Brand Valuation

Methods of Brand Valuation The various methods of brand valuation can be placed into four categories: (1) cost-based approaches; (2) market-based approaches; (3) income-based approaches; and (4) formulary approaches incorporating future benefits or comparative advantages. Cost-based Approaches This method considers the costs involved in creating the brand through the stages of research and development of the product concept, market testing, continued promotion during commercialization, and product improvements over time. Historically based, this approach is the valuation technique that complies with standard accounting practice for valuating assets. It is also the most conservative method of valuation and provides little future-oriented information that is useful in the brand management process. However, this technique fails to capture value-added through the application of effective strategic brand management activities and processes. Market-based Approaches This valuation method is a much more externally focused approach. It is based on an estimation of the amount for which a brand can be sold. This method requires being able to determine a market value. In the absence of an actual market for most brands, this can be a difficult estimation challenge. To circumvent this problem, proxies are created based upon how the financial markets estimate the value associated with the brand. One way to determine the financial market effects is to separate tangible assets from intangible assets. The market value created by the intangibles can be inferred once the entire value of the firm is determined. The consultants Trademark and Licensing Associates create a similar estimation by comparing the brand being valued to the performance of another substitute brand that is unrelated to the firm. The method is much more realistic if a similar brand exists in the marketplace for comparison purposes. Income-based Approaches The valuation process involves determining future net revenues directly attributable to the brand and then discounting to the present value using an appropriate discount rate. Several methods may be used to determine net revenue. One method compares the brand's price premium to a generic product–one that exists in the marketplace without benefit of marketing investment and name ownership. A second method estimates the annual royalties associated with the brand, as in a licensing agreement. This approach to valuation is generally more applicable to brands competing in international markets. An alternative approach relies on the strength of brand name recognition to estimate revenue. The branded product is then compared to a generic product to estimate volume. Formula Approaches These approaches consider multiple criteria in arriving at a brand value. The consulting firm Interbrand and Financial World magazine use similar methods that are based on an income approach. Interbrand developed its formula approach in the context of external financial reporting, but indicates that the approach to valuation is also very suitable for internal management purposes. The Interbrand approach uses a three-year weighted average of profits after tax as an indicator of brand profitability. In calculating brand profitability, Interbrand strives to consider only factors that relate directly to the brand's identity. This is often difficult because the company may not consider specific functions as separate from the brand. For example, much of a brand's success might be attributable to the distribution system, which supports the brand but is likely not a key element of its identity. Once brand profitability is determined, a multiplier is attached to the calculation. The multiplier is created from an evaluation of brand strength based on seven factors, which are weighted according to Interbrand's guidelines. Leadership: This is the ability of the brand to function as a market leader and secure the benefits associated with holding a dominant market share. Stability: Brands that retain their image and consumer loyalty over long periods of time are more valuable than brands without such stability. Market: Brands in certain product markets are more valuable than brands in other markets because of their ability to generate greater sales volume in a more stable environment with greater barriers to entry from competitors. Internationality: Brands that are international in scope possess the potential to expand the brand and are more valuable than regional or national brands. Trend: This is the ability of the brand to remain current in the perception of consumers. Support: Brands that have been consistently managed and supported by the organization over time are much more valuable than brands that have functioned without any organizational investment. Protection: This factor relates to the legal issues associated with the brand. Brands that are protected by registered trademarks are more valuable in that the organization has the legal right to protect the brand. Financial World arrives at a valuation by estimating the operating profit attributable to a brand and then comparing it to an unbranded product. The resulting premium associated with the brand is adjusted for taxes, and then multiplied by the above seven-item factor using Interbrand's assessment of brand strength. Aaker's â€Å"Brand Equity Ten† concentrates on five categories of measures to establish a comprehensive assessment of brand equity. Specific measures of price premium, satisfaction or loyalty, perceived quality, and leadership or popularity add a customer focus to the valuation methods. Other customer-oriented measures include perceived value, brand personality, organizational associations, and brand awareness. External measures of market share and market price and distribution coverage complete the set of criteria. Overall, the superiority of the formulary approaches lies in the comprehensive nature of these measures. The formulary valuation process allows for the most comprehensive assessment of all areas that have the potential to affect the ability of the brand to generate value for its owner. Brand valuation appears to be the most promising technique capable of illustrating the importance of the brand to managers while also bridging the different orientations between marketers and accountants. Since the value of the brand can be expressed in monetary terms, all decision makers have a common point of reference. The measure of brand value may include subjective elements, but the lack of such a measure means that the importance of intangible assets may be overlooked. The use of brand valuation can help foster a recognition of a common goal for individuals in pursuing strategic objectives. Each discipline can contribute a substantial amount of expertise to the brand valuation process. This joint contribution can then assist the organization with brand management. Cost Approach The cost approach is a valuation technique that estimates value based on the cost required to create the item. Under the cost approach, the actual dollars spent to build a brand are analyzed. While it is difficult to isolate and quantify all historic expenditures incurred in building a brand, it may be possible to identify external marketing costs, including media and promotional spending. This approach can be a highly conservative estimate of the brand value because the cost approach does not factor all costs incurred in building the brand. For example labor costs, other overhead, soft dollar costs, the cost of trademark registration or internal marketing time, just to name a few costs, may not be specifically identifiable and therefore difficult to factor in. Additionally, the historical cost approach does not consider future economic benefits of a branding campaign. As media markets have become more competitive in recent years, the cost of recreating a brand would most likely exceed the historical cost even in real terms. Therefore, the cost approach may be considered as a baseline value of a brand by which to measure future investment. Market Approach The market approach is a valuation method that estimates value based on actual market transactions. The market approach requires the collection of market data from comparable transactions and analysis of the data to estimate the value of the brand through comparison and correlation. AbsoluteBrand combines information and research from our proprietary databases and external market data. The market approach is helpful in researching for potential licensing transactions. Income Approach The most accurate valuation of a brand is the present value of the incremental profit attributable to that brand. The income approach is based on the present value of an income stream. This approach to valuation is based on the assumption that if the brand’s underlying product or service did not own its trademarks it would need to license them from a third party trademark owner. Ownership of its trademarks therefore ‘relieves’ it from paying a license fee (the royalty) for the use of the third party trademarks. It requires the development of income stream projections that are then discounted for risk and the time value of money, i. e. , â€Å"present-valued† as of a certain date. Under the income approach, a complex model integrates historic and forecast financial results, market risk and brand contribution. The result can be a static brand valuation as of a particular date or it can be transformed into a dynamic brand management model. A brand valuation under the income approach is comprised of three main variables: 1. Forecast Income Statements from the Branded Business. The valuation model is segmented to reflect the relevant competitive environment within which the brand operates and forecasts are made. This information is gathered through management input and market research information. 2. Royalty. The brand is benchmarked and comparable brand royalty rates are researched and then applied to a forecast revenue streams. 3. Brand Risk Rates. The brand’s contribution to earnings is analyzed to establish the security of future brand earnings using consumer research and competitor review. This approach utilizes sound valuation principles, namely the discounted cash flow analysis along with quantifiable market research and it relies on the forecast amount of operating earnings that are attributable to the brand. The future expected brand earnings are then present-valued using a discount rate that factors in the risks associated with achieving those future brand earnings. ? Cost-Based Approaches Cost-Based Approaches involve calculating the costs associated with: — Creating the brand (market research, development of the product concept, arket testing, packaging, advertising, etc. ) — Continued promotion through the product life cycle — Product improvement over time and the insuring costs connected with the product improvement According to â€Å"Strategic Brand Valuation: A Cross-Function Perspective† by Karen Cravens and Chris Guilding (Business Horizons, July/August, 1999) the cost-based method â€Å"is the most conservative method of valua tion and provides little future-oriented information that is useful in the brand management process. †

Buyer Behavior & Integrated Marketing

The problems on which this assignment focuses on is how can an organization understand and influence the demands and needs of a consumer by using consumer decision making model and the a decision sequence model which helps an organization define a set sequence in order to plan for its marketing and promotional strategy. The company that has been researched upon in the research paper is Automobili Lamborghini S. p. A that has recently launched its new SUV in the market which also happens to be the first SUV car from the company.The car is known is Lamborghini SUV and there are a lot of things that need to be taken care of when introducing and marketing the car in automobile arena. A consumer decision model will help the company in order to see how a particular group of consumers decides for a particular commodity. What are their preferences, their expectations, how can they be attracted, what is their taste, how well do they memorize a certain product, their loyalties to a particular brand, their interpretation from a product or marketing strategy and the knowledge that they possess.A consumer consciously or unconsciously using all these factors when going to buy a product thus in the case of Lamborghini SUV the consumer will again question himself on the above mentioned grounds (MacKenzie 1986). As given in the research done on the company, the main problems that the company tends to identify from the consumer behavior are; 1. What is the product 2. What is the target market 3. What are the substitutes 4. How does the price and value for money are correlated 5. Is the product a luxury item 6. What sort of a decision sequence model can be usedHere is a brief answer to all of the questions mentioned above. As we all know that the product is a luxury SUV that is being marketed for the first time by the company, the company has to target to a specific group with specific characteristics. These people are supposed to be well to do by having good executive level jobs or running businesses and having a family of 2 to 3 persons. This suggests that the targeted customer should be more then 35 years of age but not more than 45 because that goes beyond the sporty and speedy characteristics of the car.The sport and speedy characteristics of the car open two marketing and targeting corridors for the company, that are, 1. executives and managing directors, (as discussed above) and 2. The existing sports cars clients who will then be filtered for having or not having a taste for a sports SUV. The problem is that the product that is in question in the research is quite expensive and thus it is not at all like marketing coke. Customers need to be educated and informed about the value and worth of the product that should be other than the actual cost price of the car (Bettman 1975).With reference to Blackwell, Miniard and Engel analytical framework, analyze the likely buying behavior of your target market, in terms of degree of problem solving, and identif y the probable influences on this decision process. You should also identify any issues related to the information processing aspect, as this will inform task 3 With reference to Blackwell, Miniard and Engel, the decision of any consumer is based upon and involves two or more products that are substitutes to each other.For example a consumer might choose between going out for a movie or staying at home, for this matter going to movie and staying at home will serve to be as substitutes to each other. Similarly, in this of Lamborghini, the consumers have a range of choices. These choices include other sporty SUV’s that already in the market by competitor brands like BMW, Mercedes, Chrysler and others. Thus Lamborghini should look into the matter that what do consumers want in an SUV, how and what characteristics they should highlight to attract their customers.Blackwell, Miniard and Engel advocate the fact that there are a number of cognitive processes going on in a consumer mi nd while he makes purchase decisions. These cognitive decisions can be identified as consumer knowledge about the market and the product, beliefs and memories about information that a consumer gathers from marketing and promotional activities going on around them, their cognitive process of comprehension and lastly their integration cognitive process in which a consumer evaluates two or more choices and short lists to one final choice.This choice is made on the basis of certain behavioral decisions, thus the decision making process of a consumer can also be regarded as their decision plan. A Cognitive Process Model of Consumer Decision Making Lamborghini should keep in mind that its consumers will gather most of the information from their surroundings. Apart from their own marketing campaign, the consumers consciously and unconsciously are gaining information about the sporty cars, their models, information about other brands, performance of other SUV’s that come I the same c ategory of sporty cars and much more.Consumers are exposed to TV shows, magazines, discussions and even get to see these products live at show rooms that they already a lot about the car. However, a marketer should always keep in mind that in order to attract a customer and give him what he wants, the product should be marketed in such a way that the consumer directly notices what he wants in the product without him being analyzing and comparing with other brands(Roberts 2000).The marketing campaign should highlight the characteristics of the product itself in the marketing campaign rather than letting the customer gather the information on his own that can also lead to possibilities that the customer may not be able to find those characteristics on his own. Same goes for Lamborghini, the company must market the new SUV in such a way that it highlights both its sporty nature and its symbol of power of status in order to cater both the target markets that have already been identified in the previous section.

Environmental Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Environmental Law - Essay Example In particular Judge Weeramantry discussed environmental issues relative to the threat and use of nuclear weapons. Judge Weeramentry specifically noted that the use of nuclear weapons â€Å"endangers the human environment in a manner which threatens the entirety of life on the planet†.3 Judge Weeramentry went on to state that although there was no binding international law relative to the use and threat of nuclear weapons, based on its destructive nature and the threat to human life, health and the environment in general, there was sufficient basis in international laws particularly humanitarian laws to outlaw the use and the threat of the use of nuclear weapons.4 The main contributions of the ICJ in terms of international environmental law is divided into the Corfu Channel case and the Nuclear Tests case and the Barcelona Traction case. These cases essentially establish the international law with respect to transborder environmental damages and the introduction of the doctrine of erga omnes. In this regard, the ICJ held in the Barcelona Traction case: An essential distinction should be drawn between the obligation of a state towards the international community

Clinical supervision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Clinical supervision - Essay Example afterwards, in order to analyze it"(Goldhammer 1969)Four years after Goldhammer outlined his model for clinical supervision, Cogan did an analysis of Goldhammer's work and with the assistance of supervisors of teachers at Harvard University, Cogan adopted his own Clinical Supervision model, albeit it has three more steps than the pioneering model, the minor variance in the number of steps does not water down or conflict in concept. Cogan, however, does exhibit some flexibility as he offers, "certain phases may be omitted or altered, or new procedures instituted, depending upon the successful development of the working relationship between the supervisor and the teacher"(Cogan 1973 10-12). The fact that an allowance is kept alive for the possible retrofitting of a model, is an extremely salient point; because one might not always be successful in keeping the practice and theory diversities at a minimum, therefore adjustment might be necessary in both the model and its presentation.A third model was designed by Acheson & Gall (1987), this model possesses only three steps; planning conference; observation and feedback conference. The Peer Assistance and Review states that, "The clinical Supervision concept is intended to be a cyclic process. This implies that the supervision process is not a one time "drop in" event, but rather, the teacher and the supervisor will work together through a series of cycles to enhance the teachers abilities"(PAR) Anderson & Krajewsk i(1993 pp 175-176), are working on a similar flexible plane as Cogan as they maintain, "teachers are not compelled to follow a sequential order, "they can cut them to suit the situations in which they find...Goldhammer (1969) defines the term ‘clinical’ as, â€Å"it is meant to imply supervision up close† That is the supervisor actually observes the teacher in the classroom, collects data on the observation, and uses the data for analysis following the observation†Goldhammer believed that the supervisory process is prime to embody an aire of open communication and trust between the teacher and his/her consulting teacher. The most basic element in the process is how the teacher feels about their personal level of capabilities. There has been an evolutionary explosion in the area of Clinical supervision in the past ten years. We have come to see the practice of development of cognitive coaching, peer coaching, and action research. Either one of these three processes can work in accord with either of the three clinical supervision models mention herein. If either of the processes is applied individually, as in the case of cognitive coaching; wherein Cos ta and Garmston (1994) , describes as, â€Å"a non-judgmental set of practices built around a planning conference, lesson observation, and a reflective follow-up conference†(Costa & Garmston). These processes breakdown a group of basic assumptions, guidelines, and skills which can work in all contact with other teachers, learners, and the parents. It follows, that when all three of these processes are super imposed over the various steps of either of the three models mentioned, it is a given that we are then reckoning with a major positive shift in the learning environment.

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 59

Reflection - Essay Example with fewer regulations concerning labor rights in order to produce products that are cheap with the aim of trying to remain competitive in the global market. Although cheap labor is one of the incentives that are making different companies to outsource their operations to Asian countries, there must be limits on how to use this labor. I was surprised that Nike kept stating that it was creating employment to poor countries while in reality; the firm was exploiting the local population and enhancing poverty in these regions. In addition, sweatshops were meant to ensure that money was distributed evenly to the laborers through high wages. On the contrary, the sweatshops were characterized by poor working conditions, low levels of environmental protection, and less attention to health and safety. Therefore, Nike Company was able to make immense profits on the expense of poor people in Indonesia, China, and Vietnam. I have been persuaded that companies have not been making the lives of the locals who are working in sweatshops any easier. This is because with the increasing levels of globalization resulting from liberalization of markets, efficient flow of information, and integration or economies the level of competition in the local market has increased tremendously. Many multinational companies such as Wal-Mart have also been found to have violated the labor rights in an attempt to offer the customers with high quality goods at very low prices. This is an indication that companies are targeting areas with fewer regulations in order to exploit child labor and pay low wages despite overworking these subordinates. I never thought that child labor still exists in the modern society. I thought that competition is healthy and it makes the company to be innovative. In addition, I thought that competition forces the companies to mechanize their operations and becomes more innovative. However, this session has enlightened me on the negative side of intense competition in

Kaduna Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Kaduna Project - Assignment Example Additionally, the added space can offer a new central and financial district. Historically the North and South have divided on religious grounds; therefore, when the CBD is centralized it will be helped by the division. Conventionally, Africa has developed a focus on telecommunication and Agriculture. The Chinese have developed an interest by constructing the railways, setting up agriculture zones, setting aside the economic town development and city growth. They have also prioritized on farming and national park. Assuming the military refuses to give up the ground, a lot will be focused on the Central District by converting into the combination of commercial and residential and combining with the cultural centers that will assist in the medium growth rate scenario. On the map it has been mentioned that transport hubs, railways, and new road are present. The China government is putting up a railway that runs to Abuja. On the map, the railway connects the town center, to farming land, and runs to Abuja (Okoro, Chikuni and Govender, 2012). Therefore, the paper discusses and examines the development and planning challenges that face the area of Kaduna, Nigeria. The report will highlight issues like the current transport infrastructure, economic trend, land use, and the economic status to determine the spatial planning mechanisms that could be employed in helping the city grow and adapt over the coming years. Additionally, the paper draws on the forum discussions in addition spatial planning and independent analysis and spatial planning literature to offer a perspective vision of Kaduna in future. The paper will start by explaining the context of the region in respect to its economy, demographics and other crucial and fundamental issues. The paper will also discuss the SWOT analysis of the current state of Kaduna, and build the future scenarios found on it. The development and analysis portion will follow, looking how the spatial planning could be of help to Kaduna (Reuters Africa, 2010). Context In Nigeria, Kaduna is ranked third in population. The state occupies more than six million people; this is as per the 2006 census. The population of Kaduna in increasing at the rate of 3.3% annually, this is according to the National Planning Commission in 2006. Kaduna City is Kaduna City capital and it has 1.2 million people. The city of Kaduna is beneficially found within the state, and is found close to the geographical center and is important from closer proximity of a river that runs horizontally over the territory is described by the medium to low population density. Kaduna has few contextual limitations that are crucial for the spatial planning research carried out. For instance, one of the crucial factors facing the town is absence of public infrastructure. This entails water, waste, electricity, and drainage solution. Another critical challenge facing the city is the religious rivalry between the Christians and the Muslims populations. The N orthern part of the city is populated with Islam’s; in addition there is a huge number of Christian who also occupies the city. The religious rival

Active role in the community offering time and help and DBU have help Essay

Active role in the community offering time and help and DBU have help with this - Essay Example Going by this argument, I am of the opinion that by reading them stories in the nursing homes, I believe that I cheer them up and give them the motivation to live for more years in their remaining lives. The same case applies to Townsend’s (2011) work that argues that for nursing care to be holistic, it must entail both the biological and behavioral aspects. My visit to the nursing homes touches both on the biological and behavioral aspects of the elderly persons. Through reading them the stories, I lighten their day, which has an impact on their biological well-being and also on their behavioral aspect as the elderly become more positive with life; thus, have a chance to believe that they can not only live longer, but also fruitfully. In the thought of Baker (2007), a great percentage of people degrade the elderly homes for the claim that they have a fouls smell, and other simply have the wrong perception of the homes. With this in question, it is evident that a lot of help is required in these homes, if the elderly have to feel that they belong to the society in general. I chose to help the elderly by visiting them as I believe that these homes are dignified homes and are purely directed at making sure the elderly are taken care off. I choose to better the way in which the elderly live by visiting them regularly especially with the help of DBU. I also hold this opinion as I believe that I will be the next victim and will certainly require the help of others to live a perfect old age. Unlike the common perception that the elderly are a burden to the society, Horsfall, et al (2011) recommend that the elderly develop relations that will help them live happily. In the event that the elderly make connection with the community and other caregivers, it has been indicated to be therapeutical for the older people (Horsfall, et al., 2011; My Aged Care, n.d). My move to spend time with elderly and reading

Risk analysis and system requirements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Risk analysis and system requirements - Essay Example This essay discusses that the functionality of the app will depend on a number of factors. First, the PDA will need to be Wi-Fi enabled so that it can connect to the internet in Wi-Fi hotspots. Secondly, the refrigerators will also need to be integrated with simulators to receive the commands from the PDA. In this case, the appliance will be Wi-Fi enabled. Today’s systems employ more functionality than ever; elaborate GUIs, network connectivity and inter-processor communication. At the same time, the time constraint has to be met. Cost of production will also be a strong challenge because the project calls for great investment from key players.Since the app will depend on wireless connectivity, some risks inherent in wireless connectivity could be imminent. Wireless technology uses WAP/Bluetooth protocols for communication (Wiergers 2003). Each of this protocol has built-in security to block break-in by hackers. This could be problematic for apps that require user identificati on. In this regard, access control flows may arise allowing unauthorized access. This issue arises when we have unclear access policy and improper app design (inadequate input validation). Such risks can be avoided through accurate input validation and clear definition of the access policy. Buffer overflows could also arise causing the app to lose control of its execution. The project requires cooperation from three key players; a refrigerator manufacturer, Wi-Fi Service provider and me. The app will require windows 5 PDA (Palm OS) and Web platforms.... doors, temperature components, electrical circulation, humidity. In this case, the device will be portable so that the user can still get these analyses even when out of the house through Wi-Fi technology. The device will be helpful to the old and the disabled. The app will allow for convenient refrigeration control. The device will rely on wireless technology. The device will be light, portable and ergonomic with simple navigation. It will rely on low power requirements (either batteries or electric current). System Requirements User Interfaces The app will be installed on Wi-Fi enabled PDAs allowing the user to manipulate the refrigerator from any Wi-Fi hotspot. Users will use either virtual keyboards or touch screen technology on their PDAs to manipulate their freezers. The PDA should provide the app link on the screen so that a single touch opens up the app’s page where the user can operate the appliance. The page should offer options to the user on how to proceed. User ca n therefore be able to input commands and check analyses. Hardware Interfaces The app will be installed on PDAs with Palm Operating System, Software Interfaces The PDA should run on any platform with a Java 6 compatible Runtime Environment. This Includes Palm Operating System, Windows, Mac OS, Linux and Sun Solaris. Communication Interfaces The PDA should have Bluetooth to enhance exchange of data and Wi-Fi Connectivity. In this regard, users will be able to connect to the internet when in Wi-Fi Hotspots and operate their Wi-Fi enabled appliances. Functional Requirements The functionality of the app will depend on a number or factors. First, the PDA will need to be Wi-Fi enabled so that it can connect to the internet in Wi-Fi hotspots. Secondly, the refrigerators will also need to

Education and Learning Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Education and Learning Theory - Essay Example The three learning theories discussed include a number of conceptual differences with regard to preparing instructional multimedia design. In terms of explaining mental activities, Behaviourism is associated with the body while Cognitivism is related to the mind. Cognitive notions include schema or knowledge structures in learning processes, which do not find any behavioural equivalent. In Behaviourism, the instructor designs the learning environment. Cognitive approach involves the instructor in structuring problem solving activities with group learning strategies. In case of Constructivism, the instructor focuses on peer interaction through which, learners can develop their knowledge on known concepts. In Behaviourism, the learner remains passive; in Cognitivism, he learns to process, store and retrieve information for future use. The proposed project on Production of a Visual Basic Tutor intends to include the learning theories of Behaviourism, Cognitivism and Constructivism while preparing the instructional multimedia design. A systematic instructional design should include all the three theories that will help analyse learners, make objectives for the course, set the instructional preferences and assess student performance. Student interaction with teachers, course materials, and among themselves is an essential requirement in a learning situation. It is the main objectivity of the instructional design to analyse learners and provide them with required knowledge by creating a problem solving situation.

World Literature Assignment Help Essay Example for Free

World Literature Assignment Help Essay The most important feature of Homer’s  Iliad  is the most obvious: the central issue in this poem is warfare.  In fact, the  Iliad  is our oldest, most famous, and most enduring story about men in battle.  So one might well begin by exploring certain features of this particular war narrative.  How does Homer depict the war so as to emphasize some features rather than others? Such a question is necessary because the phrase  war story  does not reveal very much about any particular fiction.   After all, warfare, particularly the Trojan War, can be and has been used to develop an astonishingly wide range of the different stories—dramatic adventures, chivalric tales, amusing satires, bitter social commentaries, historical epics, various styles of comedy, romance, and so on, often in combination.  For war is a very fecund basis for all sorts of different tales, as one might expect, given that it includes so many narrative possibilities.  So we might start by seeing if we can get a sense of some of the more salient features of Homer’s treatment of the war. One of the most initially surprising things about the  Iliad  is how many well-known details of the full Trojan War story Homer leaves out. The poem gives us no detailed sense of how the war started (either the short-term cause of Paris’ and Helen’s elopement or the long-term causes in the wedding of Thetis and Peleus and the Judgment of Paris), nor are many of the most famous incidents in the opening or closing stages of the war given any attention (for example, the sacrifice of Iphigeneia, the recruitment of Odysseus and Achilles, the abandonment of Philoctetes, the Trojan Horse, and the fall of Troy, among many others).  There are many references to the fact that Troy will eventually fall, but no details are provided.  First-time readers of the  Iliad  who have some familiarity with details of the famous narrative frequently comment, often with a sense of disappointment, on how few such incidents are included here.  One would think that any poet interes ted in holding his audience’s attention with some exciting narrative events would make much better use of at least some of these.  But one searches the  Iliad  in vain for most of one’s favorite stories from the Trojan War. Instead, the  Iliad  focuses on few weeks in the tenth year of the war. The action covers considerably less time than that, of course, because there are some major gaps (e.g., the nine days’ plague in Book 1, the twelve-day wait for Zeus, the twelve-day maltreatment of Hector’s corpse), and the focus is almost exclusively on what is going on in that relatively short time.  There’s an interesting double chronology at work.  Events move quickly from one battlefield experience to another—there is lots of exciting action.  At the same time, while there is little attention paid to a precise chronology, we also get a sense that a lot of time is going by; this war is dragging on and on, without anything changing very much (other than people being killed).  We do not experience this war as a complete event, with a beginning, middle, and end, an experience with clearly understood causes and a series of events leading to a definite conclusion.  We star t the poem in the midst of warfare, and we end the book, several weeks later, in exactly the same place.  The only thing we know for sure at the end is that the fighting will continue, as before. The warfare is also unremitting.  One bloody encounter is always followed by another without significant variation in the basic nature of the encounters and without pause.  All attempted truces are doomed to failure, other than those the parties make, ironically enough, to collect or celebrate the dead.  Even at night, when the fighting has generally stopped, the war dominates people’s actions, thoughts, and dreams.  There is none of that sense, so prominent in the  Odyssey, that an evening’s meal and sleep bring something to a conclusion so that when Dawn appears the next day, something new and different is about to begin. This narrative structure creates a sense that this war is less a particular and unique historical campaign than it is a lasting condition of life.  These warriors are doing what they have always been doing and what they will continue to do (a sense that is strongly reinforced, as we shall see, by their memories of the past and their hopes for the future).  There has been no clear beginning to all this, and there will be no clear end.  Of course, if we bring to the poem a knowledge of the details of the Trojan War, we know that the tradition tells us it does eventually end.  But the  Iliad  does not encourage us to think about that in any detail, apart from the references to the fact that Troy will fall someday, and, if we do, there is little in the poem to suggest that such an event would change anything very much (more about this later). In addition, the absence of any sense of enterprising romantic adventure in the poem (in spite of the fact that the traditional story of the Trojan War includes all sorts of possibilities for such events) generates a sense that individual resourcefulness in tactics, strategy, or trickery (a common feature of the  Odyssey  and of countless popular war fictions) is out of place here, because this war is larger than the efforts of any one man or small group of men.  It is not something which the individual warrior can, through his individual efforts, alter in any significant way.  Whatever he and his comrades do today, then tomorrow, if he is still alive, he will have to continue doing.  By the end of the  Iliad,  we have witnessed some extraordinary human conduct, glorious courage, horrible destruction, and more, none of which has changed the course or the nature of the war in the slightest.  Confronted with this situation, the men seem trapped, as Odysseus observes: Zeus sees to it that from our youthful days to our old age we must grind away at wretched war, till, one by one, we die. (14.104) [14.85] Some readers find this narrative rhythm disconcerting. Where are we going with the story?  There is a lot of action,  but overall nothing is changing and there is little if any sense of closure.  For those who expect other things from a war fiction, it is rather surprising and perhaps disappointing to discover that most of the exciting narratives we associate with this war come from other sources—the  Odyssey,  Aeneid, and  Metamorphoses, for example—where the vision of war is very different from what Homer is developing in the  Iliad. I would like to suggest that all these relatively obvious details help to create a sense that this vision of war is thoroughly fatalistic.  The war is neither a temporary problem nor a discrete historical event nor a unique adventure.  It is, rather, the basic, unchanging, and inescapable condition of life itself. It is man’s fate. Before exploring this point further, we should first clarify precisely what the terms  fate,  fatalism, and  fatalistic  mean here, for in these modern, decidedly non-fatalistic times we may not all grasp the concept clearly.  To assert that Homer pictures the war as man’s fate is to claim that Homer views it as the essential condition of life into which these men are born. They do not choose to have the world this way, and many of them express their dissatisfaction with this state of affairs and their desire for something different.  But there is nothing they can do to change that condition.  Whatever started this war and whatever will end it (if it ever does end) are beyond human control. It is necessary to add here the important point that, understood in this sense, these terms carry no necessary sense of optimism or pessimism. It is possible to be a confirmed fatalist and yet sense that the basic conditions of life are as good as they possibly could be or are arranged for man’s benefit (as in, say, a faith in providential Christianity), or, alternatively, to have a decidedly pessimistic sense of the world one is born into.  All these terms indicate, as I say, is that life is, so to speak, a game where the rules are made up and controlled by others and where human beings have no ability to change the situation. The terms  fate  and  fatalistic  also do not mean that human actions are predetermined.  This point is crucial to grasp for an understanding of the  Iliad  and almost all classical Greek literature.  Human beings may be unable to alter the situation, but in at least one essential since they are free agents.  They are free to choose how to react to these given conditions.  In the  Iliad  the men have chosen to be warriors; more than that, most of them are determined, in their freedom, to act as heroically as they can, to live up to a code which insists that they confront this grim fatal reality with a range of human qualities (courage, loyalty, physical strength, and so on). We  will be going into this feature of the poem in greater detail in another essay.  For the moment it’s essential to grasp the point that central to lives of these men is their free assertion of their individuality in the face of a harsh fate which they cannot alter.This fatali stic quality of the poem emerges also in the way Homer insists upon the universal scope of war. As we read the story, we are always dealing with a particular event involving specific individuals, but we are also aware of a larger picture, for these events are part of a much longer time period.  The famous digressions, which have occasioned a certain amount of hostile comment, serve to remind us again and again that warfare is a condition of life itself.  Flashbacks to earlier times insist that personal armed combat is what life is about (e.g., Phoenix’s long tale of Meleager, Aeneas’ boasts about his ancestors, Andromache’s story of her family, the constant reminders of the achievements of Diomedes’ father, Tydeus, and so on).  The particular events of this battle are always being played out against a historical backdrop of very similar incidents.  One of Nestor’s important functions in the poem is to remind us all the time, both by his pre sence and by his reminiscences, that human life has always involved fighting on the battlefield: â€Å"Son of Atreus, yes, indeed, I wish, I was the man I used to be back then when I cut down lord Ereuthalion.But gods don’t give men everything at once.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Then I was young.  Now old age follows me.But I’ll be with my horsemen, advising them, giving them  their orders, an old man’s right.Fighting with spears is for the younger men  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  born after me, men who rely on strength.† (4.373) [4.318] Similarly, when Hector thinks of his young son’s future, the best he can envisage for him is that he will be a great warrior, victorious in battle (6.583), a situation all the more poignant, of course, because many readers bring to the incident a knowledge of how Hector will soon die and how the young infant will be killed when the Achaeans sack Troy.  Hector has already acknowledged that he will die fairly soon, and no one in the poem has more to lose from continuing the battles than Hector.  Nonetheless, the only future he can imagine and desire for his son is one which has produced the situation he and Andromache now face. Homer’s treatment of the combatants also serves to bring out the universal, fatal condition of this war.  The  Iliad  contains hundreds of different names of people from all over the known world.  It is virtually impossible to keep track of everyone (and one doesn’t really have to, since most of the major actions involve relatively few people), but it is equally impossible to escape the sense that on this canvas we have representatives from all parts of civilization, not simply two separate groups fighting their own private quarrel.  And what’s even more remarkable, all these combatants are decidedly similar.  Most of them speak the same language, worship the same gods, live by the same code of life, share the same rituals in prayers, sacrifices, burials, and so on.  Warriors on opposite sides are members of the same extended family, and their forefathers have entertained each other and fought as allies in the past.  Some of those on different sid es have the same name (e.g., Agelaus, Antiphus, Adrestus, Medon, Noemon, Orestes, and so on).  Such a marked similarity between the two main groups of allies works against any attempt to find a rational cause of this war in some ethnic or religious conflict and thus adds weight to the impression that warfare transcends any geographical or cultural differences between the groups fighting each other. We need to dwell on this point for a moment.  In our Western traditions, we have for a very long time coped with the disturbing aspects of war by subjecting it to moral analysis. We like to see warfare as an army of righteousness against an army of evil, good versus bad, with the forces of goodness prevailing, so that we can justify the inescapable horrors war brings with it.  And many critics have extended this tradition to the  Iliad, seeking to establish some moral basis for the war which would make its atrocities somehow more palatable.  I’ll have a good deal more to say about this tendency in a later essay.  What I want to insist upon here is that Homer appears to go out of his way to make this division between the opponents difficult to sustain.  This war has not arisen out of cultural or political or economic conflict.  It is something bigger than all such conflicts, and it has the effect of making all the combatants, whatever minor differences one wishes to point to here or there, all equally subject to its force. After all, why are these men fighting?  Or, more importantly, why do they believe they are fighting?  The treatment of Helen, the ostensible cause of the war, makes her, for all her importance in the received tradition, relatively insignificant.  She is hardly a sufficient explanation for what is going on.  If the abduction counts at all, it is a minor pretext for what these men do all the time anyway.  The suggestion that the Trojans might debate the issue and give her back (7.402) evaporates almost immediately, and the war continues as before.  King Priam expressly indicates that Helen is not to blame (3.175) since the only sensible way to account for this war is to ascribe it to the gods. Such a view of war is profoundly different from what most of us now believe.  We think we have the ability to avoid warfare and that, if we must fight it, then we will do so only when we have a moral imperative to do so (i.e., when we are the â€Å"good guys† and our opponents â€Å"the bad guys†).  And even under such circumstances, we will expect the war to be as short as possible.  The notion that war is not a temporary and unwelcome intrusion upon human life but a fatal condition of life is thus potentially disturbing, a challenge to beliefs we particularly cherish.  A central thrust of these essays is that such a challenge to our sensibilities is one of the most important things about this poem because it is a vision of the world which contradicts what we wish to believe about it.  Of course, many of us can and do seek to evade that challenge by attempting to convert the grim fatalism into a reassuring moral allegory in line with our traditions, but that, it strikes me, removes from the work its most valuable qualities. Bibliography Homer, A. T. Murray, and William F. Wyatt.  Iliad. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003. Osborne, Robin.  Greece in the making: 1200-469 B.C. Milton Park: Routledge, 2009. Warry, John Gibson.  Warfare in the classical world. New York: Barnes Noble, 2000.

Role Of SMEs In The Mauritius Tourism Industry

Role Of SMEs In The Mauritius Tourism Industry Jones and Haven- Tang (2005) studied 10 characteristics that are popular for SMEs: SMEs are job opportunities generator; there is the risk of business failure; SMEs are more flexible than are large enterprises and small entrepreneur are have a closer relationship with their customers however not too proactive to innovation and technology; motivations of SMEs depends on the entrepreneurs way of living and even differentiate through gender; business strategies differs from one SMEs to another some are well managed some are deficient in business and managerial skills; entry of business is easy but preparations in surviving depends on owners abilities to manage; SMEs are resistant to external assistance due to cultures of self reliance that act like barriers; owners are resilient to invest in managerial trainings; SMEs have poor market research and knowledge management about customers; thare are lack of an integrated approach to business planning and functionality. According to Beyene (2002) entrepreneurship is a function of opportunities, technical and commercial skills, entrepreneurial spirit, finance, infrastructure and the overall environment within which the SMEs operate. Studies (Brigham and Smith, 1967; Walker, 1975) stated that SMEs tend to be riskier than the larger organization. Cochran (1981) found SMEs were subject to higher failure rates, and Markland (1974) suggested that SMEs tend to keep less adequate records than big companies. World Bank (1994, 2002, 2004 cited Beck et al., 2003) state 3 core characteristics of SMEs which are firstly, SMEs enhance competition and entrepreneurship and hence have external benefits on economy-wide efficiency, innovation, and aggregate productivity growth; secondly, SMEs are generally more productive than large firms; and thirdly, SME boosts employment more than large firm because SMEs are more labour intensive. Dagmar Recklies (2001) stated SMEs are characterized by factors like size of enterprise or independent ownership (family of small group of people). These traits may lead to disadvantages and advantages with respect to globalization shown in table1 below: Buhalis (2009) said that the tourism industry, although the largest industry in the world, is dominated by SMEs and encapsulates any varied and disparate economic sectors. Harvey and Lee (2002) described the role of SMEs as economic in East Asian Countries. SME, according to Harvey and Lee (2002), is a source of employment, innovation and creating export opportunities and act as a means to grow into larger firms. These aspects of SMEs are important prospects that will continue in the future. According to UNIDO (2006), SMEs are the driving force in industrial development. They comprise more than 90% of all enterprises in the world and are on average providing 60 to 80% of total employment, thus help to contribute to Millennium Development Goals, in particular poverty eradication and developing global partnerships. Migiro and Ocholla (2005) suggested that SMEs account for a significant share of production and employment in many countries and are directly related to poverty alleviation. While in many respects the South African economy is different from that of other countries in the continent, SMEs are relevant for employment and as an income source. In country after country, statistics show that even during these years of economic crisis and recession, the one robust sector providing economic growth, increased productivity and employment has been that of small and medium-sized enterprises, WIPO. In 130 countries, 140 million SMEs employed 65% of labour force in July 2006, World Bank (2006, cited Kotelnikov, 2007). According to Fadahunsi and Daodu (1997, cited Beyene, 2002, p.131), in Asian countries like Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan Korea, India and Sri Lanka, 90% of businesses are small enterprises and this represent 98% of the employment in Indonesia, 78% in Thailand, 81% in Japan and 87% in Bangladesh. The tourism industry of Australia primarily consists of SMEs, with more than 90% of businesses employing fewer than 20 staff, OECD. According to the European Commission SMEs play a central role in the European economy. They are a major source of entrepreneurial skills, innovation and employment. In the enlarged European Union of 25 countries, some 23 million SMEs provide around 75 million jobs and represent 99% of all enterprises. Duarte (2004) stated that the role played by SMEs in any society is undoubtedly important, for instance, in Portugal around 98% of the industrial fabric is composed by SMEs. Duarte (2004) describes the role of SMEs as an engine of economic growth and the proportion of SMEs in the industry is large in percentage. Shumpeter (1934, cited Duarte, 2004) emphasizes the role of SMEs as a principal cause of economic development. Lukasc (nd) studied that SMEs are recognized as the backbone of the British economy, accounting for more than half of the UKs turnover. 93 % of all European enterprises have less than 10 employees and there are 20.5 million enterprises in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, providing employment for 122 million people. Alistair et al. (2003) studied the role of SMEs in China and stated that SMEs are important as they contribute to the national income and employment. Jones and Haven- Tang (2005) described the role of SMEs in developing a tourism destinations image and service quality along with other stakeholders of the industry (especially government). They described the contributions of tourism SMEs in defining service quality and thus exploring the relationship between quality of services and products by local SMEs and destination competitiveness. Jones and Haven- Tang (2005) explained that the nature of tourism SMEs makes it important for policy makers to consider in order promoting destination development. Andersson et al (2007) discussed the role of SMEs owned by women as contributing in job creation. The authors stated that women entrepreneurs are more likely to employ women, thus providing jobs not only for themselves but for other women, which helps to reduce the effect of discrimination against women in the labour market. In addition, reducing female unemployment assists in fighting women trafficking. Finally, female entrepreneurs serve as role models for the younger generations, demonstrating new employment (self-employment) opportunities. According to UNIDO (2003) the only way to reduce poverty in a sustainable way is to promote economic growth, through wealth and employment creation. In developing countries, SMEs are the major source of income, a breeding ground for entrepreneurs and a provider of employment. SMEs may be characterized as the principal building blocks of the Pakistani economy, providing the country with opportunities for increased employment (including female employment), poverty eradication, enhanced productivity, competitiveness and international market penetration. Kotelnikov (2007) studied the contributions of SMEs to employment and the countries GDP and innovations. It is commonplace for governments to have policies to encourage the growth of SMEs as they can help to directly alleviate poverty by increasing income levels and creating jobs. Kotelnikov (2007) stated that SMEs encourages technological progress and benefit either as producers of ICT or as users of ICT for purposes such as increased productivity, faster communications and reaching new clients. As TSMEs increases, entrepreneurs become more aware of the managerial skills as well as knowledge of the industry expands resulting into innovation of their products and services thus gaining a competitive advantage to increase profits thus encouraging people to invest to establish TSMEs because of the market opportunities captured by the profitability. He described SMEs as efforts to develop women entrepreneurship that helps in return in increasing gender equality by providing women with a source of income. Manyara and Jones (2005) describe the importance of the TSMEs development in Kenya that can help in the goal of alleviating poverty and developing of new tourism product. Sustainable livelihoods are considered to be possible through SMEs in the tourism industry and the authors explained the economic impact of SMEs on the poverty alleviation. They consider tourism SMEs to benefit local communities and creation of SMEs will enable better linkage with the local economy and will support complementary partnerships. Di Dominico (2005) studied the concept of lifestyle entrepreneur that is the non-economic factors of TSMEs. She describes the non-economic business values and orientations like the lifestyle of small business owners. Establishing a small enterprise may not have same significance to different people. Different person belonging to different groups have different aims and objectives in mind while setting up a business. People have incentives according to their social, economic and cultural environment in which they live. Some people start a business to be their own boss, and not be controlled by other person. Therefore people have different motivations like liberty and independence other than economic ones like profitability to start forming small businesses defining a way of living or lifestyle. The author analysed that lifestyles of SMEs reflect a less objective definition of quality of life that consider aspects of work, family, gender and variations of consumption and the relationsh ip between these aspects. However, she added that in TSMEs there must be a more objective approach to ownership and management in order to have development and success. Baldwin (1995) studied the characteristics of SMEs that make success possible. He talked about innovation being the prime factor that contributes to success. The use of proper technological, marketing, management, human resource, investment and competitive strategies are necessary to increase or decrease profitability. Theses factors are the growth factors associated to success. The study shows that SMEs stress the importance of management. SMEs focus on often stated problems in the area of training, capital cost and innovation. TSMEs are conscious of the need for a highly-skilled work force and rank themselves above their competitors in this regard. He stated that successful SMEs have to consider three dimensions that are growth, profitability and productivity. The best way to achieve these dimensions according to Baldwin (1995) is by innovation. According to Migiro and Ocholla (2005), SMEs and ICT have a direct connection in improving the business efficiency, productivity and the development of new products and services, thus creating new business opportunities and markets. The use of technology is widely used in marketing, advertising, doing transaction with foreign clients and adopting the concept of e-commerce. ICT have a role in improving business services, as in the hotel and tourism industry (Duncombe and Heeks, 2001, cited Migiro and Ocholla, 2005). Chandra (2002) stated that SMEs have to go through the technology ladder in order to remain competitive. Lal (2007) studied the adoption of ICT in the Nigerian SMEs. According to him, globalization is among the factors that influence SMEs to make use of technologies. However, he explains that good electricity supply and connectivity is necessary for SMEs to make use of IT. E-Commerce is one of the most visible examples of the way in which ICTs can contribute to economic growth. It helps countries into the global economy. It allows business and entrepreneurs to become more competitive. And it provided jobs, thereby creating wealth (UNCTAD 2004a, cited Lal 2007). However, the human capital should not be ignored as Cunningham and Rowley (2008) studied the role of SMEs in China and a system of HRM that will boost competitive capabilities of SMEs. They stated that SMEs acts as non-governmental investment booster while contributing to the improvement of the economic structure. Hence, SMEs play an important economic role in China. The traditional personnel practices of SMEs should shift to HRM, which are resourcing, rewards, development and relations, and to more management dimensions. Proper management skills as well as considering other factors such as an organizational strategy and taking account of the national context are necessary for sustaining growth, prospects and ultimately survival.

The Fragility of Freedom Gadamerian :: Gadamer Freedom Essays

The Fragility of Freedom Gadamerian ABSTRACT: This paper examines the nature of freedom in Hang-Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutics. It focuses on the last section of Wahrheit und Methode advancing the hypothesis that Gadamer’s model of understanding is derived from his particular appropriation of the Platonic notion of the beautiful which poses a passive interpretative posture toward the object of understanding and deprives the activity of interpretation the essential creative quality of freedom. I argue that to the extent that the object of understanding presents itself as immediate revelation of truth, the interpreting subject is reduced to a mere acknowledger of truth as opposed to a creative producer. Opponents of teleological ontology and of philosophy of history have been attracted to hermeneutics as a more congenial perspective for the exploration of such issues as truth and right, knowledge and action, necessity and freedom. The appealing claim of hermeneutics is that universality need not be and should not be absolute as an ultimate end of a process of actualisation. In the view of hermeneutics, a determinate universal converts freedom to necessity however much consciousness may mediate activity. That is, even though activity engenders change, consciousness is more an expression of necessity in relation to the absolute than an expression of freedom. Indeed, in this view, teleological mediation between freedom and necessity is no reconciliation but rather a subsumption of freedom by necessity. To rehabilitate freedom, hermeneutics opts for a non-teleological history with an open, indeterminate future. The departure from teleology finds a new non-essentialist ground for truth a nd universality, namely, mutual understanding. In this paper, I examine Gadamer’s notion of mutual understanding, fusion of horizons, to assess the place reserved for freedom. I focus on Gadamer’s appropriation of the Platonic notion of the beautiful as the model of understanding and I argue that such a notion of understanding poses a passive interpretive posture toward the object of understanding, i.e. tradition or contemporary alien culture. In this model of understanding, I shall argue, the latter presents itself as immediate revelation of truth and thereby deprives interpretation of the productive quality which Gadamer would like to attribute it. I begin by providing some theoretical background to Gadamer’s notion of understanding noting its debt to Heidegger’s phenomenological ontology. I then proceed to examine Gadamer’s appeal to the Platonic dialectic of the beautiful as a model for understanding which highlights, to my mind and as I noted, the latent passivity of Gadamerian interpretati on.

Investigate the Water Potential of Potato Cells Essay -- GCSE Biology

Investigate the Water Potential of Potato Cells Introduction In my investigation, I hope to determine the water potential of potato cells. The plant material I will use in my investigation will be potato chips, which I will cut myself prior to the investigation. I hope to find the concentration of a solution where the chip stays the same mass and length, which will tell me that the water potential inside the cells is the same as the water potential outside the cells. Background Osmosis is defined as the movement of water through a semi-permeable membrane. Semi - permeable membranes are permeable to water but impermeable to certain dissolved substances. In the case of this experiment, the sucrose molecules cannot diffuse through the cell membrane because the sucrose molecules are much bigger than water molecules. The water potential of a solution is a measure how dilute the solution is, and therefore of how readily water will diffuse from this solution, through a semi-permeable membrane, into another solution. Pure distilled water has a water potential of zero: the water potential becomes more negative as more substances are dissolved in it. When two solutions are separated by a semi-permeable membrane, water moves from the side with high water potential to the side with low water potential: If we dissolve substances in water we lower the water potential of the solution:- High water potential Some water potential Low Water Potential Chip grows Chip stays the same Chip shrinks Key Variables o Mass of the chip - I think that the larger the mass of the chip then the bigger the difference in results will be, therefore I think that to make experiment more easy it would be best to u... ...ive balance to measure the mass, and I could have used a burette or pipette for volumes of liquids. I also could have used a sharper knife to cut the lengths of the chips. All of these things would have made my experiment more accurate. I also could have done a few more averages and repeats, to decrease the margin of error in my experiment, making my results more reliable. For further work, I would like to see if in my experiment I could actually get the result in my experiment where chip does not change at all, by putting it in the correct Molarity of sucrose solution. I would do this by putting it in different concentrations, ranging from 0.1M to 0.4M, and see what happened. I would also like to do the original experiment again, but using the improvements I listed above, and see how much of a difference there was in the results with the improvements.

Expectations manipulate the reader Essay

How does Dickens Presentation of Pips threatened childhood in chapters 1-8 of great Expectations manipulate the reader? ‘Great expectations’ is a book written by Charles Dickens, and was first published in 1861. Charles Dickens was a Victorian writer and also a social commentator during the time. The novel ‘Great Expectations’ commentates on lower class life in the Victorian era. The book is mainly based on social criticism. The novel is about a boy called Pip who has a cruel start to life, living with his mean sister and her husband. With many people indifferent to Pips life, Pip starts with low expectations wanting to go to prison. Afterwards his life changes when he is described as a common labouring boy, eager to change this he also changes his expectations in life and from wanting to go to prison, or becoming a blacksmith he wants to become a gentleman and have a high status. Throughout the novel we are manipulated into feeling sorry for Pip. The events in his life, the people he meets and the way he is treated from childhood till he is grown up. Pip is an orphan at the beginning of the story, this and the factors such as that his parents are dead make us feel sorry for him. He also lives with his sister who is a harsh and beastly woman and treats him horridly. We are first introduced to Pip whilst he is a child. While in the graveyard he meets an escaped convict who treats him harshly. One of the ways that Dickens manipulates us during this is showing how unprotected and weak Pip is. ‘After each question he tilted me over a little more, so as to give me a greater sense of helplessness and danger’ (chapter 1) this quote shows how feeble Pip is. We are later manipulated even more by the way his sister treats him. Contempt and hatred are just some of the ways that could be used to describe her attitude towards him. Hence he is a lonely, weak boy who has no parents. Mrs Joe ‘applied Tickler to its further investigation. She concluded by throwing me – I often served as a connubial missile’. She beats Pip and acts as if he is nothing but a mere slave to her and must do as he is told or she willHow does Dickens successfully link Magwitch’s appearance in Chapter one with his return in Chapter Thirty-nine in ‘Great Expectations’? ‘Great Expectations’ is set in the 1800’s, for gentlemen of that time, life was rich and full of beautiful houses and places. Because they didn’t have to work they spent their days chatting, going to dinners and just having fun. But for the working class, they had to always be thinking of ways to make money and always working to secure their next meal. This novel was serialised, which meant that the story was published part by part and so, many groups of people would gather together to read the story. They could then tell each other what they thought was going to happen in the next couple of chapters. To make the audience want to read the next couple of chapters, Dickens had to end each chapter with a cliff hanger. The central protagonist in this novel is Pip. In the first chapter we learn that Pip’s parents are dead and so he lives with his sister and her husband. We also learn that he had 5 other brothers and sisters who have also died as their five mini gravestones or rocks are beside Pip’s parents grave. He frequently visits his parent’s grave even though he has no memory of ever seeing them. He paints a picture in his mind of his mum and dad. In this chapter we get to meet Abel Magwitch who will become a central figure in Pip’s life. Dickens successfully uses pathetic fallacy in both Chapter One and Chapter Thirty-nine to create a negative tension. In Chapter One, he describes the weather with negative adjectives such as ‘sting’, ‘torn’, and ‘growled’. These all give negative connotations to the reader to create the bad tension in the weather. He also uses the onomatopoeia like ‘shivers’ and ‘shuddering’ to show how the weather is affecting people. He also uses the word ‘shuddering’ again in Chapter Thirty-nine providing an obvious link in the weather. Dickens uses the adjective ‘angry’ more then once to show that whatever is going to happen won’t be good. In Chapter Thirty-nine, Dickens hints at negative events by using the simile, ‘like discharges of a cannon’ which also ties into Chapter One because it is signalling that an escaped convict could be entering the story again because a cannon would sound whenever a convict had escaped. Dickens describes the weather as ‘stormy and wet, stormy and wet’ which uses repetition to push across how bad the weather is. He also says, ‘mud, mud, mud’ which is a list of three, which is a very convincing technique to help set the scene for Magwitch’s return.

Police Misconduct and Corruption Essay

Police and Society January 31, 2013 Police Misconduct and Corruption In the early 1990’s police brutality had become common; police officers abused their powers and became brutal when dealing with offenders and even non-offenders. One infamous example of such brutality occurred in 1992 in Los Angeles when a black man named Rodney King was violently beat by five officers for being â€Å"black. The five officers repeatedly struck King as a few other officers stood by not paying any attention to the situation near by. Two of the five officers were later acquitted which angered the black and Latino community around the world as did the videotape of the incident. This incident did however put more attention and awareness on the issue of police brutality. A few weeks after the King incident, a drug scandal in New York erupted into another police brutality incident. This prompted an investigation on police corruption by the Mollen Commission. The investigation found many occurrences of police abuses, including brutality, corruption, and perjury. A century before the Mollen Commission, in 1894 the Lexow Commission in New York discovered the same occurrences of police brutality. This shows that police corruption has been going on for many years and is continuing to happen now. Although the public less accepts police brutality now, it is believed that most police corruption is done â€Å"underground† or through legal loopholes. I have chosen to research Police Brutality because I find it outrageous that the people who swore to protect us cheat the law and use excessive force without reason. I am majoring in Sociology and Criminal Justice, so I am curious to learn about why officers feel the need to become brutal. Is it a lust of power? I’m interested in learning about the sociology of police brutality.

New Historicist Criticism: Macbeth and the Power Essay

Stripped of Shakespeare’s poetic style and skilful characterization, Macbeth is revealed as little more than a petty tyrant. Like Machiavelli’s Prince, Macbeth seeks power as an end in itself and sees any means as justified provided it helps him achieve his goal. It is a standard image of power: an individual, or small group, occupying a position of authority from which he (seldom she) attempts to force his will upon others. Today’s equivalent of a feudal monarch is the power-hungry politician, the cult leader, or the ruthless business tycoon. But the new historicist conception of power is different; rather than being a top-down affair that originates from a specific place or individual, power comes from all around us, it permeates us, and it influences us in many subtle and different ways. This idea of decentralized power, heavily indebted to post-structuralist philosophy (see Derrida and Foucault), is sometimes difficult to understand because it seems to have a n intangible, mystical quality. Power appears to operate and maintain itself on its own, without any identifiable individual actually working the control levers. This new historicist notion of power is evident in Macbeth in the way in which Macbeth’s apparent subversion of authority culminates in the re-establishment of that same type of authority under Malcolm. A ruthless king is replaced with another king, a less ruthless one, perhaps, but that is due to Malcolm’s benevolent disposition, not to any reform of the monarchy. Similarly, the subversion of the play’s moral order is contained, and the old order reaffirmed, by the righteous response to that subversion. In other words, what we see at the beginning of the play–an established monarch and the strong Christian values that legitimize his sovereignty–is the same as what we see at the end of the play, only now the monarchy and its supporting values are even more firmly entrenched thanks to the temporary disruption. It is almost as if some outside force carefully orchestrates events in order to strengthen the existing power structures. Consider, for example, a military leader who becomes afraid of the peace that undermines his position in society. In response to his insecurity, he creates in people’s minds the fear of an impending enemy–whether rea l or imaginary, it doesn’t matter. As a consequence of their new feelings of insecurity, people desire that their leader remain in power and even increase his power so that he can better defend them from their new II enemy. II The more evil and threatening our enemies are made to appear, the more we believe our own aggressive response to them is justified, and the more we see our leaders as our valiant protectors (Zinn,Declarations of Independence 260-61,266). Military or political power is strengthened, not weakened, when it has some kind of threatening subversion of contain ( Greenblatt 62-65). The important point about the new historicist notion of power, however, is that it is not necessary for anyone to orchestrate this strengthening of authority. Duncan certainly doesn’t plan to be murdered in order that the crown will be more secure on Malcolm’s head after he deposes Macbeth. The witches can be interpreted as manipulating events, but there is nothing to indicate that they are motivated by a concern to increase the power and authority of the Scottish crown. It is not necessary to believe in conspiracy theories to explain how power perpetuates itself; the circular and indirect, rather than top-down, way in which power operates in society is enough to ensure that it is maintained and its authority reinforced. The theater illustrates this point in that the Renaissance theater–its subject matter, spectacle, emphasis on role-playing–drew its energy from the life of the court and the affairs of state–their ceremony, royal pageants and progresses, the spectacle of public executions (Greenblatt 11-16). In return, the theater helped legitimate the existing state structures by emphasizing, for example, the superior position in society of the aristocracy and royalty. These are the class of people, the theater repeatedly showed its audience, who deserve to have their stories told on stage, while common people are not worthy subjects for serious drama and are usually represented as fools or scoundrels. Revealing the inherently theatrical aspects of the court and affairs of state runs the risk of undermining their authority–if people on stage can play at being Kings and Queens, lords and ladies, then there is always the possibility that the audience will suspect that real Kings and Queens, lords and ladies, are just ordinary people who are playing a role and do not actually deserve their position of wealth and privilege. But the very existence of the theater helped keep the threat of rebellion under control by providing people with a legitimate, though restricted, place to express otherwise unacceptable ideas and behavior (Mullaney 8-9). Within the walls of the theater, it is acceptable to mock the actor playing a king, but never the king himself; it is acceptable to contemplate the murder of a theatrical monarch, but never a real one. Macbeth deals with the murder of a king, but Shakespeare turns that potentially subversive subject into support for his king, James I. Queen Elizabeth died without a direct heir, and a – power vacuum is a recipe for domestic turmoil or even war. The consequences of Macbeth’s regicide and tyranny illustrate the kinds of disruption that were prevented by the peaceful ascension to the throne of James, son of Mary, Queen of Scots. The â€Å"good king† of England ( 4.3 .147) who gives Malcolm sanctuary and supports his cause as the rightful successor to the Scottish crown is an indirect reference to James I. Macbeth is about treason and murder, but Malcolm’s description of the noble king (147-59), and the stark contrast between him and Macbeth, reinforces the idea that good subjects should see their king as their benefactor and protector. Shakespeare was not coerced into flattering his king. There was official censorship in his time, but it is unlikely that he needed anyone to tell him what he could or could not write; he knew the types of stories that were acceptable to authority and desirable to his paying public. Whether or not Shakespeare felt constrained by these limitations, or even consciously recognized them, is not the point; the point is that he worked within a set of conventions and conditions which relied upon and reinforced the governing power relations of his time, and so there was no need for him to be manipulated by a government censor looking over his shoulder. If Shakespeare had not known the boundaries of the acceptable, or had not conformed to the demands of power, he would never have become a successful playwright. According to new historicism, our own relationship to power is similar to that of Shakespeare’s: we collaborate with the power that controls us. Without necessarily realizing what we are doing, we help create and sustain it, thus reducing the need for authority figures to remind us what to do or think. Once we accept the cultural limitations imposed on our thought and behavior, once we believe that the limits of the permissible are the extent of the possible, then we happily police ourselves. .

Counseling and psychotherapy

When two people are head-over-heels in love with each other, the immediate decision that comes up in each mind is marriage. Marriage is a very exciting phase in one’s life. It challenges one’s capacity and ability to handle responsibilities (responsibilities for the children’s education and future and the obligations of spouses with each other especially in their sexual life) for the future family that will be made by two people united in marriage.Some people will just get into marriage without any apprehensions what might be the possible problems that will arise in the family; especially the young people who are very impulsive to get into it. Yes, the relationship would be abnormal and boring if there is no testing and crises; thus, it is usual for the marriage life to have problems because problems strengthen the relationship. But how about if the problem arises is regarding the sexual incompetence? What if one’s partner is not satisfied of what the othe r partner is doing or having a trauma in the past related to sex?Is there any solution for this? There are many factors why sex problems arise. Some of these are lack of sexual desire, problems with erections, premature ejaculation and retarded ejaculation, lack of orgasm in women, painful intercourse, vaginismus, and sexual trauma (see Boulware, Carol. â€Å"Sex Therapy: Is it for you? † 2006). In this present generation, there are many broken marriages occurring because one of the reasons is the sex incompetence of the present partner. It cannot be denied that there are couples who quarreled so much because of the â€Å"sex† issue but how can this problem be resolved?Due to this problem, experts present the counseling and psychotherapy in marriages to resolve the problems specifically in their sexual life. These kinds of treatments really help the marriage work well. The purposes of this study are to: (1) know what the difference between psychotherapy and counseling is and; (2) recognize how counseling and psychotherapy help the marriage who has sex problems. II. Discussion A. Psychotherapy and Counseling Most of the time, counseling and psychotherapy are terminologies that frequently interchange when used.Actually, counselor would refer to advisor and it includes two individuals working together in order to provide solution for the dilemma. It is a treatment that has several types in giving advices (see Schimelpfening, Nancy. â€Å"What is the difference between Counseling and Psychotherapy? † Psychotherapy 101, page 1). This would mean that counselor provides solutions to the couple who has sex problems by conducting a study related to case presented by the couple. Moreover, a licensed professional counselor named Deborah Reeves stated that: â€Å"A well-trained therapist understands the difference between counseling and psychotherapy.In counseling the therapist focuses on the â€Å"here and now† reality situations and helps on e become better equipped to deal with various life situations† (see Reeves, Deborah. â€Å"Differences between counseling and psychotherapy. Healing-Minds. com). On the other hand, psychotherapy denotes as the therapy of emotional and mental sickness. Psychotherapy includes a procedure, a connection between a patient and a therapist. A psychotherapist is an individual that is very good in: ? Listening the client carefully and sincerely ? Reflecting sympathetically ? Suggesting some views ? Giving comments and advices? Assisting the client/clients to search and discover other options ? Guiding the client/clients in exploring the depths of experiences and emotions (see Jaffe, Jaelline and Segal, Jeanne. † Psychotherapy and Relationship/Marriage Counseling†. Mental health Issues. Helpguide, July 14, 2004). These qualities of the psychotherapist help the married couples solve their sexual problems by tracing back what are the reasons behind why they encounter such dil emmas in their sex life. The psychotherapist sets different goals in order to identify the reasons why the marriage encounters sex problems.The psychotherapy will: first, develop insights regarding the sex problems of the couple; second, learn to communicate more efficiently to the client/clients; third, learn to work out the interpersonal and internal incompatibilities; fourth, manage to lessen or relieve signs of emotional disturbances that may possibly be the reason why sex incompetence arises; fifth, alters actions and activities to develop relational, social and vocational functioning; sixth, client’s personal growth and improvement and; the last one is, rebuild the client’s life due to faulty sex experiences in early life (see Jaffe, Jaelline and Segal, Jeanne.â€Å"Psychotherapy and Relationship/Marriage Counseling†. Mental health Issues. Helpguide, July 14, 2004). B. how do counseling and psychotherapy help marriage with sex problems? Marriage counseling is also known as couples’ therapy which assist married couples recognize, realize and work out the conflicts and develops their relationship. Marriage counseling and psychotherapy provide the couples the methods to make their communication better, understand differences, solve the problem and have a discussion in a healthy way. Marriage counseling is usually provided by therapists that have licensed who are called as marriage and family therapists.Moreover, majority of the marriages are not perfect. Every individual has his own values, principles, and personal background in the relationship and more frequently, those characters do not always go with the partner’s character. Furthermore, marriage counseling can help the marriage life in dealing many issues especially in the marriage-sex-life that can create pressure in the relationship. Generally, marriage counseling normally put together the couples in joint therapy sessions where the counselor or therapist assists th e couples identify, recognize and understand the root cause of their sex problems and attempt to solve them.Both spouses will examine and analyze the good and the bad sides of their relationship that affect their sex drives. In this case, the marriage therapist or counselor will not show biases in any of the sides in the conflicts (see â€Å"Marriage Counseling: Working through relationship problems†. MayoClinic. com, tools for healthier life. October 17, 2006). Moreover, as mentioned earlier that psychotherapy is a process of treating emotional or mental sickness by means of chatting which concern the client’s condition and other issues that are related with a mental health expert.It is also called as talk treatment, psychological therapy, counseling or just therapy. Same in counseling, psychotherapy sessions also help the couple able to learn regarding the root cause of their sex problems so that they can understand it, find out in how to pin point and change thought s which influence their sex life, look for better methods to overcome and work out the sex problems and find out to established practical objectives for their sex life (see â€Å"Psychotherapy: An overview of the types of therapy. MayoClinic. com, tools for healthier lives. October 17, 2006). b. 1 Sex TherapySex therapy is a specialized and virtuous treatment procedure to dilemmas of sexual expression and function. In a current research of the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that 3 out of 10 men and 4 out of 10 women have undergone sexual dilemmas. The problems that usually arise for men are the premature ejaculation, low sexual desire and dysfunction. While for women, the sexual problems are with arousal, pain through out the intercourse and low sexual desire. These kinds of matters are needed to be treated to avoid deeper problem that may lead to separation or divorce.Individuals or married couples look for sex treatment after they attempted to solve their sex problems yet failed (see Boulware, Carol. â€Å"Sex Therapy: Is it for you? † 2006). III. Conclusion Counseling and psychotherapy are such a big help to keep the relationship intact. It is really true that sex is one of the spices in a married life. Married people who have sex problems should not be hesitant to consult counseling and psychotherapy because it will help them identify and understand the root causes of their problem.They are also given suggestions and solutions that make their sex life more exciting and interesting. Bibliography: 1. Jaffe, Jaelline and Segal, Jeanne. â€Å"Psychotherapy and Relationship/Marriage Counseling†. Mental health Issues. Helpguide, July 14, 2004. http://www. helpguide. org/mental/psychotherapy_relationship_marriage_counseling. htm 2. Schimelpfening, Nancy. â€Å"What is the difference between Counseling and Psychotherapy. † Psychotherapy 101, page 1. http://depression. about. com/cs/psychotherapy/a/whatistherapy_2. htm 3. R eeves, Deborah. â€Å"Differences between counseling and psychotherapy.Healing-Minds. com. http://www. healing-minds. com/vs. html 4. â€Å"Marriage Counseling: Working through relationship problems†. MayoClinic. com, tools for healthier life. October 17, 2006. http://www. mayoclinic. com/health/marriage-counseling/MH00104 5. â€Å"Psychotherapy: An overview of the types of therapy. MayoClinic. com, tools for healthier lives. October 17, 2006. http://www. mayoclinic. com/health/psychotherapy/MH00009 6. Boulware, Carol. â€Å"Sex Therapy: Is it for you? † 2006. http://www. psychotherapist. net/sextherapy/sex-therapy. htm#anchor520639

Minor Parties or a common feature of United States Politics

Minor Parties (third parties) have been a common feature of United States Politicsa.Describe the point of view expressed about minor parties in the political cartoon above.b.Identify and explain how two rules of the United States electoral system act as obstacles to minor-party candidates winning elections.c.Minor parties make important contributions to the United States political system in spite of the institutional obstacles to their candidates’ success.Describe two of these contributions.a)Describe the point of view expressed about minor parties in the political cartoon above.The political cartoon depicts Ralph Nader addressing America’s â€Å"throw away mentality†. Meanwhile a citizen in the background is casting her vote by dropping a ballot into a trashcan. This is a fairly pessimistic view on voting for third parties, as the cartoonist is showing that votes that are going for third parties are worth nothing. Because the vast majority of the country votes f or major party candidates, third party candidates rarely become elected.b)Identify and explain how two rules of the United States electoral system act as obstacles to minor-party candidates winning elections.The United States style democracy is winner take all.  The majority, however slight, maintains all the say. Basically the â€Å"Tyranny of the Majority†.Minor parties have to overcome ballot laws, which are state laws that determine who may appear on ballots and who may not. Parties without enough money or enough support will not be able to appear on the ballot Presidential debates often do not include third parties. This may be because the Commission on Presidential Debates is a private company created by Democrats and Republicans c)Minor parties make important contributions to the United States political system in spite of the institutional obstacles to their candidates’ success. Describe two of these contributions.Third party candidates running for public offi ce realize that they have slim chances of being elected, so their primary purpose is to call attention to ignored, misrepresented, or little known issues.Eugene Debs with worker rights and Ross Perot with the national debtMajority parties often adapt their own policies to include popular third party stances, so third party voters may in fact get what they want even though a majority party wins.

Horizontal Profile of Cotton Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Horizontal Profile of Cotton - Research Paper Example Sellers in the market differentiate cotton products from other products on the basis of comfort. Sellers convince buyers that cotton provides ventilation and warmth during winter. Suppliers use cotton to make curtains, tauplins and tents as cotton since cotton withstands sun ray. The cotton product has distinct attribute unlike other products in the market. The industry differentiates cotton products from others on the nature and type of color, strength, versatility, adaptability and natural features of cotton. Non-physical attributes are bundled with the cotton product. In the case of physical attributes such as availability, nature of cotton and ability to withstand sun rays when exposed are bundled by sellers during process of selling. Sellers often display cotton products even in sunlight. Sellers inform buyers cotton is very versatile product as it can be coated, cotton is dry cleanable, and finished product (ICAC, 2005). Cotton product can be washed either by machines or hands. Cotton is very easy to print and this is unique attribute especially for marketing buyers. Product differentiation is a marketing and selling strategy which involves sellers informing buyers of distinct attributes of the product as compared to other products in the market. The graph above shows frequency of prices of cotton for a period of three months. The initial price is 59 units. The highest price in the month of February is 65.5. There is a price decline in the month of March with the lowest price being 60.5 and the highest price is 65 in the same month. The highest price in April is 66.5 and the lowest price of cotton is 62.59.the price range is 7.5 which translate to 0.75 equal intervals. The bin price of cotton product is 62.75 units. The bin price is the most affordable price for all willing and able buyers. There is a positive and non-linear relationship between prices of cotton and physical attributes of cotton in

Human Services Issues Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Human Services Issues - Research Paper Example It is shown in the articles of Bosman (2010) and Kaufman (2008) that since housing takes up the largest percentage of individual and family income traditional belief indicates that this whole population is in the verge of homelessness, and numerous do become homeless at some point in their poor life. Other, more definite roots of homelessness involve issues of employment, weakening public support, limited affordable housing, substance abuse, mental problems, domestic violence, and lack of health insurance (McNamara 2008). Any one of these issues is adequate to make a family or an individual homeless, and for numerous people, homelessness is the outcome of a personal conflict between being employed in a low-paying job with no health privileges and lack of accessible, low-priced housing. A family and individual in the aforesaid situations usually cannot pay for housing on their earnings from a minimum-wage employment, and they are not entitled to public support. This reality is accurat ely described by Bosman (2010) by stating that administration officials were surprised and demoralized by the marked increase in the prevalence of homelessness. Even the commissioner of homeless services, Robert Hess, declared that the city of New York is now feeling the enlargement in its massive shelter system several years ago (McNamara 2008). As cited by Bosman (2010), Hess declared, â€Å"And now we’re seeing the devastating effect of this unprecedented poor economy on our streets as well† (ibid, para 2). Statistics show that children make up 25% of the homeless in urban areas, and among the homeless adult, 14% are unmarried females and 47% are unmarried males (McNamara 2008, 52). Previous reports from the 1997 study of the U.S. Conference of Mayors of homelessness in urban areas suggest that 36% of the population of homeless people is made up of homeless families (McNamara 2008, 52). New York City, as clearly explained by Bosman (2010), is bearing the brunt of th e national recession. However, homelessness is not just an outcome of the declining economy; it is also brought about by the reduction in the number of low-priced housing alternatives to working and poor individuals and families in New York City. The article of Bosman (2010) gives the insight that in other corners of the United States individuals blame their homelessness and poor conditions on impoverished individuals. The traditional belief that poor individuals become poor due to their own weaknesses remains. This belief normally rules out children, who are regarded innocent, but it is difficult to support children without supporting their parents. Although Bosman (2010) obviously think that it is vital for individuals to assume responsibility for their own lives, it is also vital that in an affluent country for society to also assume responsibility. In several regions of the country, homelessness and poverty are quite indiscernible (McNamara 2008). Bosman’s (2010) article showed that the homelessness and poverty awareness of New York has raised a very developed knowledge of poverty and its roots. This article indirectly shows hard proof that the officials of New York understand the problem of homelessness. Meanwhile, the most