Computer Manipulation of Photographs and Peoples Trust Essay

Computer Manipulation of Photographs and Peoples Trust - Essay Example Photographs are taken for identification of events, people, things and many other aspects (Goldberg 1991). Photographs are also thought to be a source of evidence for various purposes. With computer manipulation and editing of photographs for personal reasons, photography is not more considered as an evidence for reality. It is considered fake and somewhat containing lies (Brand, et.al 1985). With digital photography, the art of photo manipulation has become more easy and uncomplicated. The photographs that are captured digitally are stored in the computer in form of digital data (Brand, et.al 1985). This digital data can easily be edited and manipulated intentionally or unintentionally. In the market, there are various software programs available that offer the computerized manipulation of photographs. The computer manipulation of photographs is not considered illegal and people, media and other institutions employ the software programs for manipulating images according to their own requirements without any legal threat. We can take many examples of photographs as evidence. For a passport or identity card, photographs are required. Passports or identity cards are used for identifying a person with the help of his given photograph and concerning details. If the photograph is manipulated technologically with the help of the computer, it will give an edited version of the real person, which cannot be considered as wholly true. Passport or identity cards are sources of evidence of a person’s real identification but if the photographs attached with the identification cards are manipulated, no trust will be there. Before computer manipulation, trust in photographs as a form of evidence was there but after, technological development and launch of different software programs related to computer manipulation, people are being led towards distrusting the evidence of photographs (Goldberg 1991).

Topic Selection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Topic Selection - Essay Example It came to the attention of the Vice President for Nursing that their Nurse Managers are torn between prioritizing functions which are administrative in nature vis-Ã  -vis functions that cater to the delivery of patient care. Due to the Nurse Managers’ theoretical orientation for health care, the administrative tasks such as completion of reportorial requirements, monitoring and upkeep of equipment and supplies, staff requirements and budgeting are frequently neglected or seconded with priorities being focused to patient care. In this regard, the VP for Nursing sought the assistance of the VP for Human Resources and the CEO to resolve this issue. Every nursing unit in the hospital is headed by a nurse manager who is assigned as the chief head nurse on duty. Her job responsibilities entail patient care as the primary task and managerial functions such as planning, directing, staffing and control. These multi-task functions coupled with low pay contributed to low morale and low productivity. These nurses opted to gain the minimum experience required to enable them to leave the country and work abroad. The leadership function assigned to nurse managers conflict with their functions as providers of patient care. They are expected to deliver timely reports on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. They monitor staffing requirements. They prepare the time sheets for payroll purposes. And most importantly, they are expected to know all the nursing intervention requirements for all the patients are their nursing units. There is this question on prioritization of function. As nurses, of course, they should prioritize patient care. But as managers, the function of attending to the human resource needs of the unit suffers. Reports are not completed on their specified time schedules. Upkeep of facilities in patients’ rooms and hospital areas are not regularly attended to. Equipments that need

Marketing plan and analysis of Al Hilal foods

Marketing plan and analysis of Al Hilal foods The brand has great opportunity to grow in cities other than Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, Faisalabad and Multan as they have created much credibility in big cities of Pakistan. 11 Also it has opportunity to GO GLOBAL. Customers outside Pakistan have more loyal behavior towards Pakistani products so there is a chance for this brand to grow globally. 11 Threats: 11 3.Understand the construction of a marketing plan 12 3.1 Produce the marketing plan for your organization 12 Executive summary: 12 Current market situation: 13 SWOT analysis: 13 Objectives and issues: 14 Marketing strategy: 14 Action programs: 15 Controls: 15 3.2 Risk in marketing plan and Mitigation strategies: 15 Risks: 15 Mitigation strategies: 15 3.3 Importance of each component of the plan: 16 4.Understand to Promote the Marketing Plan in Support of Strategic Objectives 16 4.1 How the plan supports strategic objective: 16 Plans of Fresher and their support to objectives: 16 4.2 Outline an approach to gain agreement of the marketing plan: 17 5.Conclusion 17 6.References 19 Introduction to Al-Hilal Foods Al-Hilal foods is a Pakistani company owned by Mr. Ch. Farrukh Sattar. The organization exited about 10 to 15 years ago. At that time it made only one product line i-e Sultan Ghee. After flourishing in that field it introduced its new product line i-e 100% pure juices a brand named as FRESHER in 2009. The brand flourished in just one year through WORD OF MOUTH marketing strategy and gave a tough competition to other big brands like Nestle, Minute Maid etc. Al-Hilal is listed a listed company. Fresher was first introduced in 5 flavors that are Mango Guava Peach Strawberry Orange After fabulous success of these all flavors Fresher introduced a new flavor called FALSA. As Fresher gained success within period of only one year they introduced new brands in 2010 names BOOMER and COOLER. Boomer is a fizzy drink and has 3 flavors Orange Lemon Cola While Cooler has 4 flavors that are Apple Orange Pineapple Grapes The Fresher company is working hard day by and moving forward in the field of 100% pure juices. Mission: Their mission is to promote locally. Vision: Their vision is prosperity of Pakistan. ( Ref. 7) Understand How The Marketing Plan Supports Strategic Objective 2.1 Explain how the strategy of your organization Impacts Upon marketing planning: Strategy: Strategy is a long term actions/plans which are made by some organization to achieve their peculiar targets/goals. (Ref- 1) According to Michael Porter the strategy is all about the mixture of different activities which are differentiated from competitors to pronounce unique mix of value. To him its all about differentiating yourself from customers as well as competitors. (Ref-2) Without a strategy the organization is like a ship without a rudder, going around in circles Joel Ross Michael Kami Marketing strategy: A marketing strategy is a process or model to allow a company or organization to focus limited resources on the best opportunities to increase sales and thereby achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. (Ref-3) The set of objectives which an organization allocates to its marketing function in order to support the overall corporate strategy, together with the broad methods to achieve these objectives Chartered institutes of marketing The above two examples show that , marketing strategy is actually the strategy that support overall corporate and which a company has to use efficiently to market its products on best opportunities while converging the limited resources to achieve its goal. Marketing planning: Marketing planning is a logical sequence and a series of activities leading to the setting of marketing objectives and the formulation of plans for achieving them (Ref-4) Now we can interrelate all the above terms with the help of diagram below. Business Goals Market Strategy Marketing Mix Marketing Plan The above diagram shows that an organization has to set business goals which are actually the target of company or mission statement. The next level comes of marketing strategy which is esteemed rule that company has acquired to market their products. After establishing the market strategy company moves forward towards marketing mix in which it define the whole marketing mix i-e Product, Pricing, Place and Distribution. Afterwards the process of writing of marketing plans comes in which company has to describe the whole market activities which are used to acquire business goals. (Ref-3) 2.2 Impacts of strategy on marketing planning: Under this heading the strategies of organization will be discussed and the impacts of that strategies on the marketing of organization will be noticed. What effect that strategies will throw on organizations long run and short run will also be discussed. Here we are talking about Fresher marketing plans. As described earlier it is a Pakistani local company that is making 100% pure juices and this is one of the marketing strategy of Fresher that make it distinguishes from others. The company has many competitors in the same line of 100% pure juices i-e Nestle, Shezan, Minute Maid etc. But the Fresher is successful yet to maintain the no. 1 position in the brands of 100% pure juices. And also Fresher is successful to maintain its positioning against Nestle and other strong brands like Minute Maid. The benefit what Fresher will get due to this strategy is that competitors are not attaching it from all the sides. Only fresh juice companies are interested to attach its strategies. It has no concern with any other product line of competitors. Another strategy of Fresher is that they are using PET BOTTLES instead of juice boxes which made their product easy to use for the customers and the look of their brand product is totally different from others. They are also using SHRINK WRAPS for the packaging of their products. The one more thing that makes their product discriminate is tags hanged with the bottle of juice on which a little description of brand and ingredients are written. These tags make the look of the product more elegant and it again helps to make a strong positioning of the brand. The promotion strategy that Fresher following is WORD OF MOUTH. They are using any other strong promotion strategy which again differentiate the brand from others in market. But as they are not focusing the advertisement strategy now when they that much stabled in market, they can spoil their positioning as well. Fresher has strong distribution strategy which has been helping the brand to be strong so far i-e they used ROLL OUT strategy of distribution. They started the distribution of their product from their own city and then they spread it in other cities with the passage of time when they had grown enough in the market. The strategy has a benefit that other strong competitors like Nestle, Minute Maid etc didnt notice such small brand and didnt take action for that. In the meanwhile Fresher entered in the market and had got a strong market positioning. Fresher had got another benefit of this strategy that is they maintained their resources with it. They started distributing their product in their city only and when they have earned enough money they spread it over other cities of Pakistan as well. 2.3 Component parts of a marketing plan: Parts/Categories with which a marketing plan is made up of are called components of marketing plan. Here the heading will elaborate all of its parts one by one. Executive Summary: It is the first component of the marketing plan which explains the summary of the whole marketing plan for the quick review by the management of the company. Mostly three issues are mentioned in this part. The Challenge Challenge consists of a little elaboration of product for which marketing plan is made and the summary of goals such as sales figures and strategic goals.. Company Analysis Company analysis mostly consists of the answers to following questions What are goals of the company? To what thing it focuses more? What are the strengths of that company? From what culture it belongs? What are weaknesses of the company? And in what market shares it exists? etc. Competitor Analysis In competitors analysis a short report about competitors weaknesses, strengths, market position and market shares is presented. (Ref-5) Current marketing situation: Its a marketing audit which shows the current market situation of the company by comparing it with the past situation of its own and with the market situation of competitors. It presents data about the market, product, competition and distribution. SWOT analysis: SWOT analysis is basically the analysis in which strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to the product (to be marketed) are given to have a complete look on companys analysis. The firms internal environment presents strength and weaknesses while external provides opportunities and threats. Objective and issues: This heading defines the objectives of company in different areas such as market share, sales, profit etc. Also this category will deal with all the issues and problems that effect these objectives. Marketing strategy: In this category a marketing strategy or approach is recommended to achieve the particular objective. It is the main and important part of marketing strategy structure. The strategies will elaborate the marketing mix (product, price, distribution, promotion) as well. Action programs: In this step a report is given about details of marketing strategy. The report answers such questions like how will all plan start? Who will do it? What will be the cost of all plan? Etc. Controls: Indicates how the progress of the plan will be monitored. 2.4 Risks and advantages in the devised marketing plan: Risks: Fresher is having a big threat in the market due to its lack of advertisement strategy now when it has gain that much credibility. Other competitors in the market has built strong image through their advertisement promotion strategy. Now it is the time when Fresher might think of making a strong and highly attractive advertisement to throw behind all the competitors. Fresher is not having a properly educated team of employees and it dont have proper departments such as HR department, RD department, Marketing department etc. So the employees working in the competitors firm are more competent and they can make proper decision at proper time. Fresher has to work on it as well. It may form a proper team so that they can compete in the leading market. As Fresher employees are not that educated in their particular field, they have disagreement in the selection of strategies. This is the major risk for the Fresher in the market as it can lead to fall of the company. Advantages: Fresher has specialized workers only in the field of making juices. Their worker knows the formula and they are best trained workers in juice making as they have to make only one product line at one time and they concentrate fully on it while competitors of Fresher have more than one product line so their workers have less command on juice making. The earlier promotion strategy of Fresher (word of mouth strategy) is quite impressive as no competitor can concentrate on upcoming new brand in this way. It gave Fresher to expand rapidly in market. The different packaging of Fresher bottle made them different and they expand undoubtedly in the fresh juice market. The biggest advantage to Fresher was the introduction of 100% fresh juice first in the market which make them differentiate from the competitors and thus they expand rapidly. 2.5 SWOT analysis of Fresher Juices: The company is new in market and has no good setup so they have not worked on their SWOT analysis by themselves. I made its SWOT analysis by my own conclusions and analysis of the company. Here are some strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities for the company. Strengths: They have short brand name which a basic strength of Fresher. Brand name is thus easy to remember by customers so its demand in market increases. And it is also flourishing in middle and low class segmentation of customers (as the customers in such classes are mostly uneducated) just because of its short brand name and easy memorizing quality. Short brand name also creates word of mouth easily. The highest market share in the product line of 100% pure juices is gained by Fresher. It has best attractive packaging of its juice bottles so far that is a main strength and attraction of customers towards this brand. Its availability is much good as compared to other brands in the market. Weaknesses: The brand is new in the market so it is not financially strong as compared to competitors. It will take some time to become financially strong for which it has to strong its marketing. Advertisement is weak and now when the brand has earned much credibility its essential for it to make powerful advertisement to make it more strong and reliable as brand has less or near to no TVC recall. Positioning is the major weak point of the brand. They have to make it strong to further grow in the market. Opportunities: The brand has great opportunity to grow in cities other than Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, Faisalabad and Multan as they have created much credibility in big cities of Pakistan. Also it has opportunity to GO GLOBAL. Customers outside Pakistan have more loyal behavior towards Pakistani products so there is a chance for this brand to grow globally. They can launch more brands as well which is again a great opportunity for the company to grow. Threats: Fresher has promoted its products only through word of mouth so its a great threat for it. Other competitors that are promoting their products through advertisement and other strategies of promotion can gain more repute. If a pre-established brand of outside the country launches its product here in Pakistan, there would be a great threat for Fresher as it is a new brand here. The strengths and weaknesses come from internal origin of organization while opportunities and threats come from external origin of organization. Helpful to achieving goals Harmful to achieving goals Strengths: Short brand name Highest market share Packaging strength Availability strength Weaknesses: Financially weak Weak advertisement Weak positioning Opportunities: Growth in small cities of Pak Go global Launch more brands Threats: Lack of promotion strategies Other brands Understand the construction of a marketing plan 3.1 Produce the marketing plan for your organization Executive summary: Challenges: The companys product is 100% pure juices and its target customers are mainly diet conscious people, children, upper class, upper middle class and middle class society. But it can also target to lower class customers easily as juice is a thing which a normal person use in everyday life. The product is already differentiated from others because it falls in 100% pure juice category. And Fresher was the first to start this category in Pakistan. Company analysis: The Fresher is a new company in 100% pure juices product line. The company has high market share due to its previous marketing strategies in which main one is word of mouth through which it was promoted and gained the high market share rank. The companys weaknesses are finance, weak advertisement and weak positioning. Here we are designing some strategies by which its growth rate can increase and it can maintain its market share. It can make its advertisement strong and so its positioning too. Competitors analysis: Freshers competitors are companies who make 100% pure juices like Nestle, Minute Maid etc. Now if we come to Nestle, the company has a big weakness that it is dealing with 100% pure juice as well as nectars on the same time which make their focus diverted to both lines in the same time. While its strength is, it has a strong brand positioning earned by other product lines first. Market share of Nestle is lower than that of Fresher but market position is strong enough. Current market situation: The current market situation of Fresher is going not that bad when we talk about its distribution in big cities. The Fresher has the highest market share in product line of 100% pure juices while all other competitors have left behind. The demand of Fresher is also increasing day by day due to its good taste and flavors. Its giving a tough competition to its competitors in the market. Competitors didnt notice it first because it used only word of mouth marketing strategy first and took benefit of this strategy to achieve its goals. But in promotion the other companies (competitors) are moving forward to it now as it is lacking its interest in promotions. The Fresher has best packaging as well. SWOT analysis: Strengths: Short brand name Highest market share Packaging strength Availability strength Weaknesses: Financially weak Weak advertisement Weak positioning Opportunities: Growth in small cities of Pak Go global Launch more brands Threats: Lack of promotion strategies Other brands Objectives and issues: The main objective of Fresher is to maintain its market share in the line of 100% pure juices. Then it also wants to expand its business in other cities as it is a good opportunity for it to grow more in the market. The increase of sales is required for the increase in profit. To make strength of positioning. Now the main issue is that the other companies in the same product line are also struggling hard to compete the market share of Freshers. The Fresher has to maintain its demand by which it can maintain its market share. The issue concerning the expansion of the brand in other cities is to face the other local brands in those cities. Marketing strategy: Fresher makes following marketing strategies to achieve its goals. Fresher has to focus on advertising strategies such as TVC, radio commercials, Print media ads etc. Ads can be made more attractive by using advertisement marketing strategies such as humor, fun, models or TV actors etc. The attractive the advertisement will be the more the customer will be attracted towards the product. They can use different distribution strategies to promote their brand more e.g they can distribute free samples in the areas where product is not known enough. They can fit stalls in main areas/markets of different cities for the promotion. As children are more attracted towards juices and pure juices are good for their health, they can conduct different activities for children to attract this group of consumers. Also the fresh juices are mostly used by diet conscious people so Fresher can also use the same strategy of activity conductance for these consumers as well. In this way they attract their most targeted customers. All these strategies can help to achieve goals of company. Attractive advertisement and free sample distribution can help to expand business in small cities and activity based strategy can help to increase sales. Hence all these type of strategies can be used to increase sales, increase in profit and to maintain the high market share. Action programs: Now it is turn to plan the actions. Fresher can appoint workers to fulfill these strategies. First of all Fresher has to maintain proper departments such as HRM department, RD department, Marketing department, Finance department and so on like this. Then Fresher has to assign them their duties. Human resources department will manage human resources which are one of the major sources Fresher needs. Marketing department will implement these strategies and will check the results. Finance department will assign finances to each department and make a check and balance on it. Plan can be started from distribution of the products as free samples. So that more and more people in other cities can know about the brand. It will increase sales and profit as well. Now this finance can be invested on advertisement and other strategies and so on. The cost of all the strategies will be planned by finance department and marketing department as these are marketing strategies. Controls: The system cant be effective and efficient until and unless it is supervised and controlled properly. So the control in implement of these strategies is also very important. Here marketing managers of Fresher will be the persons who look after all these things and implement strategies. 3.2 Risk in marketing plan and Mitigation strategies: Risks: Risks in above strategies are only few. As company is not financially strong as compared to its competitors so might it cant afford advertisement expenses. The other risk could be short term effect (which is never been required) of some strategies like activity based strategy etc. Mitigation strategies: If finances do not allow Fresher to make an attractive advertisement then Fresher can go for rank purchasing in commercial complexes like Hyperstar, Metro etc as it costs less than that of advertisement. The benefit of this strategy will be that the people of every targeted market of Fresher can gain knowledge about the product easily. It would be a long term effect of marketing strategy. Activity based strategy would be short term strategy so instead of this we can use another strategy in which Fresher can appoint some of its employees ( sales persons) to sale their product at low price or less profit by going door to door in different colonies of different cities. It could have a long term effect on consumers mind. 3.3 Importance of each component of the plan: First component is executive summary. The summary explain the whole summarize data of the plan in short form so that the reader or to which report is being presented can save his/her time and he/she can found what is written inside the report and whether the report is meaningful or not? The executive summary has a lot of importance in marketing plan as it contains companys challenges, companys analysis and competitors analysis. 2nd component of the plan is current market situation. It is necessary to provide so that a marketer or person who has to act upon the plan should know that at what level the company stands and what level they have to move to increase growth rate of the company. The third component of the plan is SWOT analysis. Mentioning it in the plan in necessary because it helps to analyze the strengths, weaknesses opportunities and threats of the business with the help of which a person can make marketing strategies. The forth component of the plan is objectives and issues which explains all the goals and their related problems in plan. The fifth component of the plan is marketing strategies. This is the main step in the plan to which company has to work to achieve goals. The sixth step is action programs. The step is important as it tells that how to implement these strategies and who will implement them and what will be the cost of all strategies. The final step is of control. This is also one of the major step of the plan as it is necessary to tell how to control the whole strategic system and who will control it? Understand to Promote the Marketing Plan in Support of Strategic Objectives 4.1 How the plan supports strategic objective: Plans of Fresher and their support to objectives: Fresher is assigned following plans. Attractive advertisement The attractive advertisement of fresher can attract more and more customers towards the brand which will help to increase the sales. Increasing sales maximize profit and when company earns more profit it will be able to expand its business. The advertisement can help in building strong positioning as it contains slogan and jingles through which an image that is different from its competitors can build up. The better positioning will help to maintain market share. Streghthen positioning, profit maximization, expansion of business Distribution of free samples Again its the marketing strategy that will help to maximize sales when people around will try the samples and will be attracted. Maximize profit will lead expansion of business and strong market share. Activity based marketing Activity based marketing strategy can only help to achieve goals in targeted consumers market by increasing sales at that category of customers. Rank/Shelves booking This strategy can be useful for better positioning of brand as it creates a good image of the brand. The most visible shelves will be booked by Fresher, the more consumers will be attracted towards the brand. Personal sales Again this marketing strategy will increase Freshers sales and its demand and again the profit will be increased. Actually all the strategies are made up to maximize the profit first and then other effects accompany it. 4.2 Outline an approach to gain agreement of the marketing plan: Conclusion In this assignment we learned about strategic marketing, How marketing plans supports strategic objectives, How a marketing plan is constructed and How to promote the marketing plan in support of strategic objective? We chose Fresher, A Pakistani 100% pure juice company and looked upon its marketing strategies, what Fresher is using now and what should it use in future to promote itself more. Fresher is well known company of Pakistan whose marketing system is not that good while it needs a perfect marketing system now when it has gain that much credibility. Though marketing managers are working in the company but company is not showing enough results in this field due to which there are chances of their fall down in future. Fresher is using some excellent marketing strategies such as WORD OF MOUTH, ROLL OUT strategy, SHRINK WRAPS, PET BOTTELS, TAGS, 100% pure juices etc But we suggested some more marketing strategies to them by our own study and analysis. We made a marketing plan in which some marketing strategies were suggested such as ATTRACTIVE ADVERTISEMENT, ACTIVITY BASED PROMOTIONS, SHELVES BOOKING in markets, PERSONAL SALES and DISTRIBUTING FREE SAMPLES to increase its sales and profit. As Fresher has high market share so these strategies will help it to sustain the market share and to increase growth rate of it. At the last we made a marketing plan and saw that how these plans support objectives. We also discussed the SWOT analysis of the company which tell us that company less threats and less weaknesses and more strengths. We also discussed risks regarding strategies but they very low.

Safe :: Violence Crimes Safety Papers

Safe He had his hands full, but managed to find his key to the door at the First Year Center at Eastern Michigan University and let himself in. As he opened the door, a nice, well-dressed man came up behind him, holding the door to help him in. They entered the elevator together, and the man explained that he was there to surprise his girlfriend, a resident advisor on the third floor. The student with his arms full of bags nodded; he knew her, she was his R.A. Being a nice person, the man helped the student with all of his bags to his door and then asked a favor of him. He wanted the student to knock on his R.A.s door, because he really wanted to surprise her and wanted to jump out from the side of the door, so as not to be seen through the peephole. The student gladly helped him; he knocked, she answered, and the student started to walk away, letting the man take over. His R.A. gasped, he heard that, but then the door closed, and the student went back to his room happy to help wit h that surprise. Hours passed, and a knock at the door interrupted homework as the student who had long forgot about the man and his R.A. answered his door. It was his friend, who pulled him out in the hall. While pointing down the hall to the University police officers clearly handling the situation, the student was told about how there was an attack. Someone let the man in the building. The man was the R.A.’s ex-boyfriend. He beat her up and left. The surprise - the nice, well-dressed, helpful man; the bags in his hands and the holding of the door after being opened all came back to the student. He was the someone. He let the stranger in. Police reports, hospital visits, and emergency floor meetings followed. Thorough reviews of the University policies for living in residence halls and codes of conduct were all part of the next few days, all with an underlying message for all campus residents: safety (Kinkaid). This situation is just an example of the issues facing college students everyday, and a hard, fast reminder of the very real threat of violence on society.

Financial Literacy in the Philippines Essay

Money. That word enough is enough to turn the heads of almost any one in this world today. It’s not a hidden fact or a myth, or an exaggeration that money indeed makes the world go round today. In legal matters, money is the only reasonable way to amend some matters. In a cynical point of view, you could say that money is the law. In these times of corporate international booming, there’s no exaggeration that money holds your life today. Financial literacy is the knowledge that is the answer to these times of finance emphasized earth. But what is financial literacy? Financial literacy is, according to Wikipedia, â€Å"the ability of a person to understand how money works†. It is basically how one is skilled at handling financial matters, and how one is informed of insurances, investing and over-all money management. Knowing this term, then I am asked, Am I financially literate? As a young adult, it is necessary that one knows how to manage money. Especially that I go to school everyday, riding public transportation, eating out; One can say that isn’t everyone financially literate because they know how to budget their money after all? If it’s that easy, then I could say I am, but it isn’t. I’m not financially literate. As far as my money goes, I only know a little about saving. In fact, I don’t even own a real bank account in this age of 20. I know very little about insurances, investments, let alone the stock market. I only save money so I can spend it on going out with my friends, not for, as they say, the rainy days. Bank accounts are the only thing I know about and as far as I’m concerned it’s just about them keeping my money secured. I’m supposed to be a little embarrassed, but then I look around my community and see I’m not the only one. No, in this country, I’m one of the majority that is not. Why am I not? Why are most of us not financially literate in this world where money is a crucial necessity? I’ve read one article in the internet by Randell Tiongson entitled â€Å"Pinoys and Financial Literacy†. The article tackled how us Filipinos are not as financially literate as we think and the fact that most Filipinos give very little attention to actually be more knowledgeable in handling finances. In contrast though, it states that little by little, we are getting better; but still we have a long way to go to being called a financially stable country. I learned that most Filipinos have the same mind set as I have. We think having a bank account is already financial security. I think I am one of the population that is generally very clueless. Looking at other countries, they have these programs where they actually give seminars and lectures on being financially literate; to them the booming money world can only be survived through education. All I see in our country today are seminars about bank accounts and piggy banks. Where is the education that us Filipinos need in this world of financial dependence? We may turn our eyes from it, but money is a concrete fact of living. All my life I’ve been taught that saving money is the best thing you can do to your money; budget and management. But those are all kids stuff. I’m actually now worried that I am not well informed. One of the reasons I am not financially literate is definitely because of poor education on these matters. No one really taught me the words ‘investing’, or ‘insurance’ or ‘the stock market’ in school. Well maybe in definition, but I never came across how-to’s and guide to how to use these terms in the practical world. I think I would be scolded that I’m asking to be spoon-fed but, to be frank, this country never really made me grow up with concerns about financial literacy. And I am even one of those people with a good education†¦ how about our co-citizens with even less? Another reason is probably how our traditions and culture never really had a chance to understand these legal matters formally. Unlike other countries, we are generally the most traditional ones. We held our religions close, believing that everything happens in God’s time, if it’s safe to say, I think we are relying in Him too much. They didn’t talk about life insurances in the bible. We tend to believe that whatever happens, it happens on God’s will. Religion has been our security for ages. And I think that is why my own parents doesn’t have too much of a clue in investments issues. And as their child, how am I supposed to have a grasp in this area. No matter how I am accused of having enough resources because of the internet, it’s still not enough to carry a curiosity on finance matters. Because as tradition was, in this country, if you have a bank account, you’re saved. My family isn’t really one of those homes where everyone’s so money-savvy. I think it’s also because we’re a young family, with me as the eldest child. So I think I should be the one starting, learning about financial literacy. And this goes, with my last reason: Families with low financial status tend to not to be exposed in these opportunities. We’re not exactly in the higher middle class which many people may think because I’m studying in Mapua. We’re extremely in the middle middle class and as I have observed in television and the internet, those who already have the money are the ones only given the chance to be literate financially. It isn’t a theory that you need money for education, though there are other ways to stay informed but this is the truth. Most people in this country are lower middle class and could you even imagine the opportunities given to their level? It’s just concerning. Money-education for only those who already have money, or the promise of it. And I think that should be the one of the main concerns of this country. In conclusion, the main reason is our own country’s lack of financial literacy education. Resources: https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Financial_literacy , http://www. investopedia. com/terms/f/financial-literacy. asp ,http://www. randelltiongson. com/? s=financial+literacy+in+the+philippines , http://www. getsmarteraboutmoney. ca/en/managing-your-money/planning/investing-basics/Pages/what-is-financial-literacy. aspx.

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 24

Elena hung up her cel phone as they puled up to the boardinghouse in Stefan's car. â€Å"The nurse at the hospital says Caleb's stil unconscious,† she said. â€Å"Good,† said Stefan. She gave him a reproving glance and he stared back at her in exasperation. â€Å"If he's unconscious,† he explained, â€Å"it'l give us more of a chance to figure out what spel he's cast on us.† They'd fil ed three fat black trash bags with the papers, clippings, and books they'd found in the Smal woods' garden shed. Elena had been afraid to disturb the pentagram with the roses and photographs around it on the shed floor, in case that would affect the spel somehow, but she'd taken a couple of pictures of it with her cel phone. Matt came out and picked up one of the bags. â€Å"Bringing over some garbage?† â€Å"Something like that,† Elena said grimly, and fil ed him in on what they'd discovered at the Smal wood house. Matt grimaced. â€Å"Wow. But maybe now we can final y do something about what's been happening.† â€Å"How come you're here so early?† Elena asked, fol owing him toward the house. â€Å"I thought you weren't coming onto guard duty until ten.† Stefan trailed along behind her. â€Å"I spent the night,† Matt told her. â€Å"After Bonnie's name appeared, I didn't want to let her out of my sight.† â€Å"Bonnie's name appeared?† Elena whirled accusingly on Stefan. â€Å"Why didn't you tel me?† Stefan shrugged uncomfortably. â€Å"I didn't know,† he confessed hesitantly. â€Å"Stefan, I told you to protect Meredith and Celia,† she snapped. â€Å"You were supposed to be here. Even before Bonnie's name showed up, it was Meredith and Celia who were in danger. I was relying on you to watch over them.† Stefan glared back at her. â€Å"I'm not your lapdog, Elena,† he said quietly. â€Å"I saw a mysterious threat that I thought bore investigation. I acted to protect you. And I was right. The danger was more immediate to you than the others. And now we have a chance to piece together the spel .† Elena blinked at his tone but couldn't deny the truth in his words. â€Å"I'm sorry,† she said contritely. â€Å"You're right. I'm glad we discovered Caleb's shed.† Matt opened the front door. They dumped the bags in the hal and went through to the kitchen, where Mrs. Flowers, Alaric, and Meredith were enjoying a breakfast of croissants, jam, fruit, and sausages. â€Å"Celia's gone,† Meredith said to Elena as soon as they entered the room. Her tone was casual y informative, but her usual y cool gray eyes were twinkling, and Elena shared a secret smile with her friend. â€Å"Where'd she go?† Elena asked, equal y casual y, reaching for a croissant. It had been a long morning, and she was starving. â€Å"University of Virginia,† Alaric answered. â€Å"She's hoping to get some leads by doing research on curses and folk magic.† â€Å"We might have some more information now,† Elena announced around a mouthful of deliciously buttery croissant. She explained what they had found in the shed. â€Å"We brought al the papers and Caleb's notebooks with us. And here's what he'd laid out on the floor.† She pul ed out her phone, loaded the picture, and handed it to Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"My goodness,† said the old woman. â€Å"This certainly looks like dark magic. I wonder what that child thought he was doing.† Stefan snorted. â€Å"He's no child, Mrs. Flowers. I strongly suspect he's a werewolf as wel as a dark magician.† Mrs. Flowers looked at him sternly. â€Å"He's found the wrong way of going about looking for his cousin, that's for certain. But this magic looks rather amateurish to me. If it has worked, it wil have been more by accident than design.† â€Å"If it's worked?† Meredith asked. â€Å"I think the evidence suggests that whatever he's done worked.† â€Å"Surely it would be too much of a coincidence for Caleb to be trying to cast spel s on us and for an unexplained curse to be affecting us as wel ,† Alaric noted. â€Å"Where's Caleb now?† Matt asked, frowning. â€Å"Does he know you found al this? Do we need to track him down and keep an eye on him?† Stefan crossed his arms. â€Å"He's in the hospital.† There was a little pause as the others looked at one another and decided, based on Stefan's stony demeanor, not to delve deeper. Meredith glanced questioningly at Elena, and Elena nodded slightly to say, I'll explain later. She turned to Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"Can you tel what spel Caleb was using? What was he trying to do?† Mrs. Flowers stared thoughtful y at the picture. â€Å"It's an interesting question,† she said. â€Å"Roses are typical y used in love spel s, but the pentagram and multiple pictures around it suggest a darker intent here. The roses' unusual crimson color would probably make them more effective. They might be used to evoke other passions as wel . My best guess would be that Caleb was trying to control your emotions in some way.† Elena cast a sudden glance at Stefan, taking in his guarded expression and tense shoulders. â€Å"But that's as much as I can tel you for now,† Mrs. Flowers continued. â€Å"If the rest of you want to look through Caleb's notebooks for clues, Bonnie and I can research the magical properties of roses and what spel s they could be used in.† â€Å"Where is Bonnie?† Elena asked. Although she'd had the sense that something was missing, she'd only just consciously realized that the petite redhead wasn't among the group in the kitchen. â€Å"Stil sleeping,† Meredith said. â€Å"You know how she loves to sleep in.† She grinned. â€Å"Bonnie was definitely enjoying being the damsel in peril and having everybody fussing over her last night.† â€Å"I thought she was being real y brave,† Matt said unexpectedly. Elena eyed him. Was he beginning to feel something romantic for Bonnie? They'd be good together, she thought, and was surprised to feel a tiny twinge of possessive anger mixed in with her speculative matchmaking. Matt has always been yours, after all, a hard voice whispered to her. â€Å"I'l go up and wake her,† Meredith said cheerful y. â€Å"No rest for the witches.† She swung to her feet and headed for the stairs, limping only slightly. â€Å"How's your ankle?† Elena asked. â€Å"You look a lot better.† â€Å"I heal fast,† Meredith said. â€Å"I guess it's part of the vampire-hunter thing. I didn't need the cane by the time I went to bed last night, and this morning it feels almost back to normal.† â€Å"Lucky you,† said Elena. â€Å"Lucky me,† Meredith agreed, grinning at Alaric, who smiled back admiringly. Showing off, she ran lightly up the stairs, leaning only a little on the banister for support. Elena took another croissant and spread jam on it. â€Å"The rest of us should start going through al the papers and things we took from Caleb's shed. Alaric, as you're the only one other than Mrs. Flowers and Bonnie who knows much about magic, you can take his notebooks and I'l – â€Å" She broke off as a scream came from overhead. â€Å"Meredith!† shouted Alaric. Later, Elena didn't real y remember getting upstairs. There was just a flash of shoving limbs and pandemonium as everyone tried to get up the narrow staircase as quickly as possible. At the door of the little cream-and-rose bedroom at the end of the hal , Meredith stood, white-faced and stricken. She turned large panicked gray eyes toward them and whispered, â€Å"Bonnie.† Inside, Bonnie's smal figure lay motionless facedown on the floor, one pajamaed arm flung out toward the door. Unlit black and white candles were in a ring behind her, one black candle knocked over. There was a smudge of what looked like mostly dried blood inside the candle ring, and a weathered book lay open beside it. Elena pushed past Meredith and knelt beside the stil figure, feeling at her neck for a pulse. She let out the breath she'd been holding as she felt Bonnie's heartbeat, steady and strong, beneath her fingers. â€Å"Bonnie,† she said, shaking her by the shoulder, then gently rol ing her over. Bonnie flopped without resistance onto her back. She was breathing regularly, but her eyes stayed closed, her long lashes dark against her freckled cheeks. â€Å"Somebody cal an ambulance,† Elena said quickly. â€Å"I'l do it,† Meredith said, breaking out of her frozen stance. â€Å"We don't need an ambulance,† Mrs. Flowers said quietly, gazing down at Bonnie with an expression of sorrow on her face. â€Å"What are you talking about?† Meredith snapped. â€Å"She's unconscious! We have to get her help.† Mrs. Flowers's eyes were grave. â€Å"The doctors and nurses at the hospital won't be able to help Bonnie,† she said. â€Å"They might even hurt her by interfering with ineffective medical solutions to a nonmedical problem. Bonnie's not sick; she's under a spel . I can feel the magic thick in the air. The best thing we can do is to make her as comfortable as we can here while we look for a cure.† Matt stepped forward into the room. His face was aghast, but he wasn't looking at Bonnie's motionless form on the floor. He raised one hand and pointed. â€Å"Look,† he said. Near the bed, a tray containing a smal teapot, a cup, and a plate had been knocked over onto the floor. The cup had smashed and the teapot lay on its side, tea leaves spil ing out in a long, dark curve across the floor. A curve that spel ed out a name.