Eastern Food Restaurant Products and Related Services Free Essay Example, 2500 words

Eastern Food restaurant will offer a beverage and food menu that carries a distinctive image. The restaurant s products can be bought in 3 ways; restaurant table service, restaurant take away, and office or home delivery. Eastern Food Restaurant s menu will be moderate to low priced as well as moderate sized and will offer a collection of British and ethnic items all having a common theme: healthy, familiar, and flavourful. The restaurant aims to create an image of nutritious and light satisfying food. Increased awareness of health and nutritional concerns has been witnessed in the last few years, with people who eat desire this cooking style being a growing market. Production and assembly of the food will occur in the restaurant kitchen. Most of the dishes will be prepared from scratch using vegetables, dairy products, and meat, all fresh. There will be strict standards of presentation and packaging, quality production, and sanitation assured by the Chef of service and kitchen staf f. A customer can purchase food in three ways at Eastern Foods Restaurant. They may sit in the dining room on one of the 60 seats and be served by the waitperson, from the takeout counter whose orders will be prepared from communication over the fax or telephone, and delivery for a limited area over a certain time. There exists a market segment, which prefers eating at home even though they do not possess the time to prepare a homemade meal. We will write a custom essay sample on Eastern Food Restaurant Products and Related Services or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Though located in an urban downtown setting, the area is populated by tourists and people who eat out. The area is well known for and caters to the group that the restaurant is targeting.

Immigration Policy in the United States Essay - 2016 Words

We are now in the 21st century and like the beginning of the 20th century the United States finds itself in the throes of a period of mass immigration. More then one million immigrants enter the Unites States, both legally and illegally every single year. Many argue that this new wave of mass immigration may help sustain the success that our nation is having in regard to the way of living that many American have come accustomed to and yet others believe that although our nation was created by immigrants it is time to shut down our borders. The truth of the matter is that there will always be issues in regard to immigration and the policies that the government sets forth in order control who comes into this country. Also now†¦show more content†¦For those who seek to come to this country by legal means it is only fair that the nation should be responsive and welcoming. However although it is necessary for the system to welcome legal immigrants to the US it is also very import ant for the government to battle illegal immigration as well. The reforming of America?s immigration policy is something that can no longer be avoided and must be dealt with as soon as possible. Years of neglect by governmental agencies and policies makers have now made this issue one of the biggest in American politics. First of it must be understood that immigration does no only effect curtain areas of the country and curtain aspect of public life but rather all of American life. Both legal and illegal immigration affect major issues such as jobs availability for all citizens, wages, education in public schools system and in general, health care issues, and the homeland security. There needs to be reform not only the issue of illegal immigration but also on legal immigration and refugee and asylum policies; the three main reforms that I will cover in this paper. Current immigrant policy allows for around 1 million immigrants allowed into this country every year. Although this may seem like a low number compared to the current population of nearly 300 million people who currently live in the unites states theShow MoreRelatedThe United States Immigration Policy1199 Words   |  5 Pages In the United States immigration has almost always been a controversial topic to discuss. James Madison wrote that Our kind reception of immigrants is very proper, but it is dictated more by benevolent [sic] than by interested consideration, though some of them seem to be very far from regarding the obligations as lying on their side(Madison, James) When Madison wrote this he had no clue of the problems that immigration could cause in the modern day United States in the last five to six decadesRead MoreThe Immigration Policy Of The United States Essay922 Words   |  4 PagesHillary Clinton will continue the destructive immigration policy of the Obama Regime if she is elected president. The policy itself is helping to destroy the very nature of our country. America has always had a lot of immigration, legal and illegal alike, but now we are in crisis mode. Most of the immigrants from Central America, especially Mexico, do not want to immerse themselves in American culture. However, they do want a return of the South-West territory of Mexico. Under the Obama AdministrationRead MoreImmigration Policy And The United States1713 Words   |  7 PagesFletcher SPEA V-160 Susan Siena April 2nd, 2017 Immigration Policy This paper will be discussing immigration policy, what fixes the United States needs to make to the current policy and what aspects should remain the same. This paper will first discuss what our current policy is, then transition its focus to immigration quotas, border patrol and security, and lastly discussing refugees. In order to reform the immigration policy, we must have an open policy for refugees. We will allow refugees to enterRead MoreImmigration Policy Of The United States1017 Words   |  5 Pagesto have open and honest debate of immigration policy in the United States. It is not that there is not an immigration policy. The author presented two points of view: for immigration and for restricted immigration. For a true democracy, policies are formulated, adopted, implemented and evaluated. In the evaluation phase, challenges are made as to the effectiveness of a â€Å"living† policy. All government’s action or inaction, affects the people governed, and immig ration is no exception. In fact, it directlyRead MoreImmigration Policy Of The United States1045 Words   |  5 PagesRecently the President of the United States, Barack Obama, spoke to the country about immigration policy and measures he wants to take. He announced this past Thursday he would be easing the threat of deportation for the roughly 4.4 million illegal immigrants who are parents of legal American citizens. This paper will look into not only this new policy, but also the comprehensive policy of immigration in the United States. It will cover where the foreign-born population comes from, the mix ofRead MoreThe United States Immigration Policy1596 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States immigration policy has never pleased all Americans and probably never will. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, politicians have toiled continuously with the broken system. For example, Congress attempted to strengthen the western border by passing the Illegal Immigrant Reform and Im migrant Responsibility Act in 1996 (Historical Overview). Although the proposed increase in Border Patrol agents seemed promising, insufficient funding kept the act from adequate enforcement (HistoricalRead MoreImmigration Policy Of The United States1763 Words   |  8 PagesImmigration is a timely issue that took my interest, and being an immigrant it was the first topic that came to my mind for this problem-solution research paper. It is imperative that the citizens must know that there are underlying major problems that are associated with the current immigration policy of the country. Thus, the United States’ government must address this serious problem with the majority support of its citizens. By tackling the issue of immigration, it will not just resolve one problemRead MoreThe Immigration Policy Of The United States1869 Words   |  8 Pagespeople migrate to different countries, the impact of immigration in countries, and how countries should go about regulating im migration. When discussing the ethics of immigration, it is important to view this topic from both sides and not just one side. In doing so, a person gets a sense of the bigger picture that the U.S. is currently dealing with due to immigration. With that being said, the United States should strive for an immigration policy that can benefit everyone involved as a whole. IsRead MoreImmigration Policies Of The United States1836 Words   |  8 Pages Immigration Policies Jennifer (Stark) Rinehart University of Charleston Immigration Policies Cheers to technology and the internet, the world has over the years turned to be a small village where physical and geographical barriers that hindered people’s movement from continent to continent no longer exist. As a result, people’s movements are no longer mired geographically, but rather by man-made policies. Such policies are termed as immigration policies. They denote a country’s setRead MoreImmigration Policy Of Canada And The United States1765 Words   |  8 Pagesauthor chose immigration as the topic of this report to rationalize and review its various aspects which will serve as the grounding to expand the author’s business in immigration based countries like Canada. The report encompasses the most preferred countries for immigration, immigration policies in Australia, Canada and the United States, and the economic impact of immigration. The report does not cover refugee immigration, illegal immigration and the negative impacts of immigration. There has been

Sainsbury Marketing Mix Free Essays

string(67) " These products are suitable for those allergic to dairy products\." INTRODUCTION OF COMPANY J Sainsbury’s is the third largest grocery retailer in the UK. The company was leading grocery retailer in UK from the late 1980 to 1995. The company opened their first store in 1869. We will write a custom essay sample on Sainsbury Marketing Mix or any similar topic only for you Order Now Sainsbury’s has 504 supermarkets and 319 convenience stores in UK. Company’s turnover is over ? 17. 4 billion and profit of ? 289 million. Asda and Tesco has overtaken Sainsbury’s recently. Sainsbury’s market share gradually decreased to just over 16%. Sainsbury’s growth has suddenly fallen down. In terms of local sourcing, Sainsbury’s is higher than other competitors. Sainsbury’s provides products like milk, pre-packed cheese, fresh lamb etc to the customer. Sainsbury’s is only food retailer to enter in global 100 index. Sainsbury’s sell over 4000 products. Company has been positioned under FTSE4 and Dow Jones Index. Sainsbury’s main responsibility is to provide best food and health, make relationship with community, to provide good place of work and save environment. The main objective of Sainsbury’s is to make growth in both sales and customers. Sainsbury’s continuously growing like-for-like sales by 3. %, increase the product range, improving services and operational saving. Sainsbury’s brand represents quality and value for money and customer service. Company’s brand name is ‘so organic’ related to food. The company objective is to provide high product in low fair price and provide good service to people like give information to choose product. The subsidiaries of Sainsburyâ €™s are Sainsbury’s Bank Ltd; Sainsbury’s Supermarket Ltd and Sainsbury’s Convenience Stores Ltd. (Source: www. sainsburys. co. uk) The supermarket chain operates three main store formats; regular Sainsbury’s stores (‘Main Mission’), Sainsbury’s Local and Sainsbury’s Central (convenience stores and smaller supermarkets in urban locations – ‘Mixed Mission’) and Sainsbury’s ‘Main Plus’ (hypermarket) stores. Unlike Tesco (Tesco Extra) and Asda (Asda Wal-Mart Supercentre), Sainsbury’s does not employ a separate brand for its hypermarkets, having phased out the ‘Savacentre’ fascia several years ago. At the end of its 2008/09 financial year Sainsbury’s store portfolio was as follows. |Format |Number |Area (ft? |Area (m? ) |Percentage of space | |Supermarkets |502 |15,974,000 |1,484,000 |95. 6% | |Convenience stores |290 |729,000 |67,700 |4. 4% | |Total |792 |16,703,000 |1,551,700 |100. 0% | TOTAL MARKET SHARE: The total market share of Sainsbury’s is 16. 5%. Their market share has grown over last year and in curr ent period they are serving over 18. 5 million customers each week. TRENDS AND ISSUES PREVALENT IN RETAIL INDUSTRY: The recent trends that are prevalent in Retail industry are as under: i. Fashion of creating one’s own brand: These days it has become a fashion to use own brand name by retail companies on packing of products. The companies are doing so because on order to increase consumer loyalty. Major retail giants Tesco, Sainsbury’s use their brand name on the products in order to promote their brand name and gain consumer loyalty as well. Eg: Sainsbury’s is selling organic food under the name of ‘Sainsbury’s So Fresh’. The trends of own brand name is increasing. i. Availability of all continental and regional type of food at any period of time: Earlier the foods of winter were not available in summer. But now due to improved storage systems and new trends of eating off seasonal foods as well, the consumers can have grapes in winter as well. Now any body can eat off seasonal food at any point of time. iii. Demand for convenience food: The increased competitive world has made both males and females to work in order to earn their livings. Nobody has any time to cook food. As both partners are busy in their jobs, so they don’t get much time to cook food. But the recent retail trend is of eating cereals and cooked food. The consumers can eat the ready mix food at any point of time without even cooking it. iv. More attraction towards discounted items: The consumers, these days prefer the discounted products. Discounted products are in trend nowadays. The recent trend is that more the discount, the more the customers. The sales also get increased by providing more discounts. v. Direct marketing: It is a type of retailing in which consumers are exposed to goods services through a non-personal medium. They can order purchase the products by mail or telephone. vi. Online technology: The technology has made it easier for retailers to sell products online. The consumers can order and purchase the products online. The company can deliver products to consumers on a single click. Online sales are a great source of income to retailers as well. Issues in Retail industry: Following are the main issues that are prevalent in retail industry: i. Rising health awareness amongst public. The UK government is spreading awareness about healthier and fresh food in UK. The customers are told to not to eat sweeteners. The government is making people aware about use of organic food and low fat food. Thus the consumers have started shifting towards fresh and healthier food. ii. Low disposable income: Due to recession, the disposable income of people have fall. This has effected the spending capacity of people. Now people have decreased their buying ability. iii. Recession gave rise to unemployment and inflation which affect the market directly or indirectly. iv. Consumers have perception that recession is long term so they are spending less and saving more. The consumers believe that due to recession they are unable to save more and are having only expenses. COMPETITORS: †¢ In the supermarket business Sainsbury’s main competitors are Tesco, Asda and Safeway. †¢ In retail banking the main competition comes from Tesco Financial Services, M S Financial Services, the traditional high street banks, Egg, Halifax and Abbey National mortgages. PRODUCTS: The major products of Sainsbury’s are as follows: †¢ Supermarket/Grocery goods; †¢ Retail banking services; †¢ Retail property development services In Sainsbury’s, a large store typically stocks around 50,000 lines of which round 20% are â€Å"own-label† goods. These own-brand lines include: †¢ Basics: mainly food, toiletries and stationery. †¢ Taste the Difference (TTD): around 1100 premium food lines i. e. processed foods such as ready made meals and premium bakery lines. †¢ Freefrom: It was launched in February 2010, it has over 75 product lines. These products are suitable for those allergic to dairy products. You read "Sainsbury Marketing Mix" in category "Marketing" †¢ Sainsbury’s Organic (SO Organic): Around 500 lines of food / drink which is not derived from food stuffs treated with fertilizer or pesticides. †¢ Different by Design: a smaller range of premium non-food lines, including flowers. Kids: these lines are for children. †¢ Be Good To Yourself (BGTY): products with reduced calorific and/or fat content. All BGTY packaging was relaunched in January 2010. †¢ Fair Trade: Over 100 fair trade products. All bananas sold at Sainsbury’s are now fair trade. †¢ Super Naturals: A range of ready meals with healthy ingredients. †¢ TU – own brand clothing range. †¢ TU Home – a range of home products, such as lighting, rugs, and kitchen products. PORTER’S FIVE FORCE ANALYSIS 1. Competitive rivalry †¢ The retail market is extremely c ompetitive with a very crowded market. More companies are trying to get into non food sectors which leads to increase in competition. 2. Barriers for entry in food category Firstly, organised retail is amongst the most sophisticated sectors within the UK and needs a lot of investment. Secondly, retail is also at an advanced stage within the UK and most of the western world. 3. Threats of Substitutes †¢ The threat of substitutes in the food category is a low one because consumers view it as a necessity, especially in the developed world and increasingly in the emerging markets. The only major threat of substitute is an internal industry threat whereby one supermarket can lap up the business of other supermarkets. 4. Buyer power †¢ Buyer power is high due to the presence of so many competitors selling the same products. †¢ As the economy goes further towards recession, consumers’ needs are likely to be given more weight, increasing their power considerably. 5. Supplier power †¢ Supplier power is u sually more complicated as it is difficult to categorise it. Supplier power of smaller suppliers will not be considerable because of their sales volumes on dependence on these supermarkets. PEST ANALYSIS Political factors †¢Increasing globalization, presents a challenge as well as an opportunity to Sainsbury’s. Sainsbury’s can enter the markets of emerging companies through joint ventures or partnerships to explore these new markets, although it does not have any plans on the horizon to do so. †¢ The ongoing investigation of price fixing amongst the big four retailers within the UK can have some negative impact to the industry in general and Sainsbury’s in particular. In the UK, the Government is to decrease the rate of corporation tax from 30% to 28%, which will save big companies like Sainsbury’s significant sums of money (HM Treasury 2008). Economic factors †¢ The rapidly increasing global food crisis has increased food prices all over t he world, which will result in rising purchasing costs for Sainsbury’s. †¢ The credit crunch might decrease the purchasing power of consumers and though they will still buy the essentials they may be more cautious. Social factors: Nowadays there seems to be more emphasis on fresh, easy style cooking. This serves an opportunity for Sainsbury’s to encourage new recipes and unfussy eating. †¢ There has been a huge emphasis by the government to promote healthy eating, primarily due to the increasing level of obesity within the UK. This has lead to many consumers to shift towards healthier food. This presents an opportunity to Sainsbury’s to stock up with more healthy food or create healthier foods at a cheaper price than other manufacturers so as to benefit from this new trend. Technological †¢ The Internet phenomenon seems to be ever growing within western countries. †¢ One of the downsides of supermarket shopping is the queuing system customers often find themselves in at the checkout. †¢ RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) technology can be used for significant benefits to the supply chain of Sainsbury’s. If adopted, this technology will lead to less inventory for the supermarket firms leading to a leaner, more profitable organisation. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Weakness some implications as people are gravitating towards British companies and the prospect of Sainsbury’s being governed by a foreign firm can lead to consumers switching loyalties. †¢ Alternative business presents a great opportunity to Sainsbury for future growth. †¢ Online sales are a great opportunity as well, since online margins are higher and investments are not huge. Threats †¢ There needs to be continuous heavy investment in environmental and green issues without immediate benefits. Sainsbury’s operations are subject to a broad spectrum of regulatory requirements particularly in relation to planning, competition and environmental issues, employment, pensions and tax laws and in terms of regulations over the group’s products and services WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE? Ansoff Matrix To portray alternative corporate growth strategies, Igor Ansoff presented a matrix that focused on the firm’s present and potential products and markets (cu stomers). By considering ways to grow via existing products and new products, and in existing markets and new markets, there are four possible product-market combinations. Ansoff’s matrix is shown below: Ansoff Matrix |   |Existing Products |New Products | |Existing | | | |Markets | | | | |Market Penetration |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Product Development  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   | |New | | |Markets | | | | |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Market Development  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   |Diversification | Ansoff’s matrix provides four different growth strategies: †¢ Market Penetration – the firm seeks to achieve growth with existing products in their current market segments, aiming to increase its market share. †¢ Market Development – the firm seeks growth by targeting its existing products to new market segments. †¢ Product Development – the firms develops new products targeted to its existing market segments. Diversification – the firm grows by diversifying into new businesses by developing new products for new markets. Selecting a Product-Market Growth Strategy The market penetration strategy is the least risky since it leverages many o f the firm’s existing resources and capabilities. In a growing market, simply maintaining market share will result in growth, and there may exist opportunities to increase market share if competitors reach capacity limits. However, market penetration has limits, and once the market approaches saturation another strategy must be pursued if the firm is to continue to grow. Market development: The development of new markets for the product may be a good strategy if the firm’s core competencies are related more to the specific product than to its experience with a specific market segment. Because the firm is expanding into a new market, a market development strategy typically has more risk than a market penetration strategy. A product development strategy may be appropriate if the firm’s strengths are related to its specific customers rather than to the specific product itself. New product development carries more risk than simply attempting to increase market share. Diversification is the most risky of the four growth strategies since it requires both product and market development and may be outside the core competencies of the firm. Diversification may be a reasonable choice if the high risk is compensated by the chance of a high rate of return. Sainsbury’s has also diversified into banking, financial services, petrol pumps etc. HOW DO WE GET THERE? MARKETING OBJECTIVES: To be consumer’s first choice for food delivering products of outstanding quality and great service at a competitive cost through working faster, simpler and together. Positioning: This means process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization. Sainsbury’s has increased its private brand product portfolio. Under food category, company offers organic food under name ‘Sainsbury’s SO organic’ range and it comprises of 450 products. (www. sainsburys. co. uk) Competitive advantage: According to its chief executive Justin King Fairtrade gives Sainsbury’s the edge over its competitors, as well as being an ethical way to trade. MARKETING MIX: It is referred to as the set of controllable tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market, so it consists of everything the firm can do to influence the demand for its product (Kotler and Armstrong, 2004). The major function of marketing mix strategy of any company is the strategic communication of the organization with its customers (Proctor, 2000). Marketing Mix is also referred to as â€Å"4 Ps of Marketing†. The classification of four Ps of marketing was first introduced and suggested by McCarthy (1960), and includes marketing strategies of product, price, placement and promotion. According to Borden (1964), the elements of the marketing mix includes product planning; pricing; branding; distribution channels; promotions; product packaging; advertisements; services; packaging handling; and re-order, etc. The purpose of using a marketing mix is to target the market in order to increase sales and profits. [pic] (Source: www. marketingteacher. com) The 4 Ps of Marketing Mix can be explained as below: 1. Product: A product includes all features and combination of goods and related services that a company offers to its customers. The product or service offer needs to be able to meet a specific, existing market demand. The companies that are operating in service sector and provide intangible products are very much criticized by the customers. The companies can use the terminology of â€Å"service products† under marketing mix strategy making (Kotler Armstrong, 2004). Sainsbury’s is applying this strategy according to consumer preferences and changes in the market. i. Positioning: This means process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization. Sainsbury’s has increased its private brand product portfolio. Under food category, company offers organic food under name ‘Sainsbury’s SO organic’ range and it comprises of 450 products. (www. sainsburys. co. uk) ii. Quality: The products offered by Sainsbury’s are quality products. There is a wide range of great quality products at fair prices. The main emphasis of quality is on fresh food, organic food and private label brands. The company’s commitment of offering quality products has increased the brand image of the company. iii. Product Packaging: Sainsbury’s has improved its packaging. The company offers the products in self branded packages. The various discounts and slogans are mentioned on the packaging. The company is using eco-friendly bags for packaging and carrier bags called ‘Bags for life’. (Source: www. sainsburys. co. uk). iv. Branding : Sainsbury’s uses self labelled branded products. The company offers nearly 20% out of its 50,000 product range, which uses self label brands. v. Varieties. vi. Taste the different: Also known as ‘Ttd’, it is the company’s biggest sub brand which comprises of 1300 products. It was Sainsbury’s first own brand range to be free of artificial colors, flavors and hydrogenated fats. 2. Pricing: It is setting up a price for a product or service offered. According to Kotler and Armstrong (2004) price is the amount of money that customers have to pay to obtain the product. It is not simple to set a price. The customers not only view the lower price of product, but they respond to value so a lower price does not necessarily mean expanded sales if the product is not fulfilling the expectation of the customers (Lazer, 1971). Pricing strategy is divided into two parts: price determination and price administration. The different types of price are Market led pricing (Competitive pricing), Cost based pricing, penetration pricing, destruction pricing, price wards, EDLP (Every day low price). The pricing strategy of Sainsbury’s is that it should be able to provide profits. The pricing strategy of Sainsbury’s is as follows: a. Lower pricing strategy: Sainsbury’s use lower price or economy pricing strategy at the time of launching or selling a new product. The marketing and manufacturing costs are kept at minimum. Sainsbury’s offer economy prices for its products like soups, beans, tomato puree, etc. which can be compared very easily with its competitor TESCO (Source: http://www. sainsburys. co. uk http://www. tesco. com). b. Discount price: Sainsbury’s offer discounts to the consumers. This is done in order to increase the bucket size. The discount offered by Sainsbury’s has resulted in increase in sales volume. c. Meal Deals: Sainsbury’s offer meal deals for families. It offers a meal, a soft drink in just ? 5 to family of 3 members. This kind of meal deals are making it popular among the food sections in retail market. . Credit terms. 3. Place: It involves all activities used by company in order to make the product available to the targeted customer (Kotler and Armstrong, 2004). It refers to different ways by which a customer can obtain a product or receive a service. A product or a service can be received through a number of distribution channels, such as in a retail store, through the mail, via downloadable files, on a cruise ship, in a hair salon, etc. The products can be made available to customers depending upon different factors like sales, communications and contractual considerations (Lazer, 1971). The ease with which the products or services are made available to customers has a significant effect on sales volume. Sainsbury’s has been using the perfect blend of the time, quantity and place concept in order to serve its customers. a. Website: Sainsbury’s has its corporate website i. e. www. sainsburys. co. uk. The company has made quite a good use of technology and the customers can purchase the products and services at just one go through internet or online. Sainsbury’s has its online section showing groceries online at internet. The consumers can easily choose among various products available online. This saves a lot much time of the customer and also home delivery by Sainsbury’s made it more convenient for the consumers to buy a product. b. Convenience Stores: These are the stores which are opened upon locally in smaller area. The consumers can have fresh food and other quality products close to their home. Sainsbury’s has also introduced a series of operational changes to improve cost efficiency, such as night-shift improvements and introducing further shelf-ready packaging. . Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s has increased its no. of stores to 792 out of which 164 stores are more than 4000 square ft. area. The supermarkets are large and big stores that are open for 24 hours a day and offer full range of products and services to the customers. d. Banks: Sainsbury’s Bank provides insurance, credit cards, loans and travel money. The consumers can access it online as well on its corporate website www. sainsburysbank. co. uk. It can also be accessed in convenience stores. e. Home Delivery: The Company is also having 169 stores that provide home delivery service to customers. f. Filling Stations. g. Cafe. 4. Promotion: Promotional strategies means the different means through which a company communicates the benefits and values of its products and encourages customers to buy them (Kotler and Armstrong, 2004). It is the process by which the businesses informs the customers about their products and encourage them to buy their products. The best way to understand promotion is through the concept of the marketing communication process. Promotion is the company strategy to cater for the marketing communication process that requires interaction between two or more people or groups, encompassing senders, messages, media and receivers (Lazer, 1971). For example, if Nokia wants to promote its product then, Nokia is sender and an advertising agency as well; the media used in the process can be salesmen, newspapers, magazines, radio, billboards, television etc and the message will be the advertisement or sales presentation and the final destination is the potential consumer or customer which will be mobile phone users. . Nectar Card: offers customers to gain points through shopping. They can earn money to exchange point. The company offer loyalty cards to its customers which has points based system. It can be collected on every purchase made in Sainsbury’s. (Source: http://www. nectar. com) b. Active Kids: promises to donate sporting equipment and coaching to primary and secondary schools in exchange for vouchers c ollected by customers. c. TV Ads: Jamie Oliver is the representative of Sainsbury’s. d. Advertising: Sainsbury’s uses media as an effective tool for promoting the products. The company is making use of television and radio for promoting its brand. e. Sales promotion: The company also offer schemes like buy 1 get 1 free. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGES IN THE MARKETING MIX STRATEGY: In today’s competitive world consumer’s shopping behaviour changes significantly with fluctuations in the macroeconomic environment. Retailers can maximize the returns by effectively altering the marketing mix strategies. Consumer goods manufacturers and retailers have to make regular critical decisions around the pricing, product, distribution, and promotion that best communicates their firm’s value to consumers. Thus Sainsbury’s in order to be at a top position in the food retailer’s market needs to apply some changes to its marketing mix strategy. Product: †¢ Sainsbury’s should diversify its product line to even more variety of products like petrol. †¢ It should concentrate more on its own-brand products as now the customers are getting more attracted towards own-label products of the retailers as they offer quality products at cheap prices. †¢ Sainsbury’s should also try to products in smaller quantities or in small packets. That will bring an edge to Sainsbury’s. Price: †¢ Sainsbury’s should try to increase production of their own brand products can help them reduce cost and offer better prices. †¢ Sainsbury’s should keep its price in competition to its competitors like Tesco. †¢ It should use the penetrating pricing strategy for its new products along with the on going economy pricing strategy which will reduce the profit margin of the company a bit but will give them opportunity to gain economies of scale. Place: Sainsbury’s should concentrate more on internet sales by offering its customers schemes like vouchers when they spend online. †¢ Instead of opening up new stores, Sainsbury’s should concentrate on its existing stores. It should try to bring all its stores in profit. †¢ The Internet is a new marketing tool which means that the aim should be innovation, developing new programs and features that will attract the clientele so as to capit alize on this tool and stand out among the rest. Promotion: †¢ New schemes for collective buying and online buying, online vouchers should be introduced. As today is the price war but due to its brand image it can also advertising which not just concentrates on the price but on the main aim of the company like healthy food and life style to attract the customers or with the emotional connection of the particular brand with the consumers. Internet malls i. e. e-malls can be created to increase the sales and to reach more customers than by personal selling. CONCLUSION The retailer industry is very competitive. Although SAINSBURY’S retailing position is still very strong, TESCO and ASDA are strong competitors. Sainsbury’s strategic marketing mix needs to be improved. It needs carefully designed. Hence, more market researches are needed to develop an effective strategic marketing mix. To answer the research question, Sainsbury’s needs to implement an appropriate marketing mix to become a more successful company REFERENCES Blattberg R C and Hoch S J (1990). `Database models and export intuition: 50% model . 50% manager’, Management Science, vol. 36, p. 887-889. D’Esopo M and Almquist E (2007). â€Å"An approach to mastering the marketing†, mix, Business Strategy Series, vol. , no. 2, p. 122-131 Kotler, P (1988). Marketing Management Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc. Marketing Analytics Inc. (2010). â€Å"Marketing Modeling Mix†, http://www. marketinganalytics. com/Solutions/MarketingMixModeling. aspx. Retrieved on 20th April 2010 Verdict (2007) â€Å"UK Grocery Retailers, 2007, http://www. verdict. co. uk / Marketing/dmvt0365m. pdf. Retrieved on 20th April 2010 http://www. j-sainsbury. co. uk/ar07/businessreview/corporateobjectives. shtml[pic] How to cite Sainsbury Marketing Mix, Essays

Depth Study of Manga

Question: Discuss about theDepth Study of Manga. Answer: Introduction Manga is a popular comic icon composed in the Japanese language. The Manga culture was developed in the late 19th century. It manifested a unique Japanese style. The comic symbol of Manga evolved through pre-history in the domain of Japanese art (Brenner, 2014). The Japanese curators coined the term Manga, which strongly implies the significance of both comic and caricatures. Outside the jurisdiction of Japan, the term Manga is employed in reference to comic character develop1ed in the land of the rising sun (Brenner, 2014). In the regions of Japan, people of all ages peruse Manga and internalize the comic character. The version incorporates a wide array of genres such as action-adventure, business, comedy and historical drama. Speaking briefly, the comic model of Manga permeates the world of Japanese literature and history. The concept is adapted into various subsets that broadly include science fiction, video games and many more. At the same time, the Manga image was transmuted into various languages (Bryce Davis, 2016). It is indispensable to note here, Manga assumes the worldwide fame and strikes a chord with the global audience. Economically speaking, Manga spawns consternation in the global markets. In the regions of France and Canada, the profit of the international market increases at a rapid pace. In the regions of Asiatic cordillera, the paradigm of Manga is projected in the popular television shows. It was given an animated hue in the regions of China, Hong Kong and Korea (Bryce Davis, 2016) . At the same time, the large Asian audience, including India, conceptualized the concept of Manga. The figure of Manga beautifully captures the mindset of the young audience and they embrace it to the hilt. Research Outline The research assignment adumbrates and develops an overarching comprehension of the fictional character of Manga. The study of Manga delves into the chronological and cultural context. The research assignment juxtaposes the two themes and maintains the profundity of the study of Manga (Fisher, 2014). Talking about the ramification, the research assignment sheds light on the evolutionary context of the fictional character of Manga. Subsequently, it explains the cultural perspective of the study. It shows that the fictional character of Manga influences and moulds the global culture (Fisher, 2014). At the same time, it deeply affects the pop culture of Japan as it is brought into the orbit of real life. Evolution of the Trope of Manga The historians remain befuddled, whenever they come across anything that concerns the inception of Manga (Fisher, 2014). The concept of Manga is shrouded into obscurity, inasmuch it was developed in the period of golden era. Many historians believe that the Manga style came into existence during the Ukiyo tradition of Edo period of Japan (1600-1867) (Garcia, 2013). Ukiyo-e Tradition: A Brief history of Manga The Ukiyo-e tradition is construed as pictures of the floating world. The concept of Manga was initially used as a painted medium and was subsequently linked with woodblock printing. The theme of Manga is widely dispersed in the printed media and it portrayed the likeness of people, land and the ambiguity of the life. The function of Ukiyo-e was to reflect on the feeling rather than portray the reality (Gardner, 2014). The Ukiyo-e tradition of the Edo epoch manifests the marketable culture. The historians believed that the archaic Ukiyo-e prints were used as packing material that handled international tea shipments. The prints of Manga were widely used as newspapers or posters that carried entertaining messages and sustained the spirit of the drama. The historians opined that the first comic book hailed from the ancient woodblock printing tradition. During the later phase of the 18th century, Kibiyoshi or yellow-tinted booklets represented the multicolored comics that emerged from the popular stories for children. Subsequently, the storylines became matured and the literary audience witnessed the changing dynamics of the study of Manga (Gardner, 2014). The Pristine Culture of Ukiyo-e Tradition Ukiyo-e tradition exhibited the concept of Manga when Ukiyo-e artist Hokusai Katsushika (1760-1849) devised the term and explained the sketches of the Ukiyo-e period. The scholars used the term of Manga to denote the eccentricity or the flitting nature of the sketches. The term was very much in vogue in the earlier period. Many people toyed with the concept of Manga. However, the term came into the popular usage during the early phase of the 20th century. It transcended the historical line and was adapted into the popular culture. It is essential to note here, the term Manga has a Japanese connotation. In the Japanese language, the term is construed as comic (Levi, 2016). Vision of historian reflecting the Manga past Historians and global artist have a glimmering discourse on the history of Manga. They have devised broad processes that contoured the history of modern Manga. The visions of Manga signify comparative significance. The history and culture play important role in framing the modern Manga. It followed a concerted epistemology starting from the World War-II, Meiji and post Meiji restoration of Japanese culture and art. Therefore, the concept of Manga pervades the historical landscape of Japan (Grigsby, 2012). A prominent view sheds light on interesting events that occurred during the Allied occupation of Japan (1945-52). It underscores that the United States played a significant role in shaping the image of Manga. The pop culture of the United States profoundly influenced the portrait of Manga. The comic books of US were brought to the Japanese terrain. The television, film and cartoons of the United States entailed the theme of Manga (Grigsby, 2012). Reflection of the Theme of Manga on the Japanese Culture The term Manga construed as eccentric drawings. They represent the culture of comic books, according to the belief of the Occidental West. However, they loosely manifest the Japanese culture and antiquity. The style of Manga recreates a comprehensive history that initiated in the 10th century. It reflects on the fine parchment that represents animal motifs hailing from the elite class. The pictorial scrolls and mural constitute the Manga culture of Japan. These pictorial scrolls are enumerated as the Choju giga or the Animal Scrolls (Lunning, 2016). Early modern Epoch: Diversity of Scrolls Subsequently, in the 12th century, the scrolls projected the images of divinity such as the Gaki Zoshi (Hungry Ghost Scrolls) and the Jigoku Zoshi (Hell Scrolls). These pictorial arts captured various facets of religion. These scrolls brought a discursive perspective, rather than positing a comic bone (Lunning, 2016). Manga represents a strong cultural perspective than just grafting on the western comic books. Initially, the themes of Manga maintain its sway in the daily newspapers. In the aftermath of the World War-II, the newspaper media faced a downturn, as far as Manga popularity was concerned. During the mid 20th century, the motif of Manga witnessed a resurrection in varied hues (Schwartz Rubinstein?vila, 2016). Anime and Manga Pop Culture represents Japans legacy. The country sets a quintessential mark as it publicizes it culture abroad. The people, hailing from various segments of the society, are obsessed with the resplendent culture of Japan. The culture exhibits a bizarre mix of play and trend. Japan is responsible for propagating varied trends that bolsters the perky youth. Anime, video games and digitized media constitute the trends of Japanese culture. The theme of Manga contrives a popular fad among the teenaged population around the globe. It fits into the orbit of the Western culture. It is known that the Orient Japan promoted the distinctive Manga style. However, the United States of America maintains the veneer of Manga. The style of Manga is an integral part of the pop culture of Japan (Winge, 2016). It is strongly believed that the animated media buttresses the popular figure of Manga and brings it into its circuit (Lunning, 2016). The premium-animated series like One Piece, Naruto, Doraemon and Sazae-san demonstrate the typical icon of Manga. At the same time, these series show that the concept is differently interpreted by the people around the globe (Winge, 2016).It is strongly believed that the anime, cosplay and Japanese concocted okatu or nerd culture support the theme of Manga. At the same time, they aim to invest time and wealth on the propagation of such themes. The Concept of Choju-giga The concept of Choju-giga or the graffiti of frisky animals composed by the artists in the early modern phase represents the first Manga in Japan (Otsuka Sakakibara, 2013). During that time, the artists employed various techniques that delineated the poignant features of characters legs. It hardly looked mundane in such comic books (Otsuka Sakakibara, 2013).The historians as Isao Shimizu defines the concept of Manga as a famed work that reached the audience. He asserts that the first Manga of Japan was Toba Ehon that entails the anecdote of ordinary people of Edo period (1603-1867). In the 20th century, the print media propagated the comic strips that influenced the readership (Thomas, 2016). The Glimmering Advent of the youth Manga Market The Japanese Manga market displays a wide array of items that demonstrate the hue of Manga. The market research claims that there are Manga of all categories that suit the temperament of the people of all age groups. The segmented Manga market is entrenched in the genesis of youth Manga. The cult of youth Manga came with the start of 60s cross culture (Ohagan, 2016). The stature of American comics and French bande dessinee is identical. It was during the World War- II, the American comics assume the status of adult genre. The variegated girls comics, uncanny stories fit into the orbit of adult romance (Ohagan, 2016). Onslaught of McCarthyism The term McCarthyism denotes anti-Communists endeavor of Republican U.S Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. In the hindsight, the term is used to explain the unheeding accusations that characterize political adversaries. The onslaught of McCarthyism culminated in the generation of underground youth comics. In the modern epoch, the super hero genre is very much in vogue. In the regions of France, like in Japan, the BD movement brought the adult-aligned concept and disavowed the children influence. The movement contoured BD with elaborate pictorial depiction (Thomas, 2016). The young adult movement appeared in the regions of the United States and Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War (Schodt Tezuka, 2012). It manifested the resurgence of the youth culture. The period targeted the baby boomer population and it demonstrated the concept of anti-establishment as projected by the Beatles and Rock n Roll. In Japan, the initiation of the baby boomer era is instrumental in propaga ting in the legacy of comics (Schodt, 2014). The baby boomer generation represented the time of young. The concept of Choju-giga or the graffiti of frisky animals composed by the artists in the early modern phase represents the first Manga in Japan (Schwartz Rubinstein?vila, 2016). During that time, the artists employed various techniques that delineated the poignant features of characters legs. It hardly looked mundane in such comic books (Mac Williams, 2014). Emergence of American Comic Culture Talking about the American comics, the Manga theme reflects on the American comics. The art sheds light on the outsiders media. Now the question is why does Manga strike a chord with the school and college-going people? The answer to the question is simple and straightforward. The students of schools lead a busy schedule and they can quickly relate to the theme of the Manga. The quick and hassle-free perusal of Manga helps the students internalize the concept clearly. Consequently, the concept of Manga reaches the young audience (Macias Machiyama, 2014). It filters down the ideas pertaining to the entertaining motif. The American comics are the popular genre for the Manga-themed series. However, the run-of-the mill genres such as stories of the ordinary people capture the icon of Manga. At the same time, the concept of Manga gives an expression to the supernatural episodes of the yore. Manga shares the embodiment of Japanese jingoism or the advocate of the counter-culture (Lunning, 2016). Legacy of Comic-Con With the rising popularity of the comic and anime episodes, the statute of Manga becomes a phenomenal one. In the United States, the largest comic book gathering, Comic-Con promotes the American pop culture. The main thrust of the Comic-Con is to celebrate the comics that shadow the television shows, video games and movies. They have imbibed the themes from the popular comic books and the trove of science fiction works (Levi, 2016).In the United States and Japan, the theme of Manga helps to disperse the elements of entertainment. These artistic versions juxtapose visual and print media to promote stories. The main advantage is comics and Manga deploy the visual or digitized platform that accentuates the entertaining dosage (Grigsby, 2012). During the early days, in the United States, the art of comic was ideal for children. In the recent era, the concept of comics attracts the children to the hilt. It permeates violent and amoral trends. It jeopardizes the young minds (Gardner, 2014) . Conclusion Concluding, the term Manga construed as eccentric drawings. They represent the culture of comic books, according to the belief of the Occidental West. However, they loosely manifest the Japanese culture and antiquity (Papp, 2013). The style of Manga recreates a comprehensive history that initiated in the 10th century. It reflects on the fine parchment that represents animal motifs hailing from the elite class (Patten, 2014). The pictorial scrolls and mural constitute the Manga culture of Japan. These pictorial scrolls are enumerated as the Choju giga or the Animal Scrolls. In the United States, the largest comic book gathering, Comic-Con promotes the American pop culture (Winge, 2016) The main thrust of the Comic-Con is to celebrate the comics that shadow the television shows, video games and movies. They have imbibed the themes from the popular comic books and the trove of science fiction works (Levi, 2016). In the United States and Japan, the theme of Manga helps to disperse the elements of entertainment. These artistic versions juxtapose visual and print media to promote stories. The main advantage is comics and Manga deploy the visual or digitized platform that magnifies the entertaining dosage (Grigsby, 2012). It is indispensable to note here, Manga assumes the worldwide fame and strikes a chord with the global audience. Economically speaking, Manga spawns consternation in the global markets. In the regions of France and Canada, the profit of the international market increases at a rapid pace. In the regions of Asiatic cordillera, the paradigm of Manga is projected in the popular television shows (Papp, 2013). It was given an animated hue in the regions of China, Hong Kong and Korea. At the same time, the large Asian audience, including India (Zanghellini, 2015), conceptualized the concept of Manga. The figure of Manga beautifully captures the mindset of the young audience and they adore it to the hilt. Therefore, the distinctive style of Manga engenders a glorious element and contributes to the enhancement of fantasy (Zanghellini, 2015). In the research assignment, the researcher makes a solid blueprint of the task. It discusses the journey of Manga from the period of antiquity to the modern phase of Comic-Con. In the age of globalization, the popular theme of Manga goes through colossus changes in its disposition. It is adapted to the visual and print media. In this way, the whole research revolves around the concept of Manga and its crystallization into the serialized and animated episodes (Grigsby, 2012). Reference Brenner, R. E. (2014). Understanding Manga and anime. Greenwood Publishing Group. Bryce, M., Davis, J. (2016). Manga/anime, media mix: Scholarship in a post-modern, global community. Fisher, D. (2014). Using graphic novels, anime, and the Internet in an urban high school. The English Journal, 93(3), 19-25. Garcia, H. (2013). A geek in Japan: Discovering the land of Manga, anime, zen, and the tea ceremony. Tuttle Publishing. Gardner, R. A. (2014). Aum Shinriky o and a Panic About Manga and Anime. Japanese visual culture: Explorations in the world of Manga and Anime, 200. Grigsby, M. (2012). Sailormoon: Manga (comics) and anime (cartoon) superheroine meets Barbie: Global entertainment commodity comes to the United States. The Journal of Popular Culture, 32(1), 59-80. Levi, A. (2016). The Americanization of anime and Manga: Negotiating popular culture. In Cinema anime (pp. 43-63). Palgrave Macmillan US. Lunning, F. (Ed.). (2016). Emerging worlds of anime and Manga (Vol. 1). U of Minnesota Press. Macias, P., Machiyama, T. (2014). Cruising the anime city: An otaku guide to neo Tokyo. MacWilliams, M. W. (2014). Japanese visual culture: explorations in the world of Manga and anime. Routledge. Ohagan, D. M. (2016). Manga, anime and video games: Globalizing Japanese cultural production. Perspectives, 14(4), 242-247. Otsuka, E., Sakakibara, G. (2013). Kyy to Shite Manga Anime [Manga and Anime as Education. Papp, Z. (2013). Traditional monster imagery in Manga, anime and Japanese cinema. Brill. Patten, F. (2014). Watching anime, reading Manga: 25 years of essays and reviews. Stone Bridge Press. Schodt, F. L. (2014). Dreamland Japan: Writings on modern Manga. Stone Bridge Press, Inc.. Schodt, F. L., Tezuka, O. (2012). Manga! Manga!. Kodansha Amer Incorporated. Schwartz, A., Rubinstein?vila, E. (2016). Understanding the Manga hype: Uncovering the multimodality of comic?book literacies. Journal of Adolescent Adult Literacy, 50(1), 40-49. Thomas, J. B. (2016). Drawing on tradition: Manga, anime, and religion in contemporary Japan. University of Hawai?i Press. Winge, T. (2016). Costuming the imagination: Origins of anime and Manga cosplay. Mechademia, 1(1), 65-76. Zanghellini, A. (2015). Boys love'in anime and Manga: Japanese subcultural production and its end users. Continuum: Journal of Media Cultural Studies, 23(3), 279-294.

A Guaiacol Dye-Coupled Reaction Reports That Catalytic Activity of Peroxidase Isolated from Fresh Turnip (Brassica Rapa) Increases as Temperature Rises Essays

A Guaiacol Dye-Coupled Reaction Reports That Catalytic Activity of Peroxidase Isolated from Fresh Turnip (Brassica Rapa) Increases as Temperature Rises Essays A Guaiacol Dye-Coupled Reaction Reports That Catalytic Activity of Peroxidase Isolated from Fresh Turnip (Brassica Rapa) Increases as Temperature Rises Paper A Guaiacol Dye-Coupled Reaction Reports That Catalytic Activity of Peroxidase Isolated from Fresh Turnip (Brassica Rapa) Increases as Temperature Rises Paper Enzymes are proteins which serve to reduce the activation energy required for biological reactions (Russell and others 2010). This allows biologically important chemical reactions to occur rapidly enough to allow cells to carry out their life processes (Russell and others 2010). Enzymes are made of one or more polypeptide strands, which individually or as an associated complex take on a three-dimensional shape. When properly associated, these shapes form the active site and other supporting structures that allow enzymes to be effective catalysts (Nelson and Cox 2005). Temperature represents the average kinetic energy in an object or solution (Russell and others 2010). This energy causes rapid movement of dissolved particles, such as enzymes and substrate molecules, increasing the chances that they’ll contact each other in such a way as to allow a chemical reaction to occur (Nelson and Cox 2005). The kinetic energy may also influence the folding of the enzyme. If the weak and strong bonds involved in stabilizing the protein structure are disrupted, denaturation of the protein can occur, eliminating the enzyme’s effectiveness (Nelson and Cox 2005; Russell and others 2010). This experiment will investigate the effects of temperature on the enzyme kinetics – that is, the rate of an enzyme’s catalysis – of peroxidase isolated from turnip. Plant peroxidases are involved in lignin formation, which is part of the cell wall (Cosio and Dunand 1985). Turnip roots contain peroxidases which are enzymes that can be easily extracted, and because peroxidases can liberate oxygen from hydrogen peroxide, their activity can easily be measured in the laboratory (Pitkin 1992). The rate of oxygen release is followed by measuring the rate of oxidation of guaiacol, which turns brown in the presence of oxygen and thus can be quantified in a spectrophotometer (Nickle 2009). We hypothesize that as we increase the temperature of reaction, kinetic energy will increase the frequency with which peroxidase engages hydrogen and the rate of guaiacol oxidation will increase. Because turnips grow in cool climates, often below 24oC (Pollock 2009), we expect that the optimal temperature for enzyme activity will be around room temperature or cooler, and temperatures in excess of this will cause denaturation of the enzyme and a concurrent loss of enzyme activity. METHODS AND MATERIALS A store-purchased turnip was scrubbed and rinsed with tap water. A razor blade was used to cut a 0. 5 g piece of tissue from the cortex. This was placed in a mortar along with 50 ml phosphate extraction buffer (0. 1 M, pH 7) and a pinch of sand. The tissue was ground to a slurry and then filtered through cheesecloth to form the extract used for all experiments after standardization. To ensure peroxidase was extracted from the turnip and that the reagents were suitable for the experiment, a positive control was performed. 2 ml of enzyme was added to a test tube containing 3 ml buffer, 2 ml H2O2, and 1 ml guaiacol dye. After quickly inverting twice to mix the fluids, the contents darkened. Standardization was performed to correct for differences in extraction techniques and tissue enzyme content. Three volumes of enzyme (0. 5, 1. 0, and 2. 0 ml) were tested. To ensure reactions did not begin prematurely, reaction components were placed into two separate test tubes. These were labelled â€Å"a† and â€Å"b† for each volume of extract, where â€Å"i† contained 0. 5 ml (dilute), â€Å"ii† held 1. 0 ml (medium), and â€Å"iii† had 2. 0 ml (concentrated) extract each (Table 1). The contents of paired tubes were combined in the tube containing the enzyme at â€Å"time zero†. This tube was mixed by inverting twice before 1 ml was transferred to a cuvette which was placed into a Genova spectrophotometer so the rate of absorbance change at 500 nm could be calculated. The concentration which gave the largest constant absorbance change (as shown by plotting absorbance over time) was used for subsequent experiments. The slope of each line in the plot was measured to determine the rate of guaiacol oxidation. The sample containing 0. ml fulfilled this criterion (data not shown). For all trials, the â€Å"a† tubes contained 2. 0 ml H2O2 and 1. 0 ml guaiacol, and â€Å"b† tubes contained 4. 5 ml buffer and 0. 5 ml enzyme extract. These were placed into the appropriate equilibrated water bath (see below) for 5 minutes prior to mixing and measuring their absorbance changes. For the temperature experiment, water baths were equilibrated at the desired temperatures of 4. 5oC, 10oC, 22. 5oC, 50oC and 80oC. To create the 4oC temperature, a beaker of water was placed in the refrigerator. Both â€Å"a† and â€Å"b† tubes were placed in racks in the appropriate water bath for 5 minutes prior to the time for them to be mixed together. Mixing was performed as described above, and the spectrophotometer was again used at 500 nm light. To determine if high temperature will alter results by degrading reagents (such as causing H2O2 to spontaneously release oxygen or make guaiacol oxidize independently of enzyme activity), we created a duplicate control tube (Table 1) and heated it to 80oC for 15 minutes. This negative control id not show an increase in absorption compared with the unheated control tube, so we concluded that the temperatures only affect molecule movements in the experiment. A similar test was done with the 4oC temperature and again no difference was measured. Three replicates were for each temperature. Rate of absorption change was established for each, and standard deviations between trials at each temperature were determined using Excel 2000 so ftware. RESULTS The positive control turned brown / beige constantly and continuously over about 1. 5 minutes. This was quite apparent to the naked eye. Controls exposed to high or low temperature without enzymes present did not show a different absorption than the control that remained at room temperature (data not shown). Reaction rate at lower temperatures was lowest at 4. 5oC at 0. 25 A500/min. This increased as temperature rose until a peak rate of 0. 52 A500/min at room temperature (22. 5oC) was noticed. At 50oC, the rate of oxidation declined to0. 39 A500/min and a reaction rate of 0. 05 A500/min was measured at 80oC (Figure 1). DISCUSSION The results indicate that enzyme activity does indeed increase as the temperature of the reaction is raised. The optimal temperature must lie between 10 and 50oC, but most likely is near temperature, possibly slightly cooler as turnips naturally grow in temperate climates (Pollock 2009). Enzymes are typically structured to function in a particular environment; usually one in which it normally functions (Russell and others 2010). The large standard deviation noticed for values collected at 10oC suggests that the true optimum may lie below room temperature. More measurements at this temperature could refine these values, giving a more precise average at this temperature. To find the optimal reaction temperature more accurately, a series of temperature intervals, perhaps 2oC apart and spanning 10oC to 50oC could be measured. It would be interesting to compare the precise optimal temperature for turnip peroxidase activity to the average temperature at which turnips naturally grow. A study that compares this to a peroxidase extracted from a tropical plant might also prove to be interesting. Investigating the reversibility of a weak thermal denaturation might also prove interesting. Thermal energy probably affects weak bonds, such as the hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and ionic associations, to the largest extent (Russell and others 2010). Denaturation might be prevented by stabilization with covalent linkages within and between polypeptide strands (Anfinsen and Haber 1961). Enzymes that are particularly susceptible to thermal damage are often supported by chaperonins or other proteins which can repair the denatured enzymes (Morimoto and others 2009). We plan to next identify the effects of denaturation, and whether it can be reversed by subsequent cooling. SUMMARY Plant peroxidases cause peroxides to break down and release oxygen. The rate of oxygen release can be calculated by observing the amount of oxidation that occurs with guaiacol insolution with peroxidase and its substrate. Enzyme activity was determined at 4oC, 10oC, 22oC, 50oC, and 80oC by measuring darkening of guaiacol. The highest amount of oxidation was recorded at 22oC. Enzyme activity was absent at 80oC, suggesting the enzyme denatured at this temperature. Enzyme activity correlates with the cool temperate conditions natural for this plant.

Discuss Williams dramatic presentation of Blanche Essay Example

Discuss Williams dramatic presentation of Blanche Essay Example Discuss Williams dramatic presentation of Blanche Paper Discuss Williams dramatic presentation of Blanche Paper A Streetcar Named Desire makes it clear that for Williams the act of fleeing always becomes the act of reliving the past. Flight forces the presence of the past on his characters as the presence of what they attempted to flee. ’ Discuss William’s dramatic presentation of Blanche. Blanche is portrayed as a complex, delusional, psychotic character in denial, shown when she says at the conclusion ‘Is it the gentleman I was expecting from Dallas? ’ when there is no gentleman. This is done through William’s use of dramatic language and style ‘She begins to speak with feverish vivacity’. Blanche is out of place in Scene One where her clothes are described as ‘incongruous to the setting’. She is out of place geographically, having been exiled from Laurel because of the turmoil with her husband committing suicide and her relationship with a student. She portrays herself as a Southern Belle in Laurel and continues this in New Orleans-she is a lost soul. She has moved from a large estate, Belle Reve, to sharing a small apartment. She is portrayed as having money but she didn’t buy Belle Reve, it was handed down to her but she never admits to having nothing. Her clothes reflect the kind of person she is, they are always ‘off white’ because she is not pure and are similar to that of a moth which is referred to in the play because of how Blanche reacts to the light, ‘I like it dark, the dark is comforting’. In biblical terms ‘light’ is the same as ‘truth’ and Blanche lies throughout the play. Williams is keen to convey to the audience how vulnerable she is in the first scene, ‘her shoulders slightly hunched’ however as the play develops the audience becomes less sympathetic towards her. Blanche shows how snobby she is which is seen as pathetic and the audience pity her because of the way she is reacting. She believes she is above everyone when she realises where Stella lives, ‘This-can this-be her home? ’ This is ironic because it is Blanche who has lost her home and has all of her belongings in a suitcase. William’s creates a very dismal scene when Blanche is on her own in Stella’s house, describing the inside of the house; ‘The surrounding areas dim out as the interior is lighted. Two rooms can be seen, not too clearly defined. And then suddenly she notices the alcohol and there is a change which is the first sign of Blanche being an alcoholic. Blanche is described as ‘springing’ up to get to the alcohol and ‘tosses’ it down and Williams uses the same wording to describe how Blanche reacts to Stella coming into the room which shows the relationship Blanche has with alcohol. She displays the behaviour of an alcoholic by ‘carefully replacing the bottle and washing out the tumbler’. She acts like she has not seen the alcohol when Stella comes in, ‘while I look around for some liquor! ’ Blanche is in denial about being an alcoholic-she tells Stella ‘your sister hasn’t turned into a drunkard’ and this is true for the other parts of Blanche’s life. When Blanche commences her talk about Belle Reve and what her life has been like, the audience gets the sense of her delusional state of mind which could be perceived as madness and this continues through the play; ‘I received a telegram from an old admirer of mine’. Dramatically Williams creates the effect of Blanche losing her composure and control and turning into a tragic wreck, ‘Blanche begins to shake again with intensity’. The repetition and pause between ‘the loss†¦ the loss’ show how traumatised Blanche is with losing Belle Reve. When Blanche is describing all the deaths in her family it is as though she has gone into her own world and, although talking to Stella, she is convincing herself how hard it was for her. Williams uses dramatic imagery, ‘Sometimes their breathing is hoarse, and sometimes it rattles’ to create sympathy. Blanche uses ‘honey’ to distract from the fact that she is being mean to Stella and accusing her. Blanche portrays a different nature towards the end of her speech, becoming more forceful, ‘Where were you. In bed with your –Polack! ’ Then, again, she suddenly changes to a different tone, ‘Oh, Stella, Stella, you’re crying! ’ as though she is surprised that she has upset her. This is a way of gaining sympathy because she acts like she didn’t realise how rude she was being-it also shows the start of a mental illness with Blanche not being able to control everything she does all the time. This creates a dramatic tension because Williams changes the personality of Blanche so quickly that the reader cannot understand her fully. Throughout the play Blanche has various mood swings, such as with Mitch. In Scene Two, Blanche is very pleasant towards Stanley, ‘I’m going to ask a favour of you in a moment’ and then, suddenly, she changes to a fierce tone, ‘The touch of your hands insults them! ’ There is dramatic irony in this scene also because Blanche doesn’t want to say why she has moved from Laurel, ‘I†¦Uh’ and as the play continues she develops even more elaborate stories, but she says to Stanley that women should ‘(lay) cards on the table. ’ This shows Blanche is a hypocrite and the tension between her and Stanley over this leads of her breakdown, especially after the rape. Scene Ten is a tragic scene because Blanche is upset from her confrontation Mitch, ‘Blanche has been drinking fairly steadily’ and the audience start to fully realise the state of her mind ‘decked herself out in a somewhat soiled and crumpled white satin evening gown’ which shows the change from the beginning where she always wanted to look her best and didn’t wear white. She looks in the mirror and then ‘slams it face down with such violence that the glass cracks. ’ This is a dramatic and symbolic action and breaking a mirror is also considered bad luck so it makes the audience foreshadow the tragic outcome. The tension between Blanche and Stanley gradually builds until Blanche becomes terrified and is raped. The shadows are described as ‘grotesque and menacing’ which makes the scene powerful and Williams intention is for it to seem like there are more people intent on hurting Blanche than are actually there. This also plays with Blanche’s mind and portrays her mental instability. Blanche sits down ‘wearily’ which shows the audience that Blanche is gradually giving up. Tragedy is defined as ‘An event causing great suffering, destruction and distress’ and this scene is compiled of all three. Blanche suffers from the way Stanley behaves towards her and Stella suffers afterwards in not knowing who to believe, ‘I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley. ’ There is great distress from Blanche in this scene because she is scared about what will happen, ‘Stay back! Don’t you come towards me†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Williams creates drama and tension by not saying what happens between Blanche and Stanley. Like Stella, the audience have to make their own judgment as to whom to believe. Blanche commands the audience’s attention throughout, which is what she wants with the other characters too. She wants to have a hold over people, particularly men. This is shown when the audience can see that her late husband didn’t want to marry her, but she forced him to. When she is describing how she fell in love with him, she says ‘It was like you suddenly turned a blinding light on’ which is different to how she lives now with not wanting to be near a strong light. A young boy comes to deliver a paper to the house and although Blanche doesn’t know him she flirts with him. She wants to know that she can still have a hold over men even though she is older, ‘You make my mouth water’. Williams creates suspense by Blanche hinting at the reason she had to leave Laurel, ‘but I’ve got to be good and keep my hands off children. ’ Overall, the last scene also defines tragedy, ‘A serious play in which the chief character passes through a series of misfortunes leading to a final, devastating catastrophe. ’ The scene is made more dramatic by being extended, to prolong Blanche’s ordeal. Blanche is having a bath, again, to wash away the guilt and her past, and, ‘The atmosphere of the kitchen is now the same raw, lurid one of the disastrous poker night. ’ which creates dramatic tension because the audience can sense, like Blanche, that something bad will happen. However, Blanche, being the self-centred person that she is, thinks that the reason everyone is sombre is her appearance, ‘Is something wrong with me? ’ This is ironic because mentally there is something wrong with her. There is reference to her old life, ‘I have always depended on the kindness of strangers’ and Blanche shows that she trusts men over woman by doing what the doctor wants but not the matron. This is ironic because men have been the ones hurting her over the years, for example, she was in love with her husband and he was homosexual, she has been used for sex by soldiers and Stanley hasn’t been nice to her. Blanche shows how hurt she is by Stella and Stanley by ‘(walking) on without turning.

To complete all the rest parts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

To complete all the rest parts - Essay Example n numbers in the opening and closing ceremonies, the manpower costs that were needed to be defrayed, lodging and subsistence of the athletes and other participants, and the maintenance of the Olympic facilities. The data showed there was a sudden increase in the GDP rate for the latter half of 2012, which appeared to suggest that the Olympics, which took place in the third quarter, and the activities leading to it, indeed brought about the economic growth expected in holding a mega-event of that size. Closer inspection showed, however, that the growth of gross fixed capital formation appeared to have come more from government spending rather than private business, suggesting that unless the private sector picks up the pace in pushing for greater production, the sudden increase in GDP will not be sustainable, and long-term benefits due to the Olympics may not be forthcoming. Mega-events attract a global audience, and therefore are capable of drawing international attention and spending power. The World’s Fair, the World Cups of the different sports, and the Olympic Games are itinerant events that regularly hold venues at different places, depending upon the outcome of a bidding process (Varrel & Kennedy, 2011). Necessarily, the hosting of mega-events require that the host city incur a huge amount in expenses and investment in infrastructure and facilities. Despite the immense honour of hosting the event, the sheer financial burden would be enough for potential bidders to stay away, unless a greater return is expected. A great part of the allure of hosting such events is the promise of an economic windfall with a substantial urban makeover (Chalkley & Essex, 1998). This is in addition to the prestige derived and the international recognition of the host country as a major player of global importance (Van der Westhuizen & Black, 2004). In the case of the Olympic Games, the benefits are normally in the form of the construction of special structures where the

HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

HRM - Essay Example In Saudi Arabia, this system is referred to as ‘Bareed’. Up until a couple of years ago, Saudi Post did not have an addressing system in accordance with the international conventions. To improve efficiency, they decided to use global standards for postal system. Therefore, they created a unified national addressing system and set up postal codes for the entire kingdom. Using Global Information system, they set up an addressing system that is scalable as well as efficient. At present, Saudi Post has a very efficient network that spans across all the cities and villages of the country. It has 478 main post offices and 180 branch post offices. This study aims to look at the delay caused in second-class mail delivery system and the loss of mail of the Saudi Postal System that is also known as Saudi Post. For many years, the users of Saudi Post have battled issues of delayed delivery or loss of mail sent by second-class. This study explores the various methods through which t he Human Resources development can improve the efficient of the second-class mail delivery system. It also looks at the various training methods that can be put to use by the HR deport to ensure timely and safe delivery of the second-class mail. ... The priority is always given to the first class mails because of the service promised. However, it is also necessary to understand that the second-class mails also need to be delivered within the stipulated timelines. Therefore, quality of mail delivery should correlate to the service that has been promised to the customers. In addition, postal employees also have a very critical role to play to ensure timely delivery. It is necessary to provide adequate training to make sure that they understand the various aspect of mail delivery in accordance to the services. One key issue that has resulted in causing delays is the lack of training that the employees have and it makes them inefficient. The focus should never be restricted to only first-class mails because the other regular mail is neglected and piled up. This also results in loss of mails for some cases. Another challenge that prevents the timely delivery of mails could be that the employees do not follow up on the second-class ma ils in time. Role of Human Resources Human Resources or the HR department plays a very important role in contributing to the efficiency, productivity as well as strength of any organization. HR not only helps in building and training a solid workforce, it has the potential to carry out process improvements and build an agile organization that is respected for the way in which can better respond to the demands of the customer or the market. HR also has the potential to provide its employees with strategic tools as well as support system to enable them to perform their work efficiently. Human resource management can be defined as the understanding as well as the application of the different processes, policies as well as methodology that have an impact on the

Poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Poem - Essay Example The poem can be taken to be a sort of ode to the women’s liberation movement. It is about a woman who does not follow what is expected, but rather marches to the beat of her own drum. A woman, who is dubbed as crazy, because she is not one to follow societal rules, is the subject of this poem. This poem is written by an African American woman; that factor causes this poem to carry even more meaning, as now we see someone who is burdened doubly by the society, both for being African-American and for being a woman, and yet she is brave enough to cast rules aside and live her life according to her own whims and desires. The fact that she terms those who stare at her odd ways as â€Å"little people† is testament to the fact of her low opinion regarding them. This is, indeed a beautiful piece of work that relates, in a few lines the experience of a woman who wants to live life at her own terms. I found it to be very refreshing, as we live in a world where people often obey s ocietal rules unquestioningly, to have someone who does not do so gives me hope that there will always be people who will question the status quo of things. Equality – Maya Angelou Maya Angelou’s poem Equality talks about, as is apparent from its title, equality. In this poem, she is trying to make out a case for those who are oppressed, as they call out and profess their desire to be considered equal. This poem can have a twofold meaning.

Beautiful Happiness In A Meaningless Life Short Story English Literature Essay

Beautiful Happiness In A Meaningless Life Short Story English Literature Essay I intend to write a short story featuring a few of the more potent themes present within the novelette The Outsider. This short story has simply been written to entertain, and explore the central themes and issues that I have chosen. The content of the story is gruesome and described with vivid details in some cases, so the target audience would be fairly mature, and have an orientation towards fanciful fantasy worlds. The story is set in a land where the local entertainment consists of arena type pit fights. These pit fights are similar to a council of the citys rich and wealthiest, with the lower classes also in attendance. These pit fights are also the place where status is gained and lost among these affluent members of society, with the slaves that compete being used as a means to this end. I have also interpreted the ending of The Outsider differently in my story, with my main character realising that he can make a difference with his life, and that he can live for other people rather than himself only. The content of the story is gruesome and described with vivid details in some cases, so the target audience would be fairly mature, and have an orientation towards fanciful fantasy worlds. The story is set in a land where the local entertainment consists of arena type pit fights. These pit fights are similar to a council of the citys rich and wealthiest, with the lower classes also in attendance. These pit fights are also the place where status is gained and lost among these affluent members of society, with the slaves that compete being used as a means to this end. I have also interpreted the ending of The Outsider differently in my story, with my main character realising that he can make a difference with his life, and that he can live for other people rather than himself only. The ring of steel on steel resounded around the arena, to join the din of gaudy music and jeering shouts ensuing from the on looking patrons of this violent event. The Slave Games took place every day, from the blaze of the new fire in the sky at its start, to its dying embers at dusk. The games consisted of slaves and a monster entered by the Games Keeper. Of course to make it more complicated, there were two different types of slaves, the ones entered by their master, and the ones donated. By a slave being entered it was similar to a bet being placed, with a small fee for entry paid to the games master, the fee also gave slaves the privilege of a weapon of choice. At the conclusion of the battle if the monster was the last one standing, the games master would keep the majority of the winnings, otherwise if a slave was the victor; their master was granted higher standing in society and a large sum of gold as their winnings. There was also an unspoken tradition, that the victorious s lave was granted freedom for their heroic deeds performed within the arena. The donated slaves on the other hand, were the unwanted outcasts of rich society that the Games Keeper bought for a small fee, to liven up the games as he would call it. The scything edge of an axe whistled overhead as the young man shied away from the maiming blow. He dodged left and ducked right, seemingly untouchable with his great agility, and quick mind. His short success ended with his impalement upon a long, unyielding, bronze tipped spear. He was dead before his knees buckled and his bruised and blood spattered head lolled to rest upon his chest. His limp body knelt upright, held there by the protruding spear. His dark, lifeless eyes stared unfocused at the floor of the arena, in a way which made it seem as if the poor boy was still in pain. Tayten observed this, in the moments after he had thrown the spear. But now the boy was dead, and the dead dont feel a thing. He retrieved his spear before turning to the frenzied sounds of battle nearby. The initially frantic fighting in the pit had collapsed in to smaller groups of the more skillful fighters that had survived the morning. Usually the donated slaves would be first to succumb as they main ly consisted of the old, the weak and the lame, though among these tribute slaves, were a handful of the forsaken; the brawlers, the thieves and those who had displeased their master. Tayten was of the forsaken, he was a free man captured, and bludgeoned into slavery. But he valued his freedom greatly, and he loved to journey even though he thought life was meaningless. How could one man make a difference, and be remembered after his death? He returned from his reverie with the great horn blast that signaled the release of the monster. The clash of steel ceased as the remaining slaves turned to face the monster. Usually it would take more than one slave to bring the monster down, so it was at this point that the slaves banded together in a bid to survive. Though if the monster was killed, the slaves would continue the fight between themselves, until a victor was eventually decided. A large iron gate slowly rose to reveal a dark entrance, for a moment nothing emerged, then with a roa r of rage, a full grown bull Minotaur emerged. Its pelvis covered in the blood marred rags of a loin cloth, and standing nearly half again the height of the tallest slave still alive. It carried a great jagged edged axe over its shoulder, mangled gore still present on its edge; it was truly a creature to instill fear into the hearts of even the bravest and most foolhardy of humans. One man turned tail and fled for the opposite side of the arena, sadly this drew the monsters attention and with two leaping bounds the Minotaur trampled the man under hoof. The other slaves charged, with shouts and battle cries, but Tayten held back, silently waiting to see what happened. The Minotaur spun with his deadly weapon, and cleaved in half the two fore runners with a single sweeping blow, seven slaves remained. The next slave, a burly man with a dusty orange beard and a balding crown, jumped with his two-handed sword held high, in an attempt to cut the Minotaur in half. But it simply bounced of f the thick hide and the Minotaur let out a deep rumble of hatred, before crushing the mans skull with the haft of the axe. Death was dealt instantly to the next three slaves, who all attempted a similar approach. The next slave attempted to go for the eyes, but with a sudden jerk, the Minotaur had thrust down with his head, skewering the adolescent upon his horns. Blood now ran down the Minotaurs face and muzzle, some even obscuring vision in his left eye. The sight of blood seemed to push the Minotaur into a frenzy, and he quickly dispatched the next closest slave, an older woman with a hard look in her eyes, and a slight scar running across the bridge of her nose. He was only able to see these finer details, when her head came to rest a foot from where he sat. The Minotaur lunged down with his axe in an attempt to kill the last slave opposing him. But the young boy was surprisingly nimble and evaded easily. A dagger flashed into the boys hand, and he slashed fiercely at the Minot aurs heel. Surprisingly the small blade cut deep, severing the tendon in the monsters leg. This time the Minotaur gave a cry of agony, and fell to one knee. Tayten watched again as the dagger flashed, realising that it must be made of glass; the only material hard and sharp enough, possibly capable of cutting through the Minotaurs thick hide. The Minotaur was too slow to catch the boy, and was obviously spiteful for it. With decisive slices, the Minotaur was unable to hold its axe, but the beast was still deadly. The boys overconfidence in his soon to be triumph over the beast ended with the bone crushing strength in the Minotaurs undamaged hand. The monster lifted the feeble body of the boy high into the air; the Minotaur stared hatefully at the corpse. In an eruption of still warm blood, a long hard shaft emerged from the boys chest. The Minotaur watched the silently in the instant before his death as the bronze tipped spear entered through his eye cavity, and ruptured his brain. Tayten registered the tearing peals of a bell tolling, and the deafening uproar that the crowd was making. None of this concerned him, not even the dead child he had plunged his spear through. Everyone died; it just so happened that they would be meeting her before he did. The crowd grew silent, all eyes watching him. The Games Keeper had risen, and it appeared that he was expecting an answer for an unspoken question. He turned to his peers and asked quietly, Is he not one of your slaves? Not a single one answered. Slaves were expendable, but keeping with his faà §ade of the generous benefactor for such events, he would need to keep the crowd and his rich friends happy. It was blatantly apparent though, that the previous master of the donated slave, expected retribution for the slaves survival. A solution came to mind. With a hollow cone of bronze pressed to his lips, his booming voice emanated out across the stadium, Our victor, Tayten is the champion of this day, and we acknowledge him for his deeds, he let the echo of his voice die before continuing. Never before has a donated slave won this tournament, but I have a solution. As I bought him from his previous master, it will be I who decides his fate, the crowd seemed hold its breath in anticipation of the Games Keepers verdict. The Games Keepers right arm shot out in front of him, with his fist clenched and thumb held horizontal. His thumb dropped slightly, and the crowd began to boo. But this was all part of the act, and before it got out of hand, his thumb shot up in definite sign of approval. The slave would be granted freedom. The crowd applauded with many shouts of joy, even jovial music could be heard in the background. The Games Keeper smiled as he watched the jubilation he had wrought within his crowd, before dropping his arm a moment later. His smile evaporated as he perceived the accusatory eyes of the contemptuous dark eyed noble boring into him. He bowed his head down next to the seated nobles ear, You know, the games keeper continued as if remembering something of importance, many unfortunate fates can befall a freed slave, once he has left the protection of the arena. As the Games Keeper marched off to oversee proceedings of the slaves release, the dark eyes of the noble brightened considerably, and a mean smirk marred his face. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ As Tayten walked beneath the low arch of the arenas gate, a smile caught upon his lips. The prospect of being free was a truly wonderful thought indeed, and the first place he would go was the local tavern. The smell of spirits wafted through the dark enclosed room, bringing back memories of times long past. He drank his fill, but a slave released from service has no money, so when the time came to pay he left promptly to the disgruntled shouts of the barman. He had no money to pay for lodgings, so he settled down in an alley way for the night. The comforting warmth from the liquor spread throughout his body, dulling his senses and propelling him over the edge into the blissful abyss of sleep. He wondered mildly in the moment before slumber came, whether death would be like this, the only difference being you never wake up. Once the mercenary was sure that his quarry would not be moving for the rest of the night, he disappeared back into the night to find his employer. Tayten woke with a start. Four tall dark figures loomed ominously about him, all wore deep set hoods. He realised then that they were only tall, because he was still sitting. Shakily he began to rise, but a heavy blow sent him back to the ground. The alcohol, still thick in his blood, was taking a heavy toll on his ability to comprehend what was happening. Who were these people? One of the men drew back his dark cowl to reveal his identity. The dark eyed noble stared malevolently down upon the man who had once been his slave. With a slight hand gesture from the noble, the three remaining hooded figures roughly seized the prostrate Tayten, hauling him upright to stand helplessly before his wicked enslaver. With a bitter smile, the noble spoke, I bet you thought it was your lucky day. Insult me and survive to tell the tale, I bet thats what you thought, the noble mistook Taytens drunken haze for impudence, and his next words were filled with venom as he sneered. Well you know what you poor dog; your worthless life will be cut to its wick this night, the nobles mouth formed an angelic smile, as he concluded. Not to worry, for I assure you, it will be painful, and before the end you will be begging for death. The sounds of voices approached, and a group of soldiers with lit torches past before the entrance to the alley, that the group was congregating within. The city was not without laws, and murder was punishable by death. The noble realised the vulnerability of his position, and decided to withdraw, leaving the hired mercenaries to dispatch the insolent slave. The three hired soldiers stood in silence as their hirer swiftly disappeared into the darkness. Making sure that the noble was definitely gone before speaking, the man to Taytens left spoke with a fairly high pitched voice, Well wasnt he a nasty one. The man to Taytens right replied simply, in what appeared to be a grumpy tone, They always are. The third soldier behind him, responded to this by saying, Yeah, that may be so, but they dont have the guts to do their own dirty work, and I guess we should be thankful for the work. The second soldier responded in a quietly outraged voice, WORK, you call this WORK!? We get paid so little by these rich bastards, when they have so much. The third answered, Youre right, but the rich only stay rich because theyre so selfish with their wealth. The second, Im sick of how bad were treated, after this Im going to get an honest job with honest pay, at least then Ill get the respect I deserve. The first cut in before the third could answer the seconds lamentations, Well you know we could make more money for these jobs, and still have the same end result. The other two soldiers turned, and in unison the third asked, How? a gleam sparkling in his eye, while the second stared blankly at the first and before asking an unintelligible, What? The first explained his idea, and the other two agreed upon it. They would take the man they were ordered to kill, and sell him to the pit master as a donated slave. Not only would they earn extra gold for this job, but they need not even get their hands dirty with the murder of another person. Taytens head had cleared slightly, and he was now partly focused upon the situation he was in. A voice spoke very close to his ear, As we move through the city, do not make a sound, do not make eye contact, and do not draw attention to yourself, otherwise we will kill you there and then, Tayten nodded, and the group set off. The journey was uneventful, and just before they reached the arena, they turned into a side alley. The soldiers had agreed that the slaves death needed to be assured, so they would slightly maim him, but not making it too visible so that he would still fetch a fair price. The second soldier came over, and with the pommel of his bastard sword, struck a blow that cracked a couple of ribs on the left side of Taytens body. Tayten keeled over from the pain, but he did not cry out. The troupe continued to the slave block built beside the arena, where they found the head slave master and bargained a good price for the slave they were donating. Tayten was then exchanged for the gold, and the trio of mercenaries departed. Two pit guards came to lead him down into the holding cells. As he was led to the entrance of a dark corridor trailing down into the depths of the earth, he remembered the circumstances of his last visit to this dank, moldy hole in the ground. When the noble had first brought him here, his hands had been bound, and a hessian sack had covered his face. As his eyes searched around the dark tunnel, he knew where he was. He remembered the smell and the feeling of oppression he had originally felt the first time he had come down this way, with his head concealed within the dark sack. But the aid of sight didnt help much, as it was hard to see in this dark, oppressive place, regardless of whether or not his sight had been obstructed. He looked at the faces of his escort, but he didnt recognise them, and it was probably the same for them. He was left alone within the dark holding cell for the night. He remembered from the first time, how his mask had been removed, and how he had been affronted with the sight of so many slaves in a single cell. It wasnt the fact that there were a lot of slaves; it was simply that his freedom was greatly restricted within such a tightly packed cell. Yet now he had his freedom within the cold dark cell, and it was eerily quiet. He had his freedom, and yet it wasnt what he remembered it to be. Tayten remembered freedom as warm and cheerful, but this freedom was the opposite. In fact, it had been in the crowded cell on the first night that he had experienced true warmth, nestled in with all the other slaves. He had also found the sounds of people in slumber, far more pleasant than the unearthly hush that had now settled over the chamber. Maybe freedom wasnt what he wanted anymore. He lay down, the cold leaving a bitter ache in his cracked ribs. It would be a long nightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Tayten must have drifted off, as it seemed to him that only moments had passed, since he had lain to rest upon the straw matted floor. But the morning bell was already tolling, signifying the start of the new day, and the opening of the arena gates to paying patrons. Taytens eyes drooped with exhaustion, as he stood up, but his mind was clear and his movements precise. He vowed never to drink alcohol again. His cracked ribs hindered his movements slightly, but as long as he protected that area, he could manage. Just then, a trio of pit guards entered the donated slaves holding chamber, one looked confused for a moment, before surprised recollection dawned upon his face, and he turn and ran out of the room. The two remaining guards shrugged their shoulders, and turned back to the only slave in the cell. The door was unlatched, and Tayten was led to the holding area, where many tunnels converged into a large central hall. The slaves would remain here, until the great gate at the far en d was opened, and the slaves would emerge into the arena. The entered slaves were already present, and Tayten was the only donated slave, so the games would begin at anytime. Taytens reticent nature had turned to mild annoyance for the noble who had imprisoned him, and then continually keeping him from his freedom. Tayten recalled the reason behind him becoming a donated slave in the pits; he had attempted to escape the nobles holdings, but had failed, and had been sentenced harshly by the noble for attempting to leave his service. This new found anger welled up within him, as the door on a side passage leading into the great hall, was thrust open by a tall, illustriously dressed man, stalking furiously towards the central holding cell. The fuming glare of the noble passed over the slaves and came to rest with livid hatred upon Tayten. Tayten smiled back, the nobles eyes darkened and a deep set frown embedded itself where his mouth used to be. Unsettlingly, a moment later, he in turn gave his own wicked smile to Tayten. Just then the bell tolled, to signal the start of the fight. As tradition would have it, the donated slaves were the first to enter the arena, followed a few moments later by the entered slaves. Tayten was happy to leave behind the demonic stare of the noble, so he quickly entered the field. The first thing he noticed, was that amazingly the arenas canopy had become a patchwork of mirrors joined together to form a shell between the spectators and the pit fight. It was obvious that the crowd could still see him from the excited shouts he received upon his entry, even if he himself couldnt see them through the mirrors reflective surface. Some members of the crowd let out surprised yells, as they recognised the victor of the previous day, but the initial surprise turned to angry confusion. Why was the victor (a free man) forced to fight in another round of the Slave Games? The entered slaves had been watching the interaction between the noble and the slave, so when the noble gestured that they should come closer, the entire group of entered slaves obeyed. When they had roughly formed a semi-circle along the wall of the holding pen, the noble spoke, Whoever kills that donated slave, he paused to gesture towards the open great gate, before continuing. Will be granted their freedom. The noble turned and left the holding area, the entered slaves looking at one another. A second smaller bell tolled within the holding area, to tell the entered slaves to cross the threshold into the arena. The slaves quickly departed and took up positions around the arena battlefield. The Slave Games were about to begin. The bell tolled and the fight began. The start of the fight wasnt as frantic as was usually the case. There were no other donated slaves, but Tayten knew that the fighting would be more intense sooner. A few slaves detached themselves from the main fighting, to single out the lone donated slave, this seemed odd to Tayten, as they usually focused on the more aggressive opponents. None the less, Tayten killed the first opponent who challenged him and took his blunt knife. The second enemy was of stocky build, and wielded an axe. But Tayten threw the dagger he had recently acquired, the tip catching the unprepared warrior in the eye. He fell dead, and Tayten retrieved his axe, improving his odds of survival by gaining a better weapon. The noble reemerged in the wealthy section of the spectator seats, and sat alongside the Games Keeper. The Games Keeper unhappily commented, I didnt expect you to bring him back here, when I told you about the unfortunate fates that can befall a free slave. The noble replied, Truly it was not my intention for him to be back here, but none the less, he will die today. Games Keeper, How can you be so sure, he survived once didnt he, why not again? Noble, He didnt have to fight much the first time through, lets just say Ive ensured that all those entered slaves will be hounding him like a plague of black flies to rotting meat. Games Keeper, What did you tell them? Noble, That the person who kills that slave of mine will be granted their freedom. Games Keeper, Never before has this happened, and I will not allow it today. Noble, Calm yourself, of course I lied. The dismayed expression upon the nobles face bespoke of his friends lack of trust. He finished what he intended to say with a mean smirk, I will grant them freedom by their own death, a moment of silence fell between the two, before the noble curiously asked, What monster have you decided to enter into this days Slave Games? Games Keeper, Ahh my friend, that is for me to know and for you to find out, but Ill give you a hint, I had this dome especially built for her unique ability, and I think I will be releasing her early, to give the slaves more of a fighting chance. Tayten was in the thick of battle, fighting two particularly vicious slaves at once. He had managed to acquire a short sword, and was duel wielding this with the axe he had, to keep the hungry weapons of his two adversaries at bay. One had a spear, while the other a scimitar. The man with the scimitar would attack at close combat, with a series of ripostes and thrusts that had Tayten moving back one step at a time. While beside the scimitar user, the woman with the spear was jabbing and thrusting brutally, in an attempt to skewer her foe, though not very skillful at her weapon, she was keeping him busy, as he couldnt move close enough to deal a killing blow, while still defending against the other slaves attacks. Unexpectedly a second bell rang clearly, and far too early. The monster had been released. Tayten had been distracted for only a moment, but that was all that was needed, for the scimitar warrior to lop half his left hand off. With his hand destroyed, he could no longer hold the weapon that was defending against the spear, and as this happened; the woman saw her opportunity and plunged the spear through his cracked ribs, and out the opposite side of his body. He was pushed back by the force of the spear, but then he fell forwards onto one knee, which yanked the spear from the womans grasp. He knelt there upon his heels, resting. He closed his eyes, and listened to the silence of the field, as most of the slaves turned to watch as the monster entered. Someone let out a scream, but Tayten didnt care, he gently grasped the shaft of the spear, and began to pull the shaft towards him, pushing it out the other side of his body. The pain was immense, and he struggled not to scream. It felt as if his left lung was filling with a warm fluid, and he was finding it becoming harder to breathe. He could hear people running about him, but it was in a disorganised fashion which meant that the slaves where in a state of chaos, and the monster was getting the best of t hem. Tayten used the blood covered spear that now lay behind him, as a support when he rose to his feet. He then opened his eyes, and found himself staring into the eyes of a statue. He spun around slowly taking in the sight; the battle field was littered with many statues, in the exact likeness of the slaves he had entered the arena with. He couldnt hear any movement, but he caught sight of what appeared to be the tail of a large snake, disappearing behind the obstructing statues. Tayten remembered the tale of the Gorgon, a woman with snakes for hair, and the lower body of a serpent, and possessed the ability to turn a human to stone by looking them in the eye. He immediately closed his eyes once again. He stood still listening for the faintest of sounds. The dry slithering rasp of something moving across the surface of the arena emanated from behind him, and in a single fluid movement, he turned and threw the spear. The chink of metal on stone told him he had hit a statue, and now weaponless and weakened, he knew he would soon be dead. He was half tempted to open his eyes, but he was unwilling to give up his life just yet. So he stood still and waited, while the rasp grew steadily louder. A dry whispery voice spoke close to Taytens ear, If you had thrown that spear a little higher, it would have cleared the statue, and killed me. A real shame too. Tayten felt something slither around his boots and slowly bind around his damaged body, he didnt need to guess that that this was the gorgons snake like body, constricting her victim. He was wrapped within her coils up to the base of his rib cage, but he removed his hands, before they were stuck tight next to his body. The voice came again, this time directly in front of his face, Why dont you open your eyes son of man, and stare into my eyes. The gorgon had noticed his wounds and knew well of his pain. Blood slid over her scales, dripping from Taytens hand and the still heavily seeping wound through his rib cage. Tayten spoke to the gorgon in a soft voice, What is your name gorgon? Surprised by the humans question, the gorgon replied easily, Medusa. Tayten replied with a smile, I am truly sorry Medusa, but I will not. Not until I have changed the world, and done something to be remembered by. Medusa, Silly human, one soul cannot change the world. Something brushed against Taytens face, and he recoiled slightly in shock at the unexpected feeling. More such light caresses came and went. All that Tayten cared was that they felt nice, and he began to slightly bob his head forward in search of more. Suddenly, unexpectedly, he felt his lips brush against Medusas own cold, yet subtly soft lips. Medusa hurriedly withdrew her face in alarm, her hair venomously hissing at the helpless human. The gorgons initial anger faded away to be replaced by inane curiosity, her hair had stopped hissing, and she moved in closer again. Her face was close enough to see the humans frowning brow, and once again she let her hair lightly caress his face as she easily came forwards to kiss the man. He had tensed his body in surprise, but it soon relaxed. She wrapped both arms around his neck, as to not aggravate his wounds. He also reached behind her and interlocked what was left of his hands. He could feel where the silky smooth human skin gave way to th e smooth scales of a snake. He also felt a strap running across her back, which undoubtedly held the metal breastplate to the front of her body that was now pressing lightly against his chest. The assuring pressure of the cool metal soothed Taytens body, and encouraged him to be conscious of how intimately entwined their two bodies were. Games Keeper, It appears as if your slave is dead. Noble, Not yet, I still havent seen his corpse or statue. Games Keeper, If you ask me, youve become obsessed with killing this guy, why cant you admit that he is dead yet? Noble, Maybe youre right, but you wouldnt believe how hard it has been for me to kill this man, just when you think he is dead; he jumps up and surprises you again. Tayten couldnt understand what he was feeling. What was this new unexplainable emotion? What was this word that was embedded within this emotion; love. He felt so happy and yet he was enslaved, it felt nice to kiss her and her gentle hair lulled him into bliss. Maybe life wasnt about living for yourself, maybe it was meant to be lived for others. Maybe if you live for others you will find that special happiness, that beautiful happiness, that you can only feel when you make another happy. Tayten asked happily, Do you think two souls can change the world? Medusa took a while to answer, I think we can. Tayten, Please release me, so that I can change the world and be remembered, I think Ill need your help though. Gasps from the crowd, made the noble and Games Keeper turn from their conversation, to see what had happened. Standing in the middle of the arena with the gorgon by his side, was the slave, and in his right hand he held a spear. He seemed to be orienting himself (taking care not to look at the gorgon), and when he had finished turning, he was looking directly at the noble. The noble turned to the Games Keeper, He cant see us can he? The Games Keeper replied unconvincingly, Not a chance, were behind a one way mirror, we can see him, but he cant see us. The noble countered fretfully, Then why the hell is he looking at us, and how on earth is he still alive!? Before the Games Master could reply, the slave took off running in their general direction. The noble stood, and with a horrified look on his face watched as the slave threw his spear, which shattered the mirrored glass directly before the wealthy spectator seats, and impaled the head board of the chair the Games Keeper had been sitting in. Frozen with shock, at the close call, the noble began to laugh. But it was short lived as moments later he fixed his gaze upon the most terrible set of eyes he had ever seen, and in that moment his body turned to stone. The same occurred to the Games Keeper, and the majority of the rich nobles who had been transfixed by the spectacle of the shattering mirror. The crowd was in chaos, their leaders were dead and the victor of the Slave Games from the previous day who had returned for a second time, was the direct cause for this. Fearing their own death, the crowd hurriedly exited the arena.