Marketing Communications Article essays

Marketing Communications Article essays In completing this analysis of an article, I chose an article by Columbus (2006) that illustrates how marketing departments both in manufacturing and enterprise software companies are striving to stay in touch with their customers more than before, often using new approaches to do this. In terms of the credibility of the article, there is sincerity and honesty in the authors voice, as he is advocating a new perspective on how to understand customers, not a specific product or service to accomplish the task. The author has a bias to the non-traditional approaches companies can use to listen to their customers, and shows an impatience with marketing organizations that only rely on dated cuase-and-effect relationships in relating to their customers. The central theme of this marketing communications article by Columbus (2006) is that its time for marketing departments to snap off the auto-pilot of how they have always done business and embrace user-generated forms of media including blogs. What is fascinating about the article is the move by software company SAP to invite bloggers to a recent event and freely let them report on it. This is a risky move but for the company profiled, SAP, it turned into a huge marketing communications win, as bloggers gave more immediate and unbiased reporting of one of the software companys largest events ever. The central theme continues with getting back in touch with customers and earning their trust. The author asks if the reader would trust their company to do business with them. Thats a provocative statement. The audiences for this article are marketing managers, directors, and vice presidents in manufacturing and software companies. Columbus (2006) makes some excellent points with regard to rejecting the status quo of how marketing has always been done in companies and calls for an embracing of major change. While ...

A Brief Guide to the Sociology of Globalization

A Brief Guide to the Sociology of Globalization The sociology of globalization is a subfield within sociology that focuses on understanding the structures, institutions, groups, relationships, ideologies, trends, and patterns that are particular to a globalized world. Sociologists whose research lies within this subfield focus on how the process of globalization has shifted or changed pre-existing elements of society, new elements of society that may have evolved in response to globalization, and the social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental implications of the process. The sociology of globalization contains the study of economic, political, and cultural globalization, and importantly, examines the interplay of all three aspects, as they are all mutually dependent on one another. When sociologists focus on the economic aspects of globalization, they examine how the capitalist economy has evolved from a pre-globalization state. They research legal changes in the regulations of production, finance, and trade that either facilitated or are responses to the globalization of the economy; how the processes and relations of production are different in a globalized economy; how conditions and experiences of labor, and the value of labor, are particular to a globalized economy; how globalization changes patterns of consumption and distribution; and what may or may not be particular to the business enterprises that operate in a global economy. Sociologists have found that the deregulation of the economy that allowed for its globalization have led to a rise in insecure, low-wage, and unsafe work around the world, and that corporations have amassed unprecedented levels of wealth during capitalism’s global epoch. To learn more about economic globalization, see the work of William I. Robinson, Richard P. Appelbaum, Leslie Salzinger, Molly Talcott, Pun Ngai, and Yen Le Espiritu, among others. When studying political globalization, sociologists focus on understanding what has changed or is new about political institutions, actors, forms of government and governance, the practice of popular politics, modes of political engagement, and the relationships between them in a global context. Political globalization is intimately connected to economic globalization, as it is within the political realm that decisions about how to globalize and run the economy were and are made. Sociologists have found that the global era has wrought entirely new forms of governance that are global in scope (the transnational state), made up of organizations of heads of state or high-level representatives from many nations who determine the rules for global society. Some have focused their research on the implications of globalization for popular political movements, and have illuminated the role of digital technology in facilitating globalized political and social movements that reflect shared idea s, values, and goals of people all over the world (like the Occupy movement, for example). Many sociologists carve a distinction between â€Å"globalization from above,† which is globalization determined by the leaders of transnational corporations and the transnational state, versus â€Å"globalization from below,† a democratic form of globalization called for by popular movements. To learn more about political globalization, see the work of Josef I. Conti, Vandana Shiva, William F. Fisher, Thomas Ponniah, and William I. Robinson, among others. Cultural globalization is a phenomenon connected to both economic and political globalization. It refers to the export, import, sharing, repurposing and adapting of values, ideas, norms, common sense, lifestyles, language, behaviors, and practices on a global scale. Sociologists have found that cultural globalization occurs via the global trade in consumer goods, which spreads lifestyle trends, popular media like film, television, music, art, and material shared online; through the implementation of forms of governance borrowed from other regions that reshape everyday life and social patterns; the spread of styles of conducting business and of working; and from the travel of people from place to place. Technological innovation has a great impact on cultural globalization, as recent advances in travel, media production, and communication technology have brought wide-scale cultural shifts across the world. To learn more about cultural globalization, see the work of George Yà ºdice, Mike Featherstone, Pun Ngai, Hung Cam Thai, and Nita Mathur.

Contemporary Issues in Leadership & Management Essay

Contemporary Issues in Leadership & Management - Essay Example in Newcastle England with a student population of over 40,000 students and over 6000 students being full time students while the rest are part- time students. The students come from all over the world with over 40 different nationalities. It’s based next to the train station, metro station and the international airport thus making it easily accessible. The mission statement of the institution aims at meeting the educational needs of the students, providing quality education, value and appreciates the diversity of its community, provide modern resources. It also involves valuing their students and members of staff while securing a future for the institution through growth and development. They offer various courses in different professions such as film studies, business studies, accounting, information technology, economics, English and literature, government, history, journalism, politics and physics. The college has an ultra modern lifestyle academy worth over 16 million pounds with a sports, tourism and beauty centre. It has an excellent restaurant facility, a gym and also a salon for students to relax and rejuvenate after a long and tiresome day. The salon is located at the top most floor of the building with excellent facilities for hair treatment, hair cuts and a nail bar and the services are available at affordable prices. They also have cardiovascular equipment, training machines, a fitness studio and they offer various classes in yoga, Pilates and different kinds of exercises to allow the students to keep fit. While at the Spa, students can enjoy Jaccuzi, relaxation beds, steam baths and a whirlpool .They also boast of the finest restaurant with great menus to enjoy. At the performance academy, they have a theatre that allows all the students to relax. It has a recording studio, a radio station, dancing studio, media production facilities, and performance theatres.The Mandela building has offered the Art and design students an opportunity to express

Private and public school Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Private and public school - Essay Example It is much less costly to learn in a public school which is offered free by the government than a private school. Of course, with private schools dependent on tuition, private grants and donations to finance their operations, they would have to be costly. IES gives an estimate of the average tuition fees for US private day schools at $12,000, $13,000 and $15,000 for grades 1 to 3, 6 to 8 and 9 to 12 respectively. In most cases, these figures exclude the cost of books and other school supplies. It therefore makes economic sense to enroll into a public school. Generally, students in public schools receive the most current curricula, thus gain appropriate skills to survive in the modern world. As noted by Strauss, public school teachers would be more likely to have certification and undergo continuous training in their respective areas of studies. This keeps them up-to-date on research-based instructional standards and also on resources supported by relevant professional entities. On the other hand, private school teachers would be rarely impelled to undertake such trainings. Despite much criticism, it would be appreciated that current instructional practices and teacher certification play a critical role in the performance of students in public schools. However, critics of public schools argue that private schools perform better academically than public schools. As noted by Strauss, a majority of private schools are operated in a closed door fashion. This has been noted to boost their performance. Additionally, proprietors of such schools do all within their means to make sure their students pass so as to be competitive in their business. Teachers spend more time with the students than would be the case in public schools. They even develop customized assessment systems for their students to better understand their learning styles and help them succeed academically. Nonetheless, credible studies that statistically adjust these

South America Essay Example for Free

South America Essay South America is a continent composed of twelve countries and one French colony. The Spanish-speaking countries are: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. The former colonies of Guyana and Suriname use English and Dutch, respectively, as their official languages, although many in their populations speak relatively same languages. The same can be said for the French colony of Guiana, the home of the cayenne pepper, where French is the official language. The geography of South America is even more varied than that of North America, with long coastlines, lowlands, highlands and mountains, and tropical rain forests. The climate varies from tropical, lying as it does across the Equator, to alpine in the high Andes, the backbone of it. The cuisine of South America reflects this rich diversity of culture and geography. The local cookeries of pre-Columbian South America have gradually come together with imported cuisines from Europe and Asia. While the Spanish and Portuguese explorers introduced their own culinary traditions to the native peoples of South America, indigenous ingredients changed the cuisines of the Old World. The South American contributions included chocolate, vanilla, maize which is corn, hot peppers called aji in South America, guavas, sweet potatoes, manioc called cassava in South America, tomatoes, potatoes, avocados, beans, squash, peanuts, quinine, and papayas, as well as turkeys. Maize plays a key role in the cuisine of South America, and it is clearly different from the maize now grown in the Old World, grown mostly obvious in its larger kernels. The potato is another vegetable indigenous to South America that has played an important role in cooking worldwide. There are also many vegetables in South America largely unknown beyond the continent, including ahipa, arracacha, maca, yacon, olluco, and oca. The demographics of South America are critical for understanding the diversity of its cuisines. In countries like Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, the indigenous populations are most common, and their foods and food ways are the most important cuisines. In Argentinas the cuisine was heavily influenced by a large European immigration by Spaniards and Italians. Throughout South America, there is also an African influence due to the slave trade, which has added to the culinary mix. Venezuela was discovered in 1498 by Columbus when he found the mouth of the Orinoco River. In 1499 the Venezuelan coast was explored by Alonzo de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci. Vespucci, coming upon an island in the Gulf of Maracaibo, called it Venezuela because, according to legend, the native villages were built above the water on stilts. Venezuela rises from lowlands to highlands with coffee plantations moving up to the white-capped Andean peaks. It has a mild climate due to its nearness to the Caribbean. Caracas, Venezuelas capital, is the cultural, commercial, and industrial activity. Now I will tell you some local dishes that are known in Venezuela. Venezuelan cuisine relies heavily on maize. The two most important preparations are hallacas and arepas. Hallacas traditionally eaten during holidays, especially Christmas, boiled dumplings wrapped in banana leaves, but there are so many variations, depending on region and family tradition. Hallacas are made with a dough made of maize flour mixed with water, which is then filled with meat, vegetables, and spices. Arepas are versatile flatbreads, also made of maize flour, that can be baked, grilled, fried, or steamed and served either sweet or savory. Black beans, called caviar criollo, are a Venezuelan favorite. They are served with arepas and are also part of the national dish, pabellon caraqueno. A hearty dish, it is said to resemble the national flag, pabellon, because of the colors of the beef, beans, rice, and plantains in it. Arequipe, milk pudding is milk cooked with sugar until very thick, is a favorite dessert in Venezuela, as it is throughout South America. It has different names in different places, but is perhaps best known in the United States as dulce de leche. The traditional beverages of Venezuela are chicha, made of stirred up maize, and masato. The second largest nation in South America, Argentina extends from the subtropics to Tierra del Fuego. Although now a separate country, Argentina was once part of the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata, the River Plate with Uruguay. The pampas are primarily cattle country and famous for ranching and farming, but this fertile land also produces good crops and fine wine. Here are some local dishes from Argentina. Finger foods are very popular and are served in cafes, called whiskerias, that evolved from tea shops. Empanadas, stuffed pies, are popular throughout South America, and in Argentina they come in various sizes and are eaten as hors doeuvres, for light lunches, or with cocktails. One popular filling combines meat and fruit. I hope you learned a lot about South America. Here are some delicious recipes from South America. Couve a Mineira Shredded Kale AMOUNT INGREDENT 2lbs fresh kale 1/4cup olive oil or bacon fat 1/2cuponions 1/4inch dice 1garlic clove, minced to tastesalt and pepper PROCEDURE 1. Trim blemishes and tough stems from kale leaves. rinse thoroughly under running water. 2. layer leaves on top of eachother and slice crosswise into very thin strips. 3. heat oil over medium high heat, add onions and garlic and cook 3 to 5 minutes until softened 4. add kale and cook about 5 to 7minutes stirring often until kale is softened but not discolored or browned Season to taste. Aji Criollo Creole hot pepper salsa AMOUNT INGREDENT 4RED OR GREEN SERRANOS OR JALAPENO PEPPERS SEEDED AND MINCED 6TWATER 1/2t SALT 1/4CUPGREEN ONION WHIT PART ONLY MINCED 2TCILANTRO OR PARSLEY LEAVES MINCED PROCEDURE 1. COMBINE PEPPERS, 2 TABLESPOONS WATER AND SALT PIRE IN BLENDER 2. COMBINE PURE WITH GREEN ONION CILANTRO AND REMAINING WATER AND MIX WELL THIS IS BEST SERVED THE SAME DAY MADE.

Character Study of Blance Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams :: A Streetcar Named Desire Essays

Character Study of Blance Dubois Tennessee Williams was once quoted as saying that "symbols are nothing but the natural speech of drama...the purest language of plays" (Adler 30). This is clearly evident in Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire. As with any of his major characters, any analysis of Blanche DuBois much consist of a dissection of the play’s dialogue, supplemented by an understanding of the â€Å"language† of symbols in which Williams often speaks. Before one can understand Blanche's character one must understand the reason why she moves to New Orleans and joins her sister, Stella, and brother-in-law, Stanley. By analyzing the symbolism in the first scene, one can understand what prompted Blanche to move. Her appearance in the first scene "suggests a moth" (Williams 96). In literature a moth represents the soul. So it is possible to see her entire voyage as the journey of her soul (Quirino 63). Later in the same scene she describes her voyage: "They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields" (Quirino 63). Taken literally this does not seem to add much to the story. However, if one investigates Blanche's past one can truly understand what this quotation symbolizes. Blanche left her home to join her sister, because her life was a wreck. She admits, at one point in the story, that "after the death of Allan [her husband] intimacies with str angers was all I seemed able to fill my empty heart with" (Williams 178). This â€Å"desire† is the driving force, the vehicle of her voyage. It was this desire that caused her to lose her high school teaching position, and it is this desire that brings her to the next stop of her symbolic journey, â€Å"Cemeteries,† and finally to "Elysian Fields". The inhabitants of this place are described in Book six of the Aenied: â€Å"‘They are the souls,’ answered his [Aeneas'] father Anchises, ‘whose destiny it is a second time to live in the flesh and there by the waters of Lethe they drink the draught that sets them free from care and blots out their memory.’"(Quirino 61) This is the place of the living dead. Blanche came to Elysian Fields to forget her horrible past, and to have a fresh start (Quirino 63). In fact Blanche admits in the fourth scene that she wants to "make (herself) a new life" (Williams 135).

History of Shakeys Essay

Shakey’s Pizza was founded in Sacramento, California, on April 30, 1954, by Sherwood â€Å"Shakey† Johnson and Ed Plummer. Johnson’s nickname resulted from nerve damage following a bout of malaria suffered during World War II. The parlor opened on the first weekend, but since the pizza ovens were not yet completed, only beer was served and Shakey took the profits from beer sales and bought ingredients for pizza the following Monday. Shakey personally played dixieland jazz piano to entertain patrons. Shakey’s initially became known outside Sacramento, not for its pizza, but for the jazz program it sponsored on a regional radio network. Shakey Johnson is honored in the American Banjo Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for his longtime use of banjo music at his pizza parlors. Other live music, including piano, was also a staple in the old Shakey’s parlors. The original store (a remodeled grocery store) at 57th and J Streets in Sacramento remained in bu siness until the mid 1990s. Expansion The second Shakey’s Pizza Parlor opened in Portland, Oregon, in 1956. Shakey’s opened their third parlor in Albany, Oregon, in 1959, which was the first building Shakey’s actually owned and the first building to be built in the distinct building style for which Shakey’s is known. It now operates as a used bookstore. According to Johnson, Shakey’s Pizza engaged in little market research and made most of its decisions on where to locate stores by going where Kinney Shoes opened stores. By the time Johnson sold his interest in 1967, there were 272 Shakey’s Pizza Parlors in the United States. The first international store opened in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, in 1968. By 1975, the company had expanded to the Pacific Rim, including Japan and the Philippines. There are now more branches in the Philippines (then under San Miguel Corporation) than in the United States. Sale to Colorado Milling Shakey Johnson sold his half of the company for $3 million to Colorado Milling and Elevator in 1967, which acquired Plummer’s half for $9 million the next year. Second sale Shakey’s was again sold, this time to Hunt International Resources in 1974. Two franchisees bought the chain in 1984 and they sold out to Inno-Pacific Holdings of Singapore in 1989. Most of the U. S. stores closed during the time Inno-Pacific owned the chain. Some of the remaining franchisees took Inno-Pacific to court in 2003. Before this could come to trial, Shakey’s was sold to Jacmar Companies of Alhambra, California, in 2004. Jacmar had been the franchisee of 19 Shakey’s restaurants. At the time Hunt International bought Shakey’s in 1974, the restaurant chain had approximately 500 stores throughout the United States, including a store as far east as Cockeysville, Maryland. As of 2008, there were 63 stores total, with 55 of them in California. As of June 4, 2011, there are 58 Shakey’s restaurants in the US. 51 are located in California, the remainder are located in Auburn, Alabama; Nogales, Arizona; Warner Robins, Georgia; Waipahu, Hawaii; American Fork, Utah; Renton, Washington; and Spokane, Washington. Shakey’s has begun to open new franchises in new and existing territories. The most recent Shakey’s opened was in American Fork, Utah, with a buffet available open to close. Shakey’s in Iowa, Illinois and Northwest Indiana also featured an all day buffet in the 80’s. Other locations typically offer a weekday lunchtime buffet only.

Miss Julie/a Dolls House

2) Miss Julie/ A Dolls house DFK 120 Erene Oberholzer 11045231 Dr. M. Taub 4 September 2012 In this essay two plays, Miss Julie written by August Strindberg, and A Dolls House written by Hendrik Ibsen will be compared and concerns such as gender, identity and class will be contextualized. The section I’ve chosen to portray realism and other elements concerning these two plays resourced to the last pages of both scripts. As I see the last pages construct the difference between the plays and characters. Both these plays inform a strand of realism, as in the Traditional Western canon.Third world text can be characterized by their degree of immediacy, topicality, mimetic quality, and even social realism (Gugelburger, G. M:1991). Realism: The term Realism introduces a strand of thought and considers the world as not reality but, mere appearance. We have no access to â€Å"reality† other than through representations. Yet, all representations only show us particular perspectiv es on reality. When people use the term â€Å"realistic† to describe a film they are saying the film shows them an image of reality that they have come to know.Realism is a constructive construct, produced by reconcilable codes and conventions which change over time. Realism has been constructed to point out existing social reality. Naturalism, on the other hand, conveys a representation that looks sounds and feels like the actual world outside the work of art. Naturalism looks sounds and feels like the things we would expect (Bob Nowlan [sn]: [sp]). Where Ibsen trends more to the line of realism, Strindberg informs naturalism in his writings. For Strindberg ‘good’ naturalism looked for natural conflicts. For him true naturalism meant truth to nature.He was determined to have his plays deal with fundamental truths. Miss Julie contains traces of symbolism, which were born out of the foundation of naturalism. Although many believe that due to the use of symbolic af fects in Miss Julie, the play drifts away from the naturalistic, and more to the realistic. Strindberg used all the elements needed for the development of the plot and the transference of superiority from Julie to Jean. Naturalism does not help for the development of the plot, whereas realism is a structure that reveals real life events and is focused on the people portrayed, as shown in Miss Julie.Strindberg wanted to create dramatic illusion. His audience was to be completely convinced of the reality of the world off stage, and then transported into a sphere of influence. Ibsen’s contribution to realism began when he consciously started to dramatize the forces and frictions of modern life. Ibsen indicates in A Dolls House that he was creating a particular life through Nora. Ibsen’s dialogue of A Dolls House comes of naturally; he wanted the spectator to sit down, listen and look at events that happens in real life.Ibsen wrote mainly about hidden relationships, social conversion and secret fears and anxieties Strindberg’s play was actually written as a response to Ibsen’s A Doll house. Ibsen wrote his plays advocating women, and Strindberg had a contrary view. Hendrik Ibsen’s attitude toward society is evident in his double vision of a secure social position. On the one hand, it’s a defense against attack, on the other; such concerns lead to hypocrisies and superficial values. His play reveals him as far more than a realist (Taylor, J. 972: [sp]). Comparing: My examples of both plays illustrate the elements of gender, identity and class. Both playwrights scripts set the last page out to set everything about the differences of these elements. By the ending we can see the fall (Strindberg) and rising of the woman (Ibsen) in social society that time. Gender, class&identity in A Dolls House: Hendrik Ibsen was known as the father of modern drama as he helped popularize realism. He became an observer of the real human life and informed realism in drama.In 1877 Norway’s social structure influenced Ibsen’s writings. He wanted to extol freedom and truth in his people. A Dolls House questions the suppressed role of women in that time’s society and also introduced the woman as having their own goals and own purposes. Torvald reveals many times his prejudice viewpoint on gender roles. He believes his wives duty is to be at home and embarks on her to always appear beautiful. The central conflict in this playwright revolves around Trovald’s controlling treatment of his wife.The tragedy of this story is not only about a man controlling his wife, but also the â€Å"dehumanizing of the children† (Mahal 2012;476). They are never given a chance to improving their position in the society. Nora, in the beginning of the play, seems to be happy and content whereas she acts out child like qualities. When Torvald walks in Nora’s childlike qualities becomes more transparent. His true character is later revealed when he accuses Nora of forgery and when he tries to disown her. His attitude changes when everything is sorted out, but she walks out of the marriage.Nora is depicted until the end of the play as a â€Å"helpless, mindless fool† (Mahal 2012: 476). In the end of this story this degrading treatment of Nora by her husband is resolved. This play stresses upon the status of women and how their roles were perceived, as mothers and wives. Nora feels like she’s been used as doll for her father and her husband, with no depth in their relationships. Nora exits her ‘doll’s house’ with a door slam, emphatically resolving the play with an act of bold self-assertion. A Doll’s house appears to mislead the audience of the characters true colors.Our first impression of Nora is that she is childlike and Torvald is seen as strong. The play’s climax leads to the expose of resolving identity confusion. Nora becomes to be a brave woman and Torvald a sad man. Gender, class&identity in Miss Julie: Strindberg was a Swedish playwright and drew his writings from personal experiences. He failed at three marriages. Circumstances made him a naturalistic writer. He was known as a misogynist and a â€Å"women hater†. In Miss Julie (1879) he expresses his hatred for the opposite sex.He was forced to write a second ending for the play after much controversy. The play was censored all over Europe as the play was socially offensive to women. The daughter of a count has an affair with a valet, who in turn forces her to commit suicide. Strindberg had an eye for injustice, but only dealt with the problem of women’s rights as a facet of realism in his plays. Julie suffers an identity crisis and displays her regard for class and gender conventions. She mingles with the servant when a party is thrown.She expresses absurd behavior but on other times she is coy. Jean warns her of her behavior as she was seen as a temptress. She wavers between the high and low class identity, and is in the end confused with her own identity. Julie also identifies herself with both female and male figures. She confesses she has no self she can call her own. The characters in Miss Julie are portrayed through gender, class and ideology. In the end she orders Jean to hypnotize her to commit suicide. The play reveals Julie having no control over her sexual instincts.Once Julie and Jean seduced each other, their lives are changed (Ramandeep Mahal 2012: [sp]) mentions that â€Å"the aristocrat in the social sphere becomes the slave of the valet and the valet becomes the aristocrat in the sexual sphere as Julie lowers herself beyond redemption†. Julie is seen as an example of the naturalistic movement. â€Å"The characters are seen as helpless products of hereditary and environment who interact with their minds and bodies, as they would in real life† (Mahal 2012: [sp]). Both playwrights by Ibsen an d Strindberg came of shocking the audience of their time, with the way they portrayed their women characters.They’re portrayal of sex and divorce was set off to much controversy (Mahal 2012:475). A Dolls House is considered to be more feminist work, where Strindberg has been seen as â€Å"his arch enemy† on that point. Ibsen has been seen to deny writing in a feminist point of view; he has said many times that he wrote for the â€Å"everyday man†. Strindberg tended to emancipate woman. For example when Julie grows conscious about her humiliation she falls to Jean’s knees. Jean triumphantly stands over her. This also symbolizes the hierarchy of the 1800’s.These ideas govern the central world of the everyday in the aspect that they inform social hierarchies and show out elements of real happenings people experience everyday. Women were demanded by men, and men were befallen to the beauty of women. In that time of social structure woman belonged in th e kitchen (As Strindberg’s points out in Miss Julie) and they were there to raise the kids and beautify their homes. That was the real world. Some of these conventions still stand today in aspect of class and gender. Resources: Ibsen, H. A. A Dolls House. Gugelburger, G.M. 1991. â€Å"Germainistik†, the Canon, and Third world literature. Mahal, R. 2012. A comparative study of Portrayal of women in Ibsen’s A Dolls House and Strindberg’s Miss Julie. Available. [o]. Accessed 2 September 2012 www. rspublication,com Lukas, Nowlan, B. An introduction to the problematics of Realism in video, film, and moving image- culture. Available. [o]. Accessed 2 September 2012 www. uwec. edu/ranowlan/realism film_video_moving-imag_culture. html. Taylor, J. C. 1972. Ritual, realism, and revolt: Major traditions in the drama. New York: Schribner.

Less is More When it Comes to Unique

Less is More When it Comes to Unique Less is More When it Comes to Unique Less is More When it Comes to Unique By Maeve Maddox The word unique is related to a whole class of words derived from the Latin word for one, (unus) for example: uniform, unilateral, and unicorn. Soldiers tend to look alike when they are in uniform. Among allied states, a unilateral action is one taken by one member or side only. (Latin latus = side) A unicorn has one horn. (Latin cornus = horn of an animal) The word unique has the meaning one of a kind. It is a useful word and the widespread misuse of it tends to dissipate its usefulness. Listen to any talk show and you will hear people say that something or other is very unique, or rather unique, or somewhat unique. Such usage corresponds to saying that a woman is somewhat pregnant. With unique (as with pregnancy) there is no middle ground. If something is unique, thats it. To precede the word with an intensifier like very or a comparative like less or more, defeats the purpose. That is not to say that one mustnt ever use a word to modify unique. One CAN say that a thing is: nearly unique really unique perhaps unique in some respects unique but never ever very unique. TIP: Preserve the unique usefulness of the word unique by thinking twice before putting a modifier in front of it. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Congratulations on or for?Latin Words and Expressions: All You Need to KnowWhen to Spell Out Numbers

The European Overseas Empires - Overview

The European Overseas Empires - Overview Europe is a relatively small continent, especially compared to Asia or Africa, but during the last five hundred years, European countries have controlled a huge part of the world, including almost all of Africa and the Americas. The nature of this control varied, from the benign to the genocidal, and the reasons also differed, from country to country, from era to era, from simple greed to ideologies of racial and moral superiority such as The White Mans Burden. They are almost gone now, swept away in a political and moral awakening over the last century, but the after-effects spark a different news story almost every week. A Desire to Find New Trade Routes Inspired Exploration There are two approaches to the study of the European Empires. The first is straightforward history: what happened, who did it, why they did it, and what effect this had, a narrative and analysis of politics, economics, culture, and society. The overseas empires began to form in the fifteenth century. Developments in shipbuilding and navigation, which allowed sailors to travel across the open seas with much greater success, coupled with advances in maths, astronomy, cartography, and printing, all of which allowed better knowledge to be more widely spread, gave Europe the potential to extend over the world. Pressure on land from the encroaching Ottoman Empire and a desire to find new trade routes through to the well-known Asian markets- the old routes being dominated by Ottomans and Venetians- gave Europe the push- that and the human desire to explore. Some sailors tried going around the bottom of Africa and up past India, others tried going across the Atlantic. Indeed, the vast majority of sailors who made western voyages of discovery were actually after alternative routes to Asia- the new American continent in between was something of a surprise. Colonialism and Imperialism If the first approach is the sort you will encounter mainly in history textbooks, the second is something youll encounter on the television and in the newspapers: the study of colonialism, imperialism, and the debate over the effects of empire. As with most isms, there is still an argument over exactly what we mean by the terms. Do we mean them to describe what the European nations did? Do we mean them to describe a political idea, which we will compare to Europes actions? Are we using them as retroactive terms, or did people at the time recognize them and act accordingly? This is just scratching the surface of the debate over imperialism, a term thrown around regularly by modern political blogs and commentators. Running alongside this is the judgmental analysis of the European Empires. The last decade has seen the established view- that the Empires were undemocratic, racist and thus bad- challenged by a new group of analysts who argue that the Empires actually did a lot of good. The democratic success of America, albeit achieved without much help from England, is frequently mentioned, as are the ethnic conflicts in African nations created by Europeans drawing straight lines on maps. Three Phases of Expansion There are three general phases in the history of Europes colonial expansion, all including wars of ownership between the Europeans and indigenous people, as well as between the Europeans themselves. The first age, which began in the fifteenth century and carried on into the nineteenth, is characterized by the conquest, settlement, and loss of America, the south of which was almost entirely divided between Spain and Portugal, and the north of which was dominated by France and England. However, England won wars against the French and Dutch before losing to their old colonists, who formed the United States; England retained only Canada. In the south, similar conflicts occurred, with the European nations being almost thrown out by the 1820s. During the same  period,  European nations also gained influence in Africa, India, Asia, and Australasia (England  colonized  the whole of Australia), especially the many islands and landmasses along the trading routes. This influence only increased during the nineteenth and early twentieth century, when  Britain, in particular, conquered India. However, this second phase is  characterized by the New Imperialism, a renewed interest and desire for overseas land felt by many European nations which prompted The Scramble for Africa, a race by many European countries to carve up the entirety of Africa between themselves. By 1914, only Liberia and  Abysinnia  remained independent. In 1914, the First World War began, a conflict partly motivated by imperial ambition. The consequent changes  in  Europe and the world eroded many beliefs in Imperialism, a trend enhanced by the Second World War. After 1914, the history of the European Empires- a third phase- is one of gradual  decolonization  and independence, with the vast majority of empires ceasing to exist. Given that European colonialism/imperialism affected the whole world, it is common to discuss some of the other rapidly expanding nations of the period as a comparison, in  particular, the United States and their ideology of manifest destiny. Two older empires are sometimes considered: the Asian part of Russia and the Ottoman Empire. The Early Imperial Nations England, France, Portugal, Spain, Denmark, and the Netherlands. The Later Imperial Nations England, France, Portugal, Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands.

THE PERSUASIVE SPEECH Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

THE PERSUASIVE SPEECH - Essay Example As we know, those who oppose gun control usually highlight the necessary for self-protection. They also maintain that individuals with guns would ensure self defense when police fail to provide protection to general public. However, evidently gun is not devised to threaten or injure someone but to kill. Hence, the free use of guns must be banned despite the so called benefits. In the first place, once gun becomes a common utensil like knife or pen nobody will take serious care of it. Evidences show that guns are very often misused by everyone especially school children, for when they get emotionally upset, instead of seeking some counseling measures, they tend to pick parent’s gun and shoot at their peers and teachers. As reported in the New York Times dated May 2, 2011, in the 90s, the number of children carrying guns to the school was more than 10, 0000 in the US (School Shootings). In the same way, the overall murder rate of the United States is â€Å"six times higher than the average economically developed nation† (Carter 4). It is also reported by Cleck that â€Å"both gun carrying and gun violence are phenomena almost entirely confined to world outside schools† (qtd. in â€Å"Texas Plan for guns..†). The statistics clearly shows the incidents like shooting in a college of Alabama killing one woman wounding three on April 7th 2011. The killing of 12 elementary school students by a gun man in Rio De Jeniro, Brazil on April 8th stands on the top of all such incidents (School shootings, May 2, 2011). The practice of allowing children to get access to guns is not digestible for common sense. Some others argue that since criminals have guns, the public also must be given guns to counter balance the situation. There are people who have the license to use guns. But still there are incidents like bank robbery and house breaking. If the license to use guns would well tackle