Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Zenith of Islamic Art and Architecture in Iran

VISUAL ART OF PERSIA BY: KHUSHBOO MEHBOOB course title: ZENITH OF ISLAMIC ART & ARCHITECTURE IN IRAN 1. Painting 2. Miniature 3. Calligraphy ? 1. 2. Painting Miniature Nushirvan Eating Food Brought by the Sons of Mahbud: Folio from the Shahnama (Book of Kings), Ilkhanid period (1206–1353), 1330s Iran, Tabriz Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper Nushirvan Receives Mihras, Envoy of Caesar: Folio from the Shahnama (Book of Kings), Ilkhanid period (1206–1353), ca. 1300–1330 Iran or Iraq Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paperKamal-od-Din Behzad Of Herat School, â€Å"Khamseh Nezami† Baysunghur's_Shahname †¢ Garden Scene, Aq Quyunlu period (1396–1508), ca. 1430 Iran, possibly Tabriz Opaque watercolor and gold on undyed silk Khusraw being cared for by Shirin, Safavid miniature painting, Iran, 17th century Allegory of Worldly and Otherworldly Drunkenness: Folio from the Divan (Collected Poems) of Hafiz, Safavid period (1501–1722), ca. 15 31–33 Sultan Muhammad (Iranian, active first half of 16th century) Iran, Tabriz Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paperSaki by Reza Abbasi from the Moraqqa’ e Prince Muhammad-Beik by Reza Abbasi Golshan 1609 Golestan Palace Mollahs in the presence of Nasser-ed-Din Shah Qajar, Iran Fat‘? -‘Ali Shah Qajar, in 1798 3. Calligraphy A Calligraphic Panel in Nastaliq Script. Iran. Dated 1021 AH / 1612 AD. Signed Ahmad Al-Hosseini Qur'an of Ibrahim Sultan, dated 1427; Timurid Iran (Shiraz) Ink, colors, and gold on paper An Illuminated Quran, Iran. Dated 734 AH / 1333 -1334 AD. Mir Emad Hassani (1554 – 1615) Nizam Ganjavi's Khamsa. Iran.Dated 875 AH / 1471 AD. Book of Prayers, commissioned by Fath ‘Ali Shah Persia, Qajar, 19th century, Arabic text in naskh script within gold clouds, interlinear Persian translation; lacquer binding with gold floral design Octagonal Qur’an Case, Persia, Qajar, 19th century, decorated with calligraphic Qur’a nic inscriptions and prayers Lacquer Pen-box, signed by Muhammad al-Sultani, Persia, probably Isfahan, Safavid, 17th century, cartouches containing inscriptions in nastaliq script, and decorated with gold foliate motifsStand for a Qur'an manuscript, Muzzafarid period (1314–93), dated a. h. 761 / a. d. 1360 Made by Hasan ibn Sulaiman al-Isfahani Iran or Central Asia Wood (teak); carved, painted, inlaid THREE SAMANID CALLIGRAPHIC POTTERY BOWLS NISHAPUR, EASTERN IRAN, 10TH CENTURY Each with brown slip painted decoration around the cavetto over white ground, one ‘signed' Ahmad in its centre and inscribed baraka wa yumn wa surur wa sa(‘a)da wa sala(ma), one with stylized bird in its centre 9 7/8in. (25. 3cm. ) diam. (max. ) (3) Mihrab (prayer niche), Ilkhanid period (1206–1353), a. . 755 / a. d. 1354– 55 Iran, Isfahan Mosaic of polychrome-glazed cut tiles on stonepaste body; set into mortar Safavid Cut Steel Panel. Iran. Late 10th century AH / 16th centur y AD Illustrated A Pair of Antique Persian Isfahan Qalamkar Blocked Print & Painting in the Center with Persian Calligraphy at top Wall Hanging Carton. Qajar Dynasty iranian calligraphy on coins Helmet, late 15th century; A Silver Inlaid Brass Bowl. West Iran. 8th century AH / 14th Century AD Casket, brass with inlaid gold and silver, Iran, 1300-1350 Thanks

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

How Does the Prologue at the Start of Romeo and Juliet Create Suspense?

How does the Prologue at the start of Romeo and Juliet create suspense? William Shakespeare, writer of Romeo and Juliet, creates suspense through the use of different techniques. Shakespeare is very particular in his choice of diction, by wisely picking specific vocabulary to create an atmosphere. It is usual that a Greek tragedy, such as Romeo and Juliet, contains a Prologue to set the tone for the rest of the play. Shakespeare wrote the Prologue in a Sonnet form using Iambic Pentameter, which contains 10 syllables per line.Iambic Pentameter uses of unstressed and stressed syllables to create a rhythm or flow to the Prologue. The rhyming ABAB pattern is used throughout the whole poem except the two last lines, which are rhyming couplet. Shakespeare used this type of writing to copy a real life speech, as this would be the case when someone did a public reading of the Prologue. The sonnet form normally informs that the play will be about love, suggesting to the audience what kind of play they are about to watch. Like every play that contains love, Shakespeare also includes a certain amount of hate, to create drama.At the beginning of the paragraph Shakespeare creates suspension at the opening sentence. The way in which Shakespeare uses his rhyming techniques draws a big attention to the opening phrase, â€Å"two household† families. The diction â€Å"two† emphases that the poem is about two families off the same standards, which may have some kind of conflict between them. It then briefly describes the two families Capulet and Montague’s; hinting that two families are similar in a way that they are all respected since they are â€Å"both alike in dignity†.By using the term â€Å"alike† suggests that they are to the same degree, none of them are superior. This opening sentence creates suspense because Shakespeare doesn’t reveal what would be the conflict between the two families or why are they alike in dignity. On the o ther hand, on the second line the â€Å"fair Verona† which is the place where the scene is laid out is a place of beauty, Verona is known as an Italian city that has a splendid beauty. This contrast between the beauty of Verona and what seems as a conflict between the two families generates a tense atmosphere.Yet, the â€Å"grudge† between them causes a negative mood. The diction â€Å"grudge† connotes the hatred between the two families; an old disagreement between the families will soon turn to a new conflict; it may include violence and drama. Shakespeare used the first 3 lines of the Prologue to describe the families’ feud and give an introduction to the readers of the main families in Verona. Shakespeare used alliteration of the repetition of the letter ‘F’ on the begging of words. The alliteration on the 5th line demonstrates they were born cursed from their enemies meaning they are â€Å"fatal lions of these two foes†.The dictio n â€Å"fatal† implies that both lovers were born doomed for a bad ending, this tense atmosphere is created due to the unknown ending of how the love between two cursed enemies end. The alliteration also changed the topic from the families feud to the introduction of the two lovers. The 6th line states that from these two houses, two â€Å"star-cross’d† lovers will appear. The terminology â€Å"cross’d† connotes that the whole universe is against them, meaning they have every possible reason to give up but their love bring them together.It also foreshadows that a death will occur. The fact that the families do not get along and they still try to make their love work creates suspension because it keeps a constant feeling that the hate between the families will ruin the lovers love. On the middle of the poem, Shakespeare refers that the lovers â€Å"death† would â€Å"bury their parents’ strife†. The expression â€Å"death† symbolizes the end of life; this strong term advises that the â€Å"death† of the lovers would â€Å"bury† the anger between the two families and they would agree to stop quarrelling.This sentence creates a negative mood due to the reason that both lovers would die and both families would become friendly again. The â€Å"continuance of their parents’ rage† indicates that the uncontrolled emotion could cause violence between the two families and end up in death. The fact that the spectators already know that there could be death crafts a tone of suspense. The ending of the prologue informs the audience that the above outlined plot is about to be performed and gives a hint as to how long it will last.The 13th and 14th line, last lines of the Prologue, asks for the audience patience. All these techniques and detailed vocabulary William Shakespeare uses in the Prologue creates suspense and a contrast between loves and hate atmosphere. Conclusively, the most effective techniques Shakespeare used in the Prologue were the precise use of vocabulary that hinted what would happen and introduced the story in a dramatic way. Also, Shakespeare uses a lot of foreshadowing; these two techniques created suspense and an atmosphere to the Prologue.Shakespeare used a Prologue to introduce to the reader a general summary of what the play is about. When the reader first reads the prologue, it is attracted to continue reading the play even if Shakespeare’s vocabulary is not easy to understand. The impact the Prologue has on the audience is the suspense Shakespeare created leaves the reader curious and with the will to continue watching the play. Overall, the way Shakespeare expresses himself with different and exact vocabulary creates suspense. By: Gabriela Matarazzo

Causes and Consequences of Hitler becoming Fuhrer Essay

The inauguration of Hitler as Fuhrer in 1934 sparked a change in the German state as Hitler was able to put his ideals into action, bringing tragedy and destruction to the world once again. A springboard for Hitler’s rise to power was created by the Weakness of the Weimar Government, coupled with the conditions created by the Great Depression and Hitler’s own steps to power. Hitler’s ascension to sole leader of the Third Reich is rooted in the experiences of the German people. The implementation of key Nazi foreign and racial policy effectively sucked the world into the cataclysmic vortex of War for a second time. The experiences of the Weimar Republic during the ‘democratic experiment’ built a strong foundation for Hitler’s rise to power. The events that took place under the reign of the Social Democrats caused the German people to be isolated from their leaders. When the Social Democrats took power in 1918 they were greeted with hostility as they didn’t look like the idealist militaristic leaders. With the ‘dolchdoss’ legend and ‘November Criminals’ brand having been placed on their heads, the Social Democrats weren’t trusted to begin with. However, the fatal ï ¬â€šaw of the Republic lay in the Constitution itself. Article 48(4) allowed the President to take full control in an emergency. This was a terrible mistake as it forever left the door ajar for a return to Monarchy. Mistrust intensiï ¬ ed as the Government was left incapable to deal with extremism, resulting in the people feeling unsafe. The Ruhr Crisis further alienated t he people from their leaders. War bonds paid by individuals were repaid with inï ¬â€šated currency and was effectively useless. The resulting hyperinï ¬â€šation caused a myriad of negative social effects. As a result, the social situation was created where people came to search for alternatives. Some found their alternative in Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Party. However, it wasn’t until the Great Depression that this mistrust of leaders came to the fore as the opulence in Germany during the ‘golden twenties’ only acted to delay the inevitable. Germany was in fact â€Å"dancing on a volcano.† (Stresemann) The loan based prosperity of the golden twenties magniï ¬ ed the depression in Germany as the United States called in all war loans resulting in total economic collapse. The Great Depression therefore, is a crucial contributing factor towards Hitler’s ascent to power as the widespread homelessness and starvation further elevated the attractiveness of alternative forms of leadership. During this time, the Social Democrats didn’t help themselves, or their country for that matter. Instead of banding together in a time of crisis, the Reichstag ran amuck with bickering. To try and help the ï ¬â€šailing economy the Government opted to increase taxes and implement wage cuts which arguably worsened the Depression in Germany and further entrenched their status in German society. A concise link between the unemployment ï ¬ gures and increasing Nazi voters can be made as the Party gained the most amount of seats they would ever gain, 230 in July 1932. Hitler himself stated: à ¢â‚¬Å"Never in my life have I been so well disposed and inwardly contented in these days. For hard reality has opened the eyes of millions of Germans.† The rapid increase in Nazi popularity allowed Hitler to put pressure on the Government for a high ranking position in the Reichstag. This pressure worked wonders as a seemingly senile Hindenburg awarded Hitler with the position of Chancellor in 1933. Hitler’s own steps to power were geared towards the signing of the Enabling Act. After the ‘accidental’ Reichstag ï ¬ re, Hitler was able to create a communist scare. He then used this scare as justiï ¬ cation to force through the Enabling Act. This is a signiï ¬ cant cause as it enabled Hitler to arrest 4000 of his political opponents and disband the unions, clearing the way for a Nazi majority. However, the 1933 polls did not show this and Hitler had to enlist the support of the Centre Party to ensure victory. Now Hitler had everything, bar the support of the Army. In order to obtain their support Hitler brokered a deal guaranteeing them sole bearers of arms in Germany, if they supported his bid for Presidency . In order to do this Hitler had to divest himself rid of his loyal S.A during the ‘Night of the  Long Knives’. In 1934, Hindenburg died. The position of President was merged with Chancellor and Hitler became the sole Fuhrer of Germany. A direct consequence of Hitler becoming Fuhrer was the rapid Naziï ¬ cation of the German state. Through the excellent work of his puppet Goebells, Hitler was able to saturate the German people, namely in the categories of family, religion and education. During Nazi rule, Goebells effectively put German culture in a ‘Nazi straightjacket’ as the press, literature publications, art and music became domain of the Government. Revolving around the Fuhrerprincep, Hitler’s word was law and while it was easy to indoctrinate the younger and more impressionable generations in Germany, the adults were a different story as they were not as easily persuaded by the spoonful of lies they were being fed. Even at the Nazi Party’s height of popularity, over 50% of people still opposed them. When it came to the adults, a tactic of intimidation was pursued. This tactic was lead by Himmler, who was the ï ¬ gurehead of justice and the police. He had the SS and Gestapo under his command. During the Nazi reign, suspicion was prevalent, while spying was encouraged. Another direct result of Hitler becoming Fuhrer was the implementation of his key racial beliefs into action. Hitlers belief of a far superior ‘Aryan Race’ came from a warped sense of social darwinism. Because of the myths of ‘dolchdoss’- (stating that the Communists and Jews were responsible for the end of WW1) and the Jewish Conspiracy (his belief that the Jews and Slavs were trying to dilute the superhuman aryan blood through intermarriage) Hitler had a deep- set hatred for the Jews and other interior races. Hitlers ï ¬ rst step to ridding Germany of ‘impurities’ came in 1933 with the sterilization law which forced all those physically or mentally handicapped to be ‘ï ¬ xed’ to ensure the discontinuation of their blood line. In the same year, the purchase of Jewish goods and the practicing of Jewish professionals were banned. In 1935, the Star of David was a symbol that  those of Jewish lineage were forced to wear, as the N uremburg Laws took effect. Later in the piece, in 1938 on Crystal Night, thousands of Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues were destroyed, which forecasted the start of the Holoucost. Finally, during World War Two; Jews, Slavs, Roma, disabled, homosexuals and those of different religion were forced to encounter hell as they were sent to concentration camps, which resulted in the slaughtering of an estimated 21 million people, including 6 million Jews. Hitler taking power had negative consequences on the whole world, due to his changes in foreign policy. Hitler’s changes to foreign policy were geared towards destroying the ‘diktat’ Treaty of Versailles. He achieved this by re-occupying the Rhineland, re-arming and achieving Anchluss with Germany’s traditional ally- Austria in 1938. His changes also revolved around the concept of â€Å"Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer† which encompasses the idea of one people, one nation and one leader. Hitler used this concept as justiï ¬ cation to take be handed the Sudetenland at the Munich Agreement as the Sudetenland Germans were part of the collective ‘one people’. Appeasement set the ball rolling for Hitler as he quickly took over the rest of Czechoslovakia and invaded Poland in 1939, signifying to the Allied powers, the start of WW2. Hitler’s rise to power in 1934 was the result of a perfect storm in Germany. The weakness of the Weimar Government and the conditions created by the depression constructed a springboard for Hitlers rise to power. With his own steps taken to indoctrinate the German people and implement key Nazi foreign and racial policy, Hitler started a snowball effect, leading the allied powers to declare war on Germany, eventually resulting in a global conï ¬â€šict with devastating consequences.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Toyota Motor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Toyota Motor - Essay Example As per the figures available, TMEM had complied with its market demands in 2000 by importing 76 % of the automobile spares from the Japanese plants and assembling them in its European plants. For the next fiscal year, the company reported operating losses of JPY 9.897 billions. The main problem TMEM faced here was simple but peculiar. As the euro was continuously trekking down, except for a few occasions, the revenues in shape of euros did not equal to the expenditure figures when converted into JPY. This cycle repeated all over for three years since the inception of TMEM pushing itself into losses. In addition to these conversion losses, the Japanese subsidiary had to contend with reduced margins on sales in an atmosphere abetted by cut throat competition from the native automobile manufacturers compounding its problems further. as it had to shell down more Euro currency at times towards pound sterling payments made to the UK plant which also supplied automobiles after assembling them. TMEM was caught in this vicious circle of currency conversion. The parent company played the role of an observer as it could not afford to make payments direct from its coffers on behalf of its subsidiary. However, in such a case, it could have been forced to lose more JPY reserves as the yen was playing low against the pound sterling. From this circle of operations, one thing is emerging clearly. The parent company had miscalculated the future of euro and expected an early forward march of its value in international markets. It also expected an early entry of the UK into the European Monetary Union (EMU). These two miscalculations had boomeranged on its operations in Europe leading to its ever increasing dependence on a weak euro. TMEM's problem has therefore been the result of a wrong analysis on the future of the newly cre ated euro currency. The following charts (Internet, graphs) show how the pound and yen values against the euro picked up from 1991 to 2001. In the beginning of 1991, the euro value was equal to 0. 712825 GBP. During the end of 2001, it equalled to 0.618756 GBP indicating gains for the pound.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Business Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Business Economics - Essay Example Demand elasticity varies with necessities versus luxuries. Since necessities are important they tend to be inelastic, which means even though prices change by much the quantity demanded does not change by much because of the said reason (Mankiw). If water prices suddenly increased, we do not expect consumption of water to plummet sharply. On the other hand, luxuries tend to be elastic. If for example the price of yacht suddenly increased, the affluent can opt for other hobbies causing a much decline in the quantity of yacht demanded. The availability of close substitutes also affects the elasticity of demand. Specifically, commodities with available close substitutes such as butter are observed to have an elastic demand (Mankiw). It can easily be replaced by margarine; therefore demand for such product will decline by a great magnitude. On the other hand, since egg has no close substitute demand for such is inelastic. Lastly, time horizon also constitutes a factor in the price elasticity of demand. â€Å"Goods tend to have more elastic demand over long time horizons† (Mankiw). This is explained by the fact that longer time horizon gives consumers more flexibility to alter their consumption pattern such that goods whose price are increased or are relatively higher can be replaced. Wage is one of the costs in production. Depending on the type of industry, wage can be a huge part of the total cost. In the insurance industry for example, where the cost of sales people and managers are paid through wages, wage increase can represent a huge boost of the total cost. Since wage is considered a variable cost, an increase in wage constitutes an increase int he variable cost. With fixed amount of production or quantity, an increase in wage also increases the average variable cost. Also, since an additional payment in wage is an increase in the extra cost for every output produced, by definition marginal cost also

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Financial Data Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Data Analysis - Assignment Example Based on the theory, rend in demand or its indicators can be evaluated based on trends in such factors as wealth, utility of the subject asset, risks in substitutes, liquidity position. Demand defines desire and ability to purchase a commodity at a given price and bears a direct relationship with price. Consequently, general changes in commodity prices, as observed in variations in consumer price index, indicates changes in general demand. Similarly, personal consumption expenditure, as a factor of gross domestic product that is also directly proportional to value of GDP is an indicator of consumers’ level of wealth. The theory of Portfolio therefore offers a basis for understanding historical effects of personal consumer expenditure on consumer price index. The personal consumption expenditure is further an indicator of economic factors such as inflation and unemployment rates (Barro 17). This analysis considers corresponding data of consumer price index and personal consumpt ion expenditure for the period between January 2009 and September 2013. The following is the considered monthly data set. consumer price index personal consumption expenditure 211.952 9877.1 212.823 9838.9 212.523 9814.9 212.657 9798.7 212.998 9807.1 214.791 9798.8 214.72 9831.1 215.442 9930.7 215.88 9826.2 216.482 9847.9 217.165 9847 217.365 9896.8 217.478 9881.2 217.356 9908.4 217.38 9956.8 217.281 9970.1 217.23 9997.3 217.329 10018.5 217.69 10027.9 218.02 10075.7 218.319 10087.6 218.996 10139.7 219.471 10179.3 220.468 10188 221.067 10197.8 221.908 10215.1 223.106 10251 223.879 10255 224.747 10252.7 225.07 10269.1 225.594 10301.9 226.187 10302 226.753 10331.9 226.728 10372.1 227.049 10374.9 227.137 10372.1 227.605 10409.5 228.253 10466.6 228.95 10467.3 228.951 10499 228.648 10497.9 228.924 10493.6 228.836 10533.2 230.026 10523.2 231.227 10566.6 231.623 10558.6 231.071 10593.4 231.137 10602.4 231.198 10614.3 232.77 10643.5 232.34 10674.2 231.485 10678.7 231.831 10689.4 232.944 1070 7.7 233.318 10711.8 233.526 10735.7 233.947 10749.4 (Economic Research 1) The following graph shows the trend in consumer price index and the personal consumption expenditure. Graph 1: Consumer price index and personal consumption expenditure The graph suggest a slight correlation in the change in values of the consumer price index and personal consumtion expenditure. Changes in consumer price index is however minimal and less significant as compared to changes in personal consumption expenditure. The range between the two variables is a factors to trend visibility from the graph independent analysis of the two trends is necessary. The folowing graphs shows the independent trends for consumer price index and personal consumption expenditure. Graph 2: Consumer price index Graph 3: Personal consumption expenditure The two graphs shows a general increasing trend with shapes that are almost similar. This suggests that avalability of wealth into personal consumption expenditure is a fact or of the consumer price index in the considered period. The data can further be inferred to other periods and other economy to the conclusion that availability of wealth and gross domestic product are determinants of consumer price index in economies. Another alternative measure for the analysis of effects of personal consumption expenditure and consumer price index over th considered period is the corelation coefficient, a measure of the degree of association

Friday, July 26, 2019

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 12

Leadership - Essay Example He has been known to be one of the biggest revolutions in the computer industry. Bill Gates has built a strong image for himself and has grown to be recognised as the best entrepreneurs in the world. He has set down examples, is admired by many as well as has been criticized for his style of business (Lesinki, 2006). There have been mixed views on his style of working and he has been criticized of being anti competitive. The above mentioned names are of two extra ordinary leaders, who have created a strong image for themselves and have been recognised across the world. Both these leaders have had their own styles of leading their people. Since this is a very vast topic to be discussed, this report will only deal with the aspect of their leadership in terms of communication. Communicating with the people is the most important as it a leader requires to use their people by communicating to them what exactly they require (Griessman, 2004). Focusing on the communication of Abraham Lincoln, it is seen that he has been extremely good at communicating with his people. He used a number of different tricks like story telling and humour, which assisted him strongly to send out the required message and also relate to the people alongside. He strongly believed that this would allow the audience to take back a clear painted picture of what is being told rather than forget all the statistics and details while wal king out of the room. This is a very strong form of communication and although he had a very limited experience, he has been able to rightly connect with the audience and convey the message to all. He strongly believed that if a person needed to convey something to others, it is essential that the person knows what they are talking about. This he believed could be got only with a lot of reading, and hard work. Being a lawyer, Lincoln had learned the importance of questioning

Thursday, July 25, 2019

The history and perceptions of the secession crisis Research Paper

The history and perceptions of the secession crisis - Research Paper Example The conflict between Northern and Southern politicians was brought about by the massive western territories acquired by the United States in 1848 through the peace agreement with Mexico (Bartkus 1999).Southerners petitioned for the freedom to bring slavery into the newly acquired territories if the circumstances allowed lucrative ventures; Northerners demanded slavery clearly and completely abolished (Reynolds 1970). As stated by Huston (2000), the dispute had been raised by David Wilmot in 1846, yet it only reached an agreement in 1850 when the different sections of the Compromise of 1850 were ratified in Congress. Following the congressional resolution is the electoral affirmation that this agreement was definitely amenable (Crofts 1989). The congressional elections in the 1850 spurred Democratic wins of the compromise procedures in the North, which were eventually clearly reconfirmed in the 1852 presidential election (Wakelyn 1996). The reaction of the South to the Compromise was dissimilar. States in the upper South, namely, Delaware, Missouri, Maryland, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina, willingly agreed to the actions taken by Congress; however, states in the lower South, namely, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina initiated a large-scale controversy about secession (Barnwell 1982). In 1850, particularly in the gubernatorial and congressional elections as well as in state conventions, the Southern states that agreed to the Compromise of 1850 largely succeed ... rther, according to Huston (2000), for a number of historians, the major concern, and hence the core of their interest, was the secession debate, not the debate over union, and the common assumption has been that the cotton-dependent Southerners refuted secession as a remedy to the suspected Northern incursions on the constitutional rights of the South. Few recognize the attempt of Southern unionists to mitigate the secession conflict in 1850 (Wakelyn 1996). The Southern States Rights, those supporting either provisional or immediate secession, have gained most of the attention. The victors of the elections in the state of the Deep South, the Constitutional Unionists or the unionists, have been given very little emphasis (Wakelyn 1996). It is not occasionally claimed, specifically by scholars of the nineteenth century, that the winners did not only enjoy the rewards, they also gained much of the historians’ interest (Barnwell 1982), and history is thus presented from the stand point of the victors. Basically, fury over the compromise stemmed mostly from Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. South Carolina, in particular, was willing to secede but demanded for the secession of the other states as well (Coppieters & Sakwa 2003). Governor Whitemarsh Seabrook had been given advise that other states harbor low judgments of the emotional security and intentions of South Carolina policymakers that if the state decided to act prematurely, other states would refuse to follow (Wakelyn 1996). George W. Towns, the governor of Georgia, requested to the state legislature in September 1850 the permission for a special election to commission representatives to a state conference to give opinion on the Compromise procedures (Huston 2000). John A. Quitman, the expansionist

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Visual Elements of Arguments in Oreo French Ad Essay

Visual Elements of Arguments in Oreo French Ad - Essay Example This ad caught the attraction of people from all parts of the world. According to David Buckingham, â€Å"The Children’s market is potentially large† (Buckingham, p.594). Therefore, advertisers usually create child centered ads for the marketing purposes. This ad is a child-centered ad. The theme of this ad is that a cute little girl teaching her father how to eat Oreo cookies. Ethos, pathos and logos used extensively in this ad to catch the attention of the public. This paper analyses the Visual Elements of Arguments in Oreo French Ad. The beauty of this ad lies in the beauty of the cute girl acting in this ad. According to Jean Kilbourne sometimes the models in ads are children, other times they just look like children (Kilbourne p.471). The girl in this ad spreads the messages both as a child and also as a model. Her conversations with her father and efforts to teach him the way to eat Oreo cookies watched with huge interests by the viewers. In this ad each and every word is selected carefully. The dad asks the permission of his daughter to try the cookie. But the daughter denies him the permission saying that he is not yet ready to taste it. The creators of this ad remind us the fact that children have a specific way of eating cookies. While elders try to eat it fast, children always try to lick it first and enjoy the taste of each minute particle in the cookie. The girl indirectly says that the eating styles of elders are not suitable to enjoy the taste of Oreo cookie. She wants her father to lick it and enjoy the taste of this cookie fully. Here the creators or this ad tries to give pathos and logos to this ad. The daughter’s behaviour helps the viewers to know how emotionally she is attached to this cookie. She does not like the idea of eating it quickly. In fact, she wants to make a company with this cookie as long as possible before enjoying each part of it. The creators of this ad reminds us that there is no point in tasting an Oreo cookie just like other cookies. They wanted to spread the message that this cookie needs special attention while eating to enjoy it fully. Both images and words used carefully in this ad to catch the attention of the public. In fact the backdrops and the colour combinations of the dresses of the father and daughter are selected carefully. These colour combinations provide a pleasant feeling to the viewers. It should be noted that dark colour combinations may look vulgar while dull colour combinations may not catch the attention of the public. The p roducers of this ad knows this principle very well and used a meaningful and attractive colour combination in the pasteurization of this ad. Both visual and audio media blended carefully in this ad to catch the attention of the people. No complicated words or sentences used in this ad. In fact, this ad spreads great messages with the help of simple words. There are plenty of ads which are difficult for ordinary people to digest. However, this ad was created in such a way that even a layman can understand the ideas expressed in it. This ad can be enjoyed fully only of it is displayed in the visual media. Print media cannot communicate the message of this ad properly. It should be noted that the mannerisms and the childish activities of the cute girls catch the attention of the people. In short, the visual media helped the producers immensely in spreading the message of this ad properly. The girl says that eating an Oreo cookie is extremely complicated. In her opinion, there is a spec ial way to eat it. She says that first you twist it, then lick the cream First, you twist it, then lick it, then join it just like a kiss, then dip it milk and eat it. It should be not

RocketBoom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

RocketBoom - Essay Example Rocketboom has an organizational structure that differs from the traditional television programs that feature the unidirectional structure. It targets international audience by engaging them in discussions and in various formats and platforms (VCTV 2007). The Rocketboom video covers the top and new stories with a bias on international arts and weblog drama. It presents the videos online and also distributes them via RSS. The firm’s content can also be accessed via its website, iTunes and subscription through emails. The availability of its content online gives it a larger audience than the television companies. Unlike traditional televisions that spend heavily in production, it uses simple facilities to compose its content (DeVilla 2006). Failure to understand the concepts of IT and business would have deprived it the opportunity to thrive in the hostile market. As discussed above, most traditional television companies fail to register growth because of their limited knowledge or lack of using IT exhaustively. Lack of business skills would have seen the company collapse at an early age because of poor

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Fail of E-businesses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Fail of E-businesses - Essay Example This is carried out in the form of a qualitative analysis for the reason that we will evaluate information on both successful as well as failed businesses in order to establish the significance of professional marketing experts who may positively influence it. The assessment delineates that a personnel with efficacious experience in the marketing field is essential to the prosperity of an online business for the reason that it incorporates the fundamental attributes of the business, thereby, transcending the norms of attracting or retaining customers. The marketing of an online business is inclusive of rigorous management of the website, thus, making sure that the technological attributes complement the consumer experience. Further analysis into the matter illustrates that experience is the key to successful online businesses as it augments other attributes such as marketing and business plans. Many businesses on the web may call for professional assistance in marketing, however, onl y in case they do not possess any expertise within the team-force. As a result, it is quite significant to identify the drawbacks as well as negative aspects of the online business module prior to setting up an online deal. ... tly, this dissertation outlines the significance of business partnerships, chiefly, where online business does not play the role of the producer. Table of Contents 1. Chapter 1: Introduction/Background 2. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Defining e-business 2.2 Market Orientation 2.3 Causes of e-business failure 3. Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Research pattern and Strategy 3.2 Discussions 4. Chapter 4: Conclusions and Recommendations Bibliography Chapter 1: Introduction/Background According to Kalakota and Robinson, e-business is one efficient roadway to success, where the actual challenge is to make it happen in the most systematic way with least derailing offered to the existent business (Kalakota and Robinson, 1999). The profound and budding origin of the Internet is on the verge of seizing, shaking, and clutching businesses as well as individuals in a way like never before (Martin, 1999). Despite the fact that the administration of chief companies no longer takes interest in arguing whether the internet would influence their businesses, it does not realize the extent to which it would transform consumers, careers, and associations (Martin, 1999). Many of the corporations even have an abstract team within the firm which they think is efficaciously dealing with the marketing attributes of the business. However, they may tend to deter the constraint of the coming assault on all the features of business world, ranging from product notion and production by mean s of dissemination and utilization. The e-business revolution does prove

Monday, July 22, 2019

Routine Activity Theory Essay Example for Free

Routine Activity Theory Essay Routine activity theory is a sub-field of rational choice[-0] and criminology[-1], developed by Marcus Felson[-2] and Lawrence E. Cohen[-3]. Routine activity theory says that crime[-4] is normal and depends on the opportunities available. If a target is not protected enough, and if the reward is worth it, crime will happen. Crime does not need hardened offenders, super-predators, convicted felons or wicked people. Crime just needs an opportunity. The basic premise of routine activity theory is that most crimes are petty theft[-5] and unreported to the police[-6]. Crime is neither spectacular nor dramatic. It is mundane and happens all the time. Another premise is that crime is relatively unaffected by social causes such as poverty[-7], inequality[-8], unemployment[-9]. For instance, after World War II[-10], the economy of Western countries was booming and the Welfare states were expanding. During that time, crime rose significantly. According to Felson and Cohen, this is because the prosperity of contemporary society offers so much opportunities of crime: there is much more to steal. Routine activity theory can also help explain the dramatic rise in crime during the 1960s. Due to the increase in female participation in the labor market, the homes are left without a capable guardian as adult caretakers at home during the day decreased. Furthermore, rapid growth of suburbs and the decline of more traditional neighborhood, led to the decline of informal controls that would have once existed with a tightly-knit neighborhood. Lastly, with the baby-boom generation[-11] coming of age in the 1960s to the 1980s, it amounted to an excessive number of motivated offenders and crime rate predictable increased in a similar manner. With such changes in the nuclear family, more and more youths were lacking supervision, especially when both parents worked outside the home; the number of temptations increased for youth to commit crimes. [1] Routine activity theory is controversial among sociologists who believe in the social causes of crime. But several types of crime are very well explained by routine activity theory including copyright infringement[-12], related to peer-to-peer file sharing[-13], employee theft[-14], and corporate crime[-15]. For crime to be committed, three aspects are needed: 1) A Motivated Offender 2) A Suitable Target 3) The Lack of a Capable Guardian Lack of a capable guardian can range to anything that would make a suitable target easier to victimize. From a person walking alone, to a poor police presence, to anyone else who would deter a motivated offender from offending in that circumstance. It should be noted that the guardian does not have to be a person at all, nor does the suitable target; there are many examples of objects and environmental designs that act as a guardians or security measures to deter motivated offenders as well. This branches into the realm of CPTED[-16] (crime prevention through environmental design) where seemingly small measures like the addition of lights, fences, better locks, open or visible areas and security cameras act as the capable guardian and can prevent crime against a suitable target, in this case a building, park or other areas. [1] Furthermore, crimes rate if generally proportional to the number of motivated offenders, such as teenagers and unemployed people, in the population. Of course, motivation can be lowered when legitimate means are available for offenders to achieve their goals. Motivation can increase, when the option of crime is the only viable choice available for an offender to achieve their goals. Another deterrence that influences the routine activities that produces crime is the moral beliefs and socialization of the offender. If a person has been socialized to hold conventional beliefs, even in the presence of criminal opportunities, offenders would refrain from crime. Such is the strength of social bonds that serve as a buffer to counteract the lure of criminal activities. A criticism of routine activity theory states that opportunities to commit crime by youth do not generally lead to a crime committed when the parental controls are missing. Also suggesting that routine activity fails to ignore other theories in relation to the causes of crime, such associal learning theory[-17]. Another criticism of this theory says that even though opportunities for crime are high when both parents are involved in the workforce, crime can also be displaced to an area where there is low supervision by parents. Meaning regardless of situation, crime will still occur.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

British Conventional Defence Policy in NATO 1979-1989

British Conventional Defence Policy in NATO 1979-1989 Kenton White Methodological Approach21813746 British Defence Policy within NATO, 1979 – 1989 Did Britain’s conventional contribution match its obligation? My research is an analysis of British conventional defence policy within NATO between 1979 and 1989. This research will critically review the plans in place for mobilising, transporting, supplying and reinforcing units in Europe, as well as the plans for Home and Civil defence of the UK. The research will cover the crisis, transition to war and war plans of NATO and the British Government. The plans will be compared with the commitment Britain made to NATO, and the real-world ability of Britain’s Government to fulfil those commitments. Britain, through its defence policy and membership of NATO, committed to provide troops, weapons, equipment, supplies, services, transport/storage and infrastructure facilities in the event of war in Europe. The research will be conducted using material from NATO, the National Archives and other Governmental departments, as well as interviews with personnel who served during the period. Using case-studies (exercises [CRUSADER, WINTEX, etc.] as w ell as mobilisation for actual combat [Falklands War, Gulf War 1991]), this research will uncover any link between the aim of defence policy and the ability to implement that policy. These case-studies sometimes expose fundamental problems in the armed forces operations. This disparity in planning and execution has a direct implication for understanding current and future defence policy and planning. Amongst the methodologies considered for this PhD were Case Studies, Small-N, Critical Discourse Analysis and those drawn from historical understanding. There is also a strong case to be made for use of the economics-based Alliance Theory[1] to explain some of the policies adopted by Britain during the period. However, this research is not attempting to validate a theory; rather it is intended to answer the question set in the title of the PhD. The question is posed in this way because the nature of the investigation and research does not require the researcher to posit a theory. It would be possible to theorise that, â€Å"Britain was not capable of fulfilling its obligations to NATO between 1979 and 1989† but in the researcher’s opinion this angle of questioning is biased. It would be possible to frame an argument thus, â€Å"Why was Britain unable to fulfil its military obligation to NATO?† but the current research does not enable that question to be confirmed as plausible so far. The answer to the original question may indeed find that Britain was unable to fulfil some or all of its obligations. The purpose of this research is not only to establish if Britain could have fulfilled its obligations, but to look at the ways in which other pressures shaped the defence policy, changing the question of defence policy from, â€Å"What do we need?† to, â€Å"How little can we get away with?† This has direct, and possibly contentious, implications for modern defence planning in a political, economic and military environment which does not have the apparent stability and predictability of the Cold War. This research is not intended to be comparative; that is it does not compare Britain’s NATO commitment with that of other NATO members. This means that broad comparative methodologies such as Small-N comparison aren’t relevant. Small-N relies to a large extent on Mill’s methods of agreement and difference[2], but since the N in this research is 1, it is impossible to compare with another event. Also, the objective of the research is not to infer or disc over an overall causality, but to identify capability and intent. There will be instances of cause and effect within the research, such as NATO force proposals causing the stated requirement from the MOD, but these are individual instances within the overall scope of the research question. The objective is not specifically the research of these causal links. Small-N seeks to identify what are the causes of a particular event, whereas I seek to understand if a goal could have been or was fulfilled. It is extremely difficult in some circumstances to define whether a particular commitment could have been fulfilled, for example, â€Å"†¦the defence of the United Kingdom base and its immediate approaches †¦Ã¢â‚¬ [3], as this is ill-defined. The research seeks to identify aspects of the defence policy which are more clearly definable. As part of the above example, Britain promised to provide, in the event of war, a certain number of ships and aeroplanes equipped to search for and attack WTO[4] ships and aeroplanes in and around the British Isles. NATO produced â€Å"Force Proposals† on a regular basis which defines exactly what is required and by when. These documents, and the supporting British Government documents, define what the commitment was, in quantitative and qualitative terms. It is then possible, using Defence Ministry documents, to compare the capabilities and numbers of available ships and aeroplanes against the NATO Force Proposals. The research relies on several case studies; two of actual mobilisation for war[5], and several exercises that tested the plans put in place for war in Europe. With regard to the two actual mobilisations, there are no theories regarding the ability of a country to mobilise, nor are there any theories which deal with the reaction to unexpected conflicts breaking out. The intention is to investigate the case-study subjects and evaluate which of the NATO plans for activation and mobilisation had been used (if any) and which had not. An assessment is then to be made of why some had been used and others not, and, for those used, whether they were met. If there was a success or failure to meet a particular planned mobilisation time or supply level, the reason for that outcome will be investigated. For these plans the analysis will need to be carried out to see if there is a correlation between the type of service/equipment plan and its success or failure. For example, if it is found that Britain was unable to fulfil a substantial number of its NATO obligations, the intention is not then to theorise that the other NATO nations could not fulfil their obligations. The intention is to identify the aspects of NATO planning which establish the force levels, identify the political and military decisions that appear to respond to and satisfy those levels, and then to see what, if any, connection exists between the two. The research is not then intended to be used to criticise, support or demonise any particular political or military viewpoint. The intention is to establish a framework by which, with historical understanding, the ramifications of budget setting and political policy can be seen to act upon Britain’s military’s ability to work either alone or in alliance with other countries to achieve an objective. Selection of the case by the dependent variable is seen as poor methodology design. But this relates to case-studies when used in a comparative fashion, and when attempting to establish the validity of a theory[6]. As mentioned above, this research is attempting to answer a question, rather than establish a new paradigm, and so the selection of the case studies is dictated by the time period, rather than by any conscious decision by the researcher. During the period, NATO states were provided with a common opponent in the WTO, one which represented a power that individual states alone could not counter. A large amount of the research material investigated so far assumes this bi-polarity, but only a few documents seek to identify, and to confirm or deny, its existence. Discourse analysis seeks to define the body of language that the research material originates from, and to discover the rationale, patterns of usage and concepts at work[7]. â€Å" †¦ a discourse is more than the sum of the utterances composing it †¦Ã¢â‚¬ [8] This assumption of a discourse by the authors is expected, as they are professional military officers or politicians, and hence have an established set of references from which they need to work. But this common structure is broader than the focus of this research, being specific to the NATO obligations. It will be useful, as part of the research, to identify the assumptions and specific areas of discourse used in the documents. We must be careful, however, to clearly identify the aspects of ‘Cold War’ discourse that are in play. The Cold War of Europe was different in many aspects, including the language used to describe it, from that of Asia. This research seeks to limit the discourse to the ‘East-West European’ confrontation. Discourse analysis may well provide insights into the patterns of thinking and assumptions made by the participants. Foucault refers to discourses as systems of thoughts composed of concepts and attitudes, based on power relationships[9]. With a long view of history, the attitudes and beliefs develop together with the subjects and words, and they are interconnected, rather than one caused by the other. Defining the ‘horizon of meaning’[10] and ‘truths’ will necessitate a definition of these for several situations; one for the general public; another for politicians; another for the military; another for business and commerce; and probably most importantly, the perceived ‘enemy’. This may provide us with several inter-related and overlapping, but different, discourses. Carr proposed the idea that one’s own views are promoted by being veiled as in the interests of all.[11] He proposed a realist view of state and power, and the national self-interest represented.[12] This, given the time period of the research, may be a more accurate description of the ‘discourse’. Reading these documents as ‘performances’ can be useful in some cases, but generally the research so far has shown that the majority of documents seek to downplay ‘performance’. The authors tend to focus on, what are to them, the facts of a particular situation. A large number of these documents were never intended to be seen by the general public, and their content is sometimes disturbing. Had they been written with an eye to future publication, the likelihood is the content would be different, as can be seen in those few items which are â€Å"polished† for public consumption. With both the original and public versions, we can see that harsh details are left out, and more general conclusions adopted. In the raw originals, difficult decisions affecting millions of people are taken. It is these raw originals which make up the vast majority of the research material for the study. Although we can never completely ignore the fact that some writers will be less analytical than others, we can use the large number of documents in cross-referencing and evaluating any particular writer’s view of a situation. Alliance Theory is a comparative analysis of two or more countries within an alliance, but the structure of the analysis can be used to establish levels of defence spending in the alliance within a standardised framework. Although this research is not directly comparative, it is useful to understand, at least in outline, the spending patterns of other NATO members, and the research will provide specific isolated instances of comparison to establish baseline measures. NATO Alliance Theory tells us that in military alliances, larger countries will have a disproportionate share of the costs of defence to the smaller countries, and uses a methodology which measures such variables as GDP, defence spending and population size[13]. Benefits deriving from the common defence are also analysed in terms of â€Å"good† provided to the populations involved. This can be employment, national and local income from arms sales and foreign investment, or spin-offs from military production that f ind their way into consumer products. Included in the analysis is an evaluation of the convergence of purpose in an alliance, which is proposed to have direct effect on the sharing of burdens within the alliance (the stronger the convergence, the greater the disproportion of burden sharing.) There are several areas of investigation that must be included in this research to make it valid. Not only will the capability of the military be investigated, but the political will to make unpopular and financially costly decisions, and the overall effect of policy within collective defence. The methodology planned for this research is an amalgam. It will use a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research, dealing with a range of subjects from the number of NATO small-arms ammunition rounds kept in War reserve for the front line troops to use in case of war, to the ability of the British Government to mobilise sufficient transport to move 300,000 US and Canadian reinforcements and their associated equipment from ports and airports around the country to the European Continent. A large part of the analysis will involve the reviewing of financial and material contributions to NATO, set against the force proposals. This information will be obtained from British Government and MOD p apers. Financial data must be analysed with a solid baseline which takes into account inflation, foreign exchange and varying unit costs. The research will analyse particular aspects of defence policy that can be quantified directly, for example the provision of naval vessels committed to NATO’s Eastern Atlantic command in the event of a war, and compare the actual available naval vessels and their capabilities. Such comparisons can be applied to a variety of circumstances from tanks to hospital beds to ammunition reserves. The data will also analyse the cost of Home/Civil Defence as part of the Defence budget, and allow a conclusion to be drawn as to whether this fulfilled any NATO obligation, for example Key Point Defence[14], or whether it provided a positive benefit to Britain (as defined within Alliance Theory). The exercises mentioned as case studies will be analysed using counterfactual conditions taken directly from MOD exercises of the period which best reflect the p erceived threat. The military, political and social awareness of the demands of the BAOR and Home/Civil Defence will be assessed here. Using an historically informed appreciation of the broader events of the time, the qualitative and quantitative findings mentioned above can be brought together to comprehensively answer the research aims. It is axiomatic that research such as this cannot be undertaken without a long view of the history of British defence and foreign policy. Britain had, for the previous 200 or more years, focussed much of her foreign and military policy on maintaining a balance of power in continental Europe. This allowed her to focus on Imperial expansion, and latterly on securing trade-routes and supply. Membership of NATO, and the efforts put into that membership must be seen in context, otherwise certain events and policies will be misunderstood. King, Keohane and Verba state that, â€Å"All good research can be understood †¦ to derive from the same underlying logic of inference.† [15] There is no one methodology that fits the research being undertaken, as it does not aim to prove or support a theory. Rather it seeks to understand and answer a fundamental question that is still relevant today, namely can the defence policy fulfil its aims? Alliance theory can aid in an analysis of the quantitative data, providing an assessment of the benefits to Britain of its NATO role, and the costs associated with it. The fact that one methodology does not fit the research does not mean that aspects of that methodology cannot be used. A criticism that may be levelled at this research is that it doesn’t have a recognised methodology, in the way that Small-N or Discourse analysis is recognised. However, the final methodology must be designed with rigour in mind, such that it answers any criticisms of structure and coherence within the framework of the required research. Word Count:2866 1 of 5 [1] Mancur Olson and Richard Zeckhauser, ‘An Economic Theory of Alliances’ (RAND Corporation, 1966), RM-4297-ISA. [2] Stanley Lieberson, ‘Small Ns and Big Conclusions: An Examination of the Reasoning in Comparative Studies Based on a Small Number of Cases’, University of North Carolina Press, 1991. However, a different perspective on the use of Mill’s methods in Small-N analysis is proposed see Goldstone quoted in Mahoney, p388 [3] Statement on the Defence Estimate 1979 – The National Archives, CAB 129/205/3 [4] The Warsaw Treaty Organisation of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance was formed in 1955 [5] 1982 Falklands War and 1991 Gulf War. Although the Gulf War is outside the timescales adopted for this research, the plans in place will be those developed during the period under review. [6] Stephen G. Brooks and William C. Wohlforth, From Old Thinking to New Thinking in Qualitative Research, International Security, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Spring, 2002), pp. 93-111 [7] John Tosh, The Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods, and New Directions in the Study of Modern History, 4th ed (New York: Longman, 2006), p. 195. [8] Professor Louis de Saussure, Pragmatic Issues In Discourse Analysis, Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis Across Disciplines 1 (1), 2007, p179 [9] Derek Hook, Discourse, knowledge, materiality, history : Foucault and discourse analysis, Theory and Psychology 11 (4), 2001, p521 – 547. [10] Powerpoint presentation, Dr Andreas Behnke, PIM56, Spring Term 2014 [11] Howard Williams, Moorhead Wright and Tony Evans, eds., A Reader in International Relations and Political Theory (Buckingham: Open University Press, 1993), pp. 179–180. [12] John Mearsheimer, E.H. Carr vs. Idealism: The Battle Rages On (Sage Publications, 2005) [13] Olson and Zeckhauser. [14] Key Points include ammunition stores, communication centres, Early Warning systems amongst a host of other locations which could be defended with deadly force, even before the outbreak of a war. [15] King, Keohane Verba, Designing Social Inquiry, Princeton University Press, 1996, p 4

An approach to historical analysis

An approach to historical analysis Introduction In Part III of ‘The Mediterranean (1949), Braudel, placed history of events low in his value hierarchy, while in his two biographies on Charles V and Philippe II (Braudel 1994 Exrits sur lhistoire II), he demonstrated his deep understanding of traditional history. Braudel departed from the commonly accepted views of traditional history and postulated the longue dur ´ee and conjoncture perspectives. With his understanding of existing theories Braudel was able to exposed structural images of important themes which were in it-self a landmark in historiography. Fernand Braudel (1902-1985) Braudel in ‘Capitalism was not interested in details from both archives and secondary literature rather he embarked on the premise of complex images within a chosen framework. This he was able to accomplish by classifying capitalism into three levels, that is, daily life market activities; production and exchange within the national market; international capital flow and trade at the world economy level. Braudels Historiography A main feature in understanding Braudels historiography is the assimilation of time and space in analyzing historical events. In addition to this methodology Braudel has elucidated new concepts which enable an understanding of time and space individually. To fully appreciate his contribution it becomes paramount to enter into discussion the way history was analyze in a conventional setting. Historical Concepts Longue Dur ´Ee, Conjuncture, Event-History, Economie-Monde And Total History Conventionally history was seen through the lens of a linear time frame or either emphasized historical changes in different geographic areas. Braudel on the other hand, applied a set of historical concepts for example, dur ´ee, conjoncture, event-history, economie-monde and total history to subjects such as the Mediterranean world and engender significant insights into history. In analyzing historical time Braudel has promulgated long-term (longue dur ´ee), mid-term (conjuncture) and short-term (event-history) views which simply demonstrates the possibility that several concepts of historical time can co-exist within a single particular subject which is being analyzed. When analyzing historical space Braudel emphasized the economie-monde and this concept he proceeded to analyze as the economic-world that is not defined by either politics or cultures but by the exchange of goods and services. Interestingly, Braudel considered both temporal and spatial elements and proceed on the premise that these four concepts are intermarried in such a way; culminating in what he termed ‘total history that is historie totale or histoire globale. Longue Dur ´ee In an even more positive vein Braudel concept of historical time relied on allotments. In other words, Braudel has taken a century or longer as a unit of analysis and calls this longue dur ´ee. Ten to fifty years he calls conjuncture whilst short calendar time is subsumed into another allotment. Capitalizing on calendar time which is no stranger to traditional history and utilizing conjuncture which is a term used in economics, but extended by Braudel to non-economic aspects of history such as social and cultural changes. Braudel then extended the concept of longue dur ´ee; thus claiming that longue dur ´ee is a most suitable tool when investigating the slow changing and structurally stable aspects of history. In so doing he has fundamentally permitted the advantages of each method to compliment each other and minimized their inadequacies. With an astute understanding of the existing historical theories Braudel in reviewing longue dur ´ee elucidated, â€Å"It was when I was constructing my book on the Mediterranean I was led to divide the times of history according to their different speeds, according to different temporalities. I think there are actually rapid times, longer times, and almost immobile times. But it was in the end of this course, not by a preliminary operation, that I arrived at this conception of time of history. Similarly, the longue dur ´ee of which I am the advocator, it was an artifice by which I was escaped from certain tangible difficulties. I did not think to longue dur ´ee before writing my book on the Mediterranean†, (Braudel, 1978, pp 244-5). Perhaps Braudel was so zealous about longue dur ´ee due to his sojourn in captivity during World War II. He wrote: â€Å"I myself, during a rather gloomy captivity, struggled a good deal to get away from a chronicle of those difficult years (1940-5). Rejecting events and the time in which events take place was a way of placing oneself to one side, sheltered, so as to get some sort of perspective, to be able to evaluate them better, and not wholly to believe in them. To go from the short time span, to one less short, and then to the long view (which, if it exists, must surely be the wise mans time span); and having got there, to think about everything afresh and to reconstruct everything around me: a historian could-hardly not be tempted by such a prospect†, (Braudel, 1969, pp 47-8, and p 77). Conjoncture Conjoncture is a French word and there is no English equivalent. It is in this vein that the Petit Robert French dictionary explains that conjuncture is a, â€Å"Situation resulting from an encounter of circumstances and which is considered as the point of departure of an evolution, an action†. â€Å"The study of conjuncture is to study an occasional situation as opposed to structure in view of a prevision†. This explanation swims in the same stream as Braudels since his theory is based on changes and mutations in economic factors, for example, population growth, production output, and price changes. According to Gemelli, and Braudel it is also used to describe social trends, for example, â€Å"conjuncture, paysanne, conjuncture seinneuriale†, (Gemelli, 1995 p 107 and Braudel, 1991 p 48). This economic perception of Braudel led him to proceed on the premise that, â€Å"†¦ the term conjoncture, †¦ suggest possible new directions for research and some te ntative explanatory hypotheses. †¦ Conjunctural analysis, †¦ is however one of the necessary means of historical explanation and as such, a useful formulation of the problem†, (Braudel â€Å"The Mediterranean† pp 892, 899). These converging lines of evidence enable the concept of conjuncture to develop since as he so succinctly stated, â€Å"Traditional history, with its concern for the short time span, for the individual and the event, has long accustomed us to the headlong, dramatic, breathless rush of it narrative. The new economic and social history puts cyclical movement in the forefront of its research and is committed to that time span side by side with traditional narrative history, there is an account of conjunctures which lays open large sections of the past, ten, twenty, fifty years at a stretch ready for examination†, (Braudel, 1969, p 27,and p 29). Event-History The structured way of writing history was the method of using exact dates, names, cause-consequences and places. Braudel interestedly rejected this approach since he wanted to analyze and by extension sound harmonies with the overall environment, structure and movement; so as to yield an impersonal and collective aspects of historical changes. Braudel later developed an even greater interest in specific events as can be evidenced from a passage from his notes and his conception about events. Quoting from his personal notebook (f*23), undated, entitled â€Å"LHistoire, mesure du temps (History, measure of time)†. The notebook belongs to the Archives Braudel and may still not be public. Braudel mentioned the State of Bahia (Brazil) in this passage and it is well known that he taught at Sao Paulo University during 1936-1937. It stands to reason therefore, that this idea was documented before he wrote â€Å"The Mediterranean†, â€Å"One evening, in the State of Bahia, I suddenly found myself being surrounded by a tremendous number of fireflies. They were lighting here and there, more or less in high place, countless, just like many too brief sparkles, but shed sufficient light to see the landscape. This is so with events†, (Gemelli, 1995:84 / Braudel, 1969:10). This metaphor aptly describes that events are like the light from fireflies which is often brief and weak. Many criticized Braudel, for example, Hargor in 1986, but for others he was truly the master of event-history. Fuelled by a changed attitude by the 1960s Braudel wrote, â€Å"Every event, however brief, has to be sure a contribution to make, to light up some dark corner or even some wide vista of history. I am by no means the sworn enemy of the event. In the first place, this kind of history tends to recognize only important events, building its hypotheses only on foundations which are solid or assumed to be so. Another is the event with far-reaching consequences and repercussions as Henri Pirenne was fond of remarking†, (Braudel, â€Å"The Mediterranean†, pp 901-902). Economie-Monde (Economic-World) Braudels concept of economie-monde was inspired by German geographers, that is, by the work of Friz Rorig Mittelalterliche Weltwirtschaft: Blute und Ende Einer Weltwirtschaftsperiode 1933, (Gemelli, 1995, p 125 / Capitalism III p 634 note 4). At the time of this conception Braudel was in the thinking process of â€Å"The Mediterranean†. During this period however, he perceived that the Mediterranean world was a kind of economie-monde, and this was later expressed in â€Å"The Mediterranean† at pp 418 419. Relative to this, Braudel made a clear dichotomy between economie-monde (economic-world, a huge network of economic exchanges) from economie mondiale (world economy, which refers to such as the global impacts of the Oil Shock of the 1970s). It is evident that Braudel embarked on the premise that the economic-world model was based on the Mediterranean economy. On the heels of this construction is the believed that models for other economie-mondels would no doubt have a similar construction when a comparison is made. This can best be illustrated from a section in â€Å"The Mediterranean† where Braudel stated, â€Å"Have we here enough material to measure the Mediterranean, to construct a comprehensive, quantitative ‘model of its economy? As a unit it could then be compared to other ‘world-economies [economic-worlds would be a better translation] either bordering on or connected to the Mediterranean†, (Braudel, â€Å"The Mediterranean†, pp 418-419). Braudel enables one to make greater sense of what a center means to an economie-monde when he provided a definition of it as it relates to the Mediterranean, â€Å"This world (the Mediterranean), sixty days long, was, indeed, broadly speaking a Weltwirtschaft, a world-economy ( ´economie-monde), a self- contained universe. All world-economies ( ´economie-monde) for instance recognize a center, some focal point that acts as a stimulus to other regions and is essential to the existence of the economic unit as a whole. Quite clearly in the Mediterranean in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that center was a narrow urban quadrilateral: Venice, Milan, Genoa, Florence, with conflicts and inter-town rivalries as the relative weight of each city changed. The center of gravity can gradually be seen to shift from Venice, where it still lay at the beginning of the century, to Genoa, where it was so brilliantly established between 1550 and 1575†. In line with this theoretical viewpoint, the center was not a single city, but comprised of four cities; and that with the center of gravity changing between them. Total History The term total history is a methodological claim of historical writing. Braudel is an advocate of this strain and using histoire globale and histoire totale interchangeably he states, â€Å"Similarly, the globalite, histoire globale that I defend, imposed on me little by little. That is something extremely simple, so simple that most of my colleagues in history do not understand me. On the contrary, this does not hinder them to attack me fiercely. . . . The globalite, is not an intention to write a total history of the world. It is not this kind of puerile, sympathetic and crazy pretension. It is simply the desire, when one approaches a problem, to go beyond the limits systematically. There is no historical problem, in my view, that is separated by walls, that is independent†, (Braudel, 1978, p 245). In short, Braudels advocated interdisciplinary studies, going beyond the limits of well-defined topical studies. Secondly, he postulated that history should be observed and studied from diverse angles, with it being beneficial to expand the duration of observation (longue dur ´ee) and to extend the geographic areas, such that extensive comparison will lead to significant results. Finally, and in line with this, he found it essential to combine the time dimension (three kinds of historical time) and the space dimension (geo-history, economie-monde) in order to investigate the complexity of the subject in question. (See Figure I for Braudels concept of Total History) A Century Other Century Source: Authors Adaption Diverging Views On Total History Contrary to this strain Furet, a member of the Annales School, wrote, â€Å"Yet the idea of ‘total history is elusive. ‘Total history merely expresses the ambition of providing a fuller perspective, a more exhaustive description, a more comprehensive explanation of a given object or problem than provided by the social sciences whose conceptual and methodological innovations it has borrowed†, (Furet, 1983, p 394). Swimming in the same stream was Stoianovick who interestingly argued that, â€Å"One major obstacle to histoire globale arises from the fact that histoire globale has been much more the product of individual genius than of systematic theory†, (Stoianovich, 1978, p 20). These views lends easily to Pierre Chaunu, a former student of Braudel, and a Membre de lInstitut whocategorically who categorically stated, â€Å"There cannot be a total history. All knowledge is necessarily selective, a rational choice. total history, in its basic meaning, is evidently a non- sense. It is a wish, it marks an direction, .†, (Coutau-B ´egarie, 1983, pp 96, 99). It is apparent that Braudels views came under scrutiny. However, it is necessary to understand that Braudels total history concept is not intended to describe everything, that is, every aspect of the subject but rather it is intended to ‘make it appear an organized structure rather that a ‘mere heap†, (Popper, 1961, pp 76-77). The Contribution Of Braudels Five Concepts Braudels five key concepts discussed above made in-roads or contributions to the historical analysis of time and space. With respect to historical time, he expanded the conventional single-speed, linear-movement of historical time into a set of historical times that can be separated into short-term, medium-team and long-term. These terms co-exist, and each has its own speed, life and function; they are inter-related and inter-acting. As to his contribution to historical space Braudels hypothesis was  ´economie-monde, a concept that some would say was not well presented in ‘The Mediterranean but finally clarified three decades later in ‘Capitalism. Advantages And Disadvantages Of Braudels Methodology Braudels concepts are flexible and this can be considered its major advantage, since Braudels believed that the use of his concept would generate historical insight rather than rigorous ones. The disadvantage however can be seen through the lens of misunderstandings on the one hand and on the other the challenge of a writer combining all the various disciplines, for example, geography, demography cultural studies, economics and so on which is required when applying Braudels notion of total history. This challenge may not be an easy one for the writer to overcome. Further, it has been said that his theories lack clear and / or strong interpretation and that he seldom attempted firsthand penetrating investigation on any specific topic. Conclusion Braudels historiography can be seen as one philosophical approach to historical analysis. While this approach is not global and eternal it can be used as a viable tool in the study of history. In essence his historiography is not a final dictum but rather can be seen as a contribution to historical studies and a foundation to be built upon. Bibliography Braudel, F. (1949): La Mediterranee et le monde mediterraneen a l ´epoque de Philippe II, Paris: Armand Colin (2 volumes), 9e edition (1990). Translated from the French by S. Reynolds in 1972, Fontana (1995, 15th impression): The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, 2 volumes. Braudel, F. (1969): Ecrits sur lhistoire, Paris: Flammarion (Collection Champs No. 23). English translation by Sarah Mathews (1980): On History, University of Chicago Press. Braudel, F. (1977): Afterthoughts on Material Civilization and Capitalism, Johns Hopkins University Press, translated from the French by Patricia Ranum. The French version: La dynamique du capitalism (1988), Paris: Flammarion (Champs No. 192). Braudel, F. (1977) ed.: La Mediterranee, lespace et lhistoire (volume 1); La M ´editerran ´ee, les hommes et lh ´eritage (volume 2), Paris: Arts et M ´etiers Graphiques; reprinted by  ´ Edition Flammarion, 1986, Collection Champs Nos. 156, 167. Braudels concepts and methodology reconsidered. The European Legacy, 2000, 5(1): 65-86 (Taylor Francis). Chaunu, Pierre (1992): La M ´editerrannee cest Braudel, LHistoire, juillet/ao.ut, pp. 71-3. Coutau-B ´egarie, H. (1989): Le phenomene â€Å"Nouvelle histoire†: strategie et ideologie des nouveaux historiens, Paris: Economica (Second Edition). Furet, Franc ¸ois (1983): Beyond the Annales, Journal of Modern History, 55:389-410. Gemelli, Giuliana (1995): Fernand Braudel, Paris: Editions Odile Jacob. Popper, Karl (1961): The Poverty of Historicism, London: Routledge. Stoianovich, Traian (1978): Social history: perspective of the Annales Paradigm, Review, 1(3/4):19-48.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Bioethanol: Not a Viable Alternative :: Ethanol is Not the Solution

The world has begun to realize the importance of finding sustainable, renewable forms of energy. One of the most highly prioritized forms of energy is liquid, so that we can begin to manage our dependency on fossil energy. In the midst of this search, ethanol, a fuel additive which can be utilized in a variety of vehicles has become a popular alternative to fossil fuel. Many view Ethanol as the fuel of the future. Bioethanol, which is currently the most prominent type of ethanol, is made from the fermentation process of crops such as sugar or corn. This can be done in two ways, through dry or wet milling, the main difference between the two being that in dry milling the grains are mashed together, while in wet milling they are soaked in water for 24-48 hours before the process begins. Both of these processes generate C02 emissions; however the C02 is generally captured and used for other things(1). Many nations, with the United States and Brazil leading in production, have begun to use Ethanol fuel as a renewable liquid energy source. Over the past six years ethanol production in the United States has nearly quadrupled, and the government is spending over three billion dollars in subsidies for the industry(1). However many people believe that the numerous drawbacks of actually producing and utilizing Ethanol outweigh these benefits, and that we should divert our attention and funding towards more viable renewable resources. The benefits of ethanol fuel seem to be fairly straightforward. The most popular reason cited for using bioethanol is that because it contains a high level of oxygen it is more clean burning than straight gasoline. According to some estimates "ethanol use in the U.S. reduced CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 7 million tons", and is expected to reduce emissions by 1.7 billion tons by the year 2050(2). Such a dramatic reduction of ozone forming materials helps to improve air quality in cities where the fuel is used. Ethanol also does not contain many of the toxins that fossil based gasoline does, making it more biodegradable and safer in the instance of a spill(3). Additionally corn-based fuels are renewable, we have the capabilities to grow large amounts of corn, whereas we cannot produce anymore fossil energy and are limited by the supplies that we already have. The idea that ethanol is a clean burning, renewable resource sounds lovely in theory, however in practice Ethanol isn't particularly sustainable.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Social Capital in the Developing World Essay -- International Developm

The globalized world today is getting very advanced in all areas and so has become very competitive. This then accommodates the use of a comparative approach in society. Comparative, an activity derived from the word comparison meaning to compare, it is defined as a research which uses data that are compared between at least two countries (Ragin, 1987). This comparative study is a very important phenomenon in the field of social science and commenced in the1960s and 1970s. It is used as an essential form of an investigating tool in analyzing the operations between different countries with a view to formulate solutions for under- developed countries and to give details of the development of social structuring in the framing of public policies (Ghorra-Gobin, discussion paper No. 40). In order to do a comparative analysis/study, a case study is usually done between two countries. The objective is to foster a better understanding of how and why certain scenarios occur in one country and how it relates to the same scenario in the other country. One such example is the political stability in Guyana (an undeveloped country) with a ranking of 26 % compared to the political stability in the United Kingdom (a developed country) with a ranking of 66% (worldwide governance indicators). A qualitative and quantitative format is utilized in order to assess systems within government and its political affiliates. Charles Ragin states that this comparative method can be used as a means of experience in using data from one country to another in order to improve stability. The main objective of the comparative approach method is mainly to improve efficiency, effectiveness, growth and development in under-developed countries and a... ...edge Publishers. New York, USA. ARTICLES Boyne, I., (2009). Gleaner Article: Jamaica's losing battle with corruption. Fukuyama, F., (2000). Social capital and civil society. Issues 2000-2074. IMF Institute. IMF Working Paper Ghorra-Gobin, C. The Comparative Social Science Approach. Discussion Paper No. 40. www.unesco.org/shs/most Gregory, R.J., (1999). Social Capital Theory and Administrative Reform: Maintaining Ethical Probity in Public Service. Vol. 59, No. 1 (Jan. - Feb., 1999), pp. 63-75. Blackwell Publishing. Public Administration Review. Powell, L. A. (2009). Probing Jamaica’s Political Culture: Main trends in the July-August 2006 Leadership and Governance. Department of Government, UWI, Mona, Kingston WEBSITES Worldwide Governance Indicators. www. info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/index.asp . Retrieved September 20, 2010.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Worst Sinner in the Scarlet Letter

People are not always what they seem to be. Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter shows that everyone sins but some people’s sins are worse than others. The Scarlet Letter shows Chillingworth’s sins throughout the book. One of Hawthorne’s intentions was having Chillingworth as the worst sinner, because he used his herbs to keep Dimmesdale alive-he prolonged Dimmesdale’s torture, he used â€Å"black medicine†, and when Dimmesdale stopped taking the herbs, he passed away. Roger Chillingworth came to town with the Indians, and Hawthorne described them as outcasts and dwellers of the forest.Roger had learned all his tricks and medicines from the Indians and therefore was able to prolong Dimmesdale’s torture through using herbs. Chillingworth says, â€Å"Don’t think that I will lay a finger on him and interfere with Heaven’s work of punishment†¦ let him live. † Chillingworth never physically laid a hand on Dimmesdale, but he kept him healthy using the herbs to make sure that Dimmesdale would endure the torture of his affair, mentally and physically. Chillingworth knew exactly what he was doing to Dimmesdale.He said it would have been better had he died right away than endure seven years of vengeance. Here Roger is admitting that he has spent the last seven years using his herbs to keep Dimmesdale alive because death would be too easy. Roger Chillingworth was described as giving â€Å"black medicine† to Dimmesdale. Him using this was a way to punish Dimmesdale for wronging him. The term â€Å"black medicine† is in correlation with the devil, as if Chillingworth is acting as Satan to get back at Dimmesdale.While talking with Dimmesdale he says, â€Å"Wherefore not; since all the powers of nature call so earnestly for the confession of sin, that these black weeds have sprung up out of a buried heart, to make manifest an unspoken crime? † Here, Chillingworth is expressing his us e of the â€Å"black medicine†. What he is using are weeds he found at the cemetery, and he is explaining them as nature's punishment for people who have committed hidden crimes. Chillingworth is hinting that the medicine he is giving Dimmesdale is nature’s way of making sure Dimmesdale is getting the punishment he deserves.Roger’s sin here is that he is one with the devil and carrying out actions only the devil would use through the â€Å"black medicine†. Once he stopped partaking the herbs given by Chillingworth, unfortunately, Dimmesdale died. This is proof Chillingworth used the herbs to stall Dimmesdale’s untimely death. At their home, Chillingworth offered Dimmesdale medicine. â€Å"But methinks, dear Sir, you look pale; as if the travel through the wilderness had been too sore for you. Will not my aid be requisite to put you in heart and strength to preach your Election Sermon? Dimmesdale passed on the medicine, knowing Chillingworthâ€℠¢s intentions. Chillingworth was described as being a â€Å"leech† and feed off of Dimmesdale’s pain, but when he collapsed and died on the scaffold the next day, he had nothing left to live for and died soon after. It is not a coincidence that Dimmesdale died so soon after being clean of herbs. Death was not a part of Chillingworth’s plan, and Dimmesdale was able to escape Chillingworth’s torture by stopping his medications and dying. Roger Chillingworth is the worst sinner in The Scarlet Letter.He prolonged Dimmesdale’s torture through herbs and was one with the devil. Roger Chillingworth never laid a hand on Dimmesdale throughout the book but he mentally got to him over the seven years. The herbs kept Dimmesdale alive just so Roger could get his revenge through the torture. When Dimmesdale passed away after stopping the herbs Roger Chillingworth had nothing left to live for, and died shortly after, because as the â€Å"leech†, he no longe r had anything to feed off of. Roger Chillingworth was not always the man that he seemed, he had something deeper in him and was the worst sinner.

Marketing and Aesop Essay

IntroductionAesop is an Australian understructured superintendent premium decorative company that has operative presence in Asia-Pacific, Australia and North the States with the cap susceptibility of generating A$49 jillion gross in 2012. Aesop has an active label record in expanding into new marts and is readiness to introduce its intersection points into Italy. Being the s stillth largest parsimony in the origination, Italy is widely popular for its immense and sophisticated consumer merchandise that appends signifi so-and-sot authority opportunities for Aesop to succeed. Moreover, Italy has an formal cosmetic market that is roughly 9 billion Euros in coat and has potency for growth in a few in joining sectors. The trace aims to carry market theory with in-depth research that makes up a strategic marketing protrude to provide relevant and sufficient nurture almost doing business in Italy.A situational summary is firstperformed in regularise to investig ate the companys execution of instrument, the big environment, effort environment and customers base in Italy. Pertinent marketing frameworks such(prenominal) as PESTEL depth psychology, Porters Five Forces, customer analysis and market segmentation ar using upd in the investigation of the macro environment, application environment and customer base. found on the vast amount of cultivation collected from the situation analysis, various strategies were determine and formulated by using marketing framework such as grind and VRIO analysis, possibility statements, Ansoff Matrix, fruit life wheel around concept (PLC), Porters generic wine competitive strategies and SMART marketing objectives. subsequently selecting the strategies that Aesop argon well-positioned to deploy, its market entry temper and marketing mix strategies for Italy are progress comeed and elaborated with the control of earlier established strategies and findings. The appropriate marketing theorie s or frameworks used throughout this marketing stick out lead be described and their objective, strengths and weaknesses, if applicable, give also be discussed in their several(prenominal) sections prior implementation. Situation abbreviationThe mental hospital of a computable marketing protrude should fox a sharpen on the four elements of the over exclusively environment that faculty influence the success of the outcome, which is widely referred as the 4Cs and also widely kn stimulate as the situation analysis (Walker 2009). The 4Cs represent company, context, competitors, customers and collaborators. An analysis on the company is first conducted and the findings leave form the strengths and weaknesses of the SWOT analysis performed in the next st get on.Company analysisAesop David Paphitis established Aesop in 1987 in Melbourne, Australia. Aesop operates in the manufacturing, convey and marketing of premium beauty and discase fretfulness segment (Euromonitor 2013). Earlier this year,Aesop was acquired by Natura, a publicly listed Brazil cosmetic company, and retained only 35% of its stakes. merged mission Aesops mission is to provide customers with superlative peel, cop and body products with integrity, simplicity, authenticity, lot to detail and the best ingredients (Cosmetics International 2011, well-nigh Aesop 2013).Corporate vision Aesop philosophy is to focus on a holistic lieu on beauty that combines strip d witnesscare with an vehemence on exercise and diet (Euromonitor 2013, Manan 2004). reaping Line Aesop product portfolio consists of genuflectcare, body care, hair care and separate kits and domestic items (Motta 2013).regional structure and operations Aesop operates more than 50 signature stores globularly while owning 355 wholesales stores in more than 10 countries. It is found that Aesops signature and department stores provides most of the revenue for Aesop. Separately, they contri besidesed 48% and 40% of the total r evenue respectively (Motta 2013). Aesops global taper office is in Melbourne, Australia. Aesop also positioned regional hubs in Americas, Europe and APAC-excluding Australia (Motta 2013).3.1.6. Brand depict in the Market Aesop creates its luxury and scoopful acquaintance for consumers based on word-of-mouth and its one-of-a-kind concept only. This is contrary to most dirts that rely on media and agencies for advertising and promotion (Turner 2011). Aesop uses design as a channel to excrete its core values and its customers, who demand graduate(prenominal) step products from Aesop (Turner 2011).Aesop has undoubtedly successfully created a cult by utlitising its unique rat images created by minimalist retail stores and product design (Euromonitor 2013). Alternatively, Aesop also gains popularity through sponsorships of heathen and make events (Euromonitor 2013).Research and Development (R&D) Aesop situates its own R&D team in laboratory in Melbourne in the nitty-gritty o f its corporate headquarters (Motta 2013). The team is amenable for all the fiber assurance, innovation, research and prototyping of all its products. Aesop spends a signifi puketly mel first-class honours degreeed equalizer of its cost on R&D than its competitors (Burns 2002).Market deal out Aesops market share in the domestic Australian cosmetic industry is 0.1% (Lev 2013), whereas its market share in the super premium skin care at bottom Australia is 11% (see supplement 1).Profit Margin Aesops forecasted service margin for 2013 would dip due to utmoster than historical depreciation and operation costs (see appendix 2). Nevertheless, the operation costs testament see of a smaller voice of the net sales attri barelyable to the support of strong sales. Aesop is on course to positioning a bare(a)vagantlyer margin in the future.Management and LeadershipThe founder and originative director of Aesop is David Paphitis. He possesses significant experience in the beauty, s kincare and hair products industry. His philosophy of nature and health is deeply entwined within Aesops operations. His refusal to change Aesop to private specie is an act of never compromising quality for profit (Safe 2008). It is to avoid compromising his political orientation and beliefs over Aesops operations and products. circumstance AnalysisBusiness environment can greatly proceed the business this instant and indirectly.PESTEL framework is used to identify the influences of political, economical, social, technological, environmental, and statutory on the organizations. Analyzing these factors in term of sure and possible future situations can intend the proper ways for the organizations in set to invest or survive in the particular business environment (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington 2008). The PESTEL factors on with its associated trends and explanations are provided below Italian potent consumers have very strong image-consciousness some an opposite(prenom inal) Italian men buy skin care and anti-ageing products. Some 250 million worn out(p) per year on beauty products and 21% of Italian men use skin products (Euromonitor 2012)Increasing shopping places for goods Increasing trading eluxurious Most of luxurious outlets are set(p) around Italys key fashion destinations of Florence, Milan and Rome (Euromonitor 2011) The retail value of internet retailing in 2011 was 3.1 billion, an sum up of 142% compared to 2006Competitors and pains AnalysisPorters vanadium forces analysis provides insight on the academic degree of competitive in firm precise industry. There are cinque factors that affect the level of competitiveness and they show how the industry affects its players (Baines et al. 2008). Companies can use Porter five forces analysis to examine their competitors. Therefore, they will apprehend the opportunities and threats existing in the industry when they envision new countries and devise strategies to exploit the opportu nities and minify the threats (Peng 2014). 1.Intensity of rivalry risque This examines the number of cosmetics brands in Italy. If thither are many firms in this country, the probability that Aesop can make a profit will diminish. consort to Euromonitor (2012), in that respect are a few in the lead cosmetics companies in Italy such as LOreal, Procter & Gamble, Beiersdorf AG and Shiseido. This shows that the degree of intensity of cosmetics industry in Italy is high.2. Risk of entry spiritedPotential competitors will enter market which is attracted them but they can be prevent by entry barriers such as brand loyalty, economies of scales and increasing in distribution. According to Reportlink (2013), an increasing in sale of global skincare market will arrive at to 21 percent from 2010 to 2015. In addition, the sparing will re turn to. This will attract new(prenominal) competitors joining in this market because customers do non concern about a brand or brand loyalty. They w ill penetrate a brand that sell product in low legal injury and good quality. In Italy, many brands from other countries try to dominate cosmetics industry pickyly in skin care such as LOral, Beiersdorf, Clarins, Este Lauder, Shiseido and Johnson & Johnson (Euromonitor 2012). This shows that the risk of new entry is high because competitors have to spend a mount of money in research and growing to name new product or try to contrastiveiate their product.3. negociate billet of buyers High Italian customers have high talk terms power because they have many brands of cosmetics in Italy that suggest them a good quality and charge that they can afford. Moreover, Italian raft spend their money carefully when they acquire these stuffs because of recess economy. Buyers who are retailers can have backward integration by providing their ownbrand.4. Bargaining power of suppliers Low Bargaining power of suppliers in cosmetics industry is low because there are a high number of marke t players and large suppliers. Moreover, Italian consumers prefer cosmetics that made from nature and there are many suppliers around the world who can offer the low charge material such as Asiatic countries to cosmetics manufacturers. 5. Threat of substitutes High There is a high threat of substitute product in cosmetics industry because there are many brands that offer same product quarter such as spunk cream and anti senescence product. Moreover, battalion can change their preference and advocate with dermatologist to take care of their skin health.3.3.1. Key Competitors According to Marketline (2012), the tierce prima(p) cosmetics companies in Italy are Beiersdorf AG, LOreal and Shiseido. However, these three cosmetics brands have different market root from Aesop. Thus, their product offerings will not be in same range even within the same product line (see Appendix 3). LOreal LOreal wants to increase their market share to another country. They exact to doubling their sales and their market dodge is penetration and they call themselves is multi channel. LOreal shows and sell their product to caboodlemarket channel such as Wal-Marts and Targets. Moreover, they sell cosmetics in luxury department store such as Macys and Nordstrom (see Appendix 4).Therefore, LOreals price will not be as high as Aesop and Shiseido because LOreal s dodging is to cover all customers. Shiseido Shiseido categorize their customer in five age groups, so their stores are ranked according to age group. The shops that sell to high-class customers will offer bring out promotion to their customers such as greater rebate, good beauty consultant and many samples. Their products are luxury and anti aging which are developed through mod scientific discoveries (Girvin 2013). According to Shiseido annual report (2012), when Shiseido operate their business in other countries, they will sell high price premium with good service from in the flesh(predicate) sellers.They use Massti ge word to describe their brand image. This word comes from Mass and prestige, meaning that Shiseidos products are more expensive than mass product but price is not high like prestige products.Beiersdorf Beiersdorf is a brand that focuses on skincare NIVEA, Eucerin and La Prairie. Beiersdorf try to continually create and produce new product to market and develop new product categories such as Nivea for men. In addition, they expand to new market to get new market share, and they offer the price that all customers can afford. 3 leading cosmetics brands in Italy have different strategies to do a business (see Appendix 5). It can be seen that leading cosmetics companies in Italy such as LOreal and Beiersdorf AG use cost leadership strategy to gain market share.Customer AnalysisIn order to identify and gather relevant information on the potential customers in Italy, a customer analysis is performed to break down the customer base into groups and segments. According to Kotler (2012), the customer analysis focuses on identifying the group of customers who share similar require and wants. It shows the nature of segmentation by socio-demographic, behavioral, psychographic and acquire sought. This variables and findings are shown below Segmentation variables geezerhood Details Socio-demographic Between tweens and adult is the mass aged group of Italian (Chan, Tufte, Cappello & Russell 2011). The over-50 age group possesses high buying power (Walker 2013).Gender Geography Female but male sales emerging in cosmetic product sales (Austrade 2010). urban cities of Italy provide the convenience to access to retail store and department store (Global discernment 2007) lifespancycle state Italian bought skin care products at 72.5% of all cosmetic products (Research and Markets 2010) Income bring in average annual household change disposable income is US$24,216 (OECDBetter Life Index 2013). Distribution Occupation grey Italy is 50% poorer than Northern Italy (Marketline 2012). Working world between 15and 64 because of their ability to purchase the skin care product (OECD Better Life Index 2013). bringing up Ethnic group and Nationality Religion kind class Literate and highly educated (OECD Better Life Index 2013.) Italian (CIA 2013).Insignificant The majority group is tenderness and upper class that have high power of purchasing (Kerschner & Huq 2011). Family and acquaintances Italian customers not only buy product of themselves but also for others (Schiffman, Kanuk & Wisenblit 2010). Behavioral Readiness make Loyalty Usage rate Innovativeness informed and knowledgeable about skin care product (CIA 2013) For everyday used and special occasions. High loyalty if product can perform as claimed (Cecchi et al. 2011). Routine use Italian customers prefer to pay extra in the high quality and performance stuffs (Cecchi et al. 2011). Psychographic Personality Italians order Life drift have to strongly attitude about building and maintaining self-im ages in have good appearance (Sanderson 2010). Metro-sexual and self-loving.