Essay about Kant, Hume or Aristotle Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

About Kant, Hume or Aristotle - Essay Example Hume’s opinion, what individuals strongly feel about as being good, right and moral is what actually defines what is right and what is wrong, as opposed to them feeling obliged to do something right without their will just because it is thought to be the right thing. If we analyze both these arguments in isolation, they are both valid to an extent. However, from the perspective of morality, Kant’s categorical imperatives formulate a stronger argument than Hume’s teachings. Starting from the basics, Kant’s critique of Hume’s theories has led him to label them as not really moral theories on the grounds that they do not give an individual a sense of direction as to what he actually is supposed (â€Å"ought†) to do under a particular situation. If we go a little deeper and start by understanding what a moral theory is supposed to do then we can either justify or nullify Kant’s criticism. Morality, in a very descriptive context refers to a set of rules put forward either by a society, religion or conferred upon an individual upon himself by himself. However, on the normative side, morality is a set of rules that is agreed upon by all individuals unanimously (Gert, 2011)1. Under this definition, we can vividly see that Kant’s criticism is in perfect synchronization with his arguments against Hume’s teachings since the normative definition of morality, is more or less a variant of Kant’s categorical imperativ es. If on the other hand, Kant would have based his argument on some grounds other than morality, then it might have been easier to refute his ideology. Kant stresses that human beings are given the status of God’s most supreme creations for their ability to reason. It is this ability to reason which differentiates human beings from animals and other creations of God. A man tries to come to a conclusion after putting some thought into the process and weighing some pros and cons, that is the point of differentiation between a man and the rest of

The Sinking of the Aragon Essay Example for Free

The Sinking of the Aragon Essay With the outbreak of world one war the royal mail moved its home port to Newport, South Wales. However the Brittish government was in dire need of battle ships to strengthen their naval force. Many ships were converted from simply postal delivery vessels into war ready troop carrying ships. One of these ships was the Aragon The Aragon built in harland and wolf in Belfast was 9588 tons and could carry 306 first class 66 second class and 632 third class passengers. It was launched on the 23rd of Febuary 1905. The following information was gathered from an unsigned letter written by an officer of the Aragon to a Mr.  John William Hannay the father of a VAD on board the Aragon on her way to serve in palestine and Egypt. For two weeks the Aragon laid at anchor in the shelter of the harbour at Marseilles. Every day they would await sailing orders. At last they recieved orders and the ship, set sail. It set of in company with another transporter ship called the Nile and also with an escort of destroyers. On board there was 160 nursing sisters, 150 military officers, 2200 troops and the ships own officers and crew. In total there was 2700 poeople on board the Aragon. One of these men was my great grand uncle Thomas Cassin who was an Irish man and inlisted as a British solider. Along with the thousands of people on board ready to serve there was also 2500 bags of Christmas destined for Egypt. From Marseilles they set sail to Malta in safety. However There was some fierce weather and the sea became quite heavy. Many became sick. Miss Hannay the VAD nurse being sick for just one day. They arrived at the windy bay in Malta on the 23rd of December where they remained for four days until the 27th. They spent their Christmass holidays here in safety. On the fourth day they set out to sail again still in the company of the NIle and a fresh escort of destroyers. There were three destroyers in number, two of which were Japanese and the other British. They arrived near their destination, Alexandria Egypt, on the 30th of December in the morning. The port was just becoming visible to the naked eye on the horizion. Everyone was very excited to reach shore and every vantage point on the boat was filled with eager passengers looking on ward at the port. Many had packed their luggage and were already attired for disembarkation. It was heard that many were congradulating themselves on a safe voyage. The Aragon with the British destroyer Attack was entering the channel that leads to the port. They were already past the first buoy which indicated entrance into the channel. At this point a wireless message was intercepted from trawlers in the channels that there were mines further on. The Attack, being the senior ship, imediately signalled to the Aragon to follow them as they turned seawards. The trawelers which were there to direct the ships through the channel were doing the same and retreating. The Aragon had to keep well away from the buoy that they had already passed by when entering the port. Unkown to both the Aragon and the Attack there was a German submarine lurking in the depths of the waters right beside the buoy. It was unable to fire before because of the close proximity of the ship, if they did they would have endangered their own submarine. However now that the Aragon was turning seawards, she presented a perfect target for the Germans who took full advantage. The officers of the Aragon on duty on the bridge saw the periscope of the submarine and at the next instant the wake of a torpedo which was heading straight for the ship. In a desperate effort for surrvival the passengers and crew tried to turn the ship to avoid the torpedo but this was to no avail as the ship was quite slow. The explosion was a dull crashing blast and the ship shuddered violently. An officer who was on duty at the time was covered in glass as all the windows on the boat shattered. In the next instant the ship became aware to the fact that they had all been dreading. Everyone on board was at their sations in record time, orders were obeyed with precision. The first order given was the rescue of every sister. They were lowered into the rescue boats before doing anything else. This only took a few minutes and was carried out without a hitch. The boats they got on were the best in the ship and in a position to afford greatest possible facility for getting off. The Aragon sent a call for assitance to the shore and recieved a reply within seconds. By the time the sisters ships had got clear, the ship had taken a heavy list to starboard and had sunk deep astern. It remained like this for a few minutes. The Destroyer took this time to run up along side and the remaing passengers were ordered to get off. They managed to do this by attaching ropes from the Aragon to the Destoryer Attack. On other parts of the ship troops were ordered to take water as the rafts were let loose. In just moments the sea was full of struggling men. Many of the officers and troops were trying to get the remaining life boats into the water but they had become jammed by the list. The crew could now feel her sinking fast. It had become impossible to stand upon the deck. It was about fifteen minutes after the inicial explosion. The commander gave the order every man for himself! . There was a rush to get over the side of the boat but nowhere was there any sign of panic. The discipline was astounding as the troops clung on to each other, singing and cheering until they reached the water level. Then they broke into struggling masses. Then it was heard shes going and the Aragon began to sink rapidly astern. The Destroyer was still at rescue work but only one rope remained. One officer was trying to cross when they finally cut the remaining rope. He was thrown into the water between the two ships. He sank like a stone because his full uniform restricted him to swim. However he still managed to get to the surface and make his way onto the Destroyer. The Attack was full of both injured and dying. The Aragon was sinking rapidly, one could hear a roar of rushing water and smashing of internal fittings. Dozens of men still clung to the decks and at the last moment jumping into the water rather than be sucked under along with the ship. Many of their efforts for survial were futile as with the height that the bow had been raised because the ship had turned whilst it was sinking, they died on impact with the water. With a great surge, a roar of rushing water and the explosion of the ships boilers the Aragon was no more and it went beneath the surface. There was now silence over the men. The place where the ship once was, was now replaced by struggling men clinging to upturned boats and wreckage. The Destroyer was now alive with activity. As they attempted to move ahead to the safety of the harbour with all their injured on board, one man shouted and screamed and next instant there was a terrible explosion. The Destroyer was hit by another torpedo. The middle of the Destroyer had been smashed sending men flying into the air. OIl, fumes, splinters of wood and steel were sent in every direction. She broke into two halves and began to sink immedietly. Both the bow and the stern rising into the air as the middle(wher the torpedo hit) sank rapidly. Everyone jumped for the water. It was chaos around the remains of the destroyer. The only hope left for survival was two trawlers which were near at hand. Except for the trawlers the only rescue boats were the rafts from the Aragon which were already on their way to shore. Only wreckage and struggling men remained in the water, everything else had disappeared. However the rafts did an ecellent job, bringing hundreads to the trawlers near by. Other trawlers became visable on the horizon as the rushed at full speed towars the wreckage. However as the port was 80 miles away it took them some time to arrive and many men perished in this time. The temperature of the water was very cold and this contributed to some of the deaths. It took the trawlers an hour to reach the men but without them few would have survived. The VAD sisters who were the first to leave the Aragon arrived on shore at arround 2:30pm. It wasnt untill 4:30pm when the trawlers with the wounded and survivours arrived. The people on the shore were ready for them when they arrived and the wounded were rushed to hospital. In conclusion the Aragon was torpedoed 8 miles from Alexandria Egypt at 11am on Sunday December 30th 1917 and sank in twenty minutes. The escort for the Aragon the British Destroyer The Attack was also torpedoed about 5 minutes later. It took between 5 to 7 minutes to sink. The other transport ship The Nile with two Japanese destroyer escorts left the Aragon at day break, the day of the attack. They also came under submarine attack but managed to reach their destination safely. My great uncle unfortunately perished that day. It was hard for an Irish man to join the Brittish army. I imagine he would have recieved a lot of criticism for doing so, but he did what he thought was right. He fought with the allies and aggainst evil and for that my family is very proud of him.

The Impact Of Digital Media On Ebay Information Technology Essay

The Impact Of Digital Media On Ebay Information Technology Essay eBay is known all over the world as the leading online Marketplace which came in to life in 1995,eBay Inc, was founded by Pierre M. Omidyarand its headquartered in San Jose, California, TM (2002). eBay created a special platform for the sales of goods and services by a passionate village of individuals and business. On days there are millions of items across thousand of categories for sale on eBay just like Half.com, eBays site dedicated to fixed price trading. eBay allows trade on a Local, National and International basis, with customize site in marketing all over the world. eBay, together with its sub-visions, bring online marketplaces for the sale of goods and services, online payment services, and online communication offerings to a diverse community of individual and business in the USA and Internationally. The company operates in three Intentions: eBay Marketplace, Payments, and Communications. The eBay Marketplaces: This platform provides infrastructure to enable online commerce in a variety of formats, including the traditional auction platform; and its other online platforms, such as Rent.com, Shopping.com, Kijiji, mobile.de, and Marktplaats.nl. Its services include trust and safety programs, reply forum, safe chanel program, eBay standard purchase protection program, customer support, tools and services. The Payments segment: Feeds a product for small businesses, online sellers, and individuals that enables them to send and receive payments online. Its services include joining the network, crosscheck of its PayPals account holders, withdrawing funds. The Communications segment: provide voice over Internet protocol calls between Skype subscribers, also provides connectivity to traditional fixed-line and handheld telephones. The company also provide online apartment rental services and comparison shopping resource service, as well as provides an Internet payment platform that allows merchants to process, and manage online payments. 2. MISSION STATEMENT OBJECTIVE eBay pioneers communities built on commerce, sustained by trust, and inspired by opportunity. eBay brings together millions of people every day on a local, national and international basis through variety of websites that focus on commerce, payments and communication. This has also help the company in various ways between their numerous customers worldwide. They have engaged in the method stated below. A Place to Buy. You can get almost anything item you need or want at very low deal better than you can find at any traditional brick and mortar, even online stores. But caution should be taken because of rotten or fake items deals on eBay. A Place to Sell. No matter the size of our product or services, eBay has various categories channels to sell items. eBays global reach can even move unusual items that are not in demand in our own neighborhood in to cash. A Place to Shop. Large variety of items can be found for sale on eBay, many members have discovered that eBay is one of the best place in the world to window or comparison shop. These items include photos, detailed descriptions, and owner experiences. Because you see lots of the same items side by side in various conditions and know what each one sold or selling for, eBay gives you insight into the real market value of most types of goods around the globe. A Website: With no physical building eBay store, Founded in San Jose but now carry out daily activities from various cities, eBays service exist basically online apart from the delivery of bought and sold items every other network of the business are handled through eBay website. Socially Responsible: eBay with its B2C way of handling business has lower the barriers to buying and selling, these bring a massive global awareness to it business. It also fosters new economic opportunities to developing areas and brings cultural understanding between different populations. This has made eBay one of the worlds most interesting and exciting trans-national ambassadors. 3. THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL MEDIA ON EBAY eBay is a cutting edge in commence by selling almost everything be it of what nature with its presence in every corners of the globe with no physical store, with limited staffs but satisfy it numerous customer worldwide. But how is this possible? Social Media Marketing: Recent addition to organizations plans. Integrated marketing communications is a practice organization follow to connect with their target markets. Integrated marketing communications coordinates promotional elements, advertising, personnel selling, public relations, publicity, direct marketing and sale promotion. Increasingly viral marketing campaigns are also grouped into integrated marketing communications for eBay. The growth of social media has impacted the way organizations communicate, the internet provide set of idea which enable persons to develop social and business platform, share knowhow and collaborate on project online. Cell Phones: Usage has also become a benefit for eBay media marketing. Today many cell phones have social networking capabilities, individuals are notified of any happenings on social networking  sites through their cell phones in real-time. This constant connection to social networking sites means products and companies can constantly remind and update followers about their capabilities, uses, importance, etc. Since cell phones are connected to social networking sites, advertisements are always in sight. Computers: The use of computer has come to stay in our daily life be it at home, offices, school, this is one of the basic tools used by eMarketers worldwide, eBay uses the help of computer since they dont physical store to carry out their daily business and this is done by logging into their website by typing in the URL address with an access from ISP provider. Once logged in, you see various categorizes of product, prices, description of items and options of payment of items bought. Buying of items online and shipping to every part of the globe is an everyday activity at just by the use of a computer, Newsweek (2004) Internet Marketing: eBay use the internet known as digital marketing, web marketing, and online marketing is the marketing product and services over the internet. Internet marketing is considered to be broad in scope because it not only refers to marketing on the Internet, but also includes marketing done via e-mail and wireless  media. Digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management systems are also often grouped together under internet marketing. This market joins the vast idea and technical background of the Internet, including design, development, advertising, and sales.  Internet marketing also refers to the placement of media along many different stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing on specific websites. 3.1 THE USE OF THE INTERNET BY eBay The internet as change the landscape of the world in every way things are done in every way things are done globally. Never before have people been able to interact in such a cost effective and comfortable way. The business world as seen a better new of doing its daily activity, business now are done in very short span of time even without the presence of both party at the same place or time. Now it is possible for you to establish your own company with a very small financial investment or in some cases even without any start-up capital. eBay use the internet in carrying of its daily business to meet target market and satisfy its customer at a very low cost and maximizing profit. Information: People worldwide are using the internet on a regular basis, with email and search engines as the most popular services. Information is power. People are able to influence, direct, convince, educate and manipulate others through one single tool: The distribution of information. Email and discussion forums allow people to share their thoughts, ideas and experiences with other people from all corners of the world. Within a relatively short period of time the Internet and its communication channels will be part of our daily lives as are running water and electricity. Cost Effectiveness: The internet is by far the most effective communication tool. If you want to send a letter via conventional or so-called slow mail, it will cost at least around $1 assuming you restrict yourself to two single sheets of paper. Sending the same amount of information via email will be up to 100 times cheaper with immediate delivery. In addition to this, email with its numbers of advantages over the slow mailing system of delivery of messages, sending and get a reply on the spot. Online Auction: In this massive marketplace, eBay rules the auction sites. According to the Nelison Rating, eBay is among the top ten most trafficked sites on the internet. eBay leads the online auction industry with a more than 60 percent share of the market, its closest competitors, Yahoo! Auctions, is only half its size followed by Amazon.com, all these are done with the help of the internet and makes eBay smile to the bank on daily basis. Low Cost Operation: Running business requires tons of capital no matter the size of the outfit, the business has to pay for rental shops, offices, motor vehicle, staffs, before it can think of making its profit which is the primary idea of the business, but doing online business you cut down your expenses to a very little amount of capital and that is the edge eBay is use to run its operations and has really help the business since it does not have physical presence anywhere, it does its business around the globe and sell lots of items to its customers worldwide. The internet helps eBay in an immeasurable way of cutting down cuts of operations and get to all part of the world without even being there in presence. 4. INTERNET AS A MARKETING PUBLIC RELATIONS TOOLS Public relations is defined as a management function which identifies, establishes and maintains mutually beneficial  relationships between an organization and the public upon which its success or failure depends. Whereas advertising is a  one-way communication from sender to the receiver, public relations considers multiple audiences and uses two way communication to monitor feedback and adjust both its messages and the organizations actions maximum benefit. The internet is used as a tool in Public Relations and has replaced the use of paper form of notifications and is carried out in method stated below. Tweeter: Social media is a great way to have a conversation with your market and manage connections with prospects, customer, bloggers. Even if you dont join Twitter you can monitor what people are saying company, trends, friends and products. This is quite useful from a marketing and PR standpoint. Tweeter has a search engine that let you post any information and can be linked to eBays platform. Facebook: Business firms states their URLs on cable Tv commercials, were friends and followers can join them on Facebook. This is sharp method way of internet PR, youre a startup entrepreneur, you could start a group to help entrepreneurs connect and exchange ideas. Search to make sure one doesnt exist already in your area. Your friends on your facebook will have first hand information of what is happening around you and your business and will also pass to from friends to friends if even they are not yours. eBay is linked to facebook which acts as an indirect form of PR, Instant message could also take form by chatting on both platform. Email: This is the fastest, stress less and cheapest form of PR and e-marketing with the use of the internet, when searching for information or to joint an organization like eBay, Amazon you go through a process of filling and providing certain information about yourself and your preference requirement, all these information is kept in their database and at the end you provide your e-mail. The organizations use their database information to communicate with you, through this medium you are updated with the latest information relating to previous request. As you change your preference change it is also updated in their database. eBay use this form of PR to promote their product to you and information is sent to you in respect of delivery of the item you paid for. Website Feedback: Various website use a page known as website feedback as a form PR tool to give a comments, complain or report on your experience you may have after buying a product or trial of certain items in other for them to know how their customer feel about product bought from them. 5. EBAY SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGHT: The Company use the advantage of Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Both parties (Buyers and Sellers) subscribe with the company and information needed by eBay on dealers. This is known as Business2Consumer (B2C) of their business. With the strong customer and dealer relationships are based on Consumer2Consumer (C2C) business platform, where good business relationships occurs, where buyers and sellers interchange feedback for each other for the next transaction to take place. WEAKNESSES: Organizations works painfully to limit fraud. eBay platform of business is very open to fraudulent activities. But the company act with the issue very quickly. These includes inferior goods being marketed to unknown and suspecting eBayers. Other forms of theft could include redirection of stolen goods. Make it known that fraud and theft are problems with outsiders not eBay. The weakness is that mischievous individuals can exploit the C2C business platform. Many companies, systems breakdowns could disturb the trading transaction of eBay on daily bases. eBay and Paypal have suffered shutdowns and total breakdown. As technology improves for the better weakness will be less an issue. OPPORTUNITIES: Acquisitions bring new business strategy openings. eBay has into agreement to buy off online telephone company Skype Technologies with a deal reported of about worth $2.6 billion. PC users use Skype to have conversation with each other for no charges and make cut-price calls to handheld cell-phones and fixed landlines once you have subscribe to the services. This will bring in more customers to the business and also make profit to continue to grow. THRATS: The world Internet brands, success attract competition. Overseas competitors competing in their home markets have the technical experience that could give them a stronger advantage over eBay. It came to the notice of eBay that it has met with other USA home Internet providers when trading in other international country. Yahoo! stand out in the Asian market. Doing the same market is a threat, just like weaknesses stated above, the name is attacked by mischievous individuals. When e-mail sent to unknown eBayers disguards to come from eBay. Logos, and design of the pages looks just the same. However they are designed so that you input private information that the thieves can use to accesses to passwords and identifications. Not all costs can controlled by eBay, example shipping charges and credit card charges. With fuel prices to rise, the customer suffers the increment of delivery and postal charges. This affect the total cost of auctioned items very expensive. When provider of credit card merchants like Visa or Master-card decide a charge for online business transaction the total cost of the same items would increase with a negative effects on the final customer of the product and will make eBay loose some of its future consumer and will affect the profit and share value of the company. 6. CONCLUSION EBay is well aware that in order for the company to maintain its competitive advantage and make it sustainable in the long run, the company must take advantage of the changes at the corporate, organizational and business levels. EBay embraces the five building blocks which are applied randomly throughout eBays history: improvisation, co-adaption, regeneration, experimentation and time pacing as evident by the strategies discussed. The company also embraces the 10 principles of competing on the edge about strategy, organization and leadership. With all hands on deck EBay can go further if the managing, marketing department embrace more with its IT department by merging with more social media platform not just their website because social website break more distance with communities of friends of my friends. Security department should work more bringing down the risk of internet fraud, this is one area of online business transaction that turn people away from buying online, because nobody wants to their money to end up on the place after paying for an item or product.

How To Get To School Without Saying The F Word :: essays research papers

Ingredients: Yourself and the city of New York Please! Don’t scream too loud at the sunlight piercing your protesting eyes, torn from the throes of a trip in Rome. Monotonously say, â€Å"Yes Mom,† to the screaming she-devil dragging you out of bed. Place your feet on the cold floor and yelp. Scramble for your floppies; make sure they’re under the bed. No other place will do. You will now be forced to grope underneath the bed for this necessary accessory. Make sure your hand encounters something cold and slimy that you can’t identify. But please! DON’T SAY THE F WORD. Remember, Mom is watching. Remove your hand, wipe on tissue and slowly make your way to the bathroom. Make sure it is occupied; hopefully by your brother but if he is not available, your sister will do. If it is your father, go back to your room and wait for either sibling. Once your brother or sister is in the bathroom, bang on the door at least twice. Repeat if desired. Have them stay inside for another five minutes, pace the hallway in impatience and wish to be an only child. You may also wish to die but this is quite drastic and not necessary. Once the occupant leaves the bathroom, glare at them angrily and then stalk inside. Jump into the shower, turn the wrong knob so that cold water pours over your face. But please! DON’T SAY THE F WORD. Someone might be standing right outside. Make sure your shower is just long enough so that you have to skip breakfast. Emerge from your shower, don a towel and stare at yourself in the mirror. Complain about your looks, wallow in self-pity and begin to cry hysterically. Stop crying. Stare at yourself in the mirror, analyze your face. Say, â€Å"It could be worse.† Blame the media for your insecurities, and give yourself a pep talk. Try to brush your teeth without incident. Whistle a little, be happy. Don’t trip on the way out the bathroom. Tip-toe on the cold, hard floor to your room where your little sister lies in ambush in the corner . She will dart out screaming and scare you to death, them run shrieking down the hallway. Please! DON’T SAY THE F WORD! Her young, impressionable mind does not need the profanity. Quickly grab the first T-shirt and jeans you find in the Everest of piles that is your clothing.

Animal Farm Essay

Animal Farm by George Orwell is an allegory written in 1943. It was also made into a TV film version in 1999 directed by John Stephenson, produced by Greg Smith and Robert Halmi and distributed by Hallmark Films. Animal Farm is a deceitfully simple story about a group of farm animals who are tired of living in a dystopia caused by humans. They rebel and create their own way of life, only to find themselves back in a dystopia caused by animals. The film follows the plot line of the novel closely but changes some major details. While the film and the novel Animal Farm are basically one in the same and have similar plot lines, the film had less detail, while the novel was thoroughly detailed. The differences between the film and the novel were points of view, exposition and major plots. Orwell tells the story of Animal Farm through a third person, omniscient point of view. The narrator is never involved in the action of the story, but knows everything. This point of view allows readers to see into the minds of the characters and understand their motivations. The film is told by a narrator, a character in the novel, Jessie. It explains the film in a way that she sees everything occurring. It also stops most of the dialogue between the animals and they don’t really talk like they do in the novel. Another difference between the novel and film is the exposition, which gives background information on the plot. In the novel, some of the events that occur in Animal Farm’s exposition play important roles later on in the novel. In the novels exposition, Orwell describes many of the animals that are important to the novel. In the films exposition, very little time is spent on developing the characters of the important animals. Also, the song Beasts of England is not sung in the exposition, unlike the novel, this song plays a very pivotal role later on in the novel. In the film, they don’t know the characters very well and the animals don’t really sing it, they hum it. This takes away from the mood of the song. The movie is merely an adaptation of the novel into film, so almost all the events that take place in the novel will take place in the film. Another difference between the novel and film is the major plot differences. The novel and film follow the same plot line but there are some major differences. In the novel, Old Major died about 3 days after his speech from natural causes. While in the film, Mr. Jones shoots Old Major minutes after his speech, while they’re reciting the Beasts of England song. In the novel, all of the animals could speak while in the film it was arrated by Jessie which cut the dialogue of most of the animals. The end of the film and novel differ greatly. In the novel, the animals are sadly dominated by Napolean. But in the film they somehow overthrow his power and finally bond together for another attempt at a utopia. The film covered major ideas but missed some details, characters, and small stuff that made the novel so interesting. It’s quite apparent that there are many significant differences between Animal Farm the novel and the film. There are a number of differences between the use of point of view, the exposition, and the major plots. Animal Farm is a simple story about a group of farm animals who overthrew their human dictators and their animal counterpart who dictated them also. The novel was very detailed and had many characters which made it very interesting. While the film had less details, and characters which made it a little dull, and boring. These are my comparisons of the film and novel called Animal Farm.

Design Of The Tomba Brion Vega Architecture Essay

In my survey I intend to explicate carlo scarpas thought in his design of the Tomba brion Vega, his most visited work and analyze the design of each component separately and as a whole. It is a site of elegance and poesy and epitomises Carlo Scarpas usage of architecture to bring forth significance and feeling. Carlo Scarpa himself describes the grave as a tract ( Un'ora con Carlo Scarpa The Brion Tomb is situated in the North of Italy in the small town San Vito d'Altivole near Treviso. It was designed for the household Brion by Carlo Scarpa after the decease of Giuseppe Brion. It was commissioned by the married woman of Giuseppe, Onorina Brion ; together they co-founded the electronics steadfast Brion-Vega. Giuseppe was born in San Vito and the household owned a secret plan of land in the local graveyard every bit good as a funerary chapel which originally stood on the site. Scarpas original thought and his early work for the household was for a figure of seperate graves for different household members on the original graveyard secret plan. These early designs were to subsequently incorporated in to the concluding design. in 1969 the household bought an L shaped secret plan of land wrapped around the northern and eastern sides of the bing graveyard. Geting this secret plan of land allowed Scarpa to integrate all the household tombs into a individual maestro program for the Brion households resting topographic point. Not taking with the mainline tendency that with money and power when decease occurs a immense shrine or memorial should be erected in memorial Scarpa went the opposite manner. Scarpa states â€Å" I believe it is mistaken to see the Brion Cemetery the merchandise of a affluent capitalist. Rather it is rather the antonym † . â€Å" Of class I could hold merely made a big statue and left the remainder a lawn, but I enjoy doing things † making this he avoided the narrow dictates of rationalism, taking instead to emphasize interior deepness, dreams, and nostalgia. In this he creates a poetic resting topographic point every bit much as a sculptural commemoration in a green, quieting garden. In March 1970 the Plans for the site had reached their concluding signifier and planning permission was given for building. The Cemetery was completed in 1978 and is regarded by many as Scarpas chef-d'oeuvre. Below is a quotation mark from Scarpa on his design of the Brion Tomba. â€Å" I consider this work, if you permit me, to be instead good and ( something ) which will acquire better over clip. I have tried to set some poetic imaginativeness into it, though non in order to make poetic architecture but to do a certain sort of architecture that could emanate a sense of formal poesy. I mean an uttered signifier that can go poesy, though, as I said before, you can non deliberately do poesy. The deceased has asked to be near to ( the ) Earth since he was born in this small town – So I decided to construct a little arch, which I will name Arcosolium. Arcosolium is a Latin term from the clip of the early Christians in the Catacombs. Important individuals or sufferers were buried in them. ) I used a more dearly-won version†¦ I thought it ( was ) a good thought for two people who had loved each other to be put in such a manner as to be able to recognize one another, after decease. Soldiers stand vertical, motions are human. The Arcosolium became an arch, a span span, an arch of strengthened concrete and would still hold looked like a span if I had n't had it illustrated, I mean decorated. But alternatively of painting we used mosaics, A Venetian tradition that I interpreted in a different manner † The statement above merely shows how much thought went in to the design of his lifes chef-d'oeuvre. The organic structure of the graveyard The L shaped site has 5 chief focal points ; the arcosolium which was of great importance was placed on the north eastern corner to in Scarpas words â€Å" benefit from the best position and sunniest exposure † . The arcosolium acts as a sort of ocular flexible joint on the L shaped site fall ining the north and eastern sides of the site. The household Gravess are situated on the north wall of the site sheltered underneath a canopy which shelters them from the elements. On the south side of the L form is a marquee which floats over a Lilly pool. To the western terminal he designed square chapel which leads to a private entombment land for local priests. Another entryway manner to the site was constructed near to the marquee where the original funerary chapel stood. The site is enclosed by a 2.3m high wall. Internally the positions out from the site about go a portion of the design and Looking towards the site the 60deg incline of the wall directs sight over the graveyard doing minimal obstructor of the positions out from the town whilst besides dissembling its internal parts. Scarpa acknowledged that he â€Å" had captured the sense of the countryside, as the Brions wished † ( Scarpa 1978-84 ) The Arcosolium The Arcosolium in history has been situated within a Catholic burial chamber. A individual catacomb would incorporate multiple arcosolium for of import people and sufferer. They are arched deferrals carved from solid stone with a solid rock casket sarcophagus to the underside. The arch and around it were frequently decorated with symbolic frescoes. In the image to the left is the arcosolium which is situated in Via Latina, Cubiculum E, a catacomb in Rome. You can clearly see the arched deferral to the rear and the sacredly painted walls. Scarpas arcosolium is the chief focal point for the whole grave, moving as a flexible joint between the two perpendicular countries of the site. The two caputs of the household are buried here and is hence sited with importance and was built on the north east corner of the site. Unlike the solid arch of the historic Catholic arcosolium the arch Scarpa designed is sleek and slender and is made out of concrete and bows over the deep-set land on which sit the two burial chambers. The asymetical arch has four constituents or ocular niceties which make the whole. The arch itself is visually two parts with the perpendicular chief arch or the anchor crossing the burial chambers and below this sits a drifting plane which shelters the crypts. The anchor has four fives which run the length of the arch. These fives are closed to their bottom so to shelter the residents. The two natation planes are decoratively layered to their topside instead like the arcosolium ornament of old. These are connected to the 3rd and 4th constituents of the arch by pin articulations and are the two concrete pedestals which sit at the two terminals of the arch and land the design and besides convert the otherwise compressional construction of an arch in to a tensile construction. The plinths themselves are split in to two parts with a solid mass cresting the arch and a more dynamic signifier stoping the completed arch. The pedestals are decorated non with pictures or stuffs but with the z ag zig signifier which dominates the cemetary. The two concerete pedestals are orthogonally stepped three dimensionally decreasing with weight the farther off from the arch they are. Below the arch the two burial chambers sit in a deep-set handbill bowl which is sheltered by the arch above. Originally this round base home base was to be surrounded by a H2O channel emanating from the north pool. The tombs themselves are made out of two tone marble with the sides facing each other being coal black, the top bed a speckled, black marble and the bottom bed a more grained white marble. The ebony boards on the facing planes of the caskets give them a softer touch. The two crypts are sat side by side underneath the arch and thin to each other as though they were seeking to touch. This is besides reiterated on the bottom of the multitudes. Scarpa non desiring to anchor the two objects excessively much curved the bottom of them doing them seem movable and non stuck to the land. Scarpa described it like this â€Å" It is as it should be that the two people who loved each other in life to flex toward each other in recognizing after decease † . A sense of Scarpas love affair can be seen here. In Yutak Saito ‘s book Carlo Scarpa, he describes how the two burial chambers are perceived to â€Å" drift like two boats beneath the arch. † This is evocative of the edifices of Scarpas beloved Venice. Whilst under the arch the colored glass tiles can be seen. Yutak Saito says â€Å" The ceiling of the arch is covered in glass tiles, giving the sense of heavenly glare † The glass tiles run either side of an onyx strip which runs down the center of the four fives of the arch, these â€Å" omit a milklike white translucency † . Brion Tomba cemetery entryway The entryway lies down an avenue of trees which run the old Village Cemetery. Upon attack the first thing noticed is the two intersecting circles which lay at the terminal of the little corridor and their framed image of the lawn and the Hedera helix covered wall beyond. The entryway is sat beside other bing graves and its graduated table is as those of the bing grave. This gives the Brion Tomb a tardis like feel one time inside holding entered through here. The entryway is decorated with a zigzag design like the arcosolium with horizontal pieces through the mass in which the sky or in Scarpas oculus the celestial spheres can be seen. On come ining the square entryway opens up like a cave and upon talking unusual reverberations resile off the zigzagged indoors. Again horizontal pieces allow the sight of the celestial spheres whilst inside this dark entryway manner. Four stairss lead up to the corridor beyond. These are somewhat offset to the left manus side giving you a sense of way in which 1 should go. This little gesture The intersecting circles at the terminal of the corridor are rimmed with ruddy and bluish glass tiles. They signify the Earth and the celestial spheres and the Earth and the intersected subdivision signifies the religious universe which may lie in between. You can besides see this looking through the two circles with the green grass meaning the Earth the sky the oasiss and the Grey concrete wall which splits the two the religious universe. With these two intensions Scarpa wanted to instil a sense of how close the three universes are and how they intersect with each other. The corridor splits left and right now. The left manus side is brighter and beckons you down, another way index of which Scarpa is good known for. Looking down the corridor the left manus side of the arcosolium can be seen with the countryside in the backgr ound and the corridor opens a few meters down. It opens to the right with the left manus side go oning farther. At the transitional point between unfastened and closed a H2O class continues the line of the construction which runs down in to the arcosolium adjacent to the paseo. Along this paseo are a set of beginning stairss which lead up to the grazed country above. These stairss are of different thicknesses with each possessing a different sound when treaded upon. If you turn right at the corridor the way leads you down a darkened corridor which opens up onto a drifting way which leads to the raised marquee, the marquee sits on the pool that feeds the watercourse. The Pavillion The marquee sits on the north side of the site above a shallow organic structure of H2O. At a distance it seems to drift above the H2O. It is supported by a set of slender steel columns which rise out of the H2O. The thought behind the marquee was to make a canopy under which the psyche of the dead may come in to intercede. It is accessed via the chief entryway manner along a thin dark corridor and so through a glass door which is opened with an luxuriant system of blocks which are seeable on the other side of the wall to the glass door. The top of the marquee is clad in lumber and Yutaka Saito in his book Carlo Scarpa notes the similarities in the deepness and accent of the design associating to the series of torri Gatess of the fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. Below the weather-beaten lumber box sits a thin metallic modesty panel painted green and is textured with a form of nails which softens the strong stuff doing the infinite more comfy. From its exterior the marquee looks like a solid construction and a sense of weight is felt on sight but the visceras are hollow which lets light go through down in to the infinite where underneath sits a bench on which Scarpa imagined the liquors could rest after they have had their playday in the environing gardens of the graveyard. Its openness gives a connexion between the spirit universe and ours leting passageway of psyches in to it. Underneath the marquee a little seating country is found for the liquors and this sits on a little breakwater which seems to drift a few centimeters above the pool. This may non be a piece of aesthetic design but a great cognition of how H2O and building stuffs respond over clip with staining and corrosion. This can besides be seen on the back wall of the marquee with it looking to drift merely above the H2O degree. Use of H2O Carlo Scarpa was of Venetian beginning and this influenced his designs in that H2O and the effects it caused were frequently cardinal elements of his designs. Bodies of H2O and/or H2O classs were elemental. He spent most of his life in Venice, rolling down its narrow gangways with edifices either drifting on or reflected in H2O ; a universe altering with the wane and flow of the tides. The brion grave is no exclusion with Scarpa planing two pools at opposing terminals of the site which were to be connected by thin watercourses that would weave inbetween the grave linking them with a sense of life or motion of the streamlined H2O. A relationship between the laguna and the canal can be envisioned here. The construct was non to the full designed in but can still be seen in the signifier of a channel running between the marquee and the arcosolium. Bing from Venice Scarpa knew the consequence of the tide and how this could consequence stuffs and sometimes whole constructions, submersing their lower floors on some occasions and the H2O class and pool in the graveyard were designed to debar deluging the next infinites when it rains. The pools themselves are instead shallow being merely half a meter in deepness at their deepest point with the zigzag form taking down to the lowest point giving the H2O a sense of volume and a topographic point for the Sun to play in, making traveling shadows and contemplations of the environing constructions during daytime hours. There are a figure of H2O channels on the site. They all flow to the arcosolium and narrow as they get nearer. This narrowing of the channels give the feeling of a sense of impulse and in kernel, life. Brion Family Tomb The little household grave is situated on the south side of the site and sits against the exterior wall giving a sense of shadiness for its residents. It is a triangular molded construction with a little entryway to the West. The entryway is little and was designed so that to come in one must bow as a mark of regard to the asleep residents. Internally the infinite is little yet the horizontal slits in the signifier allow the external openness to fall in with the internal infinite. The roof of the grave narrows towards the top with a piece taken out at its extremum. This was once more the thought that the liquors could roll freely around the site and come back to their resting topographic points for rest. The chapel and Sacristy The chapel sits on the E of the site and its importance is emphasised by the continual perpendicular planes that cut through the horizontal plane of the level lawn. This accent shows its hierarchy and label the construction as being the edifice of most importance. There are two entrywaies to the chapel, one through the gardens and the 2nd which is used for more formal occasions such as church mass. The entryway through the gardens shows this hierarchy the most, the tall walls create a strong perpendicular volume to go down. Two little stairss are at the entryway and act as a passage between the less formal garden infinite and the more formal chapel beyond. On the left manus side wall a grid form of concrete lines was formed with 10mm deferrals in which beds of plaster were trowelled and so polished which reflects light down the corridor. On this wall the door to the private vestry can be found and follows the same grid clog as the walls somewhat camouflaging it to place its privateness. At the terminal of the corridor stands a big steel and plaster skiding lattice door reminiscent of the manner of Otto Wagner of whom Scarpa was a fan and the traditional Nipponese screen. Beyond the doors stands the chapel and the Chinese manner threshold that leads in to it which allows for the easy transition of caskets and on juncture to get by with a big Numberss of people. The prevailing stuff used in the building of the chapel was once more superimposed concrete. The floor is made of little cobble like rocks which run at a 45deg angle to the room towards the alter. Two marble stairss lead up to the alter and junctions between the stuffs was planned meticulously. The Conclusion-The Journey The journey was really of import in the planning of the site and all the senses were thought of when planing. Although the site is made up of tonss of separate elements they are all portion of the whole and are linked by tracts sometimes physical and sometimes psychological. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Brion-Vega_Cemetery.html

Exploring the Role of A Biblical Figure In The Canterbury Tales

Exploring the Role of A Biblical Figure In The Canterbury Tales Free Online Research Papers In Chaucer’s works, but especially in the Canterbury Tales there is a large use of biblical Exempla, texts, figures, and many quotations. All these features have the power to give to the topics a great emphasis through creating a halo of solemnity, thus a great relevance in the general point of view of the work. In addition, they can give also, a great persuasive value to the thesis the taletellers express in the story even if they are not religiously acceptable . The role of biblical proof-texts and figures is very important in a work as Chaucer’s one, with a religious theme. The pilgrimage to the ‘hooly blisful martir’ , Saint Thomas Becket, is the reason to purify their souls, at least in appearance. Every pilgrim occupies a specific level in the society and very often, they are in disagreement with their ideas expressed in the tales . The Scripture represents a very precious source with the right examples for their explanations. In the medieval age, the Bible was the greatest authoritative source because it represented the voice of God, thus trustable. What I am going to focus on, in this essay, is: which direct sources have influenced Chaucer in the organisation of the religious material and in what tales we can find relevant biblical references, the connections with the medieval age methods of teaching the Scripture and what kind of secondary sources have influenced Chaucer’s creation of the tellers figures. In addition, the relevant point I am going to analyse is what are the biblical figures and situations used by Chaucer and the utility in the tale-telling process, and in conclusion the impa ct the religious figures and texts create on the fictional audience of the work and on the real one. The art of preaching was the commonest medium to divulgate the religious knowledge, which involves rhetorical rules, consideration of the audience’s background and quotations from the Bible . In fact, the sermons had to explain and teach the Christian belief to people who had only a superficial knowledge about it. Actually, the sermons had to be expressed orally in front of the audience and the preacher had to demonstrate some very good speech capacities and to be able to shift and to solve, in some ways, the contradictions a biblical text could present . The persuasive devices were created using, not only some rhetorical patterns, but also quotations, references and exempla from the Bible. The technique of the preacher used the biblical figures, texts and situations to support his moral theories. The sacred texts are used as justifications and clarifying examples. The art of preaching involves not only the personal faith and feelings, but also even some fixed rules and a grea t care in the exposition . The Canterbury Tales present many connections with the medieval ars praedicandi. The sermons were an immediate way of communicating the Christian knowledge, especially if we consider the reality of common people. The possibilities for common people were so restricted and it is clear that the common lay people had to resort to the sermons. In the Canterbury Tales, the pilgrims are common people and they show to have the kind of knowledge acquired only by the sermons. Actually, they use the patterns of the medieval preaching, involving the biblical proof-texts and figures. Obviously, the level of culture was not so elevated and sometimes Chaucer’s characters use partial or oblique quotations and allusions . When the taleteller tells the tale, sometimes he/she has to find some supporting and clarifying examples that lead the audience towards an understanding process. Furthermore, Chaucer prefers to set the situations in the reality and to do so, he makes the pilgrims use many co lloquialisms such as, ‘whan God first maked man’ . The sermons were so important and popular for lay people and these kinds of colloquialisms make the reader understand how frequent they were and how popular . The biblical colloquialisms Chaucer introduces lead us towards the existence, in the medieval age, of a religious imagery that everyone could understand. Through these patterns, the narrations of the Canterbury Tales appear easy and powerfully contextualised for the late medieval audience, in that case for the fictional audience of the pilgrims. The taleteller represents, in the entire point of view of the work who has got the authority. During the narration, the reader faces different topics that could be religious or not. The taleteller uses what was the truest authority in that age: The Bible . The tales are about invented situations but reflect the reality of the tellers . Sometimes the tellers are not great examples of virtue and could be object of criticism, the figure of the pardoner or the wife of Bath. To avoid this opportunity, Chaucer introduces in his work many biblical allusions and quotations. The role of the biblical texts and figures in the Canterbury Tales is to be the justification for what the teller is saying . The Bible cannot be criticised and the Chaucerian characters it to give to their narration a halo of solemnity. Again, when the situation is objectively unacceptable and immoral the use of biblical allusions can make the audience change its mind. The wife of Bath, for instance, proclaims something unacceptable, but the biblical references surprise the audience, as we can note from the reaction of the friar . If we consider that the religious person resorted to the Bible in order to clarify, explain, support how the human conduct should be, we can assume that the role of the biblical texts and figures is the one of supporting, without any chance of criticism, one thesis . Chaucer recognised the great principal authority of the sacred texts because he approved the catholic theory that the interpretation of the Bible should be under the strict control of the church . In the second place, we should consider that the use of biblical texts in the Canterbury Tales is not only of supporting but also persuasive. If we analyse in a detailed way some tales such as The Wife of Bath’s and The Pardoner’s, we could realise that the authoritative teller is trying to persuade his/her audience. The behaviours of the two characters are not so positive but their tales and prologues impregnated with religious references are not susceptible of any critical comment. In the Canterbury Tales there are many biblical allusions and quotations, which underline how important the Bible was, and how it could help in a persuasive process . Chaucer in the Pardoner’s Tale, for instance, adopts several biblical references, which allow the teller to achieve a great level of authority. The pardoner citing â€Å"radix malorum est cupiditas† shows his wisdom and enforces the moral aim of his tale. At the beginning of the tale, he cites a long list of biblical situations and characters . His moral aim is to admonish the lecherous behaviours especially of the drunks. He finds a lot of supporting references citing characters such as: Lot, Herod, and specifying that the Holy Scripture highlight what kind of reactions and sins they committed while they were drunk . Obviously one figure as the Chaucerian pardoner, clearly corrupted, has to find some authoritative foundations to his ideas, in order to not to be susceptible to any criticism. The tale kee ps going on with a second list of biblical justifications for his admonishments. He cites Adam and his wife corrupted , the apostle Paul who denounces the gluttony pointing it as the greatest reason of damnation . The pardoner at one point of his introduction of the tale exhorts clearly to read the Scripture and he says that it offers such great examples of how not gluttonous people made the best actions. He also gives some examples through the figure of Attila and Lamuel, to clarify his position . He concludes his moral preamble with the citation of the Old Testament in order to condemn the people who do not show the proper respect to God . The entire tale is impregnated with biblical references and, through this device, Chaucer gives, some kind of authority to one figure is not worthy at all. His inner aims are different from what he foretells, but in this way the audience can agree with him and he cannot receive any disapproval. In the Wife of Bath’s Prologue , Chaucer using the same pattern adopts biblical references to support the wife’s thesis that there is not a prescript number of husbands. From the first two lines of the prologue, she addresses to the great authority and explains that it is the only one true justification . She keeps going on with her prologue explaining that the marriage is only a cage . Furthermore, she introduces the fact that Jesus did not go more than once to weddings in Cana, to support her theory . It is easy to find some connections with the medieval preaching in these cases. The taletellers know their theories and find proper justifications to perorate their causes. Again, she keeps on saying that it is not a sin to get married twice, three, six or eight times and cites Salomon who had more than a wife . She admires Salomon and adds that, a propos, she had her five husbands and she affirms that would be ready even for others . During the first part of the prologu e she lists some other examples such as, Abraham and Jacobs’ situations , they had not only one wife and she wonders why religious people should restrict if god did not establish a precise number. In the second part of the prologue Chaucer uses biblical references, and not only, to support the misogynist thoughts of Jankyn, her fifth husband . Chaucer gives to Jankyn the power of the authority, to show that he is cultured. Apart from that, Chaucer highlights that, with biblical justifications, no disagreement may appear. The wife, at that point, does not know how to critic his position and has not an appropriated reaction . He mentions Sampson , betrayed by his wife while he was sleeping. Again, Eva who has ruined all the human beings with her sin . It is obvious and clear how much emphasis the peroration of Jankyn’s acquires with the biblical references. This is another example about how much linked were the medieval preaching and the medieval literature. Besides, it results clear how the biblical authority may be used for both good theories and bad ones. The Bible offers good exempla and the taleteller has only to get the best ones to support his thesis. One of the best examples, in the Canterbury Tales, about the use of biblical references to support the teller’s theory is the Prioress’s Tale and Prologue . At the beginning of the prologue, the prioress begins her introduction to her tale with direct reference to the psalm eight, which is in honour of the Virgin Mary . The audience can understand from this what will be the topic of the tale. The centre of the story is the holy figure of the Virgin and her fellows; she is the mother of God . The biblical references in the case of the Prioress’ Tale are to highlight her spiritual and sentimental involvement. In fact, the virgin is a great figure; she is the symbol of the purity, the chastity, and all the divine grace. Chaucer uses the reference from the Exodus to underline that she recognises the Virgin Mary as ‘bussh unbrent’ and her heart guards the infinite power of the Holy Spirit. After that, we can underline the quotation from the New Testament , the first letter to the Corinthians . There is to say that, this last quotation gives a very strong idea of the Marian devotion of the prioress. These allusions draw the prioress’ position and lead the audience towards a sympathetic attitude with her thought floss. The tendency of the entire tale is towards a celebration of the sanctity of the mother of Jesus and all her fellows. The prioress is sentimentally involved in that topic and faces it with proper exempla and supporting sources. Especially in the last part of the tale, she mentions an important extract from the Apocalypse that enforces how dramatic is the death of the young child, faithful to the Virgin. The passage says that who have lived his life in chastity will follow the holy Lamb always singing a new hymn to him forever. Apart from the dramatic death, this quotation from the New Testament, takes again the perseverance of the child in learning the hymn and his tender age. These citations in the entire conte xt of the story make the tale very dramatic and sad. The taleteller in this case uses the great authority to specify that only pure people can enter in heaven and the simple examples from the Bible reveal, furthermore, to be effective and appropriated. In conclusion, all the examples from the Canterbury Tales I have chosen, demonstrate how tightened were the relations between the medieval preaching and the medieval literature. Medieval preaching used exempla from the Bible to support the moral theories of the preachers, to interest, to involve and to lead the audience towards the preacher’s conclusions. Apart as proof texts and supporting texts, they are sources to make the discourse easier for the audience, to give the speaker a high level of authority and no chances for the audience to criticise the tales. Generally, in the sermons, the biblical Exempla functions as proves to what the preacher is saying. In the cases I have analysed, the functionality of the biblical texts and figures is the same but focusing on them might clarify how these patterns are susceptible to different interpretations. Chaucer, for instance, shifts the power of the authority from one character to another in order to indicate the most relevant posi tion, in the case of The Wife of Bath’s Tale; the authority is shifted from the wife to her husband. Chaucer gives more power to Jankyn to highlight what is the hot point of the tale at that stage, what causes someone other’s reactions. In the case of the pardoner, the biblical patterns have the functionality to support the fake moral aims of the character. He lives in a very different way from what he tells us , but he occupies a specific place in the society and he has to keep it, with fake sermons if necessary. The role of the biblical texts, in this case, is to cover the negative conduct of the pardoner. In the case of the prioress, the biblical texts are used as supporting sources, but mostly to highlight her sentimental involvement. It is more than obvious at this point that the authority is only one but subject to many interpretations and many final aims such as to justify, hiding, to support. The contextualisation of the work in the medieval age is important to understand the reason of these patterns. The relations between the biblical references and the teller or the telling in general show that, in the Canterbury Tales, it is only a matter of convenience. The teller would be better to find some authoritative and true foundations to his/her thesis to not allow to the audience to disagree with the ideas, with the feelings. The m atter, in general, is to make sentimentally involved the audience. Bibliography: Benson, L., (1988), The Riverside Chaucer, Oxford, Oxford university press. Besserman, L., (1998), Chaucer’s Biblical Poetics, USA, University of Oklahoma press. Brewer, D., (1998), A New Introduction to Chaucer, London, Longman. Brother Anthony of Taize, (2005), Chaucer and Religion, Sogang University, Seoul, available at Ellis, S., (1998), the Canterbury Tales, Essex, Longman. Volk-Birke, S., (1991), Chaucer and medieval Preaching, Tubingen, Germany, Gunter Narr Verlag Tubingen. -Brown P., (2002), A Companion to Chaucer, second edition. Oxford. Blackwell publishing. -Boitani, P., Mann, J., (2005), The Cambridge Companion to Chaucer, Cambridge, Cambridge university press, second edition Research Papers on Exploring the Role of A Biblical Figure In The Canterbury TalesCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementStandardized TestingHip-Hop is ArtMind TravelEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of Self

Warm Fuzz Cards Case Essays

Warm Fuzz Cards Case Essays Warm Fuzz Cards Case Essay Warm Fuzz Cards Case Essay This case deals with the dilemma faced by Eric Mills who is the founder and CEO of Warm Fuzz Cards. She is the sole decision maker of the organization and currently is facing a problem with regards to deciding her business growth strategy. Eric is married to Craig and they decided to start a family within one year. She is therefore unsure whether to grow the business quickly or at a slower rate and therefore has to decide at this point which strategy to implement. Warm Fuzz Cards sole owner is Eric Mills who founded the organization with simply a laptop and a gifted card printer from a relative. Mills has always had a strong passion for art which she pursued at an early age and developed sales/ management expertise during her work in the medical field. Craig while having a Job as a human resource executive at a large firm also assisted Eric with assembly and in quality control. Currently, all the management functions are performed by Eric Mills which include accounting, finance, marketing and sales departments. The firms organization structure is fairly straightforward with Eric being the sole owner/ manager and Craig as quality control and assembly worker. The philosophy for Warm Fuzz Cards came from Ericas desire of having cards not only for occasions but Just to spread warmth and fuzziness. While Eric enjoys more control and considered a slow growth prospect, Craig on the other hand was a proponent of faster growth. This is perhaps the only conflict of objective existent within the firm as Craig obviously as a husband would play a major role in advisory. Warm Fuzz Cards current marketing and sales strategy is focused on building more relationships with retailers, exploring new opportunities in card industry and developing custom cards. Mills has a base of 150 retail customers across Canada. Most of her customers are small store owners and thus Mills maintains a strong personal relationship. Unlike most Mass card manufacturers, Mills also made card modifications and loved the feedback from customers to help her generate better ideas. Apart from this, Mills also identified an opportunity in custom card products such as wedding invitations and business cards. Mills used the internet as her promotional strategy by developing a website and using social media tools to promote her ideas, designs and products. The Corporate market was another customer that Mills identified as companies looked for custom cards for holidays, events etc. Most of the marketing for corporate clients was carried out through word of mouth. The design strategy and expertise of Mills is what separated her from the competition. There was a unique modern style to Ericas products and the focus on high quality and customer satisfaction set it apart from the rest. The production strategy for Mills focused on the type of customer and was extremely customer specific. Retail customers made really small orders and Eric used a Just-in-time model which enabled her to meet unique wants at low risk. She invested in a high quality printer to make small batches but this significantly increased her material costs as it would be cheaper to mass print. The rest of the stationery supplies were purchased from a local store for the lowest price available. Embellishments were bought from a local craft store. For custom card products, Mills currently had them in her office while larger orders were outsourced to a print house. Cost of this varied depending on the handwork, embellishment and size of order. So far the results for Eric are positive with monthly sales averaging $3,500 in 2008. Warm Fuzz Cards does not have a particular mission statement that defines its objectives. It is based on a philosophy to make people smile and gifting people cards for almost any or no occasion whatsoever. The pure purpose was to spread warmth and fuzziness. Mills clearly had a strong passion for card design and leading a business. Her openness to ideas, creative mind and graphic designing skills make her fulfill the philosophy in a perfect manner. Current customers as mentioned primarily include retail stores mostly small vendors, marriages and corporate clients. The custom card business accounts for 50% of the sales, while retail makes up the other 50%. She sold the cards to retailers for $2. 25 whilst material cost in office was $0. 50 per card. Mills labor cost is hard to estimate although she did withdraw a small salary from the monthly revenues. Custom cards however offered greater margins as wedding invitations were sold between $5-10 each whilst material cost was only $1 per card. Custom business cards also provided good revenue generation as corporate clients would place large and repeat orders. It appears that the custom radar business is more profitable than the retail business and offers a great opportunity for Warm Fuzz Cards to expand. The channel of communication used by Mills for her retail clients were mostly through personal telephone calls. In this way Mills was able to develop a more personal relationship and at the same time receive valuable feedback from the customers. In terms of custom cards, corporate clientele was communicated purely through word of mouth. For wedding invitations, Mills used online communication channels by creating a website, social media pages and free listings on websites. The firms pricing in comparison to its competition was fairly similar. Greeting card price range between $0. 50 to $10 in the market. Typical cards would have average price of $3 while other custom cards were sold for higher prices. In terms of the industry, annual card sales were estimated at $7. 5 billion. Warm Fuzz Cards sales for 2008 were a mere $42,000 which makes its market share insignificant. In terms of revenue generation, Warm Fuzz Cards revenue has grown from its previous year of operations. In 2007, annual sales were $24,000. This meaner that the percentage growth in revenue between the years 2007-2008 is 75%. It indicates the great potential the business has to grow even though its small nature. Cost structures based on 2008 sales would mean that $21,000 was revenue through retail stores while $21,000 from custom cards. This meaner that around 9,300 cards were sold through retail stores, which gives a material cost for the year of $4,600. This meaner gross profit would be around $16,400. It would be hard to estimate the profit generation from custom cards due to the varying price and cost structures. Overall due to low overhead, it would be safe to conclude that Warm Fuzz Cards is operating profitably. There was no financing required for the initial setup as Eric had a laptop and the printer was gifted by a relative. As everything was produced to order, there was no financing required for inventory and overhead costs were very low and included costs such as phone, internet, website etc. It is sold mostly in retail stationery stores. The greeting card market itself can be broken down into several segments such as seasonal and everyday cards, Occasions, custom cards etc. The industry is fairly large and likely to boom during strong economic periods. In terms of competition, major competitors included Hallmark and American Greeting brands with their overall market share being 85%. As need for convenience rose, more cards were sold at convenience chains and specialty stores were slowly getting eliminated from the marketplace. These two firms clearly dominate the card industry and can threaten to eliminate small businesses. E-cards were another significant competitor as use of electronic cards increased due to the availability of technology. Generally, firms in this type of industry compete with each other on innovation and ideas. High quality product and great service are other areas f competition due to the nature of the card industry. Warm Fuzz Cards measures perfectly to how most firms in the industry compete. It has the creative entrepreneur in Eric with great graphic designing skills and openness to ideas. Mills great passion for her work meaner she ensures quality in the product. Customer service is also of high priority with reruns being made if any issue arises. A SOOT analysis would provide us with a good indication of the current situation of Warm Fuzz Cards. The strengths associated with the business lies pretty much in the entrepreneur Eric Mills. Her passion for her work, experience in leadership, graphic design and sales skills make her the most important asset of the firm. Another strength is the favorable growing conditions of the greeting card market with an average of 11% growth between 2004 to 2006. Mills also possessed an extensive portfolio of designs which enabled creation of custom designs in a speedy and efficient manner. The Just in time production strategy is another strength of the firm as it does not lead to money tied up in the inventory and gives the business flexibility. In terms of weaknesses, we can identify several that Warm Fuzz Card faces. The firm has a market share thats insignificant which meaner it would be hard for Mills to gain any financing for expansion. The lack of enough staff is another weakness within the organization as Mills has too much tasks to handle. This would not help her to focus on the more strategic objectives of the business and would slow down the progress of growth. The other major weakness is the inability to produce large quantities which can lower costs significantly as well as enable the business to greaten its market share through greater revenue. Several opportunities can be identified for Warm Fuzz Cards. The first big opportunity is her Toronto retail connection that has nationwide stores selling cards and gifts. This would enable her to expand the business and take it to new heights. Another opportunity is the wedding invitation segment which yields a high profit margin for Mills. By investing more in this area, profitability can improve and she would be able to finance the growth of the company internally. Further, she could use her own sales skills and invest in trade shows/events to expand her client base. The threats faced by Warm Fuzz Cards include the heavy competition faced from industry leaders. Another wreath is the booming electronic card industry, which could make the traditional card industry obsolete. The fact that smaller specialty stores were closing down was biggest competitive edge Warm Fuzz Cards has is its entrepreneur who has the ability to create unique modern designs and who is passionate about her business. Eric Mills is considering several alternatives with regards to the current problem. She basically has to decide whether to partner with someone or seek for an investment/loan as the main issue was funding. She could grow the business slowly which would allow her greater control and flexibility. The other alternative would be to expand the retail aspect of the business by partnering with a large national chain of stores. This would greatly boost revenues and profitability as large orders would be required. However, this would require a significant investment in inventory. Another option was to hire staff in accounting and finance so that Mills could focus on other more important aspects of the business. Other possibilities were hiring a sales broker, marketing team or graphic designer. A sales broker would have a good network which would allow Mills to promote her business. However, since Warm Fuzz Cards might not get attention from a broker due to the small size of the business. Online campaign would enable her to focus on high margin wedding invitation cards which would boost profitability considerably. The recommended strategic option would be for Mills to grow her business. It would be better to get the business to a certain level before starting a family. Mills should therefore close the deal with the Toronto connection as this gives great revenue potential for her firm. An investment in inventory would be required since order sizes would be large. Mills would also have to hire someone for the financial and accounting side of business as well as quality control. This would increase costs but allows for mass production. In order to implement this plan, Mills should focus on getting a loan from a bank or an angel investor. By using her sales skills, she should then seal the deal with the Toronto connection. The cash should then be invested into inventory and employing of staff. Mills should then take charge of sales, marketing and strategy of the business whilst employing staff for accounting, finance and production.

Book Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Book Report - Assignment Example They believed this would be achieved only when the power was shifted back to the worker, consequently, ending the country’s inclination to a being run by the capitalist elite rather than a democratic state. Foner shows how the public’s sensed of a power imbalance in the country leading to the populist movement, which sought to address the problem by ensuring there, was equality. This will mean that the public will have more voice in the crucial sectors in the country in that there were reforms in the country’s economic systems and policies. The populist movement, which can be traced to rural America, involved both whites and the black populace. The movement aimed to make certain that the apprehensions of both parties were addressed and that there was equality in the land. This was through uniting the interest of both parties and presenting them through a united front. The mobilization of this movement was done mainly during social events like picnics among other social avenues (Niemi, William, and Plante 217). These meetings provided a platform for the spread of the populist agenda. The women were also involved in the process hence removing the gender barrier. The populist movement ensured that the society was equal in that the interests of all the parties were encompassed in the movement’s agenda (Foner 213). The populist movement attempted to bring equality to America. With the country’s rise to being a super, power its responsibilities in term of ensuring equality in and outside its boundaries. This wa s through the stop of imperialist expansion, which was a threat for the liberties of other nations. Through this America ensured that there was equality for the small nations and the mighty ones. Foner also explores the significance of the progressive era. The progressive era involved idealists who aimed to reform the political process. They noticed

Communication in Health & Social Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Communication in Health & Social Care - Essay Example This paper will look at communication in the health and social care area and the factor that affect communication in this sector. Factors that affect communication in health and social care area include beliefs and values. Service providers should embrace cultural diversity in order to be able to offer services. If the care giver is not aware of cultural diversity, it is impossible to communicate effectively. Care givers should be competent in the knowledge of culture. This is because people in every culture have their beliefs and values. In a place where there is multiculturalism it may be difficult to communicate (Dickson, Hargie & Morrow, 1996). This calls for care givers to be well informed when it comes to the culture of people they are serving. People perception and understanding of heath and heath care process is developed through their culture and social values. Peoples’ thinking on health and social care is based on their beliefs and values. In the United States health and social care providers are socialized into the culture of their profession. They are trained in the western scientific or bi omedical global view (Argyle, 1994). This teaches the professionals to hold and accept beliefs, norms, and values. This is good because the care givers who know their culture can also appreciate other people’s culture. The more a care giver knows of their culture the more they can accept the patients’ world view. Beliefs of people can affect their compliance with treatment, thus a health care giver should always be able to understand the beliefs of a patient for the service provided to be useful. The care giver should respect the patients’ beliefs and not dismiss their traditional practices. Some beliefs can make a patient lose trust on the care provider thus losing cooperation needed for successful healing and therapeutic relationship. For example, beliefs on herbal medicine may make a

Gourmet Express Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gourmet Express - Essay Example This business targets young urban professionals with a large income and do not want to eat at the hotels, are willing to have services offered at a pay and their leisure time is limited but prefer food cooked at home. Since the customers do not have time to prepare everything, they have to make orders which will be delivered. The primary competitors would be restaurants and grocery stores offering delivery services. The three levels of government are; the federal government which consists of two houses, the senate and House of Representatives. It has responsibilities that include social security, foreign affairs, currency, defense and trade which are exercised through the prime minister. The federal government reverses the power to allow or barn one from opening a business. The territory government and the State is the decision making body, its responsibilities include; consumer affairs, justice, education, health, forestry, main roads and transport. The state is mainly concerned abo ut the consumer affairs and ensures products in the market are to the required standard (Brough, 2005). . The local government has a body that makes decisions known as shire council or city council. It has a number of responsibilities which include; garbage collection, building regulations, public health and land subdivisions. The local authority must ensure that the premises under which the business is run meets the set standards and is neat. The economic factors that will affect Gourmet express are; Economic development and growth. This dictate the amount of money the whole society that you rely on for business earn. The company targets large income earners who want services at their doorstep at a pay. Demand and supply will also affect Gourmet Express services and products. Demand is the ability and willingness of consumers to purchase a commodity and supply is the business ability to provide for the consumers demand (Brough, 2005). . There are several social trends that are chan ging the business environment. Consumers want to know more about products, people want to know if the company’s products can cause harm to the environment, if the workers of that particular company are treated well? Gourmet Express has to ensure there is smooth coordination to be successful because disclosure of information is mandatory. Advertising has to be done well for success of the company because traditional advertising is less effective. Technology has become key for the success of every business, the management of Gourmet must put up with the pace of technological changes. The business must put up with new development methods and processes that arise since, there are new inventions daily and there they are supposed to be implemented in the business environment. There are many environmental factors that influence business in an economy which include; financial, political, social, employees, product quality and manufacturing. The management of Gourmet Express has to be very keen on all this because they can affect the business negatively. If there is political instability in a country a business will encounter losses because there will be no customers to sell its products to. SWOT analysis is important because it provides helpful information to the company in matching the capabilities and resources of the firm with the competitive environment where it operates. The strength of

Should HPV Vaccination Be Mandatory Research Paper

Should HPV Vaccination Be Mandatory - Research Paper Example Researchers indicate that cervical cancer is more prevalent in women at a younger age. However, mandatory vaccination for cervical cancer can cause a series of consequences. This paper will discuss why young girls should not be given mandatory vaccination for preventing cervical cancer. The HPV vaccination was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration recently in 2006 and therefore its long term effects are still unknown to the world. Ashton reveals that the effects of HPV vaccination can lead to fatal motor accidents and suicides. According to the US Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System, a number of adverse side effects including pancreatitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, and spinal cord inflammation have been reported since the approval of the vaccine. â€Å"Although these adverse reactions may be rare, they are not worth the risk since the vaccine only protects against two of the 15 strains of HPV that may cause cancer of the cervix† (â€Å"Should any vaccines be required for children?.†). There are also some doubts about the effectiveness of this vaccine because it was tested only on 1,100 girls; and this number is insufficient to get a clear picture of the vaccine’s ‘functionability’. Researchers have identified that aroun d 15 types of genital HPV out of 30 are likely to lead to cervical cancer. However, the Gardasil provides coverage against only two of the 15 and therefore it cannot be considered as an effective vaccine to HPV. Hence, this vaccine provides coverage against only some limited viral strains. Evidently, the US government has not done adequate researches to explore the long term impacts of such a mandate. Since its long term implications still remain to be unknown, the mandatory vaccination is more likely to lead to additional health issues. In other words, the US government risks the public backlash through the mandatory HPV vaccination. Obviously, the HPV vaccination must not be mandated before its long term side effects are clearly identified. Ethically, parents have the ultimate right to make health decisions for their children and therefore the government should not intervene in those decisions. According to a survey conducted by the University of Michigan, 31% of parents do not su pport mandatory school entry vaccinations (â€Å"Should any vaccines be required for children?.†). They hold the view that they must have the authority to refuse such vaccinations. Many of the US parents hold the view that the process of vaccination is religiously wrong. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees citizens to freely exercise their religious belief. Hence, the forcible vaccination would violate the first Amendment. Similarly, this mandatory vaccination policy gives exception to boys and hence it can be considered as the direct violation of constitutional principles of equity. Forcible enforcement of mandatory HPV vaccination would result in public backlash and this situation may adversely affect childhood vaccine programs for other diseases. Many people strongly argue in favor of the proposal by pointing to other mandatory vaccinations against measles and smallpox. They ask why it is necessary to give exception to mandatory HPV vaccination while practicing mandatory vaccination against several other diseases. Here, it must be noted that the HPV is not airborne and sexual contact is the major cause of cervical cancer. The government has a potential motive to protect its people from a deadly airborne virus because

Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

Business Ethics - Essay Example But, never, the vocabulary never so rude.† (cbsnews.com). 3. According to Sainz and reports, when she was on the sidelines before the match, some Jet players and coaches appears to have intentionally thrown footballs in her direction. Then, when she waited in the locker room to conduct an interview with Mark Sanchez, she was reportedly harassed with catcalls and rude comments. (cbsnews.com) 4. Although, there are numerous pictures showing Sainz dressed in a â€Å"provocative† or sexy manner, it no way lessens the crime committed by the team. It is a personal choice and is part of her job, and that does not give the team any right or leeway to harass her. â€Å"When she posts sexy photos on her website, shes showing off her assets and creating an image of a strong, sexy woman. The two are not incompatible.† (Peveteaux). 5. From the reports, it is clear that Sainz did not do anything wrong or even provocative to elicit the player’s response. She was just doing her job and her costumes was her choice, and so it no way makes any difference to the crime committed. â€Å"When Sainz is in the locker room, shes asking questions as reporters do. Shes not giving a lap dance. There is no excuse for disgusting behavior.† (Peveteaux ) 6. Inez Sainz being a former Miss Spain or a 33 years old or married or being a mother of three children does not make any difference or lessens the misdemeanor. However, it makes the crime more erroneous and unethical, because even a committed married woman and mother, who is charting a career path, is not free from sexual harassment. 7. Yes, female reporters are allowed in the male players’ locker rooms, but after this incident there should be re-thinking on the part of the authorities, team management and the media houses. The harsh environment of the locker rooms was pointed out by "Early Show" co-anchor Erica Hill, "A locker room is a tough place for anybody, male or female, and a lot

Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Business Plan - Essay Example Stern measures have to be taken by the tour operators as far as safety and health assessments are concerned as Controls are not rigorous. This would help to safeguard the agency also against any litigation. Assessments of health and safety should be carried out throughout the tour (Daily Mail, 2006). While tour operators have to rely on the guarantees provided by the hotel authorities, BE should ensure that its terms and conditions of joining the tour are well laid out while setting up the business as tour operators could be subject to civil liability (AHS, 2007). While WTO predicts international travel will grow annually at the rate of 4.1% up to 2020 but various factors pose a risk to tourism. These include economic stability, world terrorism, and global climate changes. The UK travel sector is just recovering from the recent airport chaos and the threat of terrorist attack. Fear of terrorism affects global travel demand and the targets set by BE is a very optimistic figure. Tourism is a very sensitive sector and destination factor is very important. BE intends to focus on the affluent class and predominantly on adventure tourism. The company has not attained any experience in this segment and it would be advisable to have another sector and segment to fall back upon initially till it gets established. The number of holidays on offer should be limited to start with. Security situation puts holiday firms in a difficult situation (Reuters, 2007). Lessons can be learnt from the giants in the industry who have been able bring a turnaround despite the effects of football World Cup, avian flu, terror threats and the hot summer in UK (Mall, 2007). This has required a dual measure of huge investments and cost-cutting in various areas. BE plans to build brand awareness in the first year but would have to consider the consolidation taking place in the UK travel market as big firms are merging. This definitely means less competition but there is an oversupply of

Should HPV Vaccination Be Mandatory Research Paper

Should HPV Vaccination Be Mandatory - Research Paper Example Researchers indicate that cervical cancer is more prevalent in women at a younger age. However, mandatory vaccination for cervical cancer can cause a series of consequences. This paper will discuss why young girls should not be given mandatory vaccination for preventing cervical cancer. The HPV vaccination was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration recently in 2006 and therefore its long term effects are still unknown to the world. Ashton reveals that the effects of HPV vaccination can lead to fatal motor accidents and suicides. According to the US Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System, a number of adverse side effects including pancreatitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, and spinal cord inflammation have been reported since the approval of the vaccine. â€Å"Although these adverse reactions may be rare, they are not worth the risk since the vaccine only protects against two of the 15 strains of HPV that may cause cancer of the cervix† (â€Å"Should any vaccines be required for children?.†). There are also some doubts about the effectiveness of this vaccine because it was tested only on 1,100 girls; and this number is insufficient to get a clear picture of the vaccine’s ‘functionability’. Researchers have identified that aroun d 15 types of genital HPV out of 30 are likely to lead to cervical cancer. However, the Gardasil provides coverage against only two of the 15 and therefore it cannot be considered as an effective vaccine to HPV. Hence, this vaccine provides coverage against only some limited viral strains. Evidently, the US government has not done adequate researches to explore the long term impacts of such a mandate. Since its long term implications still remain to be unknown, the mandatory vaccination is more likely to lead to additional health issues. In other words, the US government risks the public backlash through the mandatory HPV vaccination. Obviously, the HPV vaccination must not be mandated before its long term side effects are clearly identified. Ethically, parents have the ultimate right to make health decisions for their children and therefore the government should not intervene in those decisions. According to a survey conducted by the University of Michigan, 31% of parents do not su pport mandatory school entry vaccinations (â€Å"Should any vaccines be required for children?.†). They hold the view that they must have the authority to refuse such vaccinations. Many of the US parents hold the view that the process of vaccination is religiously wrong. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees citizens to freely exercise their religious belief. Hence, the forcible vaccination would violate the first Amendment. Similarly, this mandatory vaccination policy gives exception to boys and hence it can be considered as the direct violation of constitutional principles of equity. Forcible enforcement of mandatory HPV vaccination would result in public backlash and this situation may adversely affect childhood vaccine programs for other diseases. Many people strongly argue in favor of the proposal by pointing to other mandatory vaccinations against measles and smallpox. They ask why it is necessary to give exception to mandatory HPV vaccination while practicing mandatory vaccination against several other diseases. Here, it must be noted that the HPV is not airborne and sexual contact is the major cause of cervical cancer. The government has a potential motive to protect its people from a deadly airborne virus because