Plot Analysis of a Rose for Emily

â€Å"In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes. † This quote by Benjamin Franklin is a mirror to Emily’s story as it begins with her death and then the reader is abruptly brought into the tax remission she received after the death of her father. This interesting yet confusing vignette is about a girl named Emily Grierson and her inconsiderate relation with the town, a man she loved, Homer Baron, and her Father. For Readers of Faulkner, it is truly apparent that his stories do not follow the pattern of the conventional beginning to the end of the story. This method of disorderly sequence of events along with the descriptive style tends to lead this story as if we are realistically present in the town. It also keeps the reader attentive for the upcoming rising action present throughout the story. This leaves the reader questioning or predicting the actual outcome, he/she interprets it well after all is being read. It is a southern gothic styled story, a tragic story told by an anonymous narrator that speaks on behalf of the town’s people, but he/she is not related to the protagonist of the story, Emily. Emily throughout the story is perceived as an object to the reader rather than a character because her side of the story is not personally expressed by her. This type of narration grasps the readers’ level of curiosity as they are not given access into her perception about her life. In the story, two essential elements of life have been readily repeated throughout; taxes and death . Death being the main theme was not accepted or comprehended by Emily’s mindset. This story explains the taxes submission issues faced my Emily. The rest of the story revolves around hatred and death in Emily’s chaotic life from which she was once guarded from the rest of the cruel world. The story begins with the death of Miss Emily; readers are presented to Miss Emily’s fight and struggle, with her antagonist time, through the situation she is living in. As it seems the protagonist, Emily tries to pause the time around her to save her loved ones, trying to avoid certainty, death, and thus fails to do so. Miss Emily appearance represents a past era, an era in which she masks her privacy in, declining the changing time being passed by. She was raised by her father that is why she was encapsulated by silence, inability to believe in reality and inability to happy life; she was the result of her environment. The most minute yet meaningful sentence described in the whole story is in Section II, â€Å"So she vanquished them, horse and foot, just as she had vanquished their fathers thirty years before about the smell. † (Faulkner 22) . The use of the definite article mentioned in the sentence abruptly brings about a sense of suspense. It merely shows that it was not just â€Å"a smell† but â€Å"the smell†. As brought by the narrator it is justified that the town’s people were familiar of such odor occurring in Emily’s house before. The narrator grants a significance to the smell because ‘the smell’ would had never put such an impact as an â€Å"a† smell would have. When Miss Emily refused to give her father’s dead body away, it started to decompose, spreading a pungent odor; same odor was present once again. As for a reader it foreshadows events to come. The way Faulkner presented the story and designed the structure, interpersonal conflicts increased between Emily and the society. The town is just not a setting but is a character in the story. It is the setting of an old era that held tight to old beliefs and moral values of the South. Social class in the story holds great significance. Faulkner when describes the character â€Å"Tobe†, points out the status setting of that era. Tobe was disrespected and was considered a person with no values throughout. For example, Judge Stevens called him as, â€Å"†¦that nigger of hers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Faulkner, p. 22); showing racism present during that time frame. They disgraced the minorities and disrespected their physical existence and social status. People had pride over unnecessary ephemeral high standards that displayed discrimination and inequality. In the story as cited previously, social class was significant in demonstrating dehumanization of blacks but also demonstrating differences in the rich and the poor. Miss Emily is judged for a having romance with a low class, poor citizen of that society, Homer baron. The following sentence affiliates towns’ people response towards Emily’s one and only intimate relationship with Homer. Poor Emily†, the whispering began. â€Å"Do you suppose it’s really so? †, they said to one another, (Faulkner, p. 23). The townspeople felt pity upon her relationship with Homer, as in the eyes of the townspeople a barrier of status was set up, only the deserving or the affluent ones were allowed. Homer was a labor whereas; Miss Emily belonged to a respected rich family. Dist inguishing their class differences, Homer was way beyond Miss Emily’s league, an image set in the eyes of the townspeople. Moreover secrets are kept throughout the story, plotted as such so they are left to the reader to discover them. For example, Faulkner uses the above-mentioned technique in the following line, â€Å"†¦so they were not surprised when the smell developed† (Faulkner, p. 22). The prediction here is that the pungent yet familiar smell developed in Emily’s house due to decaying of a dead body; which for sure is kept as a secret until the end. Emily’s further more surreptitious actions can be observed through the following lines said by the narrator, â€Å"We did not say she was crazy then. We believed she had to do that. We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will† (Faulkner, p. 22). The disguise truth here is that Miss Emily was indeed crazy, and the upcoming horror is that she could be psychotic enough to repeat the same action, holding on to Homer’s dead body. Barron's fate is linked in this passage as Faulkner provides the reader with a hint of death. The themes of class, race and status are widespread throughout the story, Faulkner repeatedly addresses those themes. † The town of Jefferson is isolated by race, extremely class and social status conscious people because people disliked and abhorred a women of a high class walking with a low social standing man. In closure â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is a captivating short story of a lady who refuses to adopt the changing world and order of society around her. Her denial of certainty and death gives us an understanding of depth of emotions that a girl encounters throughout her life. It is felt that these disturbed actions would not have taken place if she was placed in a different time and setting. She gave us the impression of a silently killed character that was only physically living. Even though we could not pass through her door we still encountered much information about how and why she was. Faulkner flawlessly points out the broader ideas, including the complexities of northern and southern places at that time frame, complexities of an altering world order, disappearing lands of courtesy and nobility, and rigid social responsibilities of a women.

Hamlet Essay †Misogyny Essay

Misogyny, by definition, is the hatred of women and girls. In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, misogyny affects women in negative ways that both impact how a woman is portrayed along with how these stereotypes and controls influence her actions and ultimately lead to her demise. Gertrude and Ophelia, the only major female characters of this play, are both women who must confront various factors and adverse effects of misogyny. Shakespeare uses the patriarchal system to suggest the effects of men’s misogynistic behavior towards women. The patriarchal system allows men to objectify women by using them as pawns, and gives men the power to control and manipulate women as they please. Shakespeare demonstrates this through the words and actions of Polonius, Ophelia’s father. Firstly, the patriarchal system gives Polonius the power to treat Ophelia like an object and control her actions. Claudius, Gertrude, and Polonius all come together in this scene to make a plan on how to di scover why Hamlet has gone so mad. In their conversation, Polonius says, â€Å"At such a time I’ll loose my daughter to him.† (II.ii.174) Here, the word â€Å"loose† emphasizes the cynical unconcern that he has for his daughter. The use of â€Å"loose† in this context is also a pun. Loose means cow, so Shakespeare uses this line as a metaphor to say that Polonius is soon going to â€Å"loose† his daughter, a cow, to a bull, who is none other than Hamlet. Polonius does this again while talking to Ophelia about how she shouldn’t believe Hamlet’s words or rely on any of his promises because according to Polonius, Hamlet doesn’t truly love Ophelia; he simply has a strong lust for her at the moment. â€Å" Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know, / When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul/ Lends the tongue vows,† Polonius explains. (I.ii.120) Shakespeare uses diction here to emphasize what Polonius thinks of his daughter. â€Å"Springes† are snares to catch fools and a â€Å"woodcock† is a bird that is easily taken. In simple terms, Polonius is comparing Ophelia to this foolish type of bird, saying that she is easy to get and fool. Once again, he compa res her to an animal – objectifying her and bringing her down from her status as a human and woman in society. Shakespeare demonstrates how sexuality is portrayed as something crude and wrong through the actions of Queen Gertrude. Hamlet’s aversion towards his mother’s sexuality upkeeps the idea that sexuality is obscene. Hamlet is absolutely disgusted by his mother and while talking to himself, exclaims: â€Å"O, most wicked speed, to post/ With such dexterity to  incestuous sheets!† (I.ii.158-159) Gertrude’s sexuality makes her inappropriate because she remarried with â€Å"wicked speed.† The word â€Å"wicked† has a negative connotation to it. It implies that Gertrude’s speed in remarrying was bad and evil because she betrayed King Hamlet so quickly and the quickness of her actions makes her seem sexually vulgar. Hamlet is disgusted by the fact that his mother was both quick and agile with becoming incestuous. Furthermore, the idea that sexuality is vulgar is further demonstrated when the ghost of King Hamlet reveals his disgust towards Gertrude’s incest. â€Å"So lust, through to a radiant angel linked, / will state itself in a celestial bed/ And prey on garbage.† (I.v.59-60) Even though sexuality can be pure like a â€Å"radiant angel,† it will glut (â€Å"sate†) and â€Å"prey on garbage.† Shakespeare uses imagery with these words to reveal that Gertrude is garbage and that she is searched for like junk by a scavenger. The word â€Å"sate† shows Gertrude as a gluttonous animal, implying that her sexuality makes her an animal; thus sexuality is vulgar. Shakespeare emphasizes that virginity is essential to a women’s value in society, for it makes her both pure and desirable. Ophelia’s conversations with her brother Laertes and her father Polonius provide evidence that both Laertes and Polonius place a very high value of Ophelia’s sexuality and her obligation to protect her virginity. Laertes and Ophelia have one last conversation before he departs to France. He gives her advice about rejecting lust and desire in order to keep her virginity and thereby make herself honorable. In their conversation with each other, Laertes warns Ophelia to not let herself be seduced and lose her honor by losing her virginity. He says, â€Å"The canker galls the infants of the spring/ Too oft before their buttons be disclosed.† (I.ii.42-43) Shakespeare uses some interesting metaphors in this scene to stress the value of Ophelia’s maidenhood by comparing it to a flower. The phrase â€Å"infants of the spring† im plies both innocence and fertility. This metaphor compares women, in this case Ophelia; to new spring flowers whose buds still haven’t been opened (still virgins). Laertes is saying that Ophelia is still young so she must resist her desires in order to save her virginity; doing so would also save her honor, which is something that is very valued especially for women in society. Polonius also warns Ophelia about the value of her virginity, but  for other reasons. Unlike Laertes, who is more concerned about Ophelia’s happiness and emotional well-being, Polonius is more focused on himself and the respect of his family. He says to her: â€Å"You do not understand yourself so clearly/ As it behooves my daughter and your honor.† (I.ii.102-103) Here, Polonius is saying that Ophelia does not yet understand how to behave in a way that is suitable for someone who is his daughter and who is under his name and household. He is afraid that if Ophelia loses her virginity, she will disgrace the family and hurt his reputation; all in all, he fears that the respect of his family will be damaged. This makes it evident that Shakespeare believed th at along with altering a woman’s reputation and social standing, women’s chastity also affected men’s social standing in society. Seeing that virginity is given such high value, Shakespeare also clearly demonstrates the consequences that a woman experiences by losing her virginity before marriage. He uses Ophelia’s character to illustrate how losing a woman’s virginity causes her to lose relationships with people she loves, her social status and reputation, her sanity, and ultimately, her life. OPHELIA. By Gis and by Saint Charity, Alack, and fie, for shame! Young men will do ’t, if they come to ’t. By Cock, they are to blame. Quoth she, â€Å"Before you tumbled me, You promised me to wed.† He answers: â€Å"So would I ’a’ done, by yonder sun, An thou hadst not come to my bed.† (IV.v.59-67) After losing her father, Ophelia has become insane and is singing this song while reminiscing about the love that she and Hamlet once had. She has been driven to this madness because of her instability after her father is killed and Hamlet leaves her. Slowly everyone she loves is drifting away and she feels that is because she didn’t listen to her father and brother about protecting her virginity before, so now she is suffering the consequences.  In this scene, she is specifically singing about how Hamlet did not keep his promise of marrying her after they had slept together. â€Å"Young men will do’t if they come to’t,/ By cock, they are to blame,† she explains. In other words, she is saying that men will have sex whenever they have the opportunity. With the phrase â€Å"by cock, they are to blame,† she is saying that the â€Å"cock† represents the vulgar corruption of God because they are the ones who take a woman’s virginity. Furt hermore, Hamlet does not want to marry Ophelia anymore because she isn’t a virgin and all men want to marry a woman who is pure and untouched. Ophelia’s madness in this scene expresses how losing her virginity led her to insanity because she was incapable of dealing with losing all of her loved ones. Additionally, she loses any respect that she had, along with her social status, because she has done something that is completely unacceptable for a young woman to do in such a society in that time. All of this ultimately causes Ophelia to take her own life as a way to end the chain reactions of heartbreak and misery that she has had to experience, all because she decided to go and lose her virginity to Hamlet. In conclusion, Shakespeare uses the patriarchal system to suggest men’s ability to manipulate women, and ultimately gives an explanation of the reactions to men’s misogynistic behavior towards women. Common stereotypes of women gravely impact women’s perception of themselves and shape women to fit under certain archetypes in a patriarch-run society. Misogyny destructively affects the fate of â€Å"Woman† and, slowly but surely, leads to the deterioration of her idea of self and identity.

Agar Jelly Experiment Report

Aim: To find out the speed of diffusion in agar jelly, when there are three blocks of jelly of different sizes. Material: A container with agar jelly, safety goggle, knife, ruler, stop watch, a glass plate, sodium hydroxide, an indicator. Method: First, we took the block of agar jelly from the container. We placed it onto the glass plate, and took our knife and ruler. We measured and cut the block, making three cubes of different measurements. The smallest one is 1cm by 1cm by 1cm, the second one is 2cm by 2cm by 2cm, and the biggest one is 3cm by 3cm by 3cm. We then dropped a few drops of the indicator. Next, we put our safety goggles on, and took the beaker full of sodium hydroxide, and poured it into the glass plate, which the cubes are in. At the same time, we started the stop watch. We saw everything, the cubes, sodium hydroxide turn pink (that's because sodium hydroxide reacted with the indicator). When the stop watch showed 5 minutes, we took the cubes, and cut all of them in half. Then we measured the distance from the surface, to the line where the pink and the white color separate, like on the diagram, using our ruler. We recorded what we saw, and the results. Results: We saw the cubes turn pink, and the sodium hydroxide turn pink on the plate. We also saw, when we cut the cubes that the pink color travelled into the cube, and we saw that at a certain point, there was the separation of pink from the surface, to white, the color of agar jelly. Like I said, we measured the distance between the surface to where the separation line of pink and white color was. This is what we got: 1cm*1cm*1cm 4mm 2cm*2cm*2cm 4mm 3cm*3cm*3cm 4mm Although they were all 4mm, we saw that the smallest cube was almost completely diffused, almost everything was pink. And we saw that the biggest cube was not at all completely diffused; most of it was white inside the cube. Speed of Diffusion=Distance/Time 4mm/5minutes=0.8mm/minute Conclusions: From this experiment, I learned these things: Firstly, I learned that the pink color traveled into the cube, because of diffusion. Diffusion is when particles move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. So in this experiment, the sodium hydroxide diffused from the high concentrated area (which is the surface of the cube, as sodium hydroxide was poured onto the cube) to low concentrated area (inside the cube). I also learned that even if you change the volume, or the surface area of the agar jelly, the speed in diffusion doesn't change. As you can see from the results, no matter the size of the cube, the sodium hydroxide diffused at the same speed. The speed of diffusion can be calculated by distance/time. In this experiment, we saw that the distance which the sodium hydroxide traveled was 4mm, and the time we used was 5 minutes. So, 4mm/5min= 0.8mm/minute. Because the speed doesn't change, the smaller the cube, the faster it'll get completely diffused. From this experiment, I can expect that 1cm*1cm*1cm cube jelly will be completely diffused in 6minutes 15seconds, because 1cm/0.8mm*2=6.25min. (times 2 because it diffused from the top and the bottom). In the same way, I calculated that 2cm*2cm*2cm cubed jelly will be completely diffused in 12.5minutes and 3cm*3cm*3cm jelly in 18.75minutes. You can see that 2cm*2cm*2cm jelly will take twice as much time as 1cm cubed one and 3cm*3cm*3cm jelly will take three times as much time as the 1cm cubed block.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Solitude of Self Analysis

Solitude of Self Elizabeth Cady Stanton Solitude of Self speech addressed the equality and rights of women in the United States. She felt as though women should have the right to choose whatever path they wanted no matter what the circumstances were. Stanton illustrated that, in order for women to be considered as participating citizens of our country, the boundaries of what women can do had to be omitted. Women were entitled to the same equalities as men because throughout the darkest situations gender doesn’t change the feelings and emotional damage that an individual goes through.Stanton explained how there is no difference between men and women, humans were created with the same natural rights. The fact that men have no restrictions and can pursue whatever they wanted, puts women at a disadvantage. Men had the basic necessities to protect themselves in which women lacked. Stanton illustrates this when she says, â€Å"In fitting out an army, we give each soldier his own kn apsack, arms, powder, his blanket, cup, knife, fork and spoon.We provide alike for all their individual necessities; then each man bears his own burden. † In this quote, Stanton was making reference to how a man in the army gets equipped with the basic necessities and skills to survive; but women do not get the basic necessities in life to survive on their own. The law in our country made women to dependent on men and she just want women to be able to be independent without barriers.

Now...This by Neil Postman Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Now...This by Neil Postman - Article Example The understanding is also tolerated. There is no destruction so cruel, no tremor so ravaging, no political error so high-priced--for that matter, no ball score so provoking or weather description so threatening--that it cannot be erased from minds by a newscaster saying, "Now . . . This."Â  (Postman) What the newscasters purport is the previous matters have been thought about for a long time. Therefore, it is necessary for alteration of the scene and perception of the viewers. This can be done by changing what preoccupies the mind with a new idea or news fragment. This is done in the mentality of commercialization in terms of promotion and marketing to meet the current demands by the community. This process of thought does not take more than an hour in psychological mind. Television and radio are mediums that are used by a discrete event in every halt an hour to disseminate separate contents. The contents may have separate contexts and emotional characteristic structure from the follows and precedes it. Because the media promotion takes place in minutes and seconds, maybe because the audience can be manipulated through the communication platform of imagery and words, the structuring of programs is done in a way that each segment of 8 minutes’ ability to stand as a separate complete event. (Stewart) News in the television is merely entertainment. It is engulfed with a cast of actors who are admirable and credible. Analytically, the Television news anchors are mostly women of the age gap from 20 to 45 and are exceptionally beautiful. It also includes men who are handsome, who are not bald, fat, have neither long noses nor closed eyes. In the definition of truth, the ultimate propositional test of the teller determines the television’s credibility. This means that if the society trusts in the teller then what he or she says is classified as the truth. In other words, the truth

Critical Evaluation of the Constraints Faced by Project Managers and Essay

Critical Evaluation of the Constraints Faced by Project Managers and How These Impact Project Scheduling and Planning - Essay Example The attention of the whole company is focussed on a particular problem that is of great concern to the consumer (the challenge). The rest of the activities in the company are synchronized with the challenge process, which makes sure that the challenge process is not piled up or it is starved because the needed inputs are not available. The bottleneck must be eliminated in any way possible and this increases the capability of the entire company (Jawa 2004, p1). For many years, project managers have been told to focus on constraints. In projects, a constraint is thought to be an important path, which is a series of activities that determine the least time required for the project to finish. Vanhoucke (2012, p192) further notes that the project management generally overlooks the scarce resources required by activities which are either on or off the critical path and probably by other projects (Vanhoucke 2012, p192). Goodpasture (2004, p211) also asserts that project constraint is a crit ical path. In other words, the project is constrained to a particular duration, and the constrained time cannot be shortened. The impact of the critical path is that the constrained throughput cannot be increased, and thus, the throughput is threatened if the critical path is not managed in a proper way (Goodpasture 2004, p211). It is worth noting that all projects have constraints. Not very long ago, the three main constraints (also known as the triple constraints) were the project management creed spoken by experienced project managers. The three main constraints that project managers face include scope, cost, and schedule. However, these are not the only constraints faced by project managers; other constraints include consumer satisfaction, budget, and quality. All the mentioned constraints have significant impact on the outcomes of the project, and that is why they get considerable attention (Heldman 2011, p23). Scope All projects are set out to generate a unique result or produ ct. Scope describes what the result or the product should be like. It considers the objectives and the goals of the project and defines what the project is attempting to achieve. The goals are then broken down into smaller elements until the work can be easily described. Scope can frequently change or grow during the course of the project. Thus, it is very crucial to document scope. Scope generally entails interchanges with the other constraints, and transformations in scope will affect budget, time, or both. Changes in the time or budget can also affect scope. For instance, if one is constructing a new house on a restricted or limited budget. The individual wants granite countertops in the bathroom, but he does not have sufficient money in the budget. Then, the scope has to be modified and a different material chosen for the countertops to avoid the necessity of going over the budget again (Heldman 2011, p23). Schedule Majority of the projects function under some form of deadline. If the project involves constructing a new shopping center that must be completed in time for the holiday shopping period, then the project is time-constrained. Schedules are developed on units of time thus; the word time is sometimes used in place of the word schedule when describing the triple constraints (Heldman 2011, p23). The time deadline governs the manner in which the project activities are completed and scheduled. The projector requestor or the stakeholders

Energy Harvesting Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Energy Harvesting - Dissertation Example Energy harvesting, therefore, can be defined as â€Å"The process in which energy is captured from a system’s environment and converted into usable electric power† (Maxim, 2011). The law of conservation of energy is the basis for energy harvesting. Energy can be converted from one form to another and the total amount of energy in an isolated system remains the same (Clark, 2004). Therefore, energy whether in form of wind, kinetic, chemical and others can be converted to electrical energy. 2. METHODS OF HARVESTING ENERGY Energy harvesting produces electric energy from ambient energy sources, present in large and small systems. Recovering a fraction of this energy can have a significant economic and environmental impact. These systems widely vary in sizes. On the macro scale, hydro electricity, tidal power, solar panels and wind turbines can produce MegaWatts. On a smaller scale, immediately available energy such as vibration, heat and light energy can be used to produce milliWatts. A typical energy harvesting system converts energy from the source and stores that energy. Capacitors are used in large scale systems, whereas, batteries are used in small scale systems for storage of energy. ... Photovoltaic cells, which are made up of silicon are used to convert solar energy into electricity. Most of these photovoltaic cells operate at an efficiency of less than 15 % (Asimov, 1969). The maximum theoretical efficiency attainable, however, is only 32.3 % (Clark, 1974). Solar energy is also indirectly used to produce electricity by concentrated solar power plants. The solar collectors are used to concentrate or focus sunlight onto a receiver that heats a liquid to produce steam, which in turn is used to produce electricity in the same way coal or fossil fuel plants do. 2.2 Wind Energy Wind turbines are used to harvest electrical energy from the wind. The wind passes over the blades of wind turbines, which in turn produces a turning force. The rotating blades turn the shaft which passes through the gearbox. The gearbox increases the rotational speed for the generator. The generator uses magnetic fields to convert the rotational energy harvested from the wind into electrical ene rgy. Wind farms, which are clusters of wind turbines, are used to harvest electrical energy from wind. The minimum wind speed for generating electricity is 4-5 m/s and the theoretical maximum power that can be extracted from the wind is 59.3 %. In reality this figure is usually around 45 % maximum for a large turbine. Wind energy has great potential for energy harvesting in the future and even smaller turbines (50-150 watts) are available for household connection (Golding, 1976). Energy harvested from the wind largely depends on siting of the wind farm. 2.3 Hydroelectric Hydroelectric systems create energy by harvesting energy by force of water. Water is collected in a dam or a reservoir. The water near the bottom of the reservoir is forced by the pressure of the water above it to be

The Effect on Sales of Digital Music Through Legal and Illegal Research Paper

The Effect on Sales of Digital Music Through Legal and Illegal Distribution Channels - Research Paper Example Now as market leaders, it is essential for Apple iTunes to understand the negative factors causing this downslide of revenue due to losing of market share and how to counter the negative forces with its strategies to increase profitability. 3. Research Structure Initially this research paper will categorize the online music distribution channels similar to the iTunes business model. It will help to demonstrate the functioning of the online distribution channels and gain familiarity with their marketing techniques and strategies. It will also help to analyze the impact of other music distribution channels on the digital music distribution i.e. both legal and illegal distribution channels to be considered. This study will also help to establish a relation between pirated online distribution channels and its effect on the legal distributors like Sony Entertainment, iTunes, etc. Furthermore the outcome and analysis of the study will help to recommend and suggest marketing strategies so t hat the legal music distributors can avail measures to generate higher revenues in this prevailing market conditions. II. Aims and objectives 1. Aims The aim of the research is to analyze the impact of piracy on the legal music distribution channels and recommending steps for the crisis resolution. 2. Objectives To evaluate the functioning of the online music distribution system using iTunes. To analyze the difference in distribution methods between legal online providers and legal hard copy CD and DVD providers. To evaluate the extent to which music piracy effect legal distribution of online music. To find whether piracy initiated the emergence of online music distributors like iTunes. To define the user types for both legal and illegal music distribution... This research paper will categorize the online music distribution channels similar to the iTunes business model. It will help to demonstrate the functioning of the online distribution channels and gain familiarity with their marketing techniques and strategies. It will also help to analyze the impact of other music distribution channels on the digital music distribution i.e. both legal and illegal distribution channels to be considered. This study will also help to establish a relation between pirated online distribution channels and its effect on the legal distributors like Sony Entertainment, iTunes, etc. Furthermore the outcome and analysis of the study will help to recommend and suggest marketing strategies so that the legal music distributors can avail measures to generate higher revenues in this prevailing market conditions. This report makes a conclusion that there are many advantages like easy availability of data and saving of cost, time and effort etc. but a secondary researcher needs awareness about the limitations of the methodology. It is so because information and data may not be accurate if they are not collected from reliable and reputed source. This will been addressed in this research. Data always must be cross checked by comparing data from other reliable sources as an out of date or wrong data may lead to findings which may not have parity with the real scenario. Another demerit of secondary data is the sales reports and database provided by them are of existing customers. So these are some limitations mostly faced during the secondary research study.

Handball as a game played by use of hands instead of feet as in Essay

Handball as a game played by use of hands instead of feet as in football - Essay Example The paper tells that there before, people had that misconception that playing handball is just an easy task that is not that much demanding. This has lately been proven wrong, since handball is like any other game where a lot from the players is needed. The game requires someone to posses the right skills and to have undergone a thorough training before one can become an excellent player. Every player has a desire to improve his game swiftly, but many spend only a few moments of time perfecting their skills. Efficient learning and training is the best approach in achieving most and for high level play in all the sports, as research has proved. This line of attack could also be applied to almost any corporal ability. Therefore, for one to pursue sporting as a career, one has to be ready for the ups and downs associated with the job. More extra efforts will be essentially vital in the job. High level of discipline, total devotion, and perseverance in hard times of sport are among the k ey requirements of the job. Hence, the misconception by many people that playing a sport and get a salary it is an easy job get proven wrong. There has also been a misconception on payment to sporting players among several people. Many people have clung on the belief that sports playing are well paid jobs compared to the other jobs. In many games like soccer, or basketball, prolific players have been there, but soon they no longer play. The situation is this way because of various limiting factors like age limit or incase of incidence of severe injuries to players. In all the games, handball being one of them, there is a certain age limit that players are to be within and beyond which they get retirement. Therefore, these conditions present cases that make the sports players receive more earning in the form of salary. This is in effect, will cater for their up keep soon they quit playing the game. The issue of better payment will then be of assistance to the players especially those who rely entirely on playing as a life career. Among various games, handball is a game that can be played by anyone on the basis of gender despite the different belief by various people, that handball is a girls sport. It has also been found that handball is a game with various strict rules and regulations that are followed to the later. During training and match sessions, these rules and regulations are well observed. Among the rules while playing; as one dribbles the ball, the hand is to touch the ball just at its upper partly. The player is to move three steps prior to shooting, dribbling or releasing the ball. The moment the foot gets onto the ground is a step made. The players have to ensure that the ball get to their rival’s target to earn a score. Once a team has scored, the loser team starts the game again. Therefore, the sport is not as easy as thought of, but rather complex to some extent. It was extremely surprising that many people, especially, those without much exposure to the game, initially, they had thought that in most developed countries is where handball was best played. This belief had led to many talented players in handball dreams being shuttered. The developing countries had the adverse effects of the perception. Those people, who had secured handball playing as a job, and opted to carry on with the job, had to put with the torment of the idea. Lately, through the swift spread of knowledge and information about handball, has led to appreciation of the game widely.

The Status of German Women under Nazism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Status of German Women under Nazism - Essay Example The end of World War I harkened the birth of several political groups in Germany possessing extreme views, such as those professing ultra-nationalistic and anti-democratic ideas. Adolph Hitler joined one of these groups known as the German Workers' Party. In the years following 1920, he became the leader of the party, later reorganizing and reorienting it to reflect his personality. He also renamed the party to the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) or, as translated into English, the National Socialist German Workers' Party. Nazism was the term by which the party's ideology, its doctrines, and its policies came to be known. (Columbia Encyclopaedia 2004) The ideology of Nazism was based on an amalgam of doctrines of racism, nationalism, and what was known as the "hero-cult" espoused by various writers and interpreted by Hitler and others in works such as Hitler's Mein Kampf. Instead of a set of well-described principles, Nazism was a vague ideology glorifying myth, prejudice, and nihilist views. Control was paramount and democracy was viewed as a corrupt form of government that served to protect the mediocre and weak elements of society. Under Hitler, Nazism became national law in Germany. (Columbia Encyclopaedia 2004) Nazism was a reaction to the emancipation of society, which occurred as monarchies throughout Europe fell and as Marxist ideology grew in popularity. Nazism, contrasted to the Marxist emphasis on the desire for equality in property ownership, focused on issues of social equality, primarily the issues of racial superiority and inferiority. (Harvey 1999: 77+) The anti-feminist spirit of Nazism was related in a significant manner to the movement's racist ideology, according to Stibbe (1993: 35+), who writes that "[l]ike the Jew, the modern 'emancipated' woman was seen as an agent of degeneracy and national decline, bringing in her wake the 'destructive' forces of Bolshevism, democracy, and parliamentarianism." A hint of Hitler's perspectives on the role of women became apparent shortly after his assumption of power in January of 1933. In his government's handbook for Nazi leaders and their organisations and members, entitled and translated as The ABCs of National Socialism, the following translated entry, which was directed at Jewish women, appeared: "[T]he Jewish housewife, herself, is no picture of cleanliness, but idly sits around, painted up and powdered and adorned in silk and baubles" (Rosen 1933, cited in Guenther 2004: 92). But Hitler's views of women in German society were not restricted to Jews alone. Women, in general, were cri ticised for purchasing cosmetics, perfumes, and other luxury items rather than saving the money or spending it on household items. Hitler, both through the ideology he promoted and the policies he enacted, insisted that German women must "return to their pre-emancipation roles" (Guenther 2004: 93). The ABCs of National Socialism, as translated, stated (Rosen 1933, cite

How Cura Personalis Relates to the Practice of Pharmacy Essay

How Cura Personalis Relates to the Practice of Pharmacy - Essay Example The researcher states that through reflection upon various incidences in his life and that of others, the author has experienced God's presence. For instance, the researcher once got out from a fatal accident alive, and that encounter made him realize that God still had more plans for the author. That experience will always give him the motivation to care for his patient deeply as brothers and sisters in Christ. Being Gods children created in His image and likeness, we have the potential to tap that power and implement it for the good of ourselves and others. The author will, therefore, always strive to commit himself to do and give the best he can for the greater good of every person at his service. For effective treatment recovery of all patients, personal care is essential. Ignatius values have taught me to care and show concern for the whole person without discrimination. The researcher will, therefore, respect human dignity always and treat everyone equally without considering r eligious affiliation believing that we are all children of God. The Cura Personalis will also help the author to treat his patients’ body, mind, and spirit, thus, treating the whole person because these three are connected. When dealing with patients, the researcher will not always view it as dealing with a condition or disease but rather be compassionate about their situation and lives. As a result, he will always make right decisions and prescribe the best treatment. The author’s empathetic nature will compliment this value to help him connect with the patients and show them that he cares about their best. At critical moments, faith and believe in God will always keep the author moving forward to offer the best services even when people have given hope. Believing that God calls and we are only there to respond requires faith and trust in Him, the institution has inculcated this value into the author’s life by bringing God closer to their classroom every time. Prayers before everything will, therefore, keep him strong in faith, thus, tackling whatever situation that prevails with confidence and trust in God.

Glaucoma research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Glaucoma research - Essay Example 24 consecutive patients presenting, over seven years, to the emergency department of a tertiary eye hospital in Melbourne, Australia, to identify incident cases of DSCH following glaucoma surgery. Clinical parameters of interest included: indication for glaucoma surgery, clinical risk and prognostic factors, and clinical outcomes. Once cases were identified, controls were selected randomly and matched for type of surgery, age, sex, and interval of time since the initial surgery. Pearson’s chi-square analysis was used to compare cases and controls. Results: There were 24 cases, for a seven-year incidence of DSCH of 1% in patients after glaucoma surgery. The average duration of time from glaucoma surgery to DSCH was 2.88 days. DSCH was most common with glaucoma drainage implants (15.4% 7-year incidence). Significant risk factors included systemic hypertension (OR 5; 95 CI 1.41-17.7; p-value 0.02), diabetes mellitus (4.23; 1.08-16.6; 0.03), ischemic heart disease (5.92; 1.35-26.1; 0.008), chronic obstructive airways disease (8.33; 2.09-33.2; 0.01) and anticoagulant use (13.8; 1.51-125.8; 0.002). Preoperative intraocular pressure (p=0.56), myopia (3.22; 0.88-11.8; 0.09) and hyperlipidemia (1.9; 0.50-7.16; 0.29) were not significant risk factors for DSCH. Visual outcomes of DSCH patients were poorer than controls, with 17 of 24 cases (71%), but only 8 of 24 controls (33%) worse, relative to pre-operative VA, when reassessed at follow-up (p = 0.004). Conclusions: DSCH is a relatively common and potentially serious complication of glaucoma surgery. Patients with known clinical risk factors should be warned of risk of DSCH and should be handled with care. Surgery is the main stay of treatment for those cases of open angle glaucoma uncontrolled by medical treatment. The most widely practiced operation is a trabeculectomy. In recent years a number of alternative non-penetrating glaucoma drainage operations have been developed such as deep sclerectomy and

Liberty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Liberty - Essay Example Liberty can be both unconstructive and helpful. Negative liberty is characterized by nonexistence of impediment or interferences; whereas, positive liberty is an act of taking charge of personal life and appreciating the basic reason of existence. Varying ideologies of liberty entail the association or connection between the society and individuals; these include relation to life under the social contract and the active exercise of freedom and rights as essential to liberty. Liberty and lack of restrictions work interchangeably. In this regard, liberty helps to instill individuality and to suppress individualism. Characteristics of being in a liberal state include; being free, ability to do as one pleases, power to choose think or act on oneself, freedom from subjective or dictatorial control, as well as the positive aspect of social, political and economic right and privileges. Liberty could be divided into three categories, political liberty, which entails the direct impact of justice in relation to personal freedoms or rights. There is also social liberty that alludes to someone’s right to socialization. Finally, economic liberty indicates either the availability or inadequacy of economic power or hindrance by other parties of the individual from the same (Judt, 2011). Liberal is a label that can be respectable and displays less than it conceals. According to Tonny Judit, a liberal is someone who is not in agreement with interference of others affairs, one who tolerates attitudes that may be considered dissenting and unacceptable behavior. Historically, liberals have always been am bassadors, championing for individuals freedom to live freely and as they choose. Liberty does not exist on its own, but it is rooted in inspiring principles, which are interdependent. These principles are collectively referred, as democratic values that are the basis of democracy. These principles include fairness, justice and rights (Friedman 2009). Equality refers to individuals having rights that are free from any biases, since it is based on the notion that people are conceived on equal ground. However, this principle at times is said to contain an assertion that individuals must achieve equal access to wealth or property to, completely, attain this equality. Compared to equality, a libertarian tends to regard liberty as of more significance. They believe one should have the freedom to exercise anything he or she wants unlike being equal to the other. For instance, libertarians believe in suppressing the governments’ influence on its citizens and strongly disagree with t he act of levying taxes to establish large-scale projects. Thomas Jefferson, a libertarian argues that liberty should be natural and is an unchallengeable right. Liberty and equality can coexist coherently in a constitutional government through formulation of a framework that checks the two principles. A right involves responsibility, duties or commitment on other parties

The implications for the UK businesses if the country separates from Essay

The implications for the UK businesses if the country separates from the European union ( see full detail attch on folder) - Essay Example According to Dearden (1997), European Union (EU) is the United Kingdom’s (UK) most crucial export market, with the 2011 statistics indicating that the market accounted for 53% of the goods exported. United Kingdom involvement in the European Union has advantages and disadvantages which play a key role in the analysis of the implications of the UK businesses in the event of a separation. The essay below focuses on the impacts of the separation on imports, growth, politics, business and immigration as well as its advantages and disadvantages. Exports Some of the UK exports to the EU include weapons, pharmaceutical drugs, plastics, aerospace products, electronic equipments and books (Smith, 2005; UK Trade and Investment, 2007). One of the advantages of the sector is that it supports three million jobs. This implies that the population is poised to loose a high number of jobs in the event of a separation. Currie (2008) asserts that the growth in exports is the prominent factor tha t made UK to avoid the negative impacts of recession. However, if the country leaves the European Union it can still be allowed to sell their goods through single markets. Such a case has been successfully applied in Switzerland, Iceland and Norway. This will limit the powers and influence of the United Kingdom because the country will not be able to set the rules that govern the European market. Those who hold the opinion that the United Kingdom should detach from the European Union argue that this will provide an opportunity for the British manufacturers to focus on exporting to other destinations such as Brazil. This generates more income to the business fraternity. According to Frederick Taylor’s Theory of Scientific Management, the possession of abundant financial resources improves the economic proficiency or the productivity of the workforce. If the business people are assured of abundant profits, their productivity increases. Imports Most of the imports to the UK are manufactured products such as beverages, food, tobacco, chemicals, fuels and footwear (Pattichis, 2002). Separation will affect the imports that the UK obtains from the members of the EU. Britain also imports many goods from the members of the European Union. Milne (2004) study affirmed that the country imports more than its imports. The 2011 business statistics indicates that UK exported ?159bn compared to the imports that amounted to ?202bn (Great Britain, 2012). The deficit provides the country with a leverage to demand for budget rebates from other countries. However, this notion is misguided because the country can only import the goods they require and not the ones intended to benefit the exporting country. Such an economical benefit cannot be attained if the country separates from the EU. If Britain abandons the E.U, it may be obliged to impose more tariffs on the European imports. This will discourage imports leading to business difficulties because the market might experien ce shortages. The importers will also be disadvantaged because their competitive power will be lower than that of the local products. This will be contrary to Elton Mayo’s Behavioural Theory of Management because importers will feel singled out or victimised (Drucker and Maciariello, 2008). This will negatively affect the business proficiency of Britain in the European market. The EU market might respond to the increased exports in the UK market by increasing the tariffs

Sugar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sugar - Essay Example Purchasing for Sugar is not centralized. At the same time the present process of purchasing follows none of the established rules of purchasing for a chain of stores. In fact there is no standardized purchasing strategy. â€Å"Purchasing strategy includes long term agreement, product design collaboration, and seamless supply chain process between the trading partners.† (Ling Li, page 63)i. Purchasing at Sugar stores is not even scientifically decentralized as delegated purchasing at Sugar shops does not owe accountability to the management. A mixed sort of purchasing system is being followed wherein individuals take up purchasing responsibility on the basis of their experience and contacts in the market. With the result all those advantages of centralized purchasing like economies of scale and others, as discussed later part of this assignment, are not being attained. Costlier hybrid or mixed style of purchasing system is bound to shrink the turnover and profitability. Cash and Carry style of purchasing, adopted by Sugar stores, means branded apparel are not being sold at Sugar stores. Branded apparels are designed as per the prevalent market and fashion trends. In fact brands set the fashion trend in the market. There is always a scientific process involved in fabrication of branded apparels. Designers introduce styles that become craze during the coming session. These branded styles of garments are fabricated only for those business houses that care for fashion and styles. Increased sales automatically follow such brands. Charles W. Lamb and other (page 309)ii believe that â€Å"retailers love consumers’ increased acceptance of private brands.† The styles that attract sales are not available in whole sale stores from where Sugar stores are making purchases. Accordingly the purchasing approach of Sugar is rather negative. Management of Sugar is not interested in taking risks and that is why sales at such stores are a cause

Bipolar Disorder and its misdiagnosis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bipolar Disorder and its misdiagnosis - Essay Example It is considered a genetic malfunction of specific neurotransmitters which lie inactive until a stressor in life triggers them. There are certain medications which can also trigger mania for example antidepressants can produce mania in some of the patients who are vulnerable to bipolar disorder. Therefore it is very necessary to treat bipolar disorder with care and caution as because a depressive episode can readily turn into a manic episode. Some other stressors as lack of sleep, frequent use of stimulants and alcohol can increase the risk of the bipolar disorder. Hence, depression and bipolar/manic depression are two very different conditions and necessitate accurate diagnosis before treating any of the disorders. Bipolar disorder is further subdivided into three types, Including Bipolar I, II and Cyclothymic disorder. Type III bipolar disorder which is not a DSM-IV recognized disorder and includes relatives of the manic depression sufferers who themselves suffered from major depre ssive episodes. ... (PubMed, 2011)Carbamazipine, Lithium, Valproate, Lamotrigine and other ant seizure drugs can help reduce the severity of the situation. Antipsychotics and anti anxiety for mood problems are suggested. More than 25% patients are misdiagnosed due to overlapping symptoms of manic depression and unipolar depression. However, use of antidepressants can lead to increase risk of suicide and mania in patients of bipolarism. Underuse of effective medication and overuse of antidepressants is common among the misdiagnosed patients which is possibly a harmful treatment regimen for the bipolar patient. The patients with early onset and treatment refractory depression are the ones mostly misdiagnosed as unipolar depression instead of bipolarism. For this purpose a study was conducted in United Kingdom and approved by Cardiff and Vale University health board. It aimed to determine the extent of misdiagnosis in the primary care patients with unipolar depression who satisfy the DSM IV criteria of bip olar depression. Second aim was to investigate the usefulness of two screening instruments of testing Bipolar disorder and if patients with false positive results from these testing gears differ from manic patients in the study. For this purpose a total of 3117 patients were selected eligible from the data base of practitioners who fulfilled the criteria. Invitation sheets with HCL 32 and BSD questionnaire was sent to the participants. 576 patients replied with completed questionnaire and were divided in two groups and were reviewed according to age, gender and first diagnosis of depression and patients on continued medication. There were high scorers, scoring more than 13 or 14 in HCL and BSD’s and a group of low scorers with

Free Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Free Speech - Essay Example This has brought growth to countries such as Brazil, Caribbean and the Middle East. It has grown tremendously with a margin of over a billion users in the past ten years from 670 million to 1.9 billion users. In order to promote accessibility to the nation, the government has invested large amounts of dollars to breach the gap that is between people with access to the Internet and those without (Hayes 108). By providing access to the Internet, more people are able to take advantage of political, economic, social and carrier opportunities. Internet democracy should be promoted as every citizen has an equal right and say in decisions affecting their lives and development of law legislation. Oppressive regimes such as China have taken measures to squash political opposing of Internet accessibility to its citizens in order to protect their interest. The regimes arbitrary blocks and filters information make their own rules and block Internet access during political unrest. They justify th at cutting off users from accessing the Internet is a means of protecting individuals’ status, counter terrorism and national security, while it is a violation of human rights treaties. According to the U.N Internet access and human rights, all nations should ensure Internet accessibility should be maintained always including times of political unrest for individuals to be updated on the things that are unfolding in the country (Kant 105). They put emphasis on amending laws that authorizes users to have full access of the Internet, and cease the regime nations from disconnecting its citizen from the use of the Internet. Given that use of the Internet is an indispensable tool in the realization of human right, accelerating human progress and development, combating equality and ensuring Internet access should be a major priority for all nations globally. Each nation should build up a strong foundation and maintain effective policy while still consulting with citizens from all r egions of the country, including local citizens, private sectors and the government ministries, to make the Internet available all over and affordable to all sections of the population (Kant 162). A customer’s online activity is a part of the human right of accessing the Internet freely (Kant 168). One can post an article, video or any relevant material in a site of their choice. Posting of materials on the Internet needs caution depending on the material posted, and site one chooses to post it because they can either impact positively or negatively to another party leading to Internet crime or a court case. In order to avoid these conflicts, a customer identification program has been established for identification of the person who posts in the website. This helps facilitate prevention of cyber crimes, implicating other parties and financing of illegal activities. Customer identification programme helps curb crimes committed online, an example; a manufacturer with an order t o manufacture products for a recognized company may knowingly over-run the order volume and put on the market the excessive items at a throw away price in another market. The same commodity may be sold yet in another market at a different price in a parallel trading process. This encourages advertising and selling of fake products in the market through the Internet, and by creation of Customer identifi

Great Depression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Great Depression - Essay Example Many dynamics factored into bringing about the Great Depression but there were two central contributing causes. The first of these was that the wealth of the nation was unevenly distributed. A middle class, as we would define it today, did not exist. The country was literally divided between the ‘haves and the have nots.’ Some very few people had enormous wealth and power while a much greater number of the population consisted of those struggling to pay the bills each month. This condition established an unstable economy requiring only a small thing to send it off the tracks. This condition then combined with inflated speculations among the majority of stock market investors much like what has occurred recently in the marketplace. â€Å"The excessive speculation in the late 1920’s kept the stock market artificially high, but eventually lead to large market crashes. These market crashes, combined with the mal-distribution of wealth, caused the American economy to capsize† (Hicks, 1960 p. 110). The effects of the Great Depression were many and widespread. Banks were not federally mandated to insure depositors at this time. Therefore when the hundreds of banks suddenly failed, millions of people lost their life savings. Immediately following the bank failures, many factories were forced to close and all types and sizes of businesses dissolved leaving many workers without jobs or money in the bank. Many businesses and financial institutions failed. The businesses that stayed open were barely making enough to remain operational. The tax base fell suddenly which affected local governments, many of which could not continue to conduct some city services at a normal capacity. The price of farm products also fell sharply and the mass foreclosures of family farms soon followed causing bloody clashes between the owners and the bank representatives. Of those who were able to hold on to

US Role in the ME Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

US Role in the ME - Assignment Example decades been involved in affairs of the Middle East with the aim of ensuring stability, democracy, and fostering economic relationships with countries in this region. However, the main aim of the US involvement and influence does not seem to be stability or democracy, but rather, control of the rich oil resource from this region (Shah). The US or any other Western super power should not be directly involved in the affairs of the Middle East and the Gulf region because their involvement is for their own economic benefit but not for the persons living there. This so sought of stability is meant to perpetuate status quo which is good for America and other western super powers but it is very bad for other very many Middle Easterners who have to pay the price. In the so called stability involves worthless civil wars, wars between countries, represses free thought, struggle for freedom, and self determination. There is totally no growth or development, no achievement opportunities and no benefits accruing for the masses whose situation is thought of as stable. As long there is no disturbance as the Americans want, the Middle Eastern continue to live in oppression and poverty, and they are stable (Levy). Evidence – just as Africa, the Middle East is a region very rich in human and natural resource and yet it is the second most backward region after Africa simply because of the interference and unwanted involvement of the west. The citizens of these regions can not oppose bad rule in the stable nations as perceived by the U.S and the west since they actions would be seen to be disturbing the peace and yet, they continue to languish in abject poverty. The West have put corrupt Arab leaders in power and supported the overthrowing of those leaders that they have considered as unfavorable so as to maintain their superiority, influence and control over the region. In addition, this has served to put the population of these countries at bay and in return those leaders

Social media has shown to be more about sociology and psychology than Personal Statement

Social media has shown to be more about sociology and psychology than technology - Personal Statement Example In social media, human beings tend to influence one another; this largely constitutes aspects of sociology and psychology. For instance, Twitter and Facebook are examples of social media, which employ sociological and psychological aspects. People engage in chats and following each other on twitter since everyone wants at par with others. This influence one each other’s behavior can be regarded as more sociological and psychological than technological (Al-Deen and Hendricks 30-50). Interactions have made use of social media a viable option as compared to the use of technology itself. The relationships that people get in through social media influence their behavior patterns than the technology they rely on to get in such relationships. Both sociology and psychology play an essential role in social media than technology. They provide the means through which technology will be conveyed across all divides. Although technology can undergo changes to take various forms, the psychological and sociological aspects constitute social media. Many aspects of social media are more sociological and psychological than technological; this is because social media entails the harnessing of technology through social interactions between people. Thus, it can be concluded the use of sociological and psychological aspects of interactions and behavior outweighs the technological aspects of social media (Al-Deen and Hendricks

Reificaition Case Essay Example for Free

Reificaition Case Essay Wikipedia defines reification as â€Å"(Lat. res thing + facere to make) n. the turning of something into a thing or object; the error which consists in treating as a thing something which is not one. Hypostatization, treating an abstract entity as if it were concrete, is a case in point†. In Marxist terms, it is the consideration of a human being as a physical object, deprived of subjectivity. According to Marxists, this is one of the pitfalls of the capitalist system because in such a system the laborers and their work are not valued to their proper extent. Their work is treated as a commodity and is valued according to the unpredictable needs of the market. This concept is closely tied to the Marxist idea of commodity fetishism which Wikipedia describes as â€Å"an inauthentic state of social relations, said to arise in complex capitalist market systems, where social relationships are confused with their medium, the commodity.† Marxist writer, Georg Lukà ¡cs, writes thus: The transformation of the commodity relation into a thing of ghostly objectivity cannot there ore content itself with the reduction of all objects for the gratification of human needs to commodities. It stamps its imprint upon the whole consciousness of man; his qualities an abilities are no longer an organic par of his personality, they are things which he can own or dispose of like the various objects of the external world. Simply put, Marxists criticize capitalist systems for stripping the human person of his social nature. He is transformed into a commodity or a product. One’s labor is transformed into money which is in turn used to purchase the products of other people’s labor. Although this may facilitate the exchange of goods, the problem of the system lies in the fact that because of this abstraction, the use-value (the actual usefulness of the object) is oftentimes totally different from its exchange-value (the value of the object in the marketplace). For example, a person who creates a hammer (which has a variety of uses) will be paid less than a person who makes jewelry (an object which has less use than a hammer). The value given to the work of the laborer is incommensurate to the work and effort that he made in order to produce the good. How can reification be avoided? Marxist measures against reification have proven themselves to be ineffective (including complete control over the market and standardization of wages). This is because these measures tend to remove the element of competition from the formula, thus, causing production to suffer instead. An alternative mode by which reification is avoided is through the respect of human rights. According to John Locke, each person has the natural right to life, liberty and estate which must be protected by the government. These rights must ensure that each person shall be given his due. By treating persons as individuals with human rights and dignity, people will be treated as an end and never as a means. The theory of human rights has been upheld and accepted by most of the world and are embodied in international instruments and conventions, most notable is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the field of labor and employment, modern societies have integrated this idea of human dignity by setting minimum standards and conditions to be strictly followed by employers under the pain of appropriate sanctions should they be defied. For example, there could be a law saying that any employee who works beyond eight hours in a single day shall be given additional overtime pay. Another instance would be a law that would lay down a minimum wage based on the living standards and conditions of the locality where the worker belongs. By recognizing the human dignity of every person, reification is completely obliteration because persons are then given the respect they deserve. They are no longer treated as cogs in the machinery of production but are considered partners in the enterprise. By holding that each person deserves to be treated with dignity, they are esteemed as subjects never objects, and will be given their due.       Bibliography Lukà ¡cs, Georg. 1967. History Class Consciousness. Translated by Andy Blunden. Merlin Press. Smith, John, Bob Snider, and Diane Hill. 2005. A study of physics. New York: McGraw Hill. Wikipedia. 2006. Commodity fetishism. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_fetishism. Ashcraft, Richard. 1986. Revolutionary Politics and Lockes Two Treatises of Government. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Wikipedia. 2006. Georg Lukà ¡cs. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Luk%C3%A1cs. Wikipedia. 2006. Human Rights. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights. Wikipedia. 2006. John Locke. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_locke. Wikipedia. 2006. Reification. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reification.

Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris Essay Example for Free

Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris Essay Introduction Writing this paper, I faced a challenging task of exploring, discussing and analyzing a well-written book about one of the most prominent and controversial figures in American politics and history. In the first part of my report I would like to discover basic themes and concepts of the book as well as compare and contrast â€Å"Theodore Rex† and other books about the twenty-sixth US President. Also I would like to concentrate my attention on the major accomplishments of the author and on possible bias found in the book. The book is a thorough and profound biographical account of Roosevelt’s presidency and discusses and evaluates his major deeds and successes. The book concentrates on the two presidential terms he served, while â€Å"The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt†, another celebrated biographical work by Morris, sheds light on Roosevelt’s career before presidency. â€Å"Theodore Rex† ends with Mr. Roosevelt quitting the office. Edmund Morris writes about Theodore Roosevelt with great respect combined with admiration. The author doesn’t always clearly state it, but we can read it between the lines. When exploring Roosevelt external policy in the global context, the author quotes London Morning Post that stated Roosevelt’s presidency marked, â€Å"the emergence of a new world peacemaker: Mr. Roosevelts success has amazed everybody, not because he succeeded, but because of the manner by which he achieved success.† (Morris, 2002: p.391) Roosevelt is positioned as a great an innovative man of state for the ample reason that he was the first US president to leave the country or to fly in an airplane. I strongly deem that any book addressing questions connected with politics or history can’t be absolutely free from bias. For instance, Morris argues that American world hegemony and superpower is largely, if not only, Roosevelt’s accomplishment. But we know that economic and political conditions at the beginning of the century were very favourable, and the president seized the moment and American gilded age so he enhanced country’s position on the international arena. The book is different from others in many ways. First of all, it concentrates not only on the strengths of the twenty-sixth president, but also on his faults. The book provides the reader with full and comprehensive account of Roosevelt as a man of state and some insightful information about Roosevelt as a personality. Another difference is the focus of this biography solely on the presidential years of Theodore Roosevelt. Main Body Now let me proceed with evaluating the organization and the persuasive power of the book. The choice of the sources is satisfactory; the bibliography of the book is diverse and trustworthy. Morris consults sources dating from the early 20th centuries up to nowadays. The major material for Morris’ research consists of Roosevelt’s presidential whitepapers and worksheets, his private documentation, the archives of John Hay, William Howard Taft and Owen Wister. The author manages to be stylistically good and historically balanced. The book gives very specific account of political events that happened during the presidency of Roosevelt and goes through every political crisis, external or internal. The book doesn’t give much information about personal life of the twenty-sixth president, but it makes the reader feel as if sharing all the daily routine with Mr. Roosevelt. Let me enlist the issues, on which the author concentrates most. Morris reminds us about the success of Roosevelt’s external policy and stresses the fact of US acquisition of Panama Canal and the Philippines, signing a treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War and strengthening American naval forces. The book states that, â€Å"French foreign-policy experts believed him to be the strongest international personality since Bismarck.† (Morris, 2002: 193) He gives a positive account of Roosevelt’s policy in the spheres of culture, science, and ecology and urges to keep in mind presidential initiatives to create national parks and monuments and to start national conservation policy. He praises the president’s ability of dealing with labor issues by discussing the settlement of the significant coal strike in the early 1990s. Still, the author admits the existence of complicated points during the Roosevelt’s career, for instance, the Brownsville Incident. I believe that Morris concentrates too much on the description of major and minor state affairs. The book is purely a narrative. Instead of going so deep into daily matters of the president, Morris might have included more analysis of Roosevelt’s policies and practices. I would like to read more about Roosevelt in the wider historical context; the reader wants not only a success story, but the discussion of president’s actions to ensure success. Still, enough attention is paid to important people in Roosevelt’s life, namely Edith and Alice. Morris shows us the twenty-sixth president as a loving husband and caring father. Roosevelt’s family supported him in the turmoil of state affairs, and the president valued his dearest and nearest very much. When his wife arrived, â€Å"Careless of watching eyes, he threw his arms around Edith, then escorted her inside for supper.† (Morris, 2002: 47) Morris clearly states what traits of character are necessary for an outstanding leader. The author describes sometimes controversial behavior and complicated character of the president. Some small personal details give us better understanding of Theodore’s nature, for example, president’s habit to carry pistols with him. The detailed descriptions in a combination with easy way of presenting the information made the book seem convincing and trustworthy. Conclusion In the concluding part I would speak about the relevance and historical value of â€Å"Theodore Rex The book is readable and enjoyable, giving insight into big and small issues of governing. Sometimes the book may seem to be too detailed for a non-professional reader. I dare call this book to be a research of Roosevelt’s biography, since it keeps track of everything taking place in the president administration. Morris’ book may be useful for historians as well as for the general public. The book is very short still it has everything the one needs to know about Roosevelt and the US at the dawn of the 20th century. The organization of the book is good, but the tone of the story isn’t always adequate since Morris describes very official events using lyrical language. Let’s analyze the episode concerned with Panama-US treaty: â€Å"Pens scratched across parchment. Wax melted on silk. Two oceans brimmed closer, ready to spill.† (Morris, 2002: p.298) The prologue is marked by unnecessary romanticism, too. But it can’t be called a disadvantage since it saves the book from being boring. Paragraph and sentence structure is adequate and quite clear. And I didn’t notice any serious contradictions worth mentioning here. The organizational drawback is that personal and political episodes aren’t described in separate chapters. Still, the strictly chronological way of presenting the events with clear separation of the first and the second administration is definitely a plus. I believe that some practical solutions of social and economical problems, e.g. unemployment or discrimination, can be used by contemporary politicians as well. I would like to end my report with giving an overall assessment of â€Å"Theodore Rex† by Edmund Morris. This account of Roosevelt’s presidency and charismatic personality is in-depth but transparent, analytical but charming, complex but inspiring. I believe that such a charismatic leader as Theodore Roosevelt definitely deserves such a brilliant biographer as Edmund Morris.    References:    Morris, E. 2002. Theodore Rex. New York: Modern Library

Cockroaches and Hemolymph Concentration in the Body Essay Example for Free

Cockroaches and Hemolymph Concentration in the Body Essay This lab was conducted to determine the concentration of hemolymph in the body of a cockroach. It was done by making serial dilutions to make a standard graph by injecting a dye into a cockroach and determining the concentration at different times with the use of a spectrophotometer to find the optical density which is measured in absorbance. Results showed that the concentration was not within the pre-experiment research range. Introduction: Cockroaches as well as all other insects have an open circulatory system. Unlike humans who have a closed circulatory system with arteries and veins, insects do not have any arteries or veins. They have a body of internal fluids and they use diffusion to transfer nutrients and oxygen across their bodies. This process of diffusion is only made possible because of their small bodies. In practical terms, cockroaches are cheaper than vertebrates, and since they are neither furry nor cuddly their use does not anger the animal-rights enthusiasts. In terms of economics and public health, we need to know everything we can about insects because of their enormous impact on humans as crop pests, carriers of disease, pollinators, etc. But they also have a fascination in their own right. For instance, they represent the only other major group of animals that, with the higher vertebrates, have successfully conquered the terrestrial habitat. Insects and mammals have a vastly different evolutionary heritage: evolution has had to work with very different basic body plans to produce two highly successful terrestrial organism (Smith 119-139). Insects regulate their hemolymph volume by a variety of mechanisms including hormonal and metabolic factors. In an aquatic environment, insects must continuously excrete water to compensate for water uptake, whereas in a hot, dry terrestrial environment the insect must conserve water – in both these instances, the volume of the hemolymph is regulated to prevent excessive water gain or loss. In any given insect species, the volume of the hemolymph at any particular time during the life cycle will tend to be fairly constant. However, stressing the insect, for example by exposure to very high temperatures or by starvation, will result in changes in the hemolymph volume. The Internal fluid in the insect’s body is termed Hemolymph it contains both blood and other fluids. The hemolymph is used to transfer nutrients, ions, and waste to different organs in the body. It also is used to defend against microorganisms that might attack the insect’s body. The Hemocoel houses the hemolymph where all the organs are located. My hypothesis was that the hemolymph in the insect’s body was about 20-40% of the body mass. Materials and Methods: In order to find the cockroachs hemolymph volume, a small quantity of concentrated dye was injected which helped one to find how much the dye was diluted. A spectrophotometer was used to find the dye concentration needed in the cockroach. A spectrophotometer worked because dyes and other chemicals absorb light of characteristic wavelengths, and the amount of absorption depended on the concentration of the chemical. Knowing the original concentration and the final concentration it was to calculate what volume (the hemolymph volume) would have been necessary to dilute the dye that much. A range of volumes was chosen extending from below to above the probable values for hemolymph volume; you can produce a standard curve for optical density of solution on which you can read hemolymph volume directly. One advantage of this was that any errors in the procedure with the cockroach were likely to be similar to those for determining the standard curve, and they therefore canceled each other out. We started off by making serial solutions to make a standard curve for dye concentrations. We put 100, 200, 300 and 400 ul of a Ringer solution mixed with 10 ul of dye. We then put 5 ul of the first tubes into tubes that had 2500 ul of Ringer solution using a pippete. We then measured the optical density (Absorbance) of our serial dilutions with a spectrophotometer at 522 nm. Then we graphed the data, we made it linear by doing 1/OD to get an equation for the line. The next thing we did is we anesthetized our cockroaches with CO2 and we weighed our cockroaches. We then injected 10 ul of dye into the abdomen of the insect. We waited until the dye was mixed in the hemolymph evenly then we took samples at different points in time at 5, 15 and 20 min in time. We injected next to the armpit of the leg and used cold capillaries to obtain our samples. We then used the spectrophotometer to measure the OD of the samples mixed with 2500 ul of ringer solution at the different time periods. We then plotted the data and obtained the  equation. Then we plugged the reciprocal of y intercept to the equation and found the x value which equals the volume. This is a graph illustration of time(seconds) Versus optical density Discussion: After the lab was done, my original hypothesis was rejected. I predicted that the cockroach would have 20-40% hemolymph concentration. This turned out to be incorrect. Our cockroach had a percentage of approximately 15%. The result is not far from the 20% range I predicted nevertheless, not specifically accurate at all. According to my prior research, an average hemolypmh is around 25 percent and makes up about 20% of the body weigh of the cockroach. According to this research, my hypothesis was correct about the concentration of hemolyph (Czpla 171-181) There is always some variation within experiments so; something that was done during the experiment possibly could have gone wrong. The variation could have been due to the lack of following the specific time or variables. It was most likely due to a human error, which my group possible overlooked. There could have been mishandling of the specialized equipment such as the pipette or the spectrometer. It is really easy to mishandle the pipet and can result in the wrong amounts of water used for the experiment. This could affect the optical density and result in excess data. Some of the equipment was old and not always properly and fully functional. In a good preparation, the three data points for optical density (OD) will lie approximately on an exponentially declining curve (dye excretion rate may be a function of dye concentration). The extrapolation back to zero time should therefore follow this curve. Often, however, the first point will be noticeably high or low compared to the trend of the later points. This is probably due to poor mixing, either because of poor circulation, or poor injection where the dye sometimes appears to be trapped close to the point of injection. In this case, the best that can be done is to extrapolate from the later points, which, since there are only two points, will have to be a linear extrapolation. My results were in an exponentially declining curve so,I can not relate any error due to the mixing. A factor, which should be discussed because it could’ve provided some potential errors, is the removal of hemolymph from the cockroach during the 30-minute sampling period. This could have reduced the hemolymph volume. The error becomes progressively larger as the 5  µl samples are removed. If mixing is incomplete, the OD may apparently increase. Another possible source of error is the distribution of the dye, that is, how long does it take for the dye to be distributed uniformly throughout the hemolymph? This could have been a potential error, it is something I remember happening during the experiment though I did not realize the implications of it at the time. As time goes by, the Optical Density in the samples taken goes down in value. That shows that the dye within the body of the cockroach is getting transferred outside of the body of the insect. The Hemolymph concentration in this cockroach is . 2/1. 3= 15% that is not within the range of the concentration that should be which is within the range of 20-40%. There might have been an error in the spectrophotometer or maybe the dye didn’t spread well enough within the body, which would ruin our results. The sex of the cockroach might also play a role on the concentration of Hemolymph. For the future, if I were to carry out the same experiment I would stick to my prediction but would be more careful in carrying out the experiment. I would make sure I carried out the experiment exactly right.

Study of Chinese Wine Consumption Essay Example for Free

Study of Chinese Wine Consumption Essay Abstract Purpose  ± This research aims to examine Chinese consumers wine consumption and purchasing behaviour. Design/methodology/approach  ± The study, conducted during the Chinese New Year in early 2006, used in-depth interviews with 15 consumers in Guangzhou, Peoples Republic of China. Findings  ± The results suggest that Chinese consume Chinese spirits for all occasions, yet consume red wine only for special occasions such as Chinese new year and other holidays. A key point for selling red wine to the Chinese is its positive image; drinking red wine is considered trendy and shows good taste. Another key point is consumer perceptions of red wine as healthier than Chinese spirits because wine contains less alcohol. Two other findings are that most Chinese consumers assume all wine is red wine and have little wine knowledge. Most respondents did not know of white wine or that Australia produces wine. Finally, Chinas culture of face value, mianzi, plays a key role in purchasing and consuming wine. Chinese tend to purchase inexpensive wine for private consumption and public occasions, yielding more mianzi in front of others. In some important occasions, consumers will purchase a foreign (French) red wine to impress their guests and obtain even more mianzi. In most situations, Chinese purchase and consume wine for perceived health and symbolic  ± lucky or good face  ± values. Research limitations/implications  ± The small sample size is a limitation. Another limitation is that all the respondents lived in the urban area of Guangzhou, one of Chinas most developed cities. The findings do not generalize to China. Practical implications  ± The findings suggest that wine is a symbolic product rather than a necessity product in China; therefore, image is an important attribute for selling wine in China. Furthermore, limited wine knowledge tends to make Chinese consumers rely heavily on price for their wine purchasing decisions, as price relates to mainzi. Chinese consumers high awareness of France as a wine making country and their deep-rooted positive beliefs about French wines pose difficulties for marketing other foreign wines, such as Australian wines, in China. Originality/value  ± This is perhaps the first academic study in English of Chinese wine consumption and wine purchasing. It offers important insights on the characteristics of wine consumption and purchasing in China. Keywords Consumers, Consumption, China, Wines, Red wines Paper type Research paper 98 Fang Liu and Jamie Murphy International Journal of Wine Business Research Vol. 19 No. 2, 2007 pp. 98-113 # Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1751-1062 DOI 10. 1108/17511060710758669. Introduction Chinese wine production has grown dramatically since the 1980s, with an average annual increase of 14 per cent from 80,000 tons in 1980 to 440,000 tons in 2005 (ASKCI, 2005; Snapshot, 2005; see Figure 1). Wine consumption has risen alongside the wine production. From 2004 to 2005, Chinese wine consumption reached 420,000 tons  ± 564 million bottles, which brought China into the top ten wine consumption countries (Foodmate, 2007). From 2005 to 2010, Foodmate (2007) estimates that Chinese wine Chinese wine consumption 99 Wine production in China (1980-2005) Figure 1. consumption should increase by 35 per cent, or six times the worlds overall increase in wine consumption. Chinas per capita wine consumption of under 0. 5 litres is markedly less than the world average of 7. 5 litres, and 40 times less than the 20 litres drunk in western countries such as France, Australia, and the USA ( Jin, 2004). For the past 10 years, Chinese wine consumption increased from 10-15 per cent annually, grew 20 per cent in 2005, and this strong growth should continue for the foreseeable future ( Jin and Zhan, 2006). Chinas current low per capita wine consumption, augmented by the worlds largest population (1.25 billion) and decades of 7-8 per cent annual GDP growth (NBS China, 2004) has foreign wineries keen for a share of this market. In addition, a reduced wine import duty and the Chinese governments preferential policy for foreign wines further entice foreign wineries into China (SinoCast China Business Daily News, 2002). Foreign wines, particularly from France, the USA, and Australia, are pouring into China (He, 2004). From January to February 2006, China imported around 18 million litres of wine valued at E14 million, and its annual wine imports increased 79 per cent in 2005 (Worldbydata, 2006). Chinas wine market is also becoming competitive, with many local and foreign brands available (Tang, 2005). Despite its huge market potential, academic knowledge about Chinese consumers wine consumption and purchases is scarce. This paper reviews literature on Chinese wine consumption and then discusses the results of qualitative interviews conducted in early 2006 in Guangzhou, China. The paper closes with managerial suggestions for exporting wine into China and proposed avenues for future research. Chinas wine history China has a rich wine history. Towards the beginning of the Han Dynasty, around 206 BC, Chinese started to grow grapes and produce wines in the Yellow River region of northeastern China (Winechina, 2005). Grape wine production, however, lagged other alcoholic beverages such as Chinese spirits due to weather and soil conditions. During IJWBR 19,2 100 the Tang Dynasty, about 500 AD, there was still little Chinese wine production and China began importing wines, mainly from the Middle East. Due to its scarcity, only emperors, senior government officials, and rich merchants drank wine  ± usually for important occasions such as the emperors birthday (Winechina, 2005). Chinese spirits are alcoholic beverages distilled from grains and have been the traditional drink for nearly all occasions in China. Furthermore, due to historical and cultural reasons, wine has never gained the same popularity as rice spirits or beer (Li, 2006); tradition still influences who drinks wine and on what occasion. Wine is both a luxury and image product in China. Chinese who drink wine are usually educated, wealthy, and middle or upper class (Wang, 2006). Demographics aside, many Chinese consume wine for important social or business occasions (Tang, 2006b). Wine has a favourable image in China, but most Chinese have little wine knowledge or appreciation, such as judging wine quality or taste ( Jin, 2004). Macro-factors also hinder Chinas wine market. For example, few guidelines for wine advertising have led to many wine advertisements providing exaggerated or false information (Peoplenet, 2006). Yet, despite Chinas rich wine history and growing wine consumption, few studies have examined Chinese wine consumption and wine purchasing. The next section describes a qualitative study to help bridge this research gap of Chinese consumers attitudes towards wine. Research methodology Due to the complex topic and limited literature of Chinese consumers wine purchasing behaviour, this study adopted a qualitative method (Morse, 1994). Scholars often use qualitative methods in organizational and consumer research in order to help understand complex issues that may not be immediately implicit in surface responses (Goulding, 2005, p. 301). Furthermore, the qualitative approach is particularly apt for experiences such as consumption (Goulding, 2005, p. 303). This study investigated Chinese consumers thoughts associated with wine, wine drinking, and wine purchasing. The major research questions were: (1) when and where Chinese consume wine; (2) how frequently they drink wine; (3) how much they drink per occasion; and (4) what factors influence their wine purchasing. For a qualitative approach, this study used in-depth interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire of open-ended questions. Data collection All interviewees were friends of the researcher and thus inclined to discuss frankly and openly their attitudes towards wine. Interviewing friends is common in qualitative studies as friends will accept the interview as well as share intimate thoughts (Frankel and Devers, 2000; Pottie and Sumarah,2004). The criteria for selecting interviewees were availability, that they had consumed wine, and represented a balanced crosssection of age, gender, and income. Table I profiles the nine male and six female interviewees. Four interviewees were in their 20s, four in their 30s, five in their 40s, and two in their 50s. Defining Chinese income levels is difficult; different areas have different income levels and income disparity is a serious problem (Zhou, 2006). Chinas average ID A B C D Gender Male Male Male Male Age 33 24 42 23. Highest education University University Senior high New Zealand university Collegea Senior high University freshman University Senior high College Junior high Senior high Income Median Low High Median Occupation Marketing executive Engineer assistant Restaurant owner Bank customer service officer Washing business owner Small business owner University student Retired senior executive Working in a beauty shop Airline middle management Housewife Retired government official Lecturer Entrepreneur Account manager Marital status Married with one child Single Married with two children Single. Overseas travel None None HK and Singapore Studied in New Zealand; visited Australia. None HK None Holland, South Korea and a few others None Holland, Japan, Malaysia and HK None HK, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and a few others HK and Australia None HK Chinese wine consumption 101 E F G H I J K L Male Male Male Male Female Female Female Female 43 44 19 60 40 25 40 58 High High Low Median Median Low Low Median Married with one child Married with one child Single Married with one child Married with one child Single Married with one son Married with two adult children Married with one child Married with two children Single. M N O Female Male Male 30 35 34 University High school University Median High Median Notes: aCollege degree, da zhuan, is a three-year degree. A university degree, da xue, is four years. In China, the bachelor degree is four years and a three-year degree is not a bachelor. A four-year degree is much more valued than a three-year degree Interviewee profiles Table I. personal income per month is around E40, but E120 in Guangdong, Shanghai, and a few other developed areas. Even within the same area such as Guangdong, people in urban areas could earn approximately four times as much (E480) as people living in the rural areas. Thus, differentiating low and middle income depends on developed or less developed areas as well as rural or urban areas (Sina, 2006). As the interviews took place in an urban area of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong and one of Chinas most prosperous cities (NBS China, 2004), this study IJWBR 19,2 102 classified four subjects earning E530 as high income. Regarding education, nine subjects had or were studying towards a university degree and six had a high school diploma. The profiles show that the sample has good coverage in gender, age, income, and education level. The researcher  ± a Chinese from Guangzhou, conducted and taped one hour indepth interviews in Chinas official language, Mandarin. The interviews occurred from 29 January to 12 February 2006, during the Chinese New Year, an official holiday of about two weeks. Choosing this festive period for interviewing had three advantages. Interviewees are generally in a good mood and less concerned with the time spent on an interview. Finally, during Chinese New Year, Chinese have banquets with friends, colleagues, and family once or twice a day and usually drink alcoholic beverages when eating. Interviewees were comfortable and less inhibited answering questions related to wine and other alcoholic drinks. Data analyses Transcribing and analysing the taped interviews reinforced and clarified the interview notes. Furthermore, after reviewing the initial narratives, the researcher returned to some interviewees for a follow-up interview and clarifications (Colaizzi, 1978). General findings follow. Wine means red wine When the researcher asked have you tried wine, pu tao jiu, ten interviewees instantly asked do you mean red wine, or ni shi shuo hong pu tao jiu ma? After the researcher explained that wine could be red or white, they said they knew and had drunk only red wine. They never tried nor knew about white wine. In their minds, there were four types of alcoholic drinks: hong jiu or red wine, pi jiu or beer, bai jiu or Chinese spirits, and yang jiu or foreign spirits. Similarly, Fu (2004) noted that most Chinese think red wine represents the entire wine category. Of the five interviewees who knew both red wine and white wine, D and H mostly drank red wine, as it was more available in the market. A and C mostly drank red wines, albeit for a different reason; red is a lucky colour in the Chinese culture. The other subject, J, also drank more red wine due to availability, but she preferred white wines as they were sweeter. She added that companies should promote white wine much more aggressively in China. These results suggest that Chinese have poor general knowledge about wine; twothirds of the interviewees were unaware of white wine. White wine may be less popular because it does not fit Chinese culture. Red is a lucky colour, associated with good things such as weddings and birthdays. White is an unlucky colour, often associated with funerals. Besides the lucky association, Fu (2004) argued that red wine sold better in China as it has a stronger taste than white wine; the Chinese prefer strong taste. Given the low awareness of white wine, the following section discusses Chinese consumers attitudes towards red wine only (see Table II). Chinese attitudes associated with red wine When asked about thoughts associated with red wine, all 15 interviewees began with differences between red wine and Chinese spirits. Later, interviewees B and I compared red wine with beer and J compared red wine with foreign spirits. In these Chinese Thoughts Choosing red wine or Chinese spirits depends on the occasion Red wine is less strong and thus healthier than Chinese spirits Red wine has positive symbolic meaning (e. g. lucky and prosperous) Red wine is particularly good for occasions such as spring festivals or celebrating good things Drinking red wine indicates good social image People drinking red wine cares about their face or image Drinking wine is more elegant and gracious than drinking Chinese spirits Red wine is particularly good for occasions such as banquets with important guan xi hu. Chinese know much less about wine, than about Chinese spirits Red wine is expensive Well-educated people with good income drink red wine You can mix red wine with other drinks (e. g. sprite) so you drink less alcohol Beer tastes better than red wine Red wine cannot replace Chinese spirits Red wine is good for those who are not very good at drinking Red wine drinkers are young and modern Wine suits women more than men as it contains less alcohol People who often drink red wine like following western lifestyles Xiaozia prefer red wine Wine suits get-togethers with less familiar or new friends as nobody would get drunk. (getting drunk in public is embarrassing) Red wine tastes good You can mix red wine with other drinks (e. g. sprite) so you can try more varieties than Chinese spirits Red wine is a better gift choice than spirits People above 40, white collared, will like red wine Chinese spirits have a bigger market than red wine as people drinking red wine are a small group Wine is for appreciation not for competition like Chinese spirits (Chinese like to compete on the quantity they drink when they consume Chinese spirits) Count 11 8 8 8 7 5 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1. Chinese wine consumption 103 Notes: aXiaozi directly translates as small capitalist. Compared to other middle-class Chinese, this subset is extremely concerned with image and tends to consume expensive and branded goods to show that they live better than others do. They often favour western lifestyles Interviewee thoughts associated with red wine Table II. consumers perceptual maps of alcoholic drinks, red wines main competitor was Chinese spirits. Eleven out of 15 interviewees said that drinking Chinese spirits or red wine depended on the occasion or chang he. Among these 11 interviewees, eight said that red wine was particularly good for celebrating Chinese New Year and other holidays as red symbolises prosperity, luck, and good fortune. Interviewees C, E, and F, all businessmen,  ± said that red wine was good for banquets with important business connections or guan xi hu. This common thread among the businessmen suggested that red wine is starting to appear in business banquets, traditionally dominated by Chinese or foreign spirits. Besides occasion, another important thought related to red wine was attributes. Red wines health aspect was the most important, and most recalled, attribute. Some of this perception may stem from Chinese Prime Minister Zhus 1997 speech promoting IJWBR 19,2 104 red wine as healthy (Anderson, 2001). Eight of 15 interviewees believed that red wine was healthier than Chinese spirits as it contained less alcohol. Of these eight interviewees, four were high income earners (C, E, F, and N) and four were middle income (A, H, I, and M). Living healthy is an emerging trend for Chinas middleand upper-income classes, so red wines health aspect probably attracts wealthier Chinese. Comments from subject C, a businessperson, covered the major perceived benefits that Chinese consumers had regarding drinking red wine (see below). Due to his age, he appeared to emphasise the health aspect of the red wine. If I had a choice, I would drink red wines in most social get-togethers. Red wines contain less alcohol so it is not as lie (strong) as Chinese spirits or foreign spirits; therefore, it is better for health. You know, at my age, when you reach 40, you must take care of your health. You cant drink alcohol as if you drank when you were 18 or 20 year old. Also, there are different ways of drinking red wine such as straight red wine or red wine mixed with something else like a cocktail (so it is less alcoholic). Even elderly people and young kids can drink red wines whilst these people wont be up for Chinese or foreign spirits. In addition, red wine indicates good luck so it is good for important occasions such as birthday parties and festivals. Other attributes mentioned were red wine indicates good social image; people who drink it have good taste (B, C, E, G, I, M, and O). Red wine is expensive (B, G, and O), beer tastes better than red wine (B and M), and red wine is not strong enough (B). Compared with the health and social image, the other attributes seemed less important. Consumers evaluate products on intrinsic and extrinsic cues (Ophuis and van Trijp, 1995). Wines intrinsic cues include physical attributes such as colour, aroma, and taste, which cannot be changed without changing the physical product itself; extrinsic cues associate with the product but are not physically part of the product such as brand, price, and distribution (Dimara and Skuras, 2001, p. 692). Healthy seems an extrinsic attribute as it stems from the perceptions that red wine contains less alcohol than Chinese spirits, and red wine is a fruit- rather than rice-based drink. Good social image is also an extrinsic cue. The above analyses indicate that extrinsic rather than intrinsic attributes dominate Chinese consumers perceptions. This also suggests that Chinese consumers know little about wine and aligns with studies of intrinsic vs extrinsic cues. Expert consumers, knowledgeable about the product, rely more on intrinsic product cues, while novice consumers with little product knowledge tend to rely more on extrinsic cues (Maheswaran, 1994; Laroche, 2005). A final category of thoughts related to who consumes wine. The most frequently mentioned statement was red wine drinkers are conscious about their face or image (B, H, I, J, and M). Being conscious of mianzi, directly translated as face (Graham and Lam, 2003), is a key Chinese characteristic; people are conscious of what other people think about them (Zhang, 1996). Four respondents (D, G, J, and I) noted that drinking wine was more elegant and gracious than drinking Chinese spirits. Two subjects (M and O) commented that people who often drink red wine like to follow the western ways of life as red wine indicates something non-Chinese or, in particular, western. These results confirm the importance of extrinsic cues. Drinking red wine suggests good social image, elegance, and grace, all of which indicate good mianzi. However, the perception that red wine drinkers are conscious about their mianzi could be negative. For example, Subject M, a well-educated female in her early 30s, told the researcher that: Red wine is particularly attractive to those Xiaozi (Small Bourgeois) people but I am not a Xiaozi type of person. (Why? ) Well, I will consider myself a middle-class person with good income and education but a Xiaozi person is different. Xiaozi is not decided by education or income, but rather by the xingtai (values). Some people may not have high income but they are very concerned with their public image. They want to be seen as unique and different. When they speak, they will always use a few English words in a Chinese sentence. They would also speak Chinese with a somewhat different qiangdiao (intonation). They like to follow the trends and fashions from western countries. For example, they would drink Cappuccino rather than tea. A Xiaozi type of person may earn only 3000 yuan a month but he or she could spend 4000 yuan on a Luis Vuitton bag. Frankly speaking, Cantonese (Chinese living in and around Guangdong province) people seem to be less xiaozi because Cantonese are very shiji (practical or down to earth) so they care more about the actual functions or benefits of a product rather than the image. For example, a rich Cantonese man may drive a BMW (an expensive car in China) but he will stop in a small takeaway at a street corner to buy a bowl of beef noodles if he thinks the noodles are good. This will never happen with a Xiaozi type of person. Chinese wine consumption 105 The drinking scent When asked how often they drank wine, the responses were one to three times a month (A, C, D, E, and F), one to three times a year ( J, K, L, M, N, and O), and once or twice in their life (B, G, and I). Four out of the five heavy drinkers, albeit light drinkers compared to Australians, were businessmen over 40, and had the highest income. They had more opportunities to drink red wine as they attended more business and social functions.