Some Good Marketing Funda Essay Example for Free

Some Good Marketing Funda Essay Some good marketing Funda! you can find much more at the link provided in the end.. Do read.. Marketing GD me mast points hai bolneko! When we think of marketing, we often think of Marketings efforts to acquire customers. The world, however, is moving toward relationship-based business, including subscription services and subscription commerce—but also most other business. Consider consumer packaged goods companies that used to have no direct relationship with customers, who bought in box stores. Many CPG companies are now using online and social mediums to build direct relationships with their customers. In this world, customer retention is just as important as customer acquisition. So how do the 7 Ps of marketing apply to customer retention marketing? 1. People are the most important. Retaining customers is about building relationships, and relationships are about people. Treat your customer as a person, and not a customer; start by hiring people who show they care about others. Compare how you behave driving in rush-hour traffic with how you drive down your own street past your neighbors. When you know you will see people again, or if you want to see them again, you treat them better. The whole company needs to care about customers and customer retention, and one executive must be responsible to ensure thats so—hence the rise of the chief customer officer. 2. Product is a very close second in importance to People. If your product is off, you will have a difficult time with the rest of the Ps. However, if the product is on target, you will accomplish the rest of the Ps much more easily. When designing your product or service for maximum customer retention, provide quick time to value, continued value over time, and high quality (those are what Apple does so well). Sometimes there is another P: Packaging. I include packaging as part of the product (or service), and the key to it is polish. 3. Place obviously matters when you are figuring out where to put your physical store, but what about when youre online? Does it matter there? Yes. If I am looking to communicate with my customer and offer them an upsell, I could send them an email or message them right while they are shopping, browsing, or working on my site. The first communication is out of context and has a low chance of response. The second is in context and has a higher likelihood of response. â€Å"Place† is context, and context matters. 4. Price. In any good relationship, people take care of each other. That is now the expectation in the customer-business relationship as well. Our customers assume that we will look after them. That is what they pay us to do. In an e-commerce business, that sort of relationship means providing deals for our recurring customers. In a subscription business, that means rolling new features (some, not all) into the service, over time, without charging more. 5. Promotion. How should you promote your product or service to customers to retain them, upsell to them and keep them for the long haul? Quite differently from how you promote to a prospective customer. Why? Because the person is your customer. You know, or should know, him or her. You know what the customer bought from you or how he or she uses your service. You can use that information to message customers in a more targeted, appropriate, helpful, and effective way. Dont spam them with the same generic info you send to everyone else. Send them targeted emails and in-context messages. 6. Processes. To succeed in all of the previous Ps, and for this success to be more than a one-time fluke, you need good processes, such as monitoring social media and engaging customers there, surveying customers for satisfaction, and implementing marketing automation. My company uses its own customer engagement solution to understand how each customer is engaging with the business. We look for positive or negative patterns and respond accordingly, sometimes by person or email but often right in our application with a targeted message based on behavior. 7. Positioning. If you want to retain your customers, you have to know who you are and communicate that clearly and repeatedly to them so they know who you are as well. Foremost, however, is this: Your actions must communicate your positioning. Those actions are showcased in the people you hire, the product you ship or service you deliver, the price you charge and the discounts you provide, the place and promotions you choose, and the processes you put in place. Combined, your words and actions say This is who we are and what you can expect of us. By acting on the 7 Ps of Customer Retention Marketing, you can keep your customers; make their interactions with your business successful; and in so doing make your business more successful.

Embryonic And Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Biology Essay

Embryonic And Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Biology Essay INTRODUCTION: Stem cells are cells which are found in almost all multicellular organisms. Stem cells was proposed by a histologist Maksimov. A in 1908. They develop into many different types of cells in the body during their early life and growth and serve as a internal repair system in many tissues. Formation of new cells can be seen when stem cells division starts these new cells can either form a stem cell or other types of cells like muscle cells,brain and red blood cells with specialized functions. Stem cells are the objects in biomedical research and are differentiated from other types of cells by two main characteristics. Firstly, Stem cells are the undifferentiated cell types they possess the capacity of both self renewable during cell division. Secondly, Potency which means they can be differntiated into differnt types of specialized cells with specific function.(Bishop et.al., 2002). Stem cells can be totipotent and pluripotent. In some organs like gut or bone marrow the st em cells divide either to replace or repair the damaged or worn out tissues while in other organ system like pancreas they divide under some specific function Totipotent stem cells can give rise to a functional organism as well as to every cell type of the body. Pluripotent stem cells are capable of giving rise to any tissue type, but not to a functioning organism. Multipotent stem cells are more differentiated and thus can give rise only to a few tissue types. For example, a specific type of multipotent stem cell called a mesenchymal stem cell can produce bone, muscle, cartilage, fat, and other connective tissues. (Pittenger et.al., 1999). They are two types of Stem cells 1) Embryonic stem cells 2) Adult stem cells also known as somatic cell or tissue specific. Embryonic stem cells are derived from the blastocysts and are pluripotent instead of totipotent because they do not have the ability to become part of the extra-embryonic membranes or the placenta while the adult cells are present in adult tissues while the stem cells found in developed tissues are the Adult stem cells and the example for this is the hematopoietic stem cells of blood which cannot give rise to the cells of a different tissue, such as nerve cells in the brain (Frankel et.al.,1999). The difference between between embryonic and adult stem cells(somatic) is their origin that is embryonic cells can differntiate into any c ell types but adult stem cells are limited and can differentiate into the cells of their own tissue by this the grown cells wont be rejected by the immune system during treatment and these cells also differ by mutation frequency (James et.al.,2002). The stem cells derived from the human embryo is known as Human embryonic stem cells and these cells are for reproductive purpose. While, in 2006 researchers have observed new type of specialized adult cells this cells are called as Induced pluripotent cells (iPSCs). Parthenogenetic stem cells are also one type of stem cells derived from activated human oocytes USES: Stem cells are useful in treating diseases like diabetis and heart diseases and many works are being done on how to use stem cells for cell based therapies in treating diseases which is also called as regenerative medicine. Stem cells have the ability to replace the damaged cells and can be used in treating heart failures. spinal injuries and parkinsons diseases for example, neural stem cells are able tp regenerate nerve tissue damaged by spinal injury. Stem cells are useful in screening toxins in substances such as pesticides and also used during development of new methods for gene therapy that may help those who are suffering from genetic illiness. They are also used in pharmaceutical industry for testing the new drugs before testing on animal and humans. Induced pluripotent cells are the adult stem cells have been genetically remodelled to an embryonic stem like to express genes and factors which maintains the properties of embryonic stem cells. EMBRYONIC AND INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS: Embryonic stem cells are from the earliest stages of human embryo that develop into eggs by invitro fertilization while other embryos are developed for research and extracted after five days growth. It is known that embryonic stem cells divide indefinitely so only a single embryo can form lines of cells to use for treatment.(Thomson et.al.,1998) These cells are undifferentiated but has a ability to differentiate into any cell, tissue or organ in the body. These stem cells can also become nerve, muscle cells or any other type of human cells. The process involved in formation of ES cells is the ovaries are removed and after 76hours of copulation they are treated with media containing serum overnight.The following day the inner cell mass of embryos are removed and cultured on fibroblast after few weeks colonies grew which showed pluripotent characters referred to as ES cells. Embryonic stem cells are used to treat a host of diseases, such as Parkinsons disease, spinal cord injury, and d iabetes (Martins.,1981). For research, these embryos are destroyed in the process of deriving embryonic stem cells. ES cells have got a great potential for long term therapies but the issue arises regarding safety. Transplanted ES cells have uncontrolled growth and could generate tumours which is seen in laboratory cultures by scientists and there are not sure how they behave inside the body. So, this is to be studied before proceeded in clinical trials while another issue is tissues derived from the ES cells are rejected by patients immune system after transplantation. To overcome this issue tissue rejection currently, drugs can be used which suppresses the immune system but these drugs can be infectious thus drugs without any side effects are being investigated by the researchers or alternatively adult stem cells can be used. The major issue is in process of extracting the embryonic cells the embryos have to be destroyed this is opposed by many people and raises ethical issues. Al ternatives are being investigating by combining the stem cell technology with cloning by a method called (SCNT) somatic cell nuclear transfer.(Stewart et.al.,2007). It is a method which involves insertion of the nuclei of the somatic cell into the oocyte which develops into the embryo. This embryo derives the embryonic stem cell lines which is carried out in several mammalian species but till date No ES cells have been successfully developed by this method and also requires destruction of many embryos compared to other methods. And the other issue by usig this method is therauptic human cloning would lead to reproductive human cloning which leads to maral and social danger. The use of ES cells got many ethical issues as it is derived by destroying the embryos which raises fundamental concers of human life. (Tabar et.al.,2001). Problems associated with stem cell research according to the researchers embryonic stem cells are known for the cell baesd therapies as they are more versatile than adult stem cells but the same properties of these cells make them unusual for therapy as these will migrate all over the body and produce tumours. Growing and maintaining embryonic cell lines prove that they are problematic by performing experiments in mice as some of these get mutated and unusable to the patients. To overcome this problem adult stem cells acan be used to eliminate mutation tissue incompatibility. The pharmaceutical companies could not puruse these therapies due to financial incentives ( Phimister and drazen,2004). Recent advances in stem cells have new applications possible for stem cell based technology. It is now possible to reprogram differentiated human somatic cells into pluripotent cells that are functionally equivalent to embryonic stem cells. In 2006, specialized adult cells are been reprogrammed genetically to assume a stem cell like state called as Induced pluripotent stem cells. (Fenno.et.al., 2008). The use of ES cells as an alternative to oocytes which can be reprogrammed as an Human somatic cells. This can be done by fusion of human embryonic stem cells with fibroblasts which results hybrid cells.(Cowan et.al.,2005). These cells exhibits morphology and growth proper of embryonic stem cells and also express their genes. Transplantation of induced pluripotent cells into mice resulted in tumour containing variety of tissues on injection into the blastocyst showed mouse embryonic development This shows that Induced Pluripotent stem cells can be produced from fibroblast on addition wi th defined factors like oct3/4,Sox2 and klf4(Takahashi and Yamanaka.,2006). Researchers have demonstrated a novel technique for production of IPS cells by transforming Adult Skin cells which is considered as a fast reliable and safe method, viruses were used to insert the specific genes into the adult cell would result in increased potential for adverse outcomes and also increases the chance of genetic defects thus it would affect the patient treating with stem cell therapy.(Soldner et.al.,2009) Thus, alternatively transgenes or reprogramming proteins can used for insertion to overcome the risk and after induction using protein factors or virus free factors that can be removed to induce pluripotency which develops into IPS cells that does not have any risk.(Kaji et.al.,2009) As, IPS cells also raises ethical problems related to germline alterations. However using virus free factors can overcome the problem of germline alteration. In 2010, researchers have used Induced pluripotent stem cells to treat rodents suffering with parkinsons disease and this research was successfull this is done by transplanting the induced pluripotent cell neuron into the rodents mid brain injury which is similar to Parkinsons disease in humans by this the cells became functional and showed improvement. Thus induced pluripotent cells may be useful for future disease models and cell-based therapies. Induced pluripotent stem cells offer immense potential for regenerative medicine and studies of development and diseases. Thus analysis of genomic transcriptional activity, gene activation, allele specific gene expression and DNA methylation shows that the somatic cell was reprogrammed to an embryonic state which provides a system for investigating the mechanisms. To Induce pluripotent somatic properties which are similar to ES cells properties is done by introducing active genes or derivatives of RNA or protein products into the somatic cell but this process of acquiring pluripotency is not genetically but involves Epigenomic Reprogramming. There are differences between ES and IPSC cells regarding chromatin structure and gene expressionby showing few similarities while the other reports show that there is epigenetic differences and alteration. Reprogramming of a somatic cell into pluripotent state requires complete change of Somatic cell to an ES cell like state but this is not repo rted yet. On performing genomic profiling of the DNA methylomes of both ES and Induced pluripotent cells similarities are seen but every single line shows different reprogramming variability compared to both ES cells and other Induced pluripotent stem cells. Patterns of DNA methylation are seen as epigenetic change at the tips and centromeres of the chromososmes and show differences in CG methylation and histone modifications. Thus, Induced pluripotent cells may not be suitable substitute for embryonic cells. (Lister et.al., 2011). CONCLUSION: Human embryonic stem (ES) cell research has been the best way for the cell-based therapies for a number of diseases but the issue raises with destroying the embryos to produce these cells. The use of IPS cells has less ethically problematic than the use of Embryonic cells as production Of IPS cells does not require destroying the embryos. But the use of induced pluripotent cells raises ethical concerns to somatic cell reprogramming as there is a difference seen between the ES and Ips cells and the debate over stem cell therapy is increasingly becoming irrelevant but ethical issues regarding the Embryonic stem cells would not entirely go away.So, the study of all the types of stem cells should be done as it is not known which is useful for the cell replacement therapticus.

Marketing fundamentals essay

Marketing fundamentals essay Introduction In 1964 Neil H. Borden published the article: The Concept of the Marketing Mix. The marketing mix in Bordens concept originally included product planning; pricing; branding; channels of distribution or place; personal selling; promotions; advertising; packaging; display; servicing; physical handling; and fact finding and analysis, (Zineldin and Philipson, 2007, p231). According to this concept, the list of twelve ingredients of the marketing mix is adjustable. It could depend on what kind of elements or areas researchers want to focus on or emphasize to change more, but in The Concept of Marketing Mix, Borden (1964) already explained explicitly why he chose the twelve elements as the marketing mix. However, even though the idea of the marketing mix is derived from Borden, the 4Ps marketing mix which is known to the public was introduced by Jerome McCarthy: Product, Price, Promotion, Place (Constantinides, 2006; Gummesson, 2008). As Anderson and Taylor (1995, p2) claim: The major step in popularizing the marketing mix was the publication of Jerome McCarthys, Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach in 1960. The purpose of this paper is to discuss whether the marketing mix is still a suitable approach to modern day marketing. For instance, with new technology and subsequent changes in peoples lifestyles, new marketing concepts are springing up, such as relationship marketing and service marketing. Therefore, is the marketing mix still useful today, or should it be improved or even replaced by other new themes; this is a controversial area. The marketing mix and relationship marketing A lot of criticisms are fined at McCarthys 4Ps model because researchers generally think that 4Ps are too simplified. Those who attack the paradigm have suggested that the model should have more factors added into it (Traynor, 1985; Magrath, 1986; and Doyle, 1994) or even use other factors, such as 4Cs to substitute 4Ps (Lauterborn, 1990). Grà ¶nroos (1994) even stated that it is time for the marketing mix to step down and let a new paradigm shift emerge. Moreover, during the past few decades, the debate that the marketing mix needs to be replaced by other new paradigm shift marketing concepts is going on (Constantinides, 2006; Gummesson, 2008). As discussed by Grà ¶nroos (2006), relationship marketing is one of the strongest candidates among so many competitors who are eager to substitute the marketing mix. Furthermore, as Grà ¶nroos (1994, p5) states: In marketing education, teaching students how to use a toolbox had become the totally dominating task instead of discussing the meaning and consequences of the marketing concept and the process nature of market relationships. This indicates that the marketing mix is a good model and memorable for students to understand the general marketing strategy concept. It may, nonetheless, limit students creativity idea in order to fit the framework at the same time. In fact, the marketing mix is still adopted by many scholars and is published in the majority of textbooks, but some have argued that customer relationship is an emerging trend in recent years (Grà ¶nroos, 1994). With time change, the pattern and relationship between sellers and buyers have a significant difference now than before (Coviello and Brodie, 2001). Take hospital industry in Taiwan for example: over the last few decades doctors have played a vital role in this industry. They are the kings and they are independent, because hospitals rely on them to make profits. In addition, the qualifications required to enter this industry are relatively high compared to other fields, so during that era the supply (hospitals) was much less than the demand (patients). This also results in hospitals not needing a good manager or a proper marketer to run the business, and yet they still can make money. It is common that, if patients are ill, they have to put their name on a long waiting list . Sometimes even if they have already made an appointment, due to too many patients in the same time period, they still need to wait. Moreover, after a long waiting time, when it is finally their time to see doctors, most of the time doctors are not so friendly. However, this kind of situation is totally different now. Health care industry is no longer a monopoly. As more hospitals are established, the competitions become more intense. As a result, owners of health care organizations start to emphasize the relationship between doctors and patients. In addition, managers also think that employees who may contact with customers are all part-time marketers (Gummesson, 1990). The main factor to cause this kind of change is that buyers (patients) have more choices nowadays. For instance, if there are two sellers (doctors) equipped with the same conditions, but one provides more support on intangible service and has good relationships with buyers, then buyers will definitely go to the one who shows more concern for them. Consequently, managers of health care organizations have to value patients and doctors relationships or they may keep losing customers. This also shows that relationship marketing is a new trend now. While it is interesting to note that some researchers attack the marketing mix is being outdated and in fact that it cannot be deemed as an unchallengeable foundation of marketing, they believe that it formed almost 40 years ago; the concept of it, they argue, in contemporary business or academic research is no longer useful. By contrast, relationship marketing is the new upcoming theme of marketing. Relationship marketing is neither original thinking nor a novelty theory, but it has already been in existence for quite a long time. Zineldin and Philipson (2007, p229) argue that relationship marketing is one of the oldest approaches to marketing. As early as about 25 years ago, the term was introduced as a strategy to service marketing by Berry in 1983, according to Crosby and Stephens (1987). By comparing the transaction-oriented marketing, which is part of the marketing mix feature with relationship marketing, most companies still put emphasis on attracting new customers rather than focusing on establishing a long-term relationship with their existing customers. As reported by Zineldin and Philipson (2007), finding new customers costs less than retaining current customers. Moreover, having a long-term relationship with clients is indeed profitable, but consumers desire is also endless. With more services are provided and a variety of products are easy to access currently, consumers just will want more rather than less, and their mind changes frequently. Accordingly, for companies to maximize profits immediately is both necessary and important for them (Zineldin and Philipson, 2007). Furthermore, relationship marketing focuses on not only the connection amid corporations and customers, but also the relationship between corporations. Consequently, relationship marketing may not be the case for all corporations. For example, if a tin companys ingredients are all from the same supplier, then once the food that the supplier offers has a problem, then the tin companys business will definitely be affected by lack of ingredients. As a result, some companies may not want to rely on another company too much (Zineldin and Philipson, 2007). The other point many academic scholars criticize about the marketing mix is that some standard marketing ingredients are not integrated with the marketing mix into textbooks to become a complete whole body (Grà ¶nroos, 1994;Gummesson, 2002). They are just like toppings on the pizza: the toppings are those additional Ps and the model of 4Ps is the base. The reason why it causes this kind of outcome is owing to model being oversimplified, from a list of elements into four Ps. However, at the same time it cannot be denied that the contribution of the marketing mix and four Ps is significant (Jobber, 2007). Although a lot of new concepts have emerged, it does not mean that the marketing mix will be replaced. To some certain extent, it is still a useful approach and provides a fundamental theory for people who want to study or explore this field. By combining the marketing mix with other spring up theories, it can allow marketing theory to become better. Even Grà ¶nroos is against the m arketing mix, but he also claims the following (1994, p14): [E]ven if marketing mix management is dying as the dominating marketing paradigm and the Four P model needs to be replaced, this does not mean that the Ps themselves, and other concepts of the managerial approach such as market segmentation and indeed the marketing concept (McKitterick, 1957; Keith, 1960), would be less valuable than before. Relationships do not function by themselves. Hence, no matter how marketing concepts develop, the root of these new paradigms is related to the marketing mix. It is of course relevant to contemporary marketing means and still regarded as a core value of marketing. The marketing mix and e-commerce marketing In the 21st century, business may not only be based on physical activities, but also on virtual activities. Therefore, discussing whether the marketing mix can be adapted to e-commerce is a signal to see if it is still relevant to contemporary thinking. As Peattie (1997, p142) point out: Although the marketing implications of emerging electronic or virtual markets are being discussed, the implications for the management of the marketing mix are often being overlooked. Already many innovative companies are taking advantage of the new generation of technologies to enhance or re-engineer key elements of the marketing mix, giving marketing a leading role in introducing companies to the revolutionary world of third age computing. They stress that the marketing mix in this industry is revolutionizing and 4Ps have another new definition to fit e-commerce and marketing function. In a practical aspect, it had been put into practice for many organizations (Peter and Olson, 2005). In addition, virtual value chain also used 4Ps to illustrate the effect of it on electronic business (Bhatt and Emdad, 2001). Many companies still use the marketing mix and 4Ps as their strategy, but with little change on the traditional 4Ps. Allen and Fjermestad (2001, p22) also indicate that Although many of the e-commerce strategy frameworks offer a unique contribution to strategic planning, integrating these models into the traditional product, price, place and promotion framework can provide a more complete analysis of strategy. It reinforces the view that the marketing mix and 4Ps are the cornerstone of marketing and the basis of strategy marketing. More importantly, it is still applied to 21st century new trend business, electronic commerce. In consequence, it is identified that the marketing mix just needs some small changes to be integrated well with other re-discovery concepts; it then plays the most vital role in contemporary marketing theory yet. Conclusion The marketing mix and marketing are just like the constitution is to a country. Constitution is the foundation of a nation. The law may be changed or adjusted with time because the environment and the way people think is greatly different from that of those who were born 50 years ago. Consequently, it is unavoidable that the law should be changed, eliminated or have more rules added to it. Nevertheless, no matter how the rule is amended, the basic rule is always there. It represents a countrys spirit and belief, and this is unchangeable. Hence, this is just as the marketing mix to marketing, in my opinion. Even though some scholars criticize that marketing is not an appropriate approach currently, it needs to be replaced with other rising marketing principles. Nonetheless, common terms such as relationship marketing, service marketing and e-commerce marketing, are focusing on just a part of marketing. They can tackle the problem of a specific area but the marketing mix and 4Ps are the basis of a much more general theory. Moreover, although those who attack the marketing mix for being an old concept and of less relevance today, they also support that the relationship between the marketing mix and marketing is still very close. The influence of the marketing mix is still strong today but certainly not as profound as it has been in the past, and indeed the concept of it still shows signs of practical implementation in contemporary society. References Allen, E. and Fjermestad, J. (2001) E-commerce marketing strategies: an integrated framework and case analysis, Logistics Information Management, Vol. 14 Number 1/2, pp. 14-23. Anderson, L. McTier and Taylor, Ruth L. (1995) McCarthys 4Ps: Timeworn or Time-tested?, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Vol. 3 Issue 3, pp.1-9. Berry, D. (1990) Marketing mix for the 90s adds an S and 2 Cs to 4Ps, Marketing News, Vol. 24 Issue 26, December, p.10. Bhatt G. and Emdad, A. F. (2001) An analysis of the virtual chain in electronic commerce, Logistics Information Management, Vol. 14 Number 1/2, pp. 78-85. Borden, Neil H. (1964) The Concept of the Marketing Mix, Journal of Advertising Research, pp. 7-12 Constantinides, E. (2006) The Marketing Mix Revisited: Toward the 21st Century Marketing, Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 22 Number 3, pp.407-438. Coviello, Nicole E. and Brodie, Roderick J. (2001) Contemporary marketing practices of consumer and business-to-business firms: how different are they?, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Vol. 16 Issue 5, pp. 382-400. Crosby, L. and Stephens, N. (1987) Effects of Relationship Marketing on Satisfaction, Retention, and Prices in the Life Insurance Industry, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 24 Number 4, pp. 404-411. Doyle, P. (1994) Marketing Management and Strategy. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall. Grà ¶nroos, C. (1994) From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing: Towards a Paradigm Shift in Marketing, Management Decision, Vol. 32 Number 2, pp. 4-20. Grà ¶nroos, C. (2006) On Defining Marketing: Finding a New Roadmap for Marketing, Marketing Theory, Vol. 6 Number 4, pp.394-417. Gummesson, E. (1990) The Part-Time Marketer. Karlstad: CTF Service Research Center. Gummesson, E. (2002) Practical value of adequate marketing management theory, European Journal of Marketing, Vol.36 Number 3, pp. 325-349. Gummesson, E. (2008) Total Relationship Marketing, 3rd edition. Amsterdam; Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Jobber, D. (2007) Principles and Practice of Marketing, 5th edition. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill. Lauterborn, B. (1990) New marketing litany: four Ps passà ©: C-words take over, Advertising Age, Vol. 61 Issue 41, October, p. 26. Magrath, A. J. (1986) When Marketing Services, 4Ps Are Not Enough, Business Horizons, Vol. 29 Issue 3, pp.44-50 Peattie, K. (1997) The marketing mix in the third age of computing, Marketing Intelligence Planning, Vol. 15 Number 3, pp. 142-150. Peter, J. Paul and Olson, Jerry C. (2005) Consumer Behavior Marketing Strategy. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Traynor, K. (1985) Research deserves status as marketings fifth P', Marketing News, Vol.19 Issue 23, November, pp.7, 12. Zineldin, M. and Philipson, S. (2007) Kotler and Borden are not dead: myth of relationship marketing and truth of the 4Ps, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 24 Number 4, pp.229-241.

The Truth about the Electoral College :: essays research papers

Since the foundation of America, the Electoral College has been the means of deciding the next president of the United States. Until the recent fiasco in the 2000 Florida presidential election, most people accepted the Electoral College as a fair way to decide a future president. In truth, the Electoral College has always been imbalanced and unfair. It was originally designed in Article II of the Constitution, so that each state receives an elector for every senator (two per state) and representative (number based on population). The way in which Electors were chosen was left up to the individual states. Each elector would vote for two candidates, and whoever received a simple majority (one half plus one votes) would become the next president. Whoever received the second most votes became vice president (Kimberling). After the Election of 1800, the Fourth Amendment introduced the idea of a vice president and president ticket. In addition, the amendment said that if a candidate did n ot receive an absolute majority in the Electoral College then the House of Representatives decided the next president. Presently all states choose their electors via statewide popular vote, and one presidential candidate receives all the electoral votes from each state (Kimberling). Upon close examination, it is easy to see the numerous flaws in the Electoral College. First, the most popular candidate does not necessarily win the presidency. Second, as it stands the Electoral College diminish voter turnout. Third, â€Å"faithless electors,† of which this country has had many, could decide an election. Lastly, the House of Representatives and, even an extreme case, the vice president can decide the president.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most obvious problem with the Electoral College is that a president can receive the majority of the votes and lose. In a true election the most popular candidate always wins. However, in America a candidate simply needs a one-vote majority in enough states to receive 270 electoral votes. Several times in the past, most notably in the Election of 1888 between Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland, the minority candidate has won the Electoral College and therefore the election. A democracy is â€Å"a majority rule† (Dictionary.com). If a minority candidate can win an election, America is not a true democracy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Electoral College does not take into account voter turnout when assigning electors, thereby diminishing voter turnout and not giving each man one vote. Electors are assigned to states as the number representatives and senators change.

Janet Adelmans Hamlet Essay -- Essays on Shakespeare Hamlet

Janet Adelman's Hamlet    Janet Alderman in her essay "'Man and Wife Is One Flesh':   Hamlet and the Confrontation with the Maternal Body" embraces the psychoanalytic tradition of Freud and Lacan in order to reveal the quadruple-angled relationship of the Hamlet monarchy.   Focusing primarily on the relationship between Gertrude and her son, Hamlet, Alderman attempts to recast the drama as a charged portrait of Oedipal disillusionment and Lacanian sexual-abnegation.   Appropriately, sexuality provides the impetus for Alderman's argument; toying with sex roles and the power of sexuality over family dynamics and identity, she craftily reveals Hamlet to be a son's battle for his mother's purity, a covetous attempt to regain a sense of sexual normalcy.   Alderman's casts Gertrude as a type of catch-all, garden-of-Eden, original-sin embodiment, who initiates the fall of the paternal and recreates the maternal "body as an enclosed garden newly breached" (Adelman 263).   Adelman frequently refers to Hamlet Sr. and Claudius as "collapsing" into a single paternal figure; both incite and fall prey to Gertrude's sexuality.   Hamlet functions in Alderman's analysis as the crusader fighting for his mother's "benign maternal presence" (278) and the conqueror repressing his mother's sexual appetite, her "sexualized maternal body" (271).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Adelman's thesis, the quintessence of her study, seems to inhabit these lines:    Hamlet thus redefines the son's positions between two father's by relocating it in  Ã‚   relation to an indiscriminately sexual maternal body that threatens to annihilate the  Ã‚   distinction between the fathers and hence problematizes the son's paternal  Ã‚  Ã‚   identification;   [and] . . . conflat[ing] the beloved wit... ...Gertrude, as does the incestuous Claudius; thus, Hamlet places his identity with his mother.   Ultimately, Hamlet seeks not to avenge the death of his father, but to save his mother from her own destructive sexuality, and by extension his own self-destruction.   Of course, Adelman prescribes an existential reason to Hamlet's need to rescue his mother; Hamlet needs to "recover the fantasized presence of the asexual mother of childhood" (277).   Hamlet needs to separate his mother from all sexuality in order to reap the stability of her selfhood for his own.   After refusing to sleep with Claudius, Gertrude restores herself in her son's eyes to the status of "an internal good mother" (279).   Hamlet, now, by "trusting her, can begin to trust in himself and in his own capacity for   action; he can rebuild the masculine identity spoiled by her contamination" (279).      

Introduction to Computers by Peter Norton 6e

Seeing, Hearing, and Printing Data 1. This type of monitor is common on desktop computers. It looks much like a standard television. A) cathode-ray tube B) flat-panel C) monochrome D) projector 2. Monitors use various intensities of __________ colors to generate the rainbow. A) 16 B) 16 million C) three D) four 3. The __________ helps to align the electron guns. A) pixel B) shadow mask C) resolution D) refresh 4. LCD monitors often have a smaller __________ than CRT monitors. A) refresh rate B) viewing angle C) color depth D) price 5. The __________ monitor is similar to the LCD monitor, but has a phosphorescent film between the layers.A) Electro luminescent displays (ELD) B) Plasma displays C) Paper-white displays D) thin-film transistor 6. This specification of a monitor describes the usable portion of the screen. A) refresh rate B) resolution C) dot-pitch D) viewable area 7. To minimize eyestrain, you should adjust your monitor to a __________ degree angle. A) 5 B) 10 C) 15 D) 90 8. Newer projectors utilize __________ to achieve clearer and brighter images. A) mirrors B) thin-film transistors C) digital light processing D) cathode ray tubes 9. The most complicated part of your computer’s sound system is the __________.A) speaker B) microphone C) headset D) sound card 10. The __________ contains speakers and a microphone on a headband. A) speaker B) microphone C) headset D) sound card 1. Dot matrix and band printers are __________ printers. A) laser B) impact C) ink jet D) thermal 2. Which of the following measures the speed of dot-matrix printers? A) ppm B) dpi C) cps D) lpm 3. Printers use __________ colors to generate the rainbow. A) 3 B) 4 C) 8 D) 16 4. In a laser printer, the __________ transfers the image to the paper. A) laser B) roller C) toner D) drum 5. Home offices often purchase __________ to solve printing and scanning needs.A) all-in-one peripherals B) photocopiers C) ink-jet printers D) scanners 6. For a home user that has casual printin g needs, the __________ specification is the most important specification of a printer. A) speed B) cost of use C) resolution D) paper size 7. The __________ printers are used to produce low-cost posters and handouts. A) dye-sublimation B) thermal-wax C) laser D) ink jet 8. The __________ printer use temperature variations to achieve different colors. A) dye-sublimation B) thermal-wax C) laser D) ink jet 9. The __________ printer sprays ink onto the page. A) laser B) dot-matrix C) non-inpact D) ink jet 10.An organization that needs to produce hundreds or thousands of pages a day, the __________ is the most logical choice. A) dot-matrix B) laser C) ink jet D) thermal-wax Processing Data 1. Chips are made up of millions of tiny __________ or switches. A) etches B) transistors C) charges D) electrons 2. Computers use the __________ number system to store data and perform calculations. A) decimal B) hexadecimal C) binary D) octal 3. There are __________ bits in one byte. A) 4 B) 8 C) 16 D) 32 4. The text code originally used in personal computers. A) EBCDIC B) Extended ASCII C) Unicode D) ASCII 5.The __________ performs simple math for the CPU. A) ALU B) DIMM C) BUS D) register 6. A(n) __________ is one instruction from a program. A) task B) process C) thread D) assignment 7. The __________ is the electronic pathway between components in the computer. A) B) C) D) CPU bus RAM register 8. A modern desktop computer will likely use __________ chips to store RAM. A) SO-DIMM B) SIMM C) DIPP D) DIMM 9. The __________ controls how often the computer executes a task. A) CPU B) bus C) clock D) RAM 10. The __________ bus is used to connect Macintosh keyboards and mouse. A) USB B) Firewire C) SCSI D) ISA 1.The Intel __________ is primarily designed for servers. A) Pentium III B) Itanium C) Celeron D) Centrino 2. This company historically made chips for Macintosh computers. A) Intel B) AMD C) Freescale D) Seagate 3. The newest processor for Macintosh computers is the 64-bit __ ________. A) G5 B) Pentium IV C) Athlon FX 64 D) PowerPC 4. Which of the following specification has little effect on the speed of a processor? A) cache B) system bus speed C) clock speed D) socket type 5. Multiple processor systems that are required to have an even number of processors are said to be __________ multiple processors.A) symmetric B) even C) balanced D) distributed 6. The UART chip controls the __________ port on the computer. A) parallel B) serial C) USB D) Ethernet 7. To add an internal card to a computer, it must have an open __________. A) expansion slot B) bay C) bus D) USB port 8. The __________ interface transmits one bit at a time. A) parallel B) SCSI C) serial D) FireWire 9. Most likely the color of the port your monitor is attached to is __________. A) green B) purple C) red D) blue 10. The SCSI bus connects devices using a __________ cable interface. A) plug-n-play B) daisy chain C) un-terminated D) internal

Bloodlines Chapter Fourteen

â€Å"FROM HIMSELF?† I couldn't help it. The joke was out before I could stop it. â€Å"No.† She perched on the edge of the bed and bit her lower lip. â€Å"Maybe ‘rescue' isn't the right word. But we have to go get him. He's trapped in Los Angeles.† I rubbed my eyes as I sat up and then waited a few moments, just in case this was all a dream. Nope. Nothing changed. I picked up my cell phone from my bedside table and groaned when I read the display. â€Å"Jill, it's not even six yet.† I started to question if Adrian was even awake this early but then remembered he was probably on a nocturnal schedule. Left to their own devices, Moroi went to bed around what was late morning for the rest of us. â€Å"I know,† she said in a small voice. â€Å"I'm sorry. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. He got a ride there last night because he wanted to see those†¦ those Moroi girls again. Lee was supposed to be in LA too, so Adrian figured he could get a ride home. Only, he can't get ahold of Lee, so now he can't get back. Adrian, that is. He's stranded and hung over.† I started to lie back down. â€Å"I don't have a lot of sympathy for that. Maybe he'll learn a lesson.† â€Å"Sydney, please.† I put an arm over my eyes. Maybe if I looked like I was asleep, she'd leave me alone. A question suddenly popped into my head, and I jerked my arm away. â€Å"How do you know any of this? Did he call?† I wasn't a super-light sleeper, but I still would've heard her phone ring. Jill looked away from me. Frowning, I sat up. â€Å"Jill? How do you know any of this?† â€Å"Please,† she whispered. â€Å"Can't we just go get him?† â€Å"Not until you tell me what's going on.† A weird feeling was crawling along my skin. I'd felt for a while that I was being excluded from something big, and now, I suddenly knew I was about to find out what the Moroi had been hiding from me. â€Å"You can't tell,† she said, finally meeting my eyes again. I tapped the tattoo on my cheek. â€Å"I can hardly tell anyone anything as it is.† â€Å"No, not anyone. Not the Alchemists. Not Keith. Not any other Moroi or dhampirs who don't already know.† Not tell the Alchemists? That would be a problem. Among all the other craziness in my life, no matter how much my assignments infuriated me or how much time I'd spent with vampires, I'd never questioned who my loyalty was to. I had to tell the Alchemists if something was going on with Jill and the others. It was my duty to them, to humanity. Of course, part of my duty to the Alchemists was looking after Jill, and whatever was plaguing her now obviously was connected to her welfare. For half a second, I considered lying to her and immediately dismissed the idea. I couldn't do it. If I was going to keep her secret, I would keep it. If I wasn't going to keep it, then I would let her know up front. â€Å"I won't tell,† I said. I think the words surprised me as much as her. She studied me in the dim light and must have at last decided I was telling the truth. She gave a slow nod. â€Å"Adrian and I are bound. Like, with a spirit bond.† I felt my eyes widen in disbelief. â€Å"How did that – † Everything suddenly clicked together, the missing pieces. â€Å"The attack. You – you – â€Å" â€Å"Died,† said Jill bluntly. â€Å"There was so much confusion when the Moroi assassins came. Everyone thought they were coming for Lissa, so most of the guardians went to surround her. Eddie was the only one who came for me, but he wasn't fast enough. This man, he†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Jill touched a spot in the center of her chest and shuddered. â€Å"He stabbed me. He†¦ he killed me. That's when Adrian came along. He used spirit to heal me and bring me back, and now we're bound. Everything happened so fast. No one there even realized what he did.† My mind was reeling. A spirit bond. Spirit was a troubling element to the Alchemists, mostly because we had so few records of it. Our world was documents and knowledge, so any gap made us feel weak. Signs of spirit use had been recorded over the centuries, but no one had really realized it was its own element. Those events had been written off as random magical phenomena. It was only recently, when Vasilisa Dragomir had exposed herself, that spirit had been rediscovered, along with its myriad psychic effects. She and Rose had had a spirit bond, the only modern one we had documented. Healing was one of spirit's most notable attributes, and Vasilisa had brought Rose back from a car accident. It had forged a psychic connection between them, one that had only been shattered when Rose had had a second near-death experience. â€Å"You can see in his head,† I breathed. â€Å"His thoughts. His feelings.† So much began to come together. Like how Jill always knew everything about Adrian, even when he claimed he hadn't told her. She nodded. â€Å"I don't want to. Believe me. But I can't help it. Rose said in time, I'll learn the control to keep his feelings out, but I can't do it now. And he has so much, Sydney. So much feeling. He feels everything so strongly – love, grief, anger. His emotions are up and down, all over the place. What happened between him and Rose†¦ it tears him apart. It's hard to stay focused on me sometimes with all of that going on in him. At least it's only some of the time. I can't really control when it happens.† I didn't say it but wondered if some of those volatile feelings were part of spirit's tendency to drive its users insane. Or maybe it was just part of Adrian's innate personality. All irrelevant, for now. â€Å"But he can't feel you, right? It's only one way?† I asked. Rose had been able to read Vasilisa's thoughts and see her experiences in everyday life – but not the other way around. I assumed it was the same now, but with spirit, one couldn't take anything for granted. â€Å"Right,† she agreed. â€Å"That's how†¦ that's how you always know things about him. Like my visits. And when he wanted pizza. That's why he's here, what Abe wanted him here for.† Jill frowned. â€Å"Abe? No, it was kind of a group choice for Adrian to come along. Rose and Lissa thought it would be best if we were together while we were getting used to the bond, and I wanted him nearby too. What made you think Abe was involved?† â€Å"Er, nothing,† I said. Abe instructing Adrian to stay at Clarence's must not have been something Jill observed. â€Å"I was just mixed up about something.† â€Å"Can we go now?† she begged. â€Å"I answered your questions.† â€Å"Let me make sure I understand something first,† I said. â€Å"Explain how he ended up in Los Angeles and why he's stuck.† Jill clasped her hands together and looked away again, a habit I was coming to associate with when she had information that she knew wasn't going to be received well. â€Å"He, um, left Clarence's last night. Because he was bored. He hitchhiked into town – to Palm Springs – and ended up partying with some people who were going to LA. So, he went with them. And while he was in a club, he found those girls – some Moroi girls – and so he went home with them. And then he spent the night and kind of passed out. Until now. Now he's awake. And he wants to go home. To Clarence's.† With all this talk of clubbing and girls, an unsettling thought was building in my mind. â€Å"Jill, just how much of that did you actually experience?† She was still avoiding my gaze. â€Å"It's not important.† â€Å"It is to me,† I said. The night Jill had woken in tears†¦ that had been when Adrian was with those girls too. Was she living his sex life? â€Å"What was he thinking? He knows you're there, that you're living everything he does, but he never stops to – oh God. The first day of school. Ms. Chang was right, wasn't she? You were hung over. Vicariously, at least.† And almost every other morning, she woke up feeling semi-sick – because Adrian was hung over too. Jill nodded. â€Å"There was nothing physical they could've tested – like blood or anything – to prove that's what it was, but yeah. I might as well have had one. I certainly felt like it. It was awful.† I reached out and turned her face toward mine so that she had to look at me. â€Å"And you are now too.† There was more light in the room as the sun rose higher, and I could see the signs again. The sickly paleness and bloodshot eyes. I wouldn't have been surprised if her head and stomach hurt too. I dropped my hand and shook my head in disgust. â€Å"He can stay there.† â€Å"Sydney!† â€Å"He deserves it. I know you feel†¦ something†¦ for him.† Whether it was sisterly or romantic affection, it really didn't matter. â€Å"But you can't baby him and run to every need and request he sends to you.† â€Å"He's not asking me, not exactly,† she said. â€Å"I can just feel that he wants it.† â€Å"Well, he should've thought of that before he got himself into this mess. He can figure out his own way back.† â€Å"His cell phone died.† â€Å"He can borrow one from his new ‘friends.'† â€Å"He's in agony,† she said. â€Å"That's how life is,† I said. â€Å"I'm in agony.† I sighed. â€Å"Jill – â€Å" â€Å"No, I'm serious. And it's not just the hangover. I mean, yeah, part of it's the hangover. And as long as he's sick and not taking anything, then so am I! Plus†¦ his thoughts. Ugh.† Jill rested her forehead in her hands. â€Å"I can't get rid of how unhappy he is. It's like†¦ like a hammer banging in my head. I can't get away from it. I can't do anything else except think about how miserable he is! And that makes me miserable. Or think I'm miserable. I don't know.† She sighed. â€Å"Please, Sydney. Can we go?† â€Å"Do you know where he is?† I asked. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"All right, then. I'll go.† I slid over to the edge of the bed. She stood up with me. â€Å"I'll come too.† â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"You go back to bed. Take some aspirin and see if you can make yourself feel better.† I also had a few things I wanted to say to Adrian in private. Admittedly, if she was constantly connected to him, she'd â€Å"overhear† our conversation, but it'd be a lot easier to tell him what I wanted to when she wasn't actually there in the flesh, looking at me with those big eyes. â€Å"But how will you – â€Å" â€Å"I don't want you getting sick in the car. Just call me if something changes or if he leaves or whatever.† Jill's further protests were halfhearted, either because she didn't feel up to them or was just willing to be grateful for anyone â€Å"rescuing† Adrian. She didn't have an exact address, but she had a very vivid description of the condo he was at, which was right next door to a notable hotel. When I looked it up, I saw the hotel was actually in Long Beach, meaning I'd have to go past Los Angeles proper. I had a two-hour drive ahead of me. Coffee would be required. It was a pretty day, at least, and there was almost no traffic out so early on a Sunday. Looking at the sun and blue skies, I kept thinking about how nice it would be if I were making this drive in a convertible, with the top down. It would also be nice if I had been making this drive for any other reason besides retrieving a stranded vampire party boy. I was still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that Jill and Adrian were spirit bound. The notion of someone bringing another back from the dead was not one that meshed well with my religious beliefs. It was just as troubling as another of spirit's feats: restoring Strigoi. We had two documented cases of that happening too, two Strigoi magically changed by spirit users back to their original form. One was a woman named Sonya Karp. The other was Dimitri Belikov. Between that and all this resurrection, spirit was really starting to freak me out. That much power just didn't seem right. I reached Long Beach right on schedule and had no problem finding the condo complex. It was right across the street from an oceanfront hotel called the Cascadia. Since Jill hadn't called with a change of location, I assumed Adrian was still holed up. Street parking was easy to find at this time of day, and I paused outside to stare at the blue-gray expanse of the Pacific on the western horizon. It was breathtaking, especially after my first week in the desert of Palm Springs. I almost wished Jill had come. Maybe being near so much water would have made her feel better. The condos were in a peach stucco building with three floors, two units on each floor. From Adrian's memories, Jill remembered going to the top of the building and turning right. I retraced those steps and came to a blue door with a heavy brass knocker. I knocked. When no answer came after almost a minute, I tried again more loudly. I was nearly on the verge of a third attempt when I heard the lock unclick. The door opened a crack, and a girl peeked out. She was clearly Moroi, with a skinny runway model build and pale, perfect skin that seemed particularly irritating today, considering I was pretty sure a pimple was going to break out on my forehead soon. She was my age, maybe a little older, with sleek black hair and deep blue eyes. She looked like some otherworldly doll. She was also half-asleep. â€Å"Yeah?† She looked me over. â€Å"Are you selling something?† Next to this tall, perfect Moroi, I suddenly felt self-conscious and frumpy in my linen skirt and button-down top. â€Å"Is Adrian here?† â€Å"Who?† â€Å"Adrian. Tall. Brown hair. Green eyes.† She frowned. â€Å"Do you mean Jet?† â€Å"I†¦ I'm not sure. Does he smoke like a chimney?† The girl nodded sagely. â€Å"Yup. You must mean Jet.† She glanced behind her and yelled, â€Å"Hey, Jet! There's some saleswoman here to see you.† â€Å"Send her out,† called a familiar voice. The Moroi opened the door wider and beckoned me in. â€Å"He's on the balcony.† I walked through a living room that served as a cautionary tale of what would ever happen if Jill and I lost all sense of housekeeping and self-respect. The place was a disaster. A girl disaster. Laundry piles littered the floor, and dirty dishes covered every square inch that wasn't occupied by empty beer bottles. A knocked-over bottle of nail polish had created a bubblegum pink splotch on the carpet. On the couch, tangled in blankets, a blond Moroi girl peered at me drowsily and then went back to sleep. Stepping around everything, I made my way to Adrian through a patio door. He stood on a balcony, leaning against its railing, his back to me. The morning air was warm and clear, so naturally, he was trying to ruin it by smoking. â€Å"Tell me this, Sage,† he said, without turning back to face me. â€Å"Why the hell would someone put a building near the beach but not have the balconies face the water? They were built to look at hills behind us. Unless the neighbors start doing something interesting, I'm ready to declare this structure a total waste.† I crossed my arms and glared at his back. â€Å"I'm so glad I've got your valuable opinion on that. I'll be sure and note it when I file my complaint to the city council for their inadequate ocean views.† He turned around, the hint of a smile twisting his lips. â€Å"What are you doing here? I figured you'd be in church or something.† â€Å"What do you think? I'm here because of the pleas of a fifteen-year-old girl who doesn't deserve what you put her through.† Any trace of a smile vanished. â€Å"Oh. She told you.† He turned back around. â€Å"Yes, and you all should have told me sooner! This is serious†¦ monumental.† â€Å"And no doubt something the Alchemists would love to study.† I could envision his sneer perfectly. â€Å"I promised her I wouldn't tell. But you still should've filled me in. It's kind of important information to have since I'm the one who has to babysit all of you.† ‘†Babysit' is kind of an extreme term, Sage.† â€Å"Considering the current scenario? No, not really.† Adrian said nothing, and I gave him a quick assessment. He wore high-quality, dark-washed jeans and a red cotton shirt that must have been slept in, judging from the wrinkles. His feet were bare. â€Å"Did you bring a coat?† I asked. â€Å"No.† I went back inside and did a search among the clutter. The blond Moroi girl was fast asleep, and the one who'd let me in was sprawled on an unmade bed in another room. I finally found Adrian's socks and shoes tossed in a corner. I rushed to retrieve them, then headed back outside and dropped them next to him on the balcony. â€Å"Put those on. We're leaving.† â€Å"You aren't my mom.† â€Å"No, yours is serving a sentence for perjury and theft, if memory serves.† It was a mean, mean thing to say, but it was also the truth. And it got his attention. Adrian's head whipped around. Anger glinted in the depths of his green eyes, the first I'd ever truly seen in him. â€Å"Don't you ever mention her again. You have no idea what you're talking about.† His anger was a little intimidating, but I held my ground. â€Å"Actually, I was the one in charge of tracking down the records she stole.† â€Å"She had her reasons,† he said through gritted teeth. â€Å"You're so willing to defend someone who was convicted of a crime, yet you don't have any consideration for Jill – who's done nothing.† â€Å"I have plenty of consideration for her!† He paused to light a cigarette with trembling hands, and I suspected he was also trying to get a grip on his emotions. â€Å"I think about her all the time. How could I not? She's there†¦ I can't feel it, but she's always there, always listening to things in my head, listening to things I don't even want to hear. Feeling things I don't want to feel.† He inhaled on the cigarette and turned to look at the view, though I doubted he actually saw it. â€Å"If you're so aware of her, then how come you do stuff like this?† I gestured around us. â€Å"How could you drink when you know it affects her too? How could you do† – I grimaced – â€Å"whatever you did with those girls, knowing she could ‘see' it? She's fifteen.† â€Å"I know, I know,† he said. â€Å"I didn't know about the drinking – not at first. When she came over after school and told me that day, I stopped. I really did. But then†¦ when you guys were over on Friday, she told me to go ahead since it was the weekend. I guess she wasn't as worried about getting sick. So, I said to myself, ‘I'll just have a couple.' Only last night, it turned into more than that. And then things got kind of crazy, and I ended up here and – what am I doing? I don't have to justify my actions to you.† â€Å"I don't think you can justify them to anyone.† I was furious, my blood boiling. â€Å"You're one to talk, Sage.† He pointed an accusing finger. â€Å"At least I take action. You? You let the world go by without you. You stand there while that asshole Keith treats you like crap and just smile and nod. You have no spine. You don't fight back. Even old Abe seems to push you around. Was Rose right that he's got something on you? Or is he just someone else you won't fight back against?† I worked hard not to let him know just how deeply those words struck me. â€Å"You don't know the first thing about me, Adrian Ivashkov. I fight back plenty.† â€Å"You could've fooled me.† I gave him a tight smile. â€Å"I just don't make a spectacle of myself when I do it. It's called being responsible.† â€Å"Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night.† I threw up my hands. â€Å"Well, that's the thing: I don't sleep at night anymore because I have to come save you from your own idiocy. Can we leave now? Please?† As an answer, he put out the cigarette and began putting on his socks and shoes. He looked up at me as he did, the anger totally gone. His moods were changed as easily as flipping a light switch. â€Å"You have to get me out of there. Out of Clarence's.† His voice was level and serious. â€Å"He's a nice enough guy, but I'm going to go crazy if I stay there.† â€Å"As opposed to your excellent behavior when you aren't there?† I glanced back into the condo. â€Å"Maybe your two groupies have room for you.† â€Å"Hey, show some respect. They're real people with names. Carla and Krissy.† He frowned. â€Å"Or was it Missy?† I sighed. â€Å"I told you before, I don't have any control over your living arrangement. How hard is it for you to go get your own place? Why do you need me?† â€Å"Because I have almost no money, Sage. My old man cut me off. He gives me an allowance that's barely enough for cigarettes.† I considered suggesting he quit, but that probably wouldn't be a useful turn in the conversation. â€Å"I'm sorry. I really am. If I think of something, I'll let you know. Besides, doesn't Abe want you to stay there?† I decided to come clean. â€Å"I overheard you two on the first day. How he wanted you to do something for him.† Adrian straightened up, shoes secured. â€Å"Yeah, I don't know what that's all about. Did you hear how totally vague he was too? I think he's just trying to screw with me, keep me busy because somewhere in that messed-up heart of his, he feels bad about what happened with – â€Å" Adrian shut his mouth, but I could hear the unspoken name: Rose. A terrible sadness crossed his features, and his eyes looked lost and haunted. I remembered when I'd been in the car with Jill, and she'd slipped into a tirade about Rose, about how the memory of her tormented Adrian. Knowing what I knew now about the bond, I had a feeling there'd been very little of Jill in those words. That had been a direct line to Adrian. Looking at him, I could barely understand the scope of that pain, nor did I know how to help. I just knew that I suddenly understood a tiny bit better why he would want to drown his sorrows so much, not that that made it any healthier. â€Å"Adrian,† I said awkwardly, â€Å"I'm – â€Å" â€Å"Forget it,† he said. â€Å"You don't know what it's like to love someone like that, then to have that love thrown back in your face – â€Å" An ear-splitting scream suddenly pierced the air. Adrian flinched more than me, proving the downside of vampire hearing: annoying sounds were that much more annoying. As one, we hurried back inside the condo. The blond girl was sitting upright on the couch, as startled as we were. The other girl, the one who had let me in, stood in the doorway to the bedroom, pale as death, a cell phone clutched in her hand. â€Å"What's the matter?† I asked. She opened her mouth to speak and then did a double take at me, seeming to remember that I was human. â€Å"It's okay, Carla,† said Adrian. â€Å"She knows about us. You can trust her.† That was all Carla needed. She threw herself into Adrian's arms and began crying uncontrollably. â€Å"Oh, Jet,† she said between sobs. â€Å"I can't believe it happened to her. How did this happen?† â€Å"What happened?† asked the other Moroi girl, rising unsteadily to her feet. Like Adrian, she looked like she'd slept in her clothes. I dared to hope that Jill hadn't been subjected to as much as indecency as I'd originally imagined. â€Å"Tell us what happened, Carla,† said Adrian in a gentle voice I'd only ever heard him use around with Jill. â€Å"I'm Krissy,† she sniffed. â€Å"And our friend – our friend.† She wiped at her eyes as more tears came to her eyes. â€Å"I just got the call. Our friend – another Moroi who goes to our college – she's dead.† Krissy looked up at the other girl, whom I guessed was Carla now. â€Å"It was Melody. She was killed by Strigoi last night.† Carla gasped and began crying, triggering more tears from Krissy. I met Adrian's eyes, both of us aghast. Even if we had no idea who this Melody was, a Strigoi killing was still a terrible, tragic thing. Immediately, my Alchemist mind kicked into action. I needed to make sure the crime scene was secure and the murder kept secret from humans. â€Å"Where?† I asked. â€Å"Where did it happen?† â€Å"West Hollywood,† said Carla. â€Å"Out behind some club.† I relaxed a little, though I was still shaken by the tragedy of it all. That was a busy, populated region, one that would definitely be on the Alchemists' radar. If any humans had found out, the Alchemists would have long since taken care of it. â€Å"At least they didn't turn her,† said Carla forlornly. â€Å"She can rest in peace. Of course, those monsters still couldn't rest without mutilating her body.† I stared, feeling cold all over. â€Å"What do you mean?† She rubbed her nose on Adrian's shirt. â€Å"Melody. They didn't just drink from her. They slit her throat too.†