Human Nature Of Human Rights - 1970 Words

Can contractarianism recognise animal rights? There has often been discussion about the nature of justice concerning nonhuman animals, which I will now refer to as animals. The discussion often considers whether humans owe animals justice rather than mere morality, or if humans only owe animals compassion and humanity. This discussion from the contractarian position can be examined through John Rawls’ ‘Justice as Fairness’, his theory of justice to establish the principles by which primary goods should be distributed. In this essay, I will consider the question of whether contractarianism can recognise animal rights by considering the following: Rawls’ theory of justice; the attempted extension to incorporate animal rights by Mark Rowlands in his article â€Å"Contractarianism and Animal Rights†; and Martha Nussbaum’s â€Å" Frontiers of Justice†. I will then consider whether contractarianism can recognise animal rights. Contractarianism is a political theory in which, supposing a pre-political state of nature, people make a mutually advantageous agreement to give up their private use of force in exchange for safety (Nussbaum, 2007, pp.9-10). It has been a popular basis for developing political theories by philosophers, such as John Rawls. Rawls’ theory of Justice, â€Å"Justice as Fairness†, has twoShow MoreRelatedEthical And Philosophical Nature Of Human Rights2452 Words   |  10 PagesOrigins and Politics of human rights. However, recent progression in genetics and genetic engineering have made it possible to change the very nature of the mankind, thus uprising many questions of ethical and philosophical nature. Personally speaking, in choosing the topic for the essay I were mainly interested in the human rights and its nature, how far it could go beyond its origins and control, therefore, addressing age-old questions and concerns. Does the person have the right to change what hasRead MoreA Critical Evaluation Of The Universal Nature Of Human Rights1329 Words   |  6 PagesA CRITICAL EVALUATION OF THE UNIVERSAL NATURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS INTRODUCTION Human Rights are the rights, that are considered to be inalienable, inseparable and vested upon individual by virtue of being human. For example, the Oxford English Dictionary defined the universal nature of Human Rights as ‘a right which is believed to belong to every person’. The aim of this essay is to critically evaluate the universal and relative nature of human rights postulated by the eminent scholars, who haveRead MoreThe Natural Law Theory Of Human Nature954 Words   |  4 PagesIt is our human nature that makes us feel great when we get a job and makes us feel horrible for something we steal something. This is because it feels natural for us to feel that we did something right or wrong. The natural law theory tells us that an action is morally right if it is natural and an action is wrong if it is unnatural. This means that human morality comes from nature and has a purpose to live a good life. If someone’s actions are preventing them from making them live a good life,Read MoreCompare and Contrast Hobbes’s and Locke’s Views of the State of Nature and the Fundamental Purpose of Political Society. Whose View Is the More Plausible? Why?1564 Words   |  7 PagesCompare and contrast Hobbes’s and Locke’s views of the state of nature and the fundamental purpose of political society. Whose view is the more plausible? Why? Introduction Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were both natural law theorists and social contracts theorists. While most natural law theorists have predominantly been of the opinion that humans are social animals by nature, Locke and Hobbes had a different perspective. Their points of view were remarkably different from thoseRead MoreTo What Extent Is Conservatism a Philosophy of Imperfection?1675 Words   |  7 PagesConservatism does not have one single viewpoint or stance on human nature or imperfection as Conservatism as a whole encompasses different strands or beliefs within it. For example One Nation conservatives have a different philosophy on human imperfection than New Right conservatives do. One Nation conservatives hold the belief that we as humans are: greedy and have a limited capacity for altruism, a complex mix of emotions and contradictory motivations making us irrational, not totally consistentRead MoreThe Universal Declaration Of Human Rights1396 Words   |  6 Pages The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, (UNDR) was adopted by the United Nations in 1948 with the intention off providing a moral standard for judging an individual state’s treatment of it’s citizens. Yet to this day a debate rages between scholars such as Jack Donnely and Michael Goodhart as to whether the principles expressed within the UNDR are not only universal but actully culturally relative. When drafting the UNDR, the term â€Å"universal† was meant to show that the declaration â€Å"wasRead MorePolitical Philosophy in the 17th Century947 Words   |  4 Pagesneeded to fit human nature. These characters of history have influenced many regions of the world during its time; to learn what they believed will help explain why. Locke, Hobbes and Bossuet had different views on human nature. Bossuet, being a bishop, was more favorable towards the religious side. His primary view was based on the scripture that people were created by God and should live their lives in a religious manner. Hobbes had a critically negative view on human nature as he stated thatRead MoreJohn Locke And Karl Marx On Private Property1389 Words   |  6 Pagescenturies – whether what falls into private property, and if it is just to have it. It is the law of nature to use the goods given by the earth, but the difference between public and personal use is still at question. John Locke and Karl Marx are two important philosophers who analysed the concept of private property and how they believe it should be used. They both use their understanding of the law of nature to construct their views on private property. Through this essay, Locke’s Two Treatises of GovernmentRead MoreKant s View On Morality921 Words   |  4 Pagescannot be derived from human nature. To put it in other terms, it is not human nature that should be used as a model to how we should behave morally. Kant believed that humans do not always make the right moral decisions because human nature can be flawed at times, often times choosing an animalistic desire over doing something that is morally permissible. In addition, Kant believed that the outcome of human nature is not the central issue when it comes to knowing what is right or what is wrong. Read MoreHuman Rights And Natural Rights1184 Words   |  5 PagesHuman rights are basically rights that individuals theoretically have within natural law. The quest for happiness, life as well as liberty are for instances cited as natural rights by the Declaration of Independence of the USA. As a matter of fact, human rights are deduced from natural law and occur with or without the authority of any government. Human rights can be interpreted as incessant with what were formerly i dentified as natural rights. This steadiness is not only historical, but theoretical

Siddhartha Essay Hindu and Buddhist Thought - 1501 Words

Hindu and Buddhist Thought in Siddhartha Siddhartha, set in India, is subtitled an Indic Poetic Work, and it clearly owes much to Indian religions. But the question of the exact nature of Hesses debt to various aspects of Indian religion and philosophy in Siddhartha is quite complicated and deserves detailed discussion. This essay will discuss the elements of Hindu and Buddhist thought present in Siddhartha and make distinctions between them. Siddhartha is one of the names of the historical Gotama (Noss 213), the life of Hesses character, Siddhartha resembles that of his historical counterpart to some extent. Siddhartha is by no means a fictional life of Buddha, but it does contain numerous references to†¦show more content†¦The interior disciplines constitute the final three steps: right efforts, right mindfulness, and right contemplation. By this means, the follower of Buddha can arrive at Nirvana. One critic, Leroy R. Shaw, has pointed out that Siddhartha is divided into two parts of four and eight chapters, and proceeds from this insight to interpret the work as an illustration of Buddhas Truths and Path; in the first chapter Siddhartha learns the existence of suffering, in the fifth (which corresponds to the first step of the Path) he begins his journey along the correct path, etc. Shaw, then, comes to the conclusion that at the end the difference between Siddhartha and Gotama, which had seemed so vast to the seeker at his meeting with the sage, becomes non-existent. This is certainly true in one respect; both Gotama and Siddhartha have arrived at a final condition of Harmony (although the nature of the Harmony differs considerably). But Siddharthas way was clearly not that of Buddha. The division of four and eight seems nevertheless to allude to the Truths and the Path, since a more natural division of the novel, considering its structure, would be into three sections of fo ur chapters each. Other aspects of Buddhas teachings are also of interest. Buddha was rather logical, scientific, and rational in his approach. He did not speak of supernatural phenomena or an afterlife, and he dismissed the possibility of miracles. Buddha taught self-reliance. He had littleShow MoreRelatedBuddism versus Hinduism Essay1028 Words   |  5 Pagesworshipped, the founders of the religions, sacred writings observed, and meditation practices. Through out this essay we will explore and compare the similarities and the differences in both of these religions. Hinduism Religion In the Hindu religion, the founder was not one person alone. It is believed by historians that the Aryans developed Hinduism over 3500 years ago. The Hindu religion was developed around the caste system. The caste system was the social class of India. At the top toRead MoreInvestigating Buddhism s Life And Life969 Words   |  4 Pages Investigating Buddhism Essay Once upon a time, there was a prince named Siddhartha Gautama. The prince’s birth was unusual. His mother had a dream that a white elephant entered her womb foretelling that her baby would be a Buddha. His father ruled the Shakya clan. King Suddhodana Gautama wanted Siddhartha to become a great ruler rather than a religious leader, so he created a protected environment for the young price. Despite his father’s efforts Siddhartha expressed signs of spiritual proclivityRead MoreHinduism: The Ancient Texts and Artistic Endeavors of India 1801 Words   |  7 Pagesjustly, albeit incorrectly, so—as over 80% of the nation’s population practices the ancient tradition (â€Å"Religious Composition† n.p.). Hinduism’s history begins several thousands of years ago, as the nomadic Aryan peoples, sweeping in from the northern Hindu Kush Mountains, alternately clashed and mingled with the local Dravidian people with their downward migration; this Indo-Ar yan synthesis, centered on the sacred Vedas scriptures of the Aryans, led to the development of a new religious tradition thatRead MoreBuddhism And Hinduism : Religion2033 Words   |  9 PagesHinduism (depending on how some look at it), can either be monotheistic or polytheistic (for the sake of this essay it will be discussed as if it is polytheistic), meaning it has one god or multiple gods. There are seven dimensions of a religion and this essay will be comparing and talking about three parts of Hinduism and Buddhism. In this essay we will discuss and compare Hindu and Buddhist myths, rituals, and ethics. It shall go over what they believe and myths they discuss and have written downRead MoreChristianity, Islam, And Buddhism1474 Words   |  6 Pagessomeone who has had a revelation. Every great religion acknowledges revelation in the wide sense that its followers are dependent on the privileged insights of its founder or of the original group or individuals with which the fait h began. In the essay I will explain how Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism were founded. ​Christianity is the world s largest religion, with over 2.4 billion adherents. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity who’s coming as Christ orRead MoreAP Human Geography Religion Notes Essay1830 Words   |  8 Pagesï » ¿Religion Unit Essay Notes 1. Secularism began to arise with the seperation of church and state in Europe. A. Why is this so? (Deblij 207, 222-224) Secularism is the indifference to or rejection of formal religion. The most secular countries today are in Europe. Secularism has become more widespread during the past century due to the rise in democracy. Democratic governments disadvantage the traditional practices of a religion because they offer freedom, whereas other forms of government mayRead MoreBuddhism and No-Self Essay1954 Words   |  8 Pageswith many people attracted to a different way of experiencing religion. As with many other enlightenment religions, Buddhism requires disciples to understand concepts that are not readily explainable: one such concept is that of no-self. In this essay I shall discuss the no-self from a number of modern perspectives; however, as no-self is difficult to describe I shall focus on both the self and no-self. Beginning with psychological aspects, and neurophysiological research on transcendental meditationRead MoreIs India A Country Of Ethnic Religious And Linguistic Pluralism Par Excel lence?1364 Words   |  6 Pagesessential to define the term â€Å"religion† first to be able to realize whether the meaning has shifted when we refer to south Asian beliefs. Religion derives from the Latin word â€Å"Religio† which means obligation, bond or reverence. T.N Madan noted in his essay that in Lucretius, it also mean â€Å"fear of gods†. Therefore the question becomes, are all what we refer to as â€Å"religions† in India conform to this definition? Looking back to the rich history of religions in India, Vedism and Hinduism could be consideredRead MoreGrand Canyon Int 244 Complete Course1616 Words   |  7 Pageshelpful means toward achieving these goals? Explain. WEEK 4 DQ 2 Describe 3 beliefs key beliefs of Jainism and/or Sikhism. How similar are these beliefs to those found in Hinduism? WEEK 5 DQ 1 Explain the notion of â€Å"self† from both a Buddhist and Christian perspective. How do these two perspectives differ? How are they similar? WEEK 5 DQ 2 Identify three different schools of Buddhism. How are these schools similar in their beliefs and practices? How do they differ? WEEKRead MoreEssay about Compare and Contrast the Lives of Buddha and Jesus3767 Words   |  16 Pagesunder different circumstances, and in different social atmospheres.   But each religion is based upon the teachings of a great man.   When one compares the life of Buddha with the life of Jesus, one finds that the two share many things in common.   This essay aims to compare and contrast the lives of Buddha1 and Jesus in two key areas:   conception and birth.   In these two areas, one finds that the Buddha and Jesus share many similarities.   Sources on the Buddhas life indicate that he was born around

Downside of the Excellent American Education System Free Essays

In the book why they excel, we can see that American education system is good by looking from the result of the progress of technology and economic in this country but why Asian students is better than American students in United states, is it because of our system education is lower than their system education or from the quality of the people?. We can answer this by looking our system education from the success and failure and my experience in here. We all know that American education system is good, as a result we can see it from the invention of many things for example like internet technology or computing system. We will write a custom essay sample on Downside of the Excellent American Education System or any similar topic only for you Order Now The success from this education, we can see from the quality of the education, we know that United States is very popular in education, for example so many people from United States can work in out of this country easily after finishing their school. The system of education here is very good, in which studying in this country is very nice because we can study what we want without taking so many general educations. For example when we want to study business Computer information system, we can finish it by 3 years. But other country like Indonesia, we cannot graduate just by 3 years only because so many general educations we have to take there. So it is not efficient to take many General educations because it is not important, anyway we will forget it after we finish school. On the other hand American education has some disadvantages, for example like Asian students can do better than American students, it is really crazy things, because Asian students have to study the language first before they study here. But in fact Asian students are better. We can see why Asian students are better because of 2 sides, in which it is intern side and extern side. Intern side is for example like the motivation of their parents, and Confucianism. And extern side is the quality of their high school in Asian. So that is why Asian Students do not feel difficulties in studying here. For example like in Singapore in which the standard of the high school there is the highest in this world for math, so the students from Singapore who want to continue their study here they will not feel any difficulties because the level of difficulties in almost all subject is lower than in Singapore. In my experience, I can decide that American education is very good, because we just take like 3 years to take bachelor, and after that we can work to look for money, and it is really good thing, but American system has failure also, for example in my math class, all Asian students can get A, we can see it how bad the quality of high school here, because almost all students have to study new things in university, but in fact all Asian students have already studied that thing in their high school in Asia. Therefore my idea about the success and failure from our experience in studying here is that we have to change the system of the American high school here, because the quality is reallylow, for example like we have to give more subject to all high school students so they can be more competitive with Asian students. How to cite Downside of the Excellent American Education System, Papers

Corporate Downsizing Essay Example For Students

Corporate Downsizing Essay IntroductionThe U.S. economy was at the height of economic expansion, stocks were near all time highs, corporate profits were strong, and the unemployment rate was at its lowest in two decades. At the same time, the major corporations in the United States were firing workers by the hundreds of thousands, and job insecurity had risen to an extremely high level. What was also ironic was the fact that the corporations who were initiating the downsizings were considered to be some of the strongest and most profitable in the country. Although these events seem to be inconsistent, this is what has happened throughout the decade of the 1990s. Traditionally, downsizing was a direct result of a decline in the demand for a firms product. This would mean that fewer items needed to be produced, therefore less employees were needed. Downsizing was also used as a way to cut costs during times of recession. But, the downsizings observed in the 1990s did not fit this mold. Instead of downsizing for survival, companies were using this as a strategic plan for creating an increase in stock prices. The intent of downsizings by these top corporations who were already very profitable was to become lean and mean. However, results of a survey published in the Wall Street Journal suggested that many of the firms did not meet their goals. While corporate downsizing gets the publicity, the American economy has steadily grown richer. Many times the public confuses downsizing with recession, but in reality affects a single industry that is trying to accommodate itself to new realities of the market. While some industries have downsized, the economy has continued to grow.History of DownsizingDownsizing is defined as a reduction in the number of employees, and sometimes in the number of operating units within a company. It began as a strategy of weak corporations as a way to reduce the costs of the company. Shareholder wealth was the main concern, and companies were willing to do whatever they thought necessary to convince the market that the stock price should rise. The stock price had become more important in the decisions of top management because many companies were offering stock options to them as part of their salaries. Downsizing was being used as a survival strategy by corporations who were trying to increase thei r market values. It was often perceived as making a company more competitive in todays global marketplace. In typical downsizing, a profitable firm would announce to the public that it was firing a large percentage of its workforce. The idea was that the market would get excited and begin buying up the firms stock at a higher price. But, there are different views on how stockholders react to this kind of news. The idea that downsizing increases stock prices is fueled by the belief that if earnings are to be maintained and improved, corporations have one alternative-cut costs. This usually meant cutting jobs because trimming the payroll seemed to be an easier way to increase profits in the short run. Downsizings also had everything that a company wanted when trying to increase stock prices-they were tragic and newsworthy and they showed that a company was serious about its cash flow. Downsizing not only reduces the number of employees, but often shrinks the number of management levels as well, and middle managers have been particularly vulnerable to downsizing changes. Downsizing is usuall y done by a company because of the perceived effect of more efficiency, resulting in cost reductions. This trend has emerged due to the idea that corporate downsizing will increase the stock price of a company. This paper will focus on this issue by looking at two major companies who have downsized in the last few years and the effects, if any, that it had on their stock prices. .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f , .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f .postImageUrl , .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f , .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f:hover , .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f:visited , .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f:active { border:0!important; } .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f:active , .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub2623cd5ebd0951989ab24d47fbfd61f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Decision making EssayAssumption of the AnalysisBefore progressing further, it is important to qualify the companies in this data set as relevant for the purpose of carrying out this study. Specific qualifications are necessary to ensure that the information utilized from the companies selected is an accurate representation of downsizing. Therefore, a company should be included in the data set if it meets the following criteria:?The company is public and is listed on the NASDAQ or the New York Exchange at the time of downsizing. ?The companys principal offices are located in the U.S. ?The company was not bankrupt or in the process of reorganizing at the time of downsizing. ?The downsizing was publicized in a reputable news-related periodical or a newspaper such as the New York Times. Not only are there specific requirements for the selection of companies, but labor decisions categorized as downsizing must also be carefully indicated. Therefore, the second assumption is that downsizing is differentiated from some other form of corporate reorganization such as layoffs in the following manner:?The company eradicated a minimum of $2,000 if it has more than 20,000 employees. ?The company eliminates a minimum of 20% of its workforce if its payroll personnel consists of less than 20,000. ?Positions that are eliminated involving special incentive or severance packages are included. ?Eliminations that are results of mergers are also included. Statement of the ProblemGiven the aforementioned assumptions, the statement of the problem is that downsizing irequires that a firm fire a large quantity of their workers all at once, (indicating decreasing equity value of a firm), however, the number of workers fired tends to increase the long-run return of the stock. Objective of the StudyTherefore, the objective of this study is to use stock prices as a medium to measure the efficiency of companies. Particularly, this study focuses on mainly two corporations, Delta and United Airlines. The goal of the authors is to use the stock prices, (taken from a secondary source), of these companies as a determinant of the companys success or decline during its period of downsizing. This paper will show that although downsizing is shown to be a rare event in the evolution of stock prices, it does actually constitute relevant and favorable news to the equity of a firm. Hypothesis TestingThe aforementioned sections of this study have discussed the reasons of downsizing and its effects on the companies undergoing such a reorganization process and have identified stock prices as the factor to indicate the effect on the companys financial position. Such a factor is a very effective determinant for analyzing whether downsizing had any effect on the company or to signal if the company did indeed meet its objective. Hence, for the purposes of this study, hypotheses testing applying the stock prices of two different companies will be used. As stated, the two companies considered for our testing are Delta and United Airlines. Procedurally, the authors have used the stock prices of these two companies from the Wall Street Journal .The indicated periods used are those that range from a few months before the downsizing took place until some few months subsequent to the downsizing. The aforementioned periods include the transition period. As shown in the tables, the two separate companies are defined and following is the implementation of the Independent Sample t test. The t test is used to prove or reject our assumptions. The entire procedure is explained and verified in seven steps, which are as follows:

Implied_terms free essay sample

When a contract is written, those terms that are explicitly written into the contract are said to be expressed terms; however, there may be terms that are implied by the nature of the contract. An Implied term is a term not written into the contract but Is still enforceable. For example, it is an implied term In any construction contract that the resulting structure will be built to code. There are two types of implied terms: those required by statute (acts of a leglsldtlve body) and those required by legal precedence. For example, in Ontario, the minimum wage is currently $10. 25 by government regulation. This would be an implied term by statute in any employment contract In Ontario. Any terms Implied by statute refer specifically to a specific class of contracts: for example. certain terms are implied in all residential leases, For the purposes of contracts, however, the inclusion of Implied terms occurs only when the terms are essential to the contract. We will write a custom essay sample on Implied_terms or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Let us look at the precedence setting case of The Moorcock [1889]. Figure 1 A steamship from the late 19th century (photo by Ken Crosby). Precedence In 1889, the Moorcock was a steamship whose owner entered into a contract with the owner of a wharf in order to unload cargo. While the ship was docked, the tide went out causing the hull of the ship to hit a ridge damaging the ship. The owners of the wharf claimed that there were no terms in the contract to ensure the ships safety nor could the owners have foreseen the damage caused to the ship. The court, however, found that there was an Implied warranty: Bowen L. J. said that [l]n business transactions such as this, what the law desires to effect by the implication is o give such business efficacy to the transaction as must have been intended at all events by both parties who are business men; not to Impose on one side all perils of the transaction, or to emancipate one side from all the chances of failure. but to make each party promise in law as much, at all events as it must have been in the contemplation of both parties that he should be responsible for In respect to those perils or chances. The Lord Justice argued that it was the owners of the wharf who were best positioned to determine the safety of any ship docked and thus they were nder an obligation to ensure Its safety. As referenced in Marston [1], the case of Pigott Construction Co. v. W. J. Crowe Ltd. [1961], Laidlaw J. A. In his declslon referred toa previous case In England. The 1901 case was later appealed to the Supreme Court which dismissed the appeal: This Court was in full agreement with the reasons for Judgment delivered by Laidlaw J. A. on behalt ot the Court ot Appeal. Insight In the case of Hamlyn Co Wood Co. 18211, Lord Esher said l have for a long time understood that rule to be that a Court has no right to Imply In a written ontract any sucn stlpulatlon, unless, on conslaerlng tne terms 0T tne contract In a reasonable and business manner, an implication necessarily arises that the parties must have intended that the suggested stipulation should exist. It is not enough to say that it would be a reasonable thing to make such an implication. It must be a necessary implication in the sense that I have mentioned. It is important to note the relationship between reasonable and necessary. Another case raised by Marston is that of G. Ford Homes Ltd. v. Draft Masonry (York) Co. Ltd. [1983] where a subcontractor supplying circular staircases failed to review he relevant building codes and instead presented to the contractor a selection models of which the contractor choose one that, upon installation, did not have the required clearance. The subcontractor was required to replace the staircase and then sued to recover the cost of the replacement. The Ontario Court of Appeal, however, noted that the subcontractor either knew or should have known the relevant code requirements and that there was an implied term that any construction would be built to any code. Aside A more recent case is that of Scally v Southern Health and Social Services Board 1992]. Here, four doctors were employed by the board but had not worked the requisite forty years required to obtain full pension benefits. Employees, however, had the option of topping up their payments within twelve months of beginning work to get the full entitlements. As the employer did not inform them of this option, they failed to obtain full pensions. The House of Lords ruled that the employers had breached their contractual duty by not informing their employees about their rights. I would define it as the relationship of employer and employee where the following ircumstances obtain: (1) the terms of the contract of employment have not been negotiated with the individual employee but result from negotiation with a representative body or are otherwise incorporated by reference; (2) a particular term of the contract makes available to the employee a valuable right contingent upon action being taken by him to avail himself of its benefit; (3) the employee cannot, in all the circumstances, reasonably be expected to be aware of the term unless it is drawn to his attention. Some content has been taken from Wikipedia together with verification and odifications by this author and therefore this document, with the exception of those paragraphs explicitly referenced to Marston, are licensed under the same the same licence.

Free Essays on The Expansion Of The Discipline Of Geography Before 1900

Relate the expansion of the discipline of geography before 1900 to social, technological, and ideological change â€Å"GEOGRAPHY The discipline has many interpretations, which might best be understood if they are taken chronologically†¦It would take considerable temerity to find a unifying definition throughout the twists and turns that the discipline has taken† (Mayhew 1997,191) The above quote is taken from a dictionary of geography and shows how ‘geography’ is almost indefinable as a word, concept or subject. More interestingly it shows that the difficulty in defining it lies in its varied history. Since 1900 geography has made relatively little change compared to its formation and transformation in previous centuries. Having said this the period 1880-1950 did see some important adjustments, with the influences of Darwinism, Environmental Determinism, Possibilism and Social Anarchism. Today it is a popular taught and valued subject and a key component of the UK’s (and much of European countries’) National Curriculum. Geography has come to be the theoretical study of the world and it’s populations and how they work and interact, and the application of data to test and process these theories, in order to manage and sustain the world. Geographic history dates back long before 1900, with origins as old as Ancient Greece. Although geographical thinking continued throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, mostly by Arab and Islamic thinkers, its biggest expansion occurred later in the 15th and 16th centuries, with the exploration and missionary works of European geographers and the imperialist expansion of countries such as Britain. Later the works of prominent geographers such as Immanuel Knat, Richard Hartshorne and Carl Ritter shaped the subject bringing it ever closer to its present understanding. The expansion of geography owed much to the social, technological and ideological changes that occurred in... Free Essays on The Expansion Of The Discipline Of Geography Before 1900 Free Essays on The Expansion Of The Discipline Of Geography Before 1900 Relate the expansion of the discipline of geography before 1900 to social, technological, and ideological change â€Å"GEOGRAPHY The discipline has many interpretations, which might best be understood if they are taken chronologically†¦It would take considerable temerity to find a unifying definition throughout the twists and turns that the discipline has taken† (Mayhew 1997,191) The above quote is taken from a dictionary of geography and shows how ‘geography’ is almost indefinable as a word, concept or subject. More interestingly it shows that the difficulty in defining it lies in its varied history. Since 1900 geography has made relatively little change compared to its formation and transformation in previous centuries. Having said this the period 1880-1950 did see some important adjustments, with the influences of Darwinism, Environmental Determinism, Possibilism and Social Anarchism. Today it is a popular taught and valued subject and a key component of the UK’s (and much of European countries’) National Curriculum. Geography has come to be the theoretical study of the world and it’s populations and how they work and interact, and the application of data to test and process these theories, in order to manage and sustain the world. Geographic history dates back long before 1900, with origins as old as Ancient Greece. Although geographical thinking continued throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, mostly by Arab and Islamic thinkers, its biggest expansion occurred later in the 15th and 16th centuries, with the exploration and missionary works of European geographers and the imperialist expansion of countries such as Britain. Later the works of prominent geographers such as Immanuel Knat, Richard Hartshorne and Carl Ritter shaped the subject bringing it ever closer to its present understanding. The expansion of geography owed much to the social, technological and ideological changes that occurred in...

Dynamic Analysis of Malware Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dynamic Analysis of Malware - Research Paper Example A function comprises of a code that executes a certain task like creating a file or calculating factorial value of a number. In the use of functions easy code re-usability, and easier maintenance can result. The property that makes functions interesting for program analysis is that they are usually used to abstract from execution particulars to a semantically richer representation. For example, so long as the outcome corresponds to the sorted input, the particular algorithm which a sort function implements might not be essential. When it comes to analyzing code, such abstractions help in gaining an overview of the behavior of the program when analyzing a code. By intercepting these calls, one can monitor what functions are called by a program. Hooking is the process of intercepting function calls. A hook function is invoked when the analyzed program is manipulated in addition to the anticipated function (Hunt, Thomas, & Cunningham, 1999). Application Programming Interface (API) This hook function is responsible for putting into action the necessary analysis functionality like analyzing its input parameters or recording its stats to a log file. Application Programming Interface (API) are groups of functions that form a logical set of functionality, like communicating over the network or file manipulation. In most cases, operating systems provide several APIs that can be used by applications to perform familiar tasks and can be found on diverse layers of abstraction. The term API on windows OS, refers to a set of APIs which give access to varying functional groupings like system services, networking, management and security (Leyden, 2001). System Calls System calls is usually categorized into two, and it is the software execution on computer systems which run commodity of the shelf OS. These two categories are user-mode and kernel-mode. User-mode is used in executing general applications like image manipulation programs or word processors. The only code that is executed in kernel-mode has direct entry to the system state. This partition prohibits the user-mode process from interacting with the system and its environment. For example, since it is impossible to create or directly open a file for a user-space process, the operating system (OS) provides a unique well defined API-the system call interface. A user-mode application is able to request the OS to perform a small set of tasks on its behalf, by using system calls. A user-mode application has to invoke the precise system-call showing the file’s path, name and access method in order to create a file. As soon as the system call is invoked, it is changed into kernel-mode. The OS carries out the task on behalf of the user-mode applications when there are enough access rights for the desired action upon verification (Nick, 2006). Anubis Anubis is a critical component/tool which is used for studying/analyzing Windows PE-executable’s behavior, main focus being on malware analysis. Anubis execution results in the making of report files that have enough information, thus enabling a user to have a clear idea about the use and actions of the analyzed binary. The report has detailed data regarding enhancements made to the Windows registry or file system. This analysis relays on running and watching the binary in an emulated environment. The

Human Resources Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Human Resources Management - Research Paper Example All these areas come under the hiring process of the organization. Hiring of the employees signifies placing the right person to the right place is regarded to be a science rather than an art. Most of the managers are involved in this process. This study focuses on the hiring process starting from job description, recruiting, interviewing, selecting, orienting, training, and maintaining employees, from a manager’s perspective. It also focuses on the disadvantages and advantages of each stage Hiring process Hiring process is regarded as the most important step under strategic planning of the organization. This is because of the fact that the new employee entering in the organization will either help the organization to grow or will lower the performance. Therefore, the mangers need to be strategic in hiring the employees who will assist the organization in growing and making it profitable (Luszez & Kleiner, 2000). A proper hiring process has benefits like saving money, increasi ng productivity, lowering supervisory problems and lowering personal turnover. Personal problems and conflicts reduce sharply, thereby, reducing the turnover of the new hires; all these lead to saving of considerable amount in downtime and hiring cost. The hiring process of an organization succeeds only when it places the people to the right job that ensures utilization of their skills, capabilities and abilities. Apart from this, it also create benefits from the societal point of view such as providing genuine and equal opportunities to the people and helping the economy to grow by reducing job dissatisfaction and increasing the productivity (Prien, Goodstein, Goodstein & Jr, 2009). Job description The job description is created after understanding the necessity for hiring employees for filling the vacant position and the reason or the goal behind the hiring. The job description consists of a written document that includes the responsibilities and the duties of the employees. The d etail and the length of job description vary depending on the level of responsibility that the job has. For instance the job description of a clerk can be less detailed as compared to the one of the plant manager or the sales manager. The details of a job description generally include job title, compensation range, qualification, and the person to whom the candidate will be reporting, short summary of the job and a list of major and minor duties. Advantages and Disadvantages Job description bears huge significance in the process of effective hiring as it allows both the applicant and the interviewer a point of mutual understanding based on which they can facilitate the discussion regarding the position. It also ensures consistency in the hiring process. The job description also helps in understanding the type of candidate the organization is looking for. From the job description the candidates can understand whether they are going for a management position or as a regular employee. In simple words it helps in portraying a clear picture about the position, department and company in which the candidate is going to join. It also helps in defining the salary or wage that the job should provide along with the bonuses that the employees should

Case Study - Homeland Security Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Case Study - Homeland Security Issue - Essay Example The suspected terrorist group is Al-Qaeda. The Anthrax terrorist attack occurred during 2001’s October and November months. Similarly, the airplane hijackings and murder of New York civilians occurred on September 11, 2001. Bin Laden announced to the world that he personally orchestrated the September 11, 2001 airplane attacks on two New York buildings. The problem includes the responsibility of the United States’ Homeland Security Agency to thwart future terrorist attacks, especially the biological weapon attacks. Description of the Subject. The subject focuses on the intricacies of the 2001 Anthrax biological attack. The 2001 Anthrax letter attacks included sending letters to the intended terror victims. The letters targeted individuals to create a statement. In turn, the subject includes the United States Homeland Security Agency’s role in reducing or stopping all future Anthrax and other biology-based attacks on the American people. Chronology of th e Case Study. Barry Schneider emphasized the United States Homeland Security Agency had to resolve the 2001 Anthrax bioterrorism attack (2004, p.2). After the recent September airline hijacking and attack, the Anthrax letters incident cropped up. The terrorist sent several letters to several intended victims within the United States. The letter senders sent the deadly envelopes through the United States post office. The letters contained a deadly chemical, Anthrax. Anthrax can easily kill the person opening the Anthrax-containing letters. Lynn Davis theorized â€Å"The September 11 attacks and the anthrax incidents that occurred in autumn 2001 clearly demonstrated to Americans that the possibility of becoming a victim of terrorism is very real. This new awareness has generated

The Various Positioning Errors Marketing Essay

The Various Positioning Errors Marketing Essay For instance: kotak-mahindra positions itself in the customers mind as one entity-kotak,which provide customized solutions to all the financial services needs.The positioning of the brand will be influenced by the competitive stance one wants to adopt. Various Positioning Errors; UNDER POSITIONING: Here the customers have a blurred and unclear idea of the brand. OVER POSITIONING: Here the customers have too limited awareness of the brand. CONFUSED POSITIONING: Here the customers have confused opinion of the brand. DOUBLE POSITIONING: Here the customers do not accept the claims of the brand. POSITIONING BY PRICE/COST LEADERSIP When it comes to marketing the business, there are three generic strategies you can use: focus, differentiation and cost leadership.   This means that you need to minimize your costs and pass the savings on to your customers. WAL-MART Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has been successful using its strategy of everyday low prices to attract customers. The idea of everyday low prices is to offer products at a cheaper rate than competitors on a consistent basis, rather than relying on sales. Wal-Mart is able to achieve this due to its large scale and efficient supply chain. They source products from cheap domestic suppliers and from low-wage foreign markets. This allows the company to sell their items at low prices and to profit off thin margins at a high volume. MCDONALDS The restaurant industry is known for yielding low margins that can make it difficult to compete with a cost leadership marketing strategy. McDonalds has been extremely successful with this strategy by offering basic fast-food meals at low prices. They are able to keep prices low through a division of labor that allows it to hire and train inexperienced employees rather than trained cooks. It also relies on few managers who typically earn higher wages. These staff savings allow the company to offer its foods for bargain prices. POSITIONING BY LIFESTYLE Brand position in car-MAZDA MAZDAs Brand Positioning Strategy There are similar products throughout the automotive industry. Mazda considers it vitally important to strengthen its emotional bonds with consumers. In order to create an excellent brand image through strong emotional ties with consumers, Mazda did not initially concentrate on brand strategy schemes, but rather sought to define a brand DNA. Target customers Mazdas target customers are those individuals who stay young, have a good capability to express themselves, are always passionate and are self-confident in their choices. Mazdas Brand DNA Mazdas brand DNA is divided into two concepts of Personality and Product. In order to gain pathos from the target customers, Mazda tried to create an image where Personality is defined as Stylish, Insightful and Spirited, and to guide Mazdas craftsmanship, Product is defined as Distinctive Design, and Responsive Drive. POSITIONING BY ATTRIBUTES Brand positioning is designed to develop a sustainable competitive edge on product attributes in the minds of the consumers. The consumer choice depends upon the attributes of the brand and the utility thus derived.brand attributes also known as core values,represent the essence of the brand. FEW STRONG BRAND ATTRIBUTES: Sustainability: A strong brand makes business competitive.A sustainable brand drives an organization towards innovation and success.Example:Marks and spencers. Inspirational: A strong brand should transcend/inspire the cateogary it is famous for.Example: NIKE transcendent jersey. Appealing: A strong brand should be attractive. Customers should be attracted by the promise one makes and by the value one delivers. Example:life insurance companies. Sometimes a product can be positioned in terms of two or more attributes simultaneously. The  price and quality attribute dimension is commonly used for  positioning  the products. The product is associated with attributes it possess. Ariel offers a specific benefit of cleaning even the dirtiest of clothes because of the micro cleaning system in the product. Colgate offers benefits of preventing cavity and  fresh breath. Promise, Balsaras toothpaste, could break Colgates stronghold by being the first to claim that it contained clove, which differentiated it from the leader. Nirma offered the benefit of low  price  over Hindustan Levers Surf to become a success. Maruti Suzuki  offers benefits of maximum fuel efficiency and safety over its competitors. This strategy helped it to get 60% of the Indian automobile  market. POSITIONING BY QUALITY Another way is to communicate a specific image or position for a brand is to associate it with a specific use or application-Quality It Possess Surf Excel is positioned as  stain remover   Surf Excel hena! Clinic All Clear Dare to wear Black. POSITIONING ON THE BASIS OF PRODUCT CLASS Often the competition for a particular product comes from outside the product class. For example, airlines know that while they compete with other airlines, trains and buses are also viable alternatives. Manufacturers of  music CDs must compete with the cassettes industry. The product is positioned against others that, while not exactly the same, provide the same class of benefits. POSITIONING BY COMPETITOR Competitors may be as important to positioning strategy as a firms own product or services. In todays  market, an effective positioning strategy for a product or brand may focus on specific competitors. This approach is similar to positioning by product class, although in this case the competition is within the same product category. Onida was positioned against the giants in the television industry through this strategy, ONIDA colour TV was launched with the message that all others were clones and only Onida was the leader. Neighbours Envy, Owners Pride. POSITIONING ACCORDING TO THE PRODUCT USER Clinique, for example, has a strong image of being fresh, clean, and pure, with a white-coat clinical approach to skin care and cosmetics. The typical user is perceived to be a young woman with oily skin. The challenge for Clinique is to maintain its current image strengths but to soften the youthful image (to make the brand accessible to mature women) and to reach out beyond the specialized focus on oily, problem skin to a broader   audience. For instance, Clinique would like to inject elements of elegance into the line, not to compete with the elegant position of competitors but to expand beyond their  strong clinical position. POSITIONING BY OCCASION Recognizing the market potential, Cadbury decided to add the  Diwali  twist to  Celebrations. With the 1999 campaign that surprised families with `Diwali Ki Meethi Shubhkaamnaaye  and the `Har Pal Bane Ek Utsavcampaign in 2000, people were now reveling in the  Diwali  festivities with a box of  Cadbury  Celebrations. In 2002, with the tagline `Rishtey Pakne Do  the Rich Dry Fruit Collection was introduced in the market that got families together in festive times. Delving beyond families, the 2004  Celebrations  commercials starring Amitabh Bachchan cemented the spirit of friendship with the tagline `Aisi Mithaas Jo Dosti Banaye Khaas. In 2009,  Celebrations  took the brand thought deeper into the meaning of Diwali; it was now a symbol of new friendship, spreading happiness, and taking a moment to thank all those who remain unappreciated for most part of the year. Tapping into the festive mood of togetherness, Celebrations  started asking people  `Iss Diw ali Aap Kisse Khush Karenge?  

Ideal Image of Nature in William Wordsworths The World is Too Much With Us :: World Is Too Much With Us

Ideal Image of Nature The World Is Too Much with Us by William Wordsworth represents modern humanity's lost spiritual connection with nature, in which he believed could only be preserved in memory. This poem is a sonnet that through images and metaphors offers an angry summation of the theme of communion with nature. Wordsworth repeats the fatalistic theme of humanities progress at the cost of preserving nature throughout the sonnet. The symbolism created by the images and metaphors represent Wordsworth's deep passion about the conflict between nature and modern progress. William Wordsworth was raised amid the mountains in a rustic society and spent a great deal of his childhood outdoors, in what he would later remember as a pure communion with nature. The life style that he led as a child brought him to the belief that, upon being born, human beings move from a perfect, idealized realm of nature into the destructive ambition of adult life (Phillips). Wordsworth's deep cynicism to the materialistic ambition of the Industrial Revolution during the early nineteenth century is evident in this sonnet. Images and metaphors alluding to mankind's greed, nature's innocence, and the speaker's rejection of accepted principles all serve to illustrate the speaker's passion to save the decadent era of the early 1800s. The first part, the octave, of "The World Is Too Much with Us" begins with Wordsworth accusing the modern age of having lost its connection to nature and everything meaningful: "Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; /Little we see in Nature that is ours; /We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon" (2-4)! The idea that Wordsworth is trying to make clear, is that human beings (adults) are too preoccupied in the material value of things ("The world┘getting and spending" (1-2)) and have lost their spiritual connection with Mother Nature (childhood). "Little we see in Nature that is ours;" (3) Wordsworth is expressing that nature is not a commodity to be exploited by humans, but should coexist with humanity, and "We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon" (4)! he pronounces that in our materialistic lifestyles, nothing is meaningful anymore. He says that even when the sea "bares her bosom to the moon" (5) and the winds howl, humanity is still out of tune. These lines (5-7) suggest that nature is helpless and unknown to the destruction man is doing. "For this, for everything, we are out of tune;" (8) proposes that even in the spectacle of a storm, human beings (adults) look on uncaringly implying that we, humans, don't realize the damage we are inflicting on helpless nature.

Blood Promise Chapter Twenty-One

Dimitri didn't elaborate. I was too startled by his words and the rest of the night's events to even know how to begin to address them. He took me back inside, past the Strigoi on guard duty, and upstairs to my suite. Nathan was no longer outside. For a few brief moments, that nagging voice in my head spoke loudly enough to break through my addled thoughts. If I had no guard in the hall and Inna returned soon, I had a very good chance of threatening her enough to get out of here. Admittedly, that would mean I'd have to deal with a house of God only knew how many Strigoi, but my escape odds were better in the house than in this room. Then, almost as soon as those thoughts appeared, they vanished. Dimitri snaked his arm around me and pulled me to him. It had been chilly outside, and even if his body was cold, his clothes and jacket provided some warmth. I snuggled closer to him as his hands ran all over me. I thought he was going to bite me, but it was our mouths that met, hard and furious. I wrapped my fingers in his hair, trying to pull him closer to me. Meanwhile, his fingers were running against my bare leg, pushing my skirt up almost to my hip. Anticipation and eagerness lit every part of my body. I had dreamed about the cabin for so long, remembering it with so much longing. I'd never expected anything like that to happen again, but now it could, and I was astonished at how badly I wanted it. My hands moved down to his shirt, undoing all the buttons so that I could touch his chest. His skin still felt like ice, a startling contrast to the burning within me. He moved his lips from mine, down to my neck and shoulder, pushing down the dress's strap as he covered my flesh with hungry kisses. His hand was still on the side of my bare hip, and I frantically tried to pull his shirt off altogether. Suddenly, with a surprising abruptness, he jerked away and shoved me down. At first, I thought it was just more of the foreplay between us, until I realized he was purposely pushing me away. â€Å"No,† he said, voice hard. â€Å"Not yet. Not until you're awakened.† â€Å"Why?† I asked desperately. I couldn't think of anything except him touching me-and, well, another bite. â€Å"Why does it matter? Is there†¦ is there a reason we can't?† Until I'd come here, sex with a Strigoi had never occurred to me†¦maybe it just wasn't possible. He leaned toward me, putting his lips near my ear. â€Å"No, but it'll be so much better if you're awakened. Let me do it†¦ let me do it, and then we can do anything we want†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It was a bargaining chip, I realized vaguely. He wanted me-it was written all over him-but he was using the lure of sex to get me to give in. And honestly? I was this close to accepting. My body was overriding my mind-nearly. â€Å"No,† I whimpered. â€Å"I†¦ I'm scared†¦Ã¢â‚¬  That dangerous look softened, and while he didn't exactly look like the Dimitri from before, there was something a little less Strigoi about him. â€Å"Rose, do you think I'd do anything that would hurt you?† Somewhere, hadn't there been a discussion about how my options were to turn or die? The latter seemed like it might hurt, but I didn't mention that just now. â€Å"The bite†¦ the turning would hurt†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I told you: It'll be just like what we've already done. You'll enjoy it. It won't hurt, I swear it.† I looked away. Damn it. Why couldn't he still be sinister and scary? It was so much easier to put my foot down and resist. Even in the heat of passion, I was able to resist. But somehow†¦ seeing him like this, calm and reasonable†¦ well, it was too close to the Dimitri I'd loved. And that was hard to turn away from. For the first time, it made turning Strigoi seem†¦ not so bad. â€Å"I don't know,† I said lamely. He released me and sat up, frustration filling his features. It was almost a relief. â€Å"Galina's patience is running out. So is mine.† â€Å"You said we still have time†¦ I just need to think more†¦Ã¢â‚¬  How long could I use that excuse? The narrowing of his eyes told me not much longer. â€Å"I have to go,† he said harshly. There would be no more touching or kissing, I could tell. â€Å"I need to deal with some things.† â€Å"I'm sorry,† I said, both confused and afraid. I didn't know which Dimitri I wanted. The terrifying one, the sensual one, or the almost-but still not quite-gentle one. He said nothing. Without any other warning, he leaned down and bit into the tender skin of my throat. Whatever feeble escape strategies I had were gone. I closed my eyes, nearly falling over, and only his arm wrapped firmly around me kept me upright. Just like when we kissed, his mouth was warm against my flesh, and the feel of his tongue and teeth sent electricity through me. And like that, it was over. He pulled away, licking his lips as he still continued to hold onto me. The fog was back. The world was wonderful and happy and I was without any cares. Whatever he'd been worrying about with Nathan and Galina meant nothing to me. The fear I'd felt moments ago†¦ my disappointment over sex†¦ my confusion-I didn't have time to worry about any of that, not when life was so beautiful and I loved Dimitri so much. I smiled up at him and tried to hug him again, but he was already leading me to the couch. â€Å"I'll see you later.† In a flash, he was at the door, which saddened me. I wanted him to stay. Stay forever. â€Å"Remember, I want you-and I would never let anything bad happen to you. I'll protect you. But†¦ I can't wait much longer.† With that, he left. His words made me smile more broadly. Dimitri wanted me. Vaguely, I recalled asking him outside why he wanted me. Why on earth had I asked? What answer had I wanted? Why did it matter? He wanted me. That was what counted. That thought and the wonderful endorphin rush enveloped me as I lay on the couch, and I felt drowsiness overtaking me. Walking over to the bed seemed like too much work, so I stayed where I was and just let sleep come. And, unexpectedly, I found myself in one of Adrian's dreams. I'd pretty much given up on him. After my first desperate attempts at escape in the suite, I'd finally convinced myself that Adrian wasn't coming back, that I'd sent him away for good. Yet here he was, standing right in front of me-or, well, at least his dream version was. Often we were in the woods or a garden, but today we stood where we'd first met, on the porch of an Idaho ski lodge. Sun shone down, and mountains soared off to the side of us. I grinned broadly. â€Å"Adrian!† I didn't think I'd ever seen him look as surprised as he did just then. Considering how mean I usually was to him, I could understand his feelings. â€Å"Hello, Rose,† he said. His voice sounded uncertain, like he was worried I might be playing a trick on him. â€Å"You look good today,† I told him. It was true. He wore dark jeans and a printed button-down shirt in shades of navy and turquoise that looked fantastic with his dark green eyes. Those eyes, however, looked weary. Worn. That was a little odd. In these dreams, he could shape the world and even our appearances to what he wanted, with only a little effort. He could have looked perfect but instead appeared to be reflecting real-world fatigue. â€Å"So do you.† His voice was still wary, as he eyed me from head to toe. I was still in the clingy sundress, my hair down and loose, the sapphires around my neck. â€Å"That looks like something I'd normally dress you in. Are you asleep in that?† â€Å"Yup.† I smoothed down the dress's skirt, thinking how pretty it looked. I wondered if Dimitri had liked it. He hadn't said so specifically, but he had kept telling me I was beautiful. â€Å"I didn't think you'd come back.† â€Å"I didn't think I would either.† I looked back up at him. He wasn't like his usual self at all. â€Å"Are you trying to figure out where I am again?† â€Å"No, I don't care about that anymore.† He sighed. â€Å"The only thing I care about is that you aren't here. You have to come back, Rose.† I crossed my arms and flounced onto the porch's railing. â€Å"Adrian, I'm not ready for anything romant-â€Å" â€Å"Not for me,† he exclaimed. â€Å"For her. You have to come back for Lissa. That's why I'm here.† â€Å"Lissa†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My waking self was pumped full of endorphins, and it carried over here. I tried to remember why I should be so worried about Lissa. Adrian took a step forward and studied me carefully. â€Å"Yeah, you know, Lissa? Your best friend? The one you're bonded to and sworn to protect?† I swung my legs back and forth. â€Å"I never made any vows.† â€Å"What the hell's the matter with you?† I didn't like his agitated tone. It was ruining my good mood. â€Å"What's the matter with you?† â€Å"You aren't acting like yourself. Your aura†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He frowned, unable to continue. I laughed. â€Å"Oh yes. Here it comes. The magical, mystical aura. Let me guess. It's black, right?† â€Å"No†¦ it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He continued scrutinizing me for several heavy seconds. â€Å"I can barely get a fix on it. It's all over the place. What's going on, Rose? What's happening in the waking world?† â€Å"Nothing's happening,† I said. â€Å"Nothing except me being happy for the first time in my life. Why are you acting weird all of a sudden? You used to be fun. Figures the first time I'm finally having a good time, you go all boring and strange.† He knelt down in front of me, no trace of humor anywhere. â€Å"There's something wrong with you. I can't tell what-â€Å" â€Å"I told you, I'm fine. Why do you have to keep coming and trying to ruin things for me?† True, I'd desperately wanted him to come a little while ago, but now†¦ well, that wasn't so important. I had a good thing with Dimitri here, if only I could figure out how to solve all the not-so-good parts. â€Å"I told you, I'm not here for me. I'm here for Lissa.† He looked up at me, wide-eyed and earnest. â€Å"Rose, I am begging you to come home. Lissa needs you. I don't know what's wrong, and I don't know how to help her. No one else does either. I think†¦ I think only you can. Maybe being apart is what's hurting her. Maybe that's what's wrong with you now, why you're acting so weird. Come home. Please. We'll heal both of you. We'll all figure it out together. She's acting so strange. She's reckless and doesn't care about anything.† I shook my head. â€Å"Being away isn't what's wrong with me. Probably not what's wrong with her, either. If she's really worried about spirit, she should go back on her meds.† â€Å"She's not worried; that's the problem. Damn it.† He stood up and began pacing. â€Å"What's wrong with you two? Why can't either of you see there's something the matter?† â€Å"Maybe it's not us,† I said. â€Å"Maybe it's you imagining things.† Adrian turned back toward me and looked me over again. â€Å"No. It's not me.† I didn't like any of this-not his tone, expression, or words. I'd been excited to see him, but now I resented him ruining my good mood. I didn't want to think about any of this. It was too hard. â€Å"Look,† I said. â€Å"I was happy to see you tonight but not anymore, not if you're going to sit and accuse me and make demands.† â€Å"I'm not trying to do that.† His voice was gentle-the anger was gone. â€Å"The last thing I want is to make you unhappy. I care about you. I care about Lissa, too. I want you both to be happy and live your lives like you want†¦ but not when you're both heading down destructive paths.† He almost made sense. Almost seemed reasonable and sincere. I shook my head. â€Å"Stay out of it. I'm where I want to be, and I'm not coming back. Lissa's on her own.† I jumped off the rail. The world swirled a little, and I stumbled. Adrian caught my hand, and I jerked away. â€Å"I'm fine.† â€Å"You are not. Jesus Christ. I'd swear you're drunk, except†¦ the aura's still not right for that. What is it?† He ran his hands through his dark hair. It was his typical sign of agitation. â€Å"I'm done here,† I said, trying to be as polite as possible. Why on earth had I wanted to see him again? It had seemed so important when I first arrived. â€Å"Send me back, please.† He opened his mouth to say something, then froze a few moments. â€Å"What's on your neck?† He reached forward, and addled or no, I managed to dodge pretty efficiently. I had no idea what he saw on my neck, and I had no interest in finding out. â€Å"Don't touch me.† â€Å"Rose, that looks like-â€Å" â€Å"Send me back, Adrian!† So much for my politeness. â€Å"Rose, let me help-â€Å" â€Å"Send. Me. Back!† I shouted the words, and then, for the first time, I managed to pull myself out of Adrian's dream. I left sleep altogether and woke up on the couch. The room was still and silent, the only sound my rapid breathing. I felt all tangled up inside. Usually, so fresh from a bite, I would be floating and gleeful. Yet, the encounter with Adrian had left part of me troubled and sad. Standing up, I managed to make my way to the bathroom. I flicked on the light and winced. It hadn't been very bright in the other room. Once my eyes adjusted, I leaned toward the mirror and pushed my hair out of the way. I gasped at what I saw. There were bruises all over my neck, as well as signs of fresher wounds. Around where Dimitri had just bitten me, I could see dried blood. I looked†¦ like a blood whore. How had I never noticed this before? I wet a washcloth and scrubbed at my neck, trying to get the blood off. I rubbed and rubbed until the skin turned pink. Was that it? Were there more? That looked like the worst of it. I wondered how much Adrian had seen. My hair had been down, and I was pretty sure most of it had covered my neck. A rebellious thought came to my head. What did it matter if Adrian saw or not? He didn't understand. There was no way he could even come close. I was with Dimitri. Yeah, he was different†¦ but not that much different. And I was sure I could find a way to make this work without becoming a Strigoi. I just didn't know how yet. I tried to reassure myself over and over, but those bruises kept staring back at me. I left the bathroom and returned to the couch. I turned on the TV without really watching, and after a while, the happy fog rolled over me again. I soon tuned out the TV and returned to sleep. This time, my dreams were my own. It took a while for Dimitri to come again. And by â€Å"a while,† I mean almost an entire day. I was getting twitchy by that point, both because I missed him and because I missed the bite. He usually visited twice a day, so this was the longest I'd gone without the endorphins. Needing something to do, I preoccupied myself with making myself as beautiful as possible. I sorted through the dresses in my closet, choosing a long ivory silk one that had purple flowers delicately painted into the fabric. It fit like a glove. I wanted to wear my hair up, but after looking at the bruises again, I decided to wear it down. I'd been provided with a curling iron and makeup recently, so I worked my hair over carefully, turning the ends up in perfect little curls. Once made up, I stared happily at my reflection, certain Dimitri would be happy too. All I needed now was to put on some of the exquisite jewelry he'd given me. But when I turned to leave, I caught a glimpse of my back from the side and saw I'd missed fastening a clasp. I reached around to do it but couldn't get a hold of it. It was in that perfect spot just out of my reach. â€Å"Damn,† I muttered, still grappling with the hook. The flaw in my perfection. Just then, I heard the door open in the other room, followed by the telltale sound of a tray being set on the coffee table. A stroke of luck. â€Å"Inna!† I called, walking out of the bathroom. â€Å"I need you to-â€Å" Nausea rolled through me, and as I stepped into the living room, I saw that Dimitri wasn't the source. Nathan was. My jaw dropped open. Inna stood near him, waiting patiently by the tray, eyes downcast as always. I immediately ignored her and then looked back at Nathan. Presumably, he was still on guard duty, but that had never actually included him coming inside. For the first time in a while, some of my battle instincts kicked in, assessing escape options. My fear urged me to back away, but that would trap me in the bathroom. Best to stay where I was. Even if I couldn't leave the room, this gave me the most space to maneuver. â€Å"What are you doing here?† I asked, surprised at how calm I sounded. â€Å"Taking care of a problem.† I didn't really need any pointers to figure out the subtext here. I was the problem. Again, I fought the urge to back up. â€Å"I've never done anything to you.† It was faulty logic to a Strigoi. None of their victims ever did anything to them. â€Å"You exist,† he said. â€Å"You're taking up space here, wasting everyone's time. You know how to find her-the Dragomir girl-yet you'll offer nothing remotely useful until Belikov gets off his ass and awakens you. And in the meantime, Galina forces me to waste time watching you and keeps promoting him because he's convinced her that you're going to be some amazing asset to us.† It was an interesting set of grievances. â€Å"So†¦ um, what are you going to do?† In a flash, he stood in front of me. Seeing him so close triggered that memory in my mind's eye-him biting Dimitri and starting all of this. A spark of anger kindled in me but didn't do much in the way of development. â€Å"I'm getting the information one way or another,† he hissed. â€Å"Tell me where she is.† â€Å"You know where she is. She's at the school.† There was nothing useful in giving up that news. He knew she was there. He knew where the school was. The look he gave me showed he was not happy about me providing knowledge he already had. Reaching out, he gripped my hair and jerked my head painfully back. Wearing my hair down maybe hadn't been so useful after all. â€Å"Where is she going? She won't stay there forever. Is she going to college? The Royal Court ? They must have made plans for her.† â€Å"I don't know what they are. I've been away for a while.† â€Å"I don't believe you,† he snarled. â€Å"She's too valuable. Her future would have been planned out a while ago.† â€Å"If it is, no one's shared it with me. I left too soon.† I shrugged by way of answer. Rage filled his eyes, and I swear, they grew redder. â€Å"You're bonded! You know. Tell me now, and I'll kill you quickly. If you don't, I'll awaken you to get the information, and then I'll kill you. I'll light you up like a bonfire.† â€Å"You†¦ you'd kill me once I was one of you?† Foolish question. Strigoi felt no loyalty to each other. â€Å"Yes. It'll destroy him, and once Galina sees how unhinged he is, I will return to my original place by her side-especially after I stamp out the Dragomir line.† â€Å"The hell you will.† He smiled and touched my face, running his fingers along my neck and the bruises all over it. â€Å"Oh, I will. It really will make things easier if you just tell me now. You'll die in ecstasy rather than being burned alive. We'll both enjoy it.† He wrapped his hand delicately around my throat. â€Å"You're definitely a problem, but you are beautiful-especially your throat. I can see why he wants you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Warring emotions played within me. Logically, I knew this was Nathan-Nathan, whom I hated for having turned Dimitri in the first place. Yet my body's need for Strigoi endorphins was raising its head too, and it barely mattered that it was Nathan. What mattered was that his teeth were only a breath away from my neck, promising that sweet, sweet delirium. And while one hand held my throat, the other ran down my waist, down to the curve of my hip. There had been a sultry edge to Nathan's voice, like he wanted to do more than just bite me. And after so many sexually charged encounters with Dimitri-encounters that never resulted in anything-my body almost didn't care who touched it. I could close my eyes, and it wouldn't matter whose teeth bit into me or whose hands peeled off my clothes. Only the next fix would matter. I could close my eyes and pretend it was Dimitri, lost in it all as Nathan's lips brushed my skin†¦ Except, as some small reasonable part of me recalled, Nathan didn't just want sex and blood. He eventually wanted to kill me. Which was kind of ironic. I'd been dead set-no pun intended-on killing myself when I got here, lest I become a Strigoi. Nathan was offering me that now. Even if he turned me first, he planned on killing me immediately afterward. Either way, I wouldn't have to spend eternity as a Strigoi. I should have welcomed this. But just then, as my body's addiction screamed for his bite and that bliss, I realized something with startling clarity: I didn't want to die. Maybe it was because I'd gone almost a day without a bite, but something small and rebellious woke up in me. I would not let him do this to me. I would not let him go after Dimitri. And I sure as hell wasn't going to let him hunt down Lissa. Pushing through that endorphin cloud that still hung around me, I summoned up as much willpower as I could. I dug deep, remembering my years of training and all the lessons Dimitri had given me. It was hard to access those memories, and I only touched a few. Still, enough came to spur me to action. I lunged forward and punched Nathan. And accomplished nothing. He didn't budge. Hell, I don't even know if he felt it. The surprise on his face promptly turned to mirth, and he laughed in that horrible way Strigoi did-cruelly and without any real joy. Then, with the greatest of ease, he slapped me and knocked me across the room. Dimitri had done nearly the same thing when I'd arrived and attacked him. Only I hadn't flown quite as far or had so miniscule an effect on him. I slammed into the back of the couch, and good God, did it hurt. A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I realized the idiocy of fighting someone vastly stronger than me when I'd been losing blood all week. I managed to straighten up and desperately sought my next course of action. Nathan, for his part, seemed in no hurry to respond to my attack. In fact, he was still laughing. Glancing around, I latched onto a truly pitiful course of action. Inna stood near me. Moving with a speed that was painfully slow-but better than I expected myself to manage-I reached for her and wrapped my arm around her neck. She yelped in surprise, and I jerked her harder against me. â€Å"Get out of here,† I said to Nathan. â€Å"Get out of here, or I'll kill her.† He stopped laughing, stared at me for a moment, and then laughed even harder. â€Å"Are you serious? Do you honestly think I couldn't stop you if I wanted? And do you honestly think I care? Go ahead. Kill her. There are dozens more just like her.† Yeah, that really shouldn't have been a surprise either, but even I was a bit taken aback by how easily he could throw away a faithful servant's life. Okay. Time to go to Plan B. Or maybe it was Plan J? Frankly, I was losing track, and none of them were very good anyway â€Å"Ow!† Inna suddenly elbowed me in the stomach. I released her in my surprise. She spun around with a strangled scream and socked me in the face. The blow wasn't as hard as Nathan's had been, but it still knocked me over. I tried to catch a hold of something-anything-as I fell but failed. I hit the floor, my back slamming against the door. I expected her to come right back at me, but instead, she darted across the room and-God help us all threw herself into a defensive posture in front of Nathan. Before I could fully process the weirdness of her trying to protect someone who was willing to let her die, the door suddenly opened. â€Å"Ow!† I said again, as it hit me and pushed me aside. Dimitri swiftly entered. He looked from face to face, and I had no doubt mine showed signs of both Nathan's and Inna's attacks. Dimitri's fists clenched, and he turned toward Nathan. It reminded me of their scuffle in the hallway, all rage and malice and bloodlust. I cringed, bracing myself for another horrible confrontation. â€Å"Don't,† warned Nathan, face smug. â€Å"You know what Galina said. Touch me and you're out of here.† Dimitri strode across the room and came to stand in front of Nathan, knocking Inna aside like a rag doll. â€Å"It'll be worth facing her wrath, particularly when I tell her you attacked first. Rose certainly bears the marks of it.† â€Å"You wouldn't.† He pointed at Inna, who was sitting dazed on the floor from where Dimitri had knocked her over. Despite my own injuries, I began crawling over to her. I had to know if she was all right. â€Å"She'll tell the truth.† Now Dimitri looked smug. â€Å"You really think Galina will believe a human? No. When I tell her how you attacked me and Rose out of jealousy, she'll let me off. The fact that you'll be so easily defeated will be proof of your weakness. I'll slice your head off and get Rose's stake from the vault. With your last breath, you can watch her drive it through your heart.† Holy crap. That was a little worse than Nathan threatening to burn me-wait. My stake? Nathan's face still bore haughty arrogance-at least to me. But I think Dimitri must have seen something that satisfied him, something that made him think he'd gotten the upper hand. He visibly relaxed, his smirk growing larger. â€Å"Twice,† Dimitri said softly. â€Å"Twice I've let you go. Next time†¦ next time, you're gone.† I reached Inna and gently held out my hand. â€Å"Are you okay?† I murmured. With a look of hate, she recoiled and scooted away. Nathan's eyes fell on me, and he began backing toward the door. â€Å"No,† he said. â€Å"Twice I've let her live. Next time she's gone. I'm the one in control here, not you.† Nathan opened the door and Inna stood up, stumbling after him. I stared, mouth agape at the events that had just taken place. I didn't know which of them I found more disturbing. Looking up at Dimitri, I grappled with what to ask him first. What were we going to do? Why had Inna defended Nathan? Why had Dimitri let him go? None of those defiant questions came to my lips, though. Instead, I burst into tears.

Animal Testing is wrong and cruel essays

Animal Testing is wrong and cruel essays Animal testing is wrong and it is cruelty to animals. Each year about five million dogs, cats, rabbits, rats, monkeys, and other animals die in lethal dose tests performed in many states around the United States. During a lethal dose test, the experimental substance is forced into the animals throats, or is pumped into their stomaches by a tube sometimes causing death by stomach rupture or from the sheer bulk of a chemical dosage. Substances are mixed in lab chows, injected under the skin, into a vein, or into the lining of the abdomen, they are often applied to the eyes, rectum, and vagina or forcebilly inhaled through a gas mask. It can be sometimes a force-fed chemical , that has chemicals applied to bare skin that has had the fur removed painfully and inhale fumes. Experimenters observe the animals reaction which include convulsions, labored breathing, diarrhea, constipation, skin eruptions, abnormal animals will die from this experiment 2 to 3 weeks later. The experiments a re performed in a lab where all the proper chemicals are set up to test the products and make sure they are safe for consumers. All this is done just so people can wear that fur coat or makeup. Does the consumers think about the poor animals who died just so they can wear them items. This issue is created when companies test their products on innocent animals. The company tests on animals making sure the chemicals in products are safe for consumers, but do they think about the sake of animals? What makes this issue worse is the companies want to make their products perfect, and people who care about animals want it to be banned. Animal testing is wrong and takes away the lives of animals just so someone can wear makeup of perfume. There is nothing positive about animal testing. The only thing is that you know when you buy the product that the product is safe for you since it was tested on a animal, but do ...

Marketing Research Project Research Paper Example

Marketing Research Project Research Paper Example Marketing Research Project Paper Marketing Research Project Paper Firstly we would like to thanks Almighty Allah who has given us the opportunity and grace to see every new day and made it possible for us to accomplish the final project Clothing direct by Sir Name Sheikh; the adviser of Marketing Research Project whose hard working and courageous support has made us able thus, clothing can help represent our personal identity. Shopping for clothes is one of the popular pastimes among people from all ages, different genders and cultural backgrounds. Owing to the proliferation of brands in the clothing sector, consumers need to take serious consideration during the buying processes. As mentioned by Rapport and Gasworks (2003), the arching processes can be divided into three stages, namely pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase. Each stage is of equal importance that can alter the consumer buying decision. Once consumers make a purchasing decision, consumers may need to recognize their personal needs, read product information, decide which and where to buy, determine whether to buy again from the same retailer, choose the buying modes, show satisfaction to the services or product quality and finally be loyal to the brand. These highlight the complication of buying processes and the potential impact a brand could impose in between them. Several brands, under the influence of globalization and concerted efforts from media advertising, have become popular not only in their country of origin, but also in other markets with high potential. Having a strong and remarkable brand image could help establish an identity in marketplace (Asker, 1996), widen the profit margins, encourage greater intermediary co-operation as well as increase the chance for further brand extension (Delegated-Ballasted and Manure-Leman, 2005). In accordance with Delano et al. (2004), consumers appear to rely on the brand image as long as they have little knowledge about the brand. In this way, managing brand image is of utmost importance. In order to differentiate one brand from another, marketers would develop retail brands with unique image so as to continue to gain popularity and market share (Bend, 2000; Aladdin, 2001; Cornerstones and Ala, 2000). 1. 1 Branding According to the American Marketing Association (AMA), a brand is a Ã'›name term, sign, symbol or design or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition. However, to many, a brand functions is to create awareness, reputation, reminisce and so on in the marketplace (Keller et al. 008). However, the definition of brand as offered in the Journal of Marketing Management by Professor Peter Doyle of Warwick University: A name, symbol, design, or some combination which identifies the product of a particular organization as having a substantial, differentiated advantage (OManley, 1991). 1. 2 Rationale of the research People are more conscious and aware abou t clothing fashion and everybody wants to look different and stylish in the society. Clothing is the main and important part of people lifestyle. Branded cloths are most preferable by people nowadays it is sort of status symbol in the society people are recognize by their clothing style brands plays very vital role in clothing sectors there are different varieties of brands in cloths and everyone likes according to their own choice so it is very important to know what are the factors which cause people to buy branded cloths. Brand image is also essential all promises which they want to give their customer by which they can create a strong brand image in the mind of the customer. By knowing all these points we can examine the condition of branded cloths on the mind of customer. 3 Problem statement Topic: The effects of brand image on consumer buying behavior in fashion clothing 1. 4 Aim of the study: The overall aim of this research is to identify the effects of brand image on consumer buying behavior on clothing and develop better understanding regarding their attitude towards brand names. 1. 5 Objectives of the study: To exam ine the different issues of brands and their impact in Pakistan To determine the key influences determining or undermining the effect of branded dresses in Pakistan To establish better understanding of branding theories transferability and applicability to Pakistanis clothing industry. . 6 Research Questions: 1 . What are the reasons people prefer branded cloths? 2. What are their expectations to branded cloths? 3. Which factor customers consider most while purchasing branded cloths? 1. 7 Research Hypotheses: Following hypotheses are proposed for this study on the basis of above research Ho?Brand image have positive effect on customer buying behavior in clothing. HI?Brand quality has direct relationship with customer buying. H2O=Pricing sensitivity has negative impact on customer preference. 1. 8 Significance of the Research: The importance of this research shows by the selection of a current and interesting research topic and its importance for business organizations. The findings of this study can be utilized by national fashion brands to reach and attract international consumers. By this research we can identify the factors which affect the consumer buying behavior. Also, the results of this will be useful for academia, students, and policy makers of the fashion industry. 2. 1 Introduction Consumer behavior refers to the activities in which people gain, consume and organize products and services (Blackwell et al. , 2001). Owing to the creation of brands in the recent decades, there is a growing number of researches perform in the field of consumer buying behavior. In this chapter, the literatures concerning the roles of brand and brand image are to be reviewed so as to provide a theoretical framework for the fore mentioned analysis. Brand serves a fundamental role for distinguishing goods and services from those of the competitors (Asker, 1991 ; Murphy, 1998). The evolving of brand equity underlies the importance of brand in marketing tactics and hence provides useful insights for managers and further research (Keller, 2003). . The important roles of brand Brand is a name in every consumers mind (Mooing, 1998) and it is characterized by a noticeable name or symbol which can differentiate the goods and services from the rivals (Asker, 1991; Keller, 1998). In addition to a specific brand name, a brand is also collection of products, packaging, promotion, advertising, as well as its overall presentation (Murphy, 1998). From the consumers perception, brand is a guarantor of reliability and quality in consumer products (Roman et al. , 2005). Added to this, consumers would like to buy and use brand-name products with a view to highlight heir personality in different situational framework (Asker, 1999; Fenniest and Prune, 2006). Nowadays, consumers have a wide range of choice to choose from when they enter a shopping mall. It is found that consumers emotions are one of the major determinants which affect their buying behavior (Berry, 2000). According to a research conducted by Freddie Media LLC (1998) on shopping habits, nearly one- fourth of the respondents are likely to impulse-buy clothes and accessories. When deciding which products to purchase, consumers would have their preferences, which are developed in accordance with their perceptions towards the brand. Successful branding could make consumers aware of the presence of the brand and hence could increase the chance of buying the companys products and services (Doyle, 1999). 2. 3 The characteristics of successful brands A brand can be an endless and profitable asset as long as it is maintained in a good manner that can continue satisfying consumers needs (Batcher, 1998; Murphy, 1998). Although successful brands can be totally different in nature, they share something in common, for instances well-priced products and consistent quality (Murphy, 1998). As mentioned by Levity (1983), there are four elements for building a successful brand, namely tangible product, basic brand, augmented brand and potential brand. Tangible product refers to the commodity which meets the essential needs of the customers. Basic brand, on the other hand, considers the packaging of the tangible product so as to attract the attention from the potential customers. The brand can be further augmented with the provision of credibility, effective after-sales services and the like. Finally and most importantly, a potential brand is established through engendering customer preference and loyalty. By doing so, the image of the brand could be well instilled in the customers mind. . 4 Brand equity The term brand equity refers to a set of assets and liabilities associated with a effects on the values arising from the products or services (Asker, 1991; Hasty et al. , 2007). Added to this, Keller (1998) points out that brand equity signifies the unique marketing effects imposed on the brand. Concerning the positive side of brand equity, it happens when consumers are willing to pay more for the same level of quality Just because of the attractiveness of the name attached to the product (Belle and Holbrook, 1995). However, brand equity could be ruined if it is not properly managed. For instance, poor product quality and customer services could adversely affect the brand image, giving rise to a reduction in sales volume. One of the quintessential examples regarding brand as a kind of equity is the imposition of laws to protect intellectual property (Murphy, 1998). In countries with well-established legal system, the values of brands have been recognized to both the consumers and producers. In order to combat piracy, many countries have set up laws to protect trademarks, patents, designs as well as copyright. In addition, brand is also a treatable product with measurable financial value (Murphy, 1998). For the consumers, brand equity could provide them with information about the brand which influences their confidence during the purchasing process. There is a high tendency for consumers with good perceptions to buy from the same shop again than those with poor perceptions. Past purchasing experiences and familiarity with the brand could be attributable to the perceptions generated from the consumers (Asker, 1991). As for the firm, brand equity could also be a source for the firm to generate cash flow. Besides, brand equity could also allow higher margins through premium pricing and educed reliance upon promotional activities (Asker, 1991). Owning to the positive image, consumers no longer focus on the short-term promotion but the brand on the whole. Brand equity is a broad concept which can be further subdivided into four main areas, namely brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality and brand associations (Asker, 1991; Keller, 1998). 2. 5 Brand awareness Brand awareness is one of major determinants of brand equity. It refers to the ability of a potential consumer to recall and recognize the brand, linking the brand with its corresponding product class (Asker, 1991). The level of brand awareness lies in a range; with brand identification being the lowest level and the first named brand with independently recall being the highest level. It is important for the potential consumers to be aware of a product so that it can become one of the purchasing choices. This is due to the fact that the product needs to enter the awareness set before it comes to the consideration set (Blackwell et al. , 2001) and an increase in brand awareness is beneficial to a higher chance of entering the later set (Indulged, 1990). In this way, brands with higher level of awareness would be more keel to be purchased (Hasty et al. , 2007). This could probably explain why consumers tend to buy a recognizable brand rather than an unfamiliar one (Hoer, 1990; Macdonald and Sharp, 2000). Several factors can alter the level of brand awareness. In case of China, its geographical location and politics could affect the consumer brand awareness level seriously. As declare by Keller (1998), brand awareness can be enhanced through repeat exposure to the brand. In order to achieve brand awareness, two tasks are to be accomplished, namely increasing brand name identity and associating it with the product class. Advertising and celebrity endorsement advertisement attitude is attributable to the influence on brand attitudes, affecting consumers intention to purchase (Mackenzie et al. , 1986; Tsar et al. , 2007). In recent decades, there is an increasing number of advertising campaigns around the world. Consumers are hence well-equipped with relative elements to Judge which product or service to purchase (Olivarez and Clavicles, 2005). Moreover, celebrity endorsement can give rise to source credibility and source attractiveness. For source credibility, as pointed out by McGuire (1978), celebrities can disseminate messages to particular nonusers and hence increase the brand awareness. As for source attractiveness, good endorsement can associate the culture of the celebrity world with the endorsed product (McCracken, 1989). This association can raise the public awareness towards the brand. 2. 6 Brand quality Another important characteristic to brand equity is quality. It is defined as the customers perception of the overall quality or superiority of a product or service (Asker, 1991; Keller, 1998; Hasty, 2007). Since it is a kind of intangible, overall feeling towards a brand, it is subjective in nature and hence the knowledge of actual detailed product specifications could have little correlation with the perceived quality. Perceived quality of a brand could help generate values by providing a pivotal reason-to-buy, differentiating the position of a brand, charging premium price, motivating channel members to perform well and also introducing extensions into new brand categories (Asker, 1991). In addition, it is found that perceived quality is of utmost importance in determining brand loyalty as well as repeat purchase (Delano et al. , 2004). Nevertheless, it is becoming more difficult to obtain satisfactory bevel of perceived quality owing to the fact that fast and continuous product improvement has already strengthened consumers expectations on product quality (Sherman, 1992). Similar to brand awareness, perceived quality is determined by a number of factors. To be more specific, perceived quality can further be classified into product quality and service quality. Regarding product quality, there are seven dimensions which affect the consumers perception, namely performance, features, conformance with specifications, reliability, durability, serviceability as well as fit and knish. Service quality, on the other hand, is Judged by its corresponding tangibles, reliability, competence, responsiveness and empathy (Asker, 1991). In addition to the aforementioned dimensions, the country-of-origin of a product is found to affect its perceived quality (Chattering and Mortgagors, 1990) and also the perceptions towards the purchased value (Aimed and toasts, 1993). As mentioned by Christianson and Knott (2002), consumers are tending to develop stereotypical beliefs about the products from particular countries. Hence, consumers could have their king for products made from one country over another (Padlocks et al. , 1991). Moreover, price is one of the important clues to evaluate perceived quality (Asker, 1991). It is found that price is more relevant in Judging the perceived quality of a product given that a person lacks the ability to evaluate the quality off product. 2. 7 Brand loyalty Brand loyalty is one of the most important components of brand equity and also positively and directly affected brand equity (Italian et al. , 2005). Under the influence of brand loyalty, consumers continue to buy the brand, regardless of the superior