An evaluation of computerised accounting information systems Essay - 1

An evaluation of computerised accounting information systems - Essay Example Recently there has been a rise in the corporate accounting scandals which has spread as an epidemic across various regions (Amudo & Inanga, 2009). The data stored in the computer form a valuable asset for an organisation. This data is eventually used in the exchange of funds in the form of Electronics Funds Transfer (EFT). This type of data has a high value. It includes assets like balances in accounts receivables & accounts receivable, inventory levels, funds balances etc. These assets constitute the tangible form of assets whereas the intangible assets include confidential programs and other confidential financial information. The financial data is the most prized asset in any financial reporting process. The financial reports presented by the company exercise an important influence on the general society and capital markets. As long as 1958 there was no tabulation or tracking of the computer related crimes. Such incidents have slowly gained momentum and currently the computer crime can be grouped into categories like financial frauds or theft, information theft and vandalism. The conditions that have induced such crimes are related to the internal environment of the firm as well as external environment that encompass the general marketplace. The internal reasons that contribute to the computer crimes in financial reporting include: The fraudulent fund disbursal is a commonly committed fraud using computers. This is committed by the clerks at the data entry level in accounts payable, benefits section or payroll departments. At the top managerial level financial fraud involves inflating profit figures by misrepresenting the amount of sales. In such cases the higher management arbitrarily raises the sales figures and understates the total business expenses. This is done by either reducing the amount or carrying forward the expenses to the next accounting year. By deferring the expenses incurred in the current

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Management - Essay Example . In order to shape employee behavior, a manager should â€Å"encourage self-regulation of behavior† and motivate them. This approach is based on motivation which ‘foster an intrinsic desire on the part of employees to follow organizational rules, and inspire outweighs the influence of command-and-control mechanisms† (Blader and Tyler 2006). Employee responsibilities are inseparable from organizational policies and practices. The manager can shape employees behavior using traditional insensitive and sanctions. Thus, critics argue that self-regulation approach is more effective than the old one. The manager can influence employees through informal superior-subordinate interaction to communicate employees rights and responsibilities. Suggested also is the need for interaction may be endangered by the growth of communication technology. Behavior modeling is needed for communicating shared values. Employees absorb, analyze, and then digest the behavior of managers towa rd them (Drory and Zaidman 2007). It should be noted that an organization's policies and practices may encourage or discourage responsible behavior among employees by the moral messages they convey. As a result, one would expect the way workers approach their responsibilities to be compatible with the organization's moral (and behavioral) environment. 2. Attitudes are learned throughout life and are embodied within socialization process.

10 Reasons Why Online Shopping Is The Best Marketing Essay

10 Reasons Why Online Shopping Is The Best Marketing Essay ABSTRACT After Internet growth, most of the dimensions of our lives such as education, business, communication, etc., were surpassed by this new phenomenon. One of these dimensions is to deal with online buying of different products and services. This paper describes the various methods of shopping and sending gifts online. This paper will also discuss the various web advertising techniques and tools used to bring traffic to the website. HISTORY In 1990 Tim Berners-Lee created the first World Wide Web server and browser. It opened for commercial use in 1991. In 1994 other advances took place, such as online banking and the opening of an online pizza shop by Pizza Hut. During that same year, Netscape introduced SSL encryption of data transferred online, which has become essential for secure online shopping. Also in 1994 the German company Intershop introduced its first online shopping system. In 1995 Amazon launched its online shopping site, and in 1996 eBay appeared. [1] PROBLEM STATEMENT The concept of grab and wrap has established to facilitate the customers who dont have much time to go in the market and search for different items to gift their loved ones. This website will bring all the gift items wrapped and delivered at your doorstep. All you need to do is just grab the gift and go to the party without being indulged in hassle of leaving your place, reach to the required shop, get the item, get it wrapped and then go to the party. This whole process is even worst when you are involved in office and family matters. But still, you cant ignore this event. We will also assist in making your special days like i.e anniversary, birthdays, events a memorable one. We will provide the secure and trusted shopping and shipment mechanism by fulfilling the right orders at right time. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES In this research, we have three objectives. First Objective: The first objective of our research is to find out all the needs of customers pertaining to online shopping. Second Objective: The second objective of our research is to provide such a marketing mechanism that would bring enough traffic into the website through affiliate programs, Google Ad sense and other social marketing networks. Third Objective: The third objective of our research is to design a model to provide the customers a secured online shopping experience. SCOPE AND LIMITATION In this research, we have analyzed different ways of online shopping and focused particularly on gifting the products and their wrapping material. This research is applicable in Pakistan and other countries similar to it in which online shopping is effective and most common mode of buying. Our products will mainly consists of the various categories that the people usually purchase for gifting purposes. The proposed model application can be implemented through google websites, different website designing platforms, or using programming languages such as HTML, ASP.NET, C#, Dreamweaver etc. The size of sample in our survey is 100. The distribution of questionnaire was done only in Karachi which might be another limitation for the research. INTRODUCTION In online buying security is one of the major concerns of most of the people. Through our proposed model in this research paper, customers can easily perform an online transaction. They can buy different gift items for their loved ones. This website will include various products from different brands and categories. Customer can also select the various wrapping papers to get their gifts wrapped. Moreover, this website will include various ways of marketing and will provide a platform for individuals to meet online and share their experiences around the items they have bought in the past and which types of gifts are suitable for which events. We have also included payment mechanism through credit cards using PayPal, as this is considered as the most trusted mechanism for online payments by the people across the globe. TOP 10 REASONS WHY ONLINE SHOPPING IS THE BEST Because of the numerous Benefits of Shopping Online more and more people these days prefer Online Shopping over conventional shopping. There are many reasons why I think online shopping is the best too. 1) Convenience: The convenience of this method of shopping is what I like best about it. Where else can you do shopping even a midnight wearing your night suit? You do not have to wait in a line or wait till the shop assistant is ready to help you with your purchases. You can do your shopping in minutes even if you are busy apart from saving time and avoiding crowds. Online shops give us the opportunity to shop 24 x 7 and also reward us with a no pollution shopping. There is no better place to buy information products like e-books. Immediately after the payment is made one can download the information. And downloadable items purchased online eliminate the need for any kind of material goods at all. 2) Better Prices: Another thing which fascinates me is the cheap deals and better prices I get from online stores because products come to you direct from the manufacturer or seller without middlemen involved. Many online shops offer discount coupons and rebates. Apart from this, the Online Store is only required to collect sales tax if they have a physical location in our state even if we buy from a store across the world. 3) Variety: The choices you can get for products are amazing. One can get several brands and products from different sellers at one place. You can get in on the latest international trends without spending money on airfare. When you shop online, you can shop from retailers in other parts of the country or even the world without being limited by geographic area. These stores offer a far greater selection of colors and sizes than you will find locally. Apart from that, How many times have it happened that you spend your money reaching a local shop only to find that the product you need is out of stock? Some online shops have a provision to accept orders without stock and ship it across to you when the stock becomes available. You also have the option of taking your business to another online store where the product is available. 4) Send Gifts: Online Shopping makes sending gifts to relatives and friends easy, no matter where ever they stay. Now there is no need of making distance an excuse for not sending a gift on occasions like Birthday, Wedding Anniversary, Marriage, Valentines Day, Mothers Day etc. 5) Fewer Expenses: Many times when we opt for conventional shopping we tend to spend a lot more than the required shopping expenses on things like eating out, traveling, impulsive shopping etc. 6) Comparison of Prices: Online shops make comparison and research of products and prices possible. Online stores also give you the ability to share information and reviews with other shoppers who have firsthand experience with a product or retailer. 7) Crowds: If you are like me, you would like to avoid the crowds when you do the shopping. Especially during Festivals and Special events the crowds can really give a head ache. Crowds force us to do a hurried shopping most of the time. For me grumpy or irritating people and those who smell bad are a huge turn off. Crowds also create a problem when it comes to finding a parking place nearby where you want to shop and going back to your vehicle later loaded with shopping bags. 8) Compulsive Shopping: Many times when we go out on Shopping we end up buying things which we do not require because of the shop keepers up selling skills. Sometimes we even compromise on our choices because of the lack of choices in those shops. 9) Buying Old or unused Stuff at low prices: Online Shops make it possible for us to buy old or unused stuff at rock bottom prices. If we want to buy antiques there is no better options than online stores. 10) Discreet Purchases: Some things are better done in privacy. Online shops are also best for discreet purchases like adult toys, sexy lingerie and so on. Online Shops enable me to purchase under garments and lingerie without the embarrassment that there are several people watching me and my choices. [2] PRIMARY RESEARCH Primary research has been conducted in two parts. Website designing considerations and revenue generating mechanisms searched from the different websites and also what has been taught in our E-Commerce class. Online journals, articles, e-books, and web site blogs. Survey through questionnaire were conducted with a sample of 100 respondents of different segments such as business men, retailers, bankers, professionals, etc. convenience sampling is used for sampling and MS Excel is used as a tool for analysis. SECONDARY RESEARCH Secondary research has been conducted by referring various research papers mentioned in the literature review reference section. These papers are focusing on online shopping, gift items that are usually purchased its security. We have utilized these papers to propose our model, addressing security issues, and how it can be a best fit for our environment. TARGET AUDIENCE In recent years, online shopping has become popular; however, it still caters to the middle and upper class. In order to shop online, one must be able to have access to a computer, a bank account and a debit card. Shopping has evolved with the growth of technology. According to research found in the Journal of Electronic Commerce, if one focuses on the demographic characteristics of the in-home shopper, in general, the higher the level of education, income, and occupation of the head of the household, the more favourable the perception of non-store shopping., Enrique.(2005) The Impact of Internet User Shopping Patterns and Demographics on Consumer Mobile Buying Behaviour. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, An influential factor in consumer attitude towards non-store shopping is exposure to technology, since it has been demonstrated that increased exposure to technology increases the probability of developing favourable attitudes towards new shopping channels. Online shopping widened the target audience to men and women of the middle class. At first, the main users of online shopping were young men with a high level of income and a university education. This profile is changing. For example, in USA in the early years of Internet there were very few women users, but by 2001 women were 52.8% of the online population. [3] LITERATURE REVIEW More than a Labor of Love: Gender Roles and Christmas Gift Shopping EILEEN FISCHER and STEPHEN J. ARNOLD , discussed on how Cultural influences on consumption are increasing attention. The nature and implications of links between gender and Christmas shopping are explored here through a conceptual discussion of the relationship, an analysis of interviews with gift shoppers, and a field study of gift-buying practices. The contributions of the research are threefold. First, it sheds new light on the stereotype of gift shopping in the Christmas context as womens work. Second, the research shows how individual differences in gender-related variables have an effect on the traditional meanings associated with Christmas shopping. Third, the implications of gender for general consumer activities are developed-gender-related variables (sex, gender-role attitudes, and gender identity) and their influence on gender-typed consumer behavior are clarified. This research explores buying behavior of both (male and female), It was concluded that people with more femi nine gender identities are somewhat more involved in shopping activity. Communally oriented men start shopping earlier and spend more time shopping per recipient. [4] Markets Gift Cards Jennifer Pate Offen berg suggested that the gift cards can explores the operation of individual markets. Patterns of behavior in markets for specific goods and services offer lessons about the determinants and effects of supply and demand, market structure, strategic behavior, and government regulation. As gift cards are booming in popularity, we can relate this to our research project by providing coupon voucher for consumers visiting our website and purchasing valuable product and service, this voucher would be based on certain amount that is spend on different product categories. This strategy will also help to bring enough traffic to our website. [5] Dynamic Conversion Behavior at E-Commerce Sites) Wendv W. Moe and Peter S. Fader,explored how this paper develops a model of conversion behavior (i.e., converting store visits into purchases) that predicts each customers probability of purchasing based on an observed history of visits and purchases. They offer an individual-level probability model that allows for different forms of customer heterogeneity in a very flexible manner. This model is based on 6 steps: Baseline probability of purchasing Positive visit effect on purchasing. Negative purchasing-threshold effect on purchasing Heterogeneity in visit effects and purchase thresholds Evolving effects over time Hard-core never-buyers As this model captures the key behavioral elements underlying the conversion process and can be readily adapted for theory testing using richer datasets as they become available. By applying this model we can differentiate our real customers , as customer have different reasons for visiting a retail site, therefore it is important to understand and account for various patterns in the relationship between visiting and purchasing. [6] The Role of Online Buying Experience as a Competitive Advantage: Evidence from Third- Party Ratings for E-Commerce Firms Suresh Kotha,Shivaram Rajgopal (University of Washington), Mohan Venkatachalam (Duke University) examines whether the quality of online buying experience represents a competitive advantage for Internet firms focused on business to consumer ecommerce, This article is based on Five Dimensions of Online Buying Experience Tracked by Gomez(Advisors), which are: [7] Web Site Usability (EASE) On-site Resources (SELECTION) Customer Confidence (TRUST) Relationship Services (REL) Price Leadership (COST) Creating a satisfying internet shopping experience via atmospheric variables Letecia N. McKinney (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Consumer Science, and Madison, WI, USA) explains the atmospheric variables that contributed to satisfaction for internet consumers with different orientations toward shopping. This study provides a better understanding of internet consumers and their behavior in the marketplace. Specifically, there is a need to evaluate the influence of the internet shopping environment on consumer behavior. The internet shopping environment communicates image through product and site offerings and often influences consumers satisfaction. Furthermore, the need for research involving shopping orientation results from differences between consumers. If all consumers were the same there would be no need for segmentation nor different products and services because all stimuli could be identical. As it is helpful in identifying strategies to satisfy internet consumers based on their opinions and feelings about shopping. More importantly, i t identifies specific target markets for which product offerings and services are differentiated. [8] Probabilistic Goods: A Creative Way of Selling Products and Services Scott Fay, Jinhong Xie Department of Marketing, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, defines a unique type of product or service offering, termed probabilistic goods, and analyzes a novel selling strategy, termed probabilistic selling (PS). A probabilistic good is not a concrete product or service but an offer involving a probability of getting any one of a set of multiple distinct items. Under the probabilistic selling strategy, a multi-item seller creates probabilistic goods using the existing distinct products or services and offers such probabilistic goods as additional purchase choices. However, under probabilistic selling, the seller can use the probabilistic good to effectively move some consumers with weak preferences to consume the inferior product, which saves capacity of the superior product for consumers with strong preferences. [9] Consumer Decision Making in Online Shopping Environments: The Effects of Interactive Decision Aids by Haubl and Trifts Gearld Haubl and Valaries Trifts, have researched the effects of interactive decision tools in online buying or electronic shopping, and found that these two interactive tools are very important, RA ( Recommendation Agent) and CM ( Comparison Matrix. They have proved that these interactive decision tool are beneficial in e- shopping and leads to an increases in e-shoppers. RA helps screen the numerous product options , narrowing it to the shoppers preferences, and CM provides an in depth comparison of the selected alternatives and their attributes before a decision is reached.. E-retailers are offered infinite shelf which provides the user with the advantage of numerous products, thus increasing the difficulty for e- shopper to make accurate shopping decision, these Interactive decision tools helps capitalize enormous product information hence converting many traditional shoppers to e-shoppers. [10] The influence of college students shopping orientations and gender differences on online information searches and purchase behaviours Yoo-Kyoung Seock and Lauren R. Bailey, have researched that at present high speed broad band internet is more easily accessed at homes and offices, Yoo Kyoung Souk and Lauren Bailey recognized the importance of such a technology hence carried out surveys and detailed investigation, into the relationship between college students shopping orientations, and the differences between male and female college student s shopping orientation, information searches and purchase behaviors in the context of Internet shopping. Convenience and recreational orientations were strong predicators for online shopping compared with single channel offline shoppers, and among the seven shopping orientations identified, shopping confidence and price consciousness received the highest mean score for both male and female, implying that online buyers shop online to compare prices and deals mainly. [11] HYPOTHESIS We will test the hypothesis that there is a huge scope of online shopping in Pakistan and other countries provided the right things are delivered to the right customer at right time using a secured medium. We will mainly focus on gift items. DESIGN MODEL http://www.navinlama.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/ecommerce.jpg USER INTERACTIONS Website user will perform the following steps: Sign up for an Account Select product(s) Select Wrapping Material Enter Source and Destination (This will also include sender and receiver emails) Enter Payment Details Send the Gift! INTENDED WEBSITE SECTIONS Sign Up Section New users are required to sign-up for the first time to chat and take ideas from available users. In order to purchase products, one should have an account with the website. Product Categories Section This will be a domestic website having multiple products related to different industries e.g. Fashion Dresses Jewelry Bags Shoes Art Portraits Sceneries Eatables Chocolates Cosmetics Makeup Perfumes Wrapping Material Glossy Papers Cards Wrapping Types Cash Gift Coupons (Note: Products will also be filtered based on the different occasions) Products Filtration Following events sections will be included to narrow down the customers search based on the events: Birthday Wedding Christmas Thanksgiving Valentines Day AGE GROUPS 15-20 21-30 31-45 45-55 Other: ______________ GENDER MALE FEMALE Reminders Section Reminders for various events will also be sent to the members of Grab N Wrap. This will help the member in deciding about the gift items and necessary arrangements in advance. Thank You Section This website will also have a Say Thank You section where the receiver of gift can say Thank You to the sender. This will help other people to look for the thank you notes and can see the impact of different gift items on the receiver. This will help the sender choosing their selection. Chatter Section Sender and Receiver will log in to the Chatter section and will be able to chat with each other and discuss more about the available products. Payments Section Payments will be made through credit cards using PayPal which is considered as a trusted mechanism. Recent Products Purchases and Best Sellers Section This section will show the recent discussions on various products that can be gifted on various events. This will also have the list of all the best seller items in order to increase the confidence of buyers. Complimentary Section This section will include the free gifts, vouchers, discount coupons that we will give to our frequent and bulk buyers. WEB ADVERTISING TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES Google Adsense Website Designing and Website Hosting will be used to design a website and place google Ads in the website to generate revenue on clicks. Affiliations programs can also be used to generate revenue. WEB MARKETING SLOGANS Our Stores serve a variety of products; Dresses, Jewellery, Chocolates, Bags, Perfumes, Makeup and so much more. Are you bored with all the typical ribbons and boxes We offer special wrapping for any occasion that would make your present Out of the ordinary!!! We are much more than just a store !!! Well offer you the gift youll always remember. SURVEY RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS CONCLUSION FUTURE WORK Future work can be done by adding an E-Auction Section on the basis of regions/countries. This would help the customers in performing sales and purchase of their products. Social networking techniques can also be embedded to bring the users of this website closer.

Sweet Diamond Dust :: essays research papers

Chapter IV focuses on the presence of the Americans in Puerto Rico during the early part of the twentieth century and their subsequent development of the sugarcane industry there. During this time, the United States military occupied Puerto Rico. Due to this occupation, the native islanders were affected in numerous ways and were looked down upon by the Americans. The Americans viewed the natives as incompetent and unable to be trusted. Many new American banks were popping up in Guamani that were reluctant to finance island run mills, but were giving money to the American run mills: "A number of powerful banks from the north had recently opened branches in Guamani†¦These banks, however, found no difficulty in financing the new sugar corporations that had recently arrived in town, but mistrusted island initiative" (26). The opening and inauguration of the Snow White Mills, "†¦the ultramodern refining complex the newcomers (Americans) had been building from months on the valley," (28) was of major significance in this chapter. Don Julio was strong-willed and vowed that he would not sell any of his land and "share the same fate" as the other local sugar mills. It was rumored that the Americans had declared a cessation of hostilities in the sugar mills war, and were now willing to aid the criollo hacienda workers. This was his opportunity to mingle and discuss his plans with the owners of Snow White Mills. When Don Julio arrived at the fair grounds, he made his way over to Mr. Durham and Mr. Irving, the president of the mills and the president of the sponsoring bank National City Bank, respectively. These two Americans saw the US victory as a major step towards modernizing for the US and for Puerto Rico: "’Twenty years ago it brought you freedom and order; this times it’s bringing you our nation’s progress. Thanks to that army out there your island is being inaugurated today in to the modern age," (32) said Mr. Durham speaking of the army that was present at the festivities. Don Julio was disturbed and offended by this comment. Mr. Irving said that the progress of the new century belongs to Americans and the progress of the past belongs to the Spanish. Yet again, showing how the Americans look down upon the native peoples. He then proposed his deal to the two Americans; he would sell them some of his cane fields, if they would lend him the money to ‘modernize’ his own mill.

Night World : Huntress Chapter 5

The boy's light hair was longish, falling over his forehead in disarray. He had a nice face, serious, but with an unexpected dimple in his chin that gave him a slightly mischievous look. His body was nicely muscled but compact; standing, Jez knew, he'd be no taller than she. There was a large bump coming up on his forehead, just under the falling hair. The ghoul had probably slammed him against something. Jez jumped up and got a blue plastic cup full of water from her nightstand. She grabbed a clean T-shirt from the floor and dipped it into the water, then she gently brushed back the hair from the boy's forehead. It was silky under her fingers. Even softer than she would have thought. Jez kept her face expressionless and began to wipe his face with the damp cloth. He didn't stir. Jez's heart, which was already thumping distinctly, speeded up. She took a deep breath and kept wiping. Finally, although it probably didn't have anything to do with the water, the boy's dark eyelashes moved. He coughed, breathed, blinked, and looked at her. Relief spread through Jez. â€Å"Don't try to sit up yet.† â€Å"That's what they all say,† he agreed, and sat up. He put a hand to his head and groaned. Jez steadied him. â€Å"I'm fine,† he said. â€Å"Just tell the room to stop moving.† He looked around the room, bunked again and suddenly seemed to focus. He grabbed her arm, his eyes wide. â€Å"Something followed me-â€Å" â€Å"A ghoul. It's dead.† He let out his breath. Then he smiled wryly. â€Å"You saved my life.† â€Å"And I don't even charge,† Jez said, embarrassed. â€Å"No, I mean it.† His smile faded and he looked straight at her. â€Å"Thank you.† Jez could feel heat trying to rise to her face, and she had a hard time holding his gaze. His eyes were gray and so intense-fathomless. Her skin was tingling. She looked away and said evenly, â€Å"We should get you to a hospital. You might have a concussion.† â€Å"No. I'm okay. Let me just see if I can stand up.† When she opened her mouth to protest, he added, â€Å"Jez, you don't know why I'm here. It can't wait.† He was right; Jez had been so intent on getting him conscious that she hadn't even wondered what he was doing here. She looked at him for a moment, then nodded. She helped him up, and let go of his arm when she saw he could stand without falling over. â€Å"See, I'm fine.† He took a few steps, then made a circuit of the room, loosening his muscles. Jez watched him narrowly, ready to grab him if he fell. But he walked steadily except for a slight limp. And that wasn't from his encounter with the ghoul tonight, Jez knew. He'd had the limp from childhood, from when the werewolves took his family. How he'd been able to get over that and join Circle Daybreak, Jez would never know. He'd lost his parents almost as young as she had. He'd lost his two sisters and his brother, too. His entire family had been on a camping trip atLake Tahoe , when in the middle of the night they'd been attacked by a pack of werewolves. Renegade ‘wolves, hunting illegally because Night World law wouldn't let them kill as often as they liked. Just like Jez's old gang. The ‘wolves had ripped through theDavis family's tents and killed the humans, one, two, three. Easy as that. The only one they left alive was seven-year-old Hugh, because he was too little to have much meat on his body. They had just settled down to eat the hearts and livers of their victims, when suddenly the one too little to be worth eating was dashing at them with a homemade torch constructed of kerosene-soaked underwear wrapped around a stick. He was also waving a silver cross on a chain the werewolves had torn from his sister's neck. Two things werewolves don't like: silver and fire. The little boy was attacking with both. The ‘wolves decided to kill him. Slowly. They almost did it. They managed to chew one of his legs almost off before a park ranger arrived, attracted by the spreading fire from the dropped torch. The ranger had a gun, and the fire was getting out of control. The ‘wolves left. Hugh almost died of blood loss on the way to the hospital. But he was a tough kid. And a very smart one. He didn't even try to explain to anybody what he'd been doing with the silver necklace. He knew they would never believe him if he said he'd suddenly remembered a bunch of past lives, including one where he'd seen a werewolf killed. Hugh Davis was an Old Soul. And a wakened Old Soul, which was even more rare. It scared Jez a little. He was human and she was from the Night World, but she didn't pretend to understand the magic that brought some humans back again and again, reincarnating them in new bodies. Letting them remember all their past lifetimes, making them smarter and more clearheaded every time they were born. In Hugh's case, also gentler every time. In spite of the attack on his family, when he got out of the hospital the first thing he did was try to find some Night People. He knew they weren't all bad. He knew some of them would help him stop the werewolves from hurting anyone else. Fortunately, the first people he found were from Circle Daybreak. Circles were witch organizations, but Circle Daybreak was for humans and vampires and shapeshifters and werewolves, too. It was an underground society, as secret within the Night World as the Night World was secret within the human world. It went against the most basic tenets of Night World law: that humans were not to be told about the Night World, and that Night People shouldn't fall in love with humans. Circle Daybreak was fighting to unite everybody, to stop the killings, and to bring peace between the races. Jez wished them luck. She suddenly realized that Hugh had stopped walking and was looking at her. She blinked and focused, furious with herself for her slip in concentration. As a huntress-of vampires or anything else-you stayed alert all the time, or you were dead. â€Å"You were miles away,† Hugh said softly. His gray eyes were calm but intense as always. That look Old Souls get when they're reading you, Jez thought. She said, â€Å"Sorry. Um, do you want some ice for that bump?† â€Å"No, I like it. I'm thinking of getting one on the other side, to match.† He sat on the bed, serious again. â€Å"Really, I've got some stuff to explain to you, and it's going to take a while.† Jez didn't sit. â€Å"Hugh, I think you need it. And I need to take a shower or my aunt will get suspicious about what I'm doing in here for so long. Besides, the smell is driving me crazy.† Although she couldn't use her vampire powers without bringing on the bloodlust, her senses were still much more acute than a human's. â€Å"Eau de Ghoul? And I was just starting to enjoy it.† Hugh nodded at her, switching from gentle humor to gentle gravity as always. â€Å"You need to do what will keep your cover here. I shouldn't be so impatient.† Jez took the fastest shower of her life, then dressed in clean clothes she'd brought to the bathroom. As she returned carrying a glassful of ice from the kitchen and a washcloth, she saw that Claire's bedroom door was ajar and Claire was watching her narrowly. Jez raised the glass in a mock toast, and slipped into her own bedroom. â€Å"Here.† She made an ice pack and handed it to Hugh. He accepted it docilely. â€Å"Now, what is it that's so urgent? And how come you're so popular with ghouls all of a sudden?† Instead of answering, Hugh looked into a middle distance. He was bracing himself for something. Finally he lowered the ice pack and looked straight at her. â€Å"You know I care about you. If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do. And if anything happened because of me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shook his head. Jez told her heart to get down where it belonged. It was pounding in her throat, choking her. She kept her voice flat as she said, â€Å"Thanks.† Something like hurt flashed in his eyes and was gone instantly. â€Å"You don't think I mean it.† Jez still spoke flatly, in a clipped, hurried voice. She wasn't good at talking about emotional stuff. â€Å"Hugh, look. You were my first human friend. When I came to live here, nobody at Circle Daybreak would have anything to do with me. I don't blame them-not after the things my gang did to humans. But it was hard because they wouldn't even talk to me, much less trust me, and they wouldn't believe I wanted to help them. And then you showed up that day after school. And you did talk to me-â€Å" â€Å"And I did trust you,† Hugh said. â€Å"And I still do.† He looked distant again. â€Å"I thought you were the saddest person I'd ever seen, and the most beautiful-and the bravest. I knew you wouldn't betray Circle Daybreak.† And that's why I love you, Jez thought before she could stop herself. It was easier to live with if she didn't put it into words. Because it was hopeless, of course. You couldn't hang on to an Old Soul. Nobody could-not unless they were one of those tiny fraction of people who were soulmates. Wakened Old Souls were too†¦ old. They knew too much, had seen too much to get attached to any one person. Much less a person who was tainted with vampire blood. So all she said was â€Å"I know. That's why I work with Circle Daybreak. Because you convinced them I wasn't some kind of spy for the Night World. I owe you, Hugh. And-I believe you care about me.† Because you care about everybody, she added silently. Hugh nodded, but he didn't look any happier. â€Å"It's about something dangerous. Something I don't want to ask you to do.† He dug into his jeans pocket and came up with a thick packet of what looked like folded newspaper articles. He held it out to her. Jez took it, frowned, then paged through the first few articles. Headlines jumped out at her. â€Å"‘Four-year old dies in coyote attack.' ‘Record heatwave in Midwest; hundreds hospitalized.' ‘Mother confesses: I killed my babies.' ‘Mystery virus erupts in eastern U.S.: Scientists baffled.'† There were lots more, but she didn't look at them. She looked at Hugh, her eyebrows drawn together. â€Å"Thanks for sharing this. Am I supposed to fight the coyote or the virus?† His lips smiled, but his eyes were bottomless and frighteningly sad. â€Å"Nobody can fight what's happening-at least not in the ordinary way. And all that's just the beginning.† â€Å"Of what?† She loved Hugh, but sometimes she wanted to strangle him. Old Souls loved being mysterious. â€Å"Have you noticed the weather lately? It's either floods or droughts. Record cold days in winter, record heat in the summer. Record number of hurricanes and tornadoes. Record snowfall and hail. It just gets weirder and weirder every year.† â€Å"Well-sure.† Jez shrugged. â€Å"They talk about it on TV all the time. But it doesn't mean any-â€Å" â€Å"And the earth's being disturbed, too. Earthquakes. Volcanoes. Last year four dormant volcanoes erupted and there were dozens of major quakes.† Jez narrowed her eyes. â€Å"Okay†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"And there's another weird thing, even though it's not as obvious. You have to kind of dig a little to get to the statistics. There's been an increase in animal attacks all over the world. All kinds of animals.† He tapped the pile of newspaper articles. â€Å"This coyote attack-a couple of years ago you never heard about coyotes killing kids. Just like you never heard of mountain lions attacking adults. But now it's happening, and it's happening everywhere.† Prickles of unease were going up Jez's arms. It was true, what Hugh was saying. Not that she'd paid much attention to the human news when she was a vampire-but it did seem as if animal attacks were getting more frequent. â€Å"A bunch of elephants stomped their trainers last year,† she said slowly. â€Å"Dog attacks are up four hundred percent,† Hugh said. â€Å"According to the California state police. In New Mexico there's an epidemic of rabid bats. In Florida they've had seven tourists killed by alligators since last January-and believe me, that information was hard to find. Nobody wanted to report it† â€Å"I bet.† â€Å"Then there are the insects. We're seeing more and more people get attacked by them. Killer bees. Fire ants. Tiger mosquitoes-and, no, I'm not joking. They're for real, and they carry dengue fever, a really nasty disease.† â€Å"Hugh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Which brings me to diseases. You have to have noticed that. There are new diseases popping up all over. Ebola. Mad cow disease. That flesh-eating bacteria. Hanta viruses. Lassa. Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. You bleed from your ears and nose and mouth and into the whites of your eyes-â€Å" Jez opened her mouth to say â€Å"Hugh† again, but he was racing on, his chest rising and falling quickly, his gray eyes almost feverish. â€Å"And they're resistant to antibiotics the same way that the insects are resistant to pesticides. They're all mutating. Changing. Getting stronger and more deadly. And-â€Å" â€Å"Hugh.† She got it in while he took a breath. â€Å"-there's a hole in the ozone.† He looked at her. â€Å"What?† â€Å"What does it all mean?† It means that things are changing. Spiraling out of control. Heading for†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He stopped and looked at her. â€Å"Jez, it's not those things themselves that are the problem. It's what's behind them.† â€Å"And what is behind them?† Hugh said simply, â€Å"The Old Powers are rising.† Chills swept over Jez. The Old Powers. The Ancient Magic that had controlled the universe in the old days of the Night World. No one could see or know the Old Powers; they were forces of nature, not people. And they had been sleeping like giant dragons for thousands of years ever since humans had gained control of the world. If they were waking up again now†¦ If magic was coming back again, everything would change. â€Å"It shows in different weird ways,† Hugh went on. â€Å"Night People are getting more powerful. Lots of them have noticed it. And they say the soulmate principle is back.† The soulmate principle. The idea that for every person there was one destined soulmate, one true love, and that the two souls were bound for eternity. Jez lifted her shoulders and dropped them without meeting Hugh's eyes. â€Å"Yeah, I heard. Don't believe it, though.† â€Å"I've seen it,† Hugh said, and for a moment Jez's heart stopped. Then it started again as he continued, â€Å"In other people, I mean. I've seen people our age who found their soulmate, and it's really true; you can see it in their eyes. The Old Powers really are rising, Jez†¦ for good and for evil. That's what's behind all these other changes.† Jez sat very still. â€Å"And so what happens if they keep rising?† â€Å"What happens is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Hugh paused and then looked at her. â€Å"It means a time of darkness is coming,† he said simply. â€Å"A time-?† â€Å"Of serious darkness. The worst. We're talking the end of the world, here.† Jez could feel gooseflesh on the back of her neck, where her wet hair touched her skin. She might have been tempted to laugh if it were anybody else telling her this. But it was Hugh, and he wasn't joking. She had no desire to laugh. â€Å"But then it's all over,† she said. â€Å"There's nothing we can do. How can anybody stop the end of the world?† â€Å"Well.† He ran a quick hand through his hair, pushing it off his forehead. â€Å"That's why I'm here. Because I'm hoping you can.†

Simple Pricing

The new service as „i-mode† start on 22 February 1999. Initially 67 content providers participated in the new service, with sites ranging from banking to Karaoke. Thanks to „i- mode† always and everywhere we can use from informative services, the universal bank services, stock quotations, reservation of tickets. Telephone is guide after cinemas restaurants, clubs etc. However the largest popularity have service LadyCall (which addressees are teenage Japanese), dedicated the newest trends of fashion, the most popular idols and actors including many different information which was should know, to distinguish in peers' company. Young users are the prime motor of success „i- mode†. They are almost half of all subscribers. The users „i- mode† not pay for time duration the connection, but for quantity of sended data. Dispatch or receipt one packet (128 bytes) carries out 3 yens (about 12 groszy), and regular payment 300 yens (about 12 zloty) monthly. Some services available by authorized partners require bringing additional, small payments. They are small, but they make up the powerful source of earnings. Provides by that example of Bandai firm- the Japanese potentate of amusement industry- in price 1 USD monthly sends every day everyone of subscribers the small animation. Only this one service is in Japan about 2 million users. „I-Mode's† Business model „I-mode† has been extraordinarily successful in Japan. This is because of its outstanding convenience and it's unique business model. Its reliance on this system offers an innovative approach to the mobile service value chain and to wireless service / Internet relationships. Exists close cooperation with equipment manufacturers, content providers, and other platforms to ensure that wireless technology, content quality, and user experience evolve jointly. This synchronization guarantees that customers, partners and shareholders share interests with end-user's, thus enabling all parties to maximize value and to continue to improve the quality of products and services connected with i-mode. By adopting an HTML subset is able to creation of sites exceptionally simple. Is enabled the compatibility of many other standards including: GIF, Java, MIDI, Macromedia Flash, and HTTP. Additionally DOCOMO promoting beneficial alliances with a variety of international partners, including content providers, overseas operators, ISPs, software developers and manufacturers. These alliances endorse international coverage; encourage the development of new collaborative products, and offer i-mode users the most cost-effective, high-quality products and services available globally. Simple Pricing System DOCOMO collect monthly information charges for the i-Menu listed content providers via a consolidated bill for all mobile phone activities, thus eliminating the need for provider billing. This arrangement reduces expenses for the content partners and encourages them to generate high-quality offerings to attract new subscribers, thereby boosting their profits. Additionally, they are able to generate incremental revenue by charging a small commission for the clearinghouse billing system service.