Describe the character of Macbeth in detail Essay

Describe the character of Macbeth in detail, showing clearly in what way his character changes as a result of the action of the play. Consider carefully why you feel Macbeth is a tragic hero and whether you feel any sympathy for him. NOTES: * Beginning – honest; noble; valiant; brave; loyal * End – â€Å"butcher†; not honest, loyal; still brave and prepared to fight till his death – â€Å"at least we’ll die with harness on our back†; he has become cruel and hardened – â€Å"I have almost forgotten the taste of fear†. He is corrupted by power and greed * So What Changes Him? : o Witches give him idea o Wife encourages him/builds on idea o Ambition/determination to be king o Once he starts killing, he can’t stop * Macbeth kills Macduff’s family – turning point for L. Macbeth – she realises what she has turned her husband into. * He can no longer control his ambition and it takes control over his actions * In the very first scene when we meet the witches, we see that Macbeth is closely connected to them, because they are talking about him, saying they will meet him and talk to him – â€Å"there to meet with Macbeth†. However, this is strongly contrasted in the next scene when we hear Duncan talking favourably about Macbeth, saying that he fought bravely and is to be rewarded for his loyalty – â€Å"oh valiant cousin, worthy gentleman†, â€Å"they smack of honour both† * Although it may seem from the start that Macbeth is weaker than his wife, this is not always the case – she never actually kills anyone: she gets Macbeth to kill Duncan because she thinks Duncan looks like her father when he sleeps – â€Å"had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t†. * â€Å"Glamis and Thane of Cawdor: the greatest is behind.† – Here we see Macbeth’s own ambition before his wife has intervened. Also, before he talks to his wife, he considers the witches and if they are telling him the truth or if they are just evil, and he also thinks about ways he could fulfil their prophecy, the murderer of Duncan being one of them – â€Å"my thought, whose murder is yet but fantastical.† * Dramatic irony – just as Duncan and Malcolm are talking about deceit and saying how â€Å"there’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face†, Macbeth enters. We know he is already deceiving people. * He starts to become evil when, in act 1 scene 4, he thinks about killing Malcolm. Here he starts to rhyme as well, like the witches, – a sign of him changing – â€Å"stars hide your fires†¦when it is done to see† * When Macbeth and his wife are discussing Duncan’s murder, Macbeth is unsure about it – â€Å"we will speak further† – but his wife keeps encouraging him. â€Å"Macbeth† by William Shakespeare is a play about deceit, ambition and betrayal, in which some of the characters change dramatically because of the fast-moving action of the play. One of these characters is the play’s tragic hero, Macbeth himself. Macbeth as we see him at the end of the play is barely recognisable as the same man we meet at the beginning: he has turned from a loyal, noble man to a cruel and hardened â€Å"butcher†, driven mostly by his own ambition to become King. Because Macbeth is a true tragic hero and we can clearly see all his good qualities as well as his bad ones, we do feel some sympathy for him as well. This play is set in Scotland, where Macbeth is a gallant Thane who is recognised and rewarded by King Duncan for his heroic efforts in battle. However, Macbeth is given the idea by three witches that someday he himself will be King and, especially after speaking to his wife on the matter, he becomes determined to fulfil the witches’ prophecy and claim the throne of Scotland. Although, this is not easy and Macbeth resorts to murder and begins to kill anyone who might pose a threat to him, and this eventually leads to his own death. From the very first scene, we see that Macbeth is somehow connected to the supernatural as the three witches speak of meeting Macbeth and talking with him – â€Å"there to meet with Macbeth†. However, this is contrasted is the next scene when we hear Duncan speaking favourably of Macbeth, saying that he fought bravely and is to be rewarded for his loyalty – â€Å"o valiant cousin, worthy gentleman†, â€Å"they smack of honour both† (Macbeth and Banquo). Therefore, before we have even met Macbeth ourselves, we have a mixed opinion of him; is he a valiant and â€Å"worthy gentleman† or does he have a darker side to him as the witches suggest? The answer to this question is that he has both qualities, but they each arise separately. During the course of the play, we see Macbeth quickly changing from a â€Å"gentleman† to a â€Å"butcher†. The first time we meet Macbeth is with the witches, and his first words â€Å"so foul and fair a day† echo the witches’ in the first act – â€Å"fair is foul and foul is fair†. This gives the immediate impression that he is closely connected to them, and in his first soliloquy he is giving second thoughts to what the witches said about his future and he is clearly ambitious from the start – â€Å"Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor: the greatest is behind†. Although Macbeth is thinking about the witches’ words and already considering the possibility of murdering Duncan, he makes it clear he would never actually do it – â€Å"my thought, whose murder is yet but fantastical†. In the next scene, Duncan and Malcolm talk about deceit and they say that â€Å"there is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face†, when, ironically, Macbeth walks in: he is hiding his thoughts about the witches and we know he will be deceitful when he murders Duncan – â€Å"stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires†. Again, when talking to Lady Macbeth, he is still unsure of the idea. She is trying to persuade him that Duncan’s death would be best but he still says â€Å"we will speak further† and he is worried about someone finding out what he will have done – â€Å"if we should fail†, and it is easy to see that Macbeth is a good and moral person. In Macbeth’s first major soliloquy he weighs up both sides of the argument, thinking about how much Duncan trusts him and thinks he is a good man – â€Å"he’s here in double trust†. Macbeth knows that Duncan is also a good man, and a wonderful king, and it would not be right to kill the king simply because of his own greed, but his ambition to be king leads him on. Macbeth knows that people have â€Å"golden opinions† of him, and he likes being looked upon in such a way, and he does not really want to loose that; he knows that he will if he carries out this murder, and these opinions would be â€Å"cast aside so soon†. However, Macbeth is now determined, although not as much as his wife, to become the King of Scotland and he says that the only thing leading him on is his ambition – â€Å"I have no spur†¦but only vaulting ambition†. Just before, and after, Macbeth murders Duncan, he is at his weakest and feels very culpable. His imagination begins to play on him. In the moments leading up to the murder, his thoughts are filled with evil; he imagines seeing a dagger covered in blood – â€Å"is this a dagger I see before me†¦or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation?†, and he imagines actually killing Duncan – â€Å"I see†¦gouts of blood†. He thinks that â€Å"nature seems dead† and he thinks of wolfs, ghosts, and witches – all symbols of evil. Once Macbeth has murdered Duncan, he still imagines things: he claims to hear voices telling him that he will never sleep again – â€Å"sleep no more: Macbeth does murder sleep† and he cannot wash the blood stains off his hands – â€Å"will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No†, to which his wife replies, â€Å"a little water clears us of this deed† (only to prove herself wrong later). When Duncan is discovered dead by Macduff, Macbeth acts surprised and angry – â€Å"the wine of life is drawn†, â€Å"th’expedition of my violent love outran the pauser, reason†. However, this may not be just an act: Macbeth could really be feeling that way, and he is angry with himself for what he has done when he sees other people’s reactions. Hence, Macbeth travels to Scone and is crowned King of Scotland. Even though Macbeth has achieved what he wanted – to be king – he does not stop killing. He fears Banquo knows that he killed Duncan, so Macbeth is now suspicious of Banquo, as Banquo is of him – â€Å"there is none but he, whose being I do fear† Therefore, the only option Macbeth sees is to kill Banquo, so he arranges for three men to murder Banquo and his son, Fleance, on the night of a banquet. He tells them that he cannot murder Banquo himself because the risk of being found out is too great – â€Å"certain friends that are both his and mine†¦wail his fall†. This is the point at which we see a major change in Macbeth’s character: he is still nervous and slightly afraid, but is now a little more confident; and he organised the murder by his own free will and without any help – he did not need his wife to set it up or to assist him, whereas et the murder of Duncan it was she who organised everything. Lady Macbeth did not even have any knowledge of Banquo’s murder before it took place and she asks Macbeth â€Å"what is to be done?† and Macbeth tells her to â€Å"be innocent of the knowledge†¦till thou applaud the deed†. Macbeth is pleased to hear of Banquo’s death, but the news of Fleance’s escape troubles him – â€Å"then comes my fit again†¦I am cabined, cribbed, confined†. We can see that Macbeth does still have a conscience when he is at the banquet, as he sees the ghost of Banquo in the hall – â€Å"the graced person of Banquo preset† and he talks to it – â€Å"thou canst not say I did it; never shake thy gory locks at me†; so it is clear that Macbeth still has remorse for what he has done and he cannot hide it, despite his wife telling him to â€Å"look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t† and he said himself that â€Å"the false face must hide what the false heart doth know†. Macbeth speaks to his wife alone after the banquet, and he says that he will visit the witches again and from now on he will kill anyone who might get in the way of him keeping the throne – â€Å"we are yet but young in the deed†, so we can see Macbeth changing again, this time becoming more confident. This is the last time that he and his wife see each other. Macbeth goes to see the three witches again and his confidence is boosted even more. The witches plan, and succeed, to make Macbeth over-confident and this will be his down fall. They show him three apparitions, each telling him something; the first is an armed head (which is actually his own) and it tells him to â€Å"beware Macduff†, the second is a child covered in blood (Macduff) who tells him â€Å"no man born of a woman shall harm Macbeth†, and the third, a crowned child with a tree in its hand (Malcolm) tells him that â€Å"Macbeth shall never be vanquished until Great Birnam Wood† moves to Dunsinane hill. Finally, a procession of eight kings passes with Banquo following behind them. These apparitions, especially the second and third, make Macbeth more confident in himself and he thinks he cannot be killed by anyone. With his newfound confidence he vows to continue killing, as he cannot be stopped – â€Å"the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand†, and with the knowledge of Macduff travelling to England, Macbeth turns to murdering every other member of Macduff’s family – â€Å"give to the edge o’th’sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls†. As Lady Macbeth grows weaker, Macbeth grows stronger. Lady Macbeth is now the one feeling guilty, and she begins sleepwalking and hearing â€Å"foul whisp’rings†, just as Macbeth was before. Macbeth heads into battle against the English army, knowing that his â€Å"way of life is fall’n into the sere†. He has now become hardened and does not care for much, except his wife; when the doctor brings him news of Lady Macbeth’s illness, Macbeth asks him to make her better – â€Å"cure her of that†¦perilous stuff which weighs upon the heart†, so we can clearly see that he still loves her and cares about her, and has not yet completely lost everything that was good about him. Despite this, Macbeth is now a more cruel and, in a way, evil man and he says he has â€Å"almost forgot the taste of fears†, and he is not surprised to hear of his wife’s death – â€Å"she would have died hereafter†. He thinks about life and how it is a â€Å"brief candle† and now his life has lost it’s meaning, so he might as well die fighting – â€Å"life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player†¦then is heard no more†¦signifying nothing†. Macbeth knows he is going to die when he hears that Birnam wood is moving toward Dunsinane but still he is brave – â€Å"bear-like I must fight the course†. Macbeth meets with Macduff outside the castle, where he learns that Macduff was not born of a woman and he can kill him. Now Macbeth knows for sure that he will die there and then and he could have just let Macduff kill him, but he decided to fight bravely till his death – â€Å"at least we’ll die with harness on our back†. Macbeth is truly a tragic hero as he had many of the qualities needed to be king – he was a good man: noble, brave, loyal, caring and loving toward his wife, and he never lost the will to fight bravely, no matter what the outcome may be. However, he changed in a very short space of time to become cruel and hardened, influenced, first by the witches, then by his wife. Because of this, we do feel sympathy for him; because he was good man who was changed by supernatural beings, but also partly by his own ambition. This is a tragic tale of how ambition can tarnish a person and make their life seem pointless, or as Macbeth said â€Å"Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury Signifying nothing†.

Norse Culture

Norse Culture: A Closer Look| | | Julianne N. Cantu| Intercultural CommunicationsDr. ThibodeauxMarch 7, 2013| From the beginning of civilization, culture has played a crucial role at shaping every society. Culture allows for all that is special about a group of people to be taken into account and be recognized. Norse culture has long been a popular subject in modern societies. Some of the most important characteristics that make Norse culture so unique are their people, their language, their literature, their religion, and their funeral practices.Like most societies, the Norse had a surprisingly lax social hierarchy. The Norse hierarchy was set to where there was a possibility for upward mobility. Individuals in Norse society were not doomed to live out their days in a particular social status, but were free to move from class to class. There were three set social classes in Norse society. Most Norsemen belonged to the middle class known as karls. Karls were the landowners, the farme rs; the smiths (blacksmiths, locksmiths, etc. ), etc (Haywood, 2000).The highest level in the social hierarchy was known as the jarls, or the nobility. These people lived in extravagant houses and halls and lived refined lives. The jarls used their money, wealth, followers, ships, and estates distinguish them from the rest of society. The lowest class of the social hierarchy was known as the pr? ll. This class included slaves and people who were known as bondsmen. If a person, from any class, could not pay their debts, they would become a bondsman and work for another man until his debts were repaid (Guy, 1998).The Scandinavians, during the Viking Age, spoke Old Norse. This language was sometimes referred to as â€Å"Danish Tongue (Page, 1987). † Icelandic, Danish, and Norwegian languages are all descended of Old Norse. There were many different dialects spoken during this time. Many scholars are able to find the differences between East Norse and West Norse. Despite these di fferences, the people during the Viking Age were able to communicate with each other without difficulty because the languages were so similar (Page, 1987). Many Viking cultures were also known to have used runes.A rune is letter or character from the runic alphabet. â€Å"Most of the runic characters consist of straight lines and the alphabet was clearly designed for etching onto wood, stone, or metal with a sharp instrument such as a knife (Page, 1995). † A different version of runes referred to as the â€Å"Younger Futhark† was established by the beginning of the Viking Age. Contrary to popular belief, Vikings did not actually wear helmets with horns on them. This depiction of Vikings warriors is a terrible misrepresentation of their culture.What a Viking wore was determined by their place in their society. If a person was a slave, they were often poorly dressed in things that amounted to rags. Free men wore things like leather boots and clothes made out of finer mat erials, like wool and different furs. Men often wore either pants or tunics, while the women would wear dress like garments that would fasten at the shoulder (Roesdahl, 2001). Only the wealthiest of the Viking society ever wore jewelry, like necklaces, pendants, brooches, and rings because it signified their elevated status to others (Jesch, 1991).Viking literature is uncommon to come by because Norse culture was typically shared through the spoken word rather than the written word. Much of the folklore about Norse culture was written later and compiled into a Edda. Edda is derives from the Old Norse term for poetry (Page, 1995). There are two different types of edda, the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda. The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems. This edda contains the most information concerning Norse mythology. The poems contained in the edda tell stories of brave hero and heroines and depict tales of different Norse legends.The Prose Edda also contains many mythological s tories. The Prose Edda, unlike the Poetic Edda, is separated into three different books;the Gylfaginning, the Skaldskaparmal, and the ? gir (Haywood, 2000). On the whole, not much is known about different pagan religious practices in the Viking Age. There is little evidence to vindicate the different pagan rituals conducted by the Vikings. Different Viking sagas were written almost 200 years ago, after the conversion to Christianity. Although there is no definitive record of pagan rituals, much is known about the many different deities worshipped by the Vikings.The most popular and powerful god to the Norse people was Thor, god of thunder and lightning. Thor was the mighty champions of the Norse gods and the people because he was the only one strong enough on his own to slay the giants, the arch nemeses of the gods. Without Thor, the other gods would have to resort to playing clever games in order to slay the giants. Thor’s weapon of choice was his mighty hammer, Mjolnir (Dub ois, 1997). Mjolnir is depicted as one of the most fearsome weapons in Norse culture, and is rumored to be capable of leveling mountains.It was written that, â€Å"[Mjolnir] would be able to strike as firmly as he wanted, whatever his aim, and the hammer would never fail, and if he threw it at something, it would never miss and never fly so far from his hand that it would not find its way back, and when he wanted, it would be so small that it could be carried inside his tunic (Orchard, 1999). † Odin was also one of the most popular gods in Norse culture. Odin was the father of all of the gods and men. He is a god of â€Å"magick, wisdom, with, and learning (Dubois, 1999). Odin has been said to possess the power of reanimating the dead in order to speak to them to gain any wisdom they may possess. Odin’s weapon of choice is his spear, Gungnir, which, supposedly, never misses its target. Odin is always depicted as only having one eye because he traded the other for a dr ink from the Well of Wisdom, where he gained an immense amount of knowledge (Page, 1995). Loki was the â€Å"trickster† of the Norse gods. It was written that he was, â€Å"handsome and fair of face, but has an evil disposition and is very changeable of mood.He excelled all men in the art of cunning, and he always cheats. He was continually involving the Aesir in great difficulties and he often helped them out by guile (Orchard, 1997). † Loki was the son of two giants and step-brother to Odin. Loki had the power of shape shifting and could even change his gender on command. As a woman, Loki gave birth to many of the terrible creatures, like Odin’s eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. When Thor was not around to help destroy the giants, Loki was often sought out by the gods in order to deploy clever tactics to take the giants down.The common misconception concerning Vikings and religion is that many believed they hated Christianity because they were pagan, and that was not the case. The Vikings believed in many different deities. They often targeted and plundered Christian monasteries, however, because they knew they were wealthy and were, often times, poorly defended. The Vikings had many different customs and beliefs when it came to death. They had specific rituals when it came to funerals, but had many different beliefs when it came to things like the soul and where the dead went when they were no longer part of this world.The Vikings had two different beliefs when it came to the soul. First, the Vikings believed that the very last breath a person took before they died was their soul escaping and moving on to become one with nature. The second was that there was a different type of soul; a â€Å"dream soul† that was able to leave the body when a person was in a state of unconsciousness like sleep. This part of the soul is forever trapped inside the body unless the body is destroyed either by decay or a sacrificial burning. Only when the body was broken down would the â€Å"dream soul† be able to make its way to the realm of the dead (Page, 1995).Vikings believed that, when a person dies, they need to be buried or burned with their belongings that will help them to succeed in their next life. People who had certain jobs, like a blacksmith, were often buried with all of their tools so that they would be able to utilize them after they had moved on to their next life. Women were often burned/buried with their jewelry and other tools for â€Å"female household activities (Orchard, 1997). † It was common among Vikings to burn the corpses, as well as their belongings, on a funeral pyre.These pyres were built to large scales because the Vikings believed that the smoke from the fire needed to be as massive as possible in order to assist the soul in reaching the afterlife. After the deceased had been gone for seven days, the Vikings would partake in funeral ale which served as a ritual drinking. The funeral al e was a way in which the families of the deceased could get together to celebrate the person’s life. It wasn’t until after the ale was drunk that issues like inheritances and transitioning of familial power were able to take place (Dubois, 1999).After a person has died, the Vikings believed that their souls partook in an adventure in order to reach the afterlife. The afterlife had many different variations in the culture, like the inside of a mountain, on the other side of the sea, in the heavens, or in the underworld (Dubois, 1999). Helgafjell, or â€Å"Holy Mountain†, is one manifestation of the Norse afterlife. If a person made their way to the holy mountain, they would live out their lives in a manner that was very similar to the one they had in the physical world. Hel, however, is the complete opposite of Helgafjell.Hel, which is ruled by a blue and black giantess named Hel, is the destination for all of those who did not die in battle, but of old age and s ickness. In Hel, the gates that adorn the entrance are heavy, as to give the idea once you enter, you will never again exit. Valhalla is another destination for those who have died. About half of those that die in battle find their way to Valhalla. The halves that were allowed to enter were to remain fit for battle so that they could participate in Ragnork. Valhalla was said to be located in the heavens in Odin’s kingdom.Valkyries, men and women who choose which soldiers die and which live, dwell in the heavens with Odin and those warriors deemed worthy to live again (Page, 1995). The other soldiers who are not chosen to live again reside in Folkvanger with the goddess Freya. The Norse raised many different kinds of domestic animals, like cattle, sheep, pigs, geese, chickens, goats, and ducks. They used their cattle, sheep, and goats in order to make dairy products like milk and cheese. They also harvested eggs from their chickens, ducks, and geese. Fish and deer were also hu nted and added to the myriad of food sources the Norse could choose from.The Norse also were accomplished farmers and were able to grow a plethora of different items, like oats, barley, flax, cabbage, leeks, horseradish, watercress, carrots, celery, peas, and a number of different herbs (Guy, 1995). The Norse were also known to keep bees and to harvest nuts. When it came to cooking their food, the Norse like their meat roasted or boiled and were particularly fond of their stews. The Vikings cured their meat, either by smoking it, bringing it, or drying it. The Vikings usually prepared flat bread for meals (like a pancake), but did produce raised bread when there was some sort of special occasion to cook for.Their drink of choice was mead. Mead is an alcoholic beverage made from honey, but they also made different kinds of beers and ales. The Viking did not grow grapes, so they were unable to partake in wine (Roesdahl, 2001). In short, it is clear that there are many different aspect s of Viking culture that makes them truly unique. It is also clear that there have been many misrepresentations of Viking culture and, because of that, many people can have skewed perceptions when it comes to their outlook concerning Vikings. References Dubois, Thomas A. Nordic Religions in the Viking Age.Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999. Print. Guy, John. Viking Life. Kent: Ticktock, 1998. Print. Haywood, John. Encyclopaedia of the Viking Age. London: Thames & Hudson, 2000. Print. Jesch, Judith. Women in the Viking Age. Haworth: Woodbridge, 1991. Print. Orchard, Andy. Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. London: Cassell, 1997. Print. Page, RI. Reading the Past: Runes. London: British Museum Press, 1987. Print. Page, RKi. Chronicles of the Vikings: Records, Memorials and Myths. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1995. Print. Roesdahl, Else. The Vikings. New York: Penguin, 2001. Print.

Alternate energy

Alternate energy – the solution to our depleting natural resources. A viable way to counter the effects of global warming. But is it really so? Every argument has its own pros and cons and we need to study both the sides before reaching on a hasty conclusion. As with all other discussions, the discussion centering around alternate energy sources has its own handful of proponents and opponents. Alternate energy sources are hailed the most due to their inexpensive and less polluting nature. Alternate energy sources are those which can be substituted for fossil fuels and include biofuels.Biofuels include among them vegetable oils, ethanol and methanol. As against fossil fuels, non renewable energy sources do not have a limited supply and hence their usage is not feared to bring about a rapid exhaustion of the resources. Careful studies of nonrenewable sources have made scientists to predict about possible exhaustion of these resources in coming century. The Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources puts an the lifetime of conventional oil to be only 32 years more, while its estimates about natural gas show that it will last 65 years more.This is one of the reasons that renewable resources are so much sought after now since the continuance of our work processes depending on these resources, is not threatened by their diminishing supply. Scientific studies have already revealed how the use of non renewable sources has proved to be hazardous to not just the environment but also the health of the population. This paper will discuss multiple sides of the issues of using these alternate energy sources. These issues are economic, ethical, social and environmental. We will discuss how the use of alternate energy sources will lead to less of global warming.In the environmental context, fossil fuels have been proven to be hazardous to nature and health. The environment is at great stake if we continue to use these fossil fuels. The combustion of fossil fuels leads to a number of pollutions ranging from water and land pollution to air pollution. It is held today that the highest amount of environmental pollution can be attributed to none other than the combustion of these fuels. The smog caused by the combustion of these fuels can not only cause human sickness but can also be dangerous to the sustainability of crops.Similarly, the release of carbon dioxide in environment form the burning of these fuels is a major cause of global warming. Many climate changes are a result of this global warming. Continued use of these fossil fuels will only aggravate the situation. The conversion of fossil fuels is another environmental problem as it results in solid waste accumulation. Another threat posed by fossil fuels is that of spill offs in seas and oceans during their delivery. This proves to be a menace to the marine life and very difficult to clean up. Biofuels in contrast do not have any such hazards attached to them.Burning biofuels rele ases carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide in lesser quantities. A model by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) shows that neat biodiesel form soya beans cut down the global warming pollution by more than 50% in comparison to conventional petroleum based diesel. Some other sources for biofuels such as algae have the potential of providing up to 90% reductions in global warming pollution. Biodiesel is also made form recycled food oil and waste products. Use of advanced technologies in future will see that the waste streams are being converted to diesel fuels.This will result in production of low carbon diesel. Biodiesel has got an edge over petroleum diesel fuel when it comes to low pollution emission. Biodiesel emit less of hydrocarbons as compared to conventional diesels and thus are environmentally safer. In environmental context then, biofuels seem to be a more viable option, by being less harmful and detrimental to environment and health. The issue of energy sources is such that now it has even got mixed with politics. In evaluating the viability of alternate energy sources, we also have to consider the political context relevant to the situation.Governments are now more than ever concerned about the dwindling supplies of fuels and hence are pushing for alternate energy sources. Before using an alternate energy source then, the political issues that need to be considered are many. One of the many aspects considered by a government before venturing into the development of any alternate energy source is the jobs and the growth provided by the fuels industry. The renewable industry is a newly developing one and has potential for growth in future. This is what the Canadian government has in mind and is one of the reasons why it is pursuing a greater use of renewable energy sources.Governments like Canada seek alternate energy source such as biofuels because they offer immense reductions in greenhouse gases (Susanne, 2007). They also provide an economical energy so urce for governments in the face of increasing petroleum prices. The basic reason however governments may consider alternate energy fuels such as these is the wish to support farming and rural communities. Hence, political issues such as consideration of population and growth and job opportunities in the alternate energy industry are some of the political aspects a government considers before opting for such a resource.The Canadian government has opted to go for biodiesels which shows that this form of energy is being sought after readily by governments and they think it as a feasible option to not only counteract the effects of global warming but also be beneficial in terms of providing job opportunities to the farmer population. If we consider the socio-economic aspect of this issue, we would see that alternate energy sources are being seen by governments as a lucrative option since governments have seen an increase in farm-products and thus that this could boost rural incomes (FA O, 2008).Hence, all the more reason to support the alternate energy source. Economically, the biofuels could prove to be fruitful for farmers in developed countries. The FAO report 2008 states that farmers of the developing countries could be supported and aided to reap the benefits of its production. If biofuels is produced in developing countries, not only will it be economically profitable for the local population but it will be a major cause for reduction in pollution. Todaro, in his book Economic development states that the most cumulative environmental degradation has been caused by the developed world.However, this trend is very much likely to reverse because of decreasing income patterns and high population growth rates in developing countries. Thus, providing the population of developing countries with a cheap substitute to fossil fuels will ensure lesser pollution created in the developing world. Keeping all these points in view, I opine that alternate energy sources are i ndeed the need of the day and promoting their use will reduce pollution and combat global warming. However, some contrasting views have also been found related to the use of biofuels.These present some problems in deciding whether to promote the use of biofuels or not. Producing biofuels requires more fossil fuel energy than is gained by the consumption of the fuel (Pimentel, 2001). Hence, it contributes to global warming and pollution too. On the political forefront, biofuels, particularly ethanol is being opposed against by the environmentalists on the grounds that promoting the use of biofuels might encourage farmers to abandon food crops and plant cash crops instead, which could then be used in producing fuel.Europe is one such region which has pursued in the past for policies favoring biofuels. However, the policy decision made in 2008, has met with strict criticism from lobbyists, citizens and environmentalists. Ethanol, one of the biofuels, then does not appear to have a stro ng foothold when it comes to political grounds. Policies to promote biofuels in regions such as Europe and U. S have met with censure and disapproval as it does not seem to be such a feasible source. Political and environmental arguments however are not the only ones to be considered.The social aspects have to be considered too. One may argue that producing biofuels will be good for society. More cash crops will be grown, with better return to society and less production of pollution. However, a study shows how the production of biofuels is actually a social tragedy for humans. To sum up, the report declares that producing biofuels is not a feasible option as it will only be disastrous for farmers, the environment, and citizens, particularly, the poor ones (Altieri & Bravo, 2007). The report gives example of U.S that how even the utilization of all soya bean and corn crops will not be enough to meet more than 12% of its gasoline’s needs and 6% of diesel needs. One-fifth of co rn harvest in U. S has already been dedicated to biofuels but this too could meet only 3% of its domestic energy demands. Is it then ethical to pursue this option when it seems to have a plethora of arguments opposing it? Apparently, there is a trade-off between the economic and environmental benefits to be reaped from the production of biofuels, against the social costs of getting the food crops being replaced by cash crops.Cheap fuel to source the industries of a country or food for feeding the population? These are the two precarious questions waiting to be answered. Through the course of the discussion of paper, we have seen how alternate energy source may prove one of the ways to combat pollution and be beneficial for the environment. However, to do so at the social cost of hungry population would be a crucial mistake. The key to this problem is maintaining a balance between the two. In the face of food crisis and rising food prices, priority should be set on solving the proble ms of food security.Developing countries, hence must not seek out so actively to promote the use of alternate energy source. Rather, their focus should be on getting the food crisis resolved. One of the FAO’s recommendations with regard to this aspect says that â€Å"policies should be developed with appropriate international coordination to ensure that the international system supports environmental sustainability goals as well as social goals for agricultural development and poverty and hunger reduction†.Hence, to achieve the goals environmental sustainability, alternate energy source i. e. biodiesels must be sought keenly but only if the social costs of doing so are not greater than the economic profitability. References: FAO report, (2008), The State of Food and Agriculture, Part I: Biofuels: Prospects, Risks and Opportunities, pp 88-90. Retrieved August 17, 2010 from http://www. foodfirst. org/node/1662 R. S. , Susanne (2010, February), Canadians backing biofuels. Retrieved August 17, 2010 from http://www. biodieselmagazine. com/article. jsp? article_id=3993 Pimentel. (2001), The limitations of biomass energy, Encyclopedia of Physical Sciences and Technology. San Diego: Academic Press,159–171 Altieri, M. A. , & Bravo, E. (March 2007), The ecological and social tragedy of crop-based biofuel production in the Americas. Retrieved August 17, 2010 from http://www. foodfirst. org/node/1662 Todaro, M. P & Smith, S. C, Economic Development, 2002, Prentice Hall

One of the most important battles to fight is the right to know what Essay

One of the most important battles to fight is the right to know what is in our food - Essay Example The reason for the knowledge is imperative for determining a good well balanced life. Well-being is strongly supported by mental conditions. When one acknowledges food content, they ingest, a harmonization of psychology conditions together with the biological process following the food attribution to good health (Food Labeling - Consolidation Directive Agreed 1). Whether the food produced is organic or not should be captured in the label. Diseases and human health conditions are another reason manufacturers should label food. Allergies and reactions affect human with varying degrees and dietary supplements, and people should fight to push for labeling as a granted right. To avoid illness and stress setting into one’s life understanding content before they take is paramount. Moreover, financial constraints are becoming a must consider concern in acquiring the food people eat (Gatenby 350). Many eateries do not mind of the side effects of using given spices, components and supplements on the food prepared. Hence, a more reason people should demand to know what they pay for. Finances will be employed in the treatment or paying for food one may never use upon realizing the contents are not enough for their ingestion later (Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum Food Labeling Policy 1). Eating food is a daily must activity in order to be healthy. Business classes have not perceived the need to label the food. Consumer should not purchase food does is not labeled to send a clear message to manufacturers. Being the heart of the production by consuming, human beings should demand their right to understand what they are eating. It will prevent disease spread, financial planning, and psychological satisfaction. Doctors may help keep a tab of health improvement from what is eaten. Should the right to know the content supersede the act of consuming what

Compare and contrast learning to ride a bike versus learning to drive Essay

Compare and contrast learning to ride a bike versus learning to drive a car - Essay Example Riding a bike may be perceived to be a hard art because of the techniques that an individual requires to maintain balance. Thus, it will require the learner to engage in riding a bike a number of times with failures and success to be able to acquire the skills required. Similarly, learning to drive will require practice in which the learner will have to drive a car with the help of an instructor to be able to get used on how to engage the various components that are related to the moving mechanism of a car. Remarkably, both learning to ride a bike and drive a car are arts that are perfected through experience. Even after getting the knowledge to ride a bike, it is often likely that an individual will have to keep on engaging in the art to ensure that all the techniques acquired are perfected. It becomes an art because a learner has to know each component of the bike and their operation in certain circumstances while riding. This also applies to learning how to drive a car, which is more of gaining the experience rather than just learning the basics of its mechanism. It also becomes an art because a learner will have to master each of the car’s components and their application during driving. Both experiences happen once in an individual’s life though a person may decide to engage in lessons that will act as reminders in few cases. Once an individual is well acquitted with the skills necessary to ride a bike, gets experience and perfects the art, it will not be necessary for an individual to get involved in other learning process unless she/he would like to participate in specialized riding skills applicable in sports. Likewise, this applies to learning to drive a car because once a learner has passed the driving test and has been issued with a driving licence, there is no need to further engage in the learning process. Learning to drive a car differs with learning to ride a bike in

Applying Balanced Scorecard Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Applying Balanced Scorecard - Assignment Example Businesses were faced by unclear situations of distinguishing an important aspect from what is not. Kaplan and Norton stated that the important aspects of a business should be presented in a balanced way. A balanced scorecard has three basic components that are important. They include strategic management framework, measurement system and communication tools (Blokdijk, 2008). The banking industry, greatly benefits from the balanced scorecard and management system. The BSC system helps managers in the banking sector accomplish the institution’s objectives. The major scorecard perspectives that can be implemented by managers are better-quality customer service and efficiency in the internal business processes (Blokdijk, 2008 p 113). Banks strategies are always based on the customer and therefore with improved customer service, the bank will end up improving on its profits, sales and turnovers. Banking industries are also able to improve by ensuring that they have efficient business processes. Blokdijk (114) states that with efficiency in the internal business processes, a banking industry will be able to retain its customers. With retained customers, the financial returns go up and the thus improvement in the

Contemporary Architecture and Ecological Knowledge Essay

Contemporary Architecture and Ecological Knowledge - Essay Example The essay "Contemporary Architecture and Ecological Knowledge" discovers the impact of ecological knowledge in molding the architecture. The effectiveness of the design in terms of incorporating ecological concepts will be evaluated, and the validity of its scientific claims, will be seen. Lastly, the new directions in this area of creative pursuit will be identified, by additional ecological knowledge. â€Å"Our duty is to translate the codes of the ecological language in a poetic way, to marry beauty with respect for the environment† (The Dirt). Such were the words of Renzo Piano, the Italian architect, while discussing ecology and architecture with the local newspaper. In his design of the Academy of Sciences building in San Francisco, Piano makes the clear decision that creating a fine balance between natural and built environment, should be the driving theme in any new building. The 400,000-sq.-ft.structure, built at the cost of $488-million, is certainly an excellent end eavor of Piano, to bring together cutting-edge technology and green design in 3- dimensional form. An aquarium, a planetarium, and a natural history museum, are part of this building. The building also houses 20 million specimens, and provides a platform for scientific research. The architect’s sensitivity towards ecology can be clearly seen in the entire design, and most impressively in the design of 2.5 acre living green roof. Although Greens roofs are no new technology, but the idea of using green roof that can generate power is new.

Issues on Down Syndrome Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Issues on Down Syndrome - Essay Example It is usual that open language skills to ageing adults with Down syndrome, are affected significantly compared to expressive skills (Carter Young & Kramer, 1991). Expressive language may remain intact over a long period, thus acting as a measure of overall ability. Studies have extensively examined adults with Down syndrome on their communication and language. Predictors such as school tutorials, how the person with the disorder grows up in the family, and enrichment therapies influence their academic performance (Bird &Thomas, 2002). Age, language and related skills in adults with downs syndrome Studies based on downs syndrome are increasing rapidly. Most of these studies seek to establish the connection among ageing, language and correlated skills in adults. According to Iacono, Torr, &Wong’s inferences, the measures of relationship between language and ageing fail to investigate linguistic domains but rather sensitivity to change. It is evident that expressive language tend s to decline with age among adults with downs syndrome compared to receptive language. Studies show that, receptive vocabulary is stronger with age than auditory sentence structure (Cooper & Collacott, 1995). In this case, the expressive language is weak, the speech delays or slows among ageing adults. According to Rasmussen & Sobsey 1994, longitudinal studies conducted on forty (40) years old adults with downs syndrome shows much loss in communication skills in particular receptive language. The study also indicated that dyspraxia sets in, a central nervous system condition affecting speech production. In addiction, this disorder affects the accuracy in gesture use. The ability to respond to auditory stimuli weakens with age meaning that the affected may not respond to when addressed verbally. There are difficulties in comprehending vocals, in this case the person with downs syndrome is poor in understanding spoken language and word discrimination. Scholars questions whether the la nguage decline was as a result of loss of memory, or part of adult-ageing process related to downs syndrome. Receptive language in downs syndrome individuals (40-49 years) shown to be low in comparison to the younger individuals (Dalton and Crapper-McLachlan, 1986). Predictors of intellectual attainments of young people with Down’s syndrome According to Turner, S., Alborz, A., & Gayle, V. 2008, most people think that academic achievement is anchored on the type and quality of education. Moreover, they lack knowledge on how parents can offer incredible support. In cases where children have a disability, people lack confidence on intellectual attainment of the child at home and school. However, school and guardians play a salient role in education. Stephen turner and his colleagues reported findings on a research they conducted. These findings identify school and parents as factors that influence academic achievements of young people with Down syndrome. The children in the long itudinal research were born between 1973 to 1980. The children under study varied in cognitive behavior, this was mainly to represent different abilities in downs syndrome. The researchers also choose families based on occupation and education backgrounds. Research indicated that young people with Down syndrome predict progress. Young people who attended mainstream school had impressive academic attainment in writing, reading and numbering even in their adulthood. Turner and Gayle points

Organizational Buyer Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organizational Buyer Behavior - Essay Example A corresponding product specification is either developed or searched. Then Comes the step of searching for a supplier who can provide goods and / or services for the requirement. The suppliers are then sought for proposing the solutions for the needs of products or service. Based on Proposals a Supplier is selected. An Order routine is finalized. Performance is reviewed. Buying Center: There are often multiple decision makers involved in organizational purchases. This requires that the marketer is aware of the needs of the various Players involved in making decisions. Users: A user is the end consumer of a product. Influencers: An influencer is someone who has influence over what is purchased. Deciders: A decider is someone who ultimately has authority if or what to purchase. Buyers: A buyer is someone who arranges the transaction. Gatekeepers: A gatekeeper could include anyone in the organization who can control the flow of information. Factors influencing Industrial Buyer Behavior (Telecommunication) There are various factors which influence the Buyer Behavior. Following are the factors which primarily influence the selection of a Supplier for leading telecom companies in Telecommunication market: 1. Data on reliability of the product : Proof of reliability about the suppliers company and its transmission products is of utmost importance. 2. Technical capability: the kind of technical capabilities to accommodate future product developments and enhancements also plays an important role in deciding about the supplier. 3. Ease of Maintance: Most of the Telecom companies require pre usage steps to be done by the network providers (suppliers of the network) and therefore might have significant amount of... 4. Ease of Operation and Use: The supplier should be well equipped to provide the Know-how on operations and use and should also have inbuilt people and technical resources to accommodate any operations related request.

Placement search Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Placement search - Essay Example The exercise confirmed my employability skills because the required skills, based on most job specifications, were consistent with my skills. Based on a personal objective for improved self-awareness and training into employability competence and self-assessments, I have reported skills in leadership, interpersonal competence, decision-making, and problem solving. These were major competencies in the identified job placements and are consistent with employability skills, according to Diambra (2011, p. 102) and means I possess employability skills. Despite the placement search initiative, I did not complete the search because of my plans for the next year. I plan complete a year experience after my graduation and this coincides with the duration for doing the placement job. The coincidence makes it impossible to complete both so Ii chose to undertake the experience. My job placement search was successful; I identified many opportunities and applied to two institutions. The search also helped me to confirm my employability skills based on personal competencies and observed job specification. I however abandoned my placement search because of my plans for a year experience following my

Ethical issue and its relationship to the ethical and legal aspects of Article

Ethical issue and its relationship to the ethical and legal aspects of nursing or other health care professions - Article Example The practitioners are required to identify the legal, ethical and professional values and determine how they can be applied to enhance quality practice in the health care profession (Gillogly & Molly, 2004). According to the nursing ethics, the practitioners in the health care sector are required to demonstrate expertise however they may not be certain about their responsibilities and accountabilities in relation to the legal and ethical issues (Debra , 2009). The main responsibilities entailed in the nursing profession include autonomy, decision making, accountability and great leadership. Ion The decision making process mostly involves the qualified practitioners as they are called upon to apply their expertise skills in developing the guidelines, policies and procedures governing the practice (Tingle & Cribb, 2002). Similarly, the qualified practitioners are involved in research and learning so as to apply their expertise, ethical aspects and the policies to give advice on the rel ated area. Therefore, the nurses and all the practitioners in the healthcare profession are required to be aware of all the guidelines and policies related to the practice as well as understand the requirements of ethical decision making (Heaton, 2008). Nurses and other practitioners in the healthcare sector face various ethical and legal issues in their career as they should combine both the legal and ethical aspects of health care to enhance professionalism in the practice. It is very important for the nurses to understand the difference between ethics and law. The laws are the rules and regulations governing the practice while ethics are meant to ensure appropriate values as well as monitor the actions of the peoples. One of the issues the nurses may face in their profession is where they are faced in acts that are ethical according to the practice but are not legal according to the laws (Tingle & Cribb, 2002). For example the nurses are required to allow cancer patients to smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes which are an appropriate measure according to the nursing practice ethical but illegal according to the governing laws. The nursing ethics could also allow the nurse to conduct an aborting in extreme cases so as to save the life of the mother whereas abortion is illegal according to the governing legal structure. Similarly the nurses and other practitioners could also be faced by situations where the practice is neither legal nor ethical but it has to be carried out (Tingle & Cribb, 2002). The issues faced by nurses in their practice are rapidly increasing and the resolution of the issues need careful research and assessment of all the causes and facts related to the cases. To resolve the issue faced in the nursing practice, most institutions implement ethics committees made of professional from all the related areas such as the healthcare professionals, lawyers, ethicists and the clergy among others (Sandra, 2008). This committees are assigned the task of assisting in the decision making process where they resolve the ethical issues faced by the practitioners using the developed guidelines and policies. The nurses are also required cooperate with the other professional in the healthcare sector to educate the public on the on the importance and ways to meet the health requirements so as to enhance ethical practices in the profession

Iconographic Representation Of Jesus Christ Essay Example for Free

Iconographic Representation Of Jesus Christ Essay Jesus Christ, by Christian tradition is known as the lamb of God or the sacrificial lamb, so he is symbolized by a very young lamb seated on a nest of thorns. Other than this Christ is also known as ‘the fisher of men’ which relates to the biblical story of how He was able to gather people into His flock so that they would submit to His teachings; so the ancient symbol for Christ is a simple illustration of the fish as shown in the collage. Other than this, this representation also has something to do with Christ’s words to Peter, when He said, â€Å"Come with me and I will make you fishers of men. This is also the reason why the Pope wears a ring known as ‘the fisherman’s ring† so symbolize his being the Vicar of Christ on earth. Another symbol which represent’s Christ is bread, because he also said during his lifetime, â€Å"I am the Bread of Life, whosoever partakes in my banquet shall have eternal life. †; Christ is also represented by fire, light or a flame because of his pronouncement that He â€Å"is the Way, the Truth, and the Light. †   Another symbol used in the collage is the chi-rho symbol which was an ancient way of writing the name Jesus Christ.

Motivations for Mobile Phone Use in Rural and Urban Areas

Motivations for Mobile Phone Use in Rural and Urban Areas Acknowledgement I would first and foremost like to acknowledge the generosity of the villagers of Telav, Shela, Kaneti(Gujarat) and Amgachia(WB) who in spite of their busy life took time to let me understand their lives. I am also deeply indebted to Prof. Rajat Iyer and Prof. Arbind Sinha, Faculty MICA,for being a thesis guide in every sense of the word. I would also like to thank Mr Shailesh Yagnik, Librarian MICA, and all the library staff for their immense cooperation without which this might not have been possible. I would also like to thank Prof. Rajneesh Krishna for clarifying my doubts about various Market research tools and methodologies despite his busy scheduleand engagements. I would also like to thank Mr. Raj Kumar Jha,OM Outreach who shared with us valuable inputs in Rural marketing and inspired me to work on this topic. I would like to thank my parents who have been a constant source of inspiration for me and have held me through ups and downs in my life. I would also like to thank all my friends for helping me organise my thoughts,constant encouragement, sleepless nights and chota breaks. Thanks guys for giving me confidence to submit this document. Executive summary Today Mobile phones have made their presence felt not just in urban India but also in rural areas. This phenomenon has increased the scope of branding which most company considered a tough turf in rural India. Though it may seem a far-fetched idea currently but considering the giant leap the economies of developing nations like India is making, tapping of rural markets building brands for this market make sense. Innovative use of Mobile application is helping war torn Afghanistan fight corruption and elevate the standard of living of its people. Similarly in developing nations, application developed for local needs like M-Pesa in South Africa, Pesapal in Kenya are finding consumers and helping the brands make an impact. Study in the past conducted in various geographies have developed model for either urban consumer or directly generalized model for mobile marketing. From the literature review few factors were derived for mobile advertising like (1) utility, (2) context, (3) control, (4) sacrifice, and (5) trust. My study aims to works on these parameters, but specifically on rural India to find out attitude and behavioral implication of mobile advertising. The study also includes technology barriers advancement in India and barriers related to social implication in rural areas like language and cultural difference. For the purpose of the study a qualitative research has been commissioned across two regions – Gujarat and West Bengal. This was a contrasting study to find out the motivation underlying the use of mobile phones and the prospect of mobile marketing across two extreme geographies since West Bengal is one of the least mobile savvy state whereas Gujarat has one of the highest mobile phone users. Focus group discussion depth interviews with the help of projective techniques revealed the underlying motivation for using mobile marketing. It mainly reinforced the fact that while rural consumer do not want intrusion in their life they are willing to open up the space for better living standards. Hence the desire to gain knowledge and make money to elevate the living standards was of prime importance. The study also reveals certain limitation to mobile advertising which has to be kept in mind while designing any mobile marketing campaigns. Finally the study proposes a framework to facilitate acceptance of mobile marketing message among consumer and maximize marketing objective of brands, which outlined as follow 1. Collaborate with Service providers It is a win-win situation for the service providers as well as the marketers and not to forget the consumer, if the contextual targeting of advertising is maintained. 2. Precision targeting It is rewarding for advertiser since they are able to overcome the challenge of predicting whos on the other side of a product or service purchase and target them with brands according to the demographics 3. Develop content relevant for the consumers in collaboration with Media agencies Develop content of significant importance by understanding the day to day life of rural consumer e.g. the language assistance application which has the potential to become a way of life for the consumer and then only can a brand reach the stage of resonance in the mind of rural consumer As a concluding note, this conceptual study offers to provide a discussion on how mobile advertising might subsidize wireless infrastructure growth among underprivileged societies and allow marketers to target more specifically the consumer in media dark region. Also with the collaboration of private partners the social development in rural areas with the help of mobile communication will be faster. Marketers can increase their consumer base by targeting the huge potential at the bottom of pyramid and hence increase their bottom line significantly as well as deliver to their promise of corporate social responsibility. Introduction C. K. Prahlad in his book â€Å"The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid† says, â€Å"If we stop thinking of the poor as victims or as a burden and start recognizing them as resilient and creative entrepreneurs and value-conscious consumers, a whole new world of opportunity will open up†. This statement has been taken to like a gospel truth by marketers in India and many are now trying hard to target this untapped potential. India is a country of 1.13 billion, out of which 70% of the people are living in the rural India. The marketers all around the world interested in India are becoming more curious to explore the rural potential. With 128 million households, the rural population is 3 times the urban. As a result of rural affluence, fuelled by good monsoon and the increase in agriculture to 200 million tones, the rural India has large consuming class of 41% of middle class and8 58% of the total disposable income. The Census of India defines Rural India as anything which is not urban. Village is defined as a basic unit for the rural areas is the revenue village, might comprise several hamlets demarcated by physical boundaries. Thus a Rural is defined when it meets the following criteria Minimum Population Population density 25% of the male population engaged in agricultural activity Reserve Bank of India defines rural as ‘Locations with population up to 10,000 will be considered as rural and 10,000 to 100,000 as semi-urban. Similarly NABARD, Planning Commission, Sahara also define the villages on population criteria. As mentioned in The Rural Marketing Book, Pradeep Kashyap and Siddhartha Raut (ed.2008), the rural economy has seen tremendous growth since 1990s because of thirteen consecutive good monsoons. This various radical changes in rural market has been testimonial to this development, some of them are as follows; There has been a 600% increase in the outlay of rural development programmes in the five year plans from Eighth to Tenth Five year plan. 41 million Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) has been issued since the inception of the scheme amounting to a total of Rs. 97,700 crore of cumulative credit. The number of KCC issued is more than the 40 million credit-plus-debit cards issued in urban India. Also a 230% increase in the flow of institutional credit for agriculture from 1997-98 to 2004-05 has been registered. Today Mobile phones are ubiquitous not just in urban India but also in rural areas. This phenomenon has increased the scope of branding which most company considered a tough turf in rural India. Though it may seem a far-fetched idea currently but considering the giant leap the economies of developing nations like India is making, tapping of rural markets building brands for this market make sense. There is virtually no branding effort in these areas so a scope for brand salience resonance doesnt increase. Mostly brands in these areas right now are competing on price points which will cease to exist as differentiator as customer becomes more evolved bestowed with financial prowess. But there seem to be branding efforts from the marketers viewpoint and also there is some franchise on factors other than price from the consumer view. A lot of work in the field of mobile telephony has been going around e.g. A team of MIT Media Labs Next Billion Network participants next generation of tech movers and shakers- who are building technologies to help people in the developing nation to raise their incomes, learn to read, get where theyre going, and diagnose their health. (david-chandler, july-2-2009) Innovative use of Mobile application is helping war torn Afghanistan fight corruption and elevate the standard of living of its people as depicted in the following new report. (Loyn, 2009) Nokia have also felt the rural potential and developed product consumer in those regions. Even their communication for the Model 1100 has been specifically targeted at the rural audience fully portraying the need in the rural settings. (Banerjee Sangameshwaran, 2009) Also the value of VAS industry is estimated to be Rs.16500 crores by 2010 according to a research by RNCOS, with expansion into rural markets where more services in banking, gaming data and TV segment will be seen. (Mobile VAS to Drive Telecom Growth, 2009). Thus the future of mobile marketing looks optimistic and with rural economies building into a sustainable model, marketers have to no longer think about the return on marketing investment. Literature review In the following literature review, I have reviewed the various published articles white papers from journals, books Reports. First I have looked into the knowledge created on rural marketing it implication, in this domain a lot of work has been done with a global perspective and quite a few with the Indian market in viewpoint. Rural Marketing its Implication Some of the studies are regularly published in the Journal of Rural Marketing by RMAAI to help marketers keep track of updates in rural market. A study on evolution of rural consumerism conducted by Hansa Research reveals the rural consumption pattern over a period of five years i.e. 2000 to 2005. The study has data on three levels i.e. exposure in terms of communication and education, consumption of several categories of products and distribution of these products. According to the report shampoo consumption in rural India has increased from 13.9 % in 2000 to 31.9 % in 2005. (The Rural Marketing Journal of RMAAI, 2007) Dr. Vinod Kumar Bishnoi and Bharti of Haryana School of Business have done a research paper on Awareness Consumption Pattern of Rural Consumers towards home and personal care products. The paper contains details on awareness and usage of brands in rural areas. It also tries to find out the motives and factors behind brand choice, the sources of information and to measure any association between demographics and brand choice. Regarding motives and factors behind brand choice, Bishnoi and Bharti say that rural consumers purchase a product mostly for its utilitarian value rather than the peripheral values. Consumers tend to stick to the brand once they are satisfied with it. The brand loyalty in this case is unusually high even though consumers switch FMCG brands very frequently. The rural consumer is also very quality conscious. Advertising and retailers advice play a major role in decision making. The consumer is also a little cautious with price levels. The study also reveals that there is clear association between income level and expenditure habits in these products. The primary source of information about brands is television. Retailer, newspaper and radio are other prominent sources. As Bishnoi and Bharti highlighted in their paper some very interesting aspects, that whatever is the leading brand in all the products that remains leading irrespective of any demographic variable be it income, education , age or gender. This might be explained by the fact that the family structure in rural India is such that that several people of various education and age group stay together. The contemporary media scenario in India is marked by a frenetic proliferation of television channels, FM radio stations, daily newspapers, mobile telephony and digital media. Despite this situation, as the following article argues, the poor while highly visible almost everywhere in urban and rural India remain, ‘invisible in the nations mass media. (Kumar, Jan 2008) To successfully market products in rural areas, distribution is a critical barrier which needs to be overcome. An understanding of the structure of distribution in rural areas would help in the development of an efficient distribution system. The paper after a thorough literature review proposes a conceptual framework which identifies the drivers of the structure of distribution in rural areas. (Rajesh L. K., January June, 2005) The paper discusses the need for strengthening marketing efforts in rural India. The author mentions about the rural network, whose basic objective is to try and get clients who are looking for a national strategy in rural marketing and provide help in implementing such plans across different regions with the local expertise. The paper also deals with instances on how marketers aiming to target their brand commercials to both urban and rural audiences are required to do well to pre-test the spots and that the spots communicate what is intended for the targeted viewers, thus providing the basis that there is a huge difference in rural urban consumer and they have to be dealt with differently (Rajan, 2005) The second stage of my literature reviews knowledge on the mobile telephony- the development with respect to marketing, the intention in developing VAS, user perception of mobile marketing, the obstacle barriers to mobile marketing. Carter in the journal of Mobile marketing defines mobile telephony as a set of buzz words like Mobile marketing, mobile advertising and m-commerce. He examines the Generation Y, the generational cohort born between 1979 and 1994, which researchers think will change the marketing landscape forever. This paper addresses some of the many issues and opportunities that may affect marketers abilities to reach Generation Y African-American mobile consumers. (Carter, June 2008) Another journal in mobile marketing reveals that empirical studies have been limited to exploring consumer justifications for accepting or rejecting cell phone advertising on either a speculative basis among possible mobile marketing users, or a post hoc basis among those who had already chosen to receive cell phone advertising. This research explored consumer justifications in the context of a field test, in which mobile phone users were offered subscriptions to a mobile phone text based advertising program. Thus found out that among acceptors information benefits of cell phone advertising was prime due to positive attitude towards information entertainment. While for the rejecters the perception of having to pay for advertising was enough to discourage participation. (Newell Meier, Dec 2007) This journal examines the drivers of consumer acceptance of SMS-based mobile advertising. A conceptual model and hypotheses are tested with a sample of 4,062 Finnish mobile phone users. Structural equation modeling is used to test five drivers of mobile advertising acceptance: (1) utility, (2) context, (3) control, (4) sacrifice, and (5) trust. The results show that utility and context are the strongest positive drivers, while sacrifice is negatively related to the acceptance of mobile advertising. Thus marketers should pay particular attention to the utility and relevancy of mobile advertising messages. (Merisavo, Kajalo, Karjaluoto, Virtanen, Salmenkivi) Mobile Marketing I have reviewed the various application of mobile telephony and the consumer perception towards mobile marketing in particular and mobile application in general. Also innovation from companies for rural consumer were of considerable significance as firms like Nokia had earlier launched a basic handset with a torch (large parts of rural India dont have electricity) and an alarm clock. In another paper, an instrument for measuring attitudes toward mobile advertising is developed. The results of a survey indicate that (1) consumers generally have negative attitudes toward mobile advertising unless they have specifically consented to it, and (2) there is a direct relationship between consumer attitudes and consumer behavior. Hence concluded that it is not a good idea to send SMS advertisements to potential customers without permission. Their attitudes were favorable if advertisements were sent with permission. This implies that permission-based advertising may become a major mechanism in the mobile environment in the future. The research notably points out relationship between attitude, intention and acceptability of Mobile advertising through empirical study. The respondents were more willing to accept incentive based mobile advertising. Finally, intention significantly affected how and when the respondents read the message. (M. Tsang, Ho, Ting-Peng, 2004) Although mobile phones have been shown to be highly effective as education content delivery mechanisms, underlying handset and subscription costs have limited their usefulness in many underprivileged countries. Thus the author proposes a model where education content can be subsidized by mobile advertising and a business model is developed where sellers is able to communicate to buyers in their native tongue and vice-versa in order to close transactions. The paper touches on many key issues that are determining the mobile marketing sector. The mobile dam is about to burst and marketers have to be prepared for this through well developed and formulated ethical strategies. Customers will have to be gently cajoled and locked into useful market applications. (Ranchhod, June 2007) Impact of Technology in Marketing The article â€Å"The Missing link-Why mobile marketing is different† is rich with illustrations, examples and detailed footnotes, includes a thorough discussion on how marketing, technology, and business practices and models have matured and converged over time to make the medium what it is today. He discusses the impact network migration from 2G to 3G, globalization, the changes in marketing practices, and the value system have had on mobile marketing practices. He suggests that we need to focus on developing successful revenue models, create favorable conditions for relationship marketing and long term-dialog amongst the players in the industry, and that we must have a global mindset and to put aside any not-invent-here mentalities. (Steinbock, June 2006) Again in the paper stresses on the increasingly complex and demanding customers as ICT developments becomes rapid and marketers start coping with highly demanding customer who require extraordinary experiences and highly user-friendly service interfaces particularly in technology services, such as mobile marketing (as illustrated in the Figure below). (Steinbock, June 2006) Rationale/Information Gap The rural market works on 4 As i.e. Accessibility, Affordability, Acceptability and Awareness and the traditional four Ps of marketing cease to exist in this scenario. There is a presence of huge potential in rural India but at the same time there is a lot of obstacle faced venturing into these markets. Low per capita disposable incomes, large number of daily wage earners, acute dependence on vagaries of monsoon, seasonal consumption linked to harvest festivals and special occasion, poor roads power problems and inaccessibility of conventional advertising media. As much as there is potential, there is also a good amount of ambiguity on how to create brand salience in these markets. In such situation marketers who see huge potential in rural market with around 700 million consumers, everyone would like to take its brand to the next level of brand salience resonance. Hence with increased penetration of mobile phones there has been more chance of mobile communication entering the media dark region. It may seem farfetched as an idea to brand product for rural consumer when presently we think that rural consumer stress on affordability. Much has been written about rural marketing, the consumption patterns, attitudes behavior of rural consumer in India and Mobile marketing in isolation but the whole perspective of mobile marketing for rural India is not covered in the literatures. Therefore this study aims to look at the future prospects of mobile telephony as a means to communicate brand promotion and create a brand resonance with the rural consumer. Research Objectives Objectives are as follows; To find out the present usage of mobile telephony among rural users and their perception of brands using mobile marketing To find out the technology/language barriers in implementing branding activities in the rural environment The objectives will aim to find out what are the technology barriers, governments policies and technological advances for the implementation development of mobile application to facilitate interactive marketing. It also aims to understand the acceptability of technology in the rural environment and the language barrier, since most of the rural India has lower literacy rate and use local languages as means of communication is prevalent. The second objective aims to find out the acceptability of mobile marketing in the rural context and how will it affect a brand. We intend to discover whether the consumer reacts to marketing communication over mobile phone in positive manner and how will it affect the purchase intention of the brand. Approach Secondary Research: Present and future platforms/technology which makes mobile telephony ubiquitous for Rural India Studying the branding marketing efforts of companies for rural India, the number of companies interested in marketing branding their products for rural India Primary Research: Qualitative research is applied to understand the consumer perception in rural India while using mobile telephony. This is done in two stages; Focus group discussion with rural respondents Depth interviews with rural respondents Depth Interviews with marketers after the FGDs/DIs The TG of the study is defined as: Age: above 15 SEC RI, R2, R3 Location: West Bengal, Gujarat Gender: Males Females Presumption is that the decision makers in rural India are generally the head of the family, who is the male member. Also the same holds true for mobile users, though a considerable amount of women these days are using mobile phones too. So I have conducted FGDs across all age group for the male sample size. Each FGD had people from the same caste same gender to maintain cohesion focus in the discussion. West Bengal has the least mobile phone user whereas Gujarat is one of the highest mobile phone users. Hence its a contrasting study to find out the motivation underlying the use of mobile phones and the prospect of mobile marketing. The following table represents the No. of users in Gujarat and West Bengal. 2 focus group discussion in each location i.e. Gujarat and West Bengal Five depth interviews in each location Interviews with marketers after the FGDs Profile of respondents: All respondent must be using mobile telephones in daily basis Should be literate with primary school education Secondary research From being charged for incoming calls to getting paid for calls you receive and then a pay per second regime, Indian wireless telephony has come a long way. India has one of the biggest telecom markets in the world. It has the third-largest telecom network in the world and second-largest among the emerging economies. The Indian telecom industry generated revenues of approximately US$ 32 billion in 2007–08 with a growth rate of 60 per cent over 2006–07. It witnessed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 29 per cent from 2002–03 to 2007–08. Total telecom subscribers – 545.05 million (January 2010) Teledensity – 43.50 (September 2009) Addition of mobile subscribers (July–August 2009) – 15.08 million Annual growth rate of telecom subscribers (June 2008–June 2009) – 42.68 per cent Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for GSM (as on 30 June 2009) – US$ 3.80 The wireless subscriber base increased from 535.15 million in December 2009 to 545.05 million at the end of January this year for a monthly growth rate of 3.79 per cent. The wireless density in the country now stands at 46.37. It grew at a CAGR of 45.21 per cent from June 2004 to June 2009. The handset market in India, consisting of mobile and fixed handsets, registered an overall growth of 5.8 percent from 2007-08 to 2008-09. (India, 2009) The value added service (VAS) market in India has a great potential for growth and revenue from this growth potential is expected to reach above INR 250 billion by the year 2009-10 and more than 30% of the revenue of the telecom access service providers in the next 5-7 years. The VAS industry in India generated revenue of US$ 1.2 billion in 2007–08 and is expected to reach US$ 4.0 billion by 2015. Top 11 Wireless Operators in the country: (September 2009) (India, 2009) Among the wireless service providers, Tata had a 14.97 % share of the net additions during January, followed by Bharti Airtel with 14.31 %, Reliance 14.08 %, Vodafone 13.78 %, Idea 11.42 %, BSNL 11.29 %, Aircel 10.10 %, Uninor 6.68 %, Stel 1.83 %, Sistema 1.07 %, Loop 0.26 % and MTNL 0.23 %. Market share of top 12 operators: Bharti Airtel had a market share of 22.33 per cent, followed by Reliance with 17.72 %, Vodafone 17.27 %, BSNL 11.95 %, Tata 11.07 %, Idea 10.99 %, Aircel 6.06 %, MTNL 0.90 %, Sistema 0.60 %, Loop 0.50 %, Uninor 0.47 %, Stel 0.09 % and HFCL 0.06 %. Present technology in India GSM has a market share of ~75% out of the 500 million wireless subscribers Reliance has registered a 6.73 % market share which is quite impressive for service which was launched only 6 months ago. CDMA subscribers are at 94.5 million and here is how they are split: Tata Teleservices which launched its GSM operations under brand name Tata DoCoMo will be another player to look out for in the next few quarters. Unitech Wireless has launched its services in 2009 and has a subscriber base of 2.5 million as of Jan 2010. New entrant S Tel added 0.22 million subscribers to take its subscriber base to 0.36 million. Reliance rules CDMA followed by Tata Teleservices (Tata Indicom). Shyam telelink has rebranded to MTS India has a subscriber base of 3.5 million (as of Jan 2010). CDMA doesnt look as much over-crowded as GSM but when put together the overall picture of Indian telecom looks crowded with 12 operators and 3 waiting in the wings. Reliance and Tata are the 2 companies to watch out for with the dual play of GSM and CDMA operations. The average revenue per user of CDMA is 99 rupees and that of GSM is 205 rupees. With 3 new players coming in for GSM the ARPUs will come down. CDMA which is supposed to be a better network for data access can use this opportunity to increase the ARPUs and subscribers. It just has to sort out the handset availability issue. (India, 2009) Penetration in Rural India As on 31st September 2009, out of the total 500 million subscribers, the rural subscribers contribute 151.8 million, comprising of 10.13 million wireline and 141 million wireless. The Rural teledensity as on September 2009 was 18.46% as compared to 9.20% during the previous year in March08. Subscription in Urban Areas grew from 328.55 Million in Jun-09 to 357.22 Million in Sep-09, taking the urban Teledensity to 102.79. Rural subscription increased from 136.27 Million to 151.81 Million, taking the Rural Teledensity from 16.61 in Jun-09 to 18.46 at the end of Sep-09. Total Wireless (GSM + CDMA) subscriber base increased from 427.29 Million at the end of June-09 to 471.73 Million at the end of Sept-09, thereby showing a growth of 10.4%. During this quarter 44.43 million subscribers were added. Wireless Teledensity increased from 36.64 at the end of June-09 to 40.31 at the end of Sept-09. Rural subscription (12.5%) has been growing at a faster rate than Urban (9.5%). The share of rural wireless subscription is 30% in total wireless subscription. Overall rate of growth of Wireless Subscription in QE Sept-09 (10.40%) is higher as compared to previous quarter (9.07%). Higher growth rate could mainly be attributed to the launch of GSM services by Tata Teleservices Limited across service areas. Future Developments Technologies in India WiMax stand for â€Å"Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access† is a standard-based wireless technology that allows broadband connections over long distances. The Economic Times, citing a study by US market research firm Strategy Analytics, reports that India will become the largest WiMAX market in the Asia-Pacific by 2013. The study forecasts that consumer subscriptions in the developing Asian countries will grow at a compound rate of 132% through 2013, with the subscriber base reaching almost 27 million in that year.Most emerging markets WiMAX providers will launch their initial services in major urban areas, to take advantage of concentrations of existing Internet users with purchasing power. However, over the longer term the most rapid growth is expected to be in second-tier cities and in rural areas, where there is substantially less competition from incumbent broadband suppliers.(Study Predicts India to be Largest WiMAX market in Asia Pacific by 2013, 2010) BSNL, HCL Infosystems Ltd and Intel Corp. have started a series of wide-reaching initiatives to spur economic and educational opportunities in India by expanding access to wireless broadband Internet and affordable computers. This is in support of the India governments Bharat Nirman rural development agenda. Intel and BSNL will jointly propagate wireless broadband Internet in what is intended to ultimately become a nationwide mobile WiMAX network. BSNL will also work with the two to make available in rural India WiMAX-capable nettop computers designed by the two companies and made in India by HCL using the Intel atom processor. Despite spectrum auction delays and other bureaucracy, India is set to be the biggest base on earth for WiMAX by 2012, and state-owned carrier BSNL, which has pre-auction access to its spectrum, has gone live with the countrys first Mobile WiMAX network. BSNL has two parallel projects, one for rural areas and one for metro networks kicked started by Minister Sachin Pilot. BSNL intends to usher in a new era of growth in rural areas by offering a broadband speed of 7Mbps at a distance of 15 kilometers. WiMax plans to bring to the underserved communities several key applications to meet the Indian governments target to reduce the countrys woeful levels of broadband penetration. Some of them will include; Utility bill payments Issue of official

Songs in the Key of Stevie Wonder’s Life Essay -- Biography

At the young age of twenty two, Stevie Wonder sang, â€Å"When you believe in the things you don’t understand / Then you suffer / Superstition ain’t the way†. He started his career in the early 1960s, but in 1972, Superstition established Stevie Wonder as one of the most recognizable musicians of his time in American and African-American culture and music. Although music was Wonder’s main priority, he also dedicated his time to a fight against racism throughout national and international borders. Musically, socially, and politically, Stevie Wonder was able to bring people together with his music and words. From the time of his birth to the present day, Stevie wonder sang his way into our hearts and remains one of the most influential people within African-American history. Steveland Hardaway Judkins was born on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan to Calvin Judkins and Lula Mae Hardaway. As his current musical career was groundbreaking, his family life was not so perfect. The relationship between Calvin and Lula Mae was difficult and abusive; even before Stevie was born, Calvin was drunk, domestically violent with Lula and forced her into prostitution to support the family and Calvin (Ribowsky 10). After Stevie’s birth, Calvin’s mannerism did not change and simply regressed. However, Calvin agreed to move to Detroit with Lula, Stevie, and his two elder siblings to Detroit to work on the relationship and family dynamic (Ribowsky 18). Calvin and Lula’s relationship later terminated with a divorce and a name change for Stevie, as his birth name was changed to Steveland Hardaway Morris. As the third child out of six, he was the only one to be born blind. Wonder was blind shortly after his premature birth from staying in an incubator for... ...r and a legal separation of race does not mean it is acceptable (Jet). Through his actions across the United States and South Africa showed the world how to be open to African-American culture and people. Stevie Wonder also sings â€Å"Broke the lookin’ glass / Seven years of bad luck / Good Things in your past† in his 1972 hit Superstition. However, Stevie Wonder did not come across any bad luck within his musical and political career. Both an inductee for Rock-and-Roll’s Hall of Fame and United Nations’ Messenger of Peace, Stevie Wonder brought insight to the minds of the public. Sixty years later, on March 1, 2011, Berry Gordy, Stevie Wonder, and other Motown singers came together once again at the White House to honor Motown music and its beloved singers; this came a celebration of the soulful music that Stevie Wonder and among others once and continue to sing.

The new Frontier :: essays research papers

Question #4 Section 1 Dusty trails, wagon trains, and tough guys on horses, the images that come to most peoples mind when they think of the migration towards the western frontiers. Today we are able to see the obvious effects that this migration has left on our society even today; (Sunny and warm Phoenix, hip coffee from Seattle, and that strange utopia of its own, California) but what are some of the not so obvious effects that it left?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The late 1800’s was a time of many great opportunities and advancements for the American people. With gold being discovered in many of the western states, the construction of a trans-continental railroad, and more then enough land open for settlement one couldn’t go wrong with this new frontier. This is great for the greedy materialistic side of the American peoples, but what did it do to the over all psyche of us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Americans have several combined viewpoints that exist when it comes to advancement within in our culture: â€Å"Because it’s there†, â€Å"We are Americans, we are better than you†, â€Å"and we are America it’s our God-given right to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Because we’re happy, you should be happy too.† These thoughts were behind the whole western expansion and still exist today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The â€Å"because it’s there† and the â€Å"it’s our God-given right too†¦Ã¢â‚¬  kind of go together hand in hand. We saw all of this open land the left of us and thought â€Å"why are we letting all of that go to waste over there?† We also felt because we had settled here and seemed to have such powerful hold on everything we saw it as our â€Å"God-given right† to take all that open space to the west over and claim it as or own, no matter who said other wise. So we went, and claimed it as ours, and as we all know it lasted. This mindset seems to still linger in our sub-conscious even today and such examples can be seen in many different situations. Granted the circumstances are slightly different but over all the implied thought process is still the same. America has the tendency today to see itself as the protective big brother of the world, and we are constantly getting into scuffles with the â€Å"bullies† of t he world. For example an insurgence breaks out in a different country and we see it as our duty to quell this uprising.

Cloning is Bad! :: essays research papers

   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The coelacanth is an amazing creature full of mystery and exciting discoveries. It was once thought to be extinct for more than360 milllion years ago until one was caught in1938.Its scientific name is Latimeria chalumnae .An adult coelacanth can grow at least to 180 cm in length and weigh 98 kg and each fish has a distinctive pattern of pinkish white blotches that enables scientists to separate one individual from another. The coelacanth has several very recognizable anatomical features.The skull is in two parts with an intra cranial joint which lets it go an up and down movement between them. A strong pair of muscles beneath the skull-base lowers the front half of the skull, giving the coelacanth a powerful bite .The eyes and olfactory organs are in the front part of the skull, and tiny brain and inner ear are in the rear.In the middle of the snout is a large pit filled with a jelly-like sac that opens to the outside through three pores.This sac is called the rostral organ .It may be used to detect weak electric currents and help the coelacanth to find hidden prey. The fins Coelacanths belong to a group of bony lobe-finned fishes and have 8 fins (2 dorsals, 2 pectorals, 2 pelvics, 1 anal and 1 caudal). The first dorsal fin of the coelacanth is much like that of other fishes and can be folded down or erected. The other fins have a well-developed, muscular, limb-like basal lobe projecting from the body wall, and a fringe of unbranched rays like a fan attached to the outer end of the base. The fleshy scale - covered lobe can be bent or rotated so that each fin can work like a paddle or sculling oar. The tailhas three divisions: a characteristic small projecting middle lobe between the longer upper and lower lobes of the fin. The skeleton Most of the skeleton is made of cartilage. In place of the vertebral column, a large notochord extends from the skull to the tip of the caudal fin. The notochord is a thick-walled cartilaginous tube filled with oil-like fluid which is under slight pressure; it is tough and elastic and does the job of a backbone, since no complete vertebrae are developed around it. The scales The body is covered with hard scales with small toothy-like growths called denticles on the outer surface which protect the coelacanth from the rocks and predators. The swimbladder

Assessing and Classifying/Diagnosing 16 to 20 Year Olds

Topic: Problems related to assessing and classifying/diagnosing 16 to 20 year olds with patterns of impulsivity, instability in interpersonal relationships, self image and affect. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. What is Borderline personality disorder 3. Developmental stages of Borderline Disorder on 16-20 year olds 4. Problems associated with diagnosing and classifying Borderline personality Disorder 5. How its patterns affect self image and interpersonal relationships 6. Conclusion 7. References 1. IntroductionIn this essay I will be discussing the problems related to assessing and classifying/diagnosing 16-20 year olds with patterns of impulsivity, instability in interpersonal relationships, self image and effect. Before I will discuss the above statement, we have to understand what Borderline Personality disorder. â€Å"Borderline personality disorder is a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self image and emotions. People with Borderline Person ality Disorder are usually very impulsive (Grohol,J, 2010).The American Psychiatric Association (2009) found that the Borderline Personality Disorder is a serious psychiatric disorder which is difficult to treat and is poorly understood. As time goes on of course they are working on finding q theoretical concept with the help of psychiatrists. 2. What is Borderline Personality Disorder? According to the APA (2000) â€Å"Borderline Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self image, and effects and a marked impulsivity beginning in early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts†.It is a critical disorder, a person with this disorder will have a variety of symptoms where they avoid real life events, they have unstable intense interpersonal relationships where sometimes they are happy with whom they are relating to, and then the other moment they are dissatisfied with the relationship. They have an image disturbance where they really do not understand who they are, what they are about and what they want for themselves. 3. Developmental stage of Borderline Personality Disorder on 16-20 year olds The development of Borderline Personality Disorder is not exactly known, since it is difficult to diagnose.Psychiatrist and clinicians also find it complicated to know how it develops. There are various factors that can develop it, such as biological, social and genetic factors, since it involves patterns of Depression, Bipolar, Anxiety and other personality disorders. Borderline Personality Disorder shows up at a later stage of one’s life but it actually starts when the person is still very young. The relationships at the young age the person has had have an impact to its development. Most symptoms are extreme at early 20’s.According to Goodman,M. et al. (2009) Case Presentation of â€Å"V† who was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, they found out that when ‘V’ w as a child she was moody and unusually sensitive to physical experiences, responded with anger and at times loose appreciation of her surroundings which these episodes occurred from 3-4 times a week, which goes to show that these continuous actions did have an impact towards â€Å"V† being diagnosed with borderline Personality Disorder. 4.Problems associated with diagnosing and classifying Borderline personality Disorder Most people who have personality disorders or a general mental health problems they do not seek out medical health at early stages when the they can see that something is wrong but rather they leave it, but only start acting when the mental problem start affecting their day to day living. In such cases it can be difficult to help people in a short period of time because the disorder may have affected a large area of their lives which will take time for healing.With Borderline Personality Disorder to diagnose most patients are misdiagnosed with other disorders related to it like depression or Bipolar or end up being diagnosed at a later stage of their lives. Borderline Personality Disorder is treated by professional mental health practitioners and they also have difficulty in diagnosing it in 16-20 year olds, since this disorder involves patterns of various personality disorders, so at this age it is still early to know exactly, there maybe still doubts, because the individual diagnosed has to have had repetitive actions of either suicide, depression, anxiety and Bipolar.At the age of 16-20 years the psychiatrist or clinician might just diagnose and say you only have one of the disorders mentioned above. According to the American Psychiatry Association, the individual has to be 18 years old to be diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, so basically that means at 16-20 years the disorder is at its early stages, and might be difficult for the psychiatrist to easily diagnose it. It is at early adult hood between 22 years and upwards the psychiatrist can easily pick up from the ongoing patterns of impulsive behaviors. . How its patterns affect self image and interpersonal relationships People with Borderline Personality Disorder are frequently angry and are difficult to live with due to their actions and symptoms of impulsive behavior, sometimes they are happy sometimes they are not happy, these patterns can really confuse a relative and making it difficult to tolerate such a person. 5. 1 Family and Friends Family and friends are usually the first to be affected when their relative has Borderline Personality Disorder.Since clinicians and psychiatrists take time in diagnosing this disorder it does get difficult for the family to deal with it since they do not understand what is wrong with them. People with Borderline Personality Disorder are affected in the way they think and see things and can affect the way they see their family and friends. Since it is also caused by the way they have been nurtured at a young age, those experiences can affect the way people treat them. Some of their family and friends cannot really keep up with their impulsive behaviors, and end up resenting and rejecting them.They are also fearful of how they will end up since they are involved also in dangerous acts. 5. 2 Self Image The way one sees themselves determines how they will respond and interprete situations they face. People with Borderline Personality Disorder do not believe in themselves since they are fearful and suicidal, so in some instances they lack in productivity. They cannot control situations they are involved in due to their impulsive behaviors, and they are stressful and face many other challenges due to their personalities.Their different patterns affect even their careers, one moment they are productive and impressive the next moment they are on a downfall. With the loss of some close relatives due to their behavior can lead to their change in self image, leading them next relationships to be very sensitive. They usually expect a lot from people and if they do not get what they want they will end up being disappointed. The change in self image may lead to them thinking they are irrelevant and they are not needed by anyone. 6. ConclusionThere are problems related in diagnosing16-20 year olds with Borderline Personality Disorder, because it is a pervasive patterns of instability which includes a variety of other disorders, making it hard for clinicians and psychiatrists to diagnose it. Its development it is still not exactly known and shows up at a later stage even thought it starts at a younger age. It does also affect the relationship s the person has with their friends, family and also the way they see themselves due to their behavior. 7. References 1. Goodman, M. , Hazlett, E. A. , New, A. S. , Koenigsberg, H.W. , & Siever, L. (2009). Quieting the effective storm of Borderline Personality Disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 166,522-528. 2. Grohol, J. , (2010). B orderline Personality Disorder. Psych Central. Retrived on May 04, 2012, from http://psychcentral. com/lib/2007/symptoms-of-borderline-personality-disorder/ 3. Gunderson, J. G. (2009). Borderline Personality Disorder: Ontogeny of a diagnosis. American Journal of Psychiatry, 166,530-539. 4. Kernberg, O. F. , Michels, R. (2009) Borderline Personality Disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 166,505-508.