Fundamentals of Marketing Essay

1.0. Course Description: The course is an introduction to the language and issues of marketing with an emphasis on learning to develop responsive marketing strategies that meet customer needs. The course focuses on basic marketing concepts, the role of marketing in the organization, and the role of marketing in society. Topics include market segmentation, product development, promotion, distribution, and pricing. Other topics, which will be incorporated into the course, are external environment (which will focus on integrative topics with marketing,  such as economics, politics, government, and nature), marketing research, international/global marketing with relevance to cultural diversity, ethics, the impact of technology on marketing, and careers in marketing. 1.1 Course Perspective: We all have many experiences with marketing from the viewpoint of the consumer. In this course, we will take the perspective of the marketing decision maker. I hope you will learn that there is much more to marketing than you might have expected. From the textbook, participation assignments/homework, and class discussions, you will learn about the decisions that marketers must make and tools/frameworks that will assist you in making those decisions effectively. By the end of the course, you should understand the complexity and challenges associated with making marketing decisions as well as ways to design effective marketing strategies. On the practical side, this new understanding of marketing should make each of you a more knowledgeable consumer. 1.2 Course Learning Goals and Objectives: Accordingly, the course emphasizes the following: To analyze the role of marketing within the firm and society. To expose you to the two parts of a marketing strategy: the target market and the marketing mix. To study the four basic variables in the marketing mix: product, promotion, price, and distribution. To exercise analytical, communication, and presentation skills (through use of technological aids, such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and the Internet)—the basic tools of marketing. 2.0. Textbooks: Principles of Marketing, 13th Edition, by Kotler/Armstrong, Pearson Education 2012, ISBN 978730225574 3.0. Recommended Reading: A Selective reading packet is prepared for the course, which comprises Harvard cases, company cases derived from Philip Kotler, Gary Armstrong, â€Å"Principles of Marketing† , 7th edition, articles derived from HBR, SBR, and other significant business journals, as well as latest developed Chinese cases. Related handouts will be distributed in the class. 4.0 Method of Instruction: The course is highly interactive between the class and the instructor. Through case studies/presentations, problems, and specific company client activities, students will have the opportunity to use the concepts, ideas, and strategies presented in class. Problem-solving sessions occur in both individual (primarily) and team (occasionally) settings. This undergraduate course will incorporate a lecture and project-based approach to the principles of marketing. The textbook used in this course will be used as a reference point for the discussion(s) of the marketing plan project. Students are encouraged to read and inculcate the major principles found in the textbook. Note that occasionally changes in the schedule of the course or in the assignments are announced during class. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have received all of the changes and you will still be responsible for this information. The University is committed to a policy of honesty in academics. Conduct, which compromises a breach of this policy, may result in academic and/or disciplinary action. Cheating is a violation of student academic behavior standards. Please note that the sharing of information with other class members or with other sections of the course is considered cheating. 5.0. Assignments Case analysis An effective way to help students learn about the principles of marketing is  the analysis of marketing cases of real-world companies and events. Cases from the textbook will be assigned to provide an opportunity to apply the principles of marketing and to enhance one’s analytical ability to assess marketing problems. Analysis of cases provides for the application of course concepts to real-world situations, and students are expected to have read and analyzed the cases thoroughly prior to class. The objective of the use of cases is to apply the various principles/concepts of marketing to an in-depth analysis of a given company or industry. The class will be divided into groups (six student’s maximum per group), each group will be formed early on in the semester and given a date to present their analysis of a particular case. A presentation framework/format will be provided for each group. Team Project Each group need to develop a marketing project throughout the semester, following the below steps: Carefully choose the topic of the project, each group will decide on a â€Å"fictional† consumer product or service they wish to bring to market, which can be developed to illustrate and identify the marketing ideas. Draft a plan for the project, describing the topic goal, outline, procedure, approach, allotment of work, and possible difficulties. Carry out the plan, continuously discussing and reviewing every process of the project in the group. Referring to the instructor is welcome. Presentation and defence in class are going on in the last week As mentioned, all group members will receive the same grade for the work. Format for Marketing Plan Executive Summary Introduction Company Description (including background) Current marketing situation (situation analysis) Business mission statement External environmental factors affecting the business from: – Technological factors – Socio-cultural factors – Economic-Financial factors – Natural factors – Political-Legal factors– Competitive factors Opportunities and Threats in the External Environment Business Strengths and Weaknesses in relation to Opportunities and Threats Major Marketing Problem Competitive Advantage of the organisation Objectives and Goals Target Market Segments Recommendations for Product Strategy Recommendations for Price Strategy Recommendations for Promotion Strategy Recommendations for Place / Distribution Strategy Please note the following: If your plan is confidential, please inform the marker on the front cover of your plan. 6.0. Examination and Evaluation: Mid-test 20% Term exams 40% Group Project: Marketing Plan 20% Class participation and quiz 20% Total 100% The final is close-book. You will be asked conceptual questions which integrate all what they have learned through the course, so the hints of the best preparation for the exam is to attend the class regularly, participate in the discussion proactively and read the course material carefully. One of the questions in the final will be â€Å"What are the three most important lessons that you learned about marketing in this course that will help you as a manager, facing the challenge today and tomorrow in the globe stage?† All of you are encouraged to frequently think about this question since the beginning of the course. The final examination will be of two and a half hours duration. The examination is worth 40 percent of the total available marks. No materials are allowed into the examination room for this unit. You must bring your student identification card to the examination. In order to pass this unit to achieve your DEGREE you must complete and submit each item of coursework, complete the examination and achieve an overall mark of at least 75 percent of the total available marks. 7.0. Course Schedule: This Schedule is tentative and very much subject to change. Students are invited to bring in ads, articles, and anecdotes for class discussion. 1. Describe the roles of marketing and marketing strategy in business value creation. (This is taken from learning outcome) Poor ability to describe the fundamental concepts of marketing strategy and marketing mix. Adequate ability to describe the fundamental concepts of marketing strategy and marketing mix. Good ability to describe the fundamental concepts of marketing strategy and marketing mix and able to give related examples. Very good ability to describe the fundamental concepts of marketing strategy and marketing mix, to the extent of related applications in everyday business situation. 1.1. Explain fundamental concepts of marketing strategy and marketing mix used in the project. 1.2. Equal participation of all group members. 1.3. Ability to elicit and answer questions. 1. 2. Use appropriate terminologies in marketing activities and business environment. Poor ability to describe the terminologies used in marketing. Adequate ability to describe the terminologies used in marketing. Good ability to describe the terminologies used in marketing and able to give related examples. Very good ability to describe the terminologies used in marketing, to the extent of related applications in everyday business situation. 2.1. Explain the marketing terminologies used in the project. 3. Apply marketing concepts into marketing strategies in both local and international contexts. Poor ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing. Adequate ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing. Good ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing and able to give related examples. Very good ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing, to the extent of related applications in everyday business situation. 3.1. Explain marketing’s roles in companywide strategic planning. 4. Identify and explain the effects of marketing practices towards the community and the environment at large. Poor ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing. Adequate ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing. Good ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing and able to give related examples. Very good ability to describe the fundamental concepts  used in marketing, to the extent of related applications in everyday business situation. 4.1. Explain the marketing plan used in the project. 5.Apply marketing mix and marketing strategy concept into a marketing plan. Poor ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing. Adequate ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing. Good ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing and able to give related examples. Very good ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing, to the extent of related applications in everyday business situation. 5.1. Explain the marketing plan used in the project. 5.2. Fluency of presentation. 5.3. Time management. 1. Describe the roles of marketing and marketing strategy in business value creation. Poor ability to describe the fundamental concepts of marketing strategy and marketing mix. Adequate ability to describe the fundamental concepts of marketing strategy and marketing mix. Good ability to describe the fundamental concepts of marketing strategy and marketing mix and able to give related examples. Very good ability to describe the fundamental concepts of marketing strategy and marketing mix, to the extent of related applications in everyday business situation. 1.1. Executive Summary. 1.2. Introduction. 2. 2. Use appropriate terminologies in marketing activities and business environment. Poor ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing. Adequate ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing. Good ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing and able to give related examples. Very good ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing, to the extent of related applications in everyday business situation. 2.1. Introduction. 2.2. Body 2.3Conclusion 3. Apply marketing concepts into marketing strategies in both local and international contexts. Poor ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing. Adequate ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing. Good ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing and able to give related examples. Very good ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing, to the extent of related applications in everyday business situation. 3.1. Discussion of marketing concepts used in the project. 3.2. Application of marketing concepts in findings 4. Identify and explain the effects of marketing practices towards the community and the environment at large. Poor ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing. Adequate ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing. Good ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing and able to give related examples. Very good ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing, to the extent of related applications in everyday business situation. 4.1. Discussion of the effects of marketing practices in the project. 5.Apply marketing mix and marketing strategy concept into a marketing plan. Poor ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing. Adequate ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing. Good ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing and able to give related examples. Very good ability to describe the fundamental concepts used in marketing, to the extent of related applications in everyday business situation.

Pet Sounds vs. Rubber Soul

Sha'rron Shelby Cynthia Bartles ENG 104 3/27/13 Essay two Final â€Å"Pet Sounds† vs. â€Å"Rubber Soul† Have you ever heard of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and the Beatles' Rubber Soul? If not I recommend that you listen to these albums, especially if you love someone. Speaking of these bands there are many differences and similarities when it comes to the love and the friendship that the artists between these two albums. As you can tell the band members has been through many major things throughout their life.Also you can tell that both of the Beach Boys and The Beatles have been through many situations by the way their music is mixed up and by the way the performed during their concerts. From my point of view, I believe the Pet Sounds album was the best between the two albums because it was excellent. I can personally relate to the Pet Sounds album because I'm pretty much going through the same thing with my relationship. Now don't get me wrong the Rubber Soul album wa s cool but there was a lot of love and affection, and the companionship that was demonstrate throughout the Pet Sounds album that makes me love it so much.Both of the bands have been through plenty of things throughout their lifetime. You can tell that the guys have been going through a cluster of things because of the lyrics and their music choice. Speaking of the albums, in Rubber Soul, â€Å"Michelle†, this song is all about being in love with a girl that is French. The lyrics explain that this man is absolutely in love with this woman and he is doing everything possible to show her that. He just wants to inform her that she has nothing to worry about and that he wants to be her everything.He always tells her that he loves her on the account of her being French and because the only words that she understands in English. This guy has proven that he is in love with this woman when he says: â€Å"I need to, I need to, I need to. I need to make you see,Oh, what you mean to me . Until I do I'm hoping you willKnow what I mean. I love you†¦ † I admire these lyrics because this man is trying his best to prove to this woman that he is really in love and he is going to do whatever it takes to get her to understand. However, I really dislike the beat that was made with this song.The beat and the way there were singing made it seem like there were not interested at all in the girl they were singing about.. But The Beach Boys' took a different route with â€Å"Wouldn’t it be nice† The lyrics says: â€Å"Wouldn't it be nice if we were olderThen we wouldn't have to wait so longAnd wouldn't it be nice to live togetherIn the kind of world where we belongYou know it’s gonna make it that much betterWhen we can say goodnight and stay together† And when I hear these lyrics I think of my own relationship because that is where I'm at in my life.The song has a very nice beat, with the guys singing so lovely and joyful. In this song he explains how he has either a close friend or a girlfriend and wants to make it where they can start living together so they can hold onto one another all day and night, wake up to each other and possibly get married. They don't want to continue talking about living together; they want to make it happen. Both songs have good reasoning of showing they are in love with the person they are communicating with. I personally think both songs are amazing because they speak about real love in my eyes.But I liked the song â€Å"Wouldn’t it be nice† because it really shows a lot of love and affection and I can personally connect with the song. I can personally connect with the song because my boyfriend and I feel the same exact way when it comes to this song. On the Rubber Soul album, there is a song called â€Å"Wait† and it is very beautiful. This man has asked either his friend or girlfriend to wait for him until he had come home again. They have had some ups and downs, like regular couples do and he just wants her to wait for him. If her heart is still broken after all the stuff they been through, then he does not want her to wait for him.But if she can wait, he hopes that she will not move on and just wait for his return. In the song he says: â€Å"It's been a long time, now I'm coming back home. I've been away now, oh, how I've been alone. Wait till I come back to your side,we'll forget the tears we cried. But if your heart breaks don't wait, turn me away. And if your heart's strong, hold on, I won't† I thought it was so wonderful. But it still leaves questions like why did he leave in the first place and where did he go? But I also want to know what made him want to leave knowing that he didn't want to lose her.As the song plays, it sounds very exciting, but I just don't like all of the instruments being used throughout this song. It’s like they were trying too hard to make something of the song. Besides, there is a song called, â€Å"You still believe in me† by the Beach Boys'. In this song a guy is probably not where he needs to be mentally or physically. He has done so much to this girl that she still shows him love and support. He has tried his hardest to be what she wants him to be but cannot help the way that he acts when she is not with him.In the lyrics he says: â€Å"Every time we break up, you bring back your love to me, And after all I've done to you, How can it be† As you can see, he has realized that he has done something very terrible to her a couple times and he is trying to figure out why does she keeps forgiving him and still believes in him. Now the instruments they have decided to use for this song is so perfect and relaxing. I really like how they changed their voice tones throughout the song from a high to low pitch. In both of these songs, you can tell that these guys have women that really love them and want to be with them.Even after all of the tears an heart break, the y still want to continue lovely them so deeply and strong. But the song that I really enjoyed was â€Å"You still believe in me†. I really enjoyed this song because I can kind of relate this song to my relationship. At the beginning of our relationship, he was not mentally ready to settle down but after two months he settled down and was fully committed to me. Also there were a lot of things he didn't believe in his self about but I helped him to start believing in his self because I believed in him.Speaking of both of the bands, they most definitely speak on the love for the woman they are in a relationship with. In the song â€Å"Caroline, No†, by the Beach Boys, the woman told him that she would never change herself and eventually she did. In the song he says, â€Å"Where did you long hair go, Where is the girl I use to know, How could you lose that happy glow Oh, Caroline no†, And by him saying those words, you can tell he is a little upset because she said that she would never change. As I listen to the song, I can feel the pain that he is going through, and know that he is very emotional.While you listen to the beat it’s very smooth and touching. In contrast, the song â€Å"Run for your life† has a very fast beat and it sounds very exciting. I'm surprised at the beat and the way they are singing because you would have thought they would have been very angry or would have had a very hard mean beat instead of a happy one. When he says, â€Å"Well I'd rather see you dead, little girl, Than to be with another man, You better keep your head, little girl, Or I want know where I am†, I feel so sorry for that girl that she even had to go through that tragedy.I couldn't imagine a guy wanting to kill a little girl because she does not want to be with him. But back in the day, I guess those are the type of things that you would have had to expect. But it’s very sad because as we speak, now days many little girls lose the lives because they choose not to be with someone and the person felt like if you didn't want to be with them then they don't want you to be with nobody else. Then they will kill you so that you would not be able to date other people. There is some love in these songs but more of affection.It is crazy how guys think now days about how to be in a relationship and it still happens in today society. Most of all I really adore the song â€Å"Caroline, No† because you can feel that he is upset and he wants the old her back. As a final point, I really enjoyed the â€Å"Pet Sound† album the most because of the adoration, attachment, and friendship that was delineated throughout the album. But I can also say that I enjoyed the â€Å"Rubber Souls† album because some of the lyrics but it was the instruments that were used that I didn't care for.Even though these people had hard times throughout their life as far as the love goes, they still made it and I hope they eve ntually found true love. There were many similarities and differences that were approached throughout these two albums because of the way they expressed their love and care for their woman. But both of the albums were really based on love. So back to the question I ask earlier, have you ever heard of the Beach Boys, â€Å"Pet Sound† album and the Beatles, â€Å"Rubber Soul†? After reading this essay I'm pretty sure you will want to look them up and get to know them especially if you are in love with someone.

Nervous Conditions

In my opinion, Tambu was neither seduced nor brainwashed by the â€Å"Englishness†. Tambu had grown up in an African society  whereby women were fighting for the effects of patriarchal traditions in the history of their culture. Women in Tambu's society  struggled to find their voices in  this male dominated world. Tambu did not want to be like one of these African women, being trapped in traditional roles and could be nothing more but just a good housewife. She realised at a very young age that perhaps the â€Å"Englishness† was her only escape route to a better life. A life that has no more  poverty and women are able  to break out of their traditional roles. Therefore, she was so determined to pursue this  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Englishness† that she would never ever give up  her dream no matter how harsh things had turned out for her. Apart from that, she was also able to see how differently things were for the English educated people like Nhamo and Babamukuru. Both of them were highly respected and had the power to make people listen to them. She wished to be one of them and  knew very clearly that her life could definitely be made better if she was like one  of them. This made her strive even harder for education. Hence, I conclude that Tambu was not seduced or brainwashed by the â€Å"Englishness†. After all, this is the road Tambu had chosen for herself voluntarily, a road that she assumed will promise her well-being, dignity and freedom.

Content Comprehension and Analysis Task Assignment - 2

Content Comprehension and Analysis Task - Assignment Example The authors argue that with a diverse environment employees are able to learn and benefit from the uniqueness of others ideas. A myriad of businesses across the globe have appreciated and recognized the need to heavily invest in inclusion and diversity as part of talent management within the organization. It is an important concept as organizations can interact with people from different cultures, resulting to an upsurge in the level of creativity, global understanding, and productivity, and greater agility, development of new attitudes, new solutions and innovation that will lead to the growth of the company. Organizations that have not incorporated diversity as part of its talent management strategy have failed to attract the best skills across the globe. Some of the benefits of diversity include; (Yukl, 2002) Increased productivity – The inclusion of pe ople from diverse backgrounds working towards a common goal improves their level of loyalty. They employ peculiar skills to improve the performance of the company. Diverse experience-; People from different backgrounds bring unique understanding of concepts and experiences to the table. By bring the teams together; employees are able to deal with changing conditions. Every employee has a weakness and strengths derived from their cultural backgrounds, when managed properly their strengths can be leveraged and strengths can be complemented to enhance their performance. Increased creativity and problem solving- With a number of different unique and diverse minds, coming together, it is likely that solutions will be adopted since individuals bring unique way of thinking, operating and handling issues. (Yukl, 2002) Attract and retain talent- The attraction of the best employees to the organization will give it a competitive edge over others. The feeling f inclusion and appreciation enhances the feeling of belonging and loyalty to the organization. The

The energy industry's role in influencing the United States foreign Literature review

The energy industry's role in influencing the United States foreign policy towards the Gulf region - Literature review Example However ,the organization points out that although the government may not eliminate the importation of oil, there are ways in which it can reduce cartel market control and reduce the demand for the product (www.fueleconomy.gov,2010).One of the solutions that the government has sought in reduce this problem is the passing of a legislation that will see the decrease on oil through increasing corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards on new cars. This will see a reduction in the consumption of oil by 25 billion gallons by 2030. The United States oil politics entails the need and importation of crude well plays a centre stage in the politics of the United States (Gendier, 2003). Even though the US only constitutes of 5% of the world population, it global oil consumption ids 25% greater than that of the European Union. To cushion the energy supply from experiencing rude shocks, the US has for along time developed diplomatic ties with its allies in the Middle East precisely Saudi Ara bia and Iraqi. According to Saudi Arabia, has 25 % of the world’s oil reserve and the US imports 13% of its oil imports from the country. Some of the initiatives taken by the US is to ensure that the Saudi Arabia government continues to price its oil in US dollars. The same ties have continued to exist in Iraqi in the context that it is protecting it from its enemies as well as protecting its energy. According to Gendzier (2003), the role of US in facilitating the acquisition of weapons is ignored or justified when it is in terms of Iraq-Iran war. However, there is little to talk about when it comes to the continuation of the US to remain in Iraq even after the war and the broader political agenda that has a hand in paying the US policy in the region. David and Schmitt (2002), indicates that the White House was reported to have â€Å"settled on a war plan for Iraq† this implied that the US had to take 200,000 to 250,00 troops by air ,water and land to the Iraq, the aut hors wonder why such an enormous move was justified. The US administration seldom acknowledge that the presence of its troops in the middle East is to protect the US oil companies and get access to the regions oil reserves (David and Schmitt, 2002). A report presented by the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) clearly stated that the US military intervention in the gulf region was to protect its oil supply and protect US interests â€Å"â€Å"the US presence in the Gulf is primarily intended to maintain the flow of oil by preventing a hostile power from establishing hegemony over the region...† (INSS, 2002). The long distance between the US and the Middle East has not stopped it from being felt in almost every corner of the region. According to WGBH, Educational Foundation (2002), all through the 20th century, the US has had a long trail of intervention on diplomatic and war raged overture. Some of the interventions have been triggered by the long standing compet ition between the Soviet Union and The United States of America and the two have used the Middle East as a fighting ground. More so, the American economic interest on the Middle Eastern oil has also played an important role in the American Policy

The Legacy of Felix Houphouet-Boigny - Cote d'Ivoire Essay

The Legacy of Felix Houphouet-Boigny - Cote d'Ivoire - Essay Example This effect was so strong, that during Houphouet-Boigny’s reign, Cote d’Ivoire was perceived as a model state and one to be aspired to. Consequently, on Houphouet-Boigny’s death, he left a significant legacy in his country. Since Houphouet-Boigny died, the sovereign state has been subject to significant inner conflict which cumulated in a civil war and high tensions across the country. Currently, with a democratically elected president of Cote d’Ivoire, there is a chance that the legacy of Houphouet-Boigny will be realized and the country may return to stability and economic prosperity. Houphouet-Boigny Cote d’Ivoire is a highly diverse state, containing more than 60 different ethnic groups. The varied nature of this population makes peace difficult, and the effectiveness of political power has varied depending on the political leader (Cocodia, 2008). This diversity is prevalent throughout the African nations and is thought to be one of the key fact ors. Currently, there are approximately 20.2 million people living in Cote d’Ivoire (BBC News, 2011). The main ethnic groups in the region are Akan, which comprise 42.1% of the population, Voltaiques or Gur (17.6%), Northen Mandes (16.5%) and Krous (11.5%). A number of small ethnic groups also exist. Religion is also highly varied, with 38.6% of the population being Muslim, 32.8% Christian, 11.9% Indigenous and 16.7% none. This distribution is confounded by the fact that approximately 70% of migratory workers are Muslim and 30% are Christian (Central Intelligence Agency, 2012). These factors show the significant challenges that Houphouet-Boigny faced in the creation of a unified country. Additionally, they show the ease in which the country could fall back into tension and conflict. Each ethnic or religious group has different perceptions about many things, such as politics and rights. Consequently, if a president aligns himself with a particular group, he may anger two or th ree others. This makes the creation of a representative and unifying government difficult. Felix Houphouet-Boigny achieved peace and unity in his country through two means. The first of these was the redistribution of wealth away from ethnic groups that were traditionally rich to those that were poor. This was a crucial move as it not only helped to stabilize the state’s economy, but it also assisted Houphouet-Boigny to become recognized as a fair leader as his own ethnic group was one that he shifted funds away from. Furthermore, this aided to provide strong ethnic stabilization as no group was treated as superior to another. Secondly, Houphouet-Boigny worked to maintain peace through sharing and redistributing power (Tangeras & Lagerlof, 2009). While he was in power, Houphouet-Boigny maintained a strong conscious focus over politics and the distribution of power among ethnic groups. In doing this, he was able to avoid the buildup of tensions within the nation (Cocodia, 2008 ). Through these actions, Houphouet-Boigny was able to create a government that most people supported. As president, Houphouet-Boigny maintained strong authority, significantly grew the economy of Cote d’Ivoire and gained respect from his people by running a highly representative government (Cocodia, 2008). Despite the fact that both Houphouet-Boigny and his

Contract Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contract Law - Assignment Example The question that needs to be determined in the sale transaction between Tom representing the Buyer and Max representing the Seller is whether Tom, in making the payment of 28,000 pounds has paid up in full according to the contractual terms, or whether Buyer will be liable to pay the additional amount of 2800 pounds that is being claimed by Seller, as a function of a small price rise that is sanctioned under the terms of its standard sale/purchase agreement that Tom has filled up when placing the order for the equipment. Contractual validity: In order for a contract to be valid, â€Å"there must be a definite offer mirrored by a definite acceptance.†1 In the case of Harvey v Facey2 a telegram sent by Facey confirming price was deemed not to be an offer3, however in the instant case, the Buyer (Tom) has made a definite offer to purchase the hydraulic jack system for the price listed (28,000 pounds) in the brochure while the Seller (Max) has orally agreed to supply the goods at the agreed list price of 28,000 pounds. Therefore, a contract has come into being and Max’s acceptance of the contract may be seen by his action in going ahead with the manufacture of the Hercules equipment.

High risk pregnacy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

High risk pregnacy - Research Paper Example First, she is overage. The risks of complications in pregnancy increase with age. Mrs. K is already past the safe age of 35 years. Secondly, she is obese. This complicates further her pregnancy due to the risks of conditions such as hypertension. In fact, she has already developed gestational diabetes and has to depend on insulin. It is also worth noting that her social history does not adequately support her health needs. This is clearly demonstrated by her inability to afford insulin, glucometer and glucometer strips. Besides, she cannot effectively maintain adequate bed-rest prescribed. Currently, the patient is out of hospital. She has been monitored for 37 weeks at what time her cerclage is released and delivery conducted. She delivers a six-pound, two-ounce baby spontaneously without many problems. The puerperium is normal with the mother and child discharged home after only 48 hours after delivery in good condition. The management has successfully controlled not only the risk of pregnancy but also helped retain the mothers’ hobby, knitting. This assists the mother to save money on the baby’s blanket and also keep her busy and away from junk foods. The patient is diabetic and obese. She has to depend on insulin injections to control her blood sugars. She also has a bad obstetric history, having lost seven of her last pregnancies. She has only one surviving child, 18 years old. She has had cramping and false signs of pregnancy which could be the cause of previous loss of pregnancy. For this, she requires close monitoring in a high-risk obstetric clinic to ensure that this pregnancy matures to term. During the early third trimester, the patient was diagnosed with urinary tract infection and placed on antibiotics in consultation with the physician. This case was handled by qualified community obstetrician. The case manager was able to identify and handle all the client’s health problems throughout the period of

HS610 week 6 Conf Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HS610 week 6 Conf - Essay Example This strategy works in close collaboration with the framework for national responses otherwise referred to as the NRF. NIMS is charged with providing templates for incident management whereas NRF is responsible for the provision of structures along with mechanisms utilized by the developers of incident management policies at the national level (FEMA, 2011). By utilizing the strategies laid out by NIMS, the nations tend to benefit by scaling down their activities while improving on their scalability. Its other benefits include the enhancement of cooperation along with interoperability among rescue workers, preparedness for any hazards that may affect the workers and the efficient coordination of resources through various organizations. Finally, it benefits the rescue workers efforts by enabling the integration of their best practices to continuously improve on their efforts. The strategies laid out under NIMS are mainly based on the existing balances between standardization along with flexibility (Walsh, Christen, Lord & Miller, 2011). The core components of this strategy are preparedness, communicating and the management of information along with resources and issuing of commands while managing the response activities. It also involves managing and maintaining ongoing the operations aimed at saving lives and property while reducing the harm that may be caused on the environment (Kamen, 2005). On the other hand, the emergency management approaches of the Whole Community are philosophical means through which the residents, practitioners in the emergency management field and their communal along with organization leaders work in collaboration with the government agencies in managing emergencies (FEMA, 2011). This is mainly done for the purpose of ensuring that they comprehend and assess their communities needs while determining the best ways for organizing an

Introduction to Visual Cultures and Narrative Form Essay

Introduction to Visual Cultures and Narrative Form - Essay Example Said (1979, pp. 1-3) in his criticism of orientalism redefined it as the constellation of false assumptions that underlay the attitude of the Western nations towards the Middle East. The Western nations, America and European thereby used orientalism culture and romanticized images of Middle East and Asia as a justification of their colonial and imperial ambitions. Said fiercely denounces this culture and equally criticizes the Arab elites whose practices revolved around internalized ideas from British and American orientalists. The danger linked to the orientalism culture by the West is that some East can treat it as truth thereby affecting relations and ideologies. However, Said (1979) emphasizes that it is hard to label half of the continent as orient and manage to generalize that what applies to Egyptians equally applies to Chinese. Orientalism in this paper supports Edward Said’s critical theory approach to international relations theory where the West forms a one-way imag e of the Oriental. The discussion focuses on definition of terms, orientalism and Occident, and early orientalism and contemporary orientalism. The orient according to Said (1978, p. 4) refers to a representations’ system enclosed by forces from politics that introduced the orient into western consciousness, Western learning, and Western Empire. The system of representation results from the condensation of diverse attributes into a single image not from facts but from perceptions that are regarded as a standard of comparison (Hall, 1992). In addition, orientatlism offers a criterion for evaluation that other world societies rank negatively or positively thereby functioning as an ideology. For the West, the orient is constructed relative to the West and has largely assisted in the definition of Europe or the West since it is views as the contrasting image, experience, idea, and personality (Said, 1979, pp. 1-2). The

Power is Critical to Understanding the Difficulties Managers Confront Essay

Power is Critical to Understanding the Difficulties Managers Confront when Seeking to Manage Change - Essay Example Authority in a traditional organisation may be alternated for power but when organisational aims are not stipulated unanimously by those who matter in the organisational set up and adhered to by the lower ranks create power situations. Such situations may present dicey legal cover with given means of control as the response of juniors in the hierarchy may not be taken rightly when power is used. It could be planned involvement or distractive involvement. Buckley has provided a provisional definition of power as: â€Å"Control or influence over the actions of others to promote one's goals without their consent, against their will or without their knowledge or understanding (see Grimes 1978, p. 727). An important feature of power is the stress on private aim orientation in stead of together-goal orientation. Power, according to Gamson, is â€Å"potential partisans†, which can be defined as, â€Å"that set of actors who for a given decision are affected by the outcome in a â₠¬Ëœsignificant’ way, (See Grimes 1978, p. 727). The impact of partisans and the counter-impact of authority are normally named as power. Partisans attempt to impress upon the authority their side of the issue and its resolution. The notion of change is basic and concurrent in the thinking of management scholars on organisations. The literature on strategic change stresses on the need to adjust to the changing risks and opportunities of the new business environments. They also point out that such change is not recurrent in the occurred extent or direction required. Organisations need to develop this capacity for change to promote learning. There has been vast study on transformational leadership particularly and leadership generally that shows the seriousness of the topic for management purpose. The issue of change is more relevant also for practitioners, which is evident from the volume of books published on change management. Even then it is argued that both scholars and pra ctitioners do not possess enough knowledge of and theoretical mechanism for change. To an extent, this failure to propound a theory may be because of various established perspectives or mechanisms (Ford and Ford, 1994). Change agents play a critical role in an organisation by helping in transformation process. Change agents need to be on the right path to steer an organisation on the road to positive change. Some of the crucial inputs of change are depicted in the chart below (Evans, 2010). Power is the most critical ingredient of effective change. These leaders of change can be seen throughout the organisational ladder. These leading change leaders can be holding any position or power variable to become an instrument of change (Evans, 2010). Organisational change management problems are often not given due attention or ignored totally. In reality, people issues are responsible majorly for project failures. Causes of Project Failure The survey undertaken by KPMG analysed the causes of failed projects. The finding closely associated project failures with behaviours and expertise of the respondents, mostly related to the capabilities, behaviour and attitudes of participants (EPM Book, 2007). Discussion Mintzberg (1984) discuses the power perspective in relation to organisation life cycle in three strides: first by analysing relationships of power dissemination internally in an organisation, with that covering a classification of six assemblies of

On Going a Journey Essay Example for Free

On Going a Journey Essay One of the pleasantest things in the world is going a journey; but I like to go by myself. I can enjoy society in a room; but out of doors, nature is company enough for me. I am then never less alone than when alone. The fields his study, nature was his book. I cannot see the wit of walking and talking at the same time. When I am in the country, I wish to vegetate like the country. I am not for criticising hedge-rows and black cattle. I go out of town in order to forget the town and all that is in it. There are those who for this purpose go to watering-places, and carry the metropolis with them. I like more elbow-room, and fewer incumbrances. I like solitude, when I give myself up to it, for the sake of solitude; nor do I ask for ——a friend in my retreat, Whom I may whisper solitude is sweet. The soul of a journey is liberty, perfect liberty, to think, feel, do just as one pleases. We go a journey chiefly to be free of all impediments and of all inconveniences; to leave ourselves behind, much more to get rid of others. It is because I want a little breathing-space to muse on indifferent matters, where Contemplation May plume her feathers and let grow her wings, That in the various bustle of resort Were all too ruffled, and sometimes impaird,  that I absent myself from the town for awhile, without feeling at a loss the moment I am left by myself. Instead of a friend in a post-chaise or in a Tilbury, to exchange good things with, and vary the same stale topics over again, for once let me have a truce with impertinence. Give me the clear blue sky over my head, and the green turf beneath my feet, a winding road before me, and a three hours march to dinner—and then to thinking! It is hard if I cannot start some game on these lone heaths. I laugh, I run, I leap, I sing for joy. From the point of yonder rolling cloud, I plunge into my past being, and revel there, as the sun-burnt Indian plunges headlong into the wave that wafts him to his native shore. Then long-forgotten things, like sunken wrack and sumless treasuries, burst upon my eager  sight, and I begin to feel, think, and be myself again. Instead of an awkward silence, broken by attempts at wit or dull common-place s, mine is that undisturbed silence of the heart which alone is perfect eloquence. No one likes puns, alliterations, antitheses, argument, and analysis better than I do; but I sometimes had rather be without them. Leave, oh, leave me to my repose! I have just now other business in hand, which would seem idle to you, but is with me very stuff of the conscience. Is not this wild rose sweet without a comment? Does not this daisy leap to my heart set in its coat of emerald? Yet if I were to explain to you the circumstance that has so endeared it to me, you would only smile. Had I not better then keep it to myself, and let it serve me to brood over, from here to yonder craggy point, and from thence onward to the far-distant horizon? I should be but bad company all that way, and therefore prefer being alone. I have heard it said that you may, when the moody fit comes on, walk or ride on by yourself, and indulge your reveries. But this looks like a breach of manners, a neglect of others, and you are thinking all the time that you ought to rejoin your party. Out upon such half-faced fellowship, say I. I like to be either entirely to myself, or entirely at the disposal of others; to talk or be silent, to walk or sit still, to be sociab le or solitary. I was pleased with an observation of Mr. Cobbetts, that he thought it a bad French custom to drink our wine with our meals, and that an Englishman ought to do only one thing at a time. So I cannot talk and think, or indulge in melancholy musing and lively conversation by fits and starts, Let me have a companion of my way, says Sterne, were it but to remark how the shadows lengthen as the sun declines. It is beautifully said: but in my opinion, this continual comparing of notes interferes with the involuntary impression of things upon the mind, and hurts the sentiment. If you only hint what you feel in a kind of dumb show, it is insipid: if you have to explain it, it is making a toil of a pleasure. You cannot read the book of nature, without being perpetually put to the trouble of translating it for the benefit of others. I am for the synthetical method on a journey, in preference to the analytical. I am content to lay in a stock of ideas then, and to examine and anatomise them afterw ards. I want to see my vague notions float like the down of the thistle before the breeze, and not to have them entangled in the briars and thorns of controversy. For once, I like to have it all my own way; and this  is impossible unless you are alone, or in such company as I do not covet. I have no objection to argue a point with any one for twenty miles of measured road, but not for pleasure. If you remark the scent of a beanfield crossing the road, perhaps your fellow-traveller has no smell. If you point to a distant object, perhaps he is short-sighted, and has to take out his glass to look at it. There is a feeling in the air, a tone in the colour of a cloud which hits your fancy, but the effect of which you are unable to account for. There is then no sympathy, but an uneasy craving after it, and a dissatisfaction which pursues you on the way, and in the end probably produces ill humour. Now I never quarrel with myself, and take all my own conclusions for granted till I find it neces sary to defend them against objections. It is not merely that you may not be of accord on the objects and circumstances that present themselves before you—these may recal a number of objects, and lead to associations too delicate and refined to be possibly communicated to others. Yet these I love to cherish, and sometimes still fondly clutch them, when I can escape from the throng to do so. To give way to our feelings before company, seems extravagance or affectation; and on the other hand, to have to unravel this mystery of our being at every turn, and to make others take an equal interest in it (otherwise the end is not answered) is a task to which few are competent. We must give it an understanding, but no tongue. My old friend C——, however, could do both. He could go on in the most delightful explanatory way over hill and dale, a summers day, and convert a landscape into a didactic poem or a Pindaric ode. He talked far above singing. If I could so clothe my ideas in sounding and flowing words, I might perhaps wish to have some one with me to admire the swelling theme; or I could be more content, were it possible for me still to hear his echoing voice in the woods of All-Foxden. They had that fine madness in them which our first poets had; and if they could have been caught by some rare instrument, would have breathed such strains as the following. ——Here be woods as green As any, air likewise as fresh and sweet As when smooth Zephyrus plays on the fleet Face of the curled stream, with flowrs as many As the young spring gives, and as choice as any; Here be all new delights, cool streams and wells, Arbours oergrown with woodbine, caves and dells; Choose where thou wilt, while I sit by and sing, Or gather rushes to make many a ring For thy long fingers; tell thee tales of love, How the pale Phoebe, hunting in a grove, First saw the boy Endymion, from whose eyes She took eternal fire that never dies; How she conveyd him softly in a sleep, His temples bound with poppy, to the steep Head of old Latmos, where she stoops each night, Gilding the mountain with her brothers light, To kiss her sweetest.—— Faithful Shepherdess. Had I words and images at command like these, I would attempt to wake the thoughts that lie slumbering on golden ridges in the evening clouds: but at the sight of nature my fancy, poor as it is, droops and closes up its leaves, like flowers at sunset. I can make nothing out on the spot:—I must have time to collect myself.— In general, a good thing spoils out-of-door prospects: it should be reserved for Table-talk. L—— is for this reason, I take it, the worst company in the world out of doors; because he is the best within. I grant, there is one subject on which it is pleasant to talk on a journey; and that is, what one shall have for supper when we get to our inn at night. The open air improves this sort of conversation or friendly altercation, by setting a keener edge on appetite. Every mile of the road heightens the flavour of the viands we expect at the end of it. How fine it is to enter some old town, walled and turreted just at the approach of night-fall, or to come to some straggling village, with the lights streaming through the surrounding gloom; and then after inquiring for the best entertainment that the place affords, to take ones ease at ones inn! These eventful moments in our lives history are too precious, too full of solid, heart-felt happiness to be frittered and dribbled away in imperfect sympathy. I would have them all to myself, and drain them to the last drop: they will do to talk of or to write about afterwards. What a delicate speculation it is, after drinking whole goblets of tea, The cups that  cheer, but not inebriate, and letting the fumes ascend into the brain, to sit considering what we shall have for supper—eggs and a rasher, a rabbit smothered in onions, or an excellent veal-cutlet! Sancho in such a situation once fixed upon cow-heel; and his choice, though he could not help it, is not to be disparaged. Then in the intervals of pictured scenery and Shandean contemplation, to catch the preparation and the stir in the kitchen—Procul, O procul este profani! These hours are sacred to silence and to musing, to be treasured up in the memory, and to feed the source of smiling thoughts hereafter. I would not waste them in idle talk; or if I must have the integrity of fancy broken in upon, I would rather it were by a stranger than a friend. A stranger takes his hue and character from the time and place; he is a part of the furniture and costume of an inn. If he is a Quaker, or from the West Riding of Yorkshire, so much the better. I do not even try to sympathise with him, and he breaks no squares. I associate nothing with my travelling companion but present objects and passing events. In his ignorance of me and my affairs, I in a manner forget myself. But a friend reminds one of other things, rips up old grievances, and destroys the abstraction of the scene. He comes in ungraciously between us and our imaginary character. Something is dropped in the course of conversation that gives a hint of your profession and pursuits; or from having some one with you that knows the less sublime portions of your history, it seems that other people do. You are no longer a citizen of the world: but your unhoused free condition is put into circumscription and confine. The incognito of an inn is one of its striking privileges—lord of ones-self, uncumberd with a name. Oh! it is great to shake off the trammels of the world and of public opinion—to lose our importunate, tormenting, everlasting personal identity in the elements of nature, and become the creature of the moment, clear o f all ties—to hold to the universe only by a dish of sweet-breads, and to owe nothing but the score of the evening—and no longer seeking for applause and meeting with contempt, to be known by no other title than the Gentleman in the parlour! One may take ones choice of all characters in this romantic state of uncertainty as to ones real pretensions, and become indefinitely respectable and negatively right-worshipful. We baffle prejudice and  disappoint conjecture; and from being so to others, begin to be objects of curiosity and wonder even to ourselves. We are no more those hackneyed commonplaces that we appear in the world: an inn restores us to the level of nature, and quits scores with society! I have certainly spent some enviable hours at inns—sometimes when I have been left entirely to myself, and have tried to solve some metaphysical problem, as once at Witham-common, where I found out the proof that likeness is not a case of the association of ideas—at other times, when there have been pictures in the room, as at St. Neots, (I think it was) where I first met with Gribelins engravings of the Cartoons, into which I entered at once, and at a little inn on the borders of Wales, where there happened to be hanging some of Westalls drawings, which I compared triumphantly (for a theory that I had, not for the admired artist) with the figure of a girl who had ferried me over the Severn, standing up in the boat between me and the twilight—at other times I might mention luxuriating in books, with a peculiar interest in this way, as I remember sitting up half the night to read Paul and Virginia, which I picked up at an inn at Bridgewater, after being drenched in the rain all day; and at the same place I got through two volumes of Madame DArblays Camilla. It was on the tenth of April, 1798, that I sat down to a volume of the New Eloise, at the inn at Llangollen, over a bottle of sherry and a cold chicken. The letter I chose was that in which St. Preux describes his feelings as he first caught a glimpse from the heights of the Jura of the Pays de Vaud, which I had brought with me as a bon bouche to crown the evening with. It was my birth-day, and I had for the first time come from a place in the neighbourhood to visit this delightful spot. The road to Llangollen turns off between Chirk and Wrexham; and on passing a certain point, you come all at once upon the valley, which opens like an amphitheatre, broad, barren hills rising in majestic state on either side, with green upland swells that echo to the bleat of flocks below, and the river Dee babbling over its stony bed in the midst of them. The valley at this time glittered green with sunny showers, and a budding ash-tree dipped its tender branches in the chiding stream. How proud, how glad I was to walk along the high road that overlooks the delicious prospect, repeating the lines which I have just quoted from Mr. Coleridges poems. But besides the prospect which opened beneath my feet, another also opened to my inward  sight, a heavenly vision, on which were written, in letters large as Hope could make them, these four words, LIBERTY, GENIUS, LOVE, VIRTUE; which have since faded into the light of common day, or mock my idle gaze. The beautiful is vanished, and returns not. Still I would return some time or other to this enchanted spot; but I would return to it alone. What other self could I find to share that influx of thoughts, of regret, and delight, the fragments of which I could hardly conjure up to myself, so much have they been broken and defaced! I could stand on some tall rock, and overlook the precipice of years that separates me from what I then was. I was at that time going shortly to visit the poet whom I have above named. Where is he now? Not only I myself have changed; the world, which was then new to me, has become old and incorrigible. Yet will I turn to thee in thought, O sylvan Dee, in joy, in youth and gladness as thou then wert; and thou shalt always be to me the river of Paradise, where I will drink of the waters of life freely! There is hardly any thing that shows the short-sightedness or capriciousness of the imagination more than travelling does. With change of place we change our ideas; nay, our opinions and feelings. We can by an effort indeed transport ourselves to old and long-forgotten scenes, and then the picture of the mind revives again; but we forget those that we have just left. It seems that we can think but of one place at a time. The canvas of the fancy is but of a certain extent, and if we paint one set of objects upon it, they immediately efface every other. We cannot enlarge our conceptions, we only shift our point of view. The landscape bares its bosom to the enraptured eye, we take our fill of it, and seem as if we could form no other image of beauty or grandeur. We pass on, and think no more of it: the horizon that shuts it from our sight, also blots it from our memory like a dream. In travelling through a wild barren country, I can form no idea of a woody and cultivated one. It appears to me that all the world must be barren, like what I see of it. In the country we forget the town, and in town we despise the country. Beyond Hyde Park, says Sir Fopling Flutter, all is a desert. All that part of the map that we do not see before us is a blank. The world in our conceit of it is not much bigger than a nutshell. It is not one prospect expanded into another, county joined to county, kingdom to kingdom, lands to seas, making an image  voluminous and vast;—the mind can form no larger idea of space than the eye can take in at a single glance. The rest is a name written in a map, a calculation of arithmetic. For instance, what is the true signification of that immense mass of territory and population, known by the name of China to us? An inch of paste-board on a wooden globe, of no more account than a China orange! Things near us are seen of the size of life: things at a distance are diminished to the size of the understanding. We measure the universe by ourselves, and even comprehend the texture of our own being only piece-meal. In this way, however, we remember an infinity of things and places. The mind is like a mechanical instrument that plays a great variety of tunes, but it must play them in succession. One idea recalls another, but it at the same time excludes all others. In trying to renew old recollections, we cannot as it were unfold the whole web of our existence; we must pick out the single threads. So in coming to a place where we have formerly lived and with which we have intimate associations, every one must have found that the feeling grows more vivid the nearer we approach the spot, from the mere anticipation of the actual impression: we remember circumstances, feelings, persons, faces, names, that we had not thought of for years; but for the time all the rest of the world is forgotten!—To return to the question I have quitted above. I have no objection to go to see ruins, aqueducts, pictures, in company with a friend or a party, but rather the contrary, for the former reason reversed. They are intelligible matters, and will bear talking about. The sentiment here is not tacit, but communicable and overt. Salisbury Plain is barren of criticism, but Stonehenge will bear a discussion antiquarian, picturesque, and philosophical. In setting out on a party of pleasure, the first consideration always is where we shall go to: in taking a solitary ramble, the question is what we shall meet with by the way. The mind is its own place; nor are we anxious to arrive at the end of our journey. I can myself do the honours indifferently well to works of art and curiosity. I once took a party to Oxford with no mean eclat—shewed them that seat of the Muses at a distance, With glistering spires and pinnacles adornd—  descanted on the learned air that breathes from the grassy quadrangles and stone walls of halls and colleges—was at home in the Bodleian; and at  Blenheim quite superseded the powdered Ciceroni that attended us, and that pointed in vain with his wand to common-place beauties in matchless pictures.—A s another exception to the above reasoning, I should not feel confident in venturing on a journey in a foreign country without a companion. I should want at intervals to hear the sound of my own language. There is an involuntary antipathy in the mind of an Englishman to foreign manners and notions that requires the assistance of social sympathy to carry it off. As the distance from home increases, this relief, which was at first a luxury, becomes a passion and an appetite. A person would almost feel stifled to find himself in the deserts of Arabia without friends and countrymen: there must be allowed to be something in the view of Athens or old Rome that claims the utterance of speech; and I own that the Pyramids are too mighty for any simple contemplation. In such situations, so opposite to all ones ordinary train of ideas, one seems a species by ones-self, a limb torn off from society, unless one can meet with instant fellowship and support.—Yet I did not feel this want or craving very pressing once, when I first set my foot on the laughing shores of France. Calais was peopled with novelty and delight. The confused, busy murmur of the place was like oil and wine poured into m y ears; nor did the mariners hymn, which was sung from the top of an old crazy vessel in the harbour, as the sun went down, send an alien sound into my soul. I only breathed the air of general humanity. I walked over the vine-covered hills and gay regions of France, erect and satisfied; for the image of man was not cast down and chained to the foot of arbitrary thrones: I was at no loss for language, for that of all the great schools of painting was open to me. The whole is vanished like a shade. Pictures, heroes, glory, freedom, all are fled: nothing remains but the Bourbons and the French people!—There is undoubtedly a sensation in travelling into foreign parts that is to be had nowhere else: but it is more pleasing at the time than lasting. It is too remote from our habitual associations to be a common topic of discourse or reference, and, like a dream or another state of existence, does not piece into our daily modes of life. It is an animated but a momentary hallucination. It demands an effort to exchange our actual for our ideal identity; and to feel the pulse of our old transports revive very keenly, we must jump all our present comforts and connexions. Our romantic and itinerant character is not to be  domesticated. Dr. Johnson remarked how little foreign travel added to the facilities of conversation in those who had been abroad. In fact, the time we have spent there is both delightful and in one sense instructive; but it appears to be cut out of our substantial, downright existence, and never to join kindly on to it. We are not the same, but another, and perhaps more enviable individual, all the time we are out of our own country. We are lost to ourselves, as well as our friends. So the poet somewhat quaintly sings, Out of my country and myself I go. Those who wish to forget painful thoughts, do well to absent themselves for a while from the ties and objects that recal them: but we can be said only to fulfil our destiny in the place that gave us birth. I should on this account like well enough to spend the whole of my life in travelling abroad, if I could any where borrow another life to spend afterwards at home! Hazlitt.

Mass Media And The Fashion Magazine Media Essay

Mass Media And The Fashion Magazine Media Essay Fashion magazines are a printed periodical publication of articles which are often illustrated indicating the recent trends in the fashion industry depicting the latest models of clothing, perfumes and shoes indicating their current prices. They also features articles on holiday destination guides and celebrity styles, best buys of fashionable items and gift guides, the best fashion, beauty, shopping, health, runway slideshows, travel and culture trends as the main contents of fashion magazines. (Wales, 2010) Fashion magazines are normally produced at regular intervals and are one of the major media of mass information regarding the fashion industry. The general model of the magazine exerts a great influence among its readers as it indicates the various interests of different people and social classes hence greatly influencing fashion trends and fashion related purchasing patterns among various individuals and organizations, depicting how greatly fashion magazines influence the public opinion regarding fashion. These magazines enable individuals to examine events in a broad perspective and only to dwell on what is most important which is mostly done through illustrations which show case models, entertainers and public figures clad in the various models of clothes, shoes and cosmetics. Following a tremendous increase in the volume and complexity in the information produced by modern society, the role of the fashion magazine as a medium of presenting, analyzing and evaluating factual fashion material has increased significantly in the recent years. There were plenty of fashion magazines around the turn of the 19th century. With the French magazines making the most impact in the world of fashion, they acted as trendsetters to other fashion magazine publications. Following changes in technology, leisure, work, cultural and moral values lifestyle trends have been turn influencing the clothes we wear. The first fashion magazine to report on the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fashion trends was the Le Mercure Galant whose name which refers to the god Mercury; messenger of the gods was founded in 1672 and produced in 1678 by the writer Jean Donneau de Vise. (Ellwood, 1999) This magazine indicates how the French invented fashion and glamour from back in the 17th century up to the early 19th century. The magazine was founded with its main objectives being to inform the well-to-do society about life in the artistic and literally circles featuring developments in courts, theatrical and fashion reviews, songs and news on the latest gossip on marriages and other major social events. Its publication stopped in 1674, but in 1677 its publication started once again with the magazineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s name being changed to Nouveau Mercure galant which was a monthly issue as opposed to its earlier version the Le Mercure Galant which appeared irregularly. This magazine played a major role in the propagation of news on luxury goods, court life and fashion at the time both locally and overseas. In the 1724 the title of the Nouveau Mercure gallant was changed to Mercure de France which became the overt trendsetter of French arts and humanities as it played a major role in the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Quarrel of the Ancients and the Modernsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , a debate on whether the arts and literature of the 17th century had achieved more than the illustrious writers and artists of antiquity. Hence gaining it the title of the most important literary journal in prerevolutionary France. . But during the revolutionary era its title was temporarily changed to le Mercure Francais. In 1811 its publication was stopped with the review being resurrected in 1815 and being published last in 1825. Providing a fashion magazine entails undertaking a very detailed research in order to assess the prevailing mood of a particular season and also so as to identify the trends to be photographed and articles to feature in a particular edition. Photos of galleries and runway shows and of gifts, holiday desti nations make up the larger part of fashion magazines. But in order to make those photos to look perfect they have to be edited which is normally carried out by fashion magazine editors. Hence the reason why most fashion editors use such publishing software such as adobe Photoshop to edit the photographs collected from their research. The process of producing a fashion magazine involves the following several steps. The first step requires an individual to come up with a concept of what to include in that particular fashion magazine. This is the initial stage before starting a fashion page. It involves planning the idea that one plans on putting on a page, which should be something that readers should enjoy seeing and finally buy. This should be done with considerations about the season and hence suggesting an appropriate fashion trend that will be fascinating to readers. The second step involves gathering of the necessary prerequisite materials to be included in the fashion page .It in includes collecting and assembling articles and photos from the research carried out earlier on; that one would want to include in the fashion magazine. Photos should be of high resolution and need to be edited by cropping and resizing before being saved on file. Articles should be in PDF or word format while photos being in picture extensions like jpeg or bmp. Creating of pages is the stage that follows. It involves use of publishing software like Adobe Photoshop. Through which a new file is created which now becomes the new field on which the fashion page will be created and designed with the name of a particular page being written in the name slot. The page can be preset by changing the background to a different colour to make it more attractive and presentable. The fourth stage involves placing of the selected images in the page created. This step involves placing the selected photos in the page created. Editing of images with the designated photo on the fashion page is the fifth stage. It involves changing the effects of the photos uploaded by moving it to the desired place and design by adjusting it to the desired size. This requires great creativity and imagination in order to come up with a superbly attractive fashion page. The sixth step is inserting of text or captions alongside the photos that have been placed on the page and with this the page design is finished. After which the page is saved prior to printing. Printing the fashion pages is the final stage of preparing a fashion magazine. The already saved fashion pages are printed with an overview of how the pages being printed will look like. Vogue is the most popular fashion magazine as of now. It was founded in 1892 by Arthur Baldwin Turnure as a bimonthly publication. The magazine focused mainly on fashion trends during that period but it also featured columns on sexuality. In 1973, the magazine underwent some extensive editorial and stylistic transformation as a response to changes in the lifestyle of the target audience. Nowadays, the most profitable and biggest fashion magazine company is still the Vogue magazine. This is due to the fact that it showcases unique models which attracts many customers and is also one of the magazines that most readers vote as the best as it covers a wide range of fashion products. There exists a deep relationship between mass media and the fashion magazine. With fashion magazines being an important media of mass information they exert a great influence among its readers. For the readers with trendy fashion ideas, they can use fashion magazines to learn about new collections being delivered by fashion designers. This could play to their advantage as such readers will get to read about such collections even before they actually get to the fashion malls. Fashion magazines are primarily published to give its readers ideas on how to improve their sense of fashion, improve their careers, health and finances. When it comes to the fashion advice sections, they have photos as well as back up articles that help both men and women visualize what their fashion suggestions are Through the editorial and mail box columns. Fashion magazines can be educational in terms of fashion and lifestyle in that fashion experts give responses on questions posted by readers for clarification. Hence through such replies fashion magazine readers can gain a lot of expertise regarding fashion trends. From fashion magazines you will also learn about the fashionable items that best suit your body type. Through the different clothing styles displayed in the magazines Through fashion magazines, readers get to know about colour combinations that actually match their skin colour and body shape. Since clothing is an instrument that we can use to highlight our good features and hence boosting our morale either at places of work or even at social gatherings. Fashion magazines use attractive online advertisement networks to attract more readers. Using the website, Fashion magazine editors can upload photos that would attract most people who visit the site. The fact that these magazines are colourful is one of the major reasons why most individuals end up reading fashion magazines. Offering the magazine either as a periodical or monthly issue ensures that readers develop a trend of waiting for the next edition to be released so as to buy it. As these magazines contain a variety of general articles, interviews by designers or fashion freaks, help columns for assistance to the readers on discounted stores where they can get those products. Charging a normal price for a magazine makes it more attractive, as it tires to cater for all classes of people in society. This way a magazine records more sales and is greatly appreciated by most people. Most fashion magazines consist of five parts on average with some having an extra part for exclusives. These parts are the cover page, cover story, editorial, mailbox, feature and the exclusive section. The cover page of the fashion magazine consists of both the front and back cover pages. These pages are generally the photos of top models or public figures clad in the most recent and fashionable clothes, shoes and cosmetics. The cover story section consists of a short article in the magazine whose subject matter appears in its front cover of the magazine. For the editorial section it is a letter from the senior editors of the fashion magazine to the readers congratulating them for sending in their comments, questions and more so for actually buying the magazine reflecting the opinion of the readers towards the magazine. The mailbox section consists of a subscription form for readers who would want the magazine mailed to their mail box. In the feature section, fashion reality shows w hich are one of the major parts of the fashion magazine are included. The exclusives section features those new releases in the world of fashion like cosmetics, clothes, iPods and other products. Providing a fashion magazine entails undertaking a very detailed research in order to assess the prevailing mood of a particular season and also so as to identify the trends to be photographed and articles to feature in a particular edition. Photos of galleries and runway shows and of gifts, holiday destinations make up the larger part of fashion magazines. However, in order to make those photos to look perfect they have to be edited which is normally carried out by fashion magazine editors. Hence the reason why most fashion editors use such publishing software such as adobe Photoshop to edit the photographs collected from their research.

Anorexia Nervosa: Causes and Treatments

Anorexia Nervosa: Causes and Treatments Abigail Gallacher Problem: Too many teenagers are becoming anorexic. Question: What are researchers doing to prevent it? Introduction. Anorexia nervosa is a huge issue among men and women of all ages. Anorexia Nervosa, or anorexia for short, is a disease that too many people get. There are a wide range of reasons why people may become anorexic. Anorexia nervosa normally occurs during puberty, and occurs in more females than in males, but some males do have anorexia too. There are two types of anorexia. One type is linked to another common eating disease called Bulimia, where a person will binge eat and then throw up afterwards to try and get rid of it. The second type is restricting yourself completely of food. It is the obsessive fear of gaining weight, and so individuals will try to control their body weight by starvation, purging, vomiting, excessive exercise, and the use of diet pills. Anorexia nervosa is a biological issue, and there are many of biological reasons behind it. Research gives us reason to believe that anorexia nervosa is often inherited, and can often run in families. Recent research suggests that inherited and biological factors increase a persons chance of becoming anorexic by 55%, and a teenage female who has a sibling or parent/guardian with anorexia are twelve times more likely to become anorexic themselves. Also, studies show that identical twins have a higher chance of becoming anorexic. This may because they are identical, but one could feel like the other is slimmer, prettier, taller, and a lot more things that teenage girls often think about, causing them to have major self esteem issues. Identical twins have a higher chance of becoming anorexic than fraternal twins or ordinary siblings. There is a brain structure called hypothalamus, which is the brain structure responsible for regulating eating disorders. Neurotransmitters carry a message from cell to cell in the brain and nervous system. This transmitter affects binging behaviour in bulimics and anorexics. To meet the criteria of having anorexia, a persons body weight needs to be 85% less than what is expected. An estimated 53.7% of women will suffer from anorexia in their lifetimes. In August 2013, as many as 10 in 100 females in the US suffered with Anorexia, but figures are increasing all the time. â€Å"The Guardian† published an article on 30th January 2014 with the title â€Å"Rise in hospital admissions for young people with eating disorders†, which says that the most common age for anorexics to be in hospital is 15 years old. It also says that in October 2013, there was an 8% rise in anorexics to be admitted to hospital. In â€Å"The Independent† on Sunday 16th November, it has an article named â€Å"Eating disorders soar among teens – and social media is to blame†. In this article, it says the number of children and teenagers seeking help for an eating disorder has risen by 110% over the last three years, which is shocking. ChildLine says it has received more than 10,500 calls from teenagers struggling from with food and weight-related anxiety in the past year. The rise in anorexia can be because of social media, school stress, self esteem issues, and the growth of celebrity culture. This graph shows that the highest percentage of people with anorexia is ages 16-20. The BBC news estimates that 165,000 people are suffering from anorexia and 10% of deaths are because of it. Children as young as three have been hospitalised with anorexia. Short term and long term effects of anorexia The short term effects of anorexia include; malnutrition, weight loss, hair loss, dry skin, organ malfunction, dizziness, dehydration, easily blacking out, weakness, mental problems, low heart rate, depression, low heart rate and low body temperature. The long term effects of anorexia are malnutrition, irregular heart beats, organ failure, depression and even suicide. So what are we trying to do about it? Scientists in the UK are examining the DNA in people with anorexia in the hope that they will understand why some people get the disorder and others do not. They believe there is a link between genetics and eating disorders, and they think they can try to predict who could be at risk. Researchers are trying to determine the impact of the brain, hormones, genetics and appetite control biology on people with anorexia. Researchers believe that the Alzheimers drug may be used to prevent people from binge eating. Memantine, which is found in the drug, is also what the area in the brain which causes people to binge eat facilitates. According to Science daily, researchers used an experimental model to simulate binge eating behaviour, and they were able to â€Å"identify the area of the brain associated with binge eating and then suppress the area by applying memantine directly to that area. There are some problems with this idea, however. If they think that taking memantine will reduce the risk of binge eating or anorexia, a person would have to eat before taking it, which is not what people with anorexia would wish to do. Scientists have looked at the environment, genetics, personalities and biochemistry in people with anorexia, but the more that is learned, the more complex it appears. To understand people with eating disorders, scientists are looking at the neuroendocrine system, which is a combination of the hormonal system and the central nervous system. This system regulates multiple functions of the mind and body. Many of these mechanisms are disturbed in people with anorexia. Scientists have been able to show that excess levels of cortisol in anorexia are caused by a problem in or near the hypothalamus. The ANITT (Anorexia Nervosa Intensive Treatment Team) service is a step below specialist inpatient care and a step above outpatient therapy. It is for people who may not need or benefit from inpatient care. This programme includes group and individual therapy, dietetic and psychiatric therapy. The diagram above shows the criteria for ANITT and and the care plan and treatment services offered. I think the ANITT programme is a good idea and will help teenagers overcome their problem because it works with the person, not against them, and the diagram shows them exactly hat to expect, so they know what is coming, and it also gives them another option besides becoming a patient in the hospital, which may scare the teenager and force them not to cooperate. At least, which this service, they get a choice. They will hopefully work with the dietitian and become a stable weight. This will take time but when they are at a â€Å"safe weight†, it will gain trust between patient and dietitian. Then the patient will go to therapy for eighteen months, twice a week. After the eighteen months are over, the patient will go to reduced-intensity therapy for six months, but it will not be as extreme. After these two years are over, the patient will either be discharged, continue with another six to twelve months of therapy, or proceed to support treatment services. The patient will only be discharged if they want to or if they have achieved a full and good recovery. If the patient goes to support treatment services, they will be focusing on improving the quality of the patients life, physical and psychological risk management and gaining a good relationship with the team. This treatment is more flexible and varied than the others, which I think may appeal to patients. They also work with the patients to make realistic goals, and helping them overcome barriers, rather than working against the patients. The patients who used this programme said that the staff were supportive, and the care they received was brilliant. I think this programme is extremely effective because teenagers are not taken away from their families, which is brilliant because I think this is the time in a persons life that they need family the most, so taking them away will not improve the problem or benefit the child at all. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) (1), almost 50% of people with anorexia meet the criteria for depression. Only 1 in 10 people with anorexia receive treatment, (2), and up to 24 million people in the USA suffer from an eating disorder, (3). According the the National Spectrum of Eating Disturbances, about 91% of surveyed women on a college campus have admitted to controlling their weight through dieting, (4). It says 95% of people with eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25, (5), which shows that it mostly occurs in teenagers, because of stress and eagerness to â€Å"fit in†. According to The National Institute of mental Health, women are much more likely to develop an eating disorder than men, and only an estimated 5-15% of those who have an eating disorder are men, (6). According to The Renfew Centre foundation for eating disorders, the body image portrayed on television is something only 5% of people posse ss naturally, (7). I think all girls need to know this because they are extreme dieting to be like someone who is portrayed falsely. If they knew their idols real weight, rather than what they are seeing on television, I think there would be a lot less teenagers with anorexia, because according to Prevention of Eating Problems with Elementary Children, 47% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported wanting to loose weight because of magazine pictures, (8), and according to IBID, 69% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported that magazine images influences their idea of a perfect body image, (9). This is why I think it is so important that the media should stop falsely portraying these actors and actresses and models, and let girls see what they are really like. References http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/# Characteristics and Treatment of Patients with Chronic Eating Disorders, by Dr. Greta Noordenbox, International Journal of Eating Disorders, Volume 10: 15-29 The Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders, â€Å"Eating Disorders 101 Guide: A Summary of Issues, Statistics and Resources,† 2003 Shisslak, C.M., Crago, M., Estes, L.S. (1995). The Spectrum of Eating Disturbances. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 18 (3): 209-219 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), The Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), offices of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.7 The National Institute of Mental Health: â€Å"Eating Disorders: Facts About Eating Disorders and the Search for Solutions.† Pub No. 01-4901. Accessed Feb. 2002. The Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders, â€Å"Eating Disorders 101 Guide: A Summary of Issues, Statistics and Resources,† 2003 Prevention of Eating Problems with Elementary Children, Michael Levine, USA Today, July 1998 Ibid

Slavery in Shakespeares The Tempest :: Tempest essays

Slavery in The Tempest  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Slavery occurs on a widespread basis in The Tempest. Occurrence of slavery to many of the characters, all in different ways, helps to provide the atmosphere for the play. The obvious slaves are not the only slaves, as Prospero has basically got everybody entranced when he wants, to do whatever he wants with them. He can also control the way that they think.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first and most obvious slave is ariel. Ariel is an airy spirit who is promised his freedom by Prospero if his job is done well. His job was to entrance the visitors to the island under Prospero's control. "What Ariel! My industrious servant, Ariel!" That is what Prospero said in act 4, scene 1, line 33. He was talking to his slave, Ariel, who entranced the visitors to the island.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another example could be Alonso, the king of Naples. Since he is not in Naples, but on Prospero's island, and under his control, he is a slave in a way. In act 3, scene 3, lines 95-102, Alonso admits complete and utter loss of control. "O, it is monstrous, monstrous! Methought the billows spoke and told me of it; The winds did sing it to me; and the thunder, that deep and dreadful organ pipe, pronounced the name of Prosper; it did bass my trespass. Therefore my son i' th' ooze is bedded; and I'll seek him deeper than e'er plummet sounded and with him there lie mudded." He is telling us that Prospero is in control of him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Prospero, Trinculo, and Stephano are in control of Caliban, the deformed son of Sycorax, and therefore Caliban is their slave. "Monster lay-to your fingers; help to bear this away where my hogstead of wine is, or I'll turn you out of my kingdom. Go to, carry this. In act 4, scene 1, lines 250-253, Stephano told Caliban to carry something for him, or he would be out of his kingdom. He treats Caliban like dirt because he is their slave.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In act 4, scene 1, lines 262-265, Prospero is describing how all of his former friends are now pretty much under his control, even though they don't know it, and enslaved to Prospero. "At this hour lies at my mercy all mine enemies. Shortly shall my labors end, and thou shalt have the air at freedom."   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In act 5, scene 1, lines 7-10, it states "Confined together in the same fashion as you gave in charge, just as you left them-all prisoners, sir, in the line grove which weather-fends your cell.

M9 Service Pistol - United States Marine Corps :: essays research papers

DETAILED OUTLINE M-9 SERVICE PISTOL INTRODUCTION: (2 MIN) 1. GAIN ATTENTION : Video(SAVING PRIVATE RYAN) misfire of an M9. 2. OVERVIEW: The purpose of this period of instruction is to familiarize you with the M9 service pistol, misfire procedures, and what may cause a misfire. This period of instruction is in direct relation to corps">Marine Corps Weaponry. 3. INTRODUCE LEARNING OBJECTIVES: a. TERMINAL LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Without the aid of reference, demonstrate the four steps in clearing a misfire and describe some ways a misfire may occur in accordance with MCI 21.35 of the MARINE CORPS INSTITUTE, (INSPECTION AND REPAIR OF THE M9 SERVICE PISTOL). (CPLX1) b. ENABLING LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Without the aid of notes and in accordance with the reference MCI 21.35: (1) List some ways a misfire may be prevented. (CPLX1.1a) (2) Explain the four steps in attempting to clear a misfire. (CPLX1.1b) 4. METHOD / MEDIA: I will present this material using the lecture method with the aid of placards and an actual M9. 5. EVALUTAION: There will not be a post test after this period of instruction. TRANSITION: Since there are no questions on the learning objectives, the method I will use to present this period of instruction or the way in which you will be evaluated, let’s take a look at prevention of a misfire with the M9 and clearing procedures. BODY: (5 Min) 1. ONE FACTOR WITH THE MAGAZINE THAT MAY CAUSE A STOPPAGE OF AN M9. a. (On Placard #1 – TIGHT LIPS ON THE MAGAZINE CLIP.) If a stoppage occurs do to jamming against the ramp of the clip, it is an indication that the magazine lips are too tight, and prevent the bullet nose from tilting up and chambering in the barrel of the weapon. This can be prevented by inspecting your M9 and it components religiously, and alerting your company armor of any discrepancies. (OFF PLACARD#1) TRANSITION: We now know one factor that may cause a misfire with the magazine clip, what to look for to help prevent one from occurring, and how to resolve any discrepancies with your M9 or any of its components. Now lets take a look at another factor with the magazine that may cause your weapon to perform a stoppage. 2. A SECOND FACTOR WITH THE MAGAZINE THAT MAY CAUSE A STOPAGE WITH AN M9. a. (On Placard #2 – LOOSE MAGAZINE LIPS) . If a double feed occurs,(two rounds chambering at the same time), the problem is with the magazine. The lips are spread to far apart allowing a second round to jump out of the clip as the first is being stripped.

Comparison between the Great Gatsby and Macbeth Essay

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most intense plays and one his most complex psychological studies. It is also a play about which there is a great deal of historical background, which I think you’ll find interesting because it reveals Shakespeare’s creative process. The play was written in 1605–1606. It’s one of the plays where the date is pretty firmly established by internal references to external events, and most scholars have agreed on the date. Shakespeare was at the height of creative powers, and his theatrical company, the King’s Men, was the official royal acting company. He had the large Globe Theater, a large public playhouse on the south bank of the Thames. He would soon open the Blackfriars Theater, a small private theater within the city itself where the plays were performed indoors, and he and his men performed often at the court for the king and his family. The Blackfriars Theater would be exempt from the law prohibiting theaters within the City of London by being a private club. It could accommodate only a couple of hundred people, opposed to the Globe audiences of a couple of thousand, and therefore Shakespeare charged a higher price for entry. That in turn meant that the audience was wealthier and more sophisticated than the average attendee at the Globe was. Because the plays were performed indoors by artificial light, they could be done at any time or weather. Because it was a smaller theater, the acting style used could be more subtle and understated than the broad, overly dramatic acting used in the Globe before audiences of several thousand. As far as we know Shakespeare’s company continue to perform all the plays in both theaters; it’s just that the productions would have differed in the way they were performed. Once you know something of the complex historical background, a very curious fact emerges about this bloody, violent drama: the story of this psychotic killer and his fiendlike wife was actually written as a tribute to Shakespeare’s royal patron, King James I of England, who was also king of Scotland. What an unusual way to thank the king for his patronage! Of all of his plays, this is a powerful suspense thriller. We may know who the killer is, but we are fascinated to see if Macbeth gets away with it and to see how he convinces himself to commit the multiple homicides. The historical background is necessary to help you understand why Shakespeare wrote the play the way he did. Without the background there are many passages and references which make no sense to a modern audience. This background also reveals the fascinating way Shakespeare used and twisted history to make a better play and to address the political agenda of King James. It also shows some of the things going on at that time in English society and politics. Macbeth is an openly political play. Macbeth is considered a history play, based on the events in the life of a real historical figure, but it is even more a powerful tragedy. Shakespeare played fast and loose with historical fact in all his history plays, but none more so than this play. When Shakespeare wrote a play like Richard III, he was writing about events that had taken place about 100 years before, so most people in his English audience had a general sense of what that time was like. In the case of Macbeth, he was writing about a time over 500 years in the past in a country about which most of his English audience was totally unfamiliar. Shakespeare and his audience did not consider history to be a science, in which the goal was accuracy; rather history was an art, related to storytelling. The purpose of history was to make a moral point about the present society. You looked to the past to find or create parallels with the present age that would help you explain how people should behave right now. Therefore history was often manipulated, changed or simply created to support some political agenda. Every king at this time used history as a tool in his arsenal to help hang on to power. They would hire professional historians to rewrite the past to support their claim to power in the present. Similarly, religious figures would use history as a weapon to attack their opponents. In many accounts written at this time by Protestant advocates, history is seen as the rise of many proto-Protestants, people who lived hundreds of years before Martin Luther, the first official Protestant. These earlier figures are shown to be forerunners who simply didn’t realize they were Protestants. The historical sources that Shakespeare used were as much mythologies as they  are reality. Actually there was very little known about the historical Macbeth, so if the historians hadn’t made things up they wouldn’t have had much to say about him. Shakespeare’s principal source, Holinshed’s Chronicles of Scottish History, was a loose collection of gossip, tales and fantasies, so the material he was using was already seriously flawed from a historical perspective. Shakespeare then used this flawed material selectively, not telling the whole story, but only bits and pieces that made for a good drama. He altered historical records to heighten dramatic effect, as we’ll see in the dramatic account of Macbeth’s first murder. Shakespeare also changed history to simplify complexities and, quite frankly, to kiss up to King James. Shakespeare took a story supposedly set in the 11th Century, around the year 1050, and filled it with many references to events taking place in 1605 in England, in particular to one of the most dramatic events in English history, the Gunpowder Plot, which had happened just the year before. No wonder the play bears little resemblance to the historical reality. The historical Macbeth had become king in the year 1040 when he killed the previous king, Duncan, in battle. To put this in a historical context, this is hardly the Middle Ages; it’s still the Dark Ages, as historians have termed the various stages of European history. It is 26 years before the Norman invasion of England, which is generally considered to be the beginning of the medieval period in Britain. In 1040 Macbeth became king and ruled for 17 years until he was overthrown and killed by Duncan’s son, who became King Malcolm III. Malcolm is famous primarily because he married an English princess named Margaret who was later made a saint. According to the Scottish historian Archibald Duncan, little is known about Macbeth and his lovely wife Grunnich, except that they were pious and endowed a religious house at St. Andrew’s (which is probably the caddy shack on the fourth green of that famous golf course — joke). The couple went on a religious pilgrimage to Rome where, the chroniclers said, â€Å"they sowed money like seed.† (Many of us when we go on vacation do the same thing.) That’s all we know for certain about the real Macbeth. Now the fact that Macbeth killed the previous king was not a big deal. Of  the eight Scottish kings who ruled during this time, seven had died unnatural deaths, including several who burned to death until suspicious circumstances. It was highly unusual for a Scottish king to die of natural causes in bed. This violent record was largely the result of how Scottish kings came to power. There was no fixed process of succession from one king to the next. In effect, when an old king died every male who was related to the royal family, no matter how distant the relationship, had an equal chance for the throne. It was a kind of royal free-for-all with the last man standing getting to be the king until he was done in by the next ambitious claimant. Macbeth is overthrown in 1057, still nine years before the Norman French invasion of England under William the Conqueror. Two hundred years pass by. The Norman kings are on the throne of England. A succession of English kings and queens has tried to extend their power north into Scotland, as generations of Scots have raided English settlements to the south. The warfare between these two historic enemies is almost constant. In the mid-1200’s the English king Edward, also known as Longshanks and the Scots Killer, has invaded Scotland determined to subjugate it once and for all. He pushes north and reaches the holy place of Scone where the Scottish kings were crowned. Here he seizes the holy relic called the Stone of Scone and takes it back to London where he places it under his throne at Westminster Abbey, where it remained for seven centuries, despite the efforts of Scottish nationalists to steal it back. (Prime Minister Tony Blair finally returned the stone to Scotland after his election — a smart political move.) The film Braveheart gives you a highly dramatic sense of the conflict at this time between the Scots and the English. The Scots fight back unsuccessfully because they are not united in their efforts. Finally one man arises who is able to weld the Scottish people into a single nation, Robert the Bruce, and he is able to lead to a Scottish victory. The English have to acknowledge the right of the Scottish State to exist. King Edward is bitterly disappointed and when he dies, he leaves instructions that if England ever mounts a new invasion of Scotland, his bones are to be carried at the head of the army. So you see how bitter the hatred is between the two nations. Under Robert the Bruce the Scots succeed in driving the English out, but in 1329 he dies and his daughter ascends the throne. She had married a guy who was like the business manager or steward of the royal estates. Not surprisingly the guy’s name was â€Å"Steward† or as it came to be spelled, â€Å"Stuart.† And so the Scottish throne passed on to this obscure family that had never been more than civil servants. Now every royal family worried about two things: succession, or who would inherit the throne. Henry VIII had gone through five wives trying to sire a male heir to the throne and broken with the Catholic Church over the issue. The second worry was to try and keep the crown within the family against attacks on their legitimacy. So kings were always seeking ways to bolster their claim on the throne in the perception of the people. The family of Elizabeth, the Tudors, had had on-going problems in both these areas. The first Tudor, Henry VII, lost his oldest s on soon after the boy had been married to Catherine of Aragon. So as not to have to return her substantial dowry to the King of Spain, Henry VII simply married the young widow to his next son, Henry VIII, setting in motion all the turmoil of that king’s five wives. Henry’s son Edward died while still in his teens, and his daughter, who reigned as â€Å"Bloody Mary Tudor,† was unable to produce an heir. The next Tudor monarch, Elizabeth I, declined to try to have a child by refusing to marry. Her decision caused all kinds of political problems as she approached death in 1603, until she declared on her deathbed that her distant cousin, James VI of Scotland, would rule after her. The Stuart kings, by contrast, had been very prolific. By the time Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, there had been eight generations of Stuart kings on the throne of Scotland. They were the longest-surviving royal family in all of Europe. They boasted that they would remain on the throne until Doomsday. However, the Stuarts continued to worry about the public perception of their legitimacy. After all the original Stuart king had had little claim to the throne. So it was that in the early 1500’s one of the Stuart kings hired a professional historian and ordered him to create an older, more respectable connection to the throne for the Stuarts. This historian made up an ancient ancestor of the Stuarts, Banquo, who lived clear back in the time of old King Macbeth. This Banquo, a thane or nobleman, was told by goddesses of Scottish destiny that his descendents would eventually become kings of Scotland. These goddesses were  given special powers to look into the future of the Scottish nation. So the Stuarts had a mystical claim on the throne for several hundred years before they actually were crowned. This Banquo was a completely fictional character that the historian/PR guy simply made up. Not surprisingly this character and the prediction of his descendant’s rise to power figure prominently in the play. Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather, Henry VII, had used history in just the same manipulative manner. After he defeated and killed the rightful king, Richard III, in 1485, he hired a number of â€Å"professional† historians to do a hatchet job on poor old Richard. They â€Å"proved† that he was not the legitimate king and was in fact a monster who deserved to die so the Tudors could take power. In the mid-1500’s Scotland was ruled by Mary, Queen of Scots, a distant cousin of Elizabeth I. Mary has come down in history as a kind of romantic figure, but in reality she was not nearly as sympathetic. She was a Catholic trying to rule a land that was fiercely Presbyterian, and she was not very adept at the politics of power. Plus she had the unfortunate habit of blowing up the castles where her estranged husband was staying. She was finally driven out of Scotland and fled to England where she was given asylum by Elizabeth. Rather than being content and grateful for her cousin’s kindness, she began almost immediately plotting with malcontents to overthrow Elizabeth. She let it be known that if the Catholic minority in England was able to get rid of the queen, she would graciously accept the crown. Elizabeth tried to ignore the threats and then tried to confine Mary in an isolated country home where she could cause less trouble. But Mary persisted in her plots. Finally Elizabeth is forced to stop Mary’s intrigues by having her beheaded Now when Mary fled from Scotland she left her infant son, James, and he was crowned James VI and ruled throughout his childhood. Poor James was manipulated and used by the powerful men who had custody of the young king. He learned to be very slippery and deceitful in order to survive to adulthood. In one of the great ironies of history, when Elizabeth faces  death she bequeaths the English throne to the son of her mortal enemy, Mary, Queen of Scots. James was finally able to escape from Edinburgh and the clutches of the Presbyterian elders and go to the sinful city of London, the Las Vegas of that age. In 1603 James is crowned James I of England and becomes a dual monarch. A few months later he names Shakespeare’s company the King’s Men, the royal dramatic company. The company has royal protection from local authorities and they make a great of money performing all the plays Shakespeare had written for the court. It’s no wonder that Shakespeare felt compelled to write a tribute to his royal patron, Macbeth. As I said earlier, it’s an odd play to be a tribute to a Scottish king, but then Shakespeare made a career out of doing the unusual. Now as Shakespeare pays tribute to James, he also wants to support James’ political agenda. England and Scotland had been historic enemies, but now they were governed by the same monarch, and he wanted to unite them into a single kingdom. In several plays written before 1603 Shakespeare used the Scots as convenient ethnic targets. (We see this Scots-bashing in Merchant of Venice and Henry V.) After 1603 it became politically incorrect to take potshots at the Scots. Although James and the other Stuarts wanted a United Kingdom, it would take over 100 years for England and Scotland to merge into a single political entity. To advance the king’s agenda, Shakespeare wrote the play in a certain way. He created and emphasized commonality between the two kingdoms. He was also careful not to show Banquo, the king’s mythical ancestor, in a bad light. Rather than being actively involved in overthrowing King Duncan, Banquo just stands around and waits for Fate to fulfill the prophecy of his family’s future greatness. (In Holinshed’s account Banquo had been an active participant in Duncan’s overthrow and death.) Having set up the story of the Stuart family’s rise to power, Shakespeare shift gears and makes the homicidal maniac Macbeth the protagonist of the play. The other political event which shaped the composition of the play was the criminal conspiracy to assassinate James, his family and most of the Protestant leadership of England in the Gunpowder Plot. This took place in early November of 1605, when a group of Catholic extremists planned to blow  up the Houses of Parliament on the occasion of a speech by the king to Parliament. There had been a long history of hostility between the Catholics and Protestants in England through the 1500’s, especially during the time of Elizabeth. Catholics considered her an illegitimate ruler and a bastard because she was the child of King Henry VIII’s second wife, after the illegal divorce. The film Elizabeth, with Cate Blanchett, gives you a good sense of the conflict in this time with the Catholic side being represented by the Pope and Queen Mary. By contrast with Catholic intransigence, Elizabeth is shown to be much more humane and tolerant. She had seen too much bloodshed over religious differences. She did not much mind what people’s private beliefs were as long as they avoided public display of religious heresies. So under Elizabeth it was not illegal to be a Catholic, unlike Mary Tudor’s persecution of Protestant dissenters; it was just illegal to perform a Catholic mass in public. Understandably Catholics chafed under the restrictions of Elizabeth’s rule and believed that a strong Catholic monarch could bring England forcibly back to the Catholic faith. When Elizabeth died in 1603 many Catholics hoped their persecution would end with James. After all, his own mother had been a Catholic. However, that belief ignored the fact that James had been raised as a Presbyterian, not a Catholic. Also he found Elizabeth’s principle of allowing private faith a good compromise. And so the more militant Catholics plotted to fill the basement of Parliament with gunpowder and at the critical moment blow i t up. Now this plot was the 17th Century equivalent of 9/11 or the harebrained scheme of Timothy McVey to blow up the federal building in Oklahoma City. The plot was discovered at the last minute. According to the official account released at the time the king himself, with the help of God, covered the plan. He was shown some intercepted messages which referred to â€Å"strike a blow† for the cause and realized that â€Å"blow† could mean an explosion and ordered the building searched. The effect of the discovery on England was electric, traumatic. In a flash the country realized how close they had come to disaster. As the conspirators were arrested, tortured, confessed and were executed more details came out. English society was changed in ways that are still visible today. For example to this day on November 5, the day the plot was discovered, called Guy Fawkes Day, children throughout  Britain collect money in the neighborhood to buy fireworks to set off and burn a wooden effigy called â€Å"the Old Guy† in honor of Guy Fawkes, one of the principal conspirators. The revelation of the plot did not ease the pl ight of Catholics, who were forbidden the vote or the ability to serve in Parliament. One of the other conspirators turned out to be a secret Jesuit priest named Henry Garnett. Although it was illegal to perform the mass, the Jesuits recruited young courageous English Catholics, trained them in France and smuggled them back into England to perform as priests. Garnett was the confessor of several of the other conspirators and he was detained in the initial investigation. The authorities suspected he was a priest and they asked him under oath if he knew anything about the plot. He denied any knowledge. Subsequent suspects were arrested and they revealed that Garnett had known about the plan and had advised the conspirators on what to do. He was arrested again, questioned and this time he admitted that he did know about the plot. When confronted with his earlier perjury under oath, Garnett explained that as a Jesuit he was not required to tell the authorities what they wanted to know. In defense of his own faith he had not lied under oath; he had simply equivocated. That simply meant he had not told the whole truth and had played fast and loose with the terminology, a lot like a former president testifying under a threat of impeachment. This aspect of the scandal was in some respects the most shocking for the public because he seemed to cast the Jesuits as sneaky, lying shock troops of the Pope who would commit any sin to further their own cause. And so the concept of â€Å"equivocation† became infamous, a kind of shorthand reference to the evil behind the plot. It was so shocking that the legal oath Englishmen took when they testified in court was changed at that time to include the provision that the oath was taken â€Å"without equivocation† to cover any future Garnetts. That provision continued in the English legal system down to the twentieth century. Both the celebration of Guy Fawkes Day and the legal oath demonstrate how traumatic the Gunpowd er Plot was on English society. A lot of popular works were written at this time which refer to the details of the plot, including at least three plays called Gunpowder dramas. One was called The Whore of Babylon all about the Pope leading a black mass to call  forth Satan to engineer the assassination of Queen Elizabeth. The second play was called The Devil’s Charter which traces the efforts of the evils Catholics to engineer the assassination of an English ruler. The third play was Macbeth, according to noted author Garry Wills. In the plays the Jesuits are linked to witchcraft. This was not the first attempt on King James’ life; he had survived three earlier assassination attempts. (One reason James may have been able to uncover the plot so quickly is that he had had lots of experience,) The would-be assassins were subsequently tried as witches. In another related case a plot was uncovered to kill James’ bride, a princess of Denmark. A group of accused witches from a town called Forres, mentioned in the play, had disapproved of James marrying a foreigner, and so the charmed the winds and caused a major storm on the North Sea to try and sink the ship bringing the Danish bride to Scotland. As in the other cases the plotters were arrested, tortured, confessed and were executed. As a result of his experiences and his own interest in the occult, James fancied himself an expert and had written a book called Daemonology, all about Scottish witches. In the first two Gunpowder plays listed above it is a male witch that is behind the plots to kill the English monarch. What Shakespeare does in his play is to take the â€Å"goddesses of Scottish destiny† that he had read about in Holinshed and change them into very unusual witches, in keeping with the interest of the principal person for whom he was writing the play, King James.