AirAsia Information Systems

AirAsia Information Systems One of the best known frameworks done by Air Asia is offering the low airfares in the region. This concept is main focus to lower cost perpetually. As business environments become more competitive and in some cases more volatile, business organization have become more concerned about the price. Price is the key area of the marketing tools to generate revenues or profit. Internet pricing strategies are important as traditionally have been, this will lead to more price competition and price standardization. According to Quelch and Klein (1996) pointed out that the counteracting effects of the Internet on price. A vendor can use the internet to discriminate pricing globally. However, if they do not observe this precaution, consumers can quickly find out the price discrimination and opposition. 2.2 Information System Air Asia use computers in its core-information processing centre of marketing and distribution, reservations, sales, and telecommunications. Information technologies, such as computerized reservations systems, assist Air Asia in marketing and distributing. The information system link together to its departmental and outsider may be necessary for the efficiency and cost effectiveness. Reservation systems, depending on the software can be used to generate forecasts on expected departure, return and booking. Communications systems used at Air Asia have been substantially improved to incorporate features. The telephone systems help to transform the calls into important profit centre. The integration of information technologies may allow Air Asia to control its daily operations from a single integrated management system. 2 3.0 PEST ANALYSIS 3.1 Political / Legal PEST analysis assumes that the success of an organization is dependent on the way in which the organization manages its interaction with its external environment (Johnson et al., 2008). The environment presents the organization with series of challenges, risks and opportunities. Such a business would clearly be affected by changes in the political environment. One of the most obvious aspects is Government policies can have a huge impact on the Internet, and through the introduction of new policies and limit its development potential. For the entire e-commerce and commercial potential of the Internet, there are several issues need to be considered, these include an increase the security of transmissions across a network, legal issues, reduction of user dissatisfaction and confusion for the IT, develop the pricing structures for dissemination of information and reservations procedures (IvoryResearch 2010). Policies and procedures should be established to promote understanding of the legal liabilities. This will encourage the organization to minimize the legal risk. 3.2 Economic The Internet is not severely impacted by economic cycles. However, it is needs to be considered that the sales from the internet will be dramatically been affected by national and global economic changes. These include changes in net disposable income levels that can influence the business performance (CIPD 2010). If disposable income declines the clearly the effective demand is likely to go down. 3 3.3 Socio-Cultural Socio-Cultural changes are often long term in the impact but should be monitored all the same. Shift in values may for example affect general attitudes towards internet technologies, in which have a direct impact on information technology and airline industries respectfully. Attitude changes and demographic changes will change the market as well. Therefore, the ability of information technology to offer services at lower cost would deliver strong growth in airline market share. 3.4 Technological Technological change may affect the business outcomes in many ways. Simple issues such as the development of internet online booking system launch by Air Asia in recent year. This made Air Asia offer the ability to check in online and print out boarding passes online (Wikipedia 2010). There may influence the size of the potential market and the number of people able to travel to other countries. Increasing access to the internet may change the way in which the customers can booking the air ticket immediately, neither to wait long queue in the counter. Potential customers may also have changed expectations as a result of experiencing new technology. As a result, improved channel distribution has meant that, increasingly, customers are exposed to, and aware of the products in other parts of the world. 4 4.0 SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT analysis can play a valuable part in any strategic planning, it provide a simple framework and common language through which strategic options can be identified. 4.1 Strength Internet will help to access new customers globally and enables to simplify the procedure. Such as the integration of sales, marketing, travel distribution and the daily operation as well as provide special package for corporate travelers. 4.2 Weaknesses Hackers can hack into a particular data storage and access to the network. There is a crisis of identity and invasion of privacy issues. Hence, the digital security needs to be regulated. 4.3 Opportunities By using internet as a marketing tool to distributing electronic brochures and reservation forms via the Internet directly serve the consumers needs. This approach provides an important advantage for the industry to collect information and will help them better develop products and improving the quality of services. 4.4 Threats The competitive environment is improving and its impact on the aviation industries is widely recognized as being complex and highly segmented. Growing competition from other airlines carriers are entry into the marketplace. This increased downward pressure on fares of Internet and increasing level of competition in travel distribution. 5 B. Task 2 5.0 MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM 5.1 Resource Management Training and development will concerned with the provision of learning, development and training opportunities which ensure that the employee has the skilled, motivated and committed it needs now and in the future. Air Asia stresses the training and development of the staff to keep abreast with changes. The normal one week on the job training is given to new employees. Training is ongoing for three months within the period of probation. Employee skills and knowledge will be upgraded with ongoing course using Air Asias academy (Idris, 2007). It ensures that the employee has the skilled to handle multiple jobs in the organization. For example, the ability of computers to store, handling, processing and dissemination of information has greatly improved the efficiency of Air Asia. Reduced the time from the paper-pushing functions, this can greatly enhance the opportunities for employee utilization in the quality of service that offer to the customers. The training will help the employee to facilitate the business mission of its organization through managed information and technology, in which they are trained to learn new skills and develop new capacity to respond to these changes in the organization. 5.1.1 Decision Making Developing Human Capital Air Asia will partners with Canadian Aviation Electronic to establish an aviation training centre and selected Kuala Lumpur as the location for its Southeast Asian training hub. Air Asia has locked a partnership with CAE for mutual benefits where CAE will provide pilot training for all of Air Asia current and future pilot in the region (Mywire.com 2010). These will improve the quality of training and human capital development within Air Asia. Partners with CAE will help the organization to develop high quality manpower in ensuring seamless business growth. 6 5.2 Information Technology Management The information technology has had a greater impact to display the products that can be seen worldwide especially useful for linking Air Asia with customers or business partners. It provides a worldwide distribution channel for information and ability to link market demand to production planning, and helps the management to communicate quickly with those at lower level. Air Asia have became the first in the world to introduce SMS booking where customers could book their seats, checked flight schedules, and obtain the latest promotional announcements through their mobile phones (Idris, 2007). 5.2.1 Decision Making Information Technology Air Asia keeps introducing innovative ways for online booking and ticket sales. It has locked a partnership with its IT vendors for mutual benefits where Air Asia can constantly improve the system while IT vendor learns to create innovative products according to customer requirements. It offers a wide and innovative range of distribution channels to make booking and traveling easier for its guests. 5.3 Customer Relationship Management Customer Relationship management is important to pursue mutual benefit among customers and vendors. Individual customers can enjoy the benefit, with appropriate advice on getting the best out of their purchase; while the organizations able to improve retention and profitability (Buttle, 2008). In fact, CRM enables to simplify the processes and close deal faster. In long term, customer relationships should be cultivated for Air Asia to maintain competitive advantage. 7 5.3.1 Decision Making Customer Relationship Air Asia has invented to new CRM system in year 2009. It has customized their service after sales by providing variety choice of service, such as hotel, hostel and car rental. In Air Asia website, we can see that information on travel destination, hotel, transport, climate and recommendations is provided to customer for decision making before purchase. 8 5.3 Area of Improvement Strategic information management and strategies effectiveness is a source of competitive advantage for Air Asia turn into their strength across a range of different product markets. A number of positions are normally can be improved to increase its competitive advantages and proficiency, in which enables Air Asia to achieve and maintain the business growth. 5.3.1 Service Organizations depend on their customers and therefore the organization should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations. How customer expectations are the standard against which service is judge. Thats the mission. Therefore should understanding customer needs and expectations. In recent years, one of the most obvious aspects of Air Asia done is upgrade their online booking system and payment system to improve efficiency. This will enhance customer satisfaction, and achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of organization objectives. But unfortunately, luggage does not always arrive or with something missing still always happened. So, how to trace the missing luggage in short period and minimize a similar case happened again. It can help Air Asia to improving the quality of products and services provided to the customer. 9 5.3.2 Strategic Alliance Air Asia introduced a first direct B2B engine to its agents in Asia, through one of its strategic partners, Citibank. The agents make immediate payment via a virtual Air Asia credit card through the internet based real inventory booking engine. The question is why; its formed up the strategic alliance between the parties? The popularity is business growth and get in on opportunities. The strategies adopted in a specific market. A gap emerges between what organization goals would like to achieve and what it can do with available resources and capabilities. Air Asia must adopt new technology to compete against traditional rivals, as well as entrants that build the latest technology enterprises. The gap can be bridged by the alliance. For example, in order to compete on a global scale and at the same time maintain its independence, Air Asia must make alliances in partnership together with others countries to use facilities, information system, produce components and distribution channels to meet a critical business need. In year 2004, Air Asia formed two joint ventures in Thailand and Indonesia. Why? Because Air Asia able to extend its marketing reach and build credibility with a particular target market. Its also giving the opportunities to access needed information and greater resources including specialized staff and technology, increase sales in an existing market and enhance technological capabilities through research and development underwritten by more than one party. Another approach is once business is established it has provided the Air Asia with the opportunity to gain new capacity and expertise. 10 5.3.3 Product Improvement Product improvement is the result of consistent, deliberate effort to move the developing organization to a higher level of capability. Product improvement entails developing and launching new products for sale in existing markets (Condensed GSAM Handbook, 2003). It also requires a planned and guided path to excellence, reaching various levels of improvement as intermediate goals along the way such as products with additional features, different packaging, different quality levels etc. For example, Air Asia Go Holiday and Air Asia Tune Hotels which offer travelers a comprehensive package. Many budget travelers prefer to book their air tickets and hotels together and Air Asia will offer its customers with the facility of online booking and reservations as they book their flights. In other words, the product will be improved as a natural consequence. Today, the Internet is firmly established as a marketing strategy. It becomes an integral part of the marketing tools for the digital distribution channels and e-store services (Hofacker, 2000). 11 6.0 Conclusion Since Air Asia entry the market, it is rapidly becoming the most popular airline and profitability organization. Why? Because it focuses on the strategic information system on ways of promoting and developing the product ranges. It is beneficial for Air Asia to combine new IT into the entire operation. It is generally accepted that information technology should be considered as strategic tools than tactical issues. We rely on information, it is not necessarily convenient mechanism to assist in decision-making and guide action. It is very important that the knowledge base to find a use of information. However, Air Asia will need to understand what is currently happening in the operating environment. (2680 words) 12

Shadow Kiss Chapter 10

Ten THE NEXT DAY, MY guardian duties with Christian resumed. Once again, I found my own life put on hold for someone else's. â€Å"How was your penance?† he asked as we walked across campus from his dorm. I stifled a yawn. I hadn't been able to sleep well last night, both because of my feelings for Dimitri and because of what Father Andrew had told me. Nonetheless, I kept a sharp eye out. This was the location where Stan had attacked us twice before, and besides, the guardians were sick and twisted enough to come after me on a day when I was so exhausted. â€Å"It was okay. The priest let us go early.† â€Å"Us?† â€Å"Dimitri came and helped me. I think he felt bad about me being stuck with that work.† â€Å"Either that or he has nothing else to do now that he's not doing your extra sessions.† â€Å"Maybe, but I doubt it. All in all, I guess it wasn't that bad a day.† Unless you considered learning about spiteful ghosts bad. â€Å"I had a great day,† said Christian, the smallest amount of smugness in his voice. I repressed the urge to roll my eyes. â€Å"Yeah, I know.† He and Lissa had taken advantage of their guardianless day to take advantage of each other. I supposed I should be glad they'd held off until Eddie and I weren't around, but in a lot of ways, it didn't matter. True, when I was awake, I could block out all of the details, but I still knew what was going on. A bit of the jealousy and anger I'd felt from the last time they'd been together returned. It was the same problem all over again: Lissa doing all the things I couldn't do. I was dying to go eat breakfast. I could smell French toast and hot maple syrup. Carbs wrapped in more carbs. Yum. But Christian wanted blood before we ate solid food, and his needs trumped mine. They come first. He'd apparently skipped his daily blood dose yesterday – probably to maximize his romantic time. The feeder room wasn't crowded, but we still had to wait. â€Å"Hey,† I said. â€Å"Do you know Brett Ozera? You're related, right?† After my encounter with Jill, I'd finally put some pieces together. Brett Ozera and Dane Zeklos had reminded me of how Brandon had looked the day of Stan's first attack. The disaster of that attack had made me completely forget about Brandon, but the coincidences here suddenly stirred my curiosity. All three had been beaten up. All three had been in denial. Christian nodded. â€Å"Yeah, in the way we're all kind of related. I don't know him that well – he's like a third or fourth cousin or something. His branch of the family hasn't had much to do with mine since †¦ well, you know.† â€Å"I heard something weird about him.† I then related what Jill had told me about Dane and Brett. â€Å"That's weird,† agreed Christian. â€Å"But people get in fights.† â€Å"Yeah, but there are some weird connections here. And royals aren't usually on the losing ends of fights – all three of these guys were.† â€Å"Well, maybe that's it. You know how it's been. A lot of royals are getting pissed off that non-royals want to change how guardians are assigned and learn to start fighting. That's the whole point of Jesse and Ralf's stupid little club. They want to make sure royals stay on top. Non-royals are probably getting just as pissed off and fighting back.† â€Å"So, what, some kind of vigilante is out making royals pay?† â€Å"Wouldn't be the weirdest thing that's happened around here,† he pointed out. â€Å"That's for damn sure,† I muttered. Christian's name was called, and he peered ahead. â€Å"Look at that,† he said happily. â€Å"Alice again.† â€Å"I don't get your fascination with her,† I observed as we approached the old feeder. â€Å"Lissa's always kind of excited to see her too. But Alice is nuts.† â€Å"I know,† he said. â€Å"That's what's so great.† Alice greeted us as Christian sat down beside her. I leaned against the wall, arms crossed over my chest. Feeling uppity, I said, â€Å"Alice, the scenery hasn't changed. It's exactly the same as last time.† She turned her dazed eyes on me. â€Å"Patience, Rose. You must be patient. And prepared. Are you prepared?† The switch in subject threw me a little. It was like talking to Jill, except less sane. â€Å"Um, prepared how? For the scenery?† In what had to be a prime moment of irony, she looked at me as though I were the one who was crazy. â€Å"Armed. Are you armed? You're going to protect us, aren't you?† I reached inside my coat and pulled out the practice stake I'd been given for the field experience. â€Å"Got you covered,† I said. She looked immensely relieved and apparently couldn't tell the difference between a real stake and a fake one. â€Å"Good,† she said. â€Å"Now we'll be safe.† â€Å"That's right,† said Christian. â€Å"With Rose armed, we have nothing to worry about. The Moroi world can rest easy.† Alice was oblivious to his sarcasm. â€Å"Yes. Well, nowhere is ever safe.† I concealed the stake again. â€Å"We're safe. We've got the best guardians in the world protecting us, not to mention the wards. Strigoi aren't getting in here.† I didn't add what I'd recently learned: that Strigoi could get humans to break the wards. Wards were invisible lines of power that were composed of all four elements. They were created when four Moroi, each one strong in a different element, walked around an area and laid the magic in a circle upon the ground, creating a protective border. Moroi magic was imbued with life, and a strong field of it kept out Strigoi, since they were devoid of life. So wards were frequently laid around Moroi dwellings. Tons of them were laid around this school. Since stakes were also imbued with all four elements, driving a stake through a ward line in the ground pierced the ward and canceled out the protective effect. This had never been much of a concern because Strigoi couldn't touch stakes. However, in some recent attacks, humans – who could touch stakes – had served Strigoi and broken some wards. We believed the Strigoi I'd killed had been the ringleaders in that group, but we still d idn't know for sure. Alice studied me closely with her cloudy eyes, almost as though she knew what I was thinking. â€Å"Nowhere is safe. Wards fade. Guardians die.† I glanced over at Christian, who shrugged in a sort of what did you expect from her? kind of way. â€Å"If you guys are done with your girl talk, can I eat now?† he asked. Alice was more than happy to comply; he was her first hit of the day. She soon forgot about wards or anything else and simply lost herself to the ecstasy of his bite. I forgot about wards too. I had a one-track mind, really: I still wanted to know if Mason had been real or not. The priest's frightening explanation aside, I had to admit Mason's visits hadn't been threatening, just scary. If he was out to get me, he was kind of doing a half-assed job of it. Once again, I started putting more stock in the stress-and-fatigue theory. â€Å"Now it's time for me to eat,† I said when Christian finished. I was pretty sure I could smell bacon now. That'd probably make Christian happy. He could wrap it around his French toast. We'd barely stepped out of the room when Lissa came running up to us, Eddie trailing behind. Excitement lit her face, though the feelings in the bond weren't exactly happy. â€Å"Did you hear?† she asked, a little breathless. â€Å"Hear what?† I asked. â€Å"You have to hurry – go pack your things. We're going to Victor's trial. Right now.† There'd been no warning at all about when Victor's trial would even occur, let alone that someone had apparently decided we could go. Christian and I exchanged brief, startled looks and then hurried off to his room to gather our things. Packing was a breeze. My bag was ready to go already, and Christian only took a minute to throw his together. In less than a half hour, we were out on the Academy's landing strip. Two private jets sat in attendance, one of which was fired up and waiting to go. A couple of Moroi hurried about, doing last-minute things with the plane and the runway. No one seemed to know what was going on. Lissa had simply been told that she, Christian, and I were going to testify and that Eddie could come along to continue his field experience. There'd been no explanation as to why things had changed, and a weird mix of eagerness and apprehension crackled around us. We all wanted to see Victor locked away for good, but now that we were actually faced with the reality of the trial and of seeing him – well, it was kind of scary. A few guardians lingered near the steps going up to the plane. I recognized them as the ones who had helped capture Victor. They were probably going to do double duty and serve as witnesses and as our protection. Dimitri hovered near the outskirts, and I hurried over to him. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I gulped out. â€Å"I'm so sorry.† He turned toward me, his face schooled to that perfect picture of neutrality that he was so good at. â€Å"Sorry for what?† â€Å"For all the horrible things I said yesterday. You did it – you really did it. You got them to let us go.† Despite my nervousness about seeing Victor, I was filled with elation. Dimitri had come through. I'd known all along that he really cared about me – this just proved it. If there hadn't been so many people around, I would have hugged him. Dimitri's face didn't change. â€Å"It wasn't me, Rose. I had nothing to do with it.† Alberta signaled that we could board, and he turned away to join the others. I stood frozen for a moment, watching him and trying to figure out what had happened. If he hadn't intervened, then why were we going? Lissa's diplomatic efforts had been shot down a while ago. Why the change of heart? My friends were already on board, so I hurried to catch up. As soon as I stepped into the cabin, a voice called to me. â€Å"Little dhampir! About time you got here.† I looked and saw Adrian waving, a drink in his hand. Great. We'd had to beg and plead to go along, yet Adrian had somehow just glided on in. Lissa and Christian were sitting together, so I joined Eddie in the hopes of staying away from Adrian. Eddie gave me the window seat. Adrian moved to the seat in front of us, though, and might as well have been sitting in our row, as often as he turned around to talk to me. His chatter and outrageous flirting indicated he'd been sipping cocktails long before the rest of us had come aboard. I kind of wished I'd had a few myself once we were airborne. A wicked headache set in almost immediately after liftoff, and I entertained a fantasy of vodka numbing the pain. â€Å"We're going to Court,† Adrian said. â€Å"Aren't you excited about it?† I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. â€Å"About which one? The royal one or the legal one?† â€Å"The royal one. Did you bring a dress?† â€Å"Nobody told me to.† â€Å"So †¦ that's a ‘no.'† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Yes? I thought you meant no.† I opened one eye and glared. â€Å"I did mean no, and you know it. No, I did not bring a dress.† â€Å"We'll get you one,† he said loftily. â€Å"You're going to take me shopping? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess they won't consider you a reliable chaperone.† â€Å"Shopping? As if. There are tailors that live there. We'll get you something custom-made.† â€Å"We're not staying that long. And do I really need a dress for what we're doing there?† â€Å"No, I'd just kind of like to see you in one.† I sighed and leaned my head against the window. The pain in my skull was still throbbing. It was like the air was pressing in on me. Something flashed in my peripheral vision, and I turned in surprise, but there was nothing but stars outside the window. â€Å"Something black,† he continued. â€Å"Satin, I think†¦ maybe with lace trim. Do you like lace? Some women think it itches.† â€Å"Adrian.† It was like a hammer, a hammer inside and outside my head. â€Å"You could get a nice velvet trim too, though. That wouldn't itch.† â€Å"Adrian.† Even my eye sockets seemed to hurt. â€Å"And then a slit up the side to show off what great legs you have. It could go nearly to the hip and have this cute little bow – â€Å" â€Å"Adrian!† Something inside of me burst. â€Å"Will you shut the hell up for five seconds?† I yelled so loud that the pilot had probably heard me. Adrian had that rare look of astonishment on his face. Alberta, sitting across the aisle from Adrian, shot up in her seat. â€Å"Rose,† she exclaimed. â€Å"What's going on?† I gritted my teeth and rubbed my forehead. â€Å"I have the worst fucking headache in the world, and he won't shut up.† I didn't even realize I'd sworn in front of an instructor until several seconds later. From the other side of my field of vision, I thought I saw something else – another shadow darting through the plane, reminding me of black wings. Like a bat or a raven. I covered my eyes. There was nothing flying through the plane. â€Å"God, why won't it go away?† I expected Alberta to chastise me for the outburst, but instead, Christian spoke: â€Å"She hasn't eaten today. She was really hungry earlier.† I uncovered my eyes. Alberta's face was filled with concern, and Dimitri now hovered behind her. More shadowy shapes flitted across my vision. Most were indistinct, but I could have sworn I saw something that looked like a skull mixed in with the darkness. I blinked rapidly, and it all disappeared. Alberta turned to one of the flight attendants. â€Å"Can you get her something to eat? And find a painkiller?† â€Å"Where's it at?† Dimitri asked me. â€Å"The pain?† With all of this attention, my explosion suddenly seemed excessive. â€Å"It's a headache†¦I'm sure it'll go away†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Seeing his stern look, I pointed to the center of my forehead. â€Å"It's like something pushing on my skull. And there's pain kind of behind my eyes. I keep feeling like†¦well, it's like I've got something in my eye. I think I'm seeing a shadow or something. Then I blink and it's gone.† â€Å"Ah,† said Alberta. â€Å"That's a migraine symptom – having vision problems. It's called an aura. People sometimes get it before the headache sets in.† â€Å"An aura?† I asked, startled. I glanced up at Adrian. He was looking at me over the top of his seat, his long arms hanging over the back of it. â€Å"Not that kind,† he said, a small smile turning up his lips. â€Å"Same name. Like Court and court. Migraine auras are images and light you see when a migraine's coming on. They have nothing to do with the auras around people I see. But I tell you †¦ the aura I can see †¦ the one around you †¦ wow.† â€Å"Black?† â€Å"And then some. It's obvious even after all the drinks I've had. Never seen anything like it.† I didn't exactly know what to make of that, but then the flight attendant returned with a banana, a granola bar, and some ibuprofen. It was a far cry from French toast, but it sounded good on my empty stomach. I consumed it all and then propped a pillow up against the window. Closing my eyes, I rested my head and hoped I could sleep the headache off before we landed. Mercifully, everyone else stayed quiet. I had drifted off a little when I felt a slight touch on my arm. â€Å"Rose?† Opening my eyes, I peered at Lissa as she sat in Eddie's seat. Those bat-winged shapes flitted behind her, and my head still hurt. In those swirling shadows, I again saw what looked like a face, this time with a wide gaping mouth and eyes like fire. I flinched. â€Å"You're still in pain?† Lissa asked, peering at me. I blinked, and the face was gone. â€Å"Yeah, I – oh no.† I realized what she was going to do. â€Å"Don't do it. Don't waste it on me.† â€Å"It's easy,† she said. â€Å"It hardly fazes me.† â€Å"Yeah, but the more you use it†¦ the more it hurts you in the long run. Even if it's easy now.† â€Å"I'll worry about that later. Here.† She clasped my hand between hers and closed her eyes. Through our bond, I felt the magic welling up in her as she drew upon spirit's healing power. To her, magic felt warm and golden. I'd been healed before, and it always came through to me as varying temperatures: hot, then cold, then hot, etc. But this time, when she released the magic and sent it into me, I didn't feel anything except a very faint tingle. Her eyelids fluttered open. â€Å"Wh – what happened?† she asked. â€Å"Nothing,† I said. â€Å"The headache's still going strong.† â€Å"But I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The confusion and shock on her face mirrored what I sensed in her. â€Å"I had it. I felt the magic. It worked.† â€Å"I don't know, Liss. It's okay, really. You haven't been off the meds that long, you know.† â€Å"Yeah, but I healed Eddie the other day without any problems. And Adrian,† she added dryly. He was hanging over the seat again, watching us intently. â€Å"Those were scrapes,† I said. â€Å"This is a five-alarm migraine we're talking about. Maybe you've got to build back up.† Lissa bit her lower lip. â€Å"You don't think the pills permanently hurt my magic, do you?† â€Å"Nah,† said Adrian, head tilted to the side. â€Å"You lit up like a supernova when you were summoning it. You had magic. I just don't think it had any effect on her.† â€Å"Why not?† she demanded. â€Å"Maybe she's got something you can't heal.† â€Å"A headache?† I asked in disbelief. He shrugged. â€Å"What do I look like, a doctor? I don't know. Just telling you what I saw.† I sighed and placed a hand on my forehead. â€Å"Well, I appreciate the help, Liss, and I appreciate your annoying commentary, Adrian. But I think sleep might be the best thing for now. Maybe it's stress or something.† Sure, why not? Stress was the answer to everything lately. Ghosts. Incurable headaches. Weird faces floating in the air. â€Å"Probably can't heal that.† â€Å"Maybe,† she said, sounding as though she took personal offense at me having something she couldn't fix. Inside her mind, though, her accusations were turned toward herself, not me. She worried she wasn't good enough. â€Å"It's okay,† I said soothingly. â€Å"You're just getting your stride back. Once you're up to full power, I'll go crack a rib or something so we can test it.† She groaned. â€Å"The horrible part is that I don't think you're joking.† After a quick squeeze of my hand, she stood up. â€Å"Sleep well.† She left, and I soon realized Eddie wasn't coming back. He'd taken a new seat so that I'd have more room. Appreciative, I fluffed and repositioned the pillow while stretching my legs out as best I could across the seats. A few more phantom clouds danced across my vision, and then I closed my eyes to sleep. I woke up later when the plane touched down, the sounds of its engines kicking into reverse startling me out of a deep sleep. To my relief, the headache was gone. So were the weird shapes floating around me. â€Å"Better?† Lissa asked when I stood up and yawned. I nodded. â€Å"Much. Better still if I can get some real food.† â€Å"Well,† she laughed, â€Å"somehow I doubt there's any shortage of food around here.† She was right. Glancing out the windows, I tried to get my first look at our surroundings. We'd made it. We were at the Moroi Royal Court.

How to Use a Scientific Calculator

You might know all the formulas for math and science problems, but if you dont know how to use your scientific calculator, youll never get the correct answer. Heres a quick review of how to recognize a scientific calculator, what the keys mean, and how to enter data correctly. What Is a Scientific Calculator? First, you need to know how a scientific calculator is different from other calculators. There are three main types of calculators: basic, business, and scientific. You cant work chemistry, physics, engineering, or trigonometry problems on a basic or business calculator because they dont have functions youll need to use. Scientific calculators include exponents, log, natural log (ln), trig functions, and memory. These functions are vital when youre working with scientific notation or any formula with a geometry component. Basic calculators can do addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Business calculators include buttons for interest rates. They typically ignore the order of operations. Scientific Calculator Functions The buttons may be labeled differently depending on the manufacturer, but here is a list of common functions and what they mean: Operation Mathematical Function + plus or addition - minus or subtraction Note: On a scientific calculator there is a different button to make a positive number into a negative number, usually marked (-) or NEG (negation) * times, or multiply by / or à · divided by, over, division by ^ raised to the power of yx or xy y raised to the power x or x raised to the y Sqrt or √ square root ex exponent, raise e to the power x LN natural logarithm, take the log of SIN sine function SIN-1 inverse sine function, arcsine COS cosine function COS-1 inverse cosine function, arccosine TAN tangent function TAN-1 inverse tangent function or arctangent ( ) parentheses, instructs calculator to do this operation first Store (STO) place a number in memory for later use Recall recover the number from memory for immediate use How to Use a Scientific Calculator The obvious way to learn to use the calculator is to read the manual. If you got a calculator that didnt come with a manual, you can usually search for the model online and download a copy. Otherwise, you need to do a bit of experimentation or youll enter in the right numbers and still get the wrong answer. The reason this happens is that different calculators process order of operations differently. For example, if your calculation  is: 3 5 * 4 You know, according to the order of operations, the 5 and the 4 should be multiplied by each other before adding the 3. Your calculator may or may not know this. If you press 3 5 x 4, some calculators will give you the answer 32 and others will give you 23 (which is correct). Find out what your calculator does. If you see an issue with the order of operations, you can either enter 5 x 4 3 (to get the multiplication out of the way) or use parentheses 3 (5 x 4). Which Keys to Press and When to Press Them Here are some example calculations and how to determine the correct way to enter them. Whenever you borrow someones calculator, get into the habit of performing these simple tests to make sure youre using it correctly. Square Root: Find the square root of 4. You know the answer is 2 (right?). On your calculator, find out whether you need to enter 4 and then press the SQRT key or whether you hit the SQRT key and then enter 4.  Taking the Power: The key may be marked xy or yx. You need to find out whether the first number you enter is the x or the y. Test this by entering 2, power key, 3. If the answer was 8, then you took 23, but if you got 9, the calculator gave you 32.10x: Again, test to see whether you press the 10x button and then enter your x or whether you enter the x value and then press the button. This is critical for science problems, where youll live in the land of scientific notation!Trig Functions: When youre working with angles, keep in mind many calculators let you select whether to express the answer in degrees or radians. Then, you need to determine whether you enter the angle (check the units) and then sin, cos, tan, etc., or whether you press the sin, cos, etc., button and then enter the number. How do you test this: Remember the sine of a 30-degree angle is 0.5. Enter 30 and then SIN and see if you get 0.5. No? Try SIN and then 30. If you get 0.5 using one of these methods, then you know which works. However, if you get -0.988 then your calculator is set to radian mode. To change to degrees, look for a MODE key. There is often an indicator of units written right up with the numerals to let you know what youre getting.

Blues Music Is Still Based On Emotional Pain - 914 Words

In the beginning of its existence, blues music was a way of expressing ones’ feelings that they were not allowed to speak about in mixed company. This was music that expressed from the heart and soul of painful experiences that continued on throughout the course of living in a divided, unequal society. Blues music is still based on emotional pain, still the most wonderful way to express tears and heartache in a catchy sounding musical format. This is the music that touches people in a deeper manner and helps appease the pain that one has endured. Every blues song produced is a symbol of past experiences of the writer of the song and its’ performer. This allows each song to be uniquely impactful. Many blues songs used racial inequality as a common theme because many black Americans were suffering from this in their daily lives. The following songs were structured to help raise support to put an end to the racial inequality that occurred. First, we talk about James Brown’s â€Å"Say it Loud ( I’m Black and I’m Proud)†. As the title suggests, this song is about black pride. Brown was a leader in the black community, and encouraged his people to stand up for their rights. The 60’s were a tumultuous time for race relations in America, and this song became an anthem for the black power movement. I feel this song is a representation of blues music because James Brown uses this song for a more than just entertainment. He uses it as an inspiration to help black Americans to rise out ofShow MoreRelatedSonnys Blues - Baldwin Personal Reflection1220 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Sonny’s Blues† is an emotional story written by an amazing author, James Baldwin, who has come to be one of my favorite writers. This particular piece talks about the troubles of African American freeing themselves from the mental bondages of their surroundings, the ghetto. 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