Analysis of 2 Translations of Beowulf

Grendel’s Description Comparative Analysis Beowulf is a great piece of Anglo-Saxon literature that can be, and has been, translated in multiple ways. Of the many outstanding translations, two of which are by Burton Raffel and Seamus Heaney, different ways of writing are portrayed. Grendel’s description is written quite differently in both translations. Heaney’s translation is more similar to the Anglo-Saxon style of writing than Raffel’s translation.In Heaney’s translation, he uses a kenning to describe the Danes whereas Raffel uses simple wording to get the same story across. Heaney calls The Danish people â€Å"Ring-Danes† to get his translation to be closer to the Anglo-Saxon’s style of literature. This use of a kenning causes the reader to be more familiarized and to better understand how the story was originally written or, rather, originally composed. Raffel, on the other hand, plainly calls the Danes â€Å"warriors† to ma ke the passage clear and easy to read.By translating Beowulf this way, Raffel is simplifying the writing and turning it into a more modern style of writing by not using kennings, therefore, taking away from the original story’s metaphorical aspect and straying way from the Anglo-Saxon style of literature but making it more understandable to the less than advanced reader. Another way Heaney nears the Anglo-Saxon style of writing and Raffel digresses from it is the use of poetry and poetic devices in the translations. Heaney uses alliteration in nearly every line of his translation.For example, in line twenty five, â€Å"blundering back with the butchered corpses,† repeats the letter â€Å"B† three times. He translated Beowulf by making sure the same meaning is transferred into the new language, (English), and also made sure that the writing’s style was also transferred. This makes even the translation sound like a poem that can be sung just as Beowulf woul d have been many years ago. Raffel, on the contrary, does not use alliteration or other poetic devices as much.In line four, alliteration is present by repeating the â€Å"H† in â€Å"hall† and â€Å"harp’s,† however, this isn’t the case in many lines. An example would be, line one, â€Å"A powerful monster, living down. † By doing this, Raffel is turning what was initially a complex poem into a short story, setting it up in a way that is very similar to any modern novel. It is quite clear that Heaney’s choice of diction is far more complex and sophisticated than Raffel’s choice of diction, which is very simple.Heaney uses many words that may be hard to comprehend due to the fact that they are not often used in conversations or even in many other writings. An example of a word that Heaney uses in his translation that may not be understood right away is â€Å"prowler. † This word, which means stalker, is a word that may n ot be comprehended by someone with a weak vocabulary. It intensifies the story greatly, however, by allowing the reader to visualize Grendel sneaking up on his prey, showing that he has a deceitful personality.Raffel, on the other hand, simply describes Grendel’s actions. He skips from Grendel being a â€Å"powerful monster† to him growling due to the excessive noise from the hall. Grendel’s personality is not explained or stated as in Heaney’s translation. By Raffel missing this little piece of information about Grendel, the reader has an easier time comprehending what is currently occurring, though it is slightly less informative.Heaney and Raffel’s translations are both phenomenal works of literature. Heaney, however, concentrates more on how poetic and similar the translation is to the original writing to give the reader an idea as to how the original story was composed. Raffel strays slightly away from the poetic Anglo-Saxon writing style and simplifies Beowulf, making it easier to read. Both of the translations tell the same story, however, how the tale is told can impact the reader in different ways.

An Intro To Psychology Architecture Essay

The term Hypnosis comes from the Grecian ‘ypnos ‘ which means sleep because of the Trance State. However Hypnosis is non sleep because the topic stays qui vive, can speak and travel, and the encephalon moving ridges differ ( What is Hypnosis, n.d. ) . In modern yearss Hypnosis has been used for a figure of grounds. Some people try to halt smoke, loose weight, drug dependence and alcohol addiction Bi Polar upset, ADHD, and schizophrenic disorder, and stress management.A As you can see Hypnosis can and is being used in all sorts of signifiers. For several decennaries, or even centuries, hypnosis was more seen as a circus or charming act. Because of this it has taken for a while to convert the populace that it besides has its practical utilizations. As to the history of hypnosis, the usage of it can be dated back all the manner to the early ages of civilisation. In ancient times, worlds used it for mending intents, particularly in spiritual ceremonials. For illustration, an Indian priest-doctors entered into a procedure of strong visual image and suggestion during which he willed to mend the ill individual. The first modern type of hypnosis started with carnal hypnosis. In 1600-s husbandmans calmed poulets hypnotically by utilizing different methods. In 1800-s people hypnotized birds, coneies, toads and other animate beings. B. Danilewsky experimented with carnal hypnosis and studied its physiological workings in animate beings ( Hypnosis Black Secrets, n.d. ) . The first individual to look into this portion of psychological science was Franz Anton Mesmer ( 1734-1815 ) , an Austrian doctor, who is widely acknowledged as the ‘Father of Hypnosis ‘ . Franz believed that there was a quasi-magnetic fluid in the really air that we breathe and that the organic structure ‘s ‘ nervousnesss someway absorbed this fluid. He cured most of his patients by using magnets to different parts of the organic structure to alter the magnetic flows of the organic structure ( Mark, R. 2002 ) . He was the sire of all major scientists who studied Hypnosis after him, for illustration Marquis de Puysegur and Dr. John Elliotson. Now that we know a small spot about how Hypnosis started, allow ‘s happen out what hypnosis is? Harmonizing to the Encyclopedia Britannica: â€Å" Hypnosis is a particular psychological province with certain physiological properties, resembling slumber merely superficially and marked by a operation of the person at a degree of consciousness other than the ordinary witting province. This province is characterized by a grade of increased receptivity and reactivity in which interior experiential perceptual experiences are given as much significance as is by and large given merely to external world ( Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. ) . This brings us to the following inquiry, what is hypnosis used for? A better inquiry would really be what ca n't Hypnosis be used for? A Hypnosis, today, is being used for multiple jobs. Some of the more common 1s would be people who try to halt smoke, others who would wish to lose weight and have tried everything else and it did n't work. Some us hypnosis to cover with emphasis related jobs. These would be the more normally know countries hypnosis is used for. Other less known countries hypnosis can be used for would be in assisting epilepsy patients and patients with palsy, Multiple induration, AIDS and malignant neoplastic disease. Hypnosis can in some of these instances help to better the quality of life and in some instances assist in easing a remedy. The most of import portion of this side of Hypnosis is to retrieve that merely people with a grade in medical specialty should pattern hypnosis for these sorts of jobs. An exclusion might be that doctors will give you a referral to a hypnotizer, who is really good reversed it what you need him to make. Hypnosis has besides been known Os have been applied for child birth conditioning and of class the benefits are enhanced if they are used in combination with La Maze take a breathing techniques. There are besides experts who utilize hypnosis for drug dependence and alcohol addiction, these experts are familiar with the 12 stairss of AA and Al-anon and hold pattern in the 12 measure plans and cognize how to utilize hypnosis to assist their clients. Other experts employ hypnosis to assist adult females with the symptoms of PMS ( premenstrual emphasis ) and other hormone related wellness upsets. Hypnosis besides has been found to assist people with ADHD and schizophrenic disorder and bi-polar ( Watkins, 2008 ) . Another particular signifier of hypnosis-called wakened hypnosis — is most effectual for covering with anxiousness panic onslaught. Hypnosis – Hypnosis is sometimes used in combination with cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiousness. While you ‘re in a province of deep relaxation, the hypnotherapist uses different curative techniques to assist you confront your frights and expression at them in new ways ( Anxiety Attacks and Disorders, n.d. ) . Last but non least, and likely one of the most known utilizations for hypnosis, is to utilize it for diging into repressed kid goon memories. Clinical hypnosis can be used to get the better of many of the clients mental and wellness jobs by theoretically turn uping the beginning of the job in their childhood. This pattern of hypnosis has come under fire recently, some statements made by people that underwent hypnosis to bring out pent-up kid goon memories were really used for cases against parents, siblings and other household members. After long probes most of these instances nil more than person ‘s purportedly long-repressed memories that all of a sudden surfaced under therapy. After reexamining 60 old ages of research and happening no controlled research lab support for the construct of repression, a good known research worker D.S. Holmes suggested, merely half jestingly, that any usage of the construct be preceded by a warning: â€Å" Warning. The construct of repression h as non been validated with experimental research and its usage may be risky to the accurate reading of clinical behaviour † ( Holmes, 1990 ) Ricker, n.d. ) . Defense judicial proceeding in such instances of hypnosis has raised improperness and incompetence on the portion of the healer or practician utilizing hypnosis and/or implicative techniques to retrieve â€Å" repressed † memories which false lead the client to believe that their current symptoms are due to being sexual abused as a kid ( Hansen, 1996 ) . There have been besides studies of tooth doctor utilizing hypnosis during dental surgery to wipe out the hurting. Another usage of hypnosis is called Self-hypnosis, this happens when you hypnotize yourself. This is frequently more practical as a emphasis direction tool than normal hypnosis, as you do non necessitate to hold a hypnotist nowadays. Self hypnosis works reasonably much the same manner as speculation, it helps you loosen up and deflect your head from unpleasant ideas. Together with speculation and imagination, self hypnosis can be a powerful tool to battle day-to-day emphasis and go a portion of a day-to-day emphasis direction modus operandi ( Self Hypnosis, n.d. ) . In decision, as you can see hypnosis can successfully be used for every conceivable job that can problem worlds. In this essay I touched on merely a few utilizations of Hypnosis, the more common 1s like childhood repressed memories, halt smoke, weight loss and stress direction and some of the lesser known 1s like hurting control and child birth. There are likely many more utilizations for hypnosis to be discovered we have n't thought of yet.MentionsAnxiety Attacks and Disorders: Signs, symptoms, and intervention. ( n.d. ) .Helpguide.org: Understand, prevent and decide life ‘s challenges. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //helpguide.org/mental/anxiety_types_symptoms_treatment.htm Hansen, J. , & A ; R.H.A.. ( 1996 ) . Hypnosis – controversial once more.The Ross Institute Internet Archives for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups and Motions. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.rickross.com /reference/ false_memories/fsm25.html History of Hypnosis: from antediluvian times to modern hypnosis. ( n.d. ) .Hypnosis and self hypnosis secrets -learn hypnosis online. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.hypnosisblacksecrets.com/learn-hypnosis/history-of-hypnosis-from-ancient-times-to-nowadays Ibadov, O. ( n.d. ) . History of Hypnosis: From priest-doctors to instant hypnosis.Self Improvement from SelfGrowth.com. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.selfgrowth.com /articles/ History_of_Hypnosis_From_Shamans_to_Instant_Hypnosis.html Mark, R. ( 2002 ) Hypnosis ( psychological science ) — Britannica Online Encyclopedia. ( n.d. ) .Encyclopedia – Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/279820/hypnosis Ricker, J. , & A ; Ph.D.. ( n.d. ) . Section 6-16: What are false memories? .Scottsdale Community College. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.scottsdalecc.edu/ricker/psy101/readings/Section_6/6-16.html Self-Hypnosis – Relaxation Techniques from Mind Tools. ( n.d. ) .Mind tools – direction preparation, leading preparation and calling raining – right here, right now.. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.mindtools.com/stress/RelaxationTechniques/SelfHypnosis.htm The history of hypnosis.Essortment Articles: Free online articles on wellness, scientific discipline, instruction & A ; more... Retrieved April 7, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.essortment.com/all/hypnosishistory_rcdg.htm Watkins, C. ( 2008 ) . Hypnotherapy.Northern County Psychiatric Associates Home Page. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ncpamd.com/medical_hypnosis.htm What Is Hypnosis – Toronto Naturopathic Clinic. ( n.d. ) .Toronto Naturopathic Clinic – Toronto Naturopath Sushma Shah ND ( Yonge & A ; Davisville ). Retrieved April 7, 2010, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.naturesintentionsnaturopathy.com/hypnosis.htm

Organisational Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Organisational Behaviour - Essay Example Critical evaluation of this statement. 3. An employee’s personality has no role to play, in his or her day to day behaviour at work, since it is not something employers worry about. Critical evaluation of this statement. Thematically, this paper provides an understanding of the different theoretical perspectives that contribute to the understanding of people at work. It illustrates the application of OB theory to a variety of real life phenomena, and questions that arise from managing people at work. It also demonstrates how to work competently and skilfully with conflicting ideas that relate to the management of people in working organisations. Question #1 There is this one instance I went to a cyber cafe and the head attendant did not bother to assign me a booth to use since he assumed I knew my way around the installation. It took me a while to get started because I did not know the login since it was password protected. The other attendants had to ask him for the password so that I could get started. The experience cost me valuable time and since then I have not re-visited that premise to use their services. According to this example, the attitude of the head attendant cost the business establishment a client, and in the long run mannerisms like this would become detrimental to the business. The behaviour of the attendant could be attributed to a behavioural complex in the part of the attendant wanting to seem superior to his fellow workmates. It is not enough to say that he is senior to his workmates; it seems that this feeling does not satisfies him. However, supplication by fellow workmates does satisfy him. This situation can be explained by McGregor’s theory, which asserts that employees require micro-management assistance from their managers since they are immature about their jobs (McGregor, 2005 p27). This theory is related to directive leadership, which is characterized by motivating employees with incentives for improved work output and efficiency. A management system that adopts the theory of OB almost invariably ends up blaming its employees, for poor performance, without establishing the key cause of this problem or mistake (McGregor, 2005 p63). When employees are subjected to such compromising situations they usually tend to focus more on how to avoid the occurrence of such mistakes, which would risk their employment and relationships with their employer. McGregor further states that employees will apply self-direction and self-control to pursue organizational behaviours without influences from external control, or the threat of punishment and commitment as objectives of functional rewards, which are associated with their achievement (McGregor, 2005 p64). Employees who are under this system of management are more productive since they do not operate in an authoritarian system. Similarly, those employees in the same management system tend to perceive themselves as victims of oppression by the management, and may cause the uprising of opposition factors in the workforce. These elements usually undermine a company’s policies, including the overall productivity turnover of the organization (McGregor, 2005 p149). Question #2 The phenomenon where employees request for an off day break from work, on grounds that they are suffering from stress, is a problem that should be addressed by employers, instead of being ignored. Stress has been

Why HR Is Essential For an Organisation Assignment

Why HR Is Essential For an Organisation - Assignment Example While detailing the outline structure for the overall report, it must be mentioned that three exercises will be mainly conducted in this report. In exercise one, a comparison will be made about the different journal articles that have been duly considered in the first patch, which present information about the organisational culture. On the other hand, in exercise two, an essay will be prepared based on six articles that have been examined for patch 2. Finally, in exercise three, a case study analysis will be made based on the title â€Å"Transformation at the Global Manufacturers Group.† While responding to the questions presented in the case study provided, key challenges or problems related to HRM (Human Resource Management) and the relation persisting between such challenges and HRM theories will be discussed. Conclusively, the key learning points from the preceding discussion and further skills that require being developed by me for further development in future will also be examined. The journal titled â€Å"Organisational Culture: An Exploratory Study Comparing Faculties Perspectives within Public and Private Universities in Malaysia† was written by one of the most prominent authors in the field of organizational culture in the modern world. The study was extensively conducted with the intention of gaining a comprehensive understanding of the concept of organizational culture (OC). Furthermore, the study also tried to gain an understanding of how culture imposes a significant impact on learning through the creation of an avenue, which supports cross-learning in educational institutions throughout the globe. Moreover, the study tried to develop an understanding about the need to adopt a positive cultural practice, which possesses the ability to foster the integrity of students and studying across the private as well as public schools that would improve their interactive levels. The article primarily focused on assessing the concept of organi zational culture based upon several parameters such as adhocracy, hierarchy, and clan existing in private as well as public institutions. Furthermore, the study aimed at developing a platform for studying the differences associated with the interim of cultural practices from the perspective of faculty members (Ramachandran, 2010).

Charles darwin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Charles darwin - Essay Example It was then his interest in plants, animals, insects and geological samples developed when he was under the direction of his cousin William Darwin who was an entomologist; and by the mid of 1830’s Charles had so much excelled in the field that he made certain scientific inventions. He further got motivated by his professor of Botany, Stevens Henslow (Darwin, 42). After the mission of HMS Beagle to Patagonia which was carried under the guidance of his professor; he set his base to continue for his further operations in zoological and geological unearthing (Ruse, 4). By this time Darwin had developed relations with Sir Lyell Charles, which earned him the position of secretary of the Geological Society (Burkhardt,  Pearn& Evans, xiv). Darwin married Emma Wedgwood in 1839. Ruse indicates that at this time Darwin was gaining experience from the Downe where he was spending his life at that time (5). He completely devoted his life to science although he suffered from Chagas’ s disease for a long period of time. It was then that he uncovered the issue of the origin of species and what came to be known as natural selection in the Darwinian Theory. By the end of 1850’s Darwin had made a lot of discoveries and finally he was able to compile all his collections in to a book named as The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. Charles’s illness continued and the pro-longed illness cost his life and je died leaving 8 kids behind and numerous discoveries and books. He is greatly remembered for his contribution in evolution theories. He indeed contributed greatly in the field of Science. Darwin’s ideas Darwin is considered as the pioneer of a number of ideologies and theories (Aydon, 22). He covered the issues regarding human kind to racism. Darwin argues that the human beings throughout the years have struggled for their survival. He also proposed the relation between the human body and the mind. He declares that the mind is an ext remely complex body organ and has a direct impact and effect on the various human activities. In fact the mind has a direct relation on the evolution of humankind. Evolution of humankind results in racism. Besides this cultural evolution also takes place as a result of the mind activities. Darwin is also remembered for his thoughts on Protestantism and the church. Human Evolution and Philosophy Since the publishing of the work of The Origin of Species  in 1859 by Darwin, a lot of questions have been asked regarding this theory. The questions have been asked in order to further understand human behavior and the different factors that directly affect the human behavior. Philosophy helps in an understanding of the existence of human beings and the reality behind discovery of varying aspects. It is through philosophy that the humans have been able to comprehend the nature of truth and knowledge on the evolution of human beings. In relation to human evolution, philosophy aids in bringi ng the need to inquire and analyse the speculations, interpretations, analysis and criticism of human evolution. It also helps to establish the nature of relationship between people and their society. Philosophy helps to clarify the concept of evolution. Ruse has presented that in his work Darwin wrote that people are always under a constant struggle for survival, they

Fed Watch QE End and First Rate Hike Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fed Watch QE End and First Rate Hike - Essay Example The central bank in effect increases the monetary base. The need for changes in monetary policy arises from a failing policy or one that is not effective in creating the economic impact required. According to the information gathered and the specific economic signs available, chances are high that several hikes will materialize in the year 2015. Considering various studies conducted on the same, 38 respondents that included analysts, money managers, and economists, there looms a possibility of a hike in the rate in 2015. According to the information gathered, the hike will result in steeper interest rate increases in the coming years. The survey indicates that the rates will hike to a high of 3.04% by the end of 2017 (Liesman). When this takes effect, the Feds take a longer time normalizing the rates based on the need for constant review the rates in consideration of the effect they create. The application of an expansionary monetary policy reaches a point of failure when the interest rates on the short-term run towards zero. These explain situations that quantitative easing becomes applicable. Quantitative easing applied during these periods of low-interest rates aids in improving the inflation rate and reducing its effect. Quantitative easing aids in stabilizing inflation and controlling the rate to maintain it within the targeted points of the economy. These are accompanied by the improvement of the economic policies to make the economic policy more effective in helping the central bank take action against deflation. The increased money supply in an economy with less interest affects the money supply. The banks will run low on money to lend and have their reserves risk lowering further due to a high money supply in the market and uncontrolled demand. To reduce these effects, the central bank hikes the rates and mops out the excess liquidity from the market to aid in improving the economic situation. In addition, a high-interest rate reflects a decreased

Are court and tribunals in the English legal system now Essay

Are court and tribunals in the English legal system now indistinguishable in all important respects - Essay Example The content of the law here include things like criminal offences and civil wrongs. Here the distinction between a crime and civil wrong cannot be stated as depending upon what is done because what is done may be the same in each case. The true distinction lies therefore not in the nature of the wrongful act but in the legal consequences that follow it. The instances above thus are addressed, heard and determined at very different places which bring us to the court system of the English legal system. This court system is divided or subdivided into either the criminal court system which includes the Supreme Court, the court of appeal, crown court, magistrates, high court and Privy Council. The other division is the civil court system which also includes the Supreme Court, the court of appeal, the county court, the magistrates, the high court and the tribunals (Baker, 2009, p. 29). This brings us to our main subject of the courts and tribunals. From the oxford learners dictionary the m eaning of a court is basically a person or body having judicial authority to hear and resolve disputes in civil, criminal, ecclesiastical or military cases. On the other hand a tribunal is a sitting or a group of proceedings how end goal is to establish and deliver a judgment on a specific issue such as a tribunal to resolve an election dispute which in itself is under the guidance and rules of the court system. The Court and the Tribunal In origin, these tribunals are designed as alternatives to what is believed to be the artificial formality of courts of law, and the supposed ignorance of the ordinary judiciary of specialized information regarding particular economic and social relationships. The ordinary man or woman is expected to be able to operate the process without benefit of counsel or solicitors (Blackstone, 2003). It soon begins to appear, however, that the total absence of formality can be a straightforward passport to injustice. Moreover, in rent cases, and cases of unf air dismissal, the landlord or employer could hardly be expected to spend long days in court instead of managing his own business, and therefore might reasonably be expected to employ a professional advocate. The first characteristic led to a widespread extension of the role of the ordinary courts in their supervisory role of subordinate tribunals, the second to an equally widespread demand for the extension (Bailey, et al. 2007, p. 68). The second to an equally widespread demand for the extension of legal aid to tribunals originally instituted with the intention of keeping the lawyers out. One thing, however, has emerged from the development of the tribunal system since the war, and this is the marked preference shown by Parliament and the public for a tribunal consisting of a lawyer in the chair sitting with two seasoned and experienced lay members over trial by judge alone, or trial before a judge and civil jury (Elliott & Quinn, 2011, p. 38). First and foremost, in a court the p urpose of the case is usually to get the culprit of the offence i.e. the wrongdoer and the appropriate punishment to be administered like in instances where a robbery has occurred and the person responsible has been arrested by the persons concerned which in this case might be the police or even the public. This is somehow different from a tribunal whose real and intended purpose is to

Spartacus 1960 - Defining freedom and evoking compassion Essay

Spartacus 1960 - Defining freedom and evoking compassion - Essay Example A gut wrenching storyline within the movie revolves around Tony Curtis, playing Antoninus, who is a beautiful young man who is put in a position to have his sexuality compromised by powerful Roman citizen, Marcus Licinius Crassus, played by Laurence Olivier. The central scene that creates the insinuation was cut from the original film but was later restored on DVD, giving a powerful new dimension to the character Antoninus that Curtis portrayed. Antoninus can now be viewed as a symbol for those who are sexually enslaved, who cannot say no for one reason or another, and are and have been victimized throughout history. His vulnerability can be seen to represent those whose bodies are used without consent, including slaves, children, and women who have been oppressed as the possessions of men through history. As a viewer, one is driven towards a protective emotional state when Curtis is threatened by sexual victimization. Spartacus was a powerful gladiator, however it was not his physic al strength that made him a formidable leader, but his cunning in using what could be found along their travels in order to combat the Roman forces. The story of Spartacus informs the viewer of the possibilities of the human spirit, while revealing the darkness that can come from having power over another person. Watching Spartacus (1960) is like experiencing a bittersweet triumph, the heart breaking as he dies, but the spirit soaring on the wings of his accomplishment in freeing the hearts of so many.

Sarojini Naidu Essay Example for Free

Sarojini Naidu Essay Sarojini Naidu, also known by the sobriquet as The Nightingale of India, Naidu was born in 13 February 1879 in Hyderabad to a Bengali Hindu Kulin Brahmin family of Agorenath Chattopadhyay and Barada Sundari Devi. Her father was a doctor of science from Edinburgh University, settled in Hyderabad State, where he founded and administered the Ahmadabad College, which later became the Nizams College in Ahmadabad. Her mother was a poetess baji and used to write poetry in Bengali. Sarojini Naidu was the eldest among the eight siblings. Education Sarojini Naidu passed her Matriculation examination from the University of Madras. She took four years break from her studies and concentrated upon studying various subjects. In 1895, she travelled to England to study first at Kings College London and later at Girton College, Cambridge. Marriage During her stay in England, Sarojini met Dr. Muthyala Govindarajulu Naidu, a non-Brahmin and a doctor by profession, and fell in love with him. After finishing her studies at the age of 19, she got married to him in 1898 during the time when inter-caste marriages were not allowed. Her father approved the marriage and her marriage was a very happy one. The couple had five children. Jayasurya, Padmaja, Randheer, Nilawar and Leelamani. Qualities of Sarojini Naidu Sarojini Naidu was truly one of the gems of the 20th century, a child prodigy, Indian independence activist and poet. Naidu was one of the framers of the Indian Constitution. Sarojini came through as a fragile woman, but an indomitable spirit, forward-minded and always open to new ideas, self-disciplined, optimistic, forward-looking and utterly free from prejudice of caste, creed, race, gender, nationality and religion, determined to fight for the cause of Indian women but above all for Hindu-Muslim unity. She was famous for her wit and humour, for her capacity to laugh at herself and such was her closeness to Mahatma Gandhi that she could call him Micky Mouse and a man on whom riches had to be spent to keep him poor. Sarojini was a die-hard bourgeois liberal, a faithful espouser of her party line but and events. Indian Freedom Fighter Sarojini Naidu (extreme right) with Mahatma Gandhi during Salt Satyagraha, 1930 Sarojini Naidu joined the Indian national movement in the wake of partition of Bengal in 1905. She briefed the struggles of freedom for independence to the political stalwarts of European nations, she had visited. She came into contact with Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who later introduced her to the stalwarts of the Indian freedom movement. She met Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Annie Beasant, C. P. Ram swami Iyer and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. With such an encouraging environment, Sarojini later moved on to become leader of the Indian National Congress. She traveled extensively to the United States of America and many European countries as the flag-bearer of the Indian Nationalist struggle. During 1915-1918, she travelled to different regions in India delivering lectures on social welfare, women empowerment and nationalism. She awakened the women of India and brought them out of the kitchen. In 1916, she took up the cause of the indigo workers of Champaran in the western district of Bihar. She also helped to establish the Womens Indian Association (WIA) in 1917. She was sent to London along with Annie Besant, President of WIA, to present the case for the womens vote to the Joint Select Committee. In March 1919, the British government passed the Rowlatt Act by which the possession of seditious documents was deemed illegal. Mahatma Gandhi organized the Non-Cooperation Movement to protest and Naidu was the first to join the movement. Besides, Sarojini Naidu also actively campaigned for the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, the Khilafat issue, the Sabarmati Pact, the Satyagraha Pledge and the Civil Disobedience Movement. In 1919, she went to England as a member of the all-India Home Rule Deputation. In January 1924, she was one of the two delegates of the Indian National Congress Party to attend the East African Indian Congress. President of the Congress In 1925, she was elected as the President of the Indian National Congress Party and presided over the annual session of Indian National Congress at Cawnpore (now Kanpur). In 1929, she presided over East African Indian congress in South Africa. In 1931, she attended the round table conference with Mahatma Gandhi and Madan Mohan Malaviya. Sarojini Naidu played a leading role in the civil disobedience movement. In 1942, Sarojini Naidu was arrested during the â€Å"Quit India† movement and was jailed for more than a year. Sarojini Naidu was the first woman Governor of Uttar Pradesh. Her chairmanship of the Asian Relations Conference in 1947 was highly-appraised. Poem hunter Sarojini Naidu was a brilliant student. She was proficient in Urdu, Telugu, English, Bengali, and Persian. At the age of twelve, Sarojini Naidu attained national fame when she topped the matriculation examination at Madras University. Her father wanted her to become a mathematician or scientist but Sarojini Naidu was interested in poetry. Once she was working on an algebra problem, and when she couldnt find the solution she decided to take a break, and in the same book she wrote her first inspired poetry. She got so enthused by this that she wrote The Lady of the Lake, a poem 1300 lines long. When her father saw that she was more interested in poetry than mathematics or science, he decided to encourage her. With her fathers support, she wrote the play Maher Muneer in the Persian language. Dr. Chattopadhyaya distributed some copies among his friends and sent one copy to the Nawab of Hyderabad. Reading a beautiful play written by a young girl, the Nizam was very impressed. The college gave her a scholarship to study abroad. At the age of 16 she got admitted to Kings College of England and later at Girton College, Cambridge. There she met famous laureates of her time such as Arthur Symons and Edmond Gosse. It was Gosse who convinced Sarojini to stick to Indian themes-Indias great mountains, rivers, temples, social milieu, to express her poetry. She depicted contemporary Indian life. Sarojini’s prose compares poorly with her poetry, but both are recognised for their emotional warmth and extravagant and high-faulting vocabulary. Her collections The golden threshold (1905), The bird of time (1912), and The broken wing (1912), the sceptred flute (1943), the feather of the dawn (1961)†, the Indian weavers (1971)† attracted huge Indian and English readership. Her poems were admired by many prominent Indian politicians like Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Her poems were lyrical with a heightening of sensuality in the imagery, until every sense is stimulated to excess. In the Bazaars of Hyderabad is a 19th-century poem. The poem is written in five paragraphs and it was published in her collection of poems The Bird of Time (1912) published from London, where she was attending higher studies. Naidu has described the beauty of a traditional Hyderabadi Bazaar. In this poem Sarojini Naidu describes the magnificent things of life along with common scenes in the Bazaars of Hyderabad; the poem is set in the form of conversation between customers and vendors. The variety of activities and its colorfulness is vividly represented by the poetess to present an awesome picture of Indian culture. Each line of the poem contains rhythm and a beat, and the sequence What do you and O ye mark the rhyme scheme of the poem, and the poet often repeat these words, phrases, lines to create a musical effect to emphasize a point to draw attention to a point and to lend unity to a piece. To present the pictorial scene of the bazaar, Naidu has used rich sensory images-feel of touch, sense of sound, smell, sight and taste vibrantly. Naidu presented the lively pictorial scenes of merchants, vendors, peddlers, goldsmiths, fruit men and flower girls selling their goods, they all similarly answer to the questions of purchaser who buy their articles after a detail bargaining. She presented the scene of the music produced by traditional instruments played by the musicians and the chantings of the magicians, the fruits like citron, pomegranate and plum are being sold by the fruit-men, while the vendors are weighing saffron, lentil and rice. The fragrance of sandalwood and henna can be smelt along with the smell of flowers which are woven into chaplets and garlands. One can see the richness of wares in the bazaar; the poetess has mentioned coloures such as crimson, purple, silver, amber, azure and red. This shows what all goods are sold in a Hyderabadi bazaar. Turbans of crimson and silver, tunics of purple brocade, mirrors with panels of amber, daggers with handle of jade, chessmen, ivory dice, anklets, wristlets, rings, bells for the feet of blue pigeons, girdles of gold, and scabbards for the king are all examples of the expensive wares sold in the bazaars of Hyderabad. Sadly, few textbooks published in India on poetry carry her poems.

BCG Matrix and SWOT Analysis of Reebok

BCG Matrix and SWOT Analysis of Reebok BCG Matrix to analyze the product portfolio of REEBOK Overview of the Indian Footwear Sector The footwear sector is a diverse industry which covers a wide variety of materials (textile, plastics, rubber and leather) and products from different types of mens, womens and childrens footwear to more specialized products like snowboard boots and protective footwear. This diversity of end products corresponds to a multitude of industrial processes, enterprises and market structures. The footwear market consists of the total revenue generated through the sale of all types of mens, womens and childrens shoes. The market is valued at retail selling price with any currency conversions calculated using constant 2007 annual average exchange rates. The Indian Footwear Industry The Indian footwear market has seen very healthy increases in its growth over the past five years, although it was outperformed by the larger Chinese market during this period. Its value and volume are set to increase at a with double-digit annual growth rates over the forecast period. The Indian footwear industry is a significant segment of the leather industry in India. It ranks second among the footwear producing countries next to China. It produces more of gents footwear while the worlds major production is in ladies footwear. The industry is labor intensive and is concentrated in the small and cottage industry sectors. While leather shoes and uppers are concentrated in large scale units, the sandals and chappals are produced in the household and cottage sector. In the case of chappals and sandals, use of non-leather material is prevalent in the domestic market. The major production centers of India are Chennai, Ranipet, and Ambur in Tamil Nadu, Mumbai in Maharastra, Kanpur in U.P., Jalandhar in Punjab, Agra and Delhi. The following table indicates concentration of units in various parts of the country The Indian footwear industry is provided with institutional infrastructure support through premier institutions like Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai, Footwear Design Development Institute, Noida, National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, etc in the areas of technological development, design and product development and human resource development. The availability of abundant raw material base, large domestic market and the opportunity to cater to world markets makes India an attractive destination for technology and investments. The Indian footwear retail market is expected to grow at CAGR of over 20% for the periods spanning from 2008 to 2011. Footwear is expected to comprise about 60% of the total leather exports by 2011 from over 38% in 2006-2007. Presently, the Indian footwear market is dominated by Mens footwear market that accounts for nearly 58% of the total Indian footwear retail market. By products, the Indian footwear market is dominated by casual footwear market that makes up for nearly two-third of the total footwear retail market. The Indian footwear market scores over other footwear markets as it gives benefits like low cost of production, abundant raw material, and has huge consumption market. The annual domestic consumption of shoes in India is 1.1 billion pairs and it is estimated that the footwear market is around Rs 10, 000 crore and will grow at 10% pa, this offers great opportunities for a company like Bata to expand. MNC Brands Sold in India are sold Adidas, Aldo, Bally, Clarks, Ecco, Florshiem, Ferragammo, Hush Puppies, Lee cooper, Lloyd, Marks Spencer, Nike, Nine West, New Balance, Reebok, Rockport, Stacy Adams, Levi Strauss , Lee Cooper, Puma, Bata. Indian Brands sold in India are Red Tape, Liberty, Khadims, Lakhani, Metro, Action, Provogue, ID, MB Footwear, Firangi Reebok: Reebok India commands a 51% market share in the premium sportswear industry in the Rs 2000-crore premium sportswear market.. It plans to increase the store count from the existing 500 to over 600 before 2008. Reebok reaches out to its target customers through its 500 exclusive Reebok Stores, 200 Shop in the shop outlets 2500 dealer outlets. The company has plan to tap tier II and Tier III ci ties. Reebok is planning to add 55 new lifestyle stores by the end of this year. It offers different segments for both men and women like sports and fitness footwear, apparel, accessories, fitness equipment and the lifestyle section. The Global Footwear Industry The global footwear market grew by 4.1% in 2008 to reach a value of $208.4 billion. In 2013, the market is forecast to have a value of $272.5 billion, an increase of 30.7% since 2008. The market grew by 4.8% in 2008 to reach a volume of 11.6 billion pairs. In 2013, the market is forecast to have a volume of 15.1 billion pairs, an increase of 30.2% since 2008. Europe is the largest footwear market, accounting for 42.3% of the global value. The global footwear market consists of the total revenues generated through the sale of all types of mens, womens and childrens shoes. The market is valued at retail selling price with any currency conversions calculated using constant 2007 annual average exchange rates. Reebok International, a subsidiary of Adidas, is engaged in the design, marketing and distribution of sports, fitness and casual footwear, apparel and equipment. The company primarily operates in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. The company recorded revenues of E2,333 million in the fiscal year ended December 2007, a decrease of 5.7% over 2006. The operating profit of the company was E109 million in the fiscal year 2007, an increase of 26.7% over 2006. . According to 2004 figures by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association International, Nike had about 36%, Adidas 8.9% and Reebok 12.2% market share in the athletic-footwear market in the U.S. Introduction- REEBOK Reebok is an American-inspired, global brand that creates and markets sports and lifestyle products built upon a strong heritage and authenticity in sports, fitness and womens categories. The brand is committed to designing products and marketing programs that reflect creativity and the desire to constantly challenge the status quo. Reebok India Reebok started its operations in India in 1995. Headed by Managing Director Mr. Subhinder Singh Prem, Reebok India has a pan-India presence with branch offices in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore and ranks at the top amongst international footwear companies in India. The Companys brand vision is fulfilling potential, its mission – Always challenge and lead through creativity. Reeboks brand values are authentic, individualistic, courageous, empowering, innovative and real. Reebok has introduced its internationally acclaimed fitness programs in India, conducted under the banner of Reebok Instructor Alliance, which is dedicated to fitness instructors, personal trainers and health club owners. Reebok has trained and certified more then 800 trainers till now. Reebok India commands a 54% market share in the premium sportswear industry according to the calendar year December 2008. Its revenue has touched 1400 Crores (at retail price) in 2008. It plans to increase the store count from the existing 500 to over 600 before 2007. Reebok reaches out to its target customers through its 500 exclusive Reebok Stores, 200 Shop in the shop outlets 2500 dealer outlets. Reebok has the single largest store in Hyderabad. REEBOKS VISION Fulfilling Potential Reebok is dedicated to providing each and every athlete from professional athletes to recreational runners to kids on the playground with the opportunity, the products, and the inspiration to achieve what they are capable of. We all have the potential to do great things. As a brand, Reebok has the unique opportunity to help consumers, athletes and artists, partners and employees fulfill their true potential and reach heights they may have thought un-reachable. REEBOKS MISSION Always Challenge and Lead through Creativity At Reebok, we see the world a little differently and throughout our history have made our mark when weve had the courage to challenge convention. Reebok creates products and marketing programs that reflect the brands unlimited creative potential. REEBOKS POSITIONING Celebrate Individuality in Sport and Life Reebok understands that people are, above all, unique. Reeboks positioning reflects this; celebrating the distinct qualities that make people who they are their unique points of view, their individual style and their remarkable talents and accomplishments. Reebok celebrates their individuality, their authenticity and the courage it takes to forge their own path to greatness. While some may call them crazy or eccentric, Reebok calls them visionary and original. REEBOKS PURPOSE To Empower Global Youth to Fulfill their Potential Commitment to Corporate Responsibility is an important legacy and hallmark of the Reebok brand.For two decades, Human Rights, through the Reebok Human Rights program, was the primary focus of this effort. Reebok has expanded on what had been built and created a Global Corporate Citizenship platform with a purpose for the brand that will help underprivileged, underserved youth around the world fulfill their potential and live healthy, active lives. REEBOKS BRAND TERRITORY Having Fun Staying in Shape Having Fun Staying in Shape comes to life through a fun, bold, provocative manner expressed through fresh, eye catching imagery signed off with a unique Reeword. The tone and manner allows the consumer to look at sport and lifestyle through our lens of Ree. HISTORY 2000 In 2000, Reebok and the National Football League announced an exclusive partnership that serves as a foundation of the NFLs consumer products business. The NFL granted a long-term exclusive license to Reebok beginning in the 2002 NFL season to manufacture, market and sell NFL licensed merchandise for all 32 NFL teams. The license includes on-field uniforms, sideline apparel, practice apparel and an NFL-branded footwear and apparel collection. 2001 In 2001, Reebok formed a long-term strategic partnership with the National Basketball Association under which Reebok designs, manufactures, sells and markets licensed merchandise for the NBA, the Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the National Basketball Development League (NBDL), the NBAs minor league. Reebok secured the exclusive rights to supply and market all on-court apparel, including uniforms, shooting shirts, warm-ups, authentic and replica jerseys and practice gear for all NBA, WNBA and NBDL teams. Reebok also had exclusive rights, with limited exceptions, to design, manufacture, market and sell headwear, T-shirts, fleece and other apparel products for all teams in most channels of distributions. In 2006, Reebok transferred the NBA rights to the adidas Brand. 2002 In 2002, Reebok launched Rbk – a collection of street-inspired footwear and apparel hook-ups designed for the young man and woman who demand and expect the style of their gear to reflect the attitude of their lives: cool and edgy, authentic and aspirational. Inspired by street fashion, Rbks marketing is culturally relevant as well. With many of the industrys most marketable and valuable sports assets on its roster, Reebok rolled-out an integrated marketing campaign that fused together sports, music, technology and entertainment, and was designed to connect the Reebok Brand to millions of new consumers around the world. The global marketing campaign was launched in early 2002 and featured select Reebok athletes paired with some of the music industrys most successful hip-hop and rap artists. Reebok tapped into something the industry had not yet seen, and became a pioneer in the fusion of sports, music and technology. 2003 2003 was a landmark year for Rbk. Reebok formed an unprecedented partnership with rap musician Jay-Z, which included the design and marketing of the S. Carter Collection by Rbk, which launched in April. With the partnership, Jay-Z became the first non-athlete to have a signature athletic footwear collection. The launch of Jay Zs first shoe was extremely successful around the world. Later that year, Reebok teamed up with another superstar of the rap world, 50 Cent. The result was the equally successful â€Å"G Unit Collection by Rbk.† 2004 In 2004, Reebok became the worlds leading producer of hockey apparel and equipment with its acquisition of The Hockey Company. The Hockey Companys brands, CCM, Koho and Jofa, are among the most respected in the sport. Reebok has a long-term licensing agreement with the National Hockey League, under which the company serves as the supplier of authentic â€Å"on-ice† game jerseys to all 30 NHL teams. It also has the exclusive worldwide rights to manufacture and market authentic, replica and practice jerseys using the names and logos of the NHL and its teams. Reebok also has exclusive agreements with the Canadian Hockey League, the American Hockey League and the East Coast Hockey League. 2005 In early 2005, Reebok launched Rbk Hockey, a new and innovative line of ultra-high performance hockey equipment, sticks and skates and signed hockey phenom Sidney Crosby, who has lived up to his billing as the leagues next great player. In two short years, Rbk Hockey has become one of the most visible and in-demand hockey brands on the market. In 2005, Reebok launched its largest global integrated marketing and advertising campaign in nearly a decade. I Am What I Am is a multi-faceted campaign which links all of the brands marketing and advertising efforts under the I Am What I Am umbrella. The campaign encourages young people to embrace their own individuality by celebrating their contemporary heroes. Celebrities featured in the campaign include music icons Jay-Z, Daddy Yankee and 50 Cent; top athletes Allen Iverson, Donovan McNabb, Curt Schilling, Kelly Holmes, Iker Casillas and Yao Ming; screen stars Lucy Liu, John Leguizamo and Christina Ricci; and skateboarder Stevie Williams. 2006 In January 2006, adidas-Salomon AG acquired Reebok, forever altering the worldwide sporting goods industry landscape. Shortly after the close of the acquisition, Reebok Chairman and CEO Paul Fireman announced he was leaving the company to pursue other interests, and Paul Harrington was named President and CEO of the Reebok brand. Today, the adidas Group, which includes the adidas, Reebok, TaylorMade-adidas Golf and Rockport brands is a global leader in the sporting goods industry and offers a broad portfolio of products. Products from the adidas Group are available in virtually every country of the world. Activities of the company and its more than 80 subsidiaries are directed from the Groups headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany. 2007 Reebok launched Run Easy, one of the most comprehensive running campaigns in the brands history. The goal of the campaign was to inspire consumers around the world to fulfill their potential and celebrate their individuality. The message of the campaign was that while many other brands speak about the blood, sweat and tears of running, Reebok celebrated the camaraderie, joy and fun of running – Run Easy. In addition, Reeboks partnership with the National Hockey League took center stage with the unveiling the Rbk Edge Uniform System, a complete, team-wide redesign and re-engineering of the NHL uniform, and the opening of the NHL Powered by Rbk retail store in New York City. Reebok also launched its There are Two People in Everyone marketing campaign for the second half of 2007 in select regions. The global marketing campaign highlights Reeboks unique brand point of view of celebrating the individuals balance between sport and life. The campaign, featuring international sport stars such as Allen Iverson, Yao Ming, MS Dohni and Nicole Vaidisova, declared that there is more to an athlete than his or her sport. 2008 Reeboks global marketing campaign, ‘Your Move launched in March of 2008 and evolved Reeboks positioning as the brand that celebrates individuality and supports those who choose to do things their way. Expressed as a global brand campaign, ‘Your Move was an invitation to people to do it their way in sport and in life. The ‘whats your move? ad was a literal expression of this philosophy: key assets including Thierry Henry and Alexander Ovechkin showed us their moves and invited consumers to show us theirs. In the summer of 2008, Reebok and driving ace Lewis Hamilton announced a multi-year partnership at a spectacular 3-D event in Amsterdam, home of Reeboks European Headquarters. At the event, Reebok unveiled â€Å"The Athlete within the Driver,† gave media a rare insight into Hamiltons demanding fitness regime. Hamilton revealed how Reeboks Smoothfit training footwear and apparel range helped him to train better than ever before. 2009 In February 2009, Reebok launched the Jukari Fit to Fly workout, the first in a series of initiatives to come out of a new, long-term partnership with Cirque du Soleil. Jukari Fit to Fly makes fitness fun again by introducing a new way to move. The workout has been created on a specially-designed piece of equipment called the FlySet. The result is a workout that gives the sensation of flying while strengthening and lengthening the body through cardio, strength, balance and core training. Also in 2009, Reebok made a pledge to tone the butts and legs of women around the world with its innovative EasyTone footwear. Featuring first-of-its-kind balance pod technology, the shoe generates incredible results thanks to proprietary technology invented by a former NASA engineer. Brands Reebok International Rock Port RBK CCM Hockey (Worlds largest) Greg Norman Apparel Ralph Lauren Brand The Hockey Company Avia Onfield Apparel Athletic footwear DMX2000 3D Ultralite Ralph Lauren Apparel line REEBOK SWOT ANALYSIS Reebok International was a major player in the sports and fitness products market, with a particular emphasis on footwear. Its main strengths lied in its size and strong brand awareness. While footwear is clearly its core product, concerns were being raised over its comparative disinterest in the associated athletic apparel market, which is over twice the size of the footwear market. STRENGTHS Growing sales revenue As part of a strategy to grow quality market share, the company continued to invest in three key product and marketing platforms: Performance, RBK and Classic. Reebok International was the second largest manufacturer of athletic shoes in the US, behind Nike. The Reebok brand continued to drive sales pushing it closer to major competitors, Nike and Adidas. Reebok had become the number two or number three brand in most of its overseas markets. It held around 10% of the global market, compared to Nikes 34% and Adidas 15%. The company has been able to increase revenues and improve operating margins despite some challenging retail conditions in many key markets around the world in 2004. Excellent marketing strategy The company employed a strategy of reinventing its brands in order to gain market share. In order to enhance its Reebok brand, the company introduced a new street inspired product collection, RBK, in 2002, followed by an effective marketing strategy which carried into 2003 and 2004. During 2003/2004, the Reebok product offerings generated healthy sell-through performance at retail. Alongside reinventing brands, the company introduced new marketing campaigns to promote them. To support the RBK product Reebok created a marketing campaign entitled Reeboks Sounds and Rhythm of Sport, which fuses music and entertainment with sports and performance. Celebrity associated sponsorships The company expanded its product offerings into more lifestyle and performance categories, introducing new product segments for both the NBA and NFL, including NBA and NFL footwear, classic lifestyle apparel and performance gear for off-the-field activities. Reebok sponsored many top athletes in tennis; Andy Roddick and Venus Williams; as well as music stars Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams and 50 Cent. Yao Zings impact in the Asian market is hugely important to Reebok. Affiliating itself to such globally renowned celebrities enhanced the company name among many different customer groups. Strong womens sector Another one of Reeboks strengths was its success in the womens sector. The market for womens athletic shoes is larger than that for men, accounting for around 46% and 40% of the sectors value respectively. In volume terms, the womens sector was even more important, 46% compared to 35%. Reeboks market share of womens athletic shoe sales was around 35%, and has been boosted by its Its A Womans World marketing campaign. WEAKNESSES Classics under fire The company had come under fire from its rivals in the classics department. In the past Reebok has controlled this shoe category without much competition, however companies such as Nike and Adidas were coming up with their own classic shoes. Reebok were still the market leaders in that area but the gap kept narrowing. Low market share in apparels Reebok controlled only about 1.4% of the apparel market. This posed a problem when squaring up with its fierce competitor, Nike. The footwear markets growth was slowing. Athletic apparel gives scope for a larger and more diverse range of products, keeping the market fast moving. The apparel market was 2.4 times larger than the footwear market. Nike took charge there, with its innovative designs, and contracts with sports teams and organisations throughout the world. Danger of stockpiling products by retailers Futures, or ordered in advance sales, represented around 60-70% of Reeboks business. This has been valuable to Reebok in the past; however five of the companys brands that represent around 60% global market share could cause problems in the future. Futures growth for these five brands was around 9.5% on a dollar-weighted basis. This growth was alarmingly fast. Reebok had to be careful as retailers may be ordering more than they can sell. This could result in a sudden cut off in orders, leaving the company with large inventories and a decrease in sales. OPPORTUNITIES Increase average shoe price Reeboks average price per shoe in athletic footwear stores, which account for around 15% of the market, was considerably lower than average. Its average price per shoe is $45, compared with an outlet average closer to $60. The companys lower than average shoe price is partly due to the high percentage of basic products sold, which is itself partly attributable to its traditional position in the womens sector. This left plenty of space for the company to muscle in on higher priced sales, as its products and promotional efforts improve. As well as raising brand awareness, Reeboks sponsorship deals helped the company increase its average sales price. Draw attention toward new technological developments Reebok had started developing its product to make it more modern and has invested heavily in added technology to enhance its shoes. Reebok had a lot to gain from a continued investment in more technologically advanced, premium products. In 2003, the company introduced new fashionable and technologically advanced products tied to new integrated marketing programs. These displayed an enhanced and prominent vector logo which ties back to the Professional athletes wearing the products on the field. This branding created a real point-of-difference for its performance products and should help to generate consumer interest at point-of-purchase. These products are supported at retail with a new performance marketing campaign, which utilises the athletes and the vector logo in new and creative ways. This campaign included television, print and in-store marketing packages. Encourage a strong brand push in Europe The company planned to enhance its European market, recruiting new management talent and initiating an aggressive program to regionalise this business utilising a consistent brand image throughout Europe. Reebok executed unified product, marketing, and sales strategies across all borders in Europe, thereby presenting the Reebok Brand in a more relevant and consistent manner. Exploit Nikes lack of high profile sponsorship Nike, the worlds most successful sportswear brand and footwear producer struggled to fill the void vacated by Michael Jordan. This was the first time in a long time that Nike did not have an eminent sports star to spearhead their marketing drive. This has left an opening for the likes of Reebok to exploit, particularly in the basketball arena. The company took the Chinese sensation from Nike, Yao Ming, hoping to increase market share by 10% to 30% by 2006. THREATS Over reliance on footwear sales Footwear is Reeboks largest division and the company relies fairly heavily on the footwear market. That was a competitive field experiencing much slower growth than in previous years and, like most other producers, Reebok felt that it must do more to increase sales. Reebok had also to be aware that the market for more expensive footwear was slowing. This could ultimately force prices down, should this trend continue for a significant period of time. With the company so reliant on footwear, it risked losses, whereas other competitors such as Nike can fall back on their apparel division. Diverted from historical markets Reeboks original success stemmed from the womens aerobics market in the 1980s. It has since become apparent that the company has shied away from its roots. Reeboks womens products represent only 25% of its athletic apparel volume. The womens apparel sector actually accounts for around 40% of industry sales, which suggests that Reebok risked losing out in the key market that transformed them into a global company. Product portfolio strategy introduction to the boston consulting box Introduction Thebusiness portfoliois the collection of businesses and products that make up the company. The best business portfolio is one that fits the companys strengths and helps exploit the most attractive opportunities. The company must: (1) Analyze its current business portfolio and decide which businesses should receive more or less investment, and (2) Develop growth strategies for adding new products and businesses to the portfolio, whilst at the same time deciding when products and businesses should no longer be retained. Methods of Portfolio Planning The two best-known portfolio planning methods are from the Boston Consulting Group (the subject of this revision note) and by General Electric/Shell. In each method, the first step is to identify the various Strategic Business Units (SBUs) in a company portfolio. An SBU is a unit of the company that has a separate mission and objectives and that can be planned independently from the other businesses. An SBU can be a company division, a product line or even individual brands it all depends on how the company is organised. The Boston Consulting Group Box (BCG Box) Using the BCG Box (an example is illustrated above) a company classifies all its SBUs according to two dimensions: On the horizontal axis: relative market share- this serves as a measure of SBU strength in the market On the vertical axis: market growth rate- this provides a measure of market attractiveness By dividing the matrix into four areas, four types of SBU can be distinguished: Stars -Stars are high growth businesses or products competing in markets where they are relatively strong compared with the competition. Often they need heavy investment to sustain their growth. Eventually their growth will slow and, assuming they maintain their relative market share, will become cash cows. Cash Cows- Cash cows are low-growth businesses or products with a relatively high market share. These are mature, successful businesses with relatively little need for investment. They need to be managed for continued profit so that they continue to generate the strong cash flows that the company needs for its Stars. Question marks- Question marks are businesses or products with low market share but which operate in higher growth markets. This suggests that they have potential, but may require substantial investment in order to grow market share at the expense of more powerful competitors. Management have to think hard about question marks which ones should they invest in? Which ones should they allow to fail or shrink? Dogs- Unsurprisingly, the term dogs refers to businesses or products that have low relative share in unattractive, low-growth markets. Dogs may generate enough cash to break-even, but they are rarely, if ever, worth investing in. Using the BCG Box to determine strategy Once a company has classified its SBUs, it must decide what to do with them. In the diagram above, the company has one large cash cow (the size of the circle is proportional to the SBUs sales), a large dog and two, smaller stars and question marks. Conventional strategic thinking suggests there are four possible strategies for each SBU: (1) Build Share: here the company can invest to increase market share (for example turning a question mark into a star) (2) Hold: here the company invests just enough to keep the SBU in its present position (3) Harvest: here the company reduces the amount of investment in order to maximise the short-term cash flows and profits from the SBU. This may have the effect of turning Stars into Cash Cows. (4) Divest: the company can divest the SBU by phasing it out or selling it in order to use the resources elsewhere (e.g. investing in the more promising question marks). THE BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP BOX (BCG BOX) OF REEBOK STARS  · Greg Norman Apparel Question Mark  · Athletic footwear  · DMX2000 Cash Cows  · Rock Port Dogs  · Avia Stars: [high share; high growth] 1. The Collections moisture-wicking innovative Play Dry ® technology and unique Performance. Luxury. 2. Style. combination continue to differentiate the brand. Influenced by one of the worlds leading golf professionals and identified by the four-color shark logo, Greg Norman Collection has become a complete lifestyle brand since beginning as knitwear line in 1992. India is now a major sourcing hub for Reebok Internationals golf apparel and accessories brand Greg Norman Collection. The $100 million brand which retails at $60 to $90 per piece globally sources about 30-40% of its total apparel needs from India. According to Ms Biszantz, the entire Greg Norman range was being outsourced from India including the regular knitwear polos, the fragile rain suit and even Greg Normans patented play dry technology apparel range. At present, the range is being outsourced from five vendors located across the country, these include textile majors like: Ahmedabad based Arvind Mills and Gokuldas Exports, apart from companies like Gurgoan-based Matrix and Faridabad-based Super Fashion and Gupta Exim. The design and merchandising inputs are however still comi ng from New York. The Greg Norman Collection made its debut in the Indian retail market through the opening of an exclusive brand store in Gurgaon The company plans to set

Late Blight resistant Potatoes by Cisgene Stacking

Late Blight resistant Potatoes by Cisgene Stacking Critical Review: Development of late blight resistant potatoes by cisgene stacking BMC Biotechnology, 2014 Recombinant DNA and Genomics Critical Review of a Scientific Paper Background Food demand from agriculture has never been higher due to the increasing world population. Issues such as climate control and built up overpopulated areas of the world limit the availability and resources to produce crops. The need to enhance the yield of agricultural crops, as well as breed crops with correct traits such as viral resistance to common diseases which can devastate many farmers produce has never been more pressing. As a world population we are a lot more conscious of how we produce are food ethically and need to consider the genetic diversity of crops within agriculture. Over the past century improvements in sequencing technologies has allowed the mapping of the genome more specifically within plant species that are exploited for agriculture around the world. The first commercialised GM food was the Flavr Savr tomato in 1994, and now commonly rice, maize, potato, soybean and many others (Hamilton et al. 2012; Vanburen et al. 2015). Next generation sequencing technologies have allowed us to target the genome sequencing genotypes and identifying specific alleles that express favourable phenotypes to improve crop populations from their wild-type relatives (Lin et al. 2014; Neves et al. 2013). Our understanding of the structure and function of plant genomes within agricultural plant genetic species has fuelled the development novel biotechnologies and approaches to their application for breeding. The isolation of genes that underpin characteristics of interest and how we can target these specific genes and transfer them into new varieties of crops to imp rove yield or enhance genetic disease resistance (He et al. 2014; Gurskin et al. 2012). Until the last decade the focus has been on transgenic plants in agriculture, where isolated genes of interest from unrelated species are transferred into the genome of crop plants. Public acceptance of these crops has been controversial and forced the environmental food safety authority for GM organisms to strictly regulate the commercial use of these crops to protect the environment. Cisgenesis as a natural biotechnology approach that only utilises genes from the same plant or within the same species has tackled some of the associated problems within GM agriculture. Cisgensis was recently under review worldwide from the EFSA to be excluded from the strict regulations set for transgenic produced plants, it was finally defined that cisgenic approach to gene transfers is as safe as traditional breeding techniques (low level risk) (Hunter et al. 2014). Herewith in, the cisgenesis approach to integrating late blight resistant R genes to potato varieties is reviewed as a biotechnology to ol, the ethical advantages it addresses as well as limitations to its application. Outline of methods Aim: To use a cisgenesis approach to introduce two broad spectrum potato late blight R genes, Rpi-sto1 and Rpi-vnt1.1 from the crossable species S. stoloniferum and S. venturii, respectively, into three different potato varieties (Jo et al.2014). Plant materials Three potato varieties where obtained to introduce late blight resistance, a fourth variety potae9 was used as a positive control for its broad spectrum late blight resistance Vector construction Single R gene constructs, Rpi-sto1 and Rpi-vnt1.1 were cloned into a binary vector pBINAW2 (figure 1 below) and were aligned in tandem to form an R gene stack and one marker-free transformation vector. Construct containing both cisgenic late blight R genes (Rpi-vnt1.1 and Rpi-sto1), but lacking the bacterial kanamycin resistance selection marker (NPTII) was transformed to the three selected potato varieties using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Rooted shoots were analysed by PCR for gene transfer products (desired R genes) Potatoes where analysed for morphological changes and late blight resistance in detached leaf assays. Cisgenic events were selected because they showed broad spectrum late blight resistance due to the activity of both introduced R genes. The marker-free transformation was compared to marker-assisted transformation by the addition of kanamycin in terms of T-DNA and vector backbone integration frequencies (Methods as described in Jo et al. 2014). Results/Conclusions of research paper The study successfully introduced an effective cisgenic marker-free transformation strategy into three varieties of potato. The transformed plants expressed two stacked late blight R genes, through the infiltration of agrobacterium effectors proved the R genes functionality. It was also confirmed that marker-free transformation is less prone to vector backbone integration compared to marker-assisted transformation (Jo et al. 2014). According to the recent conclusion of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) GMO Panel, cisgenic plants have a low risk level in comparison to transgenic produced plants. Therefore, the potatoes produced in this study, are an environmentally friendly alternative to both controversial transgenic agriculture, as well as the use of chemical agents to treat late blight disease (Jo et al. 2014). Critical Appraisal      Ã‚   Reviewing the cisgenesis approach in recent literature it has been used to engineer viral resistance and enhance favourable traits in different crops (Espinoza et al. 2013; Holme et al. 2013). However, not all crops classiffied as cisgenic fully comply with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for GM plants, as they still contain microbial regulatory sequences/marker genes (Holme et al. 2013). More recently, molecular characterization of true cisgenic apple plants previously produced and expressing the Rvi6 scab resistance genes has been reported in detail (Vanblaere et al. 2014), while new cisgene apples with the same trait have been developed using an alternative recombinase system (Wurdig et al. 2015). In the study by Jo et al. the focus was on marker-free cisgene potato plants expressing late blight resistance genes from Rpi-sto1 and Rpi-vnt1.1, produced by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation using marker-free gene but PCR for the selection of transformed plants. Due to th e activity of both introduced R genes, cisgene plants showing broad-spectrum late blight resistance could be selected (Jo et al. 2014). Cisgenesis relies on the transfer of sequences from the same or related species, therefore, knowledge of specific sequences as well as its position and function in the genome is essential. In the future it is expected this knowledge will accelerate the application of this technology in place of transgenesis. One advantage of cisgenesis approach over more common techniques is reduced duration of selection steps and linkage drag (Hou et al. 2014). Although both transgenesis and cisgenesis use the same genetic modification techniques to introduce genes into plants, cisgenesis introduce only genes of interest from the plant itself or from a crossable species. Therefore, cisgenesis is not any different from traditional breeding and there is no environmental risk as associated with transgenic species. The expression of a foreign gene or suppression of a native genes function allowed the movement of DNA between different species, forcing public perceptions of GMO food as unnatural. Although proved to be a promising tool for the enhancement of crops and economic development, the concern of public acceptance is a major limiting factor (Espinoza et al. 2013). Therefore, cisgenesis may be the future of plant breeding and crop development as it excludes foreign genes and strict regulation by the EFSA for GMO transgenes. Despite considering all the advantages of cisgenic approaches there are limitations to its application. Namely the specific requirement of the regulatory sequences origin as well as the type and size of its constructs. For example, although achieving scab resistance in apples the difference in expression level R genes was dependant on using promoter from the same species or the native promoter of different lengths (Vanblaere et al.2014; Wurdig et al. 2015). Gene expression can also have a lot of variability, through random insertion of cisgenes. Therefore this random introduction of cisgenes into a host genome can be similar to that of transgenes, through loss of functionality of endogenous genes, reverting back to the same ethical issues cisgenesis aims to avoid. Finally, Jo et al. and similar studies report plants produced by cisgenic transformation methods report the integration of vector backbone sequences, therefore the specific number of genes copied and amount of vector backbo ne sequence transferred is an important factor (Vanblaere et al. 2014; Jo et al. 2014). In potato varieties Jo et al. failed to find a difference in vector backbone integration frequencies between different varieties or when marker-assisted only transformations were compared. However, when marker-free and marker-assisted vector backbone integration frequencies were compared, they found that marker-free transformation was associated with less vector backbone integration (Jo et al. 2014). Alternatively now there are new vectors developed containing buffer plant sequences within the backbone that limit the negative affect of unspecific vector backbone integration of cisgenes (Holme et al. 2013). The cisgene stacking method by Jo et al. consisted of two choices to introduce the R gene stack into different potato varieties, marker-assisted transformation or marker-free transformation. By definition cisgenesis excludes marker-assisted transformation since the genes are derived from foreign species (Jo et al. 2014). Recently there have been methods developed to remove selectable marker genes from the genomes of transgene species. One approach exploits a recombinant strategy to extract a marker gene positioned between recombination sites (Zhou et al. 2013). An alternative approach relies on the segregation of independently integrated T-DNAs similar to those shown within the vector in figure 1 (Hou et al. 2014; Jo et al. 2014). However, Jo et al. chose the marker-free transformation via agrobacterium-based methods that utilize a plant-derived transfer DNA and a novel transient selection system to insert only native DNA into potato plants similar to earlier cisgene studies (Jo et a l. 2014; Rommens et al., 2004). An overlooked issue by many experts in within the field is the implications of large scale introduction of transgenic crops containing resistance genes through the exploitation of antibiotic resistance. Many GMOs have a gene which relates to resistance to antibiotics inserted into their genome to serve as a marker. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is already a risk associated with animal agriculture through feed being supplemented with antibiotics, and now antibiotic resistance may be further facilitated by the production of GM crops with these genes integrated in their genome. In potato varieties Jo et al. chose to pursue marker-free transformation of R genes which excluded the use of kanamycin as the marker for gene transfer. However, they also carried out the experiment with kanamycin as a gene marker as a comparison to the effect on vector backbone integration frequencies. Resistance to antibiotics could spread through the use of bacterial genes in the production of transgenic plants, also the genes often remain in the genome with no further use and future transgenic approaches should think about new ways we can remove these genes. It is possible that antibiotic resistance genes will migrate from transgenic plants to bacteria. There is then the possibility that antibiotic resistance bacteria produced from this pipeline could harm future human generations. Therefore, the future focus should remain on cisgenic strategies to GM plants that focus on marker-free transformation technologies. Conclusion Finally, according to the EFSA GMO panel cisgenesis is an environmentally safe approach to introducing new disease resistant genes and quality traits into plants. In different potato varieties it has been successful in the regeneration of light blight resistant potatoes by cisgene stacking, it is quicker to achieve than traditional agriculture and less controversial in the publics perception than transgene GM crops. However, there are limitations in particular the unpredictability of cisgene integration and expression from a biotechnology point of view, but also the impact that may have on its regulatory status and changing public perceptions. In the future cisgene approaches may benefit from being combined with new biotechnologies and GMO techniques, to help reduce the concern with cisgene integration specificity, and develop improved agriculture approaches to disease and crop quality. References      Ã‚   Espinoza, C., R. Schlechter, D. Herrera, E. Torres, A. Serrano, C. Medina, and P. Arce-Johnson, 2013: Cisgenesis and intragenesis: new tools for improving crops. Biol. Res. 46, 323-331. Gruskin, D., 2012: Agbiotech 2.0. Nat. Biotechnol. 30, 211-214. Hamilton, J. P., and C. R. Buell, 2012: Advances in plant genome sequencing. Plant J. 70, 177-190. He, J., X. Zhao, A. Laroche, Z. X. Lu, H. Liu, and Z. Li, 2014: Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), an ultimate marker-assisted selection (MAS) tool to accelerate plant breeding. Front. Plant Sci. 5, 484. Holme, I. B., T. Wendt, and P. B. Holm, 2013: Intragenesis and cisgenesis as alternatives to transgenic crop development. Plant Biotechnol. J. 11, 395-407. Hou H, Atlihan N, Lu ZX. 2014. New biotechnology enhances the application of cisgenesis in plant breeding. Front Plnt Sci. 5: 389. Hunter, P., 2014: Genetically Modified Lite placates public but not activists: new technologies to manipulate plant genomes could help to overcome public concerns about GM crops. EMBO Rep. 15, 138- 141. Jo, K. R., C. J. Kim, S. J. Kim, T. Y. Kim, M. Bergervoet, M. A. Jongsma, R. G. Visser, E. Jacobsen, and J. H. Vossen, 2014: Development of late blight resistant potatoes by cisgene stacking. BMC Biotechnol. 14, 50. VanBuren, 2015: Progress, challenges and the future of crop genomes. Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 24, 71-81. Neves, L. G., J. M. Davis, W. B. Barbazuk, and M. Kirst, 2013: Wholeexome targeted sequencing of the uncharacterized pine genome. Plant J. 75, 146-156. Podevin, N., Y. Devos, H. V. Davies, and K. M. Nielsen, 2012: Transgenic or not? No simple answer! New biotechnology-based plant breeding techniques and the regulatory landscape. EMBO Rep. 13, 1057-1061. Rommens, C. M., J. S. Ye, C. Richael, and K. Swords, 2004: Improving potato storage and processing characteristics through all-native DNA transformation. J. Agric. Food Chem. 54, 9882-9887. Vanblaere, T., I. Szankowski, J. Schaart, H. Schouten, H. Flachowsky, G. A. L. Broggini, and C. Gessler, 2011: The development of a cisgenic apple plant. J. Biotechnol. 154, 304-311. Wurdig, J., H. Flachowsky, A. Saß, A. Peil, and M.-V. Hanke, 2015: Improving resistance of different apple cultivars using the Rvi6 scab resistance gene in a cisgenic approach based on the Flp/FRT recombinase system. Mol. Breeding. 35, 95.

Evolution of Land Mammals :: essays research papers

Evolution of land animals THE LARGEST genetic study ever performed to learn when land plants and fungi first appeared on the Earth has revealed a plausible biological cause for two major climate events: the Snowball Earth eras, when ice periodically covered the globe, and the era called the Cambrian Explosion, which produced the first fossils of almost all major categories of animals living today. According to the authors of the study, Science, plants paved the way for the evolution of land animals by simultaneously increasing the percentage of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere and decreasing the percentage of carbon dioxide, a powerful greenhouse gas. "Our research shows that land plants and fungi evolved much earlier than previously thought--before the Snowball Earth and Cambrian Explosion events--suggesting their presence could have had a profound effect on the climate and the evolution of life on Earth," says Blair Hedges, an evolutionary biologist and leader of the Penn State research team that performed the study. The researchers found that land plants had evolved on Earth by about 700 million years ago and land fungi by about 1,300 million years ago--much earlier than previous estimates of around 480 million years ago, which were based on the earliest fossils of those organisms. Prior to this study, it was believed that Earth's landscape at that time was covered with barren rocks harboring nothing more than some bacteria and possibly some algae. No undisputed fossils of the earliest land plants and fungi have been found in rocks formed during the Precambrian period, says Hedges, possibly because their primitive bodies were too soft to turn into fossils.The early appearance on the land of fungi and plants suggests their plausible role in both the mysterious lowering of the Earth's surface temperature during the series of Snowball Earth events roughly 750 million to 580 million years ago and the sudden appearance of many new species of fossil animals during the Cambrian Explosion era roughly 530 million years ago. "Both the lowering of the Earth's surface temperature and the evolution of many new types of animals could result from a decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide and a rise in oxygen caused by presence on land of lichen fungi and plants at this time, which our research suggests," Hedges says. "An increase in land plant abundance may have occurred at the time just before the period known as the Cambrian Explosion, when the next Snowball Earth period failed to occur because temperatures did not get quite cold enough," Hedges says.

Comparing A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises :: comparison compare contrast essays

A Farewell to Arms & The Sun Also Rises "After a while I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain" (332). This last line of the novel gives an understanding of Ernest Hemingway's style and tone. The overall tone of the book is much different than that of The Sun Also Rises. The characters in the book are propelled by outside forces, in this case WWI, where the characters in The Sun Also Rises seemed to have no direction. Frederick's actions are determined by his position until he deserts the army. Floating down the river with barely a hold on a piece of wood his life, he abandons everything except Catherine and lets the river take him to a new life that becomes increasing difficult to understand. Nevertheless, Hemingway's style and tone make A Farewell to Arms one of the great American novels. Critics usually describe Hemingway's style as simple, spare, and journalistic. These are all good words they all apply. Perhaps because of his training as a newspaperman, Hemingway is a master of the de clarative, subject-verb-object sentence. His writing has been likened to a boxer's punches--combinations of lefts and rights coming at us without pause. As illustrated on page 145 "She went down the hall. The porter carried the sack. He knew what was in it," one can see that Hemingway's style is to-the-point and easy to understand. The simplicity and the sensory richness flow directly from Hemingway's and his characters' beliefs. The punchy, vivid language has the immediacy of a news bulletin: these are facts, Hemingway is telling us, and they can't be ignored. And just as Frederic Henry comes to distrust abstractions like "patriotism," so does Hemingway distrust them. Instead he seeks the concrete and the tangible. A simple "good" becomes higher praise than another writer's string of decorative adjectives. Hemingway's style changes, too, when it reflects his characters' changing states of mind. Writing from Frederic Henry's point of view, he sometimes uses a modified stream-of-cons ciousness technique, a method for spilling out on paper the inner thoughts of a character. Usually Henry's thoughts are choppy, staccato, but when he becomes drunk the language does too, as in the passage on page 13, "I had gone to no such place but to the smoke of cafes and nights when the room whirled and you

Distinguishing People Around the World: Social Structures and Social Institutions Essay

From a sociological perspective, it is both an oversimplification and an inaccuracy to conclude that people around the world, or even within the same country, are fundamentally the same. There are similarities. The scientific methodologies used by sociologists to study different types of human interactions and social facts instead suggest that people are different in important ways and that these differences must be considered when assessing human behavior objectively and normatively. One of the main conceptual aids to understanding how and why people are not fundamentally the same involves a key sociological distinction between social structures and social institutions. Social structures refer to patterns existing within a social system and are analytically divided into simple and complex types of social structures. A simple type of social structures is limited to roles and status designations along a set continuum; illustrative of this type of simplistic pattern might be age structures, gender structures, or ethnic background structures in a pyramid or pie-chart form. These are fairly exclusive patterns whereas the complex social structures derive their complexity from the fact that multiple social sources or interrelationships are constructed from existing roles and status designations. These patterns, or social structures, may differ around the world because of a variety of different factors. Age patterns in America differ from other countries, for example, because of such factors as medical technology, education, and even historical experiences with wars. Not only can these patterns be explained by social factors, but they can also be used to predict human behavior and social consequences in the future. Declining birth rates in America may foretell less tax revenue and social security burdens for seniors whereas increasing birthrates in Kenya may foretell fiercer competition for scare jobs and potential social dislocations. Social structures vary significantly, the patterns have different sources and consequences, and this is evidence that people are not the same everywhere; indeed, people are quite different in origins, in the present, and in the direction in which social forces are shaping the future. In addition, an examination of the social institution concept further supports the notion that people are not the same everywhere. The social institution is employed to help to explain how certain patterns of social structures emerge in the first instance; for example, patterns describing such social structures as gender or racial inequality find their causative origins in institutions. The social institution concept is therefore an analytical method for examining how social structures arise, persist, or transform into a new type of social structure. The family and religion are common areas for analysis in the sociological field; for purposes of illustration, religious institutions have and continue to affect patterns related to gender inequality in terms of access to education and income inequality. Religious institutions in Afghanistan and America, to be sure, are not the same; these different religious institutions affect the social structures that arise in these respective countries. Women are not the same in Afghanistan and America. These differences are explained from a sociological perspective by examining patterns in the form of social structures and by seeking to understand causation by examining institutions. In the final analysis, the empirical evidence strongly suggests that people are hardly the same everywhere. People are diverse, patterns vary internationally and even domestically in certain respects, and institutional change is frequently unpredictable to the extant that it can be occasioned by such fundamentally transformative events such as the Industrial Revolution, the Internet boom, and the globalization characterized by information technology and excess financial liquidity. Social structures and social institutions can aid in attempting to understand why we are different and how these differences might be minimized in order to prevent excessive types of social conflicts.

George Orwells “A Hanging” Essay

George Orwells’ â€Å"A Hanging† is a very descriptive piece. It starts off going into a detailed description of the weather, jail cells, and the inmates. The description goes so far to even mention that the man who was going to be hanged jumped over a water puddle. This shows me that even though it shouldn’t matter because he’s about to die it is just a natural instinct. When Orwell starts to describe the weather it sends out a dark uneasiness atmosphere. He describes the jail cells where the condemned people live as â€Å"small animal cages† this gives the impression on how bad the conditions were. This is the first sign of how inhumane it is there. Orwell then described the prisoner â€Å"a puny wisp of a man with vague liquid eyes.† He described him like this without telling about the crime so no one could stereotype the prisoner or be influenced to see him in a different light but only as a favorable, powerless Hindu man. Orwell gives in tense description to show the harsh treatment and to give his dislike for the way the people were treated. The dog that jumped on the man who was about to be executed was friendly to him and didn’t see him in his wrong doing unlike the people who intended to execute him. This made the inhumane execution seem even worse. I think the major conflict is that he knows that this harmless seeming man is about to be executed and he has no choice but to go along with the killing of this man even though he knows it is wrong. He has a strong dislike for the situation but because of his occupation and he doesn’t want to be looked at differently he doesn’t stand up for the man and stop the execution. He is expected to help with the hanging because it is one of his duties as an imperialist British police officer. In the story Orwell said, â€Å"I saw the mystery the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide.† To me this means they would be ending a man’s life that has a future and once his life is ended that future will never be experience d. After this Orwells view of capital punishment it is morally wrong and he thinks that no person should take another person’s life. When the prisoner begins to chant to his god it started to build up tension between the execution party and him. When Orwell said â€Å"the Indians  had gone grey like bad coffee.† He is simply expressing his distaste for the actual hanging itself. When he talks about the clanking sound then the dead silence he showed me how quick and easy it was to take a person’s life. The dog then again showed human like emotions against what was going on. Orwell said â€Å"it stopped short, barked then retreated into a corner of the yard.† This made me think the dog had emotional ties with the man also and it shows the dog in shock and just disgusted at the things that had just took place. Throughout this story Orwell expresses his outrage of the things that are taking place but doesn’t seem to try to stand up for what is morally right. Orwell uses figurative imagery and vivid description to revel his disapproval for capital punishment. Orwell skillfully manipulated the mood to engage readers’ emotions and convinces his anti-capital punishment among you. He sometimes even showed his emotional reactions through the dog. The purpose is to show the contrast of the overall value of life with it being destroyed by another people. He also tries to improve the mood of understanding the issues of capital punishment that have took place by showing how wrong it is to take someone’s life no matter their crime, religion, or anything that makes them different from another person. He resolves his conflict by writing about this and informing people that your morals shouldn’t be put to the side just because it is the duties of your occupation. Orwell is showing people that capital punishment is wrong no matter what the circumstances. Some feelings I felt while reading this were sympathy, compassion, uncomfortableness, surprise, and unease. At the beginning of this I was all for capital punishment but as I have read it I feel as if capital punishment is wrong because no one should have the right to say because of whatever reason it may be you need to die. They should just stay locked away forever if people think that they should be killed for some kind of wrong doing. I don’t see how the how the execution party could watch either because handing somebody is inhumane no matter how you look at it. I feel that the people that are conducting the execution are the most inhumane people and that the execution party that watches it are not far from it. I now understand the actual meaning of capital punishment and reading this short story has changed my perception on capital punishment a great deal. I also understand why I should not let other outside factors influence what I know is morally correct whether it be something as serious  as capital punishment or just day to day things in my life. What’s right is rig ht and what’s wrong is wrong.