Managing Oneself and What You Dont Know About Making Decisions, Term Paper

Managing Oneself and What You Dont Know About Making Decisions, - Term Paper Example I can surely say that I am good at management because I was in charge of my own salon and spent 32 years running it. My management skills thus were developing gradually year after year as I was gaining more and more experience. I can surely get on well with colleagues and subordinates with the help of courtesy and efficient communicative skills. I was always aware of the internal atmosphere in my salon because I often communicated to the people who worked there. I always considered effective delegation of responsibilities to be an important aspect of good management. It is crucial to know how approve, encourage ad criticize employees without hurting anyone. People need to know that their efforts will contribute to the general success that is why I aimed to underline my workers` achievements when appropriate. The most difficult part for me was to learn how to distribute tasks and responsibilities among employees equally and how to maintain constant balance. Moreover, it was crucial for me to arrange effective communication within a team at my absence. I consider leadership skills to be the core of good management and I can say that my leadership technique and abilities required a lot of efforts and time to get improved. Leadership presupposes abilities to organize and to motivate team and control its performance (Leatherman, 2010). It was a challenge for me to create a team out of people who did not know each other and could not rely on each other but after some preparation and time I managed to build trust and create clarity among my colleagues. Nevertheless, there is still strong necessity to enhance my existing strengths to make my performance even more efficient. First, I would pay more attention to the effective criticism which is a part of my communication skills. Being a leader requires an ability to criticize subordinates from time to time and

Working with emergent change

Working with emergent change Introduction Nowadays, people tend to speak of living in a fast-moving and unpredictable world (Burnes, 2004, p. 886), in a turbulent, dynamic and unpredictable environment (Burnes, 2000, p. 300) in which the frequency, dimensions and unpredictability of changes are higher than ever before (e.g. Kotter, 1996). Hammer and Champsy even go so far as to say that because of its ubiquity and endurance change is the norm (2001, p.25). Thus, the Heraclitean dictum that everything changes and nothing abides seems more topical than ever. Nonetheless, you have to take notice of the fact that about 70% of all change initiatives fail (Beer Nohria, 2000, p.133). How can this phenomenon be explained? What approaches of change exist and what enables organisations to manage changes successfully? In the following essay, I will first outline the traditional approach of planned change, its critics and, out of these, the evolving Emergent Change approach. Subsequently, I will question if a sheer focus on the apparent predominant processual approach is sufficient. I will do so by outlining case studies of two organisations that successfully implemented changes by paying attention to both planned and emerging changes. These results and Burnes analysis of a further organisational change initiative will lead to my conclusion that the consideration of both perspectives is necessary for successful organisational changes. Then, I will briefly analyse possible reasons that might lead to the previously discussed one-sided perspectives before I end the essay with a conclusion. Planned Change The Planned Change approach seemed to prevail in the theory as well as the practice of change management from the late 1940s to the early 1980s (Burnes, 2000, p.281) and is often referred to as the best developed, documented and supported approach to change (Ibid.). Its roots mainly lie in the work of Kurt Lewin (Bamford and Forrester, 2003, p.547) who is called by Schein the intellectual father of (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) planned change (1994, p.239). Many planned change attempts are based on his three-stage model of unfreezing, moving and refreezing (Livne-Tarandach Bartunek, 2009). Nevertheless, it has to be noted that Lewin himself believed that a successful change considered his concepts about Field Theory, Group Dynamics and Action Research in addition to his famous three-stage model (Burnes, 2004, p.887). However, in regard to his latter model, the three steps can be outlined as followed: Unfreezing describes the destabilization of a quasi-stationary equilibrium that exists in a compount field of driving and inhibiting forces (Ibid.). It is postulated that this equilibrium has to be unsettled to overcome old stable human behaviour. Moving refers to the process of transmission to a new way of being (http://www.change-management-coach.com/kurt_le win.html). To lead to an enduring change this process requires reinforcement. Thus, the last step, refreezing, covers the stabilization of the new behaviour (Burnes, 2004, p.887). Bamford and Forrester state that this perspective is grounded on the assumption that organisational change is a process that moves from one fixed state to another through a series of pre-planned steps (2003, p.547). Consequently, it is to be systematically analysable and can be intentionally designed, initiated, and realized (Livne-Tarandach Bartunek, 2009). The importance of Lewins work on organisational change is indisbutable. Accordingly, several authors have developed resembling approaches, such as Cummings and Huses (1989) eight-phase model or Bullocks and Battens (1985) four phase model of planned change (Bamford Forrester, 2003, p.547). Nonetheless, the weaknesses of the planned change approach at a time in which the environment becomes more and more unpredictable and turbulent seem obvious. Thus, many critical voices arouse especially in the early 1980s following the oil shocks of the 1970s, the expanding Japanese competitive power and the apparent eclipse of Western industry (Burnes, 2000, p.281). These events raised questions regarding the efficacy and appropriateness of the established approaches. The main points of criticism, that mainly came from the culture-excellence school, the postmodernists and the processualists are outlined in the following (Burnes, 2004). First, the Planned Change perspective is reproached to neglect environmental factors that might be incompatible with the planned change. For instance, Stickland, who draws on systems theory, emphasises the role of internal and external influences as drivers for organisational change (Tarandach Bartunek, 2009, p.4). A further point of criticism, that is especially brought out by the processualists, is that a change is not a series of pre-identified discrete and self-contained events, but a more open-ended and continuous process where it is often unfeasible or unwanted to define a precise end state (Livne-Tarandach Bartunek, 2009, p.5). Furthermore, critics, such as Pfeffer (1992), blame the approach for ignoring the role of power and politics. They claim, in addition, that the advocated assumption of easily recognizable and resolvable conflicts is unrealistic in most organisational settings (Tarandach Bartunek, 2009, p.5). Emergent Change Taking these points of criticism into account, a different perspective on organisational change has evolved, namely an emergent, processual approach. According to Weick, emergent changes comprise ongoing accommodations, adaptions, and alterations that produce fundamental change without a priori intention to do so (2000, p.237) and although Bamford and Forrester argue that its followers seem to be more united in their stance against planned change than their agreement on a specific alternative (2003, p.547), you can still highlight certain characteristics that are typical for the Emergent Change approach. Peculiar to the approach is the assumption that organisational change occurs as a continuous process of experiment and adaption with the goal of adjusting the organisational processes and competences to a continuously changing environment. The idea of a turbulent environment, that prevails in todays societies and makes exclusive planned change programmes insufficient, is supported by several authors. Dawson (1994) and Wilson (1992), for example, emphasize the demands for a higher employee flexibility and constant structural adjustment that are associated with an increasingly dynamic and uncertain business environment (Burnes, 2000, p.283). This constant structural adaption is brought about through a great number of small- to medium-scale incremental changes which might give rise to a major re-configuration and transformation of an organisation (p.299). Related to this assumption is a further characteristic of the Emergend Change Approach, that is to say, the belief in the iterative and messy fashion of change processes (p.300). Thus, Pettigrew stresses the multi-causal, non-linear and unpredictable nature of change that develops through the interplay of multiple variables (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) within an organisation (p.284). These variables involve different contexts, political processes and consultation. Similarly, Dawson states that disruption, confusion and unforeseen events that emerge over long time-frames determine change processes (Dawson, 1994, cited in Burnes, 2000, p.285). Furthermore, the Emergent Change perspective sees organisational change as a political-social process and does not narrow it down to a sheer analytical-rational routine (p.300). Hence, it is assumed that during a change various parties will seek to preserve or amend their own interests. This can lead to conflicts and intrigues. Accordingly, Burnes argues that the successful management of power and politics is a prerequisite for effective change (p.292). These power struggles are not limited to the upper professions of an organisation. Thus, Burnes continues that it is beneficial not only to possess the support of senior and local managers, but also of trade unions and workplace employees. Summing up, you can say that the Emergent Change approach stems from the idea that change is continuous, unpredictable, and essentially political in nature (Livne-Tarandach Bartunek, 2009, p.5). It evolved in response to the traditional Planned Change approach that rooted in the works of Kurt Lewin, but seemed insufficient in a time characterized by a dynamic and unpredictable environment. However, although the declination of the Planned Change approach appeared predominant and the literature provided increasing support for the Emergent Change approach, it has to be questioned if a sheer focus on the lauded processual approach is adequate. Or would organisations profit from a combinational perspective paying attention to both approaches? Several authors, in fact, suggest combining varying approaches to change (e.g. Burnes, 2004; Beer and Nohria, 2000) or have developed connection frames to link planned and emergent change over time (Livne-Tarandach Bartunek, 2009, p.3). In the foll owing I will present two examples of organisational changes to underpin my opinion that neither a solely planned nor a sheer emergent change approach is likely to lead to successful changes. On the contrary, I argue for a combination of both approaches. Example 1 A first example of the insufficiency of a perspective that would solely focus on planned or emergent changes is provided by Orlikowski and Hofman (2003) who studied the introduction of a new technology and the accompanied changes in a software company. They even go one step further and assume not just planned and emergent changes in organisations, but also opportunity-based changes. Zeta is one of the Top 50 software companies in the USA and produces several powerful software products enabling decision support, executive information and marketing (p.269). Furthermore, it has a revenue of $100 million, and employs approximately 1000 people in its offices around the world. In 1992, a new groupware technology was introduced in the Customer Service Department (CSD) within which a new Incident Tracking Support System (ITSS) was developed. The CSD consisted of specialists who technically advised clients, consultants and other Zeta employees and stakeholders via telephone. The aim of the new ITSS was to facilitate the minuting of customer calls and of the respective resolving progress of customers problems. In the course of this process some planned organisational changes were executed. These changes are referred to as planned changes because they were predicted prior to the introduction of the new technology. For instance, the specialists were now to provide an additional work-in-progress documentation and the managers controled the departments recources more precisely through the real-time access to workload information (p.271). Nevertheless, while using of the new technology, several emergent changes could be noted as well. The specialists, for example, worked out a body of informal quality indicators to ascertain the quality and value of prior resolutions (p.270) and managers considered documentation skills as decisive factors in hiring and evaluation processes. In the course of time further changes were introduced which Orlikowski and Hofman reference to as opportunity-based changes. In contrast to the beforehand mentioned, these changes were neither anticipated before the introduction of the new technology nor did they simply emerge spontaneously. Opportunity-based changes occur when an emergent change is observed and actors deliberatley decide to reinforce (or undercut) that change (http://icd.si.umich.edu/~cknobel/?q=node/41). Thus, they are enforced in situ and responding to arising chances and problems. An example of such an opportunity-based change appeared along the invention of partnerships betwee n less expert junior specialists and more experienced senior specialists to redistribute call loads which lead to unforeseen problems. For instance, the junior specialists refused to cede calls that were too difficult to their senior partners because they wanted to appear competent and didnt want their senior partners to be overloaded. On the other hand, the senior specialists were too engaged to monitor their junior partners. Thus, the new role of an intermediary was introduced to prevent the collapse of the system. This intermediary was seen as a buffer to facilitate the information flow between the junior and the senior partner. A range of opportunity-based changes arouse during the usage of the new technology that demonstrated the importance of ongoing learning and change in practice in organizations. Thus, the example showed that although planned changes occur in organisations, they are usually accompanied by emergent and opportunity-based changes. This means that the planned change of the introduction of the new technology in the CSD was followed by other planned changes as the additional work tasks of the employees on the one hand. Nevertheless, further ongoing changes emerged that made a continuous adaption of the organization essential. Example 2 Wikstrà ¶m (2004) presents another vivid example of an organisation that has to deal with planned as well as emergent changes that arise at environmental, organisational and individual levels. His case study of the company Tieto-X discusses a successful customer relationship marketing (CRM) implementation and illustrates diverse ongoing changes to which the company had to respond. Tieto-X is Finlands leading contract work solutions company that specializes in Information Technology. In 2002 employed about 270 people. The structure of the organisation and the collaboration with its clients made it necessary that the customer could have recourse to Tieto-Xs operational system. This allowed the client, for example, to follow up the progress of an IT project. To cope with its rapid growth, Tieto-X decided to start a total systems renewal process in 2002 (p.6) and to change its business strategy from product/service-oriented to a customer-oriented one (p.8). In addition to this planned change event the company was exposed to several further planned as well as emerging changes that took place on an environmental, organisational and individual level (p. 6). On an environmental level of observation, Tieto-X faced, for instance, the socalled Year 2000 phenomen and Finlands accession to the EMU that both lead to increased business chances through higher demands for IT services. Another emergent change event that affected the company from the environment was the enlarged entry of foreign firms into the Finish market and the accompanied sharpened competetion. On an organisational level several planned change events could be observed in addition to the beforehand mentioned fundamental change of Tieto-Xs business strategy to a more customer-oriented perspective and the final CRM implementation. For instance, there were multiple company mergers during the years 2000 and 2002 and the associated merging of disparate organisational cultures. Furthermore, a new product and service portfolio was elaborated and an altered reward system was invented. However, even on this organisational level of observation, Tieto-X had to cope with an emergent change event, namely the turnover of top management. Moreover, you could observe different planned and emergent change events on an individual level. Thus, changes in occupational descriptions and new divisions of tasks represented planned change events and the rise in turnover of salespeople as well as the request for new competencies consituted emergent changes to which the company had to respond. The example illustrates that organisational change is a multifaceted phenomenon (p.9) with planned and emergent changes happening on an environmental, organisational and individual level. Tieto-Xs CRM implementation was successful because the organisation managed to deal with both the anticipated as well as the ongoing and unforeseen changes. Complementing the two discussed cases that clearly demonstrate the need for organisations to pay attention to both planned and emergent changes, Burnes is a decisive advocate of the combinational perspective. For instance, he draws on the case of XYZ construction, a multi-national enterprise that used planned as well as emergent changes between 1996 and 2000 to transform itself, illustrating that planned and emergent changes are not to be seen as competitors and that they are neither mutually exclusive nor incapable (Burnes, 2004, p.899). In addition to spotting the right moment when an organisation is ready for a change, he identifies the ability to understand the organisational context as a key competency of management to ensure successful organisational changes. Thus, the management has to comprehend the organisations nature and its circumstances that determine what and how changes have to occur (Ibid.). Possible reasons for a onesided perspective Regarding this discussion one might ask why people solely considered a planned or emergent change approach in the first place. The reasons for managers to consider planned change initiatives seem obvious. First, planned change programmes communicate a sense of security and control (e.g. Nutt, 1993). The idea of a change initiative starting at a certain point, running through a series of predetermined stages and ending at a predefined endpoint might appear riskless and especially appealing to managers who face the pressure of conducting a change programme while keeping up the business as usual. Furthermore, people perceive uncertainness as strongly aversive in general (Bordia, Hobman, Jones, Gallois and Callan, 2004). Even if one could argue that this promised predictability might be illusionary when conducting change problems in real dynamic business environments with people who are, at least partly, led by their own desires, fears, perceptions and assumptions, one has to take into a ccount that some situations certainly require a planned, systematic approach. Consider for example the introduction of a new IT-sytem. On the other hand, advocates of the emergend change approach might argue that planned changes are useless because of the unpredictable nature of the organisations business environment and the change process in general. Thus, they might ask why attempt a planned change anyway if you assume that plan A does not lead to anticipated result B. Here you see a problem that is often associated with approaches that arise out of a backblash from an apparent devaluated one. Although the main ideas themselves seem totally reasonable and appropriate, a sheer focus on the newly originated aspects might turn out to be as insufficient as the initially criticised approach. Conclusion This essay critcally discussed the statement that as the environment becomes more unpredictable, OD will have to help organisations learn to work with emergent change (in addition to planned change). Therefore, I introduced the traditional approach of planned change and the critical review that faced it especially during the 1980s. The Emergent Change approach that arouse out of the outlined points of cristicsm was presented subsequently. Afterwards, I challenged the appropriateness of the Emergent Change approach and raised the question if it might be necessary to consider both approaches to set the conditions for successful organisational changes. Hence, I analysed this question by presenting two case studies of organisations that faced planned and emergent change events during their organisational changes. Both companies succeed due to their attention paid to both approaches. This fact and Burkes case study strengthened my belief in the beforehand raised question and led to my con clusion that an organisation must to be able to deal with planned and emergent changes to survive in the dynamic and unpredictable environment of the 21st century.

A Place In Different Seasons Essay -- essays research papers

The place to be described is totally imaginary, although it may bear some resemblance to a childhood memory of yours. The house and surrounding fields and mountains (for it is these I will endeavour to describe in different seasons) are so exquisitely picturesque: The long, wide, oak slatted cabin with the rolling fields stretching far into the distance, and beyond. Behind the house (as I like to call it) is an expanse of some three hundred or so yards before abruptly halting to make way for a stream. The stream is like one time itself forgot, like the one you would expect to find fairies sitting by. Beyond that the vast mountain range, ominous against a clear blue sky and casting definite shadows across the house and fields. The snow-capped peaks are those that I have climbed many a time; and they always seem to be different in contour or shape. There is a beautiful horse chestnut tree just two fields away from the house, and countless others dotted around near it; ash, beech, oak, the list goes on and on. It’s wonderfully peaceful up here, no one to disturb you. In autumn the landscape changes so much, almost too much. The leaves fall off the great oak, and it looks so miserable and bare; I have often thought of wrapping it up in a blanket. The horse chestnut is yielding fruit (if you can call it that). There is nothing I like more than sitting in front of the log fire and roasting horse chestnuts; marvellous. The fields, once, not long ago were teeming with poppies and f... A Place In Different Seasons Essay -- essays research papers The place to be described is totally imaginary, although it may bear some resemblance to a childhood memory of yours. The house and surrounding fields and mountains (for it is these I will endeavour to describe in different seasons) are so exquisitely picturesque: The long, wide, oak slatted cabin with the rolling fields stretching far into the distance, and beyond. Behind the house (as I like to call it) is an expanse of some three hundred or so yards before abruptly halting to make way for a stream. The stream is like one time itself forgot, like the one you would expect to find fairies sitting by. Beyond that the vast mountain range, ominous against a clear blue sky and casting definite shadows across the house and fields. The snow-capped peaks are those that I have climbed many a time; and they always seem to be different in contour or shape. There is a beautiful horse chestnut tree just two fields away from the house, and countless others dotted around near it; ash, beech, oak, the list goes on and on. It’s wonderfully peaceful up here, no one to disturb you. In autumn the landscape changes so much, almost too much. The leaves fall off the great oak, and it looks so miserable and bare; I have often thought of wrapping it up in a blanket. The horse chestnut is yielding fruit (if you can call it that). There is nothing I like more than sitting in front of the log fire and roasting horse chestnuts; marvellous. The fields, once, not long ago were teeming with poppies and f...

The Progression of Huck’s Maturity

As the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, progresses, Huck becomes more mature. The reader can see this change in maturity by the level of his thinking and the changes it undergoes. The maturation of Huck is also evident in pranks that he plays, which progressively change his attitude and the way he thinks. The book starts off with a Huck that has a wild nature, and is not civilized. He is in Tom Sawyer’s â€Å"gang† that plays pranks of people. The prank that Tom and Huck play on Jim, Miss Watson’s slave, really stands out. Huck and Tom take Jim’s hat and hide it up on a tree branch above him while he is sleeping. Huck later realizes that Jim â€Å"was most ruined for a servant, because he got stuck up on account of having seen the devil and been rode by witches† (Twain 16). His prank set Jim up for a bad image, which had a negative repercussion which Huck did not see, showing his immaturity. Another prank Huck plays in which he doesn’t judge the consequences before hand, is when he places the dead snake in Jim’s bed. Unaware that the snake’s mate would come after the body, Huck causes Jim to be bit by a snake, which is very dangerous. Later on in the novel, Huck plays another prank on Jim, in which he pretends that nothing happened, when in reality, Huck and Jim are separated in the fog. He convinces Jim that Jim is crazy, and this concerns Jim. Huck feels â€Å"so mean [that he] could [have] almost kissed his foot to get him to take it back† after Jim insults Huck for making fun of Jim (Twain 75). He later apologizes, and regains the trust, but he realizes that not all of his pranks are good. Finally, Huck shows that he is much more mature when the â€Å"Duke† and the â€Å"Dauphin† come on the ship. Huck realizes that these two conmen are just bluffing their status. However he â€Å"never [says] nothing, never let on; kept it to [himself]† because then â€Å"you don’t have quarrels, and don’t get into no trouble† (Twain 104). He didn’t mind calling them what they wanted to be called, â€Å"‘long as it would keep peace in the family† (Twain 104). Overall, Huck grows in his maturity greatly. While encountering his personal experiences with Jim, and away from society, he grows as an individual with a greater moral and maturity.

Explain the contribution of Teresa of Avila to mysticism Essay

Transfer-Encoding: chunked i »? Explain the contribution of Teresa of Avila to mysticism (35) Mysticism is an aspect of religious experience that is little understood. This term has been used to describe experiences that reveal spiritual recognition of truths beyond normal understanding, from the mildly ecstatic to the occult. It has been said that there are certain features which accompany such experiences which enable their recognition, such as a sense of freedom from the limitations of time, space and the human ego. Believers may also experience a sense of â€Å"oneness† or unity with God, accompanied with bliss and serenity. Mysticism is seen as the closest a human being can ever come to actually meeting God in this life. Mystical experiences can also be classified into two areas: extrovertive, where one experiences unity in the world through the physical senses and introvertive, where the person loses their identity as a separate individual and slowly merges into the divine unity. A key introvertive mystic is Teresa of Avila. In examining her contribution to religious experience, a good place to start is considering her background. Teresa’s background may be key to understanding her enigmatic personality and experiences. She was a woman from a wealthy background and had a turbulent start in life. When she was seven her mother died, and when she was fourteen she ran away to seek martyrdom. She had an alleged love affair with her cousin that tarnished her reputation and effectively made her unmarriable. This, coupled with her obsession with books of chivalry, may have corrupted her view of what love really is. Her father decided to send her into an Augustinian convent where she was very unhappy. This sense of rejection played a major part in her later religious experience. It was while she was in the convent that her religious experiences began. In 1554 she had a deeper conversion when she saw a statue of Jesus after he had been whipped. She was deeply moved and wrote, â€Å"I felt so keenly aware of how poorly I had thanked him for those wounds that, it seems to me, my heart broke. I threw myself down before him with the greatest outpouring of heart. † After this experience she progressed into a life of intense prayer and the Catholic practice of mortification, so much so that he motto became, â€Å"Lord, either let me suffer or let me die. † She was also deeply influenced by the Confessions of Augustine and other theological books – although she did not have access to the Bible. Perhaps the single most influential experience she had was when she ‘came back from the dead’ after suffering from what is thought to have been malaria. This increased her notoriety. Moving on, Teresa was encouraged to write about her experiences and her books continue to influence mysticism today. Her two main writings are Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle. Way of Perfection is considered her spiritual autobiography. Here she emphasises the importance of praying mentally as well as vocally. In sixteenth century Spain the common people were encouraged to restrict themselves to vain repetitions of learned-off prayers, Teresa rejected this in favour of a more personal relationship with God. Her superbly inspiring classic on the practice of prayer is as fresh and meaningful today as it was when she first wrote it. The Way of Perfection is a practical guide to prayer setting forth the Saint’s counsels and directives for the attainment of spiritual perfection. Through the entire work there runs the author’s desire to teach a deep and lasting love of prayer beginning with a treatment of the three essentials of the prayer-filled life — fraternal love, detachment from created things, and true humility. St. Teresa’s counsels on these are not only the fruit of lofty mental speculation, but of mature practical experience. In The Interior Castle she compares the soul to a castle with seven rooms, with the Trinitarian God residing in the inner room. Growth in prayer enables the believer to reach a deeper intimacy with God, symbolised by a progressive journey through the rooms of the castle. She also describes the resistance that the Devil places in various rooms, to keep believers from union with God. Throughout, she provides encouragements and advice for spiritual development. Teresa’s writings lack Biblical references due to the Spanish Inquisition restricting access to the scriptures, and this grieved her. William James identified four characteristics of religious experience: ineffability; noetic quality; transiency and passivity. All of these care clearly apparent with Teresa’s experiences. Starting with ineffability, this is when one experiences a feeling that cannot be described to anyone else. She wrote that, â€Å"the soul is fully awake as regards God, but wholly asleep as regards the things of this world. † Secondly, noetic quality is when the mystic experience gives insight into truths unobtainable by the intellect alone. This is also apparent in Theresa’s experiences: â€Å"when I return to myself, it is wholly impossible for me to doubt that I have been in God, and God in me. † Thirdly, transiency. The religious experience does not last for long, usually half an hour or so. Though they are remembered, they are imperfectly recalled, but recognised if they reoccur – the recipient usually feels a profound sense of the importance of the experience. Associated with Teresa’s raptures are always visions. Her most famous vision involved her seeing a small angel with a beautiful face holding â€Å"a long golden spear† tipped with a â€Å"little fire† which he thrust into her heart. Finally, there is passivity, when the mystic feels as if they have been taken over by a superior power. In Teresa’s case, her visions were sometimes accompanied by levitation or strange screams. It could be this aspect that led many to believe she was possessed by the devil. In terms of impact, Teresa of Avila had a profound influence on religious experience. She the first female saint of the Roman Catholic Church – the saint of headache sufferers, rather oddly. She was somewhat of a reformer, emphasising a personal relationship with God above rigid sacramentalism. In 1562 she established the strict Carmelite order in various areas of Spain and her writings continue to be studied by believers today.

Economics Supply and Demand essays

Economics Supply and Demand essays In the article we find that teenagers have the oppertunity to be demanding about their salary in the baby sitting field, because the amount of babysitters today are scarce. The babysitting population, teenagers, find themselves busy with school, part time jobs, and extracirricular activity. Teenagers with drivers licenses are even more scarce than those with out, all in all, It's hard to find a babysitter. Times have changed, just twenty years ago there were 33 million children who needed to be watched, and 39 million babysitters(age 10 - 19), recent polls suggest that children that need to be watched raised 18 percent to 39 million while baby sitters dropped 5 percent to 37 million. The rise in children coupled with American families spending more time out then years ago, has allowed the babysitters to set their price with out haggeling. Baby sitters are making well over the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour because they are in demand, and scarce; the babysitters who train in CPR, serve dinner, and drive are the hardest to come by and In this article we see many examples of supply and damand and the powers of supply and demand. Babysitters are in demand, there is an increase in the amount of children who need to be watched yet there are relativly few who choose to babysit from the allready decreased amount of the babysitter work force. This gives the babysitter the advantage of a noncompetitive work force, allowing the baby sitter to set the price with out bargaining. If we were to compare two different production possibility frontiers, we would see a left shift of the curve while demand for baby sitters rises, from 1980 to 1996. In economics we concider this an inflation, the amount of resources(babysitters) decreased while the demand for them rose. This is what we would concider the begining of an ...

Preparation of a vesicle suspension containing methylene blue as a hydrophilic model drug.

Preparation of a vesicle suspension containing methylene blue as a hydrophilic model drug. IntroductionColloid drug delivery systems (CDDSs) are vesicular dosage forms. They include liposomes niosomes nanospheres and nanocapsules. Their size avoids any risk of embolism following intravenous injection. CDDSs were initially designed, and were studied, as drug carriers for targeting purposes. The assumption was the expected ability of CDDSs to concert the drug at the therapeutic target and/or divert if from the toxicological one. Some interesting results have been obtained with drugs possessing a narrow therapeutic margin such as anticancer drugs. In addition, CDDSs were shown to be able to act as sustained-release dosage forms when injected subcutaneously.However, the oral route of administration has the advantage of conveniences versatility and safety, and is preferred whenever the physicochemical properties of a drug allow adequate bioavailability. Many drugs are rendered ineffective after oral administration because of their chemical ability or susceptibility to enzymes i n the G.I. tract, or because of their hydrophilic character and ionizability at various pH values, or because of their high Mr or Insolubility.emulsion lift 2So CDDs could be able to protect drugs from G.I. degradation. Candidate drugs for entrapment in CDDS could be peptides (hormones, enzymes, clotting factors, etc.), for example, all of which exhibit poor oral bioavailability.Since the discovery of liposomes in the 60s most of the studies involving CDDSs have examined parenteral routes. Their use as oral delivery systems only began in the 70s and has not been completely investigated. Furthermore, nano-spheres and nanocapsules were developed as more promising tools.Niosomes themselves are unilamellar or multilamellar vesicles which are analogues of liposomes. Niosomes are formed mainly by self-assembly of synthetic non-ionic surfactants with the optional combination of cholesterol and charged surfactants. The ability to entrap solutes allows them to be used as drug carriers. The f act that they are made of bilayer membranes allows them, like...

Pros and Cons of the Common Core State Standards

Pros and Cons of the Common Core State Standards The full implementation of the Common Core State Standards has come and gone. The true impact that they have on schools and education as a whole may still not be known for several years. One thing that is for sure is this shift to a national set of standards has been revolutionary and highly controversial. They have been highly debated and well discussed with a handful of states once committed to the standards having eventually recanted to go a different direction. As the media continues to evaluate the significance of the Common Core and data from Common Core states begin to pour in, you can bet the debate will rage on. Here, we examine several of the pros and cons of the Common Core Standards that will continue to lead the debate. PROS The Common Core State Standards are internationally benchmarked. This means that our standards will compare favorably to standards of other countries. This is positive in that the United States has dropped considerably in educational rankings over the last few decades. By having standards that are internationally benchmarked that ranking could begin to improve.The Common Core State Standards has allowed states to compare standardized test scores accurately. Up until the Common Core Standards, each state had their own set of standards and assessments. This has made it exceedingly difficult to compare one states results accurately with another state’s results. This is no longer the case with like standards and assessments for Common Core states who share the same assessments.The Common Core State Standards has decreased the costs states pay for test development, scoring, and reporting. This is because each state will no longer have to pay to have their unique tests to be develop ed. Each of the states that share the same standards can develop a like test to meet their needs and split costs. Currently, there are two majors Common Core-related testing consortia. Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium is made up of fifteen states and PARCC consists of nine states. The Common Core Standards has increased the rigor in some classrooms and may better prepare students for college and global work success. This is probably the single biggest reason that the Common Core Standards were created. Higher education has long complained that more and more students need remediation at the beginning of college. The increased rigor should lead students to be more prepared for life after high school.The Common Core State Standards arguably has lead to the development of higher level thinking skills in our students. Students today often are tested on one skill at a time. The Common Core assessment will cover several skills within each question. This will ultimately lead to better problem-solving skills and increased reasoning.The Common Core State Standards assessments have given teachers a tool to monitor students’ progress throughout the year. The assessments will have optional pre-test and progress monitoring tools that teachers can use to find out what a student knows, where they are going, and to figure out a plan to get them where they need to be. This gives teachers an avenue to compare an individual student’s progress instead of one student against another. The Common Core State Standards assessments have been more authentic to a child’s learning experience. We will be able to see what all a student has learned across all curricula through the multi-assessment model. Students will no longer simply be allowed to come up with the right answer. Often times they must give an answer, state how they arrived at that conclusion, and defend it.The Common Core State Standards can benefit students with high mobility when they move from one Common Core state into another. States will now share the same set of standards. Students in Arkansas should be learning the same thing as a student in New York. This will benefit students whose families move continuously.The Common Core State Standards has given students stability thus allowing them to understand what is expected of them. This is important in that if a student understands what, and why they are learning something, there becomes a greater sense of purpose behind learning it.The Common Cor e State Standards has in many ways enhanced teacher collaboration and professional development. Teachers across the nation have been teaching the same curriculum. This allows teachers in opposite corners of the nation to share their best practices with each other and apply it. It also provides the opportunity for meaningful professional development as the education community is all on the same page. Finally, the standards have sparked a meaningful, nationwide conversation about the state of education in general. CONS The Common Core State Standards has been a tremendously difficult adjustment for students and teachers. It has been a difficult transition. It was not the way many teachers were used to teaching and not the way that many students were used to learning. There have not been instant results but instead, has been a slow process with many almost refusing to get on board.The Common Core State Standards has caused many outstanding teachers and administrators to pursue other career options. Many veteran teachers have retired rather than adjust the way they teach. The stress of getting their students to perform will likely continue to cause more teacher and administrator burnout.The Common Core State Standards are vague and broad. The standards are not particularly specific, but many states have been able to deconstruct or unwrap the standards making them more teacher friendly.The Common Core State Standards has forced younger students to learn more at a quicker pace than they ever have befor e. With the increased rigor and higher level thinking skills, early childhood programs have become more rigid. Pre-Kindergarten has become more important, and skills students used to learn in second grade are being taught in Kindergarten. The Common Core State Standards assessment does not have an equivalency test for students with special needs. Many states provide students with special needs a modified version of the test. There is no modified test for the Common Core Standards, meaning that 100% of a school’s population has their results reported for accountability purposes.The Common Core State Standards could be watered down when compared to a few states who had previously developed and adopted rigorous standards. The Common Core Standards were designed as a middle ground of the current state standards meaning that while many states’ standards were raised, there were some whose rigor decreased.The Common Core State Standards caused many textbooks to become obsolete. This was a pricey fix as many schools had to develop or purchase new curricula and materials that were aligned to the Common Core.The Common Core State Standards costs schools a lot of money to update the technology needed for the Common Core Standards Assessments. Most of the assessments are online. This created many issues for districts who had to purchase enough computers for all students to be assessed in a timely manner. The Common Core State Standards has led to an increased value on standardized test performance. High stakes testing is already a trending issue, and now that states are able to compare their performances against another accurately, the stakes have only become higher.The Common Core State Standards currently only have skills associated with English-Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. There is currently no science, social studies, or art/music Common Core Standards. This leaves it up to individual states to have to develop their own set of standards and assessments for these topics.

Article Review and Comment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Review and Comment - Article Example This is letting Republicans take him to task for failing to engage in realistic cost-cutting measures. Republicans are accusing Obama of irresponsible spending. Meanwhile, Democrats are arguing that macro-economic factors like unemployment justify spending even with the deficit. Obama in particular is arguing for long-term investments into workforce and infrastructure to stay competitive. Republicans, as is common, are associating spending cuts with shrinking government. Some Republicans like Scott Walker have even turned down federal government money and associated projects. They are thus clearly rejecting New Deal-style â€Å"pump and prime†, work creation missions. The deficit will impact the 2012 budget intensely. Republicans are hoping to extend spending past March 4th so as to gain more time to debate the issue. Treasury officials predict that by April, the deficit ceiling is likely to be exceeded barring immediate action. The article notes that most initiatives focus on ly on 15% of the budget: Discretionary spending that is non-security oriented. The journal notes that this is deeply flawed: Most of the deficit comes from non-discretionary programs that are much harder to cut such as Social Security (which is a financial obligation and has a separate, non-discretionary fund) and the military which is politically impossible to cut. First, I think that partisan commitments are transparent in this article.

Principles of Criminal Investigation Term Paper

Principles of Criminal Investigation - Term Paper Example However, lack of advanced forensic technology in the 1980s can be regarded as one of the reasons it took too long to link someone with the Green River killings. In 1982, authorities found five murdered women in the Green River. One unique thing about the murders is that all the killings had happened through strangling and the murdered women practiced prostitution. The discovery of the bodies alerted the locals on a possibility of having a serial killer targeting prostitutes. The area where the murdered bodies were discovered had Sheriff Officers and everyone had optimism that the murders would be resolved as soon as possible. Contrary to locals’ expectations, more bodies were discovered in and around the Green River. The bodies mostly include those of teenage women found naked and without any possession (Morehead, 2012). The police department remained to collect skeletons of unknown women without any trace of the murderer. Over a period of two years (1982-84), the police department listed 49 murder victims and described them victims of the Green River Killer. This could be later followed by the formation of the Green River Task Force that had the mandate of looking into the increased serial killings. The task force comprised of detectives from police departments across the United States. The task force conducted investigations on the murders and obtained a lot of evidence from hundreds of suspects. Unfortunately, none of the evidence gave any definitive evidence that could link anyone to the serial killing (Morehead, 2012). The continued delays in getting hold of the serial killer added budget constraints on the task force, which led to reduction of personnel within the task force. By 1992, only one detective had remained to deal with the Green River case (Reichert, 2005). According to Reichert (2005), in the 1980s, forensic technology was less advanced, which posed numerous challenges during the collection of evidence. In such cases,

Accountancy is not a profession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Accountancy is not a profession - Essay Example Here the skill lies in choosing and conveying the information, which is relevant and reliable to the user. According to the  American Institute of Certified Public Accountants  (AICPA), accountancy can be defined as â€Å"the art of recording, classifying, and summarizing in a significant manner and in terms of money, transactions and events which are, in part at least, of financial character, and interpreting the results thereof† (Accounting, Finance & Capital Budgeting, nd., 1). Early records show that accountancy was used primarily for maintaining business related data on behalf of businesspersons  and the only account viewer were record keepers who maintained accounts. In the current context, accounting is referred to as â€Å"the language of business† (McGrath, 1921, 5) since it is a vehicle primarily used for publicizing financial data about a business firm to various interested people. There are different theories that try to elucidate the development of pr ofessionalism within accountancy and whether it can be taken as a profession or as a trade. As per the functionalist theory, a profession starts only when there are a group of people practicing specific techniques based on specially designed training. They are viewed as forming a group to mutually assure their skill and competence and maintain high standard In terms of professional practice and character (Carr-Saunders, 1928). In this context, the paper will examine whether accountancy is a profession or a part of the trade market primarily from a functionalist perspective. Discussion Accounting as a profession has been analysed from various perspectives and different settings. Various researches have used the functionalist, critical and interactionist perspectives to elucidate the development of professionalism within accountancy even though it had mainly trade market associations. The functionalist theories claim that the core of professionalization is based on any profession†˜s capability to create professionals with a common set of skills and knowledge that would work towards serving the society selflessly. The interactionist perspectives on the other hand suggest that professions are interest-based groups that aim at persuading the society members to seek their advices/services for protecting and furthering their own interests. The critical perspective, which is modern in form, analyses the process of professionaliz

Gay Marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gay Marriage - Research Paper Example The following are the approaches that have been used to attempt to solve the standoff. 1. Political Approach The gay community has been needlessly subjected to negative tagging by the ‘straight.’ This has left authorities with no choice but to adjust the law in order to protect this minority group from intolerant and homophobic treatments. But is it true that the gay are victims of homophobia and intolerance from the straight society? â€Å"Homophobia is the hatred or fear of homosexuals †¦ sometimes leading to acts of violence and expressions of hostility.† (Anti-Defamation League, 2001). Fear and hatred of homosexuals is something that should be condemned in bold letters. Supporting Proposition 8 therefore exposes the gay to unjust and unfair treatment. However, only extremist individuals and groups come to this extent of being out-rightly insolent against the gay-and this is totally unacceptable. If someone is peacefully expressing their opinion against ho mosexuality because they think it is wrong, should they be termed intolerant and homophobic? If a church-based organization says it cannot admit gay individuals because its value system does not allow such, is that intolerance? Not any more than than Tyson (Meat Company) can join the American Vegetarian Association! It is not intolerant, it is just plain unreasonable. Cost of Implementation Not everyone who opposes homosexuality hates or fears the gay: they are simply expressing their opinion and practicing their freedom of expression. Apparently, the gay are cushioned by the law, such that they can get away with something that other people don’t. For instance, is it not ‘freedom of expression’ to talk against religion and the religious, but not against homosexuality? Jennifer Roback says, â€Å"I’m voting ‘yes’ on 8, not because of my views of gays and lesbians, but because of my views about marriage. I view marriage as a gender-based instit ution that attaches mothers and fathers to each other and to their children.† (Jennifer Roback, November 1 2008). Is it fair and just to have children in a situation where they cannot utter ‘mum’ or ‘dad’, because we adults have disordered these roles? Would a child feel the same way if they were cuddled in the bosom of a ‘male mother’ as they would in that of a ‘real’ mother? No one has the right to abuse homosexuals, but opposing them does not amount to discriminating against them. Rejecting Proposition 8 amounts to giving the gay way too much liberty at the expense of others-especially children; and criminalizing rather honest and kind opinions. 2. Sociological Approach Maggie Gallagher and Joshua K. Baker seem to reject the proposition by positing that gay marriages have no negative implication on the society. They assert that â€Å"†¦ children raised by lesbian and gay parents†¦ do as well if not better than c hildren raised by heterosexual parents† emotionally, socially and educationally. (Gallagher, Maggie and Joshua K. Blake, Pg 2). They posit that the gender of the parents does not matter; provided love, care and protection thrive in the family unit. However, they point at the immense significance there is in a traditional family by admitting that marriage is more than a private emotional relationship. â€Å"It is also a social good; †¦

Changing the Nature of Higher Education Research Paper

Changing the Nature of Higher Education - Research Paper Example n example, there was an authorized provision for â€Å"College Senate† in one of the institutions, but the bylaws stated that the membership could be drawn wholly from the board of administers and college governors, and not from the faculty. From these, one can assess that the creation and refinement of the structure is a legacy of the colonial colleges which in turn defined and shaped the higher education system in the United States to the present day. However, Thelin (2004) suggests that we do learn many straightforward incidents from Adams about Harvard in 1858. The classes were small and had about one hundred students per class with a total enrollment of about five hundred. Its faculty could enjoy a high local prestige in the society but were not well paid (p.63). This practice in the Harvard was implemented with intent to encourage them for developing the habit of self-criticism and even self-doubt. By the end of the 19th century, various systems in the German higher educ ation such as ideal of advanced scholarship and doctoral programs with graduate students had influences over the United States’ higher education system. The American university in the 1890s typically was the historic college that was internally renovated and enhanced by new programs. It seemed like a smorgasbord for students and a few of them opted for a bachelor’s degree from there. It was the Morril Act of 1862 contributed to the expansion of the state college into the university model of federated units (Thelin, p. 104). However, the faculty’s teaching overload remained the same even with the expansion into new system. Only token allowances were granted for graduate courses and seminars while curricular offerings were for undergraduates. The implementation of new academic systems resulted... From the disc ussion it is clear that  the higher education in the colonial era had been under the administration of queens, kings, and bishops for centuries. The faculty at these institutions faced daily scrutiny from the administrative board and received immoderate approach from the directors who appointed them. In fact, as Thelin states, the academic freedom and the rights of the teacher in respect to the â€Å"hiring and firing† received little consideration from the authorities. At this period, a class president usually reported to the board of administrators rather than the faculty.  This essay stresses that a major factor that influenced the changes in faculty system was the contributions made by Charles Eliot. He gained fame though often referred as notoriety by implementing bold modernizations at Harvard College. He introduced an elective system from which some colleges formulated provisions for electives in student curriculum, while others sustained the same cour se of study. There have been evidences about implementing more provisions for specialized departments. The faculty identification was the factor highly impacted by the provision to conglomerate the colleges.   The states’ silence on issues of higher education campus enhancement in the 1880s was not a result of the governments’ disinterest towards research, applied science or technology. It did not imply that colleges or universities were systems for large-scale government projects.

A history of Greece Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A history of Greece - Essay Example A history of Greece War between Athens and Sparta in his book, â€Å"History of the Peloponnesian War†. It was said after his death that the history was recollected through his accounts where he discusses the 27 year war between the two neighbors with strict reliance on evidence and on the philosophy of cause and effect. He is known to be the pioneer of the international relations school of thought â€Å"political realism†. Pericles funeral oration was given by the Athenian General Pericles after the end of the first year of war with Sparta, and it was done to honor and bury the war dead. It was recorded by Thucydides that the war dead would be left in a tent for three days after which they would be buried in Kerameikos, and then someone would sing their praises and tell stories of their braveries. During 431 BC Athens was going through a war with Sparta as already mentioned before, and there were no signs of victory or defeat in sight while the casualties were mounting to unexpected numbe rs.; That was when Pericles delivered this speech to praise the war dead and to sing the praises of the motherland (Athens), and in the end he delivered an epilogue to remind the audience to not speak over the dead. Pericles praises the main qualities of Athenians as the people of a country where they are free. They are all equal and no one is above the law; they live a free life and can sustain any life they want. He says that the people of Athens welcome immigrants from neighboring regions with open arms to come and see the prosperity of the Athenian people. According to him, the equality and openness raised the rank of Athens and established it as a great city of Greece. Pericles praises the people of Athens by proclaiming that the principle of the Athenian men is to die with honor and not to submit to the Spartans because, according to him, Athenian men consider it honorable to die rather than live while in submission to the oppressors and their enemies. Pericles considers Athen ian men to be free, and for them freedom means happiness and to be able to sustain happiness. They are brave and this is the reason why they are not afraid to go to war with any nation including Sparta. According to Pericles Athens was a nation by far better than Sparta. Sparta were blood thirsty warmongers whose life began and ended with wars, while Athens was a country that loved art and literature. Pericles contrasted that Athens welcomed foreigners to its country while Spartans were much jealous of the achievements of the Athenian people and envied their freedom and prosperity. He says that Athens is a democracy where decisions are not to be made by one individual but through unanimous agreement, thus implying that such is not the case in Sparta. He further exemplifies Athens by stating that in Athens, unlike in Sparta, equal justice is available to all people and this is one of the elements that differentiates Sparta from Athens where a person is identified by his deeds and not by wealth and neither does the government interfere in the life of any individual as long as he serves the state. The Athenian society was near perfect according to the speech done by Pericles. Although this might have been done so as to raise the courage of the fellow Athenians, his accounts have been considered correct by many historians who. Athens’s plusses were its art and literature, the freedom that

Changing the Nature of Higher Education Research Paper

Changing the Nature of Higher Education - Research Paper Example n example, there was an authorized provision for â€Å"College Senate† in one of the institutions, but the bylaws stated that the membership could be drawn wholly from the board of administers and college governors, and not from the faculty. From these, one can assess that the creation and refinement of the structure is a legacy of the colonial colleges which in turn defined and shaped the higher education system in the United States to the present day. However, Thelin (2004) suggests that we do learn many straightforward incidents from Adams about Harvard in 1858. The classes were small and had about one hundred students per class with a total enrollment of about five hundred. Its faculty could enjoy a high local prestige in the society but were not well paid (p.63). This practice in the Harvard was implemented with intent to encourage them for developing the habit of self-criticism and even self-doubt. By the end of the 19th century, various systems in the German higher educ ation such as ideal of advanced scholarship and doctoral programs with graduate students had influences over the United States’ higher education system. The American university in the 1890s typically was the historic college that was internally renovated and enhanced by new programs. It seemed like a smorgasbord for students and a few of them opted for a bachelor’s degree from there. It was the Morril Act of 1862 contributed to the expansion of the state college into the university model of federated units (Thelin, p. 104). However, the faculty’s teaching overload remained the same even with the expansion into new system. Only token allowances were granted for graduate courses and seminars while curricular offerings were for undergraduates. The implementation of new academic systems resulted... From the disc ussion it is clear that  the higher education in the colonial era had been under the administration of queens, kings, and bishops for centuries. The faculty at these institutions faced daily scrutiny from the administrative board and received immoderate approach from the directors who appointed them. In fact, as Thelin states, the academic freedom and the rights of the teacher in respect to the â€Å"hiring and firing† received little consideration from the authorities. At this period, a class president usually reported to the board of administrators rather than the faculty.  This essay stresses that a major factor that influenced the changes in faculty system was the contributions made by Charles Eliot. He gained fame though often referred as notoriety by implementing bold modernizations at Harvard College. He introduced an elective system from which some colleges formulated provisions for electives in student curriculum, while others sustained the same cour se of study. There have been evidences about implementing more provisions for specialized departments. The faculty identification was the factor highly impacted by the provision to conglomerate the colleges.   The states’ silence on issues of higher education campus enhancement in the 1880s was not a result of the governments’ disinterest towards research, applied science or technology. It did not imply that colleges or universities were systems for large-scale government projects.

CSC - Interim Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CSC - Interim Report - Assignment Example Customer service and care are a critical component of any successive business venture (Mcardle, 2008, p.81). In this regard, the Swire hotels have incorporated the aspect of quality customer service and care in the operation of all their hotels. Swire Hotels is a collection of three hotel brands including House Collection, East Lifestyle Hotels, and Chapter hotels. The House collection hotels are small but luxurious hotels within the umbrella of Swire Hotels. Environmental factors like social status, family situation, and cultural background, influence the buyer’s decision-making process, especially in Swire Hotels (XKhosrow-pour, 2013, p. 34). According to Kapoor, Paul and Halder (2011, p. 43), the cooperation and synergy among Swire employees, promotes quality customer service and care. The reliability of employees indicates the level of customer satisfaction. Swire Hotels have a comprehensive employee performance appraisal, especially on the element of customer service. The appraisal process establishes the reliable and unreliable employees (Gibson, 2012, 89). According to Humphrey (2011, p. 67), after sale service is also important because it encourages repeat purchases. The Swire Hotels provide a wide variety of meals. It provides customers with many choices of food. Consequently, customers are satisfied because their need is met. Additionally, the differentiation aspect in the promotion of Swire Hotel food is important for customers (Sherman, 2009, p. 83). The strategy creates a better perception among the Swire Hotels Customers. The spread of the Hotels also enables the preparation of unique types of foods in common in various parts of the world. Consequently, Sire Hotels accommodate almost every customer in the world. The monadic approach does not entail the internal aspects of a consumer like psychology. The strategy is used by the Hotel to evaluate and analyze the suitable marketing techniques.

Chemiluminescence and Bioluminescence in Nature

Chemiluminescence and Bioluminescence in Nature Bioluminescence is a scientific phenomenon that is complex in character because luminous organisms possess unique light-producing chemical reactions and have varied methods of controlling light. Luminous organisms do not fall under order of animals but are unevenly distributed across multiple animal orders. Furthermore, luminous organisms are often adapted to specialized environments and can be difficult to physically research. This paper will cover the background of bioluminescence, luminous reactions and their regulators, and the practical applications of knowledge in this field. The purpose of the research is to gain an adequate understanding of chemiluminescence in nature in order to predict the nature of future research and gauge its potential in the modern world. Research for this paper was accomplished through the reviewing of published scientific papers and literature on the subject. Some of the results reached include that bioluminescence is different in terrestrial and aqua tic organisms and that a wide range of techniques are used to moderate light in both habitats. The conclusions that have been reached are that research of bioluminescence will surely accelerate and that further research of bioluminescence has potential in the areas of evolutionary biology, lighting technology, and medicine. Introduction When Christopher Columbus embarked on his voyage in 1492, he had to overcome many strong prejudices rooted in European folklore. Tales of sea monsters have captured the minds of Europeans for centuries, and Columbus was utterly mesmerized when the waters surrounding his ship began to shine. The alluring glow of bioluminescent organisms has continued to perplex humans all the way through modern times. Although science has illuminated the surprisingly dark realm of bioluminescence, further research is still required. This paper will cover the background, reactions, and uses of this complex, yet common phenomenon to determine the nature of future research and its applicability in other areas of science. HISTORY During the seventeenth century, the English physicist Robert Boyle conducted an important experiment concerning bioluminescence. Robert Boyle encased a piece of glowing wood within a glass bell and then proceeded to suck the air out the enclosure. As he took out the air, he observed that the glowing of the wood grew fainter and eventually was extinguished completely (Simon 114). This was scientific experiment demonstrated a principle concept of bioluminescence: oxygen plays a key role in luminous reactions. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the French physiologist Dubois began to research luminous organisms in his marine laboratory. His major contribution was his experiment involving the Pholas clams. In his experiment, Dubois prepared two different solutions of clam juice. For the first solution, he mixed the clam juice with cool water and observed it glow for a while before it faded. He then mixed clam juice with hot water, but this solution failed to produce any light at all. In a stroke of genius, he decided to mix the two nonluminous solutions together. As soon as they were combined, the bluish light characteristic of the Pholas shone forth once again. This led Dubois to assume that in the cold solution, one substance was exhausted after luminescence and that in the hot solution, a different substance was destroyed. Thus, Dubois concluded that the unknown substance destroyed by the hot water was almost certainly an enzyme. An enzyme is an organic catalyst. Dubois identified that bioluminescence required an oxidizable substrate, an enzyme, and oxygen. He named the substrate luciferin and the enzyme luciferase (Simon 116). This major advancement was the stepping-stone into future research on this perplexing phenomenon. FUNCTION Although terrestrial habitats seem to be devoid of bacterial modes of light-production, there are a few cases of bacterial luminescence on land. Many supposed bioluminescent organisms such as mole crickets do not produce light themselves, but have turned out to be infected with parasitic forms of luminous bacteria. Luminous bacteria multiply within the hemolymph of arthropods (which is analogous to human blood cells). The infected creatures end up eventually end up dying (Nealson and Hasting 508). For example, the luminous bacteria X. luminescens live in the gut of a certain nematode belonging to the genus Heterorhabditis. Farmers greatly value nematodes because these un-segmented roundworms parasitize pest insects. The Heterorhabditis nematode enters the body of a host caterpillar through orifices like spiracles or the mouth. Once inside the caterpillars body, the nematode will proceed to penetrate the caterpillars hemocoel, the area containing hemolymph. When in contact with the he molymph, the nematode will then release its fertilized eggs along with the bacteria X. luminescens. The bacteria then multiply and produce extracellular chitinase and lipases that the nematode uses to complete the its life cycle. X. luminescens also produces antibiotics that arrests the growth of bacteria that would otherwise outcompete it and also prevents the caterpillar from putrefying (Havens 1). It is interesting to note that the bacteria only glow while in the hemolymph of the caterpillar, but not inside the nematodes themselves. This land bacterium uses a biochemical reaction very similar to its marine counterparts. The overall general reaction is the same: the flavin-mononucleotide and long-chain aldehyde (fatty aldehyde) are oxidized in the presence of luciferase to produce water and light. FMNH2 + RCHO + O2 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ FMN + H2O + RCOOH + Light (Havens 1). FUNCTION The most important luminous bacteria are the commensal forms that thrive inside the gut tracts of marine animals. Its not unusual to find 5ÃÆ'-106 to 5ÃÆ'-107 colony-forming units of luminous bacteria per meter of intestinal surface (Nealson and Hastings 508). Colony-forming units are used in the area of microbiology to express quantities of viable bacteria capable of forming colonies or clusters visible to the human eye. This relationship between the bacteria and the host organisms seems to be commensal because luminous bacteria produce the enzyme chitinase, thereby benefiting their host if they eat marine crustaceans (a regular staple of marine diet). However, studies of the senorita fish Oxyjulis californica, the blacksmith fish Chrormis puntipinnis, and the half-naked hatchetfish Argyropelecus hemigymnus show that the occurrence of each fish was connected with the species composition of the planktonic luminous bacteria population (Nealson and Hastings 508). Fecal pellets were l uminescent and contained colony-forming units of luminous bacteria. Similarly, luminous fecal pellets have been reported from the Antarctic cod and a species of midwater shrimp (Nealson and Hastings 508). Because the fecal pellets of these marine animals contain viable bacteria populations, it is possible that luminous bacteria mutually benefit through unintentional propagation by their host organisms. Historical accounts from 19th century battlefield hospitals have shown that luminous bacteria in the open wounds of soldiers were considered to be a sign of healing (Nealson and Hastings 507). It is interesting to note that Xenorhabdus is known to produce antibiotics (Nealson and Hastings 508). TYPES Bioluminescence can be divided into two subcategories: terrestrial forms and aquatic forms. Terrestrial forms of bioluminescence are sparse and restricted to insects and their relatives. Beetles in particular have unique chemical reactions. Non-insect relatives include certain centipedes. Luminous centipedes are unique in that they secrete luminous slime (Simon 57). Land is largely devoid of luminous animals that utilize bacterial forms of light production. Luminous land animals are usually found in humid, heavily forested environments. Contrarily, luminous bacteria dominate the majority of aquatic environments. Luminous bacteria even thrive in arctic waters. Luminous bacteria can exist as free-living bacteria, saprophytes, and as symbionts in relationships with various marine animals. Luminous bacteria in their free-living forms are regularly present in seawater. Recent studies give further insights on luminous bacteria demography. A sampling of the waters off the coast of San Diego, California showed that Beneckea were common in the winter while P. fischeri was prevalent during the summer (Nealson and Hastings 505). A study of luminous bacteria depth distribution demonstrated that P. phosphoreum were most abundant in the midwater layer of the open ocean. Saprophytic forms of bacteria are also extremely common. These forms of luminous bacteria are quite common and live on the surfaces of dead organic material. In fact, researchers often swab the outer surface of freshly killed fish or squid to start a culture of luminous bacteria. BACTERIA REACTION As opposed to most terrestrial forms of bioluminescence, bacterial bioluminescence is the dominant form in marine habitats. Currently, six species of marine luminous bacteria belonging to the genera of Photobacterium and Beneckea have been identified. There is one species of freshwater luminous bacteria (Vibrio). Like all forms of bioluminescence known to man, light of bacterial origin involves a luciferin-luciferase reaction. Luminous bacteria generate light through the luciferase-catalyzed oxidation of the substrate flavin-mononucleotide (FMNH2) with the associated oxidation of a long-chain aldehyde. What is unique about this reaction is that it is very slow; it takes ten seconds for a single luciferase cycle to occur, making it one of the slowest enzymes (Nealson and Hastings 497). Luciferases from various luminous bacteria have been isolated; although they all share high specifity for flavin-mononucleotide and long-aldehyde, the luciferase of Photobacteria exhibits fast decay whi le that of Benecka exhibits slow decay. Recent amino acid sequencing of P. fischeri and B. harveyi support the theory that the luciferases of these two species evolved from the same monomer. Bacterial luminescence has high oxygen affinity and occurs under low concentrations of oxygen or microaerophillic conditions. It is also interesting to note that facultative anaerobes, produce extracellular chitinase, and have specific requirements for sodium ion (Nealson and Hastings 497). FIREFLY REACTION The most widely known example of bioluminescence is in the fireflies. Bioluminescence in members of the beetle order is very unique. Fireflies use precisely timed light signals to attract mates. Specialized cells within the lantern section of the abdomen like all forms of bioluminescence involve a luciferin-luciferase reaction. This reaction can be divided into two steps. First, luciferin combines with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to form luciferyl adenylate and pyrophosphate (PPi). This first step requires the prescence of magnesium ions (Osamu 5). Next, the enzyme luciferase speeds up oxidation of luciferyl adenylate to form oxyluciferin, adenosine phosphate (AMP), and light. This two-part process can be expressed as: Luceferin + ATP à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Luciferyl adenylate + PPi Luciferyl adenalte + O2 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Oxyluciferin + CO2 + AMP + Light FIREFLY CONTROL Although the reaction has been studied, the methods firefly use to control these flashes is still not well understood. Fireflies release the neurotransmitter octopamine that triggers a luciferin-luciferase reaction within the firefly lantern structure. However neurons synapse on tracheolar cells and not on firefly photocytes. Thus, there is a 17 micrometer gap between tracheolar cells and the photocytes. When fireflies were placed in a dark observation chamber with a steady flow of NO gas at 70 parts per million, adult Photuris fireflies immediately started to flash (Trimmer et al 2). Another not complexity in firefly light production is that fireflies can display different wavelengths of light. Because their luciferin molecules remain the same, scientists proposed that it was the color variation was the result of changes in the size of the luciferase protein cavity. Theoretically, a larger cavity would allow for more energy loss and thus lower-energy red light. Conversely, a smaller cavity would reduce energy loss and allow for higher-energy yellow and green light. Though this explanation seems to be logical, recent studies published by a team of scientists in Beijing suggest that the color of firefly light is affected by the polarity within the lantern microenvironment. Ya Jun Liu of the Beijing Normal University reports, Weve shown that the light wavelength [of the Luciola cruciata firefly] does not depend on the rigid or loose structure of luciferase but on the water H-bond network inside the cavityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Mutations of luciferase on residues involved in this network should modulate the color (Zyga 2). Though a little light is shed on how fireflies may actually the color of their light, clearly further research on the exact process is required. Marine Control In the marine environment, equally diverse techniques are employed to regulate bioluminescence. However, because most marine creatures house bacterial symbionts, light is constantly being produced and is difficult in a sense to turn on or off. Although light can attract prey and is useful in underwater communication, it also attracts unwanted attention from predators. The flashlight fish uses a retractable fold of skin as a shutter to conceal its bright photophore that lies below its eyes. In a similar sense, various luminous squids expand their chromatophores (color pigments) as to block off the emission of light. However, just recently scientists have discovered the first case of bioluminescence controlled by the use of hormones. Unlike the firefly luminescence, the velvet-belly lantern shark Etmopterus spinax relies on hormones to regulate luminescence, not nerves. Etmopterus spinax is now known to melatonin, prolactin, and alpha-MSH. These hormones are not new to science; theyve been known to control skin coloration in sharks and their cartilgenous relatives. Melatonin yields a slow, long-lasting glow on the underbelly of the shark, supposedly serving as counterilumination. On the other hand, prolactin elecits a quicker shine that only lasts up to an hour. Scientists hypothesize that the Etmopterus spinax use these relatively fast shines to singal to mates. Lastly, alpha-MSH inhibits luminescence. Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland and is known as the dark hormone for its role in sleep patterns in animals. As the shark descends deeper into the water column, its pineal gland senses the increasingly dark environment and compensates by producing melatonin. Therefore, melatonin is an ideal regulator because it is linked to the established biological processes of Etmopterus spinax. Quality of Light Chemiluminescence is the production of light through chemical reactions. Bioluminescence is simply chemiluminescence by a living organism. Therefore, bioluminescence can be considered to be a subset of chemiluminescence. The chemical reactions used to produce light are extremely efficient when compared to other methods of light production. Hence, bioluminescence is also known as cold light due to the relatively low amounts of heat that are produced. Conversely in incandescence, most of the energy used to create light is wasted as heat, and is accordingly dubbed hot light (Simon 13). Fluorescence on the other hand is the result of a special coating on the bulb that absorbs ultraviolet energy and then emits the energy as a longer wavelength of visible light. Phosphorescence is similar to fluorescence, but takes more time to re-emit light and is an overall slower process (Binger 1). INNOVATIONS The chemical luminol valued for its use as a chemiluminescent detector in crime scene investigations. Forensic investigators use luminol to specifically detect trace amounts of blood at crime scenes. To produce light, luminol needs to be activated by an oxidant. Often, a solution of hydrogen peroxide and a hydroxide salt is used to activate the luminol (Harrison 1). When a solution of luminol and the activator is sprayed upon a crime scene, trace amounts of iron present in the blood serves as a catalyst and speeds up the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. The products of this chemical reaction are hydrogen and water. The luminol reacts with the hydroxide salt to form a dianion. The oxygen (produced by the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide) then reacts with the diananion to form organic peroxide. This compound is unstable and immediately decomposes to produce 5-aminophthalic acid. Electrons of the 5-aminophthalic acid are initially in an excited state, but they soon return to their ground state and release their excess energy as visible photons. Thus, a blue glow is generated and lasts for up to 30 seconds. Although this technique requires a fairly dark atmosphere, the glow can be recorded by a long-exposure photograph. Bioluminescence is finding its unique applications in many fields. A team of researchers headed by Ohio State University have discovered how to manipulate a firefly gene to fight a form of cancer. These researchers were hoping to find a way to fight the cancer adult T-cell lymphoma and leukemia (ATLL). Laboratory mice had ATLL tumor cells injected into their abdomens. Normally, the tumor would progress unnoticed until it reached its later more serious phase. However, the ATLL tumor cells were genetically modified to produce firefly luciferase. Upon receiving the altered ATLL cells, the mice were injected with luciferin. This immediately triggered the biochemical reaction characteristic of the firefly, allowing the researchers to clearly record the visual progression of the tumor. Using this precise method of tracking the tumor, the were able to discover that the drug PS-341 killed over 95% of the cancerous cells (Firefly Genes 1).

Examining the Impact of Roles and Social Pressures on My Life Essay exa

Examining the Impact of Roles and Social Pressures on My Life      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I spent a recent evening watching a movie with my erstwhile girlfriend Jaimie, along with two of our mutually close friends, Jason and Michael. In the half hour before starting the video, we rearranged Jaimie's furniture to make room for the four of us. During the screening, we laughed together at a child's antics, made jokes about trite and improbable situations, and watched silently as the story drew to an emotional climax. As the credit scroll began, it was clear that I was both welcome and expected to stay in the room in a casual social gathering with the other three. However, my response was to mumble something about having to leave, and, retreating to my own room, to spend the remainder of the night playing video games and guitar. One may ask why I chose to leave, when my social role as friend to those individuals would have me stay. In fact, the forces contributing to my curt exit, though partially individual, are predominantly social, and include influences from the five major stages in my relationship with Jaimie, the sociological roles and expectations I played in each stage, and the counsel of my other friends.    The first phase of our relationship involved adjustment to our new roles as Boyfriend and Girlfriend, and the feelings that accompanied it. This occurred quickly; for my part, I had not been more than casually involved with a woman for seventeen months, and was feeling the pressure and judgment of a society that expects its members to engage in heterosexual courtship at my age. Jaimie was in the process of terminating a mutually destructive relationship and had experimented with several unsuccessful liaisons;... ...must bear in mind, however, that in order for these theories to be fully validated, they must be applicable not only to generalized groups of people or representative individuals, but to every member of society, each following the same patterns as every other. Since it is historically impossible to accurately predict the behavior of human beings on any scale, variations between individuals must be explained by something unique about each person. Whether called a soul or some other name, this element of spontaneity exists in every person and can allow him to break free of his expectations.    Works Cited Berger, Peter L. Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective. Garden City: Anchor, 1963. Fromm, Erich. Escape From Freedom. New York: Avon, 1969. Sartre, Jean-Paul. "No Exit." No Exit and Three Other Plays. New York: Vintage, 1989.

Free Essay on Homers Odyssey: Odyssey as Epic Poem :: Homer Odyssey Essays

The Odyssey as Epic Poem "The Odyssey" is an epic poem. In "The Odyssey", the reader can find at least four characteristics, which help prove it is an epic poem. One characteristic is the vast setting that Odysseus experiences throughout his journey. Another is Odysseus's larger-than-life, imposing stature. So are the superhuman deeds Odysseus completes on his long arduous journey. Also, "The Odyssey" is based around a central hero whose actions determine the fate of his kingdom. Throughout "The Odyssey" the reader is given thorough details of the vast setting that Odysseus experiences. During Odysseus's journey across the sea he experiences many lands and people previously unknown to him. In "The Odyssey", Odysseus leaves his known world of Ithaca and enters the Unknown World. There he finds the land of the Cyclopes, Aeolys Island, and Ogygia. While on his journey Odysseus must travel to the Underworld to find Tiresias. The blind man will tell him whether he will return home to Ithaca or not. Another characteristic is Odysseus's larger-than-life, imposing stature. When Odysseus returns to Ithaca, he strings his bow and continues to slaughter the suitors who threatened his rule. Stringing his bow and shooting it repeatedly, while even the strongest suitor could not pull it shows great strength. It proves he is a larger-than-life man of unmatchable strength. Also throughout his journeys Odysseus is recognized as a man of wisdom and strength. Odysseus must have been an epic hero as he was recognized by the gods on numerous occasions. For instance when Hermes appears and gives Odysseus the magical herb, Moly to protect him from the magical powers of Circe's. Throughout "The Odyssey" Athena shows herself to Odysseus and gives him advice. When Odysseus is attempting to return to Ithaca, Circe tells him he must visit the blind Tiresias, who will tell him his fate. Odysseus is one of only two men who enter the Underworld and live. Odysseus performs many superhuman deeds throughout "The Odyssey" perhaps the most important is when he entered the Underworld. One of the main characteristics of "The Odyssey", which proves it is an epic poem, is that it is based around a central hero whose actions determine the fate of his kingdom.

Perfect Competition vs Monopoly

M&S (perfect competition) Vs Thames Water (monopoly) At one end is perfect competition where there are very many firms competing against each other. Every firm is so tiny in relation to the entire trade that has no power to manipulate price. It is a ‘price taker’. At the other end is monopoly, where there is just a single firm in the industry, and for this reason no competition from inside the industry. Perfect competition e. g. Marks & Spencer, they have many competitors such as, Asda, Next and Tesco. They productively have over 600 UK stores, in addition expanding international business.They employ over 75,000 people in the UK and abroad. On the whole, their clothing and homeware sales account for 49% of their business. The other 51% of business is in food, where they put on the market everything from fresh produce and groceries, to partly-prepared meals and ready meals. Nevertheless on the other end, there is a Monopoly e. g. Thames Water, which is UK’s largest water and wastewater, services company. They play a very important role in providing everyday 2,600 million litres of tap water to 8. 5 million customers across London and the Thames Valley.They also get rid of and take care of 2,800 million litres of sewage for an area covering 13. 5 million customers. The main strong point of National Grid is that there are no competitors. Having many firms rivalling not in favour of each other e. g. Marks & Spencer, it is then good for consumers. The hypothesis of perfect competition demonstrates an intense form of free enterprise. Within it, firms are utterly issue to market forces. They have no power at all to influence the price of the product. The price they face is dogged by the interaction of demand and supply in the entire market.M&S are ‘price takers’. There are numerous firms in the industry that each one manufactures an unimportantly small quantity of entire industry supply, and consequently has no power at all to change t he price of the invention. For M&S and their other opponents, there is full liberty of admission into the industry for fresh firms. Active firms are not capable to discontinue new firms setting up in business. New firms will find it relatively straightforward to enter markets if they feel there is irregular profits to be made.The entries of new firms make available competition and guarantee prices are kept low in the long-run. Manufacturers and customers have ideal awareness of the market. That is, manufacturers are completely alert of prices, costs and market chances. Customers are entirely aware of price, excellence and accessibility of the product. Thames Water has sustained their monopoly situation, by including obstacles (barriers) to the entry of new firms. Even if a market could support more than one firm, a new participant is unlikely to be able to start up on a very huge scale.Accordingly the Thames Water who is already experiencing economies of scale can charge a price und er the cost of the new participant and force it out of business. If, nevertheless, the new participant is a firm previously established in another industry, it may be capable to endure this competition. Since there is, by classification, only one firm in the industry, the firm’s demand curve is also the industry demand curve. In contrast with other market organisations, demand under Thames Water tends to be less flexible.Thames Water can lift its price and consumers have no substitute firm to turn inside the industry. They moreover pay the superior price, or go without the product altogether. Dissimilar to M&S, Thames Water is consequently a ‘price maker’. It can make a decision to what price to alter. On the other hand, it is still forced by its demand curve. An increase in price will decrease the amount demanded. As with firms in other market structures, Thames Water will make the most of profit where MR (rate price) = MC (Marginal Cost).Given that there are ba rriers to the entry of new firms, Thames Water’s supernormal profits will not be competed away in the lengthy run. The merely dissimilarity, therefore, among short-run and long-run equilibrium is that in the long-run the firm will manufacture where MR = long-run MC. Both M&S and Thames Water face different types of market surroundings. Thames Water will generate a quite diverse output and at a fairly diverse price from M&S type of industry. M&S complete continued existence in the long run makes use of the most well-organized and fficient known technique, and develops new techniques anywhere possible. For example, Plan A. Plan A is Marks & Spencer’s five-year, 100-point ‘eco' plan to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing their business and the world. It will see them working with their customers and suppliers to combat climate change, reduce waste, safeguard natural resources, trade ethically and build a healthier nation. Altogether, they have cut down on f ood carrier bags by 80% – helping to reduce plastic waste. This helped raise half a million pounds for charity.Even though, Thames Water, protected by barriers to entry, be able to still create big profits even if it is not using the most efficient system. It has less motivation, therefore, to be efficient. For this motive, costs may be privileged under Thames Water. On the other hand, Thames Water may be bright to achieve considerable economies of scale due to larger plant, centralised management and the prevention of pointless repetition. Thames Water eradicates the want for numerous sets of rival water mains under each street.If this consequence in an MC curves significantly below that of the same industry under M&S, Thames Water can yet manufacture a higher output at a lower price. An additional reason why Thames Water may well function with lower costs is that it can make use of part of its supernormal profits for investigate and progress and investment. It possibly will not contain the same motivation to develop into efficient as M&S which is fighting for continued existence, but it may contain a much superior skill to become efficient than has the small firm with incomplete finances.Even if Thames Water faces no competition in the supplies market, it may face a substitute form of competition in financial markets. Thames Water, with potentially low costs, which at present runs inefficiently, is likely to be subject to a takeover tender from an additional company. This competition for commercial manage, as it is the struggle for the control of companies during takeovers, may as a result, force Thames Water to be efficient in order to avoid being taken over. Overall, there are two tremendous forms of market structure: monopoly (Thames Water) and, its opposite, perfect competition (Marks & Spencer).M&S is characterised by many buyers and sellers, many products that similar in nature and, as a result, many substitutes. Meaning there are few, if any, b arriers to entry for new companies, and prices are determined by supply and demand. Consequently, M&S are subject to the price of a good, the consumers can just turn to the firm decide to increase its selling price of a good; the consumers can just turn to the nearest competitor for a better price, causing any firm that increases its prices to lose market share and profits.Whereas the more constable the market, the more will Thames Water be forced to take action on like a firm under M&S. If, therefore, Thames Water operates in a perfectly contestable market, it might bring the finest time for the consumer. Not simply will it be capable to accomplish low costs through economies of scale, but also the possible competition will keep profits and as a result prices down. Bibliography McAleese, Dermot (2004).Economics for business: competition, macro-stability, and globalisation Parkin, Michael (1939). Economics Peter J. Buckley, Jonathan Michie (1996) Firms, Organizations and Contracts a Reader in Industrial Organization: A Reader in Industrial Organization Hunter, Alex (1969). Monopoly and competition: selected readings www. tutor2u. net www. econ. rochester. edu/eco108/ch14/micro14/sld063. htm www. bized. co. uk www. ft. com Sloman, John (2007). Essential of Economics Journal of Business & Economic Studies, 09/01/1997 to present

Are Shakespeare’s Sonnets Autobiographical? Essay

Are the Sonnets, wholly or in part, autobiographical, or are they merely â€Å"poetical exercises† dealing with imaginary persons and experiences? This is the question to which all others relating to the poems are secondary and subordinate. For myself, I firmly believe that the great majority of the Sonnets, to quote what Wordsworth says of them, â€Å"express Shakespeare’s own feelings in his own person;† or, as he says in his sonnet on the sonnet, â€Å"with this same key Shakespeare unlocked his heart.† Browning, quoting this, asks: â€Å"Did Shakespeare? If so, the less Shakespeare he!† to which Swinburne replies, â€Å"No whit the less like Shakespeare, but undoubtedly the less like Browning.† The theory that the Sonnets are mere exercises of fancy, â€Å"the free outcome of a poetic imagination,† as Delius phrases it, is easy and specious at first, but lands us at last among worse perplexities than it evades. That Shakespeare, for example, should write seventeen sonnets urging a young man to marry and perpetuate his family is strange enough, but that he should select such a theme as the fictitious basis for seventeen sonnets is stranger yet; and the same may be said of the story or stories apparently underlying other of the poems. Some critics, indeed, who take them to be thus artificially inspired, have been compelled to regard them as â€Å"satirical† intended to ridicule the sonneteers of the time, especially Drayton and Sir John Davies of Hereford. Others, like Professor Minto, who believe the first 126 to be personal, regard the rest as â€Å"exercises of skill, undertaken in a spirit of wanton defiance and derision of commonplace.† The poems, to quote Dowden, â€Å"are in the taste of the time; less extravagant and less full of conceits than many other Elizabethan collections, more distinguished by exquisite imagination and all that betokens genuine feeling. . . . All that is quaint or contorted or ‘conceited’ in them can be paralleled from passages of early plays of Shakespeare, such as Romeo and Juliet, and the Two Gentlemen of Verona, where assuredly no satirical intention is discoverable.† If the Sonnets were mostly written before 1598 when Meres refers to them, or 1599 when Jaggard printed two of them, or in 1593 and 1594, as Sidney Lee assumes, and if most of them, as the same critic believes, were â€Å"little more than professional trials of skill, often of superlative merit, to which the poet deemed himself challenged by the efforts of contemporary practitioners,† it is passing strange that Shakespeare should not have published them ten or fifteen years before they were brought out by the pirate Thorpe. He must have written them for publication if that was their character, and the extraordinary popularity of his earlier poems would have assured them a favourable reception with the public. His fellow-townsman and friend, Richard Field, who had published the Venus and Adonis in 1593 and the Lucrece in 1594, and who must have known of the circulation of the sonnets in manuscript, would have urged him to publish them; or, if the author had declined to have them printed, some pirate, like Jaggard or Thorpe, would have done it long before 1609. Mr. Lee tells us that Sidney, Watson, Daniel, and Constable circulated their sonnets for a time in manuscript, but he tells us also that the pirates generally got hold of them and published them within a few years if the authors did not do it. But the history of The Passionate Pilgrim shows that it was not so easy to obtain copies of Shakespeare’s sonnets for publication. It was the success of Venus and Adonis and Lucrece (the fourth edition of the former being issued in 1599, and the second of the latter in 1598) which prompted Jaggard to compile The Passionate Pilgrim in 1599; and it is a significant fact that he was able to rake together only ten poems which can possibly be Shakespeare’s, and three of these were from Love’s Labour’s Lost, which had been published in 1598. To these ten pieces he added ten others (eleven, as ordinarily printed) which he impudently called Shakespeare’s, though we know that most of them were stolen and can trace some of them to the authors. His book bears evidence in its very make-up that he was hard pushed to fill the pages and give the purchaser a tolerable sixpence-worth. The matter is printed on but one side of the leaf, and is further spun out by putting a head-piece and tail-piece on every page, so that a dozen lines of text sandwiched between these convenient pictorial devices make as fair a show as double the quantity would ordinarily present. Note, however, that, with all his pickings and stealings, Jaggard managed to secure but two of the sonnets, though a considerable number of them were probably in existence among the author’s â€Å"private friends,† as Meres expressed it a year before. The pirate Newman, in 1591, was able to print one hundred and eight sonnets by Sidney which had been circulated in manuscript, and to add to them twenty-eight by Daniel without the author’s knowledge ; and sonnets by Watson and Constable, as Mr. Lee tells us, were similarly circulated and pirated. How, then, are we to explain the fact that Jaggard could obtain only two of Shakespeare’s sonnets, five years or more after they had been circulating among his friends ? Is it not evident that the poems must have been carefully guarded by these friends on account of their personal and private character? A dozen more of those sonnets would have filled out Jaggard’s â€Å"larcenous bundle of verse,† and have obviated the necessity of pilfering from Barnfield, Griffin, Marlowe, and the rest; but at the time they were in such close confidential keeping that he could get no copies of them. In the course of years they were shown to a larger and larger number of â€Å"private friends,† and with the multiplication of copies the chances of their getting outside of that confidential circle were proportionally increased. We need not be surprised, then, that a decade later somebody had succeeded in obtaining copies of them all, and sold the collection to Thorpe. Even if we suppose that the Sonnets had been impersonal, and that Shakespeare for some reason that we cannot guess had wished to withhold them from the press, we may be sure that he could not have done it in that day of imperfect copyright restrictions. Nothing could have kept a hundred and fifty poems by so popular an author out of print if there had not been strong personal reasons for maintaining their privacy. At least seven editions of the Venus and Adonis and four of the Lucrece appeared before Thorpe was able to secure â€Å"copy† for his edition of the Sonnets. If, as Mr. Lee asserts, Southampton was the patron to whom twenty that may be called â€Å"dedicatory† sonnets (23, 26, 32, 37, 38, 69, 77-86, 100, 101, 103, and 106) are addressed, it is all the more remarkable that Shakespeare should not have published them, or, if he hesitated to do it, that his noble patron should not have urged it. He had already dedicated both the Venus and Adonis and the Lucrece to Southampton; and Mr. Lee says that â€Å"three of the twenty dedicatory sonnets [26, 32, 38] merely translate into the language of poetry the expressions of devotion which had already done duty in the dedicatory epistle in verse that precedes Lucrece.† Other sonnet-sequences of the time (including the four mentioned by Mr. Lee as pirated while circulated in manuscript, except Sidney’s, which were not thus published until after his death) were brought out by their authors, with dedications to noble lords or ladies. Shakespeare’s Sonnets, so far as I am awa re, are the only exception to the rule. Mr. Lee himself admits that â€Å"at a first glance a far larger proportion of Shakespeare’s sonnets give the reader the illusion of personal confessions than those of any contemporary;† and elsewhere he recognizes in them more â€Å"intensity† than appears in the earlier poems except in â€Å"occasional utterances† of Lucrece; but, for all that, he would have us believe that they are not personal, and that their â€Å"superior and more evenly sustained energy is to be attributed, not to the accession of power that comes with increase of years, but to the innate principles of the poetic form, and to metrical exigencies which impelled the sonneteer to aim at a uniform condensation of thought and language.† I cannot help agreeing with those who regard their personal character as no â€Å"illusion,† and who believe that they clearly show the increase of power which comes with years, their true date probably being 1597-98 rather than 1593-94. For myself, I could as soon believe the penitential psalms of David to be purely rhetorical and fictitious as the 129th Sonnet, than which no more remorseful utterance was ever wrung from a soul that had tasted the ashes to which the Sodom-apples of illicit love are turned in the end. Have we there nothing but the â€Å"admirable fooling† of the actor masquerading in the garb of the penitent, or the satirist mimicking the conceits and affectations of the sonneteers of the time? If this is supposed to be the counterfeit of feeling, I can only exclaim with Leonato in Much Ado, â€Å"O God! Counterfeit! There was never counterfeit of passion came so near the life of passion!†