Candide Essay example - 608 Words

Candide is a French satire novel written by Voltaire during the Enlightenment period. The novel tells the life story of Candide, a young and honest man from Westphalia. He falls in love with Cundegonde , the beautiful daughter of the Baron of the Thunder-ten-Thronckh. Later he is forced to leave Westphalia therefore begins his adventures throughout many different countries. Throughout his advantures, Candide’s beliefs and experiences have changed dramatically. The novel reflects a type of writing known as bildungsroman. Bildungsroman is a story in which the main character moves from a state of innocence and inexperienced to a state of wisdom and maturity through his or her experiences. The beginning course of bildungsroman is that the†¦show more content†¦One of the most important reason for Candide to want to marry Cundegonde is that he wants to keep his promise and doesn’t want the society view him as an untrustworthy man. He has sacrificed his needs for the judgments of the society. In bildungsroman, the character is usually be able to make a smooth movement away from conformity throughout major conflicts such as individuality vs. conformity. During his adventures, Candide acquires wealth and experiences about the world. These factors cause Candide to question his belief in optimism. After Candide listened to Martin’s philosophy of pessimism, he has changed his views from optimism of Pangloss to Martin’s pessimism. At the end of the novel, Candide rejects Pangloss’ philosophy and Martin’s philosophy. He begins aware of both good things and bad things. He starts to forms his own life opinions by becoming a gardener. This is an example of individuality vs. conformity. In this novel, Voltaire is able to use bildungsroman to moves Candide from an innocence and honest man to a man of wisdom and maturity. After being forced away from Westphalia, Candide is able to acquired some knowledge about the world. He is now matured enough to be able to sacrificed his needs for his reputation. He has gained wisdoms to develop some opinions for himself. Finally, the novel Candide can be considered as a bildungsroman because of theseShow MoreRelatedVoltaire s Candide And `` Candide ``936 Words   |  4 PagesEven though, the broadway play complements Voltaire’s novel, Candide, there are noticeable changes made. These changes are made in order to captivate the audience. Considering the change in time period when Voltaire originally wrote Candide, the changes needed to be made in order to contain more modern aspects that the audience would be drawn to. These changes will be discussed throughout the deliberation of the play, but the most important noticed change would be the doubling of the narrator toRead More Voltaires Candide: The Transformation of Candide Essay1105 Words   |  5 PagesVoltaires Candide: The Transformation of Candide   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Candide (1991), which is another version of Voltaire by French writer Francois-Marie Arouet, is a short but diverse story that tells of a young mans journey for love and the hardships he faces all the while keeping a very strong, positive and philosophical outlook on life. The book starts in an unknown year, hinted sometime around the Renaissance, with a young man named Candide. Candide loves the princess of a Baron and is banished fromRead MoreThe Novel Candide 1535 Words   |  7 PagesCandide, a story written by Voltaire, is a travel literature that takes away women’s freedom. This story talks about the concept of optimism in the characters’ lives. According to Margaret A. Bodena man may make no claims, but merely (habitually) describe situations in a positive rather than a negative way, and the question of justification may not even arise† (A. Boden). Women in this story fail to accept the principle of optimism. This is because everything in their lives is not for theRead MoreCandide Essay1302 Words   |  6 PagesCandide Essay Compare/Contrast of 2 Characters Throughout the story of Candide, the author Voltaire uses many of the characters to portray important things in life. The two characters that Voltaire used the most were Candide and Pangloss. Voltaire used these two characters to represent a particular idea or folly that he had about the world. In the story Candide, Voltaire is always portraying his own ideas by using the characters to illustrate his own ideas. Candide and Pangloss represent theRead MoreEssay on Candide658 Words   |  3 Pages CANDIDE By Voltaire nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Throughout Candide the author, Voltaire, demonstrates the character’s experiences in a cruel world and his fight to gain happiness. In the beginning Candide expects to achieve happiness without working for his goal and only taking the easy way out of all situations. However, by the end of the book the character realized that to achieve happiness a lot of work, compromises, and sacrifices are necessary. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Candide isRead MoreCandide Paper1355 Words   |  6 PagesCandide is a fictional satire of the optimism many philosophers had for life in general during the mid 1700’s written in response to Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Man. Written by Voltaire, the literary alias of Francois-Marie Arouet, the satire covers religion, the wealthy, love, why people thought natural disasters occurred and especially, philosophy. The novel even goes on to make fun of the art of literature by giving ridiculous chapter headings. Just about everything Voltaire put into CandideRead MoreCandide and Free Will1653 Words   |  7 PagesVoltaires Candide is a novel that is interspersed with superficial characters and conceptual ideas that are critically exaggerated and satirized. The parody offers cynical themes disguised by mockeries and witticism, and the story itself presents a distinctive outlook on life narrowed to the concept of free will as opposed to blind faith dri ven by desire for an optimistic outcome. The crucial contrast in the story deals with irrational ideas as taught to Candide about being optimistic by PanglossRead MoreCandide by Voltaire948 Words   |  4 PagesVoltaire’s novel, Candide, encompasses a lot of things. This includes mockery of the beliefs of an opposing philosopher of the Enlightenment period . But perhaps the most powerful of his satires in his novel is on religion. Voltaire believes in God, but rather a forceful disapproval of religion. He believes that all people should serve God in their own way instead of being told how to believe God through religious officials. The first example of Voltaire mocking religion is after Candide leaves the castleRead More Candide Essay1648 Words   |  7 Pages Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire’s novella, Candide, incorporates many themes, yet concentrates a direct assault on the ideas of Leibniz and Pope. These two well-known philosophers both held the viewpoint that the world created by God was the best of all possibilities, a world of perfect order and reason. Pope specifically felt that each human being is a part of God’s great and all knowing plan or design for the world. Voltaire had a very opposite point of view in that he saw a world of needlessRead MoreMWDS Candide4817 Words   |  20 Pages Major Work Data Sheet: Candide Title: Candide Author: Voltaire Date of Publication: 1759 Genre: Satire, ‘Conte Philosophique’ (Philosophical Fiction) Biographical information about the author: Francois-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, was born in 1694 in Paris, France. Though his father wanted him to become a lawyer, Voltaire long held a great passion for writing, and rather than going to law school, spent his time extensively composing poetry, essays, and historical studies. His widespread

Analysis Of Northrop Frye s The Educated Imagination

Northrop Frye s the Educated Imagination, published in 1963, attempts to bring out the meaning and effect of possessing an educated imagination in contrast to its opposite. Dr. Frye analyses how his theory advances society’s interests and overcomes its limits through the three levels of the human mind. In his essay, the three levels are broken down in a detailed manner, which links it directly its thesis. Frye presents definitive answers to his questions in the beginning of his essay, â€Å"What good is the study of literature? Does it help us to think more clearly, or feel more sensitively, or live a better life than we could without it?† Conclusively, the education of an individual’s mind is critical to understand the world we live in and to the advancement of our society. Educating the mind consists of absorbing and modifying literature, understanding and evolving art, and placing science within context without having data as the boundaries of our imagination. Unlike Socrates, Frye believes that the written word is fundamental, even critical, for the advancement of society and its members to express their most inner thoughts, beliefs and ideas in which the verbal system of communication is incapable of capturing. As he mentions, â€Å"there s the level of imagination, which produces the literary language of poems and plays and novels.† (p. 8) Which is a clear contrast to the â€Å"technological language of teachers and preachers and politicians and advertisers and lawyers andShow MoreRelatedThe Glorious Faculty: a Critical Analysis of Addison’s Theory of Imagination in ‘the Pleasures of Imagination’2701 Words   |  11 PagesThe Glorious Faculty: A Critical Analysis of Addison’s Theory of Imagination in ‘The Pleasures of Imagination’ Declaration: I declare that this is my original work and I have acknowledged indebtedness to authors I have consulted in the preparation of my paper. (I) An auxilier light Came from my mind which on the setting sun Bestow’d new splendor †¦[1] - William Wordsworth (II) Ah ! from the soul itself must issue forth ARead MoreKhasak14018 Words   |  57 PagesMonday, 26 October 2009 Preface This dissertation titled ART AS A RENDEZVOUS OF MYTH AND MIND: A PSYCHOANALYTIC AND MYTHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF O V VIJAYAN’S THE LEGENDS OF KHASAK explores how the judicious selection and use of literary theory can account for the universal appeal of The Legends of Khasak, a belated self translated rendering of a famous regional work in Malayalam, Khasakkinte Ithihasam authored by the eminent writer O V Vijayan, and thus assert its artistic value. Divided into fourRead MoreCleanth Brookss Essay Irony as a Principle of Structure9125 Words   |  37 PagesMarx’s economic theories as such: we shall confine our discussion to their methodological premises and implications. It will in any case be obvious to the reader that the present writer upholds the validity of their content. Secondly, a detailed analysis of Rosa Luxemburg’s thought is necessary because its seminal discoveries no less than its errors have had a decisive influence on the theories of Marxists outside Russia, above all in Germany. To some extent this influence persists to this day. ForRead MoreThe Analysis of the Mythic Dimension in ‘a Streetcar Named Desired’6094 Words   |  25 PagesThe Analysis of the Mythic dimension in ‘A Streetcar Named Desired’ Background This paper tells about American South which exposed in A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennesse Williams. The changes were drawn from the life experience of the main characters in the play, named Blanche Du Bois. Here, we try to explore about the analysis of the main character, Blanch Du Bois. Problem and its Scope This study principally constitus the analyze of the myth in a play that written by Tennese WilliamRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesand permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturers

The Man to send Rain Clouds Free Essays

â€Å"The Man to Send Rain Clouds† Leslie Mormon Silks wrote â€Å"The Man to Send Rain Clouds† in 1969. The story details the death of an old Indian named Teflon. During one point of the story Leon prepares Topsoil’s body for burial. We will write a custom essay sample on The Man to send Rain Clouds or any similar topic only for you Order Now Leon proceeds to paint Topsoil’s face yellow. In the Native American Culture the color yellow stands for mourning or death. Teflon may be dead, but Silks presents him as a transitional character going through the three stage process. Silks uses the three stage process to demonstrate the importance of vying a full life and leaving a lasting impression upon the world. The first stage of the process is Separation. Separation is the character moving away into the unfamiliar. Teflon is literally, physically separated from his tribe. In the beginning of the story Teflon is found dead in the sheep pasture under a tree. Teflon was an old shepherd who tended the sheep alone at night. Silks presents Teflon as a lonely, neglected, poor man. â€Å"They found him under a big cottonwood tree. His Levi Jacket and pants were faded light blue so that he had been easy to find. The big cottonwood tree stood apart from a small grove of winter bare cotton woods which grew in the wide, sandy arroyo. He had been dead for a day or more, and the sheep had wandered and scattered up and down the arroyo. † Silks illustrates the tree as being isolated from the other trees because it parallels Topsoil’s separation from the others. â€Å"The people stood close to each other with little clouds of steam puffing from their faces. † The next stage of the process is transition. Transition is the character going through trials and tribulations that stimulates personal growth ND knowledge. Topsoil’s burial process is his Journey of change. Teflon went from being a weathered lively old man to being a fragile decomposing corpse. Topsoil’s fragility and age is illustrated when the young people dress him in his burial clothes. â€Å"He looked small and shriveled, and after they dressed him in the new shirt and pants he seemed more shrunken. † â€Å"They laid the bundle in the back of the pickup and covered it with a heavy tarp before they started back to the pueblo’ The other characters do not even look at Teflon as a human anymore. Topsoil’s death transitioned other characters as well. But there he was, facing into a cold dry wind and squinting at the last sunlight; ready to bury a red wool blanket while the faces of his parishioners were in the shadow with the last warmth of the sun on their backs. † Throughout the story the priest transitioned from religious to spiritual. Teflon taught the Father Paul the importance of having a spiritual life. Teflon transition was physical and spiritu al. The last stage of the process is reintegration. Reintegration is the character turning to the place where he started or a better place than where he started. Teflon returned to the earth from which he came from. â€Å"They lowered the bundle into the ground, and they didn’t bother to untie the stiff pieces of new rope that were tied around the ends of the blanket. † In the King James Version of the bible it is stated in Genesis chapter thirteen verse nine, â€Å"By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return. † Teflon is returning from what he was made from. I believe that Silks wrote this story to show her readers that she believes life is short. I know life is short. I have seen many people die in my twenty years of life. After I read this short story I went to visit my mom’s grave. It seems that after you die no one remembers you. I wandered through the older part of the cemetery fixing headstones. So many were turned over, broken and abandoned. I wondered where the decease’s loved one was. The optimism in me wants to believe that I will leave a lasting impression on the world around me. In reality I will probably die and be ergot as soon as my casket hit the bottom of my grave Just like Teflon. I think that Silks is trying to inspire her readers to live fully because one day it will all be over. I want to leave this world a better place. Also another question is, â€Å"Can someone give a greater gift from the beyond then from life itself? † I’m sure the rain did come and replenish the crops so that the Indians had plenty of food and agriculture to sell. Teflon gave a greater gift to his tribe then what he would have been able to give them during life. Teflon also gave Father Paul the gift of Spiritual learning. After watching the burial Father Paul realized that religion isn’t the only thing in life. Father Paul expanded his view on death and life after death because of Teflon. Teflon gave everyone a greater gift then what was expected. â€Å"The Man to Send Rain Clouds† shows readers how life after death really is. At one point or another everyone ponders how the world is going to react in response their death. I think everyone should read this story because it really changes ones perspective about death after life. â€Å"The Man to Send Rain Clouds† will motivate and fresh you outlook on life. After reading this a reader will respond to life in a more conscientious way. This story could improve the quality of our world if it was well- known. â€Å"The Man to Send Rain Clouds† is an inspiring tale of death. How to cite The Man to send Rain Clouds, Papers

Cloning Essay Introduction Example For Students

Cloning Essay Introduction The biological definition of a clone is an organism that hasthe same genetic information as another organism or organisms(Cloning, 1997). From this definition and from informationabout the science behind cloning, my current view on cloning isthat it is ethical. This statement ignores information about howwe can misuse cloning and what consequences occur when theprocedure is unsuccessful. I currently do not think cloningshould be used until it is perfected. I doubt however that wewill allow cloning to be misused, and think most people wouldprobably have this opinion on cloning, but their lack ofknowledge on cloning, or their belief that cloning would bemisused, is the reason for differences of opinion. Thus, anelaboration on the history, techniques, ethics, and reasons forresearching the technology of cloning is necessary. The first thing that must be cleared up is what is cloning,and what is a clone. A clone is an organism derived asexuallyfrom a single individual by cuttings, bulbs, tubers, fission, orparthenogenesis reproduction (Cloning, 1997). Parthenogenesisreproduction is the development of an organism from anunfertilized ovum, seed or spore (Parthenogenesis, 1997). Hence, cloning, biologically speaking, is any process in whichproduction of a clone is successful. Thus, the biological termcloning is the production of a genetically identical duplicate of an organism. However, people can use the word cloning tointend other meanings. For instance, we generalize many olderand new techniques as cloning. This is not a good practicebecause these techniques are different and impose unique concernsIn the world of scientific technology, cloning is theartificial production of organisms with the same geneticmaterial. Scientists actually call the transferring of a nucleusfrom the cell of one organism to an enucleated egg cell nucleartransfer (Wilmut, 1997). This will produce an organism that hasthe exact genetic material as that of the donor cell. Scientistsare using current techniques exceedingly more, and with a varietyof species. Astonishingly, more clones are present in the worldIn nature, and even in the lives of humans, clones arepresent. As stated earl ier, a clone is an organism that has thesame genetic information as another organism. From this we cansay that cloning occurs with all plants, some insects, algae,unicellular organisms that conduct mitosis or binary fissions,and occasionally by all multicellular organisms, includinghumans. Monozygotic twins, or identical twins, are clones ofeach other. They have the same exact genetic information due tothe division of an embryo early in development which produces twoidentical embryos. About eight million identical twins are alivein the world, thus, already eight million human clones inhabitthe world. In unicellular organisms, a cell will produce twodaughter cells that have the same genetic material. Today, the only cloning research is occurring in scientificmodel organisms. These are organisms that research scientistsfrom around the globe have collected copious amounts of data. All this data is necessary so that advancements in research cancontinue more efficiently. The most common scientific models areE. coli, mice, fruit flies, and frogs. The first organisms that were cloned using nuclear transfer were frogs. This is becausethey have large egg cells and scientists can obtain up to twothousand of them from one ovulation. (McKinnel, 1979) Successful cloning has occurred with livestock. The drivetoward success is not because livestock like cows and sheep aremodel organisms. Instead, the farming industry has made andcontinues to make a big effort toward finding a way to implementthe technique of nuclear transfer for livestock. Research incloning is also occurring in primates. The reason for studyingprimates is the similarities with humans. This leads us to themost talked about aspects of cloning, the use of the techniquesThroughout this century, conversation, novels, magazinearticles, newspaper reports, and movies have focused on theimplications of cloning humans. Part of this media createsthoughts of a utopian society, while some a horrific world; theFor those who have had these frightening thoughts, Dr. Richard Seed states he can accomplish the task of cloning a humanusing nuclear transfer. Dr. Seed is a physicist who researchedfertility sciences in the 1980s and is now specializing inembryology. He states that he has set up a fertility clinic thatcan conduct nuclear transfer. Dr. Richard Seed is creating anuproar regarding the ethics of cloning. This is ironic becausecloning has occurred. (Flock, 1998) Cloning of humans in a biological sense already has and isoccurring. Scientists are researching by splitting embryos toexecute experiments to find data relating to celldifferentiation, the use of stem cells, and genetic screening. Amazingly, genetic screening is occurring in Britain quite often. Fertility clinics aim this service toward couples where themother or father has a genetic disorder. A fertility clinic willclone an embryo, then test it for genetic disorders. If theembryo is tested negative for genetic disorders, then thefertility clinic implants a clone of that embryo. This shouldguarantee that the child will not have any genetic disorders. That is the current work with cloning. It is becoming apart of our society already. Cloning is currently a technologythat many people could use. I believe it will become morepopular as prices for the technique decreases, and as the use ofcloning becomes increasingly acceptable. That is if we humansconsider cloning an acceptable technology, and that we would liketo use for the twenty-first century. Cloning has progressed soquickly, few of us know if we should be even fooling with thistechnology. Some scientists say that we put technologies to useonce the pros outweigh the cons. A good place for us to findthat information is to look at the past and current researchresults with cloning and why scientists research it. Amazingly, the first attempts at artificial cloning were asearly as the beginning of this century. Adolph Eduard Drieschallowed the eggs of a sea urchin develop into the two-blastomerestage. Then he separ ated it by shaking it in a flask andallowing them to grow. The cells developed into dwarf seaurchins. Driesch could not explain his experiments and gave upembryology for philosophy (McKinnel, 1979). The first implantation of a nucleus into an egg celloccurred in 1952 by Robert Briggs and Thomas J. King inPhiladelphia. They had transferred the nuclei of Leopard Frogseggs (McKinnel, 1979). The egg cells did not develop. Successful cloning of embryo cells was accomplished later in the1970s by Dr. John Gurdon. The frogs did not develop beyondtadpoles. In 1981, investigators announced they had transplantednuclei from mouse embryos into mouse eggs. However, otherscientists tried to duplicate the experiments, but found thatthey fabricated the cloning results. (Kolata, 3 March 1997) During the late seventies and early eighties, there were fewscientists still studying cloning. Many had predicted that itwas impossible to clone embryonic mammal cells. Few continuedwith research. Many gave up a nd went into other fields. However, some persisted and were rewarded for their efforts. In 1984, Dr. Steene Willadsen announced that he hadsuccessfully transferred nuclei from embryos of sheep to produceclones (Kolata, 1997). He also was successful with cows and evenmonkeys. He advanced his methods, and began cloning embryos thatwere in the 64-128 cell-stage. This suggested that perhapsnuclear transfer was possible with differentiated cells. Moreexciting was when Dr. Neal First produced cows by nucleartransfer from more developed embryos in 1994 (Kolata, 3 June1997). Dr. First produced four calves. Two years later, Dr. IanWilmut and Dr. Keith Campbell, of the Roslin Institute inEdinburgh, Scotland, produced for the world Megan and Morag, thefirst cloned sheep from embryo cells. Their new techniqueinvolved the starving of the donor embryo. This would put thecell in the right moment in the cell cycle, thus allowing thegenetic material to integrate more successfully with the eggcell. T his was the integral step of nuclear transfer. Dr. Firsthad executed the same step, but a laboratory staff member did itaccidentally, and First did not realize the significance of hisstaff members blooper (Kolata, 3 March 1997). Dr. Wilmut andDr. Campbell became world famous. Their fame was not finishedOn July 5 at 4:00 P.M. lamb number 6LL3 (Campbell, 1997), orDolly, was born in a shed down the road from the Institute. Sheweighed in at 14 pounds and was healthy. Scientistsaccomplished this by using frozen mammary cells taken from asix-year-old pregnant ewe and fusing them with an enucleated egg. The trick to fusing the cells is giving a small electric currentto the petri dish on which the egg cell is. This stimulates theegg much like a sperm would, and usually takes the geneticmaterial from the cell and becomes a zygote. They let thiszygote grow into an embryo, and then transplanted the embryo in arecipient ewe, acting as a surrogate mother. This procedureoccurred late in January o f 1996. This was the day of fusion datefor Dolly, which is the natural equivalent to a conception date. An interesting note is that three different sheep were involvedin producing Dolly, versus the usual two or one (in-vitrofertilization). Furthermore, the Roslin scientists used threedifferent breeds for each sheep to prove that the experiment wasAfter Dolly came other sheep, cows and even rhesus monkeyscloned using similar techniques but with slight variations. These cloned animals came from Roslin and many universities fromacross America. They even produced clones which had genes thatwould produce certain proteins. For instance, at Roslin,scientists are trying to produce sheep that produce milk withbeneficial proteins for Cystic Fibrosis patients.(Kolata, 24The goals and purposes for researching cloning range frommaking copies of those that have deceased to better engineeringthe offspring in humans and animals. Cloning could also directlyoffer a means of curing diseases or a techn ique that could extendmeans to acquiring new data for embryology and development oforganisms as a whole. Currently, the agricultural industrydemands nuclear transfer to produce better livestock. Cloningcould massively improve the agricultural industry as thetechnique of nuclear transfer improves. Currently, change in thephenotype of livestock is accomplished by bombarding embryos oflivestock with genes that produce livestock with preferredtraits. However, this technique is not efficient as only 5percent of the offspring express the traits (Kolata, 25 July1997). Scientists can easily alter adult cells. Thus, cloningfrom an adult cell would make it easier to alter the geneticmaterial. A transgenic organism has had its genetic informationartificially altered. The goal of transgenic livestock is to produce livestock with ideal characteristics for theagricultural industry and to be able to manufacture biologicalproducts such as proteins for humans. Farmers are attempting toproduce transg enic livestock already, but not efficiently, due tothe minimal ability to alter embryos genetically. Scientists canharvest and grow adult cells in large amounts compared withembryos. Scientists can then genetically alter these cells andfind which ones did transform and then clone only those cells. Scientists also ponder the idea of cloning endangered species toincrease their population. The possibilities are endless. However, we are actually doing much of this research for theimprovement of life for humans. Embryologist Dr. SteeneWilladsen, when talking of past research, stated, I was checkingfences, looking for holes in the scientific fabric, ways to breakthrough what others considered dogma. (Kolata, 3 June 1997). Tamed Shrews And Twelfth Nights: The Role Of Women EssayAt this point, I believe we should not use cloning. However, if we are to venture into cloning we must make manyprecautions. I think the best way to do this is to research theconsequences. Yet, I do not believe cloning of animals isacceptable. Thus, I do not think we should conduct cloningexperiment on animals. In summary, cloning is ethical, unlessthere is lack of respect for the lives of animals and humans, andfor the ongoing inhabitation of life on earth. Bibliography:

NATO And Cold War Essays - NATO, Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council

NATO And Cold War The latter half of the twentieth century has been dominated by the Cold War and the actions and events surrounding it. During this period different alliances and treaties were formed and many of these were institutionalized. One such alliance was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This organization was set up by the Northern Atlantic Western Powers to combat the Eastern Soviet threat. Today however NATO still exists and plays an active role in international relations. The question asked then is why after the Soviet Threat has dispersed an organization that was set up with the sole purpose of defeating the Soviets, is still persisting. NATO was formed on the 4th of April 1949 with an alliance of twelve independent nations committed to defence and security. Between 1952 and 1982 four more nations joined and three more in March 1999. The original alliance was formed with the purpose of stopping Soviet expansion in Europe, with the United States as the main driving force. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the consequential end of the Cold War it may be asked why has NATO survived and still plays an active and influential role in European interstate politics. NATO has a definite reason for still continuing on in Europe. According to Michael Ruhle (Senior Planning Officer, Policy Planning and Speechwriting Section of NATO's Political Affairs Division) NATO has changed from a singular-purpose organization to a multi-purpose institution, "working together to create a more benign strategic environment." Mr. Ruhle argues that NATO is contributing to the "emerging Euro-Atlantic security architecture." It is not really an institution but an architect. The architecture being a "series of key political processes that shape the strategic environment, the European integration process, the evolution of Russia, the development of transatlantic relations, and the evolution of crisis management in the Euro-Atlantic area." NATO can be seen to be an institution aiming at peace and security within Europe. There are other alliances than NATO that have become or are multi-purpose institutions. This can be seen through the EU, with its enlargement operation and its designs for Russia. Also the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in defusing minority obstacles in Europe, overseeing elections in Bosnia and working with an agreement in Kosovo. NATO, according to Mr. Ruhle is however, unique as only it can offer coherency in bringing about these processes. The NATO website offers an interesting perspective on the reasons for NATO's existence. "Today following the end of the Cold War and of the division of Europe, the Alliance has been restructured to enable it to participate in the development of cooperative security structures for the whole of Europe. It has also transformed its political and military structures in order to adapt them to peacekeeping and crisis management tasks undertaken in cooperation with countries which are not members of the Alliance and with other international organizations." Its peace plans and structures includes the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC), replaced by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) and the Partnership for Peace (PfP). However there is a different way of looking at the persistence of on organization such as NATO in contemporary international relations. Stephen Walt argues that alliances that persist are a result of hegemonic leadership, preserving credibility, domestic politics and elite manipulation, the impact of institutionalization and ideological solidarity, shared identities and security communities. A strong driving force behind an alliance will sustain it even after the immediate threat has gone, especially if that force is willing to bear the costs of the alliance and its purposes. The hegemonic power within the alliance must be strongly committed to preserving and even expanding the relationship. They must also be stronger than any in the alliance that may no longer wish to participate or contribute. To survive the alliance must be a symbol of credibility and resolve. Nations may be unwilling to pull out of an alliance in case an opponent or another ally may see this move as a lack of resolve. Walt argues that US involvement in Bosnia was a result of the fear that no response would create further suspicion on NATO's role and future, rather than a genuine care for the Bosnian people. Alliances have also been known to survive because of groups within a state are interested in the continuation of a particular alliance. In the case of NATO, there has been active support for NATO enlargement by Polish-Americans. Walt argues that the higher the level of institutionalization there is the harder it becomes to break up an alliance. Mr. Ruhle calls

Spain Essays - Names Of God In Hinduism, Conceptions Of God

Spain Essays - Names Of God In Hinduism, Conceptions Of God Spain 9/11/15 Gods in Hinduism Hinduism is a religion which does recognize a single supreme deity but is tolerant of all other religions and gods or goddesses as forms or manifestations of this one single deity or Supreme Being. Their philosophy is that, although they believe there is but one truth, there are different "Sages" or spiritual leaders who call the truth by different names. In the Hindu faith, there is a trinity as in the Christian faith, where God is in three persons: Brahma is the creator of all reality, Vishnu or Krishna is the preserver of all of the creations, and Shiva is the destroyer. There are some major divisions in the Hindu faith. Many see Brahman as the ultimate deity. Others see Vishnu or Krishna as the Supreme Being and another sect see Shiva as their ultimate reality. However, to say that Hinduism is a polytheistic religion with an unknown and unnamed number of Gods would be incorrect. Many Hindus view the religion as a monotheistic religion with only one Supreme Being who is formless and impersonal. All other gods and goddesses are simply facets of this one God. This Supreme Being is viewed as the god of all other religions and equal to all existence or the ultimate reality. It has been said that Hinduism is a religion of 330 million Hinduism gods. Sri Ramakrishna, a prominent Hindu saint once wrote, "There can be as many Hindu Gods as there are devotees to suit the moods, feelings, emotions and social backgrounds of the devotees." So in some ways Hinduism is a polytheistic religion. There is an exceedingly wide variety of gods to choose from to worship with statues and symbols to pay homage before. If one wants to pray for acquiring knowledge and understanding, he would pray to the god, Sarasati, for example. One might pray to the god, Moksha, to obtain God's grace. Many Hindus worship their own village god or goddess.

Landlord and Tenant Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Landlord and Tenant Law - Essay Example In the beginning, Able began extensive work on the unit. But the directors of Able soon discovered that the turnover from trading was not going to be as profitable as they had hoped. Hence, the extensive work to the roof was never completed. Although watertight, the roof is unsightly and not up to modern standards. In 2002, Able discovered that the concrete used to form the basis of the floor of the unit was not of the correct type. As a result, the surface had become crumbly and difficult to walk on. The only way to solve this problem would be to excavate the floor and lay a new one at a cost of GBP 250,000. Instead of undertaking any work, when the problem first became acute, Able laid metal sheeting on the floor as a temporary measure. The extractor fans fixed to the walls of the unit have ceased to function and when Able obtained quotes for installing new ones, they discovered that the original manufacture had gone into liquidation and new ones would have to be sourced from a different supplier. The new fans would be larger and require extensive installation work estimated at GBP 20,000. A director of Able has discovered second-hand fans which could be installed at a fraction of this cost. But these are older models than those currently installed and only work at half efficiency. Recently, surveyors instructed by the landlord have inspected the unit. On the basis of their calculations, the landlord claims that the cost to Able of complying fully with the covenant at the end of the term will be GBP 360,000. This includes completion of the work on the roof, laying a new floor, installing new fans as opposed to second-hand ones, and carrying out other miscellaneous works. The directors of Able are furious, especially since they have discovered that the landlord has submitted a planning application to the local planning authority under which the present unit would be demolished. The Questions The rent details, that is the amount of rent payable, and if any deposit had been paid to the landlord, are not provided. Details regarding the manner in which the lease agreement was made are also not provided. Was the agreement made through lawyers Were lawyers engaged by the landlord when the agreement was made Did Able engage lawyers to make the agreement It is important to know the answers to these questions in order to pinpoint the correct answers. It is possible to surmise the consequences in the absence of these answers. The information pertaining to the circumstances that have led Able to seek legal position are there. On the basis of these information provided the solutions to the issues raised will be given. The Cost of Repairs It appears that the premise is not suitable place to work. The premise needs long-term repairs and fixtures for long-term, problem-free use. Nevertheless, Able has gone ahead and made an agreement with the landlord for use of the premise for 15 years. The place was thriving at that time. Therefore, the directors of Able might have felt compelled to take the place on long-term rental basis, even willing to go along with

Current Event Article Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Current Event Article - Research Paper Example When the budget is referred to as a deficit package, it is requested to relax the ceilings for the sake of new borrowings. The current scenario states that the government will sooner be defaulted. It was given to retire the old treasury bills till March 2013 but it has not been exercised yet. For instance the consequential debt imposes immense detrimental effects over the economic scenarios. Generally surplus is not a positive symptom for the government. It creates dissatisfaction among people that they are paying (tax charge) more than they are getting benefitted. To retire the treasury bills, government may go for cutting the dollar value such that they can pay back in consideration with cheaper value. But this special purpose value decrement will not be suitable for other dimensions of the economy including world economic environment as dollar is a standard currency. The deficit, surplus and debt are the key macroeconomic variables which have enough impact over the economic growth as well as

Distance Education in Nursing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Distance Education in Nursing - Assignment Example From the research it is clear that  distance education has become an increasingly acceptable option for nurses owing to a variety of reasons. While it is a convenient option for those who are based in a rural setting and wish to avoid inconvenience and costs of travelling to a university, many choose it for its vast flexibility, enabling them to manage their family, work and education effectively. Sometimes, after having completed their bachelors from an institute, the nurses are unable to find appropriate qualification enhancement in their rural settings and hence this mode of education is an appropriate solution. Some opt for it so they can maintain their operational licenses and certification and hereby stay up to date in their specialties, while many use it as a means to improve their skill sets. The blessings of this form of education are most prominent for those in a rural setting, for many nurses practicing in rural areas are required to demonstrate advanced knowledge and sk ills along with minimal assistance.  As the paper investigates  owing to the increased popularity and preference of this mode of education, most of the universities have incorporated various courses in post-basic RN baccalaureate programs, many baccalaureate and some master’s programmes as well. This means that in the future, the prospects of maximum education by means of technology will open ways for many more students, who wish to acquire nursing education at a variety of levels. (Kristen S Montgomery, 2002) Is distance education the best possible option? Arguments and justifications: The need to spread awareness and education in today’s world is extremely high. While those in cities are blessed with more than one medium of education, it is rural education that poses a severe concern to many. Distance education comes as a blessing in disguise for these areas, where basic healthcare facilities themselves are missing and the stature of the nurse is almost comparabl e to that of the physician himself. These nurses require training, without a shift in their location. For city nurses, the issue is a different one. They are involved in their jobs for most part of the

Literature Review on Big Data Concept

Literature Review on Big Data Concept Quiz-3: Summarize the article in one paragraph. In this paragraph author try to explain about the big data concept and data mining like the characteristics of the big data, demonstrate and examples of big data. This article giving the information about a HACE theorem and it characteristic features, process model of the big data, and also data mining perspective of the big data. How the large volume of data, complexity difficulties of the massive volumes of data storage and analyze, challenging issues in the data driven models. And also introduction about the Dr. Yan MO and his Nobel Prize in Literature demonstrate the big data big data applications with few examples, finally key challenges in the big data mining. What 5 lessons did you learn from reading this article? About the big data and data mining: Big data is nothing but large volume or massive volumes of data stored in a specific data bases by using some techniques and tools. This data mining is with is a quick improvement process of various networking systems, and data storage, large data collecting capability. Big data is fast and rapidly growing massive data storage technology in all various health care domains as well as in engineering domains. Introduction about Dr. Yan MO: Dr. Yan MO is a good Literature; he won Nobel Prize in 2012 in Literature. Searching on Google with Yan MO Nobel Prize you can get lot of information about it. HACE theorem: HACE theorem about giant elephant and blind men theorem is a good concept for understanding the data mining and the big data process. Characteristic of big data: The main characteristic of big data is collection of large volume of data from various and multi languages with composed of parts of different kinds of information it includes information is audio, video and textual types of data. Huge volume of data with secure  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   For major Big Data related applications, for example, Google, Flicker, Face book, and Wal-Mart, a massive number of server ranches are conveyed everywhere throughout the world to   continuous services and immediate   responses for local markets. Key challenges of big data mining: challenges like to perform and maintaining big data by gathering information in a digital form, various organizations take their improvement to another level and create three tier big data mining platform for maintaining the massive data. Three tiers structured like Tier-1: low level data accessing and system computing, Tier-2: Concentrates on the high level semantics information and applications. Tier-3: Data mining algorithms. What are the concerns of Big Data? The main concern of big data is large volume of massive data, subsequently the quantity of large archives of Big Data has been expanded with near increment of related security concerns, privacy concerns, and somebody can target the data and try to hack the data. Notwithstanding the high estimation of Big Data target, securing Big Data has its own exceptional difficulties which are not on a very basic level deferent from those connected with traditional information. A few people think that concealing their identity alone without hiding their location would not appropriately address privacy concerns. Governance: Big data is rich with individual personal data and confidential organizations information, and data governance is required to ensure that data is secured. Why was this article written? This article main aim is to explain the concept of big data with data mining with few examples, big data characteristics, HACE theorem, how handle and maintain huge heterogeneous data uses in health care domains as well as in engineering domains with different organizations. A big data processing system framework it includes mining complex and dynamic data, local learning and model fusion, mining from spares, uncertain and incomplete data. Explain about research initiative and some projects to investigate for the big data management.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   These projects try to create strategies, calculations, frameworks, and research foundations which permit us to bring the large volume of data down to a human reasonable and interpretable scale Give Big Data characteristics using the HACE Theorem? In this HACE theorem author try explains the concept of big data mining and data collecting gather the data from various sources and finally stored in a one large volume data base. This theorem mainly explains about the two types of data structured and unstructured data. Actually big data starts with the massive volume Heterogeneous, Autonomous source with distributed and seeks to maintain or explore Complex and Evolving relationship among the data. Sources of big data are log data, social media, transactions, events, images, audios, videos and emails. (Deepak S. Tamhane, January 2015) What are the most fundamental challenges of Big Data mining? The main fundamental challenges of big data are to investigate large volume of massive data and extract useful information for future activities. In Big data have different layers in every layer will give the technology required to reduce different challenges every one of these layers give the complete solution. Data Secure and Privacy: This has various implementations and it concerns people and organizations too. People have the privilege, as indicated by Universal Telecommunications Union, to control the data that might be revealed with respect to them. Sharing the large volume of data is most important characteristic feature in the development process. And few challenges those are data acquisition, and recording, voluble information extraction and cleaning, data aggregation and integration, integrating data base system and analytics tools, and interpretation like wrong modeling, application bugs. Volume: Large volume of information being put away is significantly expanding each and every moment, massive of information put away everywhere throughout the websites. How is the Blind Men and Giant Elephant explain Big Data Mining? These characteristic make it an extraordinary challenge for discovering voluble information from the Big Data. In a local sense, we can estimate that various visually blind men are attempting to survey a giant elephant, which will be the Big Data in this specific circumstance. So every blind man can measure and estimates the particular region a part of information they collected during this process, because each person limited to his local region. In this concept every person feels like a hose, wall, tree and rope so exploring the big data in this situation is equal to aggregating heterogeneous data from various sources to draw the exact picture of elephant so collecting the data from various sources and various types of data, various languages of data. (Chun-Wei Tsai, 1 October, 2015) Chun-Wei Tsai, C.-F. L.-C. (1 October, 2015). SpringerOpen . Journal of Big Data . Deepak S. Tamhane, S. N. ( January 2015). BIG DATA ANALYSIS USING HACE THEOREM. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Engineering Technology (IJARCET) .

Knowledge and Poverty in The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara Essay example

Toni Cade Bambara addresses how knowledge is the means by which one can escape out of poverty in her story The Lesson. In her story she identifies with race, economic inequality, and literary epiphany during the early 1970’s. In this story children of African American progeny come face to face with their own poverty and reality. This realism of society’s social standard was made known to them on a sunny afternoon field trip to a toy store on Fifth Avenue. Through the use of an African American protagonist Miss Moore and antagonist Sylvia who later becomes the sub protagonist and White society the antagonist â€Å"the lesson† was ironically taught. Bambara identifies with race through class and demographics in her story The Lesson. The African American children come to terms with their classed society while visiting a pricey, Manhattan toy store. Sylvia states â€Å"Then we checked out that we on Fifth Avenue and everybody dressed up in stockings. One lady in fur coat, hot as it is. White folks crazy† (643). Sylvia discovers that White people don’t dress like African Americans, even if they share the same type of weather condition. She recognizes that they have money and they have a tendency to give you an idea about how wealthy they are. â€Å"Must be rich people shop here, say Q.T.†(645). One of the children on the trip was able to identify with the demographic of the area. He acknowledged that people who had status and wealth were the one most likely to buy toys and things that expensive. Bambara give readers an insight about the 1970’s and what life was like for those of status in white society. How Whites could afford costly toys while those of African American society could not. Sylvia also recognized behavior patterns in a White atmos... ...he refused to let white society stand in her way. Sylvia made up her mind and would strive to get what she wanted. Throughout The Lesson Toni Cade Bambara illustrated how education is the means by which one can escape out of poverty. This was not done in a classroom structured environment it took place on a sunny afternoon field trip in which the children on the trip was confronted with their own deficiency. There was resistance but as each individual longed for a toy in the store the apparent realism displayed itself. The extremely high price for the toys was an amount that their families could live on for a while. Each child was put in a place where he/ she had to examine themselves, their social conditions and their future. Bambara used race through social status, economic inequality, and literary epiphany to identify the hidden realities in each child life.

Performing Genders in a Streetcar Named Desire Essay

Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire, considered as one of his most famous works, exposes the relationships between Stella and her sister, Blanche, who has come to visit her. Her arrival reveals the tensions in Stanley and Stella’s couple. Blanche quickly discovers that her sister’s life is not at all the life she believed it to be, and that her sister lives with a violent man, Stanley. But Stanley is not the only one who tries to hide his true identity. Indeed, Blanche’s arrival in New Orleans is not innocent. She tries to escape her bad reputation and comes with her deepest secrets. In this play, the protagonists perform a role to affirm their gender and hide their real true nature. This staging also aims at dramatizing the action of the play. Stella’s husband, Stanley, is the prefect representation of the violent and macho man. He does everything to be seen as a powerful man when citing Huey Long he tells Stella that †every Man is a King! And I am the king around here† (Williams, 77). As Koprince notes: Like most batterers, Stanley believes in male superiority†¦ [He] especially believes in male dominance within the institution of marriage. He is completely in charge of the Kowalski household, calling all the shots and expecting his wife’s acquiescence. (51) Stanley establishes a conjugal life in which his wife is not allowed to say what she wants as he growls: †don’t ever talk that way to me!† (77). However, Stanley is not only arrogant when he speaks to his wife, he also mistreats her. During the Poker Night, he first †crosses to the small white radio and snatches it off the table. With a shouted oath, he tosses the instrument out of the window† and then †charges Stella† (35). Stanley thus intimidates his wife and decreases her as Dutton an alyses: Physical assault may be accompanied by verbal abuse, psychological abuse†¦ This constellation of destructive actions more fully represents a continuum of coercive control and, some would argue, therefore constitutes the proper subject matter for a psychology of interpersonal violence. (6) In reality the way Stanley acts allows him to acquire power and control under Stella. She behaves exactly how Stanley wants her to react that is as a battered and dominated woman:   He [Stanley] didn’t know what he was doing†¦ He was as good as lamb when I [Stella] came back and he’s really very, very ashamed of himself. (41) According to Stanley, showing his feelings to his wife would be intolerable and is not the behavior a man has to adopt. Nevertheless, his violent behavior and the role that he performs convey the feelings he has for Stella. Indeed, he is afraid that his wife can leave him: Stanley: Stella! My baby doll’s left me! Eunice? I want my baby! Eunice! I’ll keep on ringin’ I talk with my baby! (37) Stanley: Stell-lahhhhh! (37) By saying †Eunice, I want my girl to come down with me!† (38), Stanley gets belligerent again and proves that primitive instincts animate him. Blanche, talking to his sister, highlights that Stanley †acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits!† (47). She also asserts that †there’s even something – subhuman- something not quite to the stage of humanity† (47) which implies that her brother-in-law performs the male role to the extreme. Besides, this extreme is reached when Stanley rapes Blanche telling her: †we’ve had this date with each other from the beginning!† (97). Thus this act reminds Blanche of her past of prostitute and reveals what Blanche tried to hide through her staging. Blanche performs the role of the fragile and the romantic woman in order to hide her deepest secrets. Through Stella’s eyes, Blanche appears as a sensitive woman (69) and has always to be complimented. She thus recommends Stanley to †admire [Blanche’s] dress and [to] tell [Blanche] she’s looking wonderful† (17). In this connection, Blanche also highlights that †[she] need[s] kindness† (39). Moreover Blanche’s sensibility is highlighted by her romanticism. She tells Mitch that she has †old-fashioned ideals† (63) and calls him †[her] Rosenkavalier† (57). Related to this idea, Cortade asserts: Blanche DuBois s’accroche aux derniers vestiges de romantisme qui appartiennent à   une autre à ©poque. (209) [Blanche DuBois stay emotionally attached to the relics of romanticism which belong to another time, my translation]. In a sense, Blanche’s romantic ideals allow her to play the role of a modern Emma Bovary. In the manner of Flaubert’s character, Blanche entertains hopes of escaping from reality through love. Blanche idealizes love and describing  the love she had for her husband, Allan, she says that †it was like you suddenly turned a blinding light on something that had always been half in shadow, that’s how it struck the world for me† (66). But like Emma Bovary who lost her lover Rodolphe and fell into depression, Blanche loses Allan and this loss overwhelms her completely. She thus behaves as a desperate woman and loses her mind. By qualifying Blanche as †a refined and particular type of girl†, Stanley unmasks her and reveals the reason why Blanche has to perform. Indeed Blanche stages in order to hide her past of prostitute. Stanley explains to Stella that †[Blanche] moved to the Flamingo! A second-class hotel which has the advantage of not interfering in the private social life of the personalities there† (71). He also adds that †[men in Laurel] got wised up after two or three dates with [Blanche] and then they quit, and she goes on to another, the same old lines, same old act, same old hooey† (71). Besides Blanche is conscious of her act and qualifies herself as †a big spider† (87). Nevertheless, her behavior hides some deeper injuries. As she analyzes †[she was] hunting for some protection† and this †was all [she] seemed able to fill [her] empty heart with† (87). In this connection, Blanche is a desperate woman who †always depen ded on the kindness of strangers† (107). In conclusion, Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire depicts characters that perform in order to hide their true nature. By saying that †Poker should not be play in a house with women† (36), Mitch proceeds to a separation of genders revealing Blanche’s and Stanley’s staging. Indeed, both of them perform the roles of the violent man and the fragile woman. Stella’s husband appears as a choleric man and frightens his wife and his sister-in-low, Blanche. Blanche’s staging allows her to escape reality and she is able to overshadow her past. Indeed her past makes her fragile and facing the reality would be too hard to face. Stanley and Blanche also share the same fear. Indeed, they are afraid to be abandoned. Whereas Stanley depends on Stella’s presence, Blanche needs the kindness of strangers. Although they hate each other, they share several common points. Indeed both of them know that the other hide a secret. Sources: Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. London: Penguin Modern Classics, [1927] 2004. 218 p. Cortade, Ludovic. Le cinà ©ma de l’immobilità ©. Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 2008. 308 p. Dutton, Donald G. The domestic assault of Women: Psychological and Criminal Justice Perspectives. Canada: University of Washington Press, 2001, 337 p. Koprince, Susan. †Domestic violence in a Streetcar Named Desire† Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: A Streetcar Named Desire – New Edition, Ed. Harold Bloom, New York, 2009: 49-60.

Static Electricity

Everything is made up of tiny particles called atoms. The atoms are made up of even smaller parts called protons, electrons and neutrons. Protons have a positive charge (+), electrons have a negative charge (-) and neutrons have no charge at all, they are neutral. Atoms normally have the same amount of electrons and protons, making them neutral and having no charge. When rubbing things together, electrons can move from one atom to another, resulting in some atoms having extra electrons and a negative charge.The other atoms now have more protons than electrons and a positive charge. When the charges are separated, it is static electricity. â€Å"Electricity is present in all matter in the form of electrons and protons. Any device that develops and maintains a voltage can be considered a voltage source. To accomplish this, the voltage source must remove electrons from one point and transfer electrons to a second point. † (Petruzella, 2001. ) One type of electricity is static ele ctricity. The term static means standing still which makes static electricity an electric charge that is at rest.Static electricity is defined as â€Å"an accumulation of electric charge on an insulated body. † (Free Dictionary) In other words, it is a charge that is created when two objects that are not good electrical conductors are rubbed together, and electrons from one of the object rub off onto the other object. Some of the results of static electricity may be sparks, shocks, or even materials clinging together. The simplest way to form static electricity is by friction. Friction is simply the rubbing of one object against another.By rubbing two different materials together, â€Å"electrons may be forced out of their valence shells in one material and picked up in the shell of the other material. The material that gives up electrons more freely becomes positively charged and the one that gains electrons becomes negatively charged. † (Petruzella, 2001. ) When the electrons are relocated from one material to another, it is called triboelectric charging. Static electricity is formed much better in areas with low humidity and dry air. With humid air, tiny water molecules can collect on the surface of different materials and prevent the buildup of an electrical charge.Although small amounts of water, such as those developed from humidity, can affect a charge, â€Å"extreme turbulence among water drops†, such as in a thunderstorm cloud, can cause static electricity to build up on the water droplets themselves. Benjamin Franklin showed that static electricity is created in a thunderstorm cloud by flying a kite during a storm. He noticed the static electricity by seeing the hairs on the kite stand on end and created an electric spark with a metal key. There are other ways to produce a static charge other than friction or contact.An object can also be charged by induction. Induction is used to produce a charge of opposite polarity. Inductance is defined in the text as an â€Å"electrical property which opposes change in current. † (Petruzella, 2001. ) An inductor is â€Å"a device that generates a counter emf that tends to oppose any change in current through the use of ac current flowing through a coil wire. † (Petruzella, 2001. ) Charging by induction makes use of the electrostatic field surrounding a charged body in order to charge an object without touching it.If a negatively charged rod is brought close to the sphere on the inductor, the negative charges in the sphere move as far away from the rod as possible. By touching the sphere, it is grounded and allows the electrons to completely leave the sphere. Once you remove your finger, the electrons no longer have a way of returning to the sphere and the rod is then positively charged. Static electrical charge can be produced by a high-voltage direct current source. Many air purifiers use both positively and negatively charged plates to remove tiny dirt particles from the air.This system uses an electrostatic precipitator and oppositely charged grids. The dirty air moves through the precipitator which gives the dirt particles a positive charge. All of those particles are then attracted to the negatively charged grid and then the air passes through a carbon filter to remove any odors. Static electricity is also used with photography to work a photocopier. An â€Å"electrostatically charged drum† attracts toner particles to the image in the original document. The metal drum inside the machine is charged at the eginning of each copy. The system inside the photocopier then puts an image of the document onto the drum. The electric charge goes away wherever light shines on the drum and so only the dark parts of the image are still charged on the metal surface. The particles of black toner are oppositely charged and then applied to the drum. The charged parts, which contain the image, are attracted to the toner and transferred to t he paper and finally attached to the paper with heat. Static electricity can cause materials to attract or repel each other.If you use a hair dryer on your hair and then comb through it or just comb it on a very dry day, the plastic comb will collect negative charges from the hair and leave the hair with an excess amount of positive charges. Since like charges repel, the hair strands will push away from each other causing your hair to stand up or â€Å"flyaway. † Static electricity can also cause a spark to jump from one material to another, like when you touch someone and â€Å"shock† them. As you walk across something like a carpet, electrons cling to you.When you have extra electrons, you then have a negative charge and are attracted to positive charges so once you touch someone else, assuming they have a positive charge, you will feel a tiny shock which is a quick movement of electrons. If there are enough positive electrical charges on one object or material and e nough negative charges on another, the attraction may be so great that the electrons will jump to the other object with out the two touching. After a few electrons make the jump, the air begins to heat up and causes more and more electrons to move and the air to get even hotter.This all happens so fast and causes the air to get so hot that it glows for a split second and is known as a spark. The same process occurs with lightning only on a much larger scale. Removing or preventing a static charge can be very simple such as opening a window or using an air humidifier to â€Å"increase the moisture content of the air and make the atmosphere more conductive. † (Wikipedia) Items that are very sensitive to static discharge can be treated with an antistatic agent. Wikipedia defines an antistatic agent as something that â€Å"adds a conducting urface layer which ensures that any excess charge is evenly distributed. † An example of an antistatic agent is fabric softener or dry er sheets which are used in your laundry to prevent and remove static cling. â€Å"Semiconductor devices† which are used in electronics are very sensitive to static charge. These devices are protected using antistatic bags and those who work with these devices ground themselves by wearing conductive antistatic straps to protect their bodies. To test for a charge on an object, you must see how that object affects another object with a known charge.If the two objects repel, that means their charges are alike and if they attract, the charges are opposite. To see if an object is neutral, test it with another neutral object. Neutral objects do not attract with each other, only with another positive or negative object. â€Å"An aluminum-leaf electroscope is a device for detecting the presence of an electric charge and also for determining whether the charge is positive or negative. † (Petruzella, 2001. ) This device is made up of a flask with an insulating stopper. A metal r od goes through the center of the stopper and a metal knob is fastened to the outside end of the rod.Two very thin pieces of aluminum are attached to the other end of the rod inside the flask. â€Å"Normally the positive and negative charges within the electroscope balance each other, leaving it neutral. When a negatively charged body touches the knob of the electroscope, electrons flow from the charged body into the knob and down to the aluminum leaves. Each leaf then becomes negatively charged. Since like charges repel and both leaves are negative, they will diverge, indicating that the object contained a static charge. † (Petruzella, 2001. )In conclusion, static electricity is all around us. It may clean our air or be the cause of a terrible hair day but has both positive and negative effects on many daily routines.Work Cited Page Petruzella, Frank. Essentials of Electronics. Second Ed. Columbus, OH: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2001. 39-43. Print. Kurtus, Ron. â€Å"Basics of St atic Electricity. † School for Champions. N. p. , 23 Jan 2009. Web. 17 Oct 2010. . â€Å"Definition of Static Electricity. † The Free Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin, 2000. Web. 20 Oct 2010. . â€Å"Static Electricity. † Wikipedia. N. p. , 16 Oct 2010. Web. 17 Oct 2010. .

The Horrors of War essays

The Horrors of War essays Millions dead, tens of millions injured, for what? For a petty argument between two countries. War is devastating to countries and most indefinitely individuals. Men can be left disturbed mentally, physically, and socially for the rest of their lives. Is this necessary? Well maybe you should decide after reading the next few paragraphs. You can decide if the war being fought is a war of dignity and glory as everyone would make it out to be or if it was a battle of death and gore. You maybe surprised Well it would be glorious to be wounded and or die for your country right? Well maybe if you were the one seeing everything from the outside looking in. If you were a soldier your outlook on war may be a little different. The physical ailments of the young men are terrible. Some even consider it lucky if you die. For example, Remarque made it very clear that he was aware of the pains men were forced to endure when he put Paul and Albert Kropp in the hospital. Paul was going on leave and asked Albert if there was anything that he could get for him and Kropp said, "A gun." Paul showed his disapproval of this idea and Albert said something to the degree of I would rather die then live without a leg. Another example was when Kat was wounded by the bomb that went off while he was delivering supplies to the men on the front. Kat could not even walk. Then while Paul was taking him back to the First Aid center the man said, "He's stone dead." Paul was so oblivious to what was going on that he simply replied, "No, he's just fainted." When he looked at his hand and found a bullet wound in the back of Kat's head he was so stunned that he could not even think or see straight. In the real world people would leave their homes cheerful young men and return tattered worn cripples. Men would return with missing appendages. Some would return without legs. Others would ...

CHAMBLEE v. GRAYCO, INC Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

CHAMBLEE v. GRAYCO, INC - Case Study Example Rules Premise liability is concerned with the claims of one party (the tenant) against another party (the owner) on the ground of getting injured in the property. It has been noted that in such cases the injured person can claim against the owner or the controller or the occupier of the property as per the tort law. Consequently, the owner, the controller or the occupier of the property, whoever is responsible to maintain the property, will possess the same liability under the premise liability law. In this case, the law of Georgia will be taken into concern. According to the section 51-3-1 of the Georgia premise liability law, an owner or occupier or controller of any property is liable to perform the duty for keeping the premise safe and free from any sort of physical danger for the people who visit the place. However, this section of the law also states that the occupier or the owner of the property is not an insurer of the safety of the people visiting the property. Furthermore, the invitee or the visitor should also take some extra care so that he/she can avoid unreasonable injuries or harm as mentioned under section 51–11–7 of the premise liability law of Georgia. ... This resulted in serious injuries to the plaintiff, following which she sued the defendant (i.e. the landlord) on the ground that the premise was not safe and it was clearly a case of negligence. As per the plaintiff’s complaints, the owner of the property, i.e. Grayco had not paid adequate attention towards the duty of ensuring a safe premise for the tenants of visitors of the property. On presenting the case to the court, the evidences revealed that Chamblee was entirely responsible for the change in route and also for her damages. Hence, the court’s decision affirmed that Chamblee had not been responsible enough to avoid the accident. The normal route that she uses to take every day was safe enough. Therefore, the responsibility of the landlord is justified by this aspect. Further evidences suggest that Chamblee took that route owing to certain personal reasons which was irrelevant for the case. According to section 51–11–7 of premise law of Georgia, in vitees or tenants will be entirely responsible for any sort of injury caused due to their conduct under the similar circumstances as witnessed in the case of Chamblee v. Grayco, Inc. Furthermore, the law also suggests that invitee(s) will need to be careful about their own well being when entering a property. Contextually, the responsibility of the resident(s) or the owner(s) in maintaining a safe pathway is confined to the regular entrance and exit points. Apparently, this aspect does not support Chamblee in this case. A similar scenario can be illustrated with reference to the case of Bartlett v. Mcdonough Bedding Company. Furthermore, analysis of evidences depicted that the

Issues with Executive compensation and benefits Research Paper

Issues with Executive compensation and benefits - Research Paper Example Moreover, assessing the strategies adopted by those organizations to mitigate such challenges, recommendations for the management of EL Camino Hospital will be drawn on how to resolve the situation. Historical View of El Camino Hospital El Camino Hospital is regarded as one of the oldest non-profit healthcare organizations operating in the state of California, the United States. The construction of the hospital building started in the year 1958 with a total investment of around US$ 7.3 million. It is worth mentioning that the funds invested were generated though issuance of funds to the general public. The hospital started operating in the year 1961 with a total of 300 beds, which gradually increased over the years. The hospital often been regarded to be the first to implement computerized medicinal information system. This particular development attracted a larger volume of people to avail the services offered by the hospital. Since its establishment, the hospital has also acquired a substantial number of well-known medical institutions under its name, making it one of the biggest as well as oldest non-profit healthcare organizations in the state of California (El Camino Hospital, 2013). Assessment of Current Challenges As revealed in the article, i.e. ‘El Camino Hospital Officially Files Lawsuit over Executive Pay Cap’, the hospital has filed a lawsuit against Service Employees International Union (SEIU). SEIU is a form of international labor union, which aims to protect employee welfare and to mitigate the problems faced by the labors while conducting various sorts of operational functions (SEIU, n.d.). The prime intention of the lawsuit can be interpreted as to negate a voter-backed initiative that would limit the compensation of the executives of the hospital. Thus, from this particular notion, it can be affirmed that the current challenge faced by El Camino Hospital is linked with executive compensation. Relating to the article, it can furthe r be observed that the people or the individuals within the hospital county voted to support the clause measure M taken to restrict the compensation obtained by the top-level management of the hospital, which was then accounted to be less than twice the salary of California’s governor. The lawsuit of the hospital identified two officials named Kary Lynch and Laura Huston as defendants, stating that they were found to be the main individuals who supported the clause (measure M). It is worth mentioning that the hospital also filed a suit against the chief Human Resource Manager of the hospital for being equally liable in motivating the employees to support the clause under the guidance of SEIU. Lawyers were also appointed by the non-profit healthcare organization to restrict the measures into healthcare districts, which were being supported by the SEIU. It is worth mentioning that although the hospital did not mention the name of SEIU, Mr. Lynch and Ms. Huston were directly add ressed in the lawsuit (Herman, 2013; Modern Healthcare, 2013; Embarcadero Media, 2013). Review of Other Organizations That Had Similar Situation and the Strategy They Used To Address the Issue In the current phenomenon, there are certain organizations, which have to face similar issues concerning the arrangements of executive compens

Importance of Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Importance of Life - Essay Example This paper will present personal thoughts about the two essays, establishing connections and oppositions, in the area of male-female communication at home. Inferences from the two stories â€Å"I want a wife† explains that wives take a very passive role at home. They offer support services to men after they leave home for work or education. The role of a wife when the husband is not at home will entail taking care of the children, supporting the dependants of the man, finance the man where necessary, as well as doing the daily chores. She is portrayed as one who should sacrifice for the man, by losing days of work, losing pay due to absenteeism as well as leaving her job after the husband gets employed. She is portrayed as the person to take care of the physical needs of the husband as well as those of the children while offering social support to the family (Tannen). A wife is presented as the one to offer support for the social life of the man, children – who she will babysit – as well as the guests of the home, who is required to serve. She is presented as the one to take care of the sexual needs of the man, whenever he feels the need, but she is presented as one that will not present her sexual needs. After all the devotion, she is supposed to accept her replacement, and at the same time absorb the burden of taking care of children after divorce (Brady). The story, â€Å"sex, lies and conversation; why is it so hard for men and women to talk to each other†...presents the woman as the talker of the family, but one who will not express herself in the pubic (Tannen). The case explains the ideal American family, where the man talks in public but not at home. The family outlook is supported by scientific findings that many marriage breakups – according to women – are caused by the lack of communication (Brady; Tannen). Women feel that men do not listen or pay attention to them, which could be explained on the basis of th e different communication cultures of men and women. Women – since their background as girls – relate in an expressive manner, while men relate in an authoritative, non-sentimental manner, which makes women feel like the men do not listen or communicate to them. Women make one another feel better, by demonstrating their shared problems, while men downplay the extent of the other’s problems, and will often not pay a lot of attention to the physical expressions of one another, like women. Through a research study on school children, it was demonstrated that women are expressive to one another – and the expressive aspect is what they expect from husbands – who are naturally passive in their communication and interactions. The problem rises from the need of intimacy among women, and the detachment of men from their feelings. The story ends in the call for an understanding of the cross-cultural nature of men and women, which will enhance their communica tion as well as the understanding of one another (Brady; Tannen). Discussion of the connections and the oppositions between the two stories â€Å"I want a wife† presents the wife as a highly passive member of the family, who will not question the instructions of the husband as well as her roles as a wife. â€Å"My wife must lose time at work and not lose the job† (Brady). The story â€Å"sex lies and conversation† is the opposite, as it portrays the wife as â€Å"

Mussolini Policies Essay Example for Free

Mussolini Policies Essay a) Relations with the Catholic Church: Even though Mussolini had seemed anti-clerical and had written â€Å"God Does Not Exist† he had began forming a good relationship with the Roman Catholic Church because of its huge power and influence. He had begun forming this good relationship by getting married in a church in 1926 and having his two children baptized. He had also closed down some wine shops and nightclubs. In 1929 the Lateran treaty was signed after a series of meetings it had recognized the pope’s sovereign rule, the church had received 750 million lire cash and 1000 million lire in government bonds for the loss of the papal states in 1860. Catholicism had also become the state religion; church marriages became legal, religious education were a must in secondary schools, catholic action would continue as long as it was independent of political parties and it was subordinate to the church’s hierarchy. This treaty had gotten the church and it’s faithful followers on Mussolini’s side. However, this treaty had angered the radical fascists who were anti-clerical since the independence of the church meant there would be no totalitarian rule. The church had also been against communism and socialism therefore when the fascist destroyed the left this had brought Mussolini closer to the church. Mussolini had also strengthened this relationship by exempting the clergy from paying taxes in the mid 1920’s in return the Pius XI forced Dom Sturzo to resign since he was a fierce opponent of fascism. However, some friction remained between the fascist government and the Catholic Church as the catholic youth movements rivaled the fascist youth and student organizations. Moreover, some of the members of the catholic student organization were becoming influential and became significant leaders in the Christian Democratic Party in Italy after 1945 such as Aldo Moro in the 1930’s, which created problems for the fascists. The pope had also disapproved of the anti-Semitic laws introduced by Mussolini. However, he had approved of the invasion of Abyssinia in 1935 since it was similar to a crusade and his intervention in the Spanish civil war in 1926 to stop the Left. Mussolini’s relationship with the church remained well since they both gained a lot from their treaty. This policy had brought back the church’s power and had made Mussolini’s aim to build a new fascist generation impossible. b) Education and youth movements: Italian fascism like all other fascists had wanted to influence the young generation. In 1926 the Opera Nazionale Balilla was established bringing together fascist youth organizations and giving government funding. It was placed under the ministry of education in 1929 and they had begun closing rival youth organizations except the catholic youth groups. In 1932 the Ballila membership became obligatory. In 1937 the ONB joined with the young fascists to create one youth organization called Gioventu Italiana del Littorio for 6-21 year olds. The Ballila was political and it was militarized but it was also filled with sports and recreational activities, which attracted children, but 40% of the population had not joined showing the failure of this policy. At first Italian schools had some freedom but Mussolini had appointed the philosopher Giovanni Gentile to become the first minister of education. In 1923 Gentile had passed the education act which had changed education by promoting grammar schools, encouraging philosophy, classical studies and had not emphasized on technical and vocational education. To ensure that the schools would not spread anti-fascist ideas, anti-fascist teachers were removed and teachers were forced to take an oath of loyalty. Mussolini had started to really control schools in the mid 1930’s, as schools were obliged to use fascist textbooks. In 1936 there was also a history textbook that had to be taught which focused on promoting a part of Italian history that would create loyalty to Mussolini. Physical education was also important to have healthy kids who could go to war and be prepared for motherhood. Therefore, Mussolini had greatly impacted education in order to create loyalty to him. c) The battle of the births In order to make Italy a great power Mussolini had launched in 1927 a battle for the births so that Italy’s population could go from 37 to 60 million. The government started encouraging marriage by forcing more taxes on bachelors, awarding prizes to women with the most children, families with 10 or more children were exempted from paying taxes, loans were given to newly married couple, family allowances were introduced in 1934 finally the criminal code in 1932 had banned contraception, abortion and sterilization. This policy had failed since birth rate continued to fall in 1922 there was 147.5 births for every 1000 women of childbearing age while in 1936 it had fallen to 102.7 births. The population had only reached 44 million in 1940. However, this was only due to the falling of death rate and emigration but the government had failed to encourage early marriage as the average age at which they got married rose from the 1930’s. d) The media and the arts Mussolini wanted to suppress opposition so he started by censoring newspapers in 1923 and the fascists government had taken owned 10% of newspapers which meant it did not take over press but controlled what they wrote as the editors that would oppose him would be fined or banned from journalism. At first the fascist government saw radio and film as being insignificant but this changed when the government broadcasts increased and the ownership of radios went up to one million. Similarly, in 1924 a government film agency called Istituto Luce was created to make documentaries. In 1937 the government founded an Italian film studio called Cinecitta. However, Mussolini began really using propaganda in the 1930’s in order to form a new type of Italian, a heroic and energetic one. In 1925 the cult of the Duce was launched as was the biography of Mussolini called Dux. In this book Mussolini was presented as an athlete, hard working and loved the people. There were also many parades to elaborate rituals in order to revive roman spirit. The use of propaganda had aided Mussolini to become more popular in the years 1929-36. However, this popularity had begun to diminish once Mussolini became more radical as he applied the anti-Semitic policy and joined WWII. Mussolini did not get involved in art as much as Hitler had but there were division within the fascists as to which type of art to support. The neo-classicists preferred architecture and art that was inspired by ancient Rome while the modernists encouraged experimental art. Therefore, this lead to the formation of two artistic prizes, the Cremona prize for traditional art and propaganda while the Bergamo prize encouraged experimentation. To try to spread access to art the fascist government organized almost 50 art exhibitions a year. e) Racial policies (Anti-Semitic laws) Early on Mussolini had not shown any signs anti-Semitism however he had been racist against Africans in Libya and Abyssinia. One of the theories is that Mussolini had wanted to weaken the Jews because in the 1930’s he wanted to start a war and was not sure whether they would be loyal or not. Another theory is that in 1938 Mussolini was getting closer to Germany but while Hitler never pushed him to adopt anti-Semitism he might have chosen to adopt it in order to get closer to Hitler. Mussolini had started this policy by writing an article on reducing the number of Jews in 1938. He had then banned marriage between Jews and non-Jews, forbidden the Jews from jobs in civil service, teaching and PNF membership. The Jewish kids were also excluded from state schools and up to 10000 non-Italian Jews were deported. This law had caused Mussolini to become unpopular even within his own party who was made up of one third of Jews. The church that had a major influence had also criticized this law therefore making Mussolini even more unpopular. By 1941 6000 Italian Jews had left Italy among them were businessmen, professionals and academics therefore when they left the economy was badly affected. And wasn’t implemented systematically f) Other areas/ points of your own: Economic policies Mussolini had wanted to improve the economy to prevent foreign input this policy was called Autarky. He had adopted the battle of the grains in 1925 to improve agriculture to increase grain production in order to show economic strength therefore leading to nationalism. This policy had succeeded as imports were reduced by 75% between 1925 and 1935 therefore increasing Mussolini’s popularity. However, to increase production of wheat he needed more land to plant and he started using the land suitable for citrus which caused a decrease in their production and poverty in the south still continued. Another policy he had adopted was the corporate state in 1926 to manage relationships between employer and employee so as to cooperate therefore leading to more production. By 1934 22 corporations were set up and had succeeded to influence the economy. However, the corporations were just advisors that were dominated by fascists therefore they did what is best for them and left the worker’s interests aside. g) Conclusion Mussolini had adopted many policies that had gained him popularity and changed the Italian society such as the relationship with the church and influencing the media and the arts. However, when he had become more radical and adopted the anti-Semitic policy and tried to control education he had began losing popularity, which had eventually lead to his fall. To what extent was Mussolini influential in international affairs in the 1930’s? After the league of nations was undermined by the Manchuria crisis therefore when Hitler had began expanding and broke the treaty of Versailles by announcing his intention to build an army of 550000 men using conscription Mussolini decided to sign the stress front on 1935 with France and Britain. This stated that the three countries would take action if Germany broke the treaty of Versailles further. However, this agreement fell apart when Britain did not consult Italy or France before singing the Anglo-German naval agreement in 1935, which allowed Germany to expand its navy beyond what the treaty Versailles had allowed. Mussolini had also invaded Abyssinian, which Britain and France disapproved of. Therefore this shows that his international affairs with other countries had failed. Moreover, when Mussolini had invaded Abyssinia in 1935 it had changed his foreign policy completely his relationship with Britain and France was destroyed while his relationship with Germany was improving. Although Mussolini though France and Britain would not react to this invasion the League of Nations imposed economic sanctions since Britain was being undermined. However, Germany continued to trade with Italy and Mussolini ignored the sanctions therefore strengthening their relationship and weakening the league. In addition, Mussolini had also intervened in the Spanish civil war as he send 70000 troops to Spain to help support general Franco. Although he had failed he had sent them in order to weaken France who had a similar government as Spain and to have a naval base in the Balearic Islands to help promote Italian power in the Mediterranean. Furthermore, Mussolini’s relationship with Germany had also been strengthened as they had signed the Rome-berlin axis. Italy had also walked out of the League of Nations as Germany had done. It is also said that Mussolini had adopted the anti-Semitic policy in order to get closer to Germany and to make Italy more radical. As Mussolini became closer to Hitler he had changed his foreign policy towards Austria as he allowed Germany to increase its influence over Austria. In 1938 after the newly appointed chancellor Seyss-Inquart had invited Hitler to send troops, Hitler had attacked Austria and Mussolini had not rejected. Moreover, when a crisis broke out because Hitler had wanted to invade Czechoslovakia after he demanded that the Czech government allow the German speaking are of Czechoslovakia to unite with Germany. Therefore, it seemed that Britain and France would side with Czechoslovakia therefore causing war. Mussolini played the role of peacemaker and set up the Munich conference in 1938. Mussolini was also encouraged by Britain and France’s appeasement of Hitler to avoid aggression to start a more violent foreign policy. Mussolini had also been aware of him being the weak partner in the Italian-German relationship therefore this encouraged him to become violent to be more influential. He started by invading Albania in 1939. He then signed the pact of steel with Germany in 1939, which forced the two countries to support each other in case of war. This was an advantage for Germany who was likely to enter a war while Italy would be helped to expand.

The survival of LEGO in changing environment

The survival of LEGO in changing environment This essay aims to provide an insight into LEGOs performance in the UK market and the strategies adopted by LEGO to be acclaimed today as UKs 3rd largest toy seller. Accordingly, a better understanding will be attained from a consumers perspective in the Toys industry. LEGO a brand which was in shambles in late 2006 stepped up to perform tremendously well during recession How did LEGO manage to reach where they are today? In the following chapters, a detailed description will be provided on how LEGO set an example for many global brands to follow in a touch economic situation. 2.0 Company Overview It all started with one mans vision. A man who believed that good play enriches a childs development Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund. He shifted his production from making wooden furniture for local farmers to childrens toys, owing to the great depression in the 1930s. LEGO originated from the Danish words leg and godt, which means play well. (Tidd and Bessant, 2009). defines LEGO as The core product is a rectangular plastic brick, hollow on the inside except for one or more tubes, with rows of studs on the top emblazoned with the tiny LEGO LEGO. (Wiencekk, 1987) LEGO has a very powerful vision statement of Inventing the future of play. This vision indicates that LEGO is finding new ways of developing games and moving from being just a simple block of brick. They are aware of the changing requirements and attitudes of consumers in a globalised sense. As it claims It is not just about products, it is about realising the human possibility. (LEGO Group, 2010) Over the years, the LEGO Group has developed several products under its umbrella extending its products to the digital world as well. LEGO has always known that the Toys and Childrens entertainment industry is a difficult business to sustain oneself in as it is constantly faced with new innovations, technological advancements and market entrants. To face this constantly evolving industry, LEGO has invested much of its understanding their consumers needs and desires. They have studied playing habits, family patters and housing conditions to gain a deeper knowledge of this market. Another differentiating factor is the belief that has been passed on by generations that have embraced LEGO. The belief that LEGO will remain relevant to children of all ages and all generations. The belief to create a world where children have the freedom to build anything that can never be replaced with cyber experiences. (LEGO Group, 2009) By the late 90s, LEGOs sales began decreasing. They were challenged by low cost good enough competitors like Megablok, a Canadian Company. Other reason was their prime target audience were shifting to computer games. LEGO was also operating in a high cost economic environment Denmark- where the supply chains were expensive. Another problem LEGO faced was increasing complex product development with so many product ranges and different permutations and combinations; manufacturing economically became nearly impossible. All these reasons, led to LEGO running into a $ 240 million loss. In order to revive LEGO from this situation, the LEGO family invested $ 178 million and appointed of a new CEO, Jorgen Vig Knudstorp. Under Knudstorps leadership, LEGO saw a successful transition. In order to correct the situation, LEGO improved their supply chain, factory locations and enhanced their overall product development strategy. (Tidd and Bessant, 2009) 2.1 LEGO Financial Overview Since its foundation in 1932, The Danish Company has great achievements added to its name. However, in 2006, rumours had it that toy industry giant Mattel were going to buy LEGO since it had faced huge losses. But restructuring in management and change in strategy helped LEGO pick up their sales in spite of the recession. In August 2008, LEGOs international sales were reportedly up by 20% in comparison to the year before. In the UK alone, 2007 witnessed at 24% rise in sales as compared to 2006. (MINTEL. 2008) The latest report that appeared on November 2010 in The Times London edition states that LEGOs sales have picked up by 50 per cent this Christmas season keeping both parents and children happy.(Vine, 2010) According to the Guardian, in 2009 the total sales at the UK division based primarily in Slough, Berkshire, leapt 35% a performance that took LEGO to a record UK market share of 4.1%, up from 3.2% a year ago. (Wood, 2009) The pre-tax profits rose 68%, which is approximately up by  £171.97 million in the first half of 2010. LEGO posts strong sales (The Times, 2010) LEGOs financial performance during recession was commendable while other Toy industry competitors like Mattel, that reportedly faced a 19% fall in second-quarter sales in spite of housing big brand names like Barbie. (Wood, 2009) 3.0 Consumer Behaviour theories applied to LEGO From the above, it is clear that LEGO has had a successful track record during recession. In this section, a deeper understanding will be attained on how LEGO was immune to the recession by placing their consumers in the heart of their business and understanding their requirements. To achieve this, three theories have been shortlisted they are namely Buying Decision Making Process Attitude Formation and Change Consumer Identity and Reference Groups 3.1 Buying Decision Making Process In order to understand, how LEGO survived through the economic downturn, it is important to interpret the buying behaviour of consumers in the Toys industry. By understanding the dynamics of buying behaviour, successful insights can be drawn to help identify the gap between the consumer and company. In complex decision making process where one is faced with other competitors, there are 6 stages to the decision making process. The 6 stages are namely: 3.1.1 Problem Recognition (awareness of need) Problem Recognition is the difference between the actual state of mind and the desired state of mind (Solomon, 2009). In other words, it is the process of recognising the need or desire to own a particular product. Given below are some reasons why consumers felt the need for LEGO over other products. Need for learning though play Parents being one of the prime target audiences in this industry also play a major role in the buying behavior process. LEGO appeals to this market as it has the element of creative play and parents are assured that it is not a waste of time as compared to watching television or spending time on Facebook. Parents therefore would choose to buy LEGO as they want their children to learn while they play. Something that most other toys or video games have failed to achieve (MINTEL, 2008). Need for retro products during recession Another interesting point to note is how consumers chose retro products during times of crisis due to its established legacy. During recession, parents actually found the need to invest in products that are of high quality and are long lasting in nature as opposed to just purchasing a cheap toy. Gerrick Johnson, toy-industry analyst at BMO Capital Markets made a comment stating that In tough economic times, youll often see retro products come back. Parents spend money on stuff they know works. Rather than going to Disney World or on a trip, you get a $30 LEGO set. (Faris, 2010) Need for up-to date toys and gadgets During a time when their prime target audience were more inclined towards computer games, LEGO constantly kept innovating and updating their offerings to suit the needs of this market that is faced by such rapid growth and evolution. The company steadily launched new products which resulted in three-quarters of its yearly sales. In 2000, the British Association of Toy Retailers along with Fortune magazine voted LEGO as the toy of the century. (Oliver et al., 2007) Recognizing the need to enter the video game market, LEGO created its own software group providing children the opportunity to create their own animation for PC and gaming consoles (R. Duane Ireland, 2009). Therefore people chose LEGO as it had extended its offerings to a medium where most of its consumers lived the virtual world. 3.1.2 Information search When it comes to seeking information on which toys you would prefer your children to play with, there are several factors that play a role. From an internal search perspective, memory and nostalgia could be key determinants whereas word of mouth, friends, relatives etc. could be external search factors that dominate your purchase decision (Soloman, 2009) The market for childrens toys and games is a substantial one -A  £2.1 billion market for childrens toys and games, this is a lucrative industry with several competitors. In such a case, information search becomes even more complex (MINTEL, 2008). What adds on to the complexity is the ranging age groups and diversity in toys from simple board games to more sophisticated toys for older kids up to adulthood. LEGO belongs to the range of Activity Toys which incorporates certain level of creativity and makes playing an enriching experience. Other toys in this range are Meccano and magnetic building kits as well as arts and crafts products (MINTEL, 2008). 3.1.3. Evaluation of Alternatives At this stage, consumers evaluate the alternatives that have been shortlisted after their information search. Rankings, personal preferences, listings, word of mouth to name a few, are determinants while evaluating alternatives. Today LEGO is the fourth-largest toy manufacturer after Mattel, Bandai-Namco, Hasbro and the fifth position held by TOMY-Takara (LEGO Group, 2009). In the case of activity toys like LEGO, consumers would potentially ask these questions. Does the product benefit my child learning ability? Is the product safe and of supreme quality? Mc Donaldss once used LEGO in the USA as a part of one their sales promotion campaign. 37 billion bricks were distributed over four weeks out of which only a dozen complaints were received (Harris and McDonald, 2004). These sorts of cases help a consumer who is looking for top quality decide that he/she wants to purchase LEGO over other toys. 3.1.4 Purchase decision In order to achieve competitive advantage and take the final purchase decision, LEGO pays a lot of attention to their product, packaging, online store etc. In a Danish newspaper Jyllands- Posten, an article was published on the safety of LEGO. Each individual block has a hole to ensure that if a child swallows a brick, the child would not choke as air could still pass though (Harris and McDonald, 2004). Therefore a consumer, who has safety as criteria, would decide to buy LEGO as the makers have taken care of this aspect. 3.1.5 Purchase This decision is based upon the time lapse and product availability. In 2004, LEGO sales began dropping massively. Poor customer service and unavailability of products were additions to their dilemma. During this time, customers were faced with many other alternatives. LEGO could not afford to lose out on customers in the big-box world. LEGO then improved on their supply-chain management and aimed to align its innovation capability. It also started online sales where customised products could be designed and purchased too (Oliver et al., 2007). 3.1.6 Post-Purchase Evaluation: When LEGO was voted as Marketer of the Year in 2009, one of the comments by a user from Dallas commented I have to vote LEGO-for continuing to provide a top-quality product in line with their brand, staying relevant and using new technologies to create new customer experiences in a kids toy market thats moving away from brands with a low-tech heritage. This is a company that inspires others to a higher standard. Who can vote for a company that continues to drive quality down to get to a cheaper price? (Creamer, 2009). These testimonials prove that consumers overall have been happy after purchasing the product. 3.2 Attitude formation and change One of the aspects involved in the psychological factor of the decision making process, is attitudes. These attitudes are either formed on experience or interaction with other people. An attitude of a consumer towards a firm and its products tends to have a great influence in the firms marketing strategy (Soloman, 2009). 3.2.1 Efforts made my LEGO to track attitudes For strategic decision making that is driven by insights, it is essential to track attitudes. It could be tracking changes in different age groups, scenarios about future, identify emerging trends etc (Soloman, 2009). LEGO has realised the importance of tracking changing attitudes and the following findings can be drawn in this regard: Scenarios about future One of the most significant changes that LEGO has taken up this decade is that it has begun listening to its consumers and their changing attitudes. In todays social networking era, it is highly essential to monitor behaviour and attitudes. It was through the efforts made by LEGO on social media, that they realised their fan base was not just limited to children but adults too. Courtesy the AFOLcommunity Adult Fans of LEGO LEGO now has some specialist ambassadors who communicate with them and provide feedback. LEGO also involves these ambassadors in their product development. They began monitoring blogs and got a deeper understanding on culture, desires of both potential and existing consumers and changed their strategy accordingly. It was through this initiative that LEGO decided to make sets based on movies like Star Wars or Indiana Jones and now these deals make up more than half of their sales (Advertising Age, 2009). By doing so LEGO gets inputs from probably the most loyal customer base and thus adress unhappy customers or fill any gaps in the market place. These insights drove their strategy and helped them survive in an atmosphere where the only words heard off were lay-offs and losses. LEGO is one such example of a brand that has benefitted by working in partnership with their consumers and predicting the future (Garfield, 2007). Changes in different age groups LEGO has a very ambitious mission statement of each and every child in the world to own one cubic metre of LEGO bricks. (Harris and McDonald, 2004) Children globally are treated the same by marketers no matter which culture they belong to. However, even if they are treated the same their attitudes may differ due to their upbringing and external environment. Though most of the concept and product development occurs in the Billund headquarters, LEGO has trends watching department in their offices in Munich, Los Angeles and Tokyo. Infact, to ensure that LEGO is an international product that suits ever child needs, the creative team is composed of 120 designers 15 different nationalities (LEGO Group, 2009). 3.2.3 Star Power: Celebrities as Communications Sources The source of the message the celebrity in this case can have a huge impact on the image of a brand and its sales. Messages tend to have a greater effect when there is a relation between the celebrity and product. Human beings tend to pay more attention when they see familiar faces as opposed to ordinary faces, thereby interpreting and processing the information more effectively (Soloman, 2009). People tend to associate characteristics of a persons personality, social status, and gender, to that of the brand. When David Beckham confessed in an interview that if he wasnt a footballer his dream pastime would be building with LEGO blocks, it set the LEGO sales roaring. In just one day of business, the father of three inspired the sales of 5,922- Taj Mahal set (The Sun, 2010). Parents formulate the core buyers of this segment six in ten have bought from five or more of the listed categories of toys or games in the past 12 months (MINTEL, 2008). After all, if a star figure like Beckham has spoken, why wouldnt parents try mantling Taj Mahal together. 3. 3 Consumer Identity and Reference Groups Any individual or group that acts a point of comparison of values, opinions, attitude or behaviour towards a product is a reference group (Soloman, 2009). In case of LEGO, there are several reference groups. LEGO has a combination of logic and creativity that enhances a childs learning and ability to solve problems. Owing to this factor, LEGO has been popularly used as creative play tool in institutions and schools i.e; formal reference groups (LEGO Group, 2009). 3.3.1 Effect of Gender on Consumer Behaviour Gender is a crucial element in consumer behaviour. A boy may perceive different things from a girl. This can be proven with an example of how LEGO researched playing habits amongst boys and. The findings were that girls were more likely to build living areas while boys built cars. LEGO introduced a new version of its product for girls called Paradise which emphasized around socially oriented structures such as homes, pools etc (Soloman, 2009). 3.3.2 Baby Boomers and the role of nostalgia in buying decision making process Baby Boomers are those who are above the age of 29 and have a significant influence on demands for housing, child care etc (Soloman, 2010). LEGO has evolved from a box of bricks that baby boomers grew up to a more diverse product. However, the positive feeling attached with having played with LEGO has passed on through at least three generations. (Oliver et al., 2007) Therefore, one may ask how much role does nostalgia play in triggering what baby boomers and generation X buy as toys for their children? Retro favourites are gaining popularity owing to the fact that they have provided real quality and value over time, and one of the reasons all these new fans have emerged is through nostalgia. According to the (Telegraph, 2010), LEGO has performed well in recession as parents due to nostalgia have shifted to trusted brands. Parents dont intend to buy toys that their children would throw aside in months, instead they would rather invest in toys that children of all generations would go back to. 3.3.3 Children Pester power v/s parent power Pester Power is a term used to define a childs influence over the parent in the buying process (Turner et al, 2006). According to Turner, children can be easily influenced by advertising and marketers use this as a medium to entice children to nag and purchase the product of their desire. The key factors that influences a childs pestering behaviour is the family type, family communication pattern, the person accompanying the child to shopping, intent of going for shopping and advertising. (Venkatesh and Ghai, 2010). According to the report by Mintel, 2008, Although adults are the primary purchasers, kids are the ultimate arbiters of success and failure across much of the market nearly four in ten parents cannot say no to their kids. LEGO partnered with Kelloggs in 2007 to create LEGO brick shaped candy called Fun Snacks. This created hype amongst parents as they had spent valuable amount of their time telling their children not to swallow LEGO bricks. LEGO went on to the extent of advertising in between childrens TV shows, placing the product at the bottom of the shelf spaces in order to make it accessible for children; thereby making children nag for Fun Snacks (Franziska_NDT, 2010) 4.0 Conclusion On the whole, LEGO has adopted the right measures to immune itself to the market, no matter how the economic situation is. Given below are few recommendations and discussions with regards to LEGO. Discussion/ Recommendations: 1. With LEGO factory LEGOs online design portal- is a gateway to 300,000 designers worldwide. By doing so, LEGO can get critical reviews on their products and help improve their offerings (Tidd and Bessant, 2009). LEGO could conduct an annual conference or workshop, whereby all these designers meet up and brain storm with key designers and managers on how to improve LEGO and keep up with changing trends. 2. Christmas accounts for around half of the years sales for LEGO. Keeping this in mind, LEGO should launch their new products or special Christmas edition toys as nearly seven in ten consumers buy toys and games for Christmas. (MINTEL. 2008) And after all, who would refuse the latest Christmas edition of LEGO? 3. An emerging trend is gifting new born toys up from 13% in 2003 to 26% now. Considering this trend, LEGO could launch its own collection of teether toys meant for new born. This could range from a simple brick soft chewy toy to its very own Harry potter collection for newborns. 4. Phone applications seem to be the next big trend that is picking up. LEGO already has its own Star Wars LEGO I phone game version. LEGO must continue entering markets where gaming is a hype. 5. LEGO should push the product more using the scientific connection. According to (Turkle and Smith, 2009) playing with LEGO helps children enhance their problem solving and discovery skills. This makes a child think in a scientific, problem recognition and solving approach that most engineers, scientist and designers use. Turkle claims that the toys that children play with have a great impact on their future careers. Some children may try and create unrealistic structures, while some may follow instructions, some keep their constructed sets as awards while some just break them; different children behave differently with LEGO. However, each role play is good to identify traits about your children and which direction they are progressing towards. 6 Most of LEGO consumers are not price sensitive. They buy LEGO because of the brand and the quality. As a consumer, you can either buy the simple bricks or a special version of LEGO to add it to your collection. Therefore, LEGO can afford to release a premium end version of the toys that are suitable to kids that belong to rich households. 8. LEGO for grey market- Research has shown that playing with LEGO for an hour or two can help old people fight memory loss and problems that occur due to degeneration like dementia and Alzheimers disease. It makes your mind active, while your fingers are still moving. 9. The idea of having Brand Ambassadors who use their network pool to get insights and inputs from consumers is one of LEGOs strongest strategies. LEGO fans discuss, review and suggest new ideas for LEGO on the AFOL community which helps LEGO look into the future and improve their capabilities. LEGO has managed to create a consumer experience that combines technology, mass customization and community to enhance and build relevance for its classic toy offering. (Tidd and Bessant, 2009). Indeed, LEGO has managed to keep up its legacy and set a great example for many international and global companies.