Guest Cycle Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Guest Cycle - Research Paper Example This approach is to assist the hotel manage their revenues and booking strategies. This approach can be facilitated by the reservation department having to automatically generate letters of confirmation, produce requests for guest deposits and handle pre-registration activities for all types of guests and generate daily expected arrival lists, occupancy and revenue forecast lists. Upon the acceptance of a reservation request by the reservation agents, the agents creates a reservation o the hotel management software. The record will initiate the process of the guest cycle. The reservation contains the details of the guest and their specific requests which are meant to provide the guest with personalized services upon their arrival at the hotel. The details are further used in the completion of the pre-registration activities which include room assignment based on the demands of the guests, the room rates to be applied to the guests, and the nature of room preparation for the guests (Enz, 2010). The stage is made up of registration and room assignment processes. After the guests have arrived, they establish a business relationship with the hotel management through the front office. The front office staff are charged with the responsibility of clarifying any queries from the guests especially those on the room rates and other packages. The front office staff should be able to determine the reservation status of the guests before the beginning of the check-in process. The front office should take into consideration all the guests who did earlier reservation or those without reservation who are commonly known as walk-ins. The front office print registration cards and are completed at the check-in stage as such will help them to collect essential information from the guest. The cards contain details such as billing instructions, passport details, reservation details, personal data and credit card details (Andrews, 2013). At this stage, the

A Model Of Consumer Behavior Online

A Model Of Consumer Behavior Online Del Monte operates in a very competitive global food industry. In addition to manufacturing canned fruits and vegetables for human consumption, Del Monte produces pet food such as Gravy Train, 9 Lives, and Meow Mix. Therefore, using market research the company constantly looks for innovative ways to increase its competitive edge. The company also decided to implement social media. Once Del Monte made the decision to deploy social media projects, the company had to decide how best to use social media research to support its diverse product line-in this case dog food. The Solution The basic idea was first to connect and collaborate with dog lovers via social networks. Since the corporate IT department was not equipped to deal with social network research, Del Monte hired Market Tools Inc., a market research firm. With the help of Market Tools Inc., Del Monte began offering an online platform for customers to chat and comment on blog entries about different Del Monte products. Using their propriety software, Market Tools monitors millions of relevant blogs in the blogsphere as well as forums in social networks, in order to identify key ideas and issues that consumers are interested in, analyze them, and then predict consumer behavior trends. To analyze the collected data, Del Monte teamed up with Umbria (a division of J. D. Power and Associates), a pioneer in drawing market intelligence from the online community. Umbria assisted in further analysis of and in profiling the collected information. Such analysis is usually done by using computerized tools such as monitoring consumer interactions, analyzing consumers sentiments, and using social analytics methods (e.g., see Hedin, et al. 2011 and Jayanti 2010). By utilizing social media, Del Monte can conduct market research much more efficiently. The conventional approach was to use questionnaires or focus groups that were expensive and difficult to fill with qualified participants. Using social media, Del Monte can gather much of the same or more qualitative data faster and at a lower price. All that is required now is to monitor customer conversations, collect the data, and analyze the vast amount of information. The software also facilitates subgroup creation, idea generation, and panel creation. The results of the analysis help Del Monte understand its customers and consequently plan its marketing activities, communication strategies, and customer service applications. The results also help evaluate the success of marketing campaigns, how well the business processes accomplished the goals, and better justify proposed new activities. The Experiment Del Monte used the above application first to help improve its dog treat, Snausages Breakfast Bites. For guidance, Del Monte relied on its dog lovers social community. By monitoring customer blogs and by posting questions to customers to stimulate discussions, Del Monte used text analysis methods to investigate the relationship between dogs and their owners. Del Monte concluded that owners of small dogs would be the major purchasers of Snausages Breakfast Bites. The company also found differences due to the age of owners, and discovered other people-dogs relationships. Next, a small sample of the improved dog food was produced and tested in the physical market. As a result of both social media and physical research, the product design decisions were revised. Also, marketing promotions were modified. The product sells better because the dogs love it. Finally, the new approach solidified the community of dog lovers who are happy that their opinions are considered. The Results Product cycle time was reduced by more than 50 percent to only 6 months, and Del Monte was able to develop a better marketing communication strategy. Furthermore, the analysis helped the company better understand customers and their purchasing activities as well as predicting market trends and identifying and anticipating opportunities. Note: Similar research on cat food was conducted in 2012 in an online survey, by Kelton Research, using e-mail invitation and an online survey. For details see Meow Mix (2012). Sources: Compiled from Steel (2008), Greengard (2008), Hedin et al. (2011), Jayanti (2010), Meow Mix (2012), Wikivest (2012), and Market Tools (2008). What we can learnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The opening case illustrates that market research can be useful in a competitive market by providing insights for better product development and marketing strategy. In this case, the company collected data online from its socially-oriented customers. Market Tools Inc. monitored conversations (over 50 millions of them) on blogs and discussion rooms to find the voice of the customers. The collected data were then analyzed. The results of the analysis helped Del Monte improve its dog food and devise new marketing strategies. Market research, as seen in the case, is related to consumer behavior, purchasing decision making, behavioral marketing, and advertising strategies; all these topics are addressed in this chapter. 9.1 Learning About Consumer Behavior Online Companies are operating in an increasingly competitive environment. Therefore, they please customers and influence them to buy their goods and services. Finding and retaining customers are major critical success factors for most businesses, both offline and online. One of the key elements in building effective customer relationships is an understanding of consumer shopping behavior online. A Model of Consumer Behavior Online For decades, market researchers have tried to understand consumer shopping behavior, and have summarized their findings in various models. The purpose of a consumer behavior model is to help vendors understand how a consumer makes a purchasing decision. If a firm understands the decision process, it may be able to better influence the buyers decision, for example, through advertising or special promotions. Before examining the consumer behavior models variables, lets describe who the EC consumers are. Online consumers can be divided into two types: individual consumers (who get much of the media attention) and organizational buyers, who do most of the actual shopping in cyberspace in terms of dollar volume of sales. Organizational buyers include governments, private corporations, resellers, and nonprofit organizations. Purchases by organizational buyers are generally used to add value to materials or products. Also, organizational buyers may purchase products for resale without any further modifications. We discuss organizational purchasing in detail in Chapter 5 (e-procurement) and will focus on individual consumers in this chapter. The purpose of a consumer behavior model (for individuals) is to show factors that affect consumer behavior. Exhibit 9.1 shows the basic elements of a consumer behavior model. The model is composed of two major parts: influential factors and the consumer decision process. [Insert Exhibit 9.1 here] Æ’ËÅ" Influential factors. Five dimensions are considered to affect consumer behavior. They are consumer characteristics, environmental characteristics, merchant and intermediary characteristics (which are at the top of the exhibit and are considered uncontrollable from the sellers point of view), product/service characteristics (which include market stimuli), and EC systems. The last two are mostly controlled by the sellers. Exhibit 9.1 illustrates the major variables in each influential dimension. A more detailed description is provided in Online File W9.1. Æ’ËÅ" The attitude-behavior decision process. The consumer decision process usually starts with a positive attitude and ends with the buyers decision to purchase and/or repurchase. A favorable attitude would lead to a stronger buying intention, which in turn would result in the actual buying behavior. Previous research has shown that the linkages among the previously mentioned three constructs are quite strong. For example, Ranganathan and Jha (2007) found that past online shopping experiences have the strongest associations with online purchase intention, followed by customer concerns, website quality, and computer self-efficacy. Therefore, developing a positive consumer attitude plays a central role in the final purchase decision. The Major Influential Factors These factors fall into the following categories: Personal characteristics. Personal characteristics, which are shown in the top-left portion of Exhibit 9.1, refer to demographic factors, individual preferences, and behavioral characteristics. Several websites provide information on customer buying habits online (e.g., emarketer.com, clickz.com, and comscore.com). The major demographics that such sites track are gender, age, marital status, educational level, ethnicity, occupation, and household income, which can be correlated with Internet usage and EC data. Males and females have been found to perceive information differently depending on their levels of purchase confidence and internal knowledge (Barber et al. 2009). A recent survey by Crespo and Bosque (2010) shows that shopping experience has a significant effect on consumer attitude and intention to purchase online. Psychological variables such as personality and lifestyle characteristics are also studied by marketers. These variables are briefly mentioned in several places throughout the text. The reader who is interested in the impact of lifestyle differences on online shopping may see Wang et al. (2006). Product/service factors. The second group of factors is related to the product/service itself. Whether a consumer decides to buy is affected by the nature of the product/service in the transaction. These may include the price, quality, design, brand, and other related attributes of the product. Merchant and intermediary factors. Online transactions may also be affected by the merchant that provides the product/service. This group of factors includes merchant reputation, size of transaction, trust in the merchant, and so on. For example, people feel more secure when they purchase from Amazon.com (due to its reputation) than from a no-name seller. Other factors such as marketing strategy and advertising can also play a major role. EC systems. The EC platform for online transactions (e.g., security protection, payment mechanism, and so forth) offered by the merchant may also have effects. EC design factors can be divided into motivational and hygiene factors. Motivational factors were found to be more important than hygiene factors in attracting online customers (Liang and Lai 2002). Perceived usability is highly related to user preference for commercial websites (Lee and Koubek 2010). Motivational factors. Motivational factors are the functions available on the website to provide direct support in the transactional process (e.g., search engine, shopping carts, multiple payment methods). Hygiene factors. Hygiene factors are functions available on the website whose main purpose is to prevent possible trouble in the process (e.g., security and product status tracking). Environmental factors. The environment in which a transaction occurs may affect a consumers purchase decision. As shown in Exhibit 8.1, environmental variables can be grouped into the following categories: Social variables. People are influenced by family members, friends, coworkers, and whats in fashion this year. Therefore, social variables (such as customer endorsement, word-of-mouth) play an important role in EC. Of special importance in EC are Internet communities (see Chapter 7) and discussion groups, in which people communicate via chat rooms, electronic bulletin boards, twitting, and newsgroups. These topics are discussed in various places in the text. Cultural/community variables. It makes a big difference in what people buy if a consumer lives near Silicon Valley in California or in the mountains in Nepal. Chinese shoppers may differ from French shoppers, and rural shoppers may differ from urban ones. Other environmental variables. These include aspects such as available information, government regulations, legal constraints, and situational factors. [Comp: please shade the bullet list] Section 9.1 Ã… ¸ Review Questions 1. Describe the major components and structure of the consumer online purchasing behavior model. 2. List some major personal characteristics that influence consumer behavior. 3. List the major environmental variables of the purchasing environment. 4. List and describe five major merchant-related variables. 5. Describe the relationships among attitude, intention, and actual behavior in the behavior process model. 9.2 The Consumer Purchasing Decision-Making Process Consumer behavior is a major element in the process of consumers decisions to purchase or repurchase. A Generic Purchasing-Decision Model From the consumers perspective, a general purchasing-decision model consists of five major phases (Hawkins and Mothersbaugh 2010). In each phase, we can distinguish several activities and, in some, one or more decisions. The five phases are (1) need identification, (2) information search, (3) evaluation of alternatives, (4) purchase and delivery, and (5) postpurchase activities. Although these phases offer a general guide to the consumer decision-making process, one should not assume that every consumers decision-making process will necessarily proceed in this order. In fact, some consumers may proceed to a specific phase and then revert to a previous phase, or they may skip a phase altogether. The phases are discussed in more details next. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Need identification. The first phase occurs when a consumer is faced with an imbalance between the actual and the desired states of a need. A marketers goal is to get the consumer to recognize such imbalance and then convince the consumer that the product or service the seller offers will fill this gap. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Information search. After identifying the need, the consumer searches for information on the various alternatives available to satisfy the need. Here, we differentiate between two decisions: what product to buy (product brokering) and from whom to buy it (merchant brokering). These two decisions can be separate or combined. In the consumers search for information, catalogs, advertising, promotions, and reference groups could influence decision making. During this phase, online product search and comparison engines, see examples at shopping.com, buyersindex.com, and mysimon.com, can be very helpful. (See decision aids in Chapter 3.) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Evaluation of Alternatives. The consumers information search will eventually generate a smaller set of preferred alternatives. From this set, the would-be buyer will further evaluate the alternatives and, if possible, negotiate terms. In this phase, a consumer will use the collected information to develop a set of criteria. These criteria will help the consumer evaluate and compare alternatives. For online consumers, the activities may include evaluation of product prices and features. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Purchase and delivery. After evaluating the alternatives, the consumer will make the purchasing decision, arrange payment and delivery, purchase warranties, and so on. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Postpurchase activities. The final phase is a postpurchase phase, which consists of customer service and evaluation of the usefulness of the product. Customer services and consumer satisfaction will result in positive experience and word-of-mouth (e.g., This product is really great! or We really received good service when we had problems.). If the customer is satisfied with the product and services, loyalty will increase and repeat purchases will occur afterward. [Comp: please shade the bullet list] Several other purchasing-decision models have been proposed. A classic (1925) model for describing consumer message processing is the Attention-Interest-Desire-Action (AIDA) model at Wikipedia (see AIDA at Wikipedia). It argues that consumer processing of an advertising message (part of the information search phase) includes the following four stages: 1. A-Attention (Awareness). The first step is to get the customers attention. 2. I-Interest. By demonstrating features, advantages, and benefits, the customer becomes interested in the product. 3. D-Desire. Convice the customers that they want the product or service and that it will suit their needs. 4. A-Action. Finally, the consumer will take action toward purchasing. Now, some researchers also add another letter to form AIDA(S), where: 5. S-Satisfaction. Customer satisfaction will generate higher loyalty and lead to repurchase after using a product/service. (Loyalty, satisfaction, and trust are discussed in Online File W9.2.) A recent version of AIDA is the AISAS model proposed by the Dentsu Group that is tailored to online behavior. The model replaces decision with search and adds share to show the increased word-of-mouth effect on the Internet. It indicates that consumers go through a process of Attention-Interest-Search-Action-Share in their online decision process. This model is particularly suitable for social commerce. Customer Decision Support in Web Purchasing The preceding generic purchasing-decision model was widely used in research on consumer-based EC. In the Web-based environment, decision support is available in each phase. The framework that is illustrated in Online File W9.3 shows that each of the phases of the purchasing model, which were described earlier, can be supported by both a consumer decision support system (CDSS) that facilitates the process and Internet and Web-aiding facilities. The CDSS facilities support the specific decisions in the process. Generic EC technologies and analytics provide the necessary mechanisms as well as enhanced communication and collaboration tools. Specific implementation of this framework and explanations of some of the terms are provided throughout this chapter and the entire text. The planner of B2C marketing needs to consider the Web purchasing models in order to better influence the customers decision-making process (e.g., by effective one-to-one advertising and marketing). [Insert Exhibit 9.2 here] Online File W9.1 shows a model for a website that supports buyer searching and decision making. This model revises the generic model by describing a purchasing framework. The model is divided into three parts. The first includes three stages of buyer behavior (see top of exhibit): identify and manage buying criteria, search for products and merchants, and compare alternatives. Below these activities are boxes with decision support options that support the three top boxes (such as product representation).. The second part of the model (on the right) has a box that includes price, financial terms, shipping and warranty negotiations. These become relevant when alternatives are compared. The third part at the bottom of the exhibit, major concerns are cited. Players in the Consumer Decision Process Several different people may play roles in various phases of the consumer decision process. The following are five major roles: 1. Initiator. The person who first suggests or thinks of the idea of buying a particular product or service. 2. Influencer. A person whose advice or view carries some weight in making a final purchasing decision. 3. Decider. The person who ultimately makes a buying decision or any part of it-whether to buy, what to buy, how to buy, or where to buy. 4. Buyer. The person who makes an actual purchase. 5. User. The person who consumes or uses a product or service. [Comp: please shade the number list] A single person may play all the roles if the product or service is for personal use. In this case, the marketer needs to understand and target such individuals. In many situations, however, different people may play different roles. For example, a newly graduated engineer proposed to buy a car for his mother, which was followed by suggestions from his father and friends. Finally, he followed his fathers suggestion to buy the car. When more than one individual comes into play, it becomes more difficult to properly target advertising and marketing. Different marketing efforts may be designed to target people who are playing different roles. Section 9.2 Ã… ¸ Review Questions 1. List the five phases of the generic purchasing-decision model. 2. Use an example to explain the five phases in the generic purchasing-decision model. 3. Describe the supporting functions available in Web-based purchasing. 4. Describe AIDA and AISAS models and analyze their differences in illustrating an online purchasing behavior. 5. Describe the major players in a purchasing decision. 9.3 LOYALTY, SATISFACTION, AND TRUST IN E-COMMERCE Good online marketing activity can generate positive effects, which are generally observed as trust, customer satisfaction, and loyalty. Loyalty is the goal of marketing, while trust and customer satisfaction are factors that may affect customer loyalty. CUSTOMER LOYALTY One of the major objectives of marketing is to increase customer loyalty (recall the Netflix case). Customer loyalty refers to a deep commitment to repurchase or repatronize a preferred product/service continually in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or same brand-set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts that have the potential to cause switching behavior. Customer acquisition and retention is a critical success factor in e-tailing. The expense of acquiring a new customer can be more than $100; even for Amazon.com, which has a huge reach, it is more than $15. In contrast, the cost of maintaining an existing customer at Amazon.com is $2 to $4. Attracting and retaining loyal customers remains the most important issue for any selling company, including e-tailers. Increased customer loyalty can result in cost savings to a company in various ways: lower marketing and advertising costs, lower transaction costs, lower customer turnover expenses, lower failure costs such as warranty claims, and so on. Customer loyalty also strengthens a companys market position because loyal customers are kept away from the competition. In addition, customer loyalty can lead to high resistance to competitors, a decrease in price sensitivity, and an increase in favorable word of mouth. Loyalty programs were introduced more than 100 years ago and are widely used among airlines, retailers, hotel chains, banks, casinos, car rentals, restaurants, and credit card companies. But now, loyalty programs have been computerized and expanded to all kinds of businesses. For example, Octopus Hong Kong (octopuscards.com), a stored-value card operator, launched a reward program for consumers aimed at increasing card usage across Hong Kong. Reward points are gained by purchasing at a number of leading merchants across the territory, including Wellcome, Watsons, UA Cinemas, and McDonalds. Each Octopus card can store up to 1,000 rewards points, which can be redeemed on the next purchase. FANCL, see the company atfancl.com, a Japanese cosmetics and health-care company, offers the FANCL point program where consumers earn FANCL points that are saved for gift redemption. However, the introduction of Internet technologies and social networking has the potential to undermine brands and discourage customer loyalty. The customers ability to shop, compare, get quick advice from friends, and switch to different vendors becomes easier, faster, and less expensive, given the aid of search engines and other technologies. Furthermore, customers are less loyal to the brand because of the lower switching costs for them to take advantage of special online offers and promotions, as well as to try new things. It is interesting to note that companies have found that loyal customers end up buying more when they have an optional website from which to shop. For example, W.W. Grainger, a large industrial-supply company, found that loyal B2B customers increased their purchases substantially when they began using Graingers website (grainger.com). (See Chapter 4 for more information.) Also, loyal customers may refer other customers to a site, especially with word of mouth in social networks. Therefore, it is important for EC companies to increase customer loyalty. The Web offers ample opportunities to do so. E-Loyalty E-loyalty refers to a customers loyalty to an e-tailer or a manufacturer that sells directly online, or to loyalty programs delivered online or supported electronically. Companies can foster e-loyalty by learning about their customers needs, interacting with customers, and providing superb customer service. Another source of information is colloquy.com, which concentrates on loyalty marketing. In an online environment, merchant ratings can be the source of interpersonal communication and are obtained from other consumers, not just friends and family. It is interesting to note that positive customer reviews have considerable impact on repurchase intention. It is not the total number of reviews that influences customer repurchase intention, but the percentage of positive reviews. This increases e-loyalty. (For reviews and recommendations in social networks, see Chapter 7.) Also, online ratings and word of mouth may undermine the effects of competitors low prices. For example, Amazon.com has higher prices than Half.com, but Amazon.com is still preferred by many customers. The difference is that Amazon.com has customer reviews and other personalization services, and Half.com does not. Many factors may affect customer loyalty and e-loyalty. A typical model is to check the relationship quality between retailers and their customers, which often is composed of trust, satisfaction, and commitment. Satisfaction and trust are particularly important because they will lead to commitment. For example, a recent study by Cyr (2008) found that e-loyalty is affected by trust and satisfaction across different cultures. Hence, we shall further discuss these two factors. SATISFACTION IN EC Satisfaction is one of the most important success measures in the B2C online environment. Customer satisfaction is associated with several key outcomes (e.g., repeat purchase, positive word of mouth, and so on) and it can lead to higher customer loyalty. A survey indicates that 80 percent of highly satisfied online consumers would shop again within two months, and 90 percent would recommend Internet retailers to others. However, 87 percent of dissatisfied consumers would permanently leave their Internet retailers without any complaints (Cheung and Lee 2005). Satisfaction has received considerable attention in studies of consumer-based EC. For example, ForeSee Results, an online customer satisfaction measurement company, developed the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) (theasci.org) for measuring customer satisfaction with EC. The Customer Respect Group (customerrespect.com) also provides an index to measure customers online experiences. The Customer Respect Index (CRI) includes the following components: simplicity, responsiveness, transparency, principles, attitude, and privacy. Researchers have proposed several models to explain the formation of satisfaction with online shopping. For example, Cheung and Lee (2005) proposed a framework for consumer satisfaction with Internet shopping by correlating the end-user satisfaction perspective with the service quality viewpoint. The framework is shown in Exhibit 9.3. The ability to predict consumer satisfaction can be useful in designing websites as well as advertising and marketing strategies. However, website designers should also pay attention to the nature of website features including navigational, visual, and information design (Cyr 2008). Different features have different impacts on customer (dis)satisfaction. If certain website features, such as reliability of content, loading speed, and usefulness fail to perform properly, customer satisfaction will drop dramatically. In contrast, if features such as those make the usage enjoyable, entertaining, and useful, they could result in a significant jump in customer satisfaction. [Insert Exhibit 9.3 here] Factors that Affect Consumer Satisfaction with Internet Shopping TRUST IN EC Trust is the psychological status of depending on another person or organization to achieve a planned goal. When people trust each other, they have confidence that their transaction partners will keep their promises. However, both parties in a transaction assume some risk. In the electronic marketplace, sellers and buyers do not meet face to face. The buyer can see a picture of the product but not the product itself. Promises of quality and delivery time can be easily made-but will they be kept? To deal with these issues, EC vendors need to establish high levels of trust with current and potential customers. Trust is particularly important in global EC transactions due to the difficulty of taking legal action in cases of a dispute or fraud and the potential for conflicts caused by differences in culture and business environments. In addition to sellers and buyers trusting each other, both must have trust in the EC computing environment and in the EC infrastructure. For example, if people do not trust the security of the EC infrastructure, they will not feel comfortable about using credit cards to make EC purchases. EC Trust Models Trust in e-commerce is often called online trust. Several models have been put forth to explain the factors that may affect online trust. For example, Lee and Turban (2001) examined the various aspects of EC trust and developed the model shown in Online File W9.2. According to this model, the level of trust is determined by numerous variables (factors) shown on the left side and in the middle of the exhibit. The exhibit illustrates the complexity of trust relationships, especially in B2C EC. [Enter Exhibit 9.4 here] EC Trust Model A newer model expands previous ones to include internal and external factors. Internal factors are directly related to online services provided by the vendor, and external factors are those that have indirect relationships (Salo and Karjaluoto 2007). How to Increase Trust in EC Consumer trust is fundamental to successful online retailing; it is considered the currency of the Internet. The following are representative strategies for building consumer trust in EC. Improve Your Website. The most important factor that affects online trust is the quality of the website. Cyr (2008) found that the navigational, visual, and information design of a website affect consumer trust. Gregg and Walczak (2010) reported a positive relationship between website quality and trust. Higher perceived website quality induces higher trust and price premium based on a survey of 701 eBay users. Therefore, how to design the EC website that delivers high-quality information and navigational experience

What are the strengths and failures of the Battle of Maldon and the ?related texts? as evidence for the structure of English Society :: essays research papers fc

What are the strengths and failures of the Battle of Maldon and the ‘related texts’ as evidence for the structure of English Society The Battle of Maldon is a medieval text depicting a battle between English warriors and Danish invaders. Earl Byrtnoth was commanding the warriors in the name of King Æthelred. The poem portrays the heroism of the bravest warriors and the sheer cowardice of those that fled. Controversy over the aim of the poem is apparent as Sragg says that the poets â€Å"style of writing is so hyperbolic that it robs what little of trustworthiness there is.† On the one hand there is little doubt that the battle happened and in this sense the poem is accurate, however very little archaeological evidence has been found around that historical sight to consolidate the poems content. Another problem may well lie in the later translations of the text especially before 1725 and the Cotton Library fire. When copyists began to copy the text they may well have lost some of the meaning of the poem by the way they understand it, they are likely to translate the text to fit contemporary understanding .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is possible to see that the church appears to play a major role in the society of the English in the tenth and eleventh centuries. Lines one hundred and one to one hundred and five display a deeply engrained belief in fate and God’s hand in it, â€Å"There against the fierce ones stood ready Byrtnoth with his men†¦ †¦Then the fight was nigh, glory in combat: the time had come when fated men must fall there.† It is possible to see that there was a deeply engrained belief, in the higher circles of society especially, that if you died on the battle field then God had fated you to do so. Also the use of glory indicates a connection with religion as glory and glorification are synonymous with Christ, God, and religion in general. This idea is backed up by lines one hundred and seventy three to one hundred and eighty whereby a fallen warrior believes that they will reach heaven in God’s peace. This idea would no doubt be reflected through society as lines two hundred and five to two hundred and eight suggest that society acknowledges the bravest, a lord would expect his warriors to avenge his death or lose his life in the process. The church also played a major role as a buttress to the King’s legitimacy and power.

Define Philosophy Essay

Philosophy can be defined in many ways; William Thomas of the Atlas Society defines it as â€Å"a comprehensive system of ideas about human nature and the nature of the reality we live in.   It is a guide for living, because the issues it addresses are basic and pervasive, determining the course we take in life and how we treat other people.†Ã‚   (Thomas, 2005)   Nigel Warburton, author of Philosophy: The Basics explains his definition in simpler terms by saying that philosophy is an activity performed by philosophers and that it is â€Å"a way of thinking about certain sorts of questions.†Ã‚   (Warburton, 2004, p. 1) Many times the word ‘philosophy’ is used in a broad sense to mean â€Å"one’s general outlook on life, or else to refer to some forms of mysticism.†Ã‚   (Warburton, 2004, p. 1)   Other professionals believe that philosophy can not actually be defined, that the question is â€Å"too abstract† or â€Å"too controversial† because philosophers can not seem to come together with one specific answer.   (Sinnott-Armstrong, 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The word philosophy derives from the ancient Greeks and it is defined as the â€Å"love of wisdom.†Ã‚   (Thomas 2005)   The most distinctive feature of philosophy is its use of logical argument.   Philosophers invent their own argument and/or pass judgment on the arguments of others by analyzing and clarifying the concepts surrounding the specific topic in question.   (Warburton, 2004, p. 1) In essence, philosophers simply create a logical question and then ask â€Å"how it all fits together.†Ã‚   (Sinnott-Armstrong, 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Contemporary sciences began with a philosophical inquiry followed by a scientific method of experimentation that leads to the ultimate proof of the truth behind the question.   The most common topics that philosophy addresses are â€Å"metaphysics, the theory of reality; epistemology, the theory of knowledge; ethics, the theory of moral values; politics, the theory of legal rights and government; Aesthetics, the theory of the nature of art.† (Thomas 2005) Though these topics are common, with philosophy you can study any topic as it also includes subfields such as â€Å"philosophy of religion, of law, of economics, of biology, of mathematics, of computers, of psychology, of art, of music, and so on.†Ã‚   (Sinnott-Armstrong, 2004)   The goal of philosophy is to ask the question of how any of these topics are related to each other â€Å"in an overall world view.†Ã‚  Ã‚   (Sinnott-Armstrong, 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The philosopher utilizes the logical argument when working towards a conclusion.   The logical argument takes a broad approach to the question at hand by studying the variety of reasons behind the truth of a specific question.   The logical argument determines â€Å"the condition under which the truth of certain beliefs leads naturally to the truth of some other beliefs† and draws attention to the various ways we are led to believe something that isn’t true.   (Kemerling, 2001) In the logical argument, the philosopher takes into consideration a group of propositions and how each relates to the other in support of a particular conclusion.   The transition from the argument to the conclusion, or the logical connection, is the â€Å"inference on which the argument relies.†Ã‚   (Kemerling, 2001)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The scientific or factual arguments in other disciplines, such as biology or psychology, have a direct path to their answers.   This type of argument will lead â€Å"from truth to truth† or how the premise and the conclusion relate directly to each other in a specific argument.   (Kemerling, 2001) In other words, the conclusion of this type of argument would be illustrated in the statement â€Å"Strawberries are red.†Ã‚   The truth of the factual questioning has â€Å"no bearing on that of the others.†Ã‚   (Kemerling, 2001) The sciences take a focus that is specialized and in a more restricted domain and not how each domain relates to the other.   (Thomas 2005)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Philosophy is a discipline that raises deep questions and how each conclusion relates to the other.   The philosopher searches for a conclusion by â€Å"integrating everything one knows about reality (metaphysics) or humanity (epistemology, ethics, politics and aesthetics).† (Thomas 2005)  Ã‚  Ã‚   In essence, in Philosophy you can study any topic and how they relate to each other in an â€Å"overall world view.†Ã‚   (Sinnott-Armstrong, 2004)   Philosophers’ methods vary, however a similarity is in the fact that each question the authorities in various fields.   For example the medical professionals decide what medication works best for common ailments and religious professionals designate specific texts that detail what is required, the philosopher does not declare that any one entity can determine what is right or wrong.   (Sinnott-Armstrong, 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many argue that there is no point to study philosophy, that questioning the â€Å"meaning of our existence† can be dangerous and that ultimately humans will begin to believe that they are paralyzed.   (Warburton, 2004, p. 3)   It is human nature for us to question why we exist, do our lives have purpose or are we living in a dream.   People who study philosophy believe that it is important to thoroughly examine these questions because of the overwhelming believe that â€Å"an unexamined live is not worth living† (Warburton, 2004, p. 3) Philosophers believe that humans base their lives on principles that seem entirely sound and just, however until those principles are examined in depth and the prejudices are removed, we can not be entirely certain of their validity.   (Warburton, 2004, p. 3)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Philosophers will continue to study various broad topics and make an attempt at combining various world views into a single coherent system of thought.   This particular science is beneficial because by analyzing the arguments that support or disprove certain topics at hand humans learn various skills that can be transferred into other areas of life.   (Warburton, 2004, p. 4)   Historically the study has proven itself to provide us with various solutions to life issues that would have otherwise remained a mystery. References Kemerling, G. (2001, October 27). Arguments and Inference. Retrieved from http://www.philosophypages.com/lg/e01.htm Sinnott-Armstrong, W. (2004, May 17). What is Philosophy? Retrieved from http://www.dartmouth.edu/~phil/whatis/wsa.html Thomas, W. (2005). What is Philosophy? Retrieved from http://www.objectivistcenter.org/cth-32-409-FAQ_Philosophy.aspx Warburton, N. (2004). Philosophy:   The Basics (4th ed.). New York: Routledge. Retrieved May 1, 2007, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=110822702

Comparing William Bradford and John Smith

He defined himself as â€Å"a person for study as well as action; and hence notwithstanding the difficulties which he passed in his 2) Also he stated â€Å"The crown of all his life was his holy, prayerful, watchful and fruitful walk with God, wherein he was exemplary. † (122) Bradford did not believe In reforming the Church of England from wealth and there for moved and lived in the Netherlands for 12 years. Then decided to take the Journey to Virginia.He believed the colony of Plymouth would be a special providence. His journey was to have religious freedom and live In a place they way God Intended. John Smith on the other hand comes from a military background In which he had earned his captaincy. Smith next Joined the Austrian army in its continuing war (1593-1606) against the Turks, and while in the Austrian service, he fought valiantly in Hungary and was promoted to Smith was more interested in adventure than religion.Smith In ways was conceited and speaks of himself In great grander. His reputation had preceded him and the men who wanted to colonize Jamestown choose Smith to Join the voyage. John Smith agreed to the Journey to explore the land and possibly find economical gain. Smith is more interested in making a name for himself than serving a higher purpose. Bradford references God throughout his book of Plymouth Plantation for the many occurrences they endure throughout the Journey.Bradford describes sickness of certain passengers, â€Å"But it pleased God they came before half seas over, to smite this young man with a grievous disease, of which he died In desperate manner and so was himself the first thrown overboard. Thus his curses lightened on his own head; and it was an astonishment to all his fellows, for they noted it to be Just the hand of God upon him. † (131) John Smith on the other hand will reference God in things he cannot explain. In Smith's The General History of Flagella, New England and the Summer Isles, he states. But now all provision spent, the sturgeon gone, all the helps abandoned, each hour expecting the fury of the savages, when God the patron of all good endeavors, in that desperate extremity so changed the hearts of the savages, that they brought such plenty of their fruits, and provision, as no man wanted. † (84) Since Smith could not fix the lack of provisions he then offers the explanation that God intervened. Bradford and the passengers which he referred to as pilgrims had constructed he Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower Compact was the document that united the pilgrims and the preservation of the colony.The Compact states, â€Å"In the name of God Amen. We whose names are underwritten the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland king, 1 OFF of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutu ally in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves gather into a civil body politic. † (138-139)God is involved in every aspect of the colony.After the arrival to Jamestown Smith was appointed to managing tasks of others. Even though others were doing work to help the colony, Smith spoke of himself doing the hardest and most work. Smith writes, â€Å"to Captain Smith: who by his own example, good words, and fair promises, set some to mow, others to bind thatch, some to build houses, others to thatch them, himself always bearing the greatest of task for his own share, so that in short time, he provided most of them lodgings, neglecting any for himself. (85) Smith does not mention God but gives himself most of the credit in preparations for the colony.Bradford colony began to have sickness but after sometime many recovered, Bradford gave credit to the Lord for such happenings. Bradford states, â€Å"The spring now approaching, it pleased God the mo rtality began to cease amongst them, and the sick and the lame recovered apace, which put as it were new life into them, though they had borne their sad affliction with much patience and contentedness, as I think any people could do. â€Å"(43) Bradford seeing Plymouth as a divine place God is leading hem to, people who live through sickness are meet to arrive by God's will.Even at the end of Smith's account he thanks God but not for God's divine help but for his own skills. Smith states, â€Å"l thank God I never undertook anything yet [for which] any could tax me of carelessness or dishonesty, and what is he to whom I am indebted or troublesome? Ah! Were these my accusers but to change cases and places with me[for] but two years, or till they had done but so much as I, it may be they would Judge more charitably of my imperfections. † (93) Throughout Bradford and Smith's accounts both write about the hardships of the rip and the life in the colonies.The two writers face man y of the same events; such as running out of food, facing sickness, and dealing with the Native Americans. Though there is a large difference in the two accounts. Bradford does not boast about his own capabilities. The whole reason that Bradford and the others made the journey is because of God, as it was God's will. Smith writes more for a personal level. He brags of his abilities as a solider, leader and explorer. He only mentions God when things are not in his skills or cannot explain that occurrence. UnlikeBradford which would name God for his means to lead, John Smith does not but gives himself praise. In the time that both pieces were written religion and God had a large influence on people's choices and every life. It was not very common for someone to author a piece like John Smith had done with not much reference and honor given to God. Unlike Bradford referencing God for the very event of colonization of Plymouth, Smith promoted himself as the hero and encouraged other men like him to come. Bradford wanted men of God. Beam Nina. â€Å"John Smith† The Norton Anthology American Literature.

DNA in the Court essays

DNA in the Court essays DNA is somewhat new in the forensic world. Before DNA, people were tried and convicted based on fingerprint analysis, the Greiss test, and lie detectors. However, all of these procedures have proven to be less reliable than DNA. DNA is the genetic make up of a person. In the book article DNA in Court by William Tucker, Tucker pointed out that no two people, except identical twins, have the same genetic makeup (Tucker 577). This is helpful because it means that there will be less people falsely convicted of crimes. Therefore, it is not the DNA evidence that is being debated; it is the procedures that are followed that are being debated. Samples could be accidentally switched or mislabeled- any number of things might happen. As a result of all this an innocent person might be convicted of a crime (Tucker 581). Tucker believes that the only problem with DNA testing is that false positives could send an innocent person to jail. Everyday on the news or in the newspaper, one hears about another person being released due to conclusive DNA evidence that clears this person. Another major problem that arises in forensic DNA typing is contamination, stated Peter J. Neufeld and Neville Coleman in When Science Takes the Witness Stand (Neufeld Coleman 571). That person released may have been cleared of the crime they were originally charged with. However, what if they had committed the crime? Now this person is walking the streets and cant be tried again. Any number of things could have happened to the DNA sample. Bacteria could have affected it. It may have been mislabeled or the chart may have been misread. This is an example of a false negative. This person can now go out and hurt or kill another person. According to Neufeld and Coleman, a company named Lifecodes was declaring DNA matches outside the five percent range of error. In a blind test, ...

How to Write a Descriptive Essay In 3 Easy Steps - BestEssay.education

How to Write a Descriptive Essay In 3 Easy Steps How to Write a Descriptive Essay In 3 Easy Steps Writing a descriptive essay is easier than it seems. If you have mastered the basics of writing an essay, the descriptive essay is something that you can master fairly easily. In fact, there are only x steps between you and a successfully completed descriptive essay. Before we go through those steps, let's answer the question, 'what is a descriptive essay?'. To use a tautology, a descriptive essay is an essay that describes something. What this means is that you will be taking an object, a person, an event, or an experience, and you will be describing that to your readers in a way that they can truly understand. Now that the definition has been established, let's review the 3  steps to writing a descriptive essay. Selecting an Essay Topic Your best topic will be one that is highly interesting to you and one that is complex enough that    you can dedicate an entire essay to describing it. In fact, the more senses that you can evoke in  your readers the better. As you evaluate potential topics, see if you can answer all of the  following questions: What would a person see? What would they hear? What would they taste? What would they smell? What would they feel? The stronger your answers to each of these questions, the more likely it is that you have found a great subject for your descriptive essay. However, it can be okay to write a descriptive essay on  a topic if it does not evoke all four senses, as long as it evokes very strong sensory and   emotional responses as you describe it. Reviewing Your Topic Students often select topics for descriptive essays that come from personal experience. This could mean that they are describing experiences they have themselves, objects the possess, or people that they know. This could also mean that they are simply trying to describe something they are truly interested in. This is a good thing, because familiarity and emotional attachment   Ã‚   makes writing a descriptive essay much easier. However, it is absolutely imperative that you spend time reviewing your topic. No matter how familiar you are, you still need to go over what you experienced, heard, or saw. This will help make the experience fresh in your mind. Use Descriptive Words to Write a Descriptive Paragraph Keep in mind that adjectives are key. The more adjectives in your essay, the more impact it is going to have on both your readers and on your instructor. So, be original and prolific in the way that you use adjectives, and also adverbs, in your essay. Remember that, 'It was a blue car   that nobody drove', is not the same as 'It was matte finished navy blue car that sat idle in my friend's garage. Now that you know how to write a descriptive essay, you should be ready to tackle your next writing assignment. However, if you are not ready, we have plenty of writers on staff to help students just like you.

10 Fascinating Facts About Beetles

10 Fascinating Facts About Beetles Beetles inhabit nearly every ecological niche on the planet. This group includes some of our most beloved bugs, as well as our most reviled pests. Here are 10 fascinating facts about beetles, our largest insect order. One out of Every Four Animals on Earth Is a Beetle Beetles are the largest group of living organisms known to science, bar none. Even with plants included in the count, one in every five known organisms is a beetle. Scientists have described over 350,000 species of beetles, with many more still undiscovered, undoubtedly. By some estimates, there may be as many as 3 million beetle species living on the planet. The order Coleoptera is the largest order in the entire animal kingdom. Beetles Live Everywhere You can find beetles almost anywhere on the planet, from pole to pole, according to entomologist Stephen Marshall. They inhabit both terrestrial and freshwater aquatic habitats, from forests to grasslands, deserts to tundras, and from beaches to mountaintops. You can even find beetles on some of the worlds most remote islands. The British geneticist (and atheist) J. B. S. Haldane is purported to have said that God must have an inordinate fondness for beetles. Perhaps this accounts for their presence and number in every corner of this globe we call Earth. Most Adult Beetles Wear Body Armor One of the traits that make beetles so easy to recognize is their hardened forewings, which serve as armor to protect the more delicate flight wings and soft abdomen underneath. The famed philosopher Aristotle coined the order name Coleoptera, which comes from the Greek koleon, meaning sheathed, and ptera, meaning wings. When beetles fly, they hold these protective wing covers (called elytra) out to the sides, allowing the hindwings to move freely and keep them airborne. Beetles Vary Dramatically in Size As you would expect from a group of insects so numerous, beetles range in size from nearly microscopic to downright gigantic. The shortest beetles are the featherwing beetles (family Ptiliidae), most of which measure less than 1 millimeter long. Of these, the smallest of all is a species called the fringed ant beetle, Nanosella fungi, which reaches only 0.25 mm in length and weighs just 0.4 milligrams. On the other end of the size spectrum, the Goliath beetle (Goliathus goliathus) tips the scales at 100 grams. The longest known beetle hails from South America. The appropriately named Titanus giganteus can reach 20 centimeters long. Adult Beetles Chew Their Food That might seem obvious, but not all insects do so. Butterflies, for example, sip liquid nectar from their own built-in straw, called a proboscis. One common trait all adult beetles and most beetle larvae share is mandibulate mouthparts, made just for chewing. Most beetles feed on plants, but some (like ladybugs) hunt and eat smaller insect prey. Carrion feeders use those strong jaws to gnaw on skin or hides. A few even feed on fungus. Whatever theyre dining on, beetles chew their food thoroughly before swallowing. In fact, the common name beetle is thought to derive from the Old English word bitela, meaning little biter. Beetles Have a Big Impact on the Economy Only a tiny fraction of the overall insect population can be considered pests; most insects never cause us any trouble at all. But because so many are phytophagous, the order Coleoptera does include quite a few pests of economic importance. Bark beetles (like the mountain pine beetle) and wood-borers (such as the exotic emerald ash borer) kill millions of trees each year. Farmers spend millions on pesticides and other controls for agricultural pests like the western corn rootworm or the Colorado potato beetle. Pests like the Khapra beetle feed on stored grains, causing more economic losses well after the harvest is completed. Just the money spent by gardeners on Japanese beetle pheromone traps (some would say money wasted on pheromone traps) is greater than the GDP of some small countries! Beetles Can Be Noisy Many insects are famous for their sounds. Cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers, and katydids all serenade us with songs. Many beetles produce sounds, too, although not nearly as melodic as those of their Orthopteran cousins. Deathwatch beetles bang their heads again the walls of their wood tunnels, making a surprisingly loud knocking sound. Some darkling beetles tap their abdomens on the ground. A good number of beetles stridulate, particularly when handled by humans. Have you ever picked up a June beetle? Many, like the ten-lined June beetle, will squeal when you do. Both male and female bark beetles chirp, probably as a courtship ritual and a means of finding one another. Some Beetles Glow in the Dark Species in certain beetle families produce light. Their bioluminescence occurs through a chemical reaction involving an enzyme called luciferase. Fireflies (family Lampyridae) flash signals to attract potential mates, with a light organ on the abdomen. In glowworms (family Phengodidae), the light organs run down the sides of the thoracic and abdominal segments, like tiny glowing windows on a railroad boxcar (and thus their nickname, railroad worms). Glowworms also sometimes have an additional light organ on the head, which glows red! Tropical click beetles (​family Elateridae) also produce light by virtue a pair of oval light organs on the thorax and a third light organ on the abdomen. Weevils Are Beetles, Too Weevils, easily recognized by their elongated, almost comical beaks, are really just a type of beetle. The superfamily Curculionoidea includes the snout beetles and various types of weevils. When you look at a weevils long snout, you might assume they feed by piercing and sucking their meal, much like the true bugs. But dont be fooled, weevils belong to the order Coleoptera. Just as all other beetles do, weevils have mandibulate mouthparts made for chewing. In the case of the weevil, however, the mouthparts are usually tiny and are found just at the tip of that long beak. Many weevils cause significant damage to their plant hosts, and for this reason, we consider them pests. Beetles Have Been Around for About 270 Million Years The first beetle-like organisms in the fossil record date back to the Permian Period, roughly 270 million years ago. True beetles - those that resemble our modern-day beetles - first appeared about 230 million years ago. Beetles were already in existence before the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea, and they survived the K/T extinction event thought to have doomed the dinosaurs. How have beetles survived for so long, and withstood such extreme events? As a group, beetles have proved remarkably adept at adapting to ecological changes. Sources Insects - Their Natural History and Diversity, by Stephen A. MarshallBorror and DeLongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th edition, by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. JohnsonEncyclopedia of Insects, edited by Vincent H. Resh and Ring T. Carde. Featherwing Beetles - Insecta: Coleoptera: Ptiliidae, University of Florida. Accessed December 13, 2012.Coleoptera : The biggest, the smallest ? How many beetles are there?, Coleoptera website. Accessed December 13, 2012.Plant pests: The biggest threats to food security?, BBC News, November 8, 2011. Accessed December 13, 2012.Introduction to Bioluminescent Beetles, by Dr. John C. Day, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) Oxford. Accessed December 17, 2012Glow-Worms, Railroad-Worms, University of Florida, accessed December 17, 2012.

Choosing a Path 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Choosing a Path 1 - Essay Example Marketing is another core component of business. It involves all activities entailed in the communication of the value of the products and services of a business. It entails appealing to the need of the consumer or buyer to take up the target product and not any other alternative. This will equip me with the skills on how to get to increasingly acquire market share. These two business majors are related in that both work together towards meeting the business goal of profitability. I have chosen finance because of the authoritative influence of my father. My father works in the finance department of a private firm. Additionally, he has special interest in the performance of stocks of various companies. Spending more time with him drew me into understanding how to trade in stocks and I am now keen to note any trends in stocks of some companies. Moreover, knowledge on stocks makes conversation with my father flow as we argue on facts that we both understand. He uses his knowledge in finance to assist me in related academic work. He uses such opportunities to convince me to pursue a course in business finance. Strategically, he shares his best experiences in the career and gives examples of other renowned people who have had successful careers in business finance. This made the profession appeal to me, making me keen on mathematics, languages and business education. My elder cousin has been the authoritative figure that made me also consider taking a course in marketing. During my holidays, he would ask me to accompany him as he visits various retail outlets to market the products of the company that he works for. This has made me appreciate some practical aspects of marketing. My cousin is always keen to analyse advertisements and then explain to me the intention and impact of the respective advertisements. This has made me gain some knowledge in marketing, particularly with regards to market segmentation, targeting and advertising in general.

International Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International Politics - Essay Example This paper aims to critically review the book ‘Why Globalization Works’ which is written by Martin Wolf. In order to support the arguments, evidences from the text will also be presented. Author’s Argument Martin Wolf has presented the topic of globalization rationally. Defending globalization, the author argues that anti globalization, failure of governments and systems have been the cause of global market failures. Wolf also dismantles the argument that rich countries exploit smaller countries. He has drawn a clear picture where the problem exists (Wolf). â€Å"The failure of our world is not that there is too much globalization, but that there is too little† (Wolf 4). Thesis Statement   â€Å"For the greater good, globalization itself is a vibrant channel but as how the political system has mismanaged or mislead this channel of globalization, it has brought the worst affects throughout the world, to the world economies and to their systems†. Bod y The book has a strong appeal for those who are interested in globalization and its future; how democracies will make the most out of this phenomenon and how governments and their free markets will collapse due to its wrong or mere use. In order to understand the author’s argument and to prove the thesis statement, a critical analysis of the book is given below. The idea that distance, space, and technology matters is not disagreed but at the same time a territorial authority of states matter. Even though technology is noticed as a sound source which allows strong territorial control and monitoring of physical objects that crosses the borders, states should not emphasize and rely heavily on the regulation of markets; local or international. The state or a government will itself decide and plan to which extent it is going to utilize the opportunities presented by globalization (Wolf). Market failures are noticed not because of globalization but because of the system failure a nd the weak and ineffective policies. These failures are usually local. It is also due to the central planning as the author has termed it as ‘ludicrous’ as it does not reflect the consumer behavior or his taste, lacking the element of innovation (Wolf 59-60). It is the duty of the government to cater the basic needs of consumers by providing them the basic goods (Wolf). In order to prosper and grow, a state should realize that it needs to clean its debt and at the same time should also protect what belongs to the public. The state must show elements of ‘credibility, predictability, transparency, and consistency’ (Wolf 25). Moreover, the government must refrain itself in interfering in the business deals of merchants and investors. It should let them do business as they want because it is evident that all the Western societies have been crafted by these businessmen using the elements of ‘practicality, rationalism, and freedom of inquiry’ (Wolf) . The author of the book Martin Wolf comes with a very comprehensive definition of globalization that it is something which is meant for the greater good, for the good of the world, for the good of the world’s economies and their economic revivals. The author describes globalization as a method of free trade, and a method where free movement of goods, resources and opportunities are made possible. Globalization itself is an idea to promote the greater integration of the world as the author

Reflect on your learning experiences during the semester Essay - 1

Reflect on your learning experiences during the semester - Essay Example That is why on my first week I am very excited in immersing myself in a university learning setup. However even from the start I had trouble balancing work and university life. My busy schedule in my work had given me very limited time in my studies. From the start I have doubts on whether I can fully absorb what the instructor is teaching. Also, knowing my tendency to jump into any activity without clearly thinking on the possible loopholes and disadvantages in embarking on this undertaking has intensified my fear that I might have wrongfully chosen the course that I enrolled in. I also felt that I might fail to observe and reflect on the inputs that I should have received. Kolb and Fry’s Experiential Learning theory provides a clear strategy on how to fully immerse myself into the lessons that I really want to learn. It is a learning cycle that starts from one’s concrete immersion to the knowledge and skills that I want to learn. After one’s immersion, a person should observe and reflect on the stimuli that he received. This time, his analytical mind should work to pick up the loopholes and the flaws in learning the skills. The holistic mind accumulates these loopholes and mistakes. It will then use these in laying down fresh guidelines in performing things. Practical testing of one’s newly ratified procedures in carrying out things is the last part of the cycle. This will continue to a lifetime upward cycle of personal renewal and development until a person actualizes his fullest potential. I realized in the second week in this course that there are several theories on how an individual learn individually and in an organizational setup. From sensory stimulation, reinforcement theories to experiential and adult learning, numerous learning theories, I have learned in a brief amount of time the explanations done by psychologists that lay down why and

Cultural Awareness of Israel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Cultural Awareness of Israel - Essay Example Similarly, the culture of Israel is unique in the sense that it is the only country in the world with a majority of Jewish community. Culture, as defined by Anderson and Taylor, is ‘a complex system of meanings and behavior that defines the way of life for a given group or society. It includes beliefs, values, knowledge, art, morals, law, customs, habits, language and dress’ (Anderson and Taylor, pp. 54). 1. Culture is shared: the culture of people living as part of a group is similar with each other to a great extent. The values and belief of the group have been developed through an agreement or principles defined through decades or even centuries; 2. Culture is learned: Culture is not a birth acquired part of a human; but is rather inbred in the person through his parents, guardian, friends and family. A person is taught the way of the society by people around him to such an extent that his thought process is also aligned with the other people in a similar culture; 3. Culture is taken for granted: Since the culture is inbred in a person since his birth, he accepts it as a part of life without questioning the rationality behind the continuance of certain traditions or laws. A person is aware of his cultural differences but most do not usually deviate from their cultural makeup; 4. Culture is composed of symbols: There are always symbols in a society that are unique from other society. A symbol may hold special reverence for one community but may mean nothing for another. The meaning that people give to certain symbols is actually what makes them unique from others. 5. Culture is dynamic: As people migrate from one area to another, they take their cultural belongings with them. Their thoughts, ideas and opinions travel with them and infuse in the thoughts, ideas and opinions of the people they meet. In this manner, cultures continue evolving and are dynamic in nature (Anderson and Taylor, pp. 54-48). Israel, officially names

S.M.A.R.T Goals Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

S.M.A.R.T Goals - Coursework Example Goal: I will look for the organization’s hiring and recruitment policy, and find out what the organization does to hire and retain its employees by week 6. From week 1 to week four, I shall work on reviewing the recruitment and hiring policy of the organization. I will visit the organization and see how the recruitment and hiring process is normally carried out. I will also carry out some interviews among the staff of the organization to find out how they are motivated to remain in the organization. What I learned/ overall goal accomplishment: I have learned that the hiring and recruitment process is very methodological. I have also learned that employers have to not only hire the best employees; they also have to work hard to retain them. Goal: I will find out from the organization’s policies what measures are in place to take care of employee problem and what the organization does to help employees deal with their problems by week 6. How Has this changed my behavior/ attitude: I have come to appreciate that employers should be good managers in all aspects of the word. They should be there to offer guidance and correct errant employees when the need arises. How was the goal met? I had to convince the managers to allow me to talk about their disciplinary policies with them and with their employees. I also went through these policies so that I could understand how the organization treats its employees who have problems. Barriers in meeting my learning outcomes: Although I was able to accomplish my goal, I faced some challenges such as lack of substantive information from the employees.

Communication Strategy in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Communication Strategy in Business - Essay Example All the audience wants to know is if or not the presenter has done sufficient homework to have them listen to him/her. Having said that, when a presenter is able to narrate a story, it not only involves the audiences more into the presentation, but also gives them the impression that the presenter knows what he/she is saying. The non-story like presentation makes the audiences feel drawn out, in reaction to which, they are reluctant to approve of the presentation. It is linked to business presentations because these presentations provide the audiences with a lot of room for questions. An effective business story is the one which has a certain start, discussion of interim events and a defined conclusion. Since it is a business story, so it has to explain the nature of business, the risks and opportunities encountered, the way they were managed, how the resources were arranged, what was the scope of work, the organization structure and the organizational culture and the profits made as well as the losses incurred. Being â€Å"in command† means that the presenter leads the presentation rather than the audiences taking the lead. It also means that the presenter knows and is experienced in the business. Q. 2 Answer: Weissman is right in his consideration of the story as of more value than the graphics. The audiences know that they are there just to raise the questions. Being in a position to challenge the arguments of the presenter, they fully exploit the presenter if he/she bores them with flashing slides, that don’t really make any detectable connection with one another. What they want is a detailed explanation of the challenges encountered by the presenter and the way he/she dealt with them. The audiences are smart enough to know that many presenters attempt to get away with the scintillating and gaudy effects while the content is really very shallow and just insufficient. By narrating the story, the presenter takes the form of a lecturer and the au diences become students. Naturally, a sense of respect for the presenter starts to cultivate in the audiences’ heart. I disagree with Weissman’s view that the effects of the slides are just to support the presenter and not the audiences. The various sizes of fonts and the background effects and the color combinations are fundamentally there to satiate the vision of the audiences. The audiences need the text to be clearly visible in the background, so that they may be able to read the content of the slide. Also, the audiences are very critical about each and every word of the content. The moment they feel that the presenter is trying to play with the words, they start arguing. A presenter who is able to narrate the story should display minimal content in the slides, should keep the charts and drawings very simple and the colors light. It doesn’t really matter if the slides have a low profile because it is fundamentally the presenter who is in charge. Q. 3 Answer: Although I agree that a presenter must always prepare properly, yet I do not agree that he must never apologize. There is no point for an individual not to be apologetic at any point in something as exposed to the public criticism as a presentation. If a presenter tends to defend his/her point when he/she is not really supposed to, it has a very negative impact on his/her impression in the audiences’ eyes. He/she is perceived to be stubborn and rude rather than understanding and kind.

S.M.A.R.T Goals Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

S.M.A.R.T Goals - Coursework Example Goal: I will look for the organization’s hiring and recruitment policy, and find out what the organization does to hire and retain its employees by week 6. From week 1 to week four, I shall work on reviewing the recruitment and hiring policy of the organization. I will visit the organization and see how the recruitment and hiring process is normally carried out. I will also carry out some interviews among the staff of the organization to find out how they are motivated to remain in the organization. What I learned/ overall goal accomplishment: I have learned that the hiring and recruitment process is very methodological. I have also learned that employers have to not only hire the best employees; they also have to work hard to retain them. Goal: I will find out from the organization’s policies what measures are in place to take care of employee problem and what the organization does to help employees deal with their problems by week 6. How Has this changed my behavior/ attitude: I have come to appreciate that employers should be good managers in all aspects of the word. They should be there to offer guidance and correct errant employees when the need arises. How was the goal met? I had to convince the managers to allow me to talk about their disciplinary policies with them and with their employees. I also went through these policies so that I could understand how the organization treats its employees who have problems. Barriers in meeting my learning outcomes: Although I was able to accomplish my goal, I faced some challenges such as lack of substantive information from the employees.

Is the American presidency too powerful Why or why not Essay

Is the American presidency too powerful Why or why not - Essay Example A president has the constitutional power to either assent or dissent a bill that has been approved by the Congress. The president acts as the last ‘process’ through which a bill passes before being adopted as a law. All the citizens in America are governed by the same standard laws and, apparently, they are under the spell of the presidency. Despite the Congress having similar powers of revoking a presidency’s initiative, it is the Congress that is constitutionally required to make laws. Intrinsically, the presidency has trivial contravention in the making of laws (Lowi 2012, p.177). Moreover, the presidency is better positioned if its party dominates both houses. The presidency’s influence in the appointment of the bureaucratic positions is a vital element. In order to mitigate the conflicts of opinion in between the presidency and the Agencies, the presidency can appoint his top supporters into the bureaucratic appointments. In essence, the presidency will be commanding power through the automatic support that is anticipated from his supporters in the bureaucracy (Lowi 2012, p.195). The support grants his excessive powers. Even with least congressional and public support, the presidency’s powers are still a notch higher. The presidency has the option of expanding the roles of the direct presidential governance and executive orders. Similarly, the presidency has the capacity to increase the control of the White House over the federal the bureaucracy (Lowi 2012, p. 195). This tactic of power works in the presidency’s advantage by enabling it influence the decisions of the bureaucracy, indirectly Executive agreements are excessive powers granted to the presidency. In the normal diplomatic powers of the presidency, more than two-thirds of the senate is required to have vote for a treaty before it becomes legally practicable. However, in executive agreements, there is neither regulation nor restrictions encountered by the presidency

How to Analyze Sources and Information

How to Analyze Sources and Information By Riley Kohl       Today, we live in a world that runs on information. Information is gathered, shared, bought, and sold. More and more, individuals are consuming vast amounts of information and using it to shape themselves and the way they perceive the world around them. In our journey to reach new heights of understanding, we construct for ourselves a tall watchtower, with each brick being a new piece of information. Far too often, however, we dont ask ourselves a crucial question: what if this new brick has cracks? My goal is to explain why you need to be able to appraise the quality of the information you consume and to give you the tools to do so reliably and efficiently. A Growing Need One of the most commonly used sources of information is the news, specifically the mainstream media. In recent years, there has been a gradual, observable decline in the quality of journalism. Noticing this, the American people have subsequently displayed a gradual decline in the level of trust they place in the mainstream medias ability to report information in a trustworthy and unbiased manner. In a Gallup poll conducted in 2016 with a random sample of 1,020 adults, only 32% professed to having a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the mainstream media.[1] A graph of this trend is provided in Figure 1. A Practical Demonstration In order to better grasp the methodologies of information analysis, and the need for such skills, a practical demonstration is best. On November 20, 2015, CNN published an article alleging that President-elect Donald Trump made a definitive statement regarding the implementation of a Muslim database.[2] Several hours later, an article was published by the Gateway Pundit claiming that the conclusions presented by the CNN article were based on falsified evidence.[3] Figure 2 provides a side- by-side view of the article headlines. This leads to the first, and most important, critical rule of information analysis: no source is above scrutiny because no source is infallible. CNN is a major media outlet. The first reaction of the average person would be to simply trust them over the Gateway Pundit, a relatively unknown source. The CNN article also provides a video which seems to support the claim presented in the headline. The two most notable arguments presented by the Gateway Pundit article are that the CNN video is heavily edited and that the reporter deliberately pushed a vague, unspecific question. The first step the reader must take at this point is to watch, or re-watch, the CNN video. It is clear that the video is edited, but this practice is not unusual. Videos provided in articles and reports are often edited for time purposes, cutting out unnecessary information in order to deliver the important information in a timely manner. Thus, we arrive at the second critical rule: when in doubt, consult the raw data. This is not always an easy task. In scientific reports, the raw data is often extensive or presented in a format that is difficult for laymen to understand. News articles, on the other hand, often draw their data from raw video or official statements. Given the positions presented by the two articles, at most only one of them can be correct. Therefore, at least one of these articles must be false. The result of this is that a person who believes the false article will likely form an opinion on Donald Trump, then a Presidential candidate. This newly assimilated information might affect a choice of action taken by the reader, such as who they vote for, which could have consequences as significant as deciding the next political leader of the United States of America. Placed in this perspective, it is clear that information and misinformation can be a powerful, dangerous forces. It is imperative that they a re properly evaluated by the readers. Methodologies for Appraising Information Some of the simplest methods for appraising the quality of an information source involve asking basic questions. These include confirming whether or the not source is unbiased, comprehensive, current, and clear.[4] While the latter questions are fairly simple, the question of bias is a tricky beat to handle. Bias is fundamentally difficult to avoid when writing, or choosing not to write, articles or reports. These are written by human beings, who have their own ingrained outlooks and opinions on the world. Additionally, the existence of bias extends outside the article itself, into the meta realm of publication. There can exist a bias in what information is published and what information is not. A news outlet might choose to only report on the legitimate scandals of a political figure and publish nothing regarding their accomplishments. Even though the published articles may be true, the bias still exists. A very common misconception is that the authorship of an information source is a good measure of its quality or trustworthiness. While this can serve as a significant, time-saving shortcut, it can also lull the reader into a false sense of security. The most well-respected news outlet can publish erroneous articles, and the most sensational tabloid can publish articles containing nothing but the truth. A final concept to note, before proceeding to a more orderly listing of methodologies, is the writing itself. The writing styles of information sources can vary widely based on their intended audience and purpose. A scientific report on geological predictions based on survey data will vary in appearance and flow from a news article reporting on a recent crime wave. Despite this, the hallmark of a good article lies with its objective reasoning. There should be a clear logical flow from the raw information being cited to the final conclusions drawn and presented by the author.[5] Faulty logic or subtle fallacies can take factual evidence and output misleading conclusions. A Simple Checklist for Appraising Sources Ask yourself the three Cs: Is it comprehensive, clear, and current? Look to see if the source has a logical flow of objective reasoning. Identify the purpose of the article. What is the writer trying to convey? Identify any potential for bias. Does the author have an underlying motive? Cross-reference with alternative sources. Consult the raw data if necessary. Remember that is is alright to decide that no definitive conclusions can be drawn from insufficient sources. Works Cited [1] Gallup, Inc. Americans Trust in Mass Media Sinks to New Low.Gallup.com. N.p., 14 Sept. 2016. Web. 05 Jan. 2017. [2] Trump would certainly implement national database for U.S. Muslims.CNN. Cable News Network, 20 Nov. 2015. Web. 06 Jan. 2017. [3] Hoft, Jim. THEY LIED! Media Edited Video to Claim Donald Trump Said to Register All Muslims (Video).TheGatewayPundit. N.p., 21 Nov. 2015. Web. 06 Jan. 2017. [4] Markel, Michael H. Practicalstrategiesfortechnicalcommunication. 1st ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. Print. [5] LibGuides: Critically Analyzing Information Sources: Critical Appraisal and Analysis.CriticalAppraisaland AnalysisCriticallyAnalyzingInformationSourcesLibGuidesatCornellUniversity. N.p., 27 May 2016. Web. 05 Jan. 2017.   Ã‚  

The Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered Essay example -- MLDA, Underag

We knocked on the door of the off-campus apartment, as it opened we were confronted with the heavy stench of alcohol. A young girl was passed out on the living room floor, a pile of empty beer cans filled the kitchen sink, and the deafening music rattled the window panes. A group of girls managed to stumble past us. They waved goodbye to the host, who was handing drinks to me and my sister. It was not my first time drinking. In fact, everyone there was quite experienced – after all, it’s college. Half of the guests were completely drunk, and I had no problem with it. That is, until later that night when my sister locked herself in a room with a guy she had met only a week before. This prompted me to seriously consider the effects of alcohol. Would my sister have been able to see the danger of the situation had she been sober? Would the absence of alcohol have prevented the events of that night from occurring? These questions, along with the vivid memory of that night, fueled my examination of the complex social problem of underage drinking. In the 1960s, the drinking age was set as 21, to match the voting age. However, around the time of the Vietnam War, the public began to argue that if an 18-year-old was old enough to fight and die for his country, then he should be able to vote as well. As a result, the voting age was lowered to 18. Between 1970 and 1976, 29 states lowered their legal drinking age as well. In the words of Carla Main, author of Bulldozed and various other published works concerning law and society, the results were â€Å"catastrophic,† as â€Å"[h]ighway deaths among teenagers and young adults skyrocketed† (Main 33). Many states began raising the legal drinking age up again. In 1984, under the supervision of Ronald ... ...hus, focus should be on better enforcing the law, rather than amending it. Works Cited DeJong, William. â€Å"Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered to 18? No.† American Teacher 93.3 (2008): 3. Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega Edition. Web. 3 Mar. 2010. Main, Carla T. â€Å"Underage Drinking and the Drinking Age.† Policy Review. June/July 2009: 33-46. Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega Edition. Web. 3 Mar. 2010. Martinez, Julia A., Miguel A. Munoz Garcia, and Kenneth J. Sher. â€Å"A New Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA)? Some Findings to Inform the Debate.† Addictive Behaviors 34.4 (2009): 407-10. Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega Edition. Web. 3 Mar. 2010. Muhlenfeld, Elisabeth. â€Å"Seeking a Drinking Age Debate.† University Business 11.10 (2008): 53-4. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Mar. 2010. â€Å"The 21 Club.† Economist 392.8645 (2009): 26. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Mar. 2010.

Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Macbeth - Fates Triumph Es

Fate's Triumph in Macbeth       Shakespeare a fatalist in Macbeth? It would seem so, given the observation that the Macbeths capitulated totally to the evil suggestions of the witches. We shall clarify the concept of fate in this drama.    Blanche Coles states in Shakespeare's Four Giants the place of Fate in Macbeth's life:    Then, like a cog slipping naturally into its own notch, his thoughts turn to the Witches and their prophecy, and he concludes that he has defiled his mind for the descendants of Banquo he has murdered the gracious Duncan for them; he has poisoned his own peace of mind and given his immortal soul (eternal jewel) to the devil, the common enemy of man - all this to make the descendants of Banquo kings! Rather than face such an outcome, he challenges Fate to enter the lists with him against Banquo and champion him to the last extremity, even though that extremity be death itself. (57)    Macbeth: "If Chance would have me king, why, Chance may crown me without my stir." A.C. Bradley in Shakespearean Tragedy references Fate in the play to the Witches' prophecies:    The words of the witches are fatal to the hero only because there is in him something which leaps into light at the sound of them; but they are at the same time the witness of forces which never cease to work in the world around him, and, on the instant of his surrender to them, entangle him inextricably in the web of Fate. (320)    In Fools of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy, Northrop Frye stresses the connection between the witches and fate:    The successful ruler is a combination of nature and fortune, de jure and de facto power. He steers his course by the tiller of an immediate past and by... ...uin Books, 1991.    Coles, Blanche. Shakespeare's Four Giants. Rindge, NH: Richard R. Smith Publisher, Inc., 1957.    Coursen, H. R. Macbeth: a Guide to the Play. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 1997.    Frye, Northrop. Fools of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1967.    Knights, L.C. "Macbeth." Shakespeare: The Tragedies. A Collectiion of Critical Essays. Alfred Harbage, ed. Englewwod Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1964.    Mack, Maynard. Everybody's Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. http://chemicool.com/Shakespeare/macbeth/full.html, no lin.    Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.

Wwe’s Handling of the Chris Benoit Scandle

To What Extent, if Any, Had WWE Distanced Itself From Chris Benoit? How Had In-Ring Performances Been Affected? Chris Benoit, before his tragic death, was a world renowned, top card professional wrestler for mainstream professional wrestling company, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE); formerly World Wrestling Federation (WWF). As WWE were broadcasting a tribute show in Benoit’s memory, news which addressed why the wrestler had passed began circulating. The answer to that question was indeed chilling and has led WWE to disassociating itself with their former icon and Benoit’s reputation hitting an all time low† (Ring Surf, 2009). Reports to this day reveal that, over a period of days, Benoit had choked his wife and smothered his son both to death, before taking his own life on June 2007. Previous to these events, WWE had always been under scrutiny. From the most respectable organizations, their content was deemed violent and sexist (Consoli and Torpey-Kemph, 1999 ).Also, since Chairman, Vince McMahon jr, publicly stated that professional wrestling matches are booked with predetermined outcomes, a butterfly effect-like chain of other various emerging news stories slowly began to unravel. More of which attempted to reveal further secrets behind the wrestling industry; namely depicting the neglectful treatment of performers. When journalists found Benoit’s story they had plenty of choice on what to blame; drugs, roid rage, etc. However, everyone knew that the WWE must be at fault. Lachlan, et al. 2009) states that; â€Å"the popularity attained by professional wrestling makes its presence impossible to ignore and concerns about its potential influence difficult to avoid†. For these reasons the WWE is always under high risk surveillance by press and critics. On February 2006, in response to another high profile wrestler’s untimely death, the company put a wellness policy in place, which tests for banned substances and perfor ms annual cardiac evaluations. The policy gained a positive reception and WWE looked to slowly disassociate itself from the reports that claimed to expose the wrestling industry.After Benoit’s death, most were looking to the wellness policy for an explanation; the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform requested that WWE hand in any material regarding the wellness policy, which had always been dealt with privately. Ashamedly, WWE had shortly after, suspended 11 wrestlers for violation of the policy and from then on have taken more stern measures when dealing with violations. It was ultimately found, by the Sports Legacy Institute, that Benoit had a severe case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy; â€Å"his brain showed an advanced form of dementia† (ABC News, 2007).ABC News (2007) quotes the neurosurgeon in question as saying that â€Å"while he can’t be certain that the brain damage caused Benoit’s actions, he believes it is the leading c ause†. Contrastingly and rather unsurprisingly, WWE have said in a later statement; â€Å"Today’s attempt to explain that Chris Benoit’s murder of his family was possibly caused by some form of dementia as a result of alleged concussions is speculative† (USA Today, 2007). Representing his WWE; Vince McMahon, in an interview with CNN (2009), further claims that these findings â€Å"haven’t even been critiqued by other members of the scientific community†.Regardless of the validity of the Sports Legacy Institute’s study; quick to dismiss the possibility of concussion, mental deterioration and any slight mistake or misconduct on the part of WWE, McMahon’s product falls under much more pressure. Continuing his interview, Vince McMahon defends that Benoit’s performances takes no responsibility for his actions. As a company constantly in the public eye, the WWE have banned chair shots to the head, but believe they have nothing more to answer for; â€Å"it’s what it is in the ring† he says.Upon learning of the tragedy, Vince had immediately recorded a public follow up statement, to air just before their next tri-weekly broadcast. Among his sincere concern for those involved, he assures (Mr. Mcmahons’ speach about Chris Benoit, 2007); â€Å"the facts of this horrific tragedy are now apparent. Therefore†¦ there will be no mention of Mr Benoit’s name tonight†. Referring to Vince McMahon’s CNN interview (2009), he explains â€Å"anyone who becomes a murderer, I mean, you want to disassociate yourself with that individual†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"Chris Benoit has not, and will not define the WWE†.However, Vince McMahon and the WWE have since been under fire from wrestling fans and observers who inadvertently claim that through disassociation, the tragic incident involving Chris Benoit has defined how the WWE has grown and in many ways hidden over the years. Ther e is a net wide view from smarks (smart fans), that in an attempt to disassociate Benoit from the company, WWE have allowed vital and simple aspects of pro wrestling’s performance art to go with him. An online fan posts; â€Å"Benoit German suplex banned from WWE? † (Yahoo Answers, 2010) â€Å"No chops? (Balderson, 2010) WWE is NOT wrestling†, states another.Certain professional wrestling moves, created a long time ago and already interwoven into the fabric of the industry, as with many other wrestlers, had over time become synonymous with Chris Benoit. I have conducted a content analysis study using two samples of WWE PPV events to explore; to what extent, if any, WWE’s disassociation from Chris Benoit has had an effect on the content of their wrestling matches and the performance of their contracted wrestlers. WWE has always walked a thin, interesting line concerning the content of professional wrestling among their programming.Former professional wrest ler, Laurence De Garis remarks the following, regarding the (then) WWF’s 1999 prospectus; â€Å"Interestingly, professional wrestling is nowhere to be found in the description. The WWF’s definition of itself represents a shift in business models away from a sports-based, live-events business and more toward a television show† (Sammond, 2005). Such motives give the impression that the WWE may have assumed they had nothing to lose by disassociating itself from Chris Benoit in such a manner. In the past few years† he explains, â€Å"there has been emphasis on â€Å"mic work† and acting ability, as a professional wrestler I am primarily interested in â€Å"having matches†, hopefully good ones†. â€Å"Sampling in content analysis is subject to the same concerns it would be in any quantitative study. It should be both representative and significant† (Rose, 2007). Within my study, I was comparing two different time periods within (argu ably) a sports show; each sample I had taken had to be representative of a full year.As Rose (2007) states; â€Å"which sampling method you choose – or which combination of methods – will depend on the implications of your research question†. My research question as posed is representative of the highest quality sample, so as to investigate what kind, if any care is put into influencing the show. The sports show I am researching has designated Pay-Per-View events near monthly throughout the year. I have therefore chosen to analyse four PPV’s per sample I have. This equates to 26 hours of analysis. â€Å"Coding means attaching a set of descriptive labels (or categories) to the images† (Rose, 2007).The purpose of my study is to analyse how the relationship between Benoit and WWE has changed. As people have suggested that WWE has made an unnecessary effort to erase connotations of Benoit from any further matches, I have focused specifically on wrestli ng moves used regularly by Benoit. My analysis is categorised into three moves well used by Benoit and additionally three categories which document the use of any similar variation of those moves. These additional categories however are not as objective, as I have taken a subjective stance in determining whether they are to be counted or not.As Hansen, Cottle, Negrine & Newbold (1998) iterate; â€Å"content analysis, of course, could never be objective in a ‘value-free’ sense of the word: it does not analyse everything there is to analyse in a text (no method could, nor would there be any purpose in trying)†. Many wrestlers in the WWE have similar move sets and no two matches are ever the same. What is evident from personal experience with the WWE is that the moves I have coded aren’t necessarily only used by Chris Benoit. â€Å"A more sophisticated analysis can be developed by exploring the relations between different coding categories† (Rose, 2007 ).And as such, I had coded a further factoring category which would specify by which wrestler the move had been used; allowing me to see patterns in my results and explain further, any changes to how wrestlers are performing. Here are the written results, in chronological order of events, to accompany my graphs; emerging from the analysis I have conducted: Vengeance 2005 -Knife Edge Chop: 13. Michaels: 10, Jericho: 3 -Chop Variation: 3. Benjamin: 2, Christian: 1 -German Suplex: 3. Angle: 3 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 0 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 0 -Crossface Variations: 2. Carlito: 1, Benjamin: 1 Survivor Series 2005 Knife Edge Chop: 26. Benoit: 4, Flair: 15, Michaels: 5, Masters: 2 -Chop Variation: 3. JBL: 2, Show: 1 -German Suplex: 4. Benoit: 4 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 0 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 0 -Crossface Variations: 3. Booker: 1, Angle: 2 Royal Rumble 2006 -Knife Edge Chop: 61. Noble: 8, Flair: 8, Benoit: 23, Carlito: 1, Tatanka: 12, Murdock: 1, Mich aels: 8 -Chop Variation: 4. Show: 3, Viscera: 1 -German Suplex: 5. Benoit: 4, Angle: 1 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 1. Benoit: 1 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 1. Benoit: 1 -Crossface Variations: 3. Murdock: 1, Michaels: 1, Cena: 1 Wrestlemania (22) 2006 -Knife Edge Chop: 24.Flair: 8, Benoit: 3, Stratus: 4, Michaels: 9 -Chop Variation: 2. Flair: 1, Finlay: 1 -German Suplex: 8. Benoit: 3, Angle: 5 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 0 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 2. Benoit: 2 -Crossface Variations: 2. Cena: 2 24/06/07: Benoit’s death Summerslam 2008 -Knife Edge Chop: 0 -Chop Variation: 1. Kingston: 1 -German Suplex:0 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 0 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 0 -Crossface Variations: 4. MVP: 1, Marella: 2, Cena: 1 Survivor Series 2008 -Knife Edge Chop: 5. Michaels: 5 -Chop Variation: 1. Kingston: 1 -German Suplex: 0 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 0 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 0 -Crossface Variations: 1.Cena: 1 Royal Rumble 2009 -Knife Edg e Chop: 0 -Chop Variation: 9. Phoenix: 1, Finlay: 1, Kingston: 2, Show: 5 -German Suplex: 0 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 0 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 0 -Crossface Variations: 2. JBL: 1, Cena: 1 Wrestlemania (25) 2009 -Knife Edge Chop: 21. Snuka: 1, Steamboat: 2, Jericho: 1, Flair: 5, Michaels: 12 -Chop Variation: 9. Snuka: 2, Steamboat: 3, Show: 4 -German Suplex: 0 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 0 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 1. Michaels: 1 -Crossface Variations: 2. M Hardy: 1, Cena: 1 These findings draw a clear line in the sand from the date of Benoit’s death as to how he is to be treated in WWE.Findings blatantly point to the Knife Edge Chop. Chris Benoit was relatively famous for this, and throughout my 2005-2006, pre death sample analysis, it was used 124 times. Whereas in my 2008-2009, post death sample analysis, almost no one on the roster was using it. Lack of this move however, did seem to be a business decision. At Wrestlemania 09; the WWE’s m ost prominent PPV of the year, veteran wrestler, Shawn Michaels had his retirement match. As such, out of respect for Michaels, it seems that Vince and the WWE had given him an exception to the otherwise enforced rule; as it is also prominent in Michaels’ repertoire.It comes to mention that Wrestlemania also played host to several guest veterans; for whose match had also given exception to the rule, despite that one regular wrestler was involved in their match, also using the move. However I can’t disregard that which proves, overall, Knife Edge Chops and German Suplexes are being removed from WWE wrestling. Over the history of professional wrestling, these specific moves have been a must-have in almost every technical (particularly British) wrestler’s arsenal.Nowadays WWE remains the powerhouse of the pro wrestling world; therefore many new and inexperienced companies will follow them by example and other rising wrestlers may eliminate these moves from their re pertoire to present themselves as a more viable WWE acquisition. Thereby WWE are affecting, not just themselves but the entire industry. As said above, the WWE, and following that, many subsequent companies, are caring more about out of ring performance, marketability and self promotion. Sammond (2005) specifies; â€Å"Inside the world of professional wrestling, many veterans and old timers lament that the â€Å"art† of wrestling has disappeared†.Whereas modern wrestling companies may in fact see this as progress. Eras and changes are frequent in wrestling, and most famously, the WWE. Only a few generations ago, â€Å"the wrestling business was a closely protected, closed society. Its secrets were strongly guarded† (Sammond, 2005). Changes can yet be caused by many things. Perhaps most popular; ‘The Attitude era’ was the result of one wrestler’s character push; Stone Cold Steve Austin. Upon realising that fans were responding to this archetyp al rebel over other faces (fan favourites), the WWE responded with edgier material.Though, this era inevitably saw its end when other factors came into play. The incident involving Chris Benoit however, had caused many to monitor WWE’s content. It is for this reason that the WWE has done its best to stay above any discreditable behaviour; taking any other action they feel necessary to remove themselves from under the microscope. Enter, the era of ‘PG’ [along with the smark boom]. I am very happy with the validity of my method. However there are certain things I would be able to research further to better present an answer.Using the same methods, it would be useful to analyse both, recent WWE years and other wrestling companies. Investigating how much influence WWE does in fact have over pro wrestling, and how they are evolving. My findings indicate that WWE’s reaction has given reason to remove any reference from future competition. Although we can believe this is a fickle publicity decision, these statistics reiterate that Benoit will never be put back on his pedestal; â€Å"he’s going to be known as the family killer first and great wrestler second† (Balderson, 2010).