Luxury brands Essay

Whenever you switch on the television, or flip through the pages of magazines, you are bombarded with celebrity news and reality shows that touch your inner needs to feel beautiful, important and recognized. Those gorgeous people in advertisements tell you that their lifestyle and material possessions like clothes and accessories can make you beautiful as well, and help you to be part of their world. All you need to do is to buy the right fashion brands by the right designers. Then you start to crave for the Louis Vuitton bag or the Chanel glasses. Soon you are hooked by the luxury. Fashion has always played a significant role in the history of the great civilizations. With the clear differences between social classes the consumption of luxury was limited to the elite classes. The nineteenth century marked the beginning of the luxury goods sector and the start of many of the highly valuable luxury brands that we know today, e. g. Gucci, Hermes, Cartier and Louis Vuitton in France, Burberry in England and Bvlgare in Italy. Nowadays, the luxury fashion sector is the fourth largest revenue generator in France, and one of the most remarkable sectors in Italy, Spain, the USA and the emerging markets of China, Russia and India. The luxury industry has increased impressively having a huge growth in demand. The luxury consumer is powerful. Consumers have much choice in products, shopping channels and pricing of luxury goods. The aim of this study is to examine young people’s attitudes, i. e. their beliefs, feelings and purchase intentions, towards luxury brands. The author tries to find out what â€Å"luxury† means to young people, what influences their consumer decision-making, and on a small scale, young adults luxury brand awareness. 3 defining factors of luxury: Luxury is nonessential: Luxury is desired, not needed. In luxury you are at your best. It makes your life richer and more worth living. Luxury is â€Å"hard to get†: Its availability is restricted by high price, by small series, by exclusiveness. If you are allowed at all to try and get it, it demands an effort, a sacrifice. Luxury is superb, inspiring feelings of wonder and excitement: It represents an outstanding achievement, it is a divine experience. You cannot but admire the people that created it. You are so charged up that you must share your experience with others. What is Brand? A distinguishing symbol, mark, logo, name, word, sentence or a combination of these items that companies use to distinguish their product from others in the market. Once a brand has created positive sentiment among its target audience, the firm is said to have built brand equity. Levels of brands:- Signature brands – These are the most expensive brands in their category. They are personal creations, one of a kind, signed by a highly acclaimed authority or by an artist of supreme status (an outfit created by Tom Ford) Supreme brands – These are products that are produced in limited series, often hand crafted (a Rolls Royce Phantom 101EX car, the service at Tiffany & Co. , or a night at the Ritz Hotel in Paris). High End brands – High quality mass production (from a BeoCenter2 music system by Bang & Olufsen to G Collection chocolate pieces by Godiva). 6 P’s of luxury brand marketing. Performance:- Performance refers to the delivery of superior experience of a luxury brand at two levels – first, at a product level which must satisfy the functional and utilitarian characteristic as well as deliver on its practical physical attributes and, second, at an experiential level i-e the emotional value of the brand the consumers buy into – beyond what the product is to what it represents. Pedigree:- Many luxury brands have a rich pedigree and extraordinary history that turn into an inseparable part of the brand’s mystique which isbuilt around the exceptional legendary founder character of the past. Paucity:- over distribution of luxury brands can cause dilution of luxury character. Hence, many brands try to maintain the perception that the goods are scarce. paucity is more promotional in nature such as the limited editions or the special series to generate artificial desire and demand. Public figures:- Public figures or celebrities have traditionally been employed as one of the marketing mix in luxury brand advertising and they still continue to grab attention, credibility and impact. This strategy attempts to remove the appearance of â€Å"selling† while still promoting the product by making it seem as a part of the celebrity’s lives, thereby positively affecting the consumer’s attitudes, brand value and purchase intention. Public relations:- plays an enormous role in image proliferation of the brand, thereby subtly influencing public opinion. PR is used to generate buzz and convey brand news. Pricing:- Consciously or subconsciously, consumers tend to generate a mental luxury stature or image with the price range that the brand operates. it is important for luxury brands to price themselves right as setting the price lower than consumer expectation and willingness to pay can potentially harm the brand value. Five steps to build a luxury brands Identifying a niche segment:- Luxury brands are built on the premise of offering high symbolic value to a very selective segment of consumers who are more focused on high status associations than the underlying price. As luxury brands are substantively different from other brands. Positioning based on high levels of differentiation:- As global brands strategize their competitive moves, they are likely to either follow a cost leadership strategy or a differentiation strategy. luxury brands should aggressively differentiate their brand experience. luxury brands are characterized by high levels of customer loyalty, that define their identity and powerful associations. Emphasizing symbolic value:- The most important element is the brand’s ability to create and communicate symbolic value for its customers. Symbolic value means the extent to which the brand is perceived by the customers. Creating perceptions of exclusivity:- All luxury brands strive to create a sense of exclusivity for their customers. Perceptions of exclusivity can be created by unattainable price, limited geographic availability, barriers to possession, or even limited supply. It enables the brand to sustain its positioning in the face of extreme external shocks such as heightened competition, regulatory shocks or even recession. Uncompromising delivery on superior brand promise:- Successful brands are those that create supportive organizational and operational structures that facilitate the implementation of strategies to deliver on promises which involves multiple dimensions in the case of luxury brands. they also will need to project consistency and continuity at every possible touch point. Objectives of the study:- To examine consumer’s motives for buying luxury brands. To identify the factors influencing the consumer’s at the time of purchasing luxury brands. To measure the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction among the people with their preferred luxury brands. To examine consumer’s preferences towards celebrity endorsed brands in comparison to premium brands. Need of the study:- It has been observed the growth of Luxury market is growing by leaps and bounds. The world has become a very small place in terms of geographies and global distance is getting shorter and shorter every day. Modes of communication have increased considerably and hence people have exposure to varying products available at a premium cadre across the globe. Hence it becomes imperative to design and market. Luxury brands that have a universal appeal and can take on the needs and aspirations of people across the globe. Review of Literature:- (Hansen & Wanke, 2011) Luxury is highly desirable, but affordable only to a few. Luxury is often described as something being of excellent quality, which means that the ingredients or components of a luxury product are exceptional and superior to what is found in ordinary products. (Dubois & Kapferer, 2010) were among the first to recognize the importance of international luxury products and brands in academic literature. (Dijk, 2009) Luxury brands is the kind of goods for which demand increases as income rises, and goods that have a high income elasticity of demand. (Silverstein & Fiske, 2008) Brands are important when creating an individual style, especially when talking about shoes, clothing, watches, fashion accessories, spirits and cars. Brands send messages to friends, lovers and potential employers about who a person is or would like to be. (Danziger, 2005) Luxuries are the extras in life that make it more fulfilling, more rewarding, more comfortable, more enjoyable†. She further suggests a definition for the concept, which states that luxury is â€Å"that which nobody needs but desires†. (Vickers, 2003) It has been remarked that luxury goods are higher in the psychological, social and symbolic dimension, while non luxury goods score higher in the functional value. (Dubois & Czellar, 2002) have also explored the relationship between the concepts of â€Å"luxury and â€Å"prestige† as applied to brands by means of an interpretative analysis of in-depth consumer interviews. The results indicated that prestige can be achieved independently of luxury in many categories. At a symbolic level, consumers can interpret luxury as the symbol of brand prestige. (Dubois, Laurent & Sandor Czellar, 2001) published a consumer report analyzing complex and ambivalent attitudes to luxury. Again they conducted two studies. The first study was a consumer-based exploratory analysis with usual qualitative interviewing methods. Research Methodology:- Research is an intensive study in a particular field to achieve at a better conclusion of a problem. Research Methodology is a systematic way of solving the problem. 1) Research Type:- Type of research used is Descriptive Research. The purpose of using the descriptive research method is to acquire accurate, factual, systematic data that can provide you with an actual picture of the data set that you are reviewing. 2) Research Design:- The research design is the basic framework or a plan for a study that guides the collection of data and analysis of data. It includes how data is to be collected, what instruments will be employed, how the instruments will be used and the intended means for analyzing data collected. 3) Data collection method:- a) Primary data:- Questionnaire: These are designed to collect information which consists of relevant questions about the respondent’s attitude and consumer preferences. It is semi-structured, has a combination of close and open ended questions. A sample of 100 will be chosen. The survey will aim at young people under the age 20-30 in Ludhiana. b) Secondary data:- Information that has been previously gathered for some purpose other than the current research project. Information gathered from research journals, books, internet and articles. 3)Sampling:- When some of the elements are selected with the intention of finding out something about the population from which they are taken, that group of elements is referred as a sample, and the process of selection is called Sampling. 4) Sampling Unit:- A single section selected to research and gather statistics of the whole. Limitations:- A major limitation of the project is that it lacks broader exploration on consumer perception and purchasing of luxury products and its relationship with local products. This study has a homogeneous sample and its analyses and tests can only be applied to present luxury consumers. The sample size for both, quantitative and qualitative research might be seen as a further limitation of this research impacting the extent of generalization and should be increased in future research. This would also allow for a better differentiations to gender, age and/or income groups and for higher levels of R-square explanation. The positive relationships between purchasing of luxury goods and the need of uniqueness, symbolic/status consumption and identity indicate that most of the people want to avoid similarity, but, at the same time, they want to possess the status symbols that are consumed to symbolize personal and social identity.

Elections in India Essay

The process, which is the essence of every democracy, would have been wrapped up and done with, by the Republic of India, by the time this edition of the Pioneer reaches your hands. Of course, I refer to the General Elections, the time, perhaps the only time, for the population to have their say- the say which would decide the future of their nation and may be their own! Change is the only constant, they say, and elections are no exception to this. The vogue of elections has changed considerably post-independence. Gone are the days when the politicians would travel long distances by foot to promote themselves and their party; the latest in fashion are the helicopters. Not only do the aspirants have their own websites, but also their very own blogs and jingles. The IT teams of various political parties have indeed come out with flying colours in making their chap look like the man next door. The Arvind Kejriwal’s video, in which he advocates for his brainchild- the AAP, has bee n viral on WhatsApp. Not only this, but many have received not only texts but also voice messages from the candidates from their constituency, requesting them for a vote in their favour. Over 70 million voters will cast their precious vote to choose their representative. More than one thousand political parties are taking part in this jumbo fair of democracy. To choose 543 members of the 16th Lok Sabha, it is estimated that the political parties will spend ten thousand crores of rupees. This amount includes the expenditure borne out of ticket buying, advertisements, campaigning (that includes the buying of liquor and giving out cash to the voters), booth capturing, party funds, buying weapons, travelling, and other accessories like flex boards, banners, flags, bags, pens, pins, posters, stickers, masks, photos etc., which practically, has no count. Ironically enough, the Election Commission grants only â‚ ¹70, 00000 for campaigning purposes to every candidate. To be able to make people believe that they are the favourites of the voters of their constituencies, boosts up their chance of winning, is a common belief of the Indian politicians. And the best of all the means to do that, are- rallies and road shows. A large chunk of the funds is granted to the party workers to bring large number of people and vehicles, to prove to the voting class, the colossal support the â€Å"leader† enjoys. In Punjab various artists are called upon, to sing the famous peppy numbers or perform Bhangra. In the south the Tamil and Telegu  film stars are called upon to gather the masses. The bollywood actors are all time favourites in the entire nation. We don’t need all this. With time, the society has given rise to a thinking class and this thinking class doesn’t find any sense in bringing a celebrity to campaign for you. If a candidate needs some celebs to come in and ask their fans to prove their loyalty to them by voting for Mr. X, then does that person really deserve even to be named as an aspirant for the post of a MP? If one really is a politician, with a connect with the masses, then they don’t require these pens and badges and what not, with their party symbol and stuff like that printed on it, to remind people of their existence. The least we expect, from our may-be legislators, is some sensibility. Gathering huge paid or threatened crowd at rallies is no big thing and definitely doesn’t make you credible. The money you indulge in fulfilling all your fancies and following the trend of the classic Indian elections, could have been used in a lot more productive way. And neta ji, its only for once after five years that you are reminded of your constituency, so why waste such a lot unproductively at once, it’s better that you don’t even do that for us.(In some way doing nothing with the money is better that throwing it in the bin.) Kudos to the Election Commission for the level of awareness it has created among the people about the importance of their vote. The most unfashionable thing you can do today is- not to vote, credits the ECI. Keeping all this in mind, it is sad to see even in cities like Mumbai, 50.7% voter turnout is all we reach, and that too is the maximum in 25 years. Remember, it is your own right you are despising. If you want to raise a finger at your government, you need to have it stained with that ink, or else you are not eligible even to criticise. And you know it is always better to vote for somebody than to vote against someone. The sad part is that we are still indifferent to whole of this process and unknown to the power our Constitution has prearranged for us. This concern for the nation is limited for party discussions and writing essays, but the fact remains, to quote Imelda Marcos. â€Å"Whoever wins or loses, we still go shopping after the elections.†

Compare the depictions of society and its effects on the individual in Essay

Compare the depictions of society and its effects on the individual in Emerson's Self-Reliance and Thoreau's Walden - Essay Example Society is not meant to be carbon copies of each other which is why we were created differently. He further sees society as deceiving themselves by not expressing themselves. He basically uses the same maxim as Aristotle â€Å"Know Thyself†. Moreover, he instructs the reader to explore the person that they truly are. He acknowledges that a person presents themselves as the person that they want society to see but that beneath that is an entirely different human being and that it is the inside person that should be exposed, not the carbon copies that we demonstrate to others simply to insure general acceptance. He also makes the reader wonder why it is that acceptance by others is so wanted by society. Why is the acceptance by society such a prized virtue? It is not, he answers because there is no quality in pleasing others for the sake of acceptance. minks and muskrats.† Clearly, Thoreau had the same sentiments as Emerson. He too felt that society had spent far too much time deceiving itself into copying one another. Additionally, he makes it clear that it is the retreat from society that allows an individual to figure out who they are and what their capabilities are. The key is to have the courage to find yourself. Further, he sees that society is its’ own down fall. By living his solitary existence, he notices that there really is not much that an individual needs and that through solitude living, one truly finds out what it is that they need and do not need in life. Finally, in comparing the two writers, it is clear that both maintain a certain loathing for society and what it has become. Additionally, they advise the reader as to what they will become if they simply decide to become a robot designed by the futile mores and fickle mandates that society endorses. It is up to the individual to decide what they need or do

Discuss critically distinctions between Islamic finance regulation and Essay

Discuss critically distinctions between Islamic finance regulation and conventional financing of commercial credit - Essay Example Islamic financing was first introduced in the UK in 1990 and has since developed to such an extent that the UK hosts the largest share of Islamic assets (valued at US$18 billion) among all Western countries and is eight worldwide.6 As of 2008, there were five â€Å"stand-alone† Islamic banks in the UK and more than 20 conventional banks offering Islamic products.7 This paper provides a critical analysis of the distinctions between Islamic finance regulation and conventional financing of commercial credit. The modernized form of Islamic finance began in Egypt during 1963 when the Mitt Ghamr savings system was introduced as a â€Å"social banking initiative†.8 By 1975 the first commercial Islamic banks were established: Islamic Development Bank and the Dubai Islamic Bank. The Islamic banking sector grew at a steady pace and by the 1990s there was a growing demand for Islamic financial products in investments and loans. In more recent years, the growth in demand and supply of Islamic financial products has been more expansive. Between 2006 and 2008, Islamic financial assets experienced a growth rate of 30%. As a result, Sharia compliant banking products have been described as the worlds â€Å"fastest growing financial sector†.9 There are at least 614 â€Å"registered Islamic finance institutions† in 47 countries with Islamic assets increasing from US$150 billion during the 1990s to approximately US$700 billion by 2007.10 The growth and expansion of Islamic banking and financial products have been impressive. Holden reports that over the last thirty years or so, Muslims all over the world have demonstrated a propensity for withdrawing billions of dollars from conventional banking systems and transferring them to Islamic banking and financial systems. In addition, conventional banks have shown an increasing willingness to offer Islamic banking and financial products and services.11 Islamic banking is defined as a â€Å"system of

Love.Ethical Dilemma of repeat Valve replacement Essay

Love.Ethical Dilemma of repeat Valve replacement - Essay Example This dysfunction in turn causes a need for re-operation of the patients, due to complications arising such as the structural deterioration of bioprosthesis. Though the chances of patient mortality when undergoing a repeat operation are high, there has always been re-operations to such patients (Antunes, 1992). An ethical question arises to why a patient should be re-operated, yet in so doing, the chances of that patient’s death are increased. In the subsequent operations after the first one, the causes of patient’s death changes from the structural deterioration of the bioprosthesis to valvular leak. This is what further increases the chances of death. With such knowledge though, MVR has continued to be done over the years. Furthermore, subsequent re-operations have continued to be undertaken on patients, even though they increase their chances of death. However, the justification to this is that there are chances of saving the lives of the patients, even though such chances continues to diminish with each re-operation done (Antunes, 1992). Although performing re-operation to patients well knowing that it increases their chances of death seems unethical, there is a need to have it since the patient’s chances of surviving are increased by the re-operation, than when they are left to die of valvular

Moral Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Moral Philosophy - Essay Example Brock sees no difference between theses two, and I would say I have to agree. Does it really matter who is doing the killing if in fact there is killing taking place Either way the outcome is the same, I don't think it really matters who is holding the needle or who is administering the dosage. There is plenty of relevance in this debate as well to the other debate over the distinction between killing and letting die. Is there really a difference between killing somebody or simply standing by and watching or letting them die I like to think it depend on the scenario, for if you try to help them out then you are really not letting them die so to speak. But people will often try to use their belief that there is a distinction between them to try to work against the legislation of these types of programs. People will use the argument that there is a huge difference between them and that killing somebody is ethically wrong compared to letting their natural time come and letting them die. They will try to use this to block any measures to give people the choice of these types of death methods, and there may be some merit in their ideas. On t

The Relationships between Organizational Culture, Total Quality Essay

The Relationships between Organizational Culture, Total Quality Management Practices and Operational Performance - Essay Example The paper will begin with the description of what quality actually is and why is it important for a company to integrate the element of quality in all of the business processes. Quality means to achieve excellence the business processes, such as, product manufacturing and provision of services to the customers. Any organization or a company can satisfy the stakeholders and the customers only if it provides them with quality in the products and services that they use. Quality is the key to organizational success as it leads the companies towards market domination. â€Å"Quality should be aimed at total customer satisfaction with the product or service you are selling†. Quality also means to seek continuous improvement in the products and services that are manufactured by any organization. Two important aspects of quality include quality control and quality assurance. Quality control is a process, which is employed in order to ensure the required level of excellence and quality in a product or service delivered by a company. Quality assurance, on the other hand, is a process in which products manufactured by a company are checked for quality in every stage in order to know whether those products meet customers’ expectations or not. If we talk about total quality management, we can say that it is implemented in a company to ensure that the products and services delivered by the company to the customers meet the quality standards. It is an integrated organization-wide philosophy, which aims to provide continuous improvement to the quality of the products and services in order to make them productive for a company. ... Total quality management practices should be based on some established quality standards, such as, ISO 9000 series and ISO 9001 series. The companies using TQM approach believe in the importance of knowledge for organization’s success. TQM makes use of employees’ knowledge to create innovative and high quality products for the customers. Talking about total quality management, we can say that it acts as the foundation for an organization’s success because without implementation of an effective quality management system, no organization can be able to manufacture premium quality products. The role of people in TQM is to put every effort in the development of high quality products in order to increase customer satisfaction. Employees and the management staff of a company put mutual efforts for achieving goals and objectives of the company. One of the main requirements of implementing quality standards is the establishment of measurable objectives by the company, wh ich adopts any specific series of quality standards. Another requirement is that employees of a company should feel their responsibility and should know how to achieve the goals and objectives related to quality set by the managers of the company. For example, ISO 9000: 2000 requires quality to be the first priority for every employee working for any organization. According to the ISO 9000:2000 standards, for any product, managers should first identify the product requirements by analyzing the demands of the customers, analyzing basic and essential requirements of the product, analyzing statutory and legal regulations regarding the product, and determining any additional requirements related to the

Supermax Prisons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Supermax Prisons - Essay Example The first feature of a control unit prison is that prisoners are kept in solitary confinement in tiny cells and they do not have the privilege of congregate dining, exercise, religious services and there are no work opportunities (CEML, par 2). Control unit prisons do not have official policies regarding their restrictions. Furthermore, the punishments inflicted on the prisoners are made in the guise of administrative measures (CEML, par 2). Reading through the article, one cannot help but feel pity for the prisoners of these control unit prisons. One was not aware that there is a proliferation of human rights violation inside the control units. The cruelty and brutality of the physical as well as psychological tortures imposed on the prisoners are beyond one’s imagination. Aside from the abuse that the prisoners suffer from the prison guards, there is no intention of rehabilitation in these control units. What is even more surprising is that many prisons in several states in the US have emulated the inhuman conditions that have prevailed in the Marion prison. According to prison officials, the spread of the control units all over the US is due to three reasons. They claim that the control units contain the most violent prisoners who need to be separated from other prisons (CEML, par 40). They go on further to say that violence is reduced because the most violent person is isolated. Lastly, prison officials argue that security can be minimized at the other prisons because of the reduction of violence brought about by the absence of the worst prisoners (CEML, par 40). As if the government was not satisfied with the ruthlessness in the Marion, it even created a replacement that boasts of tighter control for prisoners. The Florence prison is supposed to possess a â€Å"state of the art technology† with electronic doors, cameras and audio equipment (CEML, par 28). Human contact with prisoners

Carl Robins Case Study Essay Example for Free

Carl Robins Case Study Essay The position of campus recruiter for a company is one of importance. The recruiter is the person who makes sure the company has access to the best candidates available. The first order of business for any recruiter is to set up job fairs, develop a list of possible candidates, and conduct on-campus interviews of those applicants. There are many skills needed by a campus recruiter, and for someone that is new to the position, training and guidance are keys to successfully learning the necessary skills that will help prevent or solve issues in a satisfactory manner. In April, ABC, Inc. decided they were in need of new employees, ones that could be ready to work by July. Carl Robins, the new campus recruiter for the company, is in charge of finding the necessary people. He successfully hired 15 new people to work for the Operations Supervisor, Monica Carrolls. Carl had six to eight weeks to coordinate the necessary activities, so that the new hires could begin working by July. Despite prompting from Monica, Carl did not realize the amount of effort required to set up the large training session required for the quantity of people he had coming for orientation. If Carl had thought to use a timeline for specific tasks, or even written a list of all requirements waiting for completion, he could have avoided the frustration and confusion he encountered. Carl Robins has been at his job for only six months and is excited by the success of his first recruitment effort. Unfortunately, Carl had no guidance to know exactly what tasks needed prompt completion to ensure that the new employees would be ready to start work on time. Monica Carrolls contacted Carl on May 15, and tried to guide him in the right direction by asking if he had all the necessary tasks organized – completed paperwork and drug tests, orientation manuals, policy booklets, and training space reserved. Carl assured her that things were running smoothly and would be ready on time, and that she would have all of her new employees when needed. It is hard to tell, based on the information  given, if Carl was over-confident or just did not realize the urgency required to get things completed on a timely schedule. Because of procrastination and his lack of skill, Carl has found several problems that managed to sneak up on him. There are several key issues facing Carl that need some serious attention. Due to the lack of proper time management, Carl has lost at least a month worth of time in which to get things organized. When Carl started to finalize all the necessary paperwork, he discovered several disturbing problems. One main responsibility for any campus recruiter is to â€Å"ensure that all required paperwork is completed appropriately during the interview process: applications for employment, indexes, and appropriate authorizations† (C.E., 2010). As he started to look through all the applicants’ paperwork, Carl discovered that many applications were incomplete, others were missing transcripts, and none of the new hires had completed drug testing. When he went to look at the necessary orientation manuals, he could not find one complete book, only three books with various pages missing. He then discovered that the training room was already booked for the entire month of June, so that Joe could conduct the computer training seminars. The first task that Carl needs to complete is all the incomplete applications and missing transcripts. He needs to contact the applicants to get the necessary missing information, and contact the college campus to get a rush on all the missing transcripts. The second task needing completion is the mandatory drug testing for all 15 people. Carl should know the company policy concerning the drug testing and should be aware of where the employees need to go to get the testing done. Carl was responsible for letting the applicants know â€Å"the circumstances under which testing will be required†¦ as part of a pre-employment screening, a random screening, as part of an incident investigation and reasonable suspicion† (Brown, 2010, pg. 2). As part of his job requirements, Carl needs to get all 15 people scheduled for testing immediately, so there will be no issues, legal or otherwise, by the time orientation starts. The third and fourth issues go hand-in-hand. Carl has to find a complete manual that he can get copies printed from, and find an available meeting room in which to conduct the orientation, since he did not reserve the training room early enough. For the manuals, he has two options to pursue. The first would be to contact the human resources department to see if there is a digital copy  available to take to a print shop, which would be the most cost-effective method. Otherwise, he will have to try to piece together one complete manual from the three incomplete ones he found. This option is more time consuming, for him and the print shop, because they have to deal with individual pages. Without knowing the exact process used at a print shop, the reader has to make assumptions that printing from a digital copy is easier than scanning individual pages into a computer before printing. As for the meeting room, even though Joe beat him to the ‘official’ training room, many companies have conference rooms large enough to hold a sizeable group of people. If ABC, Inc. does not have a conference room large enough, the only other option is to look at renting an outside meeting room. Many restaurants and hotels have rooms available for fairly decent prices, and even some local banks tend to have meeting rooms available, free for use by just about anybody. By having the issues sufficiently identified, along with some options to correct them, the first recommendation is for Carl to receive complete training for the job he needs to do. If he had been aware from the start of the amount of effort required in hiring a large group of people, and the activities required to get everything set up for orientation, Carl would have realized that he needed to be more aggressive in his efforts. Proper training would have shown him that applications had to be complete before the campus interview, and â€Å"following the campus interview, transcripts should be requested for all [new hires]†¦ preferably before the recruiters leave campus† (Indiana, 2011, pg. 1). Carl could have avoided the first issue completely, just by having all applications and transcripts complete before he offered jobs to the applicants. The second recommendation is to improve communications between Carl and the other departments, especially the human resources department. Better communication will help alleviate the other problems because the department heads could help Carl design an appropriate timeline for task completion. They could also have informed him that others would need access to the training room, giving him ample time to make other arrangements if necessary. By talking to other recruiters within the company – if there are any – Carl would have had access to the knowledge the others could have contributed. A more experienced recruiter could act as a mentor for Carl, showing him the exact processes used to coordinate all the required  activities. This would have helped Carl get things done in a timely manner. A third recommendation to help ease the burden on Carl, until he is well trained and completely comfortable with his job, is for him to focus on recruiting smaller groups of people at one time. A large group is too much for a new person to handle at one time. Many companies would rather have smaller groups of well-trained individuals than a large group that knows only the basics. This ultimately saves money on training costs while preventing the possibility of on-the-job accidents due to incomplete training. Because Carl had been at his job for only six months, he did not have a good grasp on the skills required by a campus recruiter, and this is what led to his frustration. To be an effective recruiter, Carl needs to develop these skills quickly, especially those pertaining to â€Å"strong time management, follow-through, and organizational skills, [along with] the ability to multi-task, resolve problems, and determine an appropriate course of action in a timely manner† (C.E., 2010). A mentor to oversee his training would have helped Carl recognize the areas he needed help in, thereby preventing any issues with incomplete paperwork, no manuals, and the lack of training space. Even though Carl faced many issues with his first recruitment effort, critical thinking and calm reasoning will allow him to learn from his mistakes, so that his next effort shows serious improvement. References Brown, A. (2010, April). Employee Drug Testing: Implement Policy to Save Money, Manage Risk. Alaska Business Monthly. Vol. 4, Article 21. Retrieved from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Alaska+Business+Monthly/2010/April/1-p5643 C.E. (2010). What is a Corporate Recruiter Job Description? Retrieved from http://www.constructionexecutive.com/article_details/1691/What-is-a-Corporate-Recruiter-Job-Description.html â€Å"Campus Recruiter Responsibilities.† June 2011. Indiana University, 16 Sept. 2012. Retrieved from http://www.indiana.edu/~jobtalk/HRMwebsite/hrm/articles/recruit/response.pdf,

Global Warming And Its Many Ramifications Essay Example for Free

Global Warming And Its Many Ramifications Essay The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (U. S. EPA) supports all ordinances involving environmental protection and the abatement of natural resources degradation. These laws aim to restrict people from abusing the environment and destroying the natural habitats of numerous species. The CATO Institute in Washington believes that the government is not doing enough in terms of environmental protection. The institute emphasizes that government intervention needs to exert more effort in pursuing environmental preservation. The government is essential in pursuing this goal since this endeavor requires a huge amount of monetary and human resources and may not be achieved by a small number of people only (439-440). With the population continually increasing, natural resources are quickly dwindling, and with the loss of natural habitat, the flora and fauna also perish. Currently, the government pursues strategies that aim to protect the plants and animals affected by heightened human development. Better laws and ordinances need to be passed for the government to effectively preserve the ecosystem. If not, the world risks the possibility of humans satisfying only their own needs and satisfaction, without thinking of the long-term effects of development (U. S. EPA) Crucial Environmental Issues The emergence of numerous environmental issues, including the extinction of several plants and animals as well as changes in weather patterns, caused the government to implement restrictions on the activities of man affecting the environment. However, despite the efforts on the part of the government, environmental problems still occur. According to the U. S. EPA, fragmented tactics are not expected to be effective in protecting the environment as only the obvious problems are being undertaken, while the complex and less obvious environmental issues still remain. The U. S. EPA believes that it is important for the government to change the fundamentals of environmental policies. More restrictions need to be incorporated whenever development is envisioned. This is because with the current rate of development, plants and animals are in danger of not continuing to live in their natural habitats. Population explosion depletes the natural resources, which include plants and animals, which humans consume for their survival. In addition, human settlements also destroy the natural habitats of numerous species. Howard M. Singletary, Director of Plant Industry of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, believes that biological diversity is essential in environmental protection (Evaluate the Social). Conserving biological diversity involves the protection of the entire ecosystem. Humans may see themselves as important or more important than the plants and animals that get destroyed as a result of increased population, but it should be noted that the environmental issues that man is facing at the present time are due to the absence of preventive planning. The short-term economic and monetary gains have frequently been treated as more important than the ecosystem. Yet, the destruction of plants and animals as well as their habitat contribute much in global warming and extreme weather situations. (Evaluate the Social). Humanity needs to see the impact of overdevelopment. People also need to realize that they need to invest and sacrifice certain conveniences and luxuries in order to achieve long-term environmental goals. The scientific community and several advocacy groups are supporting government efforts to preserve the environment. The global movement is for the greater good and is based on the fact the earth and everything in it is not owned by a single individual, group or corporation. The scale of the human economy is now such that the wilderness areas that sustain much of the world’s remaining biological diversity are shrinking fast. The rates of wildlife habitat takeover and of species extinctions are the fastest they have ever been in recorded history, and they are accelerating. Tropical forests, the world’s richest species habitats, have already been 55 percent destroyed, and the current rate exceeds 168,000 square kilometers per year. (Evaluate the Social). Stabilizing populations Stabilizing population is more important in industrial countries than in developing countries, since the former overconsume and hence overpollute and are thereby responsible for the greatest increase in the impact of human activities on the already overtaxed environment. The richest 20 percent of the world consume over 70 percent of the world’s commercial energy. Thirteen countries have already reached a fertility rate required in order to achieve zero population growth, so it is not utopian to expect others to follow. The population growth-rate of developing countries of course must also be reduced dramatically. Their population is now 77 percent of the world’s total, and they are responsible for 90 percent of the world’s annual population growth. (Evaluate the Social). The poor must be helped and will justifiably demand to reach at least minimally acceptable living standards by obtaining access to the remaining natural resource base. When industrial nations switch from input growth to qualitative development, more resources and environmental functions will be available for the poor in the South. Scientists observe that as the planet warms up, a great deal of ice and snow near the poles will probably start to melt. That will expose dark tundra and dark seas. That will warm things up – like painting a white roof black. The darker the terrain gets, the warmer those parts of the world will get. More snow will melt there, making the terrain even hotter. All these explanations fill more than thirty pages of rather small print in the Philosophical Magazines, and every one of the calculations had to be solved by hand. To make a greenhouse forecast, experts now build what amounts to a working scales model of the Earth inside a supercomputer. They start with a blank globe, divided into a grid like the grid of latitude and longitude. Typically each box in the grid covers several hundred miles on a side. These boxes are stacked from the surface of the planet high into the atmosphere – a dozen layers of giant boxes of air. Public concern over environmental policy was minimal until the end of the nineteenth century. As the United States expanded westward, the horizon seemed to present an unlimited supply of land, water, mineral deposits and timber. Farming techniques reflected little concern for minimizing soil depletion. Forests were cleared without concern for reforestation or the devastation of soil erosion. Minerals were mined and metals smelted without concern for their effects on fresh-water supplies; when contamination did result, it seemed a minor problem, because alternative sources of water seemed endless. (Royan, 2001). Despite a history of conservation policies, fundamental concerns over environmental protection were still absent from the policy agenda as late as the 1950s. The publication of Silent Spring in 1962 drew attention to the dangers of pesticides such as DDT, in the food chain. The sense of social responsibility that emerged in the 1960s also moved environmental policy from the background to the forefront of the policy agenda. Energy made it to the headlines once again in the year 2000; a shocking power crisis hit the state of California (Royan, 2001). Companies had realized once more that the horrors brought about by serious energy problems over the past three decades had not gone away. The California electricity crisis could potentially fan out towards other states; not only impact would it impact the profitability of a company, but could certainly put many out of business. As the new century fast approaches, the world has slowly realized the synergy between energy conservation and global economic competitiveness. Energy conservation entails the elimination of wastes through the improvement of industrial facilities and processes. Energy conservation also implies environment preservation through pollution prevention, and mitigating the trends toward global warming. Global competitiveness goes hand in hand with energy conservation, and many industrial firms from all over the world have realized that. Worldwide energy consumption in recent years has continued to escalate not only in developed countries but also in developing countries, primarily as a result of rapid industrialization and improvement in the standard of living. In a recent survey conducted by the Association of Energy Engineers, about 22 percent among those surveyed claimed to have reduced accumulated costs by $5 million or more by implementing energy conservation strategies (Cornforth, 1992). The potential for additional savings is still great. Thirty-six percent among those surveyed indicated that further savings that amount to over 10 percent are possible. Thus, investment in protocols that promote energy conservation has proven to be effective in saving costs by reducing waste materials resulting from industrial processes. As the next century approaches, the economic world has gradually come to realize that energy conservation offers the most profitable competitive advantage. Marked improvements in the efficiency of industrial processes or facilities to save fuel consumption reduce wastage. HiTAC has been a significant energy conservation development in recent years, and is now applied to industrial furnaces in many factories worldwide. A positive consequence of saving energy is minimizing greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Because of the increased efficiency in combustion using HiTAC, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide-byproducts of incomplete burning, are reduced. Therefore, HiTAC saves on operational costs by making fuel consumption more efficient; and consequently, efficient fuel consumption minimizes waste products, among which are greenhouse gases that trigger global warming. (Hotel Sarofim, 1967). Major Changes Taking Place in the US Population and Projected Problems Due to the Climate Changes The US is said to have the highest population of the developed nations, and one of the highest population growth rates at one percent, equivalent to 2. 5 million new Americans every year (Haub). Three national population trends that have been identified in a recent US census are changes in geographic distribution, changes in ethnic composition, and the effect of immigration on population (Haub). With regard to the changing geographic distribution of the population, the population is said to be shifting from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West, both because of internal migration and immigration from other countries (Haub). With regard to ethic composition, while ethnic minorities are said to comprise 25 percent of the population currently, that percentage will increase to 50 percent in 50 years, with Asians rising in numbers from 7. 1 to 40 million by 2050, and Hispanics rising in numbers to 90 million in 2050, constituting 22 percent of the population (Haub). Immigration, on the other hand, presently accounts for a third of the population increase yearly, and is expected to be a major contributor to population growth in the future (Haub). It naturally follows that the South and West will have to deal with the attendant problems of the shifting geographic distribution in its favor, while the change in ethnic composition can be predicted to contribute its own set of problems. Problems Causing the Decline in the Quality of Life in Cities, Possible Solutions It is said that more than a billion urban dwellers, out of a total of three billion, are located in slum areas, with half living in Asia (Whelan). This is indicative of the mammoth problems of governments with regard to the provision for food (Sustainable Development Networking Program), opportunities for employment, environmental degradation, sanitation, and general quality of living in cities. Another problem causing the decline in quality of life is said to be urban sprawl, whose effects range from over-congestion to pollution (Goodwin). In the US, the states that are the destination of internal and external migration and immigration in the ongoing shift in geographic distribution of the population that will have to deal with these issues. Proposed solutions include the revision of federal laws to limit immigration, the creation of boundaries that will redirect urban growth to places where urban services can be provided, and tighter control on allowable density and housing (Goodwin). There are many environmentalists like Senator Hillary who had been bold about her support on the Supreme Court’s Global Warming Decision. She states that the scientific consensus is that global warming poses a serious threat to human activities (Statement of Senator Hillary Clinton on the Supreme Court†¦2007, par 1). She challenges President Bush to address this pressing global environmental threat as soon as possible. Issues on the Ozone In the discussions on the ozone hole, it is but apt to provide a brief explanation on what exactly is the ozone and how it is formed. The ozone, according to the Centre for Atmospheric Science, â€Å"forms a layer in the stratosphere, thinnest in the tropics (around the equator) and denser towards the poles†. More specifically, â€Å"[O]zone is a toxic, strong reactive compound consisting of three oxygen atoms† (Francois). As explained by the Centre for Atmospheric Science, the ozone is formed â€Å"when ultraviolet [radiation coming from the sun], strikes the stratosphere, dissociating (or splitting) oxygen molecules to atomic oxygen†¦[that] quickly combines with further oxygen molecules to form ozone† More commonly, the ozone is known as the layer that protects human beings and other living things from the harmful rays of the sun, more specifically, the ultraviolet rays-shielding us from being stricken by skin cancer. This common conception of the ozone layer, which provides a good notion of what ozone is, is just one side of the coin. Scientists refer to this more commonly know ozone as the stratospheric ozone (Centre for Atmospheric Science). On the other side of the coin is the tropospheric or the ground level ozone, which is considered as a major health hazard, is a â€Å"major constituent of photochemical smog† (Centre for Atmospheric Science). It is referred to as a pollutant because of its being lethal if inhaled (Newman). Ozone Facts According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the story of the ozone hole has its roots from the chlorofluorocarbons or CFC’s, â€Å"a family of most commonly used industrial compounds†. CFC’s was invented by Thomas Midgley in 1928 which later on was called as a â€Å"miracle compound† due to its proven useful for man’s convenience (NRDC). Since then, it was effectively â€Å"used in refrigeration systems, air conditioners, aerosols, solvents and in the production of some types of packaging† (Francois). However, decades after the â€Å"miracle compound† was invented and used in many industries and households as effective refrigerants, it was found out that it had caused a serious damage to the environment, more particularly to the ozone layer. It took American scientists Mario Molina and Sherwood Rowland to prove that the â€Å"miracle compound† turned out to be damaging to the environment as they hypothesized in 1974 that CFC’s â€Å"possibly played an active role in the depletion of the ozone layer† (NRDC). This announcement had sparked heated debates not just among scientists but also among policymakers, environmentalists and industry players on the â€Å"whys and wherefores of ozone depletion† (NRDC). It was explained by Newman that CFC’s became harmful to the ozone because of its chlorine make-up and â€Å"it turn[ed] out that CFC’s are an excellent way of introducing chlorine into the ozone layer†. This happens as the ultraviolet radiation coming from the sun strikes CFC’s that go up into the altitude of the ozone layer, this UV radiation breaks down CFC’s and frees chlorine (Newman). After chlorine has been freed, this â€Å"has the potential to destroy large amount of ozone† (Newman). Francois also provides connection of the thinning of the ozone layer to the introduction of large amount of chlorine in the atmosphere through the use of CFC’s. The Centre for Atmospheric Science stated that â€Å"Evidence that human activities affect the ozone layer has been building up over the last 20 years, ever since scientists first suggested that the release of CFC’s into the atmosphere could reduce the amount of ozone over our heads†. But prior to the hole being discovered, the negative effects of the CFC’s were never taken seriously by the majority of the people as they were not convinced on the connection between CFC’s and the depletion of the ozone layer (NRDC). In 1985, a major discovery had brought great alarm to the whole world as it was discovered by Joseph Farman and his colleagues that there was a hole in the ozone layer (Newman [b]). In fact, the severity of the discovered ozone depletion made the English scientist in the Halley Bay station in Antarctica, who discovered the hole, to think that the equipment he used to measure the extent of the hole was broken (NRDC). He sent the equipment back to England to have the equipment repaired but when he tried to measure the depletion again, his initial finding that the ozone layer had been depleted was confirmed (Francois). Another theoretical attempt, which later on was proven to be correct, was the â€Å"recipe of the ozone loss† as summarized by the Centre for Atmospheric Science as follows: †¢ â€Å"The polar winter leads to the formation of the polar vortex which isolates the air within it. †¢ â€Å"Cold temperatures form inside the vortex; cold enough for the formation of Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs). As the vortex air is isolated, the cold temperatures and the PSCs persist. †¢ â€Å"Once the PSCs form, heterogeneous reactions take place and convert the inactive chlorine and bromine reservoirs to more active forms of chlorine and bromine. †¢ â€Å"No ozone loss occurs until sunlight returns to the air inside the polar vortex and allows the production of active chlorine and initiates the catalytic ozone destruction cycles. Ozone loss is rapid. The ozone hole currently covers a geographic region a little bigger than Antarctica and extends nearly 10km in altitude in the lower stratosphere. â€Å" Basically, the preceding enumeration of the â€Å"recipe of the ozone loss† is similar to the Heterogeneous Chemistry Theory that proposed chemical reactions occurring within the ozone layer. This also explains why the hole is over Antarctica and not over the other continents. The atmospheric conditions prevailing in Antarctica, which is its having ultra cold temperature, suits the chemical reactions that take place resulting to ozone depletion. Consequences of Depleted Ozone The most common knowledge as to the adverse effects of the depletion of the ozone layer is that it increases the penetration of the ultraviolet radiation resulting to more skin cancer. As Francois puts it, â€Å"[W]hen this protective layer is reduced, it has dramatic consequences on life† such as slower photosynthesis among plants as increased radiation results to less metabolism; destruction of micro-organisms which play a vital role in the food chain; and, the increase in cases of skin cancer. Basically, the depletion of the ozone layer can result to an enormous change in the ecological balance. It is a universal fact, based on the studies and researches that have been made, that a little tip in the ecological balance could result to a mammoth change in our environment that could adversely affect the way people live. The slight increase in temperature can cause destructive floods to countries surrounded by oceans. In the case of the increase in the ozone hole, it can results to unfavorable changes in our environment starting from the destruction of micro-organisms and the instability that it causes to the metabolism of plants responsible to changes in photosynthesis. These changes may not be visible in the present time, which makes many people complacent and insensitive as to their roles in the protection of the ozone layer, but catastrophic results can be felt in the near future.

Deviance in sport

Deviance in sport Deviance in Sport I would prefer even to fail with honor than to win by cheating. Sophocles. Could you find people who think like Sophocles nowadays? Ancient Greek said about global problem that have covered whole life branches now and even gained the sport. Unfortunately people ready to do everything to win and often this everything means deviance. Recent incidents well show that even sport stars make unfair actions to reach their aims. Whoever would have thought that Thierry Henry, popular footballer, will cheat to qualify into the summers World Cup or Formula-1 Renault team driver Nelson Piquet Jr will make crash to help his team-mate wins. Two very different kinds of sport but linked with one serious theme deviance. Cheating it isnt simple rules violation, it is ethics failure, when sportsmen put themselves above other people, make unfair advantage. And its doesnt matter how they made it, its more important why people do that, why they decide to take cheating way. Generally they want to be the best, to get rewards, money and popularity. Cheating is a big issue and actual nowadays. Firstly, because its an unfair game that is an infringement. Secondly, it makes competitions senseless, because it breaks the general sense of competition, wins not the strongest sportsman but cheater. Thirdly, it covers all world countries and even involves politicians, how it recently happened with football match between France and Ireland. About this incident people discus every day and Thierry Henry became public enemy. Henry could have been a hero. But hes a cheat. Richard Williams. It was last match minutes and France was losing 0-1 when Thierry Henry had an excellent chance to make the perfect goal cross to his team-mate and he done it. Whole should be well, but Henry stopped the ball with his hand that is unacceptable in football. Referee didnt see it and France has qualified into next year World Cup final. Of course, lot of people think that Henry is a hero because he has saved national team, but how? He cheated! However, some people believe that is wasnt intention action, but simple reflex. Nevertheless he touched the ball twice. Why he did it and why FIFA on the France side in this problem? To answer this questions lets make little research. France national team twelve times was participated in World Cup final and once won it in 1998, two times was UEFA EURO champion (1984,2000), lot of other rewards and now is taking 7th place in FIFAs World Ranking. What about Ireland? Only three times participated in World Cup final without successful results and now is taking 36th place in FIFA ranking. Now it becomes clear that France has greater influence and authority than modest Ireland. Result above face cheating, replaying decline, France into World Cup. However Thierry Henry apologised for his handball even said: Of course the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control. There is little more I can do apart from admit that the ball had contact with my hand leading up to our equalising goal and I feel very sorry for the Irish. I have said at the time and I will say again that, yes, I handled the ball. But this apologises will not help him now and we will see fans abusing soon.   Lets take another example. Absolutely different kind of sport, Formula-1, where some month ago was happened big scandal. Simon Barnes: Nelson Piquet Jr, son of the eponymous three-times world champion, a young man desperate to make his mark on the sport and yet struggling to keep up with its demands, was told to have an accident at the Singapore Grand Prix last September. As a result of his crash, Piquets team-mate, Fernando Alonso, was able to win a race he would otherwise have not, taking advantage of the safety procedures that are laid down in Formula One. From one hand it looks two different cheatings. Formula One driver has risked with his and other drivers life, because it is very dangerous to make crash in racing and history knows forty-five world drivers that have died in the accidents. In due course, Henry cheated without any risk for his health. Fact that Nelson Piquet Jr didnt cheated willfully, because he carried out Renault teams instructions, but Henry decided to win unfairly by his own mind. That means in Formula One we see simple manipulation by principal, that so often happens also in political life. Simon Barnes: That is what happens when leading commercial concerns get mixed up in sport: their ultimate goal is profit, not sporting success. Terrible but true. Nelson Piquet Jr was a victim and he didnt obtain any profit from this hidden cheating. Hidden because all people knew about it only after 1 year, but situation with Henry was very visual. Thousands of spectators, TV watchers and internet surfers saw this cheating. However Henry didnt show it, he celebrated teams score like nothing unfair happened. Next day mass-media has been overflowed by articles and loud statements. Even politicians have started to interfere to the match result. The positive thing that Henry agreed that he has broke rules, but its impossible to change anything now and France became Irelands enemy number one. REFERENCES http://www.fifa.com

Compare and contrast Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band. :: English Literature

Compare and contrast Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band. To what extent are they typical of murder mystery stories? In my opinion a typical murder mystery is one where it keeps you reading in anticipation wanting to know who has committed the well planed out murder, the whole way through. Until the end where the clever detective (who is usually quite an old man, dressed in a smart tweed suit) goes through one by one all of the suspects telling them exactly why they could have committed the murder, but then why they didn't. He then confronts the real murderer who is normally the one everyone least suspects. This all takes place in a large country manor where lots of people would have been busying round but for the murderer, conveniently there are never any witnesses to the crime. The murder is most often well planed out, with a devious reason behind it. The two stories are both very different and mainly the only similarities are that they are both about murders that are done by people that are close family to the victims they murder in there own homes.7 The settings in both of them are very different; in lamb to the slaughter the setting is in a normal home in a small village, where normal family life goes on. To begin with everything is going fine and things are going on the same, as they would do every other day. The husband has just got home from work and his wife asks him how his day has been 'Hullo darling' she says and then gets him a drink. The fact it is just like every other day shows in the relaxed atmosphere, which is described as 'a blissful time of day' The atmosphere also seams to be warm and cosy as she was 'luxuriating in his company' Where as in the Speckled Band the setting is really as you would expected a murder mystery setting to be. This shows as at the start there is an air of panic as Watson and Holmes have been 'knocked up' as 'a young lady had arrived in a considerable state of excitement' The murder setting is also typical as it is in a large country manor, owned by the well-known Surry Family of the Roylotts of Stoke Moran. But unlike an average murder mystery there wouldn't be an awful lot of people around to be suspects, as only the two stepdaughters and their father were in the house. Although there wasn't a lot of atmosphere after the opening part of the story, as there is just a woman telling Compare and contrast Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band. :: English Literature Compare and contrast Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band. To what extent are they typical of murder mystery stories? In my opinion a typical murder mystery is one where it keeps you reading in anticipation wanting to know who has committed the well planed out murder, the whole way through. Until the end where the clever detective (who is usually quite an old man, dressed in a smart tweed suit) goes through one by one all of the suspects telling them exactly why they could have committed the murder, but then why they didn't. He then confronts the real murderer who is normally the one everyone least suspects. This all takes place in a large country manor where lots of people would have been busying round but for the murderer, conveniently there are never any witnesses to the crime. The murder is most often well planed out, with a devious reason behind it. The two stories are both very different and mainly the only similarities are that they are both about murders that are done by people that are close family to the victims they murder in there own homes.7 The settings in both of them are very different; in lamb to the slaughter the setting is in a normal home in a small village, where normal family life goes on. To begin with everything is going fine and things are going on the same, as they would do every other day. The husband has just got home from work and his wife asks him how his day has been 'Hullo darling' she says and then gets him a drink. The fact it is just like every other day shows in the relaxed atmosphere, which is described as 'a blissful time of day' The atmosphere also seams to be warm and cosy as she was 'luxuriating in his company' Where as in the Speckled Band the setting is really as you would expected a murder mystery setting to be. This shows as at the start there is an air of panic as Watson and Holmes have been 'knocked up' as 'a young lady had arrived in a considerable state of excitement' The murder setting is also typical as it is in a large country manor, owned by the well-known Surry Family of the Roylotts of Stoke Moran. But unlike an average murder mystery there wouldn't be an awful lot of people around to be suspects, as only the two stepdaughters and their father were in the house. Although there wasn't a lot of atmosphere after the opening part of the story, as there is just a woman telling

Identity in Richard Wright’s Native Son and Alice Walkers The Color Purple :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Identity in Richard Wright’s Native Son and Alice Walker's The Color Purple Personal identity is vital to living a worthwhile life. A person who goes through life without knowing what he or she stands for and believes in is living an incomplete life. Those who lack an understanding of their identity will unintentionally accept outsiders’ opinions and stereotypes of them. This harmful position can be seen in many characters from the African-American Literature class. Bigger Thomas, from Richard Wright’s, Native Son, is one lost character. Another character who lacks understanding is Alice Walker’s Celie, from The Color Purple. Both of these characters have a different awareness level of the position that they stand in, and that level changes throughout their respective stories as they attempt to determine what is of importance to them. Bigger Thomas is one character, yet he represents the condition of numerous people. Richard Wright manifested his character from various people that he encountered and rolled all of those interactions and emotions into one character. One reason that the name â€Å"Bigger† is very appropriate for this character is that the name prevents the readers from limiting the character to one person. The name represents more of a complex than a person. This complex includes all young colored men who do not see how they fit into the big picture of society. Bigger does not know what his identity is. He did not receive an abundance of love and support as a child to give him the crucial confidence needed for him to fight for a position in life. Instead, he followed into the stereotypical roles for a poor black man on the streets of Chicago. Bigger often was in trouble with the law. He stole from stores and carried weapons on him. He got into fights with the guys who he hung out with. He did not have a job even though his family had very little to survive economically. These are all traits of the â€Å"bad Negro,† which is another reasoning for the name â€Å"Bigger.† If Bigger had more confidence in what he could accomplish with his abilities, he would challenge the rules that keep him out of the flight school.

Descriptive VS. Narrative, You Decide Essay

Many think that narrative and descriptive styles of writing are one in the same, but they are not. Although they complement each other for a complete story; you can successfully write using one style without the other. The authors Connell, C.M. & Sole, K. define narrative writing as, â€Å"Narration is storytelling from the perspective of a narrator, and the story may be true, false, imaginary, or a combination.† (2013, chapter 6.3). When you tell a story you want your readers to experience it through your words as if they were there when it happened. Connell, C.M. & Sole, K. define descriptive writing as, â€Å"Description is a pattern of writing that can be defined as painting pictures with words.† (2013, chapter 6.4). A descriptive story leaves no detail unrevealed and appeals to all of your senses. When comparing Maya Angelou’s descriptive poem â€Å"Caged Bird† and Judy Brady’s narrative essay â€Å"I Want a Wife†, it is clear that there many similarities and differences between the two styles of writing. However, because Maya Angelou’s poem has descriptive language that appeals to your five senses, specific detail descriptions and uses figurative language to compare the unfamiliar with something more familiar it makes it a superior piece of literature. In the narrative style essay written by Judy Brady (1971), â€Å"I Want a Wife†, she uses out right sarcasm and exaggeration with a slight humorous tone. This demonstrates her stance on the unrealistic demands that were placed on women in that era. She starts off her essay stating â€Å"I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am A Wife. And, not al-together incidentally, I am a mother† (1971). As if being a wife and a mother was almost an undesirable task to bear in life. I suppose that in the 1900 century it pretty much was to an extent. The way Brady goes on to list the expected duties of her wife, makes her sound more like a servant than anything else. She even mentions her wife performing things like party catering, financially supporting the family and goes so far as to say, â€Å"I want a wife to go along when our family takes a vacation so that someone can continue to care for me and my children when I need a rest and change of scene† (1971). Brady’s narrative essay uses a block arrangement structure, with a priority style order. Brady (1971) begins her story by stating, â€Å"Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a recent divorce. He had one child, who is, of course, with his ex-wife. He is looking for another wife. As I thought about him while I was ironing one  evening, it suddenly occurred to me that I, too, would like to have a wife. Why do I want a wife?† then she proceeds with an exaggerated list of tasks for her wife to fulfill. From the wife working full time, to caring for her and her children, cooking, cleaning, counseling, playing, pleasing, catering parties, shopping, planning and entertaining, all while Brady just goes to school and lives a carefree and extremely selfish life. In the descriptive poem â€Å"Caged Bird†, written by Maya Angelou in 1983, she uses her talent of vivid and eloquent writing to express her stance on being African-American and living in the United States during segregation and the Civil Rights movement. Although she never actually mentions race in her poem the metaphors that she uses makes it clearly evident. Angelou starts her poem talking about a free bird and his arrogance referring to the Caucasian race. According to Angelou (1983) in â€Å"Caged Bird†, she starts off with a free bird riding the wind’s back, and he’s floating as long as the current will take him; when he â€Å"dips his wing in the orange sun rays† and has the audacity to c laim the sky. Now when she goes on to her second stanza; she speaks about the African-American race as the caged bird. She writes, â€Å"But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his trout to sing† (1983). In Angelou’s poem, she uses a dramatic order in a point-by-point type structure to describe experiences she witnessed as an African-American person living in America. One way that the descriptive is different from the narrative writing is figurative language. Figurative language is the comparison of something unfamiliar to something familiar in order to paint a clear picture. â€Å"Cages Bird† (1983) has a clear example of this in the second stanza, which says, â€Å"But a bird that stalks  down his narrow cage  can seldom see through  his bars of rage  his wings are clipped and  his feet are tied  so he opens his throat to sing.† From this quote, you can see that the bird stalks down his narrow cage like a prisoner in a cell and the bird can seldom see through his bars of rage also  refers to a prisoner in a cell. Much like how slaves were imprisoned on the plantations in the south. On the other hand, the narrative essay â€Å"I Want a Wife† does not rely on fugitive language; instead it just uses concrete language without the extra detail that appeals to the five senses. Another way descriptive writing is different from narrative writing is the use of specific detail description. It is clearly visible in the fourth stanza of â€Å"Caged Bird†. Angelou (1983) writes, â€Å"The free bird thinks of another breeze  and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees   and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn   and he names the sky his own.†   In her description of the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and the fat worm on the dawn bright lawn. However, in â€Å"I Want a Wife† Brady (1971) merely writes, but without detail. Instead she says, â€Å"I want a wife who is a  good nurturing attendant to my children, who arranges for their schooling, makes sure that they have an adequate social life with their peers, takes them to the park, the zoo, etc.†Ã‚  As you see Brady doesn’t use specific detail in her writing just simple concrete words. Another highlight to Angelou’s writing style was her use of alliteration; which is defined in Essentials for College Writing as â€Å"repetition of initial consonants in words in a series† Connell, C.M. & Sole, K. (2013). An example of her alliteration would be, â€Å"The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees  and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn   and he names the sky his own.  But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams   his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream   his wings are cl ipped and his feet are tied   so he opens his throat to sing. The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn and he names the caged bird sky his own. But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams  his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. You see it in the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and in his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream† (1983). With Angelou’s careful selection of words you can almost feel the pain and despair of the caged bird; as well as see the free bird floating through the air in the warm orange sunlight. Although Brady also uses alliteration she uses mostly the same words which are â€Å"I Want a Wife Who Will† (1971). Then she follows with naming a chore of some kind but mostly cooking or cleaning. In conclusion, when considering which of the two forms of literature was superior to the other, not just for personal preference. I would have to deem the descriptive style of Angelou’s writing to be a better overall polished piece of work. Not only does it provide extensive language to portray its message with detail to the most important parts of its story. Like bringing the characters to life and shining light on important social issues, but also submitting a few subtle details in the technique used to compose the text. Like alliteration and metaphors so that parts of her short poem stick out and stay with you more so than others. I believe the more magnificent and detailed the picture is that your words paint, the more impact it will have on its audience. This is something that she was well aware of, so the way Maya Angelou selected her words helped to give her audience a sense of pathos. It also helped to shine light once again on the views and opinions she felt so strong ly about in society.

British Imperialism in India

â€Å"All the leadership had spent their early years in England. They were influenced by British thought, British ideas, that is why our leaders were always telling the British â€Å"How can you do these things? They’re against your own basic values. â€Å". We had no hatred, in fact it was the other way round – it was their values that made us revolt. † -Aruna Asaf Ali, a leader of the Indian National Congress. There is no doubt that British imperialism had a large impact on India. India, having previously been an group of independent and semi-independent princedoms and territories, underwent great change under British administration. Originally intended to consolidate their hold on India by establishing a population that spoke the same language as their rulers, the British decision in the 1830s to educate Indians in a Western fashion, with English as the language of instruction, was the beginning of a chain of events, including a rise in Indian nationalism, that led to Indian resentment of British imperialism and ultimately to the loss of British control over India. One of the most important factors in the British loss of control over India was the establishment of English as a unifying language. Prior This in turn led to further resentment of British imperialism, and claims that military regulations were an attempt by the British to destroy the traditional caste system. There was, however, much suspicion that this declaration meant nothing and that Britain had no intention of relinquishing control beyond simple aspects such as health services, agriculture and public works (Cowie, 39, 1994). Ghandi†tms Western education allowed him to develop his radical technique of â€Å"satyagraha†tm or â€Å"truth force†tm, whereby laws were opposed with the force of truth and moral consciousness instead of violence. This movement consisted mostly of British-educated intellectuals, and ironically was made possible by the British encouragement of higher education, originally intended to create a middle management that could carry out simple administration jobs. Ghandi was â€Å"†shrewd enough to utilise the nature of British rule in India to win independence without too much bloodshed† (Masani, quoted in Wood, 32, 1989). With this in mind, the Montagu Declaration was issued in 1917, promising â€Å"gradual†tm and â€Å"progressive†tm self-government for India. As well as the moderate nationalism that grew within the Indian National Congress, extreme nationalism was also becoming prevalent. While earlier in the century, the English language and European political principles gave rise to the Indian nationalist movement, these were the tools used to strengthen the movement and to create unity among the Indian people. † (Cowie, 36, 1994) This Congress, however, had no power in terms of action and it can be seen as an attempt by the British to appease Indian nationalists who wanted progress. The Indian National Congress was the largest and most obvious nationalist group, formed so that â€Å"educated Indians†could express dissatisfaction with the British colonial administration and suggest reforms. Ghandi also gained insight into his culture through â€Å"discussion with English friends on religion, both Christianity and Hinduism, which he now began to discover on a philosophical level† (Masselos, 121, 1972). The publication of magazines and journals in English was also a great influence on the rise of Indian nationalism. to British colonisation, India was fragmented and multi-lingual, with 15 major languages and around 720 dialects. But in both cases there were actually both.

Baroque period examples

Rich in deep colour and intense contrast of shadows, 17th century Baroque paintings tended to show the most dramatic and culminating moments of a scene, whose simplicity and clarity was supposed to appeal to the viewer’s senses rather than mind. Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ (1602) represents Judas’ treacherous kiss and the capture of Jesus Christ by soldiers. A contrast between defenseless Christ’s humility and the guards’ formidable armour and determination is intensified by the use of light and dark shadows, known as chiaroscuro and typical of Baroque painting.The scene’s emotional intensity is emphasized by the horrified expression of St Mark fleeing out of the painting (Lubbock, 2007). Both Rubens’ Deposition (Lille’s version) and Rembrandt’s The Descent from the Cross (1633) represent Jesus’ dead body, the central figure, being lowered from the cross and surrounded by His lamenting followers. A similar co ntrast between light and dark, although to a different extent, is used to intensify the dramatic moment (Jones, 2004; Lussier).Caravaggio, Rubens, and Rembrandt produced their masterpieces at a time when the Roman Catholic Church was fighting against the spreading Protestant Reformation in Europe. Trying to strengthen its position and authority, the Church encouraged painting representing religious scenes which, along with preaching, could help inspire devotion and promote its official doctrine. Although various biblical scenes proliferated in art at that time, most artists also introduced their own features to the new artistic style.Caravaggio used models when depicting Christ and other biblical figures often introducing dirty reality in his works (Lubbock, 2007). Rubens was preoccupied in his paintings with the description of life as it was realistically depicting flesh of both living and dead naked human beings. The subject of death is one of his favourite themes (Jones, 2004). R embrandt was interested in capturing the psychological aspect of human actions and expressions and showing it in his paintings. His subjects are dynamic and his works fill the viewer with sadness and compassion (Lussier).All three works of art helped promote the ideals taught by the Roman Catholic Church and enhance the authority of biblical figures. Caravaggio’s Christ does not resist His fate, and by showing humility and faith He emphasizes the importance of spiritual strength rather than physical fight and encourages His followers to do the same (Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ). Rembrandt’s figures are dressed in contemporary clothes emphasizing that the Saviour’s death has been the central event of human existence at all ages.The beaten dead body of Christ is realistic and not different from an ordinary human being arousing compassion and inspiring devotion (Lussier). A realistic depiction of Christ’s dead body by Rubens is similarly compuls ive, and the sorrowful faces and desperate gestures of the surrounding women are supposed to fill the viewers with compassion and make them bow their heads in worship (Campbell, 2004). These masterpieces are simple in terms of subject matter, produce immediate emotional impact on viewers, and make them emotionally participate in the sacred scenes.All three paintings represent scenes from Jesus Christ’s life and death. The composition in Rubens’ Deposition and Rembrandt’s The Descent from the Cross gives us the impression of a movement from the upper part of the paintings to their lower part, as if to enhance the idea of the Saviour’s death and His descent into the tomb. In Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ the figures are moving from right to left as though through Jesus who is not moving. Caravaggio’s composition seems to emphasize the spiritual difference which exists between Him and the rest of us.The way the figures are represented in al l three works is also different to some extent. Caravaggio did not depict the whole bodies of his figures, but only parts of them, the rest of the space being filled with fragments of clothes, armour, and dark shadows (Lubbock, 2007). Rembrandt and Rubens realistically and with great detail depict Christ’s dead body and those of other figures. Rubens also depicts the ideal human bodies of the men lowering Christ in the same way classical painters did (Lussier).References Campbell, P. (2004, April 1). In Lille. Retrieved January 30, 2009 from the World Wide Web: http://www. lrb. co. uk/v26/n07/print/camp01_. html Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ. Retrieved January 30, 2009 from the World Wide Web: http://www. nga. gov/exhibitions/caravbr-2. htm Jones, J. (2004, April 3). Flesh of Genius. The Guardian on the Web. Retrieved January 30, 2009 from the World Wide Web: http://www. guardian. co. uk/artanddesign/2004/apr/03/art Lubbock, T.(2007, April 6). Caravaggio: The Takin g of Christ (1602-3). The Independent on the Web. Retrieved January 30, 2009 from the World Wide Web: http://www. independent. co. uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/caravaggio-the-taking-of-christ-16023-744398. html Lussier, L. The Descent from the Cross: Two Paintings once assumed to be painted by Rembrandt. Retrieved January 30, 2009 from the World Wide Web: http://www. geocities. com/Hollywood/Bungalow/2201/cross/rembrandt. html

Cantaberry Tales Compare To Inferno Essay

Canterbury Tales Compared to Dante’s Inferno This study will explore the themes of innocence and guilt in the â€Å"Hell† section from Dante’s Divine Comedy and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The study will focus on the uses each author makes of urban and more natural settings to convey messages about innocence and guilt. While both Dante and Chaucer make use of this motif in making their thematic points, a great difference exists between them. Chaucer’s primary purpose is to present a humorous and compassionate portrayal of human existence including innocence and guilt, or goodness and evil while Dante’s essential purpose is moral and instructional. Chaucer uses urban and country references in his portrayal of the human condition as a means of drawing a contrast between the goodness and evil of humankind. Again, we must keep in mind that Chaucer uses setting to reveal truths about humanity from an empathic perspective. He does not want to judge, but to entertain and perhaps inspire compassion for self and others as flawed beings. Therefore, when he uses natural or urban settings, he is not saying that human beings are good when they are in Canterbury, and evil when they are out in the countryside. At the same time, that is precisely the apparent truth of the matter. As Chaucer paints the picture of human desire and passion, there is an intimate connection between that passion (which can lead to a loss of innocence) and a natural setting: When April with his showers sweet with fruit The drought of March has pierced unto the root And bathed each vein with liquor that has power To generate therein and sire the flower; When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath, Quickened again, in every holt and heath, The tender shoots and buds . . . And many little birds make melody . . . (So Nature pricks them on to ramp and rage)— Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage . . . To Canterbury, full of devout homage (Chaucer 159). The clear suggestion by Chaucer here is that there is something very sweet but potentially very corrupting about nature, while the urban center of  Canterbury offers relief from the guilt and sinfulness which nature engenders in the weakness of human flesh. At the same time, Chaucer knows that the apparent differences in the behavior of human beings in the city, or in a sacred environment, and in the natural setting where passions are free to work their wiles, as they will, are indeed only apparent differences. The nature of humanity, as perceived and portrayed by Chaucer, is a thoroughly corrupted one. However, unlike Dante, Chaucer does not have much to say in judgment of humanity for that corruption. Chaucer accepts the sinfulness, selfishness and loss of innocence of humanity as an integral part of the history and development of the race. In other words, people may agree to behave righteously when they are in the holy city, but once they are free again to behave as they will, t hey will quickly be consumed by their personal passions. Nature is also shown in Dante to be full of powerful and dark forces, which can tempt a human being off the path of righteousness. Dante writes that Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself in a dark wood, where the right way was lost. Ah! How hard a thing it is to tell what this wild and rough and difficult wood was, which in thought renews my fear! So bitter is it that death is little more (Dante 1). The â€Å"city† or the path of the true way is symbolized by the high hill, in contrast to the dark wood of the life of the passions and senses: â€Å"But after I had reached the foot of a hill, where that valley ended which had pierced my heart with fear, I looked upward, and saw its shoulders clothed already with the rays of the [sun], which leads man aright along every path† (Dante 1). Here we see the light of goodness contrasted with the darkness of sin or temptation away from the state of innocence. It is no coincidence that the phrases â€Å"city of lights† or â€Å"city upon a hill† are meant to stand in contrast to the â€Å"darkness† of the natural environment, a darkness which can bewilder human beings and lead them to take part in behavior which Dante clearly believes is both self-destructive and destructive to others. Dante’s depiction of Hell is not meant to entertain but to change the behavior of  his readers so that they will choose behavior which will lead them to the â€Å"city† of Heaven, rather than behavior which will lead to the dark wood and, eventually, damnation: A place is there below, stretching as far from Beelzebub as his tomb extends. . . . My Leader and I entered by that hidden road, to return into the bright world; and . . . we mounted up . . . so far that a round opening I saw some of the beautiful t hings which Heaven bears, and thence we issued for again to see the stars (Dante 52). In Dante, we read of the â€Å"wicked city† which represents hell (22), but it would be fair to say that human beings in Dante’s conception are subject to temptation, sin, guilt and the loss of innocence wherever they are on earth—in the city or in the country. Heaven is the only locale which offers human beings respite from such corruption. In Chaucer, we find little of the kind of solemn judgment offered by Dante at every turn. For example, Chaucer writes of a friar—a religious man—who was â€Å"a wanton and a merry, A limiter, a very festive man† (Chaucer 162). His ribaldry is not affected by whether he is in a town or in the countryside—he is always willing to have a good time: â€Å"In towns he knew the taverns, every one,/ And every good host and each barmaid too† (Chaucer 163). Despite the fact that Canterbury is seen as the goal of the pilgrimage and can therefore be said to be a city symbolizing goodness and innocence, or restoration of innocence through religious activity, this in no way suggests that Chaucer sees the city as the repository of goodness and nature as the repository of evil. Instead, Chaucer sees human nature as the abiding force at work in shaping the behavior of human beings. A human being can be good or evil in the city, just as he can be good or evil in a natural environment. The Clerk, for example, is shown to be a miserable creature, although he is full of the education and philosophy and sophistication, which the city of Oxford offers (Chaucer 164). Again, the basic difference between Dante and Chaucer cannot be deciphered merely by focusing on the uses of urban and country settings in their works.  The differences in the authors’ uses of settings do not shed essential light on the two texts without our awareness first that Dante means to judge and warn and Chaucer means to celebrate and understand. To Dante, all settings—urban or country—stand full of temptations which can deliver human beings into the pits of Hell. The fact that Hell is portrayed in urban terms merely means that there is much organization in Hell, rather than perhaps the chaos we might presume. Dante by use of the city as the setting for Hell means also to place it in stark contrast to the glorious city of Heaven. Dante wants to show that Hell is an essential part of the intricately organized and ordered machinery of the universe, and his use of the urban environment gives this sense of order and organization far more readily that would a natural setting. We must keep in mind the purpose behind this manipulation of setting—Dante wants to affect the behavior of his readers and he means to do so by warning them that a very carefully designed Hell—as carefully designed as a city—awaits them if they stray from the path of goodness. Chaucer, on the other hand, aims to portray humanity in all its passion and waywardness, with a sense of acceptance and celebration rather than condemnation or warning. Chaucer gives the reader the clear sense that—whether in the country or in the city, whether in the midst of sin or the middle of innocence—the author is one with the reader. It does not matter whether the action is taking place in the city or the country in Chaucer’s tales—there is a sense of empathy bonding the author, the characters and the reader. Even when Chaucer enters into a lengthy treatise on the different sins and their remedies, the reader has the feeling that he is not the kind of strict judge of humanity which Dante is or would like to be. The uses of setting in the two works is not particularly crucial to an understanding of the books overall, but such a focus can help us understand certain elements of the works, such as the organization of the city which  allows Dante to show that hell is an integral part of the universe created by God and not merely an imaginary place of punishment. In addition, such a perspective is useful in showing the apparent contrast in Chaucer between the city of Canterbury and its promise of absolution from sin, and the natural environment which leads to the free expression of the passions of human beings which in turn lead to the commission of those very sins. The city or country cannot be seen as symbolic of guilt or innocence in Chaucer, simply because Chaucer believes human nature to be susceptible to corruption in any environment. At the same time, whereas Dante judges humanity for its corruption, Chaucer tends to forgive and seeks ways to ease the suffering of guilt and sin. Works Cited Chaucer, Geoffrey. Troilus and Cressida and The Canterbury Tales. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1987. Dante. Divine Comedy. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1987.