A Critical appreciation of Othello Act 1 Scene 1 line 41 – line 82, commenting upon Shakespeare’s portrayal of his characters

The passage, act 1 scene 1, lines 41 to 82, open with a long speech from Iago. Already, from the onset we see that he feels it is wrong to follow his master ‘ the Moor', demonstrated by the answer he gives to Roderigo's statement of: â€Å"I would not follow him then† – line 40, with, â€Å"O sir, content you.† – line 41 It is as if it were a discontenting thought to think that Iago actually really wanted to follow his master of his own accord. Iago expands on his opening statement, informing us that he is only following Othello for his own benefit, and informs us on his view of there being two types of knaves. The first, follows his master to help his master, works hard and is humble and actually enjoys his devoted service to his master; ‘Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave, That doting on his own obsequious bondage' line 45-46 But for all their hard work Iago feels that they get nothing back in return and in addition will be looked down upon and be seen in the same category as the ‘master's ass', as they only receive food and lodging (‘for nought but provender'), in return for years of dedicated service only to be dismissed without a second thought. This is not for Iago, he will not be used by others, but in turn wants to use others for his own benefit ironically using the cover of a used ‘honest' servant. It is this word ‘honest' that appears many times in the play and is used to mean different things, mainly trustworthy and truthful or simple and easily deceived. But when used in reference to Iago there is often a sense of patronisation or an indication of it intended as an insult to suggest stupidity. When Iago uses the word ‘honest in line 49 saying: ‘Whip me such honest knaves.' He shows the audience exactly how he views the perception of the word ‘honest' as he uses it to describe the foolish ‘duteous and knee-crooking knave'. Here Iago makes it clear how he understands the meaning of the word ‘honest' even though the use of the word is frequent and varied and of course deliberately ambiguous in other references in ‘Othello'. Iago now moves onto the second type of knave, which he associates himself with: these knaves outwardly give off the appearance of hard working and submissive servants, but inwardly they are working for their own agendas. Even though these knaves look as though they are sacrificing a lot for their masters with little apparent return, in fact they are using their masters to their advantage better than their masters are using them. Therefore in paying service to Othello he is in effect paying service to himself. This gives an impression of selfishness but we must remember that just because Iago is not a master, does not make him feel that to serve a master is a privilege. Therefore, like people who are more fortunate than him and are higher in the social and military rank, he too wants people to devote their lives to him. As he can't have this, it is only natural that he would want to get something out of this ‘relationship', (though in the end circumstances do get out of hand and develop into tragedy.) The second type of knaves who are ‘trimmed in forms and visages of duty, yet keep their heart attending on themselves' (lines 50-51) Iago feels that: ‘ These fellows have some soul' – line 54 This suggests that Iago sees this deceit and pretence in a man as character and qualities to be admired and respected for: in fact the reverse of societies view of men who lie and plot others' downfall. Iago has already introduced the theme of deceptive appearances, and that actions and true thoughts or feelings have nothing in common. Therefore no one can judge or analyse someone else's actions without knowing how that person feels, and even with this knowledge, one can still not understand or appreciate the character's motives. These issues are demonstrated in Iago's following lines: ‘Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago; In following him, I follow but myself. Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty, But seeming so for my peculiar end.' Lines 58-61 Iago's mysterious statement ‘Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago' indicates that the Moor symbolises authenticity and all things genuine while Iago stands for falseness and deceit. Therefore one cannot be the other as they are opposites and work antagonistically. Therefore we are faced with the common ‘good against evil' presentation, (which later proves evil to be the winner). It seems that Iago sees himself and Othello as opposites and therefore Othello will never be able to understand Iago, and therefore can not understand his deceitfulness and plotting against his ‘friends' and Iago will never be able to comprehend Othello's love for Desdemona as a thing of beauty and purity. Thus Iago can only make the tragedy happen by manipulating what is good and sowing the seeds of doubt. Iago comments that he is not seeking ‘love and duty' and so we start to wonder at how Iago will ‘ thrive by them' from his ‘peculiar end.' This last statement suggests that nobody will understand Iago's motives or the passion which drives his actions because even Iago refers to his end as ‘peculiar' and therefore as people will not be able to see it from Iago's point of view they will wrongly assume that he is a psychopath or mental. The lines: ‘†¦not for love and duty, But seeming so for my peculiar end' create dramatic tension and suspense, making the audience wonder what Iago could possibly have in store for them. Therefore, Shakespeare has written this line deliberately ambiguous to arouse curiosity in the viewers. Ironically, line 60 includes: ‘Heaven is my judge' this is the same heaven that does not intervene in any of the unfolding tragedy even though Cassio, Desdemona, Othello and even Emilia call to heaven for blessings and protection. Iago feels that honesty and sincerity are weaknesses that make you more open to attack and therefore more vulnerable. It is here that a hint of insecurity is detected in Iago as it seems it is in his nature to envy those whose character or situation is in any way superior to his own thereby leading to Iago suffering from a sense of injured merit. He seeks to destroy anything which by its very superiority threatens his self-love and he is always finding ways in which he feel that Othello and Cassio have slighted him. Thus he cannot control this feeling of rejection and it grows on him making him feel insecure and wanting to take revenge on those who make him feel belittled. Also, maybe Iago thinks that he can not ‘wear my heart on my sleeve for draws to peaks at' as he can not reveal his true soul to anyone because then he will no longer be able to hide behind a mask or character which what is known about them is false, which will make Iago feel more safe, again pointing to Iago feeling insecure. Iago ends his speech with a paradox: ‘ I am not what I am'. This is in effect summarising Iago's speech into saying that what people conceive him to be is not the real him, and the real him will never be revealed for people to comprehend, so people will never ‘see' the real genuine Iago. This of course is the main reason Iago manages to deceive Othello and this is also a problem for Rodrigo, but at this stage Rodrigo does not pick up on this point, as he is a bit slow to say the least. It is rather ironical that Iago only reveals his true intentions and plans to Rodrigo who is the only person too stupid to really understand their full implications, highlighted by Rodrigo's random and abstract comment: â€Å"What a full fortune does the thick-lips owe, If he can carry it thus!† Lines 67-68 Next we see Iago at his best: making havoc. Iago plainly delights in his own skill at causing chaos and his desire to make another human as unhappy and miserable as possible. When he plans to wake Brabantio, and ‘poison his delight', he maximises Brabantio's humiliation at the dishonour of it by telling Rodrigo to ‘proclaim him in the street'. Iago seems to get carried away by his lust in planning to tell Brabantio of his misfortune saying ‘plague him with flies' and ‘incense her kinsmen'. This of course is an example of Iago's two faced nature as to Brabantio he seems to be on his side by informing Brabantio of his daughter's secret liaison with Othello, yet in the next scene, Iago is seen with Othello acting as the faithful manservant.  Read also Critical appreciation of the poem â€Å"Old Ladies’ Home†. Even though Iago wants Rodrigo to call out to Brabantio, he can not help himself adding to Rodrigo's feeble and polite attempt at calling Brabantio with loud and alarming phrases and cry's of ‘Thieves,' repeated four times to make Brabantio feel as uncomfortable and worried as possible. It seems that Iago is drawing out the situation and going the round about way of telling Brabantio what has happened, to leave Brabantio in suspense and confusion for as long as possible. Iago's energy and excitement is conveyed in the pace and thrust of Iago's poetry or prose. In Iago's soliloquy-like speech (lines 41- 66) poetic images and long words do not slow the quick movement, like the agile darting of Iago's mind constantly on the look out for new niches to get in and use to his advantage. The light punctuation helps keep the fasted paced childlike enthusiasm. Iago's speeches are full of ambiguous and mysterious phrases, these highlight his double character that is in fact a paradox in itself and often seem to present two conflicting and antagonist characters, even though they are both represented through Iago. There seems to be no fixed sentence length with many varied disjointed phrases helping make up Iago's speech and present his rush of ideas and force of feeling. This passage is really a platform for the ‘plotter' Iago, to reveal his true feelings on his relationship with Othello and how he intends to use his service to Othello and the social role he is expected to play as a base for his deceit and ruin of other characters. Therefore dramatically this is an intimate scene between the audience and Iago (with Rodrigo, as merely an excuse for Iago to speak) where they are invited to see events and situations from Iago's point of view. This low-key plotting and the later loud disruption caused by Iago to wake Brabantio, is further indication of how quickly and easily i.e. how flexible, Iago can be to change to suit the situation to deceive characters, manipulate trust and ultimately cause a tragedy through his consuming hatred for seemingly all things good and beautiful.

Finance reviewer – midterm

Types of Market 1 . Physical asset markets (also called â€Å"tangible† or â€Å"real† asset markets) vs. Financial asset markets – Physical asset markers are for products such as wheat, autos, real estate etc. Financial asset market deals with stocks, bonds, notes and mortgages. 2. Spot Market vs. Future Markets – Spot markets are markets in which assets are bought or sold on the spot. Future Markets are markets in which participants agree today to buy or sell an asset at some future date. 3.Money markets vs. Capital market – Money markets are short term, highly liquid debt securities. Capital markets are for Intermediate or long term debt and corporate stocks. 4. Primary markets vs. secondary markets – primary are which corporate raise new capital. Secondary, which securities and other financial assets are traded among vectors after they have been issued by corporations. 5. Private vs. Public Markets – Private Markets, which transact ions are worked out directly between 2 parties. Public Markets, which standardized contracts are traded on organized exchanges. CAPITAL MARKET Capital Markets A component of financial markets where long-term borrowing takes place Are arrests for buying and selling equity and debt instruments The Market where investment instruments like bonds and equities are traded (Maturity period) Lasts for more than 1 year and can also include life-time of a company New York Stock Exchange or NYSE is the most popular capital market It channel savings and Investments between suppliers of capital (such as retail Investors and Institutional Investors) and users of capital (Like business, government and Individuals) Suppliers of Capital Markets.

Past management of intellectual property rights Essay

Past management of intellectual property rights - Essay Example It has taken centuries and these rights have faced drastic rates of dynamism and were until the 20th century that it became fully operational. The way they were managed therefore ion the past is not the way they are being managed in the current economic times. This paper seeks to assess the way intellectual property rights have been managed in the past. In light of the same, it will highlight the types of intellectual property rights and their management in the past as well as justified improvements that can be done for the future. This will create the difference between the past, present and expected future improvements. Past Management of Intellectual Property Rights Management of intellectual is a term that is holistic and is used to describe the process in which tracking the rights creation, licencing as well as their usage. According to the World international property organization, the treatment of each intellectual property is dependent on the efforts being made to preserve the cultural heritage of the specific nations that the rights are being applied (Elster, 2010, p. 24). Though they may have an international backing as far as application to the market is concerned, there is always the need to establish a unilateral management policy on all so that the basics of their maintenance in the market v are maintained. The flow of ideas is also never restricted to any international boundaries and therefore there is a very consistent view of the fact that there are very complex legal systems internationally to try and harmonize all the intellectual property rights from the different nations to suite the world market. Therefore, the past, management in general was based on the fact that each country had to satisfy its own interests, its requirements, limitations and the legal time in which the intellectual p roperty (IP) is going to be applicably necessary and valid. Patents Nicholas Luchi (2007) makes the traditional link between a patent and its registration with the government. He states that the registration takes more than one year to go through depending on the complexity of its making. A patent therefore is a grant under the issue of the government and bound by the law which allows its holder to exclude any other person or organization from commercial exploitation of the invention made (Lucchi, 2007, p. 18). The initial management is based on the application of the patent within territorial boundaries specific to the place where the invention was made and for a specific period of time. The management period originally according to the World Trade Organization (WTO) is 20 years. This shows that although there are specific regional laws concerning the property rights management, there are also universal laws set by the WTO to manage the patents since the application of these is sup posed to have a universal bearing. Under the current and past management laws, the patents are applicable to new industrially applicable inventions that take the form of machines, processes that are innovative and chemical composition. The management laws state that integration to the public is made through the subsequent conditions of patentability in existence at that moment and in line with the WTO guidelines. For instance, to safeguard the public domain, the applicant must always make application to make disclosure of the invention to the public so that there is mutual benefit and

Law Notes on Behalf of The Peoples Republic of Zambeziland Essay

Law Notes on Behalf of The Peoples Republic of Zambeziland - Essay Example The PRZ asks the commission to take into account whether or not it has jurisdiction over this matter since Article 56(5) requires that all local remedies are exhausted, unless it can be shown that there is the excessive delay. As the African Commission previously decided, governments should have an opportunity to remedy human rights violations prior to being ‘called to account by an international tribunal’. No national remedies have been pursued by Zapo notwithstanding the fact that the PRZ has been working with the IMF and the World Bank as a means of addressing the consequences of the national disaster. Thus a claim that there is the exemption to the exhaustion of remedies’ requirement on the grounds that there are no adequate remedies would fail. With respect to derogation, the Banjul Charter does not address the issue of derogation at all and thus it neither forbids derogation nor does it set standards for derogation. Therefore, the only reasonable explanation for this omission is that the Banjul Charter expects derogation to be regulated by customary international law.   Under the fiduciary theory of human rights, states may derogate from non-peremptory human rights norms during emergencies as long as such derogation is intended to ensure ‘secure and equal freedom’. Derogation is therefore recognized as a means by which the state takes action for the good of the people and not as a means of advancing the interest of the state. Specifically, under international law, Article 62 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969 provides specific guidance on the issue of derogation. To begin with, where termination or withdrawal from a treaty is not provided for in a treaty, states may withdraw from the whole of the treaty.6 In particular a change of circumstances in relation to circumstances existing at the time of subscribing to a treaty can justify withdrawal from a treaty.

Industrial safety management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Industrial safety management - Essay Example Essentially, the Safety Board provides a quality assurance function fundamental to the in progress safety of all modes of transportation. The NTSB's exclusive role in transportation safety is reliant on the ability of the board members and the professional staff to conduct independent investigations of accidents and major incidents and, in so doing, to guarantee public confidence in the safety of our national transportation systems. The NTSB has become most widely identified with its investigations of major commercial aviation accidents. The NTSB has the duty for investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States. additionally, based on the agency's permission under Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation and associated international agreements, the NTSB participates to a greater or lesser degree in the investigation of commercial aviation accidents all over the world. Concerns over aviation safety articulated in the White House commission's report were echoed by the report of the congressionally commanded National Civil Aviation Review Commission (commonly recognized as the Mineta Commission, chaired by former California Congressman Norman Mineta), published in December 1997 (National Civil Aviation Review Commission, December 11, 1997). ... Evidently, aviation safety was a matter necessitating renewed U.S. leadership and significant national investment. At the same time, the recently endorsed Aviation Family Assistance Act of 1996 mandated the creation of the Task Force on Assistance to Families of Aviation Disasters, supervised jointly by the U.S. DOT and the NTSB. The TWA as well as ValuJet disasters had also revealed the urgent need to find ways to develop the treatment of victims' families by the government, the airlines, the legal community, as well as the media. Among other things, the White House commission demanded that the task force review the accident investigation process utilized by the NTSB and its possible impact on families. The task force's report, containing 61 separate proposals, amounted to a blueprint for the appropriate treatment of families suffering such grave losses (U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Transportation Safety Board, 1997). Managing Airline Corporate Stress Like the air we all breathe and through which we fly, stress subsists in us all. With growing indication that stress is the greatest hazard to human productivity in large and small corporations alike, many executives are calling for more research into the causes as well as consequences of stress. The danger is no longer believed to be merely a psychological response to the work environment but is starting to appear in a variety of medical examination results that are focused on shaping such problems as heart disease, stomach ulcers, as well as many forms of cancer. Stress is, on the other hand, still an indefinable concept that few corporate managers have learned to deal with. Stress is spate in the Western world. Above two-thirds of office visits to physicians are for

Biotechnology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Biotechnology - Essay Example However, a more specific approach of the upstream processes will be adopted in this essay. Downstream processes refer to the processes that take place after the fermentation process of purification to the packaging of the Biopharmaceuticals. Moreover, the issue of quality control techniques in a bid to ensure successful product analysis will receive attention in this essay. One of the critical steps in the upstream processing is the choice of an effective culture and expression system.There are three types of culture systems that may be adopted in the fermentation process. One of them is the batch culture, which is the commonest culture system that used in many industries because of lack of complications. The fact that batch bioreactors are easily available explains why many companies have exhibited preference for it. Batch cultures need to be loaded with all the required nutrients and substrates, and then inoculated with the selected microorganism. Although it is commonly referred to a closed system, there is an evident need to maintain a measure of exerting control on factors such as pH and aeration. After fermentation runs to completion, product removal follows (Boudreau & McMillan, 2007). Although the batch system has been highly preferred, it presents certain challenges, especially because of the surging lack of constancy in the producing formation. In the initial phase when the microorganism is undergoing growth, there is no productivity. Moreover, accumulation of the product also limits further production (Buckel, 2001). In other cases, the presence of a high substrate concentration in the initial phase serves as a form of inhibition. In a bid to address this challenge, the development if fed batch where an inflow is introduced was a benchmark of success. Although the batch culture still has some of the outstanding disadvantages of the batch culture, the fed-batch

Wireless Area Network Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wireless Area Network - Coursework Example Wireless network for a company of 100 employees for purpose of data sharing and printing is discussed in the paper. In a company any employee can get connected with any other computer on the network to access data collectively. Printers can be shared and data sharing becomes extremely convenient. Hardware can be shared remotely without physical connection. Applications can be used for conferencing, messaging, screen sharing and file transfers. Besides these advantages of networking, wireless networks give mobility, flexibility, range and low equipment cost over conventional wired networks. The main downside of wireless networking includes limited or slow data transfer rates because of less bandwidth available as compared to wired network. Furthermore, security threats are more. Security features have evolved over time, making intrusion difficult. There are two types of networks. Server based or infrastructure and peer to peer. Server based networks utilize central servers. These servers store data and provide to clients (connected computers on network) on request (Mitchell, 2011). Peer to peer networks have no dedicated server, and computers can act as servers and clients (Allen, 2002). Server based networks offer more security and reliability of data as it is stored centrally and is typically used for large scale corporations. Peer to peer networks are more flexible and convenient for data sharing between computers and to incorporate flexible user base. Therefore, for the company with 100 computers a peer to peer network supported by infrastructure based wireless network is most suitable. Protocols are the standards used to operate a network. Most commonly used protocols for wireless network are 802.11a/b/g and n. 802.11n is suitable for the company as it offers greater range, increased bandwidth of over 150 Mbps, improved security and can even support voice calls (DeBeasi, 2009). For security,

Identity Perception in the Virtual World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Identity Perception in the Virtual World - Essay Example The above mentioned points are a few of the choices that face people when creating their own identity on the Internet or within cyber space. This is where the use of decision aids comes in as far as the following points are concerned: These are some of the features that describe the various ways in which an individual decides to express himself or herself and put across an identity or a face to an entity in the cyber world. In this essay, there will be a focus on describing exact scenarios so as to put across the realities of developing an identity within the human relation setting in cyber space. This identity will then be scrutinized on the above mentioned parameters which will be described in keeping with the evaluation and thinking aloud models that a person makes use of when using a decision aid in order to define himself or herself. This essay will put forward various arguable points that in turn will render authenticity to the identity. This is merely a rough draft with a vague framework of ideas that have helped in developing a point of view. This point of view will be further classified within the essay on the basis of the above mentioned models so as to ensure that there is clear demarcation of the various kinds of perceptions that revolve around this kind of an identity. This will also be covered with the use of parameters for description such as trials, tribulations and various other such facets of being an entity in the virtual realm. Identity Perception in the Virtual World With an increase in the phenomenon known as globalization and the wide use of technology as a complementary feature, human society has changed and the needs have increased manifold. Changes in the political, economical and cultural arena have challenged and effected alterations within various professions. The autonomy of professions has been under challenge because the market has tried to decrease it so to reduce their power and status. Also, trust has been replaced by target setting accountability as client-professional interactions have been limited in order for services and companies' profits to be increased. In this regard, the identity of a person has come to be influenced by various factors that involve the technical aspects within which people and organizations operate. This essay will describe a setting within which the identity issues of an individual will be perceived and put forth. Parameter for Study: Human Relation Setting In the human relation setting, it is imperative for the assessor to be at his or her most attentive best. Since this may not always be possible, there is a room for faulty perception especially in an arena like the cyber space where there is little real time interaction. Also, in case a personal bias of some sort creeps in towards a problem area encountered by the entity, there is scope for misguided judgments regarding identity perception to take place. This also makes the participant more

TLMT312 WEEK 8 FORUM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

TLMT312 WEEK 8 FORUM - Assignment Example However, I still need to learn various techniques in the course to improve my class performance such as undertaking thorough research on supply logistics and inventory management to understand it well. There are certain logistics courses objectives that are still not clear to me such as cost associated with inventory procedures of instituting and monitoring whole inventory resources. It is cumbrous to identify cost related with record process. I would read various scholarly books on the topic and consult my tutor on the areas so that I can fully comply with the objectives of the course. The main ways of measuring prospect effects of what I have learnt on the course is through improvement of my performance on the course in exams and assignments, comparing the level of participation in class and groups and determining the level of creativity in the whole course about the application in real world. Positive steps on the techniques above would depict massive advancement on the

Narrative Criticism of Gillian Welch’s “Caleb Meyer” Essay Example for Free

Narrative Criticism of Gillian Welch’s â€Å"Caleb Meyer† Essay Throughout this essay I will identify â€Å"Caleb Meyer† as a rhetorical narrative, criticize its form and function, and evaluate its effectiveness. In order to criticize â€Å"Caleb Meyer† using Rowand’s method of narrative criticism, I must first establish that it meets all of the criteria of a narrative according to Sonja Foss. The first criteria Foss requires is that the artifact contain two events. The song in fact includes multiple events, but for explanative purposes we will assign those two events as Meyer drunkenly wandering into the narrator’s yard and raping her, and the narrator slicing his throat with the broken bottle. Foss then requires that the two events in a narrative happen in a sequence of some sort, which, using the examples above, we can easily find to be true in a chronological nature. Meyer first assaults the narrator, and it is not until he does that she retaliates. Foss’s third standard for a narrative requires that the sequential events have a casual relationship. Again, using the events above, we can easily argue that without the first event (Meyer assaulting the narrator) the second event (the narrator slicing his neck with the bottle) would not have occurred, for there would have been no reason for her to retaliate against Meyer. The last criteria Foss requires is that the sequential, casual events be about a unified subject. All of the events that take place in the artifact, including those aforementioned, are about the interaction between Caleb Meyer and the narrator from the time he gets drunk and rapes her to the time she cuts his throat. Now that I have satisfied Foss’s requirements for a narrative and determined â€Å"Caleb Meyer† to be such, I am able to apply Rowand’s method of narrative criticism. According to Rowand, the main components of a narrative are the characters and their roles, the setting, the plot, and the theme. While on the surface many of these things may seem obvious to the audience, in order to discover the artifact’s rhetorical purpose it is important that we uncover more than just who, where, and why. There are two main characters in Welch’s song: the antagonist, Caleb Meyer, and the protagonist, the narrator. Caleb Meyer is established as a lonely, drunken abusive male whose purpose in the artifact is to create conflict to allow resolution (he rapes the narrator and pays the price). The narrator is a married woman whose husband has left her home alone while away on business. Her function is to tell a story and create Welch’s message. She is established as religious (prays to God and believes in Hell [Caleb Meyer your ghost is gonna wear them rattling chains]), brave, and resilient. Meyer represents the abusive, alcoholic male figure in society, while the narrator represents women who are taken advantage of and decide to put up a fight. A secondary character, Nellie Kane, is minimally important but adds to the severity of Meyer’s actions, as he is the narrator’s husband whom Meyer knows is not around to protect her. The setting in the narrative is a wooded area on a mountainside, although it is unspecific where exactly. Meyer asks the narrator if her husband has gone down the mountainside after emerging from where he lives â€Å"in them hollering pines. † This setting, including the fact that the narrator’s husband has gone to Bowling Green for work, creates a picture of a helpless, isolated woman in the woods. This forces the audience to empathize with the narrator as the antagonist attacks, knowing that there is no one to aid her after being thrown down by her hair and pinned beneath a drunken man. It is because of intrinsic humanitarian values that the audience cannot help but wish they could come to her relief, which makes the persuasiveness of Welch’s message more powerful. The plot of Welch’s song first provides that Caleb Meyer lives alone and drinks to pass the time, implying that he is an alcoholic. Lonely, he stumbles to the back of the narrator’s home and yells until she comes outside. We then hear the chorus, which consists of the narrator claiming that Meyer’s ghost will wear rattling chains, implying either that he is going to hell or that he will forever be tormented in the afterlife. Meyer then asks the narrator where her husband has gone and if he has left her alone, to which she replies that he has indeed left on business. Meyer then grabs her by the hair and pins her hands above her head as he lay across her dress, implying that he is attempting to rape her. The narrator begins to pray and finds the bottle of whiskey that Meyer had dropped, slicing his neck open as he bleeds all over her. Welch provides a fantastic crescendo into a climax, which includes a conflict and resolution in order to keep the audience engaged. The theme of â€Å"Caleb Meyer† stems directly from the plot. Meyer represents generic abusive, womanizing, and drunken men that sadly exist in society, while the narrator represents women who are imposed upon by them. Welch’s â€Å"Caleb Meyer† sends a message to women to be strong and independent, while it sends a message to men to mind their belligerence and forcefulness or there will be consequences, as seen in the death of Caleb Meyer. Another message that Welch may be trying to get across is that alcohol is wicked and leads to sinful behavior. One could even go as far as saying that her message is intended to warn men of the dangers of leaving their loved one’s side, however the supporting evidence for these two arguments are insignificant in comparison to the support for the message to women to stand against abuse. Gillian Welch’s â€Å"Caleb Meyer† not only meets all of Foss’s requirements of a narrative, but also establishes itself as a powerful narrative by persuading the audience to feel hatred and anger toward the actions of Caleb Meyer. It forces the audience to identify with the narrator, and understand that what she is experiencing is wrong. Certain audiences, women in particular, and abuse victims especially, identify greatly with Welch’s narrative because rape is the greatest fear of many women. However, men too can see the pain in the narrator’s words as Welch does a wonderful job evoking the emotions of the audience. It is because of her ability to do so that the crescendo is so effective, creating great relief when at the end of the song she sings â€Å"Then I felt his blood pour fast and hot / Around me where I laid† as the antagonist meets his rightful demise.

Impact of Child Protection Regulation on Practices

Impact of Child Protection Regulation on Practices Introduction: Supporting children means working for the development of the care systems, development of the education of the of the children around the world. Saving children from the disability problems and making an environment of nondiscrimination of gender and other aspects. Through giving supports to the children for expressing their opinions and views freely we can support the children. There are several legislative policies and procedures issued for the betterment of the children but the successful imposition and make those policies and procedures come in to force is much important than only issuing those policies and procedures. When you are going to make those legislative issues come into force you have to take it into mind that how those should be implemented and how successfully they works for the betterment of the children. Describe the main legislation which relate to working with children. Some main legislation that relate to working with children are as follows: United Nation Convention on the Rights of a Child-1989 The United Nations Convention based on the Rights of a Child that was signed by the UK in the year 1991. This convention sets out the principles for a legal framework to justify all the aspects for the care system, development and education of all the children around the world. The articles made on that convention cover: disability, nondiscrimination of gender, nondiscrimination on the grounds of religion, language, social or ethnic origin; economic, social care, cultural and all other protective rights related to children. Protection of the Children Act 1999 The Protection of the Children Act 1999 had come into force in October 2000 and this act gives the Secretary of any State the power to keep a list of people who are not suitable to work with children and vulnerable young people. All authorized childcare organizations have a statutory duty to refer particular individuals for the inclusion in the list they have to keep. Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 An amendment to the DDA act 1995 is the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001, that amendment extends the requirement for making some reasonable adjustments for the people who are disabled to include schools, colleges and other education providers as well. Every Child Matters: Change for Children act 2003 In the year 2003, the Government had published a green paper called ‘Every Child Matters’. This paper was published including a wide consultation with the people who are working in childrens services and with their parents, children and young vulnerable people as well people. Following that consultation, the Government also published ‘Every Child Matters’: the Next Steps, and passed the Children Act 2004 later on. Children Act 2004 Children Act 2004 is an update of the Children Act 1989 but it does not supersede the Children Act 1989. Children Act 2004 provides a legislative base for a wider strategy that will improve the childrens living standard. This also covers those universal services which every child must accesses, and provides more targeted services for those people with additional needs. This updated Children Act 2004 also placed a new duty on the local government to promote the educational achievement for looking after the children. The other legislations that relates with the working children are as follows: Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006, updated 2010 Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 Childcare Act 2006 Equalities Act 2010 Discuss the ways that different pieces of legislation determine and influences the working practices. There we got several legislations on the working practices with children around the world. There are some ways that different pieces of legislation determine and influences the working practices. Safeguarding the children: Different legislations on working with children underpins the laws to safeguard the children from being exploited. Those legislations make the local authorities compel to take care about the children in their area. Understanding of rights: A better understanding of rights and power relationships has been established by different legislative programs for many years. Those act and laws that are established by the governing body of any country helps to determine the rights the vulnerable children must acquire. Anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practice: Different pieces of legislation determine and influence the working practices with children in the way that helps children being oppressed and discriminated. Anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practices are established and came into force by the grace of those different pieces of legislation. Working with diversity: Working with diversity is not just about gender, sexual orientation or race. In our communities there we see many factors that make each of the individual responsible for the roles they must have to play; the role of values, culture, attitudes and social power are all important in the field of working with children. Different pieces of legislation are able to determine accomplish those roles. 2.1 Describe how policies and practices can reflect fair, just and inclusive strategies. Children and young people need to know what to expect when they are with us. This means you need to be fair and consistent in your behavior to the children. To be fair and consistent in behavior to the children you need to follow some strategies which can be established by you or any expertise in practice. The policies and practices described in the laws and acts regarding working with the children can reflect fair, just and inclusive strategies need to be precisely established for working with the children. Policies and practices require the services providers to make reasonable and accurate adjustments so that disabled children can access their services to the best level. Policies and practices gave the authorities a duty to promote and reinforce equality for disabled and vulnerable children. Policies and practices can reflect fair, just and inclusive strategies because it make compel all regulated and authorities childcare organizations have a statutory duty to appoint individuals for the inclusion in the list and must not appoint individuals and volunteers, in posts that policies bring them into contact for working with the children, whose names are included in the list they made. The policies of Children Act 2004 aims is to encourage integrated planning regarding the children, commissioning and delivery of the services as well as improve the multi-disciplinary working systems, remove duplication of the policies, increase accountability of the service workers and improve the coordination of individuals working within the same grounds and joint inspections in the local authorities. 3.1 Describe some ways that settings may use to ensure that practitioner can access policies. Practitioners can access policies regarding working with children. The practitioner must need to know some information that may help them to access policies. They must acquire knowledge about How to deal with those children who often face stereotyping and prejudice problem for a wide variety of reasons. How to treat children who need to have valued their cultures and customs and understand the importance of culture to children. How to introduce culture and customs to the children for their everyday learning. Parents and careers who often don’t want to highlight issues of discrimination that happens to them. Children who often suffer issues of discrimination in silence and never make claims to get out of those discriminations. About the prejudice incidents they don’t hear/see, that does not mean that they are not happening to the children. About the parent’s abuse and prejudice language incident is not acceptable. About the new arrivals to the setting or this country often suffer from culture shock. Stereotyping on any grounds is not acceptable particularly regarding to work with the children. Acquiring knowledge about all the cultures and customs need to be embraced. The practitioner need to know how children experience the world differently depends on their background. Knowing about their religion, belief and dress can also help the practitioner to get access to the policies regarding the working with children. If practitioner needs to get access to the policies they to know how to support the literacy and language needs of parents and careers, how to respect all families and the children of those families, how to support staff to build up a working knowledge of diverse communities for the betterment of the children. Going through those tasks a practitioner who is going to work to with the children can get access to the policies relating to the children’s safeguard and development. 3.2 Apply knowledge of a wide range of procedures for safeguarding children to show understanding of the appropriate ways to follow these procedures. Determining the needed procedures for safeguarding children is just the first step for working with the children. Here we applied knowledge of a wide range of procedures for safeguarding children to show understanding of the appropriate ways to follow these procedures. Communication to staff, parents and children. The career must consider different communication needs and methods. They need to tell everyone why procedures are needed for working with the children and answer any questions they may have. Training and awareness for all the service providers at the initial stage and then they have to update their staff’s knowledge on a continuous basis. Specific training for those with lead or named responsibility for child safeguarding. Induction new workers need to know safeguarding procedures and their responsibilities included in their induction system before they start to have contact with the children. Monitoring and supervision of the application used in the procedures. Workers also need to be asked about safeguarding issues and awareness when discussing their progress and review of their work regarding children’s development. Recording and information sharing are those procedures that will examine is everything accurate and within the guidelines of your established procedures? Do service providers need any support or additional training programs to be arranged in recording and sharing information with each other and other agencies? Recruitment and vetting states; do all the recruitment processes take safeguarding of the children into account? Managing allegations or prejudice incidents within your organization; after an allegation or suspicion about a child safeguarding concern has been investigated thoroughly, there could be strong feelings from the service providers, parents and children and possibly within the wider society, which will need to be addressed first. There could be some other issues around the workplace: communication rumor or fact guilt or blame; if suspicions have been around for a long time impact on children, of the nature of what have occurred and to whom there have gaps in the organization in terms of roles and posts held. There should be some plan opportunities for sharing information, support and debriefing about the children. Your communication strategy should include responding to possible media enquiries relating to the children. 4.1 Evaluate one theoretical perspective which underpins the development of strategies for empowering children. Here we have evaluate one theoretical perspective named ‘Contemporary Childhood Theory – Beyond the Boxes’ This paper we made here has been drawn from recent a ‘Childhood Theory’ as set out by Alan Prout (2005). Alan argues that childhood period is heterogeneous and complex in nature. He also suggests that the time has come for the new social studies of working with the children to move beyond the promoting of the notion that the child is an agent to recognizing that different paradigms each have something to offer the analysis the behavior of the children. He urges us on his paper not to produce any normalized description but to ‘keep the question of what children is open’. He suggests the impact of technology on children is widely exaggerated and that we need to move away from false dichotomies in our analysis of childhood of the children Specifically he challenges in his theoretical perspective the nature and culture divide drawing from a number of authors to argue we cannot separate out technology/science from culture in which children lives. He suggests that the future of children is dependent on writers coming to terms with that notion ‘nature culture’. Pout also states, ‘Thus I want to argue that only by understanding the way in which childhood of children is constructed by the heterogeneous elements of nature and culture, which in any case cannot be easily separated, will it be possible to take the field forward’.. He further traces the emergence of Childhood Studies in the 19th and 20th century concluding that this period is characterized by writing that promotes false divisions between the social and biological and that these must be overcome if childhood studies of children is to continue to advance as a discipline. It is argued that the variables in the social life are in constant interplay and that small variables at a point in time can change the history of a system. The central of this discussion is the belief that different systems with similar starting points can end up radically different. Indeed, Prouts has promoted of the concept of bifurcation – the idea that some changes are non-reversible gives much hope for the application of Childhood theory of the children of practical settings. Prout also makes a aware and courageous decision to moves away from his contemporaries in the children’s Childhood Studies who still reify the social. This discuss of theoretical perspective underpins the development strategies for empowering children. 4.2 Assess the effectiveness of the strategies which empower children to develop self-confidence and self-reliance. Following a daily routine is a strategy which has most preferences in use to empower children. The daily routine for children provides with a consistent and predictable sequence of daily events that gives all the children a sense of control over what happens in their day to day life. Different types of settings develop different routines depend how long children do stay in the premises and their age limit, but most of the daily routines contain basic components such as: a) outside routine, b) large group time, c)small group time, d) register time, e) art/craft time, f) tidy up time and g) snack/meal time. During following the daily routine the children learns to make their choices and discovers their consequences. This system creates sort of secure environment for the children, because children know what to expect and this appropriate allows them to be more involve in the tasks and more co-operative with the practitioner in charge. The second strategy for empowering children is planning and providing different activities and experiences for children. This strategy is suggested by the EYFS because this strategy allows for adventure, exploration and gaining new experiences through different activities. Different activities, which provide developed range of skills and abilities to the children. Taking part in different activities allows children learn social interactions and behaviors’ such as sharing equipment, taking turns 5.1 Explain the key issues which relate to the practice which support children to prepare for transfer and transitions. When preparing children for transfer and transitions some key issues will need to be addressed to support them. Information through research indicates that there are some specific essential components for supporting successful transfer and transitions in children, including the following: 1. Ensuring basic needs are met properly. 2. Maintaining and encouraging positive relationships. 3. Providing basic support and resources to children in their new environment and modify or adapting daily routines, as appropriate. 4. Providing choices and involving the children in the transfer and transition process to promote and support self-advocacy. 5. Supporting the need for increased independence and helping children create their own identity. 6. Ensuring that all transfer and transition plans are well coordinated and integrated and information is shared with parents and across sectors. Supporting the child through the transfer and transition can be vital for their successfulness, if the correct support is put in the correct place the children will be more comfortable with the changes that are happening in their life. 6.1 Discuss the causes and effects on children of discrimination in society in ways that show a clear understanding of the nature of discrimination. If the children are in contact with discrimination they often want help of participating others, that time they become less confident around others and also isolate themselves to reduce the risk of being upset or hurt by others. Causes are: Social separation; if someone seems socially not confident then they may not seclude themselves from social situations; this can be happened to the children also. People’s opinions; we know that everyone has their own views and opinions on different things happened around them; however in practical life you should be able to share everyones opinions and provide equal opportunities for everyone as well. Differences; if someone can point out differences in a person then other people, especially children, they can pick up on this leading to the discrimination they face . Religions; do you a setting educate and celebrate different religions? Celebrating different events exist in various religions to educate everyone on the difference of the world. Effects are: Becomes isolated; this is lonely and cheerless for the children that it’s effecting them, their self-confidence will be lower than the normal stage, therefore they also separate themselves from others to avoid contact which may make them upset which can stump their social development as well. Opinions can be relayed onto others; if someone talks about their own opinion enough then other people can start to agree with them, or may be pressured into thinking the same as, this can mean more severe discrimination will be caused against children because of their new views. Conclusion: In confine we can state it that supporting children is a task that has to carry out very carefully. To support the vulnerable children first off all you have to go through all the legislative issues relating to supporting children around the world. Those legislations work in different ways in the practice. Those legislation must be drawn out and implemented in a way that they can give fair, just and inclusive view to the strategies the practitioner follows to guide the children under him/her. The practitioner who works with the children must have the ability to understand the policies related to the supporting the children.

How attitudes towards studying children have evolved Essay -- Childhoo

This assignment intends to identify how attitudes towards studying children have been evolving over time, whilst also identifying three key principles which should be aspired to when implementing such research. A range of theoretical perspectives and methodologies shall also be explored with examination on children’s roles and their involvement being evident throughout. Researching children is in no way a new phenomenon however there has been a considerable shift in paradigm which has led to increasing amounts of research being carried out ‘with’ children rather than ‘on’ children (Christensen and James, 2008). This could be because of the growing interest in children’s rights to participate (James and Prout, 1997), which as suggested by O’kane (2008) occurred in the late 1980’s. However it is difficult to determine whether this shift in paradigm occurred as a result of natural changes in researcher’s attitudes or as a direct result of new legislation (2008). As at a similar time, in 1989, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) (UNCRC ) was enforced, giving children the right to participate and be heard in matters affecting their lives. This difficulty is evident by Schaffer (1990) suggesting developmental theories have strongly influenced policies thus indicating, as res earcher’s knowledge on children and childhood develop attitudes and policy change. In contrast O’Kane (2008, p.125) states â€Å"changes reflect an acknowledgement of children’s rights†. Views on childhood have and still continue to change (Waller, 2009). The contemporary view that children are empty vessels (Skinner, 1974) is being disregarded as children are no longer perceived as passive recipients in an adult world (O’Kane, 2008... ...exist as if the researcher were to allow the cost to the individual to be weighed out by the benefit towards society (ref) the whole study would be compromised with both the researcher and their research losing validity in the eyes of others (Green, 2003). In conclusion this assignment has identified that attitudes towards studying children have and still continue to change, although it is evident attitudes are still dominated by a western perspective and some changes have been more embraced than others. The findings within this assignment support the view that children now have a participatory role within research, however it also identifies that participation is only possible if the researchers fully embrace children as competent beings and aspires to the key principles of consent, listening and responding to children and adheres to ethical codes of conduct.

Ants :: essays research papers

Ants belong to an order of insects called Hymenoptera; this group also includes bees, wasps, and sawflies. They belong to the insect family Formicidae meaning ‘ant family’. There are over 60 genre existing in North America comprising hundreds of different species on this continent alone. There are many different kinds of ants all over the world. Some kinds of ants among the best known are: fire ants, army ants, carpenter ants, driver ants, harvester ants, weaver ants, fungus- gardening ants, aphid- tending ants, honeypot ants, and acacia ants. Ants can be found in many places such as soil, leaf litter, rotting wood and dead trees. Ants live all over the world, except for the Arctic and Antarctic and some islands, also on the coldest mountain tops. They are most abundant in the tropical rainforests and other tropical regions. All ants are social. In fact they are the only insects in which all species are social. Large groups of ants live in colonies or communities together. In the majority of ants, colonies are families or groups of related families. These groups consist of one or more queens, who rule the colony, and males, whose only job is to fertilize the queen and then die soon after. The workers in the colony are only females. These workers are divided into several working classes including: enlargement and repair of the nest, taking care of the larvae, tending to the queen, defending the colony, and foraging for food. The shape of the ant head can be oval shaped, spherical, triangular or even rectangular; it differs among species. All ants have an opening in the back of their head, through which the beginning of the digestive tract, nerves and blood pass through. Inside the mouth are three different parts. The mandibles, or jaws, are long and broad and are toothed, or serrated. Ants use their mandibles for collecting and carrying food, digging, building nests, cutting and fighting. The maxillae, or lower jaws, are used to extract liquids from foods. Ants use their tongues for sucking up the liquid food. Also two pairs of slender palpi are inside the mouth, that resemble antennae, and play an important role in eating. Ants have two compound eyes each are made of light-sensitive compartments called ommatidia. Other types of ants have three simple eyes called ocelli on the tops of their heads. Different species have developed sight, but some are completely blind.

Solar Energy and the Energy Crisis Essays -- Energy Power Global Warmi

Solar Energy and the Energy Crisis Abstract The energy crisis is a major problem in the United States. Solar energy can help alleviate this problem. Enough solar panels to fulfill the energy needs of the entire United States would take up 27,347 km2 and cost almost 17 trillion dollars. Therefore, although there is enough space for all those solar panels, the economic cost is far too great. However, solar power can be phased in gradually. Solar Energy 3 Solar Energy: Can It Solve the Energy Crisis? The world's supply of fossil fuels is dwindling. The amount of power generated from renewable energy sources needs to be increased, as there is little chance of power consumption decreasing. Solar power is a relatively untapped power source which could contribute to solving the energy crisis. Solar power plants can operate as long as the sun continues to give off light and heat, and it will continue to do so for billions of years. However, solar power plants cannot be the only power source, for they do not operate at peak efficiency at night or when the sun is obscured by dense cloud cover. Solar power accounted for only 0.064% of US energy consumption in 2003, while fossil fuels accounted for 85.973%. Also, solar power production in the United States has been decreasing since 1996 (see Figure 1) (Annual Energy Review, 2003). The most common way to convert solar radiation into electricity is the use of photovoltaic cells, also called solar cells. These cells are grouped together in solar panels. Solar cells are made of thin wafers of silicon (Si) with a few other elements added. The efficiency of these cells is around 12%, so that a panel with an area of one square meter placed in direct sunlight will generate ... ... new plants are required or to replace old, barely-working power plants. Also, more investigation should be done into alternative ways of gathering solar energy (such as satellites and â€Å"power towers†). Solar Energy 5 References Parfit, M. (2005). Future power. National Geographic, 208(2), 2-31. Annual Energy Review. (2003). Retrieved August 01, 2005, from http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/. Solarbuzz. (n.d.). Retrieved August 02, 2005, from http://www.solarbuzz.com/. Solar Cell. (July 20, 2005). Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 01, 2005, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Cell. Solar Energy. (n.d.). Retrieved August 01, 2005, from http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter15.html. United States. (July 28, 2005). CIA - The World Factbook. Retrieved August 02, 2005, from http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html.

How Are Youths’ Perceptions Contributing to Its Popularity?

Exploring the CEO-fashion trend: How are youths' perceptions contributing to its popularity? Introduction Ensuring garments are produced in an environmentally friendly manner in regards to its materials, consumer benefits and the condition in which employees are working is the essence of what CEO-fashion is all about (Hudson, 2012). According to Hudson (2012), 2011 was the leading year fashion industries realized a prosperous opportunity and need for venturing into the businesses of CEO-friendly clothing.CEO- fashion has increased in popularity as a global trend and Anne Salvatore Epstein was he one that discovered this concept in 2009, when she was pregnant. The reason for Epstein to embrace this concept was because of her desire to enhance the organic value in life for her new born. In order to create an organic fashion trend, Epstein first collaboration partnership was with Marc Jacobs (Smith, 2006). Generation Y, the main target market for sustainable fashion, enjoys the quick tr ends presented by fast fashion retailers (Martin ; Bush, 2000, as cited in Hill, 2011).However, the value of being socially responsible and taking into consideration sustainability issues is mongo their concerns as well (Yang, 2003). According to a study by a market research company, Marital, 47% of the participants from generation Y found that they are attracted to environmentally friendly services, products or brands and are often more agreeable to pay extra when purchasing. The explanations behind the enthusiasm of the vast majority were due to reasons such as â€Å"care about the environment†, â€Å"it's the right thing to do† or â€Å"so that people know I'm environmentally aware† (Barcelona, 2007). A significant figure of 47% of Generation Y is willing to shop at a retailer more often if they were environmentally friendly', was the outcome of the study, hence describing their attitudes towards retailers that positioned themselves as environmentally aware ( Barcelona, 2007). A result from another study also showed that a company's social and environmental commitments are factors to be considered by of Generation Y interviewed and 83% find a company more treatable if it practices the societal marketing concept (Kim, Change, Lee ; Huh, 2011).The improved public education that generation Y received in their early childhood consequently resulted in their heightened awareness and concern of becoming more environmentally conscious than previous generations (Meddlesome ; Polygons, 1995, as cited in Kim, Change, Lee ; Huh, 2011). Throughout their lives, Gene Y has faced detrimental issues regarding global climate change and ozone depletion. As a result, increased awareness through sound environmental education is an important element when teaching hence emphasizing the importance of protecting the environment.Additionally, younger consumers are more likely to be fashion leaders (Goldsmith ; Clark, 2009, as cited in Hill, 2011), therefore under standing generation Yes perception towards CEO-fashion may lead to a better understanding of owe they are contributing to its growing popularity (Morgan ; Bristle, 2009). Research Justification Despite the prominently growing trend of CEO-fashion and its popularity in the fashion industry, identification of factors influencing consumers' evaluations and perceptions of sustainable product requires further research.Lack of available options is one of the major barriers to CEO-fashion (Hillier Connell, 2010). Moreover, there is limited research directed towards consumers' views of fashion sustainability (Morgan ; Bristle, 2009). Thus highlighting the need to acquire further insight into generation Yes perceptions of fashion and sustainability. Fashion retailers are seen to have a unique position of being closer to consumers, as their business model and supply chain is driven by consumer demand (Bristle, Squid ; Frito, 2003).Therefore consumer's opinions concerning sustainability are es sential to how retailers conduct business in addition to the fact that they are able to respond quicker to the demand for sustainable products more appropriately. Owner and founder of Coming NYC and a fashion retailer that excelled in CEO-fashion, Anne Bernstein, has proudly dedicated to educating the public about the advantages of CEO-friendly fashion (Pietistic, 2009). According to Bernstein, there are three key factors that CEO-fashion designers take into consideration when creating pieces of fashion that is considered â€Å"sustainable†.They are the health of the planet, health of garments makers, and the quality of products in terms of sustainability essentially serving the purpose of long-term usage (Pietistic, 2009). Bridges & Wilhelm (2008) found a low level of knowledge of sustainability matched with a high level of interest in the concept among Generation Y. Hence, this research seeks to consider Generation Yes perceptions towards the sustainable line of fashion gar ments and how these perceptions will contribute to the expanding popularity of CEO-fashion.Taking the above mentioned into consideration, this study will aim at providing fashion designers and retailers the insight needed into factors Generation Y consumers consider in relation to the concept of CEO-fashion. Understanding this could better equip retailers when creating marketing campaigns when targeting consumers as it is based on their level of knowledge and understanding. Objective of Research This research paper intends to determine the factors that affect the Generation Y consumer's perceptions towards the concept of CEO-fashion, and how these factors result in the mounting popularity of CEO-fashion.Therefore, the objectives of this study are to: 1 . Identify the stimulus affecting perceptions towards CEO-fashion among Generation Y. 2. Examine the relationship between Generation Y consumers' perceptions on CEO-fashion concept and the popularity of the concept in regards to the f ive variables that will be analyzed. Literature Review Price and the purchase intention of CEO-apparel Consumer's price sensitivity has attracted the attention of various researchers throughout the 21st century.The reason being is studies have shown that price is the cost that shoppers are able to best determine thus making it among the most important criteria when deciding to purchase (Dickson ; Hustled, 2009). To further elaborate, in a recent study of shopper's selection, price was consistently indicated as a major influencing factor (Sensei & Todd, 2003). This coincides with the findings of how retailers too, find price to be an important factor for shoppers thus emphasizing its relevance (Sensei & Todd, 2003).Studies have shown that the perception of higher prices may prove to be a barrier to purchasing environmentally friendly apparel and they may be unwilling to pay increased prices for sustainable apparel (Connell, 2010). However the way in which retailers are able to overco me this issue is by producing apparel on a global scale thus increasing sourcing options that allows manufacturers to compete on lower prices (Gamma, 2011). Another solution is sustainable fashion is encouraged to develop current styles and provide increased information to customers through labeling to inform them (Height, 2009).Levis have incorporated this concept into their trendy clothing proving how it can gain customers through style and ethics (Mesa , 22)). The concept is still emerging into the retail business hence showing its potential to grow. Furthermore, it was stated in green marketing literature that consumers that are environmentally conscious are willing to purchase green products that may cost more than the average (Halyard, Ogle & Dunbar, 2006). HI : Price positively affects the purchase intention of CEO-apparel. Perceived quality and the purchase intention of CEO-apparelWhen considering a product, consumers take into account their perceived quality of the products characteristics meaning its overall components that are physical and non-physical (Hill & Lee, 2012). Elements such as reliability, durability and performance are factors that lead to consumer satisfaction or dissatisfaction in accordance with their expectation (Sheen, Wang, Lo & Chum, 2012). As CEO- apparel is still a young concept in the business, consumers may be reluctant in purchasing such goods although they are environmentally conscious.Another barrier that may be faced is the belief among consumers that apparel made of recycled eternal is of reduced quality. The large apparel industry leaves a large carbon footprint in the environment as it is ever changing and growing resulting in increased wastage (Chain & Wong, Wong). Through all stages of its product life cycle: from fiber growth, manufacturing, dyeing, transportation to end users each step leaves a harmful impact (Hill & Lee, 2012). Consequently, designers are taking initiative by engaging in CEO fashion by producing t heir clothes in a way that best suits the environment (Hill, 2012).Utilizing 100% organic fibers, bamboo and hemp are among the biodegradable materials used in the production process. The sturdy fibers of the plants increase the durability of the products promising that the garments made are of strong quality. In addition, for those that are hesitant as it is a new concept, reputable designers such as Guess Scares have altered methods of production to create more CEO-friendly garments (Volitional, 2009). Customers need not make trade-offs in terms of attributes that create quality when selecting CEO- apparel products to purchase due to qualities like 100% organic cotton (Sheen, Wang, Lo & Chum, 2012).By remaining stylish, entities have been able to promote Rene fashion without compromising their cool factor, thus enhancing their brand image to a larger pool of customers besides guaranteeing quality. H2O: Perceived quality positively affects the purchase intention of CEO-apparel. Ope nness to innovation and the purchase intention of CEO-apparel One of the main influences in determining the purchase of CEO-garments depends on an individual's personality and their openness to experience.Each person has a unique self-image they try to portray and remain consistent with in accordance to the type of good or service consumed (Sibilate ; Undervaluation, 2012). A significant indicator of the type of consumers that may be attracted towards this concept are those that indulge in innovative ideas (Cornell ; Heartfelt, 2012). As stated by Coworker , 2011, the CEO-apparel concept is fairly new and is gradually gaining awareness among consumers and businesses thus the need for consumers to be open to new ideas is vital in order for them to accept this idea (Coworker, 2011).Getting a further understanding of the degree to which consumers inhibit a desire to experience unique ideas allows marketers and CEO retailers the opportunity to take advantage increasing the amount of pot ential customers. However, research has shown that the level of generation Yes knowledge regarding this matter is low, yet it also indicates that they put great emphasize on their concern of this issue (Sensei ; Todd, 2003). Their willingness to educate themselves will essentially result in an increased desire to indulge in CEO-friendly goods (Ma, Littered ; NIMH, 2012).Targeting generation Y in an effort to gain increased supporters of CEO-garments is key to its success (Connell, 2010). However, capturing those individuals that are more ailing to engage in such products enables this concept to gain popularity more rapidly. HE: Consumer innovativeness positively affects the purchase intention of CEO- apparel. The socio-cultural impact and the purchase intention of CEO-apparel When discussing the environment as a whole, several factors can be taken into consideration in accordance to an individual's life.CEO-fashion is currently considered to be a niche market hence appropriately tar geting those consumers that are environmentally concerned with products that are designed to fit their lifestyles (Bruno, Mindedness, Reid & Yanks, 2008). Moreover, generation Y consumers that enjoy shopping generally have specific lifestyles, motivations and opinions in relation to shopping (Serbia-Sanchez, Vagary & Hot, 2011). Their motivations to purchase certain goods tend to reflect their social and recreational identities (Serbia-Sanchez, Vagary & Hot, 2011).Hence by purchasing specific goods such as CEO-apparel allows them to communicate to their peers that they are able to incorporate their values and beliefs of being socially aware through the clothes they purchase. Moreover, segmenting research has shown that lifestyle profiles of customers are a more beneficial meaner to differentiate green consumers than demographics thus highlighting the importance of understanding their daily lives (Hill, 2012). In addition, as generation Y makes up a large segment of the retailer busi ness, their interest in fashion and shopping is dominant.They are more prone to seeking new knowledge regarding clothing products which can lead to greater curiosity concerning CEO-garments (Sheen, Wang, Lo & Chum, 2012). They find a sense of self-fulfillment when purchasing CEO-made goods as it promotes an CEO- lifestyle (Macaroon, 2009). Research has shown that by combining an CEO-friendly production process with fashion-orientated behaviors may identify the degree to which consumers are more willing to purchase CEO-apparel (Cornell, Hester & Richard, 2011).For those that want to express their values in regards to being CEO- friendly but also want to be stylish, top designers such as Archie Rich, was able to feature a â€Å"stunning pink and yellow skirt† made entirely from corn fiber. This shows the potential of such raw materials hence allowing them to further advance consumers beliefs and perceptions regarding this industry (Larry, 2012). Moreover, designer he stated how people often perceive the fashion world as superficial. Therefore this could be a stepping stone that proves to the world that by utilizing such resources in their clothing shows their willingness to help (Larry, 2012).Businesses are able to undergo certain actions in their business that allows consumers to form certain perceptions about this issue. This results in the target market discovering certain attitudes, beliefs and values they own that translates into their daily lives. HE: The socio-cultural positively affects the purchase intention of CEO-apparel. Corporate persona and initiatives and the purchase intention of CEO-apparel Throughout the last decade, corporate social responsibility (CARS) has gained incredible momentum across diverse businesses globally as it is being considered as a main objective for firms.This is done in an attempt to emphasize their commitment to environmental, social and economic goals that go beyond their commercial activities Cones, Comfort & Hill ier, 2006). Studies have shown that the generation Y consumer does appreciate activities retailers practice and prefer to purchase from companies that are making a difference in society (Hill & Lee, 2012). As the participation in CARS and sustainability initiatives gains popularity in the market, companies also gain a competitive advantage (Career & Valor, 2012).Companies such as Wall-Mart are confident enough to report the environmental footprint on products it sells to prove to consumers that they are causing lesser damage annually (Hill, 2012). Furthermore, various designers such as Stella McCarty, Gap, Levis and Guess Scares have recently debuted sustainable clothing lines highlighting short-term sustainable acts (Hill, 2012). Barneys NY, a famous U. S. Retail outlet, invested in a green luxury' campaign whereby studies found that it was well received by consumers that expressed interest in the â€Å"green themed window displays† (Hill, 2012).This shows various ways in wh ich companies show their consumers how they are involved as well as how consumers are positively responding. It represents a relatively smaller portion of the marketplace however each step taken to help the sustainable fashion market place grow is effective (Chain ; Wong, Wong). Practicing CARS is an option and not an obligation for entities therefore it verifies that those that practice do care about their consumers and the environment therefore allowing them to improve their value to consumers, enhance their reputation and own a competitive advantage.Finally, another study showed that numerous participants mentioned the proactive measures taken by companies and how it makes a more positive impact thus practicing initiatives has a direct affect towards their purchase intentions of CEO-apparel goods (Regional, 2010), HE: Corporate persona and initiatives positively affects the purchase intention of CEO-apparel. Methodology Three hundred female university students are to participate in this research by completing a self-administered questionnaire.University students are targeted for the sample because they share similar characteristics with fashion leaders and are exposed to a variety of fashion information (Workman ; Kid, 2000). The sample for this study contained only female consumers due to previous research noting that there is a high propensity of female consumers towards fashion (Morgan ; Bristle, 2009). Additionally, research on environmentally conscious consumers has found females being more apt in supporting environmental issues (Mariner, Barnett, Balder, Nubian ; Osama, 1997, as cited in Nodding, 2003).Therefore, in order to eliminate potential sampling biases due to gender, this study utilized data only from female respondents. To guarantee reliability and validity, the large amount of samples used will better reflect reliable results. Data is collected in the Klan Valley area as this area consists of most universities as well as being convenient for the researchers, thus making it a strategic location to gather a large amount of data (Miller ; ROR, 2004). To achieve the objective of this research, non-probability sampling method was adopted, as the focus of the research is only on Generation Y assign consumers.The questions used to measure the variables were adopted from a wide range of relevant past research with the following components: 1. Price (Darker ; Freedman, 1992, as cited in Madman ; Sure, 2001; Vaudevillian ; Gradual, 2008). 2. Perceived Quality (Estimate, 1988, as cited in Joy ; Cigarillos, 2007; Sarasota, 2012). 3. Openness to innovation (Hill, 2012) 4. Socio-cultural (Bruno, Mindedness, Reid ; Yanks, 2008). 5. Corporate person and initiatives (citation) Participants were asked to rate, on a seven point Liker scale.In terms of rating scale, seven point Liker scale will be used to identify categories in the questionnaire where 1= strongly agree, 4= neither agree nor disagree, and 7= strongly disagree. According to Sigmund, Ward, Lowe, WinZip ; Bin (2007), the Liker scale is also known as a popular method to measure attitude because it is easy to administer. Data processing and analysis SPAS 18. 0 will be used for data analyses. Reliability will be estimated by using Cockroach's coefficient alpha for all multi-item scales.Others statistical analyses are such as descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, factors statistics and associative analysis. Functions of these statistics are to reduce the sturdy sum of data matrix collected from the large array of respondents (Burns & Bush, 2006). Tasks such as describing measurable characteristics for entities such as median, range, standard deviation, etc could be performed using descriptive statistics (Wally's, 1978). According to Stephen ; Horny (1995), inferential statistic is using a one-sample test to obtain data for standard error analysis and hypothesis testing to determine population parameters.While associative analysis will determine wh ether the proposed variable in the report are interrelated in a logical way (Pappy ; Sequester, 2006); factor analysis will be used to describe variability among observed, correlated variables in terms of a potentially lower number of unobserved variables (Rumen, 1970). Limitation of the research Few limitations in the research are barriers that might limit the findings of the research but overcoming these weaknesses of the study would be the direction of future research.Firstly, the research only focuses on the perceptions of the Generation Y consumer, thus not being a proper representation of the entire population of CEO-fashion consumers although this target consists of consumers that could be most interested in CEO-apparel. Studying other generational groups of consumers would further build the knowledge of consumers' perceptions toward the CEO-fashion concept (Hill, 2011). Furthermore, the research only analyses university students within the Klan Valley area thus it may not be most applicable in terms of different cultural contexts.To elaborate, consumers react differently to prices across countries 00 & Cigarillos, 2007). Compared to individualistic culture, any changes in price in a collectivist culture tend to have greater corresponding perceived laity differences. Hence, a larger sample covering other distinctive areas would be suggested to provide more accurate results (Cooper, 2005). Additionally, this study is limited in that it only covers variables such as price, perceived quality, openness to innovation, corporate person and initiatives and socio-cultural impact that influences consumers' perceptions toward the CEO-fashion concept.The inclusion of other related features such as personality and family could also influence the consumers' perceptions toward CEO-fashion concept. According to Fernery, Park & Brandon 2005), these factors play a unique role in the perception towards fashion retailers and are especially salient in apparel purchases. Th us, further study into other influences on consumers' perception is needed. Lastly, this research is limited as it focuses only on female respondents. Therefore, this may lead to gender bias in the results.

Fundamentals of rhythm Essay

What is dance? Dance is a type of art that generally involves movement of the body, often rhythmic and to music. It is performed in many cultures as a form of emotional expression, social interaction, or exercise, in a spiritual or performance setting, and is sometimes used to express ideas or tell a story. Dance may also be regarded as a form of nonverbal communication between humans or other animals, as in bee dances and behavior patterns such as mating dances. Definitions of what constitutes dance can depend on social and cultural norms and aesthetic, artistic and moral sensibilities. Definitions may range from functional movement (such as folk dance) to virtuoso techniques such as ballet. Martial arts kata are often compared to dances, and sports such as gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming are generally thought to incorporate dance. What is rhythm? Rhythm from Greek —rhythmos, â€Å"any regular recurring motion, symmetry† generally means a â€Å"movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions. This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time can apply to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or frequency of anything from microseconds to millions of years. In the performance arts rhythm is the timing of events on a human scale; of musical sounds and silences, of the steps of a dance, or the meter of spoken language and poetry. Rhythm may also refer to visual presentation, as â€Å"timed movement through space and a common language of pattern unites rhythm with geometry. In recent years, rhythm and meter have become an important area of research among music scholars. Recent work in these areas includes books by Maury Yeston, Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff, Jonathan Kramer, Christopher Hasty, Godfried Toussaint, William Rothstein, and Joel Lester. What is dancing? Dancing is the music played with the body. Dancing is done for pleasure of the dancer. Dancing can be defined as: a series of movements that match the speed and rhythm of a piece of music. Dancing is also a particular sequence of steps and movements constituting a particular form of movements. Visual effects of dancing are secondary. Movement to the beat expressed in sounds has the  magical effect on us: we come to the euphoria, trance. Dancing in a group we experience the powerful drive to unity. Unity of free people united in free formations. No wonder dancing for millennia was main spiritual or entertaining activity for all religious, social, political, and even military activities. Dancing is a means of expressing one’s emotions through movement disciplined by rhythm. It is an art of moving rhythmically and expressively to an accompaniment. The term â€Å"Dancing† came from an old German word â€Å"danson† which means â€Å"to stretch†.

The height of the power of Roman Empire

The height of the power of Roman Empire was at vast. Over one quarter of the world’s population lived and died the rule of the Caesars. Emperor Marcus Aurelius was in twelve-years of campaign against the Barbarian Tribe in Germania that was drawing to an end. His final wish before he dies is that to have a stronghold stands in the way of Roman Victory and the promise of peace throughout the empire. The film begins at the Roman battle for Germania, then a backwards land of barbarians. General Maximus Decimus Meridus leads the Roman Army to a decisive victory against the Germanic Tribes at Vindobona. The long war got ended on the Roman frontier and he earned the esteem of the elderly Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He has a male heir named Commodus. The dying emperor wished to grant temporary leadership to Maximus hoping to return the power to the Roman Senate. He saw Maximus’ abilities to lead and serve as an Emperor in Rome because Maximus is a principled man and he can command the loyalty of the army. Marcus wants him to end the corruption and to save Rome from partition. Marcus wants Rome to be a Republic again. Analyzing the Roman Society can undergo into these different kinds of perspectives, namely, Functionalist, Conflict, and Symbolic Interaction Perspective. First up is the Functionalist Theory. A Functionalist Theory explains phenomena through functions. It has two elements which are the view from the society as a system of interrelated parts that are interdependent and the general values among society members. So how can we relate Functionalist Theory to the Society? There is only one word for that – Change. Change plays a big role to Functionalist Theory. Society is seen as integrated whole. A change in one part of a society leads to change in other parts as well. Society may change over time, but functionalist believe that it will return to stable state. In the movie Gladiator, the people there are asked to become gladiators. They fight for their lives inside the arena. Many gladiators get wounded or die. That serves as an entertainment to the higher class. The gladiators are there for the glory of the Empire. The manifestation of this is that they don’t have rights. They can’t help it but to follow the rules of their ruler. It all comes to one label which is – slavery. The latent is that they are powerless. They have to follow the rules of their emperor because he is in the top. He is the highest among them. Which means that the gladiators and the other slaves are the peasants who they need to work for their emperor and to earn a living. And lastly, the dysfunction to this is that they are being abused. They are being asked to fight inside the arena. It’s a matter of life and death situation. The Conflict Perspective here is that the society is composed of distinct groups with opposing interests. The power and inequality are found systematically in the society. In the movie, there is an inequality between the slaves and the higher class. The slaves are forced to work for them and to become gladiators and fight their lives in the arena. The power is that the Emperor can dictate. They give command to the military, the government, and the people simultaneously. There should be a social balance to the Roman Empire. And last perspective is the Symbolic-Interactionism Perspective. This uses symbols to analyze the society well. An interaction between individuals is negotiated through shared symbols, gestures, and nonverbal communications. The symbolic-interactionism in the movie is that through clothing. The higher class can wear beautiful clothing while the slaves cannot. In all, there is still a question between the powers of the Emperor to the Senate. There is a large scale of happenings to the Roman Empire. The function of the gladiators within that society is to put forth a microcosm of the struggle. There is dictatorship and criticism among them. A Republic is a form of government in which the country is considered as a â€Å"public mater†, not the private concern or property of rulers, and where offices and states are subsequently directed or indirectly elected or appointed rather than inherited. The proposed solution to this class disparity is to give the power of government to the senate, which is elected by the working class, not to the Emperor.

Amazon.Com Case Studies

Name: PRASHANTH BALAKRISHNAN Student ID: 071090070 Course: BIS 541/03 –MANAGING INFORMATION SYSTEMS Program: CEMBA Commonwealth Executive Master of Business and Administration TMA 1: â€Å"Amazon. com†- A Business History Tutor: Prasanan P. T. Kannan Submission Date: 07. March. 2009 [pic] TABLE OF CONTENTS ChapterTitlePage 1. 0Executive Summary 2. 0Problem Statement1 3. 0Analysis of Causes 3. 1 Amazon’s Debt 2-3 3. 2 Competition3-4 3. 3 Expansion4-6 4. 0Decision Criteria and Alternative Solutions 4. 1 Reduce expenditure in inventories and better management7 in supply chain 4. Presenting a competitive edge to competitors7 4. 3 Expansionto Asia8 5. Recommended Solutions 5. 1 Technology Integration and R&D9 5. 2 Strategic Cost Analysis9 5. 3 Differentiation9 5. 4 Inventory10 5. 5 Visionary & Informative10-11 5. 6 Keep customers in the loop on everything11 5. 7 Shipping & Delivery11 5. 8 Expansion to Asia Region11-12 5. 9 Word-of mouth advertisement12 6. 0 Expand the product lines13 6. 0Appendices14-16 7. 0References17 Executive Summary The study comprises of Amazon. om which started its history by selling books and now one of the online market leaders globally not only for books but products from various categories. Company started with a mission to be Earth’s most customer centric company. In order to become the largest and convenience online store for all, there are major problems or threat being faced by Amazon. com in succeeding its mission. The major problems are Amazon facing high amount of debt, it’s less initiative in not expanding to other developed countries, and also competition from other online retailers and one tough opponent is Barnes & Nobles. Many plans of actions can be taken and some of it is; Amazon. com should decrease long–term debt by increasing expenditure on research and development, increasing word-to-mouth advertisement and good customer service. Amazon. com should also expand the five most common languages in Asian region. Focus marketing strategies on customer feedback to find out what Asian customers tend to buy and willing to spend on. Strategize new plan on improving sites to be informative and attractive as much as possible so Amazon. com should also adapt to the best technology where it can sustain as a strong innovator in ever increasing retailer market. Amazon. com also must strive to give customers the best service in shipping and delivery as it’s an important aspect in online business to out beat its entire competitors on this online industry. Problem Statement The main problem faced by Amazon. com now being an online retailer can be divided to three in overall. Amazon. com is in confronting huge debt behind their successful screen. Amazon. com is lack of expansion to other regions or Asia which be said as another big market for a huge online bookseller as Amazon. com. Another problem is the competition being faced by them with one of the tough opponent as Barnes&Nobles. Analysis of the Problem Amazon. com’s in Debt 3. 1 Amazon’s Debt One of major causes of Amazon’s huge debt is its large expenditure. In order to keep its advantageous position, Amazon has no choice but to continue to spend astronomical amounts of money on sales & marketing, research & development and general & administrative costs. (Table 1 & Table 2) â€Å"One misstep, and its love affair withy investors and sources of capital could be over. (Kimberly Weisul, 1999) †¢ Competitors Although Amazon won the battle soon after entering the online cd and music market, there are some competitions in other product lines that may be too immensely strong to beat. For example, in March of 1999, Amazon introduced an auction service. After a few months effort, its auction business performed slightly, indicating how difficult it is to challenge the giant’s eBay and Yahoo! Auctions. |Auction Sites |27-Sep-99 |Multiplier needed to equal eBay listings | |Amazon Auctions |4. 0% |15. 3 | |eBay |73. 60% |   | |Yahoo! Auctions |21. 60% |3. 4 | Source: Auction Web sites and C. E Unterberg Towbin †¢ Consumer Behavior Amazon. com is widely regarded as having one of the best management team of any internet company. However, there are some outside forces that are not easy to manipulate. Security; as the number of Internet crimes increases, customers are becoming aware of the possible danger involved in the process of on-line shopping. This security problem may not be difficult to improve since security technology is innovated quickly, but to convince customer of this is not as easy ? Etailers vs. retailers Another factor is hard to manage customer purchasing habits. Most consumers still prefer the capability of seeing a product before buying it. Additionally, the number of people buying personal computers and that of the Internet population wil l directly affect Amazon’s sale. . 2 Competition †¢ Michael Porter’s Model ? Supplier ; Amazon started to build its own distribution centers in different locations and moving the products directly form the factory rather than from other distributors such that Amazon can lower its marginal costs. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999) ? Consumers ; Amazon. com continues to spend a lot of money in advertisement to reach customers as well as to increase customer awareness of eCommerce in general and brand name in particular. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999) ? Substitutes; The Substitute of eCommerce, the traditional retailers, is still more attractive than the Etailers. For example, we as consumers more than likely would rather go to the bookstore and browse through a book before we buy it. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999 ) 3. 3 Expansion †¢ Lack of Spanish website version (Latino and Hispanic Americans are the fastest-growing online ethnic group) †¢ Amazon. com is very less popular or it can said there are people without knowing the existence of Amazon. om †¢ Website is not more expanded with more languages options where currently there are options only for Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France and China (www. amazon. com) Competition with Barnes& Nobles Amazon. com Weakness ? Difficulties of handling large number of customers ? Limited operating history ? Security awareness ? Low margins in the sector ? Risk of introduction of wrong new categories which could damage company’s bra nd ? Company’s offered free shipping might affect future financial outcome ? Certain products (high volume/weight) have high shipping costs which could confront with local offline retailers Threats ? eBay, Barnes & Nobles, and Wal-Mart ? Population segment not targeted to on-line sales due to their lack of internet access ? Weak economic performance of Germany and France in the last year ? Competition will increase due to the low barriers to entry in the market: offline companies are coming online ? Heavy investments in Partnerships (Dustin Nadeau & Donatas Sumyla. April 2006) Barnes and Nobles and Amazon. com are competing, but both stores and other online stores recognize what works and are studying one another – often duplicating one another’s business strategies. This has resulted in them having more similarities than differences and it helps the consumers find similarities across the Web such as; †¢ When a description of an item is given, Amazon and Barnes and Nobles both place the shopping cart option prominently displayed to the upper, right portion of the screen. This makes it very efficient and useable for the viewer and they do not have to search around the page for this button. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ In pricing, both Amazon. com and Barnesandnobles. com display the average price or their items above their own discounted rates so that the users feel as though they are saving money. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ Both sites are â€Å"Flexible†, there is an option of buying things at a later date and placing them in the shopping cart temporarily. This option is called the wish list and it is displayed just beneath the â€Å"Add to Cart† button. Users can access this saved information and acce ss it on their next visit. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ Both sites offer â€Å"Security† that provides safe shopping, privacy and efficiency by requiring customers to join as members at a certain point during a transaction. Membership is free and requires an email address, full name, home address and phone number. It allowing customers to maintain an order status and helps provide a history of what they bought. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢   Both sites are very â€Å"Scalable†, allowing for a huge selection of items to be added to the product catalog or taken away. A Field size is accommodated in the database. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) 4. 0 Alternative Solutions 4. 1 Reduce expenditure in inventories and better management in supply chain ? Use increased income to pay down long-term debt ? Keep operating costs low (efficiencies of scales) ? Increase expenditure on Research & Development arena ? Strategic cost analysis ( WOU , MIS notes) ? Determining Differentiation ( WOU , MIS notes) 4. 2 Presenting a competitive edge to competitors †¢ Create more expertise in marketing and more product launches compared to competitors; †¢ Do a more through research on the customers needs and come up with something new that has its own brand and establishes as only Amazon. om could have the product. (Sujan Sarkar. April 23, 2007) †¢ A new Strategy on only books should be brought up in order to outcome one tough opponent as Barnes & Nobles. For example, Amazon. com’s booth’s can be set up in country sides where there is no access for Internet and give knowledge to country people that there also business through online. This is because; giving more exposure and awareness to people might be a business opportun ity as well. †¢ Product review information; Customers would have n a clear description, synopsis and other customer’s review on the book as it gives a clear rating of the book and there won’t be any sort of disappointments for them after purchase. 4. 3 Expansion to Asia †¢ Create different website versions based on the five most common language in Asian region †¢ Focus marketing strategies on customer feedback to find out what Asian customers tend to buy. †¢ Word of mouth advertisement (Onder Savas Devrim Dirik. January 9, 2003) †¢ Continue expanding its product lines 5. 0 Recommended Solution & Implementation 5. Technology Integration and R&D Amazon. com should increase expenditure in the research and development arena. We believe that Amazon should prepare itself for additional telecommunications implementations such as high speed internet and network security. These types of implementation, though representative of considerable R&D costs, ar e probably most significant factors that etailers must prepare for near future. As users, connections increase in speed, any delays on the part of the etailer they are connecting to will become obvious and less tolerable. Amazon can stay ahead of the pack by preparing a unique and comfortable interface for the users. 5. 2 Strategic Cost Analysis Amazon. com should also use Strategic cost analysis process where identify the firm’s value chain, diagnose the key elements that drive the costs of each value activity, identify competitors value chains, develop a strategy to lower relative costs by controlling cost drivers, ensure that any cost reduction does not erode differentiation in service and test the cost reductions if its sustainable in the end of the analysis. . 3 Differentiation They should also consider by costs by determining Differentiation where the process goes as determine who the real buyer is, identify buyer’s value chain and put in rank order the buyer’s reason to purchase, asses the current potential sources of diffentiation, identify the cost of these resources, design a value chain to maximize value relative costs, test for sustainiablity and reduce costs in activi ties that do not affect the chosen forms of differentiation. 5. Inventory; There are programs built to be extremely user-friendly, and most offer great support along the way of usage for online businesses to maintain the book database. Amazon should invest in software to best highlight and maintain the data on the site and importantly back up systems. Keep inventory accurate and up to date; This is also an important aspect that Amazon can out beat its competitors with as this is first step towards building a long-term relationship with that customer. Inventory of the books stock-out and sold out will be kept up to date on the site. 5. 5 Visionary & Informative A picture is worth a thousand words; Uploading pictures by decreasing explanations or descriptions could attract customer’s attraction and curiosity in exploring the book. Somehow it boosts up sales compared to other online booksellers who give attention in words. Product Review Information; In case of books, editorial reviews are provided by the company and it applies for all books. Customers can also rate each other’s review. A rating is placed against each review so that customers can decide whether to read or not based on that. Most online booksellers do not include this but they display the customer’s satisfaction on the delivery service provided by them which is less important to boost up sales. People out there want to pay you for your books; Amazon should use own merchant service account or a service offered by a listing site, make sure that customers can buy books quickly and painlessly with a credit card while you have them on the brink of finalizing said purchase. Don’t judge a book by its cover; First impressions are lasting impressions. When a customer receives the book they’ve ordered, make sure the first thing they see is a product and package that you are proud to have supplied by using use clean, new boxes without writing (or envelopes for low-cost paperbacks) for shipments. Customers will be expecting an excellent service but if its vice versa then they are chances for them to switch to other online retailers. 5. 6 Keep customers in the loop on everything; Amazon should update the status of order to customers on the order made and also keep them in loop by e-mail the listing service directly with questions about their orders and keep updating the latest events and new stocks of books through emails. 5. 7 Shipping & Delivery Follow-up; After shipping out an item to the customer, Amazon should send them an e-mail a day or two after expecting that they’ll receive their package, asking them if they’ve received it and are satisfied, and reminding them that there customer rep are there to help should they have any questions about their order. This is also a great time to remind them that you have similar items in stock or to offer them a coupon towards future purchases. 5. 8 Expansion to Asia Region Amazon should strive to expand its expertise to Asia region as well as high potentials are there which huge population. Education is becoming one important aspect in Asia and lack of important reference books are always a problem in many parts of Asia. It should diversify its marketing capability in Asia too to capture the market. Amazon is very less popular in Asia regions. Amazon. om should take Asia to consider for its business expansion. Amazon could also diversify its marketing and research ability to expand mostly to the developed countries of other territory. In order to grow big and always sustain in the market and competition, Amazon should takes this sort of steps to expand. International Sites; Amazon. com has got an added advantage of international sites on Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France and China. All about what the customers have to do to browse the site with their language is by clicking to their national site. For example, if you clink Japan, immediately the whole website will change its descriptions and instructions into Japanese language. This is not at all applicable for a customer in Malaysia or any other regions of Asia. It should expand and add more languages options in its site to accumulate its customers. Giving customers what they want is also one strategy not all online business can do but if this can be proven in Amazon’s case then it have all the potential to be the one. 5. 9 Word-of mouth advertisement Amazon also should increase its word-of mouth advertisement. This might seem odd for an industry leader to rely upon such a quaint tactics as this, but we truly believe that in the world of Internet this is a powerful tool. We are quick to visit sites that our friends identify as being fabulous, and Amazon might capitalize on this by rewarding its customers who can reel in a new prospects. 6. 0 Expand the product lines Amazon should expand its product lines. Given’s Amazon’s vision and its unique position in the etailer industry, the cost associated with entering new markets is significantly lower than that of its competitors. There is no reasons to let this advantage slip away unused. Conclusion In order to stay focus on business Amazon. com has various ways and strategies that can be implemented with proper organizations communication networks. Financial reports should be reviewed annually and quarterly if necessary to come up with decisions whether to boost up sales or to maintain on a certain criteria for the wellness of business. Amazon. com also should have a frequent customer feedback program where they could exchange view on the services and products most desired to be acquired online by customers. Top level management meetings should be initiated to assure goals are achieved. A proper corrective action should be determined after the first year if annual objectives weren’t accomplished. However there are difficulties and competitions to overcome, and how companies attack these difficulties will separate the winners form the losers. Appendix |AMAZON. COM, INC. HISTORICAL INCOME STATEMENTS | |(in millions, except per share data)(quarterly information unaudited) | |Amazon. com Investor Relations | | | | | | | |Calendar Years Ended – December 31, | | |2008 |2007 |2006 |2005 |2004 |2003 |2002 | |Media |   | $ 5,350 | $ 4,630 | $ 3,582 | $ 3,046 | $ 2,589 | $ | | | | | | | | |2,270 | |Other |   | 448 | 326 | 263 | 222 | 130 | | | | | | | | | |110 | |International |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Media |   | 5,734 | 4,612 | 3,485 | 2,885 | 2,513 | | | | | | | | | |1,780 | |Other |   | 94| 57| 20| | | | | | | | | |8 |2 |- | |Consolidated |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Media |   | 11,084 | 9,242 | 7,067 | 5,931 | 5,102 | | | | | | | | | |4,050 | |Other |   | 542 | 383 | 283 | 230 | 132 | | | | | | | | | |110 | Table 2- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) |Total U. S. Home, Work and University Locations, Unique Visitors (000) | |Source: comScore Media Metrix | |Rank |Property |Unique Visitors |Rank |Property |Unique Visitors | | | |(000) | | |  (000) | |   |Total Internet : Total Audience |191,863 |   |   |   | |1 |Google Sites |151,010 |26 |Target Corporation |28,628 | |2 |Yahoo! Sites |146,131 |27 |Time Warner – Excluding AOL |27,209 | |3 |Microsoft Sites |125,568 |28 |Weatherbug Property |26,944 | |4 |AOL LLC |108,441 |29 |Bank of America |26,322 | |5 |Fox Interactive Media |90,510 |30 |United Online, Inc |26,048 | |6 |Ask Network |74,742 |31 |Gorilla Nation |25,585 | |7 |eBay |72,160 |32 |AT&T, Inc. 25,574 | |8 |Amazon Sites |64,768 |33 |Answers. com Sites |25,563 | |9 |Wikipedia Foundation Sites |62,737 |34 |Demand Media |25,447 | |10 |FACEBOOK. COM |57,232 |35 |CareerBuilder LLC |24,750 | |11 |Glam Media |55,293 |36 |Everyday Health |24,717 | |12 |Turner Network |54,877 |37 |Shopzilla. com Sites |24,097 | |13 |Apple Inc. 54,194 |38 |Photobucket. com LLC |23,928 | |14 |CBS Corporation |53,539 |39 |WordPress |23,730 | |15 |New York Times Digital |49,110 |40 |Real. com Network |23,359 | |16 |Viacom Digital |46,510 |41 |Expedia Inc |22,703 | |17 |Weather Channel, The |40,056 |42 |JPMorgan Chase Property |22,399 | |18 |craigslist, inc. 39,437 |43 |Mons ter Worldwide |22,244 | |19 |AT&T Interactive Network |38,184 |44 |Gannett Sites |21,829 | |20 |Adobe Sites |35,315 |45 |WorldNow – ABC Owned Sites |21,586 | |21 |Comcast Corporation |33,940 |46 |WebMD Health |21,185 | |22 |Wal-Mart |33,513 |47 |iVillage. com: The Womens Network |21,002 | |23 |Superpages. com Network |32,558 |48 |NBC Universal |20,974 | |24 |Verizon Communications Corporation |32,412 |49 |WhitePages |19,351 | |25 |Disney Online |30,345 |50 |ESPN |19,266 | Table 3; Media Matrix; http://www. comscore. com References 1] Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999 http://www. rhsmith. umd. du/faculty/jbailey/ents630/amazon. pdf 2] Dustin Nadeau & Donatas Sumyla. April 2006- Amazon. Com Inc 2004. (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 3] Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001 – E-Transaction: Shopping Carts Comparison (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 4] Paul Larson. February 14, Amazon. com – Motley Fool Research, Stock Report http://www. fool. com/search/index. aspx? go=1&site=USMF &q=amazon. com (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 5] Onder Savas Devrim Dirik. January 9, 2003 – Informat? on Management (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 6] Strategic Analysis of Amazon. com (Accessed Feb 19, 2009) 7] www. wikinvest. com/wiki/E-Commerce, (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 8] www. ikinvest. com/stock/Amazon. com_(AMZN), (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 9] www. wikinvest. com/stock/Barnes_%26_Noble_(BKS), (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 10] Sujan Sarkar. April 23, 2007 – Amazon vs. Barnes & Noble: www. santarosa. edu/~ssarkar/cs66sp07/fprj/abn. htm (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 11] Table 1- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) 12] Table 2- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) 13] Table 3; Media Matrix; http://www. comscore. com (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) ———————– AMAZON Supplier New Entrance Substitute Consumers