back to Lord Eddard, if they even let her see him. So she went to the queen instead, and poured out her heart, and Cersei had listened and thanked her sweetly . . . only then Ser Arys had escorted her to the high room in Maegor’s Holdfast and posted guards, and a few hours later, the fighting had begun outside. â€Å"Please,† she finished, â€Å"you have to let me marry Joffrey, I’ll be ever so good a wife to him, you’ll see. I’ll be a queen just like you, I promise.† Queen Cersei looked to the others. â€Å"My lords of the council, what do you say to her plea?† â€Å"The poor child,† murmured Varys. â€Å"A love so true and innocent, Your Grace, it would be cruel to deny it . . . and yet, what can we do? Her father stands condemned.† His soft hands washed each other in a gesture of helpless distress. â€Å"A child born of traitor’s seed will find that betrayal comes naturally to her,† said Grand Maester Pycelle. â€Å"She is a sweet thing now, but in ten years, who can say what treasons she may hatch?† â€Å"No,† Sansa said, horrified. â€Å"I’m not, I’d never . . . I wouldn’t betray Joffrey, I love him, I swear it, I do.† â€Å"Oh, so poignant,† said Varys. â€Å"And yet, it is truly said that blood runs truer than oaths.† â€Å"She reminds me of the mother, not the father,† Lord Petyr Baelish said quietly. â€Å"Look at her. The hair, the eyes. She is the very image of Cat at the same age.† The queen looked at her, troubled, and yet Sansa could see kindness in her clear green eyes. â€Å"Child,† she said, â€Å"if I could truly believe that you were not like your father, why nothing should please me more than to see you wed to my Joffrey. I know he loves you with all his heart.† She sighed. â€Å"And yet, I fear that Lord Varys and the Grand Maester have the right of it. The blood will tell. I have only to remember how your sister set her wolf on my son.† â€Å"I’m not like Arya,† Sansa blurted. â€Å"She has the traitor’s blood, not me. I’m good, ask Septa Mordane, she’ll tell you, I only want to be Joffrey’s loyal and loving wife.† She felt the weight of Cersei’s eyes as the queen studied her face. â€Å"I believe you mean it, child.† She turned to face the others. â€Å"My lords, it seems to me that if the rest of her kin were to remain loyal in this terrible time, that would go a long way toward laying our fears to rest.† Grand Maester Pycelle stroked his huge soft beard, his wide brow furrowed in thought. â€Å"Lord Eddard has three sons.† â€Å"Mere boys,† Lord Petyr said with a shrug. â€Å"I should be more concerned with Lady Catelyn and the Tullys.† The queen took Sansa’s hand in both of hers. â€Å"Child, do you know your letters?† Sansa nodded nervously. She could read and write better than any of her brothers, although she was hopeless at sums. â€Å"I am pleased to hear that. Perhaps there is hope for you and Joffrey still . . . â€Å" â€Å"What do you want me to do?† â€Å"You must write your lady mother, and your brother, the eldest . . . what is his name?† â€Å"Robb,† Sansa said. â€Å"The word of your lord father’s treason will no doubt reach them soon. Better that it should come from you. You must tell them how Lord Eddard betrayed his king.† Sansa wanted Joffrey desperately, but she did not think she had the courage to do as the queen was asking. â€Å"But he never . . . I don’t . . . Your Grace, I wouldn’t know what to say . . . â€Å" The queen patted her hand. â€Å"We will tell you what to write, child. The important thing is that you urge Lady Catelyn and your brother to keep the king’s peace.† â€Å"It will go hard for them if they don’t,† said Grand Maester Pycelle. â€Å"By the love you bear them, you must urge them to walk the path of wisdom.† â€Å"Your lady mother will no doubt fear for you dreadfully,† the queen said. â€Å"You must tell her that you are well and in our care, that we are treating you gently and seeing to your every want. Bid them to come to King’s Landing and pledge their fealty to Joffrey when he takes his throne. If they do that . . . why, then we shall know that there is no taint in your blood, and when you come into the flower of your womanhood, you shall wed the king in the Great Sept of Baelor, before the eyes of gods and men.† . . . wed the king . . . The words made her breath come faster, yet still Sansa hesitated. â€Å"Perhaps . . . if I might see my father, talk to him about . . . â€Å" â€Å"Treason?† Lord Varys hinted. â€Å"You disappoint me, Sansa,† the queen said, with eyes gone hard as stones. â€Å"We’ve told you of your father’s crimes. If you are truly as loyal as you say, why should you want to see him?† â€Å"I . . . I only meant . . . † Sansa felt her eyes grow wet. â€Å"He’s not . . . please, he hasn’t been . . . hurt, or . . . or . . . â€Å" â€Å"Lord Eddard has not been harmed,† the queen said. â€Å"But . . . what’s to become of him?† â€Å"That is a matter for the king to decide,† Grand Maester Pycelle announced ponderously. The king! Sansa blinked back her tears. Joffrey was the king now, she thought. Her gallant prince would never hurt her father, no matter what he might have done. If she went to him and pleaded for mercy, she was certain he’d listen. He had to listen, he loved her, even the queen said so. Joff would need to punish Father, the lords would expect it, but perhaps he could send him back to Winterfell, or exile him to one of the Free Cities across the narrow sea. It would only have to be for a few years. By then she and Joffrey would be married. Once she was queen, she could persuade Joff to bring Father back and grant him a pardon. Only . . . if Mother or Robb did anything treasonous, called the banners or refused to swear fealty or anything, it would all go wrong. Her Joffrey was good and kind, she knew it in her heart, but a king had to be stern with rebels. She had to make them understand, she had to! â€Å"I’ll . . . I’ll write the letters,† Sansa told them. With a smile as warm as the sunrise, Cersei Lannister leaned close and kissed her gently on the cheek. â€Å"I knew you would. Joffrey will be so proud when I tell him what courage and good sense you’ve shown here today.† In the end, she wrote four letters. To her mother, the Lady Catelyn Stark, and to her brothers at Winterfell, and to her aunt and her grandfather as well, Lady Lysa Arryn of the Eyrie, and Lord Hoster Tully of Riverrun. By the time she had done, her fingers were cramped and stiff and stained with ink. Varys had her father’s seal. She warmed the pale white beeswax over a candle, poured it carefully, and watched as the eunuch stamped each letter with the direwolf of House Stark. Jeyne Poole and all her things were gone when Ser Mandon Moore returned Sansa to the high tower of Maegor’s Holdfast. No more weeping, she thought gratefully. Yet somehow it seemed colder with Jeyne gone, even after she’d built a fire. She pulled a chair close to the hearth, took down one of her favorite books, and lost herself in the stories of Florian and Jonquil, of Lady Shella and the Rainbow Knight, of valiant Prince Aemon and his doomed love for his brother’s queen. It was not until later that night, as she was drifting off to sleep, that Sansa realized she had forgotten to ask about her sister. A Game of Thrones Chapter Fiftyone Jeyne Poole had been confined with her, but Jeyne was useless. Her face was puffy from all her crying, and she could not seem to stop sobbing about her father. â€Å"I’m certain your father is well,† Sansa told her when she had finally gotten the dress buttoned right. â€Å"I’ll ask the queen to let you see him.† She thought that kindness might lift Jeyne’s spirits, but the other girl just looked at her with red, swollen eyes and began to cry all the harder. She was such a child. Sansa had wept too, the first day. Even within the stout walls of Maegor’s Holdfast, with her door closed and barred, it was hard not to be terrified when the killing began. She had grown up to the sound of steel in the yard, and scarcely a day of her life had passed without hearing the clash of sword on sword, yet somehow knowing that the fighting was real made all the difference in the world. She heard it as she had never heard it before, and there were other sounds as well, grunts of pain, angry curses, shouts for help, and the moans of wounded and dying men. In the songs, the knights never screamed nor begged for mercy. So she wept, pleading through her door for them to tell her what was happening, calling for her father, for Septa Mordane, for the king, for her gallant prince. If the men guarding her heard her pleas, they gave no answer. The only time the door opened was late that night, when they thrust Jeyne Poole inside, bruised and shaking. â€Å"They’re killing everyone,† the steward’s daughter had shrieked at her. She went on and on. The Hound had broken down her door with a warhammer, she said. There were bodies on the stair of the Tower of the Hand, and the steps were slick with blood. Sansa dried her own tears as she struggled to comfort her friend. They went to sleep in the same bed, cradled in each other’s arms like sisters. The second day was even worse. The room where Sansa had been confined was at the top of the highest tower of Maegor’s Holdfast. From its window, she could see that the heavy iron portcullis in the gatehouse was down, and the drawbridge drawn up over the deep dry moat that separated the keep-within-a-keep from the larger castle that surrounded it. Lannister guardsmen prowled the walls with spears and crossbows to hand. The fighting was over, and the silence of the grave had settled over the Red Keep. The only sounds were Jeyne Poole’s endless whimpers and sobs. They were fed—hard cheese and fresh-baked bread and milk to break their fast, roast chicken and greens at midday, and a late supper of beef and barley stew—but the servants who brought the meals would not answer Sansa’s questions. That evening, some women brought her clothes from the Tower of the Hand, and some of Jeyne’s things as well, but they seemed nearly as frightened as Jeyne, and when she tried to talk to them, they fled from her as if she had the grey plague. The guards outside the door still refused to let them leave the room. â€Å"Please, I need to speak to the queen again,† Sansa told them, as she told everyone she saw that day. â€Å"She’ll want to talk to me, I know she will. Tell her I want to see her, please. If not the queen, then Prince Joffrey, if you’d be so kind. We’re to marry when we’re older.† At sunset on the second day, a great bell began to ring. Its voice was deep and sonorous, and the long slow clanging filled Sansa with a sense of dread. The ringing went on and on, and after a while they heard other bells answering from the Great Sept of Baelor on Visenya’s Hill. The sound rumbled across the city like thunder, warning of the storm to come. â€Å"What is it?† Jeyne asked, covering her ears. â€Å"Why are they ringing the bells?† â€Å"The king is dead.† Sansa could not say how she knew it, yet she did. The slow, endless clanging filled their room, as mournful as a dirge. Had some enemy stormed the castle and murdered King Robert? Was that the meaning of the fighting they had heard? She went to sleep wondering, restless, and fearful. Was her beautiful Joffrey the king now? Or had they killed him too? She was afraid for him, and for her father. If only they would tell her what was happening . . . That night Sansa dreamt of Joffrey on the throne, with herself seated beside him in a gown of woven gold. She had a crown on her head, and everyone she had ever known came before her, to bend the knee and say their courtesies. The next morning, the morning of the third day, Ser Boros Blount of the Kingsguard came to escort her to the queen. Ser Boros was an ugly man with a broad chest and short, bandy legs. His nose was flat, his cheeks baggy with jowls, his hair grey and brittle. Today he wore white velvet, and his snowy cloak was fastened with a lion brooch. The beast had the soft sheen of gold, and his eyes were tiny rubies. â€Å"You look very handsome and splendid this morning, Ser Boros,† Sansa told him. A lady remembered her courtesies, and she was resolved to be a lady no matter what. â€Å"And you, my lady,† Ser Boros said in a flat voice. â€Å"Her Grace awaits. Come with me.† There were guards outside her door, Lannister men-at-arms in crimson cloaks and lion-crested helms. Sansa made herself smile at them pleasantly and bid them a good morning as she passed. It was the first time she had been allowed outside the chamber since Ser Arys Oakheart had led her there two mornings past. â€Å"To keep you safe, my sweet one,† Queen Cersei had told her. â€Å"Joffrey would never forgive me if anything happened to his precious.† Sansa had expected that Ser Boros would escort her to the royal apartments, but instead he led her out of Maegor’s Holdfast. The bridge was down again. Some workmen were lowering a man on ropes into the depths of the dry moat. When Sansa peered down, she saw a body impaled on the huge iron spikes below. She averted her eyes quickly, afraid to ask, afraid to look too long, afraid he might be someone she knew. They found Queen Cersei in the council chambers, seated at the head of a long table littered with papers, candles, and blocks of sealing wax. The room was as splendid as any that Sansa had ever seen. She stared in awe at the carved wooden screen and the twin sphinxes that sat beside the door. â€Å"Your Grace,† Ser Boros said when they were ushered inside by another of the Kingsguard, Ser Mandon of the curiously dead face, â€Å"I’ve brought the girl.† Sansa had hoped Joffrey might be with her. Her prince was not there, but three of the king’s councillors were. Lord Petyr Baelish sat on the queen’s left hand, Grand Maester Pycelle at the end of the table, while Lord Varys hovered over them, smelling flowery. All of them were clad in black, she realized with a feeling of dread. Mourning clothes . . . The queen wore a high-collared black silk gown, with a hundred dark red rubies sewn into her bodice, covering her from neck to bosom. They were cut in the shape of teardrops, as if the queen were weeping blood. Cersei smiled to see her, and Sansa thought it was the sweetest and saddest smile she had ever seen. â€Å"Sansa, my sweet child,† she said, â€Å"I know you’ve been asking for me. I’m sorry that I could not send for you sooner. Matters have been very unsettled, and I have not had a moment. I trust my people have been taking good care of you?† â€Å"Everyone has been very sweet and pleasant, Your Grace, thank you ever so much for asking,† Sansa said politely. â€Å"Only, well, no one will talk to us or tell us what’s happened . . . â€Å" â€Å"Us?† Cersei seemed puzzled. â€Å"We put the steward’s girl in with her,† Ser Boros said. â€Å"We did not know what else to do with her.† The queen frowned. â€Å"Next time, you will ask,† she said, her voice sharp. â€Å"The gods only know what sort of tales she’s been filling Sansa’s head with.† â€Å"Jeyne’s scared,† Sansa said. â€Å"She won’t stop crying. I promised her I’d ask if she could see her father.† Old Grand Maester Pycelle lowered his eyes. â€Å"Her father is well, isn’t he?† Sansa said anxiously. She knew there had been fighting, but surely no one would harm a steward. Vayon Poole did not even wear a sword. Queen Cersei looked at each of the councillors in turn. â€Å"I won’t have Sansa fretting needlessly. What shall we do with this little friend of hers, my lords?† Lord Petyr leaned forward. â€Å"I’ll find a place for her.† â€Å"Not in the city,† said the queen. â€Å"Do you take me for a fool?† The queen ignored that. â€Å"Ser Boros, escort this girl to Lord Petyr’s apartments and instruct his people to keep her there until he comes for her. Tell her that Littlefinger will be taking her to see her father, that ought to calm her down. I want her gone before Sansa returns to her chamber.† â€Å"As you command, Your Grace,† Ser Boros said. He bowed deeply, spun on his heel, and took his leave, his long white cloak stirring the air behind him. Sansa was confused. â€Å"I don’t understand,† she said. â€Å"Where is Jeyne’s father? Why can’t Ser Boros take her to him instead of Lord Petyr having to do it?† She had promised herself she would be a lady, gentle as the queen and as strong as her mother, the Lady Catelyn, but all of a sudden she was scared again. For a second she thought she might cry. â€Å"Where are you sending her? She hasn’t done anything wrong, she’s a good girl.† â€Å"She’s upset you,† the queen said gently. â€Å"We can’t be having that. Not another word, now. Lord Baelish will see that Jeyne’s well taken care of, I promise you.† She patted the chair beside her. â€Å"Sit down, Sansa. I want to talk to you.† Sansa seated herself beside the queen. Cersei smiled again, but that did not make her feel any less anxious. Varys was wringing his soft hands together, Grand Maester Pycelle kept his sleepy eyes on the papers in front of him, but she could feel Littlefinger staring. Something about the way the small man looked at her made Sansa feel as though she had no clothes on. Goose bumps pimpled her skin. â€Å"Sweet Sansa,† Queen Cersei said, laying a soft hand on her wrist. â€Å"Such a beautiful child. I do hope you know how much Joffrey and I love you.† â€Å"You do?† Sansa said, breathless. Littlefinger was forgotten. Her prince loved her. Nothing else mattered. The queen smiled. â€Å"I think of you almost as my own daughter. And I know the love you bear for Joffrey.† She gave a weary shake of her head. â€Å"I am afraid we have some grave news about your lord father. You must be brave, child.† Her quiet words gave Sansa a chill. â€Å"What is it?† â€Å"Your father is a traitor, dear,† Lord Varys said. Grand Maester Pycelle lifted his ancient head. â€Å"With my own ears, I heard Lord Eddard swear to our beloved King Robert that he would protect the young princes as if they were his own sons. And yet the moment the king was dead, he called the small council together to steal Prince Joffrey’s rightful throne.† â€Å"No,† Sansa blurted. â€Å"He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t!† The queen picked up a letter. The paper was torn and stiff with dried blood, but the broken seal was her father’s, the direwolf stamped in pale wax. â€Å"We found this on the captain of your household guard, Sansa. It is a letter to my late husband’s brother Stannis, inviting him to take the crown.† â€Å"Please, Your Grace, there’s been a mistake.† Sudden panic made her dizzy and faint. â€Å"Please, send for my father, he’ll tell you, he would never write such a letter, the king was his friend.† â€Å"Robert thought so,† said the queen. â€Å"This betrayal would have broken his heart. The gods are kind, that he did not live to see it.† She sighed. â€Å"Sansa, sweetling, you must see what a dreadful position this has left us in. You are innocent of any wrong, we all know that, and yet you are the daughter of a traitor. How can I allow you to marry my son?† â€Å"But I love him,† Sansa wailed, confused and frightened. What did they mean to do to her? What had they done to her father? It was not supposed to happen this way. She had to wed Joffrey, they were betrothed, he was promised to her, she had even dreamed about it. It wasn’t fair to take him away from her on account of whatever her father might have done. â€Å"How well I know that, child,† Cersei said, her voice so kind and sweet. â€Å"Why else should you have come to me and told me of your father’s plan to send you away from us, if not for love?† â€Å"It was for love,† Sansa said in a rush. â€Å"Father wouldn’t even give me leave to say farewell.† She was the good girl, the obedient girl, but she had felt as wicked as Arya that morning, sneaking away from Septa Mordane, defying her lord father. She had never done anything so willful before, and she would never have done it then if she hadn’t loved Joffrey as much as she did. â€Å"He was going to take me back to Winterfell and marry me to some hedge knight, even though it was Joff I wanted. I told him, but he wouldn’t listen.† The king had been her last hope. The king could command Father to let her stay in King’s Landing and marry Prince Joffrey, Sansa knew he could, but the king had always frightened her. He was loud and rough-voiced and drunk as often as not, and he would probably have just sent her back to Lord Eddard, if they even let her see him. So she went to the queen instead, and poured out her heart, and Cersei had listened and thanked her sweetly . . . only then Ser Arys had escorted her to the high room in Maegor’s Holdfast and posted guards, and a few hours later, the fighting had begun outside. â€Å"Please,† she finished, â€Å"you have to let me marry Joffrey, I’ll be ever so good a wife to him, you’ll see. I’ll be a queen just like you, I promise.† Queen Cersei looked to the others. â€Å"My lords of the council, what do you say to her plea?† â€Å"The poor child,† murmured Varys. â€Å"A love so true and innocent, Your Grace, it would be cruel to deny it . . . and yet, what can we do? Her father stands condemned.† His soft hands washed each other in a gesture of helpless distress. â€Å"A child born of traitor’s seed will find that betrayal comes naturally to her,† said Grand Maester Pycelle. â€Å"She is a sweet thing now, but in ten years, who can say what treasons she may hatch?† â€Å"No,† Sansa said, horrified. â€Å"I’m not, I’d never . . . I wouldn’t betray Joffrey, I love him, I swear it, I do.† â€Å"Oh, so poignant,† said Varys. â€Å"And yet, it is truly said that blood runs truer than oaths.† â€Å"She reminds me of the mother, not the father,† Lord Petyr Baelish said quietly. â€Å"Look at her. The hair, the eyes. She is the very image of Cat at the same age.† The queen looked at her, troubled, and yet Sansa could see kindness in her clear green eyes. â€Å"Child,† she said, â€Å"if I could truly believe that you were not like your father, why nothing should please me more than to see you wed to my Joffrey. I know he loves you with all his heart.† She sighed. â€Å"And yet, I fear that Lord Varys and the Grand Maester have the right of it. The blood will tell. I have only to remember how your sister set her wolf on my son.† â€Å"I’m not like Arya,† Sansa blurted. â€Å"She has the traitor’s blood, not me. I’m good, ask Septa Mordane, she’ll tell you, I only want to be Joffrey’s loyal and loving wife.† She felt the weight of Cersei’s eyes as the queen studied her face. â€Å"I believe you mean it, child.† She turned to face the others. â€Å"My lords, it seems to me that if the rest of her kin were to remain loyal in this terrible time, that would go a long way toward laying our fears to rest.† Grand Maester Pycelle stroked his huge soft beard, his wide brow furrowed in thought. â€Å"Lord Eddard has three sons.† â€Å"Mere boys,† Lord Petyr said with a shrug. â€Å"I should be more concerned with Lady Catelyn and the Tullys.† The queen took Sansa’s hand in both of hers. â€Å"Child, do you know your letters?† Sansa nodded nervously. She could read and write better than any of her brothers, although she was hopeless at sums. â€Å"I am pleased to hear that. Perhaps there is hope for you and Joffrey still . . . â€Å" â€Å"What do you want me to do?† â€Å"You must write your lady mother, and your brother, the eldest . . . what is his name?† â€Å"Robb,† Sansa said. â€Å"The word of your lord father’s treason will no doubt reach them soon. Better that it should come from you. You must tell them how Lord Eddard betrayed his king.† Sansa wanted Joffrey desperately, but she did not think she had the courage to do as the queen was asking. â€Å"But he never . . . I don’t . . . Your Grace, I wouldn’t know what to say . . . â€Å" The queen patted her hand. â€Å"We will tell you what to write, child. The important thing is that you urge Lady Catelyn and your brother to keep the king’s peace.† â€Å"It will go hard for them if they don’t,† said Grand Maester Pycelle. â€Å"By the love you bear them, you must urge them to walk the path of wisdom.† â€Å"Your lady mother will no doubt fear for you dreadfully,† the queen said. â€Å"You must tell her that you are well and in our care, that we are treating you gently and seeing to your every want. Bid them to come to King’s Landing and pledge their fealty to Joffrey when he takes his throne. If they do that . . . why, then we shall know that there is no taint in your blood, and when you come into the flower of your womanhood, you shall wed the king in the Great Sept of Baelor, before the eyes of gods and men.† . . . wed the king . . . The words made her breath come faster, yet still Sansa hesitated. â€Å"Perhaps . . . if I might see my father, talk to him about . . . â€Å" â€Å"Treason?† Lord Varys hinted. â€Å"You disappoint me, Sansa,† the queen said, with eyes gone hard as stones. â€Å"We’ve told you of your father’s crimes. If you are truly as loyal as you say, why should you want to see him?† â€Å"I . . . I only meant . . . † Sansa felt her eyes grow wet. â€Å"He’s not . . . please, he hasn’t been . . . hurt, or . . . or . . . â€Å" â€Å"Lord Eddard has not been harmed,† the queen said. â€Å"But . . . what’s to become of him?† â€Å"That is a matter for the king to decide,† Grand Maester Pycelle announced ponderously. The king! Sansa blinked back her tears. Joffrey was the king now, she thought. Her gallant prince would never hurt her father, no matter what he might have done. If she went to him and pleaded for mercy, she was certain he’d listen. He had to listen, he loved her, even the queen said so. Joff would need to punish Father, the lords would expect it, but perhaps he could send him back to Winterfell, or exile him to one of the Free Cities across the narrow sea. It would only have to be for a few years. By then she and Joffrey would be married. Once she was queen, she could persuade Joff to bring Father back and grant him a pardon. Only . . . if Mother or Robb did anything treasonous, called the banners or refused to swear fealty or anything, it would all go wrong. Her Joffrey was good and kind, she knew it in her heart, but a king had to be stern with rebels. She had to make them understand, she had to! â€Å"I’ll . . . I’ll write the letters,† Sansa told them. With a smile as warm as the sunrise, Cersei Lannister leaned close and kissed her gently on the cheek. â€Å"I knew you would. Joffrey will be so proud when I tell him what courage and good sense you’ve shown here today.† In the end, she wrote four letters. To her mother, the Lady Catelyn Stark, and to her brothers at Winterfell, and to her aunt and her grandfather as well, Lady Lysa Arryn of the Eyrie, and Lord Hoster Tully of Riverrun. By the time she had done, her fingers were cramped and stiff and stained with ink. Varys had her father’s seal. She warmed the pale white beeswax over a candle, poured it carefully, and watched as the eunuch stamped each letter with the direwolf of House Stark. Jeyne Poole and all her things were gone when Ser Mandon Moore returned Sansa to the high tower of Maegor’s Holdfast. No more weeping, she thought gratefully. Yet somehow it seemed colder with Jeyne gone, even after she’d built a fire. She pulled a chair close to the hearth, took down one of her favorite books, and lost herself in the stories of Florian and Jonquil, of Lady Shella and the Rainbow Knight, of valiant Prince Aemon and his doomed love for his brother’s queen. It was not until later that night, as she was drifting off to sleep, that Sansa realized she had forgotten to ask about her sister.

Bargaining Power And Strategic Management In Business Case Study

Bargaining Power And Strategic Management In Business - Case Study Example Suppliers would have low bargaining power as they risk losing the account of one of their largest customers if the client is not satisfied by the terms offered. With many suppliers being present in the industry, it would be very easy for asos.com to switch suppliers thus weakening the position of suppliers in the market. Bargaining Power of Customers Asos.com is heavily reliant on the internet as its main channel of distribution. It does not have a presence as a traditional brick-and-mortar store and thus needs to target a young, fashion-conscious market segment and provide them with an interactive, pleasurable online shopping experience in order to drive sales. Secondly, the number of internet buyers in the UK has increased tremendously and with internet access spreading and the number of retailers offering online services also increasing at a fast pace, customers have more options to seek out the bet prices and switch firms, thus providing them with significant buying power over fi rms and minimizing the risk of exploitation. Fashion retailing being very concentrated in nature and the fact that asos.com does not have any differential advantage over its rivals suggests that the industry is highly competitive and customers exert a lot of influence over firms in the industry and dictate buying patterns. The threat of New Entrants A quick look at the group profits tells us that the industry is a highly attractive one and opportunity seekers will find it quite a lucrative industry to enter into. Thus profitability might eventually decrease if the number of players operating in the market increases further. However, it must be noted that customer loyalty, access to distribution, achieving economies of scale and capital requirements might present significant barriers to entry.

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