Storm Born Chapter Twenty-Three

The similarities between the fachan and nixie attacks weren't lost on me. Both types were water creatures, and all had seemed much more interested in killing Storm King's daughter than fathering her child. Recalling how Dorian had said someone powerful would have had to force them to come out to the desert, I decided that figuring out who that could be needed to move to the top of my list of priorities. Rape was horrible. Death was†¦well, final. Unfortunately, I wasn't really sure I trusted my new gentry contacts to give me unbiased advice. So I turned to my next-most relatively neutral sources. Like always, my spirit minions took a long time in answering my question. Nandi and Volusian were compelled to answer eventually, but I think they always sort of tried to wait each other out. This time, it was Nandi who finally gave in. â€Å"Mistress, there are many among the shining ones who could summon such creatures. Far too many for you to hunt down or investigate. To do so would be akin to counting grains of sand on a beach. The task is impossible. Were you to try, you would fall into a despair so dark and deep that it would undoubtedly shatter your mind and force you into insanity.† Volusian sighed loudly and shuffled so that he stood farther into the shadows of my bedroom. â€Å"Metaphors aside, mistress, she is correct. Perhaps there are not quite so many suspects but still enough to make a search difficult.† Finn, moving around my room in lazy circles, stopped his flight and scoffed. â€Å"Why are you wasting your time with all these other people? It's obvious who's doing it. Maiwenn is.† I sat cross-legged on the bed and swallowed a piece of my Milky Way. â€Å"Maiwenn can't control water. Besides,† I added bitterly, â€Å"everyone keeps going on about how weak and sickly she is lately anyway.† I honestly didn't get what the big deal was with her being so debilitated by pregnancy. I'd worked at a restaurant in high school, and there'd been a waitress there who'd stayed on her feet until the day she delivered. â€Å"Maiwenn doesn't have to do it herself,† argued Finn. â€Å"She's the mastermind. Other people hated Storm King. She's probably collaborating with them and directing them to attack you.† â€Å"That seems kind of elaborate.† I swear, Volusian almost smiled. â€Å"Spend more time around the gentry courts, mistress, and you'll find a plan like that would be childishly simplistic. Nonetheless, I find it unlikely the Willow Queen is involved. It is not in her nature. She would not kill without provocation. She is more likely to wait and observe than act on her emotions.† â€Å"Unless there was something more personal involved,† said Finn slyly. â€Å"You know, maybe a little jealousy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Apparently my romantic difficulties were no secret. Honestly, I didn't get how gossip spread so fast in the Otherworld, particularly considering how they had no telephones, TV, or Internet. I glared at him. â€Å"She has nothing to be jealous about. Not anymore.† â€Å"Agreed,† said Volusian. â€Å"Besides, the Willow Queen is not an adolescent girl who would risk her rule to take petty revenge. She – and her peers – are far too clever. And ruthless.† Finn crossed his arms and glared at Volusian. It was kind of a bold move, considering Finn looked like a cartoon character and Volusian looked like he ate the souls of small children. For all I knew, he probably did. â€Å"Of course you'd say that. You're trying to throw Odile off Maiwenn's trail. Makes it easy, doesn't it? Then Maiwenn's assassins can do your dirty work for you. We all know you're just waiting to kill her off.† Finn jerked his thumb in my direction. Volusian went rigid, his eyes narrowing to red slits. â€Å"Make no mistake. When I kill our mistress – and I will – I will not depend on some gentry to do it. I will rip her flesh and tear her soul apart myself.† Silence fell. â€Å"Truly, mistress,† Nandi said at last, â€Å"it is a wonder you even have the will to carry on.† â€Å"Enough,† I groaned, rubbing my eyes. â€Å"Being around you guys is like being on the Jerry Springer Show sometimes. As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with Volusian.† Finn started to speak, and I cut him off with a gesture. â€Å"But I still want to talk to Maiwenn. If she is guilty, maybe I can find out. If she isn't, maybe she'll help me figure out who is.† â€Å"You're crazy,† exclaimed Finn. â€Å"You're playing right into her hands.† â€Å"And your opinion has been duly noted for the record. I don't need to hear it anymore.† He disappeared with a huff. I shook my head and turned to the others. â€Å"Show me where the closest crossover to her home is.† It turned out to be an hour and a half drive from Tucson, but considering how much Otherworldly travel I probably would have had to do by crossing somewhere else, I didn't mind. This proved doubly true when the crossroads in the Willow Land deposited me within eyesight of her castle. It was only a small consolation, considering it was still freezing in her land. Back home, the weather had been hot and perfect. Worst of all, today was Cinco de Mayo. I should have spent the rest of the day drinking copious amounts of tequila, followed by a blissful blackout under a table somewhere. At least there was no wind now, but the air held a sharp, biting chill. It was dry too; I could sense its lack of moisture. Ice and snow drifts glittered with crystalline beauty in the stark winter sunlight, but it was a dangerous beauty. If you stared at the blankets of white too long, you could almost get afterimages from the brightness. I trudged down the cold road, admiring the castle in spite of myself. Unlike Aeson's and Dorian's, it lacked the blocky, fortress look. It was†¦well, pretty. Graceful, fluid spires rose up, their silvery white surface gleaming and sparkling. The entire structure had a curved, almost sinuous look, like a calla lily. I wondered if this simply resulted from the difference between male and female monarchs. Maybe Maiwenn just had better taste. The guards turned rightfully alarmed when I informed them who I was. They tried to coax me inside to wait for Maiwenn's admittance, but I refused to take one step until they'd requested hospitality for me. It took awhile – during which time the number of guards circling me doubled – but Maiwenn finally sent back word that I could see her and would be under the protection of her home. A lady-in-waiting led me to Maiwenn, and she made it clear in both body language and words that I had no business disturbing her queen. She led me through twisting halls, at last leaving me in a cozy, brightly lit sitting room. Maiwenn rested in a comfy plush chair, propped up by pillows. A heavy satin dressing gown wrapped around her, and someone had tucked a blanket over her lap. Even pale-skinned and messy-haired, she looked gorgeous. She smiled at me and gestured for the servant to leave. â€Å"Lady Markham, what a pleasant surprise. Please, sit down.† Uneasily, I eased onto a delicate plush pink chair. â€Å"Call me Eugenie.† She nodded, and we both sat there awkwardly. Watching her, all I could think about was how she was carrying Kiyo's baby. It would create a lifelong bond between them that I could never share. Not that I wanted anything like that, of course. Kiyo was out of my life. Maiwenn's sense of propriety, being better than mine, soon kicked in. â€Å"I'm happy to receive you, but I suspect this isn't a social call.† â€Å"No†¦I'm sorry. I wanted to talk to you about†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I hesitated, suddenly feeling foolish. What had I been thinking to come here and ask her outright if she wanted to kill me? Well, it was too late to back out. Might as well go for it. â€Å"I've had a couple of nasty attacks lately. Attacks meant to kill me. And I was wondering if†¦if maybe you knew anything about them†¦.† Her turquoise eyes regarded me knowingly. â€Å"Or more to the point, you want to know if I had anything to do with them.† I averted my eyes. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"It's no wonder Dorian likes you so much. Your bluntness must amuse him to no end.† She sighed and leaned her head back in the chair. â€Å"You may believe me or not, but the answer is no. I neither ordered nor know anything about any attempts on your life. What happened?† Figuring it couldn't hurt regardless of her involvement, I told her everything about the fachan and the nixies. Her face stayed mostly blank, though I did see surprise flash in her eyes a few times. When I finished, her response was not what I expected. â€Å"Why do you live in a desert anyway? Willingly even?† I felt surprise cross my own face. â€Å"It's my home. It's not that bad.† She shrugged. â€Å"If you say so. But Dorian is right in his assessment of getting those creatures to you in the first place. Someone powerful and motivated would have had to do it.† â€Å"Do you know who?† â€Å"No. Like I said, you have no reason to believe me, but I had nothing to do with this.† She was right. I had no reason to believe her. And yet†¦some part of me noted that Kiyo trusted her. Whatever anger I felt over his withholding of information, I had to believe he wasn't an entirely unreliable judge of character. â€Å"Could you give me names of people who could do it?† â€Å"I could give you dozens. Wouldn't do you much good.† I scowled and slouched into my chair. The same response as the spirits. â€Å"I'm sorry I can't be more help.† She sounded sincere. â€Å"I won't lie: The thought of you having Tirigan's grandson terrifies me. But I don't believe in punishing you for something that has not yet happened – especially when you are trying to not make it happen. However†¦Ã¢â‚¬  That placid expression turned hesitant. â€Å"May I ask you a question?† â€Å"Sure.† â€Å"I know what you told me, and yet†¦well, I hear more and more stories about your involvement with Dorian. Kiyo said†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She tripped over the name. â€Å"Kiyo said I had nothing to worry about.† â€Å"You don't. It's an act. Dorian's teaching me to use my magic, and in exchange, I play his girlfriend.† No point in mentioning our recent bargain. She considered. â€Å"So you've decided to embrace your heritage after all.† â€Å"Only enough to not do something stupid.† â€Å"You're right to do that†¦though I'd feel better if you had another teacher. Your bargain may seem safe enough for now†¦yet I doubt he'll let it stay that simple for long. Don't let his charm blind you to his agenda. He'll use you to get what he wants – and he wants the prophecy fulfilled.† â€Å"Hey, I can handle Dorian. And his charm.† â€Å"There's more to it than just that, however. Your very life may be at risk.† â€Å"From Dorian? I doubt it.† â€Å"From his enemies.† That was a new one. â€Å"I didn't really know he had any unless†¦well, you and he differ in opinion†¦and I guess he and Aeson don't get along either.† I sat up straighter. â€Å"Do you think his enemies are the ones trying to kill me? To get back at him?† â€Å"Any number of people could be trying to kill you. The list of his enemies is no shorter than the ones I referred to before. Most of his have nothing to do with where he stands on the prophecy. He's powerful, and many fear that – with good reason. When this part of the Otherworld rearranged itself, he fought to seize much more of it than he did. Only at the last minute did Katrice, queen of the Rowan Land, emerge as a contender and slice up more. The land recognized her and allowed her a portion, cutting Dorian out of larger territory.† I shivered. I had heard Roland speak of the Otherworld's sentience, how it continually changed form and boundaries. Still. The thought of it â€Å"allowing† someone to do something creeped me out. â€Å"Many know he has never accepted that outcome,† she continued. â€Å"He would like to expand, and they see you as the means of doing it. Your human powers have been feared for years. If you manifest Storm King's as well, they believe you and Dorian will conquer the other kingdoms. And possibly beyond.† â€Å"Everyone's so obsessed with conquest,† I grumbled. â€Å"Why can't they just leave things the way they are?† â€Å"Your king has grander plans than that, I'm afraid.† I wondered not for the first time who was getting the better end of this deal Dorian and I had contrived. What was it he really wanted from me? â€Å"So even people who agree with the prophecy don't necessarily like him.† She nodded. â€Å"They would rather see your son fathered by someone less ambitious – someone they could control. Those same people could very well attempt to remove Dorian. Or, others who wanted Storm King to succeed in theory secretly believe it will never happen, so now they simply worry about the immediate threat you present to the kingdoms here.† This new development, that I was a threat because I wanted to conquer the Otherworld, was almost more ludicrous than the prophecy. â€Å"Why the hell would I want to rule in this world? Haven't they noticed I'm human? Or at least half? I don't have any claim on gentry real estate. And I don't want any.† â€Å"The shining ones view things differently than humans. Humans always feel the need to point out any drop of foreign blood in a person. As far as we care, you have our blood, and that suffices. You may have a human mother, but for all other intents and purposes, most of us now regard you as one of our own.† I thought about how common â€Å"outsider† labels were back in my own world: African American, Asian American, etc. She was right. People usually called attention to â€Å"foreign† blood. â€Å"Yeah, but all that aside, I've made a career out of hunting them down. Doesn't that bother anybody or seem weird for a potential queen?† â€Å"Some, yes,† she conceded. The slightly distasteful look on her face informed me she was among them. â€Å"And they won't get over that anytime soon. But really – for everyone else – well, as I said, most consider you one of us now, and killing wantonly isn't that out of line for a powerful leader. Nothing that Tirigan or Aeson or Dorian hasn't done.† I exhaled loudly. â€Å"This doesn't make me feel better. I suddenly feel like I have more enemies than before.† â€Å"I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, Dorian's enemies may seek you out because of your connection to him, but that very connection will compel him to protect you by whatever means he can. Conniving or not, he's a powerful ally.† I remembered the nixies. â€Å"Yeah. He is.† Another uncomfortable silence descended, and we sat there watching each other. Regardless of how wussy I thought her condition was, she did look pretty exhausted. I hadn't really decided if she was an enemy or not. Honestly, I'd received more things to worry about than any sort of answers from this visit. â€Å"Well,† I said stupidly, â€Å"thanks for the†¦help. I guess I should go.† She nodded and gave me a faint, tired smile. â€Å"You're welcome here anytime.† â€Å"Thanks.† I stood up and moved to the door. My hand was on the knob when she called my name. â€Å"Eugenie†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I turned. A pained look crossed her face, one that had nothing to do with her physical discomfort. â€Å"He loves you,† she said haltingly. â€Å"You should†¦you should forgive him. He didn't mean to hurt you.† I held her gaze for several painful moments and then walked out without another word. I didn't want to think about Kiyo. And then, as irony would have it, I ran into him when I was about halfway out of the keep. The universe was harsh sometimes. Whatever feelings her words had kindled in me dried up at the thought of him coming to visit her. The look on his face implied I was the last person he'd expected to see there. I forcibly kept my expression cold, trying hard not to show how much I was drinking in his appearance and presence. He was as stunning as ever with that tanned skin and silky black hair curling slightly behind his ears. I wanted to run my hands through it. The heavy coat he wore couldn't hide that graceful, athletic body. â€Å"Eugenie,† he said softly, â€Å"what are you doing here?† â€Å"I had to chat with Maiwenn. You know, girl talk.† I hoped my tone conveyed that I did not want to elaborate on our conversation. He picked up on the hint. â€Å"Well. It's good to see you. You look†¦good. How have things†¦I mean, have you been okay?† I shrugged. â€Å"The usual. Propositions. Attempts on my life. You know how it goes.† â€Å"I worry about you.† â€Å"I'm fine. I can take care of myself. Besides, I do have some help.† Those dark, caring eyes narrowed slightly. â€Å"I suppose you mean Dorian.† â€Å"He saved me from a pretty nasty attack the other day and,† I added, feeling mean, â€Å"he's going to help me go get Jasmine.† â€Å"That's a bad idea.† â€Å"Which part? Getting her or relying on Dorian?† â€Å"Both.† â€Å"Well, you knew I was going to go for her one of these days. Better sooner than later.† I started to walk past him, and he caught my arm. Even through the coat, his touch sent shock waves through my body. He leaned close to me. â€Å"I want to come with you.† â€Å"I don't need your help.† â€Å"You need all the help you can get.† â€Å"No.† I broke his hold. He moved and blocked my way again. I could feel some of that animal intensity radiating off of him. â€Å"Last time you didn't want gentry help because it hurt your pride. You're doing the same thing with me for the same reasons, and there's no point. Forget how much you hate me, and worry about what's best for the girl. I'm going with you.† He had a point about what was in Jasmine's best interests, but his attitude bothered me. â€Å"What, you think you can make something happen by just telling me it will? You're not going, so get over it.† â€Å"There's nothing to get over. If you're in danger, I protect you. I'll be there.† â€Å"Well, I guess you're going to have to go stake out Aeson's 24/7, because I'm sure as hell not letting you in on the secret planning meetings.† Some of his feral demeanor dropped, and suddenly he was relaxed, collected Kiyo again. â€Å"There are secret meetings? What are you guys now, the Superfriends?† I rolled my eyes and walked past him, back to the crossroads and the warmer weather of Arizona. That ache in my chest, the one I'd had since Beltane, burned steadily the entire time. I hated what had happened to us, but I didn't know how to fix it. I didn't know how to forgive Kiyo. I tried to get my mind on something else as I drove home, like planning the logistics of the next Jasmine rescue. Or, considering her resistance, maybe it would be more like a smash ‘n' grab. Regardless, I was eager to get it over with. Damn Dorian's clause about my magic. And his stupid nobility about sex. I was almost home when I drove past a Barnes & Noble. An idea leapt into my brain, a strange one admittedly, but one that couldn't hurt. I hadn't stopped thinking about how much potential I allegedly had with magic. For years, I'd relied on human magic – or rather the human ability to extract magic from the world. I could banish spirits and monsters. I could walk worlds. But this so-called power within me offered so much more, according to both Dorian and Maiwenn – not to mention my own barely remembered longings. I had resisted it at first, but now†¦now I wanted so badly to advance to higher levels. Dorian and I would meet tomorrow night for another session, and I hated the thought of more inactivity. He'd told me I had a lifetime to catch up on magic, but I didn't want to wait that long. I wanted to close the gap. Naturally, the store had no books on real magic. They only carried the silly and trumped-up commercial type stuff. But they did have a science section, and within that, I found a couple shelves on weather and meteorology. I doubted these books would make me a magical dominatrix overnight, but actually knowing the science behind what I worked with had to help. It was something tangible, something I had more experience with than the weird, esoteric nature of magic itself. Volusian had once commented that as a child of both worlds, I could take the best of each lineage. I was both gentry and human. Magic and technology. I spent over an hour skimming through books on storms, the atmosphere, and assorted weather phenomena. When the store made its closing announcement, I could hardly believe it. Time had flown by. Scooping up the ones I deemed most useful, I paid and went home. â€Å"Reading is hot,† Tim told me when I walked in the door with my heavy bag. I ignored him and retreated to my room. Dumping the books on the bed, I picked the most remedial-looking one and sat down at my desk, where the Eiffel Tower still lay unfinished. I hadn't had time for puzzles lately. With a wistful last look, I swept the pieces up into the box and put it away. The tower would have to wait. Shifting my legs into a comfortable position, I spread out the glossy, full-colored textbook. Flipping through the title pages and introduction, I finally found the meat of the book.

Describe and Evaluate Two Theories for the Maintenance of Relationships Essay

Social exchange theories exist in various forms but the underlying theme is that people may be selfish. Social exchange theories argue people may view relationships in a â€Å"profit† or â€Å"loss† way. Thibaut & Kelley believed people will look to see how rewarding a relationship is and then how much it costs to be in the relationship. If there is a profit left over (rewards – costs = profit) then that may encourage them to continue the relationship where as if there is a loss – this may motivate them to end the relationship. Blau argued that interactions are â€Å"expensive†, as they take time, energy and commitment and may involve unpleasant emotions and experiences. Therefore what we get out of a relationship must exceed what goes in. Walster et al believed that social interactions involve an exchange of rewards, like affection, information, status. The degree of attraction or liking reflects how people evaluate the rewards they receive in relative to those given. SET is therefore an economic theory explaining relationships in terms of maximising benefits and minimising costs. The â€Å"Social exchange† is the mutual exchange of rewards between partners; like friendship, sex and the costs of being in the relationship may be freedoms given up, time, effort. A person may make their assessment of their rewards by using two comparisons: The comparison level (CL) – where rewards are compared to costs to judge profits. This may be based on past experiences and relationships as well as what we expect to get from a relationship. The comparison level for alternative relationships (CLalt) – Where rewards and costs are compared against perceived alternative relationships and how they compare. A relationship is maintained if profit is perceived in both these two comparisons. Thibaut & Kelley proposed a four-stage model setting how relationships could be maintained, predicting that over time people develop a predictable and mutually beneficial pattern of exchanges assisting the maintenance of relationships; Sampling – Rewards and costs are assessed in a number of relationships Bargaining – A relationship is â€Å"costed out† and sources of profit and loss are identified Commitment – Relationship is established and maintained by predictable exchange of rewards Institutionalisation – Interactions are established and the couple â€Å"settle down†. Mills et al identified two kinds of intimate relationships; (a) The communal couple where each partner gives out of concern for the other and (b) The Exchange couple who keep mental records of who is ahead and who is behind. This indicates that there are different types of relationships and SET may apply to some of them but not universally to all. Rusbult asked participants to complete questionnaires over a 7-month period concerning rewards and costs and found that SET did not explain the early â€Å"honeymoon† phase of the relationship when balance of exchanges was ignored. However later on relationship costs were compared with degree of satisfaction which suggests that the theory is best applied to the maintenance of relationships. Rusbult found that costs and rewards from a relationship were weighed up in comparison to possible alternative relationships when deciding whether they should be maintained which supports that social exchange models idea that people assess rewards by making comparisons. However a third element of investment (Commitment) was also a factor in this in which people compared how much they had invested into the relationship and what they stood to lose – which SET does not fully recognise suggesting it does not explain such things. Rusbults Investment model looks at this however and better explains this. Hatfield looked at people who felt over or under-benefited. The under-benefitted felt angry and deprived while the over-benefited felt guilty and uncomfortable. This supports SET theory by suggesting that regardless of whether individuals benefitted, they do not wish to maintain a relationship which is unfair. Equity Theory may better explain this however and how it may that that theory is better suited to explain such as if, as SET proposes, it is all about profit – then surely when people feel they are over-benefiting they are more inclined to maintain the relationship. Rubin believed that although people are not fundamentally selfish – attitudes towards others are determined to a large extent by how rewarding we think they are for us supporting the theory. Argyle criticised methodologies that evaluate SET as being contrived and artificial with little relevance to real life relationships. Sedikides claimed that people are capable of being completely unselfish in relationships and do things for others without expecting anything in return – which is most evident in relationships with those emotionally close to us. Sedikides believed that individuals could bolster their partners self-esteem when faced with failures or stress and therefore SET’s theory of humans being out for what they can get is simplistic and inaccurate. Fromm argued against the theory also arguing that true â€Å"love† was about giving as opposed to false love where people expect to have favours returned. Most research has tended to concentrate on short-term consequences of relationships rather than the long-term maintenance and what drives them. This theory may apply to those that keep â€Å"score†. Mustein et al devised the exchange orientation tool, identifying such scorekeepers; who are suspicious and insecure suggesting that the theory only suits relationships lacking confidence and mutual trust. Equity Theory Equity does not mean equality; instead it perceives individuals as motivated to achieve fairness in relationships and to feel dissatisfied with inequity (unfairness). Definitions of equity within a relationship can differ between individuals. Maintenance of relationships occurs through balance and stability. Relationships where individuals put in more than they receive or receive more than they put in are inequitable, leading to dissatisfaction and possible dissolution. The recognition of inequity within a relationship presents a chance for a relationship to be saved – that is, maintained further by making adjustments so that there is a return to equity. Relationships may alternate between periods of perceived balance and imbalance, with individuals being motivated to return to a state of equity. The greater the perceived imbalance, the greater the efforts to realign the relationship, so long as a chance of doing so is perceived to be viable.

Effects of pollution Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Effects of pollution - Assignment Example This essay discusses the effects of specific pollution with regard to human health, land, water, and land. Pollution is one of the aspects that have a detrimental effect on human health. This occurs in various ways. For instance, over the years, agriculture has experienced major technological developments in order to enhance food production. To a considerable extent this has also resulted in improvement in the standards of health and safety for those individuals working in agriculture. This is through their enhanced awareness of personal protection and awareness of hazards. However, there remains much to be done in order to improve the health status of individuals and prevent injuries that are related to agriculture. This is because agriculture continues to expose individuals to long term health risks. The modern farming practices contribute to respiratory illness and exposures. These expose individuals to several acute and chronic respiratory diseases. Mostly, people in agriculture are exposed to organic dusts, toxic gases, and biaerosols. Similarly, exposure to inorganic dusts from soil components that have silicates results in nodules and macules. Additionally, exposure to pesticides results in differernt adverse effects on humans. For instance, reproductive effects include miscarriages and preterm delivery, as well as infertility among women that are highly exposed. Furthermore, various studies show that the modern farming practices are a cause of hearing loss among the individuals exposed. Notably, the current farming practices include high levels of noise from vacuum pumps and tractors, among other machineries that exceed the standard noise levels by OSHA (Schenker, M. & Kirkhorn, 2011). Apart from modern farming practices, municipal service also does have a negative impact on human health. Municipal waste is the waste that is generated from homes, schools, small businesses, and shops. This waste is collected by local authorities,

Turkish Lobby in the European Union Case Study

Turkish Lobby in the European Union - Case Study Example Such a situation arose because rulers cannot be expected to know all the problems faced by their subjects. Hence, people have used various methods by which their views can be heard and understood by whatever power that governs them. This process developed to a situation where a group of influential persons were able to make a ruler comply to their wishes. This process known to the modern world as lobbying has been going on ever since a structured form of governance has existed. At present, lobbying plays a powerful role in influencing decisions of governments across the world. This process has developed to such an extent that a powerful lobby can influence even the governments of other countries. This paper is an attempt at studying the lobbying process that exists in Turkey with regard to the European Union. Turkey, has been trying to get full membership in the Union for a long time. In fact, the process started way back in September1959 when Turkey applied for an associate membersh ip in what was the European Economic Council (EEC). (EU Turkey Relations 2004). The timeline for the accession process is given here. After four years, in September 1963, the Ankara Agreement came into force where Turkey is to be taken into the Customs Union and also for full membership in the EEC. A financial protocol is also signed during this period. In 1970 an Additional Protocol and a second financial protocol is made and signed. This was in September of that year in Brussels. Both these were regarding the setting up of the Customs Union. Before accession could take place, Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 and this created problems for accession since Cyprus was also a part of Europe. A military coup in the country on September 12, 1980 worsened the relationship between the Community and Turkey still further. Even so, the Community agreed to decrease customs duties gradually until it was to be removed totally, on Turkish agricultural products by the year 1987. The membership proces s came to a standstill until it was revived by the Turkish EEC Association Council in 1986. On April 14th 1987, turkey applies for full membership in the council instead of an Associate member. It took two years, until December 1989 for the

Disney World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Disney World - Essay Example It was opened in October 1, 1971 and since than has added Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom. The resort also consists of Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, Disney's Boardwalk, Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex and Downtown Disney. However, Downtown Disney contains three parts, Marketplace, Pleasure Island, and West Side that embrace a lot of shopping, dining, and amusement locations. They include the Disney Quest indoor arcade, a House of Blues caf and club, a Planet Hollywood restaurant and a Cirque du Soleil drama plays. The CEO, Robert Iger, played a major role for Walt Disney Company. Robert Iger was born in New York. He completed his undergraduate studies at Ithaca College and started his career in media as a weatherman for a local television station. In 1973, he joined the American Broadcasting Company and progressively he got promoted during the following decades. The Walt Disney Company purchased ABC and renamed in ANC Inc., where Iger remained as a president till 1999. In the following year, Disney replaced Iger at the helm of Steve Bronstein and made him the president of Walt Disney International, the company that oversees Disney's international operations. However, the resort has a little aircraft landing strip located east of the Magic Kingdom parking lot.

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 59

Case study - Essay Example Unfortunately, the urban employment opportunities could only absorb a small section of the unemployed population. At the same time, the mining and demand for labor in the rural agricultural sector increased. The mining industry, involving companies like Shell and Texaco could only take contribute little to employment rates despite the revenue obtained from the sector. The relief to the employment status in the country was witnessed with the rise in industrialization, manufacturing, and politics. Manufacturing and government jobs became a source of employment for the skilled and educated people in the population. This caused a considerable decrease in unemployment rates from 15% to 9.9% in 1973. This was however to increase with economic challenge to a maximum of 20% in 1990. From this time, government efforts served to diversify the economy and reduce the rates. Unemployment rate is the measure of the proportion of employable people in the population who have lost their jobs or are unsuccessful in seeking jobs. The rate is an important indicator of economic productivity of a country (Dwivedi, 2001). A country that has a large number of people willing to work but cannot secure employment cannot realize its economic possibilities. In addition, high unemployment rate indicates poor economic wellbeing of the population. There are three major types of unemployment. First, there is the frictional unemployment. This refers to the proportion of people who are seeking suitable jobs. This means that they can at least secure jobs, but they are unemployed seeking better jobs. Secondly, there is cyclical unemployment. In this case, the unemployment rate increases with recession and decreases with the expansion in the business cycle. People are laid-off from companies and businesses during the recession and become unemployed. The third type of unemployment is structural unemployment. This happens when there is a mismatch

Creative Problem Solving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Creative Problem Solving - Essay Example They are much more creative and would solve issues on their own. Category B of employees involves the individuals who face challenges and fairly offer solutions to these challenges. They always involve their fellow employees who they perceive could be having more experiences and expertise than them in finding solutions to their issues. They are less independent and rely on external solutions to some extent. Category C and D employees are hardly different exhibit almost similar characteristics as far as provision of solutions to their challenges. They have a habit of avoiding the challenges altogether. They would rather not face the challenges; instead they leave them to other stakeholders in the system. ____10_____ C. Assume other challenges and pretend as though nothing wrong has occurred in the system. They tend to be less concern and seem to expect others to be responsible in solving the challenges. The results indicate that half of all the employees have the capacity to face the challenges and provide solutions on their own. Thirty percent face the issues that come before them but would rather engage other individuals in the solving of these problems. Twenty percent of these individuals would either assume the challenges or avoid them completely. The paper under study is ‘conceptualizing assessment for employee performance in terms of problem solution’ and what the strategic managers think about this trend. In the recent past, there has been an increased number of strategic managers that have relied on this assessment style as a creative way to evaluating a larger number of employees as compared to the old style of evaluation. An analytical study conducted reveals that the growth of creative management practices has been captivated by the adoption of other systems of management. Creative skills can be improved through the training to expand the ways of categorizing the various events and

Organisational Behaviour case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Organisational Behaviour case study - Essay Example Chain of command includes authority and unity of command. Span of control in the number of subordinates a manager can efficiently and effectively directs. Centralization is the degree to which decision making is concentrated at a single point in the organization. Consistent with the recent management efforts to make organization more flexible and responsive, there has been a marked trend towards decentralizing decision making. In a decentralized organization, action can be taken more quickly to solve problems, more people provide input into decisions, and employees are less likely to feel alienated from those who make the decisions that affect their work lives. Finally formalization refers to the degree to which jobs within the organization are standardized. If a job is highly formalized, then the job incumbent has a minimum amount of discretion. . When formalization is low job behaviors are relatively non-programmed and employees have to freedom to exercise discretion in their work. In the County general hospital, reorganization of the structure of the administration teams within each department has to take place. To date, administrative staff within each department had reported solely to an administrative manager. ... Its major disadvantage is the difficulty to coordinating the task of diverse functional specialists so that their activities are completed on time and within budget. Service departmentalization on the other hand exactly the opposite benefits and advantages. It facilitates coordination among specialties to achieve on time completion and meet the budget targets. Furthermore, it provides clear responsibility for all activities related to a service, but with duplication of activities and costs. The matrix structure attempts to gain the strengths of each, while avoiding their weaknesses (Anderson, 1994). The strength of the matrix lies in its ability to facilitate coordination when the organization has a multiplicity of complex and interdependent activities. The direct and frequent contacts between the different specialists in the matrix can make for better communication and more flexibility. Information permeates the organization and more quickly reaches the people who need to take accou nt of it. It facilitates the efficient allocation of specialists. When individuals with highly specialized skills are lodged in one functional department or service group, their talents are monopolized and under used. The matrix achieves the advantages of economies of scale by providing the organization with both the best resources and the effective way of ensuring their efficient deployment. The major disadvantage of the matrix lies in the dual command chain. This results in confusion and ambiguity, role conflict and more stress to workers. But over the past decade, senior managers are working with new structural options that can better help their organizations to

How technology has influenced the Thomson Travel Agency Essay

How technology has influenced the Thomson Travel Agency - Essay Example From this, it is quite obvious that travel agents play a vital role in this business. When armed with technological knowledge, they form a force to reckon with. Surveys conducted by various people outline the importance of the latter in influencing consumer’s decisions on the destinations to take. From the time a person decides to make any trip, they are usually faced with the decisions of which airline to take, the particular place to visit if on holiday, convenience and efficiency of the whole process. Due to the boom of technological advancements, potential passengers or tourists can by the click of a button, peruse the options availed to them. However, this information can be mind boggling to an extent that it can became more of a headache than a resourceful tool. Thus, travel agents can make recommendations to their clients and help them in choosing the particular travel package that would best suit them depending on their needs (Howard 1963). It is like they completely allow these people to take over all their travel arrangements so that, all that is required of them are to show up. Tour operators are thus faced with the key role of advertising their products. Marketing becomes an important tool so as to stay in business, of which, travel agents are made to go out of their way to infuse better marketing strategies (Birner & Booms1982). Computer technology provided a way to effectively manage all the extensive information concerning general travel. For example, with introduction of the Computer reservations systems (CRS) in 1953, that was later converted to the Semi Automated Business Research Environment (Sabre). This was a combination of CRS and global distribution system (GDS) that provided a wide load of travel information and reservations. â€Å"Directional selling† which involved the sale of package holidays using a complex chain of travel agents, is a practice that has become

Human Trafficking Essay Example for Free

Human Trafficking Essay What is human trafficking ? It is the illegal trade or smuggling of human beings for forced labour. It’s the fastest growing criminal industry in the world and second largest after the drug trade. It differs from people smuggling. After reaching their ultimate destination, the smuggled people are usually free to do their own thing and find their own way in the country they have been smuggled into. However, in human trafficking, the victims are not permitted to do so. They are held against their will and are forced to work or be engaged in unlawful activities by the traffickers and others. The work may include anything from bonded or forced labour to sexual exploitation. Forced labour is a situation where the victims are compelled to work against their will, under the threat of violence or some other form of punishment. Their freedom is restricted and most often they are compelled to work in appalling conditions. Child labour which is in force interferes with the education of children and also affects their health and physical, mental, spiritual and social development. Most people think that trafficking occurs only in poor countries. It happens in many parts of the world and some of the countries to which these people are taken include America, Japan and Singapore. Many organisations and antitrafficking groups have come forward to prevent this from happening. The International Organisation for Migration, and the United Nations are just two organisations fighting to stop human trafficking. One of the best ways to stop or minimise human trafficking is to educate the public, especially the uneducated society in remote villages, about the dangers of human trafficking. The Government should impose stringent laws and take necessary steps to stop it. I would like to say: â€Å"Let’s fight together and stop human trafficking. †

The Economies Of Scale Marketing Essay

The Economies Of Scale Marketing Essay Economies of scale is a economic term that illustrating a business model where the long run average cost curve declines as production increase. In another way, it also can explain as the reduction in average cost per output resulting from additional output production. Economies of scale can be distinct in two types, which are internal and external economies of scale. Internal economies of scale can achieve when a company can increase its production with decline of average cost while external economies of scale occur outside the firm but within an industry. For example, when an industrys scope of operations expands with certain factors will result a reduction in cost for those companies working within that particular industry then it can be achieve. External economies of scale will benefit all the companies within that particular industry. Research and Development Nestle has delivered significant improvements in operational efficiency over many years. Its manufacturing strategy follows what is the best serves its consumer and consumer needs. In order to achieve the economies of scale, Nestle is involved in every stage of production chain for providing growers with technical advice, maintaining the supply chain, researches and development, advising quality issue and others. For example, Nestle has its own researches and development (RD) department with total spending $70 million as long-term investment on it. Product innovation is becoming a necessary for a company because of it brings the awareness of companys situation and competition heated up in market. Therefore, Nestle need the RD to wring out efficiencies to slash the costs and boost the output production. In response, Nestle had set a vision is called One Nestle which it introduced common processes, standards, and system across the enterprise. It used System Application Products (SAP) software to automate and integrate all the operations, procurement, production, distribution, and customer care. Automation extent its contributions toward productivity and improvement and this innovation of technology maintain the efficient scale of production. As a result, Nestle achieved unprecedented economies of scale in its business (Ansari, Ali, Dogar, Shafique, and Bukhari, n.d.). Specialization Moreover, economies of scale can achieve by specialization in Nestles labors. Increased specialization in used of labors has high possibility of expanding size of its business. Workers can use full time to do their task at which they have specific skills. This can reduce the time consuming with lower the production costs than the skilled workers to spent more time and costs in unskilled tasks. With the expertise of labors, Nestle can produce different types of high quality products to meet customers needs and wants (Ansari et al., n.d.). For instance, customers nowadays are more health conscious. Therefore, Nestle has employed the labors that expert in the nutrition, health-wellness, and environment friendly aspects to produce health conscious products. The products with medical benefits can be known as functional foods or nutraceuticals can bring big growth to Nestle with cost saving when production efficiency by expertise workers (Benady, 2005). Popurlarly Positioned Products (PPPs) Furthermore, Popurlarly Positioned Products (PPPs) are an important strategy and the main growth drivers to Nestle in recent year. PPPs focused on providing high quality and nutritional food products at affordable cost to emerging consumers. With this strategy, PPPs achieved 8 percent increase in annual sales which equivalent to USD 8 billion in year 2009. This strategy can achieve that profitable return by Nestle because it relies on local sourcing, local manufacture, and local distribution to minimize the costs. Nestle business are using the range of local distribution such as street markets, door-to-door distributors and mobile street vendors to expand its business opportunity not only in developed but also distribute its products to emerging countries. With wisely used of locally distribution, this can lead Nestle to cost savings by lowering the transportation, import or export costs of the products without reducing the profit earned and amount of outputs produced (Nestle PPP Str ategy, 2010). 2.2 Economies of Scope Economies of scope is describing the cost advantage that received by a company due to produce a complementary variety of goods rather than specializing in the production or producing a single product. Economies of scope also can achieve when a company can produce a given level of output of each product line more cheaper than separate firms that specify in producing a single product at given level. This can occur from jointly utilization of inputs and lead to reductions in per unit costs. This shows that company has potential cost savings from joint production. Joint co-operation Economies of scope are an important in Nestles growth strategy. Nestle rely on its marketing expertise and well-established position to expand its range of products. The economies of scale can achieve by Nestle because its production system shares across many with different product lines (Delios and Singh, 2005). Besides, Nestle also had joint co-operation with others companies to produce more quality with expanding in product lines. For example, Coca-Cola and Nestle formed Coca-Cola Refreshments to expand companies position in ready-to-drink tea category. The products that produced by jointly companies of Nestle and Coca-Cola are such as Nestea, Nescafe ready-to-drink products, Tian Yu Di tea and Yang Guang tea. Besides, Nestle has also formed joint venture with US food company General Mills to produce and market breakfast cereal worldwide. With the joint production to other firms, Nestle not only can improve the expertise and quality of products but also save costs to take longer t ime and costly on RD development on new products. This strategy can lead Nestle to achieve economies of scope but also economies of scale (Girard, 2005). Umbrella brand In addition, another important reason for Nestle to achieve economies of scope is it used marketing through an umbrella brand. Nestle promotes its products in formed of professional magazines including statements of physicians and professors, official brand label, small flyers, advertising through electronic mechanism and a clear umbrella brand Nestle web page. All of the information that published by Nestle is to convince buyers to purchase its health-wellness and qualified products. Nowadays, Nestle kept on doing is integrating their logo in several brands in supporting advertisements, appearing as a seal of quality and web page. A good example of Nestle used umbrella brand marketing is Maggi, which its advertisement poster consumers first see Maggi as a brand but also can see Nestle as the responsible copyright brand at the bottom left-hand corner. The new flavor of Maggi brand products can easier to introduce to public with well-known brand of Nestle. The reputation of Nestle cre ates the credibility of customers to purchase the products while Nestle also can save costs to develop and maintain its brands ((Klopping, 2011). Advertisement Furthermore, Nestle also used marketing strategy by combining two advertisements to promote certain products. For instance, Maggi instant products and Thomy cooking oil or sauces are complemented each others in used. With combining two advertisements can save costs while if Nestle promoted its own brands separately will cause Nestle to spent more to promote in two different advertisements. Nestle used the strong advertisement marketing to create high brand awareness to itself and make it sell 2.5 billion products a year. This make Nestle achieve economies of scope by reducing of costs in advertising and increase the sales of its products to public (Klopping, 2011). 2.3 Learning Curve 2.3.1 The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) The BCG Matrix is a business method created by Bruce Henderson for Boston Consulting Group in the late 1960s. This method based on the product life cycle theory that usually used to analyzing their business units or products lines. This matrix also has significant contribution until today for strategic management used by companies by providing a composite picture of the strategic position of each separate business within a company. Therefore, the management can determine the strengths and the needs of all sectors of the firm. Under this matrix, it has two dimensions, which are market share and market growth. From the 2 dimensions, BCG charts can divide into four types of scenarios: Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks, and Dogs. The products that categories into BCG Matrix figure can refer to Appendix Figure 1 (Birdi, Kapoor and Sood, n.d.). Stars The Stars is a market that having high market share with high growth. It is an optimum situation from all scenarios and leader in the business. However, this scenario requires an increased investment to maintain continuous growth because if the market growth decline as the market share maintain at same level will cause it fall to Cash Cows. Nestle beverages are the Stars in Nestle business because of high quality with new designs of products and make it become popular to customers. Most of the customers rather consume high quality product even more expensive due to they pay more consideration on health care nowadays. Through the number of repeat buyers is high in case of Nestle beverages, the rate of increase among the new buyers is also growing (Nestle BCG Matrix, 2010). Cash Cows The Cash Cows is the situation where the market growth is low and market share is high. This scenario has generated high profit margins and a lot of cash flow but the growth is very slow. Therefore, it only requires low placement and promotion of investments. Baby food products are the Cash Cows under Nestle business because Nestle has quite a long hold in its market share with its sales increasing on a continuous basis. Nestle company has also to promote and to put it forward to become products as stars (Nestle BCG Matrix, 2010). Question Marks The Question Marks is the scenario that has high market growth but low shares. It has high demand to generate high growth but low returns due to low market share. The question mark business is more risky because it only have low share. However, it can become a star if it can increase the market share or deliver cash. If fail, the growth stops and will cause the business drop to Dogs. The breakfast cereals are the example product of Nestle under Question Marks. This product has high market growth but low market share, therefore, Nestle has to make decisions on whether which of the product should stay or phase out in market to remain competitive advantage and can successfully improved it (Nestle BCG Matrix, 2010). Dogs The last scenario is Dogs, which the worst situation under BCG matrix due to the market share and growth is low. It has to avoid or eliminate because it only can generate little profit. Delivery cash or liquidate are the solutions to avoid present in this scenario. Pharmaceutical products are one of Nestle product that under Dogs because it only consist low share business with low growth market. The main reason is it never considered competitors by other pharmaceutical product manufacturers. Therefore, Nestle Company needs to think the solutions for improving on this product (Nestle BCG Matrix, 2010).

The Pitiful Characters of Othello :: Othello essays

The Pitiful Characters of Othello      Ã‚   In Othello, no "good" love exists between any of the characters. Shakespeare creates a cast of romantic and platonic couples whose affection is weak and unsustainable. Iago, not Othello, is master of this play; he establishes all the action. There is an underlying weakness and depravity in all the characters, or Iago would never have been able to ruin so many lives. But Iago is unswayed by the external; his black heart is his only guide.    When Iago tells Roderigo to awaken Brabantio and set the wheels of distrust in motion, he is loud and boisterous, even vulgar. He says, "Rouse him...Do, with like timorous accent and dire yell as when by night and negligence, the fire is spied..." (1.1 75, 82-84). Iago is interested only in the act of alarm. We imagine him lurking around the canals, sticking his bony finger into every soul to testing their limits and act accordingly. He has no conscience. For Iago, there is nothing bigger than he to temper his need to destroy.    Iago's bad behavior sets the tone for all other interactions in the play. He has no need for honesty or affiliation; he uses his wife to further his plot, betrays Roderigo, cares nothing for Cassio, and loathes Othello. He is a foil for characters who may know right from wrong but are not passionately committed to acting for good or evil. Shakespeare mirrors this noxious model in other characters' relationships. Desdemona rebels against her father; the Duke takes Othello's side; Roderigo is so lovesick that he will stoop to any level to win Desdemona. Even in the primary romantic relationship, Othello's and Desdemona's, the love is flimsy and easily broken.    Neither Desdemona nor Othello gush about the heavenly course their love has taken - never do they claim to be "star-crossed lovers." The origin of their love lies in the myths that Othello has fashioned from his travels and conquests, not in common interests or a compatibility of spirit. Desdemona can only imagine what Othello's life is like; she is too passive to ever truly live. Though some may argue that this love is mature and doesn't need Romeo-style proclamation, it is clear that Shakespeare has built their relationship on sand.

Changing Roles of Women Essay -- Sociology

Since the beginning of the 1800's, women had been fighting for the rights that they wanted. Women should be able to vote, control their own property and income, and they should have access to higher education and professional jobs. Women also had many roles in society. Women had very important parts in jobs as they took up more responsibilities. Girls, young ladies, and women of all ages were working harder to bring home income. Most women thought the pay and the conditions were unfair. These arguments grew as women fought more and more for social equality. Women found jobs wherever they could. Women's work on farms and at home was essential but the younger women moved from rural areas to cities to work in factories. Immigrant women also turned to the factories for work. While some women were working hard in factories, other women were building volunteer organizations that took roles in rapidly reforming education, labor relations, public health, and other areas of society. Women that did neither of these jobs still worked in the home cleaning. More urban women made their own brea...

Freedom Of Speech In Cyber World Essay

1. a. The effect of social networking has caused us something good and bad at same time. We can create healthy relationships through it and it is true to all that there is always a negative feedback behind everything that exists yet I think we can still reduce the incident of cyberbullying by implementing law against it. We can also educate the young regarding with what is moral posting and straitening their attitude towards social networking. b. yes, it will. In this cyber world all the impossibilities becomes possible like in interacting people even we do not see them face-to-face that will lead us to greater fairness and overcome differences which there are countries who still suffering from racial discrimination. It also shows that people of today are just contented to interact through online or even sometimes prefer not to meet a certain person face-to-face and there are certain scenarios like in staying in a hotel, dinner in a restaurant with family or friends and going to bars in which people prefer to stay places with wireless fidelity and spending a lot of time interacting in social media than communicating person to person. It loses the ability to engage concretely with others. c. I think there is still same impact in digital media regarding to the context of face-to-face communication virtues since we can still be more open, honest and patience in relating or interacting in cyber world. This proves that there is negotiation in online businesses that becomes successful and there are some people found their true love and made it true to life marriage. 2. a. in posting as statuses in social media such as in facebook every minute and sometimes with immoral content, tagging automatically to unnecessary photos or videos and even sending spam messages. These are the common things that I encounter in social media and considered it as problems. I feel that it is acceptable to post anytime in social media but statuses should be filter as we post it for anyone can see it. Posting negative statuses might influence to anyone who reads it and can cause also discouragement. I think it is also acceptable if you tag your friends in a photo or video if they are included or maybe if they ask you to tag as you post it into the public. Sending messages also to your friends or even not-so-close friends are acceptable but if you send spam messages which is an act of disrespect to a person, then it will become unacceptable. b. copy-paste a material from the internet for my assignment  is acceptable for it is also common scenario today but all along c laiming anything that is not my own work is unacceptable. Since everything under the sun today is researchable in the Internet, if I can find something that answers my assignment and revise it as much as possible. To me it is acceptable to copy-paste as long as you put the source in it if you can’t revise the words used. Claiming something in internet that is not yours is like snatching ideas which is unacceptable for me. c. post as status, blog or negatively about your school is acceptable if you’re in private forum and as long as it does not ruin your school’s reputation. If you are ask to post something negative about your school from an authorize person who needs your feedback, then it is acceptable. Not all negative posts are unhealthy for it sometimes correct or improve the school but if it is in public which anyone sees it, then it is not acceptable. Post as status, blog or negatively about your classmate is acceptable if and only if it is just between the two of you or you are in a private forum or keeping it only by yourself. It is acceptable since it also a form of correcting someone and as long as it does not ruin your classmate’s reputation. I think it is acceptable to bad mouth your professor on your facebook/twitter as long as you keep it private for nowadays posting how we feel for your professor is also another way of expressing to comfort ourselves even if it is morally wrong. e. it is acceptable to bad mouth your parents or siblings on your facebook/twitter as long as you keep it private so that no one can see it. Sometimes we just wanted let our emotions flow and feel that we are comfortable after posting. Since it become a channel for us to express our emotions nowadays though it is morally wrong. f. it is acceptable to post your selfie photos every now and then as a form of expression is acceptable as long as your photos reflect with morality and pleasing. Moreover, posting photos nowadays is common and it is unavoidable.

Smart Material

â€Å"SMART MATERIALS† ABSTRACT The world has undergone two materials ages, the plastics age and the composite age, during the past centuries. In the midst of these two ages a new era has developed. This is the smart materials era. According to early definitions, smart materials are materials that respond to their environments in a timely manner. The definition of smart materials has been expanded to materials that receive, transmit or process a stimulus and respond by producing a useful effect that may include a signal that the materials are acting upon it. Smart materials cover a wide and developing range of technologies.A particular type of smart material, known as chromogenics, can be used for large areaglazing in buildings, automobiles, planes, and for certain types of electronic display. Smart materials have been around for many years and they have found a large number of applications. There are many types of the materials present some of them listed below: Shape memory alloy 2) Piezoelectric materials 3) Magnetostrictive materials 4) Magneto- and electro-rheological materials 5) Chromic materials Due to the property of responding quickly with environment and many applications in daily life smart materials deserve a great future scope.I. INTRODUCTION Smart materials have been around for many years and they have found a large number of applications. The use of the terms ‘smart' and ‘intelligent' to describe materials and systems came from the US and started in the 1980? s despite the fact that some of these so-called smart materials had been around for decades. Many of the smart materials were developed by government agencies working on military and aerospace projects but in recent years their use has transferred into the civil sector for applications in the construction, transport, medical, leisure and domestic areas.The first problem encountered with these unusual materials is defining what the word† smart? actually means. One di ctionary definition of smart describes something which is a stute or ‘operating as if by human intelligence' and this is what smart materials are. A and back again when you return inside. This coating is made from a smart material which is described as being photochromic. There are many groups of smart materials, each exhibiting particular properties which can be harnessed in a variety of high-tech and everyday applications. These include shape memory smart material is one which reacts to its environment aby itself.The change is inherent to the material and not a result of some change in volume, a change in colour or a change in viscosity and this may occur in response to a change in temperature, stress, electrical current, or magnetic field. In many cases this reaction is reversible, a common example being the coating on spectacles which reacts to the level of UV light, turning your ordinary glasses into sunglasses when you go outside alloys, piezoelectric materials, magneto- rheological and electro-rheological materials, magnetostrictive materials and chromic materials which change their colour in reaction to various stimuli.The distinction between a smart material and a smartstructure should be emphasised. A smart structure incorporates some form of actuator and sensor (which may be made from smart materials) with control hardware and software to form a system which reacts to its environment. Such a structure might be an aircraft wing which continuously alters its profile during flight to give the optimum shape for the operating conditions at the time. II SHAPE MEMORY ALLOYS Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are one of the most well known types of smart material and they have found extensive uses in the 70 years since their discoveryWhat are SMAs? A shape memory transformation was first observed in 1932 in an alloy of gold and cadmium, and then later in brass in 1938. The shape memory effect (SME) was seen in the gold-cadmium alloy in 1951, but this was of li ttle use. Some ten years later in 1962 an equiatomic alloy of titanium and nickel was found to exhibit a significant SME and Nitinol (so named because it is made from nickel and titanium and its properties were discovered at the Naval Ordinance Laboratories) has become the most common SMA.Other SMAs include those based on copper (in particular CuZnAl), NiAl and FeMnSi, though it should be noted that the NiTi alloy has by far the most superior properties. How do SMAs work? The SME describes the process of a material changing shape or remembering a particular shape at a specific temperature (i. e. its transformation or memory temperature). Materials which can only exhibit the shape change or memory effect once are known as one way SMAs. However some alloys can betrained to show a two-way effect in which they remember two shapes, one below and one above the memory temperature.At the memory temperature the alloy undergoes a solid state phase transformation. That is, the crystal structur e of the material changes resulting in a volume or shape change and this change in structure is called a„thermoelastic martensitic transformation?. This effect occurs as the material has a martensitic microstructure below the transformation temperature, which is characterised by a zig-zag arrangement of the atoms, known as twins. The martensitic structure is relatively soft and is easily deformed by removing the twinned structure.The material has an austenitic structure above the memory temperature, which is much stronger. To change from the martensitic or deformed structure to the austenitic shape the material is simply heated through the memory temperature. Cooling down again reverts the alloy to the martensitic state as shown in Figure 1. The shape change may exhibit itself as either an expansion or contraction. The transformation temperature can be tuned to within a couple of degrees by changing the alloy composition.Nitinol can be made with a transformation temperature an ywhere between –100? C and +100? C which makes it very versatile. Where are SMAs used? Shape memory alloys have found a large number of uses in aerospace, medicine and the leisure industry. A few of these applications are described below. Medical applications Quite fortunately Nitinol is biocompatible, that is, it can be used in the body without an adverse reaction, so it has found a number of medical uses. These include stents in which rings of SMA wire hold open a polymer tube to pen up a blocked vein , blood filters, and bone plates which contract upon transformation to pull the two ends of the broken bone in to closer contact and encourage more rapid healing . It is possible that SMAs could also find use in dentistry for orthodontic braces which straighten teeth. The memory shape of the material is made to be the desired shape of the teeth. This is then deformed to fit the teeth as they are and the memory is activated by the temperature of the mouth. The SMART exerts enou gh force as it contracts to move the teeth slowly and gradually.Surgical tools, particularly those used in key hole surgery may also be made from SMAs. These tools are often often bent to fit the geometry of a particular patient, however, in order for them to be used again they return to a default shape upon sterilisation in an autoclave. Still many years away is the use of SMAs as artificial muscles, i. e. simulating the expansion and contraction of human muscles. This process will utilise a piece of SMA wire in place of a muscle on the finger of a robotic hand.When it is heated, by passing an electrical current through it, the material expands and straightens the joint, on cooling the wire contracts again bending the finger again In reality this is incredibly difficult to achieve since complex software and surrounding systems are also required. Figure 1 – Change in structure associated with the shape memory effect. NASA have been researching the use of SMA muscles in robots which walk, fly and swim! Domestic applications SMAs can be used as actuators which exert a force associated with the shape change, and this can be repeated over many thousands of cycles.Applications include springs which are incorporated in to greenhouse windows such that they open and close themselves at a given temperature. Along a similar theme are pan lids which incorporate an SMA spring in the steam vent. When the spring is heated by the boiling water in the pan it changes shape and opens the vent, thus preventing the pan from boiling over and maintaining efficient cooking. The springs are similar to those shown in Figure 5. SMAs can be used to replace bimetallic strips in many domestic applications.SMAs offer the advantage of giving a larger deflection and exerting a stronger force for a given change in temperature. They can be used in cut out switches for kettles and other devices, security door locks, fire protection devices such as smoke alarms and cooking safety indicato rs (for example for checking the temperature of a roast joint). Aerospace applications A more high tech application is the use of SMA wire to control the flaps on the trailing edge of aircraft wings.The flaps are currently controlled by extensive hydraulic systems but these could be replaced by wires which are resistance heated, by passing a current along them, to produce the desired shape change. Such a system would be considerably simpler than the conventional hydraulics, thus reducing maintenance and it would also decrease the weight of the system. Manufacturing applications SMA tubes can be used as couplings for connecting two tubes. The coupling diameter is made slightly smaller than the tubes it is to join. The coupling is deformed such that it slips over the tube ends and the temperature changed to activate the memory.The coupling tube shrinks to hold the two ends together but can never fully transform so it exerts a constant force on the joined tubes. Why are SMAs so flexibl e? In addition to the shape memory effect, SMAs are also known to be very flexible or super elastic, which arises from the structure of the martensite. This property Of SMARTs has also been exploited for example in mobile phone aerials, spectacle frames and the underwire in bras. The kink resistance of the wires makes them useful in surgical tools which need to remain straight as they are passed through the body.Nitinol can be bent significantly further than stainless steel without suffering permanent deformation. Another rather novel application of SMAs which combines both the thermal memory and super elastic properties of these materials is in intelligent fabrics. Very fine wires are woven in to ordinary polyester cotton fabric. Since the material is super elastic the wires spring back to being straight even if the fabric is screwed up in a heap at the bottom of the washing basket! So creases fall out of the fabric, giving you a true non-iron garment!In addition the wires in the s leeves have a memory which is activated at a given temperature (for example 38 C) causing the sleeves to roll themselves up and keeping the wearer cool. PIIEZOELECTRIIC MATERIIALS The piezoelectric effect was discovered in 1880 by Jaques and Pierre Curie who conducted a number of experiments using quartz crystals. This probably makes piezoelectric materials the oldest type of smart material. These materials, which are mainly ceramics, have since found a number of uses. What is the piezoelectric effect?The piezoelectric effect and electrostriction are opposite phenomena and both relate a shape change with voltage. As with SMAs the shape change is associated with a change in the crystal structure of the material and piezoelectric materials also exhibit two crystalline forms. One form is ordered and this relates to the polarisation of the molecules. The second state is nonpolarised and this is disordered. If a voltage is applied to the non-polarised material a shape change occurs as th e molecules reorganise to align in the electrical field. This is known as electrostriction.Conversely, an electrical field is generated if a mechanical force is applied to the material to change its shape. This is the piezoelectric effect. The main advantage of these materials is the almost instantaneous change in the shape of the material or the generation of an electrical field. What materials exhibit this effect? The piezoelectric effect was first observed in quartz and various other crystals such as tourmaline. Barium titanate and cadmium sulphate have also been shown to demonstrate the effect but by far the most commonly used piezoelectric ceramic today is lead zirconium titanate (PZT).The physical properties of PZT can be controlled by changing the chemistry of the material and how it is processed. There are limitations associated with PZT; like all ceramics it is brittle giving rise to mechanical durability issues and there are also problems associated with joining it with ot her components in a system. Where are piezoelectric materials used? The main use of piezoelectric ceramics is in actuators. An actuator can be described as a component or material which converts energy (in this case electrical) in to mechanical form.When a electric field is applied to the piezoelectric material it changes its shape very rapidly and very precisely in accordance with the magnitude of the field. Applications exploiting the electrostrictive effect of piezoelectric materials include actuators in the semiconductor industry in the systems used for handling silicon wafers, in the microbiology field in microscopic cell handling systems, in fibre optics and acoustics, in ink-jet printers where fine movement control is necessary and for vibration damping.The piezoelectric effect can also be used in sensors which generate an electrical field in response to a mechanical force. This is useful in damping systems and earthquake detection systems in buildings. But the most well know n application is in the sensors which deploy car airbags. The material changes in shape with the impact thus generating a field which deploys the airbag. A novel use of these materials, which exploits both the piezoelectric and electrostrictive effects, is in smart skis which have been designed to perform well on both soft and hard snow. Piezoelectric sensors detect vibrations (i. e. he shape of the ceramic detector is changed resulting in the generation of a field) and the electrostrictive property of the material is then exploited by generating an opposing shape change to cancel out the vibration. The system uses three piezoelectric elements which detect and cancel out large vibrations in real time since the reaction time of the ceramics is very small . By passing an alternating voltage across these materials a vibration is produced. This process is very efficient and almost all of the electrical energy is converted into motion. Possible uses of this property are silent alarms for pagers which fit into a wrist watch.The vibration is silent at low frequencies but at high frequencies an audible sound is also produced. This leads to the concept of solid state speakers based on piezoelectric materials which could also be miniaturised. Do polymers exhibit these effects? Ionic polymers work in a similar way to piezoelectric ceramics, however they need to be wet to function. An electrical current is passed through the polymer when it is wet to produce a change in its crystal structure and thus its shape. Muscle fibres are essentially polymeric and operate in a similar way, so research in this field has focussed on potential uses in medicine. ature of the piezoelectric effect making them invaluable for the niche applications which they occupy. MAGNETOSTRIICTIIVE MATERIIALS Magnetostrictive materials are similar to piezoelectric and electrostrictive materials except the change in shape is related to a magnetic field rather than an electrical field. What are magnetost rictive materials? Magnetostrictive materials convert magnetic to mechanical energy or vice versa. The magnetostrictive effect was first observed in 1842 by James Joule who noticed that a sample of nickel exhibited a change in length when it was magnetised.The other ferromagnetic elements (cobalt and iron) were also found to demonstrate the effect as were alloys of these materials. During the 1960s terbium and dysprosium were also found to be magnetostrictive but only at low temperatures which limited their use, despite the fact that the size change was many times greater than that of nickel. The most common magnetostrictive material today is called TERFENOL-D (terbium (TER), iron (FE), Naval Ordanance Laboratory (NOL) and dysprosium (D)). This alloy of terbium, iron and dysprosium shows a large magnetostrictive effect and is used in transducers and actuators.The original observation of the magnetostrictive effect became known as the Joule effect, but other effects have also been ob served. The Villari effect is the opposite of the Joule effect, that is applying a stress to the material causes a change in its magnetization. Applying a torsional force to a magnetostrictive material generates a helical magnetic field and this is known as the Matteuci effect. Its inverse is the Wiedemann effect in which the material twists in the presence of a helical magnet field.How do magnetostrictive materials work? Magnetic materials contain domains which can be likened to tiny magnets within the material. When an external magnetic field is applied the domains rotate to align with this field and this results in a shape change as. Conversely if the material is squashed or stretched by means of an external force the domains are forced to move and this causes a change in the magnetisation. Where are magnetostrictive materials used? Magnetostrictive materials can be used as both actuators (where a magnetic ield is applied to cause a shape change) and sensors (which convert a move ment into a magnetic field). In actuators the magnetic field is usually generated by passing an electrical current along a wire. Likewise the electrical current generated by the magnetic field arising from a shape change is usually measured in sensors. Early applications of magnetostrictive materials included telephone receivers, hydrophones, oscillators and scanning sonar. The development of alloys with better properties led to the use of these materials in a wide variety of applications.Ultrasonic magnetostrictive transducers have been used in ultrasonic cleaners and surgical tools. Other applications include hearing aids, razorblade sharpeners, linear motors, damping systems, positioning equipment, and sonar. MAGNETO– AND ELECTRO RHEOLOGIICAL MATERIIALS All of the groups of smart materials discussed so far have been based on solids. However, there are also smart fluids which change their rheological properties in accordance with their environment. What are smart fluids? Th ere are two types of smart fluids which were both discovered in the 1940s.Electro-rheological (ER) materials change their properties with the application of an electrical field and consist of an insulating oil such as mineral oil containing a dispersion of solid particles (early experiments used starch, stone, carbon, silica, gypsum and lime). Magnetorheological materials (MR) are again based on a mineral or silicone oil carrier but this time the solid dispersed within the fluid is a magnetically soft material (such as iron) and the properties of the fluid are altered by applying a magnetic field. In both cases the dispersed particles are of the order of microns in size.How do smart fluids work? In both cases the smart fluid changes from a fluid to a solid with the application of the relevant field. The small particles in the fluid align and are attracted to each other resulting in a dramatic change in viscosity as shown in Figure 7. The effect takes milliseconds to occur and is com pletely reversible by the removal of the field. Figure 8 clearly shows the effect of a magnet on such an MR fluid. With ER fluids a field strength of up to 6kV/mm is needed and for MR fluids a magnetic field of less than 1Tesla is needed. Where are smart fluids used?Uses of these unusual materials in civil engineering, robotics and manufacturing Electrodes Suspension fluid Particle Figure 7 – Schematic diagram showing the structure of a electrorheological fluid between two electrodes. The top figure shows the structure in a low field strength where the particles are randomly distributed. When a higher field strength is applied, as in the bottom diagram, the particles align causing a change in the viscosity of the fluid. Figure 8 – A puddle of magnetorheological fluid stiffens in the presence of a magnetic field. courtesy of Sandy Hill / University of Rochester) are being explored. But the first industries to identify uses were the automotive and aerospace industries wh ere the fluids are used in vibration damping and variable torque transmission. MR dampers are used to control the suspension in cars to allow the feel of the ride to be varied. Dampers are also used in prosthetic limbs to allow the patient to adapt to various movements for example the change from running to walking. Future Scope: The future of smart materials and structures is wide open.The use of smart materials in a product and the type of smart structures that one can design are only limited by one’s talents, capabilities, and ability to ‘‘think outside the box. ’’ In an early work5 and as part of short courses there were discussions pertaining to future considerations. A lot of the brainstorming that resulted from these efforts is now being explored. Some ideas that were in the conceptual stage are now moving forward. Look at the advances in information and comforts provided through smart materials and structures in automobiles. Automobiles can b e taken to a garage for service and be hooked p to a diagnostic computer that tells the mechanic what is wrong with the car. Or a light on the dashboard signals ‘‘maintenance required. ’’ Would it not be better for the light to inform us as to the exact nature of the problem and the severity of it? This approach mimics a cartoon that appeared several years ago of an air mechanic near a plane in a hanger. The plane says ‘‘Ouch’’ and the mechanic says ‘‘Where do you hurt? ’’ One application of smart materials is the work mentioned earlier of piezoelectric inkjet printer that serves as a chemical delivery to print organic light-emitting polymers in a fine detail on various media.Why not take the same application to synthesize smaller molecules? With the right set one could synthesize smaller molecules in significant amounts for characterization and evaluation and in such a way that we could design experiments with relative ease. A new class of smart materials has appeared in the literature. This is the group of smart adhesives. We previously mentioned that PVDF film strips have been placed within an adhesive joint to monitor performance. Khongtong and Ferguson developed a smart adhesive at Lehigh University. 0 They suggested that this new adhesive could form an antifouling coating for boat hulls or for controlling cell adhesion in surgery. The stickiness of the new adhesive can be switched on and off with changes in temperature. The smart adhesive also becomes water repellent when its tackiness wanes. 50 The term ‘‘smart adhesive’’ is appearing more frequently in the literature. A topic of research that was in the literature a few years ago was ‘‘smart clothes’’ or ‘‘wearable computers’’ being studied at MIT. The potential of this concept is enormous. This sounds wonderful as long as we learn how to work smart er, not longer.CONCLUSION: From the abilities of the smart material to respond the environmental changes the conclusion arises that ‘‘smart’’ in the name do not meet the definition of being smart, that is, responding to the environment in a reversible manner. Due to their properties they must deserve a great future. REFERENCES [1]Mechanical Engineers’ Handbook: Materials and Mechanical Design, Volume 1, Third Edition. Edited by Myer Kutz. [2]www. memorymetals. co. uk [3] www. nitinol. com [4] www. sma-inc. com [5]www. cs. ualberta. ca/~database/MEMS/sma_mems/sma. html [6]http://virtualskies. arc. nasa. gov/research/youdecide/Shapememalloys. html

The Devil

Proctor for avoiding church and forgetting a commandment. )The spiritual center is the church. I The Devil and Tom Walker Tom is starting to venture out on his own a bit from organized religion a la the transcendentalists, but later in life aerobically comes back to It without real passion or Interest. Halls adamant adherence to religion Is likened to his adamant adherence to greed and rings false. I Transcendentalismorganized religion is not needed and might even be a distraction to the person in obtaining spiritual enlightenment on one's own.I Land I Nature must be tamed by people and worked to obtain her resources. Forests are unknown and where the â€Å"heathen† Native Americans live. Len The Crucible a man's worth Is often tied up in how many acres he has. I Tom's usury is likened to the â€Å"land grabbers† and speculators who made money off selling land In a dishonest way. Native American view that land is not a commodity but a spiritual place. Nature should be p reserved in its wild, unadulterated state to allow for the calming presence it gives the individual as a solace away from busy and corrupting society.Hypocrisy I The Puritans held to the 10 commandments and religious doctrine, yet they were overzealous and ended up putting to death innocent people on speculation Just because they didn't conform to their rules. I Tom becomes corrupted by greed and sells his soul to the devil. He was once poor but now greedy and â€Å"ostentatious. † He uses people through his usury. I Holds that the hypocrisy comes from society that corrupts when people become â€Å"blinded† by material things and comparing themselves with others. Therefore, the individual is favored to avoid bad influences of others or via peer pressure, etc.

Miniver Cheevy Essay

In the poem â€Å"Miniver Cheevy† the author emphasizes the problems of the main character. The poem shows Miniver’s desire to have been born in medieval times. His longing is changed to joy when he thinks about this period in history â€Å"The vision of a warrior bold / Would set him dancing. † (Lines 7-8) As the reader becomes acquainted with Miniver, he sees him as a romantic daydreamer with the fantasy of being a knight. He hates the fact he was born in this day and age. He even hates the day he was born, â€Å"He wept that he was ever born, / And he had reasons. (3-4) The author feels that Miniver is torn between reality and fantasy. He knows that Miniver is not satisfied with his life. He describes Miniver as yearning for the past, â€Å"Miniver sighed for what was not, / And dreamed, and rested from his labors; /He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot, /And Priam’s neighbors. † (9-12) The author knows that Miniver wishes to live in medieval times or some other glorious period in history. On the surface, both the characters Richard Cory and Miniver Cheevy seem to be simple and easily understood. However, both are complex individuals with demons that drive them. They are similar in their dissatisfaction with their lives. They are different in the methods that they use to face their dissatisfaction, but both characters have a void in their lives that is the root of their discontent. This void compels them to partake in actions that are detrimental to their lives. Richard attempts to solve his problem when he commits suicide. Evidently his wealth is not fulfilling enough to overcome his inner turmoil. His mannerisms in public portray him as man content with himself and his wealth. In fact, the townspeople long to be like him. In fine – we thought that he was everything/To make us wish that we were in his place† (lines 11-12) His demons overwhelm him, and he is sick of hiding behind the guise of a prosperous man who seems to be content. In the end Richard takes his life and ends his delusion with society. Unlike Richard Cory, Miniver Cheevy, chooses a different route to end his discontent. His soul aches to live in a different time and place. He tries to resolve this pain by detaching himself from reality. He daydreams of a more romantic era and the gallant people who live there. Miniver loved the days of old/ When swords were bright and steeds were prancing†. (5-6) He seems to do most of his daydreaming while drinking. His drinking does not lead to a solution. Instead, his life is a continuous cycle of discomfort and pain that longs for a different life. He attempts to drown this pain with drinking, â€Å"Miniver Cheevy, born too late, /Scratched his head and kept on thinking; /Miniver coughed, and called it fate, /And kept on drinking. † (29-32) Miniver’s problems only get worse. He fuels the fire with his consumption of alcohol, and the cycle begins again.

Iron Ore Dressing Technology

Iron ore dressing technology Magnetite ore dressing mainly use magnetic separator for sorting of low grade magnetite. Due to the strong magnetic ore,it is good wear and good election,Domestic magnetic separation plants use stage grinding and multi-stage grinding process,the coarse grained dissemination magnetite use the former process(one stage grinding),fine particle and micro-fine particle-disseminated magnetite using the latter (two or three stage grinding);Weakly magnetic iron ore dressing, is mainly used for separation of hematite, limonite, hematite, siderite, hematite or mixed ore,the so-called â€Å"Red Rock†.Grade of this kind ores is low,they have fine dissemination size, complex mineral composition,difficult sorting. http://www. shzbm. com rotary kiln http://www. pe750. com jaw crusher dressing technology for roasting, wet high intensity magnetic separation, weak magnetic flotation, and the gravity concentration process,Equipment and new varieties of pharmaceutical research improve continuously, so that the concentrate grade, metal recovery improve continuously. Such as the concentrator use weak magnetic – magnetic – flotation process.Iron ore dressing mainly give priority to magnetic separation,While the basic requirement is the Mineral magnetism, Magnetite can be directly obtained iron ore concentrate after magnetic separation,If it is hematite limonite ore or the other in order to get more than 65% grade iron concentrate,We must through magnetization roasting magnetic separation for the reduction of magnetite,Higher levels of impurities in the ore such as hematite, it is necessary that reduces impurity through the flotation. http://www. pe600. com ball mill http://www. mining-ss. com rotary kiln http://www. machine-ss. com ball mill manufacture

Social Learning Theory Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Social Learning Theory - Research Paper Example The punishment and reward systems established by society greatly influence the behaviors of individuals. â€Å"A leading proponent of social learning theory, Albert Bandura, helped to shape the conjecture by incorporating aspects of cognitive and behavioral learning† (Willhite). Owing to its huge significance to the society, SLT is frequently employed to gain an understanding of the underlying factors that convince people to land in the world of crime (Akers and Jensen 1). In terms of crime investigation, SLT asserts that â€Å"adolescents learn the techniques and attitudes of crime from close and intimate relationships with delinquent peers† (Siegel and Welsh 136). Here, delinquency is essentially considered as a learned behavior. The company an individual keeps and the people he/she spends time with influence his/her mentality and hence, the personality as a whole. Therefore, behaviors that convince individuals to commit crime can be traced back to the environment the y come from. People strive to achieve results that they deem positive while being aware of the evils associated with their actions. Works Cited: Akers, Ronald L., and Jensen, Gary F. Social Learning Theory and the Explanation of Crime. NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2003. Print.

SMEs in Chinas Textile and Clothing Industry Essay

SMEs in Chinas Textile and Clothing Industry - Essay Example Such situation is result from three reasons. Firstly, after China's entry of WTO, the firms in this industry are facing fierce competition from entry of foreign textile and clothing giant firms in domestic market. Secondly, the restriction from Europe and U.S. which are the main destination where Chinese clothing firms export has been published on June, 2005 (www.china.com. 2005). Finally, the recent appreciation of Chinese currency led to the decrease of export benefit; in other words, it increased the price of products in foreign market so as to reduce the product competitiveness of textile and clothing products exported. Therefore, regarding the serious situation they never met, it is essential to investigate and find out the most effective and successful way of exporting, especially for small- and medium- firms in China's textile and clothing industry. The main aim of this study is to investigate the export methods and their influence on performance of small- and medium- firms (SMEs) in China's textile and clothing industry. ... Such situation is result from three reasons. Firstly, after China's entry of WTO, the firms in this industry are facing fierce competition from entry of foreign textile and clothing giant firms in domestic market. Secondly, the restriction from Europe and U.S. which are the main destination where Chinese clothing firms export has been published on June, 2005 (www.china.com. 2005). Finally, the recent appreciation of Chinese currency led to the decrease of export benefit; in other words, it increased the price of products in foreign market so as to reduce the product competitiveness of textile and clothing products exported. Therefore, regarding the serious situation they never met, it is essential to investigate and find out the most effective and successful way of exporting, especially for small- and medium- firms in China's textile and clothing industry. 1.2 Objective of the Study The main aim of this study is to investigate the export methods and their influence on performance of small- and medium- firms (SMEs) in China's textile and clothing industry. With this purpose, the study is going to identify the export method that is most frequently used and preferred to employ by SMEs when they engage in international export activities; furthermore, will also try to explore the method that is the most effective and successful for SMEs to penetrate into foreign markets as judged by export performance, so as to provide some information which could be useful in companies decision-making about the future exporting and the factors deciding it. Specifically, the objective of this study can be concluded as follows, Investigating the difference of employed export method of SMEs in terms of different