Bureaucracy and Scientific Management Essay

Bureaucracy, which is an important model of organization defined by rules and series of hierarchical relationships, has been the dominant role for understanding organization for decades (Grey, 2007). Since the 1960s, numerous criticisms in mainstream thinking keep emerging toward the bureaucracy asserted that the imminent death of bureaucracy is coming because the defects associated with applying rules would lead to several problems such as poor employee motivation and goal-displacement. In view of this, the implication of a move from bureaucracy to post-bureaucracy has emerged and it is being depicted as a new label of flexible specialization in volatile market. Based on trust and empowerment, post-bureaucracy and other terms including post-hierarchical, post-fordism and post-modern organization are also employed in the same sense (McSweeney, 2006). While some expert judge that the post-bureaucracy are actually more rhetorical than real and it has its own problems such as the risk, unfairness and loss of control, others highlight that the advent of the new post-bureaucratic era is still arriving since the market has been experienced a moving from mass production towards niche production in today’s business environment. While it can not be denied that the concern on the aspect of its design and efficiency in mainstream thinking toward the bureaucracy did lead to some problems in a sense, this essay will attempt to demonstrate that the bureaucracy is still relevant for understanding organizations in current business environment and the existence of post-bureaucracy should be questioned. In order to demonstrate this, according to the mainstream thinking, critiques towards bureaucracy at different perspectives and the feasibility of post-bureaucracy will be discussed at the beginning. Then it will argue the limitation of the mainstream thinking and how bureaucracy can still be relevant for understanding organizations by using examples from literatures. According to Weber, rational-legal is the basis of bureaucracy and it becomes widely adopted because it refers to a highly efficient form of organization while critiques towards the bureaucracy in mainstream thinking are basically to do with the aspect of its design and efficiency in contrast. In the popularist critiques, bureaucracy is viewed as a form of organization which is like a predictable machine with standard operations and leads to the unnecessary delay and excessive obsession with rules. Based on the mainstream thinking, Grey (2007) summarized some important problems from the popularist critiques related with the inertia and ‘Red Tape’ mentality. Specifically, because simply following the rules in bureaucracy gives rise to have little personal commitment and low interest for the workers in the organization, job satisfaction and responsibility in their minds will not be guaranteed and leads to a poor motivated customer service as well as the procrastination in paper work. In the view of the customers, due to the impersonal rules from bureaucracy, sometimes it facilitated the employees in organizations to be ‘jobsworth’ and lead to ‘buck-passing’ by hiding behind the rules when no decision is being made towards a rule-against problem until ‘authority’ comes because the typical mind in their heads. However, some managerialists such as Crozier (1964, cited in Grey, 2007) and Gouldner (1954, cited in Grey, 2007) might deal a blow to the idea that bureaucracy is rigid and impersonal because rules sometimes are completely ignored by employees in their observation. For example, safety regulations as well as equal opportunities regulations in organizations are usually being ignored because they are viewed as a commonplace and sometimes the inconvenience would get in the way of the their jobs. But it was not assured that whether the result of the observation is suit to the organizations in other industries. Yet, more overriding controversial problem in bureaucracy is the goal-displacement within organizations. In the managerialist critiques, as Robert Merton (1940) addressed in his study, bureaucracy would not always lead to the best outcome because people are more likely to follow the rules as a goal rather than its effect. In this way, it gives rise to deliver sub-optimal outcomes in organizations by ‘doing the thing right’ rather than ‘doing the right thing’. A defense for the goal-displacement would be that solutions are not all the optimum ones in every case, but bureaucracy offers an optimum average at overall level. However, another particular version of goal-displacement given by Philip Selznick (1949, cited in Grey, 2007) also poses a blow to the bureaucracy. He suggests divisionalized structures on organizations would lead to different aims towards the divisions by pursuing divisional interests but not the whole organization as the rules designed. Individual prejudices would play a central part in decision making and different aims in divisions within the organizations would very much debunk the rational image of bureaucracy. These insights above are very much pointing to the emergence of post-bureaucracy in organization. Admittedly, apart from overcoming the demerit of bureaucracy, as new forms of organizations with an open boundary based on trust and empowerment, post-bureaucracy would be more suitable for the organizations while the market is even more volatile in today’s business environment. However, post-bureaucracy has its own problems on the aspect of control and risk in mainstream thinking. Without applying rules in organizations, it is not easy to sustain the operation of organizations in an open boundary while trust and empowerment is so fragile that there is a danger that post-bureaucracy will descend into anarchy. Besides, giving employees more freedom to work in their ways would lead to the risk of making wrong decisions. Because employees might have adopted an even less efficient approach to the problems, the efficiency in the post-bureaucratically organizations would be less efficient at all times (Grey, 2007). However, some experts would try to advocate the post-bureaucracy in a different perspective. While the present business environment is moving from mass production towards niche production, organizations are chasing the trend of fitting with the flexible specialization in producing (Piore and Sabel, 1984, cited in Grey, 2007) and the rise of the network society and network organizations also provide a favorable environment for the post-bureaucracy (Castells, 1996, cited in Grey, 2007). But managerialists such as Warhurst and Thompson (1998) and McSweeney (2006) acute that the critiques towards the mass production is by no means decreasing over the world, and the new forms of operation with post-bureaucracy based on trust and empowerment are actually more rhetorical than real because few and limited practical cases of detailed type post-bureaucracy could be found in recent period so far. Therefore, the existence of post-bureaucracy within organizations should be questioned in a sense. Back to the argument discussed in the front, some limitations are worth noticing in the mainstream thinking. Although bureaucracy has its shortcomings in multiple perspectives, Paul du Gay (2000) claims that bureaucracy actually embodies fairness. It is true because people would chase for the maximum efficiency due to the demand of instrumental rationality. Ethic of impersonality and fairness in bureaucracy are required so that employees and customers are treated without prejudice and discrimination. In George Ritzer’s The McDonaldization of Society (2000), it also provides the idea that impersonality is the central of bureaucratic ethos that guarantee fairness as du Gay mentioned and this can be related to the merit of standardization in organizations. Specifically, Ritzer utilizes Mcdonaldization and sees it as the template for contemporary forms of bureaucratization. By focusing on the four dimensions including efficiency, calculability, predictability and control through non-human technology, he exemplifies the logic of standardization in bureaucracy has several advantages including economic and material reasons and contends that the proliferation of standardization has spread into more and more sectors in all kinds of area. Scientific management in bureaucracy is still very evident in organisational systems over the period. Another noticing limitation could be found on the one-sided aspect of the restriction focused on efficiency. The critiques towards bureaucracy as well as post-bureaucracy in mainstream thinking might have a different understanding if the vision is shifted from different perspectives. According to du Gay (2000), it is fundamentally doing with the power. But more importantly, it is about the question of a binary logic. Mainstream thinking concerning about the efficiency towards bureaucracy is more likely to divide whether the bureaucracy is good and post-bureaucracy is bad or post-bureaucracy is good and bureaucracy is bad. However, the division between bureaucracy and post-bureaucracy was actually much less clear-cut in current business environment. For example, in Richard Sennett’s (1998) study, he revisits what previously was a Greek bakery operating with bureaucratic rules and workers are stable unionized few decades ago. However it becomes a multinational firm with large scale and uses shifting workforce of non-unionized workers for operating the bakery machines. In this way, products are easily to shift from type to type while workers know nothing about the techniques of baking but just simply pressing the button on the bakery machine. It clearly shows how new working environment of post-bureaucracy about flexibility in production do not simply imply an empowered kind of organizational life and the ways of working are as dehumanizing as before — the combination of bureaucracy and post-bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is still very much alive in the new forms of organization. In conclusion, the concern on the aspect of its design and efficiency in mainstream thinking toward the bureaucracy did lead to some problems in a sense. However, while bureaucracy has been proclaimed is ending since 1960s and it leads to the view of emergence towards the new form of organization, post-bureaucracy has its own problems and its existence should be questioned. However, bureaucracy actually does embody fairness. While the world is stepping into a new business environment, organization operate in bureaucracy still has several advantages including economic and material reasons and the proliferation of standardization has spread into more and more sectors in all kinds of area. Bureaucracy is still very much alive and evident in modern organizational and social life, even combined within the new organisational systems.

Should Obese People Have Higher Premiums

Guoyi Chen Should Obese People Have Higher Premiums The Obesity epidemic affects millions people of the United States every day. According to the National Institutes of Health, â€Å"obesity† refers to any individual with a BMI of more than 30 and BMI is simply a calculation that assesses weight relative to height (NIH). In the past decades, the number of obese Americans has increased dramatically. Based on the data from Nation Health and Examination Survey, about one-third of U. S. adults (33. %) are obese and approximately 17% (or 12. 5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are obese (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). It is well documented that people who are obese are more likely to have so-called â€Å"obese-related† health problems such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the government has spent about 122 billion dollars annually to cure people who have obese related health issues and this number is still increasing.Because obesity costs so much annually, some people suggest that people who are obese should pay higher insurance rates because they place a heavy burden on the government and use more health care resources than non-obese people. On the other hand, others hold the opinion that it is unfair for people who are obese and it is kind of discrimination if they need to pay higher insurance rates than non-obese people. The important question that worth to notice here is that what causes obesity?Some people suggest that obesity is more about â€Å"nature†. It has something to do with genes because obese people would transfer their â€Å"obese gene† to their offspring. Other people believe that it more about â€Å"nurture† because an unhealthy life style could leads to obesity. However, according to NIH, â€Å"obesity is mainly caused by consuming more calories than the body needs – most commonly by eating a diet high in fat and calories, living a sedentary lifestyle, or both. † (NIH).That being said, most people who are obese that way are because they do not care about their health so much and prefer an unhealthy lifestyle, therefore, those people should pay higher insurance rates because they choose to behave in ways that pose risks to their health. To begin with, people who are obese should pay higher insurance rate because they choose to ruin their health by choosing unhealthy food rather than healthy food. The choices on food have a close connection with people’s health problems. Based on the definition that was given by NIH, obesity is caused by eating a diet high in fat and calories.That is to say, people’s choice on food affects this problem significantly. Nowadays, people have lots of choices on food. There are always many health options available to people besides unhealthy food. However, some people would like to choose food that contains high calories rather than fres h vegetables, fruit etc. They are more likely to eat food such as cheeseburgers, pizza, soft drinks and fries. It seems like these kinds of food are relative inexpensive, faster to get and even more delicious in some degree.But from a different point of view, these kinds of food contain many calories, which could causes obesity problems later on. One possible reason that people choose eat those unhealthy food might because they think fresh vegetables, fruit and even fresh proteins are expensive for them so they have to eat things like fast food instead since they do not have high incomes even if they want to buy those healthy food. But a good question that worth to think about carefully here is that â€Å"Are these â€Å"healthy† food options really more expensive than â€Å"unhealthy† food? † Take â€Å"fast-food† as an example.According to Mark Bittman, the author of the article â€Å"Is Junk Food Really Cheaper†, which published in New York Time s, a typical order for a family of four is two Big Macs, a cheeseburger, six chicken McNuggets, two medium and two small fries, and two medium and two small sodas, which cost about 28 dollars. But the home-cooked meal of chicken, salad, potatoes and milk cost on average about 13. 78 dollars and a homemade meal of pinto beans and rice is even cheaper at $9. 26. However, the calories that people get from having fast food is definitely much higher than having healthy goods.With the time goes along, there is a big chance that people’s eating habit will be changed into unhealthy way and finally leads to obesity and even results in obese related problems. That is to say, eating health does not mean eating expensive. It is about what you choose to eat. Some people might argue that they want to cook at home but the grocery stores are far away from them and some of them are even do not know how to cook. However, according to research conducted by Department of Agriculture, 93 percent of those with limited access to supermarkets do have access to vehicles.That being said, even if taking the long route to putting food on the table may not be easy, but for most Americans it remains a choice. The idea is that if you can drive to McDonald’s you can drive to Safeway as well. Cook a health meal is not a complicate job. There are lots of books on the cashier that teach people how to cook the health food. Why don’t you take the responsibility to learn how to prepare a health meal and protect your family or yourself from obesity related health issues? Beside, it is understandable that people live in fast pace society now and barely have time to prepare health meals.But why don't you spend less time watching TV everyday? Your time is there. By spending less time watching TV, you could not only prepared health food but also burned extra calories while preparing the food, which is also helpful. That being said, money, time and cook skills might not the excuses for people who choose to eat unhealthy food and ruin their healthy this way. Choosing what kinds food to eat is totally a personal choice, of people have the unhealthy eating style they have, they are more likely to become obese and get some obese related problems such as diabetes.As we discussed above, government spent huge amount of money to cure those people. In another words, people who care about their health and choose a health eating habit pay tax dollars to government every years just can get less benefits than what they should have because there is a part of their tax dollars go to cure those people who ruin their health by choosing unhealthy life style. In short, obese people should pay higher insurance rates for themselves than non-obese people because the diseases they get is caused by their obesity and their obesity caused by the unhealthy eating habit they choose.Another reason why obese people should pay higher insurance rates is because they barely take some actions such as, do more exercising to control their weight. Doing some exercises could help them stay away from obese related health problems and then save huge amount of money every year. We should take two different situations into consideration. One is that people who are obese but already taking some exercises to lose some weight. Those groups of obese people might already understand that obesity could results in many health diseases and would bring negative externality to society.However, another group is the people who are obese but still do not want to take actions to keep them away from health diseases. Those groups of people are the people who need to pay higher insurance because they do not care about their health in the beginning and do not even care if they will bring negative impact on society. Moreover, those people perhaps think that government will pay expensive expenses for them when they get sick because they have health insurance like anyone else do.That is to say, it en courages those people to not take actions to help themselves away from obese related health problems if the insurance rates stay the same for anybody. Some people might say that it is kind of discrimination that requires people who are obese to pay higher insurance rates than non-obese people. It seems reasonable in some degree. Why should insurance rates depend on people’s appearance? However, in order to look at this problem fairly, let's consider two important questions.The first question is â€Å"do obese people have a choice between being fat and not fat? † This is a very important question to think about before deciding whether obese people should pay higher insurance rates or not. If being obese is more about â€Å"nature† thing that has something to do with â€Å"genes† and people who are obese do not have controls on that, then, they should not pay higher insurance than non-obese and if they are required to do so, it is definitely a discriminatio n and it would just end up punishing people who are already punished by their health.According to ObesityinAmerica. org, obesity is not always caused by simple behavioral issues, it has something to do with genes. For example, genetic determinations such as the way a body expends energy, hormones that affect the way calories are processed, and other organ systems in the body can all affect appetite. These groups of people do not have control on how they will be born, but they do have controls on whether they want to take initiative to have a healthy eating habits and life styles, which could help them away from obesity related problems.The idea is that as long as they realized the potential health issues they might have and helping themselves away from these dangers, they should not be required to pay higher health insurance rates since their behaviors could ease heavy economic burden on government. However, other type of people, who have choice on being obese or not, should pay hig her health insurance rates if they â€Å"choose† to be obese by having unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyle because they choose to place a negative externality to society, then, we should ask that for those people who â€Å"choose† to be obese, do they impose an cost on other people?Unfortunately, the answer would be yes. Those people believe they have the right to choose their own lifestyle even though it is bad for their health, but what they didn't noticed is that their â€Å"right† would impose an cost on people who have a health lifestyle. It is common sense that obesity can cause many diseases. Author Yves Engler, who is a Canadian writer and political activist, mentions in his article â€Å"Obesity: Much of the Responsibility Lies with Corporations† that â€Å"Researchers claim there are links between obesity and more than 30 medical conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, cancers and possibly Alzheimer’sâ₠¬ .In other words, obesity is not just about how you look like physically, it actually causes many fatal diseases, which cost much to cure. Yves Engler points out in the same article that â€Å"The U. S. National Institute of Health estimates that the annual costs of treating obesity-related conditions are at least $120 billion†, that is to say, larger proportions of tax dollars were used to treat people who are ruining their own healthy by choosing a bad healthy life style.Then, why should people who care about their health and choose health life style paid the money for those group of people who claims that they have their own â€Å"right† to choose what they want. It does not make sense that someone who doesn't care about their health by eating excessive amounts of unhealthy food and spending few time exercising pays the same insurance premium of a person who makes it a priority to keep their health in the best possible shape they can. In some degree, requires obes e people pay higher health insurance is just like require dangerous driver pay higher car insurance rates.The driver could have options to drive safely, but he/she choose drive dangerously instead and because of his/her dangerous driving, it would put others life and properties in a risky place. So, is it kind of discrimination if car insurance companies charge higher rates to those dangerous drivers than drivers who drive safely? It is probably not. The idea the require obese people tp pay higher insurance rates is not because government want to take advantages from obese people, it is because it is a good way to encourage obese people control their life style.That being said, requiring people who obese pay higher insurance rates is not discrimination. It is a fair way that redistributes health care expenses and encourages them to pay attention to their health. All in all, those people who realized they are obese but do not want to take initiative do to control their weight should pay higher insurance because their own â€Å"choice† brings a negative externality on society. Because of their unhealthy ifestyle, they would more likely to get obese related health problem than non-obese people and then demand more health care resource than non-obese people, they should responsible for the cost that resulted by their own choices. Work Cited â€Å"U. S. Obesity Trends. † Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27 Feb. 2012. Web. 27 May. 2012. . Nilsson, Siri. â€Å"Good Luck If You're Searching for Good-for-You Eats. † ABC News.ABC News Network, 26 Sept. 2006. Web. 27 May. 2012. . â€Å"Obesity In America: What's Driving The Epidemic?. † Harvard Men's Health Watch 16. 7 (2012): 5-7. Academic Search Premier. Web. 27 May. 2012 â€Å"2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. † : Contents. 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 27 May. 2012. ;http://www. health. gov/paguidelines/guidelines/default. as px;. â€Å"Understanding Obesity. † Understanding Obesity. 12 Jan. 2008. Web. 28 May 2012. ;http://www. obesityinamerica. rg/understandingObesity/index. cfm;. Bittman, Mark. â€Å"OP-ED COLUMNIST; Is Junk Food Really Cheaper. † The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Sept. 2011. Web. 11 June 2012. ;http://www. nytimes. com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-really-cheaper. html? pagewanted=all;. Engler, Yves. â€Å"English 1022 Online–Spring 2010. † : Obesity: Much of the Responsibility Lies with Corporations. N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 June 2012. ;http://spring2010online1022. blogspot. com/2010/02/obesity-much-of-responsibility-lies. html;.

The Twilight Saga 5: Midnight Sun 2. Open Book

I leaned back against the soft snow bank, letting the dry powder reshape itself around my weight. My skin had cooled to match the air around me, and the tiny pieces of ice felt like velvet under my skin. The sky above me was clear, brilliant with stars, glowing blue in some places, yellow in others. The stars created majestic, swirling shapes against the black universe – an awesome sight. Exquisitely beautiful. Or rather, it should have been exquisite. Would have been, if I'd been able to really see it. It wasn't getting any better. Six days had passed, six days I'd hidden here in the empty Denali wilderness, but I was no closer to freedom than I had been since the first moment that I'd caught her scent. When I stared up at the jeweled sky, it was as if there were an obstruction between my eyes and their beauty. The obstruction was a face, just an unremarkable human face, but I couldn't quite seem to banish it from my mind. I heard the approaching thoughts before I heard the footsteps that accompanied them. The sound of movement was only a faint whisper against the powder. I was not surprised that Tanya had followed me here. I knew she'd been mulling over this coming conversation for the last few days, putting it off until she was sure of exactly what she wanted to say. She sprang into sight about sixty yards away, leaping onto the tip of an outcropping of black rock and balancing there on the balls of her bare feet. Tanya's skin was silver in the starlight, and her long blond curls shone pale, almost pink with their strawberry tint. Her amber eyes glinted as she spied me, halfburied in the snow, and her full lips stretched slowly into a smile. Exquisite. If I'd really been able to see her. I sighed. She crouched down on the point of the stone, her fingertips touching the rock, her body coiled. Cannonball, she thought. She launched herself into the air; her shape became a dark, twisting shadow as she spun gracefully between me and the stars. She curled herself into a ball just as she struck the piled snow bank beside me. A blizzard of snow flew up around me. The stars went black and I was buried deep in the feathery ice crystals. I sighed again, but didn't move to unearth myself. The blackness under the snow neither hurt nor improved the view. I still saw the same face. â€Å"Edward?† Then snow was flying again as Tanya swiftly disinterred me. She brushed the powder from my unmoving face, not quite meeting my eyes. â€Å"Sorry,† she murmured. â€Å"It was a joke.† â€Å"I know. It was funny.† Her mouth twisted down. â€Å"Irina and Kate said I should leave you alone. They think I'm annoying you.† â€Å"Not at all,† I assured her. â€Å"On the contrary, I'm the one who's being rude – abominably rude. I'm very sorry.† You're going home, aren't you? she thought. â€Å"I haven't†¦entirely†¦decided that yet.† But you're not staying here. Her thought was wistful now, sad. â€Å"No. It doesn't seem to be†¦helping.† She grimaced. â€Å"That's my fault, isn't it?† â€Å"Of course not,† I lied smoothly. Don't be a gentleman. I smiled. I make you uncomfortable, she accused. â€Å"No.† She raised one eyebrow, her expression so disbelieving that I had to laugh. One short laugh, followed by another sigh. â€Å"All right,† I admitted. â€Å"A little bit.† She sighed, too, and put her chin in her hands. Her thoughts were chagrined. â€Å"You're a thousand times lovelier than the stars, Tanya. Of course, you're already well aware of that. Don't let my stubbornness undermine your confidence.† I chuckled at the unlikeliness of that. â€Å"I'm not used to rejection,† she grumbled, her lower lip pushing out into an attractive pout. â€Å"Certainly not,† I agreed, trying with little success to block out her thoughts as she fleetingly sifted through memories of her thousands of successful conquests. Mostly Tanya preferred human men – they were much more populous for one thing, with the added advantage of being soft and warm. And always eager, definitely. â€Å"Succubus,† I teased, hoping to interrupt the images flickering in her head. She grinned, flashing her teeth. â€Å"The original.† Unlike Carlisle, Tanya and her sisters had discovered their consciences slowly. In the end, it was their fondness for human men that turned the sisters against the slaughter. Now the men they loved†¦lived. â€Å"When you showed up here,† Tanya said slowly. â€Å"I thought that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I'd known what she'd thought. And I should have guessed that she would have felt that way. But I hadn't been at my best for analytical thinking in that moment. â€Å"You thought that I'd changed my mind.† â€Å"Yes.† She scowled. â€Å"I feel horrible for toying with your expectations, Tanya. I didn't mean to – I wasn't thinking. It's just that I left in†¦quite a hurry.† â€Å"I don't suppose you'd tell me why†¦?† I sat up and wrapped my arms around my legs, curling defensively. â€Å"I don't want to talk about it.† Tanya, Irina and Kate were very good at this life they'd committed to. Better, in some ways, than even Carlisle. Despite the insanely close proximity they allowed themselves with those who should be – and once were – their prey, they did not make mistakes. I was too ashamed to admit my weakness to Tanya. â€Å"Woman troubles?† she guessed, ignoring my reluctance. I laughed a bleak laugh. â€Å"Not the way you mean it.† She was quiet then. I listened to her thoughts as she ran through different guesses, tried to decipher the meaning of my words. â€Å"You're not even close,† I told her. â€Å"One hint?† she asked. â€Å"Please let it go, Tanya.† She was quiet again, still speculating. I ignored her, trying in vain to appreciate the stars. She gave up after a silent moment, and her thoughts pursued a new direction. Where will you go, Edward, if you leave? Back to Carlisle? â€Å"I don't think so,† I whispered. Where would I go? I could not think of one place on the entire planet that held any interest for me. There was nothing I wanted to see or do. Because, no matter where I went, I would not be going to anywhere – I would only be running from. I hated that. When had I become such a coward? Tanya threw her slender arm around my shoulders. I stiffened, but did not flinch out from under her touch. She meant it as nothing more than friendly comfort. Mostly. â€Å"I think that you will go back,† she said, her voice taking on just a hint of her long lost Russian accent. â€Å"No matter what it is†¦or who it is†¦that is haunting you. You'll face it head on. You're the type.† Her thoughts were as certain as her words. I tried to embrace the vision of myself that she carried in her head. The one who faced things head on. It was pleasant to think of myself that way again. I'd never doubted my courage, my ability to face difficulty, before that horrible hour in a high school biology class such a short time ago. I kissed her cheek, pulling back swiftly when she twisted her face toward mine, her lips already puckered. She smiled ruefully at my quickness. â€Å"Thank you, Tanya. I needed to hear that.† Her thoughts turned petulant. â€Å"You're welcome, I guess. I wish you would be more reasonable about things, Edward.† â€Å"I'm sorry, Tanya. You know you're too good for me. I just†¦haven't found what I'm looking for yet.† â€Å"Well, if you leave before I see you again†¦goodbye, Edward.† â€Å"Goodbye, Tanya.† As I said the words, I could see it. I could see myself leaving. Being strong enough to go back to the one place where I wanted to be. â€Å"Thanks again.† She was on her feet in one nimble move, and then she was running away, ghosting across the snow so quickly that her feet had no time to sink into the snow; she left no prints behind her. She didn't look back. My rejection bothered her more than she'd let on before, even in her thoughts. She wouldn't want to see me again before I left. My mouth twisted with chagrin. I didn't like hurting Tanya, though her feelings were not deep, hardly pure, and, in any case, not something I could return. It still made me feel less than a gentleman. I put my chin on my knees and stared up at the stars again, though I was suddenly anxious to be on my way. I knew that Alice would see me coming home, that she would tell the others. This would make them happy – Carlisle and Esme especially. But I gazed at the stars for one more moment, trying to see past the face in my head. Between me and the brilliant lights in the sky, a pair of bewildered chocolate-brown eyes stared back at me, seeming to ask what this decision would mean for her. Of course, I couldn't be sure if that was really the information her curious eyes sought. Even in my imagination, I couldn't hear her thoughts. Bella Swan's eyes continued to question, and an unobstructed view of the stars continued to elude me. With a heavy sigh, I gave up, and got to my feet. If I ran, I would be back to Carlisle's car in less than an hour†¦ In a hurry to see my family – and wanting very much to be the Edward that faced things head on – I raced across the starlit snowfield, leaving no footprints. â€Å"It's going to be okay,† Alice breathed. Her eyes were unfocused, and Jasper had one hand lightly under her elbow, guiding her forward as we walked into the rundown cafeteria in a close group. Rosalie and Emmett led the way, Emmett looking ridiculously like a bodyguard in the middle of hostile territory. Rose looked wary, too, but much more irritated than protective. â€Å"Of course it is,† I grumbled. Their behavior was ludicrous. If I wasn't positive that I could handle this moment, I would have stayed home. The sudden shift from our normal, even playful morning – it had snowed in the night, and Emmett and Jasper were not above taking advantage of my distraction to bombard me with slushballs; when they got bored with my lack of response, they'd turned on each other – to this overdone vigilance would have been comical if it weren't so irritating. â€Å"She's not here yet, but the way she's going to come in†¦she won't be downwind if we sit in our regular spot.† â€Å"Of course we'll sit in our regular spot. Stop it, Alice. You're getting on my nerves. I'll be absolutely fine.† She blinked once as Jasper helped her into her seat, and her eyes finally focused on my face. â€Å"Hmm,† she said, sounding surprised. â€Å"I think you're right.† â€Å"Of course I am,† I muttered. I hated being the focus of their concern. I felt a sudden sympathy for Jasper, remembering all the times we'd hovered protectively over him. He met my glance briefly, and grinned. Annoying, isn't it? I grimaced at him. Was it just last week that this long, drab room had seemed so killingly dull to me? That it had seemed almost like sleep, like a coma, to be here? Today my nerves were stretched tight – piano wires, tensed to sing at the lightest pressure. My senses were hyper-alert; I scanned every sound, every sight, every movement of the air that touched my skin, every thought. Especially the thoughts. There was only one sense that I kept locked down, refused to use. Smell, of course. I didn't breathe. I was expecting to hear more about the Cullens in the thoughts that I sifted through. All day I'd been waiting, searching for whichever new acquaintance Bella Swan might have confided in, trying to see the direction the new gossip would take. But there was nothing. No one noticed the five vampires in the cafeteria, just the same as before the new girl had come. Several of the humans here were still thinking of that girl, still thinking the same thoughts from last week. Instead of finding this unutterably boring, I was now fascinated. Had she said nothing to anyone about me? There was no way that she had not noticed my black, murderous glare. I had seen her react to it. Surely, I'd scared her silly. I had been convinced that she would have mentioned it to someone, maybe even exaggerated the story a bit to make it better. Given me a few menacing lines. And then, she'd also heard me trying to get out of our shared biology class. She must have wondered, after seeing my expression, whether she were the cause. A normal girl would have asked around, compared her experience to others, looked for common ground that would explain my behavior so she didn't feel singled out. Humans were constantly desperate to feel normal, to fit in. To blend in with everyone else around them, like a featureless flock of sheep. The need was particularly strong during the insecure adolescent years. This girl would be no exception to that rule. But no one at all took any notice of us sitting here, at our normal table. Bella must be exceptionally shy, if she'd confided in no one. Perhaps she had spoken to her father, maybe that was the strongest relationship†¦though that seemed unlikely, given the fact that she had spent so little time with him throughout her life. She would be closer to her mother. Still, I would have to pass by Chief Swan sometime soon and listen to what he was thinking. â€Å"Anything new?† Jasper asked. â€Å"Nothing. She†¦must not have said anything.† All of them raised an eyebrow at this news. â€Å"Maybe you're not as scary as you think you are,† Emmett said, chuckling. â€Å"I bet I could have frightened her better than that.† I rolled my eyes at him. â€Å"Wonder why†¦?† He puzzled again over my revelation about the girl's unique silence. â€Å"We've been over that. I don't know.† â€Å"She's coming in,† Alice murmured then. I felt my body go rigid. â€Å"Try to look human.† â€Å"Human, you say?† Emmett asked. He held up his right fist, twisting his fingers to reveal the snowball he'd saved in his palm. Of course it had not melted there. He'd squeezed it into a lumpy block of ice. He had his eyes on Jasper, but I saw the direction of his thoughts. So did Alice, of course. When he abruptly hurled the ice chunk at her, she flicked it away with a casual flutter of her fingers. The ice ricocheted across the length of the cafeteria, too fast to be visible to human eyes, and shattered with a sharp crack against the brick wall. The brick cracked, too. The heads in that corner of the room all turned to stare at the pile of broken ice on the floor, and then swiveled to find the culprit. They didn't look further than a few tables away. No one looked at us. â€Å"Very human, Emmett,† Rosalie said scathingly. â€Å"Why don't you punch through the wall while you're at it?† â€Å"It would look more impressive if you did it, baby.† I tried to pay attention to them, keeping a grin fixed on my face like I was part of their banter. I did not allow myself to look toward the line where I knew she was standing. But that was all that I was listening to. I could hear Jessica's impatience with the new girl, who seemed to be distracted, too, standing motionless in the moving line. I saw, in Jessica's thoughts, that Bella Swan's cheeks were once more colored bright pink with blood. I pulled in short, shallow breaths, ready to quit breathing if any hint of her scent touched the air near me. Mike Newton was with the two girls. I heard both his voices, mental and verbal, when he asked Jessica what was wrong with the Swan girl. I didn't like the way his thoughts wrapped around her, the flicker of already established fantasies that clouded his mind while he watched her start and look up from her reverie like she'd forgotten he was there. â€Å"Nothing,† I heard Bella say in that quiet, clear voice. It seemed to ring like a bell over the babble in the cafeteria, but I knew that was just because I was listening for it so intently. â€Å"I'll just get a soda today,† she continued as she moved to catch up with the line. I couldn't help flickering one glance in her direction. She was staring at the floor, the blood slowly fading from her face. I looked away quickly, to Emmett, who laughed at the now pained-looking smile on my face. You look sick, bro. I rearranged my features so the expression would seem casual and effortless. Jessica was wondering aloud about the girl's lack of appetite. â€Å"Aren't you hungry?† â€Å"Actually, I feel a little sick.† Her voice was lower, but still very clear. Why did it bother me, the protective concern that suddenly emanated from Mike Newton's thoughts? What did it matter that there was a possessive edge to them? It wasn't my business if Mike Newton felt unnecessarily anxious for her. Perhaps this was the way everyone responded to her. Hadn't I wanted, instinctively, to protect her, too? Before I'd wanted to kill her, that is†¦ But was the girl ill? It was hard to judge – she looked so delicate with her translucent skin†¦ Then I realized that I was worrying, too, just like that dimwitted boy, and I forced myself not to think about her health. Regardless, I didn't like monitoring her through Mike's thoughts. I switched to Jessica's, watching carefully as the three of them chose which table to sit at. Fortunately, they sat with Jessica's usual companions, at one of the first tables in the room. Not downwind, just as Alice had promised. Alice elbowed me. She's going to look soon, act human. I clenched my teeth behind my grin. â€Å"Ease up, Edward,† Emmett said. â€Å"Honestly. So you kill one human. That's hardly the end of the world.† â€Å"You would know,† I murmured. Emmett laughed. â€Å"You've got to learn to get over things. Like I do. Eternity is a long time to wallow in guilt.† Just then, Alice tossed a smaller handful of ice that she'd been hiding into Emmett's unsuspecting face. He blinked, surprised, and then grinned in anticipation. â€Å"You asked for it,† he said as he leaned across the table and shook his iceencrusted hair in her direction. The snow, melting in the warm room, flew out from his hair in a thick shower of half-liquid, half-ice. â€Å"Ew!† Rose complained, as she and Alice recoiled from the deluge. Alice laughed, and we all joined in. I could see in Alice's head how she'd orchestrated this perfect moment, and I knew that the girl – I should stop thinking of her that way, as if she were the only girl in the world – that Bella would be watching us laugh and play, looking as happy and human and unrealistically ideal as a Norman Rockwell painting. Alice kept laughing, and held her tray up as a shield. The girl – Bella must still be staring at us. †¦staring at the Cullens again, someone thought, catching my attention. I looked automatically toward the unintentional call, realizing as my eyes found their destination that I recognized the voice – I'd been listening to it so much today. But my eyes slid right past Jessica, and focused on the girl's penetrating gaze. She looked down quickly, hiding behind her thick hair again. What was she thinking? The frustration seemed to be getting more acute as time went on, rather than dulling. I tried – uncertain in what I was doing for I'd never tried this before – to probe with my mind at the silence around her. My extra hearing had always come to me naturally, without asking; I'd never had to work at it. But I concentrated now, trying to break through whatever shield surrounded her. Nothing but silence. What is it about her? Jessica thought, echoing my own frustration. â€Å"Edward Cullen is staring at you,† she whispered in the Swan girl's ear, adding a giggle. There was no hint of her jealous irritation in her tone. Jessica seemed to be skilled at feigning friendship. I listened, too engrossed, to the girl's response. â€Å"He doesn't look angry, does he?† she whispered back. So she had noticed my wild reaction last week. Of course she had. The question confused Jessica. I saw my own face in her thoughts as she checked my expression, but I did not meet her glance. I was still concentrating on the girl, trying to hear something. My intent focus didn't seem to be helping at all. â€Å"No,† Jess told her, and I knew that she wished she could say yes – how it rankled inside her, my staring – though there was no trace of that in her voice. â€Å"Should he be?† â€Å"I don't think he likes me,† the girl whispered back, laying her head down on her arm as if she were suddenly tired. I tried to understand the motion, but I could only make guesses. Maybe she was tired. â€Å"The Cullens don't like anybody,† Jess reassured her. â€Å"Well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them.† They never used to. Her thought was a grumble of complaint. â€Å"But he's still staring at you.† â€Å"Stop looking at him,† the girl said anxiously, lifting her head from her arm to make sure Jessica obeyed the order. Jessica giggled, but did as she was asked. The girl did not look away from her table for the rest of the hour. I thought – though, of course, I could not be sure – that this was deliberate. It seemed like she wanted to look at me. Her body would shift slightly in my direction, her chin would begin to turn, and then she would catch herself, take a deep breath, and stare fixedly at whoever was speaking. I ignored the other thoughts around the girl for the most part, as they were not, momentarily, about her. Mike Newton was planning a snow fight in the parking lot after school, not seeming to realize that the snow had already shifted to rain. The flutter of soft flakes against the roof had become the more common patter of raindrops. Could he really not hear the change? It seemed loud to me. When the lunch period ended, I stayed in my seat. The humans filed out, and I caught myself trying to distinguish the sound of her footsteps from the sound of the rest, as if there was something important or unusual about them. How stupid. My family made no move to leave, either. They waited to see what I would do. Would I go to class, sit beside the girl where I could smell the absurdly potent scent of her blood and feel the warmth of her pulse in the air on my skin? Was I strong enough for that? Or had I had enough for one day? â€Å"I†¦think it's okay,† Alice said, hesitant. â€Å"Your mind is set. I think you'll make it through the hour.† But Alice knew well how quickly a mind could change. â€Å"Why push it, Edward?† Jasper asked. Though he didn't want to feel smug that I was the one who was weak now, I could hear that he did, just a little. â€Å"Go home. Take it slow.† â€Å"What's the big deal?† Emmett disagreed. â€Å"Either he will or he won't kill her. Might as well get it over with, either way.† â€Å"I don't want to move yet,† Rosalie complained. â€Å"I don't want to start over. We're almost out of high school, Emmett. Finally.† I was evenly torn on the decision. I wanted, wanted badly, to face this head on rather than running away again. But I didn't want to push myself too far, either. It had been a mistake last week for Jasper to go so long without hunting; was this just as pointless a mistake? I didn't want to uproot my family. None of them would thank me for that. But I wanted to go to my biology class. I realized that I wanted to see her face again. That's what decided it for me. That curiosity. I was angry with myself for feeling it. Hadn't I promised myself that I wouldn't let the silence of the girl's mind make me unduly interested in her? And yet, here I was, most unduly interested. I wanted to know what she was thinking. Her mind was closed, but her eyes were very open. Perhaps I could read them instead. â€Å"No, Rose, I think it really will be okay,† Alice said. â€Å"It's†¦firming up. I'm ninety-three percent sure that nothing bad will happen if he goes to class.† She looked at me inquisitively, wondering what had changed in my thoughts that made her vision of the future more secure. Would curiosity be enough to keep Bella Swan alive? Emmett was right, though – why not get it over with, either way? I would face the temptation head on. â€Å"Go to class,† I ordered, pushing away from the table. I turned and strode away from them without looking back. I could hear Alice's worry, Jasper's censure, Emmett's approval, and Rosalie's irritation trailing after me. I took one last deep breath at the door of the classroom, and then held it in my lungs as I walked into the small, warm space. I was not late. Mr. Banner was still setting up for today's lab. The girl sat at my – at our table, her face down again, staring at the folder she was doodling on. I examined the sketch as I approached, interested in even this trivial creation of her mind, but it was meaningless. Just a random scribbling of loops within loops. Perhaps she was not concentrating on the pattern, but thinking of something else? I pulled my chair back with unnecessary roughness, letting it scrape across the linoleum; humans always felt more comfortable when noise announced someone's approach. I knew she heard the sound; she did not look up, but her hand missed a loop in the design she was drawing, making it unbalanced. Why didn't she look up? Probably she was frightened. I must be sure to leave her with a different impression this time. Make her think she'd been imagining things before. â€Å"Hello,† I said in the quiet voice I used when I wanted to make humans more comfortable, forming a polite smile with my lips that would not show any teeth. She looked up then, her wide brown eyes startled – almost bewildered – and full of silent questions. It was the same expression that had been obstructing my vision for the last week. As I stared into those oddly deep brown eyes, I realized that the hate – the hate I'd imagined this girl somehow deserved for simply existing – had evaporated. Not breathing now, not tasting her scent, it was hard to believe that anyone so vulnerable could ever justify hatred. Her cheeks began to flush, and she said nothing. I kept my eyes on hers, focusing only on their questioning depths, and tried to ignore the appetizing color of her skin. I had enough breath to speak for a while longer without inhaling. â€Å"My name is Edward Cullen,† I said, though I knew she knew that. It was the polite way to begin. â€Å"I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan.† She seemed confused – there was that little pucker between her eyes again. It took her half a second longer than it should have for her to respond. â€Å"How do you know my name?† she demanded, and her voice shook just a little. I must have truly terrified her. This made me feel guilty; she was just so defenseless. I laughed gently – it was a sound that I knew made humans more at ease. Again, I was careful about my teeth. â€Å"Oh, I think everyone knows your name.† Surely she must have realized that she'd become the center of attention in this monotonous place. â€Å"The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive.† She frowned as if this information was unpleasant. I supposed, being shy as she seemed to be, attention would seem like a bad thing to her. Most humans felt the opposite. Though they didn't want to stand out from the herd, at the same time they craved a spotlight for their individual uniformity. â€Å"No,† she said. â€Å"I meant, why did you call me Bella?† â€Å"Do you prefer Isabella?† I asked, perplexed by the fact that I couldn't see where this question was leading. I didn't understand. Surely, she'd made her preference clear many times that first day. Were all humans this incomprehensible without the mental context as a guide? â€Å"No, I like Bella,† she answered, leaning her head slightly to one side. Her expression – if I was reading it correctly – was torn between embarrassment and confusion. â€Å"But I think Charlie – I mean my dad – must call me Isabella behind my back. That's what everyone here seems to know me as.† Her skin darkened one shade pinker. â€Å"Oh,† I said lamely, and quickly looked away from her face. I'd just realized what her questions meant: I had slipped up – made an error. If I hadn't been eavesdropping on all the others that first day, then I would have addressed her initially by her full name, just like everyone else. She'd noticed the difference. I felt a pang of unease. It was very quick of her to pick up on my slip. Quite astute, especially for someone who was supposed to be terrified by my nearness. But I had bigger problems than whatever suspicions about me she might be keeping locked inside her head. I was out of air. If I were going to speak to her again, I would have to inhale. It would be hard to avoid speaking. Unfortunately for her, sharing this table made her my lab partner, and we would have to work together today. It would seem odd – and incomprehensibly rude – for me to ignore her while we did the lab. It would make her more suspicious, more afraid†¦ I leaned as far away from her as I could without moving my seat, twisting my head out into the aisle. I braced myself, locking my muscles in place, and then sucked in one quick chest-full of air, breathing through my mouth alone. Ahh! It was genuinely painful. Even without smelling her, I could taste her on my tongue. My throat was suddenly in flames again, the craving every bit as strong as that first moment I'd caught her scent last week. I gritted my teeth together and tried to compose myself. â€Å"Get started,† Mr. Banner commanded. It felt like it took every single ounce of self-control that I'd achieved in seventy years of hard work to turn back to the girl, who was staring down at the table, and smile. â€Å"Ladies first, partner?† I offered. She looked up at my expression and her face went blank, her eyes wide. Was there something off in my expression? Was she frightened again? She didn't speak. â€Å"Or, I could start, if you wish,† I said quietly. â€Å"No,† she said, and her face went from white to red again. â€Å"I'll go first.† I stared at the equipment on the table, the battered microscope, the box of slides, rather than watch the blood swirl under her clear skin. I took another quick breath, through my teeth, and winced as the taste made my throat ache. â€Å"Prophase,† she said after a quick examination. She started to remove the slide, though she'd barely examined it. â€Å"Do you mind if I look?† Instinctively – stupidly, as if I were one of her kind – I reached out to stop her hand from removing the slide. For one second, the heat of her skin burned into mine. It was like an electric pulse – surely much hotter than a mere ninety-eight point six degrees. The heat shot through my hand and up my arm. She yanked her hand out from under mine. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I muttered through my clenched teeth. Needing somewhere to look, I grasped the microscope and stared briefly into the eyepiece. She was right. â€Å"Prophase,† I agreed. I was still too unsettled to look at her. Breathing as quietly as I could through my gritted teeth and trying to ignore the fiery thirst, I concentrated on the simple assignment, writing the word on the appropriate line on the lab sheet, and then switching out the first slide for the next. What was she thinking now? What had that felt like to her, when I had touched her hand? My skin must have been ice cold – repulsive. No wonder she was so quiet. I glanced at the slide. â€Å"Anaphase,† I said to myself as I wrote it on the second line. â€Å"May I?† she asked. I looked up at her, surprised to see that she was waiting expectantly, one hand half-stretched toward the microscope. She didn't look afraid. Did she really think I'd gotten the answer wrong? I couldn't help but smile at the hopeful look on her face as I slid the microscope toward her. She stared into the eyepiece with an eagerness that quickly faded. The corners of her mouth turned down. â€Å"Slide three?† she asked, not looking up from the microscope, but holding out her hand. I dropped the next slide into her hand, not letting my skin come anywhere close to hers this time. Sitting beside her was like sitting next to a heat lamp. I could feel myself warming slightly to the higher temperature. She did not look at the slide for long. â€Å"Interphase,† she said nonchalantly – perhaps trying a little too hard to sound that way – and pushed the microscope to me. She did not touch the paper, but waited for me to write the answer. I checked – she was correct again. We finished this way, speaking one word at a time and never meeting each other's eyes. We were the only ones done – the others in the class were having a harder time with the lab. Mike Newton seemed to be having trouble concentrating – he was trying to watch Bella and me. Wish he'd stayed wherever he went, Mike thought, eyeing me sulfurously. Hmm, interesting. I hadn't realized the boy harbored any ill will towards me. This was a new development, about as recent as the girl's arrival it seemed. Even more interesting, I found – to my surprise – that the feeling was mutual. I looked down at the girl again, bemused by the wide range of havoc and upheaval that, despite her ordinary, unthreatening appearance, she was wreaking on my life. It wasn't that I couldn't see what Mike was going on about. She was actually rather pretty†¦in an unusual way. Better than being beautiful, her face was interesting. Not quite symmetrical – her narrow chin out of balance with her wide cheekbones; extreme in the coloring – the light and dark contrast of her skin and her hair; and then there were the eyes, brimming over with silent secrets†¦ Eyes that were suddenly boring into mine. I stared back at her, trying to guess even one of those secrets. â€Å"Did you get contacts?† she asked abruptly. What a strange question. â€Å"No.† I almost smiled at the idea of improving my eyesight. â€Å"Oh,† she mumbled. â€Å"I thought there was something different about your eyes.† I felt suddenly colder again as I realized that I was apparently not the only one attempting to ferret out secrets today. I shrugged, my shoulders stiff, and glared straight ahead to where the teacher was making his rounds. Of course there was something different about my eyes since the last time she'd stared into them. To prepare myself for today's ordeal, today's temptation, I'd spent the entire weekend hunting, satiating my thirst as much as possible, overdoing it really. I'd glutted myself on the blood of animals, not that it made much difference in the face of the outrageous flavor floating on the air around her. When I'd glared at her last, my eyes had been black with thirst. Now, my body swimming with blood, my eyes were a warmer gold. Light amber from my excessive attempt at thirst-quenching. Another slip. If I'd seen what she'd meant with her question, I could have just told her yes. I'd sat beside humans for two years now at this school, and she was the first to examine me closely enough to note the change in my eye color. The others, while admiring the beauty of my family, tended to look down quickly when we returned their stares. They shied away, blocking the details of our appearances in an instinctive endeavor to keep themselves from understanding. Ignorance was bliss to the human mind. Why did it have to be this girl who would see too much? Mr. Banner approached our table. I gratefully inhaled the gush of clean air he brought with him before it could mix with her scent. â€Å"So, Edward,† he said, looking over our answers, â€Å"didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?† â€Å"Bella,† I corrected him reflexively. â€Å"Actually, she identified three of the five.† Mr. Banner's thoughts were skeptical as he turned to look at the girl. â€Å"Have you done this lab before?† I watched, engrossed, as she smiled, looking slightly embarrassed. â€Å"Not with onion root.† â€Å"Whitefish blastula?† Mr. Banner probed. â€Å"Yeah.† This surprised him. Today's lab was something he'd pulled from a more advanced course. He nodded thoughtfully at the girl. â€Å"Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?† â€Å"Yes.† She was advanced then, intelligent for a human. This did not surprise me. â€Å"Well,† Mr. Banner said, pursing his lips. â€Å"I guess it's good you two are lab partners.† He turned and walked away mumbling, â€Å"So the other kids can get a chance to learn something for themselves,† under his breath. I doubted the girl could hear that. She began scrawling loops across her folder again. Two slips so far in one half hour. A very poor showing on my part. Though I had no idea at all what the girl thought of me – how much did she fear, how much did she suspect? – I knew I needed to put forth a better effort to leave her with a new impression of me. Something to better drown her memories of our ferocious last encounter. â€Å"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?† I said, repeating the small talk that I'd heard a dozen students discuss already. A boring, standard topic of conversation. The weather – always safe. She stared at me with obvious doubt in her eyes – an abnormal reaction to my very normal words. â€Å"Not really,† she said, surprising me again. I tried to steer the conversation back to trite paths. She was from a much brighter, warmer place – her skin seemed to reflect that somehow, despite its fairness – and the cold must make her uncomfortable. My icy touch certainly had†¦ â€Å"You don't like the cold,† I guessed. â€Å"Or the wet,† she agreed. â€Å"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live.† Perhaps you should not have come here, I wanted to add. Perhaps you should go back where you belong. I wasn't sure I wanted that, though. I would always remember the scent of her blood – was there any guarantee that I wouldn't eventually follow after her? Besides, if she left, her mind would forever remain a mystery. A constant, nagging puzzle. â€Å"You have no idea,† she said in a low voice, glowering past me for a moment. Her answers were never what I expected. They made me want to ask more questions. â€Å"Why did you come here, then?† I demanded, realizing instantly that my tone was too accusatory, not casual enough for the conversation. The question sounded rude, prying. â€Å"It's†¦complicated.† She blinked her wide eyes, leaving it at that, and I nearly imploded out of curiosity – the curiosity burned as hot as the thirst in my throat. Actually, I found that it was getting slightly easier to breathe; the agony was becoming more bearable through familiarity. â€Å"I think I can keep up,† I insisted. Perhaps common courtesy would keep her answering my questions as long as I was rude enough to ask them. She stared down silently at her hands. This made me impatient; I wanted to put my hand under her chin and tilt her head up so that I could read her eyes. But it would be foolish of me – dangerous – to touch her skin again. She looked up suddenly. It was a relief to be able to see the emotions in her eyes again. She spoke in a rush, hurrying through the words. â€Å"My mother got remarried.† Ah, this was human enough, easy to understand. Sadness passed through her clear eyes and brought the pucker back between them. â€Å"That doesn't sound so complex,† I said. My voice was gentle without my working to make it that way. Her sadness left me feeling oddly helpless, wishing there was something I could do to make her feel better. A strange impulse. â€Å"When did that happen?† â€Å"Last September.† She exhaled heavily – not quite a sigh. I held my breath as her warm breath brushed my face. â€Å"And you don't like him,† I guessed, fishing for more information. â€Å"No, Phil is fine,† she said, correcting my assumption. There was a hint of a smile now around the corners of her full lips. â€Å"Too young, maybe, but nice enough.† This didn't fit with the scenario I'd been constructing in my head. â€Å"Why didn't you stay with them?† I asked, my voice a little too curious. It sounded like I was being nosy. Which I was, admittedly. â€Å"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living.† The little smile grew more pronounced; this career choice amused her. I smiled, too, without choosing to. I wasn't trying to make her feel at ease. Her smile just made me want to smile in response – to be in on the secret. â€Å"Have I heard of him?† I ran through the rosters of professional ball players in my head, wondering which Phil was hers†¦ â€Å"Probably not. He doesn't play well.† Another smile. â€Å"Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot.† The rosters in my head shifted instantly, and I'd tabulated a list of possibilities in less than a second. At the same time, I was imagining the new scenario. â€Å"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him,† I said. Making assumptions seemed to get more information out of her than questions did. It worked again. Her chin jutted out, and her expression was suddenly stubborn. â€Å"No, she did not send me here,† she said, and her voice had a new, hard edge to it. My assumption had upset her, though I couldn't quite see how. â€Å"I sent myself.† I could not guess at her meaning, or the source behind her pique. I was entirely lost. So I gave up. There was just no making sense of the girl. She wasn't like other humans. Maybe the silence of her thoughts and the perfume of her scent were not the only unusual things about her. â€Å"I don't understand,† I admitted, hating to concede. She sighed, and stared into my eyes for longer than most normal humans were able to stand. â€Å"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him,† she explained slowly, her tone growing more forlorn with each word. â€Å"It made her unhappy†¦so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie.† The tiny pucker between her eyes deepened. â€Å"But now you're unhappy,† I murmured. I couldn't seem to stop speaking my hypotheses aloud, hoping to learn from her reactions. This one, however, did not seem as far off the mark. â€Å"And?† she said, as if this was not even an aspect to be considered. I continued to stare into her eyes, feeling that I'd finally gotten my first real glimpse into her soul. I saw in that one word where she ranked herself among her own priorities. Unlike most humans, her own needs were far down the list. She was selfless. As I saw this, the mystery of the person hiding inside this quiet mind began to thin a little. â€Å"That doesn't seem fair,† I said. I shrugged, trying to seem casual, trying to conceal the intensity of my curiosity. She laughed, but there was no amusement the sound. â€Å"Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair.† I wanted to laugh at her words, though I, too, felt no real amusement. I knew a little something about the unfairness of life. â€Å"I believe I have heard that somewhere before.† She stared back at me, seeming confused again. Her eyes flickered away, and then came back to mine. â€Å"So that's all,† she told me. But I was not ready to let this conversation end. The little V between her eyes, a remnant of her sorrow, bothered me. I wanted to smooth it away with my fingertip. But, of course, I could not touch her. It was unsafe in so many ways. â€Å"You put on a good show.† I spoke slowly, still considering this next hypothesis. â€Å"But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see.† She made a face, her eyes narrowing and her mouth twisting into a lopsided pout, and she looked back towards the front of the class. She didn't like it when I guessed right. She wasn't the average martyr – she didn't want an audience to her pain. â€Å"Am I wrong?† She flinched slightly, but otherwise pretended not to hear me. That made me smile. â€Å"I didn't think so.† â€Å"Why does it matter to you?† she demanded, still staring away. â€Å"That's a very good question,† I admitted, more to myself than to answer her. Her discernment was better than mine – she saw right to the core of things while I floundered around the edges, sifting blindly through clues. The details of her very human life should not matter to me. It was wrong for me to care what she thought. Beyond protecting my family from suspicion, human thoughts were not significant. I was not used to being the less intuitive of any pairing. I relied on my extra hearing too much – I clearly was not as perceptive as I gave myself credit for. The girl sighed and glowered toward the front of the classroom. Something about her frustrated expression was humorous. The whole situation, the whole conversation was humorous. No one had ever been in more danger from me than this little girl – at any moment I might, distracted by my ridiculous absorption in the conversation, inhale through my nose and attack her before I could stop myself – and she was irritated because I hadn't answered her question. â€Å"Am I annoying you?† I asked, smiling at the absurdity of it all. She glanced at me quickly, and then her eyes seemed to get trapped by my gaze. â€Å"Not exactly,† she told me. â€Å"I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read – my mother always calls me her open book.† She frowned, disgruntled. I stared at her in amazement. The reason she was upset was because she thought I saw through her too easily. How bizarre. I'd never expended so much effort to understand someone in all my life – or rather existence, as life was hardly the right word. I did not truly have a life. â€Å"On the contrary,† I disagreed, feeling strangely†¦wary, as if there were some hidden danger here that I was failing to see. I was suddenly on edge, the premonition making me anxious. â€Å"I find you very difficult to read.† â€Å"You must be a good reader then,† she guessed, making her own assumption that was, again, right on target. â€Å"Usually,† I agreed. I smiled at her widely then, letting my lips pull back to expose the rows of gleaming, razor sharp teeth behind them. It was a stupid thing to do, but I was abruptly, unexpectedly desperate to get some kind of warning through to the girl. Her body was closer to me than before, having shifted unconsciously in the course of our conversation. All the little markers and signs that were sufficient to scare off the rest of humanity did not seem to be working on her. Why did she not cringe away from me in terror? Surely she had seen enough of my darker side to realize the danger, intuitive as she seemed to be. I didn't get to see if my warning had the intended effect. Mr. Banner called for the class's attention just then, and she turned away from me at once. She seemed a little relieved for the interruption, so maybe she understood unconsciously. I hoped she did. I recognized the fascination growing inside me, even as I tried to root it out. I could not afford to find Bella Swan interesting. Or rather, she could not afford that. Already, I was anxious for another chance to talk to her. I wanted to know more about her mother, her life before she came here, her relationship with her father. All the meaningless details that would flesh out her character further. But every second I spent with her was a mistake, a risk she shouldn't have to take. Absentmindedly, she tossed her thick hair just at the moment that I allowed myself another breath. A particularly concentrated wave of her scent hit the back of my throat. It was like the first day – like the wrecking ball. The pain of the burning dryness made me dizzy. I had to grasp the table again to keep myself in my seat. This time I had slightly more control. I didn't break anything, at least. The monster growled inside me, but took no pleasure in my pain. He was too tightly bound. For the moment. I stopped breathing altogether, and leaned as far from the girl as I could. No, I could not afford to find her fascinating. The more interesting I found her, the more likely it was that I would kill her. I'd already made two minor slips today. Would I make a third, one that was not minor? As soon as the bell sounded, I fled from the classroom – probably destroying whatever impression of politeness I'd halfway constructed in the course of the hour. Again, I gasped at the clean, wet air outside like it was a healing attar. I hurried to put as much distance between myself and the girl as was possible. Emmett waited for me outside the door of our Spanish class. He read my wild expression for a moment. How did it go? he wondered warily. â€Å"Nobody died,† I mumbled. I guess that's something. When I saw Alice ditching there at the end, I thought†¦ As we walked into the classroom, I saw his memory from just a few moments ago, seen through the open door of his last class: Alice walking briskly and blank-faced across the grounds toward the science building. I felt his remembered urge to get up and join her, and then his decision to stay. If Alice needed his help, she would ask†¦ I closed my eyes in horror and disgust as I slumped into my seat. â€Å"I hadn't realized that it was that close. I didn't think I was going to†¦I didn't see that it was that bad,† I whispered. It wasn't, he reassured me. Nobody died, right? â€Å"Right,† I said through my teeth. â€Å"Not this time.† Maybe it will get easier. â€Å"Sure.† Or, maybe you kill her. He shrugged. You wouldn't be the first one to mess up. No one would judge you too harshly. Sometimes a person just smells too good. I'm impressed you've lasted this long. â€Å"Not helping, Emmett.† I was revolted by his acceptance of the idea that I would kill the girl, that this was somehow inevitable. Was it her fault that she smelled so good? I know when it happened to me†¦, he reminisced, taking me back with him half a century, to a country lane at dusk, where a middle-aged women was taking her dried sheets down from a line strung between apple trees. The scent of apples hung heavy in the air – the harvest was over and the rejected fruits were scattered on the ground, the bruises in their skin leaking their fragrance out in thick clouds. A fresh-mowed field of hay was a background to that scent, a harmony. He walked up the lane, all.

Different essays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Different essays - Essay Example Therefore, they mate with members from a diverse population. Thus, a new species may develop (Alcamo & Schweitzer, 2011). It implies evolution is devoid of have a particular goal that it intends to realize (Simon, 2015). They just evolve meaning they have a capability of changing their structure and reacts on the problems the environment presents at the specific times (Simon, 2015). For evolution to occur, mutation has to take place though it is an extremely slow progression and cannot be rapidly (Simon, 2015). The genes may shift from one population to another and the nonrandom mating may occur quickly but the generic drift occurs by chance randomly. Therefore, it might take a while before this happens. Moreover, selection varies in different genotypes. It may take a while for individuals in a population to be varied (Simon, 2015). Some bacteria have a mutation that makes them possible to survive the penicillin (Simon, 2015). Moreover, the administration of the penicillin changes the environment in which the bacteria reside. The bacteria with resistance genes will survive this new environment. The resistance genes pass over to several generations due to natural selection (Simon, 2015). Due to the usage of penicillin for many generations, the resistant bacteria increase over time. This makes penicillin less effective (Simon,

Explain the reasons why left realism emerged Essay - 1

Explain the reasons why left realism emerged - Essay Example eft realism emerged as a reaction to ‘law and order’ politics and to the perceived vacuum in radical left thinking on crime and crime control (Carrabine 79). Ideally, Left realism emanates from a situation that demonstrates the need to focus the social problems in the society. However, many scholars have been questioning the capacity of this theory to address societal problems (HistoryLearningSite 1). In its emergence, the theory of Left realism sought to address the reality of crime for the working class victim and the need to elaborate a socialist alternative to conservative emphases on law and order (Carrabine 79-80). In the mid-1980s, there was a common perception that the efficiency and effectiveness of the police, and criminal justice agencies were performance indicators of maximum crime arrests (Lea 141). However, the Left realism sought to correct this perception by noting that the flow of information about crime from victims and communities to the police, which was a matter of trust, was the key factor that would address crime in the society (Lea 142). This theory achieved this by noting that crime is intra-class and is rampant on poor communities (Lea 142). Indeed, the Left realism aimed at the practical experience of victimization in the poor and working class communities (Lea 142). Notably, the Left realism sought to criticize the views of right-realism that advocated for longer sentences and additional prisons (HistoryLearningSite 1) as the solution to rising crime rates (Lea 142). Indeed, the right-realism was actually not addressing crime in an effective manner and hence the Left realism sought to encourage socialists to address crime in a serious manner (Currie 114-117). During the emergence of the Left realism criminality among the working class was worsening as radical criminologists maintained the social constructionist view of crime and hence the need for the Left realism to curb the problem (Hale et al 86-87). As such, this theory sought

Probation and Parole Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Probation and Parole - Research Paper Example Community corrections programs offer front and back end alternatives for correctional systems. In reference to front end, alternatives probation has offered a means of limiting further crowding in prisons and jails. On the other hand, parole systems have consistently acted as back end measures that offer release valves on prison populations. The issue of rehabilitative measures for criminal offenders has often elicited much debate in countries such as the United States. To this end, there are several rehabilitation programs that have shown positive results. These, include, Moral Reconation Therapy, probation and parole. Moral Reconation Therapy Moral Reconation Therapy entails a continuous treatment plan that aims at decreasing recidivism among adult and juvenile offenders while at the same time adjusting moral reasoning. To this end, the approach is majorly a cognitive behavior mechanism that combines parameters from various psychological paradigms. These subsequently address positi ve behavior, social, ego and moral growth. Implementation of MRT involves individual and group counseling by use of prescribed homework assignments and structured group exercises. Moreover, there is a workbook that is based on 16 objective units that emphasize on seven basic treatment parameters. These are attitudes, reinforcement of positive habits and behavior; confrontation of beliefs; assessment of current relationships; enhancement of self concept; positive identity formation; development of frustration tolerance and decrease in hedonism; as well as development of higher moral reasoning stages. Probation The application of probation and parole in rehabilitating offenders is guided partly by the philosophies of positivism and classicalism (Carter & Wilkins, 1976). On one hand, positivists imply that offenders are compelled into the choice of committing crime against their own volition and consequently the behavior or conditions that triggered the action need to be rectified. Con versely, classicalists contend that offenders are in control over the choice of their actions and consequently to deter future criminal activities, such offenders need to be punished. To this end, probation is defined as a sanction imposed by court whereby a convicted offender is released back into the community subject to a conditional suspended sentence. Moreover, the probationer is in most situations a non-violent or first time offender who stands the best chance of rehabilitation within the outside community. The suitability and effectiveness of probation is driven by its flexibility in allowing judicial authorities a high extent of discretion when imposing sentences. Consequently, it allows the tailoring of sentences to suit different offenders. Furthermore, its effectiveness is driven by the availability of a supervision that checks on the progress of rehabilitation. The supervision role is provided by probation officers who offer support and guidance to the offender aimed at making him or her law abiding citizen. To this end, probation offers a second chance of reformation to the offender. Evidently, there are several version of probation designed for different types of offenders. This is driven by the need to jails and prisons. These include intensive supervised probation which entails close monitoring of convicts and applies stringent conditions on the release clause. Others include split sentencing

Management of Organisational Behaviour Assignment

Management of Organisational Behaviour - Assignment Example The resultant effects of these problems are that output of the supplies department is less than optimal and the service it renders to its customer is poor. As most of you are aware, the institutions this department services provide essential needs and services to the populace of Glent County. The inability therefore of our department to adequately meet their supply needs can adversely affect their effectiveness in discharging essential services to the county. When symptoms of an illness are noted, they often point to an underlying cause. If this cause can be identified and remedied, the symptoms would vanish and health restored. A stitch in time, we are told saves nigh. There is no point in allowing the illness to fester on, when remedial action can be taken. In the same akin, the problems of Glent county supplies department cannot remain unattended to. It must be addressed in a comprehensive manner. An all -out organizational re-engineering and renewal is needed. In the few months that we have been at Glent county supplies department, these are some of our observations. There are too many rules that govern behavior at this department. The organizational chain of command is unduly long. Decision- making is over centralized. The outcome is that a simple task takes a long period of time to get done.

Management Accounting as a Part of Strategic Process Essay

Management Accounting as a Part of Strategic Process - Essay Example As management accounting also deals with the analysis, interpretation, and communication of data in addition to identification and measurement of those, it can be said that it is a tool for the management for the decision-making process and is a much broader concept than to provide mere numerical data to the management. The tools and techniques used for the purpose of management accounting include marginal costing, standard costing, budgetary control, etc. A strategy is a process deployed by an organization to accomplish its mission and long term objectives. As management accounting facilitates the top management with preparation, analysis, interpretation, and communication of financial and non-financial information, the essence of management accounting is implicit with the strategic process in an organization. Management accounting provides the top management with the required (interpreted) information at the right time which in turn aids the management in the decision-making process.   Quality, Cost and Time are the three important aspects of any strategy. Management accounting information assists the top management to achieve quality goals. It also helps the management to achieve the objective of cost management as management accounting also involves costing methods. In addition to quality and cost, management accounting also provides timely information to the decision-makers (Bell J., Ansari S., Klammer T., Lawrence C., n.d.). Therefore, it can be inferred that management accounting is a part and parcel of the strategic process of an organization. As it is often said that change is the only constant term in this world, the concept of management accounting and the roles of management accountant are also subject to it. With the change in the way of business being conducted especially because of massive technological innovations, today management accountant has a much bigger role to play in an organization. From the obligation of the accounting duties, his responsibilities are more of managerial in nature. Apart from the technical expertise, management accountant of today must also possess the technological knowledge. The management accountant has to play the integrating role in the business. In the competitive scenario of today, he cannot expect his role to be over by just preparing the report, rather he has to try and interpret the key areas to the management and be a partner to the decision making process. The management accountant has to keep his eyes wide open and analyze the future with the tools of the subject and add value to the organization.

Methods to measure gene expression in mammalian cells in vitro and in Essay

Methods to measure gene expression in mammalian cells in vitro and in vivo - Essay Example This method is based on suppression PCR technique that is a combination of normalization and subtraction in one procedure. The normalisation technique would equalize cDNA abundance in the target population while the subtraction step excludes the sequences that are common between the target and driver populations. 5 The two type of real – time PCR are the molecular beacon and SYBR Â ® Green method. SYBR Â ® Green method is the first method that was used in real – time PCR wherein it binds to double – stranded and when this would get excited, would emit light. On the other hand, molecular beacon utilizes a reporter probe that is wrapped to the hairpin.9 Involves mRNA isolation and hybridisation. mRNA is extracted and purified from the cells. To proceed with electrophoresis, mRNA is loaded to the gel. The current is allowed to pass through the gel and mRNA will move away from the negative electrode. To visualize mRNA, Flourescent dye is used as a stain followed by UV lighting. RNA is then transferred to a membrane from the gel electrically or through capillary action using a high – salt solution. RNA fragment that is in question is incubated with the blot and to remove the probe, the blot is then washed. Developmental step follows.10 A method to analyse comprehensively patterns of gene expression.8 mRNA is isolated from the sample. A small chunk of sequence is then extracted and these small pieces are sequenced together forming a long chain. These chains are cloned into a vector that can be taken up by bacteria. These chains are sequenced using a modern high. The data is then processed with computer in order to count small tags sequence.13 This method works at the 3 terminal portions of mRNAs by systemic amplification and resolution on DNA sequencing gel fragments. Primers are anchored and are designed to bind to 5 boundary of the poly-A tails for the reverse transcription.

High performance Essay Example for Free

High performance Essay Conclusion: There are 3 different component dyes in the mix including blue dye, yellow dye and red dye. The blue dye has the highest Rf in chromatography ( Rf=1 in water and ethanol and isoprophy alcohol). The yellow dye has the lowest Rf in chromatography in ethanol and isoprophy alcohol and middle Rf in water (Rf=0.17 and isoprophy alcohol and lowest Rf in water (Rf=0.816 in ethanol, Rf= 0.678 in water and Rf=0.680 in isoprophy alcohol). Real World Connection HPLC-MS stands for High performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. HPLC-MS shares the same principle with paper chromatography. They both separate mixture using the difference in different affinities to mobile/stationary phase of different components. However, HPLC-MC is far different from paper chromatography. Firstly, HPLC-MC is composed of a liquid chromatography and a mass spectrometer. This instrumentation enables HPLC-MC to analyze a much wider range of components. While paper chromatography only qualitatively separate different component in a liquid mixture, HPLC-MS can quantitatively examine each component, including Compounds that are thermally labile, exhibit high polarity or have a high molecular mass. Secondly, paper chromatography use solvent as mobile phase and paper as stationary phase, but in HPLC-MS the mobile phase is the mixture of liquid and the stationary phase is the solid through which liquid flow. Thirdly, paper chromatography can be carried out at normal temperature and pressure, but HPLC-MS sometimes needs to be done under high pressure and certain temperature to successfully drive the liquid through the solid and best demonstrate the difference in affinities of different liquid compound.

Research Methods for Consumer Buying Behaviour Research

Research Methods for Consumer Buying Behaviour Research Research Method Research methodology Everywhere, our knowledge is incomplete and problems are waiting to be solved. We address the void in our knowledge and those unresolved problems by asking relevant questions and seeking answers to them. The role of research is to provide a method for obtaining those answers by inquiringly studying the evidence within the parameters of the scientific method. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/3238/page3-15.htm Research means finding out things in a systematic way in order to increase knowledge. In any research two phrases are important, first is the ‘systematic research’ that is based on logical relationship and not just beliefs (Ghauri et al., 1995). The second phrase is to ‘find out’ the purpose of the research. It includes describing, understanding, criticizing, analyzing and explaining. (Ghauri et al., 1995) (Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. 2000) (pg 1-2). Therefore in simple words research can be expressed as number of similar and related activities involving together in search of information. It is also found that many times we have a question or a problem to resolve. The main aim of research is to collect sufficient information or data relevant to the research topic to get the clear picture and proper understanding in order to accomplish the research goal. But it is thought that we have the answers to those questions thinking that the answer is obvious, commonsense, but until we have subjected our problem to rigorous scientific scrutiny, our knowledge remains little more than guesswork or at best, intuition. http://www.chssc.salford.ac.uk/healthSci/rem99/resmeth/chap1.htm Though the meaning of research is to find out answers for question but research can also be carried out in particular subjects. As a result research in marketing is the systematic and objective identification, collection, analysis, and dissemination of information for improving decision making related to the identification and solution of problems and opportunities in marketing. There are different approaches to carry out the research. It truly depends upon the researcher which method to choose. It is also necessary to explain why a particular method is being chosen. However the author has focused on the levels of maintaining brand loyalty toward telecom service provider with respect to the competitor’s offers. To carry out this research the author has collected the primary as well as secondary data. Comparison of the primary and the secondary data will help the author for the interpretation leading to the conclusion and recommendation for the research topic. Research Approach Research can be carried out by using two types. One is the Inductive research and the other is Deductive research. Inductive research â€Å"Inductive research is a study in which theory is developed from observation of empirical reality; thus general inferences are induced from particular instances, which is the reverse of deductive method†.( Hussey Hussey, 1997, pg 13). In inductive research the data is collected and after that the theory and the hypothesis are defined and formulated. The inductive approach can also be helpful in coming up with new ideas, theories and hypothesis. It is also possible that the results of inductive research may not be hundred percent true as they are done through empirical observation. Inductive research is also known as theory generating as it done through specific observations to broader generalizations. Deductive approach According to Hussey Hussey, 1997, pg 13, deductive research is â€Å"Deductive research is a study in which conceptual and theoretical structure is developed and then tested by empirical observation; thus particular instances are deduced from general inferences. The deductive method is referred to as moving from the general to the particular†. In deductive approach the theory or hypothesis are drawn and the research is carried out to support or test the hypothesis. The deductive research draws conclusion through logical reasoning. Robson (1993:19) lists five sequential stages through which deductive research will progress: Deducing a hypothesis from the theory: In this stage the relationship between the two variables can be defined and later tested. Expressing the hypothesis in operational terms, which propose a relationship between two specific variables: In this stage the two variables can be defined to be measured. How the two variables relate to each other and how they would affect each other if any changes are made. Testing this operational hypothesis: In this stage one can involve experiment or some other form research method to test the relationship between two variables. Examining the specific outcome of the inquiry: In this stage the result of the research would be verified according to the hypothesis so that to see whether the result support the hypothesis or not. If necessary, modifying the theory in the light of the findings: In this stage, if the results suggest that there should be justified then the theory needs to be modified or altered. (Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 2000) (pg 85 87) The author has decided to carry out the mixed approach that is the inductive and deductive method in order to carry out the research on whether customer are able to maintain band loyalty towards their mobile service provider and originate and analyze the essential facts required to fulfil the research objective The research design builds on clear and concise understanding of research topic. A clear and concise statement of research purposes is absolutely essential for doing good quality research. The important idea of a research design is that all of its components must ‘fit’ with each other or ‘go together’ with each other in a logical manner. There are various methods to collect data. But which method the researcher should adopt will depend upon the nature of the research and various other factors. The method chosen should able to derive sufficient information to answer the research question. It should also be reliable, accurate. Data collection There are various methods that can be used for collection of data. In research data collection methods may vary greatly in the amount of time and money required and in complexity. The best method is one that provide the relevant and sufficient information that is needed and not necessarily the one which is fastest, cheapest and easiest. In many cases it is also possible to use more then one type of data collection method to obtain data on the same research topic. Sources of data can be put into the two general categories of being either primary or secondary. Research methods can be classified in various ways. However one of the most common methods are qualitative and quantitative research methods. Quantitative research The quantitative research is more easily defined as the collection of numerical and statistical data. â€Å"a quantitative approach involves collecting and analyzing numerical data and applying statistical tests†¦a qualitative approach, which is more subjective in nature and involves examining and reflecting on perceptions in order to gain an understanding of social and human activities†. (Hussey Hussey, 1997, pg 12). The aim of quantitative methods is to determine whether the predictive overview of a theory hold true. Quantitative designs of research tend to produce results that can be generalised. The important features that are associated with quantitative research are Objectivity, deductive ness, generalisability and numbers. It can also be said that quantitative research is concerned with numbers and measurement, rather than words, in the collection and analysis of data. Charts and graphs demonstrates the results of the research, the researchers commonly employ words such as ‘variables’, ‘populations’ and ‘result’ as part of their expressions Quantitative research usually seeks to establish causal relationships between two or more variables, using statistical methods to test the strength and significance of the relationship. Quantitative methods include experiment, surveys, and questionnaire for data collection. Qualitative research Preissle (2002) confirms that ‘qualitative research is a loosely defined category of research designs or models, all of which elicit verbal, visual, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory data in the form of descriptive narratives like field notes, recordings, or other transcriptions from audio and videotapes and other written records and pictures or films’.(Web 14) http://www.roboneill.co.uk/papers/research_methods.pdf Qualitative research is conducted in a natural setting and involves a process of building a complex and holistic picture of the phenomenon of interest. Qualitative research is concerned with no statistical methods of inquiry and analysis of social phenomena. Qualitative Research is collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data by observing what people do and say. Qualitative research is more subjective and deals in words, images. Qualitative research methods are observation, in-depth interviews or the case study. Therefore in some cases the researcher can also take an active part while interacting with participants. This helps the researcher to get in-depth views and knowledge from participants. Research is carried out with some or the other aim. Thus research is important to answer the questions and draw conclusion. Therefore to achieve the aim of the research it is crucial to choose the correct research approach and correct research method. As a result the author has made an effort to collect the primary as well as secondary data from the reliable and relevant sources in order to achieve the final results of the study. Collecting and using primary data Primary data is collected with a specific purpose or some reason. It is collected especially when the researcher cannot find the relevant data or enough data in the secondary sources. â€Å"Primary data is also known as grey literature; they are the first occurrence of piece of work. They include published sources such as reports and some central and local publications such as white papers and planning documents. They also include unpublished manuscripts sources such as letters, memos and committee minutes that may be analyzed as data in their own right†. (Saunders, Lewis Thornhill, 2003, p52). In many cases primary data is the first hand data that is directly collected from the field survey and thus it is really important for the respondent to understand the aim of the research. This helps the respondent to answer the questions the from the researcher’s view and not from their personal thinking. There are various types to collect primary data. Every type is advantageous and disadvantageous in its own way. The choice is also highly influenced by the availability of time and money. The basic methods are observations, interview, questionnaire survey, focus group interview, and case study. After the proper and complete understanding of each and every method the author had decided to obtain the primary data by using questionnaire survey and interviews to carry out the research. The method selected by the author is the mixed approach of qualitative and quantitative method. The main reason to use mixed approach is that qualitative method of approach is process-oriented, real, subjective and descriptive where as quantitative method of approach is objective and mainly outcome oriented. The use of multi methods or triangulation is adopted so that the weakness of one method is offset by the other and to ascertain whether the findings of each method achieve the same results or conclusions which will greater validity and reliability. The questionnaire survey Questionnaire is one of the simple and widely used methods for collecting primary data. â€Å"In questionnaire technique each respondent is asked same set of questions and thus it provides an efficient way of collecting response from a large sample prior to quantitative analysis†. (Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 1997)(pg 244). Thus it can be understood that questionnaire is a set of the question given to the respondent. The questions are in preset format and the respondents are asked to fill in the answers. There are various advantages in using the questionnaire technique as it is cost effective, less time consuming and efficient. Questionnaire is one the most familiar method for data collection so the researcher doesn’t have to sit and spend time in explaining how to fill them. It also won’t make the respondent nervous. The clear and simple questionnaire can also be filled in by the respondent without the presence of the researcher. Therefore the respondent will be honest and researcher’s own opinions will not influence the respondent to answer questions in a certain way. There are also certain disadvantages of using questionnaire method. It is very difficult to design the questionnaire. In many cases the researcher is not present while filling in the questionnaire thus it is not possible to give any assistance. The questions in the questionnaire have to be very simple. The response rate is also low many times. Many times it is difficult to find a consumer group who are co operative to answer the question. The main purpose of using the questionnaire survey was to obtain as much as information possible on customers brand loyalty towards their mobile service provider. The questionnaire survey was intended to acquire the information from the customers using the mobile service. In terms of design and layout of the questionnaire was kept very simple. The questions framed were very clear, simple and easy to understand by the respondent. The length of the questionnaire was also kept short keeping in mind that the respondent may not be bored or tired. This may hinder the final results of the research. The questionnaire was the combination of open ended and close ended questions, which will use the rating scale technique from 1 to 5. In which 1 represented the highly satisfied customer, 2 represented the satisfied customer, three represented the moderate customer. 4 represented dissatisfied customer, 5 represented highly dissatisfied customer. The questionnaire was self administered and researcher administered. The author had chosen the option of delivering and collecting the questionnaire. With the help of the supportive consumer group the author had achieved 90% of the response rate from the customer and tried to maintain the privacy of the data collected. Pilot testing Before using the questionnaire on the main sample the pilot testing of the questionnaire was carried out. It is important to obtain information by pilot testing the questionnaire on individual similar to those who will be asked to complete the questionnaire. The purpose of pilot testing is to refine t questionnaire so that the respondent will have no problem in answering the questions and there will be no problems in recording the data. (Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 2003)(pg 308). This will help the researcher to perform the necessary changes in the questionnaire before giving it to the actual sample. Pilot testing helps to assess the questions, validity and reliability of the data collected. After the completion of designing and drafting of questionnaire it was circulated between the MBA students at UWIC. Some of these students were currently working in a company. As a result the author received a response on the clarity, sequencing and inter relation of the questions. This response facilitated the author to make the necessary alteration in the questionnaire. Interviews An interview is a purposeful discussion between two or more people. In this one the person is the researcher. Making use of the interview method can be helpful help to gather valid and reliable data that are relevant to the research question and objective. There are three categories of interview each category has its own advantages and disadvantages. Structured interview Unstructed interview Semi structured interview The first is the structured interview in which the researcher has a list of question in a predetermined manner. They are focused and prà ©cised there fore more data can be collected. These are informal interview. The second is the unstructured interview in such type of interview there are no predetermined questions. The conversation between the respondent and researcher is quite general but the researcher needs to have a clear idea about the aspects that he has to explore. The interviewee is given an opportunity to speak on the research topic this type of interview is called as non directive. As there are no set of questions that are prepared it takes lot of time to gather sufficient information. But in such interview the interviewee feels at ease and does not realise that he is being interviewed. There are also some ethical issues that may prevent to make use of such interview especially for research projects. The third category is the semi structured interview. In such interview there are the list of topics and question to be covered by the researcher. The researcher may also vary the order of the question as per the situation and flow of the conversation. Additional question can also be asked related to the research topic in order to gain the in depth knowledge. It is more flexible. The response rate is also higher. It is a time-consuming method and also requires more time to analyse them. Therefore the author has decided to make use of the semi structured interview in order to gain the in depth knowledge and achieve the research objective. Secondary data Secondary data is the data that readily available. Secondary data is data that is neither collected directly by the user nor specifically for the user, often under conditions not known to the user. â€Å"Secondary data is a source such as books and journals are designed either to help to locate primary literature. These publications are aimed at wider audiences. They are easier to locate than primary data†. (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2003, p52). It is the information that has already been collected for some other purposes by some one else. It may be available from internal sources, or may have been collected and published by another organization. It is basically gathered before the primary data as to find out what is already known about the subject matter before starting the own research. In many cases the researcher prefers using the secondary data instead of carrying out the primary research. There are advantages as well as disadvantages of using secondary data. Secondary data is available quickly, easily and cheaply. It provides the researcher in determining the direction for primary data collection. It is flexible and provides great variety to the researcher. The disadvantages of secondary data are as follows. It is difficult to rely on secondary data in terms of quality and accuracy of the data. As the gathered may be long time back hence it may not be valid in current situation. The data readily available may not be related to the research question or may not available in sufficient quantity. There are three types of secondary data: 1. Documentary. Organizational records, communications and web sites; reports of committees; media accounts (newspaper articles); TV and video recordings; Internet sources 2. Multiple sources. (different data sets combined) Country or sector reports; industry statistics 3. Survey data. Government surveys and censuses (continuous); surveys by international bodies. (Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 1997) (pg 190) There are other types of secondary data available such as books, journals, newspaper, articles, and internet. In order to make the research more effective the author has gone through various books, journals, articles, and internet. The combination of primary and secondary data has been collected to obtain answer to the research question more efficiently. Reliability and Validity In order to reduce the possibilities of getting the answer wrong attention has to be paid on two important factors in research design: reliability and validity. These two factors are dependent on one another. Reliability is required to make statements about validity. Reliability of the research means the extent to which the instrument would yield the same result if used in the other occasion. Validity applies to both the design and the methods of research it is an indication of how sound the research is. Validity is concerned with whether the findings are really about what they appear to be about (Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 2003) (pg 101). Validity in data collection means that the findings truly represent the phenomenon that the researcher is claiming to measure. Research can be affected by different kinds of factors that irrelevant to the concern of the research, can invalidate the findings (Seliger Shohamy 1989, 95). Findings can be said to be internally invalid because they may have been affected by factors other than those thought to have caused them, or because the interpretation of the data by the researcher is not clearly supportable (Seliger Shohamy 1989, 95). Findings can be externally invalid because they cannot be extended or applied to contexts outside those in which the research took place. (Seliger Shohamy 1989, 95). Therefore the author has taken proper care while making the selection of the sample as well as the research planning. The information acquired is also from the reliable and valid sources. The incomplete questionnaires were also discarded to avoid the effects on final results. Ethical issues There were certain ethical issues that the author had to face throughout the research. Ethics in research is mainly the appropriateness of your behaviour in relation to the right of those who become the subject of your work, or are affected by it (Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 2003)(pg 129). Therefore the ethical issue has to be taken the special care as they remain sensitive and had a impact on the research work as well as the respondent. While carrying out the survey the companies were assured that this research work is truly for educational purpose and wouldn’t be revealed any where else. Therefore special care was taken by the author to maintain the privacy for the data collected so that it is not been misused by anyone else for any other purpose. For primary data http://members.tripod.com/~mccurtain_2/genietips/tip15.html http://misnt.indstate.edu/wilhelm/ASBE%20336/336%20Primary%20Data.ppt http://www.jica.go.jp/english/evaluation/guides/pdf/ref_ma_005.pdf Consumer buying behaviour A buyers decision are also influenced by personal characteristic such as the buyer age and life cycle stage, occupation, economic situation, lifestyle, and personality and self concept. There are various internal factors, external factors and marketing factors which motivates the customers in their decision making process. Some of the important factors are mentioned below: Competitive price: a product with a competitive price often attracts customers. Customers are willing to pay a certain amount for a specific product. If the price ranges of that product falls within their purchasing power, customers are tend to be happy. Good Customer service: customers are satisfied if the are given good customer services for the product that they have purchased. Customer should be provided with good service not only at the time of buying a product but also after sales service should be provided as this influences the buyers buying behaviour. Efficiently handling the customers’ problem. How convenient the buyer is in buying and using the product also influences the buying behaviour of the customer. Availability of the product also acts as an influencing factor for the customers buying behaviour. In some cases, if a particular product that the customers buy regularly is not available in the market then the customer may intend to buy the substitute of that product. Attitude of customers toward a particular product and company also influences their buying behaviour. A good attitude will always have a positive effect and a bad attitude will have a negative effect. Individual learns attitude through their personal experience and interaction with other people. Therefore it becomes important for the companies to develop a positive attitude in the minds of the customers by providing excellent quality of service. If the negative attitude is developed within the customers it is difficult to change it. Life style of a customer is also becoming an influential factor in their buying behaviour. This influencing factor relates to the way we live through the activities we engage in and interests we express.  Lifestyle is often determined by how we spend our time and money. A person having a high standard of life will always prefer using a high quality of product specially a brand. Many people respond to what they perceive to be fun, exciting, and hip, and they want to feel valued and recognized Consumer purchasing decisions are often affected by factors that are outside of their control but have direct or indirect impact on how we live and what we consume.