Gender, Authority and Dissent in English Mystical Writers Essay

The Book of Margery Kempe certainly provoked an intense amount of controversy, not least in the present but in her own time as well; a debate that centred on her position as a mystic. This position entailed having true knowledge of God, to work towards a union with him where they would essentially become one. Margery Kempe, at the very least views herself to be one of God’s vessels through which He can allow her to experience spiritual visions and feelings. It is in her book that Kempe conveys through words what she considered to be the most significant of these experiences, in order that those who read them would derive ‘great comfort and solace’. It is Kempe’s ‘individual and brilliant adaptation of what was originally a discipline for cloistered elites’1 that draws attention to her. Yet it is this individual voice, the style she uses, and her firm relationship with the market world that questions her experiences of higher contemplation. Certainly Kempe does not conform to the solitary life of a conventional mystic, much like Richard Rolle’s statement of ‘running off’ into the woods, and at one point she is even â€Å"sorrowful and grieving† because she has no company. Yet she uses many of her interactions with others to confirm her position as a mystic. She visits the revered mystic Julian of Norwich to seek advice as to whether her visions were genuine or not (Chapter 18), and receives confirmation from Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury. Essentially what it has been suggested that Kempe experiences is a higher level of contemplation – positive mysticism. This was the search for God through human imagery, which ‘insists on the physical as a legitimate means of access to the spiritual’.2 Certainly one of the standard patterns in mystical experience were the feelings of love between the mystic and God which is often described as fire, hence Rolle’s ‘Incendium Amoris’. Kempe notes that there was an ‘unquenchable fire of love which burnt full sore in her soul’, and that Christ had set her soul ‘all on fire with love’. Thus the intensity of her visions can not be brought into question as ‘she certainly shares with [the tradition] a mystical sense of God at work in human experiences’.3 These human experiences included her own body, as she suffers illness and indulgences in self-mutilation, wearing a haircloth, fasting and even biting her hand so violently that she has to be tied down. However, the visions that Kempe experiences, as mystics viewed them as gifts, are not a product of studious praying and meditating. In most ways what she conveys is an imitation of what many female European mystics experienced, like Bridget of Sweden and Dorothy of Montou or Catherine of Siena. She seeks justification for her mystical standing by linking herself closely to others and, though illiterate receives much of her inspiration from such mystical texts as ‘Incendium Amoris’, ‘Stimulus Amoris’, and Walter Hilton’s ‘Scale of Perfection’. However, as Glasscoe has pointed out, her spiritual experiences were not an easy thing for Kempe to meditate on. Whereas Hilton focused on inner spiritual growth, Kempe can only explain her transcende nce through what was familiar to her – the body.4 She even says that ‘sometimes, what she understood physically was to be understood spiritually’. Thus, whereas her visions may at many points seem extreme and even distasteful it does not necessarily mean that she was experiencing anything less than what is considered mystical. What also inspires Kempe, whilst also bringing into question her status as a mystic is the fact that she was a woman who was firmly placed in the world. David Aers describes her as an independent businesswoman, who before her initial vision was active in the market economy, investing money, organising public work and employing men.5 Mysticism was overwhelmingly contemplative, and there was not much spoke about the ‘active life’, with the exception of Walter Hilton’s positive description of the ‘mixed life’. However instead of accepting that she is â€Å"too busy with worldly occupations that must be attended to’6, like Hilton proposed, Kempe integrates the economic world into her mysticism. Shelia Delany proposed that in her work ‘one is constantly aware of the cash nexus’. 7 This is true in the sense that Kempe even strikes a deal with Jesus, in the sense that he becomes the mediator between Kempe’s social responsibilities as a wife and her desire to lead the spiritual life. Through Christ’s help she can lead the chaste life by buying off her husband, hence paying off all his debts (Chapter 11. p.60). Atkinson, commented that what Kempe creates is a ‘God, who controlled the economy of salvation, [and] functioned as a great banker of a merchant prince†.8 Also Kempe’s drive for ‘more’ is also indicative of her market drive values, in the same sense that she sees that by giving charity to her fellow Christians she will receive in heaven ‘double reward’. This unusual market driven line of thought is not the only factor that distinguishes her from her predecessors. Her style of writing is different and her visions are certainly unique. She actively takes part in many of the experiences, using speech, as Carol Coulson has suggested to inject herself into the holy narrative,9 even at one point acting as the handmaiden to God, and as a replacement to the biblical figure – Mary Magdalene. Her first vision is also very personal, and in some ways domesticated. Jesus is said to have appeared ‘in the likeness of a man†¦clad in a mantle of purple silk, sitting upon her bedside’. The Incarnation is taken to the extreme, where her visions sometimes sit outside the historical moments of the Bible and become part of her own world. Despite distancing herself by calling herself the ‘creature’ throughout the text many have accused her work of being self-absorbed – ‘I have told you before that you are a singular lover of God, and therefore you shall have a singular love in heaven, a singular reward and a singular honour’. Certainly her relations with God are very personal, and in many ways conveyed in sexual terms, as when Christ says to her ‘Daughter, you greatly desire to see me, and you may boldly, when you are in bed, take me to you as your wedded husband’. However, again this ‘great pomp and pride’, is said to emerge from her experience as a female within an urban class which fostered within her a strong sense of class identity and self-value.10 A self-value that she never really agrees to give up, thus because she refuses to traditionally quieten the self, Kempe does not sit comfortably as a mystic. Similarly she never really abandons her desire for worldly goods. She even admits in the first chapters that after her initial vision she refused to give up her worldly leisure’s, and still took delight in earthly things. This earthiness continues throughout the book. At one point she explains that she was embarrassed ‘because she was not dressed as she would have liked to have been for lack of money, and wishing to go about unrecognised until she could arrange a loan she held a handkerchief in front of her face’. This embarrassment does not hold well with the lower stage of mysticism in which the visionary is to dispel themselves of all earthly matters so that their soul is open to heaven. Her mysticism is driven to accumulate. She refuses to ‘be content with the goods that God has sent her’, whilst ‘ever [desiring] more and more’. From God she can attain spiritual status, whilst through her (father’s) social position she maintains earthly standing, thus she is caught between two (masculine) worlds. As David Aers has noted the market world never really receives rebuke in her mystical world, in fact it remains a natural part of it.11 Yet to see her as the victim of a capitalist society is, as Glasscoe maintains, to ignore her avowed purpose.12 Yet it is hard to ignore the element of hysteria in her work. She certainly experiences the traditional mystical dilemma that her visions will never be truly conveyed to those who stand outside it, that ‘herself could never tell the grace that she felt, it was so heavenly, so high above her reason and her bodily wits†¦that she might never express it within her world like she felt it in her soul’. However her Gift of Tears, in which she cries ‘abundantly and violently’, break quite brutally this silence of contemplation. It may be however that her loud screams and cries convey her devotion and justify her higher state. Certainly tradition showed that mystics ‘thought of themselves as vehicles for suffering and their broken voices and lacerated bodies reflected the stress under which they laboured’.13 Her crying brought attention to her being, even in her own time when crowds flocked to see her, becoming somewhat of a spectacle. These tears are almost a sign of her fertility in her contemplative life, and also justified in the Bible – Psalm cxxvi, 5-6 says that ‘they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Her tears therefore, although extreme and lead many throughout her work to rebuke her, are essentially a sign of grace demonstrating that the Incarnation for Kempe was an ever-present reality.14 Ursula Peters suggested that female mystics, through mysticism â€Å"turned inward and [discovered] ways to describe their own experiences†.15 In fact the role Kempe plays as a woman is very important to her whole mystical experience, and in some ways may even bring it into question. In her experiences with God she plays the wife, the mother, the sister and the daughter. When her husbands exclaims that she is ‘no good wife’ it again demonstrates that Kempe struggled between two worlds, that of the spiritual and that of her family commitments. St Bernard once proclaimed that natural human feeling doesn’t have to be suppressed but channelled into God, and in some ways this is exactly what Kempe achieves. By using the idea that she is a holy vessel she is able to assert herself as a woman in the highly competitive world quite drastically. She refuses to abandon her personality and quite forcefully, hence her adamant desire to be chaste, asserts who she is. The Church even attempted to denounce her as a Lollard, which shows that she was a threatening (female) voice and the only way to quieten her was to denounce her as a heretic. Rather than being a mystical treatise, The Book of Margery Kempe is a narrative account, almost a story, or even an autobiography as many have stated it to be, in which she attempts to adopt the contemplative ideal of piety.16 In fact it is more than mysticism, it is the experiences of a woman trying to find her voice in a masculine social world, and the only way that she can achieve this is through having spiritual authority. Certainly her devotion can not be questioned, and she can’t even predict herself when the intensity of Christ’s Passion will overwhelm her, be it ‘sometime in the church, sometime in the street, sometime in the chamber, sometime in the field’. Yet her extreme metaphors and use of language certainly bring into doubt her status as a mystic. As Susan Dickman has suggested prayers and visions certainly occupy the text, yet they are embedded in a larger structure17, namely how she was ‘painfully drawn and steered, [her pilgrimage acting as a metaphor for her mystical journey] to enter the way of perfection’. Certainly ‘painfully’ is an apt description, leading many to criticise her as a charlatan, a ‘terrible hysteric’ and even one who was possessed by the devil. Yet this account is from a very independent and highly spirited woman, who although struggled with her identity and sought the higher state to explore that larger structure of herself through God, was deeply devoted to her faith. In the end her piety was very ordinary, it is her style of conveyance however, the lack of the abstract vocabulary of Julian of Norwich, Rolle and the Cloud author18 that brings her status as a mystic int o controversy. Bibliography Aers, David., Community Gender and Individual Identity in English Writing, 1360-1430 (London, 1988) Bancroft, A., The Luminous Vision: Six Medieval Mystics and their Teachings (London, 1982). Evans, Ruth and Johnson, Lesley (eds.)., Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature: The Wife of Bath and All Her Sect (London, 1994) Klapisch-Zuber, C (ed.)., Silences of the Middle-Ages (London 1992),447 Glasscoe, Marion (ed.)., The Medieval Mystical Tradition (Exeter, 1980) http://www.anamchara.com/mystics/kempe.htm http://www.ccel.org/h/hilton/ladder/ladder-PART_I.html http://www.sterling.holycross.edu/departments/visarts/projects/kempe/index.html Knowles, D., The English Mystical Tradition London (London, 1961) Meale, Carol. M., (ed.)., Women and Literature in Britain 1150-1500 (Cambridge, 1993) 1 C. Klapisch-Zuber, Silences of the Middle Ages (London 1992),160 2 J.Long., ‘Mysticism and hysteria: the histories of Margery Kempe and Anna O’, in Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature, ed. R.Evans et al. (London, 1994),100 3 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics: Games of Faith (London, 1993),268. 4 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics: Games of Faith (London, 1993), 268. 5 D. Aers, Community, Gender and Individual Identity – English Writing 1360-1430 (London, 1988), 112. 6 http://www.ccel.org/h/hilton/ladder/ladder-PART_I.html 7 J.Long., ‘Mysticism and hysteria: the histories of Margery Kempe and Anna O’, in Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature, ed. R.Evans et al. (London, 1994), 87-111 8 D. Aers, Community, Gender and Individual Identity – English Writing 1360-1430 (London, 1988), 106 9 http://www.anamchara.com/mystics/kempe.html 10 D. Aers, Community, Gender and Individual Identity – English Writing 1360-1430 (London, 1988),115. 11 Ibid. 12 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics: Games of Faith (London, 1993), 275. 13 C. Klapisch-Zuber, Silences of the Middle Ages (London 1992),446 14 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics: Games of Faith (London, 1993), 276. 15 C. Klapisch-Zuber, Silences of the Middle Ages (London 1992),447 16 http://www.anamchara.com/mystics/kempe.htm 17 S. Dickman., ‘Margery Kempe and The English Devotional Tradition’, in The Medieval Mystical Tradition, ed. M. Glasscoe (Exeter, 1980), 156-172 18 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics: Games of Faith (London, 1993), 272.

Chemistry Bonding Notes and Lewis Dot Structures

CChemistry Exam #2 Study Guide (10/07/12) I. Bonding a. Ionic Bonding i. Electrons are transferred ii. Ions are held together by electrostatic force b. Covalent Bonding iii. Electrons are somehow shared iv. Electrons are attracted to nuclei (shared) II. Electronegativity c. The ability of an atom in a molecule to attract shared electrons to itself d. Measured on Pauling Scale e. Most electronegative: Fluorine. Then Oxygen. f. Depending on electronegativity of X and Y, there are 3 possibilities: v. X and Y have identical electronegativities (Non Polar) vi.X and Y have dissimilar electronegativities (Polar)- Y is slightly negative; has greater control than slightly positive X vii. X and Y have very different electronegativities (Ionic)- Y is negative; has full control g. Polar Covalent viii. Size depends on electronegative difference ix. Arrow points to where electrons are dragged to x. Dipole Moment measured in Debyes (D) 1. [Dipole Momenti = Q*r] xi. Possesses some ionic character 2. The bigger the difference†¦ a. The more polar the bond b. The bigger the dipole c. The more ionic in character III.Electron Configuration for Ions h. Atom forms an ion with electron configuration of the closest noble gas xii. True for representative S and P block xiii. Atom will lose up to three or gain up to three electrons 3. For D-block elements d. Outer S electrons lost before outer D electrons 4. For P-block elements e. Outer P lost before the outer S electrons, which are lost before outer D IV. Ionic Radii i. Size descriptions based on charge xiv. Positive ions are always smaller than the parent atom xv. Negative ions are always larger than the parent atom j.Periodic trend xvi. Ionic radii increase within a column going from top to bottom xvii. Ionic radii decrease within a row going from left to right V. Isoelectronic Ions k. Have the same number of electrons l. Radius decreases as atomic number increases VI. Compounds m. Ionic xviii. High Melting Point and Boiling Poin t (brittle solids) xix. Soluble in polar solvents like water xx. Insoluble in nonpolar solvents like Hexane xxi. Metal and Nonmetal xxii. Any compound that conducts electric current when melted n. Covalent xiii. Low Melting Point and Boiling Point (solid/liquid/gas) xxiv. Insoluble in polar solvents (exception: Sugar! ) xxv. Soluble in nonpolar solvents xxvi. Nonmetal and Nonmetal o. Crystals xxvii. All group 1 Alkali metals and Group 7 Halogens make crystals xxviii. Sublimation: solid to a gas! VII. Lattice Energy p. Measure of how strongly ions interact together (compares sizes of ions) xxix. enthalpy of formation of the ionic compound from gaseous ions and as such is invariably exothermic xxx. he energy required to completely separate one mole of a solid ionic compound into gaseous ionic constituents q. Goes to closer energy (emits energy as heat)- always more negative number r. (+) = endothermic (absorbing energy) s. (-) = exothermic (releasing energy) t. Energy is released! xxx i. =K[(Q1Q2)/(r)] xxxii. Large for small â€Å"r† (average distance between ions)- higher boiling point, more stable, difficult to separate, but still fragile xxxiii. Large â€Å"Q†- highly charged xxxiv. Lattice energy goes down in same group VIII.Bond Order u. Triple Bond (as bond energy increases, bond length decreases! ) xxxv. Highest Bond Order xxxvi. Strongest xxxvii. Shortest v. Double Bond w. Single Bond xxxviii. Weakest xxxix. Longest xl. Lowest Bond Order IX. Resonance x. More than one Lewis Dot Structure can be drawn for the same arrangement (skeleton) of atoms. Only the bonds differ! y. True structure is a ‘hybrid’ or ‘blend’ of possible resonance structures z. Not double or single bonds, but all bonds with order 1. 3333 {. Shuffling of electrons |. Formal Charge li. Look at one atom at a time (sum of Formal Charge must add up to over all charge of structure) xlii. (# of valance e- on free atom) – [(# of lone pair e-) + (# o f bonds)] X. Octet Rule Violators }. Always OBEY the octet rule: B, C, O, N, and F. ~. 5 EXCEPTIONS we should know: xliii. ________________________ . Radical- odd number of electrons . Biradical- EVEN number of electrons – has TWO UNPAIRED electrons (O2) . Groups 5-8 (3rd row and lower can have more than 8 valance) XI. VSEPR Theory . â€Å"Valance Shell Electron Pair Repulsion† Bonds and lone pairs repel (more lone pairs= squeezed) . Determines the likely shape of a molecule . Does not describe how the bonding occurs . Steps: xliv. Draw Lewis Dot Structure xlv. Count RHED (Region of High Electron Density) xlvi. Predict electronic geometry (arrangement of RHED) xlvii. Determine molecular geometry xlviii. Are bonds polar? xlix. Is the molecule polar? . If dipoles cancel out (the same), it is non polar! . Doesn’t matter about net dipole direction, it will be polar! . Pairs of diploes not arranged to cancel (different sizes)

Ethical treatment of native americans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethical treatment of native americans - Essay Example Native Americans never understood the European ideology. They did not have a clue the reason the Europeans were able to fight for land. Native Americans believed that death makes one the owner of nothing. They also failed to understand the way one individual or group could â€Å"own† land because were not capable of owning the sky. It is this peaceful ideology of Native Americans that made them be the best target to the treaties and the land agreements gave by the United States government. The Indian Removal Bill was passed by the Congress in 1828, and it compelled the Indians living in the south to move to a new place or would be subjected to the state laws. The North strongly opposed this bill while the South supported it. The Bill that barely passed the Senate and House was a popular distribution support of the fertile Indian lands. The U.S. government was attracted into the Indians relocation since it provided the southern farmers with more farmland. As far as the practica l relocation went on, the task of relocating the Indians was in the hands of the Army, who by then often signed the work off to contractors. Attempts by the Indians at conforming were pointless and crushed quickly. The time Cherokees Americanized their tribe and adopted â€Å"the American Way†, the Georgia State quickly went in militias, forcing them on their way. Many Indians tribes fought for the U.S. against their fellow Indian brothers in return for the promise that the government to them that they would be protected against the removal.

Applied Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Applied Law - Essay Example Some of the U.S. laws include making all information clear to the customer ensures that no information is hidden. The company must be registered by the government, and that the data collected from the users (their personal information) must be used for the purpose it was collected. Laws regarding digital rights and online advertising also apply (Wilson, 2003). Yes, virtual space can be profitable. Targeting as many potential consumers as possible via the internet has now become easy (Wilson, 2003). The business is not restricted to a particular geographical location; instead it is widely spread and reaches to international customers. If the revenue from sales is unsatisfying, then the advertising revenue on the virtual space may cover the costs. Joining ventures with the other similar business and sourcing out for cost-effective products may help too (Wilson, 2003). Not only this, the overheads are also minimized hence it is, indeed, possible to yield a profit from the virtual space. No, I think the considerations would be similar for any business operating online or offline. These include diversification and / or capitalization (Wilson,

Marbury v. Madison and It's Effects on the United States Today Term Paper

Marbury v. Madison and It's Effects on the United States Today - Term Paper Example The rising power of Adams-appointed Marshall also pushed the judiciary into the political struggle between Federalists and Republicans and made the Marbury v. Madison a critical pawn in the government's political chess (Henderson, 2010, p.43). This paper summarizes the facts and decision in the Marbury v. Madison and explores the effects of its ruling on the United States today. It argues that the Marbury v. Madison emphasized the role of the independent judiciary, separation of the judiciary from political squabbles, and the importance of checks-and-balances in the American government. Marbury v. Madison: A summary As his term ended, President John Adams had made a number of federal appointments, including William Marbury, as justice of the peace in the District of Columbia, in the process known as â€Å"midnight appointments.† Thomas Jefferson, the new president, noticed the pile of documents related to these appointments and refused to recognize them, including Marbury's ap pointment. The Secretary of State James Madison should have delivered these appointments, but he followed Jefferson and did not deliver Marbury's commission (Henderson, 2010, p.59). Marbury sued Madison, and the Supreme Court handled the case. ... The primary question is that: Could Congress, based on the 1789 law, broaden the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, as indicated in Article III of the Constitution? Article III clearly stated that: â€Å"In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction both as to Law and Fact† (qtd. in Henderson, 2010, p.60). Marshall argued that according to the Judiciary Act of 1789, delivering these commissions for judges and justices was unconstitutional, since it provided higher authority to the Supreme Court, which infringed on Article III of the Constitution. The Congress did not have the authority to expand the powers of the Supreme Court. Hence, the Supreme Court ruled that the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional and should not be followed. Since the law that prov ided authority to the Court in issuing writs of mandamus was void, the Court could not give a writ of mandamus and Marbury v. Madison had been dismissed. Effects of the Marbury v. Madison Independence of the Judiciary Marbury v. Madison asserted the role of an independent judiciary in having the â€Å"last word in law and the Constitution† (Sloan & McKean, 2009, p.49). Chief Justice Marshall established the Court's authority â€Å"to say what the law is† (Lively, 2000, p.392) and not have the executive and legislative power dictate how the law should be interpreted by the judiciary. This case is a landmark case, because it emphasizes the power of the judicial review in aligning laws with the Constitution. Marshall provided a â€Å"narrow† interpretation of the limits

Ford-Harris Matrix Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ford-Harris Matrix - Coursework Example Students are required to and can create a new product from the information on heroes, holidays, etc. Students are taught and know the concepts, themes and perspectives of cultural groups Students are taught and can understand cultural concepts, themes and perspectives. Students are required to and can apply information learned about cultural concepts, themes and perspectives Students are taught and can analyze important cultural concepts, themes and perspectives. Students are taught to and can critique cultural concepts, themes and perspective. Students are asked to and can create products on cultural concepts, themes and perspectives. Students are given information on important events, themes, etc. and can understand this information from various perspectives as diverse ethnic and cultural groups. Students are taught to understand and can demonstrate an understanding of important events and themes from various perspectives as diverse ethnic and cultural groups. Students are asked to and can apply an understanding of important events and themes from various perspectives as diverse ethnic and cultural groups. Students are taught to and can examine important events and themes from various perspectives as diverse ethnic and cultural groups. Students are taught to and can evaluate or judge important events and themes from various perspectives as diverse ethnic and cultural groups.

Lyrical Ballads and Hamlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lyrical Ballads and Hamlet - Essay Example he genuineness of the actions taken by Gertrude as a female character, it is still evident that Shakespeare tries to create a realization of this character as a human being (Stephen 1). Therefore, this paper attempts to scrutinize the extent to which self-hood can be attained through the use of female characters as depicted by Shakespeare in Hamlet and The Female Vagrant by Wordsworth. The realization of the human nature in Gertrude is observed when she drinks the poisoned wine that was prepared by Claudius, her husband, for Hamlet. Looking at this incident critically, it is evident in Act 3 that Gertrude came to herself and felt the guilt behind all the evils she was doing. For instance, it is possible that Gertrude had an affair with Claudius even while she was still married to King Hamlet and probably this is why the marriage between her and Claudius worked out so fast after the King’s death. Moreover, it may still be possible that Gertrude participated actively in secrecy towards the murder of her husband since from the play; she does not seem to consider the claims of her son that his uncle murdered his father, the King of Denmark (Stephen 3). Some of the actions of Gertrude seem to be powered by her wish and ambition to retain her station in the palace and her status as the Queen of Denmark (Stephen 4). These are valid human ambitions, and every other human is bound to be filled with the desire to maintain a royal status. It is therefore not surprising that Gertrude would be willing to do everything to see to it that she retains her status as the Queen of Denmark. What makes this ambition all wrong is going to the extreme; being ready even to see her husband die and start having sex with another man even before long after her husbands death creates a lot of suspicions (Stephen 4). However, despite all the bad things that Claudius did, she finally admitted that she was wrong, although she did not use spoken language to regret her deeds, but her actions

Philosophy of Religion of Ancient Israelites Essay

Philosophy of Religion of Ancient Israelites - Essay Example Genesis states that God created matter, order as well as life within the cosmos and the first chapter reveals the order of creation supernaturally. Therefore, as far as Christianity is concerned, the Bible already reveals the aspects that science is discovering and the first verses of the book of Genesis are against seven of humanity’s false philosophies. Further, the teachings of Islam state that the universe, including man and the physical environment if the earth, was created by God. According to Islam, the ultimate goal is visualizing the cosmos like a book of symbols for mediating and contemplating an uplifting of spirits or a binding from which the soul of human beings have to escape in order to achieve actual freedom in their spiritual journey towards God (Tymieniecka & Muhtaroglu, 2010). On the other hand the Hindu timeline and cosmology can be considered as the closest to the contemporary scientific timelines and might demonstrate that the Big Bang was not the beginning but a commencement of the current cycle that came before an infinite universe that may be followed by other vast universes (Rinehart, 2004). In the Hindu concept, the Rig Veda questions where the cosmos originated from and is perception of the cosmos also considers one actual divine ideology that is self-protecting such as Vaak, which is a divine word that means â€Å"birthing the cosmos†. The Hindu concept considers Brahma as the creator, whom God created and the universe is seen as constantly expanding from the moment it was created and disappearing into a haze in billions of years.   

Wigand vs. brown and Williamson- ethical issues Essay

Wigand vs. brown and Williamson- ethical issues - Essay Example ere not only grounded on the dangers accompanied smoking but also the fact that the company was adding chemicals to the cigarettes and this made the consumption of such cigarettes more addictive to the consumers. First, there was ethical violation of the consumers’ rights. Apart from the fact that the company endangered the lives of the people, it was also unlawfully and corruptly obtaining wealth from the unsuspecting consumers. When investigation was instituted by the CBS, Wigand was convinced by Lowell Bergman to make his testimony proving the allegation through an interview. In the process of doing that, Wigand found himself in an awkward situation that put his entire life at risk. The information he provided regarding this malpractice was treated with contempt. He suffered a lot of harassment and faced numerous threats because of such crucial information. The point of interest was that the CBS did not air the interview and the information that was presented by Wigand despite the risk he had taken. The main reason that the CBS gave for the failure to air the interview was the fear of litigation by the company. The CBS had broken law in this matter because of the omission. As a fourth estate, it was important that they work at the interest of the people and not base their actions on fear of actions being taken by the company. This was one of the major ethical dilemmas that CBS had placed itself in. It was now serving its own interests based on assumption rather than the interest of the people. It was revealed that the management of the CBS has chosen not to air the interview purely for monetary reasons. According to the study, it was revealed that the CBS did not want to taint their name with any legal issues particularly litigations, considering that they were at the verge of selling their company with the Westinghouse, and negotiatio ns were at critical level. This envisaged litigation was seen to have the potential of lowering the company stock.

The education system Essay Example for Free

The education system Essay Assess the view that ethnic minority pupils are discriminated against in the education system There are currently significant differences in the educational attainment of ethnic minority pupils compared to their white peers, as shown in the statistics from Social Trends. There are many possible factors that may account for this and for the purposes of this essay I will explore the idea of discrimination against ethnic minority pupils. Some pupils may be treated differently either due to racism or inaccurate views made by the teachers which lead to labelling. The Swan Report was done in 1985 in Britain after it was felt that research should be conducted into the differing attainments of ethnic minority pupils. This report concluded that there was not much racism in Britain at that time and if there was, it may have been from resources such as books so is consequently dying out. Due to the age of the Swan Report, its findings may not be as valid today, so this would indicate that the amount of racism, if any, would have decreased dramatically. It would therefore, be fair to say that the changes in the attitudes of people in society has lead to ethnic minority pupils no longer being discriminated against. However, Coard felt that there was racism being put through the ethnocentric education, it focused on white people, so it caused racism from the teachers and peer groups. This view argues that ethnic minority pupils are being discriminated against, but I feel it is difficult to state whether this is knowingly happening. For example, there is a wide range of ethnic minority pupils from a range of backgrounds in Britain today so it would be impractical to include work that is related to all of the cultures. As we all live in England it seems natural to give slightly more attention to the history of this country. Also, an explicit criticism of Coards work would be that it is not scientific as it is only based on his views. Overall, I feel that what Coard has described is not discrimination, but he has simply looked at the education system from a negative angle. By the 1980s, Troyna and Carrington found that there was not overt racism, but covert racism. By this they meant that people were saying, Im not racist, but This indicates that at this time, people were aware that it was wrong to be racist, but they still had views against ethnic minorities. This shows that there may have been discrimination against ethnic minorities, but it was not intentional. They felt that schools needed to do Anti-Racist Education, this would involve more strategies to deal with overt racism and would completely remove any barriers that were apparent between the cultures. From this, it can be said there is very little or no discrimination against ethnic minorities as schemes have even been introduced to reduce the small amount of covert racism.

Solubility Characteristics Between Organic Compounds

Solubility Characteristics Between Organic Compounds Objective: The objective of this experiment is to study the relative solubility of organic compounds in various solvents. Besides, understanding on the effect of polar groups on a nonpolar hydrocarbon skeleton is the aim for the test. Introduction: The purpose of this experiment is to explore and understand the solubility characteristics between organic compounds and their relative solvents. The structure of organic compound indicates its solubility, acidity, basicity, reactivity, stability and so on. All of these properties can be called as â€Å"function† and different structure has different functions after reacting with solvents. It is important to know the solubility of reactant because it directly determines the recrystallization and reaction yields. In recrystallization process, an impure compound is dissolved into a highly concentrated solution at a high temperature. The mixture was left to cool to open air to filter out the insoluble impurities. After the further cooling of solution, the remaining amount of solute can no longer be held in solution forms, it will be purified into crystals, which can later be collected. This process has used the concept of solubility. In short, insoluble of reactants in solvent in dicates no reactions occur. In chemistry, there is a term in describing the solubility of polymer which is like dissolves like. The meaning is one substance is more likely to soluble in those solvents that are having similar properties. Polar compounds are generally soluble in other polar compounds; non-polar compounds are generally soluble in other non-polar compounds. Same goes to molecules that can form hydrogen bonds, they are generally soluble with other molecules that can form hydrogen bonds. To prevent unnecessary test, structure of reactants should be observed whether they are like dissolves like to predict the solubility before handing on the procedures. Acid-base extraction is a type of liquid-liquid extraction. Its basic concept is based on different solubility levels between organic solvent and water. In this case, the organic solvent may be any carbon-based liquid that have less solubility in H2O. The common used organic solvents are ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, or ether. Acid-base extraction is usually used to differentiate organic compounds from each other based on their acid-base properties. The assumption leans against this method is that majority of the organic compounds are likely to dissolve in organic solvent than that in water. However, if the organic compound is rendered ionic, it is eventually having high solubility in water compared to organic solvent because rendered ionic has the ability to easily transform into ions. It can be ionized into cation by adding a proton or becomes an anion by removing a proton (an H+ ion). The fundamental theory behind this technique is that salts, which are ionic, tend to be water-s oluble while neutral molecules tend not to be. If there is an addition of acid to a mixture of an organic base with organic solvent, the organic base will receive a proton to become cation while acid remains unchanged. Conversely, an addition of base into acid mixture together with organic solvent, acid will be deprotonated and transforms into anion meanwhile basicity remains the same. Both of these cation and anion will be dissolved in water and this aqueous layer can be eliminated after phase separation and the pure substance can be obtained. Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy defines an absorption spectroscopy in the ultraviolet-visible spectral region. Its working theory is using light in the adjacent and visible (near UV and near infrared) ranges. The chemical inside the electromagnetic spectrum region will absorb the light which affects the perceived color of chemicals. At that moment, the light energy will be used by molecules to perform electronic transition. By going through Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, the compositions of organic compound can be identified. Diagram1 shows the energy distribution of each orbital inside a chemical compound. Diagram1 When UV light is passing through the compound, energy will be absorbed to promote the electron from either non-bonding orbital into anti-bonding orbital or that from bonding orbital into anti-bonding orbital. The energy of UV light was stored inside its wavelength whereas different wavelengths associate different strength of energy. The relationship between energy and frequency of light can be shown in the equation below: It shows the energy is directly proportional to frequency of light. Since UV spectroscopy is always giving the data of its wavelength instead of frequency. The relationship between frequency and wavelength needed to be considered. From next equation, it proves that the lower the wavelength gives higher frequency since they are inversely proportional: If large amount of energy needed to promote electrons, lower wavelength of UV light will be absorbed. Absorption spectrometer is only working in a range from about 200 nm (in the near ultra-violet) to about 800 nm (in the very near infra-red). Due to this case, when the electron is promoted from an orbital having weak energy (For example, pi bonding orbital has lower energy compared to non-bonding orbital), more energy is needed to help in transferring the electron. The wavelength of light absorbed will be shorter than 200 nm. Now the detection of functional group in this situation is ambiguous because the absorption of light does not happen in range. Non-bonding orbital requires lone pair of electrons inside the organic compound which means it may be containing oxygen, nitrogen or a halogen. The wavelength like 180nm will be absorbed to promote electron from pi bonding orbital into pi anti-bonding orbital while 290nm of wavelength will be used for promoting electron from non-bonding orbital. 290nm of wavelength will be picked because the spectrometer works in the range of 200 800 nm. Organic compound with different functional groups have their unique electrons configuration. The energy and wavelength of UV light required is also distinct. However, these properties prove that each composition has its own particular reading of wavelength absorption. From this, the composition of one unknown compound could be identified by testing the Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy. Here is some example of compounds with their wavelength absorption. Example1 Furthermore, Infra-red spectrum is also one of the methods used to identify the composition of organic compound. Diagram2 shows the setup of Infra-red spectrum: Diagram2 Detector will absorb the non-absorbed infra-red and produce a graph by its strength on different wavelengths. For example, if the sample absorbs 800cm-1 of infra-red, the remaining light that passing through the sample will be lesser. Hence the graph will show a large trough at 800cm-1 of wavelength because detector received less amount of infra-red. This is the typical Infra-red spectrum: From the example above, the trough at 3000+ cm-1 indicates there is absorption of infra-red by sample to excite bonds in the molecule to a higher state of vibration either stretching or bending. Observation on this trough can determine the functional group inside the organic sample because every functional group has their approximate range of infra-red absorption. The advantage of applying Infra-red spectrum is that it can detect the other smaller parts of differences between the molecules that having same functional group. For example, both propan-1-ol and propan-2-ol contain same OH group as functional group. These can be shown in two graphs below: They have almost the same troughs around the area at 3000 cm-1 which indicates the same functional group. However, the regions between 1500 and 500 cm-1 shows the distinct in composition. This region is called fingerprint region. The pattern in the fingerprint region allows the user to evaluate the compound.

Camille Paglias Rape and the Modern Sex War Essay -- essays research

Camille Paglia's Rape and the Modern Sex War Camille Paglia writes the article, Rape and the Modern Sex War, which is about young women being vulnerable in today’s society against rape and how feminism has mistakenly led women to believe that they aren’t in any danger. Paglia states her opinion to women because she believes â€Å"that women are vulnerable and should be aware of the pervasiveness of rape† (83) all the time. Rape has been around for hundreds of years and the effects it has on women are life long terrifying memories. Paglia speaks to women saying that they should be ready for these situations and not be with a group of guys alone, always be with other girlfriends, and learn to take feminism out of the picture and realize that women will always be in danger.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Paglia’s article, which I believe is a critical opinion informing women of her beliefs on sexuality, speaks mostly to college women and women in general because she believes that women should be prepared for sexual situations without consent in all circumstances no matter who they are. This is her first step in arguing her point of view on feminism, which I agree with. She wants her audience to see her point that a woman’s actions can also be held accountable in some rape situations. When a woman is by herself with a group of men getting drunk, she has put her own self in a very risky situation because she is drunk and has no control of herself and the likeliness of rape is very possible. Paglia believes that a woman should always have control of her actions all   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2 the time and not to blame men for it is biologically programmed in their heads that they hunt, pursue, and capture, and this is said throughout their sex history (83-84).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second part of Paglia’s argument is how she thinks misinterpretations are the women’s fault and I disagree with this point because women can walk and talk just as men and are not always to blame for being the victim. Paglia believes that feminism doesn’t see that sexual desires can be seen in how we act which means that these desires throughout our body cannot always be verbally said and this is where the miscommunication between the two sexes causes a problem. She thinks that when a woman makes a mistake she should face t... ... an attitude,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4 which is firm and not a self - pitying one, which many feminist women possess, Paglia states.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Paglia didn’t use any key terms or metaphors in her article, but she uses the word feminism many times showing that men and women have equal rights, but in truth this is not correct. Men and women have some equal rights, but women are looked on as a lower standard when compared to men, and I believe this will never change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Paglia uses different examples throughout the story and puts her thoughts into an informative essay that explains that women should be aware of what they do and learn from their mistakes regarding opposite sexual tensions and that actions aren’t always spoken but are acted sometimes because of her belief that there is that implanted part of a man which can be dangerous, which Paglia thinks is just part of a man’s identity. When a woman realizes the subject of rape and feminism is not thought of, two identities can be identified and with self control and awareness both a man and a woman can have a relationship in which each partner takes full responsibility of his or her actions.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

The Obese Children of Today Essay -- Health Obesity Overweight Essays

The Obese Children of Today What I know about obese children is that they are very unhealthy and that their chances of living a long productive life is practically obsolete. Ihave imagined many stereotypical things about these obese children. For instance, I believed that the obese child got to be how they are from their own good will. I also assumed that the obese child was a lazy individual with no sense of direction, simply an individual with no discipline and with low self-esteem. I thought of them as being eating machines with no self-control. In essences I felt that these obese children have given up in living a normal life (normal being what we as a society consider to be our mainstream). I was completely blinded that the blame should be placed on the child and on the parent for lack of effort in their part to stop the condition of being obese. As I began to do my research on obese children in the Internet, I came to the realization of a tremendous amount of information, which seem to be useless in that specific point of time. The way I began was by choosing a web browser, which there were a few to choose from. I decided to first choose Yahoo, and on Yahoo's searcher I placed the tittle of obese children, which to my surprise gave an enormous amount of sites to go into, in fact it gave me over two-million sites to go into. I began to start reading the tittles to see which one came closer to my need. I began to become enormously frustrated with the search because none of the tittles that I read was to my liking. Further and further I went and yet no paradise and finally I came to a tittle that interested me, but to my regret the site was not what I needed. Finally, after my disillusion of not finding what I wanted i... ... stereotypes came crumbling down. Yes, it may seem that we are trying to find a way to blame someone or something else for being overweight, but that is not the case because children are just not active any more and if that inactivity continues we are just asking for many problems to come in the future. Works Cited Belfry, John. Child & Family. "Canadian Children Face Activity and Fitness Crisis" http://www.cfc.ca/docs/00000946.html12/1/98 Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness. "Fitness, Activity, and sports participation in the Preschool Child (RE9265)" http://www.aap.org/policy/05043.htm12/1/98 Gidding, Samuel S. MD. AHA Medical/Scientific Statement. "Understanding Obesity in Youth" http://www.amhrt.org/Scientific/statements/1998/1202.html#B18 12/2/98 Life Skills for Vocational Success. http://www.workshopsinc.com/manual/Chp6/1.html 12/2/98 The Obese Children of Today Essay -- Health Obesity Overweight Essays The Obese Children of Today What I know about obese children is that they are very unhealthy and that their chances of living a long productive life is practically obsolete. Ihave imagined many stereotypical things about these obese children. For instance, I believed that the obese child got to be how they are from their own good will. I also assumed that the obese child was a lazy individual with no sense of direction, simply an individual with no discipline and with low self-esteem. I thought of them as being eating machines with no self-control. In essences I felt that these obese children have given up in living a normal life (normal being what we as a society consider to be our mainstream). I was completely blinded that the blame should be placed on the child and on the parent for lack of effort in their part to stop the condition of being obese. As I began to do my research on obese children in the Internet, I came to the realization of a tremendous amount of information, which seem to be useless in that specific point of time. The way I began was by choosing a web browser, which there were a few to choose from. I decided to first choose Yahoo, and on Yahoo's searcher I placed the tittle of obese children, which to my surprise gave an enormous amount of sites to go into, in fact it gave me over two-million sites to go into. I began to start reading the tittles to see which one came closer to my need. I began to become enormously frustrated with the search because none of the tittles that I read was to my liking. Further and further I went and yet no paradise and finally I came to a tittle that interested me, but to my regret the site was not what I needed. Finally, after my disillusion of not finding what I wanted i... ... stereotypes came crumbling down. Yes, it may seem that we are trying to find a way to blame someone or something else for being overweight, but that is not the case because children are just not active any more and if that inactivity continues we are just asking for many problems to come in the future. Works Cited Belfry, John. Child & Family. "Canadian Children Face Activity and Fitness Crisis" http://www.cfc.ca/docs/00000946.html12/1/98 Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness. "Fitness, Activity, and sports participation in the Preschool Child (RE9265)" http://www.aap.org/policy/05043.htm12/1/98 Gidding, Samuel S. MD. AHA Medical/Scientific Statement. "Understanding Obesity in Youth" http://www.amhrt.org/Scientific/statements/1998/1202.html#B18 12/2/98 Life Skills for Vocational Success. http://www.workshopsinc.com/manual/Chp6/1.html 12/2/98

Macbeths Downfall Essay -- essays research papers

In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, is a brave and loyal subject to the King of Scotland, but as the play progresses, his character begins to change drastically. Evil and unnatural powers, as well as his own passion to become king, take over his better half and eventually lead to his downfall. The three main factors that intertwine with one another that contribute to Macbeth’s tragic end are the prophecies told by the three witches, Lady Macbeth’s influence, and finally, Macbeth’s excessive passion and ambition which drove his desire to become king to the utmost extreme. The prophecy told by the three witches was what triggers the other factors that contribute to Macbeth s downfall. In the first act, the witches tell Macbeth that he is to become the Thane of Cawdor and soon after, king. This prophecy arouses Macbeth’s curiosity of how he can become the King of Scotland. â€Å"Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more: By Sinel’s death I know I am Thane of Glamis; But how of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor lives, a prosperous gentleman; and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief.† (Act I. sc.III) This quote shows how the witches prophecy attracts Macbeth. It demonstrated how Macbeth thirsts for an answer from the witches of how is he to become the Thane of Cawdor and even king. As the play continues, Macbeth slowly relies on the witches’ prophecies. It becomes a remedy for Macbeth’s curiosity, which corrupts his character. One of the witche...

Buyers Behaviour Virgin Atlantic Essay

Originally it was called British Atlantic Airways, later changed to Virgin Atlantic Airways. The first flight was from Gatwick to Netwark on the 22nd of June 1984 (Virgin Atlantic, 2012). The company launched a ? 6 m advertising campaign in 2010, which was James Bond themed (Guardian, 2010). The new advertisement helped the company recover from the recession. Now I will examine how exactly it was achieved and what methods were used to obtain the best performance of the advertisement. 2) Target Market. Market segmentation is a way of separating the consumers into different sections by their shared needs and personalities (Leon. G, 2010, p. 28). The needs and values depend from person to person according to his culture (Leon. G, 2010, p. 366). The VALS (values and lifestyles) segmentation system clearly shows the type of audience this commercial is aiming at (Leon. G, pp. 84). This system divides consumers into eight distinctive subcategories, which consist of: thinkers, achievers, experiencers, believers, strivers and makers. The subcategories this advertisement will appeal to are: innovators because they are receptive to new technologies and who can experience the innovated technologies at a Virgin Atlantic flight; achievers because they are goal oriented consumers who like to display success to their piers, which they can display by flying Virgin Atlantic as it is high class airlines; experiencers because they like to spend their income on fashion, socializing and entertainment which Virgin Atlantic offers through great service, food, entertainment and their flights are considered as ‘trendy’. The social comparison theory states that the consumer with higher purchase ability tends to have a higher status; this is a proof why achievers like to spend on luxurious products and services (Leon. G, 2010, p. 338). This commercial appeals to all the five effective target-marketing segments (Leon. G, 2010, p. 73). It is identifiable as it clearly distinguishes the shared needs, age and gender of the consumer. The consumer is a businessman or career orientated workingwoman who prefers high-class service. The age would appeal to Generation Y that is born from 1980 and on wards (Leon. G, 2010, p. 410). The Generation Y spends 150 billion annually and is into innovation and luxury while Generation X is considered as ‘sophisticated’ group. Virgin Atlantic Airways allows children ages 5 and above to travel or should be accompanied by an adult (16+). Pets are accepted if they accompany a disabled person (Virgin Atlantic, 2012). 3) Service offered. The marketing mix shows what kind of service/product is offered by dividing the elements to: product, price, place and promotion (Leon. G, 2010, p. 58). The service being offered is not just a flight from one destination to another; it is an experience at a high-class level of the Virgin Atlantic flight where the costumer will be served at a high class, with security, entertainment and with maximum comfort. It is a high-involvement purchase, which requires considerate thought and cognitive process, as the price is high (Leon. G, 2010, p. 231). The flight can be purchased online or at a flight ticket office. The company offers promotion such as: flying club card, ticket sales and discount codes/vouchers (Virgin Atlantic, 2012). The price and quality relationship the company has is low- price tickets in comparison with their competitors and with a high-class service. 4) Seasonality. The time of placing the advertisement is very important, as there are competing companies to take into consideration. The order effect research has shown that the advertisements presented first (primacy effect) and last (regency effect) has a greater effect on the consumer (Leon. G, 2010, p. 302). The release date was 26 October 2010, which was a great push to recovery from recession. British Airways and American Airlines are the biggest competitors. American Airlines released their commercial in May 2010, which had a primacy effect where as Virgin Atlantic Airlines gained a regency effect. The James Bond 007 Blood Stone video game was released on 5th of November 2010(IMDB, 2010). This shows that the commercial was released 10 days before the release date of the game. This strategy used by Virgin Atlantic is a very clever marketing move, as their advertisement is James Bond themed and during that period of time all sorts of media (TV, newspapers, online, word of mouth and billboards) had James Bond game advertisements. Virgin Airlines got increased attention to their advertisement by publishing their advertisement at time coinciding with Blood Stone’s release. 5) Positioning the commercial. The advertisement is transmitting through mass media as well as through new (non traditional) media (Leon. G, 2010, pp. 294-296). The commercial is played on TV where it addresses wide range of consumers (i. e. via mass media) and through YouTube where it is addressable and interactive, while response – measurable. It was also played during the flights on the Virgin Atlantic TV channel where it exclusively targets its audience (i. e. via target media). 6) Reason for the commercial. The consumer behavior consists of searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating, disposing of products and services that in their belief will fulfill their wants (Leon. G, 2010, p. 23). The commercial was created in order to persuade and make aware the audience of the fact that the service being offered by the airlines is luxurious, entertaining and high-class, to convince that this kind of service will satisfy there needs. ) Perception. â€Å"Perception is defined as the process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets stimuli into a meaningful and coherent picture of the world. †(Leon. G, 2010, p. 175) This advertisement appeals to emotional motives, which are affection, status and pride in this case (Leon. G, 2010, p. 110). The advertisements mood is sexually charged and is putting the buyer into a state of excitement by: James Bond themed music and graphics, illustrations of high-class adventure and good-looking actors in the commercial. Abraham Maslow created the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which identifies the five basic levels of human needs (Maslow, 1987). The advert is aiming to satisfy all the five needs of the potential consumer. Egoistic needs will be satisfied during the flight on these airlines, as it is illustrated as a prestigious flight. Egoistic needs include the need of good reputation, status and recognition from others, which advert convinces that the consumer will have, if he/she chooses Virgin Atlantic Airways. Need of Self-Actualization will be satisfies as shown in the advert, by flying on this flight the customer will feel self-actualized by getting high-class service which he/she deserved or earned themselves. Social Needs are to be satisfied by communication with good-looking staff. The Virgin Atlantic cabin crew was voted as the most attractive staff in the whole world by the surveys of travelers (Daily mail, 2011). Richard Branson has always stated that the appearance of the flight crew must be important in order make the customers enjoy a memorable flight. Cabin staff of Virgin Atlantic Airlines are told that: ‘You’ll be the face of the airline. As such, your grooming should always be immaculate – even after a long, tiring flight’ (Daily mail, 2011). As flying on an airplane has a small risk of security, the advert is aiming to convince that their flight is safe and is a pleasant experience where there is nothing to worry about. Physiological needs will be satisfied by the high-class food and beverage service that would be offered during the flight by good-looking staff. Air and shelter will also be present, as the designed with up to date technology. This commercial is aimed at visual consumers that prefer and take information better through visual images or messages as sources of information (Leon. G, 2010, p. 147). While watching the Virgin Atlantic advertisement repetitively on TV or Online passive learning is occurring and it changes the consumer’s attitude regarding the product (Leon. G, 2010, p. 232). The theme message delivered through this advert is: ‘Your airline’s either got it or it hasn’t’. There is a message resonance in the wording, which adds a bit of humor to it and will make the viewer remember the commercial (Leon. G, 2010, p. 301). The theme message has comparative advertising technique to it where Virgin makes the viewer compare their airlines to Virgin Atlantic (Leon. G, 2010, p. 303). The sexiness in advertising is present in order to grab the attention of the viewer (Leon. G, 2010, p. 308). The hostesses are wearing short dresses in red color and the man who is passing the security check hasn’t got underwear on. Virgin is trying to show that their flights are ‘sexy’. This technique tries to show the security the airlines provide (angel like). The flight team is very good looking and is walking with self-assurance, which adds confidence to the image of the company. The runway lines and the red carpet represents the luxurious service. | | Transition from the safety demonstration to the airplane saloon is done without editing cuts, which is very eye-catching. | | The shot of people sitting around of a pool of martini and playing with the olive, which represents entertainment, beverage and luxury the airlines offer to their customers. 9) Buying process. â€Å"The consumer decision making can be viewed as three distinct but interlocking stages: the input stage, the process stage and the output stage†(Leon. G, 2010, p. 36). This advertisement is designed in order to influence the input and process stage in order to make the consumer come to the output stage. This advert influences and increases the consumer’s recognition of the service ne ed. The information is delivered to the consumers through the marketing efforts of the commercial, which will influence not only media but also word of mouth marketing. The Psychoanalytical Theory of Personality created by Sigmund Freud explains the drivers of the output stage (Leon. G, 2010, pp. 137-139). According to Freud’s theory this commercial will affect superego and id to make the purchase. The superego will be gratified when purchasing this service because he/she will become socially and fashionably acceptable, as Virgin Atlantic flight is ‘trendy’. Id will be gratified if the consumer will make the purchase because the airlines offer the basic requirements such as food, shelter and security. The consumer will make a trial or a repeat purchase when buying this service (Leon. G, 2010, p. 497). The consumer might be new to the company or be a frequent loyal customer. 10) Involvement levels and risk perception. Involvement is a very important factor in how much attention is paid to the message sent to the viewer and how it is understood. There are different ways to measure the involvement of the viewer. There are two ways of involvement, high-risk and low-risk purchases. The higher the risk, the higher the involvement and research will be. The flight purchase is a low-involvement product and consumers prefer congruent context of the message delivered (Leon. G, 2010, p. 293). The mood of the consumer is very important, if he/she is in a bad mood, the content of the commercial might cause a bad reaction of the viewer. Psychological noise may be distracting the viewer from the commercial and the advertisement has contrast in the imagery in order to keep the viewers attention. 11) Conclusion. The advertisement created by the Virgin Atlantic airlines in my opinion was successful . The James Bond theme imageries and soundtrack had a great impact on the effectiveness of the commercial. Every time the consumer will watch James Bond movie or play a James Bond game, the commercial will subconsciously come to their mind and the other way around. The time it was released was perfect, as they needed a push to get out from the recession. The commercial had a bit too much sex advertisement in it, which may led to worse effect tan could have achieved and made the competitors (American Airlines) stand out more, as they had a touching TV commercial that gave gratitude to the men in uniform, veterans and their families. Sexual advertising may distract the consumer’s attention from the message content being sent. This technique may have a little influence on the buyers purchasing intentions and a risk of spoiling the image of the company. This advert is targeting businessman, but there is the family audience with children and generation X, which they are risking of loosing. The commercial is based mostly on emotions and only in one short scene the viewer can see the seats with the monitors. The saloons, seats and the exact food of Virgin Atlantic Airlines are not shown, but they are very important to be shown, as the consumer wants to see the comfort he/she will have during the flight. The fact that the advertisement shows a man being tucked into a cloud and not airplane seat could make an impression that the airlines are hiding something and their seats are not good enough to be shown in the advertisement. This advertisement could have been improved by focusing the viewer’s attention much more on the design of the saloon, comfortable seats and delicious food. Nonetheless, overall this was a very well executed and effective advertisement with successfully reached hearts and minds of customer.

Groups and High-Performance Teams

Abstract Today’s leaders face many challenges in the creation of a high-performing team. Effective leaders are able to assemble a high-performance team with good hierarchical balance, measurable and attainable goals, and appropriate communication expectations across the team. They promptly address conflict resolutions and break down all physical barriers in managing multi-city offices and dispersed employees. By paying close attention to team demographics and diversity, good leaders will establish a solid group foundation which will result in a high-performance team.Groups and High-Performance Teams There are many factors that affect a team’s behavior and overall performance. Group demographics and diversity can ultimately play a key role in the success or failure of any team. This paper will identify some of the challenges that today’s leaders face in turning a group into a high-performance team, and the impact of demographic characteristics and cultural diversi ty on group behavior. Groups vs. Teams As defined by Schermerhorn (2005), â€Å"A group is a collection of two or more people who work with one another regularly to achieve common goals.An effective group is one that achieves high levels of task performance, member satisfaction, and team viability. † Teams on the other hand, are usually time-limited groups that get together to achieve a common purpose. â€Å"An essential criterion of a true team is that the members feel ‘collectively accountable’ for what they accomplish. † (Schermerhorn, 2005). The manager or team leader must remember the importance of the team members’ ability to associate themselves with a group identity and begin to form an attachment to their teammates. The fact is that it takes a lot more work to build a well-functioning team than simply assigning members to the same group and then expecting them to do a great job. † (Shcermerhorn, 2005). Team Identity Setting a teamâ₠¬â„¢s identity is one of the first steps a manager must take in forming a high-performing team. As we often witness in the sports world, a team’s identity can help to rally team members and build camaraderie amongst its members. The same approach holds true in a business setting. Computer Weekly (2004) reports, â€Å"The project start process can also be used to build team identity and build psychological attachment between members. (p. 24). This psychological attachment will serve as the foundation upon which the team is built and will affect the team’s overall performance. According to Turk (2005), â€Å"As the project manager you need to build a staff that can get the job done. You need the right mix of expertise, creativity, flexibility, enthusiasm, and experience. † ( p. 30). These key attributes will work to motivate other team members and assist the manager in establishing the appropriate balance to the team. Team Diversity When forming effective teams, managers must consider team synergy an important goal, and diversity plays a major role.Managers should strive to create the appropriate balance between workers and their personality types. As Martinette (2005) points out, â€Å"Work groups and teams that have too many people of one type or another soon find themselves out of balance. † (p. 117). â€Å"For good problem solving and decision making, you need a diversity of personality types. † (Hill, 2005, p. 37). Striking the proper team balance is important and balance does not mean people with a background and disposition just like the boss. Many types of diversity are to be expected on any team, and can be the source of many differences of opinion.Age, gender, ethnicity, and personality differences can affect the team’s cohesiveness, or non-cohesiveness as may be. Obviously, with a diverse group the possibilities of conflict increase, but so do the possibilities of a greater outcome. Hill (2005) gives us an ex ample, â€Å"Meetings are more raucous and consensus is harder to achieve. But these arguments often spark new ideas. As a result, the company is constantly spawning and sculpting new innovations in a way the old team never did. † (p. 38). Differences in world view can create dynamic conversations and results, if the team can learn how to effectively deal with conflict.According to D Andrea-O Brien and Buono (1996), â€Å"True team learning is the ability of members to†¦ build on their knowledge so that their collective knowledge enables them to continually improve team†¦ performance as well as to discover, develop and implement completely new ways of doing business (p. 1). Demographics Managing remote employees is a growing challenge for many of today’s leaders. It is not just about managing employees at satellite offices; it is also managing telecommuters who work a certain number of days from their home offices.A manager needs to understand the complexiti es of managing a virtual team and communicating across the boundaries of time zones, organizations and cultures. Good communication practices as well as building personal relationships are both key to working with remote employees. As Pauleen (2003) states, â€Å"Effective communications is a key to successful virtual teams, and one of the keys to effective communications is how well team members are able to build and maintain their personal relationships. † (p. 229).Video conferencing works well and provides a company’s employees with a visual link that serves to backfill for the lack of face-to-face communications that employees would have if they were collocated. Trust and Motivation An important goal for managers, in addressing and monitoring a team’s behavior, is to develop the trust of his or her team members. Employees that trust one another will often be motivated to go the extra mile in meeting and exceeding team objectives. Team motivation is extremely important because it makes the team more effective.Stephen Covey (1989) states: â€Å"Unclear expectations in the area of goals also undermine communication and trust. † (p. 194). If goals seem unachievable, it could affect the teams buy-in to the whole process. Giving, receiving and being responsive to feedback should be a fundamental part of the team process. Conflict According to DeJanasz, Dewd and Schneider (2001), â€Å"Conflict is any situation in which there are incompatible goals, cognitions, or emotions within or between individuals or groups that lead to opposition or antagonistic interaction. † (p. 243).Conflict among team members is inevitable and desirable, because â€Å"conflict in itself is not the problem. It is, rather, our reactions to it that determine the impact, and causes us to characterize it as a negative experience. † (Porter, 2005, p. 1). It should be anticipated that the team will disagree, and therefore, conflict should be considered a part of the process. â€Å"In fact, if we define conflicts as simply differences of opinion, this is exactly what we want to happen. In bringing together a diverse group of experts, we expect and want these differences to surface because, in the end, we expect a better outcome or result. (The Team, p. 171). If everyone agreed, there would be no reason to team up to resolve a situation, or to come up with new ideas. Teams are developed for a specific purpose, and diverse opinions, ideas, and perspectives will make the team most effective. Conclusion Team diversity and demographics play a key role in determining the success or failure of any team. An appropriate understanding and acceptance of a diverse group will benefit the organization through innovative and diverse ideas. â€Å"Of course, that doesn’t mean you should go out of your way to hire people you don’t like.While a certain measure of conflict is healthy, too much conflict can be destructive. † (Hil l, 2005, p. 39). Paying close attention to team identity, trust, diversity, motivation and conflict resolution will go a long way in paving the road for a successful team outcome. Employees will appreciate that their leadership cares about these issues and will reward the team with their best efforts in meeting goals, which results in a high-performance team. References Computer Weekly. (2004, June). Plan your web project milestones. Computer Weekly. 4-54. Retrieved October 8, 2005 from Business Source Premier database. Covey, Stephen R. (1989). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. New York: Fireside. D Andrea-O Brien, Charlene & Buono, Anthony F. (1999, Summer). Building effective learning teams: Lessons from the field. S. A. M. Advanced Management Journal, 61(3), 1-6. Retrieved September 23, 2005, from ProQuest database. DeJanasz, Dewd & Schneider. (2001). Conflict: Sources and solutions. Interpersonal Skills in Organizations. Universit y of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved October 3, 2005, from University of Phoenix, rEsource, GEN 300 – Skill for Professional Development Course Web site: https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/resource/resource. asp. Hill, Dee. (2005, November). Dealing with diversity. Inc. , 27(11), 37-40. Retrieved January 13, 2006, from Academic Search Premier Database. Martinette, Jr. ,C. V. (2005, April). Leadership and Balance. Fire Engineering, 158, 117-126. Retrieved October 8, 2005 from Academic Search Premier database.Pauleen, David J. (2003, Winter). An Inductively Derived Model of Leader-Initiated Relationship Building with Virtual Team Members. Journal of Management Information Systems, 20, 227-256. Retrieved October 7, 2005 from Business Source Premier database. Porter, Sheila, J. D. Managing Conflict in Learning Teams. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. Retrieved September 28, 2005, from University of Phoenix, rEsource, GEN 300  œ Skills for Professional Development Course Web site: https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/resource/resource. asp.Schermerhorn, Jr. J. R. , Hunt, J. G. , and Osborn, R. N. (2005). Organizational Behavior (9th ed. ) Wiley. Hoboken, NJ. The Team Working Together. Chapter 12. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. Retrieved September 26, 2005, from University of Phoenix, rEsource, GEN 300 – Skills for Professional Development Course Web site: https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/resource/resource. asp. Turk, Wayne. (2005, May/June). Quality Management – A Primer. Defense & AT-L, 34, 30-33. Retrieved October 7, 2005 from Business Source Premier database.

Reform In Britain During The 1800s History Essay

The call for reform in Britain during the 1800 ‘s was common with measure after measure turn toing issues such as working conditions, instruction and faith each going a subject of argument. The most of import of the reforms nevertheless were the legislative reform that began with the 1832 reform measure and was continued in 1867 and beyond. These first two measures nevertheless are the most important of the statute law passed during the century. It was the 1832 Reform Act though that was the defining minute in British parliamentary History. It was the first major restructuring of the electoral system in over five hundred old ages, and as a consequence it is justified to name it a momentous event. Whether or non the Reform Act of 1832 was ‘great ‘ as it has been labeled or is slightly lesser in significance is a good inquiry. It could be stated that reform acts that followed accomplished more and affected a wider sector of the population than the original measure. The Reform Act of 1867 tantrums in to this class, it reached out to more people than the original act and as Gertrude Himmelfarb says, it was the â€Å" aˆÂ ¦act that transformed England into a democracy. †[ 1 ] However one reads that statement, there has to be a starting point and it is difficult to conceive of parliament doing such wide-ranging alterations like affranchising the working category in 1867 if non for the in-between category holding already been enfranchised at some earlier clip. Francis Herrick therefore, is a bit more accurate when he wrote that the â€Å" Reform Bill of 1867 is by and large considered as the 2nd measure in the long procedure which peacefully transformed the British authorities into a functioning democracy. †[ 2 ] Reform took about a century to finish, it did n't go on overnight. No 1 in 1832 idea that the advancement they had made was traveling to be the terminal of the route. Ellis A. Wasson makes this clear by stating â€Å" †¦ conclusiveness was non their purpose, † they went from utilizing the nose count of 1820 to that of 1830 to apportion seats while they were revising the measure because they â€Å" tacitly admitted their ‘s could merely be a impermanent step. †[ 3 ]Herrick makes a good point when he says that 18th century British reform is a â€Å" aˆÂ ¦story of the transportation of political power from an nobility to a in-between category, and from the in-between category to the people. †[ 4 ]Therefore, the history of reform in Britain is, and it ‘s most of import minute has to be, the act of 1832 when the first measure was accomplished by reassigning power to the in-between category. The Reform Act, for that ground, is of great effect non merely for what it achieved but besides because it set in motion.A Prior to the 1832 act, parliament was under the control of the aristocracy and the landed elite in both the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Those who sat there were representatives of the privileged along with being distinguished landholders. These work forces were besides leaders in about every facet of British society. It can be argued that any sort of reform would be damaging to the domination the land-owning nobility held and it would look that these work forces would non vote for a measure that would cut down their power but, this â€Å" landed elite dominated the establishments which passed the parliamentary reform Acts of the Apostless of 1832 and 1867. †[ 5 ] One ground for their recognition of reform was that they saw problem looming in the skyline if there was non some kind of alteration was n't made. Encouraged by what they saw as a successful revolution in France, the people of Britain became resolute in their privation for a more representative authorities. The instance could be made that outside parliamentary force per unit area to consequence reform was inspired by the in-between category along with a really convincing concern of a on the job category rebellion. This outside force per unit area could come in many signifiers with the most popular being some type of presentation. Therefore, it is difficult to visualize the Reform Act being passed on its ain agreement and the curates merely had to look at the Catholic Emancipation of 1829, which saw widespread perturbation prior to its passing. After the 2nd reading of the Reform Bill was rejected there were public violences that took topographic point in Bristol every bit good as ser ious perturbations at Derby and Nottingham, and a roseola of less alarming presentations in other topographic points.[ 6 ] After two unsuccessfully efforts, the Reform Act was passed by the Commons and sent to the Lords on 26 March 1832 but non without another signifier of play. The Whig cabinet threatened to walk out if the male monarch did non demo his support for reform by naming 50 extra equals. When he did n't, Lord Grey resigned. Undeterred, the male monarch made an attempt to put up a Tory disposal that advocated a more moderate reform by reappointing Wellington to make a new authorities. This experiment did non hold the expected consequences and Wellington, recognizing that he could non sit a Front Bench of protagonists, ended his effort to take office. Having no other option, the male monarch sent for Grey who retook his station and rapidly moved to present another measure. Equally shortly as he was made cognizant that the King ‘s had come to an understanding with Grey and his Whig demands, Lord Althorp was reported to hold said: â€Å" It completes the revolution. †[ 7 ] Again, the Reform Act was the starting point of this revolution but its impact on future reform can non be understated. Talking to the House of Commons on February 28, 1859, Benjamin Disraeli makes mention to its impact by stating that â€Å" If we judge of the Act of 1832 by its effects†¦ it must be admitted that that policy was equal to the exigency it controlled and directed. †[ 8 ]There was no great public call for reform in 1867 and what small there was had no existent organisation behind it. What small call for alteration there was out at that place was non concentrated on any individual step for political reform.[ 9 ]Furthermore, the issue of reform played small portion in the election of 1865, which indicated a general satisfaction with the bing state of affairs.[ 10 ]Seven old ages after Disraeli ‘s address on March 12, 1866, William Gladstone made similar mention to 1832 while presenting his measure when he said â€Å" It may be said, and said really genu inely that at the clip there was a political heat and exhilaration, and a grade of apprehensiveness which do non now existaˆÂ ¦ †[ 11 ] The rudimentss of the Reform Act of 1832 were that it enfranchised the in-between category. This meant that they could form as a political force. Power had been passed from the little figure of elect whose ascendants had entitled them to a more commercially minded, progressive base and broke the old landholders ‘ clasp on power. If Nelson ‘s triumph at Trafalgar saved Britain from Gallic invasion and is considered a decisive event of the 19th century, so the reform act should be considered merely as worthy since it saved Britain from violent revolution from within. Phillips and Wetherell repeat an article in a 1836 issue of the Westminster Review that sang the congratulations for the measure by stating â€Å" The passing of the Reform Bill was our pickings of the Bastille ; it was the first act of our great political alteration. †[ 12 ] Phillips and Wetherell offer inside informations to the consequence the original measure. Prior to passage of the measure, the people entitled to vote is difficult to gauge because there was no signifier of enrollment â€Å" but the best-informed estimations suggest that instantly before the Reform Bill more than 400,000 Englishmans held a franchise of some kind. †[ 13 ]This figure comes out of a population in the England and Wales that was estimated to be merely about 14 million at the 1831 nose count.[ 14 ]The public permitted to vote so, represents merely 2.86 per centum of the population in 1831. In its concluding signifier nevertheless, the Great Reform Act â€Å" expanded the entire electorate in surplus of 650, 000, † which is an accurate sum â€Å" because of the infliction of a national system of enrollment. †[ 15 ]The addition of 250,000 new constituency members seems little out of the entire population but represented a 62.5 per centum addition in the figure of electors. Without uncertainty, the Reform Act of 1867 permitted more electors. The 1861 nose count shows merely over 20 million people lived in England and Wales which is an addition of four million people in 30 old ages. The Reform Act passed six old ages subsequently â€Å" added 938,427 new electors to the axial rotation, more than four times the figure enfranchised in 1832. †[ 16 ]It is difficult to accept as true that parliament in 1867 would hold been in favour of a measure that enfranchised the in-between category and the on the job category at the same clip which would hold been the instance if there was no 1832 Act. Without it, there would hold been an addition of over one and a half million new electors in a individual act of parliament. Whatever the addition in electors was, it was the figure of seats in the authorities that should be considered of import and here is where the Act of 1832 made a bigger impact. Prior to 1832, the landed nobility controlled Parliament, along with â€Å" icky boroughs, † parliamentary communities that had decreased in size but still elected members to the House of Commons. The reform measure did off with those icky boroughs as â€Å" rightists in Parliament advocated the riddance of rotten constituencies and the transportation of their seats to the more healthy county constituencies. †[ 17 ]It caused 56 boroughs to be wholly disfranchised. It besides included 31 extra boroughs that had less than four-thousand dwellers ended up losing one of their two M.P.s.[ 18 ]The entire figure of seats affected in 1832 so, was 143, a considerable sum more than in 1867 where the figure was 52 boroughs. This displacement in seats in 1832 efficaciously ended the blue monopoly on authorities and if one wanted to keep it, he would hold to depend on the support of the in-between category. The Act of 1867 did nil to change this as the representation ratio remained virtually the same as it had been with the 1832 act. Herrick considers this place and comes up with an effectual manner of thought by stating â€Å" In other words, the boroughs, where the new voters were most legion, were given a slightly smaller portion of the representation in parliament, and the counties, where a much smaller figure were enfranchised, received a larger portion.[ 19 ] The Reform Act of 1832 enfranchised homeowners who paid a annual rent of at least 10 lbs. That meant that about half of the in-between category and all of the working category malice of everything were still without a ballot. This was acceptable to the Whigs, who felt that those entitled to vote should be expected to utilize that privilege in an informed and responsible manner.[ 20 ] Seen from a current point of position, 1832 can be seen as an imperative gateway to a full representative parliamentary democracy. Subsequent reform was to follow and it would spread out the ballot to adult male homeowners in 1867 and produced blue-collar bulks in a batch of urban communities. The Third Reform Act of 1884 extended the franchise even further passing the ballot to mineworkers and many farm labourers. Wasson explains that â€Å" although it has been argued that the 1832 act had no necessary wake, † one can see â€Å" clearly the importance of the impact of reform on the relationship between members of Parliament and their components. †[ 21 ]He goes on to explicate how â€Å" The decisive minute in blue resignation came with the first measure and non with the 2nd. † There is no uncertainty that future steps were bound to go on and there can be no inquiry that their success be would come as a consequence of the first Act. Neither the Acts of 1832 or 1867 were perfect, there were issues with both, while the 1832 act was a beginning, 1867 was supposed to repair the issues left by the earlier act. The 1867 Reform Act contained unjust characteristics of its ain. The existent consequence of this inequality is evident when the re-distribution clauses are considered.[ 22 ]The unequal redistribution of seats in 1867 in malice of everything left citizens in the Midlands, London and countries of the North without adequate power to talk for them in Parliament. The unequal allotment of seats still favored the landowning categories who were able to pull strings the representation of the smaller borough seats. The old ages before and after the Great Reform Act of 1832 were critical minutes in the patterned advance of Britain accomplishing societal equality. This alteration was started with the motion to establish the rights of spiritual minorities. Soon, nevertheless, governmental reform took on a life of its ain and led to a cardinal interruption down in the constitutional order of Britain. However, such extremist steps as undertaken by parliament at the clip, were able to rectify most of the jobs and electoral corruptness would be eliminated and pureness and virtuousness restored to the full electoral procedure.[ 23 ] The Reform Act of 1832 deserves to be classified as great for a smattering grounds. The chief purpose of its blue Godheads was to free the representative system of untenable characteristics, and to bring forth a better representation in the House of Commons of the belongings and intelligence of the state.[ 24 ]With this accomplished, it reduced of the figure of nomination boroughs conveying about a new footing of order in political relations. The reform reshaped the political landscape accidentally ; it introduced a new political system by by chance changing the relationship between elections, electors, and the parliamentary parties.[ 25 ] The Reform Act may be seen as the terminal of the old order. However, its illustriousness is in the fact that it was done with future reform in head and it was done instead peacefully. The dominant nobility, still in control of the State, had acted, in some respects against its ain sectional involvements, to reform the Constitution by Act of Parliament, without revolution or civil war.[ 26 ]The measure did non stop nobility but it was â€Å" the first and most of import measure in the nobility ‘s supplanting. †[ 27 ]Future reform including the Act of 1867 was of import but there is no uncertainty that â€Å" The decisive minute in blue resignation came with the first measure and non with the 2nd. Subsequent steps may non hold been inevitable, but they were made possible. †[ 28 ] While non all inclusive, the Great Reform Act started Britain on the route to a better signifier of authorities. The first measure of acknowledging that representation was flawed and coming to the belief that the in-between category deserved a voice in their authorities was the most of import factor that guided subsequent reform. By the terminal of the 19th century, Britain was in front of her European neighbours when it came to democratic representation due to the fresh 1832 spring in the dark.

Green Computing in Kenya Essay

Abstract The main aim of this paper is to look at what green computing is, why we should care about it and why it is becoming such a force in today’s world. The paper aims to tackle the advantages of green computing not only to businesses but also to individuals as well in their day to day lives. This paper also aims to look at different green computing implementations in Kenya in order to get an understanding of the current state of green computing in the country. Finally, this paper also aims to highlight key barriers and challenges to the implementation of different green computing technologies within the country and suggest a way forward. Introduction In order to look at the current state of green computing in Kenya, we first need to understand what green computing is and what it entails. According to San Murugesan (Murugesan, 2008) in his paper on Harnessing green IT, Green IT (Also known as Green ICT or Green Computing) refers to environmentally sound IT. It focusses on the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using and disposing of computers, servers and any associated subsystems in an effective and efficient manner with minimal to no impact on the environment. These subsystems include things such as monitors, printers, and storage devices as well as other items like communication and networking equipment. Murugesan goes on to say that Green computing also strives to achieve economic viability and improved system performance and use, while abiding to ethical and social responsibilities. It is for this reason that green computing covers areas such as environmental sustainability, energy efficiency, total cost of ownership as well as cost of disposal and even recycling. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is one the fastest growing industries in the world. This is due to a combination of different factors, but more recently this growth has been fuelled by the following factors. The first is the rapid pace of technology advancement. The second is the continued drop in prices of various hardware which has led to increased demand and acquisition of said hardware. According to Wabwoba, F., Wanyembi, W. G., & Omuterema, S. (2012) this rapid growth in ICT is creating lots of challenges especially within developing countries like Kenya. The first of these challenges is that ICT devices have much shorter lifespans. A good example of this is mobile devices which on average are replaces every 2 years. The danger of this is that it creates a lot of Electronic waste (e-waste) which is one of the fastest growing types of waste in the modern world today and one of the most difficult to dispose of in a safe and cost effective manner. As many third world countries rely on hardware donations, most of these obsolete devices will find their way into these countries. This not only increases the rate of harmful emissions, it also endangers the lives of people as well as the environment. This in  turn leads to environmental degradation, increases the cost of doing business as well as power demands and demand for social responsibility. Basically, Green computing is becoming more of a necessity and less of an option. Why Green Computing? As we discussed earlier, ICT is playing an increasingly important role in both Business as well as in Private undertakings. This is true for most of the world as this has been fuelled by the rapid pace at which technology has been advancing. The big question then becomes, â€Å"Why should anyone care about Green Computing/ICT/IT?† In looking at this, we will understand what benefits as well as what challenges we can expect from adopting green computing technologies not only in our businesses, but in our homes as well. According to Wabwoba, F., Wanyembi, W. G., & Omuterema, S. (2012), green computing focuses on more than just electricity consumption. It goes beyond the function of the ICT department. Green ICT acts as a central enabling technology to many aspects of sustainability. It goes beyond purchasing and usage considerations into how it can be used to lessen other aspects of environmental impact in the other sectors that it supports. The article goes on to say that this sustainability can be achieved through dematerialization and changing physical processes into virtual ones. Green ICT therefore brings together themes concerning the future of our current world, technology as well as the environment. San Murugesan’s article on Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices shares a similar view to that of Wabwoba, F., Wanyembi, W. G., & Omuterema, S. San Murugesan’s article goes on to say that many of today’s environmental issues are having an impact on the competiveness of the IT business sector. Basically, businesses with the technology and vision to provide products and services that address the various environmental issues we have today, will enjoy some sort of competitive advantage. Many customers are now taking into consideration a service provider’s environmental records as well as initiatives. These factors are having a substantial effect on customers’ purchasing, leasing and outsourcing decisions. What are the benefits? Green computing looks to solve many of the challenges that businesses face today. An example of one of these challenges is higher energy costs. †Businesses face higher energy costs, and they may also incur additional government levies if they do not address the environmental implications of their practices.† (Murugesan, 2008, p.26). â€Å"Investors and customers are beginning to demand more disclosures from companies with regard to their carbon footprint as well as their environmental initiatives and achievements, and they have started discounting share prices of companies that poorly address the environmental problems the create †. This means that many companies today have begun to show their environmental credentials to customers as a way to gaining an upper hand over competitors. Many businesses as well as individuals are also looking to achieve better energy efficiency through adopting green initiatives. This in turn will lead to financial benefits especially when electrical energy is at a premium and energy prices continue to rise. This is actually one of the major reasons for individuals as well as companies to start adopting eco-responsible practices. This means that many companies are bound to prioritize environmental issues for energy efficiency as well as cost-control benefits. An example of this in the real world is companies such as Dell and Wall-Mart. These two companies have both adopted initiatives that force their suppliers to adhere to environmentally sound practices. In a paper titled Pervasiveness of green ICT awareness amongst Kenyan ICT personnel Wabwoba, F., Wanyembi, W. G., Omuterema, S., & Mutua, S. M., (2013), the writers listed some of the various benefits of green ICT. The benefits of green ICT to the Environment/Society as well as to Companies include the following: Lower carbon emissions. Reduced resource consumption. Compliance with legal requirements. Reduced energy costs. Reduced operating costs of Data Centres. Less Hardware needed. The paper goes a step further by grouping the benefits of green ICT according to the Capital Market, Employees’, Customers’ as well as Public levels. These are shown below: Employees’ level benefits Increased employee satisfaction. Greater loyalty. Easier recruitment. Capital Market level benefits Improved ratings. Higher share prices. Greater company value. Customers’ level benefits Greater customer loyalty. Appeal to new customer groups. Greater customer satisfaction. Public level benefits Improved image. Rounded-out CSR strategy. Greater brand value. Examples/implementations of green computing in Kenya Here we shall look at examples of green computing implementations and initiatives within Kenya. The first example we shall look at is from Tea companies in Kenya go green through carbon finance (2013). Basically, several tea factories from the Nyeri district, all under the management of the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) chose to go green through a project titled â€Å"Guru Project†. The name Guru Project comes from the nearby Guru River in the Nyeri region. Much of the tea-manufacturing process requires electricity for processes like withering, cutting and drying tea leaves. Unfortunately, the factories would experience frequent power outages and poor power quality. The Guru Project aims to construct a hydro-power plant using water from the Guru River to generate power for the factories, thus allowing them to stop using the national grid. The benefit of this is that it will help reduce carbon emissions by some 38,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. On top of that, the factories will receive additional returns on their investment in lower emissions through carbon credits provided by the Clean Development Mechanism as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The second example we shall look at shows how Kenyan companies that are going green can be rewarded for it. There was an article in the Business Daily from December 10th 2013 that looks at this, Ciuri, S. (2013). The newspaper Article looks at how 2 Kenyan companies that won 6.5 million Kenya Shillings for running green Enterprises. The companies in question are Continental Renewable Energy Company and Wanda Organic Company. Continental Renewable Energy Company converts plastic waste into low cost building materials and they won 4.23 Million Kenya Shillings as a reward. Wanda Organic Company on the other hand is an organic fertiliser Distributor and won 2.16 million Kenya Shillings. They were rewarded the money by Growth Hub which is an initiative to support businesses that want to pursue environmental conservation. The next example looks at how choosing to go green can help you gain a competitive advantage over other companies, as well as gain recognition in certain markets. We shall refer to an article on the East Africa Top 100 website from January 29th 2014, Going green wins entrepreneur the 2013 SME crown (2014). It follows the story of Dinesh Tembherkar who is a mechanical engineer by profession. He founded his own company called Lean Energy Solutions after being unsatisfied with formal employment for many years. Lena Energy Solutions is a company that provides Energy Management consultancy services within East Africa. They have been involved in energy and project management and offer comprehensive energy audits, investment grade audits, trainings in energy management, manufacturing of Lean Briqs and other related projects such as Boiler conversion from oil fired to solid fuel fired and swimming pool heating. Basically, their methodology helps their clientele to improve on productivity and maximize bottom line performance. This has allowed them to differentiate their goods and services from those of competitors, and it allowed them to be recognized as one of Kenya’s fastest growing mid-sized companies in the 2013 edition of the Top 100 mid-sized firms. This competition is held in the form of a survey that is sponsored by the Nation Media Group and the consultancy firm KPMG. Finally, we shall look at how various individual can play a role in contributing to the adoption of Green computing technologies and what impact it can have on their lives. Mbori, C. (n.d.) has a very good article in one of his blogs that looks at the cost of conventional energy in Kenya. In the article we see that Kenya is classified as an energy poor country since majority of the population spend huge amounts of their household income on energy. This is especially true for rural areas. As at the time of writing the article, Kenya only provided 15 percent of the population with access to grid electricity out of which only 4 percent was in rural areas. Less than 25 percent of Kenya’s population had access to modern energy forms. This means that many households in Kenya still rely on older forms of energy for heating, cooking and lighting like kerosene, charcoal and even candles. Kenya is located along the equator, which means that there is an abundance of renewable energy in the form of sunlight which many people are yet to take advantage of. Though, there has been a surge in the adoption of solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies or solar electric systems. These systems allow you to capture the sun’s energy using photovoltaic cells and can work even on a cloudy day. Many of these PV modules are mainly use for lighting, cell phone charging as well as refrigeration and entertainment. At the time of writing the article, there were more than 200,000 PV modules installed in Kenya. That number was steadily increasing at a rate of around 30,000 PV modules annually. Mwaura, M. (2010) shared a short YouTube video and article about how one old man named Ben Mureithi who is a retired civil servant was able to use renewable energy to better his life. He settled down in a very remote part of Kiserian where there was no electricity and no running water. By installing solar panels, he was able to power his entire home for entertainment, lighting and heated water. To solve his water problem, he was able to capture rain water using  drainage pipes from his roof into a big underground tank. He is able to use the water for his day to day needs and even to irrigate plants that he grows. This proved to be so effective that in 2006 during a drought in the area, he was able to supply water to some other people in the area. People like Mr Mureithi are able to succeed in such harsh areas because they have adopted green technologies and green practices in order to make the best use of the resources available to us all. Another factor that has enabled this is the advent of low-cost solar in Kenya. Traditionally, solar has always been out of the reach of most people because the cost of setting it up has always been high. Low-Cost Solar Invades Kenya (2010) looks at some low cost solar powered technologies and kits which are currently available in Kenya today. The first one the writer looks at is the Solantern which is essentially solar powered lantern that can be charged during the day and runs at night. The lantern was intended to help replace kerosene lamps in many Kenyan households and allow them to save money and the environment at the same time. It was retailing for about 2000 Kenya Shillings in the year 2010. Another low cost solution discussed is the  ToughStuff which is a solar kit that comes with a small solar panel and different kinds of connectors. It can be used to charge a small LED lamp, mobile phones, a rechargeable power pack and some cheap rechargeable D-cell rechargeable batteries for powering other devices. The unit is sold through Chloride Exide in Kenya as well as in a few other shops. These are just a few of the many examples of technologies that promote selfsustainability as well as changing peoples’ lives for the better. Conclusion From what we have discussed in this article, we can see that Kenya still has a long way to go before we are able to achieve any major milestones in regards to green computing and adoption of green technologies. Below we shall look at a few of the major challenges that have prevented us from advancing with regards to green computing. We shall refer to the article Barriers to Implementation of Green ICT in Kenya, (Wabwoba, F., Wanyembi, W. G., Omuterema, S. 2012, p.832, p.833). Lack of technical skilled or trained manpower in green ICT. (1) Green implementation is too costly. (11) Lack of green ICT workshops/seminars to update knowledge. (5) Overreliance on donations for ICT hardware acquisition. (7) Lack of top management support. (4) The rapid technology changes. (8) Lack of legislation to support green ICT implementations. (6) Existence of policies that hinder green ICT implementation. (10) Not knowing where to start in implementing green ICT. (8) General Resistance to change. (11) No budget is allocated towards implementing. (2) From the article, we see that the number one barrier to implementation of green ICT in Kenya is the lack of technical skilled or trained manpower in green ICT. This goes to show that a lot of work still needs to be done in creating awareness about the importance of going green and the opportunities available by making the switch. The way forward is to first focus on changing peoples’ opinions about green computing as a whole since a lot of the major adoption challenges are due to poor attitude and lack of information in general. It is only in this way  that we can get people to see the importance of creating a self-sufficient country, and all the good it will do not only for the environment but for all citizens as well. References Murugesan, S. (2008). Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices. IEEE Computer Society. Retrieved from University of Pittsburgh Website: http://www.pitt.edu/~dtipper/2011/GreenPaper.pdf Wabwoba, F., Wanyembi, W. G., Omuterema, S. (2012). Barriers to Implementation of Green ICT in Kenya (Vol.2, No.12). International Journal of Science and Technology. Retrieved from e journals of science website: http://ejournalofsciences.org/archive/vol2no12/vol2no12_3.pdf Wabwoba, F., Wanyembi, W. G., Omuterema, S., Mutua, S. M., (2013). Pervasiveness of green ICT awareness amongst Kenyan ICT personnel (Vol.2, No.1). Retrieved from International Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering & Management website: http://ijaiem.org/volume2Issue1/IJAIEM-2013-01-15-021.pdf Tea companies in Kenya go green through carbon finance. (2013). Retrieved from UNDP website: http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/articles/2013/02/20/sustainable-teacompanies-in-kenya-go-green-through-carbon-finance/ Ciuri, S. (2013). Kenyan firms receive Sh6.5m for going green. BUSINESS DAILY. Retrieved from BUSINESS DAILY Website: http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Kenyan-firmsreceive-Sh6-5m-for-going-green/-/539546/2106862/-/dls7qqz/-/index.html Going green wins entrepreneur the 2013 SME crown. (2014). Retrieved from East