Thursday, October 31, 2019

The Driver Responsibility Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Driver Responsibility Law - Essay Example According to the Driver Responsibility Law, the revenues collected are entered in the General Fund of the state. Since the year 2003, the collections made from the Driver Responsibility Law have exceeded $65 million. In the year 2008, the revenue generated from the Driver Responsibility Law summed up to $114.2 million out of which, about $8.5 million went to the fire protection grants whereas the remaining money was added to the general fund (â€Å"Lawmakers should stop†). The rate of collection is roughly 50 % as the fees when added to the regular fine become punitively high. According to an estimate, â€Å"[m]ore than half of the surcharge notices had resulted in license suspension for non-compliance (53% or 60,723). There were a total of 112,561 DWI offenders participating in the program. Of these offenders, only 11% were in compliance (12,493 drivers)† (Price 29). ... They are common respectable citizens, who somehow could not get the license renewed before driving their cars. Reasons for which their licenses are suspended include but are not limited to having unsatisfactory driving record in terms of too many points, and drunk driving. Many drivers are penalized for committing even minor offenses like forgetting to pay a ticket. For some reason, they are not able to make it to the court, and are thus suspended. Many among these people are unemployed, foreclosed, and poor, with no money to afford such expenses. A vast majority of them are found guilty of not paying the draconian Driver Responsibility Law imposed upon them by the state. Its charges supersede those of any other offense. Currently, lawmakers are advancing towards the eradication of fees that are overly punitive because such fees play a role in filling the budget holes while being ineffective in deterring dangerous driving behaviors. However, one of the most significant hurdles in thi s way is the replacement of the driver responsibility charges worth millions of dollars a year for a cash-strapped state. The Driver Responsibility Law is imposed when a driver fails to compensate or keep-up with a plan of payment. As a result of this, the Department of Treasury sends a notice to the Secretary of State, which in turn suspends the license. The concerned driver is not even notified of the same. To make it worse, the Driver Responsibility Law offers no protection against anything. Now when the very driver displays any kind of unacceptable traffic behavior including having an expired plate on the car, having a cracked windshield, or over-speeding, the police officer stops the driver and tells him that his driver’s license is

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

An organisation's performance can be improved by careful development Essay

An organisation's performance can be improved by careful development and integration of its HR strategy and policies. Evaluate - Essay Example It will continuously attempt to recruit them and keep them part of the organization. This mutual relationship and trust between the employee and employer is the highlighting factor for a firm of 21st Century. Generally, daily these organizations co-operate a major role in our daily lives (Boyatzis 1982). The water we drink, food we eat, the vehicles we use to go from one place to another, the clothes we usually wear are all benevolence of such organizations. The historians of future regard this era as they might view certain organization to be of great achievements. It is the marvel of thousands of people with sophisticated individual skills, backgrounds, and interests that combine together in different organizations to pursue the common institutionalized objectives (Gold et al 2010). Human Resource Planning People or employees are the assets of all organizations. They form the goals or objectives of the organization, the improvements in technology and the achievements for which orga nizations are known for. From the view point of an organization, its people are its resources. They are not physical assets such as capital or land; rather they are human element of the organization. Without this human element, organizations would perish (Armstrong 2002). The following narration clarifies the concept of human resource in an organization: As people are becoming more passionate and goal oriented, emerging top managers are realizing the organizational success that is dependent upon the meticulous attention given to human assets. Some of the perfectly managed and successful organizations are the ones who make their employees meet the challenges faced by the organizations innovatively. For instance in high-tech firms, to receive the best from engineers, they must come up with creative programs and designs, in bio-tech firms and in research as well; nurturing the free flow and creativity of the ideas among the researchers as it leads to success (Wilton 2011). In the manuf acturing firms, the cost controls leads to success. In the service and retail industry, the difference between the extinction and growth is completed by providing the best quality of service. In all of these examples, the employees decide the future of the firm. This way the human element practices are combined with the precise challenges that the firm faces. These challenges are diligently solved by an effective and efficient human resource management by implementing the right policies and strategies (Boxall & Purcell 2008). Today, organizations have become conscious of the fact that strategic human resource management is mandatory for an organization and its importance is focused upon increasingly in most firms. This awareness comprises of a serious arena in the performance of most organizations. The experiences from real life show that there is a constant assumption attached to the idea how businesses operate and how they carry out their activities. The validation of this argumen t pertains in the fact that the competitiveness of business is a continuous event which is scrutinized by consultants, practitioners, and academicians. There are new approaches to deal with the human resource department now (Gold et al 2010). Armstrong (2009) said that the strategic human resource management focuses on the needs that the HR strategies and plan should be devised within the arena of

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Challenges of Customer Service in an Airline Industry

Challenges of Customer Service in an Airline Industry Communication(Phone) Communication problems in the workplace can cost your company productivity and money. Without efficient communication, your company is unable to exchange information essential to daily operations and create a communication network to carry new product data. Understanding examples of workplace communication issues can help you to create policies that will address problems and create an efficient communication network in the office Language Barriers A diverse workplace has several benefits to a business, such as a variety of solutions to company issues and insight into international markets during expansion. But the language barrier that can sometimes occur in a diverse workplace, or any workplace, may become a communication problem. There might be language barriers between people of different ethnic backgrounds, people of different ages and people with different levels of industry experience. Any language barrier is going to slow communication or create misunderstandings that make communication ineffective. Personal Issues Effective communication in a workplace is based on professional correspondence designed to assist in the daily operation of the company or the continued growth of the organization. When employees allow personal issues to affect company communication, a communication problem develops that could take a long time to track down and resolve. People who refuse to communicate based on a personal disagreement are damaging the companys ability to do business and slowing the growth of the organization. Lack of Feedback One-way communication can become an ineffective way to exchange information throughout the company. Employees and managerial staff should provide feedback at all times to improve the quality of information disseminated and the manner in which the information is delivered. For example, if a department tends to send out information in a format confusing to other people in the company, then that department needs to be informed of its communication problems immediately or else the information coming from that group will always pose a communication challenge. o New Hires When new employees are brought into the organization, they need to receive a comprehensive introduction into the proper ways to communicate throughout the organization. Companies that do not include communication training in their new-hire orientation programs will be forced to struggle with new hires that are forced to learn proper communication procedures by a process of hit and miss. Also some other examples for communication challenges: Accent Tone Understanding Clear Dialog Ticketing Parking Long Lines Long custom lines, parking problems. Passengers are not happy to stay in a long line buy their tickets they want to tack there tickets as soon as possible. Also the lack of parking spaces. Customer Needs Ability to give what exactly customer need. Airport Checking Extra Baggage Extra Cost Overweight baggage, Liquids include, Cabin baggage restrictions, Locked suitcases are some examples regarding extra baggages. Anyhow if passenger want to take the baggage’s passenger will have pay extra money to take those extra baggages. Group check Sometimes large families come to the airport at the last moment and hard to check because they are in a rush to get on-board and the other massive challenge was sitting them all together. Departure gate Locating all passengers On-board Travels the aircraft from A to B safely No choice of meal Preferred seats Looking after special peoples such as elders, walk aid, etc. After landing The baggages are not arrived How you would handle a PRM onboard. Definition and responsibility It is the responsibility of the airport to assist disabled passengers and passengers with reduced mobility. If you have reduced mobility, the airport will provide you with assistance within the terminal buildings, car parks and other public areas. If needed, airport will also assist you with check-in, security check, and border control, moving around the gate area and boarding the aircraft. A person with reduced mobility (PRM) is defined as any person whose mobility is permanently or temporarily reduced due to physical incapacity (sensory or locomotory), intellectual deficiency, age, impaired vision or hearing, or other cause of disability that means they require assistance at the airport when travelling. Assistance services are free of charge for PRM passengers. Arriving at the airport If you require, an assistant will come and meet you when you arrive at Airport. Alternatively, you can also go directly to the check-in desk. If you need assistance, report to one of the pick-up points marked with the international disabled access symbol at least two hours before flight departure. At the airport There is a dedicated check-in desk at the Airport for passengers needing assistance. The desk is labeled â€Å"Special Passengers† and is marked with the corresponding international symbols. If passenger wishes, staff will assist you all the way from the check-in desk onto the aircraft. If passenger requires special assistance, passenger will be allowed to board the aircraft before the other passengers, so that the staff can ask about the needs for in-flight assistance and more easily assist the passenger onto the plane. During the flight Passengers with reduced mobility will primarily be seated by the window. Airlines do not supply assistive devices, such as elevating seat cushions, so you must be able to sit in a regular aircraft seat. If passenger requires help in taking medication, eating, visiting the toilet, getting up or communicating, you must be accompanied by a personal assistant. After the flight When passenger arrives to the destination, passenger will be met by a member of staff, who will provide all the assistance need to continue your journey. If passenger needs help to disembark from the aircraft, this will happen after the other passengers have left, so that we have more space and time to assist the passenger. After disembarking, passenger will be assisted all the way to your next mode of transportation (a connecting flight, car, taxi or bus). How a passenger can request for WCHR from his selected airline. Ticketing, Online booking, Check in When you going to buy the ticket you can request WCHR If the passenger going to buy the ticket online the passenger can still request a WCHR online And check in desk at the airport Definition of WCHR Are passengers who can negotiate steps and move about in the aircraft cabin but who need a wheelchair or other assistance to move between the aircraft and the terminal building or within the terminal itself and between arrival and departure zones in the terminal. References Journals Eugene W. Anderson. Customer Satisfaction and Word of Mouth.Customer Satisfaction and Word of Mouth11.3 (2013): 1-10. Print. Dr Stephen Goodwin. The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior will beholding its biennial conference .The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior will beholding its biennial conference15.6 (2014): 5-8. Print. David Lewis. Customer Satisfaction.Make Hidden Persuaders Work for You: Aroma, Music, Color, Font Read more: http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2014/24995/make-hidden-persuaders-work-for-you-aroma-music-color-font#ixzz31svhR6q21.1 (2014): 1. Print. Web sites Marisa Currie-Rose. Website Satisfaction By Google Consumer Surveysanalytics.blogspot.n.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. No name. Customer Satisfactionhttps://www.surveyshare.com/templates/.n.p., n.d. Web. 2014 Nov 14. http://www.customerthermometer.com/

Friday, October 25, 2019

Compare two poems by wilfed owen Essay -- essays research papers

Compare two poems by Wilfred Owen, showing how they reflected contemporary attitudes to the ‘Great War’. Refer closely to language and poetic techniques.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  World War 1 broke out in 1914. At the beginning of the war, there was a great feeling of patriotism and enthusiasm. Young men were eager to join the armed forces, as they thought the glory and heroism of war would be enjoyable. Fighting in France was expected to be an exciting adventure. Thousands of men joined so they would have the honor of serving their Queen and country. Underage age boys lied about their age in order to join, which showed that the English people thought the war would be won and over quickly. Many patriotic poems and songs were written which encouraged the war effort even more. However, by 1917 the true horror and cruelty of fighting in the war was unveiled. The soldiers experienced true pain, hardship and psychological damage. For those who were left in England, there was huge grief for the loss of life, and people’s attitudes to the war changed dramatically. Wilfred Owen was a teacher who fought from the begging of the ‘Great War’. Owen himself displayed a contrasting attitude as the war progressed through his poems. Before he signed up, he shared the view of the British public, and wrote ‘Ballad of Peace and war’ in 1914. He thought that peace was good but it was better to fight for the country. By 1917, his poetry had changed from blind patriotic disillusion and encouragement, to bitterness and anger. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est’, and â€Å"Disabled† were poems he wrote during his time in Craig Lockheart hospital, where he was suffering from shell shock. He had seen the tragedy and graphic brutality of trench warfare, and the trauma he had seen and experienced had sunk in. Both the poems focus on one main person or event. Wilfred Owen wrote these poems to highlight the reality of war, they were ‘protest poems’ to propaganda declaring fighting for soldiers as an honor. ‘Disabled’ focuses on a dingle victim of war, now disabled and in a wheelchair, spending his life in an institute, lonely and unloved. The emphasis of the poem is the tragic consequences of war, and the man’s pain and suffering evokes great empathy for the disabled man in the reader. Losing his legs in the war has robbed him of his masculinity and youth forever. The message of this poem is t... ..., portrays the man as a hero. Now the man is lonely and unloved, ‘Only a solemn man †¦ thanked him; and then inquired about his soul.’ He has been forgotten, and even feels lonely in the institute ‘Why don’t they come and put him to bed? Why don’t they come?’ The repetition of the line emphasizes his despair and frustration. Owen talks about the man being happy in the old day, and the fact that now he will never again have the feeling of happiness in a relationship. The man is now a charity case ‘take whatever pity they may dole.’ If he had not fought in the war then this would never have happened to him. Owen uses striking images and vivid imagery in both poems to clearly show his anger of people who were disillusioned about war, and to show the harsh reality of war. A sense of pathos runs throughout the poems in the reader for the men. The sarcasm used in ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ shows Owens passion of getting his point across. Many peoples attitude of war in England had changed drastically by the time Wilfred Owen wrote these two poems. ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ and ‘Disabled’ both realistically reflected contemporary attitudes to the ‘Great War’ at the time they were written.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Cyberbullying: Bullying and Possible Solutions Essay

Cyberbullying has become one of the main problem in today`s world, which is under the influence of social networking. Nowadays, more and more young people at the age of twelve from to seventeen claim that they have been subjected to the attacks of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is an act of online bullying, which represents anonymous nasty comments and messages that can hurt a person psychologically or even physically (safetyweb.com, 2012). The purpose of this essay is to recognize the problems of cyber bullying and to find any possible solutions for it. So, first of all, this essay will show the problems of the cyber bullying. Secondly, there will be some solutions and evaluations of these problems. There are a number of problems connected with cyberbullying, but a psychological state of victim teenagers is one of the most important. According to the website pcmag.com, 88% of all users of social networking stated that they saw how somebody said unkind things to their peers. It is clear that 26% of girls 12 to 17 treat their peers more than boys (ibid.). So it is clear that unkind comments and messages have a great impact on the psychological states of teemagers. Depressions, tantrums, appetite changes and changes in behavior are an important sign of cyberbullying (safetyweb.com). Cyberbullying can influence that the teenager stops participating in social life, inwards him or her and it may even lead to suicide. Moreover, there is one more specific problem is bad grades. The victims might stop going to school, because they are afraid of their peers due to cyber bullying. This will lead to bad grades and the possibility that a child looses his chance for education. So we can see a series of problems and now move on to their possible solutions. According to Palfrey (2009) there are few solutions. For instance, it is a rational decision to provide a psychological help for victims by talking with them and helping to forget about accidents. Furthermore, adults can â€Å"get the whole story and listen closely to child`s feelings† (safetyweb.com). It is clear that there must be a strict punishment for bullies such as special fines. It is also an opportunity to provide an education for them and possibly for their parents. In case of school,  teachers can help victims to increase their grades. Also school can provide a safe process of education for victim children. As for social websites, it is possible to avoid anonymity by entering a real-name policy (BBC program Panorama). According to possible solutions, we need to understand that all these solutions have a great number of consequences. For example, psychological help for victims can cost a considerable amount of money, because people will need to provide classes and courses for specialists. It might also cannot be efficient. If we were talking about bullies, it would be almost impossible to recognize who the bullies were due to anonymity. If police finds the bullies it would be illegal to fine children, so their parent will have to pay fines. Nevertheless, it will be also hard, because parents could refuse to pay money or the welfare of the families would not let paying such penalties. To summarize all of the information we can see that there are some possible solutions, such as psychological training for victims and punishment for bullies, but, unfortunately, these solutions are hard or even impossible to implement, because they cost money, take time and in most cases are not efficient. References: 1. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2397419,00.asp (Acesses 12.02.12) D. Poeter 2. http://www.safetyweb.com/poster (Acesses 12.02.12) 3. http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2009/04/01_cyberbullying.html#BodyWrapper (Acesses 12.02.12) 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01c00y3/ (Acesses 12.02.12)

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Family Presence Article Critique

Family Presence Article Critique Inez Robbins Liberty University November 26, 2012 Abstract Family presence at the bedside during resuscitation is starting to become standard protocol in many emergency departments but research is limited in this area. The objective of the article reviewed is to explore the nurse’s perception of the benefit and/or harm to the family in a facility that has well established family presence protocols. The nurses’ perceptions of the effects on the family provide a positive influence on both the family members and the interdisciplinary team that is caring for the patient.The study confirmed long-term participation yields positive effects on the perception of family presence at the bedside during resuscitation in the emergency department. The nursing perception offers insight on the care and compassion towards the family in their critical time of need. Future nursing implications, future nursing research, and ethical implications are discussed , as there is a further need for education and research in these areas of professional nursing development. Key words: Family presence, resuscitation, nurse, perception.Family Presence Article Critique Review of Article A review of the Elinar Lowry, PhD, RN’s article â€Å"It’s Just What We Do†: A Qualitative Study of Emergency Nurses Working with Well-Established Family Presence Protocol published in the Journal of Emergency Nursing volume 38, number four in July of 2012 aims to describe the benefits and harm to patients family members who were present during patient resuscitation based on the perceptions of nurses whom work within a facility with an established family presence protocol.The article describes a study performed in which fourteen emergency room nurses’ perception of their experiences with family presence during resuscitation is documented. The facility in which all fourteen nurses were employed had a family presence protocol since 1992 (Low ry, 2012). There were pointed open-ended questions asked. These questions were meant to allow the nurses to elaborate on experiences that were both positive and negative. The results of the study found that nurses perceived there were benefits experienced by the family in several ways (Lowry, 2012).Some of these were: family was able to see the evolution of events or the patient’s progress during the resuscitation. The family was also able to confirm the effort used to save their loved one. Lastly, nurses confirmed that they felt the families appreciated that everything possible was done to save their family member. There was no perception of harm done to the family through observation of resuscitative measures (Lowry, 2012). Future Nursing Practice Implications of this study for future nursing practice suggest that long-term participation is directly related to acceptance of family presence by nursing.This information is encouraging for nurses whom wish to write and establis h family presence protocols within their facilities (Lowry, 2012). Care should be taken to identify and educate on tolerance of family member behaviors. Family presence protocols should also include limitations for the number of family members allowed at the bedside during resuscitative measures so that the staff members feel secure and comfortable with family presence practices (Lowry, 2012).Future Nursing Research Implications for future nursing research related to family presence should include family members who take part in family presence. All staff members should be surveyed to conclude the overall cultural belief on family presence (Lowry, 2012). Other potential topics for studies include: the right time to request the family’s presence, how to integrate new hire nurses into a potentially unfamiliar family presence protocol or practice (Lowry, 2012). Ethical IssuesAll of the nurses interviewed during this study held that family presence during resuscitation was the et hically right thing. Some of the nurses reported feelings of personal anguish at the family members grieving their loved ones. They also describe compassionate care to those family members (Lowry, 2012). References Lowry, E. (2012). â€Å"It’s just what we do†: A qualitative study of emergency nurses working with well-established family presence protocol. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 38(4). 329-334. doi:10. 106/j. jen. 2010. 12. 016

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Cleft Lip essays

Cleft Lip essays Prehistoric art tells historians that people once thought congenital diseases, or birth defects, werebad omens or the displeasing of the gods. In one instance, it was thought that cleft lip was caused by themother of the baby being startled by a rabbit. Odd as it may seem, at that time it was the most logicalexplanation for that particular birth defect. However, now we know that a cleft lip is not caused by amother being startled by a rabbit, but by the environment the mother is in, the ethnicity, race, genetics,sex, and so on. Cleft lip is the fourth most frequent congenital disease in the United States. On average,one of every 700 newborns is affected by this disease, which means that approximently 5,000 babies areborn with cleft lip every year. This very common defect goes along with many other defects as well. Affected babies go through surgery to sew the lip around 1 to 2 months of age, later dental/orthodonticcare, ear care, and speech therapy. Although a lot of cleft lip cases accommodate some mental situations,a lot of cases do not. First of all, the prefix cleft means split, so knowing this, a cleft lip is a separation, or split, in the upper lip. The cleft might only be on one side of the lip making a small notch,or it could go all the way to the base of the nose. This type of a cleft lip is called a unilateral. A secondtype of a cleft lip is called a bi-lateral where there is one cleft on each side of the lip. The separation isusually an opening where the upper lip failed to grow together. The failing to grow together can varyfrom a small notch at the top of the lip to a complete separation stretching to the nose. How this defecthappens goes back to genetics. Every child inherits 100,000 genes, 50,000 from each parent. There are anumber of inherited genes that combine together to form the face, palate, or lip, and that can cause aproblem. In most cases, cleft lip happens because of a combination of ge...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Bioethanol, a Potential Fuel Revolution

Bioethanol, a Potential Fuel Revolution Simply put, bioethanol is ethanol (alcohol) that is derived exclusively from the fermentation of plant starches. Though ethanol can be extracted as a byproduct from a chemical reaction with ethylene and other petroleum products, these sources are not considered renewable and therefore disqualify most ethanol from being considered bioethanol. Chemically, bioethanol is identical to ethanol and can be represented by either the formula C2H6O or C2H5OH. Really, bioethanol is a marketing term for the products that do not have immediate harm to the environment through burning and use of natural gas. It can be fermented from sugar cane, switchgrass, grains, and agricultural waste.   Environmental Benefits All fuel combustion- regardless of how eco-friendly it is- generates dangerous emissions that harm the earths atmosphere. However, the burning of ethanol, especially bioethanol, has far fewer emissions than gasoline or coal. For that reason, the burning of bioethanol, especially in vehicles that can use fuels derived from them, is much better for the environment than some other alternative fuel sources.   Ethanol, in general, reduces greenhouse emissions by up to 46% compared to gasoline, and the added bonus of bioethanol not relying on harmful chemical processing means it further minimizes the harmful effects of gasoline use. According to the United States Energy Information Administration,  unlike gasoline, pure ethanol is non-toxic and biodegradable, and it quickly breaks down into harmless substances if spilled. Still, no fuel combustion is good for the environment, but if you must drive a car for work or pleasure, perhaps consider switching to a flex-fuel vehicle capable of processing ethanol-gasoline blends. Other Types of Biofuel Biofuels can be broken down into five types: bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas, biobutanol, and biohydrogen. Like bioethanol, biodiesel is derived from plant matter. Specifically, the fatty acids in vegetable oils are used to create a powerful substitute through a process known as transesterification. In fact, McDonalds now converts much of its vegetable oil to biodiesel to reduce their companys large carbon footprint. Cows actually produce methane in such large amounts in their burps that theyre one of the largest contributors to emissions in the natural world- impacted significantly by commercial farming. Methane is a type of biogas which is produced during digestion of biomass or the burning of wood (pyrolysis). Sewage and manure can also be used to create biogas! Biobutanol and biohydrogen  are both yielded through biological means of further breaking down butanol and hydrogen from the same materials as bioethanol and biogas. These fuels are common replacements for their synthetic or chemically engineered, more harmful counterparts.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Case Study on Illy Cafe

Illy Caffe   is one of the ten best companies in the coffee industry in Europe. It was founded in1933 by Francesco Illy, and in 1994 was given over to Andrea Illy. Since its formation, Illy Caffe’s main goal was to deliver the best quality coffee to its customers. Th e company wascareful when choosing its suppliers and always made sure it receives the best quality coffeebeans. However, after the last CEO has joined the company in 1994, Illy Caffe decided to changeits strategy and to become more responsible in the area of its business. The circumstances, whichthe coffee industry appeared to be under in 1989, was the first step toward the strategic changesmade in some companies, like Illy Caffe. Now, Illy Caffe buys highest-quality Arabica beansdirectly from Brazil, Central America, India, and Africa. The company has restructured itssupply chain completely, and has brought many innovations into the coffee industry in Brazil,making it the exporter of the best-quality coffee beans grower and producer in the world. Thefollowing paper aims at analyzing the changes made in Illy Caffe in 1989 and identifying the key issues and their potential solutions in the company’s new strategy. Changes in Illy Caffe’s supply chain describes the strategy and its benefits In 1989 Illy Caffe’s management decided to change its supply chain from a regular one to adirect purchasing. The quality of the coffee played a significant role in Illy Caffe’s business.Company’s CEO and managers believed that coffee loses its quality after going th rough differentstages in the supply process. They believed that the more intermediaries they would have, theworse would be the quality of their coffee. Therefore, changing this situation through refusing tohave a single intermediary appeared to be the most appropriate thing to do. Illy Caffe became thefirst company in the coffee industry, which started buying directly from farmers. In return tohigh premiums, company expected to receive higher quality coffee beans from Braziliangrowers. Brazil was the largest producer of coffee at that time, however, had poor reputationbecause of the bad quality of their products. Illy Caffe was aware of the situation in Brazil,however, it could find required amount of growers only in that country. The company, therefore,decided to teach Brazilian farmers, how to become its suppliers. Since Illy Caffe was good atinnovation throughout its existence, it found a good way to attract coffee growers (not only fromBrazil but from all over the world) and to make them produce higher-quality coffee. The Illycaffe Brazil Quality Espresso Coffee Award was designed in order to find company’s potential suppliers among the farmers from Brazil. The main idea of this project was to create afeeling of mutual benefit from the partnership and to motivate growers to start producing higher-quality goods. Getting an award and winning a competition meant receiving a good opportunityfor the company in the future.The project became very successful, and hundreds of Brazilian farmers were accepted toparticipate in it. Illy Caffe succeeded in finding good producers and to make them become even better through selecting them among other participants to become company’s long -term partners.Illy Caffe wanted to make sure its relationship with Brazilian partners would be strong and longlasting

Friday, October 18, 2019

Group types and group characteristics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Group types and group characteristics - Essay Example However, not all groups are formally authorized by the management. Nevertheless, well-managed groups can mean the difference between successful and unsuccessful organizations. According to Robbins and Coulter (2002), most teams are either, temporary or permanent, functional or cross-functional, and self-managed or supervised. Primarily, groups are mainly classified into formal and informal groups. Formal groups and teams are those that are created by managers (Jones and George 2009, 599). These include top-management teams, cross-functional teams, self-managed work teams, command groups, cross-cultural teams, task forces, virtual teams, and project teams. Informal groups are those that may be created organizational members. Informal groups like friendship groups and special interest groups, however, serve more of a social and recreational purpose (DuBrin 2012, 471). The top management team is a sort of cross-functional team that consists of members from each of the functional units or departments from across the organization, including finance, human resource, marketing, and so on. Cross-functional teams contain specialized members from each functional unit, who work together on a variety of tasks. Cross-functional teams may be assigned for a particular process that requires members from different areas of expertise. Self-managed work teams are formally recognized and consist of team members, generally employees, who are responsible for an entire project such as product or service development. Self-managed work teams are based around the concept of job enrichment which is why self-managed work teams are characterized by greater control and autonomy over their tasks and duties. Self-managed work teams also include self-directed teams and work teams (DuBrin 2012, 471). Members of a self-managed work team work together on an ongoing basis as opposed to members on a task force. Members are usually led by a team leader who is

Choose two foreign policy failures and two foreign policy successes Essay

Choose two foreign policy failures and two foreign policy successes that the US has experienced since 1898 - Essay Example President Carter initiated talks with the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and the Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp Davis in 1978. The peace treaty entailed Israel withdrawing from the Sinai Peninsula and US troops would monitor to ensure there would be no more attacks. In addition, Israel would initiate peace negotiations with Palestine. The treaty led to Israel withdrawing completely from the Sinai gulf. Also, The US government helped Israel to rebuild the Negev Desert Israel military base. Menachem and Anwar won the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize (Smith, 2014). Secondly, the Marshall Plan (1948-1951) entailed the USA extending aid worth 13$ billion to Western Europe. This treaty was a success because it propelled Western Europe’s growth of capital stock. Exchange rates stabilised, and prices were restored since the aid reduced massive shortages of resources. The Marshal Plan played a role in ensuring the stability and prosperity of Western Europe and also the formation of the current Eastern Europe (Block, 1977). Firstly, The American Foreign policies largely support and protect Israel. As a result, USA has tolerated Israel’s destruction and killing of Palestinians in a bid to maintain amicable relationships with Israel. . The tolerance is an indication of foreign policy failure since it does not uphold the main aim of foreign policies which is to uphold peace in all nations. Also, moral and ethical decay is evident leading to lack of trust between USA and Arab nations. The American Veto power in the UN has prevented the UN from charging Israel with the war crimes despite the 2,142 deaths of Palestinian nationals (Smith, 2014). USA has also gone against the general foreign policies by breaking international laws on Guantanamo MO bay and treatment of prisoners. The violation of human rights has tainted the image of USA as well as its credibility. America being at the forefront of the war

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 15

Business - Essay Example (Merill Goozner, 1995), This fact revealed by the article Misunderstood or Misrepresented which is based on the Japanese culture and business ethics, reflects the integrity, kindness and the hardworking of the Japanese people, who always welcome the new customers with smiling faces at airport, at train and on the hotel as well. In fact, paying tips to the staff of the hotel and restaurant against services is the vogue of Europeans, but this vogue is not in the practices of Japanese. The services of hotel personnel are paid by the hotel not by the customer’s tips. These differences further influence the foreign investors to initiate the businesses in Japan, who prioritized the customers with full services, even the personal services also include in the duties. (Kwintessential, 2011). This is the famous phenomena of Japanese ethics, that they are more than hard working and complete and never sacrifice their work against the social or personal issues. Considering the previous trend of practices, contribution for an innovative world as well as the growing business, the experts observed and stated that there is no barrier for new entries in Japanese Market, this is only some misconception and misunderstanding for the new investors from the old investors. The communication system and leading techniques of the Japanese, capture the higher market share in international

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Choose one topic from four Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Choose one topic from four - Assignment Example In order to identify the objective of the GATT/WTO, it is revealed that GATT/WTO has concentrated towards international trade policies with the intention of ensuring the international trade agenda. At the same time, GATT/WTO has tried to develop the international trade security. In this regard, GATT/WTO has concentrated towards economic factors with the intention of ensuring the interdependent international trade policy. In this context, GATT/WTO has emphasised towards securing the supply of natural resources such as oil, food as well as human security among the global countries. Apart from this, GATT/WTO has concentrated on political framework to establish a supportive internal trade relation among the global players and to create a supportive business environment. Additionally, it can be claimed that for ensuring the economic factor and positive trade relations among the global players, WTO/GATT has concentrated towards world industrials systems and also tried combat with environme ntal threats such as climate change. Additionally, it can be claimed that the WTO/GATT has provided its superior effort with the aim of enhancing the international trade as well as investment environment (Falkner, 2011). The objective of this paper is to identify the economic theory underpinning contemporary international economic relations. At the same time, this particular assignment has concerned with the broad principles underpinning WTO law, and with an analysis of specific agreements and disputes. Moreover, the study intended to identify the contemporary legal problems of WTO. With the effect of globalization and internationalization, it is revealed that most of nations no longer discussed in isolation, rather it is revealed that larger numbers of nations have concentrated on economic and political chance for ensuring the international political relations. In this regard, it is witnessed that several

Constructing an Argument from Multiple Sources Essay

Constructing an Argument from Multiple Sources - Essay Example The environment comprises of the settings and conditions where man, animals and plants operate. Because every person shares it, it is our obligation to ensure that it is safeguarded and maintained. Presently, the environment is threatened by human beings who live in it. Global warming is causing the polar ice caps to melt risking the existence of the habitation present there. This means that people have to willingly opt to embrace a new lifestyle so that the environment can be preserved. For instance, people can endeavor to employ less energy conserve resources that are nonrenewable as well as minimize the negative consequences that are already on earth. In his book dubbed, â€Å"life after a year of not using toilet paper† Colin Beavan supports this argument by revealing how he spent an entire year without having any impact on earth and living a life that is purely eco effective (Green para 10). A no impact transition meant any transportation that employed fossil fuel powers like taxis, elevators, and subways could not be used. The main consequence that burning fossil fuels has on the environment is the greenhouse effect or global warming. Beavan argues in his book dubbed,† no impact man†, that during the combustion of these fuels, carbon dioxide is released in the atmosphere resulting in a number of crises in the environment. For instance, the burnt fossil, releases poisonous gases like sulphuric and carbonic acids which in turn damage the environment. Consequently, this makes the environment produce acidic rain which damages the lives of both animals and life. These damaging carbon dioxide results block the proper release of the earth’s infrared radiation. Consequently, this leads to rapid heating and an increase in climate change (Beavan 73). Furthermore, the fuels emitted can erode the ozone layer that safeguards the earth from the deadly sun radiation. Fossil wastes are

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 15

Business - Essay Example (Merill Goozner, 1995), This fact revealed by the article Misunderstood or Misrepresented which is based on the Japanese culture and business ethics, reflects the integrity, kindness and the hardworking of the Japanese people, who always welcome the new customers with smiling faces at airport, at train and on the hotel as well. In fact, paying tips to the staff of the hotel and restaurant against services is the vogue of Europeans, but this vogue is not in the practices of Japanese. The services of hotel personnel are paid by the hotel not by the customer’s tips. These differences further influence the foreign investors to initiate the businesses in Japan, who prioritized the customers with full services, even the personal services also include in the duties. (Kwintessential, 2011). This is the famous phenomena of Japanese ethics, that they are more than hard working and complete and never sacrifice their work against the social or personal issues. Considering the previous trend of practices, contribution for an innovative world as well as the growing business, the experts observed and stated that there is no barrier for new entries in Japanese Market, this is only some misconception and misunderstanding for the new investors from the old investors. The communication system and leading techniques of the Japanese, capture the higher market share in international

Constructing an Argument from Multiple Sources Essay

Constructing an Argument from Multiple Sources - Essay Example The environment comprises of the settings and conditions where man, animals and plants operate. Because every person shares it, it is our obligation to ensure that it is safeguarded and maintained. Presently, the environment is threatened by human beings who live in it. Global warming is causing the polar ice caps to melt risking the existence of the habitation present there. This means that people have to willingly opt to embrace a new lifestyle so that the environment can be preserved. For instance, people can endeavor to employ less energy conserve resources that are nonrenewable as well as minimize the negative consequences that are already on earth. In his book dubbed, â€Å"life after a year of not using toilet paper† Colin Beavan supports this argument by revealing how he spent an entire year without having any impact on earth and living a life that is purely eco effective (Green para 10). A no impact transition meant any transportation that employed fossil fuel powers like taxis, elevators, and subways could not be used. The main consequence that burning fossil fuels has on the environment is the greenhouse effect or global warming. Beavan argues in his book dubbed,† no impact man†, that during the combustion of these fuels, carbon dioxide is released in the atmosphere resulting in a number of crises in the environment. For instance, the burnt fossil, releases poisonous gases like sulphuric and carbonic acids which in turn damage the environment. Consequently, this makes the environment produce acidic rain which damages the lives of both animals and life. These damaging carbon dioxide results block the proper release of the earth’s infrared radiation. Consequently, this leads to rapid heating and an increase in climate change (Beavan 73). Furthermore, the fuels emitted can erode the ozone layer that safeguards the earth from the deadly sun radiation. Fossil wastes are

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Active Intellect in Aristotle Essay Example for Free

Active Intellect in Aristotle Essay All men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness they are loved for themselves; and above all others the sense of sight. This is the foundation of human knowledge Aristotle presents us with in Book Alpha of the Metaphysics. The next question which we must naturally ask ourselves is, How? How is it that we can have any knowledge at all? We by our very nature desire to know and we love the senses in themselves but what is the relationship between the two and by what faculty are we able to call anything knowledge once sense perception has occurred? Aristotle sets up as his faculty for knowledge both the active and the passive intellects. We begin to have knowledge through sense experience. We cannot know without sense experienceand it is from sense experience that all knowledge is therefore generated. Knowledge for Aristotle is a knowledge of universals, that is, a knowledge of Essences. Thought is thus the faculty by which we come to comprehend universals. And since material objects are a composite unity of essence and existence, it naturally follows that we grasp the universal through our encounter with the particular. What follows is a series of events which leads to knowledge. The passive intellect receives the image from the sense data and it is stamped upon the passive intellect from the material impression. From this stamp the active intellect is to draw out of it and somehow make a universal concept from this particular experience. But there is something more at work here. There is something in the mind ( more specifically in the soul) that somehow comprehends and makes universals intelligible. Various theories have been postulated concerning this but we shall concentrate on Aristotle and leave the other philosophies for now. What is at work in man is a divine reason immanent in mans soul. Somehow man is connected to and shares in divine reason. A distinction must be made here. We are not saying that the human souls capacity to grasp universals is in some way a maker or shares in the pure act of God, but that without this divine reason at work in the souls of men no understanding of universals could take place at all. The mind works on the material given to it, that is its potential, and from this material it moves to actuality. An example of this is the man who is without music becoming musical. His potential to be musical always existed in him but it wasnt until he studied the particulars of music that he became a musical  man. Aristotle refers in his Meteorology (1072, b14) that we can live a life like that of a God, a time of reason being broken down where we become aware of the oneness with the principles, whose knowledge is always actual and always complete. The active intellect does not in any way act strictly on material that was already there but undisclosed, it does act on material given to it in sense experience and illuminated by mans reason and divine reason as well. We share in the reason of God Aristotle believed. The philosopher God is a God of pure act, in other words Thought thinking Thought. This is the goal of man, to achieve a similar state of being in contemplation and reflection. And it is only through the active intellect that man is able to come to universals. The active intellect acts on the passive intellect the way an artist acts on stone to create an image. The artist impresses the form of a knowable object into the stone and the active intellect impresses a knowable object onto the passive intellect. We must not make the mistake here of understanding the active intellect as a medium between the passive intellect and the object to be known. Knowledge for Aristotle is a direct and not mediated relationship. The relationship of active to passive intellect is that of illumination shared in divine reason whereby man is able to see the universal in the particular and understand or grasp the idea of universal. This I liken to the statue made by the artist. By sharing in divine reason and the reason in his own soul (which I understand to be an imperfect representation of Gods) the artist is able to take a universal image in his soul and craft a particular. This particular statue thus becomes a representation of the universals we can synthesize through sense experience. Aquinas furthered this theory of the active intellect not as a maker but as an abstraction. This abstraction is taking the impressed species and expressing it through the faculty of the active or agent intellect. The material image is given in sense experience and then expressed as a universal to the mind by the very nature of the active intellect which is abstraction. This abstraction is how for Aquinas that we come to know universals. Gods pure act is translated here to fallen man by which he can begin his ascent to a higher existence. The active intellect in Aristotle is not a reason which creates out of nothing. It works on a material given to it, which it promotes from potentiality into actuality. The one reason is analogous to matter because it becomes all things; the other is analogous to the efficient cause because it makes all things. The first statement points to the act of apprehending, the second to that of art. Art makes its objects by making the material become them. And if the analogy is meant to be an exact one the role of the active intellect must therefore be to make the passive intellect its object so this apprehension can occur. What is potentially comes to be actually. This implies that there is something similar to Platos world of Forms insofar as man is cut off to a pre-existing knowledge and with which we are not in communication. Where Plato called it the re-collection of forgotten forms I believe Aristotle to call it divine reason actuating itself in human reason. Because all men by nature to desire to know, and by knowing we share in the being of God.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Must visit places in Ladakh

Must visit places in Ladakh Ladakh is a land with extraordinary charm. Surrounded by two of the worlds most fascinating mountain ranges, the great Himalayas and the Karakoram, this destination of India is endowed with captivating geographical features. Some of the best places in Ladakh are: Leh: Leh, the crown of Ladakh, is a famous city known for its mind blowing attractions. The snow-capped mountains, the charming river and the beautiful valleys, all combine to make this tourist destination a big hit with tourists. This land has been the center of Tibeto-Buddhist culture for ages. It is one of the best places for mountaineering. The Leh Palace and the beautiful Gompas are striking attractions. Alchi: It is a legendary Himalayan beauty located on the banks of river Indus. Having rich cultural heritage, it is a small village famous for one of the oldest monasteries of Ladakh, Alchi Monastery. Built in the 11th century, the monastery is decorated with beautiful murals and frescoes. Lamayuru: Enveloped in natural beauty, this small village is proud of its arresting Gompas. Surrounded by the huge mountains, the village is a home to the beautiful Kagyupa monastery, which is one of the largest and oldest monasteries in Ladakh. Kargil: Kargil is the second largest urban centre of Ladakh. The town lies nestling along the rising hillside of the lower Suru basin. Two tributaries of the Suru River that meet here are the Drass and Wakha. The land available along the narrow valley and the rising hillsides are intensely cultivated which grow variety of vegetables and cereals. Kargil is also famous for fine apricots grown here. Kargil serves as an ideal base station for adventure activities like trekking, mountaineering, camping, river rafting, etc. Drass: Drass has beautiful pasture grounds and is the second coldest inhabited place in the world, where the temperature goes as low as -50 in winter. Drass has become famous in recent years because of Pakistans misadventure in the Tiger hill. One can have a lovely view of Tiger hill from Drass village. Zanskar: Zangskar is the most isolated of all the trans- Himalayan valleys. Zangskar comprises of two main valleys of Stod and Lunak, which converge below at Padum. The area remains inaccessible for nearly 7 months in the year due to snowfall and this makes this valley one of the coldest inhabited lands in the world. All the high passes are close in the winter and the river freezes on the surface. Zanskaris walk along the Frozon River called ChadarTrek to reach the Indus River. The route from Kargil to Padum via Penzi La is the only motorable road to reach Zanskar valley, which remains open from June to September. Padum: Once the capital of the Zangskar valley, today Padum is the administrative headquarters of the region and probably the most populous settlement of Zanskar. Stakrimo Gonpa is on a hill side and the 10th century monument carved on a huge rock near the river bank, provides epigraphic evidence that the region was influenced by Buddhism since ancient period. Nubra Valley: The Nubra Valley means the valley of flowers. The altitude of the valley is about 10,000 ft. above the sea level. The pleasant weather and natural beauty make this place a popular tourist destination. The main attraction in this area is Bactarian Camels around sand dunes, Deskit Samstanling monasteries. Khardung la Pass, and Camel Safari. Pangong Lake: What strikes the eye in coming first in view of this lake is the lovely colour of its water, especially towards evening, which is of the richest deep blue. The water of the Lake is not that as salty as sea water. The landscape on the way to Pangong is spectacular. Dhahanu-The land of Aryans: Dhahanu is situated to the south west of Leh, around 163 Kms. Being on lower altitude Dhahanu is warmer than Leh. The main attraction of this tour is Drokpa Community considered being as the last race of Aryans confined to the valley. Their feature is pure Indo Aryan and they have preserved their racial purity down the centuries. Their culture and religious practices are very similar to ancient pre- Buddhist religion known as Bon-Chos. So, find for yourself why Ladakh is one of the most gifted places in the world.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Sigma Nu Essay -- Fraternities College Essays

Sigma Nu There are many advantages of joining an NAU organization as I have learned through Sigma Nu. There are many complicated issues and opportunities presented to people everyday. Some are more severe than others, but they all come down to a sense of commitment and desire. Just recently, I had the honor of dealing with headaches and alternating views as I was introduced to Greek Fraternal Life. I had looked into Fraternities in the past, but never pursued any group due to uncertainty. Because I was ignorant about the Greek system prior to attending N.A.U., my curiosity, first semester, allowed me to get a better understanding of it. With more knowledge and comprehension I decided to further look into becoming a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity. The process of becoming a member is much harder than people would think, myself included until I experienced it first hand. Meeting people during rush week is easy, as you are respectfully invited to activities and dinners. Each group tries to persuade you to join their Fraternity by telling how great their organization is. Whether it is done by their involvement in philanthropy events, leadership learning, community service or party life they all have something different to offer. That’s where the process becomes more difficult as you try to find the one that best fits your ideals. Do you want to party all the time or do you want to get something out of it and what is it that you want to ge...

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Establishing Excellence Essay -- American History, Colonists

The year 1620 marked the beginning of a new nation. Regardless of where they lived, the early colonists seemed to have one thing in common a tough, rugged individualism characterized by an independent nature and a desire for self-government Emigrants from England set forth across the Atlantic Ocean, on the Mayflower, embarked on their quest for better life. The Pilgrims founded the Plymouth colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts in December of that year. Fear and danger masked their hopes and dreams while conquering obstacles such as starvation, disease, and harsh winters. Despite the fatalities at sea, the unexpected dangers of the new land killed nearly half of the original crew. The 53 who remained witnessed the first ever Thanksgiving the following autumn in 1621. William Bradford succeeded John Carver in 1622 as governor of Plymouth Colony. Finding themselves in an intolerable circumstance, some members separated from the Church of England and sought reform. The groups, known as the Pilgrims and Puritans soon found their way into the New World. The ostensible Puritans wished to purify their faith by applying the principles set by the Protestant Reformation (Settling for determinism, 2011, para. 1). They chose to remain within the Church of England and work for reform, and supported the belief of setting an example of biblical righteousness in and out of church. Their leaders, highly trained scholars knowledgeable of the Scriptures, sought to bring the Church of England to a state of purity that matched Christianity in the same way Christ had (Settling for determinism, 2011, para. 3). The Puritans strongly emphasized the communal righteousness of their entire congregation before God. Although the Puritans came to America for relig... ...dom he longs for. Irving’s piece incorporates many elements of the new American romanticism: an emphasis on imaginations and emotions, an exultation of the common man, and an appreciation for external nature. â€Å"The Declaration of Independence† focuses on the oppressions of the tyrannical king. Through the whimsical and fictionist tale, Irving parallels the real struggles of the American Revolution. This found freedom accentuates the maturing and development of America whereas Rip stays the same good-natured, whimsical fellow. Oliver Wendell Holmes' figurative poem entitled "Old Ironsides", written in 1830, strikes a chord with the patriotic masses of a young America. Within this poem, Holmes patriotically protests the decision of the Secretary of Navy to destroy the fighting ship the USS Constitution, popularly known as Old Ironsides. Establishing Excellence Essay -- American History, Colonists The year 1620 marked the beginning of a new nation. Regardless of where they lived, the early colonists seemed to have one thing in common a tough, rugged individualism characterized by an independent nature and a desire for self-government Emigrants from England set forth across the Atlantic Ocean, on the Mayflower, embarked on their quest for better life. The Pilgrims founded the Plymouth colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts in December of that year. Fear and danger masked their hopes and dreams while conquering obstacles such as starvation, disease, and harsh winters. Despite the fatalities at sea, the unexpected dangers of the new land killed nearly half of the original crew. The 53 who remained witnessed the first ever Thanksgiving the following autumn in 1621. William Bradford succeeded John Carver in 1622 as governor of Plymouth Colony. Finding themselves in an intolerable circumstance, some members separated from the Church of England and sought reform. The groups, known as the Pilgrims and Puritans soon found their way into the New World. The ostensible Puritans wished to purify their faith by applying the principles set by the Protestant Reformation (Settling for determinism, 2011, para. 1). They chose to remain within the Church of England and work for reform, and supported the belief of setting an example of biblical righteousness in and out of church. Their leaders, highly trained scholars knowledgeable of the Scriptures, sought to bring the Church of England to a state of purity that matched Christianity in the same way Christ had (Settling for determinism, 2011, para. 3). The Puritans strongly emphasized the communal righteousness of their entire congregation before God. Although the Puritans came to America for relig... ...dom he longs for. Irving’s piece incorporates many elements of the new American romanticism: an emphasis on imaginations and emotions, an exultation of the common man, and an appreciation for external nature. â€Å"The Declaration of Independence† focuses on the oppressions of the tyrannical king. Through the whimsical and fictionist tale, Irving parallels the real struggles of the American Revolution. This found freedom accentuates the maturing and development of America whereas Rip stays the same good-natured, whimsical fellow. Oliver Wendell Holmes' figurative poem entitled "Old Ironsides", written in 1830, strikes a chord with the patriotic masses of a young America. Within this poem, Holmes patriotically protests the decision of the Secretary of Navy to destroy the fighting ship the USS Constitution, popularly known as Old Ironsides.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Opportunity Advantage and main challenge for a foreign company that wishes to establish business in China Essay

Economic growth of countries is largely contributed by the competitive advantage that it poses and which puts it ahead in terms of resources over the other economies. Michael Porter describes competitive advantage under factors such as the demand conditions, related industries, factors of production and corporate strategy under his famous competitive â€Å"diamond† model. In this model he establishes the strengths of nations basing on their industries. The factors of production are essential for an industry in the production processes and they include logistics, skilled labor among others. These are the specialized factors of production which are created and not inherited. He also notes that other factors which can be termed as general factors include unskilled labor and raw materials and can easily be obtained by any company at any one time hence they do not lead to any competitive advantage of an economy whereas the specialized factors require sustained and heavy investment. These specialized factors lead to an economy’s competitive advantage because they can not be duplicated as they are valuable. Demand conditions on the other hand apply to the nature and the extent of demand that exists within nations which is concerned with the services or products. The higher the demand of products in a nation, the higher the pressure that is exerted on them to produce more through innovative practices in order to enhance their competitiveness in the market by producing high quality products. Related industries apply to the extent, international, and the existence of the competitive strength of the other industries in an economy. These industries enable the exchange of information hence resulting in a continuous exchange of innovations and ideas. Lastly corporate strategy, structure and rivalry refers to the conditions that exist in the domestic market which end up affecting the way corporations are created, grown and managed. Porter puts forward the idea that the home markets have to fight and work hard to increase the chances of surviving and succeeding in the international markets. This is because today’s markets are dynamic and firms have to work hard in order to increase its innovation and productivity and this can only be done through direct competition from these cor-operate organizations. In this â€Å"diamond† model, Porter states that the main role of the government is to act as a catalyst and at the same time a challenger by encouraging as well as pushing companies to increase their performance, stimulating demand that should be made early enough especially for advanced product, pay attention to the creation of specialized factors and stimulating the existence of local rivalry through the limitation of direct cooperation and also enforcing regulations concerning anti-trust (Porter, 24-30). In other words, Porter emphasizes on globalization by nations concerning their abilities to innovate and process a head of their competitors as the only means that nations can be able to increase their productivity gains hence gaining a competitive advantage. He also argues that in order to be able to gain this, competitive advantage, countries need to have the technological know how in order to enable them to capture greater value in the world market place by establishing areas that they would like to compete and it is the companies which have posed the ability to continuously innovate and improve that have been able to remain competitive (Harrison & Hargrove, 2005, 14). Porter also established five forces that are helpful in the analysis of competitive positions of nations. These forces are also helpful in the analysis of strategic plans as well as in the establishment of investment decisions that concerns organizations. The five forces include the existence of competitive rivalry between suppliers, threat of new market entrants, power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers as well as the threat of substitute products that includes the technological change. The new market entrants include ease and barriers on entry, geographical factors, new entrant strategy, and routes to market as well as the incumbents’ resistance. Supplier power applies to brand reputation, product/service level quality, and geographical coverage, bidding processes / capabilities and relationships with customers. Buyer power on the other hand refers to buyer choice, change cost or frequency, the buyer size, volumes and product/service importance. In addition, product and technology development includes the alternative price/quality, fashion and trends, market distribution changes and the legislative effects. Lastly, the competitive rivalry refers to the number and size of firms, fixed variable costs bases, the industry size and trends, differentiation and strategy as well as product / service ranges (Harrison & Hargroves, 2005, 14). According to Montgomery and Porter, the creation of a competitive advantage only exists through the creation of a process that is highly localized. They further argue that the factors that contribute to competitive success include the differences in culture, national values, institutions and histories and the economic structures (Porter & Montgomery, 135 – 136). This paper will focus on the opportunities, advantages and the main challenges for a foreign company that wishes to establish its business in China in some industry. China boasts of a good and stable economic growth which has mainly been linked to its domestic demand, foreign trade and investment that include foreign direct investment. This economic growth that China experiences has also been as a result of its emphasis on education and the constant monitoring by the government in order to enhance success at the local level. The Peoples Republic of China can also be described as one of the rapidly growing economies in history. It is also the world’s largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and China is currently focusing on the establishment of a free market economy. China’s Foreign Direct Investment is different compared with other economies. Its Foreign Direct Investment falls under the category of labor-sourcing which is mostly greenfield and it is mainly accompanied or stimulated by the low costs in production through the availability of the local labor which is cheap (Chung-Tong Wu, 122). This type of Foreign Direct Investment mainly comes fro a high-income economy and is eventually invested in an economy with a low income and not to those countries that poses similar income models. This is because during the process of development in an economy accompanied by high levels of economic development, the local currently of a country tends to generally appreciate and the production costs as well as labor costs also increase. The Foreign Direct Investment that exists in China which consists of the labor-sourcing is intended to effectively make use of the available cheap labor as well as performing some processes that are more labour-intensive or production activities. The products from this type of investment are mostly exported to third world countries or are sold in the domestic market belonging to this Foreign Direct Investment. The inflow of FDI results in a demonstration effect that identifies suitable market conditions necessary for fixed assets investment and this therefore causes an impact on the location of industries. This has also affected the regional income and export growth in Central West and East China since the 1990s. Moreover, the increases in the FDI – GDP ration has resulted in the increased industrial value added nationally in East China hence contributing to the positive growth in the regional income. However, this flow weakens the regional income. However, this flow weakens the regional income growth in central China (Chung-Tong Wu, 122). Domestic demand is also another factor that has contributed to China’s success in the global market, hence its future economic growth is highly dependent on this domestic demand and not the growth in its exports. The rise in incomes means that people will spend more and the state-owned enterprises, joint ventures, town-village enterprises and private enterprises are in a positive to increase their sales hence growth in domestic demand. The growth in domestic demand in China has enabled the country to attract foreign direct investment and the virtuous cycle of demand growth has been as a result of foreign direct investment growth and the growth in capital spending that is practiced by most Chinese firms (Huijiong, 36-38). The international trade that exists in China is also different from those that exist in other countries. 50% has been the share that involves the processing of export trade in China since 1995. In addition, the share of Foreign – Funded Enterprises has also been more than 50% since 2001. Moreover, the international trade in China can be linked to the inward Foreign Direct Investment. The labor-sourcing Foreign Direct Investment in China is export-oriented hence resulting in a direct and proportional relationship between the exports and Foreign Direct Investment. The higher the level of Foreign Direct Investment, the higher the level of exports in China. Therefore, China’s economic growth has been as a result of inward Foreign Direct Investment. China has been able to develop as a global location option for production by many economies because of the combination of its heavy and large investment accompanied by the existing hand working; inexpensive easily trained labor that is literate (Huijiong, 36-38). China has a lot of opportunities that favor anyone or any foreign investors who would like to establish their businesses in China. The country is also considered to be the third largest nation in the manufacturing industry specifically the semiconductor industry. Therefore China presents the best opportunity in the manufacturing sector and an integrated circuit market which is accelerating in which demand exceeds supply. China also has a market in PC that is the second largest in the world together with the largest market in handset. This therefore means that China has become one of the highest consumers of electronic products worldwide. The electronic growth in China is staggering hence emerging to be among the top leading nations in computing. Communications as well as consumer electronics. As a result, China has been able to be forecasted to be having the second largest market in semiconductor worldwide by the year 2010 (Huijiong, 36-38). China also has technological advances which have been able to attract foreign investment. This is as a result of the development of strict technological standards which have competed well with the more open standards around the world. The other opportunity and advantage is that China has been able to dominate mass manufacturing which has resulted into the provision of a low – cost base for manufacturing for foreign companies as well as for United States. The country is also considered to be a growing base for intellectual capital which is essential for scientific research work and development and provides a lot of opportunities in marketing for firm globally. China also boasts of having competitive advantage in areas of banking, insurance, retail and variety of services. Another opportunity is that the government of China has offered on-going government regulations which have lifted several restrictions on trade and this has made it easier for foreign companies and businesses to succeed. Moreover, several companies are now moving to China to establish their production processes since the country offers generous tax incentives, cheap labor as well as high productivity taxes. China also agrees to greater investment levels from multinational companies. Therefore, China offers both irresistible attractions to foreign investors and challenges as regards its cultural, legal and social differences (Huijiong, 36-38). In addition, the recent announcement made concerning local incorporation has led to the growth of foreign banks in markets in China. The factors that have led to the growth in investments in banks include a strong economy and a growing middle class, and the China’s terms on the World Trade Organization accession which has resulted in the opening up of China’s banking sector. The business climate in China is favourable hence providing the opportunities to open up markets and foreign investment. The country has also adopted a status position in the world Trade Organization. China is also increasingly developing to become a major supplier of various industrial products namely power transmission, machinery, telcom equipment, pipelines, distribution equipment, oil and gas industry equipment and automotive products. The existence of a favourable geographic location is also another opportunity that China presents. The country has unique geographic features including a climate that as favourable in the establishment of businesses, China also has a favourable cultural advantage since its culture forms the major source of Japanese and Asian cultures hence connecting East Asia and South economies. The majority of overseas Chinese worldwide have been able to control huge resources in the world hence aggressively investing in China. The local market available in China is attractive consistency of a large population of Chinese hence increasing the purchasing power of the Chinese. Therefore in terms of opportunities, China presents the opportunity for technology, investment, import, export, manufacturing among others which could be classified under social, economic, political and religious opportunities that are friendly to any one person or company that wishes to establish itself in China and succeeding in business (Huijiong, 36-38). China however has its challenges that affect the establishment of foreign companies. It is important to note that challenges are a part and parcel of the daily life that we undertake. These challenges also affect the way businesses are run and confronting them will require perseverance, knowledge and commitment. The challenges that are commonly experienced by today’s managers include risk management, changes that could be on-going in the business environment, management of the needs of the business people as well as fighting fraud. These challenges can be classified as under convergence, corporate reporting, fraud, corporate governance, intellectual property, managing change, improving business performance, managers and acquisitions, risk management, managing people, operating globally, sustainability, security and privacy. Shareholder value as well as job creation. These categories of challenges affect business operations as well as the opportunities for foreign investment in an economy. One of the main challenges that China poses to foreign investors is the cultural challenge as well as the political differences. This takes the form of language barriers and bureaucracy. People in China are not used to signing contracts which also includes the details concerning the joint venture and this takes a lot of time for them to be able to sign any contract for any business whatsoever. The business leaders in China are the ones who mostly study the behaviour of these people. They regard the written contract as secondary to the existing verbal agreement made. The challenge in Chinese culture can be best described by using coca-cola company as an example. This company came across this challenge in 1984 when it had tried to establish its business in China. Having signed a contract with the central government trading company in 1978, coke believed that it was in a better position and all the exclusive rights in the selling of their beverages in China (Harris and Robert, 120). Coke company encountered a rude shock since the government of China informed them that their exclusive rights were limited and not for the entire of China and they should sell their products in those places that they were initially allocated. In addition, since China is rapidly under the transformation from an agricultural economy to that of an urban society and also from a commanding economy to the more elaborate market economy, the government plays a huge role in the country’s planning activities and the entire economy more than any other western countries. This has resulted into the way the Chinese think which is bureaucratic. Therefore establishing a new business in China requires the knowledge of regulatory, monetary and legal issues that exist in China hence the need for respecting and understanding the culture of the Chinese people. The development of human resources and staffing a local team into management in China is also a challenge especially when it involves finding the right group of people to be in corpoorated into the business (Kirpalani, 1990, 186 – 188) As a challenge, there is lack of predictability in China’s business environment because of inexistence of a body of regulations and laws.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Chapter 9 The Dark Mark

â€Å"Don't tell your mother you've been gambling,† Mr. Weasley implored Fred and George as they all made their way slowly down the purple-carpeted stairs. â€Å"Don't worry, Dad,† said Fred gleefully, â€Å"we've got big plans for this money. We don't want it confiscated.† Mr. Weasley looked for a moment as though he was going to ask what these big plans were, but seemed to decide, upon reflection, that he didn't want to know. They were soon caught up in the crowds now flooding out of the stadium and back to their campsites. Raucous singing was borne toward them on the night air as they retraced their steps along the lantern-lit path, and leprechauns kept shooting over their heads, cackling and waving their lanterns. When they finally reached the tents, nobody felt like sleeping at all, and given the level of noise around them, Mr. Weasley agreed that they could all have one last cup of cocoa together before turning in. They were soon arguing enjoyably about the match; Mr. Weasley got drawn into a disagreement about cobbing with Charlie, and it was only when Ginny fell asleep right at the tiny table and spilled hot chocolate all over the floor that Mr. Weasley called a halt to the verbal replays and insisted that everyone go to bed. Hermione and Ginny went into the next tent, and Harry and the rest of the Weasleys changed into pajamas and clambered into their bunks. From the other side of the campsite they could still hear much singing and the odd echoing bang. â€Å"Oh I am glad I'm not on duty,† muttered Mr. Weasley sleepily. â€Å"I wouldn't fancy having to go and tell the Irish they've got to stop celebrating.† Harry, who was on a top bunk above Ron, lay staring up at the canvas ceiling of the tent, watching the glow of an occasional leprechaun lantern flying overhead, and picturing again some of Krum's more spectacular moves. He was itching to get back on his own Firebolt and try out the Wronski Feint†¦.Somehow Oliver Wood had never managed to convey with all his wriggling diagrams what that move was supposed to look like†¦.Harry saw himself in robes that had his name on the back, and imagined the sensation of hearing a hundred-thousand-strong crowd roar, as Ludo Bagman's voice echoed throughout the stadium, â€Å"I give you†¦.Potter!† Harry never knew whether or not he had actually dropped off to sleep – his fantasies of flying like Krum might well have slipped into actual dreams – all he knew was that, quite suddenly, Mr. Weasley was shouting. â€Å"Get up! Ron – Harry – come on now, get up, this is urgent!† Harry sat up quickly and the top of his head hit canvas. â€Å"‘S' matter?† he said. Dimly, he could tell that something was wrong. The noises in the campsite had changed. The singing had stopped. He could hear screams, and the sound of people running. He slipped down from the bunk and reached for his clothes, but Mr. Weasley, who had pulled on his jeans over his own pajamas, said, â€Å"No time, Harry – just grab a jacket and get outside – quickly!† Harry did as he was told and hurried out of the tent, Ron at his heels. By the light of the few fires that were still burning, he could see people running away into the woods, fleeing something that was moving across the field toward them, something that was emitting odd flashes of light and noises like gunfire. Loud jeering, roars of laughter, and drunken yells were drifting toward them; then came a burst of strong green light, which illuminated the scene. A crowd of wizards, tightly packed and moving together with wands pointing straight upward, was marching slowly across the field. Harry squinted at them†¦.They didn't seem to have faces†¦.Then he realized that their heads were hooded and their faces masked. High above them, floating along in midair, four struggling figures were being contorted into grotesque shapes. It was as though the masked wizards on the ground were puppeteers, and the people above them were marionettes operated by invisible strings that rose from the wands into the air. Two of the figures were very small. More wizards were joining the marching group, laughing and pointing up at the floating bodies. Tents crumpled and fell as the marching crowd swelled. Once or twice Harry saw one of the marchers blast a tent out of his way with his wand. Several caught fire. The screaming grew louder. The floating people were suddenly illuminated as they passed over a burning tent and Harry recognized one of them: Mr. Roberts, the campsite manager. The other three looked as though they might be his wife and children. One of the marchers below flipped Mrs. Roberts upside down with his wand; her nightdress fell down to reveal voluminous drawers and she struggled to cover herself up as the crowd below her screeched and hooted with glee. â€Å"That's sick,† Ron muttered, watching the smallest Muggle child, who had begun to spin like a top, sixty feet above the ground, his head flopping limply from side to side. â€Å"That is really sick†¦.† Hermione and Ginny came hurrying toward them, pulling coats over their nightdresses, with Mr. Weasley right behind them. At the same moment, Bill, Charlie, and Percy emerged from the boys' tent, fully dressed, with their sleeves rolled up and their wands out. â€Å"We're going to help the Ministry!† Mr. Weasley shouted over all the noise, rolling up his own sleeves. â€Å"You lot – get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out!† Bill, Charlie, and Percy were already sprinting away toward the oncoming marchers; Mr. Weasley tore after them. Ministry wizards were dashing from every direction toward the source of the trouble. The crowd beneath the Roberts family was coming ever closer. â€Å"C'mon,† said Fred, grabbing Ginny's hand and starting to pull her toward the wood. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and George followed. They all looked back as they reached the trees. The crowd beneath the Roberts family was larger than ever; they could see the Ministry wizards trying to get through it to the hooded wizards in the center, but they were having great difficulty. It looked as though they were scared to perform any spell that might make the Roberts family fall. The colored lanterns that had lit the path to the stadium had been extinguished. Dark figures were blundering through the trees; children were crying; anxious shouts and panicked voices were reverberating around them in the cold night air. Harry felt himself being pushed hither and thither by people whose faces he could not see. Then he heard Ron yell with pain. â€Å"What happened?† said Hermione anxiously, stopping so abruptly that Harry walked into her. â€Å"Ron, where are you? Oh this is stupid – lumos!† She illuminated her wand and directed its narrow beam across the path. Ron was lying sprawled on the ground. â€Å"Tripped over a tree root,† he said angrily, getting to his feet again. â€Å"Well, with feet that size, hard not to,† said a drawling voice from behind them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned sharply. Draco Malfoy was standing alone nearby, leaning against a tree, looking utterly relaxed. His arms folded, he seemed to have been watching the scene at the campsite through a gap in the trees. Ron told Malfoy to do something that Harry knew he would never have dared say in front of Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"Language, Weasley,† said Malfoy, his pale eyes glittering. â€Å"Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?† He nodded at Hermione, and at the same moment, a blast like a bomb sounded from the campsite, and a flash of green light momentarily lit the trees around them. â€Å"What's that supposed to mean?† said Hermione defiantly. â€Å"Granger, they're after Muggles, â€Å"said Malfoy. â€Å"D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around†¦.they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh.† â€Å"Hermione's a witch,† Harry snarled. â€Å"Have it your own way, Potter,† said Malfoy, grinning maliciously. â€Å"If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are.† â€Å"You watch your mouth!† shouted Ron. Everybody present knew that â€Å"Mudblood† was a very offensive term for a witch or wizard of Muggle parentage. â€Å"Never mind, Ron,† said Hermione quickly, seizing Ron's arm to restrain him as he took a step toward Malfoy. There came a bang from the other side of the trees that was louder than anything they had heard. Several people nearby screamed. Malfoy chuckled softly. â€Å"Scare easily, don't they?† he said lazily. â€Å"I suppose your daddy told you all to hide? What's he up to – trying to rescue the Muggles?† â€Å"Where're your parents?† said Harry, his temper rising. â€Å"Out there wearing masks, are they?† Malfoy turned his face to Harry, still smiling. â€Å"Well†¦if they were, I wouldn't be likely to tell you, would I, Potter?† â€Å"Oh come on,† said Hermione, with a disgusted look at Malfoy, â€Å"let's go and find the others.† â€Å"Keep that big bushy head down, Granger,† sneered Malfoy. â€Å"Come on,† Hermione repeated, and she pulled Harry and Ron up the path again. â€Å"I'll bet you anything his dad is one of that masked lot!† said Ron hotly. â€Å"Well, with any luck, the Ministry will catch him!† said Hermione fervently. â€Å"Oh I can't believe this. Where have the others got to?† Fred, George, and Ginny were nowhere to be seen, though the path was packed with plenty of other people, all looking nervously over their shoulders toward the commotion back at the campsite. A huddle of teenagers in pajamas was arguing vociferously a little way along the path. When they saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione, a girl with thick curly hair turned and said quickly, â€Å"O est Madame Maxime? Nous l'avons perdue -â€Å" â€Å"Er – what?† said Ron. â€Å"Oh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The girl who had spoken turned her back on him, and as they walked on they distinctly heard her say, â€Å"‘Ogwarts.† â€Å"Beauxbatons,† muttered Hermione. â€Å"Sorry?† said Harry. â€Å"They must go to Beauxbatons,† said Hermione. â€Å"You know†¦Beauxbatons Academy of Magic†¦.I read about it in An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe.† â€Å"Oh†¦yeah†¦right,† said Harry. â€Å"Fred and George can't have gone that far,† said Ron, pulling out his wand, lighting it like Hermione's, and squinting up the path. Harry dug in the pockets of his jacket for his own wand – but it wasn't there. The only thing he could find was his Omnioculars. â€Å"Ah, no, I don't believe it†¦I've lost my wand!† â€Å"You're kidding!† Ron and Hermione raised their wands high enough to spread the narrow beams of light farther on the ground; Harry looked all around him, but his wand was nowhere to be seen. â€Å"Maybe it's back in the tent,† said Ron. â€Å"Maybe it fell out of your pocket when we were running?† Hermione suggested anxiously. â€Å"Yeah,† said Harry, â€Å"maybe†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He usually kept his wand with him at all times in the wizarding world, and finding himself without it in the midst of a scene like this made him feel very vulnerable. A rustling noise nearby made all three of them jump. Winky the house-elf was fighting her way out of a clump of bushes nearby. She was moving in a most peculiar fashion, apparently with great difficulty; it was as though someone invisible were trying to hold her back. â€Å"There is bad wizards about!† she squeaked distractedly as she leaned forward and labored to keep running. â€Å"People high – high in the air! Winky is getting out of the way!† And she disappeared into the trees on the other side of the path, panting and squeaking as she fought the force that was restraining her. â€Å"What's up with her?† said Ron, looking curiously after Winky. â€Å"Why can't she run properly?† â€Å"Bet she didn't ask permission to hide,† said Harry. He was thinking of Dobby: Every time he had tried to do something the Malfoys wouldn't like, the house-elf had been forced to start beating himself up. â€Å"You know, house-elves get a very raw deal!† said Hermione indignantly. â€Å"It's slavery, that's what it is! That Mr. Crouch made her go up to the top of the stadium, and she was terrified, and he's got her bewitched so she can't even run when they start trampling tents! Why doesn't anyone do something about it?† â€Å"Well, the elves are happy, aren't they?† Ron said. â€Å"You heard old Winky back at the match†¦'House-elves is not supposed to have fun'†¦that's what she likes, being bossed around†¦.† â€Å"It's people like you, Ron,† Hermione began hotly, â€Å"who prop up rotten and unjust systems, just because they're too lazy to -â€Å" Another loud bang echoed from the edge of the wood. â€Å"Let's just keep moving, shall we?† said Ron, and Harry saw him glance edgily at Hermione. Perhaps there was truth in what Malfoy had said; perhaps Hermione was in more danger than they were. They set off again, Harry still searching his pockets, even though he knew his wand wasn't there. They followed the dark path deeper into the wood, still keeping an eye out for Fred, George, and Ginny. They passed a group of goblins who were cackling over a sack of gold that they had undoubtedly won betting on the match, and who seemed quite unperturbed by the trouble at the campsite. Farther still along the path, they walked into a patch of silvery light, and when they looked through the trees, they saw three tall and beautiful veela standing in a clearing, surrounded by a gaggle of young wizards, all of whom were talking very loudly. â€Å"I pull down about a hundred sacks of Galleons a year!† one of them shouted. â€Å"I'm a dragon killer for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures.† â€Å"No, you're not!† yelled his friend. â€Å"You're a dishwasher at the Leaky Cauldron†¦but I'm a vampire hunter, I've killed about ninety so far -â€Å" A third young wizard, whose pimples were visible even by the dim, silvery light of the veela, now cut in, â€Å"I'm about to become the youngest ever Minister of Magic, I am.† Harry snorted with laughter. He recognized the pimply wizard: His name was Stan Shunpike, and he was in fact a conductor on the triple-decker Knight Bus. He turned to tell Ron this, but Ron's face had gone oddly slack, and next second Ron was yelling, â€Å"Did I tell you I've invented a broomstick that'll reach Jupiter?† â€Å"Honestly!† said Hermione, and she and Harry grabbed Ron firmly by the arms, wheeled him around, and marched him away. By the time the sounds of the veela and their admirers had faded completely, they were in the very heart of the wood. They seemed to be alone now; everything was much quieter. Harry looked around. â€Å"I reckon we can just wait here, you know. We'll hear anyone coming a mile off.† The words were hardly out of his mouth, when Ludo Bagman emerged from behind a tree right ahead of them. Even by the feeble light of the two wands, Harry could see that a great change had come over Bagman. He no longer looked buoyant and rosy-faced; there was no more spring in his step. He looked very white and strained. â€Å"Who's that?† he said, blinking down at them, trying to make out their faces. â€Å"What are you doing in here, all alone?† They looked at one another, surprised. â€Å"Well – there's a sort of riot going on,† said Ron. Bagman stared at him. â€Å"What?† â€Å"At the campsite†¦some people have got hold of a family of Muggles†¦.† Bagman swore loudly. â€Å"Damn them!† he said, looking quite distracted, and without another word, he Disapparated with a small pop! â€Å"Not exactly on top of things, Mr. Bagman, is he?† said Hermione, frowning. â€Å"He was a great Beater, though,† said Ron, leading the way off the path into a small clearing, and sitting down on a patch of dry grass at the foot of a tree. â€Å"The Wimbourne Wasps won the league three times in a row while he was with them.† He took his small figure of Krum out of his pocket, set it down on the ground, and watched it walk around. Like the real Krum, the model was slightly duck-footed and round-shouldered, much less impressive on his splayed feet than on his broomstick. Harry was listening for noise from the campsite. Everything seemed much quieter; perhaps the riot was over. â€Å"I hope the others are okay,† said Hermione after a while. â€Å"They'll be fine,† said Ron. â€Å"Imagine if your dad catches Lucius Malfoy,† said Harry, sitting down next to Ron and watching the small figure of Krum slouching over the fallen leaves. â€Å"He's always said he'd like to get something on him.† â€Å"That'd wipe the smirk off old Draco's face, all right,† said Ron. â€Å"Those poor Muggles, though,† said Hermione nervously. â€Å"What if they can't get them down?† â€Å"They will,† said Ron reassuringly. â€Å"They'll find a way.† â€Å"Mad, though, to do something like that when the whole Ministry of Magic's out here tonight!† said Hermione. â€Å"I mean, how do they expect to get away with it? Do you think they've been drinking, or are they just -â€Å" But she broke off abruptly and looked over her shoulder. Harry and Ron looked quickly around too. It sounded as though someone was staggering toward their clearing. They waited, listening to the sounds of the uneven steps behind the dark trees. But the footsteps came to a sudden halt. â€Å"Hello?† called Harry. There was silence. Harry got to his feet and peered around the tree. It was too dark to see very far, but he could sense somebody standing just beyond the range of his vision. â€Å"Who's there?† he said. And then, without warning, the silence was rent by a voice unlike any they had heard in the wood; and it uttered, not a panicked shout, but what sounded like a spell. â€Å"MORSMORDRE!† And something vast, green, and glittering erupted from the patch of darkness Harry's eyes had been struggling to penetrate; it flew up over the treetops and into the sky. â€Å"What the -?† gasped Ron as he sprang to his feet again, staring up at the thing that had appeared. For a split second, Harry thought it was another leprechaun formation. Then he realized that it was a colossal skull, comprised of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. As they watched, it rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky like a new constellation. Suddenly, the wood all around them erupted with screams. Harry didn't understand why, but the only possible cause was the sudden appearance of the skull, which had now risen high enough to illuminate the entire wood like some grisly neon sign. He scanned the darkness for the person who had conjured the skull, but he couldn't see anyone. â€Å"Who's there?† he called again. â€Å"Harry, come on, move!† Hermione had seized the collar of his jacket and was tugging him backward. â€Å"What's the matter?† Harry said, startled to see her face so white and terrified. â€Å"It's the Dark Mark, Harry!† Hermione moaned, pulling him as hard as she could. â€Å"You-Know-Who's sign!† â€Å"Voldemort's – ?† â€Å"Harry, come on!† Harry turned – Ron was hurriedly scooping up his miniature Krum – the three of them started across the clearing – but before they had taken a few hurried steps, a series of popping noises announced the arrival of twenty wizards, appearing from thin air, surrounding them. Harry whirled around, and in an instant, he registered one fact: Each of these wizards had his wand out, and every wand was pointing right at himself, Ron, and Hermione. Without pausing to think, he yelled, â€Å"DUCK!† He seized the other two and pulled them down onto the ground. â€Å"STUPEFY!† roared twenty voices – there was a blinding series of flashes and Harry felt the hair on his head ripple as though a powerful wind had swept the clearing. Raising his head a fraction of an inch he saw jets of fiery red light flying over them from the wizards' wands, crossing one another, bouncing off tree trunks, rebounding into the darkness – â€Å"Stop!† yelled a voice he recognized. â€Å"STOP! That's my son!† Harry's hair stopped blowing about. He raised his head a little higher. The wizard in front of him had lowered his wand. He rolled over and saw Mr. Weasley striding toward them, looking terrified. â€Å"Ron – Harry† – his voice sounded shaky – â€Å"Hermione – are you all right?† â€Å"Out of the way, Arthur,† said a cold, curt voice. It was Mr. Crouch. He and the other Ministry wizards were closing in on them. Harry got to his feet to face them. Mr. Crouch's face was taut with rage. â€Å"Which of you did it?† he snapped, his sharp eyes darting between them. â€Å"Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?† â€Å"We didn't do that!† said Harry, gesturing up at the skull. â€Å"We didn't do anything!† said Ron, who was rubbing his elbow and looking indignantly at his father. â€Å"What did you want to attack us for?† â€Å"Do not lie, sir!† shouted Mr. Crouch. His wand was still pointing directly at Ron, and his eyes were popping – he looked slightly mad. â€Å"You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!† â€Å"Barty,† whispered a witch in a long woolen dressing gown, â€Å"they're kids, Barty, they'd never have been able to -â€Å" â€Å"Where did the Mark come from, you three?† said Mr. Weasley quickly. â€Å"Over there,† said Hermione shakily, pointing at the place where they had heard the voice. â€Å"There was someone behind the trees†¦they shouted words – an incantation -â€Å" â€Å"Oh, stood over there, did they?† said Mr. Crouch, turning his popping eyes on Hermione now, disbelief etched all over his face. â€Å"Said an incantation, did they? You seem very well informed about how that Mark is summoned, missy -â€Å" But none of the Ministry wizards apart from Mr. Crouch seemed to think it remotely likely that Harry, Ron, or Hermione had conjured the skull; on the contrary, at Hermione's words, they had all raised their wands again and were pointing in the direction she had indicated, squinting through the dark trees. â€Å"We're too late,† said the witch in the woolen dressing gown, shaking her head. â€Å"They'll have Disapparated.† â€Å"I don't think so,† said a wizard with a scrubby brown beard. It was Amos Diggory, Cedric's father. â€Å"Our Stunners went right through those trees†¦.There's a good chance we got them†¦.† â€Å"Amos, be careful!† said a few of the wizards warningly as Mr. Diggory squared his shoulders, raised his wand, marched across the clearing, and disappeared into the darkness. Hermione watched him vanish with her hands over her mouth. A few seconds later, they heard Mr. Diggory shout. â€Å"Yes! We got them! There's someone here! Unconscious! It's – but – blimey†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You've got someone?† shouted Mr. Crouch, sounding highly disbelieving. â€Å"Who? Who is it?† They heard snapping twigs, the rustling of leaves, and then crunching footsteps as Mr. Diggory reemerged from behind the trees. He was carrying a tiny, limp figure in his arms. Harry recognized the tea towel at once. It was Winky. Mr. Crouch did not move or speak as Mr. Diggory deposited his elf on the ground at his feet. The other Ministry wizards were all staring at Mr. Crouch. For a few seconds Crouch remained transfixed, his eyes blazing in his white face as he stared down at Winky. Then he appeared to come to life again. â€Å"This – cannot – be,† he said jerkily. â€Å"No -â€Å" He moved quickly around Mr. Diggory and strode off toward the place where he had found Winky. â€Å"No point, Mr. Crouch,† Mr. Diggory called after him. â€Å"There's no one else there.† But Mr. Crouch did not seem prepared to take his word for it. They could hear him moving around and the rustling of leaves as he pushed the bushes aside, searching. â€Å"Bit embarrassing,† Mr. Diggory said grimly, looking down at Winky's unconscious form. â€Å"Barty Crouch's house-elf†¦.I mean to say†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Come off it, Amos,† said Mr. Weasley quietly, â€Å"you don't seriously think it was the elf? The Dark Mark's a wizard's sign. It requires a wand.† â€Å"Yeah,† said Mr. Diggory, â€Å"and she had a wand.† â€Å"What?† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Here, look.† Mr. Diggory held up a wand and showed it to Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Had it in her hand. So that's clause three of the Code of Wand Use broken, for a start. No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand.† Just then there was another pop, and Ludo Bagman Apparated right next to Mr. Weasley. Looking breathless and disorientated, he spun on the spot, goggling upward at the emerald-green skull. â€Å"The Dark Mark!† he panted, almost trampling Winky as he turned inquiringly to his colleagues. â€Å"Who did it? Did you get them? Barry! What's going on?† Mr. Crouch had returned empty-handed. His face was still ghostly white, and his hands and his toothbrush mustache were both twitching. â€Å"Where have you been, Barty?† said Bagman. â€Å"Why weren't you at the match? Your elf was saving you a seat too – gulping gargoyles!† Bagman had just noticed Winky lying at his feet. â€Å"What happened to her?† â€Å"I have been busy, Ludo,† said Mr. Crouch, still talking in the same jerky fashion, barely moving his lips. â€Å"And my elf has been stunned.† â€Å"Stunned? By you lot, you mean? But why -?† Comprehension dawned suddenly on Bagman's round, shiny face; he looked up at the skull, down at Winky, and then at Mr. Crouch. â€Å"No!† he said. â€Å"Winky? Conjure the Dark Mark? She wouldn't know how! She'd need a wand, for a start!† â€Å"And she had one,† said Mr. Diggory. â€Å"I found her holding one, Ludo. If it's all right with you, Mr. Crouch, I think we should hear what she's got to say for herself.† Crouch gave no sign that he had heard Mr. Diggory, but Mr. Diggory seemed to take his silence for assent. He raised his own wand, pointed it at Winky, and said, â€Å"Ennervate!† Winky stirred feebly. Her great brown eyes opened and she blinked several times in a bemused sort of way. Watched by the silent wizards, she raised herself shakily into a sitting position. She caught sight of Mr. Diggory's feet, and slowly, tremulously, raised her eyes to stare up into his face; then, more slowly still, she looked up into the sky. Harry could see the floating skull reflected twice in her enormous, glassy eyes. She gave a gasp, looked wildly around the crowded clearing, and burst into terrified sobs. â€Å"Elf!† said Mr. Diggory sternly. â€Å"Do you know who I am? I'm a member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures!† Winky began to rock backward and forward on the ground, her breath coming in sharp bursts. Harry was reminded forcibly of Dobby in his moments of terrified disobedience. â€Å"As you see, elf, the Dark Mark was conjured here a short while ago,† said Mr. Diggory. â€Å"And you were discovered moments later, right beneath it! An explanation, if you please!† â€Å"I – I – I is not doing it, sir!† Winky gasped. â€Å"I is not knowing how, sir!† â€Å"You were found with a wand in your hand!† barked Mr. Diggory, brandishing it in front of her. And as the wand caught the green light that was filling the clearing from the skull above, Harry recognized it â€Å"Hey – that's mine!† he said Everyone in the clearing looked at him. â€Å"Excuse me?† said Mr. Diggory, incredulously. â€Å"That's my wand!† said Harry. â€Å"I dropped it!† â€Å"You dropped it?† repeated Mr. Diggory in disbelief. â€Å"Is this a confession? You threw it aside after you conjured the Mark?† â€Å"Amos, think who you're talking to!† said Mr. Weasley, very angrily. â€Å"Is Harry Potter likely to conjure the Dark Mark?† â€Å"Er – of course not,† mumbled Mr. Diggory. â€Å"Sorry†¦carried away†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I didn't drop it there, anyway,† said Harry, jerking his thumb toward the trees beneath the skull. â€Å"I missed it right after we got into the wood.† â€Å"So,† said Mr. Diggory, his eyes hardening as he turned to look at Winky again, cowering at his feet. â€Å"You found this wand, eh, elf? And you picked it up and thought you'd have some fun with it, did you?† â€Å"I is not doing magic with it, sir!† squealed Winky, tears streaming down the sides of her squashed and bulbous nose. â€Å"I is†¦I is†¦I is just picking it up, sir! I is not making the Dark Mark, sir, I is not knowing how!† â€Å"It wasn't her!† said Hermione. She looked very nervous, speaking up in front of all these Ministry wizards, yet determined all the same. â€Å"Winky's got a squeaky little voice, and the voice we heard doing the incantation was much deeper!† She looked around at Harry and Ron, appealing for their support. â€Å"It didn't sound anything like Winky, did it?† â€Å"No,† said Harry, shaking his head. â€Å"It definitely didn't sound like an elf.† â€Å"Yeah, it was a human voice,† said Ron. â€Å"Well, we'll soon see,† growled Mr. Diggory, looking unimpressed. â€Å"There's a simple way of discovering the last spell a wand performed, elf, did you know that?† Winky trembled and shook her head frantically, her ears flapping, as Mr. Diggory raised his own wand again and placed it tip to tip with Harry's. â€Å"Prior Incantato!† roared Mr. Diggory. Harry heard Hermione gasp, horrified, as a gigantic serpent-tongued skull erupted from the point where the two wands met, but it was a mere shadow of the green skull high above them; it looked as though it were made of thick gray smoke: the ghost of a spell. â€Å"Deletrius!† Mr. Diggory shouted, and the smoky skull vanished in a wisp of smoke. â€Å"So,† said Mr. Diggory with a kind of savage triumph, looking down upon Winky, who was still shaking convulsively. â€Å"I is not doing it!† she squealed, her eyes rolling in terror. â€Å"I is not, I is not, I is not knowing how! I is a good elf, I isn't using wands, I isn't knowing how!† â€Å"You've been caught red-handed, elf!† Mr. Diggory roared. â€Å"Caught with the guilty wand in your hand!† â€Å"Amos,† said Mr. Weasley loudly, â€Å"think about it†¦precious few wizards know how to do that spell†¦.Where would she have learned it?† â€Å"Perhaps Amos is suggesting,† said Mr. Crouch, cold anger in every syllable, â€Å"that I routinely teach my servants to conjure the Dark Mark?† There was a deeply unpleasant silence. Amos Diggory looked horrified. â€Å"Mr. Crouch†¦not†¦not at all. â€Å"You have now come very close to accusing the two people in this clearing who are least likely to conjure that Mark!† barked Mr. Crouch. â€Å"Harry Potter – and myself. I suppose you are familiar with the boy's story, Amos?† â€Å"Of course – everyone knows -† muttered Mr. Diggory, looking highly discomforted. â€Å"And I trust you remember the many proofs I have given, over a long career, that I despise and detest the Dark Arts and those who practice them?† Mr. Crouch shouted, his eyes bulging again. â€Å"Mr. Crouch, I – I never suggested you had anything to do with it!† Amos Diggory muttered again, now reddening behind his scrubby brown beard. â€Å"If you accuse my elf, you accuse me, Diggory!† shouted Mr. Crouch. â€Å"Where else would she have learned to conjure it?† â€Å"She – she might've picked it up anywhere -â€Å" â€Å"Precisely, Amos,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"She might have picked it up anywhere†¦.Winky?† he said kindly, turning to the elf, but she flinched as though he too was shouting at her. â€Å"Where exactly did you find Harry's wand?† Winky was twisting the hem of her tea towel so violently that it was fraying beneath her fingers. â€Å"I – I is finding it†¦finding it there, sir†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she whispered, â€Å"there†¦in the trees, sir. â€Å"You see, Amos?† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Whoever conjured the Mark could have Disapparated right after they'd done it, leaving Harry's wand behind. A clever thing to do, not using their own wand, which could have betrayed them. And Winky here had the misfortune to come across the wand moments later and pick it up.† â€Å"But then, she'd have been only a few feet away from the real culprit!† said Mr. Diggory impatiently. â€Å"Elf? Did you see anyone?† Winky began to tremble worse than ever. Her giant eyes flickered from Mr. Diggory, to Ludo Bagman, and onto Mr. Crouch. Then she gulped and said, â€Å"I is seeing no one, sir†¦no one†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Amos,† said Mr. Crouch curtly, â€Å"I am fully aware that, in the ordinary course of events, you would want to take Winky into your department for questioning. I ask you, however, to allow me to deal with her.† Mr. Diggory looked as though he didn't think much of this suggestion at all, but it was clear to Harry that Mr. Crouch was such an important member of the Ministry that he did not dare refuse him. â€Å"You may rest assured that she will be punished,† Mr. Crouch added coldly. â€Å"M-m-master†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Winky stammered, looking up at Mr. Crouch, her eyes brimming with tears. â€Å"M-m-master, p-p-please†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Mr. Crouch stared back, his face somehow sharpened, each line upon it more deeply etched. There was no pity in his gaze. â€Å"Winky has behaved tonight in a manner I would not have believed possible,† he said slowly. â€Å"I told her to remain in the tent. I told her to stay there while I went to sort out the trouble. And I find that she disobeyed me. This means clothes.† â€Å"No!† shrieked Winky, prostrating herself at Mr. Crouch's feet. â€Å"No, master! Not clothes, not clothes!† Harry knew that the only way to turn a house-elf free was to present it with proper garments. It was pitiful to see the way Winky clutched at her tea towel as she sobbed over Mr. Crouch's feet. â€Å"But she was frightened!† Hermione burst out angrily, glaring at Mr. Crouch. â€Å"Your elf's scared of heights, and those wizards in masks were levitating people! You can't blame her for wanting to get out of their way!† Mr. Crouch took a step backward, freeing himself from contact with the elf, whom he was surveying as though she were something filthy and rotten that was contaminating his over-shined shoes. â€Å"I have no use for a house-elf who disobeys me,† he said coldly, looking over at Hermione. â€Å"I have no use for a servant who forgets what is due to her master, and to her master's reputation.† Winky was crying so hard that her sobs echoed around the clearing. There was a very nasty silence, which was ended by Mr. Weasley, who said quietly, â€Å"Well, I think I'll take my lot back to the tent, if nobody's got any objections. Amos, that wand's told us all it can – if Harry could have it back, please -â€Å" Mr. Diggory handed Harry his wand and Harry pocketed it. â€Å"Come on, you three,† Mr. Weasley said quietly. But Hermione didn't seem to want to move; her eyes were still upon the sobbing elf. â€Å"Hermione!† Mr. Weasley said, more urgently. She turned and followed Harry and Ron out of the clearing and off through the trees. â€Å"What's going to happen to Winky?† said Hermione, the moment they had left the clearing. â€Å"I don't know,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"The way they were treating her!† said Hermione furiously. â€Å"Mr. Diggory, calling her ‘elf' all the time†¦and Mr. Crouch! He knows she didn't do it and he's still going to sack her! He didn't care how frightened she'd been, or how upset she was – it was like she wasn't even human!† â€Å"Well, she's not,† said Ron. Hermione rounded on him. â€Å"That doesn't mean she hasn't got feelings, Ron. It's disgusting the way -â€Å" â€Å"Hermione, I agree with you,† said Mr. Weasley quickly, beckoning her on, â€Å"but now is not the time to discuss elf rights. I want to get back to the tent as fast as we can. What happened to the others?† â€Å"We lost them in the dark,† said Ron. â€Å"Dad, why was everyone so uptight about that skull thing?† â€Å"I'll explain everything back at the tent,† said Mr. Weasley tensely. But when they reached the edge of the wood, their progress was impeded. A large crowd of frightened-looking witches and wizards was congregated there, and when they saw Mr. Weasley coming toward them, many of them surged forward. â€Å"What's going on in there?† â€Å"Who conjured it?† â€Å"Arthur – it's not – Him?† â€Å"Of course it's not Him,† said Mr. Weasley impatiently. â€Å"We don't know who it was; it looks like they Disapparated. Now excuse me, please, I want to get to bed.† He led Harry, Ron, and Hermione through the crowd and back into the campsite. All was quiet now; there was no sign of the masked wizards, though several ruined tents were still smoking. Charlie's head was poking out of the boys' tent. â€Å"Dad, what's going on?† he called through the dark. â€Å"Fred, George, and Ginny got back okay, but the others -â€Å" â€Å"I've got them here,† said Mr. Weasley, bending down and entering the tent. Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered after him. Bill was sitting at the small kitchen table, holding a bedsheet to his arm, which was bleeding profusely. Charlie had a large rip in his shirt, and Percy was sporting a bloody nose. Fred, George, and Ginny looked unhurt, though shaken. â€Å"Did you get them, Dad?† said Bill sharply. â€Å"The person who conjured the Mark?† â€Å"No,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"We found Barry Crouch's elf holding Harry's wand, but we're none the wiser about who actually conured the Mark.† â€Å"What?† said Bill, Charlie, and Percy together. â€Å"Harry's wand?† said Fred. â€Å"Mr. Crouch's elf?† said Percy, sounding thunderstruck. With some assistance from Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Mr. Weasley explained what had happened in the woods. When they had finished their story, Percy swelled indignantly. â€Å"Well, Mr. Crouch is quite right to get rid of an elf like that!† he said. â€Å"Running away when he'd expressly told her not to†¦embarrassing him in front of the whole Ministry†¦how would that have looked, if she'd been brought up in front of the Department for the Regulation and Control -â€Å" â€Å"She didn't do anything – she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!† Hermione snapped at Percy, who looked very taken aback. Hermione had always got on fairly well with Percy – better, indeed, than any of the others. â€Å"Hermione, a wizard in Mr. Crouch's position can't afford a house-elf who's going to run amok with a wand!† said Percy pompously, recovering himself. â€Å"She didn't run amok!† shouted Hermione. â€Å"She just picked it up off the ground!† â€Å"Look, can someone just explain what that skull thing was?† said Ron impatiently. â€Å"It wasn't hurting anyone†¦.Why's it such a big deal?† â€Å"I told you, it's You-Know-Who's symbol, Ron,† said Hermione, before anyone else could answer. â€Å"I read about it in The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts.† â€Å"And it hasn't been seen for thirteen years,† said Mr. Weasley quietly. â€Å"Of course people panicked†¦it was almost like seeing You-Know-Who back again.† â€Å"I don't get it,† said Ron, frowning. â€Å"I mean†¦it's still only a shape in the sky†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Ron, You-Know-Who and his followers sent the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"The terror it inspired†¦you have no idea, you're too young. Just picture coming home and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you're about to find inside†¦.† Mr. Weasley winced. â€Å"Everyone's worst fear†¦the very worst†¦Ã¢â‚¬  There was silence for a moment. Then Bill, removing the sheet from his arm to check on his cut, said, â€Å"Well, it didn't help us tonight, whoever conjured it. It scared the Death Eaters away the moment they saw it. They all Disapparated before we'd got near enough to unmask any of them. We caught the Robertses before they hit the ground, though. They're having their memories modified right now.† â€Å"Death Eaters?† said Harry. â€Å"What are Death Eaters?† â€Å"It's what You-Know-Who's supporters called themselves,† said Bill. â€Å"I think we saw what's left of them tonight – the ones who managed to keep themselves out of Azkaban, anyway.† â€Å"We can't prove it was them, Bill,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Though it probably was,† he added hopelessly. â€Å"Yeah, I bet it was!† said Ron suddenly . â€Å"Dad, we met Draco Malfoy in the woods, and he as good as told us his dad was one of those nutters in masks! And we all know the Malfoys were right in with You-Know-Who!† â€Å"But what were Voldemort's supporters -† Harry began. Everybody flinched – like most of the wizarding world, the Weasleys always avoided saying Voldemort's name. â€Å"Sorry,† said Harry quickly. â€Å"What were You-Know-Who's supporters up to, levitating Muggles? I mean, what was the point?† â€Å"The point?† said Mr. Weasley with a hollow laugh. â€Å"Harry, that's their idea of fun. Half the Muggle killings back when You-Know-Who was in power were done for fun. I suppose they had a few drinks tonight and couldn't resist reminding us all that lots of them are still at large. A nice little reunion for them,† he finished disgustedly. â€Å"But if they were the Death Eaters, why did they Disapparate when they saw the Dark Mark?† said Ron. â€Å"They'd have been pleased to see it, wouldn't they?† â€Å"Use your brains, Ron,† said Bill. â€Å"If they really were Death Eaters, they worked very hard to keep out of Azkaban when You-Know-Who lost power, and told all sorts of lies about him forcing them to kill and torture people. I bet they'd be even more frightened than the rest of us to see him come back. They denied they'd ever been involved with him when he lost his powers, and went back to their daily lives†¦.I don't reckon he'd be over-pleased with them, do you?† â€Å"So†¦whoever conjured the Dark Mark†¦Ã¢â‚¬  said Hermione slowly, â€Å"were they doing it to show support for the Death Eaters, or to scare them away?† â€Å"Your guess is as good as ours, Hermione,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"But I'll tell you this†¦it was only the Death Eaters who ever knew how to conjure it. I'd be very surprised if the person who did it hadn't been a Death Eater once, even if they're not now†¦.Listen, it's very late, and if your mother hears what's happened she'll be worried sick. We'll get a few more hours sleep and then try and get an early Portkey out of here.† Harry got back into his bunk with his head buzzing. He knew he ought to feel exhausted: It was nearly three in the morning, but he felt wide-awake – wide-awake, and worried. Three days ago – it felt like much longer, but it had only been three days – he had awoken with his scar burning. And tonight, for the first time in thirteen years, Lord Voldemort's mark had appeared in the sky. What did these things mean? He thought of the letter he had written to Sirius before leaving Privet Drive. Would Sirius have gotten it yet? When would he reply? Harry lay looking up at the canvas, but no flying fantasies came to him now to ease him to sleep, and it was a long time after Charlie's snores filled the tent that Harry finally dozed off.