Defamation of Character Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Defamation of Character - Essay Example To cite an example of a â€Å"libel† or defamation case, let us look at the $100 million defamation lawsuit filed by a well-known Hollywood actor Tom Cruise against a pornography actor Chad Slater who uses stage name Kyle Bradford. (NDTV.com 2003).   Slater allegedly claimed he had a gay affair with Cruise that broke up Cruise's marriage (Digital Journal 2001).   According to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Slater told the French magazine Actustar that â€Å"he had a continuing homosexual relationship during Cruise’s marriage and that the relationship was discovered by Nicole Kidman, who ended the relationship†.   With this allegations, a per se defamation, it caused damage to the plaintiff or Cruise.   The defender, in the person of Slater, issued false statements in the effect that Cruise committed immoral turpitude. The lawsuit claimed that ``Cruise is not and never has been a homosexual'' and ``does not even know Slater†.   Sl ater defaulted the $100 million by claiming that he never met Cruise and said that "I hope by defaulting, Cruise will finally get what he is after and I can finally start to put my life back in order,'' (NDTV.com 2003).   The default motion did not indicated that Slater admitted to wrongdoing, but was an acknowledgment that he did not have the money to fight the lawsuit and would not contest it, causing Tom Cruise to win a $10 million defamation judgment, and clearing his name in the public eye.

Currently Israel controls Palestinian water, what rights does Israel Research Paper

Currently Israel controls Palestinian water, what rights does Israel have to manage water crucially needed or the Palestinian people - Research Paper Example rael has recently reconfirmed its intention to implement the decision of the Local Israeli Assembly for Organization and Building to give a piece of land from the Hadera area to build a desalination plant for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority†¦The Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) [...] states that the Palestinian side is unwilling to purchase water at such a high cost from sources that are on the Mediterranean Coast and Jordan River, knowing that this water in fact partially belongs to the Palestinians but is inaccessible for them. (EMIS) If the Palestinians do not want water, what is their agenda? The agenda is Palestinians want to expel Jews from Israel. They believe that Israel should be Palestine, despite the military victories giving Israel more land. The Gaza Strip is a very small area of land with a total area of only 360 square kilometers (roughly 150 square miles — ed.). It is underlain by a shallow aquifer, which is contiguous with the Israeli Coastal Aquifer to the north. Gaza is the â€Å"downstream user† of the Coastal Aquifer system, and hence water abstraction in Gaza does not affect Israeli water supplies†¦In addition, missile strikes and ground incursions have repeatedly damaged and destroyed pipelines, and maintenance personnel have been arrested, shot at, or even killed whilst trying to carry out repairs†¦Inadequate sewage treatment infrastructure and damage to wastewater and drinking water pipelines has allowed sewage water to contaminate drinking water supplies, leading to sharp increases in water borne diseases in many areas†¦Failure to control over-pumping has led to sea-water intrusion into the aquifer to the extent that, in 2003, only 10 % of the wells produced water of World Healt h Organization (WHO) drinking water standards. (Gray) For another, Israel has never â€Å"helped itself† to water â€Å"beneath Palestinian lands.† Israel obtains roughly 50 percent of its water from the Sea of Galilee and the Coastal Aquifer, both

Team Working Essay Example for Free

Team Working Essay Outcome 6. The importance of accurate record keeping. Accurate record keeping is very important for few reasons. First of all, different health professions are involved in patient care delivery and clinical process. All these professional have to communicate about patients and records is one of the best ways of doing it. Secondly, records reflect all procedures and manipulations with a patient in a chronological way so that members of staff know exactly the situation with patients to provide 24 hours care for patients. . Thirdly, accurate record keeping is important for investigating complaints and claims. The best care provided will not be counted if it was not recorded in patient’s notes (McGeehan 2007). Records should be written briefly but informative at the same time. It should be focused on the patient, factual, measurable and realistic. It also should be written strait away after an event. The nurse should put date, time of the note and write her name. Handwriting should be easy to understand. The language should be appropriate without abbreviations or jargon. Poor note taking can be regarded as negligence (McGeehan 2007). As every patient has different reasons for admission and different pathway on a ward, it is important to work out care pathways. It includes clinical risk assessment and outlining the care that this patient should be given recording to conditions. All members of the staff must sign when they use a pathway for a patient (McGeehan 2007). . Trusts can be assessed by The Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) by the way records were kept. As there are many complains and claims, every nurse should follow high standard record keeping so that records can be used as an evidence of care provided in a court (McGeehan 2007). References: McGeehah R (2007) Best practice in record keeping. Nursing Standard 21(17), 51-58 Outcome 7. Informed Consent. The concept of informed consent has been broadly discussed in medical literature. Indeed, gaining consent is very important for all health professions, including health care assistants, nurses and doctors. Medical process includes few documents where a patient signs his consent. However, in some cases the patient signs the forms without appropriate explanations. Or, explanations can be poorly understood by patient due to a difficult language (Erlen 2010). Consent should be valid which means that the patient should be over 18, have the capacity and give consent voluntarily (Department of Health 2004). Any form of consent is valid, but only a written consent can be an evidence of the fact that consent was gained. Also, consent can be verbal and non-verbal, when for example, a patient holds out an arm for blood pressure to be taken (Department of Health 2004). In English law no one has any right to touch another person without consent. As nurses deal with many patients daily, it is vitally to gain consent for every intervention. Additionally, a nurse should inform a patient about any procedure In some cases patients give implied consent. For instance, the same injection is given few times a day. However, it is important to gain verbal consent before every injection (Edwards 2010). References: Department of Health (2004) Reference Guide to Consent for Examination or Treatment. Erlen J (2010) Informed Consent. Orthopaedic Nursing. 29 (4), 276-279) Edwards M (2010) An introduction to consent. Practice Nurse 39(6), 13-15) Confidentiality. Confidentiality is a core subject in health care. It is easy to lose patient’s trust by ignoring patient’s right to confidentiality. Confidentiality preserves personal dignity, prevents information disuse and protects autonomy of patient. All professionals in health care have to communicate about patients and it is difficult to avoid information disclosure as at any times there can be unwanted listeners. For instance, when a nurse tries to make an appointment for her patient on the phone, she has to provide some information such as the name, age, address and a condition. There could be people near her at this point who will use the information. Outcome 12. Signs and circumstances associated with aggression and violence. Nurses they are reported to be at a high risk of dealing with patient aggression. Over 76 per cent of newly qualified nurses in South Wales for instance experienced patients’ aggression within first three months of employment. In most of cases the aggression was in a form of verbal abuse. Other forms of patients’ aggression are verbal or physical threats or intimidation and physical violence. As a result, nurses are at an increased risk of emotional suffering and depression (Hills 2008). The research shows that female nurses experience aggression and abuse from patients more often than male nurses. It was suggested that nurses experience aggression and violence more frequently because they deal with patients more often than other health care professionals Mullan 2007) What is more, some nurses have to take days off or sick time off after episodes of patients’ violence and aggression (Hills 2008). The study shows that aggression management training programs for nurses could be an effective way to decrease incidents of violence in clinical area (Hills 2008). Most of nurses who experienced violence or any form of aggression from patients reported that they were powerless avoid that and felt having lack of confidence (Mullan 2007). References: Mullan B Badger F (2007) Aggression and violence towards staff working with older patients. Nursing Standard 14(21) 35-39 Hills D (2008) Relationship between aggression management training, perceived self-efficacy and rural general hospital nurses’ experiences of patient aggression. Contemporary Nurse 31(1), 20-31

Shakespeare portrays about women

Shakespeare portrays about women William Shakespeares Much Ado about Nothing is mainly based on the battle of the sexes, and the relationships that are developed between the male and female characters of the play. Moreover, in Much Ado about Nothing Shakespeare does an astounding job at distinguishing the female stereotype of the Elizabethan Era, he develops this through the two main female characters Hero and Beatrice. Hero is portrayed as the typical female of the Elizabethan Era; Hero is of good keep and a well mannered girl. While on the other hand, Beatrice is the total opposite of typical female stereotype, she possesses a quick wit and a sharp tongue. Beatrice is never one to back down; she is an independent woman with a significant amount of self esteem. Beatrices character illustrates that the play rewards both conventional and unconventional women and prejudice against women in unnecessary and unfair. Hero was introduced in Act 1 Scene 1 of the play; she was introduced as the daughter of Leonato and Beatrices cousin. In the play Hero is represented as a very quiet, and shy girl, as she barely ever says anything and when she even speaks it is always in a very respectful manner. Throughout the entire Act one all she said was, My cousin means Signor Benedick of Padua. Similarly, Hero does not speak so much throughout the Act 2 Scene 1 most of what she says is He is of very melancholy disposition referring to Don John. The reader or the audience can see that Heros attitude is similar to the way typical women during the Elizabethan Era acted. Shakespeare might have chosen to present Hero in this manner to show the sharp contrast that exists between Hero and Beatrice. Moreover, it is apparent as the play goes on for the audience to see how much Hero does look up to her cousin Beatrice, for example is when Don Pedro asks to speak to Hero about Claudio she says: So you walk softly, and lo ok sweetly, and say nothing, I am yours for the walk, and especially when I walk away. [2.1.78-79]. The audience can see that Hero uses similar replies much like the replies that Beatrice would use to tease the men around her. By the same token, the character of Beatrice was also introduced in Act 1 Scene 1 of the play, and from the very beginning of the play Beatrice unlike Hero is represented as being a very clever and out spoken woman. Shakespeare makes sure that she comes off as a woman who is not afraid to speak her mind to anyone she comes across to. This is proven in act one, scene one when the messenger comes to deliver the message that the soldiers are on their way to Messina from the war. Beatrice and the messenger start a conversation about Benedick and the messenger tells Beatrice that Benedick is a lord to a lord, a man to a man, stuffed with all honourable virtues [1.1.53-54] she quickly replies, It is so indeed, he is no less than a stuffed man, but for the stuffing well, we are all mortal. [1.1.55-56] Beatrices sudden answer shows the audience that she is a woman who is not scared to speak her mind to anyone and that she will never back down from an argument. I believe that Shakespeare wan ted represent Beatrice in this manner to make a point that during the Elizabethan Era women were clever than men could imagine them to be. In addition during the Elizabethan Era that this play was first performed women had little or no power in the society a womans main role in this society was to get married and bear children, therefore, this was a way to prove the point that women were not the second class citizens that. Or in contrast, Shakespeare could have given Beatrice this character to simply just add a little humour into the play, because the thought of an independent and outspoken woman at that time was not taken seriously and was usually a joke. Furthermore, in the present day while reading, watching a movie about a Shakespeare play or even watching a Shakespeare play live, the audience must understand that during the Elizabethan Era every character of the play would be played by a male, even if the character was supposed to be a female. For example when Beatrice says Oh, that I were a man! What, bear her in hand until they come take hands, and then with public accusation, uncovered slander, unmitigated rancour? Oh God that I were a man![4.1.300-305] during the Elizabethan Era this particular line would have had a very comical meaning to the audience, because it would actually have been a male portraying a female character who would says this particular line, the present day audience does not grasp this irony because today, women are allowed to have part in the theatre and are not excluded. In fact another interesting thing to note about the Much Ado About Nothing is that even though Shakespeare is a male writer he was not a bias writer and in this play he showed that by not always letting the male characters win arguments or come out on top of any situation. Surely, in many situations it was the female characters that would come out on top, a great example of this is when in Act 4 Scene 1 Hero was accused of being unfaithful to Claudio. At first, the Claudio seemed triumphant in accusing an innocent woman; however, by the end of the play he is embarrassed to know that he was tricked into believing that Hero was being unfaithful when all along she was true to Claudio. Another, wonderful example of a woman coming on top is when Don Pedro and Beatrice are talking in Act 2 Scene 1 and Don Pedro asks Beatrice to marry him and she rejects him in a gentle way: DON PEDRO: Will you have me, lady? BEATRICE: No, my lord, unless I might have another for working days. Your grade is too costly to wear every day. But I beseech your grace pardon me, I was born to speak all mirth and no matter [2.1.300-304] One can never understand why Shakespeare would choose to do this but one can guess that it would either be humorous to the audience, because it would have been highly unlikely that during the Elizabethan Era a woman would prove a man wrong, or it may have been to illustrate that prejudice against a women of that time was wrong. In contrast, while the relationships between people of the same sex are very strong in Much Ado About Nothing; relationships within the opposite sex are diverse. The strongest example of this is in Act 4 Scene 1 when Hero is wrongly accused of being unfaithful to Claudio; Heros father Leonato believes a rumour rather than his beloved daughter: LEONATO: O Fate, take not away thy heavy hand! Death is the fairest cover for her shame That may be wished for. [4.1.115-117] Moreover, certainly this is true even in the female characters because, right after Hero got accused of being unfaithful Beatrice jumped in and said, O, on my soul, my cousin is belied! [4.1.146] one may think that Shakespeare that people of the same sex are much more likely to trust each other because they are more likely to understand the situation and can relate more to what that person might be going through. In contrast relationships between men and women in this play is a very diverse, one can see that there are two relationships in the play that show this diversity between men and women in Much Ado About Nothing. One relationship is the one between Hero and Claudio and the second one is between Beatrice and Benedick. Both of these relationships are very different; the relationship that Claudio and Hero have is merely based on Claudio wanting to marry Hero because of her wealth and her status. This can be seen because when Claudio finds out that the accusation he made towards H ero were untrue in Act 5 Scene 1, Leonato offers Heros identical cousin to be Claudios bride and he accepts without a second thought. LEONATO: My Brother hath a daughter, Almost the copy of my child thats dead, And she alone is heir to both of us. Give her the right you should have given her cousin, And so dies my revenge. CLAUDIO: O noble sit Your over-kindness doth wring tears from me. I do embrace you offer [5.1.278-284] This shows the audience that Claudio is not really in love with Hero he is in fact in love with the idea of Hero and the wealth that she will bring him. By the same token, this was very typical for men and women of the Elizabethan era to marry only for wealth and status, this is called dynastic marriage. In contrast to Hero and Claudios relationship, one can see that the relationship that Beatrice and Benedick have is real and that they truly do love each other. An example is when Beatrice and Don Pedro are talking at the ball in Act 2 scene 1 and Beatrice confesses that she and Benedick did have a fling: BEATRICE: Indeed, my lord, he lent it me awhile; and I gave him use for it, a double heart for a single one. Marry, once before he won it of me with false dice; therefore your Grace may well say I have lost it. Moreover, this shows the audience that there was something between them but neither Beatrice of Benedick ever talks in a detailed manner about the situation, therefore leaving a little mystery for the audience. Even though Beatrice and Benedick come across as being very aggressive, outspoken and very independent people, Shakespeare mildly starts to show the audience a little look at both of their softer sides. Furthermore, one can also see that their love is real because when Benedick hears Leonato, Don Pedro, and Balthasar talking in Act 2 Scene 3 about how Beatrice really loves Benedick, one can see that Benedicks true feelings come out and he said, When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married [2.3.233-235]. Same situation happened for Beatrice when she overheard Hero and Ursula talking about the love that Benedick has for her. After Hero and Ursula leave Beatrice states in her Soliloquy What fire is in mine ears? Can this be true? Stand I c ondemned for price and scorn so much? [3.1.107-108] this shows how shocked she really is that she comes across to Benedick as being so cold-hearted, she than goes to say No glory lives on behind the back of such. And Benedick love on, I will requite thee, Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand. If thou dost love, my kindness shall incite thee To bind our loves up in a holy band. [3.1.110-114] this change of heart that Beatrice has towards Benedick shows the audience that she is not the cold-hearted person everyone has come to know. Moreover, the audience feels more sympathetic towards Beatrice because she shows her genuine side that is willing to change herself to show a man how much she loves him. In conclusion, I think that at the end Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing does break all of the women stereotypes of the Elizabethan Era, and through different characters shows that prejudice against women in unnecessary and unfair. Moreover, Shakespeare managed to write a comedy that made fun of the battle of the sexes during the Elizabethan Era and showed that women were not just second class citizens, and that they had more of a role within the society.

Emily Dickinson’s Because I Could Not Stop For Death Essay -- Because

Emily Dickinson’s â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death† is a remarkable masterpiece that exercises thought between the known and the unknown. Critics call Emily Dickinson’s poem a masterpiece with strange â€Å"haunting power.† In Dickinson’s poem, â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death,† there is much impression in the tone, in symbols, and in the use of imagery that exudes creativity. One might undoubtedly agree to an eerie, haunting, if not frightening, tone in Dickinson’s poem. Dickinson uses controlling adjectives—â€Å"slowly† and â€Å"passed†Ã¢â‚¬â€to create a tone that seems rather placid. For example, â€Å"We slowly drove—He knew no haste / †¦We passed the School †¦ / We passed the Setting Sun—,† sets a slow, quiet, calm, and dreamy atmosphere (5, 9, 11, 12). â€Å"One thing that impresses us,† one author wrote, â€Å"is the remarkable placidity, or composure, of its tone† (Greenberg 128). The tone in Dickinson’s poem will put its readers’ ideas on a unifying track heading towards a boggling atmosphere. Dickinson’s masterpiece lives on complex ideas that are evoked through symbols, which carry her readers through her poem. Besides the literal significance of —the â€Å"School,† â€Å"Gazing Grain,† â€Å"Setting Sun,† and the â€Å"Ring†Ã¢â‚¬â€much is gathered to complete the poem’s central idea. Emily brought to light the mysteriousness of life’s cycle. Ungraspable to many, the cycle of one’s life, as symbolized by Dickinson, has three stages and then a final stage of eternity. These three stages are recognized by Mary N. ...

Music Essay -- Filmmakers, Diegetic Sounds

Music plays a critical role in the narrative films as it is important technique that filmmakers use to support the narrative and influence the way that the viewer interacts, responds and interprets the events as they unfold. The godfather, which is one of all time Hollywood movies, represents a good use of music that succeeded in supporting the dramatic events that take place in the movie. Moreover, both diegetic and non-diegetic music in the godfather movie are used to achieve the overall purpose by using the different principles and functions of film music that range from setting the mood of the viewer to providing continuity within the movie. In this essay, we will take part of the godfather movie in which we can observe and analyse the role of the music in the film (00:30:52- 00:35:52) In the beginning of the clip (0:30:52), as the dissolve take us from the previous scene where ,Mr. Woltz , a wealthy studio head, refused angrily the request of Don Vito Corleone to cast Johnny Fontane in one of his movies, the dissolve take us to the next scene where we see Mr. Woltz's house from outside. As the dissolve takes place, a diegetic sound of night insects are heard and even before the next scene comes up on screen. The diegetic sound of night insects provides continuity between the first and the second scene and carry the viewer across a temporal ellipsis of hours (00:30:49-00:30:53) . Moreover, the night insects sound in the next scene (00:30:53-00:31:00) suggests the approach of night and the calmness in Mr. Woltz's house and that to show the difference between the beginning and the end of the scene (00:30:53-00:31:00). Then, as the shot gets closer to the window of Mr. Woltz's bedroom (00:31:03), a non-diegetic music of th... ...(00:32:50-00:33:18) . Then, the scene goes back to don Corleone as he listens to Tom Hegan talks about Sollozo. Suddenly, Don Corleons asks Tom Hegan about Sollozo's prison record and then non-diegetic music runs focusing our attention on the interesting discussion they have about Sollozo and the decision they should make regarding co-operating with Sollozo.(0:33:19-00:34:11) In conclusion, music role in the selected clip from the godfather represents a great use of both diegetic sounds and non-diegetic music that help the viewer of the narrative film to illustrate and interpret the dramatic events as they unfold. Moreover, Setting the mood, providing continuity between scenes and intensifying rhythm and pacing were the principle functions of film music that were used in the selected clip to achieve the overall goal of the use of music in the scenes. .

Human Resources Management JC Penney Essay

JC Penney is ranked number 153 in the fortune 500 company list in the United States for the year 2012. They are one of the largest companies, and have been around for one hundred and ten years. Recently, Management has embarked upon new strategies to improve the company and create a better shopping experience for their customers. To do so, some of their sales tactics, as well as employee training to ensure a successful transaction, as well as satisfaction of customers has been examined and improved greatly. JC Penny has embarked on a new sales strategy to boost sales for the Christmas season. Starting Black Friday through Christmas Eve, employees will be handing out more than 80 million small, holiday-themed, circular buttons to customers. This is a ploy used to increase sales, since behind each button is the chance for customers to win great prizes. This is believed to be a better approach than mailing out coupons, since it ensures customers visit the store; increasing sales and giving them a cut above the rest of their competitors. Apart from using this strategy, the company has recently embarked on marketing strategies to equip employees with the necessary knowledge and tools, to improve sales on an everyday basis. Some of these includes: new pricing strategies, new logo and advertising. What they have done with their sale pricing strategies is made their sale prices into everyday low prices for customers to enjoy yearly. In addition to that, there is also easy to decipher tags. JC Penny is changing the way sales are distinguished by using a new tagging system to identify different prices. A red tag shows an â€Å"Every Day† price, a white tag is a â€Å"Month-Long Value†, and a blue tag shows the â€Å"Best Price.† This provides clarity for customers and makes it easier for them. New logo and advertising also has great influence on customers mentally. According to their press release,â€Å"the new JC Penny logo, which combines the elements that have made JC Penny an enduring American brand, by evoking the nation’s flag and JC Penney’s commitment to treating customers fair and square.† This make customers feel welcomed and appreciated and causes an increase in activity among the population of the United States. However before this can be possible, there must be employees who are competent enough to handle the task. For this purpose there are strategic processes which must be adhered when hiring new workers. This is believed to help in obtaining the best suited applicants for the job. These include individuals who are willing; and also share in the vision of the company. The process by which applicants are recruited into the company is similar to that of most business places; which takes the form of an interview. The interview process is intense and helps the employer to test many different skills and attributes of the employee. This is necessary since it allows employers to meet with potential workers face to face. Therefore it helps to distinguish if they are able to represent the image of the company physically both in attire and expression. In addition it helps employers to screen potential candidates to determine the most honest and experienced candidates. Also it helps to find out the punctuality of employees, something that one has to take into consideration; since unpunctuality can lead to upsets and setbacks in a business. It will also help to give an understanding of the knowledge the prospective employer have of the company. By knowing this, one can be able to tell if potential employees know what is expected of them. After the hiring process is over, the staff must be competent enough to deal with customers. They should have the knowledge and experience to do this in such a way as to build long term relationships with customers. This is to ensure smooth transactions and to avoid the loss of customers through unfriendly habits. JC Penny often provided training for new staff to ensure that they are able to understand and display the image that they would want to portray by the company; to ensure customer satisfaction and avoid hostility and unfriendly approach. One of the training programs offered by JC Penny for new employees is the planning and merchandising trainee program. This helps to give trainees the opportunity to experience first hand how buying, planning, allocation and inventory management integrate to produce products in JC Penny stores nation wide and on jcp.com. The 17-week training program is fast-paced and high-caliber. It gives employees the opportunity to gain insight into store environment processes, visit a logistics center, attend specialized training classes, and more. It also fosters interaction among the staff since Planning and Merchandising team members work side-by-side with other trainees throughout the entire process. A host of projects, activities and hands-on training also helps to facilitate learning; making the process enjoyable for participants. Having senior managers mentoring and coaching you to success will only lead to great achievement. Apart from training of new applicants, development training is also very important in the process of continuing to acquire success. This is because as time change so too do people and therefore strategies that were effective ten years ago may not be as successful today. For this purpose companies have to continue to train their employees so they will be able to comply with the changes of society; since strategic training received over a decade ago won’t be profitable in the workplace today. JC Penny provides sales associates with the skills they need to help the company achieve their business objectives in a challenging, supportive learning environment that fosters achievement. They are given the opportunity to build their skills and improve hands on relationships with customers; as they obtain experience to promote development. Associates typically are trained for a particular department, such as home decor or women wear, but may rotate from department to department based on need; they will also complete additional training for other departments. Helping them to be well rounded individuals who will be equipped enough to fill in where ever they are needed in the company. Therefore this additional training helps employees to be better equipped than when they first entered the workplace; increasing competent performances, and improving their ability to handle situations. In addition to normal rotation training, employees also have the opportunity to participate in developmental workshops offered by the company for which they qualify. Therefore this will help to mold them into very capable young individuals, with great experience for future endeavors. Because of the sales force strategies used at JC Penny, the company is noted as one which has both the interest of employees and customers at hand. The training offered to their staff is well executed and well received; resulting in JC Penny being described as a company that turns jobs into careers. In addition, it also creates innovative ways for customers to view the shopping experience; since the sales tactic they use make the experience much more easier, straight forward and convenient than most of their competitors.