To find out whether consumer confidence in online purchasing has Essay

To find out whether consumer confidence in online purchasing has increased or decreased over the last few years - Essay Example n evaluating the trends of online buying (as identified through the empirical research made on the specific issue); even the indications regarding the consumer preferences around the world – regarding the goods/ services offered online – seem to present significant differentiations. In most cases, the motives that lead consumers to purchase online are not clearly identified; however confidence has been proved to be a quite important criterion on which the decision of consumers to purchase online is based. The above assumption is proved not only through the studies published in the literature but also through the empirical research conducted for this paper. More specifically, a high number of consumers (approximately 185) have participated in a survey that has been conducted online; the results indicate that when having to purchase a specific good or service, consumers think first its potential availability in the Internet; if the specific good/ product is available onli ne then it will be preferred by the consumers; of course the relevant decision is always based on specific criteria (quality of the product, price, availability and so on) but mostly on the confidence of the consumer on the particular firm; the development of this confidence through the last years is analytically examined in this study. The development of Internet around the world has offered a significant support to all commercial firms that have chosen to enter the WWW in order to promote their activities. The level of improvement of corporate activities because of the intervention of Internet cannot be precisely estimated – different levels of success have been noticed across the various firms in modern market in accordance with the preparations made by their managers towards the incorporation of Internet as a valuable strategic tool as well as the perceptions of consumers towards the relevant efforts. In other words, it is possible that operating through the Internet is profitable for the

Biografy of William Sharespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Biografy of William Sharespeare - Essay Example He must have formed his great love of literature from reading the classical Roman writers. Not much is known about Shakespeare’s teenage years but it is likely that the worked in some field connected with acting and the theater, and very possibly like modern actors had to support his acting ambitions with other odd jobs as he went along. It is clear from his later writings that he gained a lot of knowledge about many different trades and common people, and this suggests that he learned practical things as well as his literary skills. Thanks to surviving church records it is possible to establish the fact that during this period he also got married to a woman called Anne Hathaway. She was considerably older than William Shakespeare, and was already pregnant when the wedding took place in 1582. The first baby was a girl, and then there were girl and boy twins after that but Shakespeare abandoned his family in Stratford to seek his fortune in the much bigger city of London. Sadly the boy twin, Hamnet, died at the age of eleven and not much is known of what happened to the other children. By the end of 1592 Shakespeare was an established actor, performing in London and other towns with a group of actors called â€Å"The Chamberlain’s Men† who in those days were known as â€Å"players.† In this period in England theaters were often closed down because of plague, and Shakespeare therefore had time to gather and read books and plays which would later inspire his own writing. He appears to have been very successful a player: â€Å"There is proof that Shakespeare had performed with the Chamberlain’s Men before Elizabeth 1 on several occasions.† (Mabillard, section headed â€Å"Shakespeare the Actor and Playwright†). In the middle of his life Shakespeare began writing sonnets and non-dramatic poems and then he began to write historical plays, comedies and tragedies in the period from 1590 to 1612. Some of the exact dates a re difficult to pin down because the historical record is not complete. There are also several versions of some plays, and the authorship of some of these has been disputed over the years by scholars. The general consensus is that he wrote thirty seven plays but it is possible also that he wrote fewer than this, or that he wrote and collaborated on more than this. The majority are comedies, but some of his most memoral work like Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear and Othello are tragedies. Even the tragedies and historical plays contain elements of humor in them also, and Shakespeare was well known for his ability to weave silly and serious plotlines together. Mabillard identifies four features which characterize Shakespeare’s literary style and guaranteed his popularity both during his own lifetime and in the centuries since his death: â€Å"Illumination of the Human Experience†¦ Great Stories †¦ Compelling Characters†¦ and the ability to turn a phrase.† (Mabillard: section entitled Why Study Shakespeare) He was quickly recognized as a man of genius, and his plays became a major part of English and later also world culture. His innovative use of language entertained the people of his own time but then also became part of the English language, as for example phrases like â€Å"band of brothers† and â€Å"the green-eyed monster† which we still use today. There is no firm evidence of the way that

Difficulties in Developing Petroleum Industry in Vietnam

Difficulties in Developing Petroleum Industry in Vietnam by Nguyen Duc Anh Tuan Introduction Nowadays, in the developing era with fast pace, those agricultural countries, particularly Vietnam, might not only focus on improving the agriculture but also pay attention to developing the industrial area. More specifically, Vietnam has been concentrating on how to develop the gas and oil industry recently. However, the country is still facing a lot of difficulties. This essay will discuss in depth about what are the problems and point out the potential causes for those challenges base on three questions: What are the reasons causing difficulties for the development? What are the effects of these problems for Viet Nam? What are possible solutions to resolve these problems? Definition of oil and gas According to the Vietnam Oil and Gas Law (1993) Oil and gas means crude oil, natural gas and hydrocarbons in gaseous, liquid or solid in its natural state except coal, shale, bitumen or other minerals can be extracted oil. Oil and gas activities is active exploration, development and mining of petroleum, including direct service activities for these activities. There are many oil and gas activities dividing into different areas. Situation of petroleum industry in Viet Nam The petroleum industry contributed most amount of foreign currency to serve the economy as electricity and gas, gasoline and clean energy. Recently, the National Oil and Gas Group Vietnam (PVN) has provided nearly 35 billion m3 of dry gas production, 40% of national electricity production, 35-40% urea demand and supply 70 % of LPG demand for industrial development and consumer welfare. Raw oil export has a strong growth and stability, greatly contributes to country exports, especially in earlier periods, averaging about 15%. Currently, this proportion has decreased and only at about 7.5. Although total exports are declining but oil and gas industry is still keeping the unit contribution at about 18-22% of total national GDP. (tapchitaichinh.vn, 2012) Causes and effects causing difficulties for the development First of all, it can be denied that there has been a lack of technology which put gas and oil industry of Vietnam under difficulty. After a long time being an agriculture focus country, Vietnam has decided to change and transform into an industrial country. Obviously, that decision may lead to the fact that the country might lack skills and technology to adapt to this industry. One of the main weaknesses of our country is that the government might not have enough capital to invest into developing and updating technologies. Prices of various types of equipment, supplies, fuel and services primarily are related to production and business activities which make investments more complicated. Vietnam oil and gas industry today is quite young with limited human resource capacity to supply so that it cannot meet demand. Our country mainly exports crude oil and imports refined oil to serve local demand. There are some refineries that went into operation as the Dung Quat oil refinery, Nghi Son refinery but only supply about 35% of domestic demand. Meanwhile, demand for petroleum products is increasing, not only in the short term but in the long term due to the population explosion and the continuous growth of the industry, especially the acceleration of the transport sector needs to do more According to OPEC, demand for petroleum fuels is increasing rapidly, especially in developing countries, and by 2025, the supply will not meet the demand. Moreover, increasing oil prices also have a tremendous impact on the development of this industry Those reasons above have led to human resource in gas and oil industry became more expensive. That led to the significant increase in the number of people who wish to work in the oil and gas sector. Many students said that they are studying the oil industry not only because of higher salaries, simply because of the fact that oil industry is considered to be the solutions for the future of the energy industry. However, Vietnam labor market is a serious imbalance between sectors and areas. We have abundant unskilled labor and a lot of labor who have shortage of Technical Skill. According to Mr. Hoang Nhat Thong (Office of the General Department of Sea and Islands), the economy in general marine, oil and gas industry in particular, is a severe manpower shortage will affect only the maritime economy and coastal contribute about 53-55% of the total GDP of the country in 2020. Urgent solutions Oil and gas industry is the field has to combine all of those technologies and sciences like astronomy, tides, marine sciences, construction and installation of offshore structures such as rigs, pipelines, tanks, drilling into the ground, the work of geology, geophysics, exploration of the stratigraphy†¦ Therefore, the application of science and technology in the oil and gas activities can ensure high efficiency, save natural resources, enhance oil recovery factor and other resources saving as well as protect ecological resources. Therefore we have to build human resources management system according to international standards, which include the application of information technology systems, mapping capabilities, the standard title, system evaluation, payment regulation, bonuses, rules and criteria for recruitment to appoint the head, proper planning and appropriate building standards, criteria representatives and representatives of Petro Vietnam stake in the oil and gas activities in the country and foreign pilot who runs accordance with the Law on Enterprises. For tax policy should define equality between domestic service with service by foreign companies perform as VAT, import duty, †¦ It should have clear policies and encourage oil and gas activities in the deep water offshore exploration and exploitation of natural gas tax policy should be adjusted based on the refinery and in the planning to compete with imported products, policies for gas and electricity prices should approach the market mechanism . Have appropriate policies related to arrange key capital projects through: Grant, loan guarantee and ensure currency converter to facilitate in arranging loans for major projects the state level, support preferential loans from the Development Bank minimum of 20% to 30% of total investment projects focus on oil and gas.(Pvcfc.vn, 2014) Evaluation Obviously, to develop gas and oil industry, it is important to fully invest in all areas however, all of those solutions have pros and cons themselves. All of the above mentioned solutions usually take long time and a lot of money to consider, improve and implement, especially investing in technologies and human resources. However, once those two are on set, they will have a great impact on this industry. Besides that, probably they do not take as much time as changing the country’s policy since it is much harder to change the whole country’s system. Finally, maybe gas and oil industry should go with technologies first since it is mandatory for such an industry. Regarding to human resources, we recently identified human resource as one of the most important factors to make decisions in production and business activities as well as drive force development of any society, particularly in the oil and gas industry it is also reflected in the work environment , in terms of general science, technology, international environment and different cultures. Conclusion Even though it is clear to say that gas and oil industry is still facing a lot of challenge if the government of Vietnam wants to develop this kind of industry more. In that case, they should consider about how to raise enough capital to invest in equipment, to cover potential loss and to recruit right people. However, it cannot be denied that this area of industry is very attractive for investor therefore Vietnam can also hope for big investment from foreign country to develop gas and oil industry. References: moj.gov.vn (1993), Luà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­t dà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ §u khà ­ năm 1993 (online). Available at http://www.moj.gov.vn/vbpq/Lists/Vn%20bn%20php%20lut/View_Detail.aspx?ItemID=10817 [Accessed 24 Dec 2014] Nang Luong Viet Nam (2014), Ngà  nh Dà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ §u khà ­ Vià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡t Nam trÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºc thà ¡ch thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©c an ninh năng lÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £ng quà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœc gia (online). Available at http://nangluongvietnam.vn/news/vn/dau-khi-viet-nam/nganh-dau-khi-viet-nam-truoc-thach-thuc-an-ninh-nang-luong-quoc-gia.html [Accessed 19 Dec 2014] Pvcfc.vn (2014), Chià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿n lÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c phà ¡t trià ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™n ngà  nh Dà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ §u khà ­ Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿n năm 2020: Nhà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ng già ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £i phà ¡p cÆ ¡ bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £n (online). Available at http://www.pvcfc.com.vn/article-detail.aspx?id=41 [Accessed 18 Dec 2014] tapchitaichinh.vn (2012), Ngà  nh Dà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ §u khà ­ Vià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡t Nam: Tià ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ m năng là ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºn, tăng trÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã… ¸ng cao (online). Available at http://www.tapchitaichinh.vn/Chung-khoan/Nganh-Dau-khi-Viet-Nam-Tiem-nang-lon-tang-truong-cao/14143.tctc [Accessed 19 Dec 2014] tiasang.com.vn (2007), Khà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ §ng hoà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £ng năng lÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £ng là ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ §n thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ © 3 [online]. Available at http://tiasang.com.vn/Default.aspx?tabid=62News=1648CategoryID=7 [Accessed 23 Dec 2014] tuyendungthuyenvien.com.vn (2014). Ngà  nh dà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ §u khà ­ và   vià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡c tuyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™n dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥ng thuyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ n vià ªn tà  u dà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ §u (online). Available at http://www.tuyendungthuyenvien.com.vn/2014/10/nganh-dau-khi-va-viec-tuyen-dung-thuyen.html [Accessed 24 Dec 2014]

Love Story :: essays research papers

I was born into a non-Christian family. We thought we were Christians, because we used to go to church on Sundays. But we didn't know about the Bible verse that says we must be â€Å"born again† if we ever want to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Even if we'd heard it, we never stopped to think about how we could get â€Å"born again†. I got a job in a music store. Christine was a sales clerk there. She was one of the sweetest, most honest people I had come across up to that time. And she was open about being a Christian. I could see there was something different about her, and I was sure it had something to do with her Christianity. Her self-assurance, peace, and love for Jesus Christ made a strong impact on me. When I left the music store I got an office job. A young woman there, named Ruth, reminded me of Christine from my former job. It wasn't long before I found out that Ruth was a Christian too. I think these two young women were the only â€Å"born-again† Christians I had ever met up to that time, and they both stood out in a wonderful way. Ruth used to ask me about my beliefs, and I would ask her about hers. Whenever I asked her a question she didn't know the answer to, she said she would ask her pastor and get back to me with the answer. She always did. On the other hand, whenever she asked me a question I couldn't answer I would try to bluff my way through. I made some stupid comments to her at times, and looking back I don't know how she stopped herself from laughing at me. I guess it was her respectful Christian upbringing. I once told her that everyone in the world had been Roman Catholic until the time of Martin Luther. Ruth had no trouble demolishing that argument. In fact, she had no trouble demolishing all my arguments. Ruth was a happy person. She was always doing something exciting with her church youth group while I was doing little with my friends at all. Even after we both left that job, she kept in touch with me a few times, and made it clear that my spiritual life concerned her. Then events started happening in my life that kept me wondering whether I was missing something by not being a Christian.

Criticism of V for Vendetta

Criticism on V for Vendetta â€Å"Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot† is the sentence that begins the film. â€Å"V for Vendetta† is a story of vengeance against the government in England. V is a man that was being held in a concentration camp and suffers from the experimentation by the hands of the scientists’ government. Then, he destroys and escapes from the facility and slowly hunts down his tormentors and gathers the citizens of England to form revolutionaries towards the totalitarian government (Armstrong, 2006).After that, he turns out to be a terrorist that wear dark clothes and a Guy Fawkes mask that murder and explode buildings with his tricks in order to achieve his goals. Then, he saves a girl, Evey, which is being abuse by the government’s rape-hungry secret police known as â€Å"Fingermen†. He made Evey to be his supporter and pr oceed his strategy on governmental destruction well by awaken and empower the people of England to form a revolution. He convinces the people by saying, â€Å"If you want to see who is responsible, look no further than a mirror,† he tells the country’s citizens. I understand, you were afraid,† he says by way of forgiving them. It’s the people who put Britain’s corrupt, hate-driven government in power, and it’s the people who must stop it. â€Å"People should not be afraid of their governments,† pronounces V, â€Å"governments should be afraid of their people† (Tyler, 2012). In fact, there are ideas in this film which relates to the mass society theory in terms of society and politics. For instances, V’s belief stated that, â€Å"People should not be afraid of their governments.Governments should be afraid of their people†. Hence, this film can be strongly influence the society to use the idea of forming a revolutio n to against the monarchs of their particular country. Consequently, the film director, James McTeigue, noted that, â€Å"We felt the [graphic] novel was very prescient to how the political climate is at the moment. It really showed what can happen when society is ruled by  government, rather than the government being run as a voice of the people† (Ott, 2010).Besides that, another idea that is being point out from this film â€Å"Politicians lie to hide the truth, artists tell lies to reveal it† (Tyler, 2012). From that sentence, it is assuming that politicians tend to cover up their wrongdoings by many lies meanwhile artists uses lies to reveal the truth in something. Thus, this may create a perception from all the audiences who have watched this film that politicians are not very trustable and deceitful. According to Ott (2010), he conducted a study on the role of political affect in cinema by analyzing â€Å"V for Vendetta†.He argued that, â€Å"Vendetta h as an array of visceral resonances, pulsations, intensities, and sensations to invites viewers to reject a politics of apathy in favor of a politics of democratic struggle†. Furthermore, he also mentioned that in this film it has a relationship with politics and mass. In political rhetoric, the film would urged audiences not to keep silent as their rights and liberties were being restrict and also empowered them to speak out against their government. In conclusion, â€Å"V for Vendetta† film is one of the true examples on how the society will be influence by the idea of the film is illustrating.By relating this film with the mass society theory, it has the significant connection between political and society. References Armstrong, A. (2006, March 17). V's Vendetta Can't Ground Freedom. Retrieved June 14, 2012, from Colorado Freedom Report: http://www. freecolorado. com/2006/03/vendetta. html Ott, B. L. (2010). The Visceral Politics of V for Vendetta: On Political Affect in Cinema. Critical Studies in Media Communication , 39-54. Tyler, J. (2012). V for Vendetta. Retrieved June 14, 2012, from CinemaBlend. com: http://www. cinemablend. com/reviews/V-for-Vendetta-1472. html

Project submitted in partial fulfillment Essay

Declarations I declare that the material contained in this project is the end result of my own work and that due acknowledgement has been given in the bibliography and references to ALL sources be they printed, electronic or personal. Abstract The current research is an investigation of contemporary literature on product placement and validating these against the results of the survey herein used. The latter involved 100 international students who are also movie-goers. Product placement has been investigated in terms of its benefits to its benefits before moving on to its history and how it has become to what it is today. The different facets of product placement were assessed in terms of its impact on movie goers. Moreover the current study made use of a questionnaire as a means of data gathering. The respondents have been randomly selected, and made to answer a product placement questionnaire focusing on the movie Transformers. The results of the survey suggest that product placement is an effective form of advertising regardless of its form. In addition, since the movie has longer life span than other types of advertisements, this makes product placement more desireable and more effective. Just in the case of this paper, a study of the movie Transformers reveal that indeed, many of those who were surveyed has seen the movie. Perhaps they have seen it in movie theatres. But even if its already not yet showing, some were still able to see it since it is available in other forms such as DVD and VCD. Most of the respondents were still able to recall one of the main characters in the movie – Bumblebee – suggesting that it is able to increase brand recall. When most of them say they would buy the brand they recalled and only very few said they wouldn’t because they do not trust the brand, it can therefore be said that indeed, product placement is very effective. In conclusion, product placement is an effective means of encouraging recall and raises the probability of an actual purchase. List of Tables    Table 4-1:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Responses on Question: Have you seen the movie â€Å"Transformers?† Table 4- 2:   Ã‚  Ã‚   Responses on Question: If you haven’t seen Transformers, to what extent are you familiar with it? Table 4-3:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Responses on Question: What type of car is autobot bumblebee? Table 4-4:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Responses on Question: What type of car was the evil decepticon police car? Table 4-5:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Responses on Question: Suppose you have no financial restrictions (i.e., you can buy any car   you want), rate the probability of you choosing the following car? Table4- 6:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Responses on Question: Name a brand you have seen in the movies recently. Describe how it was shown. (e.g. worn by a villain, advertised on film, actually used on film, you saw the logo) Table 4-7:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Responses on Question: How vividly can you remember the details of this brand? Table 4-8:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Responses on Question: How did this brand appear in the movie? Table 4-9:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Responses on Question: Was this brand at the center of the story? Table 4-10:   Ã‚   Responses on Question: Was there audio and visuals associated with this brand? Table 4-11:   Ã‚   Responses on Question: How long was its duration on screen? Table 4-12-1: Responses on Question: Did you actually purchase the brand? Table 4-12-2: Responses on Question: What could be the possible reason for not purchasing the brand which you purchased? Table 4-13:   Ã‚   Responses on Question: Did you notice anything new product from this brand after you have watched the movie in the billboards and TV commercials? Table 4-14:   Ã‚   Do you think you would have noticed it if you hadn’t watched the movie? Table 4-15:   Ã‚   How much did you enjoy the movie? Table 4-16:   Ã‚   Do you think advertising using product placement works

Bonfire of the Vanities essays

Bonfire of the Vanities essays I recently read the book Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe. Mr. Wolfe holds a doctorate in American Studies from Yale University and is the author of many non fiction books such as The Right Stuff, In Our Time, and Clutter and Vine. Bonfire of the Vanities was his first fiction work. This book was published by Bantam Books Inc. and was I believe the theme of this book to be true to oneself and trust no one but oneself. It is show many times in this book that people will go below their morals simply for personal advancement. It is also shown that human nature allows for many changes of The main character in this book is Sherman McCoy. Sherman begins the story as a wealthy bonds salesmen living in a $3,200,000 apartment on Park Avenue. Sherman refers to himself as Master of the Universe many times throughout the story. This shows his feelings of superiority over the rest of the human race. Sherman was well brought up and from all the right schools. His father is a retired, wealthy, successful businessman that is well respected throughout the world. Shermans wife, Judy, is somewhat cool too him. She is very extravagant and gives the impression that she may be in the marriage simply for the money. Their daughter Campbell is six when the story begins and is very innocent to the ways of the world. Maria Ruskin is a young woman of about thirty who is married to Arthur Ruskin, a wealthy man of about sixty. Maria and Sherman are in the process of a drawn out affair when the story begins. This book tells about the events that occur in New York City over the course of a year. This story begins when Sherman and Maria go out on a date one evening and end up lost in the Bronx. As they are coming through a run-down neighborhood in Shermans black Mercedes, two African-American teenage boys approach the car. ...

Community Problem essays

Community Problem essays Till recently, the community I live in was primarily a residential, middle class neighborhood that enjoyed a feeling of peace and security in what was seen as a safe district. Today, that same community is increasingly worried about a growing problem of juvenile delinquency caused by the commercial and low cost residential developments in next-door areas. While the community is concerned about juvenile delinquency leading to a higher crime rate, there is also worry over negative influences impacting younger members given the inevitable intermingling of children in schools The signs of juvenile delinquency first manifested itself in the appearance of graffiti in what was earlier a green, pristinely clean neighborhood; the seemingly aimless loitering of congregations of youth (youth gangs) at street corners, in malls and parks; and stray incidents of reported burglaries. At first, the tendency was to ignore the signs of change but when the frequency of such incidents began rising, disturbing the historically safe and peaceful pattern of community life, the community collectively began to perceive that it was faced with the problem of juvenile delinquency. In fact, it would be of interest to note that though there is no official definition, the situation nevertheless meets three out of the six criteria that are commonly used to identify a community problem: frequency; duration; scope or range; disruption of personal or community life; deprivation of legal and moral rights; and problem perception Having said that, while there was enough tangible evidence to define loss of safety as a community problem, there was reason to doubt the veracity of the worry over younger community members getting negatively impacted by the juvenile delinquents in district schools and surrounding ...

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo - Book Review

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo - Book Review Summary of The Tale of Despereaux The Tale of Despereaux: Being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread by Kate DiCamillo is an odd and engaging fairy tale. The hero, Despereaux Tilling, is a mouse with large ears. The Tale of Despereaux: has a lot in common with Grimms fairy tales and makes a terrific read aloud for younger children as well as an excellent book for middle grade readers, ages 8 to 12. Kate DiCamillo was awarded the prestigious John Newbery Medal for The Tale of Despereaux.   According to the American Library Association (ALA), the Newbery Medal is awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. How Kate DiCamillo Came to Write The Tale of Despereaux Being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread, the subtitle of The Tale of Despereaux gives the reader a clue that this is not an ordinary book. It . What prompted Kate DiCamillo to write such a book? According to the author, My best friends son asked if I would write a story for him. Its about an unlikely hero, he said, with exceptionally large ears. When DiCamillo asked him, What happened to the hero, his response was, I dont know. Thats why I want you to write this story, so we can find out. The Story The result is a wildly entertaining novel with some important messages about being yourself and redemption. The characters include a very special mouse with an affinity for music, a princess named Pea, and Miggery Sow, a poorly treated, slow-witted serving girl. Since every tale needs a villain, even a sometimes sympathetic one, there is a rat named Roscuro to fill that role. This odd assortment of characters is drawn together because of their desire for something more, but it is Despereaux Tilling, the unlikely hero with large ears, who, along with the narrator, is the star of the show. As the narrator states, Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, man or mouse, who does not conform. The unnamed narrator adds wit, humor, and intelligence to the story, frequently speaking directly to the reader, asking questions, admonishing the reader, pointing out the consequences of certain actions, and sending the reader to the dictionary to look up unknown words. Indeed, her use of language is one of the gifts that Kate DiCamillo brings to the story, along with her imaginative storytelling, character development, and voice. It was interesting to me to see how Kate DiCamillo incorporated several of the central themes of her two previous books (Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tiger Rising) - parental abandonment and redemption - in The Tale of Despereaux. Parental abandonment comes in several forms in DiCamillos books: a parent leaving the family forever, a parent dying, or a parent withdrawing emotionally. Each of three main characters lacks parental support. Despereaux has always been different from his siblings; when his actions result in life-threatening punishment, his father does not defend him. Princess Peas mother died as a result of seeing a rat in her soup. As a result, her father has withdrawn and has decreed that soup may no long be served anywhere in his kingdom. Miggery Sow was sold into servitude by her father after her mother died. However, Despereauxs adventures change the lives of everyone, the adults as well as the children and the rat. These changes hinge on forgiveness and again emphasize a central theme: Every action, reader, no matter how small, has a consequence. I found this an extremely satisfying book, with lots of adventure, wit, and wisdom. My Recommendation The Tale of Despereaux was first published in 2003 by Candlewick Press in a hardcover edition, which is beautifully designed, with high-quality paper with torn edges (I am not sure what you call that, but it looks great). It is illustrated with strange and beguiling, dense pencil drawings by Timonthy Basil Ering. Each of the four books of the novel has a title page, with an intricate border by Ering. This is the first time that I have correctly predicted which book would win the Newbery Medal. I hope you and your children enjoy the book as much as I did. I highly recommend The Tale of Despereaux, both as an unusual fairy tale for 8-12 year olds to read and as a read aloud for families to share and younger children to also enjoy. With the coming of the movie version of The Tale of Despereaux in December 2008, came a number of movie tie-in books and a handsome special boxed edition of The Tale of Despereaux. In late 2015, a new paperback edition (ISBN: 9780763680893) of The Tale of Despereaux was released, with new cover art (pictured above). The book is also available as an audiobook and in several e-book formats. The Tale of Despereaux - Resources for Teachers The books publisher, Candlewick Press, has an excellent 20-page Teachers Guide you can download, with detailed activities, including questions, for each section of the book. The Multnomah County Library in Oregon has a helpful one-page The Tale of Despereaux Discussion Guide on its website.

Hezbollah and its history Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hezbollah and its history - Term Paper Example 2%2'2''y2222''22222222222222 22222222''22222222''4222V2i2s2u2a2l2 2T2o2u2r2 2 2B2u2s2i2n2e2s2s2 2L2a2w222'''222222222 22 22222222''22222222''D2223022'''222D222222 22 222222222''2222222222222 22222222''222222222''!2221. 22'''222"222222222"222222"222'''222!222222 22 22222222''222 22222''' 22h2t2t2p2:2/2/2w2w2w2.2b2u2s2i2n2e2s2s2.2g2o2v2/2g2u2i2d2e2s2/2b2u2s2i2n2e2s2s2-2l2a2w2/2 2 2P2a2r2t2 2o2f2 2t2h2e2 2P2r2e2s2i2d2e2n2t2 s2 2e2-2g2o2v2e2r2n2m2e2n2t2 2i2n2i2t2i2a2t2i2v2e2,2 2t2h2e2 2s2i2t2e2 2o2f2f2e2r2s2 2h2e2l2p2 2a2n2d2 2g2u2i2d2a2n2c2e2 2o2n2 2v2a2r2i2o2u2s2 2t2o2p2i2c2s2 2l2i2k2e2 2i2n2c2o2r2p2o2r2a2t2i2o2n2,2 2t2y2p2e2s2 2o2f2 2b2u2s2i2n2e2s2s2,2 2l2i2c2e2n2s2i2n22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222... 2222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222'2''%22 2'(222'22'22'22'22222 22222222222 222222 '2 '22222 222 222'2'''22222''22222222''X222h2t2t2p2:2/2/2w2w2w2.2b2u2s2i2n2e2s2s2.2g2o2v2/2g2u2i2d2e2s2/2b2u2s2i2n2e2s2s2-2l2a2w2/22''X222h2t2t2p2:2/2/2w2w2w2.2b2u2s2i2n2e2s2s2.2g2o2v2/2g2u2i2d2e2s2/2b2u2s2i2n2e2s2s2- ''22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222o2p2i2c2s2 2l2i2k2e2 2i2n2c2o2r2p2o2r2a2t2i2o2n2,2 2t2y2p2e2s2

Research and evaluate one or two works of twentieth-century literary Paper

And evaluate one or two works of twentieth-century literary criticism that take a psychoanalytic approach to Shakespea - Research Paper Example Perhaps some of the most intriguing insights have come as a result of the psychoanalytical school of critical investigation. Sigmund Freud himself analyzed the play advancing a number of theoretical notions on Hamlet’s subconscious and Oedipal relation to his mother. This essay considers ‘The Oedipus-Complex as An Explanation of Hamlet's Mystery:?A Study in Motive’ a famous psychoanalytic interpretation of Hamlet advanced by theorist Ernest Jones and work by Sigmund Freud in analyzing Hamlet. One of Sigmund Freud’s primary theories and a central element of psychoanalysis is the understanding that man is affected by a repressive urge towards love for their mother. Referred to as the Oedipal Complex, Freud indicates that men are then motivated by an urge to murder their father and marry their mother, except this is generally repressed. Hamlet makes a brilliant representation of this theory in action, as Hamlet’s complex relation between his mother and her new-husband, also his step-father, Claudius constitutes a significant element of the play’s narrative structure. This interpretation is not lost on Jones, who argues that in large part Hamlet’s intensity of conflict with Claudius is rooted in these psychological urges. Jones writes, â€Å"Hamlet's second guilty wish had thus also been realized by his uncle, namely to procure the fulfilment of the first -- the possession of the mother -- by a personal deed, in fact by murder of the father† (Jones). In these regards, Claudius has actually usurped and realized Hamlet’s repressed childhood desire, namely the wish to murder his father and marry his mother. It’s believed that the conflict associated with their relationship is then a direct result of this unconscious psychological urges. While Jones argues that a great degree of Hamlet’s actions are motivated by these unconscious Oedipal desires, there remains a number of questions related to t his psychoanalytic examination. One of the predominant questions one wonders is that if Hamlet is so consumed by his desire to marry Gertrude, and Claudius has usurped his ability to accomplish this repressed desire, than why does Hamlet not simply murder Claudius. It’s clear that Hamlet is willing to go to these extremes, yet throughout the play he refrains from this action. In these regards, Jones argues that Freud believes Hamlet’s unwillingness to murder Claudius is related to an unconscious unwillingness. For Jones, if Hamlet were to kill Claudius it would be killing off this unconscious childhood fantasy, and in doing so, it would be in a sense removing an aspect of himself and internal constitution. Freud himself considered this issue and wrote, Hamlet is able to do anything -- except take vengeance on the man who did away with his father and took that father's place with his mother, the man who shows him the repressed wishes of his own childhood realized. Thus the loathing which should drive him on to revenge is replaced in him by self-reproaches, by scruples of conscience, which remind him that he himself is literally no better than the sinner whom he is to punish. Here I have translated into conscious terms what was bound to remain unconscious in Hamlet's mind.... In addition to demonstrating an overriding interpretation for Hamlet’s unwillingness to murder Claudius, this passage from Freud also contributes to interpreting Hamlet’s overall motivations throughout the pla

Intro to Philosophy Karl Marx and Engel's Arguments in the communist Essay

Intro to Philosophy Karl Marx and Engel's Arguments in the communist manifesto - Essay Example As its name depicts the book was all about the political ideology of overthrowing the" bourgeois" and bringing the working classes ("the proletariat) to power. This philosophy later came to be viewed as Communism or Marxism. The book was revolutionary where the "proletariat" that is the working classes were asked to Unite based on the ideology of achieving a classless society. This book has been held to be the basis of many political ideologies which later came to form the crux of the socialist/communist revolutions perpetrated by revolutionists like Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin and other political leaders. The Book is not just a political agenda but a basis for a certain economic condition based on the "benefit of the Community" (hence the term Communism). In this way The Communist Manifesto not only discusses the relationship between the Communists' theory of history and the relationship between proletarians and bourgeoisie,(part 1),but goes on to discuss how the communists can help the working classes(proletarians) in part two.However the book has addressed what it calls the shortcomings of previous similar revolutions and why they failed to achieve what they had set out for (Part 3) and last but not the least the book gives guidance on how the Communists should interact with the other political ideologies or parties to promote their own benefit. The Com... Marx and Engel have pointed out how the Class Struggles and suppression of the Proletariat or the working class has to stop because it has crossed all boundaries. They have spoken of the "March in History" triggered by the breaking down of Class relationships due to this increased suppression and the new age of technology particularly the breakdown of feudalism. The conflict of the classes society is thus the Bulwark of the modern Industrial times which are pregnant with change due to the increased damage done by the selfish philosophy of the exploitative concept of Capitalism which denies these suppressed minorities of their rights and offers them little in terms of fair compensation. For Marx and Engel this manifest unfairness will lead to a unique revolution where the tables will turn in favour of the new rulers which will be the previously suppressed working classes. To extinguish any memory or trace of yesteryear's cruelty the concept of private ownership, the root of all evil w ill be destroyed and then nobody will be able to deem themselves superior based on their status and priority. For Marx and Engel this development is unavoidable and will happen regardless of how much the bourgeoisie tries to avoid it.The labour/working class will rise against the ruling class and this problem of inequality might need (at times a bloody) revolution rather than a mere set of slow reforms as the bourgeoisie will always be making excuses to divest the working classes of their rights and compensation aswell as their dignity.As they note in Part one "Bourgeois and Proletarians," The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.

Company Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Company Law - Essay Example The tax system also favours debt financing. The share capital and its cost is difficult to determine as there is no schedule that determines the amount that is paid to the shareholders. Furthermore, the tax system does not favour share capital. If a share capital is raised, the person who acquires such shares and becomes member of the company and in accordance with his class is granted certain rights. Thus it can be safely said that there would be a degree of influence which he can exercise over the running of the company. This is so even if the person is a minority shareholder. As far as a lender is concerned, he is generally not entitled to interfere in the running of the company and so as long as the company is complying with the terms of the debenture no action can be taken by the lender so as to influence the policy of the company. In respect of a dividend for the shares, it needs to be paid only if there is a profit and that too is discretionary that is the directors decide upo n whether it should be paid or not. Contrary to shares, the interest on debt finance must be paid in accordance with what had been agreement upon and is in no way dependent upon the profits of the company. Thus even if there are no profits, the capital has to be used so as to pay the interest failure of which would entitle the lender to appoint an administrator or receiver, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreement. As far as dividend is concerned, it is not a deductible expense because of the fact that is a distribution of profit and a corporation tax has been deducted from it. However, in respect of the interest for the land and because of the fact that such has been taken as a trading expense and is taken into consideration for computing trading profit, tax is deductible. In respect of share capital a company normally does not have to repay its members the capital which was invested in the company, when company is wound up. Thus the directors do not have to con sider this point. However, for loan capital, there is a date in future on which the loan has to be repaid, which can also be on demand, thus the directors have to consider this and ensure the availability of funds whenever the loan falls due. Thus debt financing may increase earnings per share but there might be a reduction in share price. Thus if investors find that too much has been borrowed then they might sell shares resulting in the company to have greater liabilities than its assets. Thus the directors have to take this into account and to maintain the gearing ratios and to raise share capital and debt finance accordingly. Thus the directors of Green Books Plc would benefit from the advantages listed above and suffer from the disadvantages as well. (ii) In respect of charges, most of them need to be registered with the Companies Registry (CA 2006, s 860) and would be void against liquidator, administrator or creditor who has an interest in the secured assets if not registered (s.874). However, it is important to mention that the contract that is existent between the lender and the company would still be held valid. As for fixed charges over land they must be registered in HM Land Registry. As far as securities are concerned the most attractive ones are buildings etc. A number of fixed charges can be created

Henri Lefebvre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Henri Lefebvre - Essay Example These critiques of the city were the basis for Lefebvre's investigation of the cultural construction of stereotypical notions of cities, of nature and of regions" (Shields, 2002). Within his writings, Lefebvre brought attention to the tendency of academia to place too much emphasis upon the classification of studies as being psychology, sociology, archaeology or geography among others, that all had as their end goal a study and understanding of space and other human geography issues. In analysing city life, Lefebvre argued 'everydayness' or banality is a soul-destroying feature of modernity and extended Marx's analysis of this concept by discovering new forms of alienation within the city. According to this view, consumption is part of the result of a failure to recognize this alienated state on the part of the modern consumer, which Lefebvre called the 'mystification' of consciousness (Shields, 2002). This early work influenced Walter Benjamin's Marxist analysis of culture as well as reflecting Le Bon's work on crowds and the furtherance of psycho-geography. In discussing space, Lefebvre delineated three key components of the urban lifestyle. These components include the perceived space of everyday social life that was predominantly ignored by professional life, the conceived space of cartographers and planners who work to segregate portions of land out to particular private owners within the capitalistic society, and lived space which exists in the imagination of the fully human individual who keeps it alive through accessibility to the arts and humanities. "This 'third' space not only transcends but has the power to refigure the balance of popular 'perceived space' and the 'conceived space' of arrogant professionals and greedy capitalists" (Shields, 2002). This conceptual space, as opposed to material space, is considered by Lefebvre to be of much greater significance to the shaping of the individual as is shown in the comment: "space as directly lived through its associated images and symbols, and hence the space of 'inhabitants' and 'users'... This is the dominated...space which the imagination seeks to change and appropriate. In terms of organized society, Lefebvre indicated this conscious awareness of these representational spaces as illuminated through art and the humanities was the only way in which Utopia could be reached. Within the French society of the interwar period, Lefebvre pointed to the dystopian malaise of his fellow countrymen as they struggled through periods of famine and industrial transition as well as the later society in which the urban landscape changed the rural nature of his homeland to develop his rhythm analysis. Through this analysis of the 'everyday' life of the city, Lefebvre indicates that the increases in speed seen through our advances in technology have quickened the tempo of the 'everyday', making it harder to keep up with both the changing rhythms of the city as well as the changing dynamics of the individual within that city. This model of modern concrete spaces and their interrelationship with the conceptual interior spaces that have been defined within the modern context have helped human geographers to further

Public Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Public Relations - Essay Example Next, the media channels have to be meaningful. 3rd, the media channels have to be memorable. 4th, the media channels have to be understandable. 5th, the media channels have to be believable (164). The components of how audiences receive the messages and process them are very recognizable. First, the audiences receive the messages in various forms. Next, the basic data is transmitted to the audiences in its original state or form. 3rd, the message is often filtered by journalists, editors, bloggers, and other persons; the message remains intact when received by the intended person. 4th, the audience retains the incoming messages and validates them to be either valid. 5th, the audience believes, accepts, and implements the message received. 5th, majority of the audiences change their behavior in response to the incoming messages (165). Based on Figure 7.1 on page 166, there are five public relations perspective variables in Chapter 7 that refers to communication or transmittal of the plan in paragraph form; the same variables are essential to the professionals in communication. First, the communicator must focus on community relations. Next, the communicator should focus on media relationship. 3rd, the communicator should focus on consultant relations. 4th the communicator should focus on investor communications tor communication. Lastly, all persons must equally give enough time on employee and management communication. The topic is very important because complying with the tenets of the media story gatherers (166). Based on the above discussion, each person has his or her own interpretations when an incoming message is received. Media display can make or break a person. The components are necessary parts that will increase clarity of the media message. The characteristics are important in terms of ensuring the original message is received in its unadulterated period. The public relations perspective variables

Henri Lefebvre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Henri Lefebvre - Essay Example These critiques of the city were the basis for Lefebvre's investigation of the cultural construction of stereotypical notions of cities, of nature and of regions" (Shields, 2002). Within his writings, Lefebvre brought attention to the tendency of academia to place too much emphasis upon the classification of studies as being psychology, sociology, archaeology or geography among others, that all had as their end goal a study and understanding of space and other human geography issues. In analysing city life, Lefebvre argued 'everydayness' or banality is a soul-destroying feature of modernity and extended Marx's analysis of this concept by discovering new forms of alienation within the city. According to this view, consumption is part of the result of a failure to recognize this alienated state on the part of the modern consumer, which Lefebvre called the 'mystification' of consciousness (Shields, 2002). This early work influenced Walter Benjamin's Marxist analysis of culture as well as reflecting Le Bon's work on crowds and the furtherance of psycho-geography. In discussing space, Lefebvre delineated three key components of the urban lifestyle. These components include the perceived space of everyday social life that was predominantly ignored by professional life, the conceived space of cartographers and planners who work to segregate portions of land out to particular private owners within the capitalistic society, and lived space which exists in the imagination of the fully human individual who keeps it alive through accessibility to the arts and humanities. "This 'third' space not only transcends but has the power to refigure the balance of popular 'perceived space' and the 'conceived space' of arrogant professionals and greedy capitalists" (Shields, 2002). This conceptual space, as opposed to material space, is considered by Lefebvre to be of much greater significance to the shaping of the individual as is shown in the comment: "space as directly lived through its associated images and symbols, and hence the space of 'inhabitants' and 'users'... This is the dominated...space which the imagination seeks to change and appropriate. In terms of organized society, Lefebvre indicated this conscious awareness of these representational spaces as illuminated through art and the humanities was the only way in which Utopia could be reached. Within the French society of the interwar period, Lefebvre pointed to the dystopian malaise of his fellow countrymen as they struggled through periods of famine and industrial transition as well as the later society in which the urban landscape changed the rural nature of his homeland to develop his rhythm analysis. Through this analysis of the 'everyday' life of the city, Lefebvre indicates that the increases in speed seen through our advances in technology have quickened the tempo of the 'everyday', making it harder to keep up with both the changing rhythms of the city as well as the changing dynamics of the individual within that city. This model of modern concrete spaces and their interrelationship with the conceptual interior spaces that have been defined within the modern context have helped human geographers to further

Method of Data Analysis Essay Example for Free

Method of Data Analysis Essay The researcher made use of SPSS version 15. 0 to be able to compute for the statistics required. For the degree of importance and actual performance of Body Shop, the descriptive statistics of means, standard deviations, and frequency distributions were generated. The Pearson product moment correlation coeffiecients were likewise computed; the bigger is the magnitude of the r-value, the stronger is the relationship between two variables. The sign denotes the direction of the relationship – that is, whether they are directly or inversely proportional (Salkind 2000). 3. 1 Conclusion. The present study purposively selected 150 respondents for its telephone interviews. Secondary data were the basis for the literature review and the design of the questionnaire. The latter was both face and content validated. 5 respondents were used to pilot test the instrument to ensure clarity of questions. SPSS 15. 0 was used for the statistical computations. ? Chapter 4 Results and Discussion 4. 1 Introduction This chapter presents the statistical results gathered from the survey questionnaires, and a substantive discussion of these results, culling from the literature in Chapter 2. 4. 2 Results Table 2. Gender: Frequency and Percentage Breakdown. The table shows that all of the respondents were female, accounting for 100% of the sample. Table 3. Age: Frequency and Percentage Breakdown. When asked about their age, majority of the respondets (42. 7%) answered that they were between 21-25 years old. This is followed by the 26-30 years old category (36. 0%); 31-35 years old at 10. 7%; then by 20 years old and 35-40 years old both at 5. 3% Table 4. Have You Purchased a Body Shop Product in the Past 12 Months? All of the respondents likewise expressed that they have purchased at least one Body Shop product over the past 12 months. Table 5. Means and Standard Deviations: Importance of Factors which Affect Cosmetic Product Choice. When asked to rate the importance of the factors that affect their choice of cosmetic products, the items were rated as follows, in descending order: the degree to which the product is environment-friendly (X= 4. 52, sd=. 59); the customer service of the store personnel (X=4. 32, sd=. 65); the sales promotions used for the product (X=4. 31, sd=.65); the values espoused by the company who sells the product (X=4. 16, sd=. 67); Having a globally renowned brand name (X= 4. 16, sd=. 59); trendiness or fashion sense represented by the product (X= 4. 11, sd=. 64); recommendations or positive feedback I garner from my friends, family and acquaintances (X=4. 05, sd=. 68); competitive price of the product (X= 4. 05, sd=. 61); the degree to which the product espouses â€Å"natural† rather than artificial (X=4. 00, sd=. 66); quality of the products (X=3. 88, sd=. 71); the convenience of going to the store location (X=3. 84, sd=.59); the variety of product offerings in the store (X= 3. 59, sd=. 59); Attractiveness of the packaging (X=3. 21, sd=. 52); information on the product’s label (X=3. 17, sd=. 80); and media advertisements of the product (X=2. 73, sd=. 86). Table 6. Means and Standard Deviations: Actual Performance of Factors which Affect Cosmetic Product Choice. On the other hand, when the respondents were asked to rate the actual performance of Body Shop through the same factors, the following are the results in descending order: the degree to which the product is environment-friendly (X=4.57, sd=. 49); The customer service of the store personnel (X=4. 48, sd=. 60); the degree to which the product espouses â€Å"natural† rather than artificial (X=4. 37, sd=. 58); the values espoused by the company who sells the product (X=4. 37, sd=. 67); having a globally renowned brand name (X=4. 20, sd=. 69); quality of the products (X=4. 14, sd=. 74); recommendations or positive feedback I garner from my friends, family and acquaintances (X=4. 11, sd=. 78); the sales promotions used for the product (X=4. 05, sd=. 75); the convenience of going to the store location (X=3. 94, sd=.60); Trendiness or fashion sense represented by the product (X=3. 90, sd=. 72); the variety of product offerings in the store (X=3. 79, sd=. 52); competitive price of the product (X=3. 63, sd=. 70); attractiveness of the packaging (X=3. 58, sd=. 49); information on the product’s label (X=3. 36, sd=. 66); and media advertisements of the product (X=2. 73, sd=. 85). Table 7. 1 Paired Means and Standard Deviations of Factors. Table 7. 2. T-test Results of Pairwise Comparisons of Importance and Actual Performance. The following pairwise comparisons are significant at the . 01 level: Quality of the products (t=-5. 92, p=. 00), the customer service of the store personnel (t=-3. 85, p=. 00); the variety of product offerings in the store (t=-6. 23, p=. 00); the convenience of going to the store location (t=-4. 07, p=. 00); attractiveness of the packaging (t=-7. 69, p=. 00); the degree to which the product espouses â€Å"natural† rather than artificial (t=-6. 12, p=. 00); the values espoused by the company who sells the product (X=4. 37, sd=. 00). In all these items, Body Shop has exceeded the degree of importance attached by the respondent on the factor. In contrast, the following factors are those in which Body Shop did not quite meet client expectations based on the degree of importance they have assigned to each: competitive price of the product (t=8. 66, p=. 00); trendiness or fashion sense represented by the product (t=3. 73, p=. 00); and the sales promotions used for the product (t=3. 98, p=. 00). There are no significant differences on the following items: brand (t=-. 816, p=. 416); the degree to which the product is environment friendly (1. 465, p=. 145); and positive feedback garnered from significant others (t=-1.070, p=. 287). These suggest that Body Shop has met expectations of the respondents based on the degree of importance they have attached to each factor. Table 8. Correlations among Patronage of Environmental Friendly Products, Social Responsibility of a Company, Patronage of Products and Companies that Care for the Environment, and Overall Satisfaction on Body Shop. The correlation results show that patronage of Body Shop products because of their being environment friendly is significantly correlated with their being a socially responsible company (r=. 397, p=.00). This means that patronage of Body Shop products increases as well with positive perceptions of their company as being socially responsible. Moreover, such patronage is also positively and significantly correlated with their expressed support for companies that espouse care for the environment (r=. 533, p=. 00). None of the statements were significantly related to overall satisfaction of Body Shop products, which suggests that there are other determinants of satisfaction apart from espousing environment friendliness and corporate social responsibility.

Advantages Of Digital Technology

Advantages Of Digital Technology Development of information systems and technology has evolved a number of changes in current trends and patterns of technology. Development of technology has evolved with development of digital technologies and smart phones in current market scenario. The following project is a study of digital technology as a new innovation in the information technology sector. The above part is well explained with the help of various examples defining the above statement as there is tremendous growth in development of various smart phones. The analysis has been drawn after researching from various books, websites and scholarly articles and critical analysis is being provided for the same. Digital Technologies: Over-view (Source:   [1]  www.hypersounds.es) Digital describes electronic technology that generates, stores, and processes data in terms of two states: positive and non-positive. Positive is expressed or represented by the number 1 and non-positive by the number 0. Thus, data transmitted or stored with digital technology is expressed as a string of 0s and 1s. Each of these state digits is referred to as a bit (and a string of bits that a computer can address individually as a group is a byte). (www.searchcio  [2]  midmarket.techtarget.com) ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY We will understand some of the advantages of the digital technology in brief which will help to understand the concept in clear. Quality Advantage: The storage of digital as well visual information remains constant with the digital quality. Whereas the analog gets corrupted or duplicated if the signal is lost. Even in terms of digital quality it does not suffer from problems like analog signals or transmission of data. Editing Advantage: Non-linear editing allow taking piece of digital information along with re-arranging them at without any loss of quality. Splice of tape is moreover difficult and damages the original data. It also helps to combine the multiple sources of data into a single source. Portable: Digital technologies provide portability to the devices of any kind of nature. It gives the device high amount of portability and flexibility to the device. Storage and portability of data is very easy and not complex in nature. This is the most important feature of portable devices. (Laudon Laudon, 2007) Literature Review Digital technologies are basically put into use with a variety of physical form of communication like satellites or fiber optic transmission devices. According to Laudon and Laudon (2007) digital signals transfers the information in the form of wave with the help of satellites which has helped todays communication to survive and grow fast. On the basis of various studies made from different sources smart phones will make more competitive advantage through introducing different digital technological with technological advancement. Digital information is transformed with the help of a modem in the computer to analog signals and then analog phone signals are converted into digital information of a computer device or any other device. Even the technological advancement, engineering, re-construction and technological transfer have made smart phones the renowned innovation in this earth. SMART PHONES: A DEVICE OF UNLIMITED EXPECTATIONS (www.editorsweblog.org  [3]  ) The term Smartphone is sometimes used to characterize a wireless telephone set with special computer-enabled features not previously associated with telephones (www.searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com  [4]  ) The smart phones are a result of constant development of digital technology in todays market. There are number of companies which make use of digital technology and have come up with a variety of smart phones. The leading companies are Apple Industries, Research in Motion, Nokia, HTC and many more. All these companies have come up with the best possible smart phones which have an unbelievable features and advantages. Smart phones are usually possess a number of features like Wireless Internet Services, Personal Information Management, Online Banking facility, Personal Organizer, Digital Camera with Photoshop and much more. ADVANTAGES OF SMARTPHONES: The smart phones are already built in with smart applications as well as loaded with immense features which help to make the smart phones different from other devices. Keeps Organized: Smartphones are loaded with applications like personal organizer along with various applications for reminders, calendars as well as task-to-do list and much more which makes an individual organized with information on finger tips Makes Work Easy:- It is to notice that with the help of smart phone, any person can make notes, review their various files and contact on the phone itself making the work more easy and simple. Availability of Information:- Smart phones are the devices which can provide almost any kind of information and services at any point of time. Information regarding maps and weather report or current news of the market and much more can be easily accessible through a smart phone. Always in-touch: These days most of the smart phones are being built specially to support social networking sites applications like facebook, twitter, and g-talk messenger. A person can stay in touch with all their people at all the time without any problem. Even it includes business man as these kinds of features are much required in their day-to-day working. (Chaffey, 2009) Information Sharing: With the use of smart phones more data can be sent and received with the help of email with big attachments can be shared instantly with the help of these smart phones. These features are being analyzed by businessmen as they need such applications in their phones for their daily work. Faster Communication:-Smart phones are the carrier of faster communication. They are built in to support web services which make communication the best. Phones like iphones and Blackberry have this facility where the web services is like a carrier and it is always in use which makes the phone different from other devices. Functionality: Many models offer built-in digital cameras with immediate snap and send functionality, so remote workers or offsite staff can instantly photograph and send images or videos of anything from suppliers goods to site inspections or damaged warehouse machinery. (  [5]  Source: www.is4profit.com) A REAL DEBATE ON SMART PHONES TO BE THE NEXT GENERATION DEVICE According to the various markets survey and current trends prove that the smart phones are presently the best possible digital device available in the market. Understanding the current scenario is quite clear that even presently smart phones are the best available digital device. But certainly some changes and development has to be made. Smart phones are the devices which are useful to different kinds of people irrespective of the profession or position. It makes work easy with faster means of communication in all purposes. According to the current marker share Overall, smart phone vendors shipped 54.7 million units in the first quarter, up 56.7 percent from a year ago. Smartphones accounted for 18.8 percent of all mobile phones in the first quarter, up from 14.4 percent in 2009. (Source www.zdnet.com  [6]  ) This proves by itself that there is a very high amount of competition between companies manufacturing smart phones as in the time to come smart phones would be the most important available device to use for an individual. Part B E-Commerce (Source: www.makemoneyideas.in)  [7]   As per (Fox, 2009) e-commerce simply means that an individual or a group of people are conducting their business with the help of electronic medium. This method of doing business is getting very much popular nowadays and that is because of the increasing importance of internet and also customer are getting net savvy or to be more precise, this is the new way of doing any business to get more appeal and customers are getting something new to experience. This is the way due to which, they can get more information regarding the products by sitting at their home, and also at the same time they might have their stores at the high streets but for something more to offer to the final consumers they might be doing their business online. The other example of E Commerce is eBay and Amazon. This is the organizations, which do their business completely online and they do not have their stores running on the high streets. (Fitzsimmons, 2007) Types of Ecommerce: Business-to-consumer: This is the type of business where they interact directly with the consumers. The best example is Dixons. Business-to-business: This is the type of business where they need to interact and trade with other businesses. For examples, Tesco by using information communication technology manage its all aspects of supply chain such as to supports patterns of repeat orders, delivery and payments between the company and its major suppliers. Consumer-to-consumer: This type of ecommerce occurs between individuals which involves forms of cash commerce normally for low cost goods or services. The classic example of C2C ecommerce is Ebay. Mobile commerce: Mobile commerce is the ability to conduct or operate the commerce using a mobile device such as smartphones personal digital assistant and other emerging mobile devices. Mobile commerce represents small fraction of total e-commerce transactions. Web 2.0 Technologies: (Source: www.xtreamtechnologies.com)  [8]   Web 2.0 is mainly linked with the application related to the web that would actually facilitate sharing of information, design that is user centre in nature and also include partnership with World Wide Web. It includes RSS feeds, social bookmarking, weblogs, folksonomies and wikis. Literature Review As per Fox (2009) it can be described as the new tools in the internet that actually creates the idea that all of the people would use the internet media and also at the same time would use the web should not just use it as and when it is required by them but instead they need to contribute actively that would actually help to customize technology and media to fulfill their needs and also for their society. It is said that new technology is being developed which is very useful for the existing and new business to flourish. It mostly promises to help and prove to be very much productive to those firm that are not focused on the profits but instead they help to improve the standard of living. Importance of e-commerce and web 2.0 technologies for online business: It is quite common that internet is the thing that drives business in its true sense. Also apart from this, there are many other things that would help the organization to stay competitive in the market and so there is more and more need for better use of the internet so that they are able to achieve their organizational goals and objectives within a short span of time and to make it fundamentally strong. Web 2.0 is the element that would add or is referred as the trend is the very much developing in todays business world. It mainly facilitates and increases their creativity, sharing of their information, and also at the same time, it is easy form tem for effectively communicating. If the business can use it successfully, it can prove to be very much productive for the organization. (Mc Leod, 2007) Role of e-commerce web 2.0 technologies: Case study of eBay The most important feature of ecommerce is its utility in whole global market scenario. Because of its online facility consumers or manufacturers need not face any major trade barriers. The other main part of the business is they can do the trading all round the clock and without any sort of disturbance to both the parties. The other thing that they need to do is, eBay has actually taken full advantage of the ecommerce and they had come about with the new products with detailed overview and presentation in the right format so that, so that more sales can be done in a short span of time. Apart from this, eBay was able to cater to any market in any geographical location due to better use of the internet as and when it is required by the business. There was also a low amount operational cost involved. There was also no special need for physical company that needs to set up by every customer. (Spencer, 2006) Customers were getting chance that they can select any given product at any given point of time. They were able to cater to local market specially. EBay started with the business that was easy to start with and also at the same time, was easy to manage. Role of e-commerce web 2.0 technologies: Case study of Amazon Amazon is also one of the biggest online business organization which focuses is selling the product online or with the help of ecommerce. Ecommerce is the only way by which they have been successful in the current market place and they have developed their business at a huge space after a dotcom bubble. Amazon also uses web 2.0 technologies to serve their customer in a much better way. As per (Nilson, 2010) it is the way by which, they have been able to attract number of consumers and also to market their products in a smarter way. With the help of web 2.0 technologies it was possible for them to use the video to show the demo of their product. This is very much useful when the customers are from different place and would like to see how the product looks like and how does it actually work. So this was possible only with the help of the web technology. Tagging is also one of the ways which Amazon is very much successful in using it due to which the customers are able to find the product in a quick manner and without writing any sort of major descriptions. It would also make it possible that a customer can actually compare between two different products. This would give them an additional service and also at the same time, clients can make use of the best alternative product. Amazon was successful after implementing the technology. (Fitzsimmons, 2007) CONCLUSION As it is the world of digital technology and e-commerce, digital signals help for the transmission of information as per needed and required. The rapid technological advancement, transfer, changes and specification has made the world a unit home. The latest development in terms of technology or development of smart phones will make it easier to do quality activities with high security, obligation, co-relation, justice. Radical changes have been noticed after the implementation of such technologies, as is the case in success of eBay and Amazon making it possible to instantly buy or sell online and boost the business. The possibility of better performance and business by organisations like eBay and Amazon due to development of web 2.0 technologies and e-commerce is sure to widen and achieve more competitive advantage in coming days. Similarly, as already proven by current trends smart phones will achieve wider sophisticated market in the world of business competition. Overall technological innovation like web 2.0 and smarts phones are sure to extend far beyond in the ever increasing world of tough completion. References: Christopher M. Spencer, (2006), The eBay entrepreneur, published by Kaplan Publishing, USA. Chaffey, D. (2009), E-business and E-commerce Management: Strategy, Implementation and Practice, (4th Edition) Harlow/FT Prentice Hall. Fitzsimmons, J.A Fitzsimmons, M.J. (2007), Service Management: Operations Strategy, Information Technology, (6th Edition) Singapore, McGraw Hill International Edition. Kevin Nilson, (2010), Web 2.0 Fundamentals for Developers, (1st Edition), Published by Jones and Barlett, Sudbury, UK. Laudon, K and Laudon, J (2007). Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, (10th Edition) Pearson Education Mc Leod, R. (2007) Management Information Systems, (10th Edition), Prentice Hall Publishing. Scott C. Fox, (2009), E-riches 2.0 next generation marketing strategies for making millions online, Published by Amacom Books, New York. http://makemoneyideas.in/Ecommerce.php, [Assessed on 04 December 2010] http://xtreamtechnologies.com/Web_Development.html, [Assessed on 05 December 2010] http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid183_gci211948,00.html [Assessed on 01 December 2010] http://www.hypersounds.es/index_en.html [Assessed on 01 December 2010] http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/smartphone [Assessed on 02 December 2010] http://www.is4profit.com/business-advice/it-telecoms/smartphones/the-benefits-of-smartphones.html [Assessed on 01 December 2010] http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/apple-iphone-smartphone-market-share-surges-rim-slips/34181 [Assessed on 3 December 2010] http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2010/02/smartphone_sales_soar_in_2009.php [Assessed on 3 December 2010]

Government Surveillance vs Personal Privacy Essay -- Costs of NSA Surv

Today, individuals are sacrificing privacy in order to feel safe. These sacrifices have made a significant impact on the current meaning of privacy, but may have greater consequences in the future. According to Debbie Kasper in her journal, â€Å"The Evolution (Or Devolution) of Privacy,† privacy is a struggling dilemma in America. Kasper asks, â€Å"If it is gone, when did it disappear, and why?†(Kasper 69). Our past generation has experienced the baby boom, and the world today is witnessing a technological boom. Technology is growing at an exponential rate, thus making information easier to access and share than ever before. The rapid diminishing of privacy is leaving Americans desperate for change. Privacy allows an individual the power of seclusion in order to shut anything in particular out. In today’s society the term privacy has generated several different interpretations. Thus creating a large grey area as well as numerous debates as to whether or not privacy has been violated. According to Kasper, â€Å"If privacy is to be understood, it must be examined from the inside, that is, from the standpoint of the experience of its invasion† (Kasper 75). Privacy is a very broad term today due to many fairly new meanings. In order to truly understand the real meaning of privacy it must be examined at a deeper depth; That is, to understand the victim of the invasion and the consequences in which he or she has suffered. This grey area of privacy has expanded even further as of result of the technological era that is currently growing larger. Privacy was previously only understood dealing with humans’ body and physical interactions. Not too long ago social networking and the Internet did not exist making it extremely difficult for indi... ...xford: Oxford University Press, Inc. 2011. Print. Kasper, Debbie. â€Å"The Evolution (Or Devolution) of Privacy.† Springer Vol. 20, No. 1 (2005): 69-92. Web. 22 Sept. 2015. Kaufman, Brett. â€Å"ACLU Files Lawsuit Challenging NSA’s Patriot Act Phone Surveillance.† ACLU.org. ACLU, 11 June. 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2015. â€Å"The Government Is Spying on Us Through Our Computers, Phones, Cars, Buses, Streetlights, At Airports And On The Street, Via Mobile Scanners And Drones, Through Our Smart Meters, And In Many Other Ways.† WashingtonsBlog.com. Word Press, 23 Sept. 2013. Web. 30 Sept. 2015. Whitehead, John and Steven Aden. â€Å"Forfeiting â€Å"Enduring Freedom† for â€Å"Homeland Security†: A Constitutional Analysis of the USA Patriot Act and the Justice Department’s Anti-Terrorism Initiatives.† American University Law Review Vol. 51, No. 6 (June 2002): 1081-1133. Web. 2 Oct. 2015.

Art Formal Analysis Essay -- essays papers

Art Formal Analysis Examining the formal qualities of Homer Watson’s painting Horse and Rider In A Landscape was quite interesting. I chose to analyze this piece as apposed to the others because it was the piece I liked the least, therefore making me analyze it more closely and discover other aspects of the work, besides aesthetics. The texture of the canvas works very well with the subject matter portrayed in the painting. The grassy hill side and the leaves of the trees are especially complimented by the canvas. It makes the leaves feel like they are slightly moving, this combined with the lack of detail itself the leaves. This is contrasted nicely with the very detailed renderings of the trunks and branches of the trees, the conscious decision to put so much effort into the tree itself and then to use obvious brushwork in the leaves makes the trees much more firm and immovable in the landscape. The brushstrokes are very clean and precise on the trees in the background. There is a lot of repetition of the vertical lines of the forest in the background of the painting, these vertical lines draw the eye up into the clouds and the sky. These repeated vertical lines contrast harshly with a horizontal line that divides the canvas almost exactly in half. The background, upper portion of the canvas, is quite static and flat, whereas the foreground and middle ground of the painting have quite a lot of depth. This static effect is made up for in the immaculate amount of d...

Whirlpool: Maintaining a Sustainable Competition in the Industry

The U.S. appliance market was completely saturated in 1986. Increased pressure from other companies like GE who implemented a $1 billion restructuring project on its appliance division, and Electrolux, a company that just inherited WCI and hence became a huge presence within the U.S., gave the Whirlpool top management concern on how to stay competitive. Whirlpool knew that the three main markets for home appliance were in the U.S., Europe and Japan. The U.S. market, as previously stated was saturated. Most U.S. appliance purchases were replacement purchases, which did not allow for much add-ons. This made the U.S. a battleground for intense marketing and increased pressures to cut costs dramatically. The unsaturated European market had more potential in 1986. Europe had a large market share in 1986 that analysts suspected would last well into 1993. Europe also had more potential for innovation and add-ons as opposed to simply replacement appliances like those of the United States. One concern over Europe, however, was that it was extremely fragmented and hence not easy to achieve economies of scale. Japan, the last player was also a site for potential growth. It was a smaller market than Europe, however, and there was already a strong presence of Japanese appliance manufacturers there. Whirlpool considered pursuing a joint venture with Phillips, an internationally established company. Phillips has an established appliance department, but Phillips wanted to concentrate its efforts on other projects like welding, energy cable and furniture. Phillips was willing to spin-off its appliance division and to give Whirlpool a certain percentage of the new company. Based on the fact that Whirlpool wants to remain a competitive player in the appliance industry, it should pursue international expansion and clench the first mover advantage over GE while increasing pressure on Electrolux. Whirlpool should go along with the Phillips joint venture due to Phillip†s strong international presence and its strong appliance division. Whirlpool should consider concentrating on expansion in Europe. The countries may be fragmented, but there is evidence that there is increased future collaboration amongst the countries and their purchasing decisions. Furthermore, Whirlpool can cut costs by vertically integrating its components and changing only the exterior of the appliances if need be.

Discuss symbolism and its effectiveness in the Iliad Essay

Symbolism plays a crucial role in The Iliad. Take for instance when Achilles already knows why Apollo is angry, but decides the fact should be stated by someone other than himself. He knows that Agamemnon will become angry once the truth is revealed. I believe that in this instance he is trying to keep his rage in check by avoiding a direct confrontation with Agamemnon so although the symbolism of anger is present it is kept under wraps. Calchas also fears for his life because he also knows Agamemnon’s fury is unyielding at times. However, with a great deal of encouragement from Achilles, Calchas â€Å"spoke out, bravely: ‘Beware-The god’s enraged because Agamemnon spurned his priest'† (106). When the truth is exposed, Agamemnon becomes extremely angry and he and Achilles argue. The argument becomes so heated that Achilles is tempted to kill Agamemnon. Achilles questions himself, â€Å"Should he draw the long sharp sword slung at his hip, thrust through the ranks and kill Agamemnon now†Ã¢â‚¬â€œor check his rage and beat his fury down†Ã¢â‚¬  (108). Here, Hera has Athena intervene to keep Achilles from killing Agamemnon, which shows how the gods control Achilles’ destiny. The argument between Achilles and Agamemnon clearly shows that the two men have different opinions about the power of the gods, what is holy or unholy, and what is proper treatment of other men. These differences are one source of Achilles’ rages likewise the issues pertaining to power and gods are being symbolised. Achilles is also angry at having to fight another man’s battle. The Trojan War is being fought because Paris stole Helen, Agamemnon’s sister-in-law. In his argument with Agamemnon, Achilles points out â€Å"It wasn’t Trojan spearmen who brought me here to fight. The Trojans never did me damage, not in the least† (107). Achilles’ rage heightens in the argument and he declares â€Å"No, you colossal, shameless–we all followed you, to please you, to fight for you, to win your honor back from the Trojans—Menelaus and you, you dog-face! † (108). Achilles is also angry because even though he and many other soldiers are there risking their lives for Agamemnon and Menelaus, Agamemnon is sly enough to avoid personal injury. Achilles says to Agamemnon, â€Å"Never once did you arm with the troops and go to battle or risk an ambush packed with Achaea’s picked men–you lack the courage, you can see death coming† (109). The Trojan War is being fought for personal reasons. Achilles’ rage at this point stems from the injustice that he is risking his life for someone else’s cause and also for the fact that Agamemnon is a coward. The argument between Achilles and Agamemnon has deep-seeded roots of jealousy, another and symbol emotion that stirs anger. Agamemnon knows that Achilles has the respect of the soldiers and the gods; therefore, Agamemnon is always striving to prove his superiority and powerfulness to Achilles. Agamemnon agrees to give Chryseis back to the priest, but then takes Brisies from Achilles. Achilles allows Agamemnon’s men to take Brisies without a fight in order to maintain the respect of the gods; however, after Brisies is taken, Achilles becomes so enraged and heartbroken that he reaffirms his declaration not to fight anymore. Achilles declares that Agamemnon is to blame for the doom of the Achaean army â€Å"if the day should come when the armies need me to save their ranks from ignominious, stark defeat† (112). Jealousy, then, can be viewed as another source of Achilles’ rage. The issues being symbolised here are emotional and touching. Achilles is heartbroken and calls on his mother, the goddess Thetis. She is sorrowful when she hears Achilles’ prayers and weeping. Achilles knows that he is going live a short life and now feels that his life has no honor. He feels that the gods have forsaken him by allowing Agamemnon to humiliate him. Achilles wants his mother to collect on an old debt from Zeus. Thetis is saddened by Achilles’ heartbreak and confirms his destiny, â€Å"‘Doomed to a short life, you have so little time. And not only short, now, but filled with heartbreak too'† (114). She leaves Achilles to go ask Zeus to let the Trojan army win as long as Achilles is not fighting. Achilles is â€Å"left alone, his heart inflamed for the sashed and lovely girl they’d wrenched from him against his will† (115). Achilles’ lost love and broken heart are another source of his rage. The effect is symbolism is tangible. Rage is being symbolised through love and the impact leads to a broken heart. Achilles’ heart remains rigid against Agamemnon even when three of his dearest friends come and ask him to fight again. Phoenix, Ajax, and Odysseus plead with Achilles to join the battle again, but he refuses. The three make the argument that even if Achilles is angry with Agamemnon, he should still come back to the fighting to help his friends whose lives will be lost if he does not. Achilles’ dearest friend, Patroclus, decides to take Achilles’ armor and join the fighting. Patroclus is wounded in battle and then is killed when â€Å"Hector waiting, watching the great-hearted Patroclus trying to stagger free, came rushing into him right across the lines and rammed his spearshaft home. † (159). It is Patroclus’ death that brings Achilles back to the war. Now his rage is aroused by his desire to obtain revenge against the Trojan army and, more specifically, Hector. Achilles’ armor is lost because Hector and the Trojans take it from Patroclus’ dead body. This action inspires Achilles to seek Thetis’ help again. She has Hephaestus make new armor for Achilles. The new armor is magnificent. It is â€Å"a great and massive shield, blazoning well-wrought emblems all across its surface† (173). Thetis and other gods encourage Achilles to fight now. Apollo taunts Achilles while Hector holds fast outside the city gates. It is King Priam who first sees Achilles coming and is filled with fear for Hector. Achilles appears â€Å"blazing like the star that rears at harvest, flaming up in its brilliance far outshining the countless stars in the night sky (177). Hector is filled with fear as Achilles approaches the city. Achilles then chases Hector around the city three times. It is divine intervention by Athena that causes Hector to finally stop and face Achilles. Zeus decides who will die in the fight as he â€Å"held out his sacred golden scales: in them he placed two fates of death that lays men low† (181). The scales are tipped in Achilles’ favor and Hector looses his life. It is very clear that the gods control Achilles’ destiny and influence the factors that create his rage. Why is Achilles enraged? His rage is a personal choice. He decides to confront Agamemnon. He decides to withdraw from the war. He decides to join the war after Patroclus’ death. However, the gods do their parts in making sure that his destiny is carried out. Thetis has new armor made for him and encourages him to fight. Apollo taunts him. Athena intervenes, first to make sure he does not kill Agamemnon and then later to make sure that he does kill Hector. Zeus weighs his fate. Rage is the spawn of many emotions. Injustice, jealousy, un-holiness, revenge, and heartbreak are emotions that sparked Achilles’ rage. Homer’s tale, the Iliad, shows how Achilles’ rage is his destiny. Symbolism is very effective throughout the novel. It is linked to emotions, love and rage. Works Cited Homer. â€Å"The Iliad. † The Norton Anthology World Masterpieces. Ed. Sarah Lawall. 7th ed. Vol. 1. W. W. Norton & Company. New York, London, 1999. 104-209. Spark Notes the Iliad by Homer Spark Notes edition January 10, 2002 The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, Volume 1 by Sarah Lawall Norton; 8 edition August 15, 2005 Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers by John Schilb Bedford/St. Martin’; 3 edition October 25, 2005.

Manipulatives: Material and Students

7 Musts for Using Manipulatives By Marilyn Burns 1. I talk with students about why manipulatives help them learn math. These discussions are essential for first-time users and useful refreshers to refocus from time to time. I precede discussions by giving children time to explore a manipulative. Then we talk about what students noticed and I introduce the concepts they'll learn with the material. 2 . From day one, I set ground rules for using materials. We talk about the similarities and differences between using manipulatives in class and playing with toys or games.With toys or games, children can make up their own rules. With manipulatives, they are given specific problems and activities. I do make clear, however, that they're free to make discoveries and explore new ideas. It's also important for students not to interfere with one another. I step in when I hear a howl of protest as a student who needs one more yellow tile takes it from another group's table. Sometimes I open up th e discussion to the entire class. These impromptu reminders help keep students on track. 3. I set up a system for storing materials and familiarize students with it.It's important for students to know where and how to store materials. A clear system makes the materials more accessible. Some teachers designate and label space on bookshelves. Others use zip-top plastic bags and portion materials into quantities useful for pairs or groups. Still others place a supply of each material at students' tables so they're always within reach. 4. Time for free exploration is worth the investment. Whenever I introduce a new material, I allot at least one math period for this. Teacher demonstrations alone are like eating a papaya in front of the class and expecting children to know how it tastes. Free exploration time also allows students to satisfy their curiosity so they don't become distracted from the assigned tasks. Expect children to see if tiles can fall like dominoes; build tall towers wi th rods; or construct rockets out of cubes. After children have explored a material, I ask what they've discovered and record their observations on a chart so their classmates can get insights from their ideas. Then I assign a specific task. 5. For easy reference, I post class charts about manipulative materials.Charts not only send students the message that I value manipulatives, but also help students learn materials' names and how to spell them. In September I post a chart that lists all the materials we'll use during the year. For some materials, I post separate charts to list their shapes and colors. And I leave posted charts of students' discoveries about materials. 6. Manipulatives are a natural for writing assignments; having students write in math class has many benefits. Manipulatives provide concrete objects for children to describe. 7. I let parents get their hands on manipulatives, too.It's important for parents to understand why their children are using materials. Foll ow up by having children take home materials and activities to do with their families. (Hint: I wait until students have had some experience. )3 Marilyn Burns Answers Your Questions Marilyn Burns Answers Your Questions About Manipulatives Q. Manipulatives help my learners who struggle, but do my better Math students need them? A. Absolutely. The challenge of teaching any subject is to find activities that are accessible to all learners and have the richness to challenge more interested or capable students.Manipulatives are a wonderful resource for this. For example, I introduced fourth graders to Build the Yellow Hexagon. All students found different ways to build the hexagon and recorded their constructions with correct fractional notation. I asked the students who finished quickly: â€Å"How much larger is the red trapezoid than the blue parallelogram? † This challenged them to figure out how much more 1/2 is than 1/3. Q. How often should I use manipulatives in my teaching? A. Ideally, the materials are available for students to use at any time to help them think, reason, and solve problems.When a manipulative material is key to a lesson, I initiate its use. Q. What about students who work well with manipulatives but have trouble with textbooks? A. Showing the bridge from concrete experiences to symbolism is essential. While it may be obvious to adults, it can be a stretch for students to see how a 3-by-4 rectangle built with tiles relates to the textbook explanation that 3 x 4 means three groups of four. I help children make connections by demonstrating how a rectangle can be separated into three rows with four tiles. Q. How many kinds of manipulatives do I need?A. It makes sense to introduce one material and provide time for in-depth exploration. But one advantage of using a variety is that children can think about ideas in different ways. For example, we wouldn't want children to think of fractions as related only to round pies. Q. Can't I make che aper manipulatives? A. For years I've had children cut paper cookies to explore fractions, fold shapes for geometry, and use strips for measurement. Students also cut paper squares into the seven tangram puzzle pieces to see that the pieces make a square.However, to create other shapes, compare areas and perimeters, or make observations over time, paper pieces aren't durable or exact. Manipulatives stand the test of time and are precise. They also allow students to discover the mathematical relationships inherent in them. 4 Q. Where do I fit manipulatives in when there's so much to do? A. I use manipulatives as a support for teaching the math topics that are in the curriculum. I don't reserve materials for special days or assignments, but make them a regular and integral part of my general teaching. Q.I worry that children will see the same materials year after year and lose interest. Do they? A. School-wide planning to discuss which manipulatives you'll use and how to use them can be valuable. However, be careful not to designate certain materials or activities for only one grade. Most are appropriate for different levels, and repeat experiences help students stretch their thinking. For example, asking primary children to find different ways to make trains of six interlocking cubes using just two colors helps them explore different addends of 6.Older students can be challenged to figure out how many arrangements there are, not only for trains of 6, but also for trains of other lengths. Q. I don't have enough of any one kind of manipulative to use with my whole class. What can I do? A. Some teachers I know organize learning centers and have small groups work at them. Others introduce a few activities to be done over several days, and students make choices based on which materials are available. Still others pool materials for a week with other teachers to create class sets.In all cases, having students work cooperatively not only cuts down on the amount of mat erial you need, but also encourages communication — which in turn promotes learning. Q. How do I know when it's time for students to put away the materials? A. I let students be my guide. Observing them gives me valuable information. Sometimes I've assigned students the problem of finding all of the rectangular arrays using 6, 12, and 24 tiles. While some need to build all of the rectangles with tiles and then record them, other students stop using the tiles and are comfortable drawing the rectangles.Q. I worry older students will complain that manipulatives are babyish. Any advice? A. I rarely get this reaction. Most are delighted to get their hands on concrete materials. If you anticipate naysayers, talk about how, for example, architects often build models of buildings and engineers construct prototypes. Tell students that they'll use materials to model a problem or situation. Then be sure they first experience something that offers a challenge and that you provide free ex ploration time.