How are Relationships Presented in the Poems you Have Studied?

In ‘Havisham’, ‘Quickdraw’, ‘Salome’ – all by Carol Ann Duffy, the current poet laureate of Britain – and ‘The Farmer’s Bride’ by Charlotte Mew, relationships are presented as being constant power struggles between the two parties involved. These poems do not conform to traditional romantic poetry, but instead take a candid approach to the aspects of relationships that aren’t conventionally explored. All four of the poems I studied are dramatic monologues, giving the reader a first person perspective of what happened in the build up to, or during the poem itself.Although a comprehensive psychological insight into the character is available to us, allowing us to make our own judgements about the personas adopted by the poets, we are nonetheless given a biased account of the occurrences and hence it is difficult to conclude whether or not their portrayal of what happened is trustworthy. The titles of the po ems serve to objectify the person they are referring to: the lack of honorific title in ‘Havisham’ takes away the reader’s ability to judge the gender of the persona, which, in turn expresses the character’s loss of status.Those who have read ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens would be aware that ‘Havisham’ refers to Miss Havisham in the book. The lack of an honorific title symbolises her embarrassment and denial about her rejection in love and moreover puts her on par with characters like Hamlet and Othello, who weren’t at any point called ‘Prince Hamlet’ or ‘General Othello’. This technique used by Duffy portrays the persona as being of great importance; however, to anyone who hasn’t read the book, the question remains: who, or what is ‘Havisham’?Both the title and the first line of the poem ‘Salome’, also by Duffy, is a single word: Salome. Igniting our curi osity, we wonder: what’s Salome? It could be a person, a place or a thing. This uncertainty is what encourages the reader to continue reading. Lastly, ‘The Farmer’s Bride’ is a perfect example of objectification. This suggests to the reader that the wife is the property of the farmer, which is further emphasised by the lack of a name for her throughout the poem.According to the context of the poem, this was customary of the time: in the 19th Century, many farmers would choose wives who had a useful skill set for  life on a farm. The institution of marriage gave total legal authority to the man and a wife could not legally refuse the sexual demands of her husband. This borderline misogyny expresses the position of women in the community. The title portrays the wife as nothing but a mere object that can be used to aid its owner either through manual labour or sex. The incongruous poem, with regards to objectification, is ‘Quickdraw’. Duffy ins tead plays on Wild West iconography, suggesting that the relationship the poem describes is a battlefield.Immediately, we can guess what this poem will be about – dissimilar to ‘Havisham’ and ‘Salome’ – even if is in a metaphorical sense. A â€Å"quickdraw† is a tense gunfight at the end of which only one person is left standing – further proof that the title is a metaphor for this all-consuming relationship. Plosive consonants are used by Duffy to show the emotional callousness of the characters she adopts: in ‘ Havisham’ the character shows the reader that love doesn’t just affect us emotionally, but is felt in our entire beings, when she says that it isn’t just the heart that â€Å"b-b-b-breaks†.This could suggest that her speech is just as broken as her withering body and life; however, it also shows the violent side to the persona, making us question her sanity. From very early on in the poe m, the reader doesn’t question that the character of Salome is unhinged due to her flippant attitude to her actions, but the use of the onomatopoeic words – which happen to contain plosive consonants – â€Å"clatter†¦ clutter† adds not only to the fast rhythm of the poem, but also to the coldness and devilry of the persona.In ‘Quickdraw’, the character adopted by Duffy is portrayed as being the inferior person in the relationship; however, after being stoic and obsequious for so long, she attempts to retaliate, ultimately failing: â€Å"squeeze the trigger of my tongue, wide of the mark†. The Western imagery, â€Å"wide of the mark† adds to the heartlessness of the character, as in Wild West cinematography, people didn’t often show mercy. The â€Å"trigger of [her] tongue† may have been her only weapon left in the destructive relationship she found herself in and furthermore, this parody could perfectly descri be an argument: the inevitable truth is that words do hurt.Additionally, the alliteration of the ‘t’ sounds is comical, juxtaposed with the subject matter. The use of irony in both ‘Havisham’ and ‘Salome’ seems to emphasise the mental instability of the characters, which in turn symbolises their superiority, as they refuse to take responsibility even when the truth is obvious to us. The character of Havisham asks herself, â€Å"Who did this to me? †. This shows her genuine confusion at the state she is in, but to the reader, it is blatant that she did this to herself.She made a conscious choice to be self-pitying and not move on with her life. However, due to the context, we know that it would have been difficult. The persona labels herself a â€Å"spinster†. She, evidently showing how condemned she feels, spat this Victorian label out in distaste, as if she was worthless without a husband. The character of Salome said that her la st lover had â€Å"come like a lamb to the slaughter to Salome’s bed†. Here, the persona refers to herself as Salome, who according to Christian mythology was the stepdaughter of King Herod.After dancing for him, he said he would grant any of her wishes, so, prompted by her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist. He had said that her mother, Herodias’ marriage to King Herod was unlawful and incestuous. Herod sent an executioner to the prison where John was being kept and his head was brought to Salome in a dish. By comparing herself to this Biblical character, she is portrayed as being able to use the powers of seduction and lust to defeat her feeble and naive prey, making us view her as a conniving character.The irony lies in the fact that she had, in fact, murdered him the night before and seems proud of it: â€Å"I flung back the sticky red sheets†, which insinuates that, firstly, the blood was clotted and thus relatively old, and that she was delighted to present what she had created by â€Å"[flinging] back† the sheets. The structures of ‘Havisham’ and ‘Quickdraw’ are organised into four quatrains each, directly juxtaposing the personalities of the characters and relationships portrayed in them.The persona of Havisham lacks stability and the relationship in ‘Quickdraw’ is whimsical and fast-paced, emphasised by the two lines: â€Å"you ring, quickdraw, your voice a pellet in my ear, and hear me groan†. These erratic verses are followed by the crux of the poem, cleverly disguised by Duffy through the use of enjambment. If lines 5 and 9 are put together, they read â€Å"you’ve wounded me through the heart†. This ingenious manipulation of structure intensifies the meaning of the poem and makes us sympathise with the speaker about her failed relationship.On the other hand, it is the chaotic structure and rhyme scheme in ‘The Farmer’s Brideâ €™ that reflects the wife’s apparently unpredictable personality. At first, the wife is described by Mew as not being a woman, but more like â€Å"a little frightened fay†. On the surface, this simile would suggest that she was a demure, lithe character who is afraid of human contact; nevertheless, according to Elizabethan folklore, fays – also called fairies or faeries – were wicked creatures that would happily unleash their wrath on those who didn’t cajole them and comply with their every demand.This paints a much more alarming picture of her persona, which could somewhat reflect Charlotte Mew’s own mental state, as she had a thorough insight into mental illnesses. Similarly, the speaker in ‘Salome’, by means of the tumultuous structure and rhyme scheme, paints an ominous picture of the insane character. The chilling aspect being that throughout the poem, the persona is calm and collected, adding to her menacing satisfacti on by using throwaway remarks such as â€Å"there, like I said†¦ was his head on a platter†.Both of the poets I have studied are female and homosexual, thus it can be said that they may have taken a slightly biased approach to talking about the idea of power struggles in relationships. In all but one of the poems – namely ‘Salome’, in which the female acts as a despot – the female is the sycophantic character, clinging onto the idea that she would be nothing without a man by her side.In all of the poems however, there is an element of trying to make their lives better, regardless of if the relationship continues or not: the character of Havisham says that she â€Å"stabbed at a wedding cake†. This is a metaphorical way of saying that she ‘gave it a stab’ but the cake symbolises her failure to make it work. In ‘Quickdraw’, the use of â€Å"Last Chance saloon†, a piece of cliched Wild West iconography shows that she tried to fix their relationship, but the â€Å"silver bullets† of her partner’s kisses eventually drained the life out of her.The character of ‘Salome’ declares â€Å"Never again! †, although it was short-lived, the addition of an exclamation mark shows us that she was determined to change her ways. The farmer in Mew’s poem describes the ground as being â€Å"spread white with rime†. This symbolises the inevitability of the disintegration of their relationship. This unconventional take on relationships is more realistic than idealistic and provides a cynical viewpoint on what is usually heavily romanticised literature.

The Role of Mass Media in the World of Politics

The mass media plays a very important role in everyday life. It is often the only form of education which is available to some, and as such has a very powerful influence over people†s beliefs and opinions. This influence is never more evident than when analysing the relationship between the media and politics. Politics can justifiably be described as THE main determining factor in our lives, the major influence over many facets of day to day living, such as finances, healthcare and employment. The media is the major source of information about political affairs, and as such has control over what we actually know about the political system and what we may never find out. As a result of this, it becomes inevitable that the media has a certain ‘hold† over the political arena. The media can judge, approve and criticise. It can make or break political careers, even parties, and the information which the media provides helps the public to form attitudes, responses and opinions towards political events and actors. Thus it becomes very important for the political parties to keep the media ‘on-side†. It is obvious that the media does have some impact on politics, but the main question should be to what extent, how does it manifest itself and why should we care anyway? For the purpose of this essay the media will be described as the press, TV and radio. On the face of it the media is there simply to communicate, or act as a transmitter of information between the political world and the consumer. However, probably since the end of the second world war, it has become clear that the media can often have a hidden agenda when reporting politics. Indeed, one of the most contentious issues over the last few years, at least since I have been ‘consuming† media products, has been the debate over media ownership. This has been particularly evident in the press, the most notable case being the Rupert Murdoch 'empire† – News International. I will start off by discussing the case of the press, as I believe that this is traditionally where much of the impact on politics has occurred, although I will discuss later how this may be changing. One major area of concern about press reporting of politics is the apparent ‘dumbing down† of the coverage, even amongst the broadsheets, and the effect that this may have on politics. In 1993 Labour MP, and current Home Secretary, Jack Straw published a short research report into the press coverage of parliament, ( Negrine, 1998,p1). In doing the report he discovered how Parliamentary issues were now covered to a much lesser degree than in the past, going from between 400-800 lines per day in The Times in 1988, to fewer than 100 lines in 1992. This seemed to show that the broadsheets were following the tabloid example of dumbing down. This has led to the worry that the press is trivialising the political process in the UK. Politics is becoming increasingly personality led, rather than policy led. An event may have political significance or importance, but it will only really be seen as such if the press frames it in a way that makes it interesting and palatable to the reader. It therefore becomes a fact of political life that personalities are more interesting to the majority of the public than policies. This has inevitably led to a change in the political landscape, initiated and perpetuated by the media. There are now several key features to politics in the late twentieth century which were not there before. ‘Political marketing†, the use of ‘negative campaigning† and the introduction of spin doctors have all led to fear of an ‘Americanisation† of the political process. As well as the press, TV has played a major role in ushering in the age of the soundbite. The media has opened up a larger, more accessible audience to the politicians, which many of them find hard to resist. Institutions such as the House of Commons are becoming less and less a way of relaying policy issues and raising concerns, as the political arena is increasingly acted out in the media. Which publicity seeking politician, trying to gain support for their party, would choose the Commons over a highly publicised TV programme such as Question Time, or a high circulation newspaper such as The Sun. There has also been a decline in local party politics, as political communication has become more and more a national rather than local event. The American way of leader based, rather than party based politics has become a reality. This has been evident in the way that Tony Blair has become a media star, never more so than when his wife recently became pregnant. The celebrity image of the Prime Minister has also led to accusations that he lacks real political substance. Some would say another example of the ‘trivialising† of politics has been the introduction of TV cameras into the House of Commons. When it was first proposed in 1966 it was heavily defeated on the grounds that TV cameras would ruin the unique and intimate atmosphere of the house. In 1989 the house first appeared on television. Strict guidelines were issued over what could be shown, including the use of head and shoulder shots only and the banning of reaction shots. There was great unease amongst the sitting MPs, including the then Prime Minister Mrs Thatcher, who said at the time: â€Å".. if you are not careful you can freeze with TV there†¦. it is going to be a different House of Commons, but that is that†, (Politics UK, 1991, p208). There was a gradual thawing of hostile opinion towards the TV cameras, with some exceptions. David Amess, MP, protested that the cameras had managed to, â€Å".. trivialise our proceedings and spoil that very special atmosphere that we had here†, ( Politics UK, p208). The main political parties now recognise the crucial role the media has to play in their success and have reacted accordingly. Political strategies now incorporate media strategies. They try to manipulate the media in order to create a favourable image of themselves. In order to achieve this we have seen the introduction of professional media managers. The media dominated world of politics now needs professional management. Peter Mandelson and Alistair Campbell are two such media experts. They have been partly responsible for transforming the Labour Party from being unelectable to gaining a runaway victory in the 1997 general election. Indeed it has been said that Tony Blair spends more time in meetings with his image and media advisors than he spends discussing policies with his cabinet, which may be a worrying trend for UK politics. There are several ways that these people can attempt to manipulate the media. One such way, many would say to the detriment of the democratic process, is the manufacture of debates which are stage managed to ensure a friendly audience and the communication of well rehearsed answers. There is also a great deal of emphasis placed on image management, and specifically the image of the party leader. This is very evident when looking at the current leaders of the two main parties in the UK today. Despite the best attempts of Conservative central office to jazz up the image of William Hague, he still retains the image of a dull, almost incompetent twit. On the other hand Tony Blair has the image of a dynamic, if slightly shallow, leader. This tends to ignore the fact that Hague is possibly a more intelligent and thoughtful politician than Blair. Another good example of this is the differences between Ronald Reagan and Michael Foot. Reagan was a remarkably unskilled politician, but, being a trained actor, he was very good at conveying what was essentially a simple message. Foot, on the other hand, was a very skilled politician and public speaker. However, his unkempt appearance was not at all media friendly, and after defeat in the 83 general election he was cast aside in favour of a more media friendly Neil Kinnock. Reagan had two successful terms as US President. Many fear that this indicates a move away from real political issues towards a fickle political world where image is everything and political substance nothing. It is clear that a personality clash or a sex scandal can now be more damaging to a political party than an actual policy disagreement. But should we be very concerned about this, and exactly how much of the shifting political tide is down to the media. Some observers point to the fact that plain, unassuming politicians such as John Major and George Bush have enjoyed immensely successful political careers. This may suggest that the public can only be fooled to a certain degree by slick media management, and may eventually get sick of being ‘force fed† so called perfect politicians, with little or no political ability.

Storm Drainage Design Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Storm Drainage Design Project - Essay Example The hydrograph is shown next page as Figure 2. To facilitate plotting, instead of using the river discharge figures in the vertical axis, the height of the river in meters from the given data was used. For a well-defined hydrograph of the river discharge, river height data were multiplied by 5 during plotting, although actual river height values were used in the computations. In the same vertical axis, the rainfall data in mm. were also plotted. Values were plotted for the hourly data for a four-day period. The time scale is plotted on the horizontal axis. Microsoft Excel (2003) was used to generate a computerised rendition of the hydrograph. The bar graph of the rainfall data showed twin-peaks of 1.2 mm occurring 10 hours apart. The rising limb of the river flood started to accumulate 11:00:00 of October 13 as the first peak of rainfall registered. After 22 hours, the peak of the river flow was reached at 9:00:00 of October 14 when the river height is 0.658 m. It will be observed that the rising limb of the hydrograph is quite steep. Meanwhile, it took 46 hours for the river flood at its peak to return back to base flow. This is defined in the hydrograph by the recession limb. However, the four-day data for the River Cynon did not necessarily return back to base flow. River height before the rising limb was 0.253 m, while the least reading given during the recession limb was 0.306 m. Figure 3 shows the rising limb, peak flow, recession limb and other elements of a typical hydrograph. A significant portion of the Cynon River catchment area is of moderate permeability (65%), which indicates slow infiltration rate and the steep rising limb (British Geological Society, 2005; Gordon, Finlayson, McMahon and Gippel, 2004). The average discharge for the rising limb (Qa) of the river flood is computed as the product of the given river velocity (v), the average river height from the first rainfall peak at 1.2 mm

Economic analysis of Germany Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Economic analysis of Germany - Research Paper Example A weaker country might have crumble amidst these economic and political pressures. But this is not the case. This paper will examine the reasons behind Germany’s outstanding economic performance despite the odds. Particularly, the claim that its highly skilled labor force is a main driver of the countrys spectacular growth will be explored. In addition to this, this paper will also explore the claim that its record as an innovator contributes to the strength of its economy. The body of literature recognizes the age of industrialization as the foundation of the character of the German economy. Prior to the 1850s, Germany was years behind Britain and France in terms of industrial development. But the Germans were quick to catch up. After 50 years, in 1900s, the country reached the status of Britain and the United States as global industrial leader. The poor German economic performance before the 1850s is attributed to the institutional restrictions. The social and bureaucratic structures became the impediment to the recognized drivers of economic growth such as entrepreneurship. During this period, German economic policy networks are dominated by landed elites, the church and traditionalist government regimes. The numerous rules and limitations imposed by these dominant economic forces stifled the development of important economic sectors. The economic breakthrough that finally enabled Germany to catch up to Britain was globalization. German industries were kept afloat its textile mills, which flourished after the tariff barriers were removed sometime in 1830s. This is further supported by the development of the railroad, which finally enabled German industries to diversify as more markets became accessible. This development ushered in an era of engineers, architects, and machinists; of a skilled labor force, which emerge with the increase

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Summary and response - Essay Example As a function of this level of profusion and the effects that it has on the individual, Jessica Statsky writes in her essay, â€Å"Children Need to Play, Not Compete† that this societal understanding and drive towards competition is ultimately extremely harmful. As a function of analyzing this piece, the following few paragraphs will seek to provide a summary of some of Statsky’s main ideas and draw inference upon the strength and tenor of these ideas. Ultimately, as the title implies, Statsky discusses the fact that competition is harmful to the means by which a child should develop. Instead of allowing this type of competitive streak to define the way in which children are raised, Statsky offers that a far more reasonable approach is to allow nature to take its course and allow children to develop at their own place through play. Although play has oftentimes been mischaracterized as a waste of time, the fact of the matter is that Statsky, as well as a host of other ch ild psychologists and developmental specialists, point to the fact that play serves an integral role in helping to develop a host of interactional and developmental goals within the child; goals that Statsky argues could never be realized within the unnatural and contrived realm of competition that children are all too often thrust into. ... Ultimately, long before reading Statsky’s piece, the reader came to an understanding that the unimaginative nature of competitive sports has served to constrain the abilities of children and harness their otherwise eager and unbridled sense of wonder and discovery. Due to the fact that the child is unable to integrate the differential between the overall importance of winning and the overall importance of understanding the more nuanced aspects of human behavior are not emphasized. This is of special importance due to the fact that the scope and importance of whatever sport is being engaged in is lost uon the child as the act of winning and losing becomes the sole drive that motivates the participant and defines the importance of reality(Statsky 3). Further, it is the understanding of this particular reviewer that one of the most negative aspects of the means by which competition integrates itself with the child is with relation to the fact that the child is oftentimes first in tegrated with the rules and understanding of competitive sport prior to being made aware of the rules that constrain society and morality in general. This of course represents the primal case of getting the priorities of life confused; thereby adding to a faulty and flawed understanding of the way in which individuals should prioritize and relate to one another. The reader should understand that although not all competitive sport is necessarily bad, the use of competitive sport as a means of educating children with regards to the realities of life and the means by which they should integrate with one another is fundamentally flawed. In such a way, it is the strong belief of this author that the ideas that were put forward by Statsky were precisely correct in

Juvenile Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Juvenile Rights - Essay Example orance is no excuse for a crime, ‎hence no matter what your age is or you were too young for a crime, even a juvenile can be ‎arrested and jailed for crimes. However there are many rules concerning this and many ‎authoritative cases suggesting how people under the age of ten are by no means allowed to be ‎jailed but in fact they can get other services such as community service as a punish. ‎ When arrested, a juvenile becomes either a status offender or has the responsibility for ‎some sort of wrongful conduct. Statuses offenses are when a juvenile commits some crime that ‎would not have been a crime if committed by an adult, such as curfew violation and runaway. ‎Alternatively, wrongful conduct can include offenses that violate penal laws other than some sort ‎of traffic violation. However, if you are under the age of 18 and somehow get in trouble with the ‎law, your case will be heard in the juvenile justice system.‎ Going back on the topic of discussion, we need to discuss what the rights of a juvenile ‎are. A minor commits a crime, but the law is still there and there are rights available for the minor. ‎Firstly there are rights available at the time of arrest. When a minor or a juvenile is taken into ‎custody, it is essential for the police to immediately notify the minors’ parents. The minor himself ‎is allowed to make two complete phone calls, has the right to a parent, and has the right to call a ‎attorney. At all stages in the jail and court, the minor has a right to his parents and an attorney. ‎Juveniles who commit a crime fall under the civil penal code, which is called the family code. ‎The main reason of separating the juvenile from the adult criminal justice system is for their ‎safety while providing and securing their rights. By law, juveniles are kept in separate and secure ‎facility. ‎ ‎ The Fourth Amendment states, â€Å"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, ‎papers, and

SAP implementation Project Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SAP implementation Project Managment - Essay Example illustrates the application of various project management principles and practices that are desirable for project success and are largely covered in the PMBOK. This project is quite simple, the IBM PM Team works under a well predefined scope covering major areas such as putting out fires, preventing scope-creep, and managing risks. The most important point coming out here is that the team understands what they need to do and develop the scope well in advance, it is also quite impressive that they determine the risks involved during scope development. This kind of practice is well covered in the PMBOK under the chapter called scope management where project scope definition is identified as a very important area where boundaries of the project are determined. The fact that Prakash and his team start by going to the client site, gathering the requirements, and calculating the plan schedule indicates that they are very serious with project integration management. This is well defined in the PMBOK as a chapter dealing where integration management is presented as an aid towards project planning, execution and control. The preliminary actions of the team culminating in site visit for planning indicates a deep understanding of the importance of this aspect of project management. In my opinion, this action can be enhanced by coming up with a document that clearly maps out all the actions at the site visit level and indicate the project roadmap from this time. The project also includes another very important aspect dealing with stakeholders. After award of the contract it is clear that the Project Manager start implementation by defining objectives, purpose and justifying important actions. The scope is verified to fit within a measurement developed by the team that mainly involves determination of the commitment of stakeholders, performance is good, the schedules are predictable and that the risks identified are well mitigated. It is clear that the team is putting into

Isle of wight ventnor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Isle of wight ventnor - Essay Example In addition, the seabed forms a ridge rising to 15 meters of the surface that causes the sea to rush in between the ridge created and the Island. Due to this, there exists a narrow deep channel called the St Catherine’s Deep. The problem Study of the geotechnical situation in Ventnor indicates that the town has experienced landslides subject to ground movements. These landslides cause damage to property and interrupt the delivery of services mostly done through pipelines. The under-cliff of the Isle of Wight is 12 kilometers long. In 1988, the Department of Environment in Ventnor commissioned a study to come with ideas for dealing with the land instability problem. To understand the problems of stabilizing the town of Ventnor properly, it is important to consider; 1. The nature of the landslips 2. Study the strategies used to reduce negative impacts in the future and their applicability 3. Investigate the previous cases of instability It is very crucial to note that only some areas in the town of Ventnor experience landslips. In fact, various developed areas do not get affected even by main events. Consider the Bonchurch Old church which is over 1050 years old and still exists. Researchers tend to misinterpret the extent of the landslides since they include buildings and property that crumble due to poor foundations. Consequently, the problem appears great and non-manageable. (Griffiths, 2001). Location map The location of the town of Ventnor creates a problem in the stabilization of the area. The town faces a sea with various activities among them sea bed movements. Its open side facing the sea presents the problem of vulnerability due to lack of protection from sea tides and strong winds. Instability due to ground movements Ground movement continues to be a problem in the stabilizing of the town of Ventnor. The worst period occurred in 1961 where cliff falls and collapsed settlements were rampant following heavy autumn rainfall. Although the records da te as far back as 1781, it is not easy to get a clear picture of the problem of ground movements. 91% of the town has had minimal movement annually and short term major movements are attributed to long run movements. In the last 100 years, ground movement has become a challenge to the local community. This problem is independent of financial influence since it is a natural occurrence. The continued development of the area based on urbanization increases human traffic; thus, adds to the initial ground movement activity. Sir William 1997 argues that ground movements result from slope instability, ground compression and subsidence. Initially, the under cliff was a result of various phases of landslides due to climate and sea level influences. Landslides in Ventnor appear in the cretaceous rocks which consist of Gault clay overlain by big sandstones and chalk. The thin clay layers and the Gault clay determine the stability of the area. It is evident that the geotechnical design of the t own of Ventnor is itself a problem to the stability of the area. Landslides The images above show the occurrence of landslides which create a challenge in stabilizing the town. Mostly, landslides in Ventnor occur due to planes of weakness that come beneath impermeable clay surfaces. Water seeps through layers of sand leading to instability due to erosion. This image above represents the anatomy of the landslides. Landslides occur at the under-cliff of Ventnor located to the south of

Lesson plane(cave) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Lesson plane(cave) - Assignment Example 2. Show some graphics / images of caves while explaining its formation and characteristics. Encourage students to justify whether historical accounts about cave dwellers and its practice, i.e. cannibalism were truth or just hearsays. 3. Tell the class some interesting facts on caves like the Russell Cave in Alabama, USA which yielded a sequence of human habitation dating back almost 9,000 years (â€Å"Cave,† 1995) and used to be a place for cannibalism and religious activities. 1. There will be flashcard posted on the board containing 2 – 3 types of caves discussed (i.e. primary cave, fracture cave, glacier cave). Each student will be given a flashcard containing a word, term or an adjective that relates to the types of caves posted on the board. 2. As per instruction, each student should post his or her own flashcard to its corresponding cave in the board (i.e. a student was given a flashcard containing the word â€Å"LIMESTONE† and this should be posted under SOLUTIONAL CAVE. The entire class must accomplish the task in 2 minutes. 3. If there are incongruent terms or there is/are mismatch, the teacher will perform a draw lots and will pick 3 names to re-arrange or organize the terms / description of his assigned cave type. Each has its assigned cave 2. As an instruction, they have to illustrate how we, humans could help to preserve cave structure and its ecosystem, either by drawing or by creating a collage (students must be informed ahead of time that they must bring used magazine, news papers, scratch papers). Each group must have 2 representatives to briefly summarize and discuss the

Korean Wave Being South Korea’s Economic Growth Booster Essay Example for Free

Korean Wave Being South Korea’s Economic Growth Booster Essay Korean Wave is the growing aspiration to know more about South Korean culture. South Korea itself is an export-orientated country with a total trade volume of 884.2 billion in 2010, which makes South Korea the 7th largest exporter and 10th largest importer in the world. The cultural sector is the second biggest contributor after technological sector to the South Korea’s economic growth. The goods produced by the cultural sector are brought by the Korean Wave not only to the Asian but also to the American and Western markets. Korean Wave does give big contribution to South Korean’s economy through movies, pop music, tourism, and traditional arts. When we think of Korean Wave, we should mainly think of Korean drama and film industries. For example, the Korean wave took an extra boost with the popular TV dramas like â€Å"Winter Sonata† and â€Å"Jewel Palace†. For film, we can take â€Å"Old Boy† and â€Å"Bin Jip† as examples, which were extremely popular, even in Europe. The fact that importing a Korean dramas is a lot cheaper than having to purchase it from any other country can be a reason as well as the emotionally powerful plots they have. Besides Korean movies, Korean pop music also deserves a place on the list of exported Korean culture. K-Pop or Korean Pop is a musical genre originating in South Korea consisting of pop, dance, electropop, hip hop, rock, RB, and electronic music. Let’s say Super Junior, 2NE1, SNSD, Wonder Girls, Big Bang, 2PM, JYP, IU, and many more, who does not know them? In 2011, these groups and singers have donated 35 trillion rupiah to South Korea’s GDP. These idols have a big impact on their fans’ culture, including food, fashion, make-up trends, and even plastic surgery. Leading talent agencies such as S.M. Entertainment Co. and YG Entertainment said recent concerts held by Korean entertainers in the United States and Europe have shown the potential for growth in markets outside of Asia. Korean big business is trying to transform those fans into consumers of Korean products and services. Korean Wave is exposing the beauty attracts that both of their celebrities and the places used by their popular movies have. The locations of the Korean movies took place has become a main destination for tourists. These tourists are mostly the fans who are willing to collect all their savings and travel to Korea just to see the place where their favorite scene in their movie took place, or even to watch their idols on a live show. The filming location of †Full House† in Shido Island, â€Å"Jewel in the Palace† in Daejanggeum Theme Park, Winter Sonata in Nami Island, and so on. Another tourism spots that people aim to visit in Korea are â€Å"Locks of Love† in Namsan Tower, a historic pagoda-style gateway Namdaemun, and another shopping places like Myeong-dong shopping area and Busan market. South Korea is also well-known as a hot spot for medical tourism, the country is expanding its one-stop plastic surgery centers to deal with the influx of foreigners fly ing in for surgical procedures. The government’s goal is to attract one million foreign patients by 2020. Thus, interest in flying to Korea is rising, so is the national income. There are also some Korean traditional arts that interest foreigners to visit Korea. They are like Hanok, Jeongjae, Buchaechum, Nongok, and Taepyeongmu. Hanok is Korean traditional house, whereas Jeongjae , Buchaechum, Nongok, and Taepyeongmu are Korean tradional dances. And don’t forget the Korean ceramics and Korean pottery, that most of them are went to Japan The road to Korean Wave is trodden everyday by new visitors who are warmly welcomed by Korean people and fascinated by the culture. The drive to know more about Korea stimulates Korean Wave to develop into more sophisticated cultural forms, which in turn, brings Korean Wave to a higher level. With this Korean Wave showing the advanced condition of South Korea itself, another countries’ awareness to invest in South Korea increases.

Analysing the business of Merck and Davanrik

Analysing the business of Merck and Davanrik The recommendation is that, Merck should license the new drug Davanrik. The company is facing serious situation that most of their drug patents are going to expire soon. For maintaining companys value and profit, it is vital to invest into new drug development. In the other part of the report, a preamble of Merck and Davanrik, decision support data and the answers of important questions are provided in detail. Merck The Company is discovering new innovative products and developing new indications for existing products the result of its continuing commitment to research (Annual Report, 2000). Several products face expiration of product patents in the near term. U.S. product patents expired in 2000 for Vasotec and Pepcid and will expire in 2001 for Prilosec, which is supplied exclusively to AZLP, Prinivil and Prinzide, for which co-marketing rights have been licensed to a third party, Mevacor and Vaseretic. In the aggregate, domestic sales of these products represented 19% of Merck human health sales for 2000 (Annual Report, 2000). The patent expiration can cause deeper drop in overall sales. (Mercks Consolidate Balance Sheet: See Appendix A) Davanrik Davanrik originally developed by Lab Pharmaceutical Company to treat depression. Lab Pharmaceutical offered Merck to license her new developing drug. Lab Pharmaceutical is only 15 years old company. FDA has recently denied to approval one of their drug which completed all three phases. In response to this decision, Lab lost 30% of her overall sales. As a result, LAB was hesitant to issue additional equity to finance the testing of Davanrik and was seeking a larger pharmaceutical company to license the drug and provided the following facilities: Needed Cash Fund for clinical testing Manufacturing and Marketing Royalty on the eventual sales of Davanrik Decision Support Data Merck The patent of Mercks most popular drug is going to expire by 2002 Expiration of Patent can cause a deeper drop in overall sales. Merck needs new drug development to maintain its values and refresh portfolio. The company sales reflect continuous growth in earnings. The success of Davanrik would keep Merck Company in the black for the following seven years, while the failure of Davanrik would ultimately force Merck Company to quickly develop other profit producing drugs. Davanrik and Merck Davanrik is drug compound for treatment of depression and neurological disorders. Its need 7 years or more to approve form FDA in three phases. Phase I would take 2 years. It was expected to cost $30 million, including an initial $5 million fee to Lab for licensing the drug. There was 60% chance that Davanrik would successfully complete Phase I Phase II would take 2 years. It was expected to cost $40 million, including $2.5 million fee to Lab. Phase III trial would cost $200 million including a $20 million payment to lab. Merck Co. should analyze the following different types of factors to make a decision to license Davanrik: Expected revenue Expect royalty fees to lab License fees for each phase Success probability at each phase Marketing cost Merck responsibility at each phase Phase I Testing would cost $30 million including $5 million to lab Total duration of phase 2 years Probability of Success 60% Phase II Testing would cost $40 million including $2.5 million to lab Total duration 2 years Probability of success for depression only 10%, for weight loss 15% and for both 5% Phase III Cost and success probability are depend on the result of phase II Testing would cost for depression only $200 million including $20 million to Lab and probability is 85% Testing would cost for weight loss only $150 million including $10 million to Lab and probability is 75% Testing would cost for both (Depression and Weight loss) $500 million including $40 million to Lab and probability is 70% Depression only cost $250 million to launch with a PV of $1.2 billion Weight loss only cost $100 million to launch with a PV of $345 million Both depression and weight loss would cost $400 million to launch with a PV of $2.25 billion Overall Failure Risk Questions and Answers Should Merck bid to license Davanrik? How much should they pay?   There is an extreme risk of failure in taking Davanrik. However, pharmaceutical drug producing industry does have to be risk seeking, because no any drug can get an approval. It is recommended that Merck Co. should accept Lab pharmaceutical offer for Davanrik. The expected value of Davanrik is around $14 millions. What is the expected value of the licensing arrangement to LAB? Assume a 5% royalty fee on any cash flows that Merck receives from Davanrik after a successful launch.   LAB would also receive a 5% royalty fee on any from future sales of Davanrik separate from the milestone payments and regardless of the costs associated with getting the drug to market. Expected value of the licensing arrangement to Lab: Phase I (100% chance of success): $5 million Phase II (60%): 2.5 million Phase III depression (10%): $20 million Phase III weight loss (15%): $10 million Phase III both (5%): $40 million Depression Success (85%): $1.2 billion * 0.05 Weight Loss Success (75%): $345 million * 0.05 Depression Success [Lower path] (15%): $1.2 billion * 0.05 Weight Loss Success [Lower path] (5%): $345 million * 0.05 Both Success (70%): $2.25 million * 0.05 How would your analysis change if the costs of launching Davanrik for weight loss were $225 million instead of $100 million as given in the case?   Analysis is depending on the success probabilities and failure risks. At phase III, there is only 5% chance of success on weight loss. BY using decision tools the values will be calculating again. What other issues should Merck consider in taking this decision?   Merck Co. should consider the cost of marketing, administration and overall sensitivity of each testing phase. The royalty, cost and overall failure risk is also vital factors to be considered for the decision. Merck should also consider that their drugs patents are going to expire and their many other drugs are not approved by the FDA. How has Merck been able to achieve substantial returns on capital given the large costs and lengthy time to develop a drug?   Merck Co. is a big and economically stable company which can afford large costs and lengthy time to develop a drug. In other hand Lab pharmaceutical is a small company which is not very flexible to handle such type of task. Research and Development is the strength of Merck. Once the drug approve, Merck can produce it for long time period. Appendix A Source: Mercks Annual Report 2000 Appendix B Source: Unknown

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"If you owe your bank a hundred pounds, you have a problem; but if you owe it a million, it has.(1)† In the year of 1327, Kind Edward III of England defaulted on his Italian debts. This caused the banks of Bardi and Peruzzi in Florence to collapse. Who would know that over 650 years later, the world would still have these types of problems? After World War II, the need for an organization like the IMF was finally realized. After the war, politicians and economists began to work on blue prints for a postwar world. They envisioned a liberal international economic order, based on stable world currencies and revived world trade. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) finally came into existence on December 27, 1945. On this date, twenty-nine countries signed its charter when meeting at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. On March 1, 1947 the IMF came into financial operations. The IMF was established to promote internal monetary cooperation through a permanent institution, which provides the machinery for consultation and collaboration on international monetary problems. Also, it provides temporary financial assistance to countries under adequate safeguards to help ease balance of payments adjustments. In addition, it facilitates the expansion and balanced growth of internal trade. Many critics and even followers of the IMF do not even know what the IMF really is. It is not a development or even a central bank. It is a credit union. It pays interests on deposits it receives from member nations. The IMF lends money to members having trouble meeting financial obligations to other members, but only the condition that they undertake economics reforms to eliminate these difficulties for their own good and that of the entire membership. Some people believe that if the IMF tells a country to do something, they must do it. This statement is false. The IMF has no authority over the domestic economic policies of its members. The IMF is a cooperative institution that 182 countries voluntarily joined because they see the advantage of consulting with one another to maintain a stable system of buying and selling their currencies. All 182 members of the IMF contribute to a pool of funds that the agency then taps to aid troubled countries. The IMF currently has around 200 billion dollars. The U.S., Germany, Japan, Britain, France, and Saudi Arabia make up over 35 percent of thi... ... sums of money that could be spent on education to debt repayment. Structural adjustment makes the problem worse, as the IMF demand government spending cuts and privatization measures in education. What money remains for education goes to primary schools, with education beyond elementary levels shifting to a fee-for-service basis. In Mexico, the Bank advised the government to abolish constitutionally guaranteed free education at the national university, provoking a lengthy student strike. The rich get an education. The poor get sweatshop jobs. So, what do I think? Well, the IMF is a good program. It has worked in the past and it will continue to work in the future. It has proven that is has the necessary elements to be a successful worldwide organization. However, small adjustments do need to be made, as no organization is perfect. The IMF regularly talks about how it is doing things for the future, and not the present. I feel that the IMF should start fixing some of the current problems. This will give those countries confidence in the fund. They’ll feel that they can trust the IMF. In conclusion, the IMF is an organization that can help the world, just with small adjustments.

American Execptionlism on Country Music Essays -- US culture, histor

American Exceptionlism is basically the idea that we are different then other countries in the world. Which I believe is false because the U.S has these rules but there not really writing down rules there just like norms that American should have. There are certain attributes that a American should have there are things you should know as a American. Now what am I talking about it could be many things such as knowing who the president is in the big chair in D.C or having a huge truck that can drive up heels. Having the U.S flag out on Memorial Day. So many things can be things that make American. What I want to solely focus on is the idea that country music is what it is to be an American and accepted in the U.S. Now I know for myself I am not a big country music fan. I know the normal country music singers such as Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Rascal Flats and etc. Country music I believe is what makes an America America. Now back in the 19 century days being an American was being white and having property and being male. (Foner,) Now when you compare country music to that, most country singers are male and white. And to be a country singer it’s only right if you have large sums of land to own with a big house on it. It’s funny how these two ideas relate to each other in two different centuries. Being male and white can really get you ahead in society. Its idea that isn’t right but it’s the reality of our country. Country music sets the standards on what an American should be life. If you ever google country music the definition of it would say something like an American popular music in the south. (Definition) Key word in the definition AMERICAN and als o fiddles. Now all they had in the 1700’s was fiddles to play whe... ...c shouldn’t be seen as what America is like cause it’s not. The U.S is supposed to be the great American melting pot with diverse people and music and jobs and lives and homes and lifestyles. But no one is expressing this cause being different isn’t welcome and that it might be suspicious to other people because you are not doing what they’re doing. References Yahoo. (December 6, 2006). Country Music and Hip Hop: They're Not so Different After All. Retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/country-music-hip-hop-they-re-not-so-different- 127930.html?cat=33 D. (November 28, 2013). American Exceptionlism will fail the republic will fail and black men will succeed. Retrieved from http://hiphopandpolitics.com/2013/11/28/today-american- exceptionalism-will-fail-black-men-will-succeed/ Dictionary. Country music. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/country+music

Principles of Heat Treating of Steels :: essays papers

Principles of Heat Treating of Steels Principles of Heat Treating of Steels A steel is usually defined as an alloy of iron and carbon with the content between a few hundreds of a percent up to about 2 wt%. Other alloying elements can amount in total to about 5 wt% in low-alloy steels and higher in more highly alloyed steels such as tool steels and stainless steels. Steels can exhibit a wide variety of properties depending on composition as well as the phases and microconstituents present, which in turn depend on the heat treatment. The Fe-C Phase Diagram The basis for the understanding of the heat treatment of steels is the Fe-C phase diagram. Because it is well explained in earlier volumes of Metals Handbook and in many elementary textbooks, the stable iron-graphite diagram and the metastable Fe-Fe3 C diagram. The stable condition usually takes a very long time to develop, especially in the low-temperature and low-carbon range, and therefore the metastable diagram is of more interest. The Fe-C diagram shows which phases are to be expected at equilibrium for different combinations of carbon concentration and temperature. We distinguish at the low-carbon and ferrite, which can at most dissolve 0.028 wt% C at 727 oC and austenite which can dissolve 2.11 wt% C at 1148 oC. At the carbon-rich side we find cementite. Of less interest, except for highly alloyed steels, is the d-ferrite existing at the highest temperatures. Between the single-phase fields are found regions with mixtures of two phases, such as ferrite + cementite, austenite + cementite, and ferrite + austenite. At the highest temperatures, the liquid phase field can be found and below this are the two phase fields liquid + austenite, liquid + cementite, and liquid + d-ferrite. In heat treating of steels the liquid phase is always avoided. Some important boundaries at single-phase fields have been given special names. These include: the carbon content at which the minimum austenite temperature is attained is called the eutectoid carbon content. The ferrite-cementite phase mixture of this composition formed during cooling has a characteristic appearance and is called pearlite and can be treated as a microstructural entity or microconstituent. It is an aggregate of alternating ferrite and cementite particles dispersed with a ferrite matrix after extended holding close to A1. The Fe-C diagram is of experimental origin. The knowledge of the thermodynamic principles and modern thermodynamic data now permits very accurate calculations of this diagram.

What is love?

As each one of us may come to agree, love is just a simple four-letter word, yet it can have different meanings as much as it can be perceived in different ways. For some people, love is a simple expression of affection, while others may find it as a deep and genuine term that encompasses their feelings and emotions towards their loved ones. Moreover, as common knowledge, love is somewhat an entity that is felt by most, if not all, people through their parents, spouses, children, friends, and the so-called â€Å"divine love† from God. Nevertheless, while some people are certain that they know and feel the essence of love, others are still puzzled and are still not able to discern the exact meaning of love in their lives. Hence, this paper aims to have a substantial presentation of established facts and definitions pertaining to love, based on relevant and reputable references. LOVE†¦ LOVE†¦ LOVE†¦ What really is love? Let us try to look at Webster’s definition of love. According to Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, love is: strong affection for another [person] that rise out of kinship and personal ties; an attraction based on sexual desire, a concern for another individual and an affection; tenderness felt by lovers; a warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion for a person or object; a fatherly concern of God to humankind; a person’s adoration of God. (â€Å"love†) Based on the above definition, love is fairly defined as an expression, a behavior that is communicated b y one person to other people as a result of feelings and emotions that sprouted from relationships and ties. Also, love is a substantiation of faith and adoration of God, in response to how the supernatural being had shown His divine concern to humanity through His love. On the other hand, love can also be associated with sexual desires which must have originated from the attraction between lovers. Thus, the Merriam-Webster’s definition clearly depicts love as actions (expression and behavior) that are carried out by individuals as social beings and as creations of God. Perhaps, the most reliable and the most genuine definition of love can be found inside the bible, specifically the 13th chapter in the book of 1st Corinthians, which is widely known as the â€Å"love chapter†. And, the most significant parts of it are quoted as follows: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, [and] it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, [and] always perseveres. Love never fails†¦ †¦And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. (New International Version, 1 Cor. 13. 4-8, 13) Indeed, the bible’s definition of love categorically elaborates the distinct and laudable characteristics of genuine or true love, thereby highlighting the selflessness, trustworthiness, and genuineness of love. Consequently, tr ue to its purpose, this paper was able to exemplify the meaning of love through utilization of the most reliable literatures. For this reason, we can now therefore discern what love is†¦ Works Cited â€Å"love.† Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009. Merriam-Webster Online. 21 April 2009 New International Version of The Holy Bible. Colorado Springs: International Bible Society, 1984. What is love? Love is defined in one Raymond Carver's famous short story entitled â€Å"Beginners†. Published in 1981 it is considered a s a timeless and influential piece of modern literature as it gives love a different kind of meaning. It is a collection of short stories of people falling in love, currently in love and wanted to go out of love. The masterpiece is written in such a way that readers will think as to what extent love can make or break lives and how to deal with this four letter word that makes the world go round. The book tackles different scenarios of love presented through series of stories which produces linkage to the meaning of the word love in the end. Though the plot revolves on a casual drinking conversation of two couples, it really does make sense in giving love different meanings. Love was illustrated in the short story in many profound ways. Characters presented in the story are different in terms of profession and personal background but they are all speaking about one thing, love. Men are from Venus and girls are from Mars as it may seem when readers try to digest the concept of Carver's story as a whole. He gives various instances that women are desperately being submissive to men to the extent that they are being hurt and abuse just to prove how they love their partners. I say this in the case of Carl who overly abused his partner. Terri on the other hand does not mind being victimized by love. Love can kill in the case of Carl who kept on beating his partner because this is his way of showing love. Terri on the other hand is blinded by emotion that is why she let her partner hurt her thinking that it is always about love. She is so selfless to the point that part of her being anorexic is caused by too much beating to her by Carl. Herb McGinnis on the other hand is a cardiologist that can cure the heart both literally and figuratively. He is described in the book as someone that can mend even the deepest wound caused by Carl in Terri's life. He has his own share of sentiment about love as he continuously supports his first wife and kids. His paternal love is described by Carver in the story as an undying devotion to give even his last single penny for the sake of love and support to raise his children. Dumb as it may seem since Herb is not only givinf support to his children financially but also to his first wife's lover as well. He cannot refuse doing it because the woman might deprive him from seeing their children. But the love story of Laura and the narrator himself tells another aspect of love on the other hand. Since they are just newly weds and are on the early part of their relationship, the perks and joys of feeling love is still at its best. But they kept on showing persistence in proving how they value each other everyday. In order to cultivate love to the younger couple, Herb narrated the story of the elderly couple who were both injured due to a car accident. The love story of the two elderly made the Beginners a story of love well defined. Love can be selfless or selfish, giving and forgiving, healing and forgetting. These are few of the underlying tones of the short story if we will dissect the whole concept of Beginners by Raymond Carver. It is indeed a story that is made for readers to value the meaning and live the feeling of love. What is love? Love is defined in one Raymond Carver's famous short story entitled â€Å"Beginners†. Published in 1981 it is considered a s a timeless and influential piece of modern literature as it gives love a different kind of meaning. It is a collection of short stories of people falling in love, currently in love and wanted to go out of love. The masterpiece is written in such a way that readers will think as to what extent love can make or break lives and how to deal with this four letter word that makes the world go round. The book tackles different scenarios of love presented through series of stories which produces linkage to the meaning of the word love in the end. Though the plot revolves on a casual drinking conversation of two couples, it really does make sense in giving love different meanings. Love was illustrated in the short story in many profound ways. Characters presented in the story are different in terms of profession and personal background but they are all speaking about one thing, love. Men are from Venus and girls are from Mars as it may seem when readers try to digest the concept of Carver's story as a whole. He gives various instances that women are desperately being submissive to men to the extent that they are being hurt and abuse just to prove how they love their partners. I say this in the case of Carl who overly abused his partner. Terri on the other hand does not mind being victimized by love. Love can kill in the case of Carl who kept on beating his partner because this is his way of showing love. Terri on the other hand is blinded by emotion that is why she let her partner hurt her thinking that it is always about love. She is so selfless to the point that part of her being anorexic is caused by too much beating to her by Carl. Herb McGinnis on the other hand is a cardiologist that can cure the heart both literally and figuratively. He is described in the book as someone that can mend even the deepest wound caused by Carl in Terri's life. He has his own share of sentiment about love as he continuously supports his first wife and kids. His paternal love is described by Carver in the story as an undying devotion to give even his last single penny for the sake of love and support to raise his children. Dumb as it may seem since Herb is not only givinf support to his children financially but also to his first wife's lover as well. He cannot refuse doing it because the woman might deprive him from seeing their children. But the love story of Laura and the narrator himself tells another aspect of love on the other hand. Since they are just newly weds and are on the early part of their relationship, the perks and joys of feeling love is still at its best. But they kept on showing persistence in proving how they value each other everyday. In order to cultivate love to the younger couple, Herb narrated the story of the elderly couple who were both injured due to a car accident. The love story of the two elderly made the Beginners a story of love well defined. Love can be selfless or selfish, giving and forgiving, healing and forgetting. These are few of the underlying tones of the short story if we will dissect the whole concept of Beginners by Raymond Carver. It is indeed a story that is made for readers to value the meaning and live the feeling of love.

Aerial War Strategies Essay

There are two things that we first have to clarify and establish before we dig into the different warfare doctrines of the four subjects. First Mahan and Corbett were dominant personalities in the field of naval warfare whose doctrines diverge in some while contradict in most areas. Secondly we need make it clear that Douhet and Mitchell were theorists of aerial warfare strategies whose doctrines, like Mahan and Corbett have been largely recognized by experts in their respective fields. In this paper we will be evaluating their basic doctrines and theories and then would compare and contrasts those ideas in order for us to come up with a well-established, unbiased conclusion of who among them were considered original thinkers. This method would also allow us to have the necessary evaluation of their doctrines which may support our conclusion on who had presented their cases in the most objective manner. In order to do this, we have to evaluate how the authors Jablonsky and Paret presented their cases and then out of these would draw the conclusion on whose case have been presented objectively. Jablonsky sees several similarities as well as disagreements in the theories of Mahan and Corbett in terms of naval war tactics. According to Jablonsky, Mahan’s naval theory centers on the political-economic argument for sea power1. On the other hand, he summarizes the idea of Corbett by stating that he had linked naval military tactics with that of diplomacy and economic elements of strategy. For Jablonsky, Mahan’s scope of presenting his case is far narrower in comparison with that of Corbett’s. Based on Mahan’s The Influence of Sea Power upon History (1660-1783), which was written in 1890, the author concentrated on defending his case on the national naval forces on which a sound decision of battlefield strategies should be based on. Mahan contends that victory is all about sinking the other fleet. In order to do this, decision-makers has to understand, Mahan stressed, that diplomacy has to be an integral part of the naval operations. His presentation of his theories was primarily based on the British history of fighting their trade battles, of which Britain was considered of great strength in sea power during the eighteenth and nineteenth century. His argument was that, British adversaries failed in their own battles because they failed to appreciate the necessity of sea power2. Mahan’s presentation of his argument is therefore historical which means that he made his case by presenting historical facts and have such events analyzed according to his propositions. His book was not only a history of the naval battles which had taken place in the period; it also drew lessons on why the victor was successful, based on the overall strategy of the governments involved. According to Paret, Mahan was well-established as an evangelist of sea power3. The integration of commerce in Mahan’s theory comes in aspect of assessing that targeting the enemy’s fleet by one’s fleet is one sure way of protecting a nation’s commercial advantage4. But here, we can draw some other ideas that may have been implied in Mahan’s theory. For example, gaining naval advantage over the enemy is not just for the sole purpose of protecting the naval commercial economy of the nation. Taken in a different perspective, naval strategies and commerce indeed come hand in hand in order that both may survive and eventually gain their edge over the enemies. To make it clear, it is in naval commercial activities (naval trade) that a nation gets much money to sustain its economy. Trade activities take place through the sea and therefore it is largely important that a country should be able to protect its sea territories. On the other hand, it is in a nation’s economic stand that would define the quality and quantity of military resources that it would provide for its naval protection. It is undeniably clear that naval technologies should be kept updated along with the strategies involved in order to win a battle. Mahan’s thesis was that commerce was fundamental to maritime power, and that the best way to threaten and/or defend it was to engage the enemy’s most powerful forces in decisive battle. He also maintains that the control of maritime commerce through command of the sea was the fundamental function of the navies. Jablonsky could be right in claiming that Corbett’s scope of sea power is broader with that of Mahan. This is primarily because Corbett focused not on great naval battles but on the use of sea power in a larger context. The context of his theory centers on strategy suited to a maritime power using amphibious warfare that is directed towards the enemies’ delicate peripheries4. Corbett largely presented this strategy in his book England in the Seven Year’s War. Like Mahan, Corbett presented his case using historical battle events and this time he used England’s. Although both are advocates of gaining sea power to gain victory, Corbett’s strategy was more of a defensive style rather than offensive as advocated by Mahan. Another notable difference with that of Mahan is that Corbett recognizes the limitations of naval power and so his argument was that there should be a well-coordinated land and naval strategies, rather than independent naval action, in order to gain the edge over the enemies. His concept of naval war strategies was later known as limited war theory which assessed that there exists a dynamic relationship between offense and defense at sea. Corbett in Britain’s traditional way of war adapted this concept. Like Mahan, Corbett believes that commerce was the primary driving force of the Anglo-Spanish war although there was also recognition of other factors such as religious and political matters. He explained that it was primarily the desire of the British for market expansion that King Philip II could not ignore in resolving problems in his territories (now Belgium and Holland). Because of the trade expansion, Spain’s income derived from America was severely affected and which then ignited the war. Corbett could then be right by concluding that commerce was the main reason why Spain went into war with England. In Corbett’s analysis, the war was initially provoked by the decree issued by the Spanish government which prevented American colonies to trade with English ships. Based on this event, Corbett got its point taken: Britain’s Maritime Strategy was based on commerce. This was shown in his complete discussion of the step by step actions taken by both warring parties and Corbett stressed that Spain indeed wanted to control England for the purpose of using the English Navy. In fact, Spain even came to the point of arranging the marriage of King Charles V’s son Philip with England’s Mary Tudor. Although religious factors, as mentioned earlier were part of the igniters of the Anglo-Spanish war, it was England’s increase in commercial shipping that strengthened their Maritime Power against Spain. In his book Drake’s Successors, Corbett stressed that the maritime strategy of England evolved from initially of commercial purposes to an accepted, well-established national method of England’s display of power. Jablonsky said that this particular book had clearly established Corbett as an independent maritime thinker and demonstrated through historical study, the limitations of maritime power. In this book, Corbett concluded that military and maritime strategies were interconnected. Since England’s tradition was a government-controlled navy, Corbett views its maritime strategy as a combination of the political with the military and required great insight. It is this aspect of Corbett’s theory that reveals his resemblance with the idea of Clausewitz. Finally in his book entitled England and the Seven Years War, Corbett confirmed his argument that although sea battles are the goal of a fleet, these battles must be sought and obtained by the fleet’s â€Å"interference with the enemy’s military and diplomatic arrangements. † Corbett cited France’ establishment of strong sea communications that is well-placed in the Straits and its Mediterranean Frontier and that without it, everything would be useless as defense strategies. While Mahan and Corbett seem to have succeeded in defending their claim of winning the war by strengthening a nation’s sea power, Guilio Douhet and Billy Mitchell have their completely different stand for advocating air power. Guiio Douhet was an Italian military officer who was known to have taken an active part in the Libyan campaign in Tripoli in 1911 to 1912. Douhet was famous for ardently supporting strategic bombing concept and the military superiority of air power over other forms of warfare. His name was also aired during WWI for organizing Italy’s bombing campaign. Douhet’s ideas however were not immediately accepted by his own country. In fact, he was even jailed after a court martial for having been an open critic of the aerial weakness of his nation. It was until the Italians were defeated by the Australian Air Force at Capoetto that Italian Air Force was able to confirm that Douhet was right. According to Douhet, command of air should be the first objective during war and having achieved it, subsequent bombing of industrialized and population centers would be so disruptive and destructive that the enemy would be forced to sue for peace. Using this argument, one may even see Douhet as a man who does not aim to win the war in the name of peace but of complete destruction of the enemy. Unlike Corbett, Douhet maintains that control of the air followed by strategic bombing could win a war independent of land and sea power. Having stated his case well enough, Douhet was regarded as the father of air power. After having been recalled and promoted to Brigadier General’s rank in 1921, Douhet was appointed by Benito Mussolini as the head of the aviation program of his country in 1922. It was also in 1921 that his book entitled Command of the Air was first published. His strategies was also proven to be effective not only by Italian Air Force but also served as basis for the development of aerial strategies of other countries like Britain and the United States. It was this influence and recognition that gave way to the birth of another air power advocate, the American Billy Mitchell. Mitchell was not however an early advocate of air power because he was originally enlisted and assigned in the Army General Staff after gaining outstanding war records during Philippines and Alaska tours. He even went through private flying lessons in 1916 before he was sent to France as part of the American contingent. Even then, Mitchell’s interest in air force strategies led him to be the top US airman at the end of the WWI. Like Douhet, Mitchell did not make it through full recognition of his theories that easy. Like Douhet, he was an open critic of the war and navy departments of his country especially on the grounds that the people concerned do not see the possibility of winning the war by mere dependence on air power. Also like Douhet, Mitchell later proved his critics wrong and his theories undoubtedly efficient. Unlike Mahan and Corbett, Mitchell argued that the best way to defend the US coasts from warship attacks is to strengthen its air power. The critics were doubtful of the possibility that an aircraft can sink one battleship. To prove his case, Mitchell agreed to have his theories be evaluated through a live test. Around June or July of 1921, live tests were conducted using Mitchell’s theories and this event successfully allowed air bombers to sink three captured German vessels including a USS Alabama during the first trial. On the next trial, they were able to sink another two obsolete US vessels. Despite these trial successes, Mitchell’s critics were not completely convinced and so he forced to make his stand be known to the public. For that reason, he was tried in the court martial, found guilty for the violation of the 96th articles of war in December 1925 and was suspended for five years. Mitchell however decided to resign in 1926. The Pearl Harbor bombing was probably the most prominent event that confirmed the accuracy of Mitchell’s theories. Like the prophet Muhammad who foretold the Middle East war crisis, Mitchell had his own prophecy of the Pacific War as early as 1924. Through a formal report submitted after a trip in Japan, Mitchell estimated that Japan would attack by air and sea on Pearl Harbor from Hawaii at 7:30am of December 7. Mitchell added that there would be an accompanying aerial attack on the Philippines by 10:40am on the same day. The horrifying actual scenario was that the Pearl Harbor attack happened at 7:55am (Hawaii), which Mitchell was only off by 25minutes. The actual attack in the Philippines occurred on 12:45pm and Mitchell slightly miscalculated by only two hours. It was too late to commend Mitchell for the possible counter attack by the US military forces should they considered Mitchell’s. Should the Pearl Harbor have been prevented, the United States would not have desperately considered nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki just to pacify Japan. Should Mitchell’s theories have been at least studied from the time it was submitted, it should have saved millions of Japanese lives and should delayed the birth of nuclear power for war purposes. Although Paret and Jablonsky considered Douhet as an original thinker in comparison with Mitchell, it was in the latter’s time that such aerial strategies have been delicately needed. Like Douhet, Mitchell insists that the potency of air power in any future conflict and that air power would be the most decisive element in any future conflict. Unlike any other war strategy advocates, Mitchell believed that strategic bombing could on its own defeat the enemy5. Mitchell as I personally see it was not in anyway a prophet for foretelling the details of the Pearl Harbor attack. His prophecy could not be merely based on a rough guessing of events that is going to take place because the actual report he submitted to the authorities was about two decades early and even the most intelligent person in the world cannot make such a wild guess. Mitchell got it almost one hundred percent accurate because he has his sound basis for studying the possibilities and he probably have gathered and analyzed enough data for him to come up with his report. His edge with other intelligent personalities in the field of warfare is that Mitchell had his mind wide open to war possibilities and that open mind enabled him to grab the opportunity to take the pieces of the puzzle together. The problem with his critics was that they seem to have taken things personally against Mitchell and so they were not able to comprehend the truth behind his theories and the wide possibilities of its efficient application to American aerial war strategies. It was just being sad that once in the histories of Italian and American nations, it took Douhet and Mitchell to be jailed first before they have proven their cases right. Put in another way, Italy and America caused millions of lives and vast amount of properties to be destroyed first before they were able to accept that they have to accept their weaknesses in their warfare strategies and be able to finally realize that they have people in their own nations that can save their future. Upon evaluation of Jablonsky and Paret’s presentation and critical review of the theories of the four authors, this paper argues that Paret have been more objective than Jablonsky in the sense that Paret’s was more of presenting their ideas. His presentation was backed up with seem to be more factual personal backgrounds of the theories especially their experiences that would relate and somehow gave the theorists the capacity to make their own arguments. Although Jablonsky have also presented the theorists’ ideas by basing on the books written by them, this paper sees that Jablonsky’s method of comparison have drawn some fine lines of advocating one over the others.

Comparing and Contrasting Two Characters Essay

There are different types of characters. Some are protagonists, and some are antagonists. Two antagonists, General Zaroff from â€Å"The Most Dangerous Game† and the king from, â€Å"The Lady or the Tiger?†, can both be compared.These two characters are similar yet different in their nature, or personality, actions, and attitudes. These characters are both similar and different at the same time. Zaroff and the king are similar in many ways. They are both fair people. Zaroff and the king are both straight forward with people. They are both smart by the way they plan things. These two characters are both similar in more than a few ways. These two characters have a few differences despite the many simmularities. For one, Zaroff chooses to hunt people if they don’t join him, while the king doesn’t let criminals choose to be free or not. The king lets criminals pick their own fate, but Zaroff will still kill the people even if they join him. Zaroff is relaced while the king is strict. There are a couple distinct differences between these two characters. I prefer Zaroff rather than the king. One reason is that Zaroff is more relaxed. Zaroff also thinks ahead of other people. Overall, Zaroff is a keen antagonist. These are the reasons why I rather him than the king. The king anf Zaroff are both antagonists that are similar yet different. In my opinion Zaroff is more laid back than the king. The king in my opinion is more fair. These two characters are both kind by letting people choose their fate. These people are not only similar but are also different.

Of Mice and Men and Oliver Twist Essay

Of mice and men written by John Steinbeck is set in 1930 during the economic depression caused by the stock market crash of 1929. Unlike Oliver Twist, Of mice and men is set in USA, near the Salinas River, in the hot and beautiful state of California. On the other hand, Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist is set in the powerful and the majestic city of London, over-ruled with darkness and murky pollution brought about by what was the industrial revolution in 1870, when the novel was set. The Industrial revolution really puts the whole evil and darkness of London into a shadow which adds to the sinister acts that unveil themselves as the novel progresses. The two main characters of of mice and men are two migrant agricultural labourers, George Milton and Lennie Smalls. George, ‘Small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features. Every part of him †¦ defined : small, strong hands, slender arms and a thin bony face.’ The second part of an unlikely relationship between these two friends is Lennie, who is a ‘large man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders.’ George is Lennies’ guardian, because of his ‘mental immaturity’ he is totally reliant on Georges leadership and commanding power, over of which he follows. In my opinion, without George, Lennie would either be dead or locked up in jail, as a result of him doing stupid acts. It is ironic that Lennies’ surname is Small, because of his huge size, ‘Bear’ like as the author describes. In the time of which of mice and men is set, there is lots of tension. Social classes, women, people who suffer from racism all suffer at the same expense during this period. Crooks is the only black man In this novel, and it is through him that we can see the position of blacks in America. Crooks, is crippled because he got kicked by a horse, he has his own little room, away from the rest of the ‘hands’. The other hands openly refer to Crooks as ‘Nigger’, this example directly amplifies the life and times of the Black Americans at this time. Women are also represented through Curleys’ wife. Curleys’ wife is one quarter of an unhappy marriage. The other three quarters of the marriage is Curley, the bosses sun, who has full power of his wife and tells her what to do constantly. Steinbeck deliberately doesn’t give Curleys’ wife a name, this representing the insignificance and illustrates ownership over women at this time. Curleys’ Wife doesn’t really love Curley, and didn’t really marry him because of love. She married him to prove a point to her mother, who destroyed the relationship she did have with the one she did love. She admitted, that marrying him was a Way Out. Curley’s wife is an ambitious, flirtatious, good looking, young women, who the ranch hands try to ignore and avoid. She is trapped in loneliness, in Curleys’ wrath, she is where she isn’t loved, and her only alternative is to make the most out of what she has got. ‘Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody? Whatta they think I am, anyways? You’re a nice guy. I don’t know why I can’t talk to you – I ain’t doin’ no harm to you.’ Previous to the murder, in the barn. There, in my opinion, is a hierarchy at the ranch, and at the bottom lies Curleys’ wife and Crooks, two characters treated insignificantly and are discriminated due to their social classes, a women and a black. In California, the setting for this novel, the atmosphere and the surroundings is very harsh and tough for the workers. The attitude and behaviour of the workers in the novel reflect this well. For the workers, there was no cash benefit for the workers, so If they lose their job then they have to do without and mainly starve. The law, I learned is enforced well, but strangely enough, without any force as we never see any police during the novel. California is described extremely well, it is very interestingly described too, this appeals to the reader and gives the novel a very bright and happy start. The first few pages focus on the setting and commentate on all the happenings that go on, this builds a sense of reality. Steinbeck was born and raised in California, near Salinas, so he had an advantage when attempting to describe it as he can relate to it very well. Oliver Twist is almost exactly the opposite in comparison. It is a very dark novel. London at this time set the scene for the monstrosities that happened and the events that took place. You could almost guess what was to expect when reading the first few pages of Oliver Twist, but to do the same with Of mice and men would be completely different. Of Mice and Men starts on a high, very bright and colourful, but it changes contrasts and horrible happenings crowd the last few chapters of the novel. The two main characters in Oliver Twist are Oliver and Fagin. Oliver is a young orphan, brought into the then cruel world by an unknown mother. Fagin, is an ‘Un-human’ man, whose features are aged and ugly. He is a ring leader of a gang of thieves that rob the city of London of valuable possessions, such as money, watches and gold. The Artful Dodger is Fagins’ keen apprentice, willing to learn, who knows all the tricks of the trade, a master of theft and scams. Bill Sikes, Fagins’ second man, is a ruthless cut throat man, whose large size and aggressive attributes add to the murder later on in the novel. The two murderers, Lennie and Sikes have many similarities. Firstly Sikes and Lennie are two large and intimidating men, who’s leader is considerably smaller than them. Secondly, they both receive orders and are followers to their two leaders. Although Sikes doesn’t receive commands off Fagin to an extent where he cannot survive without him, like Lennie, one part of the story he does. This is the main event that leads up to the murder of Nancy. In the early hours of the morning, when all the human and civilised world is asleep, London is awake. Fagin is awake in his chair. Waiting. Sikes enters with the loot that he has stolen from peoples houses. Fagin starts to talk about Nancy, Sikes’ girlfriend. He goes on and explains that Nancy could be a leak and could tell on them to the police. Fagin, knowing that Sikes has the mordacity and the capability of murder, begins to perform reverse psychology. He knows that if he pulls the right strings that Sikes could do anything for him. Sikes quite easily falls into Fagins’ mastermind trap, as if he had been brainwashed or hypnotised, he is now going to commit Fagins’ murder for him. Sikes goes to where Nancy is sleeping and severely shouts and screams at her. This traumatises her, to the extent where she doesn’t know what is going on. This makes Nancy vulnerable, and this is where Sikes commits his brutal and sick attack on her. We can tell, just by reading these several lines of the story, the evil and cunningness of Sikes. He continuously beats Nancy to death with a wooden stick. Leaning up top the murder of Curleys’ wife, which was by far not as hellacious and as horrific as this, Lennie was minding his own business and was in the barn, calmly stroking one of Slims pups. Not knowing his own strength Lennie accidentally killed the pup. Lennie began to become sad and at the same time, angry. He repeatedly thought about George not letting him tend the rabbits, at the home of which the whole is dream is based around. â€Å"An’ he’ll say : â€Å"Now just for that you ain’t gunna tend no rabbits.† Lennie put the pup in the straw, and began to talk to himself, moaning the death of the pup. Curleys wife enters and begins to flirt with Lennie, who confesses to her liking for stroking nice things. She invites him to stroke her long soft hair, but as the stroking becomes harder, she panics; the harder he strokes the more she panics and then Lennie accidentally breaks her neck. He half-buries the body in the hay and runs off to the brush. As you can tell, both the two murders are of a totally different nature. In of mice and men, the murder was unexpected, and didn’t really fit into the surrounding story, On the other hand, In Oliver Twist, a murder was almost inevitable. Sikes’ was a premeditated murder, as he had thought it out and planned the whereabouts etc. Lennies was out of the blue, an accident neither him or anyone else could of prevented. The setting of the two murders, also are totally different. The murder of Curleys wife was in the barn, in the sunny and hot state of California. The murder of Nancy was in the grimy claustrophobic city of London. The descriptions in the stories of the murders, are again totally opposite. In Oliver Twist, Dickens almost runs a post-mortem on the body, and describes Sikes’ moves in detail after the murderer. In of mice and men, however, Steinbeck runs a bleak vague synopsis on the happenings.

Bill Clinton Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bill Clinton - Essay Example Clinton woke himself up on Sunday mornings, wore his best clothes then walked to Park Place Baptist Church, which was half a mile away from his home to attend services alone. Gospel music performed by the church choir was among the important influencing factors to Clinton’s love for the church, which also inspired him to start playing the jazz saxophone. By the time Clinton was through with his high school education, he had developed his skills in playing jazz saxophone where many recognized him as the best saxophonist in the city (Finkelman and Wallenstein 80). Clinton went to Hot Springs High School, which was a segregated high school for the whites where he became a stellar student in addition to being an integral member of the school’s jazz band. Clinton went to the Arkansas Boys State in 1963 and was successfully elected the Arkansas representative to the American Legion's Boys Nation. Each representative had a chance to meet the USA president which gave him an opp ortunity through an invitation to meet the then President John F. Kennedy. As a result of the photo shoot the young Bill Clinton had shaking hands with President Kennedy; the photograph has since become an iconic image signifying a passing of the leadership baton between generations of modern Democratic leadership (Benson 11). His political nature having taken roots in his high school years, Clinton instantly entered university politics at the Georgetown University being elected president of his freshman and sophomore classes but later lost the election for student body president in his junior year. Clinton then shifted his focus from campus politics to his work as a clerk for the Foreign Relations Committee, which at the time was under Senator Fulbright (Benson 19). Clinton’s immediate availability to take the Rhodes scholarship to attend Oxford University he had won while at Georgetown University became uncertain shortly after his arrival in Oxford as he was required back t o Arkansas when he received a draft notice. To ensure he attends Oxford, Clinton enrolled in the ROTC program at the University of Arkansas Law School to avoid military service, but did not attend law school that fall, as he returned to Oxford to take up his scholarship (Benson 27). It was while attending the Yale Law School after seeing out his Rhodes scholarship, that Clinton met Hillary Rodham, a bright young woman whose political objectives were in harmony with those of Clinton (Finkelman and Wallenstein 80). The Clintons moved to Arkansas after their graduation, where Bill took up a teaching position at the University of Arkansas but since his heart was in politics, he right away entered the world of politics. His first shot at an elective seat after graduating from Yale was in 1974 when he faced the Republican incumbent U.S. House of Representatives John Paul Hammer Schmidt in an election Clinton lost. Clinton lost the election in by a small margin to the surprise of many mark ing his stature as the fast rising political star of the Arkansas Democratic Party. Clinton was to feature again the election campaigns two years later this time getting elected the state attorney general a position he held until 1978 when he ran for the governor’s position defeating Republican Lynn Lowe to become one of the youngest governors in American history at 32 years of age (Gaines 16). Having secured his

Peer review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 15

Peer review - Essay Example In Psalm 106:3, God says, â€Å"Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right†. As a result, organizations have to ensure that they protect every employee from any violation of their human rights. In addition, the paper highlights the importance of training in fighting the vice. Educating employees about the problem is an effective approach in minimizing its occurrence (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). However, the paper has failed to focus on the importance of punishing individuals who perpetrate such actions at the workplace. Any person who harasses a colleague or a junior employee should face serious consequences. Besides losing their job, there should be further punitive measures taken. The practice would discourage employees from engaging in the practice. As a result, it will protect the image of the organization. In the event that the perpetrator of the practice is a supervisor, the organization may be viewed negatively (Abbott, Elkins, Phillips & Madera, 2014). The victim may feel that it provides an enabling environment for such activities. The organization can encourage such activities by tolerating people who disregard such policies (Buchanan, Settles, Hall, & O’Conner, 2014, p. 689). Abbott, J. L., Elkins, T. J., Phillips, J. S., & Madera, J. M. (2014). Attributing corporate responsibility for sexual harassment: The supervisory connection. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 55(4), 376-387. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965513511145 Buchanan, N. T., Settles, I. H., Hall, A. T., & O’Conner, R. C. (2014). A review of organizational strategies for reducing sexual harassment: Insights from the U.S. military. Journal of Social Issues, 70(4), 687-702.

Digital Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Digital Economic - Essay Example competition is a factor that is brought about by the fact that there are many sellers, who in turn make the firms that are available to be price takers. It also includes the sale of homogenous products. Because of this, as is the case that is presented by Thomson, there are chances of both easy entry and exit. However, it is involved with the perfect knowledge about the product, as well as adequate information about their pricing. The speculations were raised because, with the explosive growth of the internet, it was thought that there would be the availability of perfect information on the prices and products at the fingertips of most of those involved. With this, the consumers would be better placed to get the best deals. Thus, it was perceived that it would be a brave world whereby the profit margins of retailers would be competed away and they would be forced to price at a cost. They thought that the internet would reshape the world of commerce by dominating most of the businesses in existence within the established trading environments. As such, it would in the long run attain a position of dominion within the global market. However, the current trends in internet retailing have revealed that this has not happened as the earlier commentators have realized that most of their speculations were rather overblown since the high street market has weathered the storm. This is mainly because the retailers who are taking part in the activities are not making their own custom cannibal; the marketplace is not being fully dominated by the virtual merchants and the fact that the high streets have not been completely put out of business. Thus, most of the predictions that were made at the dawn of the internet era have not come to reality. This is in spite of the fact that some of speculations have come to pass. They include the vital role that is currently being played by the electronic intermediaries, especially on the aspect of making one-on-one marketing become a