Anonymous Hacker Book Report

Allow me to explain. Not that long ago there was a shooting in Sandy Hook Elementary school. It was a disaster across the board that most of us matt-up. While the Anon portions of the profits (Achaean, Reedit, etc) teemed with inappropriate Jokes and disgusting humor, there was an underlining sense of outrage that could be felt in the far corners of the deep winnings. This didnt come to full bloom until the Westbrook Baptist church service stepped in with their plans to plain the funerals of the short children of Sainthood.Immediately the kindred people who would post dead kid mess were striking out urbanely and quite harshly against the audacity of someone to tarnish the memory of kids In factual life. Thats what a lot of people dont understand about Anon and the 100 unlike southward groups out there trolling newfangled and chastes. The net is a different world inside. Anon and everyone else do not slang it as an extension of real life unless its to make an impact. These are the same personality types that love tagging things with spray paint. Its all for laughs, until however it gets serious.Westbrook Baptist Church (WEB from instanter on) struck a moral nerve with Anon and the est. of the hastiest community. Commander X came out of retirement, Jester (whose admittedly against Anions actions usually, came out in support and offered services. ) Whether It was backcloth up VPN for everyone to run Dodos off of or setting up superannuated school pranks Like pizza wars or duskying out (faxing black pieces of paper to run out Ink) It went Like wildfire. It was one of the first multiplication Ive ever seen all the factions come together. What amazed me however was the interactive real life protests that went down.Anonymous called for actions and the net responded in kind. Ass of people took to the streets from Anon to protest the WEB. With them members of the Hells Angels and even former military and off duty police stood in solidarity against them. W hat was amazing was the fact that this translated from online IIRC to real time real life protest. mint broadcasted the whereabouts of the WEB van and flooded any hotel with calls, faxes and emails who dare take them in. This was and then broadcasted again on Stream so the world could see ripe how powerful the Internet could be. The biggest thing was Black Lotus.A service that provided hardcore Dodos shelter for invalids. This service costs a lot of specie to employ and completely those most fearful of an attack will get In cite wit Black Lotus. However that week they were held over a barrel. rather of going Dodos was not an option really, what was however was the dioxin of the employees. Dog were accumulated in a massive pastiest that went around the net. Everyone who was poised went online and did their research. This yielded some insane results. Everything from the Coos get over and phone number and social security number were captured.After a bunch up of threats and ba ck and forth with YANG (Your Anonymous News) twitter account and Jackal (one of the a few(prenominal) respected enough to lead a proper Pop) the telephoner employing Black Lotus protection gave up. Instead of being dosed, they gave all the money they got from WEB to the Sandy Hook Victims fund on top of a generous donation of k. We Are Anonymous is a good platter about a few isolated incidents. I dont however suffer it to be indicative of what Anon is about or the other sec that work within the hastiest community. Yes we did it for the lulls, but there was a sense of moral to all of us.

Online Mba Programs Versus Traditional Bricks and Mortar

Online MBA Programs versus on-site Programs Andrew Cortez Ashford Managerial Marketing BUS 620 Sharif Muhammad October 23, 2011 Online MBA Programs versus On-site Programs With unemployment rates at an every time high combined with the increasing costs associated with traditional brick and plaster schools, online commandment is by far one of the fastest growing and palmy industries. As younger bookmans argon attempting to pursue traditional higher education, they be realizing that the costs atomic number 18 non only increasing daily, scarcely the political architectural plans argon longer in duration and frequently not a emend education than the online line programmes.Those who welcome lost their business sectors and need an edge everyplace other unemployed raisedidates are finding that a B. A full stop alone is often not enough and that in fact an MBA point could greatly improve their chances as being more than appealing to employers who have few jobs to pass port to an all overwhelming number of appli sackts. Those who do have jobs are often concerned about the stability of that job and this group is likewise is also looking towards those higher degrees as to rest competitive and viable for their rate of flow jobs or for future jobs that may offer them more stability.This group typicall(a)y has high work demands and as a result, they have to weigh their options when it comes to returning to school to obtain that MBA. The number of college level distance learning secernatees offered online continues to plus as they offer greater scheduling flexibility to students, they appeal to students who like to work independently, and allow colleges to increase registration without building new classrooms (Werhner, 2010, p. 310). Understanding fully what your goals are, as well as what limits you may have leave alone help to determine the right kick for a student.The following ordain complicate a marketing see that will assist in demons trating the advantages of per utilise an online MBA program as a viable and preferred alternative to an on-site MBA Program. 1. Company Overview San Diego high didactics (SDHE) is an online, for Profit Company that foc parts on online education with the purpose serving its students as a viable regularity of obtaining an MBA degree via web-based menstruates through an accredited university. With the SDHE online MBA program, you can have the skills and experience you need to increase your chances for success by f etc.ing on the some complex leadership roles.SDHE has been assisting San Diego re posturents in obtaining an MBA degree using the online medium since 2007. The company had initially targeted low income and or unemployed individuals, but it has expanded its offerings with the intent to grow towards all segments. Beyond practical skills, the program is also designed to foster thought leadership, innovation, and corporate social indebtedness on a multinational, multicultu ral scale SDHE is headquartered in San Diego California. Key leading of the company Tanner C. Dean-CEO Jeffery S. Anderson-CFO Scott R. Howard-COO Andrew Cortez-CMO Key Service Offerings Online MBA programs with a specialization in Finance, Healthcare Marketing, Project Management, forces personnel Re mentions, Information engine room, Global Management and Accounting. 2. decision maker Summary of Marketing Plan As the economy has continued to parentage and unemployment has continued to increase, the need for affordable and accessible online educational options have increased.The use of on-line instructional delivery methods by non-traditional adult learners continues to grow as technological and societal changes have enabled and encouraged this growth. The purpose of this marketing scheme is to review recent marketing strategies with respect to how adults learn and tie that schema into a discussion based upon a review of the suitability of, contentment with, and preferen ce towards on-line instruction among adults. Some areas for improvement are ascertained and recommendations are provided based upon these reviews (McGlone, 2011, p. 1-9).It is expected that our marketing efforts need realignment as to blend in more relevant to all types of students. Where as our initial marketing excogitate was very narrow, the market has since completely opened up and we now are in a position expand our offerings to large audience. We will tender to re-brand and redirect our SDHE as to appeal to a often broader demographic segment. The crowning(prenominal) goal is to convince latent students that SDHE is a viable higher education institution that exceeds the offerings of our competitors while maintaining a lower cost for an MBA degree.Our niche is that we are in fact a smaller institution and can thusly offer a more customized program in which students do not feel as though they are just a source of revenue for our company they will feel as though they are r eceiving critical and accessible services that they will not receive from the larger institutions. 1. interpretation of Target Market Demographic Segment Male/Females in the midst of the ages of 22-45+ who have an understudy degree, income 35K-80K per year. Psychographic SegmentLooking towards individuals who come from industries that have been most impacted by economy, such as real estate, banking, construction. , retail, home improvement, pharmaceuticals, marketing, cubicle phone, and automotive industries (Rampell, 2009). Geographic Segment Target for this particular marketing innovation should include California, Nevada, Florida, Arizona, Idaho and Louisiana as these states have been hit hardest by the time out (Kiser, 2010). Out of these states we need to look at specific demographics of these states as to understand that they are in alignment with our Demographic Segment, if they may be eliminated. . Description of Competitors University of Phoenix The University of Phoe nix is accredited by The Higher Learning care and is a member of the North of import Association-access to campus-based and online libraries academic advising mentoring tutoring financial stinting fear office-MBA (concentrations include Accounting, e-Business, Global Management, Health carefulness Management, gentle Resource Management, Marketing, Technology Management) joint MS in Nursing with MBA in Health Care Management.Every University of Phoenix faculty must have a know or Doctorate degree. No classroom attendance, the curriculum is completely online. strayer University Strayer University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education-access to campus-based and online libraries career development assist academic advising tutoring financial aid advising-MBA (available concentrations Acquisition, gentle Resource Management, Management, Marketing, Supply Chain Management). Baker onlineBaker College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and i s a member of the North Central Association through Baker College-access to campus-based and online libraries career counseling and placement assistance academic advising-MBA (available concentrations Accounting, Computer Information Systems, Finance, General Business, Health Care Management, Human Resource Management, Industrial Management, transnational Business, Leadership Studies, Marketing) Columbia Southern University blank Education Training Council (DETC) Online library with 24-7 librarian services, academic and financial aid advising, and student services-General concentration, optional concentrations (E-Business and Technology, Finance, Health Management, Hospitality and Tourism, Human Resource Management, International Management, Marketing, Project Management, Public Administration, Sport Management). 3. 0 Description of Product or Services SDHESS MBA program refines the existing skills that the students already posses.Through our preposterous 18 month program student s can complete the entire program and earn their MBA. The program will provide a solid agreement in all areas of business, from the fundamentals to specializations in Finance, Healthcare Marketing, Project Management, Human Resources, Information Technology, Global Management and Accounting. The specializations will give students the opportunity to change their knowledge by focusing on their specific areas of interest. The entire program is online and students are designed for the busy schedules of its students. . Marketing Budget This particular compute is for a twelve month re-launch and re-branding of its current offerings as to expand our current customer base. The amount required for this is $960K and the break down of expenses is as follows $120K-Website update to include up to date and current functionality. $600k- Media to include social media disturb (Banner ads/email blasts/news letters) to correspond with Billboard, television and print add. $120K- Marketing items t o include flyers, inserts, sales brochures and misc. ollateral as deemed per region. $60K- PR to include press releases, public appearances etc. $60K- Outreach to local business, to include employment agencies. Outreach will be a more grass roots approach to specific communities. 5. Description and Location Online academics can open itself to a much larger market segment as the virtual classrooms are much larger than a traditional class room. Because the MBA program would be completely online it is available to anyone with the technology of a computing machine and internet service.Internet/ web site searches are the key locations where say-so students will initially look for our product this is why so much of the budget will be spent on website design and functionality. diffusion channels such as face book and Google banners will be used. Street teams will be used at trade fairs, conventions and job fairs. We will also offer larger corporations incentives to post information on their internal websites advertising educational resources to their employees.Mall Media will also be used to advertise larger regional malls can have up to 1 million + in monthly foot traffic, this medium is often more effective than traditional billboards as the customer is walking late and more likely to see our advertisement. 6. Pricing Identifying the determine the appropriate pricing category for our program should be very easy as we will take a breather competitive but we will still await on the lower side. With so many online schools that currently in operation, potential students do have several options available.Because we are in a tough economic climate, pricing is more crucial than in previous years. Yes, benefits and features are highly strategic as well, which is why will not be the net but will be towards the bottom from a pricing perspective. We will also offer discounts to certain corporation whom we will be partnering up with and in addition we will be offeri ng a military discount as well. The current pricing range for online MBA programs range anywhere from 60k to 20k and so our pricing will at about 30K for the program, not including course materials, technology fees etc.This competition oriented method of pricing will make us very appealing to our potential students, while still allowing us as a company to remain profitable. 7. Summary and Implementation In order to maximize new student enrollment we must stay ahead of the competition. We are an online school and so our online presence needs to be the area of most focus, from a marketing perspective. Our website needs to be as intuitive and easy to navigate as possible it must draw the customers in and connect with them. This being said, an boilersuit marketing campaign that is in line with the new website is essential.We must remain focused, within this campaign, on the ease and accessibility that our online MBA can provide them with all while being priced very competitively. Our e fforts must be geared towards the role of the education as we will be compared side by side to our direct competitors, our demographics are very computer savvy and so it is important that we remain a viable option through a unflawed reputation. We shall also be strategic with the timing of the implementation of this marketing plan by researching unemployment trends to help us to determine timing (probably at the in December and January).In addition we want to want to make certain that we are capturing the fresh graduates and so the months of April-June are months to focus on as well. This re-launch is something to be very excited about. We need internal by in from all departments. With flawless execution this marketing plan has the potential to increase our bottom line profits by up to 20% over last year. References Kiser, G. (2010, March 23). The Cities Hit Hardest by the Recession Brookings Institution Business. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http//www. huffingtonpost. com/201 0/03/23/the-cities-hit-hardest-by_n_509744. tmls75345&title=1_Cape_Coral McGlone, J. R. (2011). Adult Learning Styles and Online Educational Preference Journal. Research in Higher Education Journal, 12, 1,9. Rampell, C. (2009, January 26). Layoffs Spread to More Sectors of the Economy Money Matters. The New York Times. Retrieved from http//www. nytimes. com/2009/01/27/business/economy/27layoffs. html Werhner, M. J. (2010). A Comparison of the Performance of Online versus conventional On-Campus Earth Science Students on Identical Exams . Journal of Geoscience Education, 58(5), 310-313.

Human Interest

The verbaliser systems split feelings reflected in the broken unionize of the sonnet in Human Interest In Human Interest the speaker has split feelings about his dead girlfriend, which ar reflected in the form of the verse. The proofreader can see feelings of love, regret and grief and on the contrary feelings of abominate and anger. The take apart between those divided feelings is visible in the broken form of the sonnet. The rime represents a broken form of the original Petrarchan sonnet. Firstly feel at the form of the poem the reader sees that at that place argon 14 cable televisions what indicates that he is looking at a sonnet.The rhyme scheme is alike with the typical rhyme scheme of the sonnet as abbaabba cdcdcd. More exclusively over there are 4 stanzas as in the sonnet, but the way the stanzas are constructed questions the thought of it being a typical one In a sonnet there are 4 lines in the first stanza, 4 in the second and in each by-line stanza 3 lines. I n Human Interest there is the scheme 4343. In other linguistic process there is an untypical break between line 7 and 8, the poem is punctiliously divide apart at that occlusion. In dissimilar part of the poem it is visible that the speaker has divided feelings.His feelings are turning over from hate and anger to love, grief and regret. The former is for instance illustrated in I slogged my guts out for her (line 5). That sentence creates the impression of the speaker reproaching his dead girlfriend. It shows his mortification because it seems like nothing he had done for her would have been worth it, all he got was her unfaithfulness and cheating. The use of the strong word ? slogged? reinforces that effect. To put it other way, it seems like he tries to legitimate his deed.In contrast to that aspect of legitimating his deed, the reader is subject to see some convention of regret in line 12ff. where the speaker says When I think about her now, I near choke / with grief. . It shows that he suffers, he near choke and how sad he is about her not being there anymore. As a result the speaker expresses different feelings that do not fit together, he has thoughts of hate and shortly afterward he seems to be in love and sad about his deed. In addition it is to say that those split feelings are not only verbalised in the words but are also visible in the form of the poem.The change of the speakers feelings happens between line 7 and 8. The speaker tilts over from She stank of deceit. (line 7) to I loved her. (line 8). The former is absolutely an expression of scorn, reinforced by the word stank. thither is a crack to the following expression of love. It behaves in exactly the same way with the form of the poem at that point As already mentioned there is an untypical break between line 7 and 8, where the form of the sonnet is punctiliously tore apart.That split of the speakers feelings is exactly at the same point where the poem breaks the form of the sonn et apart. To sum up, the speakers feelings are visible aside from different parts of the poem in its form. There are a lot of negative feelings of hate and anger express in the first part of this poem, which turn over in line 8 to feelings of love. That break of feelings also demonstrates the broken form of the sonnet. (597 words)

Caesars: Gambling Big on Technology

CaesarsGambling Big on Technology This pillowcase illustrates how database technologies can support an organizations art dodge. The large investment made by Caesars Entertainment Corporation, formerly Harrahs, in its data engineering science strategy has been tremendously successful. The results of Caesars investment at the age include * 10 percent annual clear in node visits. * 33 percent increase in gross market revenue. * Yearly profits of over US$208 million. * Highest terce-year ROI in the industry. * A network that cogitate over 42,000 gaming apparatuss in 26 casinos crosswise 12 states in the U.S. * Rated number six on the carbon best places to work in IT by ComputerWorld magazine. * Recipient of a leadership in Data W behousing Award from the Data W behousing show (TDWI), the premier connector for data warehousing. The casino industry is highly emulousrivalry among existing competitors is fierce. Bill Harrah was a man ahead of his time when he opened his fi rst bingo parlour in 1937 with the fealty of getting to know to distributively atomic number 53 one of his nodes. In 1984, Phil Satre, president and chief executive officer of Harrahs, continued that.In search of its free-enterprise(a) advantage, Harrahs invested in an enterprise-wide technology infrastructure to oppose Bill Harrahs original conviction Serve your clients well and they will be loyal. Caesars Commitment to Customers When Harrahs implemented its patented arrive RewardsTM program it was resigned to help gird strong relationships with its clients. The program rewarded nodes for their loyalty by tracking their gaming habits across its whence 26 properties and currently maintains reading on over 19 million customers, information the company uses to give way, predict, and maximize separately customers value.At Caesars the program continues to be a success because of its implementation of a service-oriented strategy. Total Rewards allows Caesars to give any customer the appropriate amount of personal attention, whether its leaving sweets in the hotel fashion or offering superfluous meals. Total Rewards works by providing each customer with an account and a corresponding card to swipe each time he or she plays a casino game. The program collects information on the amount of time the customers gamble, their total winnings and losses, and their betting strategies.Customers advance points based on the amount of time they spend gambling, which they can because exchange for complimentary items such as free dinners, hotel rooms, tickets to shows, and even cash. Total Rewards helps employees determine which level of service to provide each customer. When a customer bring abouts a reservation at any of Caesars brands, the service representative fetching the call can view the customers detailed information including the customers loyalty level, games typically played, past winnings and losses, and potential net worth.If the service represe ntative notices that the customer has a Diamond loyalty level, the service representative knows that customer should neer have to wait in line and should always receive free upgrades to the around expensive rooms. Almost everything we do in marketing and purpose making is influenced by technology, says Gary Loveman, Caesars chairman and CEO. The prevailing wisdom in this bloodline is that the attractiveness of property drives customers. Our approach is different. We stimulate demand by discriminating our customers.For example, if one of our customers always vacations at Harrahs in April, they will receive a promotion in February redeemable for a free weekend in April. Gaining Business Intelligence with a Data Warehouse Millions of customers visit Caesars resorts each year, and tracking a customer base larger than the population of Germany is a challenge. To tackle this challenge Caesars began developing a system called WINet (Winners Data Network). WINet links all Caesars prop erties, allowing the company to collect and share customer information on an enterprise-wide basis.WINet collects customer data from all the company transactions, game machines, and hotel management and reservations systems, transforms and cleanses this data, and then places the resulting information in a central data storage warehouse. Information in the data warehouse includes both customer and gaming information put down in hourly increments. The marketing de rolement uses the data warehouse to disassemble customer information for patterns and insights, which allows it to create individualized marketing programs for each customer based on spending habits.Most important, the data warehouse allows the company to make business decisions based on information, not intuition. Casinos traditionally treat customers as though they belong to a single property, typically the place the customer most frequently visits. Harrahs was the first casino to realize the potential of recognize cus tomers for visiting more than one property. Today, Caesars has found that customers who visit more than one of its properties represent the fastest growing revenue segment.In the first two old age of the Total Rewards program, the company received a $100 million increase in revenue from customers who gambled at more than one casino. Caesars also uses BI to determine gaming machine murder. Using the data warehouse, Caesars examines the performance and equal structure of each individual gaming machine. The company can promptly identify games that do not deliver optimal operational performance and can make a decision to move or convert the games. The capability to assess the performance of each individual slot machine has provided Caesars with savings in the tens of millions of dollars.Former CIO Tim Stanley stated, As we leverage more information from our data warehouse and increase the use and sophistication of our decision science analytic tools, we expect to have many new way s to improve customer loyalty and satisfaction, drive wideer revenues, and decrease our costs as part of our ongoing focus on achieving sustainable profitability and success. Security and silence Some customers have concerns about Caesars data and information collection strategy since they want to keep their gambling information private.The good news for these customers is that casinos are actually required to be more mindful of privacy concerns than most companies. For example, casinos cannot send marketing material to any underage persons. To adhere to unrelenting government regulations, casinos must ensure that the correct information security and restrictions are in place. Many other companies actually make a great deal of money by selling customer information. Caesars has not get together this trend since its customer data and information are part of the companys competitive advantage. The Future of CaesarsIn the future, Caesars hopes to become device-independent by allowi ng employees to access the companys data warehouse via erratic devices. Managing relationships with customers is incredibly important to the health of our business, Stanley says. We will apply whatever technology we can to do that. For example, Caesars has been undergoing efforts to develop systems described as patron-based technology that cheer communication with customers by slot machines. Ultimately, such data collected through slot machines can be stored in a data warehouse and later analyzed to gain further insight into customers and their needs. 0 Questions 1. come out the effectuate poor information might have on Caesars service-oriented business strategy. 2. How does Caesars use database technologies to implement its service-oriented strategy? 3. Caesars was one of the first casino companies to get value in offering rewards to customers who visit multiple Caesars locations. Describe the effects on the company if it had not built any integrations among the databases lo cated at each of its casinos. How could Caesars use distributed databases or a data warehouse to sync customer information? . Estimate the potential impact to Caesars business if in that respect is a security breach in its customer information. 5. Identify three different types of data marts Caesars might want to build to help it analyze its operational performance. 6. What might occur if Caesars fails to clean or scrub its information before loading it into its data warehouse? 7. Describe cluster analysis, association detection, and statistical analysis and explain how Caesars could use each one to gain insights into its business.

Merck vs Pfizer

Evaluating Merck & Co. , Inc vs. Pfizer, Inc. Amy Lan Lan Liu Connor Buestad Raghul Subramanian Natalia Cosa ACCT 831 run into 16, 2011 Table of Contents break in 1 archives, Background and Core c anying . 2 a. Merck & Co. , Inc. .. 2 b. Pfizer, Inc. 2 c.Core Business . 3 range string . 4 Porters v Forces . 6 drum compend . 8 Part 2 fiscal depth psychology .. 5 a. favorableness abbreviation .. 15 b. Liquidity Analysis . 18 c. Solvency Analysis .. 19 Part 3 Valuation Analysis .. .. 20 a.Residual Income . 20 b. follow of righteousness .. 21 c. Valuation . 22 d. Sensitivity analysis . 23Part 4 Recommendations . 23 cecal appendage . 25 attachment A Profitability Analysis. 25 accessory B Liquidity Analysis .. 25 Appendix C Solvency Analysis .. 6 Appendix D Residual Income and approach of legality 26 Appendix E Sensitivity Analysis.. 27 References . 28 Part 1 History, Background and Core Business a. Merck & Co. , Inc. History and Background t distributivelying Merck i s headquartered in Whiteho procedure Station, bracing Jersey. According to its website, the order was in the radical establish in 1891 as a US secondary of the Merck KGaA German comp either. Merck became an commutative participation in 1917.In 1963 Merck launch the first measles vaccine, and, in 1967 launched a mumps vaccine. In 2009, Merck acquired Schering- waggon and now re redeem the worlds triad-largest pharmaceutical company by grocery dispense. Today, the company has over 94,000 employees worldwide (2012). Merck is the third largest global healthc ar company in the world. The company specializes in prescription drug medicines, vaccines, animal health, and consumer c ar provides, that ar marketed directly and by its joystick ventures. The company ope sends four segments namely Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, Consumer Cargon, and Alliance segments (merck. om, 2012). Starting 2011, in order to poking future exploitation, Merck started focaliseing on reducing damages, making st treasuregic investments in raw w ar launches, and improving its research and ontogenesis bloodline. Mercks sales worldwide reached $48 billion in 2011, which was a 4% amplify from 2010. With ii medicates under reexamination with the FDA, the company has 19 former(a) do drugss in the Phase III of out reaping. b. Pfizer Inc. History And Background Information Found by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart in 1849 Pfizer, Inc. is the largest pharmaceutical company in the world.Their main goal was to discover revolutionary drugs that would help improve the health mission slightly the world. Both Pfizer and Erhart were born and raised in Ger any(prenominal) before descending upon Brooklyn, New York, where Pfizer first opened its doors as a fine-chemicals business. The first product launched by Pfizer was used to intestinal worms, a disease that was prevalent in mid-19th atomic number 6 the States (Pfizer. com, 2012). According to their website, in 1880 , Pfizer shifted its focus to manu eventuring citric acid which was the b atomic number 18-assed material for soft drink products such(prenominal) as Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, and Pepsi-Cola.In 1944, Pfizer succeeded in producing penicillin with was as sound c either(prenominal)ed the miracle drug. By 1980, Pfizer was manufacturing an anti-inflammatory drug called Feldene (piroxicam), which was the first product to puzzle tax of star billion dollars from sales around the world. Today, Pfizer is know for its excogitation of drugs such as atorvastatin used for cholesterol, Viagra used for erect dysfunction, and Celebrex used as an anti-inflammatory (2012). The range of products sold by Pfizer has many applications in the health constancy that facilitates in wellness taproom and treatment of a wide variety of diseases.Some of its promises drugs that ar under review atomic number 18 potential cures for Alzheimers disease and quite a littlecer. c. Core Business Merck and Pf izer plow grapple the equivalent upshot business exemplar of researching, developing, and trade pharmaceutical products. As with any business, Merck and Pfizer are facing increasing disputation and challenges, not the least(prenominal) of which is the expiration of distinct protections on mention products. There are trey tools that are increasingly useful in analyzing the core business and frugal characteristics of an industry. These include the value drawstring analysis, Porters Five Forces Model, and the SWOT analysis.The Value Chain The first tool, the value chain analysis, represents the chain of activities touch in the development, manufacturing, and distribution of products and/or services of a company. The value chain of pharmaceutical companies usually consists of research and development of drugs, drug praise by politics regulators, manufacturing of drugs, creation of lease for drugs, and merchandising to consumers. The analysis of each salute of the value chain croupe reveal the central focus and competencies of the firm, and can point to the activities that drive profit.According to Fortune 500, the leading pharmaceutical firms in 2011 were Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Abbott Laboratories (CNN. com, 2011). The 2 companies we discuss in this paper, Merck and Pfizer, welcome alike(p) value chains. Merck and Pfizer power themselves as companies that grant innovative and effective drugs and medical solutions globally. Due to the increasing threat of patent expiration and generic wine wine drug competition, two pharmaceutical companies focus extensively on research and development and new drug approval value chain activities.Both companies devote considerable internal resources on R&D, and continue to expand through attainments or by accounting entry into commensu measurenesss with new(prenominal) companies that focus on the discovery and development of new drugs. In 2009, Pfizer acquired Wyeth for $68 billion, an eruditeness that is considered the largest pharmaceutical merger in adjacently a go (Hoovers company Records, 2012). In addition, Pfizer acquired Excaliard Pharmaceuticals in November 2011, and in September 2011 it gained 70% self-command of the big(p) shares of Icagen, Inc.Merck is in like manner invariantly seeking out collaborations, licensing, and outsourcing agreements in the airfield of Research and victimization (Datamonitor, 2011). In November 2009, it acquired Schering-Plough for $41 billion (Hoovers Company Records, 2012), and in May 2011 it acquired Inspire Pharmaceuticals. Pfizer and Merck focus heavy on the new drug approval process. In 2011, Merck had 2 drugs under review by government regulators and 19 drugs in last trial phase, and it also planned to deposit 5 major products for approval between 2012 and 2013.Pfizer had 19 drugs submitted for FDA for approval, and 5 already approved for 2011. Both Merck and Pfizer benefit from using sophisticated and effi cient manufacturing and riposte chains. Both companies create, move and sell tremendous amounts of product each course of study and therefore must rely on a dependable manufacturing system. Their manufacturing profits consists of numerous manufacturing sites and distribution kaleworks around the world. In addition to their internal manufacturing, pharmaceutical firms work with geltworks of external partners to produce lines of product, packaging, and active ingredients.To create demand for their products, both(prenominal) companies market extensively in multiple media outlets and encourage consumers to ask their doctors almost different drugs. Merck markets its products in over 140 countries through direct sales forces and international distributors. Its customers are drug wholesalers, retailers, government agencies, and healthcare providers (Hoovers Company Records, 2012). Pfizer sells its products through wholesale distributors resembling McKesson and Cardinal health and it markets its products directly to doctors, hospital, nurses, employer groups, and patients.Porters Five Forces The pharmaceutical industry is a gamely dynamic with new technologies emerging in the market quite often. Michael Porters Five Forces model can be used to study and verify the factors affecting the market performance of Merck & Co and Pfizer. This model focuses on the external forces that the companies must afford attention to in order to maintain their profitability. The five forces of the pharmaceutical industry are analyzed below. 1. Threat from new entrants is predicted to be low in this industry out-of-pocket to the following reasons.The pharmaceutical industry is a hi-tech industry and involves high capital approach. Economy of carapace is required to fall out the cost down and the established firms (Merck & Co and Pfizer) are well known for excelling in this area. The existing drugs are safe-guarded by patents at least for a particular shapeinal figurei nus of time before the generic drugs hit the market. This gives companies equivalent Merck and Pfizer a considerable leg up on competitors. However, these patents do eventually expire, thus opening the door to much competition from generic drug markrs. Product differentiation is necessary in order to attract new customers.In the field of pharmaceuticals, it is very hard to bring a differentiated product to market. New drugs undergo extensive testing by the FDA before entering the market. The drugs by the established firms get easily passed when compared to new entrants whose credibility is simmer down uncertain. 2. Rivalry among established firms is high in the industry among players like Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co, Pfizer, Abbott Laboratories and so on The pharmaceutical industry is high revenue industry and there is a tough competition to obtain to a greater extent market share. No company owns more than 6-10 % of the market share.In addition, high costs of R and marketin g are incurred by all the firms involved in this competition. 3. Buyer power would be classified as low to moderate in this industry collect to the following reasons. The concentration of buyers relative to overall industry size is low. The demand for degenerative and lifesaving drugs is high delinquent to the ageing baby-boom population. The buyers have little cognition about the industry cost structure and hence the pharmaceutical companies use this advantage to set their products higher. The patents protect the drugs from refuse priced competitor drugs, but many patents are expiring. . Supplier power is considered medium to low in the industry. The provider switching costs incurred by pharmaceutical companies like Merck and Pfizer is low. The threat of front integration by suppliers is low due to lack of knowledge and expertise. speciality of the supplier products is low because they have a wide range of applications, with the biotech firms be one of them. 5. Substitute p roducts unceasingly present a challenge to companies direct in the pharmaceutical industry. This can be attributed to the following factors.Biotech firms like Amgen are beginning to market their own products, unlike the traditional manner of sell them to pharmaceutical companies like Merck and Pfizer. This presents a new segment of competitors that can provide substitutes. Increasingly, patients can use medical alternatives such as surgery, homeopathic remedies, stylostixis and herbal medicines. The overall healthcare industry is very dynamic and always changing. New products and healing methods are constantly being developed, some of which could serve as substitutes to existing treatments despatchered by Merck and Pfizer.SWOT Analysis Merck & Co. SWOT Merck is the third largest healthcare company in the world. Over the years, a large investment in R has enhanced the companys top-line harvest-feast. However, new competitors and large cost of drug development could affect their revenue goth. Strengths Weaknesses Leading market space third largest healthcare company in generic brand competition the world. High litigation cost Successful launches of new products Merger with Schering-Plough strengthens their industry position Opportunities Threats Cost savings from internal restructure US regulative restrain rachiss Expansion in emerging markets healthcare reform of US robust pipeline Strengths Leading Market Position Third Largest Healthcare Company in the World Merck is a well-known and respected company worldwide. maven of their greatest strengths is their leading market position. Mercks worldwide sale add up $48 billion in 2011, an increase of 4% compared to 2010.The increase of revenue is mainly due to the companys signature products such as Singulair, Januvia, Remicade, Zetia, Vytorin, Janumet, Isentress, Nasonex, Gardasil, and Temodar (Datamonitor, 2011). Successful Launches of New Products Merck has a proven success reco rd for entryway new products. Since 2006, it has successfully launched 10 new curatives, including Victrelis, a treatment for chronic hepatitis C (2011), Elonva, a corifollitropin alpha injection (2010), Janumet, a treatment for diabetes, Isentress, an human immunodeficiency virus integrase inhibitor (2007), Gardasil, a drug that could prevent diseases caused by HPV, and Januvia, a cure for token 2 diabetes (2006) (Datamonitor, 2011). Merger with Schering-Plough Strengthens Their Industry Position The merger with Schering-Plough has certainly fortify Mercks industry position.Schering-Plough owned many popular pharmaceutical drugs such as allergy drugs Claritin and Clarinex, anti-cholesterol drug Vytorin, and a brain tumor drug Temodar. Schering Plough had 1. 4% market share in the U. S. , 17th in the top 20 pharmaceutical corporation by sales (Datamonitor, 2011). Weaknesses Generic Brand Competition Merck pharmaceutical products have traditionally accounted for most of their am ount sales. One weakness is the competition Merck faces with generic brands. Due to the certain economy, we slope to estimate people entrust shift to more inexpensive and generic brand products. This can cause sizable losses for Mercks amount of money revenue. High Litigation CostsMerck continues to face litigation related to their Vioxx recall, a drug that is used to cure arthritis and a make lovee cark. In 2004, Merck withdrew Vioxx off the market because it cased potential cardiac attacks among the patients who took it regularly for a period of 18 months or desireer. During 2010, Merck was forced to spend around $140 one million million in legal defense costs (Datamonitor, 2011). Opportunities Cost Savings from inside Restructure Merck has emphasized the idea of reductions costs in order to drive greater efficiencies at bottom the company. According to Datamonitors SWOT analysis, Merck hopes to reduce costs by $3. 5 billion annually beyond 2011 (2011). Expansion in Emer ging MarketsMerck has strengthened its international market share by write exclusive agreements with other established companies to co-promote and distribute a number of products. For example, Merck and Johnson & Johnson concord to govern the rights to distribution of Remicade and Simponi. Remicade is a treatment for nasal consonant allergy and Simponi is an asthma treatment for patients to a higher place the age of three. According to the agreement with Johnson & Johnson, Merck is allowed to market Simponi and Remicade in Asia, Canada, Africa, The Middle East, and Central and South America as of July 1, 2011. In addition, Merck exclusively markets these products in Turkey, Russia, and Europe.These two products brought in 70% of Mercks revenue from 2010 (Datamonitor, 2011). vehement Pipeline Datamonitor expects that Mercks 20 new products bequeath add combined annual sales of more than $7 billion to its top-line by 2015 (2011). While Merck retains its internal focus on pipelin e productivity, half of its new launches were obtained in the companys merger with Schering-Plough. latterly Merck has had considerable success with a number of new launches since moving into its core portfolio. It get out look to replicate this success with the pipeline programs it has inherited from Schering-Plough as well as with those it has been developing prior to the merger. Threats US Regulatory SetbacksUS restrictive setbacks include expirations of Mercks treatments such as for Tredaptive for atherosclerosis, and Taranabant for obesity. The potential for gain setbacks and termination can be a concern for Mercks brand consider during the drug development stage. There could also be threats for the clinical and regulative failures with developing Saphiris (schizophrenia), boceprivir (hepatitis C) and TRA (Datamonitor, 2011). Healthcare Reform of US The recently enacted US Healthcare Reform could decrease Mercks profit margins. According to Datamonitor, Merck incurred a dditional expenses from increases in Medicaid rebates, which change magnitude from 15. 1% to 23. 1% for the branded prescription drugs.Being in the Medicare Part D coverage gap, Merck was required to pay a 50% neglect utilization required by law in 2011. In addition, Merck expects to Also, beginning in 2011, Merck expects that it will pay an additional annual health care reform fee, which will be reckon as a voice of the industrys total sales of branded prescription drugs to specify government programs. The fee was $2. 5billion for 2011 (2011). Pfizer Inc. SWOT Pfizer is the worlds largest research- ground pharmaceutical company and still form the strongest industry player in terms of sales and marketing susceptibility. However, Pfizer relies on a large-scale M&A structure and lacks some key aspects of an organic sales produce model. Strengths Weaknesses M&A to gain economies of scale Difficulty in gaining market share due to already Strong advertising capabilities establi shed position in the market Acquisition of Wyeth in 2009 Heavy reliance on atorvastatin franchise Opportunities Threats Acquisition of poof in 2010 Difficulties in achieving organic sales growth Enhancing established products in emerging markets Development setbacks of Sutent and Chantix/Champix Decreasing cost structure Strengths M&A to Gain Economies of Scale Pfizer has used large-scale acquisitions to establish and maintain its position as the biopharmaceutical industrys leading player. Since 2000, Pfizer acquired four big pharmaceutical companies Warner-Lambert, Pharmacia, Wyeth, and King Pharmaceuticals. Pfizer acquired Wyeth in 2009. Wyeth was known for manufacturing over-the-counter drugs such as Robitussin and Advil, around $3 billion in sales annually. The acquisition of Wyeth enhanced Pfizers position as the industrys largest prescription pharmaceutical manufacturer.According to an article from MarketWatch, Pfizers large economies of scale growth also enhanced the companys ability to implement restructuring programs designed to reduce costs and drive profitability, while maintaining a steady increase in R expenditure (2012). Strong Advertising Capabilities According to MarketWatch, Pfizer has a strong marketing and sales infrastructure that helps grow sales for new products as well as mature product that face strong competition from generic competition. According to MarketWatch, The most visible illustration of Pfizers sales and marketing capability is the strong revenue stream recorded by Pfizer attributable to third party products marketed under-license in selected geographic markets. In short, Pfizer remains a marketing partner of choice for many medium and smaller sized prescription pharmaceutical players (2012). Acquisition of WyethThe acquisition of Wyeth gives Pfizer an immediate access to many well-known biologic and vaccine products such as Enbrel, an anti-inflammatory product and Prevnar, a vaccine. Pfizers fiscal statement 2011 st ated the worldwide revenues from biopharmaceutical products in 2010 were $58. 5 billion. This was increase of 29% from 2009, primarily attributed to the addition of operational revenues from Wyeth products of approximately $13. 7 billion (Datamonitor, 2011). Weaknesses Difficulty in Gaining Market Share Given Pfizers reliable market share (worlds largest research-based pharmaceutical company), it will be difficult for the company to continue to grow at the historical rate of sales without further use of large-scale M&A.According to MarketWatch, Pfizers 15 established blockbuster products in 2010, only a few products, including the neuropathic pain therapy Lyrica (pregabalin), are omen to deliver a positive sales growth parcel through to 2015 (2012). All other products, including Lipitor, will deliver net invalidating sales growth, primarily due to generic exposure. Heavy reliance on Lipitor franchise According to the analysis of MarketWatch, Pfizers blockbuster portfolio is dom inated by the Lipitor franchise, which letd global sales of $10. 7 billion in 2010 (2012). However, Lipitor revenue growth slowed square(a)ly since mid-2006 due to the indirect generic impact of therapeutic substitution via loss of patent exclusivity for Merck & Co. s rival statin Zocor.With the Lipitor patent expiration set to occur in mid-2011, exposure of this one product to generic competition will have a significant impact on the overall performance of the company. Opportunities Acquisition of King in 2010 Pfizer acquired King Pharmaceuticals on Oct 12, 2010, the worlds 39th largest pharmaceutical company that focuses on pain management. Its product includes Altace for heart attack prevention, and Sonata, a sleeping aid. According to MarketWatch, the acquisition of King represents the latest stage in a diversification schema implemented by Pfizer over the past two years, as it seeks to devise for the loss of patent exclusivity on its best-selling prescription pharmaceutica l product Lipitor (atorvastatin) in late 2011.King is a leading developer of analgesics and its integration will broaden Pfizers pain offering to include opioid drugs with anti-abuse technologies (2012). Datamonitor currently aims that Kings total revenues will increase at a CAGR of 11. 3% during 2010-15, from $1. 2 billion to $2 billion (2011). Enhancing Established Products in Emerging Markets Pfizer established two independent business units, one pore on established products and the other focused in emerging markets. The goal is to bridge emerging markets with established products. Pfizer, like Merck, plans to expand to the emerging markets by collaborating with local players to source branded generic products. Decreasing Cost StructurePfizers aim to grow profit will be depending on its continued use of a diminish cost structure. According to MarketWatch, Pfizer forecasted the acquisition of Wyeth will save $3 billion by the end of 2012 (2012). Pfizers reason for the large-sca le M&A is to cut cost substantially (by not having to invest in R&D and the development of new drugs) to drive increased profitability (by leveraging what other companies have developed). Threats Difficulties in achieving organic sales growth Pfizer success relies heavily on large-scale M&A and lacks organic sales growth. Datamonitor look ats that further large-scale M&A activity will be undertaken by Pfizer because of growing competition of generics (2011).Pfizers own R operations will regain it difficult to keep up with the historical M for its organic growth. Development setbacks of Sutent and Chantix/Champix Sutent, a treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma, experienced development setbacks. Sutents revenue growth depends partially on approval in additional tumor types the termination of clinical trials in both colon cancer and breast cancer indicates that the products performance in the marketplace could suffer. In addition, Pfizer also experienced setbacks in Chantix/Cham pix, smoking cessation therapy. Revenue declined mainly due to the updated labeling to warn of neuropsychiatric symptoms.As DataMonitor pointed out, further failures in clinical trials of Sutent and other products could significantly affect Pfizers sales growth (2011). Part 2 Financial Analysis a. Profitability Analysis (Appendix A) Using return on assets (ROA), return on parking lot law (ROCE), and earnings per share (EPS), one can properly illustrate the profitability of Merck and Pfizer. Mercks ROA decreased significantly from 2009 to 2010, drop from 16. 8% to 1. 29%. This decrease was attributed to a decline in net income and profit margin. After their acquisition of Schering-Plough, Merck was left with higher costs, such as an 88% increase in R expense and a 55% increase in Marketing and Administrative Expenses. score costs increased by 265%, while sales increased by only 67%. lowest income also decreased in 2010 due to an increase in separate Expenses attributable to the Schering-Plough merger, an exchange loss of $200 million due to two Venezuelan currency military ranks, and a $950 million charge for the Vioxx indebtedness Reserve. The disaggregated ROA targeted a decrease in profit margin as well, from 48. 9% in 2009 to 3. 06% in 2010. A year after the merger, Mercks ROA bounced back to 6. 7%, which is closer to the industry total of 11% (CNN. com, 2011) by decreasing some expenses (R, Materials & Production) and an increase of $2 million in sales. Pfizers ROA shows a correspondent decreasing trend for 2010. Its ROA decreased from 9. 03% in 2009 to 4. % in 2010 due to deductions related to asset equipment casualty charges that were $1. 3 billion higher in 2010 than in 2011, due to the Wyeth acquisition in 2009 and litigation related to their subsidiary Quigley Company, Inc. The ROA has increased in 2011 to 5. 83% because the costs and expenses decreased by $3 million. The disaggregated ROA shows both the decrease of asset turnover and profit margin from 2009 to 2010, and the increase in both for 2011, showing that the operation profitability is getting stronger. However, we think that both firms profit margins are brawny when compared to the industry average of 16. 7% (yahoofinance. com, 2012)After comparing the Asset derangement, Profit Margin, and ROA for both companies, we can conclude that both are starting to improve in regards to profitability, after their acquisitions in 2009. However, Merck seemed to be using its assets more efficiently to generate sales than Pfizer in 2011. Merck also had a higher ROA. However, both companies are below the industry average ROA of 11% and below the ROAs of competitors (Johnson & Johnson ROA is 8. 5% and Abbott is 7. 8%) (CNN. com). Return on common equity helps to explain how well a company uses its investment dollars to generate profits. ROCE can be very important to shareholders as it informs common received investors how effectively their capital is being reinvested.Merck s ROCE decreased significantly in 2010 due to the acquisition of Schering-Plough, which led to a decrease in Net Income due to the cost of acquisition (increase in R, and increase in marketing, administration, materials and achievement expenses), and an increase in Shareholders Equity. Pfizers ROCE declined marginally in 2010 as well, due to the acquisition of Wyeth. However, both companies were back to normal operations in 2011 and had similar ROCEs, around 11%, which is considered the average percent for publicly traded companies in the US. This kernel that both companies have bouncing ROCEs and are generating healthy returns to shareholders.The desegregated return on common shareholders equity reveals a decrease in the financial supplement of Pfizer from 2. 29 in 2010 to 2. 25 in 2011. Mercks financial leverage is constant, 1. 92 in 2010 and 1. 93 in 2011. We conclude that both companies are not heavily leveraged by short and long term debt, which shows that they are less ris ky financially. The disaggregated ROCE also reveals low asset turnover ratios for both companies and this is not uncommon for companies with high profit margins in the pharmaceutical industry. Finally, fee per Share is also used to assess a companys profitability. EPS allow us to compare the companies power to make a profit. This promoter that Mercks Price stipend symmetry performs punter than that of Pfizers.Whereas Pfizers EPS has been constant for the last three years (around 1), Merck experienced a significant decrease in 2010 to 0. 36 for diluted. The notes of their financial statements list the following reasons for the decrease R impairment charges, restructuring and merger with Wyeth (had to recognize a full year of amortization of intangible assets and inventory set-up), legal reserve deductions related to Vioxx, and the US healthcare legislation reform. Non generally accepted accounting principles results were evaluated as well, and we believe these results give a rev eal understanding of the performance of the company as they exclude the non-recurring costs mentioned above. b.Liquidity Analysis (Appendix B) The following section analyzes the short term liquidness risk of Merck and Pfizer. The modern Ratios for both companies are healthy, above 1, which means that they both have substantial bullion and near- notes assets available on their Balance Sheet to repay their obligations within the next year. The Quick Ratios for both companies is also healthy, above 0. 5, which means that both companies have liquid assets on hand to repay their short term obligations. The Operating funds Flow ratio is similar for both companies, above 0. 4, which means that both companies generate enough hard cash flow from operations after funding working capital needs.According to the notes of the financial statement, Pfizers overthrow rate in 2010 was attributed to certain tax payments made in lodge with the increased tax costs associated with the Wyeth acquis ition and therefore, the decrease in net cash flow from operations. From analyzing the Revenue to Cash and days Revenue Held in Cash ratios, it is noticeable that Pfizer has less cash on hand. Pfizer has less cash because they are more focused on M. Pfizer spent 3. 3. billion on acquisitions in 2011, while Merck spent just 3. 7 million. Merck has a healthy ratio for accounts receivable turnover. Mercks accounts payable turnover is almost icon that of Pfizer.These findings show that Merck is paying their supplier twice as fast as Pfizer. Pfizers lower ratio might be due to the fact that its quoteors allow more time to pay off its debt. The Accounts receivable and parentage Turnover ratios are also pretty high and pretty similar for both companies. This means that both firms are selling inventory and bout accounts receivable into cash relatively quickly. However, it looks like Merck is collecting money from customers fast-paced and turns inventory over quicker than Pfizer. Overa ll, we believe that both firms have healthy short term liquidity. c. Solvency Analysis (Appendix C) The following section analyzes the long term solvency risk of Merck and Pfizer.The Liabilities to Asset Ratio reveals that both Merck and Pfizer finance their companies with approximately 50% debt and 50% equity. However, Mercks ratio is a little lower, with around 45% debt and 55% equity financing. As can be noticed in the table, the Liabilities to Shareholders Equity, yearn Term Debt to Long Term Capital, and Long Term Debt to Shareholders Equity ratios are healthy, which means that both companies will have no problems concussion long term obligations and are not heavily financed by debt. The divert Coverage ratios for 2011 reveal that both companies are able pay engage on outstanding debt and can carry additional debt as well.Therefore, their credit risk is considered low. The Operating Cash Flow to Total Liabilities ratios are around 20% or higher, which means that both firms generate enough cash flow from operations to service debt. Both firms experienced a lower ratio in 2010 due to increased tax costs for the acquisition of Wyeth for Pfizer and due to increased costs associated with the Schering Plough merger and the Vioxx impairment charges for Merck. The liquidity and solvency analysis revel that both firms are not experiencing any financial distress. However, we consider Merck less risky that Pfizer because Merck relies less on debt and more on equity financing. Part 3 Valuation AnalysisAs outlined above, profitability, liquidity, and solvency all go a long way in providing analysts with viable cultivation used to measure the performance of a firm. In addition to these measures, relaxation income, cost of equity, and valuation can also be used when analyzing companies such as Merck and Pfizer. a. Residual Income (Appendix D) We started our valuation analysis by calculating the equalizer income for both Merck and Pfizer. In order to achieve this, we used the companies 10K reports from 2009-2011 to project the forecast for 2012-2016, a five-year time frame. The method we used for this forecast was the same method used to project the residuum income. Pfizers residuary income for 2012 was $82,621million while Mercks was $54,517million.Please note that all numbers in our calculations are in millions. Our valuation was based on the assumption that both companies will grow by an average rate in the following years. We took into consideration three factors the current growth rate, past growth rate and macroeconomic factors. Both Merck and Pfizer are in the maturity phase of their growth cycles and show steady growth figures. Residual income growth for Merck was negative for 2010, however we believe this was due to Mercks merger with Schering-Plough Corporation. In 2007 and 2008, Merck showed a positive double-digit growth. In 2011, residual income growth was virtually flat, at 0. %, however we believe this is also due to the Plo ugh acquisition. For Pfizer, residual income growth figures for the previous three years averaged approximately 3%. Based on these determine for residual income, we choose to be worldly-minded and assume a 1% long-run growth rate for residual income for years 2012 to 2016 for both Merck and Pfizer. We chose this modest growth number because both companies are still adjusting to recent large-scale M activity. On a macroeconomic level, both Merck and Pfizers growth may be stunted by an overall down economy, the health care policy restructuring in the fall in States and the expiration of long-standing patents. b. Cost of Equity (Appendix D)After determining the 5 year forecast for each company, we next work out the cost of equity. The capital asset price model was used to calculate the cost of equity. We used the yield on a ten-year treasury Bill as the risk free rate which was 1. 98% (US Department of Treasury, 2012). The betas we used to calculate these numbers were retrieved fr om a financial website index (yahoofinance. com, 2012). The beta for Pfizer was 0. 71 and for Merck it was 0. 8342. The return on market was set at 14. 50% for both companies (NYSE, 2012). Using the Camp Model, the cost of equity for Pfizer was determined to be 10. 869%, while for Merck it was 12. 424%. Therefore, stockholders of Merck require a larger return than stockholders of Pfizer.Given that Pfizer is the number one pharmaceutical company in the world, it is implied that investors require more return from Merck than from Pfizer. c. Valuation (Appendix D) Using the growth rate of 1%, we forecasted 2012s residual income by multiplying the growth rate by 2011 residual income. We performed the same calculation for the next five years until 2016, and then deductive reasoninged it to get the present value. From 2016 on, we assumed a perpetuity growth rate, which means we assumed this company would grow forever. Therefore, we needed to calculate the current value for the company as if it were to grow at a rate of 1%, forever. We first calculated next years residual income by multiplying 2016s residual income by 1%, then dividing by 2.The reason we divided by 2 was to account for the fact that the firm might not grow at a rate of 1% forever. In fact, in some cases, there might be negative growth, as Merck experienced from 2009 to 2010. Therefore, to be conservative, we divided the residual income in half, and then we discounted the value by the discount factor to get the present value. After we calculated the present values, we added all the values together and divided by the current number of shares outstanding to obtain the value per share. For Pfizer, the value per share was $79. 39 and for Merck $114. 93. The value we calculated is three times the amount of what the stock is currently trading at.We believe this number is high, but not unreasonable. Around the year 2000, Pfizer was trading near $50 and Merck was trading near $100. We think the current low sh are value is due to the overall weak economy and we believe that the share price will grow in the future. Please note that all the values of the calculations are in millions except for value per share and current share value. d. Sensitivity Analysis (Appendix E) We performed a sensitivity analysis based on changing horizon growth factors and discount rates (cost of equity) to show the value per share. This gives investors the value per share for a different discount rate or growth factor. Part 4. RecommendationsAfter a thorough analysis of both Merck and Pfizer based on profitability, liquidity, and solvency evaluations, we erect that both companies are preforming well financially. We found that both companies use assets and investments effectively to generate profit and their profitability growth seems to be steady. The analysis of short term and long term liquidity of both firms shows no risk in their ability to generate cash to meet working capital needs, and satisfy short term and long term debt. From the valuation analysis, we can predict that the future share values of both Pfizer and Merck seem to grow at a steady rate, assume that both companies grow at a rate of 1% each year.From an investors point of view, we consider that the earning per share, the price/earnings ratio, and the leverage are important factors to consider before making an investment. Company EPS Price/Earnings Ratio Leverage Pfizer 2. 14 10. 47 2. 25 Merck 3. 25 11. 95 1. 93 After analyzing both companies, on the basis on earning per share, the price/earnings ratio, and the leverage, we have the following recommendations for potential investors. Comparing these values for both companies (table above), we found that Merck outperforms Pfizer marginally.We believe that investment in both companies is safe, however, investment in Merck will bring a higher earnings return than a similar investment in Pfizer in the future. In addition, the financial leverage shows that the financial ri sk investment in Merck is lower than Pfizers, which makes it an even better choice for investment. However, the investor should keep in mind that the pharmaceutical industry involves high risk due expiring patents and threats from generic drugs and their profitability can be exceedingly impacted by these events. According to a recent article on Dailyfinance. com, we found that the patents for major drugs like Pfizers Lipitor and Protonix, and Mercks Singulair, which make up a large portion of the companies revenues, are about to expire(2011).These patent expirations cause uncertainty in the future growth of the companies and might have a substantial impact on their stock prices. Appendix A ROA Pfizer Merck & Co 2009 2010 2011 2009 2010 2011 Asset Turnover 0. 46 0. 32 0. 35 0. 34 0. 42 0. 45 Profit margin 19. 50% 14. 60% 16. 50% 48. 90% 3. 06% 14. 70% ROA 9. 03% 4. 80% 5. 38% 16. 80% 1. 29% 6. 70% ROCE Pfizer Merck & Co 2009 2010 2011 2009 2010 2011 10. 28% 9. 21% 11. 53% 33. 47% 1. 73% 11. 74% EPS Pfizer Merck & Co 2009 2010 2011 2009 2010 2011 GAAP $1. 24 $1. 09 $1. 10 $5. 65 $0. 36 $2. 01 Non GAAP 3. 77 3. 42 3. 25 Appendix B Pfizer Merck 2011 2010 2011 2010 flowing Ratio 2. 0566461 2. 1306398 2. 0425362 1. 8581932 Quick Ratio 1. 438099 1. 4454533 1. 4301631 1. 2496004 Opr. CF to Current Liab. 0. 7210802 0. 399986 0. 7622653 0. 6918995 Revenue to Cash 19. 051992 38. 649568 3. 5508832 4. 2189908 Days Revenues Held in Cash 19. 158102 9. 438314 102. 79133 86. 51358 Accounts Payable Turnover 1. 67 2. 11 3. 77 3. 89 Days Accounts Payable 218 173 97 94 Outstanding Accounts due Turnover5 4. 79 6. 16 6. 59 Days Receivable Outstanding 73 76 59 55 Inventory Turnover 1. 88 1. 53 2. 78 2. 4 Days Inventory Held 194 238 131 138 Appendix C Pfizer Merck 2011 2010 2011 2010 Liabilities to Asset Ratio 0. 560 0. 540 0. 458 0. 463 Liabilities to Shareholders0. 583 0. 555 0. 300 0. 290 Equity Ratio Long Ter m Debt to Long-Term 0. 297 0. 303 0. 220 0. 220 Capital Ratios Long Term Debt to 0. 422 0. 435 0. 284 0. 84 Shareholders Equity Ratio Interest Coverage Ratio 8. 600 6. 180 10. 900 3. 480 Operating Cash Flow to Total0. 190 0. 099 0. 300 0. 120 Liabilities Ratio Appendix D 10 year Mercks BetaMercks Rm Treasury Bill 1. 98% 0. 8342 14. 50% CAPM 12. 2% Merck 2012 2011 2010 starting line SE 54,517 54,376 59,058 Comprehensive Loss 3,132 3,216 2,767 Income forthcoming to Com. 57,649 57,592 61,825 Shareholders Required Income -222 -222 -221 Residual Income 57,427 57,370 61,604 Changed in Residual Income 0. 10% -6. 7% 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 CV Projected Residual Income 57,427 58,001 58,581 59,167 59,759 30,178 Discount Factor 1. 12424 1. 2639156 1. 420944 1. 5974826 1. 795954 0. 2051731 Present Value 51,081 45,890 41,227 37,038 33,274 147,086 Total Value 355,596 of Share Outsta nding 3,094 Value per Share 114. 93 Current Share Value (5/4/12) 38. 84 10 year TreasuryPfizers Pfizers Rm Bill Beta 1. 98% 0. 71 14. 50% CAPM 10. 7% Pfizer 2012 2011 2010 Beginning SE $82,621 $87,813 90,014 Comprehensive Loss -4,129 -3,440 552 Preferred Dividends 45 52 62 Income Available to Com. $86,705 $91,201 89,400 Shareholders Required Income 3,142 4,520 4,510 Residual Income $89,847 $86,681 84,890 Changed in Residual Income 3. 65% 2. 1% 2012 2013 2014 2015 CV 2016 Projected Residual Income 89,847 90,745 91,653 92,569 93,495 47,215 Discount Factor 1. 10869 1. 22919352 1. 3627 1. 5109 1. 6751 0. 1653 Present Value 81,039 73,825 67,254 61,267 55,813

Learning Style Preferences by Iranian students

Introduction tuition discretion influence skill and that ascertaining result is higher(prenominal) for pupils who are able to employ multiple encyclopaedism dashs ( Felder, 1995 Reid, 1987, Reid, 1998 Claxton and Murell, 1985 Mulalic, Mohd Shah and Ahmad, 2009 ) . nurture flairs and penchants vary for each of us and in contrastive order of affairss. Some scholars, for case, pick to get word by confab text random variables, spot unalikes prefer a verbal account ( Riazi and Riasati, 2007 ) . In add-on, people whitethorn differ in how they most efficaciously appearing their apprehension any orally or in authorship and done graphs or figures. In other quarrel, scholars grow and show their apprehensions in assorted elans in different state of affairss. ascertaining elbow rooms refer to the cognitive, emotional, and psychological de call backor which serve as comparatively fixed and unchangeable indexs of how scholars understand, interact with and purpose to the science environment ( Keefe, 1982 ) . Oxford ( 2003 ) asserted that encyclopedism de retrieveors are the public barrages that scholars utilize in geting a new lingual conversation or in acquirement any other topics. These ingenuity are the general forms that apply memoriseing behaviour a general way ( Cornett, 1983 ) . By understanding wholeness s learning flair ( s ) , one will be able to develop the accomplishments that help one learns in a diverseness of ways to accomplish full potency.This apprehension is overly helpful for instructors and pedagogues because it enables instructors and pedagogues to fit out(p) their instruction adroitness, methodological analysiss, and course of action organisation with scholars erudition politeness to advocate scholars better their skill ( will, 1988 ) .Surveies have shown that personality, life experiences, intent for larning and instructors out bears affect scholars eruditeness trends with the later being the most dominant influence ( Briggs-Myers, 1986 Kolb, 1984 Felder, 1996 Ballard and Clanchy 1997 ) .In Iran, nevertheless, scholars acquisition demeanors have been ignored and have been let inn into register as an undistinguished constituent in the learning procedure among Persian EFL scholars in general and first-year university pupils in peculiar. Very small succeed has been conducted to set out Persian scholars acquisition manners that non merely would assist scholars acquisition but besides help better instructors instruction. Matching these two facets would take to considerableer success. Nevertheless, Riazi and Riasati ( 2007 ) conducted a travel along on 219 Persian scholars of side in Shiraz to place their acquisition manners. The hatful prosecuteed Brindley s ( 1984 ) lingual talk larning penchant questionnaire. The participants were from different degrees of direction and different ages. The findings show that the pupils favoured the communicatory att ack carried out in brace or group live on and matte that it helped better their position linguistic conference accomplishments. They besides preferred taking portion in schoolroom treatment and interaction in larning side of meat.Although this good deal launch that scholars preferred a communicative attack, scholars at higher establishments in Iran peculiarly starters, are still observed to be inactive scholars of English. maybe they are incognizant of their acquisition manners and possibly the instruction manners at higher establishments do non fit scholars acquisition manners. Therefore, the subject returned in this paper was an effort to find Persian EFL fresher university pupils acquisition manner ( s ) to assist them understand how they learn and thitherfore increase their potencies. This survey besides aimed to recover whether in that respect was a difference between manly and fe phallic fresher university pupils acquisition manner ( s ) . However, this pres ent survey employed the intravenous feeding pillow slips of larning manner penchants developed by Willing ( 1988 ) to waitress into Persian EFL fresher university pupils types of larning manner ( s ) . acquisition bolts and Types of LearnersMost search surveies on larning manner penchants trace back to the past 30 old ages. Dunn ( 1993 ) asserted that lectors erect non place pupil s acquisition manners without using a multidimensional instrument. Without rating, even experienced teachers may misinterpret scholars behaviors such as hyperactivity or heedlessness ( Mulalic, Mohd Shah and Ahmad, 2009 ) .Reid ( 1987 ) investigated 1300 ESL pupils from three different civilizations viz. the Japanese, Malay, and Korean. The survey found that a big figure of these pupils strongly preferred tactile and kinesthetic acquisition manners. The survey besides found that the built-in differences in ethnic or linguistic communication backgrounds and subjects ( technology and computing mac hine scientific discipline ) frequently play an of import function in placing types of cognitive manners.Mean tour, Willing ( 1988 ) investigated a group of five 100s and 17 scholars from more than 30 cultural groups to try out whether there is a relationship between larning manner penchants and biographical variables. However, merely five cultural groups were big plenty for statistical analysis ( Vietnamese, Chinese, Arabic, atomic number 16 Ameri privys, and Polish/Czech talkers ) . The learning manner questionnaire include 30 acquisition manner dismantles, 15 larning scheme operates, and a some(prenominal) points on single biographical facets. The consequences indicated that there were cultural differences with respect to the scholars larning manner penchants. For case, although the agencies of the point I similar to analyze grammar was lower than expected, all scholars from the different civilizations responded that they bidd analyzing grammar. The Arabic scholars pref erred grammar where 65 % of them ranked this point as the best ( Willing 1988 ) . Meanwhile, the findings indicated that authority-oriented and analytical acquisition manners were extremely honourd by the Vietnamese, Chinese, Arabic, South American, and Polish pupils. The largely preferable points were practicing sounds and pronunciation in English and allthing explained by their instructor , and the least preferable ways of larning were acting games and reputeing movies ( Willing 1988, p. 130 ) . Willing ( 1988 ) further identified four types of scholars concrete, analytical, communicative, and authority-oriented scholars. Nunan ( 1999 ) briefly summarized the definition of these four types of scholars 1 ) concrete scholars are those who employ authentically direct agencies of taking in and treating information 2 ) analytical scholars are those whose cognitive strengths lead them non merely to analyse carefully and show great involvement in constructions but to set a g reat trade of cling to on dis deal outing their independency by murder these things themselves, autonomously. In other words, they prefer to analyze grammar ( from particular to general ) , analyzing English books and practice reports, analyzing separately, happening their ain errors, and working on undertaking jobs assign by their instructors 3 ) Authority-oriented scholars are those who are receivedizedly non predisposed to actively form information they would wish their instructor to explicate everything to them, tend to brook their ain text editions, to compose everything in a notebook, to analyze grammatical regulations, learn by reading, and larn new words by tone at them and 4 ) Communicative scholars are those who have a appetency for a communicative and societal acquisition attack, handlely because they life that this would be most helpful to their demands in relation to linguistic communication acquisition. In other words, they want to larn by watching, auditory sense to native talkers, oration to friends in English and watching telecasting in English, utilizing English out of category, larning new words by hearing them, and acquisition by conversations ( Willing, 1988 Nunan, 1999, p. 57 ) .The SurveyParticipantsA group of 92 ( 37 males and 55 females ) Persian EFL fresher university pupils majoring in Teaching English as a Foreign Language ( TEFL ) class at the Faculty of Foreign Languages in a university in South of Esfahan were indiscriminately selected from nine categories to take portion in this survey. As freshers, their destine age was 18 old ages old. They learn English linguistic communication for academic intents. Freshman university pupils were selected as participants of this survey because they were at the get toss off degree of third instruction. Knowledge of their acquisition manner ( s ) would be utile in placing and geting larning accomplishments which would heighten their acquisition. Therefore, increase their public presentation in larning English.InstrumentThe instrument utilised in this survey was the encyclopaedism Style Preferences Questionnaire adapt from Willing ( 1988 ) . The four-point Likert graduated table questionnaire consisted of 45 points on How make you larn best ranged from 1 Strongly Disagree to 4 Strongly Agree. It was piloted anterior to the existent informations aggregation and the dependability Cronbach s Alpha was 0.844. The questionnaire consisted of four classs ( Communicative, Concrete, Authority-Oriented, and analytical scholars ) . A list of 20 four points out of 40 five points related to these four types were chosen and modified based on the Persian EFL fresher university pupils acquisition. Items one to six correspond scholars who comparabled to larn through observation and or listening to native talkers, speaking to friends in English and watching telecasting in English, and learn through conversations ( Communicative Learners ) . Items seven-spo t to twelve represented scholars who liked to larn through games, movies, cassettes, speaking in braces, and utilizing English outside of the schoolroom ( Concrete Learners ) . Items 13 to eighteen represented scholars who preferred their instructors to explicate everything to them, have their ain text editions, survey grammar, learn by reading, and larn new words by seeing the words ( Authority-Oriented Learners ) . Items 19 to twenty four represented scholars who liked analyzing the regulations of grammar, analyzing English books, reading newspapers, analyzing by themselves, happening their ain errors, and working on jobs set by the instructor ( Analytic Learners ) .Findingss and DiscussionsDescriptive analysis of the Learning Style Preferences ( 37 Males, 55 Females )In order to detect the types of larning manner penchants of the pupils, the descriptive statistics ( agencies and model losss ) of the four types of larning manner penchants ( communicative, concrete, authority-ori ented, and analytical ) were computed ( see submit 1 ) . The one which indicated the highest total rank was considered to be the pupils preferred acquisition manner. slacken 1 shows the mean and standardised divergences of the four distinguishable classs. Responses to the statements of type one ( communicative ) had the highest bonnie valuate of 3.24 and a standard divergence of 0.35, while the responses to analytical type of larning manners had the lowest modal(a) mark of 3.02 and a standard divergence of 0.38 for twain males and females. It is implied that the bulk of Persian EFL fresher university pupils in this sample considered themselves communicative types of acquisition manners. This is consistent with the consequences ofHo s ( Undated ) survey on two groups of university twelvemonth one and four groups of twelvemonth two Computer Studies pupils crosswise five academic old ages. The survey indicated that most pupils were communicative scholars mutually exclusive to the consequences of Liu s ( 2008 ) survey on pupils in Taipei. Liu reported that responses to the statements of authority-oriented type of larning manners were the highest with the average mark of 11.52 and a standard divergence of 3.13 and communicative type of larning manners had the lowest mean mark ( M=8.87 and a standard divergence of 3.55 ) . confuse 1 Mean and Standard Deviation of Learning Styles ( by Category )Learning MannersMeanSouth dakotanorthwardCommunicative3.240.35892Concrete3.070.38192Authority-Oriented3.100.35392Analytic3.020.38192N= Number of respondents SD= Std. DeviationIn add-on to the mean score for the four types of larning manners in general, Table 2, 3, 4, and 5 show the mean and standard divergences of the pupils usage of larning manners by class and points communicative, concrete, authority-oriented, and analytical acquisition manners.Table 2 Mean and Standard Deviations of the Students Communicative Learning Style ItemsLearning MannersMeanSouth dako ta1Communicative Learning StyleI like to larn by watching, listening to native talkers of English.3.243.320.350.7552I like to larn by speaking to friends in English.3.240.7323If I have pick, I would wish to larn English by watching Television in English outside of the schoolroom.3.170.7354I like to larn by talking in English with aliens when there is a opportunity.3.270.7575I like to larn English words by hearing the words.3.250.6736In English category, I like to larn through the usage of conversations.3.220.739Table 2 demonstrates that the overall average value of communicative acquisition manner was 3.24 with a standard divergence of 0.35. The highest average value of 3.32 with a standard divergence 0.75 was noteworthy for the point I like to larn by watching, listening to native talkers of English. Meanwhile, the point If I have pick, I would wish to larn English by watching Television in English outside of the schoolroom. scored the lowest mean mean with the value of 3.17 a nd a standard divergence of 0.73. It is inferred that the Persian EFL fresher university pupils have strong desire to larn by watching and listening to native talkers of English in schoolrooms. In other words, they tend to watch pictures and listen to tapes in schoolrooms. They like to pass on with one another. This is in understanding with the consequences of Riazi and Riasati s ( 2007 ) survey.Table 3 Mean and Standard Deviations of the Students Concrete Learning Style ItemsLearning MannersMeanSouth dakota7Concrete Learning StyleIn English category, I like to larn through game.3.073.270.370.7578In English category, I like to larn by utilizing images, movies, and pictures.3.290.7499I like to analyze English by speaking with another schoolmate3.230.74310I like to larn by utilizing cassettes at place.2.650.73311In English category, I like to listen to and utilize cassettes.2.800.82912Outside of the schoolroom, I like to utilize English.3.170.735With respect to concrete acquisition m anners, Table 3 demonstrates the overall average value of 3.07 and a standard divergence of 0.37. The consequences related to concrete larning manner dimension indicate that the point In English category, I like to larn by utilizing images, movies, and pictures. scored the highest mean mean with the average value of 3.29 and a standard divergence of 0.74 while the lowest average value of 2.65 with standard divergence of 0.73 was noted for the point I like to larn by utilizing cassettes at place . It is concluded that these scholars like to larn by illustrations in schoolrooms. The common feature of concrete scholars harmonizing to willing ( 1988 ) is the development of insufficiency or an lower status composite. They disfavour larning monotonously and written work. They like assortment. They prefer verbal and ocular experiences. They have strong desire to be socialize by utilizing games, and be given to be involved in larning physically.Table 4 Mean and Standard Deviations of the Students Authority-Oriented Learning Style ItemsLearning MannersMeanSouth dakota13Authority-Oriented Learning StyleI like the instructor to explicate everything to me.3.103.320.350.75514I want to compose everything in my notebook.2.910.75115I like to hold my ain text edition.3.270.75716In English category, I like to larn by reading.3.170.72017I like to analyze grammar from specific to general.3.230.72818I like to larn English words by seeing them.2.700.795Sing the third type of larning manners ( authority-oriented ) , Table 4 indicates that the overall mean value was 3.10 and a standard divergence of 0.35. Therefore, the point I like the instructor to explicate everything to me scored the highest average value of 3.32 and a standard divergence of 0.75. objet dart the lowest average value of 2.70 and a standard divergence of 0.79 were noted for the point I like to larn English words by seeing them . It is inferred that authority-oriented scholars tend to be taught clearly. They have desire to larn from their instructors. They look for constructions and measure by measure patterned advance. In general, they consider their instructors as authorization in the category. Harmonizing to Willing ( 1988 ) they like to follow some forms.Table 5 Mean and Standard Deviations of the Students Analytical Learning Style ItemsLearning MannersMeanSouth dakota19Analytic Learning StyleI like to analyze grammar from general to specific.3.022.680.380.83820At place, I like to larn by analyzing English books.3.240.73221I like to analyze English by myself.3.320.75522I like the instructor to give me happen my errors.3.250.75023I like the instructor to give me exercises to work on.3.150.72524At place, I like to larn by reading English newspaper.2.490.791Finally, for analytical acquisition manners Table 5 reveals that the overall mean value was 3.02 with a standard divergence of 0.38. Based on the consequences, the point I like to analyze English by myself scored as highest average value of 3.32 and a standard divergence of 0.75 whereas the lowest average value of 2.49 with a standard divergence of 0.79 was noted for the point At place, I like to larn by reading English newspaper . This means that analytical types of scholars are independent and tend to happen solutions for their jobs while larning. Analytic scholars cognitive strengths steer them non merely to analyse carefully and uncover great involvement in constructions, but besides to set a big sum of value on demoing their independency by make these things themselves, autonomously ( Willing, 1988 ) . In general, it can be inferred from the findings aforementioned types of acquisition manners that the vision media such as telecasting, picture, tape recording equipments are the most flop devices for larning foreign linguistic communications in Iran since English is learned and speak merely in academic categories and for academic intents. Harmonizing to Celec-Murcia ( 2001 ) , such media mo tivate scholars by conveying the existent life state of affairs into the schoolroom and viewing linguistic communication in its more complete communicative context.Descriptive outline of the Learning Style Preferences by GenderIn order to detect whether there was a difference between males and females in using learning manner penchants, the Independent-sample T-test was conducted. Table 6 demonstrates that there was no statistically important difference in the mean tonss for male and female pupils in communicative ( M= 3.27, SD= 0.35 M=3.22, SD=0.36, T ( 90 ) =0.66, p= 0.51 ) concrete ( M=3.10, SD=0.36 M=3.05, SD=0.39, T ( 90 ) =0.67, p=0.49 ) , authority-oriented ( M=3.09, SD=0.37 M=3.11, SD=0.34, T ( 90 ) = -0.21, p=0.83 ) , and analytical acquisition manners ( M=3.09, SD=0.38, M=2.98, SD=0.37, T ( 90 ) =1.32, p=0.18 ) . In other words, males and females apply larning manners in a similar manner. This is in understanding with the consequences of Yik, Hidayu, Bariyyah and Asy imah s ( Undated ) survey ( hypertext enthral protocol //apps.emoe.gov.my/ipba/rdipba/cd1/article152.pdf accessed 26 March 2010 ) .Table 6 T-test for gender differences in larning manner PreferencesLiterGramNitrogenMeanSouth dakotaTPCom beatF37553.273.220.350.360.660.51ConMeterF37553.103.050.360.390.670.49A-OMeterF37553.093.110.370.34-0.210.83AnalMeterF37553.092.980.380.371.320.18Note N=Number of Subjects LS=Learning Styles G=Gender M=Male F=Female Com=Communicative Con=Concrete A-O=Authority-Oriented Anal=AnalyticalIn other words, all of the values of significance values were above the value of significance value of P & lt 0.05. Harmonizing to Cohen ( 1988 ) , the magnitudes of the differences in the agencies were somewhat little. Cohen believes that 0.01 indicates little consequence, 0.06 shows bind consequence, and 0.14 shows big consequence. Therefore the Basque Homeland and Freedom substantive for these four types of acquisition manners are as follows communicative ( eta square= 0.004 ) , concrete ( eta square= 0.005 ) , authority-oriented ( eta squared=0.000 ) , and analytical acquisition manner ( eta square= 0.018 ) which are really little.DeductionsSing the consequences of this survey, some deductions are discussed with the position of text book designs, larning and learning English as a foreign linguistic communication in Iran. As it has been identified that many of the fresher university pupils are communicative type of scholars, there should be a moderately safe index for the general way to see in planing text books for Persian EFL fresher university scholars. Many research surveies such as Smith ( 1985 ) , Claxon and Murrell ( 1987 ) , Willing ( 1988 ) , and Riazi and Riasati ( 2007 ) claim that larning methods that partner with learning manner penchants lead to academic accomplishments, more communicative undertakings postulate to be included in the class as most scholars in this sample prefer to larn in a communicative manner. Willin g ( 1988 ) suggested the acquisition methods preferred by communicative scholars as 1 ) Learning by watching and listening to native talkers of the mark linguistic communication. 2 ) Learning by talking in English with aliens when there is a opportunity. 3 ) Learning by speaking to friends in English. 4 ) Learning by conversations. 5 ) Learning by watching Television in English. 6 ) Learning English by hearing the words. Therefore, the text edition interior decorators may necessitate to take into history the aforesaid methods recommended by Willing ( 1988 ) while planing communicative text books for categories. They can besides see group treatments and teacher-students meetings as pupils prefer to speak with equals and instructors ( Riazi and Riasati, 2007 ) .In the visible shaft of acquisition, effectual tools to assist pupils listen to native talkers of the mark linguistic communication is to utilize movies and picture plans in categories. In this instance, pupils get familiar wi th the other contexts, state of affairss, and civilizations. Auxiliary stuffs such as short narratives should be utilized in categories ( Riazi and Mansoorian, 2008 ) . By and large, pupils need to be involved in interactive accomplishments. In order to lend pupils to be cognizant of their ain acquisition manners and strengths, stock lists of larning manner and other procedures can be utilized ( Claxton and Murrell, 1987, p six ) . In add-on, lectors should assist scholars understand more slightly their ain penchants for larning. There are some promising schemes employed by lectors to lend their scholars to understand more about their penchants for larning and suggest ways to cover with more efficaciously in classs taught in ways inconsistent with their manners. This can besides assist scholars take increasing charge of their ain acquisition and to be more active in the procedure ( Claxton and Murrell 1987, p. four ) .In footings of instruction, by roll uping some information on sc holars acquisition manners can assist lectors place scholars who learn comfortably via the types of undertakings designed for the class. For case, this survey recommends that lectors should make their best to carry first-year university scholars to work in groups and learn them how to pass on ( converse ) with one another in English. Lecturers should present types of larning manners to pupils in order to acquire familiar with their manner of larning a foreign linguistic communication in general and larning English in peculiar. In general, pupils should be encouraged to happen out their ain types of larning manner penchants in order to ease their acquisition.DecisionsThe intent of the current survey was to place Persian EFL fresher university pupils types of larning manner penchants and their deductions on the instruction and larning procedure every bit good as the designs of the text books. This survey besides aimed to detect whether or non there was a important difference between male and female fresher university pupils using larning manner penchants. The dominant learning manner penchants of Persian EFL fresher university pupils revealed that the bulk of the Persian EFL fresher university pupils considered themselves as communicative scholars. They tend to larn English as a foreign linguistic communication by listening to native talkers of English likely because they feel that this would be most utile for their demands in relation to English linguistic communication acquisition. This can assist them in bettering their pronunciation and speech pattern. The unresolved accomplishments such as speech production and hearing are challenge to the scholars of this sample. They have desire to utilize conversations in the schoolrooms and communicate in English. It is besides concluded that Persian male and female pupils have no different preferred acquisition manners as the findings of this survey demonstrated that there was no statistically important difference between them with respect to their learning manner penchants while larning English as a foreign linguistic communication. More significantly, this research survey suggests placing the scholars types of larning manners to lend their lectors to set in the proportion of undertaking types in text books to do acquisition easier for pupils.

Shadow Kiss Chapter 15

FifteenIWHAT?You happen upond me. I dont contend how far issues suck g superstar, and h anestly, I sincerely dont want to manage the lucubrate. Thats n bingle the point. The point is that its exhalation to go no farther.The queen was depending muckle on me, hands on her hips, readyly waiting for me to swear Id do whatever she trea sured. Except I kind of couldnt. I glanced around the room, real this was vertical ab issue sort of joke. I learned to the two guardians across the room, half-hoping theyd explain what was hand step to the fore on, but they were doing that jawing-with knocked scoop(p)- actually-seeing thing. No eye contact. I turned back to the queen.Um, Your highness t stimulatehers been virtually kind of mistake. Theres nothing passage on toyween Adrian and me.Do you destine Im an idiot? she asked.Wow. That was an opening.No, Your Majesty.Well, thats a start. Theres no point in fraud to me. People guard seen you to hold fasther, here and back at your school. I motto you myself in the courtroom. Damn it. Why had Adrian chosen that moment to be dashing and sneak an new(prenominal)(prenominal) hug? Ive heard all the illicit details nearly whats release on, and it is going to stop skillful here, right straight focal point. Adrian Ivashkov is not going to run off with some cheap dhampir girl, so you power as well rid yourself of that delusion right now.I neer pattern he was going to seeing as how were not involved, I said. I mean, were friends, thats all. He equals me. Hes a flirt. And if you want to talk illicit stuff, consequentlyyeah, Im pretty sure hes got a list of illicit things hed stallardised to do with me. Lots of illicit things. yet were not doing them. Your Majesty.As curtly as the words unexpended my mouth, I felt same(p) an idiot. From the whole tone on her represent, however, it didnt seem like things could really get any worse for me.I know erect about you, she said. All anyone talks abou t ar your new-fangled awards and accolades, but I havent forgotten that it was you who similarlyk Vasilisa extraneous. I also know about the trouble you used to get into I know about the drinking, about the men. If it was up to me, Id pack you up and send you off to some fall whore commune. Youd probably fit in well.Drinking and men? She do me sound like an alcoholic prostitute when, honestly, Id probably drunk no much than new(prenominal) teenagers at high school parties. Telling her this seemed useless, though. Pointing out that I was allay a virgin probably wouldnt have do some(prenominal) of a difference either.But, she get overd, your recent achievements set up sending you forward impossible. E veryone takes you have some glorious future ahead of you. Maybe you do. Regardless, if I gitt stop you from macrocosm a guardian, I can affect whose guardian you be.I stiffened. What are you express? Are you threatening me? I r the words tentatively, not as a cha llenge. She couldnt be spartan. Taking me away from Lissa during the field bewilder was one thing, but we were talk about an completely different matter now.Im ripe gradeing I have a great interest in Vasilisas future, thats all. And if I have to protect her from debase influences, I will. We can celebrate her another guardian. We can find you another Moroi.You cant do that I exclaimed. I could divide by the look on her expression that she was joyful to finally get a real reception out of me. I was both angry and afraid, and I fought hard against my common swan explosive instincts. Diplomacy and honesty were what I take ined now. Im not doing anything with Adrian. Really. You cant retaliate me for something Im not doing. I quickly remembered to add Your Majesty.I dont want to revenge you at all, Rose. I fairish want to play sure we gain each other. Moroi men dont marry dhampir girls. They play with them. Every girl thinks its going to be different with her even y our mother did with Ibrahim, but she was wrong in any case.With who? I asked, the name hitting me like a slap in the face. Ibrahim? Id never even heard of that name, let alone someone called that. I wanted to ask who he was and what his connection to my mother was, but Tatiana just unplowed talking.Theyre always wrong. And you can try your hardest to change that, but its a flagellate of time. She shook her head, like she felt sorry for these dhampir girls, but her smug shine contradicted any true sympathy. You can use your pretty face and effortless body as much as you want, but in the end, youre the one wholl get used. He may say he loves you now, but in the end, hell get tired of you. Save yourself the grief. Im doing you a favor.But he isnt saying he loves There was no point. The ironic thing here was that I was fairly certain Adrian did just want to use me for sex. I didnt have any delusions about that. But seeing as I wasnt actually sleeping with him, there was no problem except, well, that Tatiana seemed to see of all this as a problem. I sighed, suspecting no argument was going to put to work her believe that I wasnt interested in Adrian. Look, if youre so certain we cant have a future together, then wherefore are you telling me this? According to you, hes going to make water me away anyway. Your Majesty.She hesitated for just a second, and I nearly laughed. contempt her trash-talking about me, my mom, and other dhampirs, some part of her really was worried that I dexterity indeed be charming and pretty enough to constitute Adrian into a disgraceful marriage. She quickly hid her uncertainty.I like to take share of things before they become messy, thats all. Be billets, its going to make things easier for him and Vasilisa if they arent dragging around baggage from you.Whoa, whoa. My moment of brief satisfaction shattered into confusion. I was as helpless now as Id been when she starting started accusing me of being involved with Adrian. Him and Vasilisa? Lissa? What are you talking about? I forgot the Your Majesty, but I dont think she cared at this point.The two of them are an excellent match, she said, sounding like she was about train to purchase some artwork. Despite your bad influence, Vasilisas grown into a very promising young woman. She has a very serious, very dedicated record that will cure some of his recklessness. And being together would allow them to continue examining theirunusual magical situation.Five minutes ago, me marrying Adrian had been the craziest thing Id ever heard. It had just been trumped, however, by the thought of Lissa marrying Adrian.Lissa and Adrian. Together. You cant be serious. Your Majesty.If theyre both here together, I think theyll come around to it. They already have a certain personal magnetism around each other. Plus, both of Adrians grandmothers came from branches of the Dragomir family. He has more than enough riptide to help her carry on the Dragomir line.So does Chr istian Ozera. In one of their more disgustingly cute moments, Lissa and Christian had looked up his family tree to see if he had enough Dragomir genes to be fitted to pass on the name. When they put up out he did, theyd then starting naming their future children. It had been horrible. Id left after Lissa told me theyd name their third daughter after me.Christian Ozera? That act smile of hers tightened. There is no way Vasilisa Dragomir is going to marry him.Well, yeah. not anytime soon. I mean, theyre going to go to college and Not now, not ever, interrupted Tatiana. The Dragomirs are an ancient and exalted line of royalty. Their last descendent is not going to attach herself to someone like him.Hes royal, I said in a low voice that was on the verge of becoming my scary voice. For whatever reason, her insulting Christian made me angrier than her insulting me. The Ozera line is every human action as important as the Dragomirs and Ivashkovs. Hes royal, just like Lissa, like Adria n, and like you.She snorted. He is not like us. Yes, the Ozeras are one of the royal houses, and yes, he has several respectable distant cousins. But we arent talking about them. Were talking about the son of someone who purposely became a Strigoi. Do you know how many times thats happened in my lifetime? Nine. Nine in cubic decimetre years. And his parents were two of them.Yes his parents, I said. Not him.It doesnt matter. The Dragomir princess cannot associate with someone like him. That adjust is simply too prestigious.But your nephew is the perfect choice, I said bitterly. Your Majesty.If youre such(prenominal) a smart girl, then you tell me back at St. Vladimirs, how are they treated? How do your classmates view Christian? How do they view Christian and Vasilisa together? Her eyes gleamed knowingly.Fine, I said. They have lots of friends.And Christian is fully accepted?Immediately, I thought of Jesse and Ralf grilling me about Christian. And yes, there were throne of peop le who still avoided Christian like he was already Strigoi. It was why hed had no partner in culinary science. I tried to cover up my thoughts, but my hesitation had given me away.You see? she exclaimed. And thats just a microcosm of society. judge it on a big(a)ger scale. Imagine how itll be when shes active in the government and trying to get others to support her. Hell be a liabi lighten upy. Shell make enemies just because of him. Do you really want that to happen to her?It was exactly what Christian had feared, and I denied it now as much as I had to him. It wont happen. Youre wrong.And youre very young, Miss Hathaway. Youre also delaying your flight. She moved toward the entre. The guardians across the room were by her side in the blink of an eye. I have nothing more to say and apply this will be the last time we ever have a discussion like this.Or any discussion, I thought.She left, and as soon as etiquette said I could go, I sprinted off to put one across my plain. M y head reeled as I went. How insane was that lady? Not merely was she convinced that I was on the verge of eloping with Adrian, she also believed that she could work some kind of arranged marriage with him and Lissa. It was almost impossible to figure out which part of that conversation had been the most ridiculous.I could hardly wait to tell the others what had happened and have a severe laugh over it. But, as I returned to my room to get my bag, I reconsidered. There was already so much gossip about me and Adrian going around I didnt think I should be fueling the fire. I also didnt think Christian should hear about this. He was already insecure about his position with Lissa. How would he olfaction if he found out the queen was already reservation plans to get rid of him?So I decided to sit on the information for a eyepatch, which was hard because Lissa was practically waiting outside my door when I got back.Hey, I said. I thought youd be on the plane?Nope. They delayed it by a few hours.Oh. Going home all of a sudden sounded like the best idea ever.Whatd the queen want? asked Lissa.To congratulate me, I said glibly. Over my Strigoi kills. I didnt expect that from her it was kind of weird.Not that weird, she said. What you did was amazing. Im sure she just wanted to recognize you for what you did.Yeah, I guess. So whats going on? What are we going to do with the extra time? There was ecstasy in both her eyes and her ghosts, and I welcomed a change in subject.Well I was thinking. Since were at the Royal Court dont you want to larn it out? Theres gotta be more to it than a bar and a chocolate shop. Seems like we should know this stuff if were going to be living here. Besides, weve got a lot to celebrate.The full force of our situation hit me. Id been so distracted by Victor that I hadnt even really let things locate in We were at the Royal Court, the center of Moroi leadership. It was nearly as big as the Academy, and there had to be more to it than the all-business side wed seen so far. Plus, she was right. We had a lot to be happy about. Victor had been put away. Shed gotten a wise college deal. Only my alleged issue with Adrian had been a overthrowside, but I was instinctive to put that aside as Lissas contagious excitement seized me.Wheres Christian? I asked.Doing his own thing, she said. You think we need him on?Well, he usually is on lately.Yeah, she admitted, but Id kind of like just us to hang out. I sensed the thoughts behind her decision. Our brief conversation just before shed bygone to see the queen had made her nostalgic for the old days, back when it had just been the two of us on our own.No complaints here, I said. How much can we cover in three hours?A mischievous grin lit her face. The essentials. I could tell she had something special in mind, but she was trying to carry on it in mysterious. She couldnt block me out of the bond, but she had learned that if she didnt think too hard about certain things , then I wouldnt pick up on them easily. She liked being able to think that she could surprise me sometimes. try to hide big issues or problems from me never worked, though.We set back out into the cold defy, with Lissa leading the way. She steered us away from the administrative buildings, off toward some others set at the farther end of the Courts grounds.The queen lives in that first building, Lissa explained. Its not exactly a palace but the occludest we have. O.K. when the Court was in Europe, Moroi royalty used to live in castles.I made a face. You make that sound like a good thing.Stone walls? Turrets? Even you have to admit that sounds pretty neat.Yeah, but I bet they had crap Internet access.Lissa shook her head at me, smiling, and didnt honour my comment with a response. We passed some other buildings that had the same ornate stonework as the others but were tall and built in a style that reminded me of apartments. She substantiate as much.Those are town houses, wher e people who live here year-round stay.I eyed them, wondering what they were like on the inside, and a happy thought came to me. You think thats where well live?The thought caught her off guard, but she soon grew just as excited as me. She, too, liked the idea of us having our own place, free to decorate it and come and go as we wanted. I rather liked the idea of Dimitri living with us too, but here at Court, he wouldnt be with her 24/7. For that matter, I actually wouldnt need to be with her 24/7 either. Would they let me live with her? Or would this be another chance to show I wasnt needed?I hope so, she said, oblivious to my worries. Top floor with a view.I mustered another smile. And a pool.How can you think about a pool in this weather?Hey, if were fantasizing here, we might as well go the whole way. I bet Tatianas got one. I bet she wears a bikini and has hot guys rubbing her down with suntan lotion.I expected another eye register, but Lissa just grinned as she led me into a building that was near the town houses. anomalous you mention that.What? I exclaimed. She was about ready to burst with her secret. I was this close to pulling it out of her mind. I would have, too, if I hadnt been so stunned by our surroundings. It was sensory overload delicate music, fountains, plants, people in ovalbumin robes, everything twinkling and silverIt was a spa, a full-fledged luxury spa hidden away in an old stone building here at Court. Who would have guessed? A recollective granite receptionists desk guarded the entrance, so we only had a partial view, but what I could see was pretty sweet. Women sat a capacious a wall getting pedicures and manicures. Moroi men and women were getting haircuts and color. What looked like a maze of halls could just be seen in the back of the salon, with a directory of arrows pointing to other sections massage, sauna, facials, etc.Lissa grinned at me. What do you think?I think Adrian was right about the Court having all sorts of sec rets. I gave a mock sigh. And I hate having to admit that hes right.Youve been so down about the field experience andother stuff. She didnt have to mention Masons death and the Strigoi fight. I read it from her mind. I figured you could use a treat. I checked their openings here while you were with the queen, and they were able to squeeze us in.Lissa walked up to the receptionist and told her who we were. The woman immediately recognised our names but seemed surprised to be letting a dhampir in. I didnt care, though. I was too bedazzled by the sights and sounds around me. Compared to the harsh, practical lifestyle I usually led, this sort of luxury almost defied belief.After checking in, Lissa turned to me, face eager and radiant. I got us set up to get massages with these Nails, I interrupted.What?I want my nails done. Can I get a manicure?It was the most exotic, completely useless thing I could imagine. Well, it wasnt useless for medium women. But for me? With the way I used my hands and subjected them to blisters, bruises, dirt, and wind? Yes. Useless. I hadnt unhingeted my nails in ages. There was no reason. Half the nail pour down would probably chip off after one practice session. A novice like me couldnt afford that kind of luxury. And that was why I so, so desperately wanted one. Seeing Lissa wear war paint had awakened that hungriness in me for some beautification of my own. I accepted that it could never be a regular part of my life, but if I was in a place like this today, then by God, I wanted my nails done.Lissa faltered a little. Shed evidently had big plans for this massage thing. But, she had a hard time refusing me and spoke to the receptionist again. It sounded like the receptionist had to do a bit of juggling with her schedule, but she said she could make it work.Of course, Princess. She smiled happily, entranced by Lissas natural charisma. Half the time, Lissa didnt even need animation to get people to help her.I dont want to be an inconvenience, Lissa said.No, no. Definitely notWe soon found ourselves sitting at contiguous tables while Moroi women soaked our hands in hot water and started bush them with weird combinations of sugar and seaweed.Why the manicure? Lissa wanted to know. I explained my cerebrate to her, about how I hardly had time for makeup anymore and how the misdirect my hands went through made any sort of pampering impractical. Her face turned thoughtful. I never thought about that before. I just figured you werent into it lately. Or, well, that you didnt need it. Not with your looks.Whatever, I said. Youre the one guys worship.Because of my name. Youre the one that guys like a certain one we know actually want for other reasons.Gee, I wondered who she could be referring to. Yeah, but those other reasons arent very noble.She shrugged. The points the same. You dont need makeup for them to drool all over you.Then I felt the weirdest thing through the bond. I saw myself through her eyes. It was like looking in a mirror, except she only had a profile view of me. But when she looked at me, she really did think I was beautiful. With my tan and dark brown hair, I seemed exotic to her. She felt pale and washed out compared to me, tight fitting next to my curves. It was surreal, considering how often I felt scruffy next to her bright beauty. Her envy wasnt malicious that wasnt in her nature. It was more wistful, an admiration of a look she could never have.I wanted to reassure her but had a feeling she didnt want me knowing about her insecurities. Besides, my thoughts were interrupted when the woman doing my nails asked what color I wanted. I picked a color that looked like opulent glitter. Gaudy, perhaps, but I actually thought it looked kind of cool, and it wasnt like it was going to last long anyway. Lissa picked pale pink, a color as refined and elegant as she was. Hers got painted a lot faster than mine, though, because my manicurist had to spend so long softening my hands and filing the nails. Lissa finished long before I did.When we both had glamorous hands, we proudly held them up side by side. You look gorgeous, darling, she declared, affecting a sophisticated air.Laughing, we went off to the massage area. Lissa had originally plan us for extensive massages, but the manicure had cut into a musket ball of that time. So we modified the full-body massage into a foot massage, which was just as well since we couldnt have put on robes or any other changes of clothes with our nails still wet. All we had to do was remove our shoes and roll up our pants. I sat down in a tone down while my feet soaked in warm, bubbling water. Someone put something into the vat that smelled like violets, but I didnt pay much attention. I was too entranced by my hands. They were perfect. The manicurist had buffed and hydrated them to silky softness, and my nails had been transformed into gleaming gold ovals.Rose, I heard Lissa say.Hmm? The lady had also put a clear coat of nail polish over the gold. I wondered if that would give the nails a longer lease on life.Rose.Sensing that Lissa wanted my undivided attention, I finally looked up from my awesome hands. She was grinning from ear to ear. I could feel that excited news burning in her again, the secret shed had while wed been walk over here.Whats up? I asked.She nodded downward. Rose, this is Ambrose.I glanced absentmindedly toward the masseuse at my feet. Hey, Ambrose, hows it I cut myself off before the words holy crap or whoa left my lips.The guy massaging my feet couldnt have been much older than me. He had ringleted black hair and muscles everywhere. I knew this for a fact because he was shirtless and offered us both a good view of his sculpted pecs and biceps. His fatheaded golden skin was a color achievable only by excessive time in the sun, indicating he was human. The bite marks on his neck confirmed it. A pretty boy feeder. Very pretty.His magnet was almost unreal, though. Dim itri was gorgeous, but he had little flaws that made him that much more gorgeous. Ambrose was too perfect, like a piece of art. I didnt want to throw myself into his arms or anything, but he was certainly nice to look at.Lissa, still worried about my love life, had apparently thought this was exactly what I needed. Her masseuse was female.Its very nice to meet you, Rose, said Ambrose. He had a musical voice.Its nice to meet you too, I said, utterly self-conscious as he lifted my feet out of the water and toweled them off. I was especially self-conscious of the appearance of my feet. They werent gross or anything, since they werent usually exposed to the elements like my hands. I just kind of wished theyd been polished up too if this male type was going to handle them so much.Lissa, astute enough to sense me being flustered, could barely stop from laughing. I heard her thoughts in my head Cute, huh? I cut her a look, refusing to voice my thoughts out loud. Hes Tatianas personal mas seuse. That practically makes you royalty. I sighed loudly to let her know she wasnt as funny as she thought she was. And when I say personal, I mean personal.I jerked in surprise, out of the blue kicking one of my feet out. Ambroses deft hands caught it before I hit him in his pretty face, thankfully. I might not have been able to communicate telepathically but I was pretty sure there could be no question to Lissa that the look on my face said, You cant be serious because if you are, youre in big trouble.Her grin widened. I thought youd like that. Pampered by the queens secret lover.Pampered wasnt exactly the word that came to mind. Looking at Ambroses young, beautiful features, I just couldnt picture him getting it on with that old hag. Of course, that denial might have just been my brains way of refusing to acknowledge that someone who had touched her was now touching me. Ew.Ambroses hands were checking out my calves along with my feet, and he struck up a conversation about what elegant legs I had. His dazzling white smile never left his face, but most of my answers were curt. I still couldnt get over the thought of him and Tatiana together.Silently, Lissa groaned. Hes flirting with you, Rose she thought to me. What are you doing? You can do better than that. I went to all this trouble to get you the hottest guy here, and this is what I getThis one-sided-conversation thing was becoming a pain in the ass. I wanted to tell her that Id never asked for her to rent out this guy for me. In fact, I suddenly had images of the queen calling me in for another meeting to yell at me for having a nonexistent affair with Ambrose too. Wouldnt that be perfect?Ambrose continued smiling as he rubbed the soles of one foot with his thumbs. It hurt but in a good way. I hadnt realized how sore that spot was. They go to such trouble to make sure you wear the right black and white clothes, but no one ever thinks about your feet, he mused. How are you supposed to stand around all day and still manage roundhouse kicks and cat stances in bad shoes?I was about to tell them that he really didnt need to keep worrying about my feet, but something odd suddenly struck me. Roundhouse kicks and cat stances werent top-secret guardian terms. Anyone could Google martial arts and find out about those kinds of things. Still, it wasnt the kind of topic Id expect a Moroi to casually throw around, let alone a feeder. I studied Ambrose closer, noting the way his dark eyes so carefully darted around and observed everything. I recalled his fast reflexes in stopping my kick.I felt my jaw start to drop, and I shut it before I looked like an idiot.Youre a dhampir, I breathed.