Primark Strategy

Introduction Primark Primark is a clothing retailer, operating in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium. It operates a total of 196 stores with 38 in Ireland, 138 in the UK, 14 in Spain, 2 in Germany, 1 in the Netherlands, 2 in Portugal and 1 in Belgium. Whilst the company's main headquarters are based in Ireland where it trades as Penneys, the chain is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods plc (ABF), and is ultimately controlled by the Weston family through Wittington Investments. The company positions itself as marketing fashionable clothing at competitive prices. In England the name is generally pronounced /? pra? m? rk/ PRY-mark. However, in Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Scotland it is usually pronounced /? pri? m? rk/ PREE-mark. While the pronunciation on the Primark corporate video is PRY-mark the company had an intensive annual advertising campaign each Christmas during the 1980s in which the store was referred to on several occasions (throughout the song/jingle) as PREE-mark, although in the Republic of Ireland this lyric was dubbed over as ‘Penneys'. Liverpool's five story 84,000 sq ft Primark was the world's largest, but has now been superseded by the Primark in Bristol at 82-92 The Horsefair Bristol with 100,000 sq ft. Primark is a fast-growing, major, value clothing retail group employing 27,800 people. Primark's own brands All of the company's merchandise is made specifically for the company and as such Primark has its own brand names : †¢Ryan's value Socks †¢Atmosphere — womenswear/footwear †¢Butler & Webb — Premium formal menswear †¢Cedarwood State — casual menswear †¢Denim Co. — womenswear, casual men's and childrenswear †¢Early Days — babywear †¢Girl 2 Girl — young girlswear Opia – accessories †¢Rebel Senior — older boyswear †¢Rebel Junior — younger boyswear †¢Young Dimension (YD) — older girlswear †¢Primark Beauty – Cosmetics †¢Primark Home — home items †¢Secret Possessions — lingerie, women's nightwear †¢Essentials – Basic Cheaper Items †¢Beach club- Luggage, ladies beachwear The company’s strategy for the business Key Strategies Following the introduction of new provisions concerning the duties of directors under the Companies Act 2006, directors must act in the way they consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote th e long-term success of the Company for the benefit of its members as a whole. In so doing, the directors should have regard to a number of factors listed in that Act. Those factors include having regard to the Company's employees, the need to foster the Company's business relationships with suppliers and others, the impact of the Company's operations on the community and the environment and the desirability of the Company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct. With this in mind, the company has reaffirmed its commitment to a number of overriding principles.

Production of Chalks out of Seashells

Background of the StudyMore people used to collect seashells for fun and for past time. They made decorations, jewelries and even accessories for a doll out of it. But aside from those things, seashell can also made into a much useful thing. We are aware that education is the most powerful key for us to succeed. And to support this, we need some facilities and materials for us to make it easier and clearer. Of course, there is already some modernized equipment, but still, for those hopeless countries and people who also want to be sent in school, even a worst facility matters. We already have whiteboards that just need markers and projectors as the most modernized. But still, the origin of those is just a simple blackboard and a piece of chalk. So the researcher will conduct this study to find out if seashells can be used in making a durable chalk.Statement of the ProblemAlmost all commercialized or local products’ price is continuously increasing. And this is a big aspect to be considered in schooling. Some of the schools don’t have enough support from government and this thing brings difficulties for students. General ObjectiveThis study primarily aims to find out if seashells can be used in making chalk. Specific Objective1. To determine if seashells are effectiveness of seashells in chalk making. Hypotheses1. There is significance difference between our product, chalk from sea shells and the leading commercial one.2. There is significance difference between experimental chalk from sea shells and commercial one in terms of quality and durability.Significance of the Study This study opens another way for people to be able to save and make chalks that is much durable and long-lasting use that will take part in this study. The study was conducted as a remedy for the common problem of spending much in. And it also helps us to gain money when you make this as your business affair. We can also make some raw materials that we thought to be useless, tr ansformed into a much useful and more powered thing.Scope and Delimitations of the Study This study is focused on designing and producing alternative chalks. It also deals with the assessment of its actual advantages as compared to some commercialized one. The qualities and quantities data obtained in the testing of the product against the control were limited to 3 tests only.Definition of Terms Seashells- the shell of marine animal and especially a mollusk. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)Cassava – also called manioc, yucca, balinghoy, mogo, mandioca, kamoteng kahoy, tapioca-root (predominantly in India) and manioc root, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae (spurge) family native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassava)Chalk- is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calci te. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalk)Review of Related LiteratureA seashell is the common name for a hard, protective outer layer, a shell, or in some cases a â€Å"test†, that was created by a sea creature, a marine organism. The shell is part of the body of a marine animal, in most cases the exoskeleton, usually that of an animal without a backbone, an invertebrate. The word seashell is often used to refer only to the shells of marine mollusks, i.e. mollusk shells, but it can also be used to mean the  shells of a wide variety of marine animals from different phyla. For helpful introductory articles, see marine invertebrates and marine biology. Seashells are commonly found in beach drift, natural detritus deposited along strand lines on beaches by the waves and the tides. Shells are very often washed up onto a beach empty and clean, the animal having already died, and the soft parts having rotted away or having been eaten by either predators or scavengers. Empty seashel ls are often found by beachcombers, and collecting these shells is a harmless hobby or study.However, the majority of seashells which are offered for sale commercially have been collected alive (often in bulk) and then killed and cleaned, specifically for the commercial trade. This type of exploitation can sometimes have a strong negative impact on the distribution of rarer species, and on local ecosystems. Many other kinds of sea animals have exoskeletons or shells which may, after death, wash up on the beach and may be picked up by beachcombers; these include remains from species in other invertebrate phyla, such as the molted shells or exuviae of crabs and lobsters, the shells of barnacles, horseshoe crab shells, sea urchin and sand dollar tests, brachiopod shells, and the shells of marine annelid worms in the family Serpulidae, which create calcareous tubes.Methods and Materials Tools and Materials The tools and materials that will be used in this study are seashells, cassava, m ortar and pestle, grater, oven toaster, bowl and cloth.Research DesignGeneral ProcedureFirst, the researcher will collect sea shells from the sea shore or left-over shell viands, and cassava. After that, the shells will be pulverized until it becomes fine as powder and set aside in a container. The cassava will be grated and squeezed its juice using cloth. Separate the liquid from its residue, mix the residue of the extracted cassava and the pulverized seashells. Add a small amount of water at the right ratio of the quantity of  the mixture. Mold the mixture into different shapes and sizes according to your desire. Place it under the sun and wait until it dries up and is ready to be used. ï » ¿Production of Chalks out of Seashells Background of the StudyMore people used to collect seashells for fun and for past time. They made decorations, jewelries and even accessories for a doll out of it. But aside from those things, seashell can also made into a much useful thing. We are aware that education is the most powerful key for us to succeed. And to support this, we need some facilities and materials for us to make it easier and clearer.Of course, there is already some modernized equipment, but still, for those hopeless countries and people who also want to be sent in school, even a worst facility matters. We already have whiteboards that just need markers and projectors as the most modernized. But still, the origin of those is just a simple blackboard and a piece of chalk. So the researcher will conduct this study to find out if seashells can be used in making a durable chalk.Statement of the ProblemAlmost all commercialized or local products’ price is continuously increasing. And this is a big aspect to b e considered in schooling. Some of the schools don’t have enough support from government and this thing brings difficulties for students.General ObjectiveThis study primarily aims to find out if seashells can be used in making chalk.Specific Objective 1. To determine if seashells are effectiveness of seashells in chalk making. Hypotheses1. There is significance difference between our product, chalk from sea shells and the leading commercial one.2. There is significance difference between experimental chalk from sea shells and commercial one in terms of quality and durability.Significance of the StudyThis study opens another way for people to be able to save and make chalks that is much durable and long-lasting use that will take part in this study. The study was conducted as a remedy for the common problem of spending much in. And it also helps us to gain money when you make this as your business affair. We can also make some raw materials that we thought to be useless, trans formed into a much useful and more powered thing.Scope and Delimitations of the StudyThis study is focused on designing and producing alternative chalks. It also deals with the assessment of its actual advantages as compared to some commercialized one.The qualities and quantities data obtained in the testing of the product against the control were limited to 3 tests only.Definition of TermsSeashells- the shell of marine animal and especially a mollusk. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)Cassava – also called manioc, yucca, balinghoy, mogo, mandioca, kamoteng kahoy, tapioca-root (predominantly in India) and manioc root, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae (spurge) family native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassava)Chalk- is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. (h ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalk)Review of Related LiteratureA seashell is the common name for a hard, protective outer layer, a shell, or in some cases a â€Å"test†, that was created by a sea creature, a marine organism. The shell is part of the body of a marine animal, in most cases the exoskeleton, usually that of an animal without a backbone, an invertebrate. The word seashell is often used to refer only to the shells of marine mollusks, i.e. mollusk shells, but it can also be used to mean the  shells of a wide variety of marine animals from different phyla.For helpful introductory articles, see marine invertebrates and marine biology. Seashells are commonly found in beach drift, natural detritus deposited along strand lines on beaches by the waves and the tides. Shells are very often washed up onto a beach empty and clean, the animal having already died, and the soft parts having rotted away or having been eaten by either predators or scavengers. Empty seashells are often found by beachcombers, and collecting these shells is a harmless hobby or study. However, the majority of seashells which are offered for sale commercially have been collected alive (often in bulk) and then killed and cleaned, specifically for the commercial trade.This type of exploitation can sometimes have a strong negative impact on the distribution of rarer species, and on local ecosystems. Many other kinds of sea animals have exoskeletons or shells which may, after death, wash up on the beach and may be picked up by beachcombers; these include remains from species in other invertebrate phyla, such as the molted shells or exuviae of crabs and lobsters, the shells of barnacles, horseshoe crab shells, sea urchin and sand dollar tests, brachiopod shells, and the shells of marine annelid worms in the family Serpulidae, which create calcareous tubes.Methods and Materials Tools and Materials The tools and materials that will be used in this study are seashells, cassava, mortar a nd pestle, grater, oven toaster, bowl and cloth.Research DesignGeneral ProcedureFirst, the researcher will collect sea shells from the sea shore or left-over shell viands, and cassava. After that, the shells will be pulverized until it becomes fine as powder and set aside in a container. The cassava will be grated and squeezed its juice using cloth. Separate the liquid from its residue, mix the residue of the extracted cassava and the pulverized seashells. Add a small amount of water at the right ratio of the quantity of the mixture. Mold the mixture into different shapes and sizes according to your desire. Place it under the sun and wait until it dries up and is ready to be used.Figure 1 Procedural DesignThe sea shells will be gathered from Baybay in Roxas City.

The Status of Women in Ancient Times

The Status Of Women In Ancient Times Throughout the years, women have had to fight for the right to gain independence and freedom. They have been through good times and bad, but through all of it women have won respect and responsibility for themselves. In the times of Ancient Egypt, women had many more rights than other places. Inheritance and property were important to them. The status of women in Mesopotamia was as simple as a contract, and men were their priority. The Napoleonic Code and the Sharia Law were degrading and difficult.It is important that we reflect on what women have been through to learn for the future. In Ancient Egypt, women were mainly important for reproduction. Children were very important, and infertile women were divorced immediately. Marriage was a very important aspect, as it was almost considered a duty of the Egyptian people. It was also popular to marry cousins, brothers, and sisters considering family and dynasties were very important. If one was to be divorced it was a very private matter, but if they wanted, women could get divorced for any reason.The men were also free to marry as many women as they liked. Women could inherit their husbands belonging and property. They could give it to anyone or keep it, and many of the husband’s rules were written in his will. Women had a lot of rights in Ancient Egypt and that is very close to what we are today. In Mesopotamia, the rights for women were very different. The status of women in their marriage relied completely on a contract. The women were forced to stay with their husbands until he wanted to leave her, and there was nothing she could do if she was unhappy in the relationship.Once the husband divorced, they could not re-marry. Men dominated in every aspect, even the children. For women to have any inheritance or property it had to be in a written document. Some of the things women could do in Mesopotamian times were that they were able to buy and sell in the market place , and they could attend all legal matters. They could also conduct business on their property. The only reason why this was important though was because the men were lazy and wanted the women to work for them.The Napoleonic Code was a code in ancient times which also contained rules for women. The main aspect was that as long as men took care of the wives and protected them, the women had to have full obedience to their husbands. They had to ask to do anything and everything. There was no such thing as more than one marriage, because the only way a woman could divorce her husband was if they had grave or a severe injury. If the women committed adultery they would have three months in jail and a divorce, where as if the men committed adultery there was no punishment.The men were so powerful that if they were ever unhappy with their sons, they could get them arrested. The men had full use of the wife’s inheritance and property if she gave his approval, and it was very rare that she didn’t. Also, if anyone else wanted their inheritance, they would have to sue the owner of the inheritance. The husband managed the dowry completely, but had to give the wife one thing per year for maintenance or personal need. The only right the wife had was that she could make her will without the consent and authority of her husband.Lastly, the Sharia Law was unfair to women as well. The major inequality that is noticeable is that the Muslim men could marry non-Muslim women, but Muslim women could not marry non-Muslim men. Also the men could divorce their wives but he had to pay an already agreed sum of money that was established before the marriage. Women could onluy divorce men if they were infertile, insane, had leprosy or some other skin desease. The men had full power over the children, yet the mother could only have power over them if they were too young to part from their mothers.The worst part of the Sharia Law was that the men were given right under the Quran to hit their wives. The only right the women had were rights to inheritance, and the right to make a will. Researching all about the status of women in ancient times makes me so grateful to live the way we do today. Women should not be treated like objects or property. For a man to be able to hit a woman is so shocking to me. I believe that we should learn from our past world and know that we should not repeat some of the aspects of the law in ancient times again.

Unit 8 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 8 - Assignment Example al substance invites us to think deeply and conclude that ideas built by means of someone’s sense, memory and imagination are the only tools to create the presence of a material substance. By studying the arguments of Berkeley, one learns to incorporate the ideas of different senses to perceive the various objects, substances and materials. In short, Berkeley’s vision highlights the mind along with ideas and offsets the Newton’s absolute space and time. The time becomes merely a succession of ideas in individual’s mind, and the space is reduced to an extension perceived by senses. (Fogelin, 2001) Berkeley’s arguments positively relate with Phillonous who disagrees with majority of the philosophers to believe in the existence of matter. He like Berkeley emphasizes strongly upon mind and argues that every thing in this world depends upon mind. Hylas, who was the student of Phillonous believes in the matter. He states that all the worldly experiences of life remain unexplained without the existence of matter. This philosophy of Hylas does not resemble with that of Berkeley. Because Berkeley seems to stick on his famous principle, â€Å"Esse est percipi† (â€Å"to be is to be perceived†). Berkeley stated in his books that spirit itself cannot be perceived but can be perceived by its own effect. Similarly Locke states that one has a relative idea of substances in

Art response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Art response - Essay Example Art theory is a factor that is very relevant to this country since the interpretation is not uniform and there is need to evaluate the relevance of each work presented in museum to form part of the cultural heritage. Successful evaluation requires in-depth understanding of content and context in which the work is relevant. It is important to note that various theories of criticism have been formulated by scholars to ensure that all the elements of art are applied relevantly in any production. The context in which the piece of art is established determines its application and serves to bring out the meaning in simpler way. For the works of art to portray the actual picture of the social context in which they are set, various critical analysis tools have been applied as in the case of the museum in Denver, USA. Another important aspect of American Art is the expression of the aesthetic values present in the pieces. USA has a wide variety of art and therefore serves as the center of anc ient studies on history and art. Art as shown from the past drawings and sculptors sets emotional status and therefore gives the real context and setting in which it was taken. Considering some of the artifacts found in the museums, it is worth to note that the emotional aspect of the works makes the viewer create a picture of the setting and context in which it is relevant. A collection of various pieces of art presents diverse abstraction which has remained a critical aspect of art. In the modern society, creative art still incorporates the ancient concepts in expressing the scene, meaning and context for the piece of art. It is important to note that art stands for past events which are useful in defining the lifestyle observed on a given society. The common saying that a picture speaks a thousand words asserts that artistic pieces say more. The posture, facial expression and other decorations gives detailed information about the moral concepts being conveyed. It is common to see the drawings painted in different colors and texture differentiated with a main aim of creating a particular impression. This is the reason behind the multiple colors, textual indentation and varied body features expression found in various artifacts kept in museums across United States. American art is not limited to artifacts but also written history. The complex social structure of the modern United States can be attributed to the Red Indian community and the immigrants who cumulatively formed the Amerindians. There is great history that covers the ancient tribes that inhabited the modern day United States. The story of art in this country dates many years back but some of the outstanding monuments like The Twins meets the Gods of Xibabla (The underworld), cylindrical vase e.593-830 CE among others gives a long period of art and history development ranging from 16,000 to date. Taking the Mayan tribe as an example, the art they left behind has been a ground for research study on the ancient American society and their way of life. The modern American society traces its roots from a very complex cultural fusion which is always exhibited in form of art. Some of the writings, paintings, drawings left behind and collected for stewardship in museums are important as far as the development of ancient art is concerned. Other art forms

Visual Heirarcy and Mind Motion in Printed Advertising Research Paper

Visual Heirarcy and Mind Motion in Printed Advertising - Research Paper Example Gestalt psychological theory is the basis upon which the concept of hierarchy is construed. This 20th century German theory recommends that the human intellect has an instinctive organizing propensity that â€Å"structure individual elements, shapes or forms into a coherent, organized whole† (Ian, 2008, p.256). The word Gestalt in English means â€Å"form,† â€Å"shape,† or â€Å"pattern† (Rune, 2010). Ideally, when a visual component set its self apart from the ‘whole’ shaped by a person’s intellect perceptual organization, it becomes very conspicuous in the eye of the observer. Usually, the shapes that are the most conspicuous are those that highly set themselves apart from their surroundings and identified by the viewer through mind motion. As a matter of fact, the human brain uses distinctive physical characteristics to differentiate objects from others. These characteristics can be categorized into four aspects including character, alignment, size and color. The aspect of color, which perceives texture, includes saturation, hue, and value. Size explains the surface area of a structure while alignment is the aspect that describes the array of structures with regards to their orientation, direction, or pattern (Feldsted, 1950). Character is the curvilinearity and rectilinearity of structures. In view of this, a distinction between structures can be drawn from the differences in these characteristics. ... ar is organized with respect to the significance of each concept, the visual hierarchy in print advertisement is organized in a similar manner (Groeger, 2002). Visual hierarchy is one of the most significant concepts behind effective print advertisements. This paper will study why developing a visual hierarchy and mind motion is important when designing a poster, the theory behind it, and how the very principles can be used to put these concepts into practice. Design is equal to communication The basic idea behind a print design is visual communication. As such, an effective advert designer should able to evidently communicate their thoughts to the audience failures to which they can lose their attention. Interestingly, most people are visual thinkers rather than data processors, and that is why they do not pay attention to huge blocks of information. This happens because people categorize what they see based on â€Å"visual relationships†, instead of taking visual information and processing it uniformly. In the above illustration, chances are that a certain person may fail to notice the two circles but rather notice one red circle and one black circle. The reason why this happens is because, when a person is presented with simple things like two circles, they tend to find a way of differentiating them rather than just observing the two circles. Therefore, people use such differences to make a distinction between objects at attach unique meanings to them. In the above figure, since the level of complexity has been increased, the viewer’s desire to categorize the images in respect to the relationship has become even higher. The basis upon which the shapes are viewed through includes the similarities and the differences. The differences in scale imply that one image is

Tourists decision-making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tourists decision-making - Essay Example Tourists’ decision-making Tourism experience motivates the ability, desire, style and quantity of tourism. These experiences ought to influence the future development and growth of tourism. They consist of sights, encounters, on-site activities, collecting of souvenirs and some sensations like. The tourism experiences should make the visit of the tourist memorable. Tourism experience involves services of a wide range such as transportation, accommodation and insurance. It also requires financial services, marketing and information in order to produce the requirements that are needed for tourism experience. The experiences help the tourists to know more about that destination. They should offer more information, adventure, relaxation and whatever else the tourists might require. Therefore, they should provide entertainment and excitement, as it is demanded. Entertainment, leisure and tourism industries have the responsibility of providing the satisfaction of tourism experience. The experiences are the driving force for leisure and tourism consumption. Tourists have a variety of tourist experiences to choose from. They are usually in need of a different experience from the normal. Some tend to distance themselves from their normal live and everything related to that and free themselves to experience the change and interact with new people.They should plan their tour depending on their expectations and what motivates them to choose the experience. Tourists should have a clear understanding of the activities that they would be involved in during the visit. The visit is expected to offer tourism experience that will be full of treasured memories and give total satisfaction. The purchase of a tourism experience is mainly influenced by the interest of the tourists. It can also be influences by self and cultural confidence. A tourist can be driven to purchase a tourism experience that involves discovering about a certain culture. This means that it would involve l earning about local or traditional foods of a culture. Having a taste of different foods is fun and interesting. The tourist was motivated to choose a destination depending on the attractions and activities of that region. Another motivation could be the desire for thing that are more authentic. Local foods are authentic and a symbol of the culture and region of a destination. This tourism experience

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Ethics - Essay Example Among the main ethical issues, which various people faced with on a day-to-day basis, is whether to be deceptive or to be honest. Is deceptions justified or is honesty always the best policy? This paper will discuss the ethical dilemma in detail and give examples where both situations are favorable. Honesty and deception From an early age, people are taught that honesty is a virtue and that we will succeed if we continuously conduct ourselves in an honest manner as often as possible. However, it does not take long for people to realize that honesty does not always lead to success, as people who are most deceptive prosper on a daily basis throughout the world. This therefore leads people to have internal conflicts as to whether to adhere to the principle of honesty, since the urge to lie becomes greatly magnified (Dal Cero, 2009). All the great world religions teach that honesty is the desired virtue that all people must try to cultivate. They thus show honesty as being good. On the o ther hand, these religions teach that dishonesty and all its forms is a society vice and should therefore be discouraged. Thus, the religions paint dishonesty as being bad. Due to this, a person’s conscience is calmed if he/she is being honest. However, a person’s conscience is not at ease if he/she is being dishonest. The individual’s conscience is not usually at ease due to the possibility of damaging their reputation if they are discovered to have lied. In most instances, the individual comforts himself by the fact that the negative repercussions of telling the truth would be far much greater. Hence, by lying one avoids negative repercussions (Dal Cero, 2009). However, in most situations, the consequences of lying are much more complicated than their face value. Lying leads self-guilt, damage of the reputation and lack trust by other people should they discover that one was lying (Hall, 2010). Deception can be either verbal or non-verbal. In verbal deception, the individual willingly tells the other person information, which is generally not true. The individual may offer the misleading information in order to benefit from a certain situation. Non-verbal deception is a situation where the individual does actions that he wants to be interpreted in a way that is generally not true. Secrecy or the unwillingness of an individual to offer vital information willingly or upon request may also be considered as deception (Garner, n.d). Deception may also occur in the form of diversionary information. The individual may attempt to control the information that he/she offers and thus substitute the relevant information with information from another topic. By so doing, the individual attempts to reveal information he/she would like the listener to perceive as valuable, which is not the case (Turner, Edgley & Olmstead, 1975). Most people require that their friends and other people who they associate with are honest. However, people always leave room for some lies since the truth may sometimes be painful, hence making lies and pretence to be appropriate at certain times. Telling the truth at all times usually has dire consequences; for instance, imagine a situation where your wife asked you whether she looked fat in a certain dress when it was

John Locke and his Works Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

John Locke and his Works - Coursework Example His abiding interest in medicine led to his striking an acquaintance with the politician, Anthony Ashley Cooper, known to history as the Earl of Shaftesbury. This was the turning point in Locke's life, as from then on his destiny was irrevocably linked with Shaftesbury's. Locke gave up his scientific inclinations and took a keen interest in the affairs of the state. The year 1675, found him in France as a consequence of the liberal Shaftesbury having incurred the wrath of the royals. When Locke returned in 1679, he found a nation rife with political upheaval and a monarchy hostile towards Protestants and removed himself to Holland. Following the revolution of 1688, he returned to England, where he stayed till his death. Throughout his life, Locke wrote on a wide variety of subjects. His Treatises of Government and Essay Concerning Human Understanding are famed in the annals of political thought and philosophy as invaluable contributions. That aside, he distinguished himself with well-written pieces in the fields of economics, science, theology, and education. According to Haworth, "It would be no exaggeration to describe him as the political philosopher who laid the moral foundations of the modern world view" (100). Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding was his first and only foray into the realms of epistemology, the branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge. Divided into four books, his essay is a detailed theory of knowledge and aims to " discover what kind of things God has fitted us to know, and so how we should direct and use our intellect and understanding" (Woolhouse 78). At the onset, he emphasizes the importance of experience in the pursuit of knowledge and dismisses the notion that ideas are innate. According to Locke, the mind is a blank slate on which ideas are inscribed by the hand of experience. He states that the experience of the senses is the tool used in gleaning knowledge and rationale must be used before a thorough understanding of raw information is possible.

Relationship Analysis in A Christmas Carol Essay

Relationship Analysis in A Christmas Carol - Essay Example In books, the tone of communication is enough to describe the relationship between two characters and the author does not need to explain the relationship separately. The analysis in this paper will be done in a similar manner, i.e. by considering the tone of communication between the characters. Thus, this analysis would show that the context and manner of communication define the relationship between the individuals communicating with each other. This is also one of the most important aspects of the interpersonal communication. The main character of the book is Ebenezer Scrooge who has been described as being a stingy and miser person who stays away from philanthropic activities and spends every penny after giving it a significant thought. Scrooge has no value for the acts of kindness or benevolence and all he cares about is accumulation of wealth. Jacob Marley was the business partner of Scrooge who has been disclosed to have been dead for seven years when the story starts to unfo ld. On the Christmas Eve in the 1840’s Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his dead business partner Jacob Marley who tries to convince Scrooge to change his ways. In the past, Marley has been described as being the only friend, administrator, business partner and mourner of Scrooge therefore it can be said that both the characters had a similar personality, i.e. they both had love for money. After seven years of the death of Marley, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Marley. Initially the character of Marley does not communicate directly with Scrooge but makes Scrooge feel his appearance in different ways. He then appears in the fireplace in Scrooge’s bedroom. Ultimately, the ghost of Marley appears in front of Scrooge himself. This is where the first verbal communication between these two characters takes place. Initially the character of Scrooge responds coldly to the appearance of the ghost and asks what does the ghost wants from him. The ghost of Marley replies, â €Å"Much!† Scrooge then asks who the ghost was and Marley replies, â€Å"Ask me who I was.† The character of Marley then reminds Scrooge that he was his only friend in his life. Scrooge still remains doubtful but the manner of his dialogue suggests that he is not as cold as he was at his first reaction. He offers Marley a seat and remains unsure whether a ghost would need one. Scrooge remains skeptical whether Marley is real or not and the communication between the characters takes another turn when Scrooge behaves as if Marley is just a figment of his imagination and it is not a real ghost. At one point, Scrooge expresses to Marley that it must be something he had eaten that is playing tricks on his mind. The ghost of Marley lets out a cry that makes Scrooge so afraid he fell upon his knees and begged from mercy. Here, it can be said that the context of communication has changed completely as compared to where it started. Initially, the character of Scrooge was cold t owards the character of ghost Marley. Perception of the characters also plays an important part in the effectiveness of communication between two individuals. If the perceptions of individuals are similar, there would be effective communication between them as the receiver would understand what the sender is trying to communicate (Robbins, 2009). However, if there is difference in perceptions there would be distortion in the flow of communication and a lot of reconciliation would also be required. In this book, the character of

Business Intelligence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business Intelligence - Essay Example Howard Dresner, a Research Fellow at Gartner Group in 1989, established the term "Business Intelligence", to describe a set of concepts and methods to improve business decision-making by using fact-based support systems. In "Business Intelligence: The Savvy Manager's Guide" David Loshin describes the basic architectural components of a business intelligence environment, ranging from traditional topics such as business process modeling, data modeling, and more modern topics such as business rule systems, data profiling, information compliance and data quality, data warehousing, and data mining. David Loshin has described Business Intelligence on the basis of Data Models, Data Standards. He has also extensively appreciated the use of XML as a framework that is gaining in popularity for developing data standards. While XML is not used to prescribe a standard; it is used to define standards for the exchange of information through conforming documents. Data values in an XML document are surrounded by tags (labels), that identify where the data content begins and ends. "To leverage business intelligence, business users need to understand the value of business intelligence and how it can help them. One of the more popular tables: promoting BI to increase adoption. It was simple, soft selling - business intelligence is value added and not obviously essential to many users. It requires a more proactive, promotional approach. Business intelligence also demands promotion because it is still relatively new as a technical innovation so few business users know all the myriad ways BI can be leveraged. To effectively promote business intelligence, you first need to apply some marketing concepts to your BI deployment. Fail to do this first and at best you will have zero impact and at worst come across as a glorified technocrat trying to justify your existence." Promoting Your Business Intelligence Initiative, Cindi Howson, 8th October 2008. http://www.b-eye-network.com/view/8656. As any marketing guru would confirm, the success of any business depends on marketing. Marketing as a concept has to keep in mind various factors and has to be managed in a planned and strategic manner. In "Promoting Your Business Intelligence Initiative", , 8th October 2008, accessed on 3rd Nov,2008, http://www.b-eye-network.com/view/8656. Cindi Howson, states the following: "Marketing is about focusing on what customers need so providers can build better products they'll actually use. It's the strategy that goes into the BI application before you begin touting it as your company's killer app." In common terms, business intelligence can be described as the sum total of factors, which help take major decisions in any business. These factors include customers, competitors, business partners, economic environment and internal operations. Customers are the key to any business' success. The entrepreneur must make it a point to keep the customer's preferences in mind while designing a product. Again, geographical and cultural factors need to be given due importance while designing a product for a certain market. Business intelligence can be used to align businesses and products according to customers' preferences. Business Intelligence is used to collect data from customers within the marketplace. Customer surveys and polls are tools to gauge

Teeth Roll Crusher Both Take an Important Essay Example for Free

Teeth Roll Crusher Both Take an Important Essay The roller crusher is mainly used for the crushing of medium or lower-hardness mines and rocks with medium or lower rigidity in the trade of cement, metallurgy, chemical industry, electric power, coal and other industrial. The crushing materials include limestone, slag, coke and coal. This teeth roll crusher apply to coal, metallurgy, mine, chemical industry, building materials industries more suitable for large coal or coal gangue) crude (including the broken. Teeth roll crusher work principle and main structure: teeth roll crusher mainly adopts special wear-resisting teeth roll high-speed material crushing (for errupted tooth roll crusher traditional with a low extrusion), formed the mechanism of high productivity. The five categories used in the crushing machine, Roll crusher and hammer crusher impact with the main role belongs to brittle material to break the machine, it is often called the impact crusher. Impact crusher and the crusher-based compression, such as jaw, cone and roll crusher and other match, have the following characteristics: 1). Crushing ratio. Roll crusher can reach the crushing ratio above 50, while the jaw, cone and roll crusher is difficult to over 20. Thus, in the need for single-stage crushing of occasions, such as cement industry, limestone crusher, Roll crusher is widely used. 2). Good product particles.

Gender Stereotypes In Advertising Campaigns

Gender Stereotypes In Advertising Campaigns The role of women is more stereotypical than that of the men in the promotional campaigns, and the power of women are inferior to the man especially in the TV advertisements. According to the research on adverts researchers have been done before, the results usually fall into the following categories including: (1) Women being linked with sexual meanings. (2) Women being viewed less powerful than men. (3) Women being thought to be obliged to dominate the housework. (4) Women being believed to comply with their male partners. Over 30 years ago it was argued that advertising placed women into subordinate roles and that the male voice was authoritative (Lewin-Jones, J, Mitra, B. 2009), which is supported by a number of researches. Ferguson, Kreshel and Tinkham (1990) suggested that woman have long been viewed as sexual objects in the advertisements. Dilevko and Harris (1997) stated that in the journals advertisements they researched, females activities are more restrained than males, and men are more likely to gain fame and to be connected with a promising future. Meanwhile, Sexton and Haberman (1974) illustrated that the images of women reflected in advertisements is narrow. All they have to do is to dress up, stand still and being watched. In addition, advertisements also help to cultivate social roles and responsibilities of men and women respectively, in particularly the later ones. The image of women constructed by some established magazines are mostly in conventional occupations and working women profiled in these magazines tend to express themselves by lacking power in their jobs (Ruggiero and Weston, 1985). Simultaneously, Bartsch, Burnett, Diller and Rankin-Williams (2000) argued that Gender bias still exist as females are underrepresented as product representatives for domestic products and males are overrepresented as representatives for non-domestic products. Briefly speaking, these studies show that in the advertisements, women are more inclined to the jobs and titles of housewives while men are more likely to domain in the working field. Moreover, an interesting point has been found out in several of the researches, i.e., in the advertisements, the voice of the spokesmen/spokeswomen can affect the acceptance of the products, which also reflects gender stereotypes. Peirce and McBride (1999) stated that in the commercial advertisements they have studied, more males are used as spokes-characters, and more male spokes-characters are remembered than the female spokes-characters. Media, especially the commercial advertisements of promotional campaigns, do have some strong influence on the construction and cultivation of gender stereotypes, because it helps to reinforce the different roles of man and women in the society and it repeats and retells every day through various channels such as newspapers, radio, bulletin board and TV. In those ads, men are strong and powerful, and they are supposed to save the world, while women are weak and sentimental, and they are set to worship their male heroes. Men should be working outside whilst women should clean the house. Although it is hard to tell whether ads have been affected by the culture or vice versa, it is true that advertisement, as a part of culture itself, do make a difference in constructing gender stereotypes. In fact, gender stereotypes that outstand in the advertisements are not rare. For example, the Mercedes-Benz S Class 8 airbags advertisements. In that advertisement, a woman showing only her breast was being copied four times so that it made eight breasts in one dimension, which compared the breasts as the airbags to symbolise safety and reliability. It is true, to some extent, that this ad is creative enough to stimulate the male audience and to call on their emotional appeals which can turn into actions of buying in the end, but it also used female image, or sexual image specifically, to persuade their targets. As said by Diane Barthel (1988), the beauty rolethe importance of appearing attractive in public, of maintaining standards, of encouraging male attentionbecomes a central preoccupation for girls and mains a concern for women for much of their lives, if not all their lives. Another typical status quo that represents gender stereotypes in the advertising campaigns can be found in one of the channels from Chinese Central Television, namely CCTV5, which is focused on sports news. And it has been years since this channel only broadcast advertisements on mens sports wear, suits, wines, luxury watches and cars. In that channel, ads are made for the males to notice and watch, as are sports programs. If a female audience is watching this channel, she might get a confusing impression that she is not supposed to watch it. Men are born to be sport-oriented, and women are too weak to do intensive exercises. This is blatantly shown in the advertisements that the companies do not even bother to take their female customers into account when it comes to the field of sports and sports competitions. As a matter of fact, this phenomenon has already been studied and by some researchers, and they come up with the conclusion that advertisers made no attempt to appeal female sports market as a separate segments. (Shani, Sandler, and Long, 1992 ) Based on the researches and the examples listed above, it is likely to draw a conclusion that gender role portrayals in ads has been and is still going to be stereotypical for a long period of time(Ivy Backlund, 1994 , as cited by Brasted, M 2010). There might be some new ads showing that females are gaining their own power and are stronger than they used to be, but the mainstream of the promotional campaigns in the market nowadays are still emphasising on the different roles that man and women plays respectively, or on the point that women should stay home and maintaining attractive to men. However, one thing people can not deny is that, the ads producers get their ideas and thoughts from the cultures they have long been lived in, which in return affect the culture itself by influencing the audience who grow up there as well. People can not avoid from the gender stereotype thoroughly because it roots in their lives, but people do can avoid imposing on it by realising the potential effect it will have on them.

How Communication Theory Has Emerged Cultural Studies Essay

How Communication Theory Has Emerged Cultural Studies Essay Communication has been defined in many aspects but central to all these definitions is the expression that communication is the process in which relationships are established, maintained, modified, or terminated through the increase or reduction of meaning. This allows us to examine the process of communication in a way which includes the relateds and how they are always affected as objects which become subjects, affecting and being affected, as well as the changes in meaning and in messages which become filled or voided of meaning as the process, and those related to it, constantly change. Consequently, arguments have been put forward that communication is education, that it is the church. that it is incarnation, and that it is Christianity. While each of these connections contain helpful insights, in a sense, communication is a constituent of everything. The history of communication dates back to prehistory, with significant changes in communication technologies (media and appropriate inscription tools) evolving in tandem with shifts in political and economic systems, and by extension, systems of power. Currently, at least seven major traditions of communication theory can be distinguished, rhetoric being the oldest. From classical rhetoric comes the idea that communication can be studied and cultivated as a practical art of discourse. Whereas the art of rhetoric still refers primarily to the theory and practice of public, persuasive communication, the communication arts more broadly encompass the whole range of communication practices including interpersonal, organizational, and cross-cultural communication, technologically mediated communication, and practices specific to various professions and fields. Modern rhetorical theory has elaborated and problematized the epistemological, sociological, and political dimensions of the class ical tradition in ways that further contribute to communication theory. Consequently, rhetoric performs a variety of different functions as it can be adapted to the different ends of moving, instructing, or pleasing an audience. A second tradition of communication theory, originated in its modern form by Locke, is semiotics, the study of signs. Semiotic theory conceptualizes communication as a process that relies on signs and sign systems to mediate across the gaps between subjective viewpoints. For semiotic theory, communication problems result from barriers to understanding that arise from the slippage between sign-vehicles (physical signs such as spoken or written words, or graphic images) and their meanings, the structure of sign systems, and particular ways of using (or misusing) signs. Distinct traditions of semiotics grew from the pre Christian era as evidenced by Ancient Egypt cave paintings and symbol writings. General Semiotics tends to be formalistic, abstracting signs from the contexts of use whereas Social Semiotics takes the meaning-making process. As such, Social Semiotics is more closely associated with discourse analysis, multimedia analysis, educational research, cultural anthropology, poli tical sociology, e.t.c. We therefore do not exist independently of signs, with our essentially real personal identities and subjective viewpoints, but use signs in order to communicate. We exist meaningfully only in and as signs. A third, phenomenological tradition conceptualizes communication as the experience of self and other in dialogue. The problem of communication for phenomenology, as for semiotics, is that of a gap between subjective viewpoints: One cannot directly experience another consciousness, and the potential for inter-subjective understanding is thereby limited. The two traditions approach this problem in quite different ways, however. Whereas semiotics looks to the mediational properties of signs, phenomenology looks to the authenticity of our ways of experiencing self and other. The basis for communication lies in our common existence with others in a shared world that may be constituted differently in experience. Authentic dialogue requires open self-expression and acceptance of difference while seeking common ground. Barriers to communication can arise from self-unawareness, non-acceptance of difference, or strategic agendas that preclude openness to the other. This hermeneutic phenomenolo gy influenced subsequent existentialist, hermeneutic, and poststructuralist theories that have emphasized the constitutive properties of dialogue. Dialogue, in these theories, is not a essentially a sharing of pre-existing inner meanings; it is engagement with others to negotiate meaning. Fourth, a cybernetic tradition of communication theory grew from the mid-twentieth century. This is actually one of the newest traditions of communication theory, although, as we have noted, it was the first communication theory explicitly named and widely known as such. Cybernetics conceptualizes communication as information processing. All complex systems, including computers and telecommunication devices, DNA molecules and cells, plants and animals, the human brain and nervous system, social groups and organizations, cities, and entire societies, process information, and in that sense communicate. Cybernetic theory downplays the differences between human communication and other kinds of information processing systems. Information storage, transmission, and feedback, network structures, and self-organizing processes occur in every sufficiently complex system. Problems of communication can arise from conflicts among subsystems or glitches in information processing like positive feed back loops that amplify noise. Second-order cybernetics reflexively includes the observer within the system observed and emphasizes the necessary role of the observer in defining, perturbing, and, often in unpredictable ways, changing a system by the very act of observing it. Social psychology, a fifth tradition of communication theory, conceptualizes communication as social interaction and influence. Communication always involves individuals with their distinctive personality traits, attitudes, beliefs, and emotions. Social behavior both displays the influence of these psychological factors and modifies them as participants influence each other, often with little awareness of what is happening. Influence can be essentially a transmission process from source to receiver. If, however, interaction reciprocally changes the participants and leads to collective outcomes that would not otherwise have occurred, communication becomes a constitutive social process. Whether conceived on a transmission or a constitutive model, the problem of communication from a socio-psychological perspective is how to manage social interaction effectively in order to achieve preferred and anticipated outcomes. This requires an understanding, solidly grounded in scientific theory a nd research, of how the communication process works. Social scientific communication research has always been closely identified with social psychology. Sociocultural communication theory, which derives from twentieth century sociological and anthropological thought, is a sixth tradition. Sociocultural theory conceptualizes communication as a symbolic process that produces and reproduces shared meanings, rituals, and social structures. That is, society exists not only by using communication as a necessary tool for transmitting and exchanging information. To communicate as a member of society is to participate in those coordinated, collective activities and shared understandings that constitute society itself. There is a tension in socio-cultural theory between approaches that emphasize macro-social structures and processes and those that emphasize micro-social interaction. On the macro side, structural and functionalist views emphasize the necessary role of stable social structures and cultural patterns in making communication possible. On the micro side, interactionist views emphasize the necessary role of communication as a process that creates and sustains social structures and patterns in everyday contexts of social interaction. From either view, communication involves the coordination of activities among social actors, and communication problems are directly manifested in difficulties and breakdowns of coordination. Communication problems have apparently become more pressing and difficult under modern conditions of societal diversity, complex interdependence, and rapid change. A reasonable conjecture from a socio-cultural point of view is that communication theory developed in modern society as a way of understanding and addressing this new condition in which communication seems to be at once the disease that causes most of our social problems, and the only possible cure. A seventh tradition of communication theory is the critical tradition that defines communication as a reflexive, dialectical discourse essentially involved with the cultural and ideological aspects of power, oppression, and emancipation in society. Dialectic, like its counterpart rhetoric, was first conceptualized in ancient Greece. In the philosophical practice of Socrates as portrayed in Platos Dialogues, dialectic was a method of argumentation through question and answer that, by revealing contradictions and clarifying obscurities, led the interlocutors to higher truth. The dialectical materialism of Karl Marx (1818-1883) initiated the modern conception of dialectic as an inherently social process connecting political economy to cultural practice. In orthodox Marxist theory, ideology and culture were determined by class interests, and dialectic at the level of ideas primarily reflected the underlying struggle between economic classes. The goal of critical theory is then to promote emancipation and enlightenment by lifting ideological blinders that otherwise serve to perpetuate ignorance and oppression. Communication is systematically distorted by power imbalances that affect participation and expression, and critical theory can serve emancipatory interests by reflecting upon the sources of systematically distorted communication. Recent movements in the critical tradition such as postmodernism and critical cultural studies tend to reject both Marxist economic determinism as well as Habermass universalistic ideal of communicative action, but continue to conceptualize communication in ways that emphasize ideology, oppression, critique, and reflexivity. Postmodernist cultural critique primarily addresses ideological discourses of race, class, and gender that suppress differences, preclude or devalue the expression of certain identities, and limit cultural diversity. In postmodernist theory, ideal communication is not, as it was for Plato, a dialectical discourse that leads the way to higher, universal truths. Postmodernism nevertheless implies a similar model of communication: that of a dialectical (that is, critical) discourse that can, if only in limited ways, liberate the participants and expand human possibilities. Other than the seven traditions of communication theory, there are a number of modern theories which have greatly influenced mass communication. Communication can range from very subtle processes of exchange, to full conversations and mass communication. In the modern era, mass media plays a big role as a result of technological advancement. Propagated through mass media are a number of theories. Agenda setting theory describes a very powerful influence of the media   the ability to tell us what issues are important. Agenda setting postulates that communication has two main elements; awareness and information. Therefore in the public discourse, communication via mass media exerts its influence on public perception of various issues. These may range from politics, economy, and other public matters. Nonetheless, the theory is based on reasoning that: the press and the media do not reflect reality; they filter and shape it; media concentration on a few issues and subjects leads the pu blic to perceive those issues as more important than other issues. Agenda-setting theory therefore seems quite appropriate to help us understand the pervasive role of the media (for example on political communication systems). Another notable viewpoint of mass communication in the modern times is the Uses and Gratification theory. This theory explains the uses and functions of the media for individuals, groups, and society in general. In order to explain how individuals use mass communication to gratify their needs, it seeks to: Establish what people do with the medial; discover underlying motives for individualsmedia use; identify the positive and the negative consequences of individual media use. At the core of uses and gratifications theory lies the assumption that audience members actively seek out the mass media to satisfy individual needs. Consequently, a medium will be used more when the existing motives to use the medium leads to more satisfaction. The seven traditional theories and the two exemplified mass communication theories include the most prominent intellectual sources that currently influence communication theory but do not, of course, cover the field exhaustively. Ideas about communication are too numerous, diverse, and dynamically evolving to be captured entirely by any simple scheme. The field could certainly be mapped in other ways that would distinguish the main traditions differently. Moreover, no matter how the theories may be defined, they will not be found to have developed independently of one another. Contemporary theory draws from all of the traditions in various ways but is often hard to classify neatly in any one of them. Blends and hybrid varieties are common. Poststructuralist theory, for example, draws from both semiotics and phenomenology, is often regarded as a kind of rhetorical theory, and has significantly influenced recent socio-cultural and critical theory. Similarly, traces of every other tradi tion of communication theory can be found recent rhetorical theory. The academic discipline of communication studies has become like a cauldron in which ideas from across the traditions of communication theory are mixed and stirred in different combinations to make intellectual stock for current debates. In light of these trends in society, it is not surprising that speech and eventually rhetoric increasingly were thought to fall naturally under the general heading of communication. Beginning in the 1960s, communication gradually displaced speech in the titles of academic departments, professional organizations, and scholarly journals, and the speech curriculum was accordingly transformed around a new focus on the theory and practice of communication. As communication became the accepted name of the field as a whole, communication studies ceased to be identified exclusively with the behavioral and social sciences. Although the old tensions between scientific and humanistic approaches continued in new forms in communication departments, and rhetoric itself rose to prominence as an interdisciplinary field, rhetorical studies became, among other things, a branch of communication studies, and rhetorical theory became a tradition of communication theory.

Economic Conditions Essay -- essays research papers

To analyze an economy, certain statistics can be used to predict the economy’s future. This is important because it helps prepare people for prosperity or hard times. Certain indicators can be used to determine the future of aggregate demand and others can be used to determine aggregate supply. Using eight aggregate demand indicators and four aggregate supply indicators we developed a prediction for the economy in the near future. Changes in aggregate demand are reflected in changes of GDP. To find valuable indicators of the future aggregate demand is to find statistics that tell about change in the components of GDP (C+I+G+Nx). Aggregate supply is influenced by the costs of production to producers and the advent of new or better factors of production and technologies. The indicators we chose as meaningful are also ones used by the Federal Reserve to determine interest rates, automatically validating them as important. The trade deficit is one of the aggregate demand statistics. It shows the balance between imports and exports of the United States. This is the Nx part of GDP. Recently imports have risen while exports have remained constant, making the trade balance more negative and draining GDP. Consumer Confidence is an important indicator of GDP. This is an index created to reflect the sentiment of consumers and how likely they are to spend. This is the C in GDP. The index of Consumer Confidence has fallen for a fourth month in a row and is at a four year low. This sharp...

Willian Faulkner :: essays research papers

William Cuthbert Faulkner was born on September 25, 1897, in New Albany, Mississippi, the first of four sons born to Murry and Maud Butler Faulkner. He was named after his great-grandfather, William Clark Faulkner, the â€Å"Old Colonel,† who had been killed eight years earlier in a duel with his former business partner in the streets of Ripley, Mississippi. A lawyer, politician, planter, businessman, Civil War colonel, railroad financier, and finally a best-selling writer (of the novel The White Rose of Memphis), the Old Colonel, even in death, loomed as a larger-than-life model of personal and professional success for his male descendants. A few days before William’s fifth birthday, the Faulkner’s moved to Oxford, Mississippi, at the urging of Murry’s father, John Wesley Thompson Faulkner. Called the â€Å"Young Colonel† out of homage to his father rather than to actual military service, the younger Falkner had abruptly decided to sell the railro ad begun by his father. Disappointed that he would not inherit the railroad, Murry took a series of jobs in Oxford, most of them with the help of his father. The elder Faulkner, meanwhile, founded the First National Bank of Oxford in 1910 with $30,000 in capital. William demonstrated artistic talent at a young age, drawing and writing poetry, but around the sixth grade he began to grow increasingly bored with his studies. His earliest literary efforts were romantic, conscientiously modeled on English poets such as Burns, Thomson, Housman, and Swinburne. While still in his youth, he also made the acquaintance of two individuals who would play an important role in his future: a childhood sweetheart, Estelle Oldham, and a literary mentor, Phil Stone. Estelle was a popular, vivacious girl in Oxford with an active social life that included dances and parties. Despite her romance with William, she dated other boys, one of whom was Cornell Franklin, an Ole Miss law student who proposed marriage. She lightheartedly accepted, apparently believing his request insincere since he was going to Hawaii to establish a law practice. When he sent her an engagement ring several months later, however, her parents thought Franklin would be a fine husband for their daughter, and she found herself unable to escape the circumstances. She and Franklin were married in Oxford on April 18, 1918. William’s other close acquaintance from this period arose from their mutual interest in poetry. When Stone read the young poet’s work, he immediately recognized William’s talent and set out to give Faulkner encouragement, advice, and models for study.

The History of Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance was driven by a force of great strides in humanity. This was a time for a re-awakening of educated thinking, great artistic endeavors, and an empowering factor of humanism to use free will to govern one's future rather than allowing the church to dictate the correct path in life. The city of Florence became the center for much of this activity, where artists and scholars were sponsored royally by like-minded families of great wealth and social power. More emphasis was put onto education as a means of freedom from ignorance instead of a reason to serve God. There was a shift in power from the church to a general secularization in all areas of life, with the main focus being on the enhancement in the studies of the arts. The arts were looked at in a new way, using humanism as the new religion and the new way to achieve the greatest possible virtue. The actual term Renaissance means â€Å"re-birth†, which is essentially what was taking place overall, in Florence and other Italian states. â€Å"For Burckhardt this period consisted, broadly speaking, of the 15th century in Italy, a time and place in which â€Å"medieval† man became â€Å"modern† man. -Italy-History of, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2000. (1) This was a re-birth of ideas, learning, communication, artistry and beliefs. All of these factors were culminating together to prepare the world for the dawning of a new age, and a new direction for man to move in. The Italian Renaissance began finding it's niche among the elite in Florence in 1360, however, this was just the beginning. The Renaissance proved to be more established by the early fifteenth century among the rest of Italy, and eventually the rest of Europe. . The world was changing and ready for a new way of thinking. No longer were individuals prepared to accept the teachings of the church as their guidelines in life. Society wanted more from life than what the church had to offer. Italian culture, most noteably in Florence, was growing wealthier. With this increase of wealth came a need to pursue personal limits in achievement, education, and ability. â€Å"In their society, successful individuals, usually men, clearly were capable of doing more in this world than traditional religious views allowed. † – Modern European History I, 1992. (2) The humanists came forth from this need to learn. They were the intellect behind the Renaissance and brought to light a new view of what should be taught and studied. They embraced the classics; translating many from the ancient Greek and Roman script they were originally created in, and redefining how these works were originally interpreted. They looked upon studies in grammar, rhetorics, poetry, history and moral philosophy as a means of elevating their self-worth, and discovered that man can create his own destiny rather than follow a pre-ordained fate determined by the church. By using education to further themselves in society, the free-willed humanists were setting the standards for educated thinking, that current modern day life adheres to. â€Å"Humanism was the most important single intellectual movement of the Renaissance. † – Eugene F. Rice Jr, 1970. (3) Humanism was not only focused on education; this way of thinking also held power over other aspects of the Renaissance. 2 As much of the educational aspect centered in Florence, so did the growing desire for beauty and culture to be represented in art; another strong factor of humanism. With it's economic and social standing becoming rapidly elevated, and due to the strong tradition of democracy it held, Florence would prove to have the ideal surroundings for the birth of artistry in the Italian Renaissance movement. At the beginning of the Renaissance, Florence was a well-established, commercial city primarily controlled by the rich merchant class and some of the very wealthy and powerful families that resided there. Families such as the de Medici family, would commission artists to design and build enormous churches, palaces and other monuments to cement the families' position in Florence. Using this type of backing sponsorship, the growing artistic community was able to flourish and thrive, and produce a mutitude of glorious works, focusing on a new embodiment of their skill. The human body was looked upon and studied with more detail and realism than ever before. This lead to more accurate and life-like art work, both in painting and sculpture. Much of the art moved away from the old themes of portraying the world and humanity as perfectly as possible, and concentrated instead on capturing the actual likeness of the subject matter, no matter how unappealing or distressing it may have been. With enormous financial sponsorship behind them, artists were able to concentrate soley on their craft and expand it into the new, Renaissance style. They met great opposition from the church but were able to continue moving forward with the ongoing support of their benefactors. The infallible teachings of the church combined with the power of the Pope, were constantly challenged by the humanists and those that followed this new style of thought. Citizens were more and more frequently pledging allegiance to the crown rather than to the Vatican, creating a steady decline of power from religion. â€Å"The Christian truth that had been acknowledged as comprehending all phenomena, earthly or heavenly, now had to co-exist with a classical attitude that was overwhelmingly directed toward earthly life. – Humanism, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2000. (4) Knowledge began to undermine the position of the church. An ever-increasing amount of followers of humanism reaffirmed the fact that humans are individuals and not just souls passing through earth on their way to eternity in heaven or hell. As individuals, every human had the right to discovering his own destiny and potential. These beliefs and views were strongly frowned upon by the church, who tried in vain to reassert their influence on society. Much of the great wealth of the era was also looked at as un-Christian, but the humanists argued that wealth was only a means to achieve greater virtue. Money was needed to fund and support the arts, which provided the tools to further enlightenment in these areas. The church however, could only accept this wealth if it was used for the greater good of society. This was an argument to prevail throughout the Renaissance. From the re-evaluation of education and art, society has derived an opportunity to determine their own destiny, based on the knowledge they choose to empower themselves with. Humanists may have opposed the church and it's teachings in order 4 to move forward with free will and choice, but without that opposition, life would not hold the amount of wonderment and variation that exists today. The humanistic efforts that began during the Italian Renaissance paved the way for society to become more independent in their thinking, more realistic in their arts, and more educated in subject matter that had been too long denied. The Italian Renaissance shaped and altered the â€Å"modern† world, bringing society out of the â€Å"medieval† times and onto the path that stretched toward the optimistic future.